MeganA

I'm all choked up. I just can't thank each and everyone of you for your kind words and thoughts. I...I'm speechless! Thanks again, Megan

Vines- I removed my ticker too- what was the point? Then I remembered that there was a turtle as one of the little marker thingies so I decided to try again. Turtles Rule!!! Megan

Sue, I'm shocked! and sad, and greatful that you're taking care of yourself. I'm so sorry you've had to go through this. I so appreciate your story, and think that it's very important to tell because, like you said, newbies sometimes are overly enthusiastic and have expectations that everything will just be perfect. We must be able to temper that...just in case. Good luck with your upcoming surgeries, and keep us posted on how you are. I've always found your frankness comforting. Megan

I agree with the others- but you may find that you still have trouble concieving and need to lose a little more weight to make it easier. You still are significantly overweight (so am I!) even after your loss...and we all know that-statistically anyway-overweight women have underweight babies (how in the heck can that be?). If I were you, I'd go off of all birth control and see what happens. If after the next 6 months you still haven't conceived, then go to a specialist. Roll the dice and see what fate has in store!

Here are my latest photos

Now you get it! I'm happy for you. And remember, restriction can change as you lose weight. Try to remember what this feeling feels like so when you start to notice it changing you go in and get a fill ASAP! Megan

Kim- Thanks for the congrats on two years. I'll post a thread about it, and hopefully include some new photos in the next few days. My fill is perfect! I don't have that constant feeling that I need to eat, and I can eat about a 1/4 to 1/2 a cup and I'm satisfied. Getting a fill was the right thing to do. I've already dropped a few pounds so I'm thrilled. Fills Rule Megan

I remember this feeling well. I couldn't feel that anything had changed, yet it also felt like *everything* had. I decided I needed a physical representation of what had gone on inside my body so I bought a charm bracelet to wear every day. Ever time I lost ten pounds I would by a new charm for my bracelet- a charm that represented how I felt about those ten pounds. Once it was an airplane- for it felt like a journey, another time it was a bottle of wine charm- for when I felt like I needed to take time to get used to things. The first time I got something stuck I all of a sudden had another feeling inside me and I didn't feel like I needed the charm bracelet anymore. I still have it, with five charms on it. Megan

I'm here, I'm here. I got a fill. .75 cc's. I can already feel that I'm way more restricted. Here's hoping it works! Megan

To fill or not to fill... I need some advice from some fellow turtles. I'm scheduled for another fill tomorrow but am really re-thinking it. I'm fairly restricted now- that means I can eat but have to follow the rules and I'm fine. If I drink with meals I can eat much more, so in the last week I have really tried to kick that habit and the scale moved a couple of pounds. It seems like I am losing the same 4-5 over and over. I'm supposed to get a fill tomorrow but am worried that I'm so close to the sweet spot that it wouldn't be hard to go over...but I'm also tired of not losing any more. ARGGG. I don't want to waste my or my doctor's time. I should add that my doctor is very, very busy so if I don't get a fill tomorrow it may be two months before I can see him again. But then again, maybe just not drinking with meals will help? Ideas? Megan

I'll try to explain, but know that everyone is different. Full: I'm disinterested in the rest of my food. I feel warm in my belly. I'm satisfied but not sick. This feeling sticks around for a while. Gas: Gas feels like a lot of pressure pressing against my stomach. I usually feel a little sick to my stomach but it goes away after a little bit. Restriction: If you're refering to something being stuck or the pouch being too full- I feel that in my throat. It feels like there is a ball of food stuck there. It doesn't hurt until my esophogus decides that it needs to contract to try to move it down but can't because my stoma is little. Once it moves through the stoma, I'm usually hungry again. Being stuck is not the same as being full. That's why those hard Proteins are crucial to staying full longer. Right now, follow your doctors rules and just take note of the new sensations. You'll figure it out as you go. Great question, and I'm sure others will describe things they feel as well. Megan

I love the flip, I love the color, and I love your outfit. You look terrific and healthy and glowing. I'm jealous that you're so damn tall. Oh, and that you have a hot husband. You look fantastic. Megan

About a year ago I got a fill and got the flu right after. My doctor recommended Prilosec OTC to help calm my stomach down. What you may be feeling is the result of acid and then inflamation. Get some Prilosec and do cream Soups that will flow through the stoma easier. This is the only thing that helps me when I get the flu or really overeat and make my band crazy. Sorry to hear you feel icky. I'm glad to hear that today you're a little better. Keep us posted and don't let anyone take out that band!!! Megan

Welcome everyone! It's so fun to see some fellow Minnesotan's here. Thanks for the kind words, SuperDaddy (when I first read your name I thought it said "SugarDaddy" and I got so excited!) I am going in for another fill tomorrow afternoon...this will be my eighth so far. The lapband takes patience and perseverence. Sometimes I have an overabundance of both, sometimes I am sorely lacking in both. But, it's forgiving and always there. Once again, welcome! Megan

Sounds to me like the flu. My band hurts sometimes when food scrapes through it. I was just curious to see if that was what you were talking to. Megan

When you say sore- what do you mean? Where is it sore? Is it only sore when you eat? Tell me more. Megan

Babs- Great idea about locking the thread. I think an even better idea is that everyone stops responding to Nykee. Obviously there is some serious mental illness going on here and until she's willing to get help, there is nothing we can do. It seems to me that it is a very sad situation. At this point it doesn't appear that Nykee can be rational. The only bright light in this situation is that if she really is losing weight at this rate, the band will loosen on it's own as she loses fat around her stomach. Thanks to everyone who tried to help. It's a testament to how caring and supportive this board can be. Megan

I named my band Donali after our very own Donali. When she lost her band due to erosion I decided that I would name it after her so I would remember her story and never take my band for granted.

Great list :-) My no-no's... * Drinking water with meals. I know this is why the scale has stopped moving * No exercise. * Not getting a fill when I know I need one and needlessly going months without any weightloss * Expecting my band to do all the work for me * Not buying clothes that fit me- how can anyone tell I've lost weight if I'm still wearing clothes from 30 pounds ago? * Obsessing about my caloric intake * Eating everying *but* protein first I hope people use this list for good instead of evil :-) Megan

I couldn't find the other recent dating threads, and I'm still in recovery from a late night so I just decided to start another one. It was easier before I lost weight. Easier, not more enjoyable or fun or exciting. Easier. I didn't have to put myself out there- face rejection, have to reject someone else, or make an effort. I was too fat even for most of the guys who like the bigger girls. I knew this, and it was safe. Last night I went out with a couple of girl friends to our favorite bar. This bar is seriously magic for me. I never dance alone here. I saw this man from across the bar and felt....something. So my friends and I mingled our way over in his general direction. I stood right behind him with the guise of watching the band. He looked down at me (he must have been 6'6") and I smiled, and he smiled...and I felt it. I don't know what it was but WOW. Then I looked down and saw the shimmering glint of a wedding ring. Ahhh shit. Another married guy. Anyway, because we were standing so close, we started to talking to him and his friends. He put his hand on the small of my back (watch out!! There's fat there!!! AHHHHH) and moved me so I could stand in front of him so I could see the band better. We spent the rest of the night with him and his friends. We danced and talked and I had a blast. I knew he was married so I didn't have to impress him or hope that he liked me. That part is freeing and I have to remember this when I meet a single guy. But this guy had eyes I wanted to look into forever. He was kind and sweet and when he kissed me on the cheek goodbye, he squeezed my hand and told me I was lovely. The way he looked at me told me I wasn't alone in what I felt. Anyway...I can't get this guy out of my head. I can't get the fact that the last few times I've gone out I've been hit on HARD by married guys. I was never put in this position before. I never had to choose between right and wrong and good karma or bad. This is hard. I crave the attention but know I must do the right thing. I know I must wake up tomorrow alone, again. Before surgery my loneliness level was pretty steady. I didn't have a lot of suiters...oh, I had some nibblers but nobody I would want to date seriously. Now my level of lonliness has high peaks and low valleys. I know how great it feels to have someone pay all of this attention to you and then be left with out it. I don't know if I'm making any sense. I wouldn't trade the attention for anything. Like I said, it was *easier* before I lost weight and found a new sense of self...not more fun. Now I have to take a shower and wash the smell of booze off my skin...maybe the Water will also wash away the way I felt for someone else's husband. Megan

What Kathy (she's so wise!) said...and I have to add- stop drinking soda. NOW. Make it a goal today not to drink any. Make the same goal tomorrow and the next day and the next day and pretty soon you won't even think about it. Once you get to a level of good restriction you can seriously hurt yourself. I drank a diet pepsi once and was miserable for three hours with gas pains. NOT WORTH IT! For a treat about once a month I open a diet rootbeer and let it go flat in the fridge. That is my one soda splurge. Rootbeer still tastes creamy and yummy without the carbonation. To me, you look like a big success so far! Now you just fine tune things and you're on your way. Megan

I need a truckload of these "pheromones". Where can I buy them, where can I buy them!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I've been dating disgruntled lately. Seems I'm good at attracting guys that I am not attracted to, and excellent at repelling those I am. Megan

isn't it so fun? I got some chicks for my birthday in April and they started laying about a month ago. Only problem is, I don't know what to do with all the darn eggs! I only named the roosters so far. The nice one is Buck Buck and the mean one is Mean Rooster. I just call all the hens Henrietta. I think I'm going to get a couple of ducks next spring. I've even thought of getting an incubator so I can hatch babies. But I'm a single girl and I have to be careful not to cross the line of 'crazy chicken lady'. Megan

Nykee- I'm sorry but I don't think you can do it. I think you paid $12,000 and it won't work for you. You aren't a success. You can't learn to eat differently. You won't do what it takes. You are right about yourself. THIS IS BULLSHIT. I'm done talking to you because all you say is "can't", "won't", etc. You don't want to hear tips/etc. You want to bitch. That is just fine. I misunderstood that you wanted help. Even though YOU don't think you can do it, I still do. I am unwavering in my support of your ability. Megan

OH VINES! I'm so glad that you are here... I have to agree with your therapist. The more I count calories and obess about my band, the worse I feel and the more I eat. I've given up the idea that I'm going to be down a hundred pounds in a year like other people. You know why, cause there are others out there who are down 20 in a year. It's all relative. When I've given up the fight is actually when I gain the most emotionally. I sometimes think that all that calorie counting and mumbo jumbo about food is actually me trying to avoid some emotional growth. I can control what I put in my mouth, but can't what I feel in my heart. Give yourself a band vacation. Eat whatever the hell you want for a few weeks. Stop when you feel full. Make pretty decent choices. My guess is that you won't gain a single pound- but you will feel healthier mentally. You should be very proud of yourself. Megan