DeLarla

The pain sounds totally normal. A heating pad is your best bet. Walgreens carries KingSize heating pads. That was my life saver.

It's kinda fun staying away 2 weeks cuz you come back & everyone's so skinny! Don't worry, I'm eating for the 9 of us! Zoe, where are you?

Well, there's more than just work. Check out my thread on the continuing Saga of Chloe. Lots of drama in my world lately, but it has come to an end and will have a happy ending. And now I must dive back into my pile of work. I could use some goggles cause it's getting deep.

I'm a figure skater and a movie star, but things are slow so I'm a paralegal with a real estate license till things pick up. Anyone know if the Ice Capades are hiring yet?

I feel like a port & fill expert after having so many complications and 2 port removals. I personally crave the tight, sudden feeling of a good Mexican fill, but after everything I've learned, the "sneak up" approach is the safer, healthier method. I've seen too many "too-tightly filled" bandsters have to rush back for unfills after horrible PB episodes, not being able to swallow, choking, reflux, etc. That doesn't seem to happen as much as when a US doc gives a conservative, small fill. I guess if I had the time & money (and local doc) I'd prefer a big fill because then I could rush back for corrections without worrying about taking off work to get unfilled. I think a lot of this depends on convenience, too.

I'm now a petite blonde millionaire wearing halter dresses and cha-cha heels running my night club in Bora Bora, where hubby is my top male pole dancer. Oh, if it were only that romantic! Nothing even exciting to report, other than I got slammed at work and my "in" tray is several feet high. LBT is a big distraction so I try to stay away & get work done before I drown. I'm getting paid back big for all the LBT-goofing-around I've done in the past! Plus I broke my home puter 2 months ago and have gradually broght it back to life. A little birdie told me about this post, which gave me warm fuzzies. THANKS bandies! Problem is the weekends are too short. So much fun to be had that I can't keep up. Daisydoodle & I met after a huge bike weekend, but we didn't get in ANY trouble! Penni just left me (boo hoo,) We partied last night & layed on couches today & ordered $70.00 worth of Chinese food. It was heavenly! Then I took a fat nap when she left, and then got up & ate more Chinese, and then had a major PB and decided, "Time for LBT." How nice that you're all here, too. Thanks for the laughs & dreams!

Funny you should talk about starting a plus-size business since that's one of those far-away dreams I often have. I have major issues with plus sizes because they make them for average heights. I'm 5' 10" so all pants are capris to me. I hem lots of shorts, too.

Sorry it's been so rough but you sound like you're handling all this stress well. You've always been so good about getting back on track (eating.) I'm busy now but wanted to let you know I'm thinking about you. Peace.

I was banded one year ago today in Mexico. I've lost 67 pounds and gained an entire life. I haven't lost any weight in months. I gained back 7, but lost 4, so for the first time in my life I’m actually maintaining weight loss instead of constantly climbing upward. It's astonishing. I don't have a port because it got infected and was surgically removed a month after banding. I had a second port put in several months ago, but the original wound wasn't healthy enough, so the second port was also infected. In January, my second port was removed along with a huge chunk of infected flesh. My doctor said I can have a new port after November, but with all the extra bills incurred from the extra surgeries and complications, I won't be able to afford another surgery for a couple years. I've had 4 major band-related surgeries in addition to several surgical procedures done on an outpatient basis. I've had more than my fair share of complications. It's been a rough year, but I would do it all over again right here, right now. I'm too busy at work to ramble on about how miraculous my band is, but for anyone that might be in the consideration phase, my only suggestion is stop wondering and worrying, and like Nike says, Just Do It! I'm thrilled. Astonished. Grateful. Blessed. I have hope. Peace P.S. Attached are some pics that Ms. Penni put together for me. That's me & Francesca in the hospital, me with a fresh band and her waiting to go into surgery. She's lost 90 pounds, I've lost 67. I've got some catching up to do, but SIXTY SEVEN POUNDS GONE ROCKS MY WORLD! And portless!

And please don't worry about offending anyone here! We're all in the same boat, Sugar Plum! We all have our faults, and only a few of us are perfect (haha, go ahead everyone and start throwing shoes at me!) Okay, just kidding about being perfect, I am so far from perfect that it's not even funny, but this is the right place for you and all your questions. Good luck to you.

The key is always moderation. Most doctors won't put a band on someone with a drinking problem, but if you just enjoy an occasional coctail, that's not a problem.

What did Sandy RN say about hair loss?

Seen any GREAT movies lately? I just saw Amityville Horror. Critics gave it 4 stars, but it only gets 3 from me. Started out okay, but the actress does all those stupid things that make you scream at the screen, you know, like instead of running for her life she.... Then I saw the "Sahara" movie. Not sure of the name, but Matthew McCaunahey's (sp?) smile still has my tongue flapping in the wind, and his bod ain't too hard on the eyes, either. Totally unbelieveable plot, but if you can get past the fact he, his partner & Penolope Cruz have like 9000 lives each without any gear, food or Water, then it's a Ga-reat flick! Funny, exciting & awesome fun. Loved it, loved it, loved it. Five stars from me.

You are an amazing inspiration. You seem to have conquered this effortlessly. You are half the person you used to be, and you are just the cutest thing so spoil yourself and get some well-deserved sleep. Incredible. Congrads, T!

I have enormous gratidude to everyone here at LBT. We've had our trials & tribulations, laughter and tears, but it all boils down to fighting the same battle. Nick, there's hope, I swear. Just because your band isn't in full swing right now doesn't mean it won't be tomorrow. The beauty of the band is even when it's not completely working, it's still there and will eventually do what it was invented to do. I don't think anyone was closer to the bottom of the barrel than me. I hit rock bottom, hard. I was beyond rock bottom planning my own suicide. I ate so much every night that I had PBs before getting banded. I shoved so much into my stomach that it overflowed into my esphagus and I'd have spasms where I couldn't breath because food was packed so tight into my chest. For me, food is a sick, sick addiction. I had a horribly painful hiatal hernia, so all I could do was eat and hold onto the pain with a heating pad and lay down at night. If I didn't eat, the pain would go away, but it was easier to be in agony than stop eating. I still have problems, I'm still sickly addicted to food. But the band really does prevent me from going the Full Monty, so to say. I still have great daytime restriction. Today my boss/attorney told me how little I eat compared to before. We had a good laugh over the huge styrofome containers of food I'd chow down at lunch, but he said he really notices how I hardly snack any more. My worst nightmare was getting in a food-related auto accident since my car was the biggest eatery. 24 hour drivethroughs were killing me, and I always envisioned myself getting in a horrible wreck while trying to empty 12 packs of hot sauce on my Macho Breakfast burrito and ending up on the front page of the news, "Obese Woman Kills Family of Four over a Fugging Burrito" across the front page was my nightmare. So, Nick, it's doable. Really, it is. THANKS EVERYONE, this was a really great birthday. There was even cake (though not for me.) Today I still eat cake, but I just lick at the frosting. Not the best band advice, but better to lick frosting than eat 2 man-size hunks plus lick all the frosting! xoxo

Oh great, now I'm crying. Yes, holding my head very high. Shoulders back, too. It's hard to believe. A year ago I was telling a shrink that I already had my sucidide planned out, but I was too chicken to go through with it. Today I'll kill anyone that tries to kill me! Hmmm, I DO deserve a goodie... maybe a little vaca is in order.

Thank you everyone. I just had my BD PB. Ugg. A year later with no port and I'm still restricted enough to have a PB. I wish my band would stay this tight till past dinner time.

Me & Francesca getting matching bands.

Here's something Ms. Penni put together. Say hi to Kitty Milo. Thanks everyone! Today's NSV: Almost mini skirt, no hose & cha-cha sandals at work today.

Penni is working on more pics. I love this one in my kitchen cause since losing weight I bought a friggen Harley (at 42 years old) and that's a windblown pic of me after a hard ride! Whooda thunkit? Here's a pic of my scar after my 2nd port removal where they had to take out a chunk of infected, inflammed tissue.

Hi J.S., from Las Vegas Lap Band Lisa

Hi Nat, nice to see you out of hiding.

Alex, a long time ago it was my VET that diagnosed my problem. Kitty Milo was getting shots, and my vet is really cool so I showed her my port area. She diagnosed me and sent me immediatly to Urgent Care, where they confirmed her dx. I even asked the vet to treat me (considering she knows more than the rest of the docs here) but she said it would be illegal. Who cares!

Okay, there's definitely a pea-sized hard round ball right under the skin of my port incision, and THAT is why my incision is popping out like a nipple! And I think this hard pea-thingy is what's causing my pain, like when it floats around to sensitive areas. The pea wants to come out of my incision! When I lay down, the pea hides in other places. But then it comes back to the surface and tries to escape from the port incision. Could this be a broken off piece from the band? I sure hope it's a floating piece of scar tissue. I used to have a round hard ball in my ankle, and the doc said it was formed after ankle trauma. They removed it with a tiny incision and a couple stiches. Anybody????? I can feel the pressure of it wanting to come out of the incision, but the incision is healed shut. Love, the Alien

When we lived in a 2 story, we bought a new scale & put it on the balcony cause the bathroom was too small. Next day Chris came home & tried to weigh himself, but the scale was gone. He asked where it went. Well, after I gained 5 pounds in one day, I kicked the piece of crap off the balcony and left it for the landscapers to clean up. Chris looked over and it was still down there broken. Moral: Get rid of the friggin scale. You are hot, you've behaved perfectly, so just get rid of the bastard.