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A neck! I want one too! Nancy

Penni, in my book, you have ARRIVED!!! What a great feeling! ( I can only imagine.) You just go ahead on!! Nancy

Welcome, Maurice. You'll be getting banded on my one year bandiversary! It's natural to have a few anxieties, but you'll find that the band will help you for sure. Nancy

Aw, Leatha. Just what you didn't need, huh? You are in my thoughts. Nancy

Aw, Leatha. Just what you didn't need, huh? You are in my thoughts. Nancy

Amen to what everyone has said. I'm one of the slower losers, I guess, because I haven't made the best food choices, but I am thrilled with the band! The band is a tool that tells me, "Not one more tiny bite!" and means it! When have I ever had that before? The band is a tool that has kept me from re-gaining lost weight - even when I was eating nothing but junk. The band is a tool that has helped me lose 56 pounds and has helped me to return to normal blood pressure, cholesterol, and blood sugar without medication. Hopeful1, it is hard to understand until you experience it, but this is really a great tool. How great it turns out to be will depend on how committed you are, but it will definitely help you to lose weight. Nancy

I am so thrilled to hear this. It's wonderful news. Nancy

Denise, You may know this already, but the scars can be treated either with injections or with laser. I keiloid, too, and I have had several done with various results. One has all but disappeared. The worst one is much, much better. More like a normal scar - pink, but not raised and shiny. I went to a dermatologist to have mine treated.

I don't have instant messenger, sorry, but I'll be sending strength vibes your way. Shelly, You are georgous! Thanks for sharing the new picture. It is really an inspiration. Nancy

Marie, congratulations! Your happiness is contagious. What a great way to get out and enjoy the unusually awesome weather we've had in Houston! I'm so happy for you. Nancy:)

I have a few thoughts. First, you haven't been banded that long and the band is a somewhat mysterious and finicky device and it does take some time to learn how it works for you and how to take full advantage of it. I say how it works for you because while there are general principals that apply to all, the band/human relationship seems to be a little different for everyone. A lot of us have found that various factors can affect the tightness of the band temporarily. These include time of day, exercise, having your period, stress, etc. Personally, I cannot eat much at all after I exercise. Also, some foods go down easier than others and some foods almost never will work. You don't mention which food gives you the golfball after one bite, so it might just be a band-unfriendly food. There has been some discussion on the boards of a phenomenon experienced by people whose band is very tight in the mornings (that time-of- day thing). They can't eat in the morning. It gets easier throughout the day. By evening they are famished and eat and eat. Their band has loosened up by then. There is a theory that going to bed with food still in the pouch makes the food sit there which irritates the pouch. Then in the morning, you feel very tight again and the whole cycle starts all over again. Now for my personal opinion, which others have heard me say before. I did not get the band so that I could continue my previously unsuccessful attempts at food restriction otherwise known as dieting. If you were going to follow your nutritionist's advice and limit yourself to four ounces of food at each meal, there was really no reason to get the band. That prescription is a prescription to use willpower, not to use the band. To quote Dr. Phil, "How's that working for you?" To me, it sounds as though you are experiencing the same failure, discouragement, and bewilderment that we have all repeatedly experienced when we try to diet. We begin with high motivation and strong willpower. We lose weight, we feel great. But sooner or later, hunger or other triggers begin to gain the upper hand and our willpower fades. The way I have chosen for myself is to try to eat foods that are nutritious and work well with the band: Solid foods that won't flow right through the band, but will keep me full for a while. I do not measure my food even informally. I do not count calories. I let the band tell me when I've had enough. That's it's job. Even with minimal restriction, if you eat solid Proteins and vegetables, it will do it's job well enough so that you should lose weight or at least not gain. In fact, even when I lost willpower and ate thewrong foods - even with no fill at all - the band worked that way for me. Now that I'm doing better in my food selection, I hope to start losing again soon. In other words, I learned in the pre-band years that willpower and diets don't work for me. The band does. Do you need another fill? Maybe, but I would give it more time before you decide. Experiment a little and try to let the band do what it was meant to do. If you still find that the band is not limiting you in any way and you are gaining weight, then get a fill. Good luck, Nancy

WooHoo is right! That is fabulous success!! Congratulations! Nancy

I am praying for their safety. Please let us know when you hear from them again. Nancy

I'm excited for you! It's natural to feel a little nervous, but just think about the new you to come. Good luck and keep us posted! Nancy

Anne, have a safe, painless surgery. You are in my thoughts. Nancy

I'm sorry, too, Leatha. But the main thing is that they find out what is wrong and fix it so that you can feel well again. Nancy

Gas! How sad is this? I actually had to scout out the hospital where I work to find a bathroom that is at least semi-private. Meaning there aren't other stalls in there and there aren't people walking right past the bathroom door. It's still a little too public for my taste, but it's better than nothing. Nancy

I'm so glad he called to check on you. That makes me feel better too! As for staying mad, there's really no percentage in it, especially since you don't have a choice of doctors. It makes sense to me that he wouldn't want to do a fill just now. Your stomach probably needs a little rest. So glad you are feeling better. Nancy

Congratulations, Brandi!! This thread has been reassuring to me because I see that those of you who started at or around my weight have lost very close to the same amount I have. Thanks again, Shelly, for the idea! Nancy

Ok, I hope I'm not being too critical, but I have one or two additional suggestions. This is why my students cringe when they hand me their chart notes to read and approve. You are correct that the letter is still long and I'm afraid that may mean that a lot of it won't get read. Could you perhaps summarize your long and agonizing experience with his office? Perhaps something like this: I first called your office to report severe pain with eating and drinking (it was pain, not discomfort, after all)on Monday morning at 9:30 AM. Unfortunately, even after five additional calls to your office and answering service, four days of waiting by the phone in pain all day, and one emergency room visit, I still had not received a definitive response from you or your office staff. It was only after Kathy called you from the support group meeting, that you told me what tests you felt needed to be done by the GI specialist to whom you had referred me . . . Well, you get the idea. I do really think the first two paragraphs and the last two make your point in a direct but polite way. And I like the part about them not calling to check on you and the contrast with the oil change place. That they didn't call to check on you is inexcusable. On the other hand, you could just scrap the whole letter and speak to Dr. Chua when you see him on Friday, but it may be easier to say it in a letter. There have been times when I've meant to complain directly to a doctor during an appointment and then chickened out. In answer to your question about PCPs doing fills, my surgeon has teamed with an internist who works part time in his office doing fills. She has the band herself, and I think it works out very nicely. Nancy

I agree with Lisa that the first paragraph should contain the reason that you are writing (to complain) and the essence of your complaints. I also think you could leave all of the "what was good" part out of the letter. You can be polite in the letter, but strive to be short and to the point. Also, you might consider stamping "Confidential" on the envelope so that the office staff doesn't open it and throw it away so that they don't get in trouble. But it is good that you are writing. You will not only be helping other patients, but Dr. Chua as well. He can't fix what he doesn't know about. Nancy

Sarah, hang in there. And though I know it is difficult, please don't berate yourself if you do overeat. In my experience, guilt for overeating only leads to more overeating. I have learned to be patient with myself. I am trying to establish healthy eating habits after 25 years of turning to food for all the wrong reasons. I know it is not going to happen overnight. After a year of being banded, I have lost some weight - not as much as others - and I'm getting better. But I have a long way to go and in the grand spectrum of things, a year really isn't that much time. To borrow a phrase from AA, progress, not perfection, is what we are seeking. Nancy

Leatha, you're telling my story. I wonder how many of us struggle with depression, either as a precursor to or as a result of overeating and obesity. Nancy

Darcy, so glad you have found a possible answer to your problem. We've all been so concerned. Nancy

Hmm. . .I'm going to have to read this book, too. I struggle with periodic depression. What I've noticed is that when I feel depressed, I crave sugar and carbs. I must not be the only one either, because there is a rating scale for depression that includes questions about food cravings. I've also noticed that once I eat something sweet, I want more, but if I stay away from sweets, I don't crave them. There must be some sort of mood/food relationship in there somewhere. Nancy