LosinItInQ8

Hey folks! I have great news and not so great news. The great news is that I've passed my goal weight. My goal was 160 and I'm now 158. I'm ecstatic. The not so great news is that I've been in pain recently. I had an endoscopy done the other day and was told that I have gastritis. Naturally, I came home and googled it and vaguely remember reading about it when I was researching the lapband. So I'm in pain. Is this something that I will need to manage as long as my band is tight (it's comfortably tight), or this something that I can get rid of? I'm very unhappy. My doctor gave me some gas tablets, and some stuff to help with the constipation that I'm also suffering from. I've read that spicy foods don't help, but my pain doesn't seem to discrimintate. I've even had pain after drinking water. It doesn't happen everytime I eat or drink, but about 80% of the time. What do others do to control this? Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks! Robyn

Hey Everyone. I haven't been on here in awhile. I'm doing great. I was banded June 28 and weight 220 that day. Today, I weigh 183. I've had one fill of 1.5cc. I don't have any regrets. I love the way I look and feel. I vomit a lot though. I know it's all me and not the band. I'll take a big 'ol bite of something and immediately be like, "oh crap! why didn't I take a smaller bite?" 28 years of bad eating habits are hard to break. Someone else may have already posted this, but I just thought I'd share it. My sister got this from someone in her gastric bypass support group and forwarded it to me. I wish I knew who the author is to give them credit. I hope you like it. I have given this LOTS of thought. I am tired of people saying that I am not losing weight the natural way. Or I am "cheating". Or I took the easy way out... I don't struggle with food, daily, like "real dieters do." I would like to change the perspective just a bit. You're always going to run into people who think they know the perfect way to do something. If you don't do it their way then you are a failure or a cheater. My perspective: this is so very similar to pregnancy and childbirth... stay with me, people... Some people get pregnant at the thought of sex, or by looking at someone of the opposite sex... some try for years and it never happens for them. Some people have to take medicine to get pregnant, and still others have to go through medical procedures to get it to work. Others foster, adopt or opt for surrogacy. Whatever method they take, it is what is necessary for them. It is their choice, and is a matter of genetics, luck, faith, timing and, sometimes, finances. Some women give birth if they sneeze. They walk out of the delivery room in their pre-pregnancy jeans. Some people fight the fight to maintain their pregnancy until it is viable... they stay on bedrest, take medication, are hospitalized... they pray. Some couples opt for natural childbirth. Others won't consider a vaginal birth for reasons of fear or vanity. Some have gas and air, others go straight for the hard drugs. Others plug right in to the epidural and soldier on. Some women push for a few minutes, others for days. Occasionally, after giving it everything they have, in order to have a healthy baby (the true ultimate outcome) they are taken for emergency c-section. What's the point? In this example, the method of conception isn't important... it's the ultimate desire and accomplishment of becoming a parent... whether by birth, adoption, or otherwise. The method of delivery isn't important... it's the culmination of dreams, goals and desires, finally coming to fruition and seeing it all come to be! There will be women and men who say you didn't "do it naturally" or will question how, why or when... but all that really matters is the goal and the outcome. Just like they will gloat about how they were in hard labor for 4 days, delivered a 10 pound baby in one push, without meds, and ran a marathon the next day... guess what? I don't care. Keep your sarcasm, enjoy your blessed genetics that allowed that to happen, and brag to someone else, because it's not blowing my skirt up!!! It was different for me. I don't owe anyone justification for this decision. My goal was health, happiness and a natural, long life. That was not possible for me, before. Now, I am reborn... the how and the why aren't important. It's what I do with this new life that matters. Amen.

I got my first fill yesterday. 1.5cc. I'm not a fan of needles so I was kinda anxious about it. It wasn't any different than a regular shot though. I survived. I drank some cold water on the way home and could feel it. It wasn't uncomfortable or anything, just noticeable. I picked up a chicken quesadilla last night and took a bite-oops!! First off it wasn't my food, it was my daughter's so I had no right picking it up and taking a bite. That's a really bad habit that I'm in the works of breaking. Second, it got stuck where I imagine is right on top of my band. I had to go make myself throw up. I was miserable for the next half hour or so. That's what I get for taking food from a child. I haven't eaten since the fill. I got filled at about 6:00pm, messed up with the quesadilla, and now I've only been awake for about 45 mintues. I'm drinking my coffee just fine. I'm going to go make breakfast in a few. So I've been on regular food for about a week since ending the liquid diet. The mental hardships of the liquid diet have gone away, and are replaced with me constantly telling myself to SLOW DOWN. I took an asprin for a headache the other day. I was a little nervous, but it was fine. I've been told to stay away from extended release pills and gelcaps. I've been out to eat twice with friends. For the first time I was not the first person finished eating. I didn't even come close to finishing my food. It was a little strange ordering different food than I would normally get, like a salad instead of a burger, or not eating the complimentary bread. The first time out was at McDonald's. I don't like taking my daughter to McDonald's. It was a play date with my mom group, and in Kuwait you can't play outside on playground equipment during the summer or you might melt to it. So you can either pay for your kids to play at the mall (but my daughter is too young for that), or you can play at McDonald's for free. I was nervous about going. I ordered a grilled chicken salad with light vinegarette dressing. I'm a ranch dressing junky so the light vinegarette was a struggle just to order. I split my salad with my daughter (she ate all of my chicken), I got her an OJ and a water for me. After watching my friends scarf down their double cheeseburgers, fries, and a couple of nuggets from their kids I felt really good about my light vinegarette dressing. I didn't finish my salad. It was really good, I just got full. Then they all got ice cream and I wasn't bummed out at all. In fact, I was doing a little dance in my head. The next time I went out was to an arabic restaurant and the way you order is by getting a little of this and a couple of these and they have a lot of complimentary food so your table is always packed. Like your own little buffet. I ate a lot of veggies, and a few little bites of grilled chicken breast. I was perfectly content and full, and my bill was half the price it usually is. I'm not working out as much as I should. I don't have an excuse. For a few hours during the day I close myself off in my room to do school work. The nanny watches the kid for me so I can concentrate. I moved my eliptical machine into my room thinking I will work out while the nanny is here because my daughter wants to ride the eliptical machine when I'm on it. It's been in my room for a week. I've been on it once. I did 30 minutes though which is something I haven't had the motivation to do in awhile. I'm looking at it right now. I haven't been swimming any laps in the last week either. I did walk 5 miles the other day. Do I burn more calories if it's hotter outside? So since I've started back on solids I haven't exercised much and hmmmmm...the scale has barely moved. I knew the weight loss was going to slow down when I started eating. I realy need to get off my ass. I think I'll go swimming.

Before I begin let me warn you that this is about sex. If you are offended by this topic don't continue reading, but this is important to me and I could really use some support. I've been banded for 17 days and last night the husband and I did the deed for the first time since surgery. It was quite uncomfortable for me. No matter who was on top, if our torsos were touching I was in pain. It felt like my port was being shoved under my ribs. We managed in other ways, but will it always feel like this? Did my doctor put my port in the wrong spot? If I'm standing up my port feels fine, but when I tie my shoes, bend over to pick something up, and apparently when I have sex my port digs into my ribs. Is it too soon? Will this pain go away? Is it possible for them to go in and move my port? This wasn't something I thought about before getting banded. Give up sex to be thin? Does this happen to everyone?

It's been two weeks since I got banded. I took measurements before my surgery and I was going to wait until the one month mark to measure again, but I just couldn't wait. So I wanted to share them with you. Now I'm sure you all understand why I measured my middle in 3 different spots. When you're big and you have rolls, you've got different sizes. So here's my progress: DAY OF SURGERY MEASUREMENTS: 06/28/2009 BREASTS: 47” UPPER GUT: 42” BELLY BUTTON: 47.5” LOWER GUT: 50” HIPS: 47” THIGHS EACH: L29” R28” ARMS EACH: L13” R13” _____________________________________________________________________________________ TWO WEEKS POST OP MEASUREMENTS: 07/12/2009 BREASTS: 44” UPPERGUT: 41” BELLY BUTTON: 44” LOWERGUT: 48” HIPS: 46” THIGHS EACH: L28” R28” ARMS EACH: L13.75” R13.75”

Congratulations!!!!

Congratulations on your success!!!

I'M MISERABLE!!!! Today I am 8 days post op and this is by far the worst day. After reading other posts, I think what I'm feeling is gas. It's right around my port area and all up and down my left side through to my back and under my left breast. It started about 0200 this morning. I woke up to what I thought was a heart attack. I couldn't take a breath, I couldn't speak I just lied there in agony. The pain came and went about every 10 minutes. Now it's constant, but not as harsh. I can't stand up straight, it hurts too much. It's a sharp stabbing pain. I'm lightheaded. I'm trying to do some walking since I read that that has helped a lot of you with your pains. I just took some Mylicon that I had left over from my daughter's infancy. I don't know if it'll work or not. I also have some Gripe Water, but that stuff is so nasty I haven't taken it. Has anyone else gotten rid of their gas bubbles with Gripe Water? Does this sound like gas to you? My doctor doesn't get in for a couple of hours, but I plan to call him. I went to see him yesterday for my one week followup and he said everything looked great and that if I'm ready for a fill I can come back at the end of the month and get one. The only comfort is if I put pressure on my left side, kinda like putting pressure on your back when you're in labor. Please tell me this will go away.

Thanks to everyone. I appreciate you taking the time to share your thoughts with me.

Well it's been a week since I've been banded and this afternoon I'm going to see my doc for my first check up. I have to admit that this has been easier than I thought it would be. Mentally, on a scale of 1-10 my struggles have been about a 5. Physically, my struggles have been about a 3. I was really expecting some nausea and haven't had any thank God. I do not do well with nausea. I've dropped 10 pounds but I'm not jumping for joy yet. My surgeon was hesitant to do the surgery with such a low BMI of 33.2 (Low?!) so against his wishes I fattened up a bit really quick to help him make his decision. So now I'm back to my average weight of 210. The swelling in my gut has gone away, I can now feel my port. My stab wounds itch but that's all the discomfort I feel. Oh no it's not. They gave me a shot in the bum when I was in the hospital and every now and then if I sit down with my weight on my left cheek it feels like I'm sitting on a Lego and I have to hop up. I've been doing more than I probably should have been doing. I haven't picked my 18 month old up off the floor, but I've helped her into her carseat and up and down out of her little chair. I tried pushing the grocery cart the other day and the stoller, but man that takes a lot of ab work. So I had my friend or my husband push. I did get into the pool yesterday and as long as I stayed where I could touch it felt very relaxing. Treading water is just too much right now. So far sitting up from the laying position, getting out of the bath tub, and pulling laundry out of the dryer are the hardest things. I figured that any hatred I may have for the band may be in the beginning, but I'm loving this. I want to tell everyone how awesome this is. I've even started my own yahoo group. lapbandkuwait@yahoogroups.com in hopes to find more people locally

For years I have been concerned about my niece Molly. She's 10 years old and last I heard she weighs about 130 pounds. She's not tall. The last time I was home I was in tears over her, in fact typing this out is making me cry. Molly does have a thyroid problem, and I believe my sister uses that as an excuse for her daughter's weight. "Molly has health issues, that's why she's big." Ok, well I've seen the girl eat a super sized Big Mac meal and ask for more. Nobody but my sister thinks her thyroid is totally to blame here. She is a very miserable/why bother kind of child. Two years ago (she was 8) I was in town and took her to Old Navy. She couldn't fit into children's clothes and an adult large isn't cut right for a child. I was so embarassed for her, but she didn't seem embarassed at all. This is why I'm so concerned. She doesn't seem to be aware that this isn't how it should be. She doesn't have to live like this. She doesn't have to be the girl at school that people make fun of and won't sit next to. My sister does not provide a healthy home for her daughters. White bread, chips, sodas, Little Debbies, you know what I'm talking about. Sitting down watching Hanna Montana with a jumbo bag of Doritos, a Coke or glass of Kool Aid, and a whole jar of pickles. They bought her a bike last Christmas, she hasn't touched it. How do you help a child when you live on the other side of the globe? How do you help a child when her parents don't seem to care? How do you help a child when she doesn't realize she needs help? I saw on the OCC main page about banding teens. I don't know if she's too young, but if she were old enough for the band I don't think she's mature enough to understand it. She would think she's being punished and she would probably fill up on the same crap she eats now and never get any nutrients. I know some of you were obese as children and some of you have obese children. What do you do? How do you turn this around?

I hear ya. I got banded on Sunday. My incisions itch, I feel like I got punched in the gut, and I have a grumbly in my tumbly. I don't feel hungry, it's just grumbling. To me it's not pain like the first couple of days where I took pain meds. It's like you're describing, muscle soreness. Are you really limited on your liquid intake? I'm not, I have to take small sips, but I can drink all my coffee before it gets cold. I thought I would be more restricted. I hope I'm not consuming too much.

I'm 27 too and just got banded on Sunday. I got a lot of responses about how I'm still young and all I need to do is get off my a**, and how I'm copping out or taking the easy way out. For a second I considered not getting the band because I didn't want people to think badly about me. But then I realized that I'm not doing it for them. I'm doing it for me. Once I started talking about it in a this-is-how-it-is-and-I'm-happy kinda attitude all of those nay sayers shut up and told me congratulations. They aren't mad at me. They don't think bad about me (that I know of). They've congratulated me and they can't wait to see my next blog about how I'm doing. I even have a very miserable, depressed friend who gave up on happiness thinking that she may want a band. So by being honest I have given someone hope. It may be the same for you. You've lost a lot of weight. You obviously know people who also want to lose weight. Why not share the love and be a band advocate so maybe they can get healthier too? If you had lasik eye surgery to improve your sight would you be ashamed and keep it a secret? Probably not. There's nothing to be ashamed of. You did what you needed to do so that you aren't going into your 30's with hypertension, diabetes, and shopping at Lane Bryant. Congratulations, I'm so proud of you!! And like the other members have said, if these people are your friends they will not think badly about you.

Throughout my life I've had plenty of Slim Fast drinks. The problem with them was I would drink them as a drink with my meals. I could chug a chocolate Slim Fast shake in about 4 gulps then move on to my cheeseburger and fries. So I stayed away from them. Hadn't had one in years. Well being in Kuwait, the price of everything is jacked up. I was looking to buy some protein powder but the jumbo jar was about $80. Not happening. So until my protein gets here that I just ordered from drugstore.com (thank God I have an APO address) I'm going to need to get some protein somehow. I am absolutely terrified of getting malnurished. So I bought some Slim Fast. 190 Cal, 10g Protein, 5g Fiber. I popped that baby open and oh my lord my toes curled. It was sooooooo good. I've been drinking on it for about 15 minutes now and I'm not even half way done. In fact I'm about to put it back in the refrigerator for later. It feels so good to have something yummy in front of me and be able to save some for later.

Alia, I cried when I made my little ticker. Happy tears because I knew it was going to change. Then I sat here forever taking pics of myself. It was actually uncomfortable taking a picture and showing more than just my face. As you can see, I didn't get much below my head. where are you in your thoughts of getting banded?

I was reading through topics the other day and came across a discussion about protein powder and now I can't find the discussion. You were all talking about putting it in coffee and the different flavors, etc,etc. My question is, is this the same kind of stuff that you buy at GNC in the really big jars? I found protein whey powder in chocolate at GNC. Is that the same thing ya'll are using? Also, I couldn't find a powdered multi vitamin here so I bought some gel caps and squeezed them into juice. I soon found out they are in the gel caps for a reason. It's sooooo nasty. I couldn't even put the glass up to my mouth it smelled so bad. I'm going to go online to drustore.com and find a powdered vitamin. Any suggestions? Anything flavorless? Thanks!

It's been two days since I got banded. The pain is almost gone. The children's liquid motrin they prescribed for me is just right to knock out the little bit of pain. I'm bloated and that's making me uncomfortable, but that's about it. I was out running errands today with my husband. I can't pick up my toddler and that's driving us both crazy. I haven't eaten chewable food since 2200 Saturday night. I'm just now recognizing that I'm hungry. I'm enjoying some tomato soup right now and it's filling me up. The only bra I can wear is a loose fitting sleep bra. No support, just a little nipple coverage. There's an incision right where my normal bras sit, and my sports bras are squeezing me. I would definately suggest taking at least a week off work just for the bra issue. That's about it. So far so good.

When I was in the hospital I wrote the following in a notebook: It's 0745. I'm sitting on my hospital bed waiting. I got here about 30 minutes ago. The nurses are nice. They made me put on a disposable gown and hairnet. They gave me an IV port and shot me with an antibiotic that hurt for a few seconds. So I'm sitting here wanting to write down the reasons why I'm doing this so in the next couple of days when I'm regretting it I can look back. I have 2 photos of my 17 months old daughter Kate right here and one of the reasons that comes to mind is for her. She deserves my "A" game. She deserves a mother who is healthy, taking care of herself mentally and physically, and can set a good example. Kate's first year was au natural. I made her babyfood, and I only gave her natural foods. Her first artificial sweet was her first birthday cake. Once she turned a year old though I started getting lazy. She eats ice cream whenever we go out, she'll take my soda that I leave sitting on the table, she's been eating a lot of chicken nuggets, cinnamon rolls, pizza, etc. She's not whining for these things. She eats them because I hand them to her. Or because I leave them sitting out. I don't remember her eating any veggies yesterday, I know I didn't give her any. I do remember her eating 3 cookies though. Why does she eat this crap? Because I eat this crap. On the rare occassion that I cook, she loves it. She loves fresh fruit, veggies, and wholesome meals. I too, prefer these foods. Junk food is more convenient. I don't crave it, it's just easier. I don't want my daughter to live like this. So that's one good reason why I'm sitting on this hospital bed today. The number one reason, which I guess influences all the other reasons, is because I'm unhappy with me. I am the key to my own problems. every problem I have is mendable. My problems are all mental struggles. Now I don't think this surgery is going to magically make me thin and all my problems will go away. That's not what I'm saying at all. I'm saying that my weight is my biggest struggle. This is what I need to tackle first. This lap band is the start of a long process. With this tool I'm having to learn to live differently. Healthier. I am a big believer that physical health and mental health go hand in hand. This is my chance to start a new me. Watch out world, here I come. It's now 1932. My surgery went well. I can't take a deep breath and my back and front are sore. I was told that's normal and everything will be better in a couple of days. It's already feeling a little more manageable. I was finally able to drink water about an hour ago. I had four sips that might have totaled a tablespoon. They are bringing me some tea now. Before the surgery I told Dr. Masallam that I wanted to see them break the seal on the box and that I wanted to take it home. It surprised me that my request didn't surprise him. He said no problem. Everyone has been really nice so far. My husband brought me flowers and brought Kate up here to see me. It's the first time I've ever been away from her overnight.

Thanks, I'll keep you all posted. I am about to post some pics now. I've lived in Kuwait since 2005. The Iraq war brought me here as a contractor and I just haven't left. Texas is home though.