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My admiration goes out to both of you. I am glad you are back. Thanks for sharing your stories.

It looks like we will be moving to St. Louis within the month. I would be interested in knowing some doctors for my band. I would also like to hear people's oppinions. Thanks for your help. Tina

I don't know, Brandy. When you find out please let me know it exists. Thanks. Tina

Thanks Bjean. A very nice way of explaining the situation. We've all been "dieting" for years. I'm sure we know enough to write our own books on weight loss. It is not that we haven't lost weight this time. It is the same old problem of putting it back on. I'm having trouble again because my husband lost his job. As my surgeon would say, "What does that have to do with losing weight?" Nothing and everything. Financially we are okay, but not knowing where we will have to move for a new job, my daughter having one more year of school, my other in college here with one more year and not coming with us, and leaving ill parents behind. We also have to sell the stupid house. I find myself not planning and putting the effort in that is needed to lose weight. I know it is a lot of excuses. I still haven't given up. This thread helps me not give up. Thanks everyone. Tina

Happy Mothers Day to you too, brandyII. You have some tough times to work through. I'm glad you aren't giving up. I think you feel you are but you continue to ask for help and continue to try new things. I think you should be proud that you are exploring many other things. Yes, in the past you took an "easy" way of eating but that was because you did not have all the information about the band being too tight. You have learned the information in a very hard way. You have learned much through your challenges and now you are helping other people by sharing your information. I know I have learned and been encouraged (yes, encouraged) a lot by the information you and other people have shared with everyone. It may sound strange in a way, but you give me hope to succeed. You have gone through all your struggles and you are not giving up. I think you and other people who have posted deserve a thank you for the courage you all have shown by sharing your experiences. As they say in 'Galexy Quest'. "Never give up! Never surrender!" Take care. Tina

Way to go Kat. It is nice that your DH is so supportive. I pray everything goes well and is an easy recovery. :wink2:

Please don't give up. It is easy to see you are still wanting to lose more weight. We all know it is really hard. What would you think about not hiding your "eating" from your husband? If you ate your fattening food only when you are with your husband it might help you reduce what you eat a bit. Anyway, I know you are not ready to give up. Keep coming to this thread. It can help you think about your eating more. Take care. Tina

Brandy, I wish you the best in whatever you choose. Keep in mind that a little guilt is okay. At times it helps us do things we should do. A lot of guilt only eats away at us until we can no longer function. It is useless. You will figure out what you think is best and act on it. It may be with the band or something else. Give yourself some time and know people at LBT care about you.:smile:

Carla, that sounds like a very stressful and difficult situation. It sounds like you never get a chance to really relax. Unless you are in a suite it must be very hard to get comfortable at the end of the day. No wonder you are going out to eat all the time. I think it is understandable to have some slip-ups at this time. You are surviving each day. I think you should be proud of yourself for doing that. I think once the shock dulls a little you will find a routine that works for you. I guess until then be proud of yourself for dealing with the situation in front of you. I am glad you are safe and I hope your house is ready for you soon.:thumbup: Tina

Congratulations, Kat. That's wonderful. I hope everything goes well and easy for you.

Hi Ang. I, like you, am still waiting for the click. I keep thinking (hoping?) it will come with proper restriction. Because my husband is taking a new job and we are moving there is currently more chaos in my life. I don't know if this is reason or excuse. I'm doing better than before banding but keep losing and gaining the same 3 lbs. I feel it will come but it is frustrating. I did best in the past when I was losing for a reason....and the last time it was for a move. Oh well. Ang, you are not alone. I think there are quite a few people who struggle from time to time. I believe you will succeed because you are not giving up. If we were all great at losing weight without struggles we would not be here.:thumbup:

Thank you, donnabarney, for not coming back.

I was lucky that I chose a female doc first. I just feel more confident that they will listen. My ob/gyn is also female. My mom messed around for years with her male doc and her fibro. He kept telling her it was all in her head. Twenty years ago the docs didn't believe in fibro. That is why I am so glad there are more females now. I remember going to a male doc when I was 20. I asked him to explain about something and he told me not to worry about it. What was then called the "God complex". It is so much better now. Being overweight hurts by itself. Every part seems to be pulled where it doesn't want to go. I have found Elavil, Lyrica, and pain meds help with fibro. I also tried Ultram, Cymbalta, and Pamelor which was not helpful. Accupuncture helped. I would like to hear how different meds helped or not helped everyone if you don't mind sharing. Tina

I think having a polio vaccination is important. I have read of cases where an adult gets polio from being around a child who has been vaccinated. That's a tough disease to contract. I have never heard of any adverse reactions to the vaccine. Kat, sometimes if a series of vaccines are not done in a timely manner the series have to started over. Perhaps the doc was trying to prevent that. I do know how traumatic shots are for parent and child. Sometimes I think I was in worse shape after shots than the kids. As far as autism goes there are many theories as to cause. One is that the child developes a yeast infection of the brain after many antibiotics. That is why I think Melissa's many ear infections followed by antibiotics may have contributed to the cause. Other causes are meningitis and accidents affecting the head. Funny thing...one of our friends whose son is a year younger than Melissa fell about 10 feet. For a while after, he could talk. Over time he faded to no speech again. That's why the logo for the Autism Society is a childs face over a puzzle with some of the pieces missing. It will be a while before we have more answers.

Well Grace65, I hope I follow your lead. It has been 2 weeks since my 3rd fill. I can say it is better than before surgery...I just wish it was a bit tighter. As with you, I can eat just about anything if I take my time. I keep waiting for the restriction everyone talks about.:confused2: My confession is I love oatmeal. I know it is good for me. The problem is I love it with sugar and whipping cream. I have purchased small bowls I can fill to the top so I don't feel so "hard done by". It's just that it tastes sooo goood with cream on it. The small bowl does fill me up now (thank goodness).:thumbup: Now I just have to quit having whipping cream in the house. (I'm making 12qts of homamade ice cream for staff appreciation at my daughter's school Tuesday. ) Good luck to everyonewith their eating.

Hi. I've had fibro about 10 yrs. I was banded Feb 8th. Funny thing is I have not had as many bad days since surgery. I have used acupuncture for about 1 1/2 yrs but haven't gone back since surgery. I laugh in saying maybe this huge acupuncture helped.:wub: As far as pain level it can be anywhere from 4 to 10 in the last 10yrs. Thankfully I have a doc who takes fibro seriously. I do find on my bad days I have trouble feeling full. It's like that switch is turned off. I also have the fog and difficulty thinking. What meds are you on? I find Lyrica helps but causes dizziness (which has improved with time) and difficulty with memory. I take my pain meds at night so I can sleep and only on desperate days. I think the weight loss helps by having more energy to deal with everything. I know when I lost about 50 lbs inthe past I hurt but it was just easier to get going and take my mind off of it. Good luck. Tina

The percentage of children who have adverse reactions to vaccines is low. It also seems likely that the chance of these diseases will increase if people start refusing vaccines as it is in undeveloped countries. Also many vaccines are required before a child can start to school unless the reason for not vaccinating is religious.

This is a tough one. My daughter is 21 and has autism. I personally feel that her vaccinations did not cause it. Melissa had many ear infections when she was small, which also means she was on many rounds of anitbiotics. I blame those. She developed autism at 16 months. However, some of our friends do think it caused their childs autism. I would go for vaccines again. Both my daughters had chicken pox before the vaccine came out. They did fine but a cousin developed thrombocytopenia (no guarantee on the spelling) when he had chicken pox. Whooping cough is really a miserable disease. I guess I was more afraid of the disease than the vaccine. I think the vaccines are generally safe. Well, that is my opinion. I hope everything goes well with whatever you choose.

I use Viactiv and gummy fish oil. The fun thing is they do taste like candy and the really really good thing is I can't have more than one. I view it as an exercise in learning to control my eating.:blushing:

Great news, Kendra, and a great story!

Go for a female doc. I've always had better luck with female doctors.

Hi Fran. It sounds like your family is going through some tough times right now. I am so sad to hear about your son. I worked in a methadone clinic when I got out of college. I also have a cousin who is trying to be a recovering meth user. He has times when he does well but it seems lately he is losing the battle. His health is bad, teeth are bad, and he is very thin. When he is relapsing he will take anything not tied down to fund his addiction. Addiction is an odd thing whether it is heroin, meth, or food and trying to deal with extreme stress and sadness makes us want comfort. I liked what you said about learning that the problem still remains after overeating so it is not a true fix of a problem. We found out about our daughter, Melissa, at 20 months. She is now 21 and a young woman. I love ABA. She had her best progress with it. I think it would have been great for her as an infant. I wish we could have accomplished more. She is a very sweet young woman, she travels well, and is pretty laid back. She functions around 2 years and loves picture books and for me to sing to her. Fran, you are strong enough to handle this. You have already lost over 100 lbs. Talk to your doc. I'm sure you are not the first patient who has had to deal with a crisis situation. He/she may have other suggestions. As has been said to me in the past, " You are handling it right now so concentrate at the moment and know people at LBT care. I look forward to hearing how things are going.:crying: Tina

I have been thinking about food addiction lately. I see it as any addiction. When I am in pain (physical or emotional) for that very small moment food (especially sweets with fats like whipping cream!) takes it all away. The pleasure it gives me fills and comforts me. I stayed around 120 until, at 36, I found out our 2nd child had autism. I started eating whatever I wanted and I continued to eat for the past 18 yrs until I reached a high of 236. Nothing mattered and food took the pain away for that short time. Then it became my way of dealing with other stresses. For that very short time it took those discomforts away. I was wondering how others interpret food addition. I would love to hear and learn from your thoughts.:confused2:

Hi gwhite. I can't add anything to these great responses you recieved. I do want to say I am very sorry you have had such difficult challenges lately. There are a lot of people here pulling for you. You have had great success so far and I think you will have great successes with your weight in the future. Maybe a small fill would be helpful. If nothing else it will help you to focus on eating with your band as a tool. I agree that it has taken great courage to make these changes. It just takes some time to recover when a person has extreme changes in their life. Hang in there and know that we at LBT care.:smile2:Tina

Hi, Ready. I am so glad you feel better. Those sad times are so hard to deal with. Good luck with your fill. I look forward to hearing about your progress. I just had my 3rd fill and it seems to be helping. Here's to hope.:thumbup:Tina