the best me

Cool avatar and sig Nikkee! Well done! And welcome to LBT. It's a great place to be. Wow, just one more day till Band day! Think of the 13th as a good sign, and even better that it's a Friday! We only get those a few times a year...it's GOOD! Be sure to post when you get home...blessings to you for a great surgery and smooth recovery.

Trop, they were banded more recently and are still doing the liquids/soft mushies/cream Soups, etc. so no chewing required! Don't worry, they'll be chewing like champs before you know it. Hey, Vera, how 'bout "Chewie" the Band?

Oh yeah!!! WEll, good for you...glad to see you'll have to whole family together again soon...it was worth taking a little less, I guess! Good move!

thanks, I'll wait and nibble in a few weeks. And I can live without Triscuits, too. I was tempted in the grocery store with Triscuits or some other cracker but remembered your Triscuit PB, and declined!

I wonder if our PCOS folks have any opinions? But doesn't PCOS cause body/facial hair, not loss of it? Shot in the dark... Anyone? Might be time to call the Gyno for a check up....don't let too much time go by. Your body is telling you something!

Wow Jenna, I'm so busy admiring your pretty bra I didn't even notice the scars! Looking great on healing! I need to post my 5 weeks scars. They look like cat scratches...but the ones I posted when I got home were covered in steri-strips and band-aids. I never bruised either, hmmm. Gimme a sec and I'll re-post an update, too.

It's been known to happen...careful of a tubal pregnancy, any other symptoms? First day of your last period? Tender breasts are definately a sign of something hormonal, you you are on the right track, I'd guess. Hmmm, will be glad to ponder if you'll spill the beans on other symptoms...

(quick hijack...sorry...Jack, how do you eat your shredded wheat? I bought some for the Fiber, but I'm only 4-5 weeks out and I have been afraid to eat it. Do I sip milk with it and chew like mad? ya know, make a mush of it in my mouth before swallowing? Any advice/hints?) Sorry ya'll, I thought about PMing but this is good info for the board, so...thanks Oh, and I had a small salad the other day, it was SOO good! Chewed to bits, I tell ya, but good!

I remember feeling very fuzzy as the days went by. I felt like it was lack of calories, so liquid Vitamins and protien drinks are a must. You will get more clear headed as the days go by and you are able to get your calories in better. Maybe rather than adding the extract to the vanilla shake, add in a 1/2 of a real banana. It will puree well in the majic bullet, add a few cubes of ice,too and it thickens it up a little bit. For me, the thicker things went down a little better. Not cream Soup thick, but thicker than Water, know what I mean? OH! and frozen blueberries(maybe 1/4 cup or less), 1/2 banana, and vanilla protien drink, ice, yummy!!! I just got a bag of frozen blueberries in the pie/cool whip section at the grocery store. You are doing great...good call on taking off work. You need more rest than you think.

Seems like chewing is all I do! Even if it's mushy already, I chew, chew, chew. I have to be careful not to swallow something too unchewed. I haven't PB'd since the first week, but I sure have got some things stuck, slime, 5 min later it finally passes through...I'm still very restricted. And so I chew. It's what's keeping my from shrimp! yuk. So now your on liquids, right Christine? Don't worry, you'll get the chewing back, and then some! Gum is a great idea...just don't swallow it!!! Debby, you are funny...salivating over a Milk Bone!

Oh my gosh, I'm cracking up!!! Eddie Murphy Raw...that's it!! Yep, language is bad, but Oh! So funny! He talks about how his mom could hit him with her shoe...hahaha!! Yep, it loses translation when you write it. "Now that's a fire!" "I got some Ice Cream! You didn't get none! You can't afford it! Cuz your daddy's on the welfare! You didn't get none!" And what's the name of the big fat aunt who kisses the kids? Hilaroius. I have not seen the Dave Chappel show, although I hear lots of people talking about it. Gotta catch that. I love Eddie Murphy! Thanks for the laughs this morning!!

Okay, it's still very big, but I get that you have developed a keloid...a build up of scar tissue. I get them too, but haven't on my incisions. I'd get those Mederma Band-aids...that scar healing medicine that you can leave on all day or night with a Band-aid type covering...I'll bet it will flatten out nicely, and the sooner the better.

Got it, had it, anyway, and it DOES get better. What I thought it was, was pain from the inside, from disecting the area to place the band. It's like being sore from the inside where you can't really fell it, but you do! Maybe a little liquid tylenol would help, but I let myself feel it, so I could tell I was healing. It reminded me to watch what I ate, and keep it liquidy until the area healed. The day after eating a regular meal, a small amount, very well chewed and tiny bites...anyway, I was sore! Just like you described. So I let that tell me to hold back on eating mushies until I was no longer sore. It's as if you eat somethng that makes your stomach churn too much and you get sore. I didn't notice that it was worse when standing for an hour or more, but the discomfort you describe is very similar. Hope that helps.

Oh I just love this real estate drama!!!! Please keep us posted! My advice? Don't nickle and dime a good buyer...especially when it means you are not with your hubby! I think you made the perfect couter-offer, and I'll bet they take it! Let us know!

Nope, you GAIN them for crying at Saving Private Ryan! And a few well placed tears in the right spots at a chick flick just endears the wife...good man. You got this figured out! Hey Alatina, have you ever watched Eddie Murphy Live (I think that's the name) it was out in the late 80's I think, back when they still had this stuff on albums, you know, LPs, the round black things you put on a record player? Do you remember those? Or am I showing my age? Anyhow, VERY funny, despite the filthy language. Pretty sure you can rent the DVD now. "Ice cream Ice cream Ice cream!!! Wanna Lick? Psych!" Anyone else remember this? Okay Alatina, your 36, just read...you remember records!

Wow Brenda, you are definately on the right track now. Okay, don't kick yourself too hard. You have been through slippage and re-banding, and only gained 10 lbs?!!! I know it's hard to be discouraged by a weight gain, but you will lose that 10 plus some so easily! Especailly with a good exercise kickstart. You go girl! Hope on that treadmill! Join the May Walking challenge! Lace up those sneaky peeks (what my daughter calls sneakers) and get ta movin! So glad you checked in, we miss you! Don't stay gone for long...

I have been thinking alot about Marie, as well. Here is a link to a thread she started about where she has been, so I'm assuming she's still there, busy at home. But I still miss her!!! http://www.lapbandtalk.com/showthread.php?t=6396 Just in case you missed it... Hurry back Marie!!

Yippee for Margo!!! Keep us posted on the plans as you get them...it will be here before you know it! Hey, Starbright, Happy Band day tomorrow! Post when you return...wer'e thinking of you!

That is a GREAT Mother's Day gift! Good for you and Congratulations!!

Here I am Lynn! Sorry, I had a busy birthday weekend and haven't had much LBT time except to check in and browse quickly. Thanks for your birthday wishes! So, which pre-op stuff have you completed? What's left? It's good you have a date, from what I have gathered the band doc will schedule, then file for the insurance, and THEN it gets approved. So that's a good sign that your insurance will pay with no problem. You can know all day long they will pay, but something about getting that approval letter is SUCH a relief! Your PCOS info is very interesting. I know I have seen others post about having it but I never really understood it. Let me go search some links. You might find some good info on how it effects banded life, and also find the others who also have it...lets see... http://www.lapbandtalk.com/showthread.php?t=1761&highlight=PCOS http://www.lapbandtalk.com/showthread.php?t=1509&highlight=PCOS http://www.lapbandtalk.com/showthread.php?t=1126&highlight=PCOS there's a link on this thread that looks interesting Mostly what I got is a list of names of folks who have commented about having PCOS, so your post above is the best explanation I have come across so far...if anyone else out there knows of a post I have missed that would be helpful...please post the links! Lynn, I'll e-mail you with my list of active screen names with PCOS. Hope your week is going well so far! I have seen you posting around the boards, so it's good to have you jumping on in here!!

Yer cool, thanks. Look, I posted before it was locked! Got in under the wire! HA! Do I have the last word?...

Kellyk, I went to the Emergency Room 1 week after being banded. I was so restricted and PB'd and swelled and was unable to drink adequate fluids and I went in for IV fluids and had X-rays of my band to see if I had ANYthing going through (I did, very little) and it's been a slow recovery. I am still very restricted but eating and doing fine now. Anyhow, my insurance DID pay for my ER visit. If I had made an appointment with my local band doc, they would not have paid (I don't suspect) and it would have been out-of-pocket. So the insurance should pay for emergency complications, should you need it, but I wouldn't expect them to pay for fills, follow-along, office visits to a band doc, the type of thing. Especially if it's not a covered surgery (mine wasn't, I went to MX) Hope that helps and gives you some reassurance. Do what Alex said and make though calls still, though. She's purdy smart...listen to her.

Jenna!!! Puleeeze don't delete the whole thread!!! There are some really great thoughts and opinions expressed here, and it's totally helpful! I love everthing that has been expressed on this thread. It got a little heated, which I never like, but the content and the passion is SO helpful to read. We are all in this together, whether we like it or not, whether we agree or not, and respect for one another is the key to being able to express our opinions. Even the heated opinions. Whoever PM'd the above should be ignored and dismissed. If anyone ever PM's me with such ugliness, I WILL forward it to a moderator. Just so you know. That was uncalled for. This is a GREAT thread and very valuable. I was prepared to lose the pics after a week, but please leave the posts.

If you are picky about your surgeon's skill placing bands, you can't go wrong with Kuri. Re-banding my be another issue, however. Is it possible for you to travel to TJ for a pre-op appointment with Kuri? Just so you get a feel for how he will handle your case and surgery, etc? Even if you didn't choose him, it seems like it would be worth it to "interview" and have a chance to ask questions. I'll bet JoAnne would be of great help to you...You can link to her e-mail at BeLiteWeight.com Good luck. I hope you are able to get your band back. Kuri is a dear man, very talented, knows his stuff about LapBands. I think you are smart to consider him.

Picture Please!!! now don't go fessing up to a new do without posting the pic! Puleeez!