leatha_g

How sweet and how deserving you are of such a wonderful love. How could he resist? You're both keepers.

Colesce Couture Division Customer Service (800) 487-4697 No Phone Orders for Colesce Fax Orders (800) 508-8359 Paula, If you are serious about wanting to be fitted correctly. This 800# will connect you with Colesce Coutures who manufactures and custom fits in the privacy of your home. It is not the prettiest, but the best bra I've ever used. They are expensive, but I wear them for years and years. For everyday wear, they are the best support for your back I have ever had. All you have to do is call the 800# and ask them to help you locate a distributor in your area. Buying these bras is one of the best things I have ever done for myself. They minimize without appearing to mash everything down. You can see the difference in clothing, guaranteed! I did work for this company for awhile, but I don't anymore. I just believe in the product and still use it. Good luck!

That's really a shame. I'd say maybe us (the consumers) should start an email/letter campaign to tell them how we feel about that/what it's done for us in the way of improved health vs the bad health we started out with. Such a shame...

Make sure it covers the 'girls' this time then!! :)

I hope you tell him he has THREE tries only. Tubing leaks are most always the result of someone TRYING to hit the port and missing. This is GOOD for them, but not so good for you. I tell my doc, 3 strikes and you're out. We can go to flouro.

I know where Joshua is. Gotta love small Texas towns. I am from west Texas, myself. A town called Snyder. However, I had to move to the metroplex to make a living. I miss the quiet, the safety, the cheap rent and the familiar faces of my small hometown.

Glad to hear you're home and doing okay Samy!!

No cup loss for me...

:knockedou :banana :banana :Bunny :Bunny :Bunny :D :D Woohoo!! I broke 183!!! Finally, since friggin Labor Day!! This morning my scale says 181.8. I know that's not a big loss, but I have been so bad and unable to break that darn 183. I know by evening, things will change but I have SEEN 181.8!!!! I have been working hard to get off the carb machine, so maybe I am headed in the right direction. I may see the 170's yet!!!

Merry Christmas to all!! Jeremy, Leatha_G, Mimi & John

the wire thing hurts me. lol. custom fitted are usually more pointed, supposedly putting the breast tissue up and in front where it belongs instead of splattered out under your arms and on your back. sorry to say, us large folks need support. support is not often pretty. i think they have people who do custom fitting in dillards and foleys. after losing even 10lbs it is a good idea to be fitted correctly. why do i know these things? i used to work for a company who made custom fitted bras. i still maintain that a properly fitted bra will take 10lbs off your appearance. i have seen it time and time again.

Bypass was never an option for me, due to the possibility of developing a leak and bleeding to death. My doctor even told me he would NOT do a bypass on me for that reason. See, I take blood thinners. Even he told me it was just too risky. I take that to mean that the risks of breaking staple lines, etc is pretty high. Also, there is a Memorial page for all those lost who've had bypass on www.obesityhelp.com and there is NO lapband Memorial page anywhere. That is not to say there have been no deaths related to lapbands, but I think we can still count them using 2 hands. Most of those were not related to the surgery itself, they were related to patients not reporting problems quickly enough and one man that I know of actually had a heart attack, not directly related to the band. Also, if they come up with that magic cure for obesity, I can simply have them remove my band and return to normal with all parts and pieces intact. With the band, I can take 2 Flintstone Vitamins a day and eat my veggies and my body is able to get the nourishment it needs. With the bypass, I can take in supplements all day long and still not get the absorption I need to keep my body healthy. Also, there have been patients who have had the bypass that are currently unable to stop their weightloss. There is one woman in the LA area right now (if she's still alive) who is dying due to her inability to stop her loss. I want to be healthy, not die because I lost TOO much weight and wasn't able to absorb vitamins and nutrients. Also, constant diarrhea just is not appealing to me. I can hardly stand it for a day or two of a virus. Can you imagine the rest of your life? YUKKY. Not to mention the really foul gas that you hear so much about. With the band, I am in charge of my own destiny. As long as I make good choices food-wise and I follow the rules of using the band, my life is only enhanced. The complications with the band are still very minor compared to those with the bypass. Slippage requires re-operation in some cases, but even this pales in comparison to suddenly developing a hemorrage because of a broken staple line in a bypass. In most cases, a slippage isn't even an emergency. it is a nuisance and it is worriesome mentally, but in most all cases an unfill will buy you time to decide if you want to be re-banded or have your band removed. Erosion, the worst of all complications with the band, only happens in about 1-3% of cases and even that does not require any emergency situations. With the band, I can slowly lose my weight in a healthy fashion. This allows my mind to keep up with my body and doesn't put me in the situation of having lost 100lbs almost overnight and trying to adjust mentally to that. It also gives my skin a chance to catch up, although most all people who have 100lbs or more to lose or are over a certain age WILL have excess skin. Our skin is just not that resilient. I could go on and on, but I am one who can tell you that even presented with a complication; I would still do this surgery once a year if that was what was required, rather than put myself in jeopardy by seeking a bypass. that is just me. Many many people do have bypasses and I will have to admit that with laporoscopic procedures they are much less risky than in days past, but the statistics are still very high that even if I don't die, I will wind up in the ICU for possibly weeks on end and have my body in jeopardy of developing all sorts of additional problems. For only an 18 month window of opportunity? I don't think so!! This is a very personal choice and you will have to weigh the pros and cons and choose what is best for you. Whatever that choice is, I wish you the very best!

I travel for a living and I've been banded 18 months. I have not one time set off an alarm. I have, however, heard others say they did. There is only a miniscule amount of titanium in the port of the band. It should not set off alarms. Let us know what your experience is.

Gorgeous families! Thanks for sharing ladies!

Glad to hear you're doing okay, Lenna, but just remember - you DO NOT have to eat it all. Eat what you can until you get that feeling (15-20 minutes only) then put it away. It's OK now. You do not have to clean your plate. Hopefully, soon you'll see the results of this in your weightloss. That is why we had this done, right?

I was just reading Dr Ortiz's book this afternoon about how so many people go out the night before surgery and stuff themselves only to have all of that in their colon the day of surgery. Then, out of surgery they have pretty painful gas and wonder why?? Hmm....

Wonderful photos!! Congrats on such a great loss!! And it's okay that you took a little break and found that it's not so easy without the band. I think that is good reinforcement that you really did make the right choice with the band. Now onward!! You're looking great!

YIKES!! You poor thing! I've heard of this a couple of times. Scary! So glad you got there in time to have it fixed right away!

Don't get in the rut of only eating soft foods, however. Could it be that this is just a new sensation to you and the band is working exactly how it is meant to? Are you chewing until your solids are basically liquid? If you have good restriction, you should be able to eat solid foods, but you have to chew, chew, chew until they are basically pureed and you have to eat slowly. If you can eat 4 oz of food and you are not having problems with liquids, you may simply have restriction. If there is any sign of reflux in the night, you definitely DO NOT want to leave it this tight. The sensation you will get, going forward, with restriction is exactly what you are describing. Once the band is full it will give you what we call a 'hard stop' that feels like a golf ball in your chest/throat and if you continue to eat it will become painful. There are other more subtle signs such as one large hiccup or wretching of the diaphragm, some people's nose starts to run, some have a sudden bout of itchy throat and coughing. This is your band giving you the 'yellow light' telling you IT is full, even though you may not think you are full or have had enough food in your MIND. Definitely do not allow yourself to PB at every meal. You may want to try something like cottage cheese. Give yourself a test. Take about 4 oz of cottage cheese and eat it slowly, chewing thoroughly and swallow, lay down your utensils between bites, then take another bite until you begin to get some the signs I explained above. If you can only get one bite in, or two bites in, you may certainly be tighter than you want. If you can continue to eat until you've eaten the 4 oz, it's likely you're not really too tight for the band to do its job. You do not want to get into the habit of only eating soft foods too much either, as these are higher in calories and don't sit as long in your pouch. The object is to eat hard Proteins - fish, chicken, tuna, etc, so that they will fill your pouch quicker and stay in there longer. Truly, we all have plenty of food/energy storage on board. The whole idea of the band is to minimize our intake. But, whatever you do, you do not want to become dehydrated, so if you have ANY problem with liquids or reflux, this is your clue that you are far too tight. Welcome to the board!! Keep us posted on how you are doing!

LMAO Ryan.. OMG Greg!! ROFL

I had shredded chicken, marinated in Italian dressing. and I'm about to have some Dannon Light and Fit yogurt to take my meds with. However, I take off for St Louis again tomorrow, which means I'm back in the territory of traveling and well meaning co-workers. Ya'll pray for me.

hehe, here's another.

Still not the best. but a little better. Here's a black and white I was playing around with.

Beat ya to it!! I went and found it on your blogspot. lol. I dunno if this is any better or not.

leatha_g@hotmail.com I can't promise anything, but I can try!