DeLarla

Am I the only one still confused? Can someone spell out how things work now? I'm so fuzzy from surgery that I can't figure it out. I see things that I marked unread, other things bold, other things coming back from the dead even though there's nothing new posted. Is there an LBT for Dummies thread?

I don't have a good number. Some very angry man told me to pound sand.

See my signature line. I had 5 major and 3 minor surgeries due to complications. My first port became badly infected and was surgically removed. The wound never healed and tubing eventually stuck out of my body. My port was eventually surically replaced, but the 2nd one also became badly infected. I was poked, sliced & drained then eventually diagnosed with erosion, so my band was surgically removed last week, and I'm currently recovering from 1.5 years of hard times. But I'm down 70 pounds and got my life back... I just hope I can hold on to the loss.

My husband with me being his girlfriend and our friend, Chief Deputy D.A. Dan. Dan once told us that since drunk driving wasn't in his jurisdiction he couldn't help us get out of any drunk driving problems. He said if we were ever pulled over while drinking to make sure we killed the cop, then he could help us as h6ead of homocide. Boys are so bad!

I'm still recovering from band removal surgery. I can't believe, based on how poopy I feel, that I ride a Harley. But I'll be well soon. I've grown out of my 1200 so I ride the Dyna whenever my hubby doesn't get to it first. Here's me & hubby & some friends on our way to Utah last summer for the Thunder on the Mountain rally. I don't know if we can make it to Sturgis this year. I have two trips planned already for my Slumber Parties business (New Orleans & Dallas) so I don't know how much vaca time I'll have. But we're always at the local rally, and we won't miss Laughlin's River Run!

We have a 2005 Dyna Wideglide and a 1200 Custom. This is one of my favorite pics of the back of hubby's head riding through Bryce Canyon, UT during the poker run while at the Thunder on The Mountain rally in Brianhead, UT. I rode up on my own bike but left mine at the hotel so I could enjoy the views from back of my husband's. Sometimes it's nice to be a girlfriend and ride on back, sometimes I just gotta ride alone. Those are all our Vegas riding friends in front of us (4.5 hr ride from Vegas.)

It's hard, I know. I never tried as hard as you, but Chris and I never got pregnant together. Nothing is medically wrong with either of us according to our doctors, but Mother Nature gets to decide who has kids and who doesn't. I'm sorry about your news.

I'm hoping for scar tissue to form in the shape of a little white band with a belt around my belly! Penni, tonight when you go to sleep, try to channel my ghost. Ghosts can split in two, making 2 new exact ghosts. Burn some incense and start chanting.

Thanks, Betty! By tomorrow I should be almost back to normal.

NJ, I have the book! Dr. Billy made me buy it, only mine is a different model. It's an excellent source of good food choices.

Dr. Lopez did it with a Lap Band in the operating room.

Me & Francesca were at The Oasis of Hope.

And yes, being in the hospital agrees with my scale! I'm 3 damn pounds away from the 230s... geeze, could I do it? I still get 220 calories today, so I better go eat then glue my teeth shut. DeLarla's New Diet Glue - keeps teeth stuck together for 12 solid hours!

I wish my name was Ana so I could be Bandana. I guess it doesn't matter now though since I'd have to be Bandlessana. Never mind.

YEAH! I'm feeling better!

Vegas doesn't have a lottery or scratch off cards, plus whoever wins would have to mail their winning tickets all over the US to collect $2 or a free ticket here and there. Just scratch my idea, sounded fun for a sec.

I'll think I'll just remain my own little mystery

The odds aren't good, that's for sure. According to Inamed it's just a little coinky-dink though. I haven't even talked to them yet since my erosion was detected, but they'll get an earful tomorrow. Like I said, it's like living in a sick John Grisham novel, just waiting to see how the end blows up.

I have to applaud anyone that has had one then converts to another. To be strong enough to undergo both surgeries has my hat off to you!

Makes me the H word.

OMG, I just had a fab idea. Remember Nana's Christmas weight loss challenge where she offered a cloak to the winner? Well, what if we all send the LOSER a prize? Whoever loses most by March (the cutoff date) gets a prize from each person who joined? That's like a hundred presents! We could keep gifts from $5 - $10, just something simple. How fun would that be? And it might motivate me because I love 100 presents!

You little mystery!

Robyn, I would PAY for local support meetings. Now buck up, wash you face and get to those valuable meetings! Good luck for a better year

As far as people not doing sufficient research, that's not always true. I did my research and went to the Number 1 source of information, which is the company that makes the band. When Inamed told me that their top surgeon was Dr. Lopez, I believed them. I've had many conversations with Inamed employees, and Dr. Lopez even banded one of their mothers. So, if the maker of the band trusts Lopez to proctor their product, to teach other surgeons how to place their product, and to allow Lopez to band his own mother, then how much deeper do you expect research can possibly go? Our erosions have nothing do with lack of research. "My mexican doc actually had to cut layers of fat from around my stomach before placing the band." This statement somewhat concerns me. I've never heard a doctor skimming fat off the stomach before band placement. I've always understood that the procedure doesn't alter the stomach whatsoever. So if one goes under anesthesia thinking a band will be placed around the stomach, but wakes up to hear the fat was cut away, that sounds a little shaky to me, yes/no?

A little too ironic, don't ya think? This Inamed boys' club mixed with the Mexican doctors makes me ill. My US surgeon said he took what he learned from Lopez and improved upon it. He believes if Lopez practiced in US hospitals, that he'd be #1. However, Mexican standards fall far below the US, so their surgeons can take short cuts and do things that would never happen in the US. Makes me wonder if Lopez & other Mexican surgeons were practicing in the US, where they were forced to insert bands according to guidelines in an organized system, if these problems would be happening. No use calling Inamed, either. That's nothing but talking in circles. Sure, they're nice, but has anyone ever noticed that they'll keep you on the phone for an hour but never really say anything? Grrrr.