Wheetsin

I don't know what happened to your first post, nor am I aware of a "view first unread" option. Where is it? (I really don't know!) Are you talking about the little arrow "Go to last post" (what is says when you mouseover) button that appears right after the post's timestamp?

IMO "chest pains" so bad it's uncomfortable to breathe or move warrants a trip to the hospital, whether they're familiar with the band or not. If you're in a car accident I certainly don't think you'd say, "No EMT, please don't examine me, you don't know anything about the lap-band" -- so why do that with chest pains? They're something not to be taken lightly, especially if they're hindering your ability to breathe. Above your bust is above the band, so unless it's referred I wouldn't guess the two are related. Just a guess. Especially since you woke up with it, as opposed to it setting in during eating. May have done a nerve or muscle thing in your sleep or something. But it doesn't matter, because you should get it checked out professionally anyway. Just MHO.

There really aren't any "NO" foods, because everyone can tolerate different things. And unlike the RNY where there are things that no one can eat, with the band the only limitations are what you personally have problems with. And the only real way to make that list is to try foods and see how you do with them. I tolerate anything I've tried so far. Some things hurt me (scrambled eggs, applesauce, bananas) but I can still eat them if I need to - just going to have a bit of discomfort. I don't drink carbonated beverages because my surgeon suggested avoiding them for maximum results. And because I wasn't much of a soda drinker anyway. I know people whose surgeon told them it's fine and they drink soda every day. I CAN eat bread, rice, and popcorn - I just try not to because I do make an effort to limit my carb intake. And when I eat them I go slow, even if I feel OK to go faster, because I'm aware that they can cause problems/do in others.

...or by their own experiences, or by people they know - not strangers they exchange typing with on a message board - but people they know, or through their own readings of the bible and the qualities it would (Should? Is meant to? Fill in your blank of choice here) inspire in its faithful audience, or through their own experiences in/with a church, or through life events that have somehow impacted their faith or lack of, or... Isn't saying "the non-christians' model of christians is formed by mass media" (paraphrasing) the same thing as saying "christians are hypocrites", in the sense of letting a few define the larger whole?

My style hasn't changed so far. That has a little more meaning to it. I've always, ever since college, liked the same kinds of clothes. For a while I didn't have the option of wearing them, so "my style" and "what people think is my style" were very different. Now everyone is like, "Oh, you look so cute today!" Or "Wow, you've changed so much, even the clothes you like to wear!" Umm, no. I've always liked these clothes. They just never came in, and don't look good at, 6x.

That's my husband. He can eat, and eat, and eat. And has been eating for the entire 9 years + that we've been married, and has gained maybe, oh... 30 lbs. Most of which can be attributed to his more sedintary lifestyle now -- he went from riding his bike to work and back, walking up 150+ stairs to get to his apartment, cross-country skiing, etc. to a total couch potato. Or computer chair potato, rather. I keep telling him... one of these days his metabolism is going to catch up to his age (he's "just" 33 now), and he won't know what happened.

You know Carlene, deep down, I'm annoyed by people who consider obesity a disability. I personally know more than a few people who have gone so far as to get siabled parking permits because they don't want to walk the distance from regular parking. No kidding. Those are the people who need to do the walking. Legitimate pains/disabilities, comorbidities, etc. aside -- I'm talking about people who are "fine", albeit obese. ** edited - "siabled"? What were my fingers thinking? D-i-s-a-b-l-e-d.

Oh, I noticed something interesting the other day. Why Steak n' Shake in particular I don't know, but the one by us has "Yes Virginia - we like to mix our vanilla and fudge!" I'll have to look the company up and see what their roots are. I thought they were out of IL.

Exactly what I'd expect from him.

All I can offer is - don't compare yourself to others. I've lost more weight with my band than friends who had RNY. That doesn't mean RNY was the wrong choice for them. Go with what feels right to you and trust that you know what's best.

I went shopping yesterday and WAHOO everything at Catherine's was too big. I actually had to ask if they carried a "0X" because this really cute coat in 1x was way too big. And even better than that? Before I asked that, one of the clerks had brought me the 1x and said, "This will probably be way too big for you." (Whatever, I'm still a 24 on bottom and 22 on top, 2X if I just walk into any old store) I had a love/hate relationship with Catherine's. Occasionally you could find cute, age appropriate things there. I never found anything with what I would consider a flattering cut, they seemed to very much follow potato sack mentatlity. And it cost $75, no matter what it was, unless it's on sale, and then you have to rummage through knit house dresses and denim jumpers to find it. Occasionally they had cute business stuff. Most of the time they (our store, anyway) was full of purple & fuschia tiger print, or old woman beaded cruise gowns... you know, the Flapper meets the ankles. I could usually get by between Avenue and LB, though for a while LB became too small, with only rare exceptions. I wear LB work slacks (LOVE the Houston line) to date, and they have the occasional top I like, but they kind of hit extremes of the fashion world and I have no real interest in wearing a leather strap halter top OR a tunic turtleneck sweater, and things in between are, well - few and far between. Avenue, on the other hand... ours was very... in their own words - "ethnocentric", meaning that the styles of clothes this particular store carried were (largely) styles aimed at black females between the ages of 32 and 40. Finding anything that suited me and my really picky/weird/understated style was also hit or miss. They closed our local store, but I'll occasionally drive the 45 minutes to the next one because their slacks are some of the only ones I can find that fit the length of my legs (I'm perfectly between an average and a tall, and sometimes I like the option of wearing flats or heels, and not having it dictated by my pant length). And when they get out of "funky sole" mode, they can have some really cute shoes. And even better - their leather pant boots actually zip up over my calves. I've heard a lot about Torrid. We have one but I don't know where. I've been in them, and have never really seen what I'd call - cute. Perhaps it was the particular store, but most of what I saw I'd call "goth" or "punk". Lots of indigo velvet with chains and fishnets incorporated... blood red leather, black, black, and more black. Have you ever gone so long oblivious to something that you didn't realize how bad you looked? I mean - for crying out loud - I went WAY too many years not waxing the brows because I never thought they were that bad... until I had them waxed, and saw the difference. Now I'll never go back. But until I saw the difference, I had no idea how bad it looked, or how much of an improvement something so small could make. I'll call that my little revelation. And my point is really all about revelations, and wishing that all the muffin tops out there would have one. Now THAT'S a pet peeve.

If fat people have to have an "obesity may be harmful to your health", what about an "Inhaling this sweater may cause nasal disruptions" label for stupid people, or a "Not to be worn with prints" for people who have bad fashion taste? Or "Launder after each use or you will stink" for people with bad hygiene?

There are lots of snake oils and magic elixirs out there, lotions, creams, rubs, wraps, etc. but the condition of your skin long term is really going to boil down to a few biological/environmental factors, and short of plastic surgery there won't be a whole heck of a lot you can do to make it any better. As you work out you will build muscle mass, and as muscle mass increases your bulk will increase. This can take up some of the excess skin and make the skin appear more taut.

Yep yep, big difference between "vomitting" (puking) and what we bandsters might have to do after we eat, which is just bringing up food. We call it "PB" or "productive burp". For now I'm going to assume she's PBing. In which case, any of these things may help: Slight unfill. It would help to know how much fill she has and what size her band is. Also her eating habits - what kinds of food is she eating, how much, how quickly, how well is she chewing, etc. What about liquids? Can she drink them without having to run to the bathroom?

From what I understand of the size accpetance movement (I'm going to call it SAM so I don't have to type it out), WLS would be "bad" because doing something to change your weight certainly couldn't be aligned with accepting and/or being proud of it.

If the psychologist is doing their job well, they're looking to identify ways to help you move beyond food, so to speak. It's very common to require more than one visit when the psychologist is "good". Many psychologist visits are simply a prerequisite and function mostly as a formality - and have no value for the patient. The psychologist should be identifying the role food has in your life, why you overeat/make poor choices, and suggesting things for you to start working on. I had a total of three visits, even through I was approved after the first one. I know of others in my program who had to have 6 - 8 or more visits before they could have their surgery. It all depends on the person, their situation, and personality. Your question is one you should ask the psychologist. There's nothing wrong with asking what you should be getting out of the appointments. In fact, the psychologist should offer the information. And don't be upset, and don't rush it. A good psychologist and productive visits will make your experience oh so much easier.

Where has any flaming occured?

I'm going to break this into chunks. On December 11, I weighed 201lbs. That day I started to eat less in preparation for lap band surgery on December 19. December 20 the day I was discharged from the hospital, I weighed 207lbs. Most people weigh more upon discharge than they did at admission. Think of all the fluids you had pumped into you. And saline is much heavier than Water. December 18 through today I have been on a clear diet. I’ve been eating only Jell-O, flat ginger ale soda and Soup broth. Today, I weigh 198lbs. How can that be? I’ve been literally starving myself and have lost really only 3 lbs since December 11. Your body is healing and many people don't experience loss during the healing stages. And liquids are heavy. A lot of the up-front weight is depletion of the glycogen stores, which probably wouldn't happen in your case since you're (I assume by what you've listed) still ingesting a lot of sugar. Remember that weight does not = fat. You can lose fat without losing weight. I know this too well. My scale has moved about 7 lbs in 2 months, but I've gone down a full size. Don't put all your eggs on the scale, so to speak - use a more reliable progress meter like measurements, FFM, BFP, etc. As Jack already indicated, something as innocuous as a good poop can drop a bunch of pounds. Lots of things in our bodies need to reach their points of equilibrium, and until they do a lot of other things can be topsy-turvy. How can that be? What is going on?

I haven't tried apple peel, but applesauce hurts me like crazy. So do bananas. Foodstampchamp - I get the "fruit n' yogurt parfait" at McD's, on the rare occasion that I go there. It's self-contained and goes down easy, and is made with low-fat yogurt.

In genreal I listen to completely different music when I workout. Different from what I'd normally listen to. My list includes "high energy" bands/songs including Utah Saints, RATM, Prodigy, etc. *Edited to add... And lately I've been using music that DH has written/created. And music, from friends of his. He's part of the European synth wave. Not really my taste, but fantastic to workout to.

80s have actually, officially, made their comeback. All of the "trendy" girls here at work have been sporting leggings, long sweaters w/ belts over top, and even the wide fabric headbands. And the skinny jeans tucked into the boots. And... *shudder* I hated that stuff the first time around... Pastels are my enemy. I'm a "fall". Try finding olive green or rust orange in December. Or July. Or any time of the year without having stupid embroidered pumpkins or sequin ghosts. Poopie.

That is frustrating. I have no patience for process. Do you have the option to pick up & deliver the paperwork yourself? That's what I ended up doing, in order to get my medical records to the surgeon expeditiously.

Your best bet is to resize them before you upload. Even if you could use code to control the display size, the entire file has to download regardless... so a picture that shows up 1"x1" could still take 20 minutes to show for someone on dialup.

I'm less than a year out, but I'll still reply. It's not that we don't want to help others -- most of us have already answered these questions many times in other threads. When? March 1, 2006 Why? Many reasons including, but not limited to, desire to have children, desire for improved quality of life, and as medical preventative measures. Who? Dr. Hoehn Insurance or Not? Yes, covered at 100% minus my co-pays. How it felt? Weird (I have a very long description of this posted, and it would take way too long to recreate) What has changed? Weight, size, self-satisfaction, perspectives... lots of things. Pictures! See picture thread. I don't know the file path off-hand so I can't repost from work.

I couldn't agree more. But I have also been called out for voicing this opinion, with the claim that it gives people a green light to judge us. I never really understood how owning up to your own actions = "jusge me"... but I don't know that I could understand that since I'm so much of the opposite opinion. McDonald's didn't make us fat, putting the McDonald's in our mouths 4 times a week did. I also sincerely believe that most obese people could lose their weight on their own if their compulsion to lose the weight was greater than their compulsion to eat, be fat, etc. I know it's controversial here, but I still believe it completely. (needs a lot more explanation to be voiced adequately, but that's a different thread) No, that's not the same as saying "I want to be fat"... who wants to be fat? Ok there are a few, but... Although I know several who claim it, I have yet to meet an overweight person who, on some level, has truly not allowed it to define who they are. Being at odds against any societal norm - almost by definition - adds something to your character... be it "negative" or "positive"... it's virtually unavoidable.