Marimaru

Is there not another doctor closer to you, or even the same distance? Doctors that are 'stingy' on fills don't sit right with me. I agree that it's good to be careful not to overfill, but geez..

within any given week, I can jump around 7 lbs or so. I'm between 195 and 202 right now (I wont say I'm in onederland until I never see 200 again!). I assume you are weighing every day; keep in mind that each day, your weight will vary, even if you are losing 'fat'. There will be times when the scale doesn't move at all (or in my case, up and down), but you're still shrinking. I've been the same weight for about 2 months now, and just a few weeks ago I went from a 16 to a 14. I weigh myself ALL THE TIME, but I only let myself do that because weighing myself doesn't color my mood; ie: I'm not a raging b**** if the scale goes up and a happy person if the scale goes down, lol. I just take in the information and move on... in doing that, I've been able to see trends with myself, and so I have a better idea of my 'cycles' with this weight loss thing. I lose 10 or 15 lbs and then nothing for months at a time, then I drop another 10 or 15 lbs. *shrug*

Unfortunately, I don't think her attitude is going to do her 2nd surgery any better than her first surgery. I was especially bothered by the mention that her tooth enamel is all gone based on food getting stuck; my PB's don't have stomach acid in them... "If you can out-eat a lap band, you can out-eat gastric bypass surgery" I agree with this completely. It's all the same issue; not being ready to make the changes you need to make to succeed. I'm not faulting her for not being ready, it's likely that she wasn't fully informed, or, like I think happens to alot of us, was concentrated on the good details of the surgery. She possibly didn't KNOW all the changes she was going to have to make... what bothers me about the whole thing is that her new doctor has probably not 'enlightened' her anymore on the surgery she's about to undergo. 'Failing' at a surgery is not any more or less our 'fault' than getting fat in the first place... but I think we do need to realize our part in both.

I would recommend starting a new thread on that topic. I think this thread should probably be kind of 'just us' if that makes any sense.

I love hard boiled eggs, but I can't eat the yolks. They'll stick me up whether I'm paying attention or not. I dont mind just snacking on the whites though.

I think you should stick to your original goal weight for now. If you get to 150 and decide you want to lose more, then lose more. The OTHER thing to keep in mind, is that the number doesn't mean anything and if you get happy with how you look at 160, don't force your way to 150 just because it was your original goal. I do believe it is a body image thing. I have a hard time with the idea that I'm over halfway to my goal too sometimes. I can kind of tell when I look in the mirror, but if I'm sitting down and looking at my thighs n' stuff, it just feels like I have so far to go. My sister never got as big as I did, but has definate body image issues, and so we kind of make a game of pointing people out who are bigger/smaller/the same size as eachother so we can kind of get a feel for how we look, you know?

Have you had a fill recently or any access to your port? I think port infections are usually caused during surgery, or during a fill when the area has been 'messed with'. Keeping in mind that it could be totally unrelated, I'd make an appointment to see your PCP right away, or go to the ER if it keeps getting worse. _________________________________ I just realized this thread is a couple of days old... have you seen the doctor yet?

There are a good deal of people who were model bandsters and still had issues. That was a horrible answer to your question from your doctor, in my opinion...

I'm nearly 3 years out and haven't had any issues. Obviously that doesn't mean I wont have any going forward, but honestly, I would not be all that upset if I needed to get my band replaced. Having it taken away altogether would upset me though!

I'm really similar to elvisgirl. I do miss big bites and eating all of something good sometimes. More often though, like when I go out to eat, I'll get full and kind of look around at what I've eaten (especially if I feel like I ate alot) and think about what I USED to eat at the same restaurant. It's really mind blowing. There's nothing I can't have at least sometimes, except maybe egg yolks. Sometimes I can eat bread, and sometimes I can eat Pasta, etc. There IS an adjustment time. And for me, even now, sometimes I kind of still go back to that awkward phase. I kind of feel like a four year old stomping her foot because she can't have what she wants. But it passes, especially if I look at an old picture...

I could be gas. I just found something the other day that might help you out; gas x makes little strips down (instead of pills/chewables). If you take one and it doesn't do anything for you, it wont hurt you to have tried...

230 was my 50lb down mark as well. It feels SO GOOD! Congrats!!

It took me a long time to realize that eating was an addictive behavior. Ever since I was a kid I knew that I would need to be careful around alcohol because my grandparents were alcoholics, along with a number of my other relatives, so I knew that it ran in my family... what I didn't realize was that it's 'addictive behavior' that runs in the family, not alcoholism... I was talking to my fiance, who is an alcoholic (not the raging drunk kind, the few beers a night to relax kind), and he was talking about how he needed to stop drinking and not bring alcohol into the house at all in order to quit (that moderation wouldn't work for him), and I said something to the effect that I wish my addiction was that easy. He said "well, I just drink a couple of beers to wind down and relax at the end of the day" and I said "Yes. I understand" and he said (rather sarcastically) "well, does eating calm you down?" and I said "YES". I think that was the first time he kind of 'got it'. He still doesn't 'understand' not REALLY, but it gave him a better idea. I still have to be careful of my drinking, if I find myself drinking every day, I stop for like at least a month, just to be sure I don't get 'sucked in' so to speak. I think I could easily become a shopping addict too. My house is already full of trinkets and crap I don't need. Something else that I think helps me is that I am in counseling. I know that I'll probably always have an addictive personality, but I feel like if I feel more in control of the things in my life, this will be one of those things.

I agree with Julie, but maybe you could search around for better pricing? Pricing here in the States varies SO much, I've heard everything from $50 to $1000 ()

I think it would help you to decide that people aren't saying things 'just to be nice'. The people telling you that you are pretty probably genuinely think so. I've been working hard not to get on myself too much for the places where my skin sag. My thighs are... fugly, but that's what shorts are for, and eventually (for me) probably surgery. My sister made a good point to me when I said something like "that's what surgery is for", she said "You should be careful with that, or you'll keep deciding something needs to be fixed and keep going back for surgery", and she's right. So, I've decided on the few places I will be willing to have surgery, and that will be it. Also, instead of concentrating on the things you don't like, find things you DO like about your new body. I LOVE my feet. It's really bizarre, I'm not a feet person, but I love seeing the definition in my feet now that I never saw before. I hurt my ankle one time a little while back and my foot was all swollen and I freaked out because it looked like it did before! (all puffy, no definition). I don't quite like my hands yet, but they are getting there. I have some skin on my arms, but it's tightening up a bit, and despite the skin, I kind of like my arms sometimes too. I'm not trying to brag about what I like about myself, I'm trying to give you examples... I hope it makes sense. I think many of us thing we're going to get skinny and feel alot better about everything but we don't consider the physical stuff that skinny people don't like either, you know? As for feeling like you are still a size 20, I SO know what you mean. I'm a 14 now (not quite 14/12 ), and I find myself giving people way more room than they need to get around me, or trying to 'squeeze' into places that have plenty room for me. It's kind of bizarre. One thing to help me with this is to take a recent picture and put it next to an old (rare, of course) picture and see the difference between the 2. Hope this helps. There's still plenty I don't like about myself, but I'm working on it too.

I'm 25, and when I'm MAJOR stressed out, my memory just completely abandons me. I was asking my mom about it and she told me it was stress, and I've since noticed a pattern. I can handle 'basic' stress, but when you pile on bad family stuff, and planning my wedding (good things are stress too), I'm just nuts. Mom's been saying things like "it's that wedding brain". Are you in a position where you could do something about your job? I know some people need the insurance to pay for surgery so they stick with a job they don't like, but if you can get out of it, I'd recommend it. The major things that make a job someone hates into a job they like don't happen much so the best answer is usually moving along... I was never tested or diagnosed with sleep apnea, but I would be surprised if I found out I used to have it at least mildly. I used to snore really bad, and my fiance snores, and our snoring would wake eachother up and we'd be asking eachother to roll over all night. I don't snore anymore since having lost weight, and I don't really notice his much unless something (like a cat jumping on me) wakes me up. I only got 3 hours of sleep the other night for something at work, and while I was exhausted during the day, I wasn't 'dead on my feet' if you know what I mean.

I went last weekend with some of my fiance, his sister in law and her daughters. He and I spent most of our time walking around and checking stuff out, we didn't actually ride many rides and still had a great time. Pirates has been update to go with the movies and whatnot, and they've updated the technology in the haunted house since the last time I was there I think. My future niece-in-law is 12, but wouldn't even ride a ferris wheel, so she walked around alot with us the next day when we went to California Adventure, because there are more coasters n' stuff there. There's a Monster's Inc ride that's pretty calm and your grandson might like.

I read somewhere that a lb of fat is the same volumn as a pound of butter, so I kind of imagine how much butter I've lost, lol. Sacks of potatoes, or cat food, as well.

After your surgery your doctor will probably not just fill you right back up to where you are now. He'll probably bring you back up slowly. I do stand up when I eat sometimes, but not all the time. What types of things are you eating for dinner?

Lets see.... I go here MAYBE once or twice a year, but I love the Coldstone Creamery. Mashed potatoes (especially my moms), French onion soup... that's all I can think of at the moment..

I'm nearly 3 years out from surgery, not at goal yet, but down 80 lbs, which is good. It never 'clicked' for me. If I lost my band, I'd have a hell of time maintaining, let alone losing. Unfortunately, I'm a very all or nothing person. Supposedly it's a sign of being a perfectionist (thanks mom, lol), but if I can't do something all the way, it's not worth doing at all. Dieting included. I have learned alot, I *know* lots of things, I dunno... I'm in counceling right now and we've plowed through alot of *stuff*, and we're working on me realizing there are things I just don't have control over that I need to let go of, so that I can work on the things I actually have the power to control. I'm hoping as some of the stuff that I can't control is pushed away, I'll be able to take better control of myself.

I managed to miss your whole last thread until today. I'm so glad that they were able to remove without incident and your insides all look good :confused:. Definitely keep us updated please!

I about choked when my sister told me was a size zero a number of years ago. I had NO IDEA that sizes went that small. Now it's sub zero and 00... my kids are going to be wearing -6 and -4's... or something. I'd be glad to be back in a size 24... if it meant that my size hadn't changed but what was on the label changed. I hate, hate, hate shopping for clothes because it's so hard to find something that fits. I wear a large in some shirts, an XL in others. I have this one "large" tanktop that I ordered online that I'm not sure I'll EVER fit in, even if I'm in mediums in other clothes... it's really odd. As for pants, I can go get any pair of pants for my fiance, and unless they were cut wrong or something, they'll fit him. I wont buy a pair of 18's, but I'm sure there are 18's out there that fit me, even though my current favorite pair of jeans is a nicely fitting pair of 14's. A friend of mine in high school had similar weight struggles to me, and she used to say things like "Marilyn Monroe was a size 14" (I guess to justify her size.. or something), but it's not the same 14 we're in now...

Spanking wasn't a punishment for really minor things in my house. There were a handful of things we'd get spanked for, and we pretty much figured out what they were and quit doing those things. Sure, my mom probably spanked us a bit harder than she had to to get her point across, but we're all fine, lol. And whenever we got grounded if we weren't at school or doing homework, we were doing chores. I do agree that different punishments work for different kids. My future sister in law worked in daycare for a good while, and all they could do was say "that's not okay" and put a kid in time out. They couldn't say "what you did was bad", or anything with the word "bad" in it. I just don't see this doing much for alot of kids. Especially the ones that run their houses (vs the parents). I think we (as a society) are teaching our children to be wusses, and that for some reason they should get their way in life. I know middle aged people who don't understand why things don't go their way, or why you would DARE say no to them if they asked you for something. It's very hard to work with. Anyway, I do believe that spanking a kid is different than slapping them or hitting them. I believe that the reason you are spanking them needs to be explained before and after it happens, and I believe there is a point where it will quit working (the age of reason someone called it), and of course there are some kids it wont really effect. I don't believe the gov't should get envolved.

Well, this isn't the first case of shoulder pain I've heard of, and there are a number of shoulder pain threads on this site, which is why I tend to believe it's the same as many of us have.