Happy New Year bandsters! A new thread start for a new year?

For those struggling, this is a great time to recommit!

Melody

Elfie,

So glad to here of your success with a gluten free lifestyle! I was diagnosed with gluten intolerance this summer after suffering with fatigue, unexplained joint and muscle pain, headaches, and general "blah" for years.

Although my allergy tests came back negative, after 3 weeks of going gluten free, my life was completely changed!

Gluten free is definitely not easy, because it's everywhere. I have found that even one slip up sends me into a week or so of a "gluten hangover". A foggy, headachy, sluggish mess.

Read labels carefully, and eating out is super tough. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to ask.

Good luck on your journey!

In answer to the question about my BP. It has been high for years, dropped dramatically early last year and has since gone back up. Dr is running tests to try and find out why. I got into trouble when I went to get the monitors taken off. It had a really hard piece of rubber on the end of the sleeve that was gouging my arm so I put a tissue underneath it to try and make it bearable. The technician told me I shouldn't have done that as it means it won't have worked properley. I find that hard to believe and really hink they should be designed better so as not to cause discomfort. If it didn't work right I will tell the Dr I will do the thing manaually for 12 hrs or however long I am awake. I have a monitor at home with a memory and I am sure it wouldn't make that much differnce. The sleeping ones are not sleeping ones anyway because as soon as the machine starts it bleeps and wakes you up which I am convinced makes your BP rise anyway.

Elfie thanks for the snorkel offer. I am hoping that I won't need it but if anyone has a spare submarine I am sure that could come in useful for someone.

Hummingbird sorry to hear about the breakin. There are horrible people out there. Apparently there has been looting going on in the flooded areas of Qld. Some people are just oxygen thieves , they really shouldn't be here.

Elfie glad the gluten free thing is helping. It is quite scary to think that something so simple may help ease your symptoms. I still think eating is too hard and it shouldn't be. Its something we all need to do to survive we should just be able to do it without needing a degree to work out what is OK and what isn't. Eating foods as close as possible to their natural state helps a lot but it still doesn't solve everything. What went wrong that we have so many problems - I'm sure animals don't have these issues!

Counsellor I believe lots of people have issues with fluctuating tightness.Mine seems to do it sometimes but I haven't noticed a pattern as to when /why. I can't link it to my hormones as I have no idea what they are doing these days. I'm either peri or menopausal so can't say oh its that TOM that must be the issue. Other things that can affect it are stress, hydration etc so make sure that you are properley hydrated.

I have no idea of how many calories, fat grams, carbs or anything else that I eat. I do not want to have to count them. I know a lot of people swear by tracking but it is not for me,to do that is too hard and reminds me too much of all my dieting days and I got the band to stop dieting and eat like a "normal" person.On the whole that is what I do although I have been eating a little too much of what I fancy lately. Going fo an adjustment on Friday.

Still waiting for Bob to post some post surgery pics. Haven't seen any yet not even on FB. I'm just hoping they won't be of him in his budgie smugglers although I think there is a good chance they will be!

Elcee: You're killling me here...budgie smugglers? ROFLMAO! Re: food problems...I think a lot of the problems with food allergies and sensitivities has to do with our immune systems struggling to deal with the chemicals they're inundated with on a daily basis. Not just from food, but from the air we breath, the Water we drink, the clothes we wear, etc.

Counselor: Yes, it is very surprising how gluten is buried in just about everything. I went to buy some taco seasoning (usually I make my own but...) and it has gluten in it. Seasonings with gluten?? Ugh.

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Down a pound this morning. It's amazing how fast we put on the weight just by raising calories a bit, but how slow it comes off even when eating 1000 calories less than our current weight needs to maintain.

My mom's brother died on Tuesday of a heart attack. Not too unexpected since they were talking about doing heart surgery. I have to wonder where his brain was though that he drove to Florida (and was on his way back) knowing he has heart and circulation problems which wouldn't be improved with hours of sitting. When he got out of the car at a gas station in Georgia, he just keeled over and couldn't be revived. Since he wanted to be cremated, they decided it would be easier to just cremate him there and then bring him home and they'll have 'calling hours' at the house.

So now I'm debating whether I need to drive 5 hours given the fact that we weren't close...don't think I've spoken to him or his wife in the last year or so...and my mom doesn't have much use for her family so it's not like she needs any consoling. I'm sure that sounds cold, but I'm a practical person. I've always said, if they don't come around when they're alive, they should stay away with their fake sympathy when the person dies.

So...decisions decisions...drive 5 hours (risky for me because I've had 2 episodes of fallling asleep at the wheel) and put up with the drama queens in the family who will now use this as an excuse to wail and moan about how they're going to miss their beloved brother (who they've been trashing for most of his life)...or go to dinner tonight with my husband. The latter 'sounds' romantic but it's a dinner and lecture on 'energy and photosynthesis'. I'm thinking of hiding an iPod in my bra and running an earphone out the shirt collar. My husband says that would be ok...as long as I don't forget and start singing along.

I'm feeling a bit grumpy at all of this. Must be time to go do some Tae bo.

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Hello All !!!!!!

I've been away for FAR too long ( the site has changed! I can barely navigate around it!! ) ... and I have 27 new pounds to prove it! Remember I went tot the dr and had an upper GI series in early Nov? Well, she too half of my Fluid out, because I was throwing up so often, and i'm up 27 pounds!!!! Also, I sit for 8 - 12 hrs a day at my job... No need to go into the emotional side of it all, as you guys know what I'm feeling - failure, lack of control, fat, nothing fits, worthles, yada yada yada ... I'm wondering if any of you have taken any kind of Appetite supressants with your band?

Not looking for sympathy, or even a kick in the ass, although thats not a totally unwelcomed notion. I just want to know your thoughts ?????

Miss you guys...

Hi Bobbie!! I am so glad to hear from you. I hate the way they changed the site. I can't figure out how to do even simple things on it , like quote. Oh well, at least you found this thread again. Don't stay away so long. We love you no matter what your weight is doing.

I have not taken anything like appetite supressants since being banded, but I have kept restriction all this time. I think they would cross my mind if I were in your shoes. I'm sure I would have gained as well over the holidays with no restriction. Can you go back and start getting small fills? I think that would be the best way to go to get those pounds back off and keep them off long term. I have taken appetite supressants over the years and they don't really work that well. It's one of my old yo-yo things of the past.

Hi Bobbie!! I am so glad to hear from you. I hate the way they changed the site. I can't figure out how to do even simple things on it , like quote. Oh well, at least you found this thread again. Don't stay away so long. We love you no matter what your weight is doing.

I have not taken anything like appetite supressants since being banded, but I have kept restriction all this time. I think they would cross my mind if I were in your shoes. I'm sure I would have gained as well over the holidays with no restriction. Can you go back and start getting small fills? I think that would be the best way to go to get those pounds back off and keep them off long term. I have taken appetite supressants over the years and they don't really work that well. It's one of my old yo-yo things of the past.

Hey, I just figured out how to quote again........ I'm slow

Hi there Bobbie! I'm new to this thread, but if I could...

I have Crohn's disease and therefore have to have UpperGI's on a fairly regular (about once a year) basis. I hadn't had one in about 3 years (except for my pre-op) so my gastro sent me for one in Oct. (11 months after lapband).

Well, I don't know about you all, but my band is quite tight in the morning. I usually can't eat until noon or later. My UGI was at 8 am. Barium isn't exactly the tastiest stuff, plus it's THICK, and that early in the morning, I knew it was just a disaster waiting to happen.

Well, the guy reading my UGI was overly concerned, the barium wouldnt budge from my esophogus for HOURS, and he ended the test. He made notations to my gastro and my lapband dr and insisted in his notes that my band was too tight.

Imagine my frustration knowing that it had taken from November to July to reach any restriction at all! And then, only 3 months later someone who knows nothing about my band is demanding there's something wrong, a medical emergency mind you, and Fluid needs to be removed immediately.

I went to my surgeon the next day for follow up, after he received the technician's notes. He obliged, saying "maybe" it was a TEENY bit too tight and removed .5 cc's. Just a half a cc...

And guess what? In the next 2 weeks I gained 10 pounds. Crazy, huh? I was pissed to say the least.

But when I went to get it refilled, putting the half cc back in all at once made it too tight, so I had to get another unfill, and go a quarter cc at a time, then I was all swollen and my band has been finicky and fickle ever since. And it took me 6 weeks to lose than darn 10 pounds.

So frustrating!

I just wish that silly technician (silly really isn't the word I wanted to use!) would have listened to me when I told him NOTHING goes down in the morning... maybe some hot tea.... but especially not BARIUM (gag).

BUT.... I am done venting and my point, Bobbie, is I FEEL YOUR PAIN!

OK who the hell asked for pics of Bob? He posted one on facebook today but it was the part they threw out not the part they kept! EWWW!

I have been doing end of year BS tax crap so I haven't been reading or posting much. I do have a new youtube channel where I have been posting quick videos of the dogs, they are about the only thing keeping me sane at this point. Sugarbaby

I think my husband has the gluten thing, he gets sluggish if he eats too much white bread. And if he drinks beer he has a 2 week hangover. I hope that is the answer to your not sleeping, I don't sleep much either but its been so cold lately that I haven't been getting up, I just lay there and wait to go back to sleep.

I got to get back to work, ugh.

Leigha: I've just subscribed to your Youtube. Looking forward to more of Sugarbaby. She's my dog 'fix' since my husband doesn't want a dog (never did).

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Happy Saturday...not. It's freakin' snowing again. I am looking out my front window and the snow is coming down so fast and hard that I'm going to qualify it as a blizzard. It's not even the 'right' kind of snow. If it was, I'd be out building Calvin and Hobbes type snowmen. I'm in just that kind of mood.

Does anyone else get tired of dealing with weight related stuff. Maybe because I lose weight so slowly. It really gets too be a bit of a drag sometimes when you know you're doing it right and you still only lose 4 pounds in a month. Ok, that was my little whine for awhile.

Off to do some Tae Bo. Maybe it will perk me up.

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Hey, I just figured out how to quote again........ I'm slow

But we love you anyway !!! xoxoxoxxoxoxoxoxo

aww , gee thanks Bobbie.

Melody, that feeling of being tired of weight related stuff is when, in the past, my diet ends and my weight creeps back on. That is why I'm happy to have the band now. At least it makes my chances better with keeping the weight off.

The last 2 weeks have been so crazy that I just may not leave the house at all today. I might shower, but put my PJs back on and putter around the house all day. I have quite a bit to catch up on and my house work is never done, but I'm not sure I want to put in enough effort to get much of it done. I started a new quilt, so may put the most time in that. This one is for me. It will be what I call wine counrty colors or tuscan colors.

Happy Saturday...not. It's freakin' snowing again. I am looking out my front window and the snow is coming down so fast and hard that I'm going to qualify it as a blizzard. It's not even the 'right' kind of snow. If it was, I'd be out building Calvin and Hobbes type snowmen. I'm in just that kind of mood.

Does anyone else get tired of dealing with weight related stuff. Maybe because I lose weight so slowly. It really gets too be a bit of a drag sometimes when you know you're doing it right and you still only lose 4 pounds in a month. Ok, that was my little whine for awhile.

Off to do some Tae Bo. Maybe it will perk me up.

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Yes it is what my mom refers to "spending all your life trying to live" syndrome. I just look at like this--at least all the extra energy is giving to me. Also one pound a week is not slow. I think that is a good rate--one that ensures you can maintain.

Oh my goodness, I am so far behind!

((((BOBBIE!!!!)))) Good to see you girlie! Sorry about the poundage, that totally sux. I've read others here using prescription appetite suppressants with a band. The discussion always brings a debate of why get the band if you are going to take the pills, taking the pills don't help you create new habits, and so on so forth. My two cents...if they are safe for your body, and help you get through until you reach proper restriction, go for it.

Crystl, what a drag about the break in!

Counselor, with Crohn's, the gluten problem doesn't show as an allergy, right? It's all about the digestive system?

Melody, gotta agree with Shammah, 1 pound a week is a good loss rate. I averaged 3/4 pound. Of course, I know why I lost so slowly (wispering, "lack of exercise"). Just keep slogging along and in a year you'll be down 50 more!

Leigha, saw Bob's update on FB, he looks great! The skin removed, a bit gross.

Elcee, was wonder about your BP cause mine was high before surgery, now is low-normal. Sometimes it drops unexpectedly--when I have been standing longish periods (like 30-40 minutes). I gray out and get sweaty, nauseous, and wobbly. I did a 24 hour Holter monitor, but not the BP monitor. Nothing happended during that time, of course. My primary care doctor says this is something he sees in his weight-loss patients (not only surgical). My band doc's nurse practitioner says it is not band related. I thought perhaps it was Vagus Nerve stuff.

It's been a wild a wooly week here. Had three days of training at work. On the second day, our trainer's daughter delivered her baby, so our trainer abandoned us. We made do and got through it. Fortunately, she gave us warning that it could occur, so we had contingency plans. But it was three days of lunches out and one dinner out with a co-worker from out of town. I am NOT going near a scale for a few days!

MIL had two doctors appointments this week. DH takes her, that always sends him into a funk. At this point there is not much doctors can do, but they won't come right out and say that. Plus she won't answer their questions honestly. Cardiologist asks yesterday if she gets winded easily. Oh no, she says. She can barely get from livingroom to the bathroom without stopping to catch her breath. DH corrected that fib. She's been told again and again to keep her legs elevated all the time to help drain the Fluid, she does it for 15 minutes and thinks she is doing great. Then she complains about her legs. They bother her the most, but she won't elevate them. Whatever!