Anwyn

Oh poodles, I'm so sorry! Appeal, appeal, appeal. You obviously have the tenacity to stay on top of them. Good luck!

Year 2: DH gets several hand-knitted Norweigan wool sweaters and a framed picture of his x-GF, along with a note of how MIL ran into her and how good she looks now. I get nothing. OMG, I think I just spit gatorade out of my nose. That's the funniest/saddest thing I've ever heard. Please, please post a picture of one of those gnomes. Maybe it could be the LBT mascot! :eek:

This is a really good question! I'm only 33, and the thought of using the band for the next 50 years doesn't thrill me. At the same time, I would like to think that it will be here as long as I need it. My hope is that they will eventually come up with some medical breakthrough (gene therapy or something) to replace my band.

I love my mother-in-law too, so this is more funny than irritating.... I am the first left-handed person she has ever met. She finds it fascinating, and used to look at me as if I was some sort of rare speciman when we first met. So, every Christmas I can look forward to a cheesy item with a left handed saying on it. This year it was a t-shirt (2 sizes too small) that said "left handers are always right" or something lame like that. God love her, but I HATE corny novelty stuff... :eek:

Congrats on your loss! You need to make a new ticker from scratch when you want to change the weight.

I had restriction right after my first fill. I have 1cc in a 4cc band. That was 3 months ago and I haven't lost any restriction. I guess I was one of the lucky ones.

My hubby forwarded these to me... Merry Christmas everybody! Twas the day after Christmas, and all through the house, Every creature was hurting, even the mouse. The toys were all broken, their batteries dead, Santa passed out, with some ice on his head. Wrapping and ribbons just covered the floor, While upstairs the family continued to snore. And I in my T-shirt, new Reebox and jeans, Went into the kitchen and started to clean. When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter, I sprang from the sink to see what was the matter. Away to the window, I flew like a flash, Tore open the curtains and threw up the sash. When what to my wondering eyes should appear But a little white truck, with an oversized mirror. The driver was smiling, so lively and grand; The patch on his jacket said "U.S. Postman." With a handful of bills, he grinned like a fox; Then quickly he stuffed them into our mailbox. Bill, after bill, after bill, they still came. Whistling and shouting, he called them by name. "Now Dillard's, now Broadway's, now Penny's and Sears Here's Levitz's and Target's and Mervyn's - all here! To the tip of your limit, every store, every mall, Now charge away, charge away, charge away all!" He sprang to his truck, and he drove down the road, Driving much faster with just half a load. Then I heard him exclaim with great holiday cheer. "Enjoy what you got - you'll be paying all year!" (composer unknown) AND THEN THERE WAS THIS COUPLE..... Who had been debating buying a new vehicle for weeks. He wanted a truck. She wanted a fast little sports car to zip through traffic around town. He would have settled on any ole beat up truck. But everything she liked was way out of their price range. " Look! " she said. "I want something that goes from 0 to 200 in just a few seconds. Nothing else will do. Christmas is coming up, so surprise me!" He did just that. For Christmas, he bought her a brand-new bathroom scale. Nobody has seen or heard from him since.

My sister Ami writes the funniest Christmas letters. Thought I'd share... Happy holidays everyone! In the past, my Christmas letters have been fairly irreverent, poking fun at my children's antics and husband's illustrious military career. I've always worried the letters might offend some people. So this year, I've decided to stick with a more traditional letter, which is in normal type. Read the italics at your own peril. Dear beloved friends and family, Merry Christmas! 2005 has been a busy, wonderful year. Brandon, who has always longed to travel, started the year off in scenic Iraq. Ami, who has always longed to go slowly insane, spent the first part of the year alone with the three kids. This blissful situation came screeching to a halt in late January, when Brandon received a bullet wound in his foot while sight-seeing in Baghdad. Brandon obtained the wound after throwing himself in front of a young child and her puppy to shield them from sniper fire. For his bravery, he earned the undying gratitude of the child's mother and the respect of his superiors. Okay, so there was no child in peril. Brandon got shot while walking home from the internet café on post. Since it was election day, his superiors decided the bullet was "celebratory fire." And since happy bullets don't hurt as much, he didn't get a purple heart. Instead, they awarded him a box of Lucky Charms, which contained delicious pink hearts, yellow stars, blue diamonds and green clovers. Despite enjoying his time in Iraq, Brandon made the heart-wrenching decision to leave the army after his commitment expired in June. We're free! We're free! In July, we moved to Cadillac, Michigan and bought a luxurious new home. Located in the heart of ski country, this fabulous wooded estate, which features a two-story deck, a walk-out basement and carpeted floors, will serve us well for years to come. The basement leaks, the deck and its so-called "railing" is a death trap, and the carpet smells like urine. At first, we assumed the carpet smell originated from the previous owner's 23-year-old Yorki (presumed name: Mr. Sprinkles); now, we figure it was our home inspector's seeing eye dog who did the damage. Did I mention we hate to ski? Noah continues to amaze us with his soaring imagination. His newest creation is Camouflage Boy: mild-mannered kindergarten student by day, caped superhero by night. The cape is actually a burgundy hand towel that I purchased to match my bathroom. When Noah's feeling particularly feisty, he switches to the coordinating hand towel and is instantly transformed into Camouflage Man. That's our precocious darling! And hey, who wouldn't want to be the parent of a superhero? Don't get me wrong -- I'm all for pretend play. Just so long as I don't have to blow up along with our home planet to provide Noah with enough angst to follow a life in the shadows. And I want my towels back! Abbie is very busy with her new preschool and ballet classes. She is learning a lot, and is set to dance the lead in Swan Lake later this month. That's our little superstar! Abbie is on month 21 of learning the colors and shapes, yet still manages to mix up the squares and rectangles. She's appearing as "Fifth Dancer on the Left" in a stirring performance of "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star." She does look pretty cute in her little pink leotard, though. Luc is always on the go and is talking my ear off! At first, I was concerned about his speech because he never called me "Mama". Instead, he called me something that sounded a lot like "Swahili". Well, it turns out he's been calling me "Sweetie". Isn't that the cutest thing you've ever heard? Okay, so "on the go" is a bit of an understatement. The kid never slows down, and he has a lovely habit of playing in his soiled diapers. Sometimes, when he gets bored with his own feces, he heads over to the kitty litter box for a bit of variety. The "Sweetie" part is true, though, so all is forgiven! Well, hopefully you all stuck with the regular type so you can honestly say you've never read a Christmas newsletter with the word "feces" in it. As for those brave souls who read the italics, my apologies. On a serious note (no, really -- I swear), we'd like to thank all of you for holding us in your thoughts and prayers while Brandon was overseas. God Bless! Love, Ami, Brandon, Noah, Abbie and Luc

Good luck tomorrow Trish! ((((HUGS))))

That's not a silly question at all. I use small salad forks when I eat. I'd say my average bite would fit in a baby spoon. Some people have trouble with broccoli, so I'd say that your first bite should be the smallest floret you can find.

I think this must be one of those different strokes for different folks kinda things... Happy holidays Sally!

Welcome Andrea!!

I used to be a huge reader, but lately I've been reading nothing but trashy romance novels (that's not a dis - I love em!) and magazines. I can't remember the last time I had a "can't put it down" page turner. I received a $50 gift certificate to Borders for Christmas. Does anyone have any good book suggestions? I like sci/fi, romance, novels of any type, but I'll try anything if you really enjoyed it. Ideas please...

Okay, take a deep breath... I agree with Laura - when there's choice, go with a hospital over a clinic. A clinic is not equipped to handle emergencies to the same extent. And don't go with a podunk hospital either - choose one with a level 1 trauma center. Your larger hospitals will almost always be level 1. A physician who is on the medical staff of a hospital must go through a rigorous screening process called credentialing. The department chairperson will periodically review clinical data and look at disciplinary actions, lawsuits, etc. This is required by JCAHO (the government agency that regulates hospitals). Keep in mind, any physician who performs bariatric surgery and who has a significant case history MOST LIKELY has a few lawsuits under their belt. Think about it this way... if 1 in 100 gastric bypass patients die and you've operated on 500 patients, that's 5 deaths. When people die in surgery, the family sues. Often the docs settle whether they're at fault or not. Again, these cases are carefully reviewed by the hospital to make sure the physician is competent. Call the Medical Licensing Board for the state you live in. Ask if there are any disciplinary actions on record for the surgeon you are considering. If there are, you can request a report. While it is not unusual for a surgeon to have lawsuits, it is unusual to have disciplinary actions on your medical license. Good luck with your surgery!

Thanks for the great suggestions everybody! I'm off to Borders on Thursday. I love gift certificates. I think I'm going to try Running with Scissors and Lonesome Dove. I'll let you know. We should have an LBT book club.

You guys are so nice - I'll tell her to get working on her book! Maybe if she knows she's already sold a few copies it will get her motivated, lol.

I haven't seen this thread in a while, don't know how I missed it... I was up late last night thinking about you. I don't know why, but all of a sudden it popped into my head - it has to be her thyroid, lol. Whatever the diagnosis, I'm so glad you've taken this to the doctor. I hated to see you starving yourself on 700 cals/day. Good luck Vines - we're all pulling for you! Big Huggies! (as my daughter would say).

Oh, wow! I hope everything gets resolved soon so that you can have a nice, quiet 2006. Sounds like you need to stock up on some mushies. Stress relievers... Maybe try some yoga or meditation. Give your son lots and lots of hugs. Listen to loud music in a dark room. Above all, feel free to rant all you like on LBT - we're always here for you!

I gained weight back before my first fill too. I know it's discouraging, but hang in there. Once you get the proper restriction it changes everything.

My understanding is that a PB is when the food actually comes back up. Sliming is a good indicator that a PB is coming (and you need to look for the restroom really fast in a restaurant! ) If you are sliming and then not having a PB, you probably have food stuck in your stoma but it is passing through after a few minutes. Sounds like you need to chew a little more and eat slower.

Somehow I missed the thread on it, so I just did some catch-up reading... (((((HUGS))))) for you and your children. I think that sometimes it takes a really big scary shake up in our lives to send us on our true path in life. I hope that 2006 brings great things for you!

I like WW too... it's all about a variety of foods in moderation, which is how we should be eating anyways. I say take help and support wherever you can get it. If having a program to follow and the accountability of that weekly weigh-in keeps you on track until you get that restriction just right, go for it! And congratulations on your 40 lb loss - you're doing great!

Congratulations!! Sounds like you've gotten over the shock and have a great attitude. Have a great pregnancy!

Actually, I'm not being judgemental. I don't look down on her for posing topless. Whatever floats your boat, I always say... I don't even disagree with some of her views, I just think there are productive, non-belittling ways to impart advice. But, when someone stands in judgement on what other people do they invite scrutiny into their own actions. It's just human nature to feel a little better about our imperfect lives when a sanctimonious blow-hard messes up. And I don't listen to her. But that doesn't mean that I'm not allowed to have an opinion on her (God knows she always has one).

Sorry, this is going to be long winded... For 10 years I worked at an apple orchard in Michigan. It was like a second home to me, and the people I worked with were like family. When I married 8 years ago, I moved away to CA for a short time and promptly gained 60 lbs. Then, after having kids I gained 35 more. I've been back in Michigan for 7 years now, and every year I have come up with an excuse not to go back to visit. I remember once (this was probably 10 years ago) my sister came in to visit me at work. She had gained about 20 lbs in college and was probably at about 180 lbs. My manager, Marie, said "your sister is HUGE!!!" after she left. I was mortified on her behalf, and a little shocked that she would say that to me about my sister. That experience really stuck with me. I felt that I couldn't go back there as heavy as I was. It didn't help matters that my ex-boyfriend also works there. This is obviously a seasonal place (they close at Christmas), and every Christmas for the last 7 years I've been telling myself that I would go back to visit after I lose some weight. Every year I would obsess about it and worry about it and talk myself into waiting one more year. Today, I went in to see everybody. At 225, I'm far away from where I want to be, but I just felt that I couldn't wait any longer. Man, I was a nervous wreck! It was so nice to catch up with everybody and show off my daughter (who was surprisingly good while we chatted). I could tell they were wondering why I hadn't come back, but thankfully nobody asked. I'm so relieved - I feel like a huge weight has been lifted (pun intended). I wish I had just gone in years ago. On the way home I was thinking about the other people in my life that I have pushed away over the years. I put my life on hold to lose this weight. Soooooo stupid. This NSV doesn't have much to do with my weight loss - it's more of a mental realization that I don't have to hide away and be ashamed anymore. In reality, I never should have felt that way. I'm glad that I've regained some confidence, and I know it's just going to get better. To all of my weight loss buddies, I say, don't let life pass you by another day. Happy holidays!