vinesqueen

that is FANTASTIC news! Congrats! and here's hoping that you will stay a rabbit!

Good question, but I have no answers. I've either been MO or thought I was MO my entire adult life, starting from high school. Even when I was the same size as others, I was always heavier than they were. I am a strong assertive woman, but I think I would be this way no matter what size I was. I think in part it comes from being raised by wolves, and having the curage to stand up against my parents when I was in high school.

Ok, I'm in, although I have little chance to win anything. Gee, the end of March? Hell, I have a chance to lose a whole pounds in 3 month. Geeze I really am turning into a bitter old woman. Okay, my NSVs for the week... Last night I went skiing for 3 hours. Didn't huff or puff at all, and I didn't need my puffer either. So, that puts me at 3 NSVs. Wait, make that 4 NSVs, I'm not sore from skiing yesterday.

Oh Maggie! I'm so very sorry you feel that way! But just so you know, belly dancing is NOT for men, it is a dance by women for women. It isn't a sexual thing, but a cultural thing. And some dancers wear full flowing dresses that would hide as much of you as does a sweater! For some women, I'm sure they like to primarily dance for men, but the vast majorty of dancers never dance anywhere but in their class! It's all about comfort levels. I'm a middle child, doing everything I can to get some attention.... Thanks for your kind words Emily. It's hard when all you have are NSVs, but those are what keep me going on my journey.

Hey Celest! we, better than anyone, can appricate the pain of not losing. Sorry it's been such a hard go for you. At my current rate of loss, I will weigh 180 pounds in 2010. That's being optimistic at 18 pounds a year. Since April I've averaged a loss of 1.5 pounds a month, not a week.

bumping for the new year!

Zoe! Zoe! ZOE! (the crowd swells!) Yay! You're back! You're back! I'm so very glad you are back! (can you tell?) Glad you are recovering, sorry it took so long!

Or am I simply one of the truely odd outliers with a probable metabolic disorder?

Our GeezerSue converted from the Band to the DS, and she's doing really great so far. I say so far, because she just recently had it done, like within the last month. She's still in the healing phase, and is very happy with her convertion. ( I just love Sue) I expect that Sue will do just great with her new DS, since she's a real trooper! Other than Sue, I don't think we have anyone else who's had that particular WLS. This is a board dedicated to the Band, so you will find few people here with other types of WLS. We are all very pro-band, and so you will get lots of pro-band folks. Which isn't a bad thing, but it is a little one-sided. Good luck in your research!

When I was over filled, I was only able to manage a couple of tablespoons of food at a time. Now that I'm back to a reasonable fill, I find a saucer size of food is just about right. When we go out for dinner, one entree makes 3 meals, unless I order the child's plate. I can't eat an entire child's meal though.

It's funny about the straw thing. We were told anything that would fit through a straw was just fine during the liquid phase. And yes, the liquid phase is a time for healing, not for weight loss. I have never had a problem with extra gas from using a straw, and I can't for the life of me figure out how people end up swallowing air using one. But my mother always ends up swallowing a ton of air when she uses one. I love using staws, espeically silly ones.

Holy crap! 40Kg since August and you're WORRIED????? Oh honey! you are a freaking rabbit! (queue thunderous appause!) You are doing AMAZING!!!! Please stop stressing about this!

I've had 5 treatments for my ... ah hem... little problem. Every time before I used the numbing cream and sat there for 30--45 minutes or longer, and it still hurt like hell. (and it does NOT smell like popcorn, smells like... BURNING HAIR) This last time They told me that they no longer use the cream but used ice packs instead. I was more than a little paniced because I knew it was going to hurt like hell. Again, only worse because they didn't use the cream. Well, instead they packed my face with ice packs. and after I decided that I couldn't feel my face anymore we proceeded to zap my face. You know what? It hardly hurt at all. Instead of being red for a couple of days, I was only red throughout the afternoon. And this time i didn't have the terrible acne breakout like I did with the numbing cream. Bonus!

Ahem, We ARE dancing in your living room in our PJ's! See? Right now! I've got on my red flannle bottoms on with the teeny white raindeer, and white thermal shirt!

The last few days have been really rough for me. I took my sweet old dog Astro to the vet yesterday for the last time. He was over 16 years old, which for a large breed dog is beyond ancient. Two days ago I tried to send him on his way myself with an overdose of pain medications, but instead he got really perky and felt great. So much for my career as a poisoner. We got Astro second hand 7 years ago this week. His former owner loved him so very much, so much in fact that she realized that she was working way too many hours and needed to find a family that had a kid and time for him. He was such a funny dog, and thinking about his antics is bitter sweet. He loved chasing helium balloons, and he'd figured out how to pull them down by their strings. Other favorite games of his included anything with Water, being a Lab and all, tearing apart cardboard boxes and demolishing pumpkins. Being a Lab, he loved to eat as well. Some of his favorite foods were lettuce, eggplant, thai food, flour and Cookies of all types. The only people food I would give him with any regularity was veggies, and he sure loved his radishes. Of course, he would turn up his nose at mushrooms and tomatoes, but watch your fingers with eggplant! All evening I kept expecting to hear him walking across the hardwood floors, or making the chuffing noises he would make in his sleep. My house is eerily quiet now. Even the chinchillas wonder where he is. I miss my old dog. My old yellow dog who was so old he wasn't even yellow any more. Even the vet was crying when he put him down.

Well, sweetie, only you can answer that question. There are many bandsters who've lost that kind of weight in a year, or two. There are also plenty of folks who've had the RNY or other GB and haven't lost that kind of weight. And there is no saying that if the band doesn't work for you, that any other one will either. I have recently come to the decision that while the band isn't going to work for me the way it does for others, a malabsorptiive technique like the RNY or the DS probably won't work either. If I can't lose on 700 calories a day, then I probably can't lose at all. But I'll keep my band, thank you very much. And at the stage you are at right now, I think EVERYBODY second guesses their decision right about 2-4 weeks out. Some sooner, some later.

Wow, several different things going on in your post there Eleebana2. Why are you not seeing the doc for 5 -6 months? That's an awefuly long time to go without seeing him or her. Can you call and get support that way? I usually live a state away from my clinic, but they are always available to talk to me via phone or e-mail. Also, we don't know what sort of fill you are at, or even if you have been filled. If you are a normal person, and losing between a pound to two pounds a week (or very close to that) then you are doing fine. What is your loss like, or are you a turtle? Without knowing how big your portions are, I don't know that we can really help. I was way too restricted for about a month, and I was only able to get in about 700 calories a day, not nearly enough, and plus, I only lost 1.5 pounds that entire month. talk about your major disapointments. Anyway, because I spent so much time measuring my food by the tablespoons, when I was able to get an unfil and eat like a "normal person" I was appaled at how much food I was eating. I couldn't belive I was stuffing myself, gorging myself. You know how much food? Less than the full child's meal. I couldn't even finish a child's size portion, but I felt like I was binging. It's all about perspective.

well, I agree with wheetsin, the driving part is neighter here nor there. Get your resume dusted off and buffed up. You are going to need it. You might not need to find another job, but it will be very handy when you talk to your boss. By the by, you deserver a better boss. Don't work through your lunch. It doesnt' make you a better employee, it just gives them ammo to take that time away from you.

I have PCOS but my sugars are just fine I went into this fully expecting to lose weight and drop sizes just like everyone else. It hasn't happened for me, and it probably won't either, not in any sort of decent time frame. At the rate I'm going it will take me about 6 years to lose the 95 pounds I need to lose. talk about depressing. I try to focus on what I've gained instead of what I don't lose. It is very difficult, believe you me, but I'm working my NSV list. That said, I would get banded all over in a heart beat. My asthma as all but disapeared. And that alone makes the band worth it.

during one of my fills I got to play with a band before Jessie finally had to take it away from me. Facinating gadget. Overfilling is bad also because it will PINCH a bit of your stomach, and this pinching can lead so some serious damage. Being over filled will not help you lose weight faster or more importantly BETTER. If you cannot eat hard protien like chicken, beef or pork, then you are TOO TIGHT. Just becaue we are fat doesn't mean we deserver to suffer.

I didn't want to post on your thread, I didn't even want to read it. But I did. I'm so sorry you are facing this. Loving an old dog is special.

woot! That's one of the most ego boosting NSVs! You go Gurl!

as a gift to my DH for getting banded, I surprised him with a Motorcycle saftey course, and he bought himself a Kowasaki 750. Last spring he bought me a Kowasaki 550, which I've never ridden. (he bought me a broken bike.) I'm okay with him buying me a broken bike because I had a really bad motorcycle accident about 18 years ago, ended up on crutches for a year, and two different skin graphs because of the burns. (people are white meat. I know for sure.)

Well, they would be if she was on her trapese.... I think Delarla sells one...

excellent work Michelle! Not gaining over the holidays is the toughest time of all, kudos to you!