BRANDYK

Here are my brats (plus one of my mom's). Bitty (mom's dog), Molly, Pickles, and Bella. Yes, I have THREE chihuahuas, it's kinda like having three two year olds.............

A couple of mine fell off after about a week, the rest I had to remove after a little over two weeks. I used baby oil to loosen them and to remove the gunk they left behind. :cool:

Hey guys, I wanted to find out if I was the only one having these dreams. I have two that I seem to have at least once a week. Before banding, I was a soda addict, and I haven't had a drop since surgery, I'm too scared it will hurt (plus I don't NEED soda anymore). Well, I keep having dreams where I see a big glass and just grab it and down it and end up on the floor writhing in enormous pain. The other one I have is where I just pig out on a big bowl of spaghetti and then feel horrible pain as the past swells in my pouch. My boyfriend thinks it's hilarious that I have nightmares now about things I used to love. Does anyone else have dreams like this?

Hey all, I'm getting frustrated because I've lost about 40 pounds, and I can definitely see/tell it on my body, but I swear my face and double chin haven't shrunk. I have posted a pic from right before surgery, and one from today. Be honest, does my face look any smaller or thinner?

LOL!!! Yes, I'm an anal retentive neat freak, so my desk always looks like that. I'm in Document Control, so it suits me very well!! I was just thinking I need to treat myself to a new color and cut, I just need to figure out what I want to do with my hair.

Hey guys. I have two more months to go until my band and I can't wait. I'm having a SERIOUS issue with my mother about the band. When I initially told my family and my boyfriend, everyone was naturally voicing a lot of concern about complications, etc. My boyfriend finally calmed down after a week or so and said he'd support this decision because he saw how important it was to me. My mother on the other hand has not stopped making "digs" at me for the past few months. Now I wish I'd waited until two days before the surgery to tell her. At first she just kept making it sound like she was just concerned about complications and the fact that I'm a self pay so any complications would be extra $$ I'd have to spend. Now she's making comments to make me feel like I'm taking the "easy" way out and it's REALLY starting to make me sad and hurt. My mom of all people should understand why I'm doing this. I'm six foot one, and I'm at about 280, so I easily need to lose just over a hundred pounds. She's five foot eight, and she's always been on diets, etc. She's the heaviest she's ever been in her life right now, she needs to lose about 40 pounds. What do I say to her to make her stop making these hurtful remarks? I was over there for Easter Sunday and while we were in the livingroom a commercial came on for the band and she said "yeah that's the EASY way out". I started to argue with her and decided to ignore it. I don't want to avoid going over to see her, but I can't take this anymore. My little sister (who by the way is skinny and gorgeous) thinks mom actually might be a little jealous that I'm brave enought to do the band. Mom would never do something like that, she's too scared of surgery and things of that nature. Any suggestions on how to deal with this?

Caroleena, I'm in Pearland!!! I'll have to try those Slimfast shakes, I'm getting bored with my stuff.

I woke up and I remember my first thought was why is my chest and stomach sore? I was just a little nauseous, but they gave me something for it. I just remember being really annoyed with the nurse cuz she kept trying to get me to wake up and I didn't want to

I spent $12,900 and that covers a year of follow ups and fills. I honestly thought I would be saving all this money by not buying fast food and ordering so much when I went out to eat, but if anything I spend way more money on food. It's much more expensive to stock up the kitchen with healthy foods to cook than it is to grab a value meal at Mickey D's I'm not complaining though, I'm VERY happy with my band.

That's so cool, thank you for redoing my pic for me. I'll make a mental note to make the same facial expression from now on

Thanks Denamara, I guess I just needed to hear it from someone other than my boyfriend

sorry, the other one didn't post

Hey all, I just wanted to throw in my two cents. I've been banded just over three months now, and I know I went thru some "bi-polar" phases where one day I thought I'd done the most horrible thing in the world to myself and hated my band and then one day I loved my band. Now I don't have the "hate" days anymore and I can honestly say it's the best thing I have ever done for myself in my life. I've been VERY lucky, I haven't experienced a lot of the unpleasant things I've seen people post and my heart goes out to those who do have a lot of bad side effects. I also believe, in my opinion, that there are some people who don't fully consider the good, the bad, and the ugly before doing the procedure. I honestly feel some people think the band is a magic cure all and will do all the work for them and they won't have to change any part of their daily lives after being banded and the weight will just fall off. I feel this is where a lot of the frustrated or negative posts come from. I still have to "fight" with myself not to eat certain things and most of the time I win, but sometimes the monster who lives in my tummy gets his way

Hey all, I had a REALLY rough day last Friday so my boyfriend decided to take me to dinner and drinks. Well, as we all know, we can't drink with our food, so I downed four cosmos pretty quickly before our food came. BIG MISTAKE. I haven't had a drop of alchohol since the surgery a few months ago on top of already having a low tolerance as it is. Well I got myself good and hammered, so when the food came, I totally broke the rules. I'm a garbage can when I'm drunk. I gulped it all down, didn't chew well, and ate waaaay too much. I didn't get stuck at all, but after getting in the car, and just knowing by the way my stomach felt I knew I screwed up. I started having the shakes and sweating, and was really nauseated. I've never felt sick like that before. I ate soft light stuff the next couple of days but I'm scared to death I may have stretched my pouch or hurt something. I feel ok, but I'm still paranoid.

Hey everyone, I'm just curious as to what everyone has in their small AP Bands. I had my surgery three months ago and yesterday my doc's office took me to 6cc's. I asked what was the most they had seen in my band and they said 8cc's.

Hey everyone, Yes, I had an appt yesterday with my doc and everything is fine. They thought it was funny that I was so freaked out. I've even lost five pounds in the last two weeks, so I'm pretty happy. No more drinking before dinner though!!!

Hey everyone. I was wondering if anyone else is experiencing this. I keep being REALLY surprised that the scale is going down because my perception of what I'm eating has changed. What I mean is I FEEL like or THINK I've "pigged out" after having a chicken breast for dinner, etc, so I don't feel like I'm starving myself, which is the only way I could lose weight before. I'm not walking around starving and grouchy so I don't feel like I should be losing weight. My attitude towards WHAT I eat has also changed and I've stopped eating so many things that I ate before that were so bad for me, but I can't get my brain to realize it I guess. All week I feel like I did badly at my eating, and then I get on the scale and it's gone down. The only time I really realize how little I'm eating is when I eat with my family or boyfriend and they are amazed I'm full off of what I just ate. In some ways I almost feel like I don't deserve the weightloss because I didn't "suffer" enough to "earn" it. I'm really starting to think I may need to see a counselor, I didn't realize how emotional of a journey this would be.

Hey guys, I wanted to know if anyone else is experiencing this. I had my second fill yesterday and after this one and the first, the gas pain I had in my left shoulder and arm after surgery comes back for a couple days. I don't get it. It's not nearly as severe but it's definitely there. How in the heck is that happening? Shouldn't all the gas be gone by now? How would getting a fill make it "come back"?

My favorite is on my signature, as well as on my wall in my office: "It is never too late to be who you might have been"!!

Hi everyone. I was curious to see if anyone's dr used Omnipaq on their first fill? I have mine scheduled for the 19th and I see so many posts about first and second fills "dissapearing" and then the dr uses Omnipaq. Thanks, Brandy

Do they numb you before they do it? I'm a big weenie when it comes to needles!! I have my first fill scheduled for the 19th by Dr. Spivak

Jean, Are you the other lady that was at the surgery center with me Monday? I think we were Dr. Spivaks only surgeries that morning

Hey, do you guys know if Dr. Spivak is using that new AP Band I've seen people talking about? I asked his support group director and she said he is using a new band but she wasn't sure if it was that one.

Congrats!!! My surgery is scheduled with Dr. Spivak for the same day!!!!

Ok guys, I gotta announce it, I'm confirmed for surgery this Monday the 18th!!!!! I'm so excited, scared, nervous, happy, etc I can't stand it!!!!! I can't wait to be part of the "club" and start becoming that healthy life loving girl I used to be!!!!