damalove

Umph, me too. I got a 2cc unfill and was told to do 7 days of liquids and 5 days of Maalox then resume solids. he said id have to be careful bc i wouldnt have much restriction. after four weeks, i can go back and if it has unstretched, i can get another fill.

damn

So glad to hear you are well and are still so successful, Congrats!!!

Is this for real??? I can hardly believe it myself

Banded Apr 2 2010, and today, Apr 15 2011, I am down 73 lbs and freaking loving life.

I worked hard, ate right, cooked like hell, worked out, (forced myself to) develop an appreciation for running and never gave up hope

A year later, new job, new apartment, new dog (running mate!), new boyfriend, NEW BODY, NEW OUTLOOK.

Thanks for all the support over the year!

XOXOXO

Hey y'all. If you're in northern california, there's a new fill center opening in red bluff. go ahead, google it. its far from the bay, but might be convenient for those in the bay area, the valley, and even southern oregon. 3 hour drive could be better than a flight/train/tram/taxi back to occ.

i personally will continue to go to occ but i was glad to hear theres now a somewhat local option, just in case.

anyway i put my name on a wait list 6 months ago as they are just now opening. they've contacted me letting me know they are doing (i think) free fills on the 12th of Feb. I am happy w my current level of fill so won't be going. In case you're interested, contact Ursula @ 866-345-5872

Hi there. I am 8-mo post op, feel restriction, and have lost over 60 lbs so far. Im 16 lbs from goal and hope to get there by my next b-day (in march).

Lately, I have been feeling a sharp pain in my right side, about two or three fingers below my ribcage, right after eating. My port is located on the left side.

At first I thought it might be gas or maybe lactose intolerance but i've noticed this pain after just about everything Ive eaten, including yogurt, nuts, salad, steak, (low-carb homemade)flax bread, even an apple.

When I press on my tummy there it hurts but after about an hour it goes away.

is my pouch on my right side, if my port is on my left side????

any explanation or ideas?

i have a few friends who have purchased the p90x system, one is a 23 year old guy and the others are a 50+ year old married couple. both are seeing great results, has any one else tried it? im bored with running and unfortunately the love of running some speak of never caught on in my heart. it remains and always will be something i do simply to lose weight.

I was under the impression it was six months. Im now 8 mo post op and I still dont drink carbonated drinks, mainly bc its uncomfortable. I cant really burp at all anymore so imagine drinking a coke and not being able to burp? i had given up soda well before the band but after living in europe got totally addicted to sparkling water, miss that loads, might consider having it again after the year mark.

yay! glad it worked out well for ya! i made one last week with 1 cup leftover shredded roasted turkey, with cheddar and sauteed onions. pretty delicious

i dont have any skin itching at all except for one little spot - my port scar. that one itches a bit, regularly. anyone else have that?

i worry abt my scars too, i want them to go away, im 8 mo post op and still look as dark as 2 months post op.

sigh............

topic bumped for Maui

( see how quickly i forgot all the advice i'd already gotten on the topic! what a dummy i am )

yes this happened to just about all of us, myself included. im 8 months out and its still happening, but not quite as bad as the first four or five months. what is your daily protein target? i try to get 75g in... but i dont know if thats really enough or what.

aces! pina colada is my favorite flavor of just about anything. even gum (see post above, teehee)

ive read online the cappucino flavor is really good too.. will let you know how it comes out.

in the meanwhile im playing with the magic bullet combining plain greek yogurt, unsweetened soy milk, and frozen berries. pretty tasty but i am looking fwd to getting the protein powder in there to make it more substantial, esp first thing in the morning or after a workout.

I ordered the Syntrax 23g Protein Nectars and I am amazed at how good they are. They are aspartame free. If you go to their website www.syntrax.com you can order a sample pack of 13 for $13.99. They were offering free shipment as well. I received mine yesterday and have tried the Caribbean Cooler. Highly recommend

I bought myself a magic bullet on black friday and want to experiment with smoothies made with protein powders. I went to Syntrax's website to order this sampler and it was not there, so I called (1-866-333-7403) and spoke to someone in their bariatric sales department. I was able to order a sampler packet for $13.00, with free shipping. I ordered today and she said it should arrive Monday or Tuesday (less than a week).

Thought I'd share

Lusy dear you need to stop. NOW.

S-T-O-P, ASAP.

Please, before you injure yourself, requiring surgery, or removal of the band, slip, incredible discomfort, whatever. Regardless, it'd be a tremendous waste of your money and incredibly risky to your health if you continue this behavior. You are hte only that can stop yourself. The surgeons have insisted on a liquid diet and you dont have a choice, you cant ignore their instructions, no matter what cravings you have. Focus on those fresh little sutures the docs put in and how delicate they are as they havent had a chance to heal. they dont stand much chance against a cheeseburger.

Sorry to come off harsh, but really, stop, now.

Every time you're tempted, walk away, go outside where there's no food, go for a walk, take a drive, take a nap, whatever. Try everything til you find something that WORKS.

7 months and still no clue....

Ive heard some people have to watch spicy foods after banding, and this may be the case with you. my suggestion is to avoid spicy food for a month, and then try it once more. if the discomfort appears, then you know its a direct link and you should avoid it.

I went thru a period where I got really horrible, doubled-over stomach pain after eating dairy. Thought I'd be off dairy for life, but gave it a month or so, and tried again, and its fine. Now i eat cottage cheese or greek yogurt at least once a day with no discomfort whatsoever.

If you get this discomfort eating something other than spicy food, like a sorta blah meal such as pork loin, steamed broccoli, and some rice, then it may not be the spiciness at all but another issue, and then I'd suggest calling Dr So or even your regular doctor.

There have been cases of bandsters developing GERD (burning sensation in esophagus).

GL!

kristi girl you are an inspiration! you too Lisal!

Another problem I ran into was that there was a few items already in my closet that I was waiting to fit back into and only got a chance to wear them once or twice before they also became too big.

this happened with me too. i didnt buy new things before the actual weight loss, likely because i didnt believe i'd lose much. i shopped out of my closet for hte first 2 months, stuff i'd bought and never had a chance to wear, also still with tags on, but eventually those became too big now. i tried on a pair of pants this weekend that i found in my storage unit and they were so big i never even got a chance to wear them.

i like hte idea of a goal dress, but just get one thing and dont go overboard shopping. trust me, soon enough you'll wish you didnt have to shop so much!

what about taste, petra? are these vanilla flavors?

also, the gnc one says 7g carb, 7g fiber, 2g sugar.. doesnt make sense, as sugars are always include in the total carb count.. is that a typo?

Hi Mark.

I dont go to greek restaurants around here, but was in Greece earlier this month on vacation. I tried both gyros and souvlaki (gyro was a choice between chicken and pork, and souvlaki was a choice of chicken, lamb, or pork) and I have to say I think souvlaki is the healthier choice. My brother ate the gyros constantly and I noticed they were greasier than my souvlaki. Souvlaki is made with leaner cuts, marinated in lemon juice, olive oil, and oregano/spices, and gyros utilize fattier cuts to keep the meat moist yet crispy thruout the spit-roasting process.

Since you asked, and that was the original intent of this thread, I would consider switching to a souvlaki skewer (one skewer would be plenty, and would likely be sold as a side-item) instead of gyro meat to accompany your salad, in the absense of actual nutritional data provided by the restaurant.

Just my thoughts, having just been in greece

regardless, a salad+gyro meat is still a good choice as long as its not too big a serving of meat. and its def. better than eating a regular gyro fully loaded!

Keep up the good work.

Hi Des congrats on surviving surgery day! Now you get to sit back relax and enjoy the broth and/or popsicles!

I was banded 4/2/10 and nothing was mentioned to me abt an alternative treatment, which is fine, bc I wouldnt have switched at the last minute anyway. What do you know about the procedure? I've heard it mentioned here on the forum, but dont know what it is.

ive been setting mini-goal and have had mini-rewards that go along with them --- losing 10% was a new purse, onederland (coincidentally my halfway point too) was a new fabulous jacket at H&M, fitting into size ten jeans was a hot pair of jeans (got a pair at the GAP they were twice as expensive as any jean ive bought to date but so fabulous and the fact that i fit in to them was cause enough!). im 21.9 lbs from goal weight and when I get there, my sister is buying us a ticket to las vegas!

my personal reward for getting to goal wt is shopping in NYC. my little cousin is graduating college and im taking her to NYC in march for her final spring break. that will be one year from the beginnign of my journey and I hope to be at goal weight and have a fabulous shopping experience.

cant wait!

ps) this is my sister's reward for when she hits goal, courtesy of her hubby: http://www.bergdorfgoodman.com/store/catalog/prod.jhtml?itemId=prod23450087&ecid=BGCIFroogleFeed&003=5842946&010=X04QV&ci_src=14110944&ci_sku=X04QV

yep. they have a mix of US movies w spanish subtitles and some mexican movies. i pulled up the movies online at cinepolis' website. u can find it in the local paper too. the wknd of my surgery i watched The Blind Side and when i went back for a fill i saw Toy Story 3

i love flax seed i make flax bread regularly. i prefer the golden flax for color and flavor but the regular flax is much easier to come by. its cheapest to buy it in whole seed form and then use a (dedicated) coffee grinder to grind it to flaxmeal. keeps longer in whole seed form too. i once read somewhere that the body doesnt take nearly as much nutrition from whole seed (if you were just to put 1T in cereal or something) as they pass wholly undigested. not sure if its true, but regardless i always use it ground.

thanks for the post, erica!

hi tag! surgery day, how'd it go?

my favorite thing to do in TJ is take a taxi to plaza rio (outdoor shopping center close to occ/lucerna but you wont be well enough to walk) and watch a movie at hte VIP theater. there are two cinepolis movie theaters in this shopping center, go to the VIP one, its only $2 more i think, but you get assigned seating like on teh airplane, with fully reclining leather seats and waiter service. it ROCKS! sitting after surgery got uncomfortable but this was a perfect diversion bc i could recline.