shellyj

i'm cracking up at work to delarla! i was gonna be in vegas 7-4 but i dont think its gonna work out i will be going sometime late summer or fall i would LOVE to meet you. you have me laughing all the time!

GOOD LUCK BAILEY!!! you'll do great! have fun at the show! this weekend will probably FLY by!!!! michelle please let us know how your doing as soon as your up to it!!

GIRL between the new pic and your purple bra i'd say your one hot thing!!!!

BLECH i had a pb episode yesterday too. the first since i have gotten retricted, and i to have loosened up a bit. let us know what you see under fluoro and if you get any fill. i think i'll be getting a tiny one in august, maybe sept.

delarla! its no nice to see you! what a cutie!!! i am feeling good REALLY covered up with work though. unfortunatly i think it will be this way for the next 2 months. michelle

i didnt feel ANY restriction at 2.0 cc, at 2.6 cc's or even 2.8 cc's it took me getting to 3.0 cc's to feel anything and at 3.4 cc's i have pretty good restriction. is your dr a US dr? i contacted INAMED and they contacted my dr and lit a fire under their hiney. i had been telling them for MONTHS (november - march) that something was wrong that i didnt have restriction and it wasnt until INAMED called them that i got attention from my dr. i was filled to 4.2 cc's though. i had gone through 10+++ fills and they had filled the band beyond capacity. i would DEMAND that your dr fill you again (especially since its covered in the price you paid) when they banded you they said fills were covered. that means if they have to do the fill under x-ray or use contrast saline to make sure the fill is going into the band then they need to do it. if that fails i would seek another COMPETANT dr.

thanks ginny! i noticed you have been banded for 1 1/2 months have you got a fill yet? looks like you have a good start -25!!!!!!!!!!!! michelle

this is directly yo the befores...http://www.picturetrail.com/gallery/view?p=999&gid=4122824&uid=2121202 the last one at the very bottom is the last photo i had before surgery. http://www.picturetrail.com/southernbandgirl thats the general area i put pics of my transistion in there under each album. coffewench is my idol!!! i wonder if she knows she has such a fan club!!! michelle

hey delarla! yes that was a post i copied and pasted from the infamous Robin AKA Coffeewench! i know that when i struggled to get restrction i just kept reading and rereading that post and saying "OK this girl is at GOAL she knows what she's talking about!" and eventually i found it all to be true for me to!

HUBBA HUBBA!!! your new do looks great!!! i really like the necklace too. it looks like you lost 50 pounds just from changing clothes!!! i think what i like best about your pics is the big ole SMILE!!!!

OOOOH DELARLA!!! your band isnt tightened and is offering you NOTHING!!! thats why they say anything lost pre-band is a bonus!!! i lost 18 initally but gained back 7 for a loss of 11 pre-fill. you need to read this it is from another board from a girl who was in the FDA trials she has been banded 3 years has lost 140 pounds... ********************************** This is a recurrent theme on all lists, so let's just address it. The Lapband was designed with a purpose. To be emptied if we ever needed to be able to eat fairly normally again. I say "fairly" normally because even with no Fluid it usually cuts our portions at least some. But mostly this is because we haven't been forced to superchew our food yet. Now, we understand this purpose when we go into it. But it doesn't really SINK IN until we're actually healed from our liquid phase (or even before that) and we decide to TEST THE BAND. And we can STILL eat!!! And we PANIC! And we convince ourselves we're doomed to fail! And we stress out and eat more. And maybe gain back some of the weight we lost during the liquid phase. We're convinced the band that seems to have worked for thousands of others isn't going to work for us. That we're some freak of nature that is going to be fat for all eternity. It's normal to feel this way. Really. You're coming down from the drama and high of the surgery into the day to day boring liquids and you expect to start really losing some weight. I mean, you had surgery didn't you???? Well don't expect much until you're restricted. Use this time to HEAL. See ANY weight loss before your first really good fill as a BONUS and NOT a given, okay???? If you're lost weight, consider yourself that far ahead. There are some lucky ones who experience great restriction out the door. Most are in between and some experience none (like me). You're NOT GOING TO FAIL. Your tummy is healing. It's anchoring that band in place so that it won't slip. If you've had one fill and you need another, make it your priority to get one. Otherwise you're just spinning your wheels. I've had my band so tight that a couple of sips of coffee and ONE bite of a strawberry make me so full I'm on the verge of barfing for hours. I've had it so tight that chewing gum was too much for me because swallowing all that saliva was causing it to back up. Right now I'm kind of at a happy medium. When you get your band to that "just right" spot a switch goes off in your brain about food. You stop caring about it. I'm serious. Suddenly you have to come to grips with the fact that you just CANNOT eat like you once did. And that has a lot of issues unto itself but it comes with the reward of weight loss so it doesn't leave you feeling as vulnerable and schitzy as the prefill stage does. If you're still healing and haven't lost much weight--please try to just get through this time and preoccupy yourself with other things.Did you know that Dr. Fox in Seattle prescribes his band patients diet pills to take during the prefill stage? Why? He understands the difficulty. He feels it's better to kill the appetite chemically while the band heals that subject his patients to all that stress. And he happens to have one of the highest band success rates in the country. And as always, it's better to ADD to your habits then to try to take away. Add more Water, more Vitamins, more exercise. But don't try to take away food because it throws you into dieting mentality. Adding will naturally balance out the other problem.Just my thought for the night and now I'm finally going to bed. It's a good thing I type 100+ words a minute robin this is a reply from robin: And it is my pleasure to try to reassure you all. I remember 2 things from my prefill stage--how utterly depressed I was thinking the band wasn't going to work and how totally alone I believed I was in my experience. The last 2 years has proven to me that I was more the "norm" that I possibly could have imagined and had my doctor or SOMEONE let me know this from the getgo I would have felt like it was just a neccessary part of the process and would have gotten through it with a more realistic outlook. Let's just say I wouldn't have beaten myself up the way I did. Robin ********************************** i hope this helps! michelle

hey greta! i too am loving how the carb cravings are GONE!!! and the hunger. i attribute most of the non hunger to the band because i did atkins pre-op and would still eat volume. i just really like the results. my dr said the atkins is great to do short term but not as a lifestyle.

hey delarla when i was where you are well 1 month out (almost) i could eat almost as much as pre-band. things didnt change for me till i got restriction. i went through several fills and got close to restriction then i had a fill (11-03) where the Fluid got stuck in a pocket in the port and i had semi restriction for good 4 months but no where near truly restricted i kept getting filled and could never get to my sweet spot i had to use self control to not lose it. once i got everything fixed and truly had restriction i quit having much head hunger because when you truly cant take another bite whats the sense in obcessing? before the head hunget was coming from knowing i could eat more. now when i am full i full, for hours, i hardly even snack because i am so busy drinking. i physically cant eat anymore. i dont ever get mad either that i cant eat i feel like i have had my fair share of high calorie, high fat, high carb foods. now its my turn to take in the healthy ones to balance things out. when i get to 200 pounds i'll have to find a healthy balance of high calorie days and healthy days. now when i see a certain foods there are times i wish i could eat them (footlong sub mainly) there will be a time when i get unfilled (when i am prego) and then i'll be getting me a 6" sub just the way i like it! i am following the atkins diet now so i eat off of this list http://atkins.com/Archive/2001/12/15-464579.html typically i eat drink 32 oz Water 6:30 am - 9:30 am breakfast @ 9:30- 1 scrambled egg with cheese drink 32 oz water 10:30 am - 2:00 pm lunch 1/3 chicken breast 1/3 cup low carb mac and cheese (i only eat the low carb Pasta once a week sometimes twice) drink 32 oz water 3:00-6:00 pm dinner- (i'll do lastnights dinner) 3 oz nys steak 1/3 cup sauteed zuchinni, red peppers with a cilantro sauce i can eat 1/2 - 3/4 cup of any food, any meat (chicken breast boneless skinnless, nys steak, pork chop, ribs etc). salads i can eat 1 cup or because they are mostly water they break down easy. there are lots of ways to 'work' your tool. some people are THROUGH with diets and make healthy food choices and let the restriction work for them, some people diet atkins, south beach, the zone, sugar busters etc. some people lean toward a mushy diet and are super restricted. i personally want to get off 3/4 (150 pounds) of my weight that will put me at 200 pounds. when i get there i will figure out a plan just for me! (similiar to sugar busters- whole grains, fruits veggies and lean meats) i will not ever eat like i did pre band. thats what got me to 350 and i dont ever want to go back there! sorry for the book!

hey delarla!!! heres a link to a guy who video'd an unfill if you want to check it out. Weigh In and a "Unfill" Original Post by Jonathan Gleich at 6:59 PM PST on 05/15/2004 Brooklyn, NY - Lap Band (12/04/2003) WOW, I have had so many people emailing me about the video I did, I made a video of JUST the Weigh in and the unfill http://www.bandster.us/NEW/unfillBIG.mov 15 meg movie - better quality http://www.bandster.us/NEW/Unfillsmall.mov 5 megs - less quality So many people told Dr. Ren about it, she now features it on her website! Jonathan P:S: As soon as you click on the link it starts loading, 5 mins for the small and 15 minutes for the large (Unless you have MONSTER bandwidth!)

delarla even uder fluoro they cant tell how much went in unless they use contrast saline which is visable under x-ray. they are looking at how the barium flows through your band when you drink. michelle

hey cindy! 25 of what i lost was in the 2 months pre-op so i have lost 75 since banding in august 2003. that is 36 weeks at 2.08 pounds a week (thats the average anyway) i went 7 months with little to no restriction i follow the atkins diet since getting restriction (dr approved) i eat off this list http://atkins.com/Archive/2001/12/15-464579.html NOTICE it says you can have UP TO 3 CUPS of VEGGIES a day!! today i had drink 32 oz Water 6:30 am - 9:30 am Breakfast @ 9:30- 1 scrambled egg with cheese drink 32 oz water 10:30 am - 2:00 pm lunch 1/3 chicken breast 1/3 cup low carb mac and cheese (i only eat the low carb Pasta once a week sometimes twice) drink 32 oz water 3:00-6:00 pm dinner- (i'll do lastnights dinner) 3 oz nys steak 1/3 cup sauteed zuchinni, red peppers with a cilantro sauce i can eat 1/2 - 3/4 cup of any food, any meat (chicken breast boneless skinnless, nys steak, pork chop, ribs etc). salads i can eat 1 cup or because they are mostly water they break down easy. i still dont think i am as tight as some others (i can eat solid food for breakfast) but i like to eat and couldnt drink protien shakes unless i had to. i have 3.4 cc's in my band and i think its pretty sweet to me! i still have some room for adjusting but i dont plan on having one ANY time soon! like i said i like being able to eat! trust me your fill not taking doesnt sound weird! like i said i went 7 months without restriction (10++++ fills) and got filled up to 4.2 cc's! give it a chance but if its not giving you restriction CALL THEM BACK!!! exercise- i dont have a normal schedule for that. i do have a REALLY manicured yard this year though. i just keep myself busy with projects! i swim now that its summer again, i take my dogs for walks and hikes, do yardwork, rearrange the house, clean out the garage, had a yardsale etc.

thanks again ladies!!!! bright~ you'll get there! 25 of what i lost was lost in the 2 months prior to surgery! with you being -61 we are actually on a similiar pace! Delarla- high five back at you!

I AM -100 POUNDS!!!! :eek: (this includes 25 pounds lost 2 months before surgery.) :banana:banana:banana:banana:banana:banana i am so EXCITED!!!! I LOVE my LAPBAND!!! * i went from a size 30/32 pants to a having room in 20's!!! :speechles * my BMI has gone from 51.9 Morbidly Obese to 36.9 severly obese (in 2 more bmi points i'll only be OBESE!!) :speechles * i have lost 52% of my excess body weight (if you base it on a goal of 156 pounds) i guess those 'you can expect to lose 35% in 3-5 years' stats are crazy !!!!!!!! * i have the energy to do the things i had not been able to do... plant a garden, landscape yard, hiking on hills, swimming laps in the pool, going to outside festivals and not passing out!, run (no i am not a runner but sometimes i'll get the urge and i can actually run more than 10 feet!) so i am 100 down and i am not sure how low i will go! before i always said i just wanted to get into 14's or be at 200 because i knew my health would drastically improve and that what i REALLY wanted out of surgery. BUT now i think reality is setting in. i will be in those 14's soon (!!!!) so i may actually get to a size 10 :nervous which i havent seen since the 6th grade!!!!!! only time will tell where i end up weight wise but i am already reaping the benifits of my loss and if i never lost another pound :laugh i still would consider my surgery a raging success! Michelle 350/250/??? 8-18-03 Lapband!

well when i had problems getting restrition they commented that when they were filling and unfilling to check that the Fluid was there the were getting no resistance and that concerned them. what were you filled to before (the 1st time) would 1.2 cc's given you ant restriction then? i would give it 2-3 weeks before getting another fill if theres no difference. sometime they take a while to kick in. was this a new band or the same one?

WOOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOOOOO DARCY!!!!!!!!!!!! :Bunny:Bunny:Bunny:Bunny:Bunny:Bunny:Bunny:Bunny:Bunny:Bunny:Bunny:Bunny:Bunny:Bunny:Bunny:Bunny:Bunny:Bunny:Bunny:Bunny:Bunny:Bunny:Bunny all the bunnies are JUMPING FOR JOY!!!!

hey sue! i will be thinking of you!!! please let us know how your doing as soon as your up to it! ((((((Hugs))))))

thanks sooooooo much ladies!!!!!!!! renee- i was gonna take pics last night but i just didnt get to it. i'll try for tonight! alexandra- it was a kick since last wednesday i weighed 257 due to 'aunt flo' so i waited to weigh till she was gone plus i had an incredibly busy weekend. sunday i was 250.5 so i tried to get extra busy.

i agree donali good excuse to go shopping! you look great and can really see a big difference!!!! i'm sorry to hear about your pom's. i have 3 dogs myself and am really attached to them. michelle

hey vera! i love e-bay to! i bought a BRAND NEW newport news bathing suit for $15 that is AWSOME!!!!

alexandra i am so gald you were able to chase your daughter i cant imagine how you must have felt. one of the reasons i got banded was so i can have children but its nice to know i'll be ablt to chase them too!