So a while back I got stuck on a Vitamin and it was stuck there for quite a while. After that I felt a burning along my throat, all the way to my stomach. It felt like when I was pregnant and had heartburn where you need to take a lot of Tums, if you get my meaning. I've never had it before or after that, so I'm not quite sure if heartburn is the right word for this sensation.

I got a partial unfill because everything got a little too inflamed due to the stuck pill. That was about a month ago that it was stuck. Since then I still have that acidic feeling in my throat. It's gotten somewhat better, then I think it's gone, and then it comes back another day. Have any of you experienced this? You'd think after a month my throat would have been healed.

A multivitamin

Hrm. Did you talk to your doctor about it, Linda? I'm just wondering about something in the vitamin causing damage to your esophagus and maybe there's something they could prescribe that could speed the healing.

I am replying re a complaint of an acidic feeling in the throat.

DO YOU TAKE ANTACIDS? I TAKE THE OVER THE COUNTER EQUIVALENT OF NEXIUM ONCE IN THE MORNING AND ONCE AT BEDTIME AS PER MY DOCTOR. IT HAS BEEN 6 WEEKS AND I STILL GET THE FEELING BUT ONLY IF I HAVE TOMATO SAUCE OR VINEGAR.

TRY AN ACID REDUCER.

LYN

Steph - I think I'm going to have to call my doc. I don't want any permanent damage if this is a slip or something. It just sucks because I'm self-pay and I'm sure that an X-ray or whatever they have to do is going to cost a lot of moola.

Ha...I hear ya there. Having insurance doesn't seem to be much more help than NOT having it. So for the time being until I have an employer that offers it (so I don't have to seek it out on my own), I guess I'm going without. Yeah - it does suck knowing that there is a medical issue that needs to be taken care of...but knowing you're going to have to pony up the dough. :laugh:

Steph, you are doing really great with your weightloss - to change the topic, but since I am the thread starter, I can do that, right? Give me the details. What are you eating day to day and what are you doing exercise-wise?

LOL...eating way too little, actually. I'm going to be retooling how I'm doing things because I think it's having a detriment on my body. I've been researching it this weekend and I think my focus is going to change from losing as quickly as I can to losing at 2 lbs per week, max. And my goal will be to get my body fat % down, too. I really don't even want to say what my body-fat scale says my % is - it's incredibly embarrassing.

But what I HAVE been doing is low-carb plus low calorie. On MyDailyPlate, I calculated the calories I would need per day to lose 4 lbs a week. I'm kind of an impatient person. But from what I've read (and now that I've read some of the scientific reasoning behind it, it makes sense), if you lose more than 2 lbs per week, you are losing lean muscle mass. As the article put it, I'm going to end up a "skinny fat person" with a high body fat %, but a low weight. That's not what I want.

Plus, I've found it difficult to do anything truly serious when it comes to exercise because my calories were way too low. I don't even want to say how low they were because I'm embarrassed about that, too. I'm afraid I was becoming a bit anorexic and the idea of calories scared me.

From what I'm reading, if you aren't losing weight on a moderately low calorie diet, don't reduce your calories, first increase your exercise. I've calculated that for my body size, I'd need about 2100 calories a day to maintain. I was reading that you should cut about 21% of your calories. So that'll bring me to a daily total of 1600 calories. Oh, my heavens - it sounds like a TON compared to what I HAVE been eating. BUT...the other side to it is this - it's also obviously recommended that you exercise aerobically at least 3-4 times a week for 30 mins. And it's also recommended to bring in a little light weight training to build muscle.

Basically, if I keep my lean muscle mass and lose more of just my body fat, my metabolism will be higher and it'll be MUCH easier to maintain once I get down to goal. Plus, I'll be able to fit into smaller sizes.

So, yeah - I just wrote you a book. LOL I've just really been troubled lately with the whole dieting thing and wanted to really educate myself about nutrition and exercise. I was on a trifle of a number of calories yesterday and I'm trying to reset my body. Today I'm just eating whatever I want to let my body rest a bit (but it's not all Cookies and candy). Then this week I'll be setting myself at 1600 calories a day and picking up good exercise. I'm starting The Firm workouts tomorrow - even picked up a piece of workout equipment today that I'm going to need to do them. I had good results with The Firm back before I ever got the band.

So although I'm still keeping my goal of losing POUNDS, I want them to be FAT pounds. So my major goals are body fat % drop and size reduction. LOL You caught me at a major shift in my way of working things.

Oh...and my exercise has been minimal, too, unfortunately. With the low calories, I find myself too tired much of the time. I was doing my 15-min T-Tapp workout on my 4 workdays and then just as much walking as I could bear while I'm at work, too. I only did light stuff on my days off - went hiking once in awhile but mostly nothing too strenuous. I want this to change, too.

Oh, hey...I wanted to add something, here. I was doing this back in like Dec-Apr without even knowing there was a name for it: Zig-Zag Diet for Fat loss . Like I said, I've been researching this weekend, and in my research I came across this name and googled it and found this page. It does actually produce incredible results - a whole lot better than staying low calorie the whole time (I'm finding now). I'll be going back to doing this, too, along with the exercise.

Well, I think you're doing great. It is easy to become obsessed about calories/fat grams, etc, especially with the aid of the band to help us along.

I'm getting an X-ray done tomorrow for my problem. The nurse said if there's a slip it usually means surgery. I'm thinking if I need surgery again I'm just going to take it out. I've been thinking lately about all the things I don't like about the band - for me personally - and that if I ever did have a complication I'd just get it taken out. I'm concerned about not getting enough nutrition (I hardly eat anything), I never want to go on holidays anymore because I'm terrified of getting food poisoning and the accompanying slip that goes with it (or even just the flu), I am still concerned about having a foreign body inside of me and the health concerns that go along with that. But we'll see what tomorrow brings. Maybe it's not a slip and I'm just too tight ...

Wow - that's a big decision. Would you consider revising to something else (I'm hearing good things about the sleeve), or just nothing at all? Well...I hope you get the result that would make you happiest.

Hi Steph and Lindata,

Thanks for this nice exchange. Lindata, good luck with your x-ray tomorrow. I'll be hoping for good news. Maybe, as you said, it's not a slip and you're just too tight. Please let us know. Swallowing some of those Multivitamins is like trying to swallow an SUV!

I've been avoiding writing about my own problems with the band. I also have been eating very little, and often, even the smallest or finest quantities of food come back up, accompanied by stunning amounts of gloop. I generally try now not to eat or drink anything for hours before any kind of public speaking or appearance for fear of scaring the clients. Also - although I'm experiencing much, much less hunger than I did before the band, there are times when I am hungry or even just thirsty and I just can't get any food or liquid down. That's not so pleasant, but most of the time, I don't freak out about it - with 20 extra pounds on me, I'm not going to wither away from hunger. Another thought that has held true for me ever since having been banded is this: no matter what my mind is telling me, I don't need food as much as I think I do, and if I do, I need a whole lot less than I think I do. I agree that there are limits to this, though. Lately, though, I've been having thoughts about an unfill, but I think I'll wait to reach goal weight first. For me, pushing that button now would be too close to self-sabotaging behavior.

Steph, I really appreciate your thoughts on nutrition, your efforts to research the topic and your concern with not ending up a "skinny fat person". What you said here: "Basically, if I keep my lean muscle mass and lose more of just my body fat, my metabolism will be higher and it'll be MUCH easier to maintain once I get down to goal" really made me sit up and listen. What is a body fat scale? I've been calculating my BMI regularly - is that kind of like the same thing? Also, I have to admit - I have lost this weight with nearly no excercise at all.

I consider myself pretty well informed nutritionally but have tended to obsess about it; it sent me right back to binging. I have used this last year as a "free pass", letting the band do the work for me. I'm going to set up an appointment with my nutritionist when I come back from my trip to the States next month. Thanks!

Bandpal - Body fat scales measure the amount of fat in your body via BIA (Bioelectric Impedence Analysis). It checks the electrical conductivity of your body tissues. Muscle has more Water - it conducts better. Fat has an insulating effect and is less conductive. These scales have metal contacts on their surface - you need to have bare feet. Sometimes even wetting your feet a little bit makes them more effective. They're not as accurate as other methods of measuring body fat such as hydrostatic (they dunk you into a a tank of water - fat floats).

In addition, a BIA scale only measures with a current through your lower body since electricity wants to take the shortest route possible. But at least it gives you SOME idea of where you are physically.

Realistically, BMI doesn't give a full picture of how healthy your body is. It can be very deceptive. For instance:

BMI Calculator ? Body Mass Index Chart ? Ideal Body Weight Chart Review

There's a whole list of celebrities somewhere that are supposedly obese or overweight according to BMI, but are really in tip-top shape.

The book I've been reading lately is from Tom Venuto: Fat Loss - Burn The Fat Feed the Muscle . He's a body builder and has numerous articles in fitness magazines. But you don't have to look ripped to be in good shape. I just want tone and good body fat %. My current plan should help me do so.

But anyway - the scale. You can find them all over. I have a Taylor. They come for about 50 bucks. It gives at least some idea of what your physical picture is of your body. Oh, I wanted to add - you can't feel the BIA at all. It just feels like a regular old scale.

Just wanted to say that I find the body fat scale to be very useful. Often if I have a temporary gain, I can see that my body fat percentage goes down at the same time, which means I am retaining Water. I know it's temporary and it is reassuring.

also, I am a BIG fan of weight lifting. I know I am the turtle here, so obviously what I say will NOT help you lose weight quickly, but I think that lifting HARD really builds muscle and makes the weight loss so much more likely to be permenant. Plus, it is GREAT for your posture, self esteem, and bones and it's not nearly as boring as aerobics.

Hi Linda, I hope that this is not an indication of anything too serious, it certainly would be a bummer! I can't imagine having a slip after one stuck situation but hey I'm not the doctor. Good luck with the test and let us know how you go.