the best me

LBT is my support system. Others in my life are certainly supportive, but band stuff is here. I'll support you! Kathy... best friend...has been banded 6+ months. She's really nice and helpful...lol!

Congratulations Betty! Thanks right back-acha! You are the best! Well done.

STOP EATING SIGNAL! And you probably ate a little too fast between bites or too big of a bite. Yep, stop. At least go back to full mushies for tomorrow and slow down. Start memorizing these feelings...they'll come in handy later.

Wow, this is more common than I thought...I'd be scared!! Anyone else with a bloody PB? I still go with Aloe Vera juice. yeah baby!

This is really great news!! I'm asking because of that one post on your other thread making so much sense about eating food at night and going to sleep with all this food in your pouch and causing swelling overnight and tightness in the mornings. Do you, in your experience, find that to be valid? I love the foods you listed above...good for you! That's much better than juice, milk and mashed potatos only. yay!!! You are gonna drop the pounds!

I did mine by the weight charts for my height. It says my weight should range between 125 and 140. At my age, 140 is sounding mighty slender! I remember being in my 20's (maybe, 22 or 23) and wieghing in at 140 and feeling so fat! I got down to 118 or 119 for about a day, but averaged out at about 125 for a good year or so. I promised myself I would never get above 140 again! Ah, to be 140 again would be heaven now. So, charts, and a distant memory gave me my goal weight.

Yep, that technique is standard practice for banding these days, from what I have gathered. Did you get all your questions answered? I still need to find your other thread with all of your questions on it...give it a tackle. I'm not agreeing with the Estimated Weight Loss stats. Maybe they are 55% at this point in time, or at least with the test studies, but I think down the road, many many folks will be beating those odds by miles. I plan to. Maybe I won't get to 140? Who knows, but I'll lose more than 55% of the 83 pounds I needed to lose on band day. I'm closing in on 55% now...when I get to 177 I will have lost 55% of my excess weight. I will exceed those statistics, I promise. It might take a while but I'm "dieting" with a purpose now. Falling off the diet wagon doesn't mean gaining it all back plus some anymore. Lately it's just meant a longer plateau. Anyhow, glad you got to go so soon!

Wow, I have the same thinking and it's wierd to see someone else writing the same thing in their own words. I know me, and I knew I needed time to wrap my brain around being banded, time to get used to the new eating, time to feel back to normal, somewhat, time to be sure I could still eat certain foods...all of that! So I have been banded over 6 months and have lost right at 30 pounds. (Nykee, you aren't a turtle! Your weight loss is great! I'll admit, I'm not a big fan of how you are doing it, but your numbers look great!) I have only had one fill at 3 months, but it's time for another very small one. A .3 fill is sounding great to me. Thanks for the inspiration! (and Nykee, you say your band has loosened up a bit now...do you know why? Is it the weight loss? the way you are eating? I'll go back and read some more, but was just wondering. I'm glad you are loosening up a bit. )

Hey Courtney! Welcome to LBT!!! Another Charlotte person, wow! I remember that I used to feel a bit lonely on the board. There were NC bandsters, but not too many regular posters. Our group is growing!! Come to lunch!!!

My sister had kidney stones once. She was doing Adkins, but not very well. She was eating fatty gross meat all the time, very few veggies and no Fiber, not enough Water. That's not really Adkins. Anyhow, she got stones. She's no wimp and she was brought to her knees. It was horrible to watch. Here's the kicker, though. She has 4 ureters, not just 2. They discovered it during her stone episode, and she shares this hereditary feature with my cousin, that we know of. They both have 2 lobes in each kidney, and each lobe has it's own ureter to the bladder. Double the chance for traveling little glass shards, ouch! We had kidded that she could donate 2 kidneys and have 2 left, and make a bundle on the black market. Wonder if that is something to solve her financial woes and get her a band? Kidding. Anyway. Ouch is right. And Princess, I don't think they have to be all that big to be painful, but some are big enough to fish out of the toilet? Some are never found. But you know they are gone because the pain is gone. Just how big is a "big" kidney stone? One that's worthy of fishing out and taking back to the doc to say "here's my backache!"?

Okay, I was starting to get a little worried. Glad you are back online! Yay you!!!

I concur! Aloe Vera Juice! Drink 6-8 ounces 2-3 times a day. It heals anything from top to bottom. Good stuff. Although not the tastiest of beverages. It goes down though.

Well done! It's great to see the docs who give you "what for" about your weight be excited and amazed at good healthy weight loss. Are your antibiotics in capsule form? Can you pull them apart in juice? Maybe check with your pharmacist about how to handle that one. UTI. Yuck is right. Feel better!

Aw crapola. Between you and Candysmooch and Vines, I guess it's true, time for me to get a very small fill. There goes another $200 buckaroos. I'm not so worried about that, but an unfill is another $200 and I hate to risk a $400 fill. ARGH!! Welcome Jenny! 7 kilos...aw, I can't remember the conversion...help! We need to see if you meet the very specific criteria for slow losers.

Well congrats. I don't think UHC will take that long. You will have a date in no time! I'm curious what Dr Bauman says about your change of heart from Band to RNY and back to Band. Is he supportive and encouraging? Just wondering.

Get that letter from the back doc, Jen. Make it easy for them to approve you. Yay!

All five of mine are horizontal. I'm 6 months+ out and they are still kind of a dark pink and a little raised. The further away from the port incision the flatter and lighter they are. But I'm pretty pasty white so I'm not surprised mine aren't fading as well as others. My port scar still gets itchy sometimes. It's past time for some Mederma bandaids. Gotta get to Wal-mart.

No, but yuck and scary. I'd be insisting on an endoscopy. Pretend you called the first time and said, "I think there was blood in my PB but I'm not sure" and she said "Well, if it happens again come in and we'll have a look". Well, it happened again, and this time you are sure it's blood. Endoscopy!!!!!

Wow Alexra, well done! Me and you Angeleyes. I was 193.6 this morning, which puts me at about a 30 pound loss since banding. I'm happy. It's slow moving but good. I'm worried though that you can't eat chicken or spicy foods or potatos or bread, yet you need a fill? Clue me in, cuz that doesn't sound right to me. If you can't eat chicken (I don't mean dry chicken, you shouldn't be able to eat that) then woudln't that mean you are a bit tight? Are you following bandster eating rules? let me know, because maybe something is wrong with my thinking? desertmom, I'm sorry you are still struggling with reflux...that's not good and very frustrating, I know. You weight loss is great, though. Have you had an endoscope? I know there are more April Bandsters out there. Ya'll check in!!

Brenda, real restriction doesn't hurt. Getting stuck hurts, PBing hurts, but being restricted means you have to slow down, be careful, eat slowly (to avoid the stuck and PBs) and you get full faster. And you stay full for longer. You will get to it, keep on your fill schedule until it hits, and it will.

Holy Moly!!!!! You look gorgeous!!!!!!!!!!!!

9/5 (week 1) 198 9/12 (week2) 196.6 9/19 (week 3) 197.0 9/26 (week4) 194.4 10/3 (week 5) 194.8 10/10 (week 6) 195.0 10/17 (week7) 193.6 -4.4 pounds so far Headed in the right direction! Oh I'm so ready for the 180s...

Yippeee!!!

Ooooh, that's a toughie. I have okay restriction, too. It could be better, but I'm trying to make it work. Of course, I pay cash for fills so that definately plays into the equation. The smallest bit can make the biggest difference. I say go for it.

Hey Sherrie, yes!!! We had tentatively planned a get-together on a Monday lunch when Paula was in town but she had to go back to Louisiana after the hurricane and we missed her. Our next lunch is on Saturday Nov 5th at 11:30am at Ruby Tuesdays on I-77S at Arrowood. Just keep coming down I-85, turn South on I-77 and go another, maybe 6-8 miles? Past downtown Charlotte. You can't miss the Arrowood Exit and it's right there. Please join us!! "It'll be just like Senior Year. But FUNNER!" (Legally Blonde) sorry, just came out...anyhow, make plan to come!!! yay!