New Hope

Hey, Teresa, been wondering where you were! Glad you're back!

Darcy, please call your dr. You need to know what's going on. Hopefully, it's nothing. But it would be best to find out sooner than later. Best of luck to you! Hey, you're helping pay their salary and the dr. nice cars and vacations! O.K., deep breath, pick up phone, are they out for lunch?, O.K., dial, ask ?, wait for response. You can do it!

How very, very true! The thing that we're addicted to, we have to have for sustenance. No other kind of addict could possibly ever understand. Where will you be having your banding done?

Darcy, do you have an incision in the area that's hurting? Is your port located there?

Kim, it is extremely confusing! You are very wise to do as much research as you can. If you are interested in Lapband, please get accurate information from Inamed (manufacturer of the lapband), lapband surgeons, & actual lapband patients. Inamed & many lapband surgeons have their own websites. Forums like this one are written by actual l.b. patients talking about everyday life -- the pros and the cons. The particular book that you've been reading is about gastric bypass surgery. It was written for the primary purpose of pushing bypass surgery. Unfortunately, the info. it contains on lapbanding couldn't be further from the truth. You will be hungry after your initial banding. But it's temporary. You have to give your band time to heal & anchor. But your first fill will help you with hunger. You'll be so surprised & so happy at how little you can eat & feel full. You won't be overgorged & nauseated like before banding. Most bandsters eat their meal at an enjoyable pace & usually finish in about 20 minutes. They learn to eat wisely. Protein first, then vegetables. These solid nutrious foods help you feel full longer than soft foods (soups, ice cream, puddings, etc.) You can still have sweets. But if you've eaten the good foods first, you won't crave as many. Eating really is pleasurable, because you're really trying to eat healthier. You feel better because you're getting the nutrients you need. You aren't having the highs and lows from too much sugar. Your newfound energy helps you do so much LIVING instead of obsessing about food all the time. Diets don't work! That's why people are having lapbands or gastric bypass surgery.

Hey, Rica, you've "thrown away" 28 lbs. of "hammers" for good! Yeah!!!!!!

This should be very, very interesting!

Suz, haven't you figured it out yet....this is a "babbling board."

Also, I show affection. I hug and tell others "I love you." I guess that was something I grew up craving.

Leatha, you're right. It really doesn't do any good to keep brooding over our past. But we can try to make our futures brighter. I was very conscientious of a verbally and physically abusive mother. I probably went too far the other direction. Yes, my sons did get a few spankings. But I can honestly say that I never spanked my sons when I was really angry with them. I had enough rationality to stop and cool down. I also was able to apologize and say I'm sorry when I'd verbally flown off the handle. That was one cycle I was determined to break.

Just thank your lucky stars that you don't have chicken peg legs like me. He'd have to hoist you up on it.

Dysfunctional families seems to be a common thread with bandsters. I had an alcoholic dad, abusive (mentally & physically) mom, and poor. So can we blame our weight problems on our crummy childhoods? Somehow I don't see us getting the same amount of sympathy as anorexics do. Leatha, would that be "Blue Bell" ice cream we're talking about? Yum!!!

Wow, can't sneak anything past this board!

O.K., Penni, and Lisa, NO: diet pills, laxatives, enemas, intentional pbing (hurling).

How about printing out your post about the "paid in full" bill and "accidently" leave on the kitchen counter for him to find --- when he's cleaning up the kitchen?

Yes, what your husband did would make me very, very angry. I'd want to discuss something like this before it happened. But it has happened, so it's going to have to be dealt with. It bothers me that so many say "divorce him". I'm glad that you're "not throwing in the towel" at this point. I think him paying all the bills and realizing how the pie is split up each month will be a good wake-up call. Heck, he might need to get a second job to pay for his bike.

Maybe it's like people at a funeral, when they say, "Oh he/she looks so natural." No one looks natural when they're dead!

O.K., Lisa, if I call you "ugly" will that make you feel better?

That'll work!

Wow. I hope everything settles down for you! Good luck!

Sorry, can't help you w/ #1 or #2. But #3: you may feel a few aches and pains for the first couple of weeks. But they'll get better every day. You may get mad because you're hungry (while on the liquid stage). But this too will pass. You may have some depression because you'll find yourself wondering what to do with time on your hands (time that used to be spent eating, eating, and eating again). But you'll soon start seeing the scales go down, your clothes getting looser, your energy level picking up, and your mood getting brighter. You'll start getting out and really living life for the first time in years. You'll have to buy new clothes because the old ones are falling off. You'll decrease your prescription meds. drastically. Your pre-existing health problems will be reduced, if not completely eliminated. You'll thank God for a new chance at living a happier, healthier life. You'll think, "Hey, I love my band!"

Alex, you have beautiful cheek bones! What a precious family!

Hi Heidi, how are you feeling? Best of luck to you!

Lisa, be sure and give him a "stripper name".

Maybe you could just let the house go back to the mortgage co., hook a trailer on the back of the bike (for the dogs), buy a tent, and just live in roadside parks. (Plus your creditors couldn't find you.)