DeLarla

I hid some of the leftovers in wadded napkins. I buried some shrimp & octopus underneath the shells of the steamed soybeans. And I hid a piece under the fancy shredded garnish and some more under a pool of soy sauce in the dipping bowl. Then I spread the rice all over all the plates to make it look like less chunks. All them damn sushi rules make me feel like the Soup Nazi is behind the counter. No lie, they'll charge you extra if you don't eat all the food, and there's even a disclaimer saying you have to eat all the rice! Caused me great grief & anxiety!

Make an extra bucket of Jello to wiggle your toes in. I ate Jello right after surgery, too, but I squished it between my teeth like kids to to liquify it first. Didn't somebody here just have a horrible experience with Jello though? I think she ate that slimy part off the top that gets really hard & sticky - like the consistency of seaweed. Don't eat anything funky, just let the Jello melt to liquid before swallowing.

Just in case tomorrow never comes, last night I massaged my husband's tired feet with honey almond lotion, then used the heat massager on his hurting back till he fell asleep. I kissed both doggies on the nose and held my kitty before I left work today. Just in case...

I wish I could relate to this thread. I need to move into a Band Compound, where we all live together and coach each other through rough parts. I have night time eating disorder, and the coinky dink thing is my friend did a search and actually found reports that recognize my nighttime bingeing as a separate disorder. But I'm not completely discouraged - not yet. As long as other people crash and burn, then pick themselves up and move forward, then I guess there's hope for me.

Just sit on the top steps with your feet in, and make sure the kiddies know they can't splash you or throw you in. Protect those incisions & prevent infection at all costs!

I'm bumping this thread as a reminder to send healing, healthy vibes her way. Dianne took very good care of me when I was in Mexico; she even took special care of my husband, who otherwise would have been alone in Mexico while I was in surgery. I'd like to keep this thread alive till she's up running around again because I truly believe that positive energy has healing power.

It's important to stick with the doctor's rules of "no solids" for a few weeks after banding. Every time you introduce something into your belly, your stomach starts moving & wiggling around to begin the digestive process. You don't want all that movement when the band is new. The area needs to heal, the band needs to seat itself in place, etc. One of our fellow bandsters is currently in the hospital in very serious condition. So far all I've heard is 3rd hand information, but I've heard she had her band removed due to erosion, which could have been caused from all the Ibuprofen she took. The rules say "NO STOMACH IRRITANTS, such as Ibuprofen. The rules also say, "NO SOLID FOODS FOR SEVERAL WEEKS AFTER SURGERY." My point is to abide by all rules. Don't take unecessary chances with your band or your health. It's just not worth it.

OH my gosh... I just went back and clicked on the "too tight" option. It shows the barium backing up and a more defined pouch. Wow, good find on this video!

Good find. That's an awesome video that finally begins to show us exactly what's going on. I'd love to see the same video done with food instead of the barium. If you look above the band, you can't even see the pouch - it's just like the pouch leads right into the esophagus? Like a long tube? Sure would be nice to see that with food to show exactly how much food can fit without stretching. Did that make any sense?

Wow, I haven't thought clear since I heard the bad news, so thanks, Donali, for posting that's she's going to be okay. She's such a tiny thing but apparently strong and mighty. Dianne, if this gets back to you, we're all sending healing vibes.

Wow, sorry about this whole ordeal. Why were they thankful that your band was saved, was it in danger? To save travel money, you could always rent a car in Mexico for about $50 plus $25.00 insurance. Good luck. Hope you're back to normal soon.

Good job, Penelope! Megan, you look fantastic. Must be a blast being single these days.

You are just terribly cute. That's your problem.

I think a lot of us feel that way. I'm convinced I'm dying every day. Well, not dying, but I'm sure my band has snapped, broken, eroded. One day at a time, Baby!

Port infections are more popular than people around here think. When I was dealing with my port infections, I started running into other people with the same problem. Plus they'd tell me of others that they know. My surgeon told me of 3 other patients he had with the same problem about the same time I was having my 2nd port removed. Of all the people I've met, none of them post here. I encourage them to post, but there's a whole world of banded people that don't even have computers or know how to use them, so there's lots going on that we don't hear about. However, so far, most have been Mexico surgeries.

My trick when I wasn't able to drink was to hold my sports bottle to my lips and just let one drip at a time into my mouth - like a Polish IV. Hey, I'm Polish, I think of this stuff. It just wets your mouth, but after half hour you've gotten in several ounces.

You poor thing. Didn't you read my horror story about taking a pill? I know your pain well, but I never had anything like you explained. My episode from the cold pill lasted 20 minutes before I slimed & PB-d up the whole mess, then I felt better. Time for you to take it easy, maybe lay around with a heating pad on your ribs and another on your sore back? I hope you feel better soon. This post made me sad.

I'm glad your doc has a handle on it, but is it still red & warm? When mine was like that, the Urgent Care doctor lanced it and drained it. I hope your next post shows some improvement.

Rachel, my husband never could look at mine, either. Penni changed the dressing the first couple times. Then my friend, Gross Mary, who is totally into disgusting body stuff changed it for a couple months. You are the first C-section infection I've heard of, but it sounds similar to what I went through. Yikes!

All I can say is that I was recently diagnosed with Sarcoidosis, an autoimmune disease that the American Lung Association recognizes as a lung disease. Nobody in my family has any type of auto immune issues. After a lot of research, I came across a report that links it to NutraSweet. Not only that, but I was so addicted to the stuff that I couldn't get out of bed without a stiff Diet Pepsi. I eventually switched to one can of regular Pepsi or Coke a day, and I just GOTTA have that soda. But now it's only one small can per day, while I had to have several buckets of the fake stuff before. Now I sleep at night. No more weird dreams, no insomnia. And I have a cup of real coffee, too, whereas before I'd have decaf with Equal. This isn't based on what anyone said, just my own personal observations.

It worries me that the area is red & warm. I had normal, colorful bruising, but I'm not sure your bruising and the red/warm situation are even related. It might be two separate issues, and the bruising will probably go away. It's the warm-to-touch redness that bothers me since that's exactly what happened to me a few days after surgery. I kept bothering my surgeon, who said it was normal. But it's NOT normal, it's infection (in my case.) As far as all that Fluid disbursing, do not freak out of the incision opens and the wound drains. Mine drained and scared the hell out of me, but it's normal for the body to release the fluid. I would get a second opinion right away. I know that's not what you want to hear, but I can't agree that your body will disburse that amount of fluid, cause that's what they kept telling me. Then I found out that your body will absorb & eliminate small amounts after the large amounts drain. Maybe I'm completely wrong, but better safe than sorry. I'm the girl that had two ports removed due to infection, so I think you should get a second opionion. I hope you're better soon. PM me your number if you'd like me to call you tonight. Sucks that your mom left, but we are all here.

I have already decided that I will definitely have some sort of gastric bypass IF my band is ever removed and IF I ever hit 300 pounds again. I won't do it in my 40s, but I will do it in my 50s. I hope my band stays with me, but I still haven't seen any long-term (10 years) people that still have healthy bands. Anyone else?

And call the State Bar Association and tell them you paid $900.00 to a lawyer who did nothing and won't return your calls. Don't hesitate.

Very strange - you told me about these this morning but they weren't here. I've checked all day, and now at 4:00 p.m. I'm finally seeing this post. Weird weird.... The blue outfit is darling and the one on the right with all the green looks like the Madame's lounge???? Tres jolie, madamoiselle! So, my French sucks. What do you expect from only one 3-CD lesson? What's all that cool green & yellow light?

Last night I had dinner with Jenne (Princess N' The Pea) and her husband. She ate like a lovely little bandster, I ate like the bear that tried to get into Kimberlilly's house. She brought Voodoo & Sachi squeaky toys, which Voodoo immediately claimed as his own (selfish boy takes after Daddy Chris.) Voo brought both toys to bed last night. Anybody that brings toys to my children is okay by me! I was going to make a list of all the bandsters I've met, but now I realize the list is way too long... Francesa, Donali, Penni, Vera, Carole, Michelle, Ginny, Teresa, Megan, Leatha, Babs, Karen H. Vika, Sonja, Greg, The Doodle... the list goes on and on and on. Who have you met?