Angelica

Oh, the rules. I have a hard time following the rules too. I have given everyone in my circle of friends, who knows about the band, the okay to call me on it when they see it. I have my second fill on the 11th, and I am hella nervous, because I can still get down basically anything I want to with the exception of alot of bread. I drink when I am not supposed too, but I am getting better. Its a process, stay focused, give it your best effort, and just remember why you did this in first place.

:bandit Yesterday, I got sick. I mean, sick like a dog. It started early in the morning, my bestfriend (aka, the bestie) Ray came to pick me up for work, and my stomach hurt, at first, i was freaking out, holy shit, my band has slipped, I dont feel right. So i get ready, and I manage to get into the car, and about half way to work, Ray looks at me and says, 'you cant go to work, youre sick, youre going home'. At this point, I'm sort of freaking out. My mother makes a big deal out of everything. Shes got me halfway convinced that this band is going to tie off my stomach and choke me to death She supports the decision, and as much as I explain it, she doesnt understand it. I think its a mental block. So I get home, and lay down, and by this time, I am having INTENSE stomach cramps. i mean really bad. i do not have any gas, I am not using the bathroom, I am flipping out, so i do what I do best, i sleep From about 9 in the morning until 3, I have the worst unrestful sleep ever. Then Ray comes back to the house to generally harrass me and make me laugh. At this point, my stomach is like, look broad, go poop. The reign of terror begins. I am using the restroom like every 20 minutes. I start to feel better, sleep more, get some soup in me, and things today seem alright. I do feel like my stomach is swollen. So I will take it easy for the next few days, kick it on full liquids, and just try to help my stomach relax. Is there such thing as a 24 hour stomach bug? Other than that, my head is BUMPIN and I am hella dizzy. This is a side effect of not taking the Cymbalta yesterday and probably a little bit because I couldnt take the vitamin. I <3 my Cymbalta. I know that some people dont like it, but its made a huge difference in my life. Its not like a typical anti depressant. It doesnt really give me a case of the 'zombies' it makes me focused, and helps me stay on target. I like it alot. Besides the dizzies, it never does me wrong. In any case, I am HUNGRY today. I have a doctors appointment on the 11th, so that should be good, I am ready for my fill -A

:bandit Yesterday, I got sick. I mean, sick like a dog. It started early in the morning, my bestfriend (aka, the bestie) Ray came to pick me up for work, and my stomach hurt, at first, i was freaking out, holy shit, my band has slipped, I dont feel right. So i get ready, and I manage to get into the car, and about half way to work, Ray looks at me and says, 'you cant go to work, youre sick, youre going home'. At this point, I'm sort of freaking out. My mother makes a big deal out of everything. Shes got me halfway convinced that this band is going to tie off my stomach and choke me to death She supports the decision, and as much as I explain it, she doesnt understand it. I think its a mental block. So I get home, and lay down, and by this time, I am having INTENSE stomach cramps. i mean really bad. i do not have any gas, I am not using the bathroom, I am flipping out, so i do what I do best, i sleep :cursing: From about 9 in the morning until 3, I have the worst unrestful sleep ever. Then Ray comes back to the house to generally harrass me and make me laugh. At this point, my stomach is like, look broad, go poop. The reign of terror begins. I am using the restroom like every 20 minutes. I start to feel better, sleep more, get some soup in me, and things today seem alright. I do feel like my stomach is swollen. So I will take it easy for the next few days, kick it on full liquids, and just try to help my stomach relax. Is there such thing as a 24 hour stomach bug? Other than that, my head is BUMPIN and I am hella dizzy. This is a side effect of not taking the Cymbalta yesterday and probably a little bit because I couldnt take the vitamin. I <3 my Cymbalta. I know that some people dont like it, but its made a huge difference in my life. Its not like a typical anti depressant. It doesnt really give me a case of the 'zombies' it makes me focused, and helps me stay on target. I like it alot. Besides the dizzies, it never does me wrong. In any case, I am HUNGRY today. I have a doctors appointment on the 11th, so that should be good, I am ready for my fill :) -A

So, today started with me hearing the first line to a song 'You better, crawl, on your knees, the next time, you say you love me.' Sounds like the beginning to an awesome song right? It was, but it sort of got me thinking. How many times have I said this to myself, tomorrow is a new day, a new beginning, and how many times have I not been able to follow through? I should be (figuratively) crawling on my knees thanking my body for dealing with all the abuse I have put it through with all the bullshit food that I have eaten in my life. In anycase, lets talk about the dude. Steve, Steven, Steve, Steve, Steve. He likes me now, the way I am now, he likes my brain. I want him to like everything else This, of course is completely selfish, I want to be that girl that drives the men nuts. For a while, (and I am only 25), I believed I could never ever be that girl. Ever. I would just have to accept that I was the smart fat girl, that funny girl, the one all the men want to spend their time with, the one that they dont want to share a bed with. Well, take that, you jerks, because I am well on my way, and now you will not only have to deal with the fact that I'm funny, and smart, and good company, but I am going to be hella cute too =) You will not be able to resist me. hahaha, of course, I am trying to think this way, but fat girl mentality sort of stops me sometimes. This brings me to my next point, the laws of attraction. Now, the interesting thing is this, I did not read the secret, PFFT. I will not read the secret, I will not even captalize the name of the book, and I will tell you why, its rehashed information. The bible talks about Laws of Attractions, positive visualization. People have been talking about it for HUNDREDS of years, probably longer. The yogis, priests, even in pagan texts from ireland there are references to it. The secret is a rip off, wanna know what the secret is? Mind over matter. And thats exactly whats happening for me right now. So, back to the subject at hand. Its been a little more than 2 months since the surgery. I will be honest and admit I hadnt started to work out up until 4 days ago. I started with the Power 90 DVDs, which are awesome, but the first time I did it, it made me so sore that for the next three days all I was able to do was treadmill time, this is okay with me, as I am spending 30-60 minutes on the treadmill at a time. I am staying focused, taking my protien, and working out everyday. This will work. While I dont really feel like I have proper restriction yet, I do feel some, and I know that after my next fill, I will feel more. As a side note, my port has been sore since I started the exercise. I think this is just because I am moving around more. I am not worried about the idea that my port has flipped because like I said, the Laws of Attraction do work, and I will not invite that type of thinking into my life. More later -A

Well thank you! I really appreciate the kindness in your words. This surgery isnt easy, but the rewards are going to be awesome

Okay, so heres the deal. I started working out about 6 days ago, its great, I feel great, however - All the sudden, my port is sore, and I am feeling this mild burning sensation around the area that I assume the band is in. I dont know (and i know this is kinda gross) if I just need to get on the treadmill and fart it out, or if its somehting more serious, like a slip. I have also read about the posibility that from the exercise there could be some discomfort. So needless to say, I am a little worried, I have a Dr appointment on the 11th, but I dont know if I should call and try to reschedule it for sooner, or what. So as of today, I'm going to start liquids for 3 days, just in case. Does anyone have any experience? -A:help:

Bleh. Okay, since about 7 this morning, I have been asleep, with momentary spots of being awake to feel intense stomach cramps. I also have a fever, and uhm, I'm peeing from my butt, there I said it! I havent eaten anything all day, so i decided to have some Soup, and I am starting to feel better. I got a little liquid tylenol down, does this sound like a stomach flu? -A

Listen - I have been feeling a little guilty lately, its the holidays, and we all mess up, so since you guys are so awesome to me, I have decided to unload all my guilt here I was banded on October 23, 2007 - So far, I have lost 23 pounds, but I havent weighed myself in like 2 weeks. I try not to weigh myself too often, the fact that my pants are falling off is good enough for me. I have had one fill so far, which gave me a little itty bitty bit of restriction, and I have another appointment for another fill on the 5th of Jan. My biggest issue is probably empty carbs, and drinking whist I am eating. Oh, and I exericise, I get on this roll for like 2 to 3 days at a time, I try to get it done in the moring. But I am 25, and I did just meet a new guy, and now I am up later in the evenings than I would normally be; meaning I sleep in later, and I do not get up to exercise. I know, lame excuse, right? I dont always get all my protien every single day. I try, it seems like the only thing I have been doing correctly is taking my Vitamins. I do take those every single day. In summation, I am not going to be so hard on myself, I make mistakes, and if I had total control over my eating habits, I wouldnt have needed a band in the first place. I have managed to lose quite a bit of weight, and for the first time, I havent had to worry about gaining it back. In fact, the best feeling about this band is the nagging monster in the back of my head telling me 'you need to lose weight' 24 hours a day has shut his stupid mouth. I am really interested to see who else is dealing with the need to confess, please, unload your guilt, I promise not to be too hard on you. :faint:

So, today started with me hearing the first line to a song 'You better, crawl, on your knees, the next time, you say you love me.' Sounds like the beginning to an awesome song right? It was, but it sort of got me thinking. How many times have I said this to myself, tomorrow is a new day, a new beginning, and how many times have I not been able to follow through? I should be (figuratively) crawling on my knees thanking my body for dealing with all the abuse I have put it through with all the bullshit food that I have eaten in my life. In anycase, lets talk about the dude. Steve, Steven, Steve, Steve, Steve. He likes me now, the way I am now, he likes my brain. I want him to like everything else This, of course is completely selfish, I want to be that girl that drives the men nuts. For a while, (and I am only 25), I believed I could never ever be that girl. Ever. I would just have to accept that I was the smart fat girl, that funny girl, the one all the men want to spend their time with, the one that they dont want to share a bed with. Well, take that, you jerks, because I am well on my way, and now you will not only have to deal with the fact that I'm funny, and smart, and good company, but I am going to be hella cute too =) You will not be able to resist me. hahaha, of course, I am trying to think this way, but fat girl mentality sort of stops me sometimes. This brings me to my next point, the laws of attraction. Now, the interesting thing is this, I did not read the secret, PFFT. I will not read the secret, I will not even captalize the name of the book, and I will tell you why, its rehashed information. The bible talks about Laws of Attractions, positive visualization. People have been talking about it for HUNDREDS of years, probably longer. The yogis, priests, even in pagan texts from ireland there are references to it. The secret is a rip off, wanna know what the secret is? Mind over matter. And thats exactly whats happening for me right now. So, back to the subject at hand. Its been a little more than 2 months since the surgery. I will be honest and admit I hadnt started to work out up until 4 days ago. I started with the Power 90 DVDs, which are awesome, but the first time I did it, it made me so sore that for the next three days all I was able to do was treadmill time, this is okay with me, as I am spending 30-60 minutes on the treadmill at a time. I am staying focused, taking my protien, and working out everyday. This will work. While I dont really feel like I have proper restriction yet, I do feel some, and I know that after my next fill, I will feel more. As a side note, my port has been sore since I started the exercise. I think this is just because I am moving around more. I am not worried about the idea that my port has flipped because like I said, the Laws of Attraction do work, and I will not invite that type of thinking into my life. More later -A

:guessthis drives me nuts too. My bestfriend has lost 140 pounds on his own "the hard way" PFFT. He likes to tell me that i took the easy way out, because having surgery is so totally easy. Having a little piece of plastic sewn into my muscles is EASY, it doesnt hurt AT ALL. Going to follow up visits, and seeing a 5 inch needle shoved into your gut, TOTALLY EASY. Chewing like a maniac a million times, and getting out of bed at 5 in the morning to sweat like a pig? Awesome, SO EASY!! Finding ways to deal with the people hating on me because they think i took 'the easy way out', awesome, i just LOVE answering questions about my personal life and the food I put into my mouth. So easy, PFFT. I just generally ignore the ignorant. -A

Acutally, I tried the Power 90X, and it just about killed me There're two programs, the P90, and the P90x. The instructions say that if you cant keep up with the p90X that you need to start first with the P90, so thats what I am doing, coupled with some treadmill time every day. The muscles in my legs are so sore!! Its kinda awesome, I feel tighter today. Its probably just psychosematic, but whatever, I am still happy.

I'm so glad I am not alone you guys =) if you all lived in El Paso, I swear I'd go from house to house giving hugs so, in order to change these things that I have been feeling about, i have decided to start the power 90, (i started a thread about this, because I like to talk alot :scales:) and I went to the store and basically shopped only where the fresh foods were, i didnt even bother entering the aisles, because I know that I dont want anymore of that processed stuff in my live. its just day two. How is everyone else doing? Do we have any new years resolutions? -A

This article isnt about the Lap Band, its about a poor little girl that died because of money. I blame this on both sides, Cigna, and her Doctors and their need for deep pockets. This is truly a horrific shame. All of these people need to answer for their actions. It took a protest for a little girl to get approved for a liver transplant? I am so upset over this bullshit. ABC News: Tragedy for Transplant Teen After Lifesaving Surgery Denied

If you dont mind me asking, what was the price you were quoted?

I have never been so happy about 22 pounds! I will keep going, and plugging along, it is going to happen for ALL of us.

I cant believe her life is less valuable just because shes sicker than someone else. 65% is better than nothing, and she should have been given the opprotunity, at the very least.

Oh Dr. Applebaum... I have a HUGE crush on my surgeon!! He is so handsome, nice, gentle guy. He ran his hands through my hair during our first meeting, hes just got this way of making me feel safe. In any case, I am sure it will fade, as I know he has a family and at least one daughter. But JESUS he is handsome. -A

I hate walmart. I hate being in their stores, their company policies. I just hate them. I hate that every 5 blocks, theres a super giant huge store just raking in so much money. Do they have good prices? Sure, I guess, but they are also killing small business in the United States. In any case, I read this article, and it really got under my skin. Accident Victims Face Grab for Legal Winnings - WSJ.com so much for the holiday spirit.

I had surgery on Oct 23, 07. I have lost 21 pounds so far tomorrow is my weekly weigh in, so I am sure I will see more results, and that number will go up. My band is great, I hardly notice any pain at all. I am not writing about the weight lost, I am writing about the way my body looks and feels. I was not lucky enough to be born with a pear shape, I am an apple. I used to liken myself to an egg walking on tooth picks. My body has been so out of balance, and not happy with me. All the sudden, I'm waking up earlier, I've got a spring in my step. I feel fantastic. All this time, I cursed my body when I realized I should have appreciated it. I am so lucky that this body of mine didnt give out, have a heart attack, whatever while I was abusing it, and hating it. i'm watching the weight loss, watching how fat is melting off of me, and for the first time, I am starting to feel like an attractive person. Its kind of amazing.

I live in a pretty large border town called El Paso, TX. We are sister cities with Juarez, Chic. MX. I was banded by a Dr. Applebaum, here in El Paso, hes wonderful. (yay insurance!) However, I was reading a news story about a new hospital opening in Juarez just for Lapband procedures. They are charging 7500 bucks for the surgery and a year of aftercare including fills, ect., and apparently, they have very experienced doctors. I do not have their names yet. They are scheduled for 30 surgeries this month, and 100 in January. I was really suprized to hear this, and alot of my friends who dont have insurance are buzzing. Has anyone heard any news on this? Apparently, there are patients traveling from New England and all over the country to have their surgeries. -Angelica

Senior Business Analyst for Data and Image Capture Solutions. Buh, its a long title. We take insurance paperwork (pre determinations, claims, whathaveyou, and we turn them into an electronic format. Awesome.

High heels. I can wear them for much longer, and they fit much better. I havent lost a full shoe size yet, but I cant wait. I have invested alot of money into my shoe collection, with alot of designer peices, and I was noticing that I couldnt really wear them anymore, they were too tight across my foot. I'm a Pisces, i cant help it, we loooove shoes.

I'm 25, been fat forever. Since I was like 6 years old. This band, which has only been in place since Oct 23, 07 has completely and uttery changed my life. All the sudden, everything is getting better. I've lost 26 pounds so far, and gained a helluva lot of attention from men my age. I'd say the insurance approval and the procedure itself were the most mentally taxing for me. Insurance is a bunch of malarky, and of course, there are always concerns about the operation itself, but I researched and trusted my surgeon. Beyond that, I live in a warm place (smack in the middle of a desert in far far west texas) and the weather changed, I got really really sick right after the surgery. Thats also pretty stressful. I only took 5 days off of work, and was fine to return the next week. To be honest, the worst pain is the gas pain, but if you walk it out like youre supposed too, it really helps. Listen, its not an easy choice to make, but I thank God I made it every day

I smoked up until 3 days before my surgery, and what I realized is that its a helluva lot easier to get by not smoking with some liquid lortab in my system. LOL, jk, My doctor perscribed me welbutrin XL, and after taking it for about 2 weeks, the smell of smoke makes me feel like I might vomit. He told me that welbutrin has been used for that sort of thing for a while now, and its honestly helped me leave the smokes behind. Plus, with the insurance, its a heck of a lot cheaper than the Patches or the gum. After 3 days, it DOES get easier. Just keep pushing, and if you mess up, remember the emotion that led you to it, forgive yourself, and stay focused.

Something very strange has happened to me since I had surgery. I dont want to eat ANYTHING. I have a new AP band, which is awesome and everything, but I have the feeling I am not getting nearly enough in me. I drink a myoplex half in the morning, and half in the evening, thats 42 grms of protien, then i have my self a protien bullet, which is another 42 grams of protien around midday, and sometimes a Jello cup. I drink massive amounts of Water, which I am sure is good. is this just my inner fat girl making me worry, or should I be upping the amount of liquids I drink? I was only banded on Oct 23, and I am now on full liquids, but i just dont WANT to eat. Any ideas?