the best me

Well done Coyotegirl!!! You are inspiring me! I need to go look up me...I just might have gone down a slot on the obesity scale...good job!!! Keep up the great work!

Wowza, you go girl!!! I'm right behind you, 18's here I come! Wahooo! Feels good, don't it?! Yay! I'm so proud of you!!!

Worth a try, the crunchier the better. I'd think that toast might still be a bit too chewy, try a cracker and see how it does, but I have been fine eating tostitos with guacamole in my mushie phase. They are thinner and crunchier, and easier to chew to bits. Good luck!

Very funny Chunk! Well written! Maybe someday you will get at least chicken back. I'm really sorry about your steak. It seems so wasted, until your 300 pounds turns into 200 pounds, right? Hang in there. The Band is fickle...don't give up the hope of meat just yet! It just may be a while

Yay Estella!!!! Can't wait to have you back on and home again! Be careful, take lots of gory pics if you have anymore to take! So glad to hear that all is well!!!! Thinking of you! ((((((((HUGS)))))))))

No reflux, no heartburn, no PB's, nothing gets stuck...enjoy!!!! As you lose weight, you may be able to get some more solids in at lunchtime, I find the band loosens a bit as the weight comes off. So, you are satisfied from lunch to dinner with the soup, mashed potatoes, yogurt, etc? You aren't hungry? And the OJ in the morning isn't an acid problem? man oh man, and 2 pounds a week!!! wahoo!! Run with it, Hamu!!!!

TaaaaDaaaaaaa!! 5 days and counting! Good for you! Can't wait to hear how it all goes...post when you get back! happy surgery!!!

Yep, pain. For me I was very very sore, I guess that's how I would describe it. Take the pain meds if you need them! All I can promise is that each day is a little bit better. Now, the Sunday after my Friday surgery was probably the worst. The IV pain meds had worn off and I had traveled home. Just rest, walk, sip, and use the heating pad either across your belly or on your upper to middle back. For me, the "deep" pain, or the pain that I felt like was coming from the internal band area itself, showed up in the middle of my back, across the bra strap. The upper left shoulder blade pain was the gas they used to blow me up for surgery, and tummy pain was bowels, gas and all moving around through my digestive system. It takes a little while, but don't worry, you will get through and it will all seem like a dream (a bad one?) in no time! Oh, are you crushing your Percocet? Wash that stuff through as best you can!! Welcome to Bandland!! Congrats!

Whoa Nelllie, you are, indeed, brave. Before you left, it sounded so exciting! Now, it sounds downright intimidatingly scary! Civil War, bombs, rockets, shells, generators...I LOVE LOVE LOVE the United States! So, do you even want this potential new job?! Or can you even answer for security reasons? (!) Just kididng. We want pics!!! Please be safe...come home soon!

Hey Briana, there are several docs in TJ. I saw Kuri and he charged $8950. There is also a Dr Ortiz that comes highly recommended by other members here, although I am not sure about his prices. The website for Dr Kuri is www.Beliteweight.com and I'm sure Ortiz patients will be glad to post his web address too. Those two seem to have the best reputation of the TJ Band docs, from what I can gather, but be sure to do your own research. Gather all your info and let your parents do their own digging around as well. I know you are 18, but if I were 18 again, I'd never do this without my parent's support. Heck, I'm 40 years old and wouldn't have done it without the full support of my husband! It's a big step. Do your research!! Take others' opinions, including mine, as just that, an opinion. Dig around. Turn over every rock. I know what you mean about going to MX being...not clean? Honestly, TJ ain't grand. But I had a flawless surgery, and great band placement, and the care I recieved in MX was fine. Not extravagant, not sub-standard. I had a rough recovery when I got home due to post-op swelling but made it through. I'm losing weight and happy, so far, with my decision. If my insurance had covered it, or if I had a local doc that could compare with the price and still have the skill and experience as Dr Kuri, I would have stayed in the states. That said, I love Dr Kuri. He is a kind and hard-working man. Good luck in your research! Post all your questions, folks here are happy to answer.

I agree with that, too!! Okay, pizza is worth sitting an hour for, but it's a bunch of bread and is going on down, not keeping you full and low on protien. Do it when you can't stand it, if you must. However, your meals should end in 20 min or so AND you should feel comfortably full.

John (jqpublic) asked this question just last light and I linked him to this old thread...very helpful... http://www.lapbandtalk.com/showthread.php?t=1656&highlight=plateau+buster Good luck! And I agree, eat!!!

A TUMOR?!!! Yikes! I just hate that word, unless benign goes along with it, but STILL! Well, your shoulder isn't really a part of the digestive system, I suppose I'd leave it. However, if you are sensitive to pain meds and could get nauseous, well, then I'd want my fill gone, that's for sure! Good luck! Keep us posted on your surgery date so we can keep you in our thoughts and prayers.

Hello Micki! Welcome to LBT! Yup, you got what we all had. I gained about 4-5 pounds pre-surgery just being lazy and a bit stressed! You SHOULD be apprehensive of the after. Some days, it kinda stinks having this stupid ole band. But, alas, the weight comes off, I come here and find out something pertinent to whatever bugs me, I get through it, then I love my band. There is NO WAY I could maintain the type of loose discipline I have been able to maintain these past months to accomplish what I have so far. This is the long haul, baby! So, do you need to do the pre-op liquid diet some of us have to do? How much weight are you wanting to lose? You can bet we know what you are going through. There are lots of old threads about what to get before surgery that you will need when you get home, ie: Gas-X, heating pad, chicken broth, other Clear liquids...you'll get lots of ideas. If you can't find an old thread, start a new one! Anyhow, congrats on your band date! And welcome!!

Yep! I got unfilled by .4cc. You heard it, that's "point 4cc" and what a difference! Still on liquids but my liquids are getting thicker and thicker LOL but I'm not terribly hungry yet. I do want some guacamole, dadgummit! Maybe tomorrow. He said 3 days liquids on Monday, so Wed is 3 days, right? Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday...3 days! I can justify ANYthing! I LOVE me some Bob Evans and there are good Soups on the menu for the mushie phase, plus ice cream (!) and soft veggies, too. Not too sure about Breakfast. They have crepes on the menu but that may still be too chewy for Angie. Me and Kim may get away with that, but the portions are pretty doggone big. I go often enough that I know we can all do something good at Bob Evans. There is one in Huntersville at exit 25 off I-77. That's another long drive for Angie, though. Is there one in South Charlotte/Pineville area?

Wowza, girl! Way to go! I'm very proud. I not near as patient or persistant as you. It paid off!!! Yippeee!!! You, my friend, get a banana! :banana

Uh, it's sideways! LOL! I like that! Did it hurt like crapola? Did they do it with a regular piercing gun at a regular piercing place?

I'll see if I can scare up some Jack for you!!

My plan is to leave home at 6:30am on Monday and be there at 8am when he opens his office. This fill SUCKS!!!! I'll give you all the scoop later, life calls (you know, dinner that everyone can eat BUT ME!!!!!!). I'm so tight. I can only sip, sip, sip liquids and should be well back into mushies and soft foods. I feel like post-op without the pain, almost, my port is surprisingly sore from the fill! Anyhow, venting...Any advice? Had my fill last Wed the 6th. This is Sat the 9th. I'm stuck and/or PBing anything that isn't a small sip of liquid. SIGH

Interesting! Well, the fill is done now, and he took out .4cc. It has made a huge difference. I'm glad you didn't necessarily recommend a complete unfill, cuz I didn't get one! LOL Now I really like my good ole fill doc, even though he charges for unfills. He put in 2cc for the first fill because, as he said "that's what Dr Kuri recommends" Don't know where he got his info, but I know he sees plenty of Kuri patients. I'm thinking a .5cc fill wouldn't have made that big a difference even in me!

Yep, you got it! Once that sinks in it helps...you know who you are fighting. Glad the nipple is better, ouch!

I was looking for something to drink in addition to my Water at the convenience store on my way home from my fill the other day. An OVERLY helpful cashier kept suggesting things and I let him know, "No carbonation" I tried to pass it off as I don't prefer it but he went on and on about different drinks and I finally just said "I can't drink carbonation, I had weight loss surgery and I don't want carbonation" blah blah. And do you know what that little twit said? "Have you tried Curves?" My jaw almost dropped but I continued being nice and said I liked curves and, blah blah, bu-bye!!!!! Twit.

Awright Missy! Restriction is a lovely thing! Click on anyone's ticker and it will take you to the ticker factory website. Follow the directions there for choosing your ticker. Then, highlight and Copy the URL(?) for vBulletins. You will have several choices of addresses, make sure you highlight and copy the vBulletin one. Then, come back to LBT and click User CP in the upper right, click Edit Signature, then put your curser on the sig page where you want it, go up top and click Paste, SAVE CHANGES (very important step!) and it will show up on your next post. Do a practice post here to see...good luck!

How about: What kinds of changes will I need to make in order to make this work? Or somethng along the lines of: what will my eating life look like after banding? How much weight would you expect me to lose if I get banded? Wow, good for you beingme! And 14? Wow, that's young, for sure! But I now your parent's would let you do this on a whim. Good luck! Work hard and get great results!!! Please let us know how it goes...we want ALL the scoop!

Nope, but I caught my so-called boyfriend kissing some girl in the hallway of a bar. So, as I left the bar after quickly and calmly giving him heck, I stopped at his car and poured the rest of my cup of beer onto his front seat (he had the window down enough to get my hand in) then I let the air out of one of his tires, and I took lipstick and wrote "dickless SOB" on his driver window. As if I knew...we had only dated for a month or two and certainly weren't intimate enough for me to know for sure about his "dickless" status, although I'm fairly certain he was not, in fact, dickless. But I thought it was funny for him to have to drive home like that, or at least so smudged he couldn't be seen, thinkin' he was all cute sitting in his little ole car. Served him right. That's as close to a bar brawl as I have seen. I was 19 or 20. Ah, the good ole days!