Bright

Hey Shelly, you look fantastic! I can't believe how much 50lbs shows! you must be thrilled! You'll be a knockout when you're at goal!

oh dear god Donali, that's my sleep gone for the night! You poor thing - what a scary experience! AND a seizure - good grief! (just call me charlie brown, I'm trying not to use my usual expletives here, being nice and polite!) Seriously tho, hope you've recovered by now and your head's still not thumping. And I really hope this fill is the Holy Grail fill and gets you where you want to go..... I have been freaking out about my surgery date (looming on 28th Oct) I'm so nervous - and surprised that I am, usually I'm pretty calm about medical stuff. I have been having weird dreams about my surgeon (the french guy!) which haven't been altogether unpleasant just kinda spooky. anyhoo take care my porn lovin pal yours insanely....

Welcome! .......by the time you have read this, Zoey, you'll be a bandster! Congratulations! Hope you're feeling ok and that everything went according to plan - Keep in touch and let us know how you're doing

Hi Mary - congratulations on your great weight loss so far - I too have a loooong way to go but am so happily surprised at how much of a difference 40lbs makes! I keep thinking about a year from my surgery date and forget about all the mini goals in between - your weight loss REALLY shows - well done! Hope I do as well as you after my op (28th Oct)

Hey Christi - I too am pre band but have a surgery date - I learnt so much from people on this message board and from the internet in general - there are loads of really great sites out there to learn from: to start you off, you should definitely read the Inamed book - they are the people who make the Bioenterics or Inamed band - here's the link: http://www.inamed.com/pdf/health/94829E_LB_Patient_Book.pdf also the link below is a brilliant one - I think it's from Tonia who often posts here! It's basically lots of faq's plus links to other great info sites! http://hometown.aol.com/texasrosey/ hope this helps

I'll be an october bandster too - my surgery date is the 28th! I think the time will fly by....it was four weeks away on tuesday and I can't believe this week is almost over! Lulu, we'll nearly be bandster twins!!!

yeah he's a pet! He's reading up all the stuff i print off the internet - so supportive, he always has been - he never critisized my weight at all! My Dad is coming to collect my kids this evening - my family think we're just off on a trip to Paris - flights are so cheap to europe here that we often do - we'll be back on friday night, and on sat morning we'll drive down to collect the boys! As i am self pay I am presuming i can pick the surgery date - I don't want anything too immediate anyway - I'm hoping for the end of october, when the kids are on their hallow'een break - we're all going to go to Paris then, and check out Eurodisney! Can't imagine disney without the florida sun tho!!! Anyway - better go pack! flying tonight!!! Yay

Well done - u must feel amazing!!! Think of 40lbs of butter piled up - what a loss! Yay for u xx :banana :banana :banana

yes it's tomorrow! So nervous! So can relate to your fitting on the plane seats fear Babs! I'm bringing vaseline in case I don't fit!!! Am really looking forward to meeting Sarah tomorrow too - actually Im leaving tomorrow night but the consult is actually on Friday - spent the week booking flights, hiring a car and Sarah booked us (husband coming too!) a hotel room - thought I was organised when horror of horrors, I couldn't find my passport!! Spent last night tearing the house apart trying to find it - turned up today neatly stored with all my flight info and my list of 10,000 "Questions to ask your prospective surgeon" ! AAArrrgghh! That'll tell you how stressed I am! Can u imagine what i'll be like before surgery! Wish me luck!:mad:

good to see you here - any weight loss before being filled is a bonus and 13lb is a pretty big bonus! you're doing great - when are you planning to get your fill? That will speed up your weight loss and get things moving!

Wow - congratulations Babs, you are doing brilliant!!!! I can't believe how much you've lost, and even if you'd lost half of that, you are such an inspiration with your great advice and general cheeriness!! I'm thrilled for you - you so deserve all those milestones! :banana :banana :banana :banana :banana

first of all, I heartily agree with all the above and wanted to add another perspective I have: I spent months researching & reading about the RNY and was completely gutted (s'cuse the pun!) when I came to the (sensible, i believe) conclusion that it was a really unhealthy option - in addition to the reasons in all the posts above re malabsorbtion etc I realised these things too: 1. As I read one personal story after another I found it almost impossible to find a person three years out of the surgery (or more!) ('cept for Carnie of course!) You could read tonnes of accounts from people who had the surgery 6 months/a year ago proudly fitting into their leather minis but after that NOTHING! That got me nervous.... We regularly have people who are maintaining their goal weight popping up on message boards such as Robin here, or Wednesday and others - I emailed a few "vintage" bandsters AND they all mailed me back saying *I love my band, go for it* I emailed three times as many RNY veteran's - and NOTHING!!! Nobody got back to me! 2. I read a couple of doctor's opinions of the RNY and the underlying message was: the RNY is not ideal, Obesity is not ideal - the surgery is somewhere in the middle to help people who may die in the next few years from obesity related disease - IT IS A COMPROMISE - much like someone losing their breast after cancer, it's cutting out the "bad" part to give life to the rest of the body - but it's not ideal - they may have other problems and may suffer for the rest of their lives. The Lap band is just a tool - I can use it or it can sit contentedly in my body for years and I can eat around it and stay the same weight. It leaves me in control. 3. Just because people rave about a brilliant new weight loss product doesn't mean it's healthy!!! Hello!!! We know this! Ever since victorian women swore by puppy urine to keep their waists trim, we have tried every lotion, potion under this sun, cabbage soup, grapefruit, atkins, blood group diets, the face reading diet, Hey just cos we'll try it and there is ALWAYS someone who has lost a million pounds on it, doesn't mean it's healthy!!! I sat patiently with my friend this morning who is a very intelligent woman, tell me excitedly about a brilliant new way to "boost your metabolism" - You have to drink three cups of coffee with every meal and hey presto, the fat won't enter your blood stream!??? She said it was all very medical and such and such lost 4lbs in a week with it!!!! Madness! Having said that, I guarantee you, someone will read this post somewhere, and be thinking, hmmmm i DO like coffee....sounds plausible.....!!!!!!!!!!! I know when I get my lap band I will have to conscientiously think about what I eat - i may lapse but I'm in charge! And being obese, I need the validation with each pound I lose, that I helped! I was proactive! It's not just happening to me, I'm doing it - I don't know about you but these days my confidence it at an all time low and I am really looking forward too, to the mental boost the lap may give me! I don't want to exchange one miserable life (being fat) for another miserable life (RNY)! If something sounds too good to be true, it will be!!! sorry this is so long....rambling again......sorry xx:)

hey Donali, I've always looked at your signature thing (beside the little mouse guy) and thought, how very odd! I've just realised today that it says POM lover - em, for ages I thought it said PORN lover.....ohmigod I laughed for about ten minutes at myself - had to share!!!! apologies....! Ps - what ARE poms? Are they those little cute dogs? :)

Thanks for the translation - i thought I was the ultimate cyber chick knowing BTW or IMHO....learn something new everyday! *Anyway* you'll always be a porn lover to me Donali! :)

I know Shell, you and me, going straight to hell!!!! :)

Congratulations Ginger, Hope it all goes well for you - keep in touch and let us know how you got on!

think I'll have to change my screen name from Bright at this stage, but what does ROTFLMAO stand for ? Or ROFL for that matter Vampy? Siiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiighhhh....we're very innocent people here in Ireland! Shelly, Soooooo glad someone else shares my mad thoughts!!! Love Bright (real name = Niamh (pronounced Neeve, to rhyme with Eve!)) :)

Yay for u Sheila.....one small step for Man, one huge step for Bandsters.............. (apologies to all fans of Neil Armstrong....)

...........did I get that right? Bleacher's are what you guys call those seats at football games, right? Got caught up in the emotion there for a bit, sorry :)

I SO hear ya Megan.... I am also aprehensive about living a new life - after years of comfort eating - I have become comfortable (!) here in a lot of ways. I have amazing looking sisters (all tall & thin) and my three best friends are thin, tanned, blonde and gorgeous - frequently I find it almost a relief not to have to compete - when we are all going to a party they are all stressing out what to wear, shoes, make up hair, etc - It's not that I don't make an effort but I'm the only fat one - I just have to look better than I do when I do the groceries for a party! ! I, as an outsider, find other "normal" women scary - they seem to constantly have to out do each other, if one goes on a tanning bed, they all do and someone eventually "wins" with the best tan - It's like they're all in a marathon and I'm sitting watching (eating hotdogs!). I'm worried about having to get in the race and become one of them! It's funny - I don't worry about men, they have always been kinder to me than women have anyway - plus I'm deliously happily married (14 yrs so far!). I'm also kind of concerned about what will happen if I stop comfort eating? What will I start to do for comfort? (gulp!) And (yet) another thing! Fashion!!! I have some great things from the eighties I am determined to wear again - if you hear sirens, it'll be the fashion police after me..... As I have droned on in another post, the Band is a lot about trust, you have to look at the people on the path before you, thank them for their honesty and step off the bleachers into the race.......

I emailed Sharon (well, her show's) website too so someone here should hear from her to clarify things!

I can really see a difference Shelly gives me hope too!!! I think you look really pretty now! You'll be WoW really soon!

hi everyone! Just wanted to share my excitement! I have made an appointment for my first consultation with a surgeon in Paris - Dr Marre (Sarah's surgeon if you've been following her posts!) and will see him on 26th Sept! Apparently he may give me my op date then (i'm hoping for the end of october) as I am self pay I shouldn't have to wait! And I get to go to Paris! Sarah is going to meet me and come with me - what an angel :kiss and even better, then we are going to IKEA ! Yay - I've been so down the last week or so and now I feel things are really moving again - best of all the surgery will only cost €4000 and I had initially budgeted for around €12,000 - Can u smell the shopping already!!!???

Hi Nikki, can I ask, where did you get the water dispenser? Sounds perfect - I find it so hard to drink the recommended 2 litres a day and I'm not even banded yet!!! :sick

hey I was just reading an article in "Now" mag (english magazine!) about Sharon Osbourne, it says she had her stomach stapled (!) but she was also quoted as having tonnes of plastic surgery! I couldn't believe her "before" photo - she looked fifteen years older than she does now! Apparently she has had a boob job, a face lift, a leg lift (well both legs!), a tummy tuck, her bum lifted and liposuction!!!! She must look like a quilt under all the black!!! Looks pretty good from the outside tho!