Hi all you April Bandsters! We have our own April '09 Forum here. This will be our 1st Master Thread to chat, share dates, diets, feelings, etc. When it starts getting too long (loads too slowly) we can start a 2nd and so on.

Sherry (Sissyh1006) has started a list with all our surgery dates, so she'll be along soon and you can give her updates.

If you want a "Bunny Bandsters - April '09" signature line (see below) then click HERE (feel free to change anything). On LBT go to 'User CP' (in the top banner) then down to 'Edit your Signature' (on the Left column). Now copy the PICTURE of the Bunny signature with the peep and paste it into the edit your signature box.

Can't wait to meet you all! -BG

So I had a set back today. I went to lunch and started eating some crab meat, and a falafel with some hummus. Ever since I got my first fill, I've been having a hard time getting anything down without feeling pain and this meal was no exception. Then all of a sudden, I'm not sure why but I got super nauseous. I couldn't even finish my meal, I was done. I didn't throw up but it was touch and go there. I'd barely eaten anything.

Then we had a "surprise" happy hour in the office and without thinking I headed for the chips and salsa. I know that chips and salsa isn't a bad option if you keep the portion very small. But when my small portion went down without incident, it turned into a bigger portion. It went down so easily! Easily the most pain-free meal I've had since last Wednesday. I've been reading about the "food trance" many obese people go into when overeating and I was in full trance mode. I don't think I came out of it until I was back at my desk and thought about how much I'd eaten.

This incident made me really nervous because I think I was using the pain as a crutch and counting on it to stop me from eating more than I should. I know that eating shouldn't be painful and I shouldn't count on that but it was shocking how quickly my brain switched off and I reverted back to old habits once there was "nothing" to stop me. It made me realize that I still have a long way to go in this journey and I have to plan for "surprises"...what do I do when confronted with an eating situation I wasn't prepared for?

where is the pain?

where is the pain?

Mid-chest. It's definitely much less than it was when I first got my adjustment last week but it's still there. It caused by bites that are too big or too frequent after a previous bite. That's the hardest adjustment for me, eating the tiny bites as slowly as the band seems to require. Lunch is my hardest meal because I eat with coworkers and I always feel self-conscious when they are already finishing their lunch and I've barely started.

Sorry it's been so long! I have been reading, but not posting. I am in the last two weeks of school, so super busy. My weight loss hasn't budged, but I am in a pair of jeans that I tried on a couple of weeks ago that were too snug Super excited about showing those off tomorrow! So I guess I have lost some inches. My next fill is June 19th!

Hey, you guys!! I have to tell you what I done tonight! I have been wanting to try out new recipes and I found one for veggie burgers. It called for mashed beans,chopped mushrooms, onions, garlic and cumin, salt and pepper. Well I didn't have any beans but I did have fat-free re fried beans so I used them. You were supposed to be able to form a patty and cook them 3 min. each side but ,I guess because I used re fried beans instead of mashed beans, it was to thin, so I thought that my veggie burgers would just have to be a dip! So I had some FF flour tortillas, I cut them up in quarters, sprinkled lime juice on them, just a little bit of salt, put them in the oven,at 350* for maybe 15 min. and wala, FF chips!!! They were so good and crispy!! I have been missing crunchy chips and I think I've found what I've been looking for!! So now I'm thinking, what if I could take some different kinds of marinades, spray them on the FF tortillas and have different flavors!! Try them and let me know what you guys think!

. Lunch is my hardest meal because I eat with coworkers and I always feel self-conscious when they are already finishing their lunch and I've barely started.

I totally understand. But you know, it's better even for non-lapbanners to slow down with eating. I noticed how fast my son has been gobbling up food and it was frightening. So don't you worry, let them take a healthy cue from you buy savering each bite and not shoving it down and missing the taste and the full cue.

Doodle--those veggie burgers sound delish! Could you share the recipe?? --original, not "dip" version :grouphug: lol

Doodle--those veggie burgers sound delish! Could you share the recipe?? --original, not "dip" version :grouphug: lol

Sure I would love to!! I just hope you have better luck with them than I did! If they work out for you, tell me what you did to them so I can try again!

2 T. oil ( I used EVOO ) 1 chopped onion, and 1 chopped clove of garlic, cook until soft, then add 3 chopped green onion, 3/4 c chopped mushrooms, cook until mushrooms are done. 1 15oz. can pinto beans, drained and mashed, 1 t. parsley, 1/2 t. cumin, salt and pepper. Mix all this in a bowl, form pattys and fry in a small amount of oil, 3 min. on each side. I found this by googling veggie burger on google, it looked like there was some good recipes. Let me know how they turn out!

Murhy here,

I was banded 4/9/09. since the 2nd fill 3cc I have been experiencing the neck shoulder gas pain again. At times I can stretch and work some of it out. At other times I have to take aleve or liquid tylenol. Anyone else having this experience? I serched the posts and couldn't find any feed back. I plan to talk to the doctor next visit. Aside from this concern I have no other big problems except the occaisonal eating too fast. Luckily the band keeps me in check with regard to this life long behavior. Growing up with six brothers and sisters if you didn't eat fast you didn't get anything to eat. :-)

Good luck to everyone and thanks for your feedback!

Murphy:tt2:

From what I've read there is a nerve that connects the stomach to the left shoulder (or something like that). Some people get shoulder pain when they eat too fast or are full (it's not gas). I read a thread about what 'signal' people get when they're full and for many people it was left shoulder pain (others hiccup or burp)...so you might try thinking about when you get the pain...it could be a good thing.

I got my first fill this week. I didn't see my surgeon, after I got there they told me one of the fellows would do my fill. Well, lets just say it was VERY UNPLEASANT. I'm not a sissy with medical procedures (I'm a nurse) but that hurt like @#&! He had trouble finding the port and stuck and dug around several times before finally finding it and I got 2 cc. I don't really feel any difference when I eat but I guess that's not too unusual.

I have read where sometimes they numb the area...do most of you get some sort of local anesthesia? I think next time I am going to insist on seeing my surgeon and no one else:mad:

That sucked.

Kath17268,

I was banded on 4/27 and had my first fill on thursday 6/11. I was filled by my surgeon(small application of numbing solution before the stick). No problems with the fill but he did a little prodding to find the port which had tilted slightly. I believe he said I got 3.5 cc's. I do feel the restriction now and can't have more than that "fist full" at any sitting. I'm down 37 lbs now since surgery and about 54 lbs from highest. My indication I'm at my eating limit is nose running and or hiccups. I would do this all over again in a minute!

I got my first fill this week. I didn't see my surgeon, after I got there they told me one of the fellows would do my fill. Well, lets just say it was VERY UNPLEASANT. I'm not a sissy with medical procedures (I'm a nurse) but that hurt like @#&! He had trouble finding the port and stuck and dug around several times before finally finding it and I got 2 cc. I don't really feel any difference when I eat but I guess that's not too unusual.

I have read where sometimes they numb the area...do most of you get some sort of local anesthesia? I think next time I am going to insist on seeing my surgeon and no one else:mad:

That sucked.

I did not get a local unless the wet wipe thing they laid on my port area had something other than cleanser, mine hurt a bit but wasn't to bad. Due to my incision he had to go in at an angle and maniuplate the needle a little. Over all it went quick. I get another in a month and I'm ready for it.

Edited June 15, 200917 yr by JayTee562

When I had my first fill it hurt quite a bit. After it was over the nurse held onto me after they sat me up because I was white as a sheet...LOL. I got 2 cc's and I felt that I got hungrier after the fill than before the fill. So now I go back this Wed 6-17 for my second fill and I am going to tell him I want lidocaine.

Stopping by to say Hello!!! hope all is going well..so far I'm down 20lbs I think I'm in some type of denial, my friends and family can see the weight loss but all I see is the same me..strange..the scale moves but my brain seems to be frozen in its own state..o'well how about you:huh2:..