Melissa S

Thank you Sandra.. you're right... WOW.. 204!! You're SO close!! I bet in a week you'll be there!! I cant wait to be where you are now!

My daughter is slowly getting used to being away from home. Yesterday afternoon she called everyone in the family to try to get an OK to come home early (her grandparents foot the bill for her trip which was quite expensive)... and after talking to one of the advisors on the trip she has a whole new attitude... not sure what they said to her.. but she seems a whole lot better now! Makes me happy too..

HA.. yup.. let them be happy with their fat necks! Remember you are the better person.. you have done NOTHING wrong... you are trying to better your life by getting healthy!! Nothing wrong with that!!

GGRRRRR... PM isnt working... Ok... this is a long story.. but I'll try to sum it up the best I can. Exactly 2 years ago I lost about 30 or so lbs (do not know the exact amount as I was allergic to scales..however it was when I bought those seven jeans I am now back into)... anyhow I was in a very nasty situation with my ex bestfriend/ex roommate/ ex friends... I was working out about 4-5 times a week, eating right and stayed away from alcohol and the weight came off quite fast. Around this same time I started talking to my now fiance... very nice guy, sending me flowers and such - I was very happy and had every reason to be. I had a job I loved, lost weight and felt wonderful and had a great man in my life. Needless to say the 3 girls who I hung out with on a regular basis felt the need to poke fun at everything behind my back. The first straw with the one girl "J" was when she came on to my dad.. which is a HUGE no-no in my book... Me and my dad are very close and what she did was completely unacceptable (and made my dad feel very uncomfortable, which is hard to do.. he's a very laid back and joking kind of guy).. well, I confronted her about this and told her until she got herself together (this girl had/has MAJOR mental and substance abuse issues) I wanted nothing to do with her. Well, the other girls "M" and "A" rallied around "J" and decided to gang up against me.. all this time "M" and I shared a house ..which my daughter lived in also. It started with little comments here and there, mostly behind my back - which I found out about and turned into basically harrassing me via myspace. My last straw was when "M" began to treat my daughter badly. Right away I gave our landlord notice that I was moving out. The harrassing continued for months afterwords. The thing is that all 3 of these girls have/had their own weight issues.. even if at the time they were of normal size. "M" would pop every diet pill and jump on every trend that came out.. liquid diets, prescription pills, over the counter pills... and wouldnt lose anything. "A" had an eating disorder so bad that she had a social worker assigned to her...and was still popping pills and making herself throw up... and "J" was the worst of them all... she went from a size 8 to size 18 in no time b/c of medication... but dropped to a size 0 once she became a coke addict. Her husband left her and both her children's fathers filed for sole custody... not to mention all the diet pill popping she did/still does. Funny, b/c they all had nerve to poke fun at my weight... After looking back on everything I came to realize it was all jealosy that fueled the conflict. They were all fine with being my friend as long as I was the heavy one - the one who was always depressed or fat. The fact that I was slimming down and in a healthy relationship and was HAPPY for the first time in years just killed them. I'm SO much better off without them. So, basically what I'm telling you is this= all the people who make harsh comments about you losing weight ... or dont want to be your friend all of a sudden now that you are slimming down are jealous. Sad for them... its their loss.. you seem like a GREAT person!!

Sandra I have not told anyone in my family about being banded... and have not heard any nasty weight loss comments... but I will PM you a little story about last time I lost weight....

I havent been taking my vitamins either. When I had my bloodwork done everything came back within normal range but the nutritionist wanted me to take a B12 supplement. I'm very against taking unnecessary meds...at one point in my life I was taking 5 different meds a day.. I'm down to just one now (the wellbutrin). I did end up adding 1 protein shake (for breakfast) a day... and it seems to be helping with my calorie intake. But still for whatever reason I'm going thru the hairloss stage. This morning there looked like there was a shrunken head in the drain!!! I'm getting pleanty of protein.. but I've heard that sometimes this still happens around 3 months out. Has anyone else heard this?

Weazer you almost made me cry!! I do miss her very much.. this is the farthest and longest she's ever been away without family around! ... I just realized another reason why I'm so darn emotional ... I stopped my wellbutrin when I got my fill last week. The thought of crushing those pills make me gag!! Oh well, guess I'll have to get over that foul taste if I dont want to be a basket case all the time!!!

Thank you!! I was very excited.. so of course I had to walk around the house in them this morning.. play with the dog.. laundry.. haha.. I may just have to treat myself to a new pair of sevens... but I think I'll try ebay for them.. money is tight right now! Great for you with the thighs not rubbing together!! I've always hated that!! Chub rub is the worst!!

Non Scale Victory ...which, I do have one of my own to report... those jeans I was able to get into a few weeks ago.. but had "muffin top".. I'm happy to report that I no longer have muffin top when wearing them!! WHOO HOO!!!

Mimi- I was also down 4lbs this morning! I had my first PB last night... NOT fun.. and NOT something I want to do again! Saturday we drove my daughter (12) to Washington DC for a Jr Leadership conference.. she's already homesick and I already miss her like crazy!! I cant imagine how it'll be when she goes off to college! I'm house sitting/dog sitting for another week and the combo of not being at my own home, my daughter being away and TOM nearing is making me an emotional wreck!!

HA! I know... I keep telling my fiance that eventually I want a tummy tuck and my boobs done.. he says he wants Lasic surgery done first.. but my response was... I gotta look good before you can see good! HAHA!! Don't want him to take one look and end up running away!!

Sandra- Thank you! I'm really excited to pick it up.. but I want to avoid trying it on every other day! I guess you could say I'm still losing steady (about 10lbs in the past month)... however I'm not getting full as fast and I'm still able to eat too much.. and according to how my Dr works... that means you need a fill. His theory is that you should be able to eat about 1 cup of food and be full for hours.. I also fear the time when I stop losing...and I'm nervous about becoming one of those people who like you said.. lose 30-40 then stop. We'll just have to keep stepping up the exercise and keep following the rules! The wedding is 11/10/07.. its coming up fast! I looked at myself in the mirror this morning and noticed I'm taking on the look of someone who lost weight quick... ya know.. that kind of big head little shoulders look... anyone else notice this?

Good Morning Everyone!! I called yesterday afternoon to try schedule my fill... they were able to get me in this morning!! YAY!! Dr added .5 into the band for a total of 3ml. He said it was quite snug and to be careful the next couple of days (2 days liquids, 2 days mushies). I'm going to pick up my gown today!! I just have to clear out some space in our cedar closet...

Thank you for the support and kind words... I'm still trying to convince myself of the same thing.. everything happens for a reason.. but I'm still very upset about it. Jsrico-- I remember you and I are in the same situation with fitting into our gowns.. I'm not sure about how much a dress can be "let out" ... but the seamstress at David's Bridal told me that the rule of thumb is that they can "take in" a dress 2 sizes. Try going back to the store you bought the gown from and talk to their seamstress to see how much she can let it out if needed.... but hopefully it wont come to that!! You still have a few months to get into the 16!!

I got the call today from the bank I interviewed for and.. apparently they feel that 4+ years of fraud experience isnt enough to work in their fraud department.. I dont get it. I'm so upset.

Pros: It is reversible No re routing of the insides Shorter surgery time Shorter recovery time Mal-absorption will never become an issue Adjustable Cons: Weight loss is slower than RNY MUST really take your time eating/chewing frequent (once a month or so) appointments to adjust the band. **one thing about a slower loss is that your skin will not sag as much as with the rapid loss from RNY.. you will still have some loose skin but not as drastic. As mentioned the band is a tool, not a cure.... eating right and exercise is still a must. You really have to work more to lose (because you absorb everything you eat unlike RNY)..

Hi all.. So, my 3rd fill had to be canceled due to a major flood in the office.. not sure what happened.... so they told me to call back later this week or next week... I called.. they are still not taking calls for appointments! UGH! I feel restriction.. but not enough..I'm thinking just a tad bit more and I'll be at this sweet spot everyone talks about! I was out of town visiting the future in laws.. did ALOT of walking and now my future brother in law, who is 15 is visiting for a week and we're planning alot of day trips.. MORE WALKING. At least I'm able to get the exercise in! I had an interview today... I'm really hoping to get this job.. its working with credit card fraud.. something I did for 4+ years and loved. KEEP YOUR FINGERS CROSSED FOR ME!!

It really all depends on the doctor.. Some doctors permit their patients to move to a "mushie" diet 2 weeks after surgery... some (my dr included) make their patients wait 4 weeks before moving on to "mushies". You can return to work a week later depending on the job.. if you have a desk job you should be ok... maybe a little sore and tired.. but it can be done.

My visit with the future inlaws is going great... but they keep trying to feed me!!! My future MIL asked me today how I lost so much weight.. if I took pills or anything... and I said.. well, no.. but I do eat better, and exercise.. which is the truth! But they still are commenting about me not eating enough... I kinda feel bad about not telling them. I've stuck to my diet so far... no cake, cookies, ice cream... just protein and veggies.. My period has been late the past 2 months... by about 3 days or so.. heavy like always... the first month there was alot of cramping...

I took my daughter and sister to Mexico about 5 years ago and had to ask for a seat belt extension... I felt so embarrassed that I allowed myself to gain back what I had previously lost...which was about 40 lbs.. Thankfully now thats all a thing of the past!!

Thank you all for you suggestions.. I'm in St. Louis for a week visiting the future in laws... but when I get back to Delaware I'll try the different shakes. I too have strayed away from the shakes since being able to have solids. I usually get my protein from chicken breast, yogurt, egg beaters, cottage cheese, beans... I def. believe that the last fill worked.. I have some restriction.. but I'm thinking that I'll keep my appointment on the 1st to add a little more to it... yesterday I was able to eat one about 1/2 of a lean cuisine panini sandwich (left about a slice of bread) and I also ate about 1/4 of a philly pretzel while waiting at the airport... in my eyes ... not sure if I'm thinking on the right path or not.. but, I shouldnt be able to get down things like doughy bread so easily.. ... on another note.. a HUGE NSV for me yesterday... got on the plane (first time flying in a year) and the seat belt fit fine... as a matter of fact.. I had to pull it tighter... about 5 inches or so of extra belt!! Made me smile...seeing how a year ago I was pulling and stretching and sucking in so I could get it buckled!!

I normally use unjury... but last time they were out of it...and I got something else.. don't remember the name.. but it was really gritty.. Unjury is only like 80 calories.. but 18g of protein (I think) What brand from GNC do you use?

New Castle, DE (about 30 min from Philly) I had my pulmo appt at Crozier.

Sandra... OK... so we both have to put our minds into getting into those size 16 gowns...and be comfortable!! As much as I dont wanna do it... I think I'll go back on the protein shakes .. at least maybe for breakfast..

Thank you! I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong... maybe not taking in enough calories... but I'm not losing anything... I'm trying to make the best food choices I can... high in protein, low in fat... but I'm finding that I'm still unable to get my calories above 1000!! I dont skip meals..... any suggestions?