Wheetsin

Cynthia - I told my parents a few years ago that I knew I was getting older because I used to get jealous because my girlfriend had a cuter boyfriend, and now I get jealous because our neighbor has greener grass. I'm glad you got your floor fixed! My parents are visiting this weekend and my dad has promised he will fix a broken wall - that's been that way for 4 years now. 2 years ago he got as far as cutting out the broken and putting in new drywall, and one ayer of mud, but that's it! I keep telling him I'm just going to hire a drywaller, and he says, "Don't you dare..." So I wait...

I will start holding steady about a week before my period, and generally 2 -4 days after -- as my body retains water, and then releases it. Weightloss (if it's going to happen that week) will usually resume right around a week after my period. I've only lost during once.

Moorless - Under the quick reply window is a "Go Advanced" button. Click it, then scroll down past the box where you type your post. You'll see some outlined boxes - one called "Attach Files" that contains a "Manage Extensions" button. Click it and you will have the option to upload a picture from your local computer or from a webserver. Hope this helps!

I'll have you guys over for a band friendly dinner some time! Speaking of having people over - ok not really... just venting... but we found a painting company to repaint our great room, kitchen, hallway, family room, and two stairways and ceilings. It's the same guy that did our exterior last year, so we know he kicks butt on quality, detail, etc. And charges a really fair price, to boot. All I had to was finalize my color choices, so I put 3x3 test splotches all over the walls - made up my mind, called him -- and the number had been disconnected! So I've been staring at 3x3 squares forever! I know what store he buys his paint at so tomorrow I'm heading over to see if they have his new number. I'm so over looking at these flipping color test squares all day. :eek:

I've told DH he's taking me for a vacation to Turtle island, Fiji. And hitting goal will be worth every penny.

Dinner tonight was quick & easy - half a Chipotle chicken bol w/ black beans, a dab of sour cream, and a sprinkle of cheese. 4 chips, and about a half a spoon if guacamole. I'm REALLY noticing my fill when it's mealtime. I'd gotten back up to being able to eat about 3/4 of a bol, and a handful of chips. Uh-uh, no way! I LOVE MY BAND! I'm actually only eating when I'm hungry! Last night was crustless pizza. Tomorrow will be crab & lobster stuffed orange roughy fillets with grilled spinach & artichoke mushrooms (mmm!) I've seen the social suppers around, but had no idea that's what it was. Sounds good to me - I'd be up for anything that takes the mess out of my kitchen!

That's no fair. My first PB was a PB from hell - my worst to date, easy. An hour plus of pure agony, literally having to fight to get breath, and multiple yaks before it comes up. :eek: My almost PB yesterday was like that. It started hurting around 10, and I felt normal some time after 1. Slimes and all, I was literally just pacing waiting for it to come up, then *hiccup hiccup* and some gurgle... it must have gotten through in the nick of time. I would kill for a 5 minute PB. Only after the first PB did I do special eating, 'cause I was just 3 days post op and the PB really took a lot out of me. I was physically exhausted after it. The others it's like nothing happened, but that one drained me, so I gave up even the cream of soups and just went back to water/protein drink for a day or two. With my other PBs (only had 2 others) it's whatever is on the menu. The only thing is - I really don't get hungry after a true PB, not for 8 - 10 hours anyway. Robyn, should we come wait so we can hold up signs with your name on them when you're wheeled into recovery?

The only good papaya enzymes have ever done for me is to turn my PBs orange. :heh: I'm glad you had good luck with them. A few people I know have also had good luck with granulated tenderizer, but I've not yet tried this.

My surgeon sposnors a support group once a month. I attend, but lately have had some mixed feelings about it. For one - there are people in our support group who are afraid to voice their real concerns, feelings, etc. in group, esp. if it trends toward criticism, because they don't want their office visits to be adversely affected. That's something no one should have to worry about, but some don't feel that's the reality of the situation (not me - I'm vocal regardless :eek: ) All in all the benefit of getting together with other bandsters is what it boils down to. THe occasional time that they bring in a medical person to talk with you is valuable, but for the most part I've yet to get a lot out of it that I couldn't get by meeting up with people in any other way.

I have not experienced anything like that, but I have heard of & from others who have experienced lightheadedness and loss of consciousness from "restriction". What did the paramedics say? Perhaps you can call your surgeon or PCP? There should be a bare minimum of an on call system available to you.

Holli - here's one of my favorite ways to do grilled shrimp. Mix some xtra virgin olive oil, some garlic, some of your favorite seasonings (I like "Cavender's" Greek seasoning, seasoned salt, etc. together into a ziploc, and soak the shrimp in it for about an hour - it will help the shrimp stay more moist, and give a great flavor. Then wrap a half a piece of bacon around each shrimp and skewer it so that the bacon is held on. To eat with it, get a bundle of asparagus (can you eat that?) and pour about 1-2tbs of olive oil on the cutting board, then roll the asparagus back and forth in it until lightly coated. Dust with garlic salt. Then either grill as is, or wrap in small bundles with proscuitto or leftover bacon. Grill both until done. Bacon and shrimp may sound weird together, but I promise it's awesome! And you can let DH eat the bacon, while you eat the tasty shrimp. :confused: I also make a cauliflower casserole sometimes with shrimp. Boil cauliflower until it's fork tender, remove most of the stalk, and cut what's left into small pieces. Mix with a little cream of potato, garlic, sour cream, grated parmesan cheese. Top with some cheddar and bake until the cheddar is brown and bubbly. Tastes - uh - not quite like potatoes, but it was a low carb Atkins substitute.

:confused: :lol: :lol:

To harley's point - some are going with a more "one size fits all" approach, but I think most of the surgeons doing such are going with the larger band, since there's probably not much chance that a large band will cause significant closure from the get-go, but a small band on a large organ absolutely can. I'm interested to read the studies a year out, comparing successes of the "two" (referring to the two my surgeon uses, understanding there are more than two sizes made) bands, especially around erosion rates.

The size of your organs and the amount of fat pad around your organs. They don't want to put the smaller band on you if it's going to pinch you closed. That's why they'll say they don't know until they get in and see what your organs look like, how much fat is around them, etc. It has to do with those factors actually much more so than body size. I'm a little over 5'10, (I was 5'11 before I gained the weight :confused: ) with a very large frame, and weighed close to 400 lbs, and got the "little" 4cc band. People who had my same surgeon, and who are much smaller than me (in weight & stature) have the "big" VG band.

BTW, since dinner is cooking and I have time to waste... I now have - and have had each time I've lost good chucnk of weight - no ability to really see what I look like. I look in the mirrow and I see same old fattest I've ever been me. But when I dream, I'm always normal me - before I gained the weight. I don't think I've been "fat me" in my dreams ever... at least not that I remember. Sometimes when I put an outfit on, the mental picture I get is of me wearing the outfit before I gained the weight, and I'm disgusted when I really see what I look like. And sometimes, though really only once I've lost a good chunk of weight, it's impossible for me to picture anything but the "at my fattest" me... and when I see a picture I'm like - hey, not bad! If we visit my parents and I go out somewhere with mom and see someone who I think looks like me, I will have to ask her, "Do I look like her?" And anytime she says, "No - maybe before your surgery, but not now" I have a hard time believing it - a real case of it being too good to be true, I think! On Atkins, when I lost a big chunk of weight, I kind of obsessed over comparing myself to others, and I know it was a drag for the people I was with - but I was in a sort of frenzy to find someone of similar size, so I could see what I looked like. Dinner with Freud would be really interesting to have right now. :confused:

Yoda - I had my 3rd fill Friday and even though it was just a half a cc -- WOW, did it make a difference! I hope yours gets you where you want to be!

It will happen as soon as you give up those baggy twinsets! :confused: We have got to get together again, I had so much fun. Not to mention it's SO nice to go eat somewhere and NOT be the only one making all kinds of customizations to the food. And I really "love" it when I ask for the box, and the waiter looks at me like - "Yeah, like you're going to have anything left!" So what's for dinner? You guys make some foods that sound great! We're having Hawaiian grilled chicken breasts (chicken in a marinade I make w/ pineapple juice, orange & lemon zest, garlic, powdered chile peppers, sweet basil and thyme), vegetable kabobs, and baked apples for desert (which means 2 or 3 apples for DH, and one tiny bite for me - I just want to smell...yeah right...). Remove the apple skin, core it with a melon baller, fill with butter (I use "Can't believe it's not"...), brown sugar, raisins, a dash of honey or maple syrup, chopped pecans and a dash of ground clove, bake about 15 mins or until apple is soft.

Just want to interject - "I have only lost 50 some pounds." There's no such thing as ONLY losing 50 lbs, especially when you've fought your way through each and every one of them. I've not had a slip (knocl on wood) but a good friend of mine did. She was part of the original FDA trials and has had additional complications since her slip, but she slipped so severely that she was PBing on her own saliva, just from swallowing. Since she went from a tight size 36 to a loose size 0, and lost any resemblance to healthy, her surgeon urged (and is still urging) her to have the band removed. She refuses, because she's afraid the weight will come back if the band is not there. Unfortunately her case is one where healthy weightloss transgressed into eating disorder and irratitional thinking. :confused: What is happening during your surgery - are they repositioning? Replacing? Removing?

Chances are you surgeon's dietary plan will indicate whether or not you can have carbonation. Some allow it, some do not, and some allow it in moderation. It's not "allowed" on my plan, but I was happy to give it up. At first I really craved the carbonation... not Diet Coke persay, but just the feeling of carbonation doing down my throat. That lasted about a month.

It's not a matter of semantics when the words used completely change the intent of what is being said. Nor is it semantics when you say that someone said something they didn't. I do not want to be fat. I get something out of being fat. Since both statements can be true, their intent is absolutely not the same. And IMO - "getting something from it" does not equal "it is your fault".

The clothes are great - I really appreciate it! My legs are far from skinny - they look much better from the side than head on! Plus I'm knock-kneed, which just makes it look 100x worse. Cynthia - here are some others you might run into: ROFL = roll on the floor laughing ROFLMAO = roll on floor laughing my ass off BRB = be right back IMO/IME = in my opinion/in my experience IMHO = in my humble opinion FIL/MIL/etc = Father in law, Mother in law... AFK = away from keyboard

I ran into Holli on her way out and she said she was in/out. I figured - maybe she got lucky (not in THAT way). But when I walked in there was only one guy there. Usually it's standing room only! So I was trying on some of the clothes I got from Cate, and had DH take some more pictures. I think there's a big difference in my profile. I used to see myself and think I had the profile of a rubber duck - literally! I have to take these pics, or I will never believe there's any difference.

A tip I would give to those of you who are wary - use the image upload feature the board has rather than pictures on "your" server. If it's your personal server, all it takes is a look at properties and a stop by any IP registration site to learn your name, address, phone number, etc. Even if you use a fre image hosting site - it doesn't take too much smarts to see every album you have, so even though you may not post pics of house/kids/etc - it's still possible for someone to find them.

I just joined lastnight, actually, because I need to find new homes for a lawn mower, fridge, washer & dryer, etc. I was going to put them out on bulky trash day until a friend told me about freecycle.

BTW Cate, did you end up getting your fill Friday? (BTW - we'l set something up to get your bag back to you, I had it Friday but had to leave at 2:30 to get to another appointment in time.)