Lioness81970

I haven't been on the computer for so long cuz my internet was out. I couldn't believe this post when I read it. I had to reread it cause I couldnt belive what I was actually reading. I don't know what to say...I'm at a loss for words right now. I'm sending a pray and lots of love to her husband and family. Know that she is watching down on you (and us) protecting you! Blossom - our beautiful guardian Angel!

There are 3 perfumes that I currently wear and I don't know what I would do if I ran out!!! They are Curve, Exclamation and Goddess (Avon)

Actually I understand what all of you are saying. My biggest reward is to get 2 tattoos - one on my wrist and one on the nape of my back. I want to get the word Patience in either arabic, chinese or japanese lettering on my wrist and on the nape of my back I want to get a bouquet of balloons with my children's names as the string. When I get under 200 the patience will be first and goal weight of 170 will be the balloons.

Ooops!! Forgot to put the games that I play: Jungle Gin Squelchies Turbo 21 Tri-Peaks Solitaire

My name is the same for EVERYTHING.....how original huh??? I'm Lioness81970

well when I got my drivers license I was older - didn't drive until I was 27. When I put my weight down of course I LIED!!! I actually weighed 285 but put down 250 and so that has stayed this whole while. When I had surgery I was 308 so I weighed 58 lbs more when I had the surgery. Currently I am 40 lbs under that weight and I look totally different now BUT I get my license renewed for my birthday in August so it will be nice to see what my actual weight will be then!! :banana

Well I like David ( it think that's his name......with the dreads, younger guy) and Mario!!

I was just wondering if anyone that is on here is in Wisconsin and had Dr. Engstrand do their surgery. I would like to know what they thought of him.

Weel seems everyone answered this thread but me so here goes - Lioness81970 - I am a Leo which in the zodiac is a Lion. Hence the Lioness........and the numbers at the end are my birthdate. Not very original but I thought it was cute!!

Betty 54 Paula 43 Kelly 65 Becky 77 Carol 102 Alex 110 Nana 49 Rich 20 Larae 22 Maureen 73 Marie 56 Wyld Blu 73 Penni 54 Vera 60 Darcy 59 Kelly 39 michelle 135 mary 65.4 greg 77 Sharon 35 Tricia 60 Darcey 23 cindy 88 Melissa 39 Michelle 80 Jonathan 27 Lisa 70 Lauren 23 Babs in TX 150 Bright 82 Jamie 5 Megan 60 Katie 29 Bobby H. 46 Estela 23 Angela 37.5 Terri 43 Teresa 86 Kristie 187 Pat 26.5 Carmen 98 Total: 2551.4

I got this from another message board and wanted to share it with all of you. Hope you like it. 12 Helpful and Humorous Tips For Post-Op Patients 1. Just because clothes fit one week, it doesn’t mean they’ll fit the next. Start shopping! 2. Protein shakes taste better when you drink them out of a tiki mug with a paper umbrella. 3. Learn how to take a compliment, because you will be getting lots of them. 4. If your pants are slipping down and you’ve just washed them, it’s time to say goodbye. 5. Instead of wearing a regular bra, buy a sports bra. It shrinks with you! 6. Stock up on bargain clothes in smaller sizes. You’ll need them sooner than you think. 7. Small bites taste better, and disappear slower, when you use baby utensils. 8. When safety-pinning your pants to keep them up, remember to stop at first sign of pain. 9. If you walk past a mirror, stop and check out how good you look. Yes, that is you! 10. Washing your clothes in hot Water and drying them is now a good thing. Shrink away. 11. pizza tastes really good when someone ELSE is eating it. 12. Don’t wait to buy new underwear. Bunched undies can put a real damper on your day

I was approved within 10 days of my paperwork being submitted. My doctor's office actually had the approval and called me before I even knew it had been approved. I didn't get the letter until about a week later. Good luck!!!

I haven't been on the board as frequently as I normally do just because of all the things that are going on with my life right now and it was just ironic that this thread was here when I finally did get the chance to come take a look. The reason that I say that is because this is what I am going through right now. My husband and I are going through a divorce right now and it hasn't been pretty. Did the wls have anything to do with it? Of course not....but it did help open my eyes to a lot of things that I didn't want to face being overweight. My husband and I are getting a divorce because of problems that were already there before the surgery took place. For a long time I stayed with him for fear of being alone. I was fat and had 4 children. Lord forbid.......who would want me?? Don't get me wrong, I loved my husband with all my heart but sometimes love has absolutely nothing to do with it because contrary to popular belief love DOES NOT conquer all. As my self esteem emerged and my confidence rose, I realized that I deserved better and so did my children. That what my husband was bringing to the table - so to speak - was not good enough. So to answer your question - from my opinion - no wsl has nothing to do with causing a divorce to happen, although it my help speed up the process.........

Sounds good - not to far from Michigan and think I could swing it depending on when it is!! Actually if Miss Wisconsin is coming I will hitch a ride with her and save some $$$

I'm game too - I'm right in Milwaukee so I wouldn't have a problem. Otherwise - we can do Wisconsin - there are all kinds of festivals going on during the summer including Summerfest and State Fair or even Wisconsin Dells.........

Got on the scale today and drum :banana roll please 230!!!! WHAAHOOOOO!!!! :banana I haven't been this weight since I delivered my oldest daughter 13 years ago! My driver's license actually has a weight I am close to now!!! lolol

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!! Today is (ironically) my 1 year bandiversary and I must say that Thanksgiving has a brand new meaning for me!!! All my life I have been bigger than what society has deemed a "normal" weight. Growing up I was always the biggest in my class. When I got older and started having children the weight just started piling on. When I delivered my last child in 99 I was weighing in at 270 pounds. It was a very complicated pregnancy and my doctor told me that my weight was a big factor in it. About a year and a half later I ended up pregnant again and was just estatic!! I wanted another baby so bad and couldn't have been happier. When I hit my 5th month I started having complications and ended up losing the baby.....my son Justin. Once again it was due to my weight. It was at that very moment that I made the decision that I had to do something with my weight! So that is when I decided to research WLS. I had originally decided to get the bypass done but it really scared me and I procrastinated with having it done.......then I found this board.......and it changed my life!! I started doing the research on it and found that yes this is what I wanted. I was scared that I was going to have to jump through hoops and hurdles to get the approval...but I didn't. I was approved in 2 weeks after finishing all my testing. On November 25th 2003 my new life began and I must say it has been interesting. I wanted to share with you - my other family - some of the things that I have been through to get me to where I am right now. I've been losing slowly - but that's ok. I am happy with my weight loss because a year ago I was 75 pounds heavier than I am today. It hasn't been easy and the road has been long. My relationship with food was the most uncomplicated relationship that I had. It didnt argue with me, fight with me, judge me or talk down to me like other people it my life. It was just there whenever I needed it. When I got banded I knew that gradually I would have to say goodbye to certain things and it was hard. There were times when I wanted to eat something and my head was saying go for it but my band was saying not today!!! I've really just recently gotten good restriction over the last month and a half so it's been even harder lately trying to figure out what I can and can't eat. It's so much trial and error. Over the course of the last year while my body has been changing so have I - inside. Sometimes it felt like the old Carmen was dying and a new one being reborn. And it was scary!!! I started noticing that things that I would take from peope where no longer an option. I was standing up for myself.......whoa...was this REALLY ME??!! I wouldn't let people talk down to me anymore or walk all over me and because of it I started being referred to as a bitch. I dont think that I became a bitch I just think that they couldn't accept that I wouldn't take their crap anymore and it bugged them because for so long that was the way that I was. I tried to please everyone and make them happy and then it dawned on me.......if I'm trying to take care of everyone else who's left to take care of me?? I started taking better care of the way that I looked. I started doing my hair, getting my nails and eyebrows done, wearing makeup and taking pride in the clothes that I put on. I had........dare I even say it?? SELF ESTEEM!!! And it felt good!!! I discovered old friends that I hadn't seen in years - my neck and collarbones. I discovered I had wrists and ankles. Things like that were just the icing on the cake so to speak. So as you all can see my life has been up, down, happy, sad,forward, backwards and every other thing that it could possibly be. And I love it!!! People always ask me if I am happy with my decision to get this done and sometimes I couldn't say yes honestly because the weight loss wasn't going the way that I wanted it to. Sometimes I wished I would have had the bypass done.......and then I think of all the complications that go along with it. And I remember my children....the main reason that I did this. I wanted to be there for them as they were growing up. I wanted to be happy and healthy and live a long and prosperous life. That was the ultimate reason for doing this. So now when people ask me that my answer is always the same - YES I AM happy that I had this done and if I had to do it all over again I wouldn't hesitate. I would do it in a HEARTBEAT.....and I mean it from the bottom of my heart!!!

don't forget chap stick or carmex - your lips will be very dry!!!

I think everyone is different when it comes to fills. I had my first fill about 2 mos after surgery and it too was 2 cc's. I didn't feel a thing. I have since had 3 more fills and up to 3.25 cc's and damn if I can't write a book on what restriction is!! :cross-eye Everyone is different and some doctors are more aggressive than others. I would hope that the docs that we chose were compitent in other aspects of the band and not just the surgery portion. I would say that by what you were saying that a slight unfill would probably do you good - especially just being 3 mos post op. It took me a long time to understand being full and being satisfied. We will NEVER ever feel the way we did preband - ya know - the unbutton your pants and let down the zipper full. You have to remember - and I can't remember who said it on here because it really stuck out in my mind and I would LOVE to give them proper credit - but we are eating to live and not living to eat. That was something that took me long time to realize and it's still hard. I still battle the demons but I can assure you that you will come to that point. Hope I helped........

This sounds like a really fun challenge. I would have joned in but I will be celebrating my 1 year bandiversary next week. I will exercise with the lot of ya anyways just for the sake of moving and grooving. So Greg - when's the pic going up???

I don't know what is the deal with the restriction kicking in after a while. I had a fill done in october and at the beginning of this month I had scheduled to have another fill done. Out of the blue I got this unbelievable restriction. I don't know where it came from - and it was a month later. It's still there so I am assuming I just take a little longer than normak for the restriction to kick it. Go figure that one....I'm still scratching my head saying "Hmmmmm......"

The 3 biggeest things for me have been portion control, actually eating and getting my Water in. Portion control is very hard fir me. my brain is still telling me "yea you can eat it go ahead fix that plate" and my stomach is saying '"nope not tonight!!!" I know that when I fix my plate I can only eat a small portion and I don't even know what I am thinking when I am doing it but instictively my plate always looks the same.......and then I eat maybe a 1/8 of what is on my plate. I have been trying to get smaller plates to adjust to that like grabbing a saucer or a small bowl. As far as water until I had the restriction that I have now I used to be able to get it all in. However since this restriction has kicked in I have a hard time getting it all in. I do try though. The last thing may seem kind of weird......but I forget to eat....This restriction is just something that I generally don't get hungry even in the mornings. I don't realize that I need to eat until I actually get a terrible headache and stomach ache. I'm trying to get better though.

I have United EPO - my surgery was covered 100% - I think it has to do with your policy. You have to go through it with a fine tooth comb. Lucky I had a stipulation in mine that stated it was not covered unless it was medically necessary. I dont even bother to call the insurance company cause 99% of the time I call I get a different answer from everyone.

Hi all - I just have a question for you all. I had my last adjustment about 1 month ago. Everything seemed fine and I was eating normally and was even considering going for another fill. All of a sudden I have this unbelievable restriction. I mean it came from nowhere. I am really struggling to eat anything lately and I definately am not getting my water in. I mean foods that I had no problems with in the past are completely off limits to me now. I don't want to go to soups and soft things cause I asked for this help with the band and I want to work it to the best of my ability!!! Maybe I am not taking small enough bites or I am not chewing well.....I don't know. That's the reason I thought I would ask all of you and see what you say. So, my question is this - should I hold tight and hang on and see if it loosens up? (I should probably mention that I just got my little friend but that has never seemed to be a problem for me in the past) Or should I call the doc and see about getting some taken out.

Believe it or not I had an angel who was a BYPASS person. She came and supported me - I met her on a local board for weight loss surgery - and not once did she tell me that I should have the orther surgery done. I completely support being an angel. I am actually going to be an angel for 2 people here in Milwaukee. One being my best friend's mom - who has always struggled with her weight and another is my boss's daughter who has said great things to her about how I I am looking. I totally support it so count me in!!!