BRANDYK

Boo boo, It's nice to know someone else feels my pain You'll be getting your done before I get mine done, please let me know how it goes. Good idea on the bra Kary, I think I will make a trip to the mall this weekend and get a few bras to uplift my spirits (among other things) lol Brandy

Derick, Wow, sounds like she really hurt you and I'm sorry, I wish I could give you a big hug right now. I will say that this happens to girls too. I was always the chubby buddy to the cute guy who would talk about all his girl problems and then ask me how come he couldn't find a girl who he could talk to like he talked to me. I get it. I was lucky though, I found a guy like you right before my surgery who didn't care that I was fat, and he was the typical nice guy who had always gotten passed over and screwed around. Well, it's been two years now and we are still going strong. You have every right to be pissed off, but please don't let some stupid bitch turn you into an asshole. Trust me, it will take some time but you will find someone who will love and appreciate you. There's NOTHING sexier than a nice guy :hurray:

Wheetsin I couldn't have said it better!! Rachel, to me being banded is like having a chastity belt on my mouth and tummie, it just won't let me do the things I used to do, like go get TWO doublemeat cheeseburgers, a large fries, large coke, and large frosty and INHALE it in fifteen minutes anytime I've had a stressful day at work. I feel that full now after much much less food. It IS up to you to eat the right foods, but that becomes easier and easier the longer you have your band. I have found new foods to crave that are much healthier for me. To put it simply, I just feel stronger with my band, like I can accomplish anything.

Anyone notice a difference as far as how it feels to have Ominpaq instead of saline? I went in last week for a fill and had lost a teeny bit so they switched me to Omnipaq. She didn't fill me up to even close the CC I just had with the saline, stating Omnipaq is not as forgiving and harder and therefore they needed to give me less than what I had in saline and go from there. Well, I can EAT right now. I had steak last night and it didn't hurt one bit, so I'm going in Thursday for another fill, but I wanted to know if anyone had noticed any big difference between having the Omnipaq and Saline?

Frost, YES, YES, YES, and YES it's worth it. I can't even begin to tell you how much it's worth it.

I also thought my sex drive was going to increase, it's been 7 months and 63lbs and still no change. I keep thinking once I get to goal I'll be feeling more frisky.

I was diagnosed hypothyroid about two years ago. I stupidly thought once I started meds the weight would just drop off. It didn't, but, when I did manage to stick to my weight watchers points, it came off easier than it did before I started meds. I have lost 60 lbs in seven months, so I'm happy with my progress. The hypothyroidism does make it a little more difficult to lose weight, but I ate like a freaking cow and ate nothing but fried fatty foods, ate icecream literally everyday, and drank nothing but soda all day, so it was my fault I was fat for sure.

I had my period a month after surgery and the first three were pretty horrible, bad cramps, etc. My gyno said that it's probably because the first few months you are dropping a lot of weight and your body is still creating the hormones for you being at your beginning weight, in other words you now have to much estrogen etc in your system, which causes horrible periods. It's been six months and mine have now balanced out.

Cookie Lover, You described what I do to a tee!! There are some days when I get busy at work and I forget to drink in all my water though, and I can FEEL it if I don't get enough water or protein. I feel sluggish. Snappy, you are going thru what I went thru until I got proper restriction, which took SIX fills, so hang in there. I still struggle with the monster that lives in my tummy, even when I'm full sometimes my mouth wants more of the food. I too had to relearn everything a few months out after getting that last fill. One tip I can give you is you will get full faster and not be able to eat past your band if you eat your proten like grilled chickenk or something first. Healthy stuff that's harder to get down than say something like mashed potatoes will fill you up faster and you won't be able to eat past it. At least that's what I have found. Hope this helps. Don't feel like a failure. I went six weeks without dropping a pound once. It happens to all of us I'm sure. Just hang in there. !!!

Boo Boo, You look incredible, and you give me more inspiration to stay on track and become the blonde bombshell I know I can become!!!!

Juli, don't feel bad, I enjoyed most of a bottle of Stoli Elite over Christmas........

Brandy, You should do it now girl. I'm planning on doing a sexy photo shoot around Valentine's Day. You should check out this site, they have gorgeous vintage and rockabilly stuff. Retro Dresses, Rockabilly Dresses, Vintage Dresses, Bohemian & Boho Style Dresses, Pinup Style Dresess, 1960's Dresses, 1950's Dresses, 1940's Dresses, 1930's Dresess

Amen Betsy!!! I ate WHATEVER I wanted all day yesterday (except of course the rolls and Turkey) and it was delicious!! I didn't let myself feel one bit bad about it too!! Hope you had a good Christmas and Santa was good to you!!!

I guarantee it's stress. On top of the usual holiday stress I'm moving this week too, I've been unusually tight the past week and it's driving me nuts.

It's normal to be nervous, I was freaking out before I was banded, now I look back and I'm so happy I did it, you will be too.

Sue, I am so sorry for what you are going thru. I am an animal person myself, and I have had my heart broken by losing some of my babies much earlier than I felt was fair. The last time this happened to me, my beloved ferret Sasha passed away and I went without a pet for almost a year until my mom surprised me with Baby Joey, a male chihuahua puppy. He was the light of my life and three months after we got him, I found out he had a terminal heart condition and would only live about another six months. Well I tell you what, I made sure he was kissed and cuddled every second I could manage it, he ate steak and whatever else he wanted, and he was with me as much as possible. He died in my arms after we had just gone to bed one night. I was so angry at God and felt like I had been unfairly given all these animals that had something wrong with them and always just ended up dying and broke my heart. A few days after Joey died, I was talking to my dad (a very religious man) and lamenting my bad luck and telling him how mad I was at God for doing this to me yet again. My dad told me that I wasn't looking at it the right way. Yes, it was a painful and heart breaking thing to lose a beloved pet, but God wasn't giving ME ill animals, he was giving ill animals me. He said that God knew that they had a very short time on this Earth, so he made sure that the short time they had was spent with a mommy who would give them a lifetime of love and affection. Someone who would love them and cherish them. Someone who wouldn't leave them out in the cold and rain in the backyard all the time, never giving them attention or love. So Sue, that's the way you need to see it, is that God is giving the gift of YOU to your dog. My heart goes out to you, I know the pain you are going thru.

Oh, THAT's Patricia!!! She was VERY nice and calmed me down on my pre-op weigh in visit. I was a bundle of nerves.

Hey guys, It's getting close to the end of the year. I was wondering if any of you claimed the cost of your surgery on your taxes last year and if you were successful in getting some money back?

I used to have the soda dream, that I downed a can and then ended up writing on the floor in pain!! I don't have that one anymore but I do still have much stranger dreams than I ever used to before I was banded, I guess it could have something to do with the band somehow.

Manatee, I can relate. My problem is I NEVER looked in the mirror unless I had to, and I NEVER looked in a full length mirror. I used to do everything I could to avoid them, and I wouldn't even look at myself when I was naked if I could avoid it. Now, I scrutinize myself all the time, wanting to watch my body change, so now I feel much more disgusted with myself than I ever did when I was at my pre-op weight. I'm guessing a lot of us are getting reaquainted with our bodies

I'm six foot one, and I plan on being in a size 12 by the end of my journey, and I think that's totally attainable. I have noticed that some shoes that used to be too tight are now perfectly comfortable to wear!!!

Hey everyone, I'm curious to see if anyone on the board has had plastic surgery overseas, like maybe in Argentina? I've heard about all these supposedly reputable places you can get it done for less than half what you'd pay in the US on the tv and online, but I don't know of anyone who has actually done it or investigated into it. I know when I'm done losing weight I'll want a few nips and tucks and I really don't want to blow the rest of my savings getting it done.

Thanks for the info guys, I'm gonna check this stuff out!!

I have the small AP band and after the fill I got last week I'm now at 7 cc's. It took me six fills to get there and NOW I KNOW I have the proper restriction. I never really had any problems or most of the symptoms I see everyone posting about, and now if I even drink too fast it threatens to come back up and my chest hurts. I can only eat about 1/2 cup of solid foods and I stay full forever. My stomach growling has gone almost completely away, it's amazing. I'd gotten almost to my halfway point and was starting to wonder if I was going to make it to my goal weight and now I know I can. This must be the magic fill!!!

Hey guys, I was banded last Monday, and I'm starting to feel human again. I have a question. He gave me a pic of my stomach with the band on it and on the pic it says "small AP band with low profile port". What does that mean?