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'm going to call the surgicenter in the morning and see if I can go in first thing. I can't keep anything down and a sip of water is painful. My fill was on the 23rd so I thought I was OK. I hope I haven't slipped, but just need a unfill. I tried to take pepto bismal and threw it up. So much for that. This is just stupid. I haven't eaten anything that I wasn't allowed. I chew everything to pulp and then this. I can't get this settled down and since Friday at 11:30 am have had so little to eat and drink. I don't want to get dehydrated.

I hope tomorrow is better. Its got to be! :welldoneclap:

barbara - keep us posted, I hope you get some relief soon.

Hi all just thought I'd drop in and say hello. I was banded on June 20 and got my first fill on August 23...boy has that been a learning experience!!! I've got pretty good restriction and am down 40lbs now. I do miss the social aspects of food but not the weight lol.

Sharyn :welldoneclap:

How do you spell RELIEF? Get an unfill. Went to the surgicenter and got .5 taken out. Instant relief. My temperature and blood pressure were low so that kind of distress takes its toll. Their scale is 4 lbs more than mine, even though they said I lost 9 lbs since the 23rd. My total by them is 30 lbs so that's still good. My average is 2.5 so fall within the range.

One thing I told them was my hunger. I am always hungry. They suggested I eat more meat - fish, chicken, pork, steak, etc. and less vegetables. Hard protein lays on the band and makes you feel full longer. Guess I'll try that in a week or so. They told me to come back in a 1 1/2 and start the fills again. Umm , I think I'll just see how it goes. I'm in no hurry for a repeat of that experience.

I am drinking my boost and how nice it is to get it down. Now back to the program.

How's everyone else doing? I hope you didn't celebrate Labor Day with too much food. :welldoneclap:

Morning Junebies,

Barbara- So sorry to read about all you have been through, I hope this slight unfill helps, I bet your starving!!!!

My scale hasn't moved much, it goes down a few pounds and then plays pee-a-boo for the next few days. The only real problem I have had is (WARNING TMI) is constipation. The doctor has me on 3 tbls of milk of magnesia and 2 tbls of Benefiber everyday, and i still only go like every 5 days, and the 4th and 5th day it hurts. I would think all of that would make me really go!!!!

Ok here is the biggie, TODAY is my FIRST day of not smoking. I decided if I was going to get healthy I needed to quit that nasty habit too! I really, really hope I can kick this habit without gaining any lbs back!

Hope you all had a wonderful holiday!!!!

Barbara, so glad to hear that you are ok and back on track. You have had your share of problems. I'm not always happy with this thing but I've been fortunate not to experience your kind of issues.

Holiday? Food? Yes, I did. I knew football season would be a challenge for me. We have living room tailgate parties. My 15 year old grandson now lives down the street from me and he was so excited to do football with me. I couldn't disappoint him so I made all the terrible foods. What amazes me is that I can eat everything from nachos to cookies to brownies to hot wings to chips and dip to candy and ice cream with no problem. Let me sit down to steak and vegatables and it's golf ball time in no time at all. Strange, this thing we implanted in our bodies!

I'm back on track and so far the scale is not telling on me. I'll keep my fingers crossed for a few days before I get too excited. Have a great week everyone. It's a short one!

rroswelltx..........I am sending all the good vibes I can muster. My daughter quit smoking in January after nearly 20 years and she feels like a million. I know it's tough, but I also know you can do it. You've got your head in the right place and just like losing weight it's mind over matter.

Good luck and keep us up dated!

Sharyn - Welcome to the Junebies!!!

Barbara - YAY! I'm so happy to hear you are feeling better - phew! That must be such a relief for you, not just physical, but emotional stress wise too.

Regina - WOW! Good for you on deciding to quit smoking - one of the hardest things to do. Are you going it alone, or using products or dr.'s program of some kind to help the process? I was getting bad constipation for a while and found out it was from my calcium supplemement, calcium carbonate can be wickedly constipating, I switched to a calcium supplement that was calcium citrate based and mixed with magnesium - having a good cal-mag blend that doesn't use calcium in the form of carbonate can make a big difference. Don't know if it is a factor in your situation, but thought I would put it out there just in case.

Reginia - try eating an activia everyday (like yogurt). Make sure you get the one for regularity. I was having awful problems like you and I started having Activia. It really seems to help.

One of the things I noticed is that if it is "bad" for you, the band will allow you to eat it. I have been really "afraid" to eat things off the program. I'm not good or better than anyone, just scared. I have read so much about the problems that I'm scared to try things. I was so surprised that we can eat tortilla chips. My doctor says its OK, just not a lot of them. I eat them with my chili con queso as part of my meal sometimes. I haven't tried candy, cake, pies, pasta, rice, or popcorn. I do like my animal crackers and sometimes pretezels. Both of those foods you can chew until they are nothing. I sometimes have ice cream, but try to resist.

I am going to try eating more protein and see if that helps to keep me full. I am very hungry now with the unfill, but will stay on mushies for a few days. I don't want any more problems.

I think we can eat hot wings and nachos during football as long as we count it as lunch or dinner. The real problem I see is forgetting what you are doing and not chewing well or eating too much. Never lose concentration. :welldoneclap:

Hang in there everyone. We're going to make it.

Well, I am doing well on my tofu mushie diet. Still too restricted for most hard stuff, but when that happens instead of reaching for ice cream I go for mock mashed potatoes with a little tofu.

The scale has been kind to me lately... although I have not lost as much as some others... at least I am back in the game.

Now if I can just get off my bum and exercise. I am just so tired of chasing teenagers at the end of the day.

Glad everyone is doing so well.

Oh BTW... everyone did notice at the holiday dinner. I ate two bites of pork ribs that went down fine... then ate one bite of roast and was stuck. There were only carbs/broccoli on the table, so when I stopped I got a ton of looks. My hubby finished my meat, and only one person made a comment, but I just blew it off. I just hope mother-in-law was not offended. I still have not told them.

Poodles - for a low fat high protein replacement for ice cream, mix equal amounts of low fat sugar free yogurt and light cottage cheese and blend smooth with some splenda and a little vanilla extract to taste and freeze.

Poodles do you think you have too much restriction? What does the doctor say about not being able to tolerate hard protein? I know it is hard to get an unfill, but many a small one .1 to .3 would be enough to allow you to enjoy more variety.

Yes I have too much restriction... but too damn stubborn to get an unfill. I have days that all is well and I can eat well lubed meat... like tonight I had chicken salad... but other days I do well to get cottage cheese down. Really weird hugh??

My fill doc put in 1 cc and then immediately took out .4 cc's when I threw up water in his office, but he swears I should be fine now. I am just waiting to lose weight and then I should be fine. Hate to pay that much for an unfill when I can modify and live with my band this way. I just have to take it slow, and live with the fact that some days I can eat a pork chop and some days I need watered down protein drink. Stupid band.

On the good days I feel ok and love the band, on the bad days I want to rip it out myself. My hubby says if I don't "get the hang of it" soon we may need to rip it out... so I am trying really hard to figure things out.

Thanks for all of the ideas. Promise to keep you posted!!!

Wow!

The end of another day of changes for the Junebies. There has to be a "new normal" out there for us without all the problems.

Poodles--I'm with you. I know there is a bit much restriction, but as soon as we go for an unfill, 2 weeks later we'll need another fill and start this all over again. It's maddening to think "finally able to eat without fear" to-- the first bite didn't make it. I'm not sure, but I would diagnose my problem as only a slight overfill.

Barbara--so happy you didn't have slippage! Blended meats aren't so tasty, but very soothing and filling. Good luck. Congrats on the weight loss. I did find an organic cereal at Costco that has 9 grams of protein. It's pretty good even when I let it get mushy.

Hope my scale starts to move again!

My appointments tomorrow start with a barium swallow, my first. Then to my surgeon. Don't know if I'll get a fill - didn't know I was going to get one when he did it the first time. I do seem to have protein shakes and soup more than solid foods - so I'm not doing this right. I went out the other night and had to run to the bathroom after a few bites, then again after another few bites. I have no problem with crackers. I've recently had chicken/salad and it stayed down. Weight loss has been slower than I thougt - given what I'm eating/not eating. I walk a lot - 2 1/2 miles, 3 times a week, and 1+ every day as well.

I have no idea what the band is or isn't doing for me, except I'm rarely hungry, and I'm always aware that I can't just "eat".

I am terribly sad about Steve Irwins death. It reminds me to live life today, as I tend to let days overlap without really living them.