DeLarla

Keep reminding yourself that a healthy BAND is more important than a healthy port. The Band is the important thing. Keep it safe and healthy - the port is the easy part.

Hi Erin, I'm the resident pro on port infections, and I'm a little worried. Please don't get scared because you might be fine, but you should get a 2nd opinion pronto before getting a fill. I went through exactly what you are going through. My port incision never healed - it just leaked and leaked and never closed. About a month after surgery, I was told the port had to be removed. I was afraid to trust him, so I started calling other surgeons. A total of 5 surgeons agreed that an infected port MUST be removed. But an infected port can lead to erosion, which is why my doctors wanted me to wait several months to be sure I was clean-clean-clean before getting a new port. The doc that removed the port was in Mexico, and he gave me a fill before removing the port to hold me over. However, my current US surgeon said it's horrible medical practice to give someone a fill before removal. My US surgeon had to save a guy that just got filled before port removal. By the time he got home from the hospital, he couldn't swallow liquid because the fill took awhile to kick in. Then he had to rush back to the hospital for another surgery where they opened him, put a port in, unfilled him, then took the port out. ALL AT HIS EXPENSE AND PAIN. Please, you waited long enough for the band, so be patient and let them take out the port. I don't have a port, and I'm still maintaining a 60 pound weight loss. Please read this part very carefully: Ask your doctor where he plans to "stash" the extra tube when he removes the port. I learned that the tube needs to be stashed in the abdominal wall. When they removed my first port, they just left the tube floating around, and it tried to make its way out of my body. At one point, the tube actually found it's way out of the incision, so I walked around with tube sticking out of the infected port incision. The reason was because tube too near the surface of the skin will prevent the wound from closing. My advise: Have your port removed immediately. Allow yourself a solid 3 months (at least) to heal. Then get an endoscopy and a laproscopy. The endo is a camera that goes down your throat and looks at the inside of your belly. The lapro is a small incision (like in the belly button) where a camera sees the outside of the band. Make sure you have NO signs of erosion before getting a new port. AN INFECTED PORT CAN LEAD TO EROSION. Don't put yourself through any extra heart ache. I'll PM you my number. It breaks my heart that anyone else has to go through with this, so I'll make you a deal, right here, right now. If you take my advice and heed my warnings, I will be your personal diet buddy. I will commit to losing as much weight as you say. We can call each other every night, write, hell, fly halfway around the moon for a lunch walk if we gotta. See you in PM.

Thank you! I need all the positive vibes I can get. The problem started with ERIN, the $@%#$@$%^@#$% CO-WORKER who was placed on this planet for the sole purpose of torturing me. She's the one that eats all day. 300 pound woman that doesn't shut her mouth when she chews - food flying everywhere. She makes dinner at 8:00 a.m. every morning in the company kitchen and walks around with plates of meatballs and wings. I shut my door, but it's really too hard to work that way. Anyway, my firm buys 2 pallets of soda every month. I always ignored them, but then Erin walks around with a Coke all day talking about Coke this, Coke that, "how can you get by without Coke?" "Can I get you a Coke?" "Boy, I need a Coke." Pretty soon we started fighting. Grown women at a law firm. I eventually started screaming at her because nothing I said worked. I asked nice for months to leave the food, food suggestions, menus, COKE, candy, and dinner for Breakfast away from me. Eventually I broke down. Erin handed me my first real Coke. Those pallets of soda never bothered me before. Now it may as well be a mountain of cocaine to a drug addict. It's 3:00 p.m. Still no sugar. Can I make it till 4:00?

Oops, let me correct myself. 800 calories a day isn't enough food. I wasn't saying you should eat 800 calories, I was simply stating that if you only eat that much, the weight will start to fall off fast - and very unhealthily (is that a word?)

We have lots of spitters around here. GOOD for you for spitting it out! I wish I had that kind of willpower, but once something falls in my mouth it's all over.

Bub, this sounds extremely familiar to me... I'm going to hunt for a friend on-line now because I think she went through something similar. It rings a loud bell, but I can't figure out where I've heard this before... lemme go sniff around.

Hi Quilter Mom, I wish you would have introduced yourself sooner. I just sent a huge box of quilting scraps to a Katrina donation center with the suggestion for someone crafty to start a Katrina Love Quilt. I sure hope the stuff gets used, cause I would have loved to send it to a fellow bandster. Congrads on your skinny self! Nice to meet you.

Lately my husband has come full circle with the marriage thing, so I've fallen in love all over. But I'm still envious of single gals at my age, because the excitement of new love is one of the best feelings in the world. My single girls here at LBT are dating after losing weight, and there's a recurring topic here about "should we tell the guy about our loss and the surgery?" For me, I'd test the guy awhile before telling him. I'd have to know that he thinks I'm desirable from the inside before discussing my outside. Kare, you are a stunning LBT model. From my end, you don't even look like you have a weight problem. I think we should have an LBT beauty contest because with your smarts and bouncy hair, that pink satin sash could very easily be yours. As far as having to tell a guy, why? Why not just enjoy being companioned (did I make that word up?) Have a little fun, live life on the wild side for us married gals. Hold hands, kiss. Wait, that's a whole new topic. The kiss: Who has time to date, anyway? I don't consider it dating, I consider it an interview. So meet him, shake his hand, if you might like him, shove him against the wall and plant a wet one on him. If he can't kiss, move on. What a slut. Who said that? I did. Shut up, DeLarla. No, you shut up, Lisa. GEEZE. HELP. My point is that I'm a very good kisser (it's my thing.) Like when Kevin Costner in Bull Durham said, "I believe in long kisses that last all night long" holy bananas, I melted. So, what if you date the guy a couple weeks then find out he kisses horribly? That's happened a few times in my life, and it's devastating. So stop worrying about YOU and start worrying about him. He better kiss good, and he better be good with tools, and he better treat you like a queen. Or, just fake him out by wearing pheromones. I've been learning a lot about pheromones, and there's literature that it's lying to a guy by wearing it because it fakes him into being attracted to you. Nothing like an honest start!

Estela, you already took and passed the first step. Most people like you blame everyone around them, but admitting that you and your husband are the ones that spoiled him is the best way to fix the problem. You are in the right direction by becoming more firm. When you tell him NO, then you mean NO. I helped intervene with a similar child. She was hell-on-wheels, and my first few sessions with her nearly split my ears. Her mother would drop the screaming, kicking, fighting terror at my house, where I would put Chloe in the "Crying Room." That was our guest room. She'd scream Bloody Mary in there, but it's all for attention. I would let her scream all alone. Then as she calmed, I brought her a cold rag and told her she could only come out of the crying room when she was calm. The first time was about 40 minutes of screaming and crying, but it wears them out. Then she whimpered and hiccuped and said she wanted out. I wouldn't let her come out till she could talk without skipping a breath. Then, after she knew I meant business, I would make her sit on the couch and drink a glass of Water and wipe her face with a cold rag. No TV, no dogs, no toys. Then we'd talk. If she started crying again, it was right back to the Crying Room. The rules are that nobody can enter the Crying Room. The good news is that Chloe only got sentenced to the Crying Room 4 times. After that she was healed. She knew she wasn't allowed to hit, or scream, or act like a brat around me. Soon she was a perfectly behaived kid in my house. You can NOT give in to screaming brats or they'll run your entire home. It's hard in the beginning, but if you don't fix it now you'll have your hands too full in the future. I also took away Chloe's favorite toys after she hit her brother. She'd let out a screech so loud that windows would shatter! I put some older toys in the trash and she never got them back. Others I hid in the garage. I repeated, "YOU ARE NOT THE BOSS" but I never raised my voice. A week later, after she had been good, she asked for her toys back. I made her sit on the couch and talk about the bad behavior that got the toys taken away, then I had to tell her she'd never see them again since the trashman took them. She tried really hard to choke back tears. It was really hard to do, but if YOU don't follow through with threats, then they have no reason to behaive. After a couple weeks, she started being really good, so we sat down for another talk about her extra good behavior. Only after that did we go get her toys from the garage. Estela, it might sound harsh, and it's very hard to do. The good news is that you only have to do it a couple times. Give your son the message that YOU ARE THE BOSS. At first he'll fight it, but it might just take a week or two.

Oh, and as far as not eating enough calories to lose weight, that's just a myth. Sure, the body may kick in and "TRY" to hold onto your fat when you are in true starvation mode, but people starve to death all the time. It's just a temporary state of being. If you eat 800 calories, the weight will eventually fall off.

The only thing I'll say is that each person is different. Some have sexual dysfunctions and need a strong enhancement (like X) while other products are designed specifically for the overly-sensitive. Kim, if the person who sold you the X knew you were ultra sensitive, you should demand your money back because it wasn't designed for your sensitive bod. Would you use bleach on delicate fabric? Would you take prescription meds without instructions from the pharmacist? Ouch is right! Too many distributors (Fun Parties, Mary Kay, Pampered Chef, Slumber, etc.) just want to make money so they'll sell you anything. Remember, this is my hobby, not my full time job - you don't have to buy something to ask me for info. I have a truckload of testimonials from around the country. Some are good, some are bad, and I'll share all of them in private. Please feel free to contact me privately by e-mail, PM, phone. I'm not a good salesperson because I talk clients out of products and "things" all the time. Even if you buy it elsewhere, feel free to call me with any questions. Peace.

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That's just amazing. I wonder if the dairy really works? Congrads. That's too amazing for words.

I saw them playing this on Sex and the City. If you could have roll in the hay with someone who is no longer alive, who would it be and what time period? For example, Elvis in his Beach Blanket Bingo days. (Mmm, not a bad choice.)

Okay, let's have it. Describe the underwear you are wearing right this second. Don't cheat by running to change, either. And don't lie.

I promised you on-the-spot pictures, but I lied! Sorry, these were from last night, but give me a break condering how early it is!

I don't think I could ever get a trike unless I also had a motorcycle. It's like trading in your snow skis for water skis. They are both fun, but they're both different, so you gotta have one of each.

HAR, they're he blows out his candles. Happy birthday, Jack!

Remember that muscle is denser than fat, so muscle weighs more. You might not be losing, but I bet if you take your measurements you've lost inches. If you enjoy exercising, then keep it up. But if it's a real chore, I personally don't think any "normal" person should have to work so hard. If you're doing a body-building thing then it's okay, but careful about overdoing it because that's how people get burned out. You look damn good though!

Vines, congrads for teaching a guy to kiss! I've tried and failed. It's like teaching a white guy with no rythym to dance like Michael Jackson. Eitehr the have it, or they don't. So some guys are trainable, but you can't get the Moon Walk out of a clutz! If they need guidance, maybe. But if they are a wet drooler (I JUST BARFED) then they'll probably always drool! Michelle, Michelle, Michelle... girl, I'm right there with you. I've been pinned against the wall buy a guy that makes my girl parts quiggle. We used to work together, and just the site of his arms made me weak. We were alone on many occasions, and he would get really close behind me and talk down my neck because he knew he was driving me crazy. Then one day I had to go to his house (work related.) I wobbled in on jelly knees, and he immediately pushed me against the wall in one of those Hollywood moments meant for the big screen. Lips brushed, whispers... but I pushed him away because I'm married. Period. It sucks because he lives so near. Sometimes I think I should just kiss him in hopes he'd be a drooler so he'd get out of my head! But even though I'm the wildchild of LBT, it's just my husband or my toys. I think we are normal. We can't help our animal attractions. We can't. We can only control the impulses. Lonely ladies, think "toys." Nothing wrong with it.

I love that we have our own scientific research and analysis department because here's proof that my pheromones work! They attract people towards you - arms around you, petting you, near you. But you're right, the rest is up to you. And Karen, YES, they do make you feel good! When you said "I think they sort of heighten the senses" I jumped out of my chair! Yes yes yes, in addition to containing 3 different pheromones, they also contain ingredients known to promote happiness and calm nerves. I'm doing a Slumber show tonight and I'm printing your thread (with your approval.) Thank you! "Pheromones might get them to prick up their ears right at first" but YOU need to do the rest. The same thing happens in the jungle. A big gorrilla sniffs out a hottie, then they hook up near a banana tree, but after the initial attraction, she better hold his interest or he'll move to the next tree. When I was single, I didn't attract many men because of my height. Most of my dates were guys dating girlfriends who found them boring but then got to know my insides and wanted to be with me. So if I had Basic Instincts back then, I'd have had a better chance at getting them near me so I could spin my web and captivate them! (Megan, I carry them so contact me or click my link.) And Tony my darling, I never forget about boys! But why haven't you registered at my DeLarla's Dating Service thread? You have to put your name and face out there! Okay, so our little LBT dating service is too tiny to find matches, but I am MORE THAN HAPPY to help people set up a Yahoo account. If I were single, I would ONLY date people I found on the computer since we get to see a profile, picture, chat on line, build that into some phone conversations, and only then meet in person. As far as men maturing (looks) faster than women, who said you have to ask their age? My coworker is married to a guy 10 years her youth (bitch) because she's a very sexual woman that needed a man to keep up with her needs. If I were a single gal, I certainly wouldn't be dating anyone in my age range! I'd be at Studio 54 looking for a boyfriend! Date men in your mental age range, not in your physical. This thread makes me horny.

Happy birthday to her! That's such a great gift. I'm still porless because I'm constantly worried about erosion (since I had such a long infection.) If my band is still fine, I'll get a 2006 birthday port. Congrads to you both.

What about women in underwear on Harleys? Maybe it's time for Jenna to share her story on the back of MY HUSBAND'S Harley???? Jenna? JENNA? Glad you enjoyed - see you in 2006. I checked out the site, and that black Ultra Classic trike is tight! I'm somewhere right inbetween a new Dyna or a Trike. The answers will come when the time is right.

Dee Dee, my eyes aren't even open yet this morning, but I squeezed in really close to the screen to read this. You are amazing, ya know that? This just warmed me right through. I'm really happy for you. World, watch out, there's a diva on the loose!