DeLarla

This is just about my favorite thread ever. More please!!!!! UPS truck? Seeds? I just peed myself and my white panties turned purple! Yep, I could NEVER pee in a pool cause I was afraid the "purple cloud" would point me out. If anyone pees in my pool at the bash, there's a chemical in there that will make all the Water around you purple. I don't swim in your toilet, please don't pee in my pool! My brother & sister made me believe I was adopted. As a kid that scared me. But my mother is mentally "not well" to say the least, ugly, mean and awful, so nobody can be around her. Now I get to look at my brother & sister and remind them that THEY are related to her and I have a really normal Mom out there somewhere. They don't like that.

And my mother is really into the afterlife, psychics, etc., so she used to MAKE us have seances (I was a kid, what did I know?) I would get secretly frustrated that my goofy brother would break the spirtual connection by cracking jokes & giggling, so later I'd go alone where it was quiet and try to telepathically move things around in my room. I was raised to believe that if I tried hard enough it would eventually happen - you know, like how Patrick Swayze in Ghost had to keep practicing before he could really move stuff? Needless to say, Bewitched, I Dream of Genie, The Ghost & Mrs. Muir and Casper the Friendly Ghost were all favorites, and I knew one day I'd be either Tabitha or The Flying Nun. Till this day, one of my nicknames is Gidget. Another is Cybil (both Sally Field roles.)

Donali, I always salted my food to cool it down, too. I never heard of that before, because nobody in my family knew where I got it from. My subconscious must have picked it up from somewhere - odd. I believed Oil of Oley was sinful. I found a sample in the mail and was trying to open it when my Mother snatched it away and said it was for grown ups. From that day, I'd sneak in her room and read the container and put a little on, thinking I was being very naughty. Today it's the only think I use on my skin. I'm such a bad girl!

Yes, there are people here that have had their bands removed due to erosion. There's a "search" key at the top of the page. Type in the word, "erosion" and you'll find all sorts of info.

Wow, that's deep. I've never seen a morbidly obese senior citizen. Hmmmm....

And my BCBS insurance does NOT cover it. But they'd pay $100,000's of thousands in other obesity-related complications like heart attacks & colon cancer. Go figure.

So basically this guy went through what all of us are going through, only he was published in the paper? Got it. Good info, thanks.

On a good day I brush my teeth, plug my tunes into my ears & head to the park with my mutts tugging at me. It's about 45 minutes round trip. While there I use the leashes to do upper arms and the stairs on the slide to do step-ups to get my heart rate up. I always come home sweaty, so I know I done good. Then I use arm weights in my bedroom. I have one coffee with real cream & sugar, then a canned Protein shake or V8 when I get to work. lunch at noon consists of a very band-friendly protein based snack-sized meal. dinner is another story - that's when the demons come out. I can't even tell you how ugly things can get from dinner till bed time, but there are goodies involved.

I didn't have the money either. But I started counting up how much my obestity costs me, and I figured I could pay that off within two years. My fast food bill alone could pay for a Mexican band in less than 3 years. My co-payments, prescriptions. plus-size clothing, etc. So I took a loan out against my house and paid $7,500. Then I stopped getting manicures and fired the kid that does my lawn and cut Star Bucks down to once a week. That was enough money to make the monthly payment. If you really want the Band, you'll find a way to make it work. Good luck. By the way, the Band was the best investment I've made so far.

Beautiful!

I used to smoke when I was younger. After I quit I'd have regular dreams that I lit up, and I'd wake up really upset with myself. It would take a few minutes before I realized it was just a dream. Then I'd quickly look around for butts or an ashtray to make sure it wasn't real They are powerful little devils, that's for sure. But you're one of the toughest broads around here, plus you have all us. Good luck.

Vegas here, so I'm about 6 hours away. Hope you're doing well.

To me being lost is an adventure. I just talked to Pooh-Head (husband.) He wants to lay on the couch all weekend. Plan my funeral, I'm dying of boredom. Marriage, hmpf!

Can you cut & paste the article here so we don't have to register?

Kuri's bash is here this weekend. But I want to go bye-bye! Chris just called from home & got the rest of the day off. He's gonna shower & cool off then call me back to decide if we could go to the bye-bye place! I sent John (Penni's) an e-mail to see if we could come, but he hasn't written back yet. Vera, how long of a ride to your place? Be careful what you say, cuz I might be there! But Chris hates long car rides (stick-in-the-mud-party-pooper.)

Vine, you are killing me here! That Kenyan coffee & turbonado sounds Heavenly right now. Next you'll tell me you've got fresh, thick cream. Stop it.

That sounds like my kinda freaky flick! I'd love to see it, but I don't purchase movies. If anyone buys it, can I rent it from you for a weekend?

I'm really sorry. This is the most devastating news for any of us. We all have to worry about erosion all the time. Nobody can tell you exactly what caused your erosion, but this is what I know for now. The surgeon that placed your band may have nicked your stomach during your original band surgery, and that nick could have gotten infected, which could lead to erosion. Infected ports can also lead to erosion. It is said that use of NSAIDs (like Motrin or other anti inflammatory medications) can cause problems and potentially erosion. Several of my friends have had their bands removed due to erosion. Who was your surgeon that placed the band? I am truly sorry and wish there was something I could do to help. I'm going to let my friends know about you (the ones that had their bands removed.) They would probably be willing to talk to you on the phone, if you'd like. Please get your band removed as soon as possible. I just heard another Lopez patient has erosion, but hers is very small so Lopez said she can keep her band a little longer. But yours sounds much more severe, so take care of it as soon as possible. I just saw one friend who had her band removed several months ago, and she looks FABULOUS (K.H.) She said she gained a little, but she's still maintaining an incredible loss. Good luck to you.

I'm with Alex. I said sugar was bad, but I never said I avoid it! I love the crap! I'm also an Equal & Sweet n' Low junkie so I mix them all the time.

You sound like you're doing the right thing. I was too frustrated with all the different opinions, so I kinda made my own set of rules. I took what all the doctors said, then I added what everyone here said. Then I listened to my own body and kinda tossed it all around and came up with a sensible plan special for me. I never ate anything I wasn't supposed to, but I did switch to thick liquids a day sooner than I should have. However, the Mexican hospital served thick applejuice, the consistency of applesauce, the day after my surgery. I pointed out to my surgeon that it was thick and not clear, and he said that's no problem. So if I could drink applesauce, I didn't see a problem with having cream soup a day early. Putting soup in a blender slides right through the band (I did the same thing then gave the bits to my pets as I ate the soup.) Congrads to you.

There are tons of reasons: - Sugar is nothing but empty calories - Sugar is addicting - Sugar contributes to obesity Boy, I'd have to write a novel to continue this one! I'm a sugar junkie, LOVE the crap. However, I'm really addicted to it, so I can't have just a little. I personally don't think there's anything wrong with having a little sugar, but if you are like me, you'll just want more and more and more. Ask yourself why you got the band. Probably to lose weight and live a healthier life, right? Well, sugar doesn't have any health benefits - quite the opposite, actually.

I consider ice cream a liquid. It melts before you swallow it and slides right through. I could at a gallon. Okay, half gallon, no prob.

I had perfect restriction ONE time, and it was glorious. I had a full plate of food (I use a salad plate.) About 3/4 through I felt a slight PB come on that stopped me from eating any more. The beauty was that the PB feeling went away after a few minutes, and it wasn't even a bad PB, just the slightest golfball feeling that made me stop. Hell, I'd swallow a golfball if it kept me from eating.

I must have gotten the LapBand A.M. because my band is closed for business till noon. I often drink a protein shake, but I'm totally not interested in food in the mornings. I wish that would happen at night & wonder when they'll invent the P.M. version.

I did it, and it's F A B U L O U S! So far all I've done is my lower eyeliner. It's the finest line, as if I just used a couple bristles from an eyeliner brush. And it's already faded somewhat, so it's barely noticable, but when I wake up, my eyes are already defined. I paid $140, which includes 4 free touch-ups. It's expected to fade, but most people don't want to look shocking, so they start with a fine line. I'm getting my upper lids done in a week, and I'm having her go much heavier (since the lower ones faded in less than 2 weeks.) Four weeks after the procedure you can go for your first touch up. The woman I went to is great. She does this thing where she also fills in tiny gaps between your natural lashes to make them look fuller. She also does lips and a bunch of other stuff, but I'm not going there. She used black on me, which looks muted brown after it fades, but she also does blue & browns. Just thought I'd share because my only regret was waiting so long. YES, it hurt, but I think it could have been much, much worse. About 5-10 minutes per eye, and I probably bared down & gritted my teeth for 30 seconds out of the entire time. The rest of the procedure is just a creepy-tickling-pressure sensation since that are of the eye is so sensitive. My eyes hurt all the time anyway because of Vegas dust & allergens, so I was never able to wear make up because it just smears. The 2nd day was a tiny swollen & irritated, but I felt fine the 3rd day. Even hubby says it looks natural and great. You can't tell it's not real eyeliner, not at all. Just do it!