julieburns

I hope you feel better soon. I am going for my second fill 9/26 and will heed your advice. Sorry you have had such a rough week. :lb18:

Michelle I wish you the best with your alopecia. I am sure you are well informed on what to do that helps so keep that up. You know though as you said if you lose it you are still you...a beautiful, confidant woman both inside and out. >

Michelle I am with you, my Mii is way to short!!!!

So glad you spoke up. This board is so great but it seems people like yourself just don't speak up. Sassy you are not alone by any means. I too am guilty of eating around the band. It is easy to do. I do start each day as a new chance. If I keep at it as you are it has to work sooner or.....later but it will still work!!!

Huge gum chewer here, no problems.

:lb10:

Alana what great progress you are making. I think you have a keeper as far as the hubby goes the way he did such a very special thing for you. It's nice to get rewards for good hard work. Your up coming "vacation" sound like it's a mix of emotional events. Be careful not to let your emotions control your eating. I know you are strong and will do well but just wanted to give you encouragement!

Unbelievable :lb20: ....but maybe this fate was for the best, after all you got the best surgeon around this way!! I'll keep my fingers crossed for you to get some sort of refund.

So glad to see you so soon again dear Paula.... :lb4: One reality of life I have learned is that we must spend time in the valleys to then make it to the mountain tops!! You will be there or at least on the climb up in no time. You already are all suited up with your climbing gear on, hiking stick in hand and water bottle and jerkey in the pack on your back!! Now climb sweetie climb!!

Donna I am so happy you were able to help your husband understand how crucial this is for your successful weight loss. He is a good man to see it your way. 10/10 will be here sooner than you realize, get started today on that pre-op weight loss so it's easier and not so last minute stressful for you unless you don't have to lose any or not much. :lb21: :lb21: :lb21: :lb24:

To the best of my knowledge, and yes I am no expert just a nurse, there is NO relationship between a hiatal hernia and high blood pressure. So glad your BP is coming down though. Yes this is related to the WLS. How's your diabetes?

What a deal, you'll love it and so will your son. Hope you get that fit soon!!

:lb13: Looking good mom!!!

:lb10: and keep up the great work. I'll be at the Lucerna 9/26-9/27 for my 2nd fill. I'll be the fat one eating soup at the Italian restaurant by the pool...had it last time and it was delicious, it's not clear liquids though and has chunks but after the second fill that's ok. Hope to meet you and swap stories

Keep u[ the great work Michelle you are gorgeous!!! What a difference 6 months and a whole lost of blood sweat and tears(?) makes. I know how hard you have worked and you can certainly see all you efforts in the bikini, no hiding anything there!! Np about the tilted ports..I am sorry for this slight complication for both of you. It's weird how 2 of you got one and reported it within a week or so of each other. Something like this does not happen often, almost rarely I thought. I wonder what the experts say about this? My hope for each of you is that they can be taken care of if need be and it will cause you no extra pain or $$$ to do this. Yoyo I am sorry you are so miserable and not able to eat. Can you keep liquids down? I hope so. You've also come a long way so hang in there.

Since liquids go right through your pouch for the most part you can have as much as you want, within reason. It does take some time for it to go through your new banded area but not more than maybe 5 minutes or so. That's why they say to sip, sip, sip, not guzzle to allow for the emptying time, even though it's quite fast. So from everything I have read and learned there is no restriction on how much liquid you can have, just take it slowly. When it comes to solids they move through the band much slower, thus the need to eat only 1/2 to 3/4 cup at a time. Hope this helps.

I second what Cathy said!! I missed you both and worried that something had happened to you. One thing I have found is that this forum actually helps me and motivates me to do my very best. I have struggled and not lost nearly the weight as fast as others have but yes I am in it for the marathon...this is a LIFE change and it didn't get this way overnight. Please try to use this forum as a venting support system and don't be afraid to be honest with what's going on. We all have struggles and it helps to see others are in the same boat, even if some don't write about the struggles we all know they go on. Now of course I am not saying to make this a pity party ever, nor am I glad to see others struggles as I always feel bad when others are struggling but this is what this forum is for. Welcome back and keep on coming back....it works!!

It must be the drugs still in your system .....this is September!!(gotta tease ya) Do take it easy and just rest, your body needs it.

Congrats on what sounds like a wonderful experience at the OCC. I am a bit confused because you say your surgery date was MAY 14th but you write this as if it just happened this past week. Did you mis-type the month? It seems that may be the case but then the dates just don't add up when you say today is sunday and you are still on clear liquids. It doesn't really matter just wondering. :lb4: and stick to the clear liquids for 7 full days only adding the drinkable yogurt at day 4. Thanks again for such a concise description of your journey.

Where were you banded? If it was the OCC you should only be eating LIQUIDS until day 22. If not banded at the OCC I know you may have other instructions. The weight gain is common when you reintroduce foods after having only liquids if you are actually eating foods. Are you drinking enough water?

Yes you do start craving that "chewing experience when on liquids, I did and I have read many others have. Gum is good, also chewing on ice can help, just be careful not to hurt your teeth with the ice. The frozen stuff like popsicles also give you a chance to chew. I never had any mouth sores and I havn't heard of many people having them who have gotten the band. Maybe I missed some posts but I just havn't heard of it as a frequent problem. Maybe I'm just lucky. Perhaps those with bypass get them more, not bandsters.

OMG I just read this article. Everyone here needs to read this. This was written in 1995, 1996 and I do think I recall this coming out in the news somewhere. I am worried because my husband for the last 2 years or so has been drinking a pitcher of crystal light a night almost and it has aspartame in it. Yikes!! What's an alternative with no-cal or low-cal for people who like this type of flavored beverage? Does anyone know? I checked the special K protein water and it has sucralose in it which is ok. Oh boy has this opened up a can of worms!! I know why I have heard to just stay away from all artificial sweeteners!!

I believe she is right. She knows her stuff. The only "bars" I have found to be low carb and high protein are the South Beach ones. The points she makes about the other ingredients are points well taken. I need to broaden my criteria for what it is I am putting in my mouth. Just looking at protein, carbs and fat content is not enough. Thanks for a great article

Congratulations on your upcoming surgery and a wonderful vacation prior to that. Just wanted to throw something out there for you to consider. If it were me I would start my pre-op diet before your trip to Europe,like as soon as tomorrow. If you can lose as much weight as you can before your trip it will take the pressure off the week before. You won't have to starve yourself to lose weight. Now maybe you don't have much to lose or have no need for the pre-op diet as some don't based on your BMI. If this is the case no worries just do as they have recommended. However if this is not the case I strongly encourage you to start asap with changing your eating habits, cutting out whatever your "bad" things are, stopping any soda pop and start drinking LOTS of water. I would encourage you to do the 2 shakes a day and the frozen dinners as well. The sooner you lose the weight required the easier it will be on you mentally. Just a though for you to consider. Good luck and have a great trip!!

:heat: It's getting a little hot in here!!