Penni60

Lots to think about. I am still struggling with this. I hope to make a decision soon. I will certainly keep you guys posted.

Food: 1213 Cal and 98 g Protein Water: 80 oz Exercise: NOPE NIL NADA - Wanted to do Yoga and walk but Back said NO WAY JOSE!!! The food with Nutrisystem is wonderful. I love it all. I have a nice Breakfast, lunch, then a snack around 4p then supper around 6p or 7p but no later. Drink my Water all day long. Which means I am in the bathroom the other half of the day. I also discoverd I love Anjou Pears. YUMMY!!! 2 veggies, 2 fruits, every day makes me a happy camper.

Water = Yup got in 72 oz yesterday Exercise = Sciatica acting up so no exercise for me this past week. Working on getting it in for next week. Gonna try out my new Yoga DVD. Food = Nutrisystem is a wonderful thing. 1200 to 1400 calories per day. Weight = weigh in is on Thursday. Let's see if it works.

I am almost positive they had something to do with it. Too many of us reported the issue to them. They assured me via email they were on top of it. So I am sure they had it pulled.

I still don't know yet!! LOL!! I keep looking at the application and thinking I need to get my video shot. Then I think but Cannes is beckoning me. LOL!!! At this very minute, Cannes is winning. Ask me in about 5 minutes and Biggest Loser will win. LOL!!!

I am so thankful that you did not listen to your Mexico doc. If he is the same one I think he is then I am extremely happy you went to see Billy. You can heal from this and at least you still have your band. Dr. Billy will watch you closely from now on for sure. I am offering my support via telephone just PM me and I will send my number to you.

OF COURSE I remember you. I am so happy to see you posting again. How is ole Ireland? I still wanna get there to visit sometime. HUGS!! I hear you on the depression issue. I fight that every day, on top of my eating now as well. It is a wonder I even get outta bed sometimes, but somehow I manage to do it. I know you will too. So glad to see you back posting. Don't stay away so long next time.

Found this data. Hope it helps. This is for a 1/2 chicken breast, no skin, and boiled. www.nutritiondata.com

Darla: I can't even think about rebanding for 6 months. If I do have another surgery it will be to get rebanded. But at this point I just can't handle the thought of another surgery. I am struggling every day to keep away from the demons. I am averaging about 1400 to 2000 calories a day. I know that is way too much. I started on Nutrisystem and that will help me regulate the intake. THank goodness. I have you guys for support and JOhn is a sweetie. I have my jewelry business to keep me busy during the day and to keep my hands busy. SO that is a plus. I am taking it one day at a time. So that is all I can do for now. Keep me in your prayers. Thanks guys!!

Typically there would be moldy food from left overs, but thanks to Christina's thread challenge I emptied all the bad food out and cleaned it. I hope to go shopping on Monday to fill it with nice fresh foods, veggies, fruits, and healthy stuffs.

I have been weighing (Pun intended) all my options. I still am not sure what I will do. The contract sitpulates that you must be available to travel between Feb and June. So if I get picked for BIggest Loser then France is definitely OUT. Unless I of course get voted off immediately which we all know I won't. LOL!!! THe deadline for submitting via mail is Jan 31st so I have to decide fast. The struggle is on-going with NO band. THanks for asking. I started my Nutrisystem foods and so far so good. I weigh in tomorrow for Lisa's challenge. I am hampered somewhat due to my back attacking up AGAIN!! It is my sciatica. Or as John calls it my "psychotic nerve". LOL!!! So Flexiril and Lortab are my friends right now. I am getting better but this slows down my exercise routine ALOT. I can't get out of a chair without it hurting. I can't sit on the potty without it hurting. I can't lie in one position for too long or it hurts. Get the picture? I HURT!! This is only the second day for me to suffer so I hope by Monday I will be better enough to go for a walk. Keep your fingers crossed. I think I will make my decision soon regarding this dilemma. I will keep you guys posted.

Most times Insurance will cover the band removal. My doctor is Dr. Helmuth Billy in Ventura. He just removed my band due to erosion on Dec 6, 2005 about a month ago. I don't know the cost as we treated it as an emergency. Most insurances will cover if treated as such. I can't guarantee all will. I can't recommend him highly enough.

Heard back from Don Mills as well. His comments are as such: Thanks for bringing this to my attention. Naturally, we cannot have patients buying restricted products that have expired and possibly used by untrained surgeons. We will have this stopped. At least they don't want it to continue.

Yes it is scary seeing all the other items the one bidder bought. I placed a bid on it just for fun and also sent a rather desparate email to the seller. This could get really interesting. What if I actually won the bid? LOL!!!! I have a band to place in 6 months. Cause you know what? I will sell it back to Inamed for $3000. LOL!!!! Too funny. Who knows what will happen if I win the bid.

Just got a response from Larry Fulton and he said he found it last night as well and is bringing it to the Corporate Council. Impressive? Maybe!! Time will tell.

This should get interesting cause I just sent the Ebay listings of both the port and the band to Inamed. Let's see what they have to say.

DOING THE HAPPY DANCE!!! :Bunny :Bunny :Bunny :Bunny :Bunny :Bunny :Bunny :Bunny :Bunny

I paid $450 for my daughter's wedding photos. I LOVED the pics. It was a husband wife team and they were awesome. THey are in Clarksville of course and yes they do it for a living. He did both color and B&W and some digital. Very professional and they were dressed accordingly. He was never obtrusive and seemed to blend into the background. I didnt' even know he was there except when we did the posed shots. He was awesome.

Just got home from the Endo test. I have cried and now all I am is numb. TO those that I have already spoken with thank you for your words of encouragement. Yes, I have eroded as well. I am enclosing pictures of the erosion. Dr. Billy seems to think mine eroded due to all the problems I had with my port issues. That makes lots of sense to me. He also said he didn't see the erosion on the initial pass through and only caught it after the turned the camera around and looked back on itself. It was hiding the little bugger. You can see that in the second page of pics Number 16 shows the slight white area to the right. SIGH!! I am making this short as I am rushing to get everything in order before I go back to Ventura and get checked into the hospital for surgery which is tonight at around 7p. I will be in the hospital for tonight, tomorrow, and be released the next day if all goes well. We are not anticipating any complications. He is doing the surgery laparoscopically. Thank goodness I don't have to be cut wide open for this surgery. At this point, I am just wanting to get this thing OUT and begin to heal and then get through the holidays. After that I will think about what my options are regarding anything else. I will be out of touch for a few days. I will call Christina or Lisa and let them know how I am doing and they can post for me. I love you all. PS: Take care of your bands people. FOLLOW the rules. If you are too tight get an unfill and learn to cope. PLEASE!!!!!! This is too much to deal with right now. I am a mess. HUGS Pictures to follow.

My starting weight is 244 My BMI is 38.5 (considered Obese) Will update my measurements later today. Not sure what my Body Fat % is so have to skip that one. I may not want to know either. LOL!! Today is Thursday, Jan 5, 2006 - I, Penni Merrick, Unbanded, do hereby make a committment to MYSELF (cause that is the only person that matters) to get healthier and happier by exercise, diet, and water intake. I commit to STOP beating myself up if I fall off and have to jump back on the wagon from time to time, because it will happen. I commit to finding alternative ways to keep busy instead of looking for something to eat. And most importantly, I commit to being a better all around person for the rest of my life and to understand there will be times I will be a bitch and to give myself that right. IT IS ALL ABOUT ME THIS YEAR!!!!!!!!!

Hello anyone out there?

Hey all you Tucson people, I am coming to visit for the Bead and Gem Show starting Jan 31 through Feb 10. I will have some time to visit or meet up with some of you nifty people. Wanna plan something?

Thanks Jess and Diane: I am just so frustrated right now. I wanna eat healthier but it seems my head wants something totally different. So I have this constant battle every day with every meal. I am getting tired of the fight. Alice the good demon wants me to eat healthy and stay away from all the bad stuff. Buffy the bad demon encourages me to eat all the wrong foods. Yes I call them both demons cause when it deals with food they are demons. I hate and love food. Alice and Buffy are fighting constantly and it is driving me nuts. LOL!! As if I aren't already giving names to the battling demons. LOLOLOL!!!! Nope not nuts here. Calgon take me away!!!

I would LOVE to be a penpal. Hey CasinoGal: I am gonna be in Tucson at the end of Jan through Feb 10th. I am going to the Bead and Gem show there. Wanna try to hook up? I am not sure how far you are from Tucson.

Zoe, thanks for the post. Quick Update: This has been and is the worst time in my life. I am a basket case but yet put on this smiley face for everyone. I can't stand this. I am hungry ALL the time. I hate food I love food I am hungry ALL the time. I hate food I love food Get the picture? I am gaining weight back. THat is the scary part. I guess I am gonna have to talk to my therapist again. UGH!! Just more money. But if I don't do something I will balloon back to 300 and then I will withdraw from life again. I don't want that to happen. I had a good friend call me today and be very sweet and kind and offer her genuine support and belief that I can get through this and I will win the battle. THis touched me so much that I was on the verge of tears. I just don't have that same belief and trust in myself. She asked me to promise (commit) to doing 30 min of exercise tonight. I couldn't even do that. How sad is that? I love you friend. You have touched me deeply. I have ordered Nurtisystem food and just waiting for it to arrive. I am trying desperately to be GOOD but man is it hard. I envy Lisa her restriction. I can eat anything. I do mean anything. This is almost worse than when I was before banding. Before banding I didn't realize just how much I was eating. Now post banding I see and understand almost everything I eat is bad for me. Knowledge can be a bad thing. LOL!!! Anyway, thanks for listening to me rant. I will get through this some way. I have been praying for the courage to face my demons every day. Some days I win and some days they win. And so it goes. Hugs!!