Shinyhappymommy

I'm at a similar point in my weight loss. I haven't had and rude comments or gotten my feelings hurt. . .yet. But I do wonder sometimes why more people don't notice and comment. I feel so different and it feels like people should be gushing over me! LOL. I think there are a couple of reasons for this. One is that I'm still wearing mostly the same clothes. They have gotten baggier, but they're still wearable, so that's what I am using. Once I'm in a new wardrobe that shows my body better, they may notice more. (Or not) The other thing that is true at least for me, is that I am still a pretty big lady. So although I may be noticing all sorts of changes, I still may look like a fat person to many people. You know what, though? That's okay with me. My close family and I are celebrating each fun milestone. "Look how jiggly Mommy's arms are now!" Being able to put their arms all the way around me and then some. My dh noticing as I walk by that I'm shrinking. These are the people who matter to me. Not that I wouldn't probably cry if I had a day like you've had. I would. Those things do hurt. But take heart! You've reached an amazing milestone and we are all proud of you! Melissa

I asked my surgeon how to tell if I was too tight and he listed reflux as one of the signs, especially at night. I have had plenty of night time reflux before being banded. (It's gone completely now since banding.) I never experienced mucous involved with the reflux. Sometimes I'd wake up with bile burning my throat and mouth. The best remedy for that occurrence I've found is Alka-Seltzer Heartburn. I'm not sure if that's considered carbonation and whether or not it's compatible with the band, but it sure quenches that burning from reflux.

Wow. That sounds very frustrating, Grace. Sounds like you're making your statement by not sending them back to SUU. I'm not very familiar with that particular university, but they really should work with students during finals. My goodness, why can't they close the next day? Sounds like someone in charge was impatient and wanted to get done quickly. On a side note, I was surprised to read that you have college-age children. I had somehow assumed that you were a mother of young children. Don't know why, I just did. And thank you for your service to our country. So sorry you became disabled thereby.

I'm on regular foods, but I'm in a rut at breakfast. I kind of rotate the following: protein shake, veggie omlette, cottage cheese and fruit, scrambled eggs, cream of wheat. Any good, low calorie/low carb breakfast ideas?

Thanks. I hope so too. It looks like you've had amazing results as well. Don't you love this band thing?

How's everyone doing? I'm dropping weight again after getting my second fill. I have good restriction and I'm enjoying seeing the band working like it should.

Hi and welcome! I'm also a mother of three, I'm originally from the west (Utah) and started about the same BMI as you. I've been banded for nearly three months and as you can see on my ticker, my BMI is 38.2 now. This has been an amazing miracle in my life. I live in a very rural area and my surgeon's support groups are three hours away. So this site is my lifeline as well as a few people I keep in contact with over the phone.

I have 7 ccs in my 10 cc band. I have had only two fills. I didn't think my doc was going to be that aggressive, but I haven't regretted the amounts so far. I've got good restriction and can only eat a small portion of food before getting full. Chicken is much harder to get down now, even dark meat, slow cooked in the Crock-Pot. I'm happy with where I am now. I've lost about a pound a day since my fill 7 days ago. It helped me break a three week plateau, so yay for that! I wanted to feel sorry for myself that my taco salad was going to waste after 5 bites, but I told dh, I signed up for this. I went under the knife for this. This is what I want to have happen. Part of this adjustment is not ending up eating what I have dished up for myself, and trying not to feel unfulfilled because I didn't get to eat whatever it was on my plate.

Do any Denver area bandsters have a good recommendation for somewhere to buy a bra in Denver? I wear a 42 F right now, (Down from a 46H!) so it has to be somewhere that carries larger sizes. It's not easy to find something that works well for me in my small rural town. We only have Wal-mart. We're traveling to Denver tomorrow and I would love to find a good bra store. I've lost 44 pounds and the only clothing I've been able to bring myself to buy is 2 new bras. Oh, and I'm nursing, so it would also be good to have the selection of nursing bras in larger sizes. Anyway, I'm hoping to find some clothes I'm comfortable in as well tomorrow.

I don't see a thread specifically for fill discussion, so I thought I'd make one. I had my second fill today. I have 7 ccs in my 10 cc band. He said there was some (2ccs) in there at surgery, the first fill was 3 ccs and today was 2 ccs. Of course I'm just on liquids now, but I'm anxious to see how eating will be different. I have a big fear of getting too tight, but then I need restriction too. So it's a hard middle ground to find. I just hope this gets me to a good spot with my eating. My first fill was pretty traumatic. He stuck me about 10 times before he finally was able to get the Fluid in. I had him numb me halfway through when it was obvious that it was taking a while. Today was better. I had him numb me up first thing and then I tried not to pay attention to what he was doing. It took a little while, some poking and pushing, but he got me filled fine. I have about 5 or 6 poke marks, so it was better than last time and I don't feel traumatized. I'm surprised that I already have 7 ccs. I would have thought it would take more fills to get to this point. How are the rest of you Victorious Valentines doing?

LOL I'm glad it made you laugh. It made me laugh too.

My doctor's letter to the insurance said that I had Stress Urinary Incontinence, that I wore pads for it and it limited my social interactions. None of which were accurate. I probably marked that I leak urine sometimes when I sneeze and that's what came out of the form letter from that response. I didn't do anything about it as most of the letter was accurate and he didn't leave anything important out. I might call about omitting the pre-diabetic condition if you think it will help. Other than that, I don't know why doctors write what they do sometimes.

I have something I've been wondering about for a long time. When I hear someone from Austraila, Ireland, Scotland, England, etc. sing, they lose the accent and sound like they're singing with an American accent. So what I'm wondering is, when you hear an American (or someone with a different English accent from you) sing, do they lose their American accent and sound like they're singing in your accent, or do we all sound American when singing? American Idol this season has me wondering these things again, but I've pondered it for much longer.

I started at size 26/28. I'm down 44 pounds and haven't bought any new clothes except a couple of bras. I have retired a couple of pairs of pants because they are riddiculously baggy. But when I go to Wal-mart (the only store in town) I still need 22/24. I'm going to Denver tomorrow and will try Lane Bryant and Fashion Bug for some variety. Maybe I'll make the plunge and buy a few new things. I'm glad the OP started this thread. It's nice to know that I'm not the only one in the same situation.

Be careful! I actually lost my ring before realizing it had become too loose to wear. Luckily my dh found it in the car, but it was a scary experience. You can buy ring snuggers at Wal-mart to put around the back part of your ring to make it a little tighter.

Thanks. :cry_smile: After posting this earlier I kind of talked myself out of buying a bra. Money is tight and I can't justify spending $60-$100 on a bra that I will only be wearing for a short time. Maybe I can make the cheap-o Walmart bras work a little while longer. I will certainly buy a good bra when I'm at goal. The adjustment to smaller sizes is harder than I thought it would be. I thought at 44 pounds lost I would be a couple of sizes smaller. Well, I'm still a 22/24 or 3x in Walmart sizes and I'm having trouble buying anything in that size. Plus I haven't felt pretty in anything I have tried on yet, so there's that as well. I'm just trying to make do with what I have in my closet. Some of the things that were on the small side fit me well now.

We didn't really plan it, but my husband took over cooking for about month. It was so good when I was on liquids and pureed foods to not have to cook food. In fact, it was when I had done the cooking that I felt almost entitled to eat it and ended up eating solid food sooner than I should have. Not terribly soon, but sooner than my doc's suggested time line. It really helped me to have a dh who was supportive and ready to step in. The family ate a whole lot of Tuna/Hamburger/Chicken Helper during that month.

Dr. David Melniczek in Denver does the surgery for $9000 (I think it's 10K, but a 1K discount when cash is paid up front.) He does surgery in Lakewood, Co. The first three months of fills are included in the price of surgery and are $150 or $200 after that. I'm not sure, I haven't paid for one yet. After care with him is personable. He is pretty easy to contact, I have his email and his cell phone number. He calls me from time to time to check on me.

How could I forget The Office? I love that show, too.

Just edit the title of your thread to not include the winner's name. Then if they click the thread, it's their own fault for peeking. :confused: I didn't watch it this season, so you didn't spoil anything for me.

I guess I'm a reality tv junkie. It has to be quality, not just any ol' reality show. I watch American Idol, The Amazing Race, Survivor, Celebrity Fit club to name a few. Also, Lost, 24, October Road (love that one, hope it gets a 3rd season.), The First 48. I don't watch much lately, since life is too busy, but those are the shows I really enjoy.

I found it on Youtube. I'm glad someone is quick to post the videos after the show. I enjoyed everyone tonight except Syesha. I have some sort of disconnect with her performances. I was distracted during David Cook's performance, maybe I need to give him another chance to wow me. Everyone else did really well. I thought Carly looked amazing and trim tonight. That dress was the perfect cut for her body. I thought Simon should have mentioned that since he was so hard on her about her wardrobe a couple of weeks ago. Anyone know what the theme is for next week?

Argh! Our Dish Network programming ended right before Jason Castro's intro piece. Hope I can find his performance on Youtube. Grumble, grumble.

My highest was 311, my pre-pregnancy weight with my now 14 month old. My lowest as a full-fledged adult was about 185 which is what I weighed when I met dh. I was 155-160 in high school and thought I was fat. :huh2:

Mine is a take off of the REM song Shiny Happy People. I'm a mommy, so that's why I made that change.