Hello Junbies ......

I haven't seen a June Band Crew thread yet so thought I would start it .

I'll be banded on June 9th in Texas. I'm getting very excited about it. I know that the band is just a "tool" to aid in my weight loss journey and it will take a lot of hard work on my part to make it successful. I've been overweight my whole life with the earliest memories being around age 4. Although no one else in my family is overweight, I am extremely fortunate to have full family support in my decision. I know that there are many people who's family doesn't offer the support they need. I would love to meet other pre-bandsters being banded in June to walk with me to the banded side of life and offer each other support.

I wish you all the best.

Melissa Lea :hippie:

Pre-bandster 240 lbs

June 9, 2006

Spivak

self-pay

I hit 230 this a.m. I'm down 52 lbs since being banded on June 8th. I really hope to lose another 10 lbs before my year bandiversary. I haven't been 230 for 15 years since the birth of my first son! I can honestly say it feels good. 50 more lbs to go until goal! Julie

Hey guys, Just got back from my ultrasound, looks like I am going back under the knife again, gallbladder has to come out. Little depressed right now, been throwing up since they told me, stress i guess. Don't have any details yet, will let ya'll know when i do.

Regina, I totally threw up when I had to have my gall bladder removed. You probably have a few stones stuck in the bile duct.

Julie

Sorry to hear the new Reginia. I read that most lapband patients will have to have their gall bladder out evidentialy. I guess it goes hand and hand. Makes you want to tell them just take it out at the get go so we don't have to go through this. Let us know when. Sending positive thoughts your way.

Let's not mess around if you think you're too tight. Too many negative things can happen. So far so good for me. I'm coming up to my dangerous time after a fill and of course its a weekend.

This was posted on one of my other threads. You might find this interesting about pouch packing.

http://www.lighterforlife.com/PDF/dummies.pdf

I am not positive, but I think that Pouch Rules for Dummies is for bypass recipenets not lap banders. Does anyone know?

Yes its for bypass patients. It was posted here to gain some information. Those on this thread realize it was for their information only. Sorry if you got confused.

Regina, lots of prayers are heading your way.

I loved the "Dummies" link Barbara. Lots of good info there. Some contradictory to our band rules but a big reminder on following the rules. The water load is something I did in the early days and it did work for me. I'm going to try it again. Obviously all pouches are not the same, but the experience behind the info is compelling.

Swelling (for all sorts of reasons) has got to be the culprit for being too tight. Why else would we have the come and go effect? Follow your instincts. We are all different. The crummy thing is, why does it have to happen near the weekend?

Socalgal, I tried the gum for sugar cravings and it does work. After about a minute you have such a bitter taste in your mouth, you don't want anything but water for 20 minutes! LOL. I am trying to remember that sugar cravings are tied to depression and there are better things out there to chase it away besides food. The gum is another tool in my arsenal.

Glad it worked Pinky, but sorry it is gross! I'm sorry to hear about your gallbladder Regina! That is a fear of mine, but hopefully I won't have to do it. 2 surgeries in 7 months was enough for me! I am still tight and sticking to liquids. I am not PMS or anything, so that isn't it. I'm not stressed either. I'll probably go in Wednesday. That is the only day I can manage to get down to TJ. How are my Texas gals handling the wild weather?

Good Morning all,

Looks like Houston dodged the bad weather. Hope everyone else out there is as lucky.

I am treading lightly with this latest fill. I think the number (1.9) scares me. I haven't had any problems yet but I haven't pushed it either. I did eat popcorn last night and it went down fine.

I am feeling "puffy" this morning. My new size 14's are pretty snug. I'm sure that salty popcorn has something to do with it. It sure does feel good to have some new clothes. I had gotten to the point that I didn't even want to get dressed to go out. I was so sick of wearing the same things.

I hope everyone is having a great weekend.

There's still time for more of you to make plans to join us in Vegas in late June. The more of us that go the cheaper it will be. Barbara465 has a suite reserved that has room and I have a room too. When time gets closer we may combine those rooms to save some money so think about it and let us know soon if you're thinking about coming. It would be great to get to meet more of you guys. You don't have to be a gambler to enjoy Vegas. You can go non stop for days and never set foot in a casino.

<p><p><p>Hello All!</p> <p>We made it through the storms ok, but the "tornado" blew through less than a mile from my home. Not much damage, it blew the roof off of a hotel nearby. Could have been so much worse. Tornado sirens are never fun! We were with out power for a few hours. It is SO cool here today. Where did Spring go?</p> <p> </p> <p>Regina, sorry to hear about your impending surgery. Can someone explain why gall bladders are affected by lap band? I never fully understood that. </p> <p> </p> <p>I went to the gym today. I am SO close to onederland.... Depending on the time of day, 1lb or 5lbs away!! The scales are still jumping between 200 & 205. I am claiming 200, becausse every morning thats what they say!!! Pretty soon, they will go down to 195 and jump between 195 & 200 for a few weeks... So Strange!</p> <p> </p> <p>Hope everyone has a great rest of the weekend!</p></p></p>

Hey, guys/gals, I have a "too tight" questions. Since my last fill, I have not been able to drink/eat until around 3 in the afternoon. I have even tried sipping, using a plastic spoon to put the liquid in my mouth today. Still nothing will go down/it all comes up until late afternoon. This includes water, coffee, shakes, and I even tried wine at 11:30 this morning.

Last night I ate some pureed stuff with no problems. So here are my questions:

1. Can you live only eating/drinking in the late afternoon/evening? (I can get in my 60 grams of protein.)

2. At what point do you say to hell with it and get an unfill?

3. If you can eat at night are you truly overfilled?

The scale is going down... my DH has noticed... but don't know if this is unhealthy.

Would HATE HATE HATE to have to take off to get an UNFILL... any suggestions on how to make this work?

I have only experienced that once and it led to an unfill. Most doctors say that the stomach or something swells during sleep and you can't eat in the mornings. However, they say you can have a protein drink. As you are up the swelling goes down and you can eat more as the day goes on. For some this is normal.

The real question is can you live that way. Do you get all your protein and water in? When you say you can't get liquds down does that mean you are PBing? That part wouldn't be good. Are you having sinus problems?

If you are open enough to get your nutrients in then go for it. We are all so close that maybe we have to tough it out. I still don't believe in being over tight so much that you PB all the time. However, if you can avoid that and can get your protein in then maybe not. You will have to weigh all the options.

I'm doing OK. I haven't had any major issues, but I know my band doesn't like the first bites of anything cold. If I wait it out 15-20 minutes then I'm OK. No PBs so that is a good thing.

Its cold here in Houston. As the day went on it got colder. The newscaster I heard this morning said it was going to be 67. I don't think it ever made it to that today.

I am totally with you Poodles! But my newest theory is ELEVATION. Does that affect our bands? Seriously, I was out of town in a place over 4000 ft. elevation, which may not be much, but I live in the San Diego area which is at sea level, so maybe my band tightened up. Because yesterday I was able to eat lunch..cup of soup and 1/2 a petite salad at Mimi's Cafe and then 6 chicken wings for dinner. I still feel the tightness with liquids in the am, even warm liquids. But I do have serious sinus issues, so that may contribute. I will still plan to go in Wednesday for a slight unfill, but see how Sun. -Tues. goes. I was at 181 this morning which made me so happy!

I want to describe my symptoms to you all and get your thoughts. I can eat solids, but liquids sit in my chest and hurt. How does this make sense? Anyway, I tried hot tea this morning and I spit up foam. I have kind of throbs of mild pain in my lower throat/upper chest area. Maybe I am one of those people that has esophagus spasms or a hyper-sensitive esophagus and that is why I can't handle fills. I think I am dehydrated and that's why I am losing weight. I did have too much sodium yesterday. Maybe I am sensitive to that as Barbara mentioned. Lastly, the sinus situation. I was prescribed Flonase because my doctor(not band surgeon) said I was very swollen in my head. I've been on it over 2 weeks and the first week after my fill I had no issues, but this week I did. I also used my albuterol inhaler 2x this week and some over-the-counter Zicam for sinus. Do you think the medications contributed to tightness? I am so frustrated! I loved seeing a new number on the scale, but I honestly don't care if I can't drink! I am thirsty! Of course I will ask my doc, but it is Sunday, so I'll ask for your thoughts until I can talk to him.

I think the sinus situation is adding to your problems. The doctor here said people have more mucus in the morning so they can't eat. Maybe its a combination of things for you - sinus, fill, morning, altitude.

I had a bad episode today. It started with one tiny bite of breakfast after being up for several hours. I have just now stopped gurgling and its 2 in the afternoon. I am so hungry. I will try some water and see if I can keep it down. I hope I'm not headed for an unfill.