Zoe

OK, I suppose this really belongs in the "General Discussion" list, but "Support" seems more appropriate. . . because my boobs are shrinking. I know this is a normal part of losing weight, but I'm starting to feel like a teenager all over again, and not in a good way -- I need to stuff gym socks in my C-cups, and it ain't pretty! I've still got a lot of weight to lose, so I don't want to run out and buy a bunch of new bras when I might be wearing nothing but an undershirt or two teaspoons taped together in another year or so. I need major hydraulics (I'm 47, and my bra size isn't much smaller) so I can't just do without. Any suggestions from someone who's been there? Or not? Sorry, guys, if this is too much information! :cheeky

Michelle, consider your ass officially kicked by a pair of size 11 combat boots! That goes for you, too, Penni. Shopping can count as exercise if you're doing a lot of walking and weight-lifting. Just walk around the block so you can tell yourself you did something. Walked fast (without the dog) for 45 mins. this morning; hope to do more this afternoon, since our office is closing early. Eat my dust!

See's candy is the best. My LA relatives used to send big boxes of the stuff to the cheesehead family branch every Christmas. One year my mother's Siberian Husky devoured a pound of peanut brittle and most of a box of chocolate mints. Great breath and no stomach trouble -- not even a twinge of chocolate-induced mania. My Chocolate Lab (coincidence?) got into the caramel suckers a couple of years after that and swallowed plenty of wrappers but kindly left the sticks behind. Is there a connection between bandsters and candy-loving dogs? Nancy, you didn't give that Pit Bull any sweet stuff, did you?

Maybe our dogs should join the challenge. My pudgy Lab mix could definitely afford to lose a few pounds, and she's loving the extra hour of squirrel chasing each morning.

If you started at 217 and 5'7", you were definitely not one of the higher BMI bandsters that Leatha mentioned -- in fact, you're one of the lower BMI people on this board, and you've lost a lot of weight so far. Congratulations! As long as you're feeling restriction without a fill, I'd wait, especially if getting a fill means paying big bucks to a local doc. If, however, you can eat a huge Thanksgiving meal without restriction or pain, maybe it's time to get that fill after all! How about waiting until this Friday to see how you're doing? That way you still have your fill appointment locked in if you need it, but you can cancel it without trouble if you're doing OK.

Steve, I'd pass up the stuffing and focus on cranberry jelly and the inside of a piece of pumpkin pie; you can even have whipped cream on it if you want. (I'm thinking healing around the band, not weight loss.) Bread -- including stuffing, even loaded with gravy -- can be hard for even a long-term bandster to digest, and it's probably best not to mess with it while you're still in the mushy stage. If you can't pass up the turkey, dark meat will be easier to swallow than light; just chew it to mush. But stick to truly mushy stuff if you can -- it'll be easier on your newly banded stomach.

focus... focus... Walked dog for 50 minutes this morning, hope to do more later; getting additional strength-training workout by restraining self from typing dirty response to Greg's comment.

That's Dr. Horgan. He charges $1000 per fill if you have gone to another surgeon, but he will make an exception for patients of his mentor, Dr. Rumbaut. (I know, because he did for me.) Sarah and Michelle's suggestions are right on; you'll have to do some calling, but at least it's a place to start. You also might want to contact your Mexican surgeon to see if he/she has a colleague in Chicago. Good luck!

Excellent! Thanks for posting your info. Our weight is exactly the same, but I won't race you to Onederland -- at the rate you're going, you'll arrive in no time! See you there sometime next year (I'm aiming for early April).

OK, OK, I'll do it. My three-month bandiversary is the day after Thanksgiving; I'll post my horrid before picture, along with a current one I'll get taken over the next few days (not, however, while I'm draped over a recliner suffering from tryptophan overdose). Consider yourselves warned. Back on topic, it's not too late to join the exercise challenge. See how much you can move between now and Jan. 3! Check Greg's recent post for details.

That's why I haven't posted an avatar photo -- a drawing of Bullwinkle is close enough!

Check out the "Food" thread for some additional mushy suggestions. I love the faux lasagna recipe! I ate pizza toppings -- just cheese and sauce, really -- while I was on mushies and had no trouble.

Andrea, I lean toward Tricia's answer. Talk to the doctor, not a nurse. (Sorry, nurses.) And call Dr. R if you still have questions. The vomiting and excess restriction are not normal. Driving to NYC might suck, but it's nothing compared to medical complications.

1:05 walking the dog, fast. . . I am so ready for this, I really need extra motivation over the holidays. Last year I gained 10 lbs. in the last six weeks of the year. I'd love to LOSE 10 lbs., but I'd be happy if I simply didn't gain anything this time around. I'm starting weight-training today, just a little bit at a time, hoping to lose my bingo arms by next summer. Greg, at the rate you're going, it won't be long before you'll be able to hide behind a birch tree, grandchild and all. DeLarla, we Upper Midwesterners do not want to hear how cold 42 degrees is. In November, that's warm to us. And by the end of the challenge in January, it will seem absolutely tropical. Put on a sweater and suck it up!

I think Bright had her surgery in Belgium and, as I recall, was less than thrilled with her doctor, although the price was right. The ILOST surgical team has branches in Italy and Switzerland, but they're more expensive than the price Tracey quoted. Funny how the price varies so much from country to country. I'm another American who had the surgery in Mexico; I'll be paying off the $11,000 for a long time, but it has been worth it.

Steve's (NY) mention of his nephew's bar mitzvah reminded me that many societies around the world have rituals to mark a child's coming of age and joining the community. Some of these practices involve scarification. Maybe, Ryan, those scars you see in the mirror are marking your initiation into a group: not just the group of the banded, but the group of people who've voluntarily stepped forward to say, "I'm reclaiming my body." Our laparascopic incisions may never make the cover of National Geographic, but we can wear them with pride.

Great posts, Ryan! "I think Santa's overdue for a friggin' Lap Band!" -- yeah, maybe he's tired of pretending to be jolly all the time while people are making jokes about his belly shaking like a bowlful of jelly. These last weeks of the year can be magical but they can also be kitschy, commercial, and crazed. Not to mention fraught with peril for anyone trying to lose weight, or just eat like a sane person. Let's do what we can to remind each other of the things worth celebrating, and to hell with anyone who wants to ruin the party.

Good luck, Legally. Travel light, and bring nonrestrictive clothes without waistbands. I second the suggestion about the flip-flops; it's hard to fasten shoes immediately after the surgery. You may feel uncomfortable when you wake up from the procedure and for a few days thereafter, but it does get better, and you'll feel a little stronger every day. Let us know about your experience when you feel ready -- we're rooting for you.

Hmm... what's that in the air? chocolate? Someone tie me to the mast, please! I bought three boxes of different types of diet fudgsicles to help take the edge off. Now, Alex, I think you're being too hard on yourself. Your husband baked Cookies and you had only four or five?! Come on now -- what would your pre-band total have been? (If you're anything like me, half the batch would be down the hatch before the dough was chilled, and the rest soon to follow.) And you were strong enough to share the box o' temptation with your co-workers. Give yourself some credit! Anyone who's feeling the holiday food demons at his/her back, come join us on the holiday exercise challenge. It might not keep the pumpkin pie at bay, but it may help keep you focused during this calorie-packed season -- and, if nothing else, you'll have some wise-ass company on the band journey for a few weeks. We start Monday, Nov. 22, and -- Becky and Greg, take note -- I intend to kick ass! After I have a few of my mother's incomparable Mexican Wedding Cakes, of course.

Here's a summary, as far as I understand it. Greg and Becky, you may have different ideas. Anyone interested will weigh in on Monday, Nov. 22, & send a PM to Greg. Then we just start exercising like fiends. Check in on the thread on Mondays if you can & report your exercise for the last week. The challenge runs through Monday, Jan. 3, when we'll report our final weights, and also tell how we're feeling and any NSVs (inches lost, muscle gained, blood pressure down, construction workers whistling, etc.). I don't know if the winner should be chosen based on most exercise, most weight lost, or best description of Greg in his thong Speedo; I leave that up to wiser heads.

Look out, Penni's headed our way. . . and Jodie, please join in. We're not sticklers for form here, so just let us know how you're doing with the challenge whenever you get a chance. You have an advantage over us Yanks: no Thanksgiving food orgies next week! I'll check your suggested web site to try to keep the thread manageable. Thanks. (Just came back from a 1.5-hr. walk in the park on my day off. I only planned to walk 45 minutes, but the dog went nuts chasing squirrels and wouldn't come back when I was ready to leave. She's had an exercise energy boost too!)

After eating a big serving of ice cream (at a friend's house, because I can't keep the stuff in my own refrigerator), I'm feeling philosophical. Last weekend I ran into a woman who suffers from Asperger's syndrome, a form of autism. She is highly intelligent, but doesn't have a clue about how to relate to people; a therapist shows her diagrams of facial expressions and what they usually mean, and coaches her on tone of voice and the most basic parts of social interaction because they don't come naturally to her. She has to concentrate on deciphering things that seem obvious to most of us. I've been thinking about her the last few days. . . and I realized that I've been suffering something similar with food. Maybe some of you are, too. All those food signals that come naturally to most of the world somehow didn't make it into my wiring. You know what I mean: Eat only when you're hungry; you don't have to eat everything on your plate (as Allan Sherman once said, "They're still starving in China, and I got fat"); have just a taste of rich food; save Desserts for special occasions instead of three meals a day; one day (or weekend, or month) of overeating does not mean you are a failure, because you can start fresh the next day. These supposedly obvious suggestions are utterly foreign to my consciousness, as novel as my Asperger's acquaintance finds the idea of frowning equaling displeasure. I might know the basic theory, but I'm just starting to learn the practice. Does this ring a bell with anyone? And does it get easier?

She gives new meaning to the word "shrink." I'm happy for you -- you've cleared another hurdle. Hope all goes well with the insurance company.

What wonderful news! Give your dad an extra slice of pumpkin pie for all of us bandsters who were rooting for him.

Hi TMan -- check the "doctors" threads to see if someone else has used your surgeon. You also might want to read Chantal's "THE moment" thread -- lots and lots of interesting stories about when people realized it was time to get the band. See http://lapbandtalk.com/showthread.php?t=3530 . Also, Jack started a thread asking if people would get banded again if they had to do it over again: http://lapbandtalk.com/showthread.php?t=3600. It's worth reading because it contains a wide range of opinions -- mostly "YES!" but a few NOs too. And a lot of older posts have great discussions on what you can expect post-surgery. December 8 is coming up soon. Hope you can find answers to any questions you have about the band. Congratulations on your decision!