bandpal

ROLL-CALL 1st Cindyg1212 PattyPoo Nessa3678 brandymom1234 Mom_of_Chuy sanderro Holiwood Longhorn Forestcat Rhea Sades edeva3 Teresajo 2nd lizzie_07 lindata KristinaDawnB lindseyann2u sconie pam726 4th QatarPhil 5th DLW wnt2lose jelbel 6th Wishes4444(Ann) Diva Inside ndmom kandiceb jetti vanessav hollyberries LangleyGirl 7th Goldie1109 susieq125 shadst83 Cota129 Imonmyway7368 MyLady 8th anw5102 dawndannae stranger138 needto ebrow39 Bandstertobe zippykat QUEENMOTHEROF1 Melanie1972 9th Banded4Life neen7171 maccy mariaxoxo4u Kristin1031 Carsons mommy chubbydiva Miztrniceguy 10th Selisejohnson omlagirl jen6740 anitak33 12th suebob Shalee04 Foofy 13th CCFRA Princessannod1 Tralynn222 sschude BandChick64 -acl- (Amy) 14th lightenup! dream'n2bthin Life Change (Eulete) carleah2 emnasmom 15th steph_cn RxTracy Hopping to It- Danna sunshiny Tete2 kickrmom 16th Laurieu sstaab 19th Mrs Smartypants Momto1plus1 MusigalF lisawach 20th Skinny_Jill blondecz (Crissy) Firebolt (Judy) Cuerposano (Diana) Mysie 21st Bobp Bandpal 22nd luvmy4boys 23rd FlaLMT and fiance HoneyB-Palomino & mom 26th kuchiegrl1 Motocrossgirly jrsyshoregrl684 (Bypass) BigDoug143 BarBee hungryforchange 27th 731Shawty Cherlita Julie-Ann plump_princess HAJohnson1 28th lukin puppy TxArcher shortgal 29th Sassafras TAWHarris McQty close 4mykidzinVale (Surgery in Bend, Oregon) 30th WorththeWeight samorelli Southerngal - Happy to be here, Bandpal

The swelling did eventually go down, during the third week. Had my doctor been closer and more accessible, I think I would've had an unfill. I didn't dehydrate, but the possibility was definitely on my mind (it's so hot here as it is, after all). My worst fear was that the violent vomiting which can accompany dehydration would tear the band out. Everyone has to trust their own feeling.

Dear Sades, You are number one in my book - your courage, persistence and rugged Aussie optimism are as invigorating as sunshine. If you were a soccer player, I would wear your jersey. It would probably look like this: Onya, mate! - Bandpal

Congratulations to all NSV'ers. My own news in this department is that I have gone a while now without eating at night. This has been a central problem in my life. It has caused me to isolate, lie, and cultivate guilt, anger, frustration and despair. It has blocked me from establishing any substantiol, long lasting spiritual connection. Of course it has also contributed greatly to my continual weight gain over the years. For me the answer has been a spiritual one. I need to feel that I am not alone – that there is an entity out there (and not only out there- all around me) that can help me; that I am accountable to and from whom there are no time-outs and no secrets. When I lie in bed at night, I try to sense God's presence all around me – in the breeze, the blankets wrapped around me, my wife's breathing beside me, even in the shadows on the wall. That, for me, makes me feel safe and keeps me from running away and plugging up my empty spaces with food. I need to keep this connection throughout the day. For me, even though I'm no longer a member of Overeaters Anonymous, this line from the Big Book is key: "We are not cured ... What we really have is a daily reprieve contingent on the maintenance of our spiritual condition." I don't intend to proselytize – this is just what works for me.

Glad to hear you're feeling better, Cindy. It took me two weeks to get anything down after my second fill. I even pb'd water a few times. I waited it out that time, but it's all about what makes you feel comfortable. I have a fill appointment coming up in a few weeks and I can tell you right now it's going to be a small one. Wishing you peace and happiness, Bandpal

Hi Everyone, I miss you all - have been very busy at work and at home. Things with me are good though- I have good restriction, am not too hungry too often, am enjoying eating a lot of vegetables though getting my Protein in is a bit challenging. Moving away from a life dominated by food has also brought emotional and spiritual growth, and I'm grateful for that. My thoughts are with Sades and Shortgal - two brave, strong women, there. I hope to be able to be on line and in touch more regularly soon. All the best, Bandpal p.s. I almost forgot - I weighed in at 197.89 this morning, so I've made it to Onederland!

Name............Lbs Lost........% of wgt lost.......BMI QatarPhil...........55......................19%...............32.2 (39.6) Foofy...............43....................15.5%..................37.2 Sades...............35....................15.2%...............35.6 Shalee04...........66.....................26.6................30.3 Bandpal.............88.11..................30.%................32.4(47) Skinny_Jill..........50.....................22.5%..............32.7 Stephanie..........60.....................26%.................27.1 Hollyberries........111.....................31%.................35.6 linda.................52......................23%.................29.9 5 Abbisgood..........53.....................23%.................?? want2lose..........76.4...................26%................33.5 kandiceb............63.....................26%................27.6 Momto1plus1......71.....................26.3%..............31.0 MollyBrown.........36.....................12.5%..............36.5 TxArcher............101...................25.25%.........52.8 to 39.4 Cindyg...............50.....................20%.................36.5 Close.................50.....................20%.................33.1 Tmusicmaker123..73.....................19%.................60.1 to 48.7 plump_princess....57.....................22%.................36 Mariegabrieleee....73.....................24%.................51.3 to 39.1 gabeekeeper.......101.....................30% ..................40.2 stranger138........45......................19.56%.................32.8 shortgal..............40......................18.5%..............33.8 Robin_Bird............90.....................29.5%................32.7 Staysee..............70.....................20%................48.4 Hajohnson1..........49.8....................18.2%..............39.8 lindseyann2u........70......................?%.................? Cherlita...............44.......................20%...............65 to 57.5 BandChick64..........94.5.....................31.5%.............33.2 tyman311..............61.....................31%...............41 to 28 (so far) BarbBee................69......................23%...............39.4 Huskerette............54..(i gained)..........22%...............30.5 Firebolt.................45.....................19%..................3 3.5 Total 2098.2 lbs lost!

Name............Lbs Lost........% of wgt lost.......BMI QatarPhil...........55......................19%...............32.2 (39.6) Foofy...............43....................15.5%..................37.2 Sades...............35....................15.2%...............35.6 Shalee04...........66.....................26.6................30.3 Bandpal.............84.50..................29%................33(47) Skinny_Jill..........50.....................22.5%..............32.7 Stephanie..........60.....................26%.................27.1 Hollyberries........106.....................30%.................36.6 linda.................52......................23%.................29.9 5 Abbisgood..........53.....................23%.................?? want2lose..........76.4...................26%................33.5 kandiceb............63.....................26%................27.6 Momto1plus1......69.8...................25.9%..............31.4 MollyBrown.........36.....................12.5%..............36.5 TxArcher............101...................25.25%.........52.8 to 39.4 Cindyg...............50.....................20%.................36.5 Close.................50.....................20%.................33.1 Tmusicmaker123..73.....................19%.................60.1 to 48.7 plump_princess....57.....................22%.................36 Mariegabrieleee....73.....................24%.................51.3 to 39.1 gabeekeeper.......101.....................30% ..................40.2 stranger138........43......................18.69%.................33.1 shortgal..............40......................18.5%..............33.8 Robin_Bird............90.....................29.5%................32.7 Staysee..............70.....................20%................48.4 Hajohnson1..........49.8....................18.2%..............39.8 lindseyann2u........63......................?%.................? Cherlita...............44.......................20%...............65 to 57.5 BandChick64..........90.....................30%.............33.9 tyman311..............61.....................31%...............41 to 28 (so far) BarbBee................69......................23%...............39.4 Huskerette............54..(i gained)..........22%...............30.5

Congratulations to TxArcher (that's one cute six month-old there), Hollyberries and all other three-digit losers out there. As we say in Hebrew, ha-le-vai a-lai ("it should only happen to me"). Have you guys started to part with larger sized clothing yet? I can't quite let go of mine yet. What has that ecperience been like for you?

Thanks, you guys... I needed that. Today was a good day and I pledge to you that I'm going to end it without eating. Your good common sense and encouragement are amazing! I can do this thing... and as far as bringing the scale down further, I might have to actually consider exercize (it's my dirty little secret that I've lost all my weight so far without any). I want to go in to my doc this week and get a referral for a stress test. Good luck coming back from the surgery, mzterniceguy. Have a good weekend, everyone!

Dear Friends, Thank you all for your concern during this past month. My wife is home from the hospital, back at work and recovering quickly, and the kids are getting used to living in a two parent household again. Although I managed to hold it together foodwise while my wife was in the hospital, things have gotten lax since she's returned. My weight's gone from 94.7 to 96.3 kilo (from 208 - 211 lbs.), and although it's not very much, it's my largest gain since having been banded. I feel as though I've lost the thread a little bit... I'd be grateful to hear from anyone on this. I've been sick for a couple of days, I think that with things finally getting back to normal around here, I finally let myself crash. But I think I'm coming out of that now. Thanls again for not giving up on me.

sorry for silence, have been busy and kind of sad. Wife better but still sick, high white blood cell count and fluid still left in lung are keeping her in hospital. we (me and kids) have just come back from seeing her over the weekend - a 400 km trip each way. I'm beat, will write more later. Thanks for not giving up on me Sades!

Thanks very much for the support, everyone - I really appreciate it. It's amazing how "three dimensional" virtual friends can be! I hope your wife has a speedy recovery. Although, phneumonia is a long recovery and she won't be herself for a long while. You are a really good husband and Dad. Make sure you get some time for yourself. You're right about the long recovery, Hollyberries - we have some serious attitude adjustment and changes in lifestyle in store for us in our household. My wife is going to have to start taking better care of herself, and her practice of working while sick is definitely a thing of the past. The kids have been great - their lack of perspective and young ages (3, 5 and 7) makes this a potentially very difficult experience, and I think I've done a good job of being there for them. That sounds awful Bandpal but at least it will help her. Keep us posted. Yech, Sades - it sounds awful indeed but it is helping, which is a pretty good thing, since the next step would be open lung surgery. Wow Bandpal! I had pneumonia once. My daughter picked it up in school and gave it to the whole family. My son, then hubby, and finally me. None of us had to be hospitalized but we all felt awful and the cough took forever to clear. Your poor wife must have gotten a really bad case of it. Hope she gets better soon! Boy - I'll be happy to avoid that scenario, CindyG. Nothing worse than the whole family being sick and having those germs ping-ponging around the house... they were so afraid of my wife contaminating other passengers that they sent her up to the hospital in the center of the country by ambulance rather then flying her up - that's a 4.5 hour trip as opposed to a 50 minute flight! This wasn't the best weekend for me foodwise, but that's over now (Sunday is a workday here) - here's to a good week for us all. Love,

Thanks Cindy and Sades - my wife finally had a drain put in her lung and now we have to wait for everything to drain out. They'll also run an analysis on the fluid and ascertain that the buildup has stopped for good before taking out the drain and sending her either back home to back to our local hospital. Tell you what - I have a new-found respect for pneumonia. I'm going to try to go up north and try to visit her for a day as long as I can find coverage for my three children, Moe, Curly and Larry [note: not their real names but an accurate characterization of their maturity, God bless 'em. No stooges were harmed in the writing of this post].

Thank You, Foofy and Sades for your kind wishes. Things could be better - my wife has pneumonia and has been moved to a hospital in the center of the country where they are trying to get the fluid out of her left lung. Looks like she'll be there at least another couple of days and then it's back down to our local hospital. I've been told that it'll be a while before she's able to function fully. I'll say this for myself - this is the first "crisis" in my life since the band , and for the first time I find myself dealing with life's demands without food as a crutch. I'm doing okay with the kids and with my committments at work, showing up where I have to and basically dealing with whatever comes. Back to cleaning the house - have a good weekend, everybody! Love,

Name............Lbs Lost........% of wgt lost.......BMI Foofy...............37.5..................14%.................38 Sades...............31.5..................14%.................36 Shalee04...........61.....................24%................31.1 Bandpal.............77.66..................27%................34.1(47) Skinny_Jill..........50.....................22.5%..............32.7 Stephanie..........60.....................26%.................27.1 Hollyberries........97.....................27%.................38 linda.................42.5..................19%.................31.6 Abbisgood..........53.....................23%.................?? want2lose..........76.4...................26%................33.5 kandiceb............63.....................26%................27.6 Momto1plus1......59.2...................22%................32.9 MollyBrown.........36.....................12.5%..............36.5 TxArcher............94.....................23%..............52.8 to 40.6 Cindyg...............45.....................18%.................37.5 Close.................50.....................20%.................33.1 Tmusicmaker123..73.....................19%.................60.1 to 48.7 plump_princess....57.....................22%.................36 Mariegabrieleee....71.....................23%.................51.3 to 39.4 gabeekeeper.......97......................29% ..................40.9 stranger138........36......................15%.................35 shortgal..............40......................18.5%..............33.8 Robin_Bird............76.....................25%................? Staysee..............70.....................20%................48.4 Hajohnson1..........40.2..................14.6%..............41.5 lindseyann2u........63......................?%.................? BarbBee..............57.......................19%...............42.1

Dear Nymphs, I am currently in the last four days of a two week trip to America (mostly in the Greater New York area) with my five year- old daughter. Included in our itinerary were my parents' 50th Anniversary party and my cousin's wedding, for which we all up and went all the way out to San Antonio, Texas. As most post-band life experiences have proven to be, this trip home has been different than the many others I have taken before. Why? Read on: I came back thinner, not fatter No more discreet glances at my midsection before saying hello... no more harrowing conversations with my mother about how I'm going to leave my four children fatherless at a young age, no more having the roll call of family members with diabetes read at me, no more coming back home and feeling that I've made no progress in dealing with my weight problem since I used to live here. food has finally left the building Coming back home used to be all about food - eating from the four major food groups (pizza, deli, Chinese and Italian), enjoying my beloved traditional New York Breakfast of eggs, home fried potatoes, sausage, ham and bacon and toast with butter, chowing down on Mom's cooking and checking out the fridge at late at night at whoever's house we were staying at. My entire relationship with food seems to have changed. I can walk through a supermarket without swallowing mouthfulls of drool. I've ordered Soups or appetizers during the few times I've eaten out and left food over most of the time. I haven't had that breakfast once (and haven't missed it) and haven't binged once. My tastes have changed, too - I naturally gravitate toward lighter and healthier foods. I've stayed away from trouble I've stayed away from food at moments which I anticipate to be stressful and where I am prone to overeat. One example was at my parents' party, held at my sister's house, with whom I've had an uneasy relationship at best. She is also obese and the house was full of food that day. I just stayed away from food - it's not like I never had a bagel and cream cheese before or would never have one again, after all. And as a result of this, of being willing to give up the food, I was blessed with such clarity of mind and calmness, and I was able to interact genuinely with everyone that was there and add to the happiness of the day and enjoy it all. I subsisted on juice and diet soda and then had my normal small meal when the party was over. Because of the band, I'm much less hungry than I ever was before, and my appetite is one tenth of what it used to be, so this strategy is entirely realistic for me now. Wherever I've stayed, I've lived in the present. Trips can be stressful, family trips can be very stressful, family trips with a small child (no matter how delightful or cute or intelligent or charming) away from her mother can be especially stressful. I've really tried to live in the present and not obsess about whatever just happened (since I can't change it) or is going to happen (since I do not know for sure what that is going to be). I am reading a book which is giving me a lot of help in this regard, and I would like to share it with you: Healing into Immortality, by Dr. Gerald Epstein. Praying, using different formats and at varying times, has also proven very important for me. As the result of all this, I am actually continuing to lose weight, in keeping of my goal of returning home lighter than I was when I left (who says it's so hard losing weight in America - many of you are doing it here every day!). I set out on the 30th of April at 221 pounds and am at 213 now. I'm returning to Israel on Thursday and will immediately start planning my next journey: a one way trip to Onederland! Thank you all so much - your support and knowledge and sharing have been indispensible. Love to all,

That is one bodacious (there's my 80's contribution) bathing suit, Hollyberries, outdone only by the delighted smile on your face. We have a women's aerobics class on our kibbutz, they really grind it out - if anyone tells you it's not a contact sport, don't believe them! Enjoy, and here's hoping you've gotten rid of those three pounds by the time this is posted!

Hollyberries, That is one fantastic picture!

Hi Holly, I will broaden the range of advice. First of all, you didn't mention anything about what or how much you've been eating in your post. I also have 4.5 cc in a 10 cc band and I have enough restriction to have indulged in plenty of "territory marking" myself (loved that post, TexArcher). That's just luck, and you might need another fill, but maybe your experience over the last month means you might want to reexamine food issues. I cannot imagine getting a fill without being numbed. Unless your doctor clicks his heels when you enter the room, greets you with an upraised right arm and speaks with a pronounced German accent, I just cannot imagine why he doesn't numb you. I think you should ask him, and I know you have the right to a painless fill. As for the frequency of the visits, however, I see my doctor no more often than every three months although I am free to make an appointment whenever I want. Part of me thinks that the motive for these mandated monthly visits is as much financial as it is health-oriented. If your doctor is overseeing your overall progress and monitoring your food intake, that's one thing. Otherwise... I guess the most important question is, how often do you want to see the doctor?