the best me

Aw, Angie, I'm so sorry. Grandmothers are such a treasure and I'm sorry for your loss. Especially this Holiday season. ((((hugs)))) and God Bless.

I can tell my belly fat will stick with my belly skin, to a degree. It's like the layer of fat just under the skin will only shrink but so much...so in order for the fat to go, the skin needs to go too. Tummy tuck is in my future, much as I hate it. I can feel my abs underneath it all. I have good muscles there! It's just covered in what used to be...or soon will be "used to be". My inner thighs are becoming more of a wreck. That's an issue, too. But it's different. It's saggy loose extra stretched out skin with no elasticity. Well, some of that same stuff is on my stomach too, but I know what you mean about it being different. My band doc told me to get to 160 or so and I'd be ready for the tummy tuck. I'm thinking 170 will do it. At some point, it's time to "cut the line". Maybe 190 is the weight for you. I'm 5'5" and my BMI goal is 24, which puts my goal weight at 145. In case those numbers help you compare. Excellent work! 154 pounds! WTG!!!!

Where's Bright? Where's DallasDoll? Esmerelda is our preggo bandster girl...she should be 20-25 weeks now, if not more! What's up people?!!! We miss you!!

OMGosh Tammy! I'm so sorry. I know how relieved you feel that the lady and her baby are okay. It's time to take care of you. How are you feeling this morning? ((((hugs))) and keep us posted.

NOOOO!!!! That's wrong info. The port is under your skin, like a disk placed face-up from inside your belly wall, stitched into place. The needle is long but it only goes in as far as the port. My port is maybe a 1/4 inch under my skin? Who knows, but I can feel it hard and smooth and round. Some people have deeper ports and need a longer needle. It's a special non-coring needle by Inamed. My doc gives me a numbing shot but I doubt it would hurt that terrible bad. I think the numbing helps more with being less sore for the first hour, I dunno. I don't have flouro fills so someone else will need to answer that. But fills don't hurt when they are donw properly. Sore is not HURT. Whew, I gotta boogie or I'd tackle all your questions...I'll check back later, but really really wanted to clear up that no open or even covered wounds are involved in Lap Banding. Nope.

Oh how scary! Well, you made it! Heal up nicely and welcome to bandland!!! Walk and sip and walk and sip. Rest. Heating pad. Walk and sip some more. Wahoo!!

Now THAT is going to make the CUTEST avatar!!!!! You go girl. I'm so proud of you!!!!

Good lookin' family!!!!

I count Crystal Light as water. I would count any of those listed as water, but you are right that WATER is the only real water. So pick a happy medium...you can drink 10 ounces of some substitute for every 20 ounces of water, you get the picture, just so you stay on board with your good WATER intake. Happy sipping!!

Crush your meds. Excedrin would be fine, I'd expect. How about a BC powder? Sip smaller if you are having pain when you drink...which is a problem when you want to take a crushed up pain reliever. Yuck. Gas X and heating pads are great. Take short walks. Walking and sipping and time are the great healers of the gas pains. Congratualtions!!! Were you happy with Kuri and the team there? Welcome to bandland!!

hey Kelly Girl, how 'bout an updated avatar for Keri? She has earned it!!! Hurry before she shrinks some more!! LOL

Yay! Jack's here! Flexible, I can't wait to hear about your A1c test when it comes back Wed. Good luck! Keep us posted!!!

Oh Jennifer, why do you keep kicking yourself out?!!! Who is going anywhere??! We still support you, no matter what! And I agree that you should join us at our lunches...definately!!! We are all in this weight loss thing together, girl. Let's Git 'er doooone!!! Just to share my opinion, and I have 2, if someone at your doc's office is not so nice, I'd think twice about the doc. Just reasearch. The other girls here who have used Dr B will have important things to say. Maybe all good, I'll bet, but not so nice people can be a real red flag. I'm sorry about that. I do know Dr B is great. My other opinion is don't let your insurance company decide which surgery is the right one for you. If they will pay for RNY, they may pay for banding if you are prepared to fight. You also need your doc's office on board. So, make sure make sure make sure the RNY is the surgery for you. You are not desperate yet. Maybe impatient (as I was to get this done!) but you are not at their mercy. Fight for the band if that's what you want. If you decide to do the RNY, make sure you also look into the other types of bypass surgeries to make the best choice for you. If you need some research direction, I can send you some links to other threads, let me know. You have just GOT to come to our next lunch in December. Really. Don't leave us!!! We want to go with you down whatever path you choose.

So you finally burped?! Don't you have a hard time burping? Ahhh, a good burp, nothing better! sounds like restriction to me. When I get full or a little stuck, I always feel better letting off a bit of a burp. It's a soft stop signal for me. I would be very careful and move very slowly...stay on liquids and see how you do. If you are a sweller, you may need another day or two before moving to mushies. Stay mushy until you are more comfortable there. Then move to food. If you have pain or discomfort, or are unable to keep small sips down (think post-surgery) then call your doc. Otherwise, as long as you stay on liquids you can make it through the weekend, I'll bet. Slow down. Too much in the funnel your band creates can be difficult going down. Welcome to restriction! Take it easy.

Esophogitis. Here are some links...see if any of this speaks to you. http://www.lapbandtalk.com/showthread.php?t=6713 Oh my gosh that took 10 minutes to find. La Madam also has a thread she started on Esophogitis but I'll bow out and let you look that one up...dinner's burning! LOL Read up and rethink your fill maybe. Let me know if I'm on the right track with your throat hurting.

My first fill was 2cc and I had a .4cc unfill within the week. Too tight!! A few months later, got that .4cc back. So I'm back at 2cc and it's just right!!! This time. Quit feeling like an arse. I'm a slow loser. I am 50 pounds down from where I was 2 years ago, and 30 of that has been lost since banding in April. It's MY weight loss journey. People forget too easily how much I have lost. I remember 240. I still double take when I see 192 on the scale. They get used to seeing me at this current weight and wonder when I'll lose more. I'll lose it when I lose it. Leave me alone, be happy for me or keep your mouth shut. Humph. Here's another thing I posted about dieting on another thread... Reality Check #1 Successful bandsters diet. All of them. It takes different names and has it's own mentality in each of us, but we are all dieting. You are doing Adkins, someone else is counting calories, others count nothing and eat less, whatever the name, whatever the mindset it takes on, we all diet. The band makes it possible to follow the diet. That's my take on it. If someone disagrees, fine. It's still my opinion and still my weight loss journey and if eating less and exercising more isn't dieting I don't know what is. Now, go get that fill! (slap on the butt...) LOL

Ooops! LOL! Welcome to LBT Allie Lee, where acronyms RULE!!! It's comfy in here, I promise! You'll be short-handing with the rest of us before long, don't worry.

Thinking of you today Jini!!! Do't stop heading for the 'puter when you get home...let us know how it went!!! THEN you can rest! lol ((((hugs)))) and happy band day!!

Yay Rachele! Congrats on a successful revision. Thanks for keeping us posted, Sue. I'm anxious to see how you both do with your weight loss with the DS. I'm sure you will both be fine!!!! Heal up quick Rachele!!

welcome to LBT happy! You should post a new thread in the Introductions Forum...it's listed under the Main Forums on the front page, that way lots of folks can say hi and welcome you!! So glad you are here!!

Erosion requires band removal. Slips can be repaired. Most folks happily banded are off the boards living normal happy lives and LBT is full of 1) researchers 2)newbies 3) bandsters with problems and/or 4) LBT addicts like me.

Awww, I wanna see your face!!! You do look great though. Well done! I so relate to your "rebelling against your band"...my hubby says, "you're fighting your band. You're pushing it." and he's right. I'm getting better though. It's hard! Thanks for the update...good job!!!

This is as much for me as it is for you...so I'm dosing out tough love for the both of us, okay? Reality Check #1 Successful bandsters diet. All of them. It takes different names and has it's own mentality in each of us, but we are all dieting. You are doing Adkins, someone else is counting calories, others count nothing and eat less, whatever the name, whatever the mindset it takes on, we all diet. The band makes it possible to follow the diet. What are the chances of you being able to do Adkins this long with this much success and not gain it back without the band? Really. Your band makes YOU a success. Without it you are floundering along with the rest of the obese in the world with no hope. Take care of your band and quit being so fatalistic about your erosion. Your weight loss has been great, but you have done it with the idea that you need to hurry before you lose your band to erosion...I do the same thing!!!!!!...but I see you pushing the envelope TOO MUCH by living with reflux and settling for less of a happy banded life just to lose the weight. You clearly aren't thinking long-term and I fear it's a mistake. I understand why, I know you are going to South Africa at Christmastime and will see a band doc there and I hope you will. You should get all these pain and reflux problems solved so you can be a long-term bandster and not a desperate one. IMHO. Reality Check #2 Let's list your problem symptoms: night-time reflux, Nexium 40mg twice a day, port pain, fever after fills, back pain, pain at band site, band filled to near-capacity, band is known to be proximally displaced...isn't that a slip?!!! hellooo!!!, esophogeal spasms, heartburn, needing twice a day painkillers just for normal functioning, and you can eat anything/no restriction. Something is wrong with your band. Get a new band surgeon and have your slip repaired. I just don't think this is the way banded life is supposed to be, so it's no wonder you are concerned about erosion and aren't thinking like a long-term bandser. I think you are exactly right. One day the other shoe will drop and you will need to have your band removed and it's a good thing you won't be surprised. Problem is, it's avoidable. All you need is a better band surgeon. Or a surgoen that isn't in Belguim, which would be fine if you were there, too and your surgeon could follow you. It's a simple answer complicated by where you are on this spinning sphere, but it can be done. My band surgeon isn't across town, either. I haven't said anything new, you know all this. If you do nothing else, though, get an unfill and get rid of the nighttime reflux and keep taking the Nexium. ((((hugs)))) desertmom. Let us know how it goes. And one more thing: even if "proximally displaced" isn't "slipped", it's still probably the root of your problems. Just a thought.

Stop being stubborn and do the unfill.

yay! I'm happy you are happy with Gonzalez. And thanks for asking him about being Chinese with a Mexican name (which is what he told me) so now he's Phillipino with a Spanish name...sounds down-right American to me!!!! haha Yep, 2cc was too much at first for me, but I'm a "sweller" so I wasn't suprprised. Now, I'm supposedly back up to 2cc with my second fill and dong great with it. Happy restriction Sherrie!! Here's to over-achieving!