vinesqueen

excellent work, make sure you keep track of all of them! They really are just the best thing

Holy Jenny Craig! Excellent work~!

Well, I'm home again, home again, jigatiy jig. I didn't post regular updates because I wasn't home and couldn't get my laptop to store my password to LBT and it was a major hastle. Okay, walked everyday I was home, except yesterday because we drove up to visit my family, and a long trip that is. I raked leaves and did yard work and cleaned up dog bombs ... Lots of work, no weight lost. However, I seem to have shrunk a couple of inches because now all my pants drag on the ground. So apperently, excersize, walking and raking leaves and yard work and cleaning up dog bombs makes one inches shorter. Today I wasn't really expecting to get in any excersize, being a travel day (spent 4 hours waiting for my flight that ended up being canceled... ) but I wound up shoveling snow and digging out a car, so undoubtably that is going to have a negative effect on my height too.

hippo birdies two ewes!

Yes, Skylab fell a long long time ago. It's already happened, which is why I like to use it when talking about irrational fears and worries. I think that given the laws of probability, the chances of something happening to you are quite slim in the realm of things. I just like using skylab cause I'm a geek.

I don't know if you are someone she's speaking to, but if her words speak to you, then she is speaking to you I suppose. I just need to lighten up by not being so hard on myself.

Okay, this is what I wrote in a different thread, one asking what the risks of the surgery are. Do not let the recent few bits of bad news color your decision. There are many many people who never have a bit of trouble with their band. Don't forget, Dear Lady, that you are on a support board. We generally come here because we have troubles of one sort or another. Those who are doing great move on and have no need to post here. (of course, there are many of us here because we are lbt junkies ) RISKS OF BEING BANDED.... okay, besides the usual risks that we are all painfully aware of here are some that you might not have considered. Oh, and while not specific to banding, your hair could catch on fire.... Super Train could crash into the hospital... Or The Atomic Train could crash into your hospital... a meteor strike could take out your town, an alien invation could be scheduled while you are in the OR, a masive EMP strike could nock out all power to everything in a 5 mile radius causing 3 jumbo jets to simultainiously crash into the hospital while shutting down every piece of equipement in the hospital, or a weird power surge could cause all the electrical equipment to suddenly come to life and hold the entire hospital staff hostage until their demands to be moved to the desert are met.... Just a million things could go wrong. Better not even leave the house. Heck, better not even get out of bed. Just grab your snorkle and hunker down in your blanket fort... And watch out for skylab.

I thought I'd bump this thread given the recent spate of bad news we've been having. I think no matter what the risks are, it is still worth it. And it's a much better alternative to death.

Okay, as part of the deal for me to go to school, my DH and son kept the cleaners so I wouldn't have a major freak-out everytime I came home from school. The cleaners come every two weeks, so my house stays in relatively good shape. I'm quite happy with the service we use, and I'll give you their name if you PM me. Today was cleaners day. Some how it always manages to work out that they come the week I'm home, but that's how it goes. Now the weirdness. I went to turn on one of the living-room lights tonight and I noticed an odd lump on one of my chime boxes. Much to my surprise it was a dead bird! The cleaners carefully dusted and wiped down the little dead bird before placing it on the chime box, in a spot of prominance. I have no idea where the poor little dead bird came from. But it died sometime today. It might have been a gift from one of our neighbor's cats... I'm thinking that they are hoping that by giving me an early Christmas gift I'll let them move in so they can eat my dog's food. Anyone else have weirdness happen today? (and I don't think the Erin Saga counts as new weirdness. )

What a long day. I had a difficult time at the clinic this morning. The good news is that all my fill from Monday is still there today, so we shall see how much fill i have when I come back in a month. I have two honest ccs in my band.. good grief but this is a lot! It is taking me some getting used to, since even though I thought I had more like 3 ccs, (which I didn't) 2 is a lot. Initially I had a hard time getting through to the folks there. They felt like I wasn't being compliant because I've had mashed potatoes once in 3 months and I drink low fat milk, not fat free milk (circus freak parents). I mean, I got really angry because I didn't have a plan, that everything I've worked hasn't, if you know what I mean. I was able to explain that I havent felt heard. I have very dry skin, so I had to bump up my fat intake a bit, but it is well within the range of healthy low fat. Well, I was able to make them understand that I really am trying to do everything I can to lose weight. I'm working out, I'm very low calorie/low fat. I'm consulting with nutritionists and fitness specialists. I'm meditating and doing all the head work. My head certianly isn't up my butt, and I don't think Michelle was talking to those of us who are working really hard. I think she was speaking to those who are eating around the band. Anyway, I don't know if I have a leak yet or not, but the 5 pounds I put on were all Water weight. Not sure why I put that on, since I am very carefull about my sodium intake, but it was water, and now it's gone. Oh, I'm also apperently too hard on myself, and need to lighten up there too.

How very, very funny. thanks for the erin saga update, these are always too much fun

I have my lab Astro, he used to be a golden lab, but my old yellow dog is so old he's no longer yellow. He just turned 16 years old, which in big dog years is dead. I'm going to have to put him down soon, which will break all our hearts. We got him 6 years ago, and he's brought such joy to us. Because of him I simply cannot look through the book "for the love of an old dog" without tearing up. DH has a pair of chinchillas, both males. We have a new neighbor with 3 cats, but 2 of those cats have decided that they live here. One wants to live in the dog food bin DH says at night the cats will scratch at the french doors trying to get in, and when that doesn't work, they will sit and meow for a while trying to get someone to let them in. Pretty funny. They also have chinchillas, and one got away and DH found it in our kitchen.

Hey gang, I just want to share some thoughts on the subject of good aftercare. First off, I think the clinic that I used is just great, my problem is that I don't live close to my clinic. I live in another state entirely for most of the year while I attend school, and I only get back a very few times a year. I have been getting fills at a sort of local hospital. But the radiologist doesn't have any experience with the band, other than me. Oh the joys of being a ginnie pig. Most people have just wonderful success with just one or two fills, and they don't have any complications. But there are those that do have issues. Part of my problems have nothing to do directly with the band, but they have had a negative impact, which I didn't foresee. I had really bad gyn issues that started the week after I was banded. Nothing to do with being banded, just a coincdence in the timing. I had to have two seperate operations to try to deal with the uncontrolled bleeding, had to go on hormon therapy to try to deal with it all when I should have been able to focus on my band and not my uterus. I was home for the summer, but instead of dealing completely with the band, I was dealing with other health issues. I thought I was properly filled, I thought I had proper restriction, but well, obvioulsy, I didn't. I've been getting fills by someone who in inexperienced. I may have a leak, or best case, the fill person was letting more out than he was putting in. I went to ID with 1.8 ccs and I came home with 1 cc. Because the fill person isn't experienced, they cannot help me with my issues, my questions. I think the problem with getting banded in one geographical area and living in another is that it is difficult to find someone who is qualified to help us and to do proper aftercare.

well, mars did go retrograde....

hippo birdies, two ewes!

we don't really have a "prime" time to lose weight. Part of the beauty of the band. And 40 in 4 is damn good. 100 pounds in a year may be setting yourself up for disapointment. I don't know what your starting weight was/is, but if you are a really high BMI person, this is more do-able than if you are closer to 40 or less. I just don't want you to set an unrealistic goal, then feel like a failure when you've already done such good work.

well, I skipped the month before my surgery (FREAKED OUT) and a week after my banding I had to have an emergency D&C to try to stop the bleeding. The GYN I saw this summer said that it is very common for women who've lost a significant amount of weight to have wonky periods. (not sure what my excuse was though) Fat holds onto estrogen like a sponge.

Yes, I'm able to see my original surgeon. They originally wanted me to only have fills done here in Western WA, but they are starting to understand that people move, have lives that are not divoted to weight loss, but who want to treat it as a lifestyle change instead of yet another diet. They are actively working with other doctors and radiology clinics to try to find support people for those that move or who started in a different state.

Thanks for posting this Kare <3 Bear. I know that we have several folks here that weigh several times a day, while I'm at the other extreme and I never weigh myself. Some of the folks who weigh frequently are turtles while othes are rabbits. Until They conduct large scale experiments scales and weight loss there is no way to get any sort of real understanding. I've only had a year of statistics and I could make the numbers do anything I want. With a sample size of 8 people, one cannot conclude anything about anything except these 8 women.

Frell! that's terrible news Jonathan. It may be unlikely that it fixes itself, but don't forget, someone always wins the Lotto, as unlikely as that is too. sending you the best

wow, we are down two weeks into this challenge Kare! Yesterday I walked and danced for myself. I'm up 5 pounds, so I'm back where I was in July. My body fat percentage meter is back in ID, so I don't know if I've put on muscle or gained back fat.

I do think weight is just a number, which is why I have been using different types of units of measurements to list my weight. we keep expecting that our numbers will get smaller, that they will inch closer to the left on the number line.

I was going to post yesterday, but it sucked big time. I'll be at the Starbucks across from Bell Square at 10:00 am this morning. It's the one right next to the See's candy (asking for trouble? ) I'll call you at a more resonable hour, like about 9:00 am This is exciting!

Maybe because it's a city and not a state? We also don't have any countries listed, so our OZ folks don't get a dedicated forum... Just throwing out ideas