bbrecruiter2000

Hi Paulax, I envy you because you can make a good broth. I could but with working all day and coming home to two hungry kids seems to limit my time, poor excuse, but I buy the stuff from the store. I found a clinic who gave me an appetite suppressant. My lapband doc claims no one has ever asked him and didnt want to do it. The clinic I went to refused in the first instance and then agreed to a 20 day prescription of an appetite suppressant . You would have thought that I was an addict based on the way they treated me. Hopefully, this will keep me on track and I will be able to stay on liquids for at least three weeks. I had a Protein shake for dinner and some more Water. . The pill I took seems to help take the edge off but its making me hyper. I dont understand why these docs think it is normal to keep someone on liquids for a month and have them be compliant. Its like they are torturing us or they just dont have an understanding of what its like to have others eat around you and feel like you are starving to death. Lets keep holding hands here. You are doing great. Babs in TX

Hi Paula, I did research online and it appears that most insecticides do not kill BW's and they are nocturnal so its better to look for them at night anyway. Howver, it does appear that a good exterminator can spray for them and limit the population. I am getting someone to come in this week to spray for ants because they are getting bad and then I can address the BW and scorpion issue. My husband sprayed the crap out of the scorpion and he was still alive the next morning. ITs weird but I am not afraid of rattlers as much as I am the BW's because the bite is 15 times more venomous. To my FLorida friends: I lived in FL for 8 years and I know how big those palmetto bugs get. I had one fly on my head once while I was in bed. TO the TX folks: I am just getting used to country living. My address is Fort Worth but my house is technically in Parker COunty not far from Aledo. Lots of new construction and my house sits on 1.2 acres and I have not cleared the back due to cost and the fact that I like trees and privacy. Babs in TX

Hi Paulax, Good morning!! I am drinking my coffee on Sunday morning. The daytime isnt really bad on liquids. Yesterday, I walked through costco and all the food samplers, did shopping and shared a soft soft yogurt with my husband . Only 130 calories for a half serving and it made me feel a little human. Dinnertime was really hard. I had to make food for my son and I thought there is NO way I can go without eating, so I made myself cream of mushroom soup. I do feel a little luckier than you though because I can have creamy liquids. But its a struggle. Another day.... Babs in TX

Hi GE, Up til now, I had never seen one before. I can handle the big ugly harmless ones, but in the last couple of weeks I have had my share of new and interesting creatures living in our newly constructed country ranch house. A few weeks ago, we had a scorpion in our kitchen and then an Iron clad beetle which was kinda cool and then a black widow. Yucch!!! Babs in TX

Hi Lapbandit, I wish this would be the case that i would never see another, but they live 3 years and some male impregnated her. IT is a myth that they eat the male after mating,,,, Babs in TX

Hi Paulax, With flouro, the docs cant tell whether its pouch dilatation or a true slip. They see an enlarged pouch which is probably twice the size it should be. Probably from overeating, but I couldnt tell that I was doing this since I had no soft stop sign or hard stop and I had no reflux and did not throw up. They are leaning towards pouch dilatation and the only way to shrink the pouch is to not eat solids, remove the fill and hope it reduces in size and then start to fill it again. If it doesnt shrink in size, then they will have to reoperate, so it is critical for me to stay on liquids only for at least 2 weeks, but preferable three. Today was really rough. I am sipping on a Protein shake, but I want a hamburger, OK turkey burger minus bread and some blue cheese crumbles. OK, I can have the blue cheese because it will dissolve in soup, but I want meat!!! Babs in TX 334/180 ish

HI , Ditto to what Alex says. Whats the point of having the band if it is empty or its not giving you restriction??? GO get a fill. Babs in TX 334/180 ish

Hi Paulax, I found out on Wednesday that my pouch is dilatated or I have a band slip. I have been put on liquids for three weeks. NOw its not Clear Liquids, so I have been fortunate enough to be able to have watered down cream of wheat, Soups, Protein shakes etc. I am on day 4 and having a hard time with this. I have been banded for three years and three months and its like starting all over again. The first couple of days sucked , but I have lots of stuff like SF Jello, popsicles, soups and shakes to keep me busy. Yesterday, I took my kids to the movies and the smell of popcorn was killing me. I was smart enough to go to Braums before hand and have a yogurt soft serve which I let melt down into a shake and then drank to keep me from hurting someone. Since I am averaging fromo 600-800 calories a day, I hope to lose some weight. I refuse to weigh myself, but I will know when I drop the weight by my clothing which has been very tight because I gained weight due to no restriction for the last 8 months. I admire your fortitude. I had to do 21 days of liquids when I was first banded and I was so very hungry. BUt you do what you have to do. Hugs from TX 334/180 ish -150 ish

Hi Leatha, Since they dont know if it is pouch dilatation caused by overeating or a true oncorrectable slip, my docs protocol is to try to shrink it back by sticking to liquids. It is true that they unfilled me so as long as I am not overeating, it should go back if its not a true slip. I think its a slip, but I am willing to follow his lead. I am starving and trying not to think about food. At least I'll be hydrated! LOL I had 2 Protein shakes this evening so far cause I didnt eat anything all day. Babs

Hi, Today I went for a second opinion to see if my band was healthy and if I had any problems. I have been having trouble getting the full signal and feel voraciously hungry all the time. I explained all of this to the new surgeon and he sends me downstairs to get a fill. The radiologist and fill nurse look at the flouro and immediately remove all of my fill. They claimed that my pouch is enlargedand it could either be dilatation or my band has slipped. Which kinda confirms what my fill doc said in February since I did not have restriction then and I have been gaining weight despite my efforts to make healthy choices for the most part. My problem has been quantity. So I have been put on a liquid only diet for the next three weeks to see if we can get the pouch to shrink or the band slippage to resolve itself. If it doesnt, I will have to have surgery to fix it. SO as I sip on my Protein shake, I am feeling sorry for myself, wishing I had lunch before I went to the docs office cause now with no fill and only liquids to look forward to I feel like crying. I am so hungry and at least tonight, I dont feel like I can go three weeks with no food. I am trying to look at the bright side of this. At least I will lose weight..... Babs in TX Banded since forever 6/23/03 334/190 something ish -150 ish

Hi Michelle, I agree with Leatha. I think that the esophagus becomes immune to some extent for long term bandsters and we can no longer tell whether we have too much or too little restriction. FYI: I just went to a new lapband surgeon today who sent me downstairs for fluoro and a fill when I described how much weight I was gaining and how hungry I was. They removed all my fill instead and put me on liquids for three weeks because they think I either have a true slip or pouch dilatation when looking at the floro. I cried and now I am trying to be realistic about the situation. If this doesnt resolve, I will be having another surgery to repair the slip. Its frustrating because I was not symptomatic other than feeling like I could eat more than usual and getting pissed that I am gaining weight. I feel your pain girlfriend. I have no idea how I can get through 3 weeks of only liquids without killing someone. So I kinda have the opposite problem where I can eat a cow, but I am not able to. You got some good advice from another poster about going to a GI specialist. Maybe you have some form of achalasia or dysmotily which can be fixed with a happy pill!!! LOL Keep your chin up. Babs in TX

Hi Sugarplum, I had a TT last year after losing more than 150 lbs. I did not carry my weight in my stomach though and they removed 3 lbs of excess skin and 1-2 pound of redundant skin from my thighs that kept getting infected. IT is very painful to have a medial thighplasty and the tummy tuck was no joy either. But just like having a baby, you soon forget about the pain. I am happy with my flat tummy, but I definitely wouldnt do the thighs again. Babs in TX 334/180 ish -150 ish

Did any of you see this article?? IT was in the National Enquirer and I was waiting on line in the supermarket. I never read those traderags....LOL IT said that she was planning on lapband surgery and was to have the procedure in AZ. I think in Scottsdale at some clinic there. Maybe she read some of the letters I sent about how great the lapband is and how she should have some bandsters on her show...??? So what do you guys think? I say she will do it soon. Babs in TX 334/180 ish

Hi, Well first off, she has gained weight and is back up to 197 pounds from her low of 140. THe pictures tell all. This wasnt the kind of article that there was any element of guessing involved since they were able to name the facility. YOu may think the Enquirer is not accurate, but most of the time they are right. This is the cover story and with Oprahs money and her opposition to WLS, if it wasnt true then the Enquirer could easily go out of business since Oprah is presently worth a billion and can get the lawyers on them. I think it really happened. She backed out, but I am willing to bet at least 10 bucks that she has surgery within a year. Babs in TX

Hi Photnut, Alexandra addressed the issue of satiety and the changes that happen as a long term bandster better than I did in my previous post. At least for me, the following changed: I no longer get the full signal the way I did during the honeymoon period, so I guess you could say that the band does to some extent lose its effectiveness for some people. I know part of it has to to with esophageal motility, the band changing position with massive weightloss etc... I have had my band emptied, refilled etc and I can still guzzle Water and certain foods for me go right throught the band. NOw I said some people lose satiety, not all because I have several friends who have the same level of satiety as they did a few years ago, stop at 5-6 oz and stay full for four hours. It is true that many of the reasons that I do not lose any more weight and I have gained some back is because I am not doing all the things that made me successful with the band in the first place. I would say that several long plateaus and weeks at the gym with no weight result have probably resulted in me giving up a little. I dont go to the gym anymore, but I do walk quite a bit and get some exercise, but not the level I did before. Part of the problem is that I had plastic surgery last year and then couldnt exercise for 2 months and I got off track. I still prepare my meals, eat mostly at home and pack my own lunches and Snacks and eat very little bread, mostly meat and some veggies for the most part. YOu are right, it doesnt help to tell a newbie during the honeymoon period that things will change. ITs not motivating and I respect your position on this. My point was that its also wrong too to go forward with blinders and think things will continually be easy. The closer you get to goal, the harder it is to continue to lose weight. Thats why I said the suggestions that Paul made were great, but not one size fits all and if following his rules resulted in someone coming back and saying 6 month from now, I did like Paul said and it didnt work as well, could be very demotivating. I thought the first 6 months to a year were hard, but looking back its the now....... To answer your question, at two years out I plateaued at 180 and every effort I made to get lower than this failed. At two and a half years, I had plastic surgery and approaching year three, I feel like I am starting all over again, but with less juvenation and new determination, but the realization that this really an addiction that I will have to fight against my whole life even with all the modificaitions I have already made. Sometimes this can be daunting and you feel it is insurmountable. I know now because of the band that I have the power to change and have a very useful tool, but nevertheless, it is very different than the beginning of my journey. I have more in my band now than I did a year ago with less restriction. Lots of folks could say, well if you are gaining or not losing, go get a fill then. That will solve your problem. This is not true. You cant just keep filling the band. The band is doing all it can do for me now. I have to do the rest and its harder than the first year was. It is starting again. At least for me. Babs In TX 334/180 ish

Hi Vanessa, I probably could have done without it. With my clothes on, I looked pretty good. But I had the hanging pannus and the saggy thighs and opted to have them surgically altered. I really wanted to have a flat tummy instead of the sag there. Besides, I had two babies C section. Nothing like turning back the clock. It really depends on what you personally feel you can live with or without. I probably could have done without it, but I really wanted to and my insurance paid for 2/3 of it, so why not??? Babs in TX 334/180 ish

MR. Yo, I reached goal at 2 years out and I will soon be banded for three years. I dont weigh so I cant tell you exactly what I weigh today, but its within 10-12 pounds of my lowest weight since I am wearing the same clothes for more than a year now. It is a challenge to keep it off and thats what I am dealing with right now. I am happy with my size 14's and 16's and thats what counts. My body seems to be content at the weight I am at now. Babs in TX 334/180 ish -154 ish

Hi Leatha, AMEN to both your posts.!!! I'd like to start off saying I was one of those bandsters that was starving from day one. I had no restriction and I could tell by day three or 4 that I was going to have a real hard time with the liquid diet, then creamy, then mushy then solid food. I called my doc on day five and told him how hungry I was. He told me to start on creamy soups!!! I so wanted food that I chewed on a piece of bacon and then spit it out. That really helped. I did not deviate from my docs orders because I know how important healing is and I remained compliant. I agree with the poster that said that compliance is important from the beginning. When you start changing the rules of the manufacturer and the docs thats when you start cheating on yourself. Its highly possible that in addition to preventing yourself from throwing up and ripping stitches and sutures that the post op diet is also to maximize weight loss as well. IT also helps us to change the way we think about food. The addiction to eat for all of us both physical and mental is so strong. At least in my case, I really felt that sticking to a plan and making the healthy choices required to be successful has been my saving grace and has kept my band healthy and happy at 3 years post op. FOr all of us, it started with "only one french fry", just one piece of cheesecake. The only way to be successful with any WLS and permanent weight loss is to change the way you think about food . I know every doc is different, but throwing up by accident cause you swallowed a french fry and its stuck is a sure way to cause your band to have problems. Babs in TX 334/180 ish -150 ish banded 3 years really soon!!!

Hi Lisa, I can't believe I am participating in this: Purple satin bra 38 C and NO underwear. I only wear them when I have my period. After since my plastic surgery medial thighplasty and TT, I am really sensitive in the crotch area and sometimes the underwear rub into the scar line. OK, definitely too much info...... Babs in TX 334/180ish

Hi Megan, Wow what a difference. But you were cute in both pics. My drivers license pic needs to be changed for sure. A while back I got a ticket, went to pay it at the city office and all the women behind the counter started passing around my license and staring at me. ONe lady just said, howja do it??? I started cracking up!!! Great NSV! Babs in TX 334/180 ish now

Hi Bobby, I have been banded almost three years and I can GUARANTEE that no part of the band is outside the body! Being as klutsky as I am, I would have damaged mine day one if it were dangling outside my body. How sexy is that!!!! lol. Please go to the website of www.inamed.com which is the manufacturer of the band so yo ucan see a good picture of it. Inamed is now owned by Allargan but if you go to the site I typed here it will take you to the Inamed site. The port is sewn inside your abdomen and attached to the abdomen wall with the titanium port located where it can be accessed with a needle to add saline. Babs in TX 334/180 now

Hi Alex, I think that getting a personal trainer is a great thing as long as it is the right one. I went through 3 of them. They missed appointments and caused me grief until I met Paul at my gym. I took about 13 sessions and I feel more comfortable in the gym than I did before. I am envious that you are very tall (5 11"), I am sure that you are looking flabulous at your present weight, but I certainly understand you desire to get below 200. I had to up my workouts to 4-5 times a week, since my weight loss is dramatically slowing down. The closer you get, the harder it gets unfortunately! Babs in TX 334/208/170 -126

Hi, Today was my birthday and I am feeling a little down. I was hoping to get under 200 pounds by today and I missed a goal. Plus I ate way too much this weekend and I know I will gain weight. Also I have been on a plateau for 2 1/2 weeks and gained two pounds from my all time low of 208. So this is my new resolution to get below 200: I will up my exercise from 2-3 hours a week I will drink more Water No cheating or making bad food choices My desire is to get below 200 by August 23rd 2004. Babs in TX 334/208/170 -126

Hi Everyone, Thanks for the warm wishes. Yes, I am hard on myself. Just want to see a glimpse of onederland. I am pretty sure I dont need another fill at this stage. My last one was in January and it seems to be working OK. It just gets harder to lose the weight when you get closer to goal. Babs in TX 334/208/170 -126 6/23/03

Leatha, My birthday is July 25th today!!!! Is that yours as well? Happy birthday to us then!!!! Babs in TX 334/208/170 -126