steph_co

kandiceb - Thanks for sharing your experience. LOL@ the drug comment. Straight up hydrocodone makes me ill - I hope they give me Vicodin instead. Sounds like you're doing pretty well if you're going back to work on Friday! Wow. Keep us updated on your recovery!

There are some great threads around about why people chose the band over GB: http://www.lapbandtalk.com/f17/why-band-43800/ http://www.lapbandtalk.com/f15/my-first-group-support-meeting-37474/ This is just MO, but if it were me, I'd see if I could get a different surgeon - one that is confident in the abilities of the band. How discouraging to have the person that is making such a change in your body not even have faith in it. I can understand your frustration with family and friends on top of your own surgeon. Just do your own research so that when the doubts come up from other people, you can come up with the answers to hush them up.

Huh. Very interesting! http://www.core.monash.org/assets/documents/research-papers/2005-52.pdf

You guys are all doing so great! This is a great thread - it's giving me a glimpse of what's in store for me. LOL On a side note, I wonder why it's the left shoulder that hurts with the gas pains and not the right? I'm probably going to end up googling out of sheer curiosity.

Well, for myself, I'm glad I got to see your success pictures before you took them down, Chickie. I can at least say I have seen amazing transformation with this band and that is what inspires me and drives me forward every day to get closer to getting there! Really, the quote in my signature says it all. I see no reason for somebody who is successful to shrink out of sight so that people don't feel uncomfortable. If you feel uncomfortable when somebody is happy with themselves, then you need to take a good hard look at why that is. You better believe that once I get skinny and looking as damn good as Jacqui, Chickie, puddin, etc, that I will be obsessed! If you don't like it, then don't read what I have to say. Does this board not have an ignore function? If you don't like seeing people's success pics, then block the ability to see pics (I know other forums have this option, I'm not sure about this one). I think that's crazy, though! I can't even imagine telling somebody that I'm sick of hearing about how well they have succeeded. The ONLY way I can think of that feeling coming up is if I have settled for mediocrity and don't want to push myself harder - then I would be pissed that somebody else had the drive that I just couldn't find. And yeah - I'd probably be sick of hearing about it. But why in the heck should she have to hide her success so that YOU can feel comfortable? If you want comfort for your smallness, I think you're in the wrong place. And if you're on this board for any reason other than motivation, WTH??? This whole thing makes me so angry. I know you guys don't know me well because I'm new here, but I've followed for a few months and I feel like you're fair acquaintances and I hate seeing people attacked. Grow up! Seriously, I had the thought cross my mind that if you want to stoop to their level, you could always post a picture of your skinny ass in response to their thoughts that you shouldn't be posting your success pics. But why bother? They'll probably get pissed that their momma didn't give them a proper one. It looks to me like you have 100% agreement that the pics and stats should be here. The haters, however, should not.

I looooooove: FreeRice I can easily spend an hour there.

I think the breaking point came for me after my miscarriage. DH and I have never used any kind of birth control since we've been together (5 years) and only got pregnant this one time this past July. I miscarried Sept 2nd. I'm so sick of wishing and hoping and praying that I can get pregnant and then once I did get pregnant, I was all worried about the complications they say are possible when the mother is obese. I felt like the worst person on earth. Then I miscarried at 10 weeks and knew I had to be skinny before we got pregnant again because I didn't want to feel like I was doing something wrong. I considered dieting again, but was tired of the roller coaster and not getting anywhere. I had been considering the Lap Band for a year, but seriously looked into it and here I am - just over a week out from being able to get banded! I can hardly wait for the health benefits, too. I'm really tired of hurting when I walk, being out of breath, not participating in anything that's remotely physical because I'm embarrassed.

OK, so my nutrition class was scrapped. I had assumed I would be on a liquid diet because of the comment the finance lady made, but I guess not. I only have to be on a clear liquid diet for 3 days prior. No red liquids. So...next Monday the 12th, I'll be joining those of you in exercising my will power.

From what I've read, you don't really truly start losing regularly and steadily until you've had a fill. The band is just placed on your stomach - it's not giving any restriction.

It's great reading the stories, ladies, keep 'em coming!

Congrats, Phil! Sounds like you're doing pretty good. I would say, though, that if it were me, in spite of what the doctor said, I would NOT eat solid foods for at least two weeks. The point of that is that your stomach has to "work" at food by churning...muscle contractions around the stomach. The harder your stomach has to work, the more likely it'll be for the stitches holding your band in place to tear and possibly cause slippage. Drinking liquids makes this less likely to happen because your stomach doesn't have to work as hard. http://www.lapbandtalk.com/f9/liquid-stage-recipes-17636/index12.html#post592236 Of course, I'm not your doctor, but I would choose to be on the safe side, if it were me, and err on the side of caution. Ann: *hugs* You'll do great! I'll be sending lots of positive thoughts tomorrow!

Yikes. I wonder if that includes my ass. If so, I'm going to be in trouble. LOL

I just about went through withdrawal, too. I'm so excited for you! I'll be sending many positive thoughts for you tomorrow. You'll do great!

Yes, yes! I would say get rid of them. Once I have my surgery, I plan on going through my clothes and getting rid of things that'll never see the light of day on MY body again!

I noticed the same thing around on the board and I feel frustrated for them that they're not better read-up on the matter. I won't say, though, that I won't *hope* for some weight-loss just because I'm so antsy to get on with it. LOL I really liked Wendell's thread in Fills about how the band really works.

Yes, I did, but it's a very small amount and was really easy. Until you mentioned it, I had forgotten that I did it! Oh, this is too funny. I just realized upon reading back on this that I had a dream about this yesterday. Except for some reason in my dream, the barium swallow was before the surgery so they could have the Fluid sitting in my esophagus while they put the band on. Yeah - no sense. But anyway - I did the swallow and then was supposed to go to this other building immediately after to have the surgery done, but I got waylaid. I didn't get back in time for my surgery, so they pushed me off. :think LOL - Obsessing much about this whole thing?!? Ugh. I'm dreaming about it, now. I think as this thing gets closer, I just read more and more and more on this board preparing myself and it's saturated my brain. LOL

DH and I have a goal this winter to learn to snowboard. I think it should provide good entertainment to anybody watching - that's for sure. I also plan to get into the Couch to 5k program. Oh! And biking! I bought a really nice bike this past summer and only rode it a couple of times. I want to get into that, too!

OMG, I LOVE running. This looks like a great program. I could easily get into this. I'll even consider starting this before I get banded in 2 weeks...but then I'll be stuck for awhile after I get banded...wouldn't the jarring motion hurt the incisions (I don't mean damage them - I mean OUCH!).

I'll take them off if explicitly asked, or if I notice they have shoes sitting around in the entryway, or they are shoe-less. We don't wear shoes at our house - if we do, it's a rush in, rush out thing because we are renting. I would want my carpets respected if I was renting out my abode. When we left our last rental, the landlady said the carpets were so clean, it looked like nobody had lived there. I like that. When we get a house of our own, I plan on having a mud room so that shoes come OFF. If I have to wrestle you to the ground, it's going to happen. I walk around my house barefoot - I don't like stepping in goodness-knows-what and I stepped on a sticker (those sharp poky things from plants outside) once.

My siblings seem to think that they need input on every area of my life whether I ask for their opinion, or not. My sister has this way of asking questions that just DRIPS with judgment - I've never seen anybody ask a question the way she does. I don't want to be subjected to her questions. My brother struggles with his weight, but I doubt his BMI has ever been as high as mine is - not to mention that it's more "acceptable" as a male to be overweight, so it wouldn't matter, anyway. But he would probably comment that I should just not take the easy way out and I should diet and exercise. *sigh* As for my mother - she has entered into my confidence on a few things that none of my other siblings know about her. There is NO WAY she'd tell anybody if I asked her not to. I have no idea how she'll react, but I imagine it would be favorable since she told me I have to do whatever I can to be happy with myself and if that means altering my body, then so be it - we only get one shot at this life. I think upon initially hearing about it, she'd probably flip thinking I had gastric bypass, but once I explain it, I think she'll be on board.

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LOL!! I think it was being raised with a brother only 2 years older than me, but for some reason this kind of humor gets me. I could so see him saying this to one of his friends. Heehee...now that's classic. I so dare you. LOL

I dread that face. Hence the reason I have not told anybody except my DH. LOL I can't stand when people who have not themselves BTDT pass judgment on some choice I make. I'd rather let the results speak for themselves and let people wonder.

Yeah, like I said - I don't have to worry about it. Thank goodness for that. I just wondered if anybody else is going to have to deal with this. By the time I see my family (next summer some time), I'll have dropped plenty of weight and should be able to eat relatively normally. I'll be able to decide by then if I want to tell them. But most likely I won't tell anybody but my mother.

Well, I guess what I'm really talking about is the fact that with my surgery only being a week before Thanksgiving, I'd still be on liquids. If I had to be with a big group of people and nothing on my plate but a bowl of soup, I would get tired of the questions (I'm keeping mine mostly a secret for now). And I can tell you that if I was with my family and only eating a bowl of soup and drinking something in a cup, there would be all kinds of comments about unhealthy or anorexia, or whatever. Maybe it wouldn't affect you guys...will you be on mushies by then?