Great Idea - I will do it right now !!

Hi

I am Janet and I am a recovering food addict :wink2:

I was banded 7/17/07 - My starting weight was 250 - I'm 5'4

Today (just over 10 months out) I am 154 - size 8 pants (was 18/20) Medium tops (was 22/24)

I got banded as I wanted to extend the years that I have left on this planet and to do that I knew that I needed to lose weight.

The band has been the tool I needed. For the first time in my life I have been able to achieve this goal (actually getting to my goal weight)

If you want a buddy - support - help - suggestions - Please feel free to call upon me - I will gladly share my journey with you - the journey is still on going and by helping you I will be helping me (staying motivated and accountable) and then one day you can pay it forward and help someone else.

Whew! Lots of catching up to do for one day off the boards!

Ellen, OMG how scary. I'm glad no one was in that room and got hurt. Is it cleaned up now? Are you able to get ahold of that contractor?

Janet, awesome photos! I can't wait til my cruise. You look so adventerous now. And what a difference between the before and after!

Emma, you still have a pouch since you have a band, but it's not as restricted yet as it's going to be. I was told, for what it's worth 1/2 cup portions, never to exceed 1 cup.

Good Evening Gang !!!

Well got back from cking out my bro's safety deposit box - I think my sis thought that there would be something important in there like a will leaving everything to her son :biggrin: all that was in there was the same junk that was in his house - copies of my Dad's trust - my Dad died 17 yrs ago... The trust was distributated 16 yrs ago !!!

Well, I am going over to her steph brothers house for a mini bbq for my nephew's bday celebration - so just thought I would pop in and see what's up

I won't be late - want to be home around 7:30 Idol tonite and I have to vote - my guy Matt was in the bottom 3 last week - I love Danny & Adam most likely will win (like him too loved his song last week and loved seeing him cleaned up) but there are ton's of pple who need to go before Matt...

Ok Chickies !!!!! TTYL Hugs...

Hi everyone ~ just popping in real quick to check in. Nothing new really to report. Back into the swing of things at work and school. I'm tired as heck. Started going to gym last week. Worked out there two days, then at home for one day = 3 days per week so far. Trying to establish a workout schedule of at least 3 days per week. I spend about an hour & 1/2 at the gym and another 45 - 50 minutes on the evening I work out at home. Finally opened the new workout dvd I bought around the holidays...geez, but I really like it. It's a beginners pilates dvd, that has 5 10min segments and I try to do all 5; plus I get my 100 sit-ups in all 3 days. Right now my heels are killing me, but I'll be back there tomorrow. I really feel like I accomplish something on the days I do workout. Eating is ok, still not the best of choices, but I'm not making a pig of myself either. I definitely could use another fill, but I'll wait to schedule it for sometime during middle or end of April. I fractured my elbow last year and had to get it wired back together so, I have a real hard time doing stuff that puts a lot of weight on it - but I try to push myself anyway. I broke my collarbone the year before that, so sometimes I feel a little pinch when I'm working out - but I just keep moving. Riding a motorcycle as a hobby has it pros (a lot of fun relaxation, traveling adventures and meeting nice people) and its cons (broken bones). Crossing my fingers I won't break anything this year. Well enough out of me.

Janet glad to see your back. I haven't caught up reading post, but I hope everyone is doing well. I also hope the snowfall that some of you experienced last week has finally subsided and you didn't experience to much difficulty. Will check in later in the week. Night all. Oh yeah - welcome to the new folks I missed. What's up with the ceiling - I hope no one got hurt.

Well hey gang, I went AWOL for awhile. Took care of my little lady for quite a while. Then still working on the kitchen. Girls, I need help!!! I have fallen off the wagon. I got my last fill in Feb and from then until now I have lost 6 lbs. I have stayed the same weight all month going up and down a lb. Now I haven't gained any weight but I am very messed up with my eating habits and exercise. Being away from home and not having a kitchen is very distracting to me and my weight loss efforts. I have lost 65 lbs total but I need to loose 40 more to be at a reasonable goal. I am at 3.2 in a 4 cc band. Should I try to get another fill or wait to get on track first and see how I do. This is the time when I start back sliding (when I am not loosing). This is the first time since last June that I have not consistently lost weight and I am upset. I know I can eat more than a cup most of the time but usually I dont. I will write more tomorrow as I have alot more to say. It is good to hear that you all had fun on vacations, etc, new babies, braving the weather, falling ceilings, etc. Janet, you look like you are having soo much fun right now. Thats great!!!. Glad to hear everyone is okay while I was gone.

Beckyo:wub:

Welcome back Janet I am so happy to hear that you had a nice vacation. The pictures look great and you look amazing. You are a inspiration to me. I have been at total stand still with the weight for the last month. Between my daughters wedding on 3/14 and all the dinners and parties, etc. Than we went on vacation for a week after the wedding just to relax the DH was so stressed with all the wedding stuff he needed to get away. We had a great time and I really did well with my food. The problem is that I have not been exercising. So let me tell you not exercising makes a big difference. No exercise no weight loss. I am back to working out this week. Anyone else notice when they dont exercise....even if the eat right the weight does not come off?

Hey gang, glad to see the board is busy again.... But I don't have the strenth to comment right now.. I've had a very bad time since last I posoted...

I got my wanted fill of .6 on Monday and was fine that evening... Next morning woke up feeling very tight.. Drank something warm and sat in my hot-tub to lossen up my muscles... Set about doing my day.. My back was very sore again after the fill as she had to poke and prod with 3 sticks before she finally got it.... Well, at about 10:30 I was at my daughter's and had just finished changeing baby's diaper and was going to put on a new pair of shoes I bought her when I was struck with the most horrific pain in my chest, upper left shoulder, back......mostly all upper left quadrant... I was very scared and told my husband I thought I was having a heart attach..... It hurt so bad I could hardly stand it.... Ambulance to Bismarck..........no one understood about the lap band, so had to explain it while in such horrible pain... An hour later I'm in emergency and they are only treating me for heart attack..... I tried to tell them I needed by band surgeon, but no one listened.. finally the gave me morphine for pain and I settled down a bit... end result is my heart is fine, no tests showed anything... They finally sent the PA down and she took out all of my fill..... 8.6 cc's... Told to be on liquids for 2-3 days and then go very careful... Come back in 2 weeks to start fills over again... This is fine, but I'm still in such terrible pain... I feel as though I have been run over by a truck in that upper left quadrant... I've been up most of the night... Liquid Tylenol isn't touching it... I'm so stiff and sore... I want to cry... I went out to the hot-tub at 3:30 to try to get some relief.... Don't know what to do really but just take it a minute at a time... Sitting here is really bothering me and I can't type decently.......lots of mistakes... Sorry to be such a downer but I'm totally miserable... Any words of wisdom for me...

Maybe I can talk to you later if I feel better... Hope all are well

Julie

Sharon - Glad to hear that you are getting on the exercise routine - Ya if I rode a MC I would be in a body cast :smile2: just from bikes when I was a kid I have 2 scars on my head - forehead and then chin - and 2 more one on my wrist and the knee...

Becky - Ok I was wondering where you were but figured you were taking care of that lady.

As to being of track...

#1 if I remember right you do have restriction - I remember being concerned that you were too tight cuz you were mostly eating soft/mushies foods and having problems with hard proteins - so I don't think a fill is called for if you are eating soft foods - IMHO you just got to get back on track in the eating healthy department -

When is your kitchen going to be done.

What can you do in the meant time - #1 plan plan plan - make sure you have stuff for your meals - I hate saying this cuz I am not a big advocate of frozen meals - but since you don't have anywhere to cook - then you need to have lean cuisienes or ww meals on hand -lite bread - lite lunch meats

fruits - yogurts -

Is it still too cold there to BBQ?? That's another option - also do you have an electric frying pan?? or a crock pot that you can throw stuff in to cook healthy meals.

Are you done taking care of the lady?? There you have a kitchen to cook in so you can prepard good meals.

ok 6 lbs - that's still a loss (sorry but don't remember if your fill was early feb or late feb or in the middle) if it was mid to late feb then 6 lbs is not bad for say 6 weeks - that's 1 lbs a week and that's good. So don't be so hard on yourself .. even if it was 1st of feb - that 3 lbs in Feb and 3 in March (you gotta average) that's 3/4 lbs a week and that's not bad either - all in all it's a loss and due to the challenges that you have had lately I think that's very good loss..

Rose - So glad you posted - I have been concerned since w havent heard from you lately..... Yes you to have had alot going on - but now things are back on track and so will you

Everyone - remember this is a lifetime thingie - we have to adjust our thinking - we have to concentrate on eating healthy 98% of the time and leaving 2% for treats - this is how we have to live the rest of our lives if we don't want to gain the weight back - So no matter what the sistuation is you just gotta think healthy and stay away for the old habits of having a bit of this or that too often...

I think it was PJtax who said that the reason that I didn't over do it while on my cruise was that I was so aware of what happend those 3 days at my Aunts in Feb.. Well that's sorta true - but again everynight I did have a little dessert with my meal - didn't always finish it - sometimes I did and I did have 2 cookies most days - but my other meals where very lite and lots of exercise (stairs)

Julie - Hugs on being too tight - That's just awful.. I was tight once but not that kind of pain - just couldn't eat more than 1/4 cup of food and could barely drink..

Sorry that I really don't have too many words to help since I haven't been in your shoes - all I can say - is while you are unfilled - you are going to have to make a determined effort to eat very healthy and get that exercise in - don't start feeling sorry for yourself and start feeding those feelings - it will get better with time.

I just really don't know about this... I'm in terrible shape... I hurt so bad....the aches.........and a headache that won't quit... I am having trouble getting anything down really... No worries about having too much today... I had to put my old binder on from after my surgery when I had a full incision.. I'm so sore that I can barely move... It hurts to take a deep breath.... I'm just at a loss for what to do to make things better.. I can't sleep either... Just getting all worn out. This is the real pitts................. I need to sit here and do paperwork and just don't have the energy...

Talk to you all later... Julie

Julie, sorry you are going through so much pain. Are you sure, though, that the pain is band related or from being overfilled? I just never heard of that bad of pain and in the upper left like that with being too filled. However, I have no experience with that. And one would think now that the fluid is out that you'd be feeling better. Do you still have your gall bladder? Though that's on the right side but can cause pain in your back etc. I had gall bladder issues 2 mos after banding and ended up having it out.

Just got home from my volunteer stint at the hospital. It's so fun to watch all the pre op folks come in for their pre op class. They are so excited and scared all wrapped up in one. When I tell them I had the band they ask all sorts of questions, today several wanted to feel my port. And then when they ask how much I lost, they get real excited. Makes me feel good too!

Julie, sorry you are going through so much pain. Are you sure, though, that the pain is band related or from being overfilled? I just never heard of that bad of pain and in the upper left like that with being too filled. However, I have no experience with that. And one would think now that the Fluid is out that you'd be feeling better. Do you still have your gall bladder? Though that's on the right side but can cause pain in your back etc. I had gall bladder issues 2 mos after banding and ended up having it out.

Just got home from my volunteer stint at the hospital. It's so fun to watch all the pre op folks come in for their pre op class. They are so excited and scared all wrapped up in one. When I tell them I had the band they ask all sorts of questions, today several wanted to feel my port. And then when they ask how much I lost, they get real excited. Makes me feel good too!

I was thinking the same thing.. sounds to me like something else is going on! Seems like too much pain to be caused by the band.

Julie

Both Long & Phyl are right - you really should call your doctor....

Hugs

J

Julie, I am so sorry to hear about all your pain and everything you are going through I agree you need to call your doctor.

Does anyone get heartburn. I have noticed that in the last few days I am getting slight heatburn. I used to get it all the time before surgery and before he repaired the hiatal hernia before he put the band in. What over the counter medication do you take for i?

Thank you all for all your help.

Julie, I am so sorry to hear about all your pain and everything you are going through I agree you need to call your doctor.

Does anyone get heartburn. I have noticed that in the last few days I am getting slight heatburn. I used to get it all the time before surgery and before he repaired the hiatal hernia before he put the band in. What over the counter medication do you take for i?

Thank you all for all your help.

Rose

I get it sometimes very very slight and from just drinking Water - but if I chew gum it goes away - I usually will get it in the after noon around 4 and I think it's cuz I have no food in tummy and acid is trying to come up cuz it's still digesting my lunch that by that time has moved into my real tummy..

Pecid Chewables is what my doc told me to keep on hand - I rarely do these but like I said if I stick a piece of gum in my mouth it goes away..

This is so weird. I got on tonight to see if this had happened to anyone else and it seems like Julie. I got a .6 cc fill last Wednesday for a total of 4.4. Water went down fine but I just didn't feel right. I was burping a lot and experiencing slight heart burn. I called my Dr.'s office yesterday to tell them it didn't feel right, burping, etc. (by the way they are 2 hours from me). They told me it sounded like I was too tight and needed some saline removed and wanted me to come up then. I explained I couldn't get off work that quick so they made my appointment for today. However, last night around 7:15 p.m. I started pb-ing bad and finally at 10:30 p.m. I called the doctor and he said not to worry to either come up today or come to the emergency room. My husband and I decided that I couldn't wait till today so we said emergency room. Dr. said he would call and have them ready. My husband drove 80 mph and we got there at 12:15 a.m. (I am pb, throwing up all the way there, mind you I have only been eating soft foods because I was scared to eat anything else and then yesterday evening, I couldn't even eat). Of course, no one was waiting and i had to wait over an hour and a half before finally my dr came in because the er doctor had never performed a removal of saline nor a fill and didn't want to do it and personally I didn't want him doing it either. My dr finally came in and within 1 minute of him removing saline I could tell a difference, actually while he was removing it. He took out 2 cc. I was never so scared in my life. Apparently, something had gotten stuck and I was too tight. Now today I have a bad head ache, my left shoulder is sore as well as middle of my back. I attributed it to all the throwing up. But anyway, Julie I would definitely call your doctor. I talked to mine again today and they didn't seem like it was any big deal. It was definitely a big deal to me and my husband who was also terrifed. Good Luck!

Evening All ~ just checking in...yep Janet the exercise thing is doing something (even if it's all in my mind). Sometimes, I think I might be over doing it a bit e.g. like today; I got very winded. Need to remember it's been a while since I was on a regular exercise routine and need to work my way back up to what I use to do. Don't want to burn myself out before I get a real schedule down.

Ms. Bubba I'm sorry you are having such a terrible time; can't offer anything in terms of advice - still such a novice here in bandland; however, I don't believe in sitting through pain, so just like everyone else says: Go to a doctor, NOW; emergency room docs do triage, but if they let you go home, then following up with your own doc as soon as possible is best.

I get heartburn sometimes, not a lot. It happens most when I eat too fast, don't chew well. It passes after a while, but it is very uncomfortable. I have more problems getting stuck than anything else. Certain foods really give me a hard time e.g. bananas. I love them, but they don't seem to work well with my band. I'm learning, hard-headed, but I'm learning.

Well that's it for now. I have two papers due this week so I need to go do some research now. Talk with you guys later.