vinesqueen

Ccfrog4u, believe me, I know this is very difficult. All my Turtles, this is very important. If you have made an honest go at making the Band work, and if you tell me that you have, then I believe you 100%, and the Band still is not working for you, then you need to start demanding answers from your doctors. It is so easy for doctors to dismiss us because we are fat. If we are fat, then obvously we are lazy and good for nothing. (LIES!) If your doctor doesn't know what's wrong, then ask for referals. It might be any number of things, but it is so important to find out what's going on. Do NOT let them push back on you. If more fills don't work, then it's time to get other help. I'm not saying that you might have Cushing's, what I have. Although one of main symptoms of Cushings is weight gain and central obesity (big round body, fat face and a buffalo hump). If you cannot lose weight on a calorie restricted diet, then you need to find out what is going on with your body. This is important!

I was a dedicated berkie wearer, until I started having problems with plantar fascitis (sp?). Went to a foot doctor, and was told that berkies are the worst thing for your feet. You think you are getting great foot support and doing great things for your feet when you are not. Berkies do not actually offer good foot/arch support. I now have flat feet due to 25 years of wearing berkies.

I had mine out about 8 years ago. I didn't have any symptoms! I went in for my anual and when they were pressing on my belly it HURT!!! And it only hurt when they pressed. So, after the one doc finished pressing one me, she went and got EVERYBODY in the clinic to come press on me. I had to threaten them to make them stop! I told them that it hurt, and the next person to press on tme I was going to hit. If they hurt me, I was going to hurt them. The scheduled a surgical consult for me the next day. It was a Wednesday. He said it wasn't an emergency, but by Friday it would be.

When I started this I was 5'5" and now I'm 5'4". But I am still aiming at 170-190

I started with about a 45.8 BMI, dropped to 39.9 briefly, now I'm 42.0. Part of the problem is that I've lost an inch in the last 9 months. If I hadn't lost that inch, my BMI would be 40.8.

Dansko clogs! Wolkie shoes are good too. I think just about every ER that I've ever been in, all the docs are wearing Danskos... And for good reason. To hell with style, because when your feet hurt, everything hurts! http://www.dansko.com/Home.aspx http://www.comfortshoeshop.com/catalog/brand_landing.php?manufacturers_id=81 You might be able to get a good orthotic shoe insert that will help too.

Congrats on both, now, what have been your best NSVs? Or your favorite ones?

http://www.albinoblacksheep.com/flash/kittycat.php Cat! I'm a kitty-cat! and I dance dance dance and I dance dance dance

Come to Twonesia! Leave Trippoli behind!

I'm even able to walk without my cane some of the time. -- ralheit Oh my gawd! this is the very best! I don't get excited when people say they've lost x number of pounds or kg, but things like this are so wonderful!

I chose my goal range based on my FFM and and 25-35% bodyfat, so that would put me anywhere between 175 and 190. When I was 18 I weighed 190, I was a size 11, and I worked out 5 days a week, 4-5 hours a day doing judo and tae kwon do. Now I understand that I wasn't fat, it was all muscle and boobage, but I had a doctor want to put me on a 350 calorie a day diet because I was too fat. ... According to that caluclator, I should weigh 110 pounds. No frickin' way, unless I'm just bone.

this makes me laugh everytime I see it, my DH sent it to me...

I just bumped my complete list of NSV's. I highly recommend that everyone track theirs. http://lapbandtalk.com/showthread.php?t=8943&highlight=Crystal%27s I know that so many people have wonderful weight loss, but that is not in the cards for me, at least not yet. The band saved my life in a couple of ways, it saved my husband's life, and it saved my mariage. One of the things about keeping track of your NSVs is that it adds dimention, texture and color to your life's journey. Someone could say "I lost 38 pounds" which is wonderful, but it doesn't quite have the same impact as saying what that weight loss translates into, whether it is being able to fit into a booth at a restaurant, the seats at the Baseball Stadium, or being able to walk around the Fair or Ammusement Park all day. Or for an hour, or whatever your victory is. Be kind!

I haven't had an NSV for a while. Cushing's is kicking my butt, what with all the Highs, Lows and testing... But I thought I would bump this because I think that even though I haven't lose any weight (I've gained back the 15 I lost when I crashed hard in June, plus some extra.) I'm not stressed about gaining weight. I have no control, and I'm ok with havng no control.

Dsvader, you need to do the liquid diet because it is for healing your stomach, not weight loss. None of us will starve in a week or two. The reason for the liquid diet is that that your stomach is quiet, and not churning. As for feeling hungry when you are stressed, you are right! You *are* hungry when you arre stressed. It's a by product of the extra cortisol your body puts out when understress. In normal people, ie. not like me :eek: it will be regulated by other hormones etc. I know when I am heading into a "High" phase when I'm hungry all the time. In a way, it is "head hunger" for me too... Stupid Pitunia! (laughter) The stress hunger will result in actual body hunger. Patsy, you will discover that your body is going to start making all sorts of noises you never though you could make. Just because you have a growly tummy doesn't mean that you are hungry, sometimes we make the stranges gurgling and squeeky noises... I tease my husband and tell him those noises are the mating call of the North American Humpback Bandster! And there was something else I wanted to add, but I've lost it.

I'm now higher than not, but not yet high enugh to do more testing. It's sort of facinating, in a Dr. Spock sort of way, to watch every mood, every physical symptom, charting it to determine where I am. Sometimes I wonder if people are really supposed to be so in-touch with our bodies, and othertimes I wonder why everyone isn't so in-touch. The last two weeks have been physically difficult. I've been in a low, but thankfully not as low as I was in June. No adreanal failure, knock on wood, but I was very low nonetheless. The last couple of days I've had terrible kidney pain, an 8.5 or 9 on the 10 painscale. I suppose I should have called Dr. L, but I didn't. I'm so tired of doctor visits, I want a normal life. But I have no idea what that is like. I remember when I was in my 20's that I had so much energy, so much ... life. I can only hope that the headaches stop once I have the pit surgery. This morning when I got up my face was very puffy. My eyes looked like I have a bad case of poison oak, which in a very weird and twisted way is a good thing because it lets me know that I'm going to be a screaming maniac soon. The bruise from my last accupuncture treatment still hasn't healed, but then again, I am not really expecting it to since it's only been a week. I have the will to do things, which is another sign that I'm heading high. Yay! But unfortuantely, I don't have the stamina. The lows leave me so weak. I'ts like I have Addison's on top of the Cushings, which is all part of the magic of Cyclical Cushings. I either have too much or not enough. Overdose of cortisol or withdrawl from it, with now a week or so in the middle where I feel somewhat normal. I've done a few load of laundry today, which is great for several reasons, the least of which is that I need clean panties! The key is to not over do, which is such a delicate balance. When I feel good I want to do all the things that I don't have the energy to even think about when I'm low. I suspect I have a CSF leak, which considering I haven't had the surgery is a bad thing. Well, a CSF leak is never a good thing, ever. Last month while we wer in Seaside I had the leaky feeling, and again on Sunday. It just isn't normal to have your nose suddenly leak when you bend over. It usually happens when my headaces are at their worst, and then I'll do something like bend over to pick something up off the floor, or I'll sweep up something into a dustpan... and then I'll feel something tear loose and my nose will run. It doesn't taste like snot, sort of salty and bitter. Again, it's weird to be so in-touch with my body that I know when the flavor of my snot is wrong. So, the wather is supposed to be getting hot, just in time for me to be heat intolerant. Funny how that works. Oh well, it will all to my stress.

Thank you Teresita, I appreicate the prayer.

Hi Tearby, You have done really well so far! you've been averaging more than 10 pounds a month! Wowzers! Sometimes we need the plateaus so our body can catch up with itself. You didn't say how long it's been since you had a fill, or how far apart the fills were. Please don't get discouraged, this is part of the journey for so many bandsters. Be kind to yourself.

Hi Marc, I just wanted to welcome you to your new home, to your new family. I don't know how easy your journey will be. Some of us ave a very easy and fast journey, while others of us move so slowly we seem to be going backwards. It sounds to me like you are out of balance with your life. You spoke of very long work days, with now down time. This is not healthy for anyone, not for you and not for the ones in your care. The one and only resolution that I make every year is to find balance in my life. I make it every year, and I expect that I will continue to make it my resolution every year. So many of us use our weight and size as a way to keep others out, to keep us safe. I know that once we begin to stand naked, stripped bare of our walls, our shells, our armor we face a whole host of other issues. I know that when I finally agreed to get banded I felt like such a failure, that I couldn't do it on my own, that I was somehow unworthy. I know that my husband felt the same way, and I know that others have also voiced similar thoughts and feelings. Especially since being over weight, to whatever degree, is viewed as a moral failing, not just a medical condition. So many people have been so successful with their bands, here's hoping you are a rabbit and not a Turtle!

greasy foods make me queezy.

God never told you to be stupid. (old jewish proverb) Never give in, never surrender. (Galaxy Quest)

I'm now higher than not, but not yet high enugh to do more testing. It's sort of facinating, in a Dr. Spock sort of way, to watch every mood, every physical symptom, charting it to determine where I am. Sometimes I wonder if people are really supposed to be so in-touch with our bodies, and othertimes I wonder why everyone isn't so in-touch. The last two weeks have been physically difficult. I've been in a low, but thankfully not as low as I was in June. No adreanal failure, knock on wood, but I was very low nonetheless. The last couple of days I've had terrible kidney pain, an 8.5 or 9 on the 10 painscale. I suppose I should have called Dr. L, but I didn't. I'm so tired of doctor visits, I want a normal life. But I have no idea what that is like. I remember when I was in my 20's that I had so much energy, so much ... life. I can only hope that the headaches stop once I have the pit surgery. This morning when I got up my face was very puffy. My eyes looked like I have a bad case of poison oak, which in a very weird and twisted way is a good thing because it lets me know that I'm going to be a screaming maniac soon. The bruise from my last accupuncture treatment still hasn't healed, but then again, I am not really expecting it to since it's only been a week. I have the will to do things, which is another sign that I'm heading high. Yay! But unfortuantely, I don't have the stamina. The lows leave me so weak. I'ts like I have Addison's on top of the Cushings, which is all part of the magic of Cyclical Cushings. I either have too much or not enough. Overdose of cortisol or withdrawl from it, with now a week or so in the middle where I feel somewhat normal. I've done a few load of laundry today, which is great for several reasons, the least of which is that I need clean panties!:Dancing_biggrin: The key is to not over do, which is such a delicate balance. When I feel good I want to do all the things that I don't have the energy to even think about when I'm low. I suspect I have a CSF leak, which considering I haven't had the surgery is a bad thing. Well, a CSF leak is never a good thing, ever. Last month while we wer in Seaside I had the leaky feeling, and again on Sunday. It just isn't normal to have your nose suddenly leak when you bend over. It usually happens when my headaces are at their worst, and then I'll do something like bend over to pick something up off the floor, or I'll sweep up something into a dustpan... and then I'll feel something tear loose and my nose will run. It doesn't taste like snot, sort of salty and bitter. Again, it's weird to be so in-touch with my body that I know when the flavor of my snot is wrong. So, the wather is supposed to be getting hot, just in time for me to be heat intolerant. Funny how that works. Oh well, it will all to my stress.

I heard about it from my DH. It had gotten to the point where his weight was coming between us. I was seriously considering divorce if he didn't have some sort of surgical intervention. His offical high weight was 596 pounds, but we both know that he was wellover 600 at some point. He couldn't walk through a standard doorway anymore, he had to squeeze his way into rooms. So far, he's lost over 200 pounds, fits into a size 2X sweatpants (down from 6X) but they are tight. I find that to be nothing short of a minor miricle.

I am ... Bacardi 151 Congratulations! You're 132 proof, with specific scores in beer (40) , wine (83), and liquor (139). All right. No more messing around. Your knowledge of alcohol is so high that you have drinking and getting plastered down to a science. Sure, you could get wasted drinking beer, but who needs all those trips to the bathroom? You head straight for the bar and pick up that which is most efficient. And, I've never been a bartender, and I don't hang out in bars, as a general rule...

and once again, I can never figure out how to make these photos normal sized. HELP!!!!