Smiley

Wow! Congrats on reaching your goal. A size 5 can never be in my future because I would look sick but kuddos to you for getting there. Something tells me Santa may be bringing you some clothes for Christmas!

Not sure about the FSA, but if your medical bills exceed 7.5% of your income you can claim the amount over 7.5% on your taxes. I did it last year and got an extra $4,000 or so back.

I was kind of scared because of the attention factor as well. Not only had attention like this never been paid to me before, but I was scared to have it given to me for a couple of reasons. In the last month I have decided to step out of my box and just go with it. I must say, I had a very unexpected ending to a day at the library on Thursday and I am grateful that I decided to step out my box and go for it. Two months ago, I would have had the guy run off before he could have ever thought to borrow paper from me, much less ask me out for coffee. And now we have spent over 6 hours together in one day, I have relocated his hand a couple of times and we have each others phone numbers with the intent to talk and possibly see each other later this week because in the end I believe he really is a nice guy and wants to respect my wishes, even if I have to remind him of them periodically. Hindsight being 20/20, I am proud of myself for not running when he said I was beautiful and he was attracted to me and I am proud of him that he didn't run when he found out I was 3-4 years older than him. At this point he does not know about the band, the weightloss, or my plastic surgery and I am not sure when or how he will find out.

Counseling is a good option as I have been there myself about 8 years ago. When you are ready, for less expensive options, you might check with local churches or universities with master's level counseling programs. Churches often will accept a donation or have a sliding scale fee if they even charge at all. Universities have a practicuum program and need clients for their students. All of this is done under the supervision of the professor's who are licensed counselors. I know this because I was once working on my master's in counseling. When I say I have been there myself, it was not only as a counselor, but also as a counselee.

Shelby - I still look in the mirror almost every morning to make sure I look like I did when I went to bed the night before and while doing it I feel for my port to make sure it is there. So far so good!

I did not wear anything for my surgery. The thing to remember is that they cover up pretty much everything except the actual area that is being operated on, so more than like you will be covered before the surgeon gets in there anyway.

I had plastic surgery earlier this year and there is nothing more humbling than standing completely naked in front of your surgeon with your arms out to your sides while he is drawing on you with magic markers. After that experience and having him see me naked in a professional manner every visit I have had with him since, I have taken on the attitude that if you are in any way associated with the medical community and you would like to see something just let me know what it is and I'll show it. Heck, he even walked in the other day while I was still undressing and I just didn't care, nor did he. We just struck up a conversation and I just kept peeling off the layers. When it comes to doctors I have lost my modesty and embarrassment as there is absolutely nothing sexual about the experience for me or them.

So, I escaped from the library for a couple of hours today in search of new jammies for a PJ party Friday night. In the end I found no jammies but ended up with 3 sets of earrings, 6 turtle necks and pair of khaki's. All clothing items were basic needed purchases, but not really planned for.

Anyway, I bought the Medium tops without even trying them on but wasn't so brave in regards to the pants. I tried on the size 10's as that is what I have been buying lately. The were kind of long in the crotch (this might be what they call the rise, but I'm not sure) as some of my other 10's are. So, for grins I decided to try on the 8's. Oh heavenly day the 8's fit. I realize this may be a one time only thing, but it did feel kind of good to be able to wear a size 8 even though being an 8 is so not my goal. I am now wondering if the other pants I have that are kind of long in the same place would have fit me better if they were an 8.

Something tells me I may take another study break tomorrow and head to the mall to try and prove my new theory about the pants and to look for some cute/modest jammies.

Sometimes I feel like I should join a 12 step program for shopaholics, but hopefully after I get my wardrobe restocked for all of the seasons I will stop spending money on new clothes each month.

Are you 100% sure you are not too tight? After reading this post and another one of your posts I seriously think you are. There is no way you should be limited to soups and soft foods at this point in the game if everything is as it should be. I think most doctors would tell you that you need to be eating solid foods as solids will make you feel full sooner and keep you full longer. I also noticed that you had your surgery 14 weeks ago and have not lost anything yet. Not losing weight and limiting yourself to soft foods is often a sign that you are too tight. They also often mean that your body is not getting enough protein or nutrients to survive in a healthy manner, therefore it holds onto everything it does get by going into a starvation mode and it will not allow you to lose.

Please please please contact your doctor and let them know what it going on.

Don't forget that pounds are not the only way to measure results. Have you noticed that you are losing inches?

Three bites per meal is definitely not enough to get the proper nutrition you need. You should be eating 3/4 to a cup of food per meal. I think you should make an appointment with your doctor and have a barium swallow done. They can tell by how quickly or slowly the barium is going thru your band if you are too tight or not.

My hairdresser suggested I take Biotin. I took it until I ran out and just have not bothered to buy anymore in addition to the fact that I am taking enough pills right now. You can get Biotin at most any pharmacy or even Wal-Mart. My hair has finally stopped falling out so of course I am planning my next surgery which will be a catalyst for more hair loss. For me it is the anesthesia that causes the hair loss.

I am like both of you in that I can eat any and all breads, rice and pasta. I did well in losing my weight, but never really felt like I had good restriction, partially because I could eat anything I wanted. I had a fill last Tuesday and I finally have the elusive restriction that so many people talk about. I still can eat anything I want, but I simply don't get hungry anymore. I leave home around 6:30 most mornings and drink 16 ounces of milk between then and 7:30. I used to get hungry by that time and was more than ready to eat at 8. The last three days that I have been on solids I have not felt hungry for breakfast. Sunday I had four saltines and a piece of cheese just because if I didn't I was afraid the donuts in Sunday School would be calling my name. Yesterday and today it has been almost 9:30 before I remember to actually eat my peanut butter sandwich. I ate lunch around 1:30 yesterday and today even though I wasn't hungry. No longer are my mealtimes ruled by my hungry tummy, they are now ruled by the clock when I look at it and realize it is way past a mealtime. I love the fact that I now have the ability to forget to eat.

As for your drinking water - PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE BE CAREFUL! The PA that does my fills had a couple of people this summer stretch out their pouch because they were drinking too fast. I do not chug or even come close to chugging my water. What I do is take a mouthful of liquid and then swallow it in about three swallows. I have become so accustomed to doing this over the past 20 months that I have started noticing that I cannot even swallow a pill without swallowing a portion of the liquid in my mouth and then going ahead and swallowing the rest of the liquid and the pill. If you are able to feel the liquid in your pouch then I think you should probably slow down on how fast you drink. It is more physically and financially cost effective to change your drinking habits than it is to dilate your pouch and esophogaus.

Mine is coming out in January or February. Luckily I do not have any gallstones or attacks so I have been allowed to keep it for the past year. Back in January it was only functioning at 2% and by now it is probably completely dead. Now is the time because not only does it need to come out but I also need to have a cyst taken out of my neck before it does nerve damage and I am going to have my port moved.

My port is just under my skin right by my belly button. I am so scared I am going to hit it somehow and there is absolutely no progection. He is going to move it up to where it will sit just at the end of my sternum. I am hoping he will be able to bury it a little bit because from my poking around it feels like there is some extra padding there. Not sure if he will also replace it with a low profile port or not. I am going back to the same surgery center where I had my band placed, but it will be a different doctor.

The good news is that insurance will pay for the gallbladder and cyst so I only have to pay the portion of surgeon fees for the port relocation. Even though the surgery center will be out of network the office staff said they would give me in network benefits because that is where I had my band placed and they all know me. Heck, I even talked to the surgeon about his new deer stand when I saw him last week. This was not a part of my visit with him, it was just part of the conversation he, the nurse, the PA and I had when we were visiting and catching up in the hallway after my official appointment.

You will do fine with the surgery and since you are having attacks you will be super relieved and feel so much better once it is out.

I am not a physician nor do I play one on tv, but I don't think your band has slipped. It is my understanding that when a band slips the ability to eat solid foods is out of the question and from what you have said you are able to eat solids. As for the pain at the port site, I have absolutely no idea, but hopefully it is something that can be easily treated.

Your flight will be fine tomorrow and I am sure that your appointment will give you peace of mind and help you figure out the pain issue.

Please keep us updated when you can.

Andrea

You are on the right track in regards to the counseling. However, don't just "try" it, you have to actively participate in it. I say this not only because of my marriage and family counseling background but also because I have been in individual counseling myself many years ago.

The best case scenario is for both of you to go together. However, even if he won't go with you, you need to go for yourself. It is my understanding that you have not been banded yet and any issues you have that could potentially hold you back from being successful with the band need to be addressed before being banded if possible as opposed to after the band.

Please keep us updated as we are all here for you.

Andrea

I will probably be having mine out in early January, but it isn't because I have any gallstones. My gallbladder just stopped working, presumably due to my large weight loss. If I had had gallstones I would have had to of had it out last January when we discovered it wasn't working. I'm only having it out now because I have to get a cyst off the back of my neck and I want to get my port moved, so I decided to have all 3 done on the same day which will save me money when it comes to relocating he port.

We queried this and were told that this was a precaution just incase the repair did'nt go well and that he'd fit a whole new band.

Wow! I think I would at least ask for this in writing. I had a consult today to have my port moved to different location at the same time I have my gallbladder out. I think I'll call and ask how much the port repositioning will be before I actually schedule the surgery as the gallbladder should be covered by insurance. Sorry I don't have any other suggestions for you.

... on top of that I save a lot of chi-chingg for an unfill and then to get a fill again - so I'll spend that on some cute new clothes ???? LOL

That's the attitude!

My mom called me today and asked if I wanted to be spoiled a little bit - well duh! She said she had just bought me a bunch of winter clothes but she wasn't going to wait until Christmas to give them to me and she wasn't going to tell my sister-in-law that she bought them for me because they are extra Christmas expenses that the others didn't get spent on them. I can't wait to go home next weekend!

The speed of the barium going thru the band is how they determine if you have good restriction or not. If yours is emptying too slow you may have a little too much restriction, for which my doctor would have removed a little bit. If it is just that you think it is emptying too slow and are upset that you did not get a fill then you probably have a perfect amount of restriction for right now. Just continue to work the band and he weight will come off. Slow and steady wins the race!

I feel nauseous when I get dehydrated, so I understand how you feel and it is a vicious cycle.

In regards to looking in the mirror, that is part of the reason I chose to have my TT. When I looked in the mirror I just saw a smaller version of the old me with all of the same rolls and such. By having the TT I suddenly had a very different visual when I looked in the mirror. My staff look at a picture I have in my window and comment about how different I look. I am impatiently waiting for some friends to send me pictures so that I can make the comparison myself.

Measure out your cup of food and completely leave the kitchen if you have to focus on your chewing, small bites, and paying attention to your body. Hopefully you are not eating as much post band as you did pre band. If you are, please don't as you could stretch your pouch and or esophogaus which would negate the surgery you have just had.

I have slimed, but not from just drinking water. I am glad you were still at the office and able to get it taken care of quickly. Be careful the next couple of days.

I also had a fill today and am kind of having clear liquids. It is egg drop soup that I made myself so the liquid is clear but I'm not sure the egg in it is legal, but boy am I enjoying it.

Smiley- thanks for the tips! I really don't want an unfill but my fill provider (Fill Center USA) said I absolutely should ?!?! None of my doctors thought I needed to and they are the so called American doctors that like to squeeze us for every dime. When is your surgery? I have a consult to get my gallbladder out and my port moved on Tuesday so I can ask this surgeon who also does lap bands what he thinks about an unfill.

I think the only concerns I have is taking the meds the first few days - every 4-6 hrs. (Usually when I wake up in the middle of the night or early in the morning - being thursty, I can only have small sips but don't know if I could do pills) I only took 5 pain pills after surgery and they could be split if I needed to. I really only needed 4, but I was afraid my first follow up visit would result in pain - it didn't. You could ask for liquid pain medicine and it is also possible to crush the pills and put them in pudding or yogurt which slides pretty well. Are you spending the night in the hospital? I did and got IV pain killers for the first 26 hours after my surgery was over. The only pain I really had was on my right hip where he did lipo and that came and went to the point that it would have been over before my "Happy Pill" could have kicked in.

And second, that I would have to drive 4 hrs. to get an unfill (Provider is only every other week in Atlanta so I would have to pay her a visit further south and that fresh out of sx?) Are there other providers in Atlanta? Not that you would want to do this, but some people have gone to the ER and the ER called in a lap band surgeon to do an unfill. Ask your PS if he/she knows of anyone in the area that could help if you need it.

BTW How did your AL and TT turn out? Are you happy with the results? I am loving the results. One of my staff keeps looking at a picture of me from 4 years ago and she is just in awe about the difference in me then and now. I was wearing size 18 or 20 pants and a 2x top in the picture and now I am wearing size 10 pants and M tops. I wore sleeveless tops all summer because even the scar did not embarass me, but then again I didn't purposefully throw my arms up just to them off.

On the other side the fridge is WAYYYY to close for me while recovering with no restriction! Desicions - desicions ... Tell me about it. My kitchen fridge isn't working right now so I have been using the one in the garage. Makes you have to decide if what you want is really worth a trip down and back up the steps a couple of times. Maybe you should have your fridge moved to the garage.

If you would have needed an fill after sx - when would you have felt comfortable ? I would have felt comfortable the fill itself immediately after surgery, except that it would have hurt like the dickens to lay on that table and try to get up again. I would have needed about 5 pillows behind me and Mitch would have had to push me up off of the table into a semi-sitting position and even then I might have been prone to a cuss word or two.

It is the best thing I have ever done for myself. If only I had had the opportunity to do it about 12 years earlier. Go for it!

I have two thoughts about the swollen esophagaus. I would say you have either stretched it my eating too much and/or drinking along with eating. My second thought is if he meant swelling as I usually think of swelling, maybe it is irritated and has developed some swelling because of that.

If it is my first thought, he doesn't want to give you a fill because he wants you to recognize your restriction and eat the appropriate amount without drinking. I am not saying you have been doing these things, these are just my thoughts as to what he might have meant.

Did he give you any other information or tell you what you need to do help reduce the swelling?

Losing inches over pounds is a normal occurrence. As for getting rid of the fat around the middle, I had a TT because even though it was shrinking, the rolls were still going to exist.

If you think you need a fill now, but are not planning on getting one before your surgery, then I definitely would not have an unfill because of the surgery. I have had 2 surgeries since my lap band and didn't have an unfill for either one. In fact, when I had my knee and foot done I had just had a fill the day before and was on liquids the day of the surgery, except for the graham cracker I had to eat with the pain meds.

I think all you need to do is have your ducks in a row in case you do need an unfill after the surgery by knowing who you can go to locally, but I seriously doubt you will need it. The last thing you want to do is be too loose while you are just hanging around your house and the fridge for the weeks you will spend recovering at home. I know the swelling can move to areas other than the incision site, but the band is up between your breasts and your TT incision will be just at your pubic line, the crease that I could see when I moved my fat roll - I know, TMI. They are far enough apart that I don't see there being a problem, at least there wasn't for me.

You will probably still be tight in the mornings, but you will just have to rely on a protein shake or regular fluids such as water and milk and then get the rest of your protein in later in the day. 2 cups of milk = 16 grams of protein and I start every day off with 2 cups. A lot of people find they are tighter in the morning, so it may have nothing at all to do with fluid retention. Have you tried drinking 8 to 16 ounces of water within the hour before you go to bed to see if that helps with the fluid retention?

Gotta go - fixin' to be late for church and the 3 year old mania!