Sunta

Wow! What an inspiration! You look amazing! Thanks for posting these great pics!

I love vegetarian meats like chicken nuggets, fake meat crumbles, etc. Low, low fat, low calories, and very high protein. If I make veggie chili with "Quorn" brand fake meat crumbles, no one can tell the difference between that and real beef. It's great! These veggie meats are also nice and soft and go down beautifully.

Best memory so far: Fitting into size 18 pants!!! Ok, they must be a loose-cut 18, but still! I started at size 26! Most of my pants are now 20's (or 22's if it's jeans) but this one 18 fit me perfectly! Worst memory: The three times my stomach closed off and I couldn't drink liquids. The first time, I had to get an unfill. The next two times, I opened it up by drinking hot liquids and then staying on liquids for a day and mushies for a day. I am still very tight and considering a small unfill. Banded: February 21st, 2006 Lost: 53 pounds

What is wrong with me??? I am obsessed with finding out how Anna Nicole Smith's son died. I keep thinking about her and reading everything I can about the case. I've spent literally hours reading every article out there and they all conflict. Why don't I have anything better to do with my time?

I too heard from my insurance company that they are back in negotiations (this after receiving a letter stating they would no longer take my insurance at all!) They should reach a decision soon and BC/BS said that they are confident I'll continue to have some sort of coverage.

Hi, Since my last fill seven weeks ago, I have been doing pretty well. Three days after my fill I tried to drink some diet orange drink in the car and I got stuck. I got out of the car and PB'd. I thought I was too tight, but when I got to work, I was able to drink fluids no problem. I progressed to solids again with no problems and very few PB's and was cruising along for weeks. Then, one night I got up in the middle of the night and took a swig of cold Water from the sink and promptly got stuck and PB'd. Again, I went to warm liquids 1/2 hour later and was fine. Went back on solids with no issues. Then yesterday, I was in the car, again drinking a diet orange drink (am I starting to see a pattern?) and bam, got stuck and ended up PB'ing. Got to work, was able to drink warm liquids. I tried to eat a mushy lunch and PB'd that. I stayed on liquids the rest of the day with no problems and am still on liquids today. They are going down, but my stomach feels swollen and tight. I don't know if I'm too tight, or if I just took too big of sips the times I PB'd liquids, or if I reacted to the citrus in the drinks, or if being in the car affected it, or what. What I don't understand is the mechanics or physics of what happens. Why would a sip of liquid not go down, come back up, but then I can drink again immediately following? It seems to me either I'd be stuck/too tight or I wouldn't. If the hole is there and slightly open, wouldn't liquid go down eventually? Or does the whole muscular system clamp up? It's all so confusing. Has anyone had a problem like what I'm describing??? Thanks!

I just read the article. It's so strange, because a friend of mine is actually on this exact same combination of drugs and has been for years and has been fine. In her case they are all prescribed by the doctor. Methadone is used to treat herione addiction, but it is also used for to treat severe back pain. I read that Daniel had been hospitalized for a week with depression and severe back pain. This is so tragic. I wonder if he took the wrong amount or something, because this combination is prescribed together.

Wow! Thanks for posting that! I always wondered about Howard when I watched her show. He always seemed so devoted to her. Maybe he was in love with her the whole time. Wow. That's big news. I wonder how long they've been together.

I just want to point out that the Swedish study posted is from two and a half years ago. Certainly not recent by any means given how quickly banding protocalls can change.

My nutritionist said "no caffeine" because it could cause gastritis. I, however, have continued to injest just as much if not more caffeine than I did pre-banding. They also said "no alcohol"... HA! That's a laugh. I think as with anything in life, you have to weigh and measure the calculated risks you want to take. I get all the information, consider all the risks and benefits, and make my decisions from there. Everything we do is a risk. Heck, getting into a car is a risk we take every day! I'll risk the slim chance of gastritis in order to enjoy my tea and coffe.

Liberal Democrat here.

I thought I'd post my NSV's here since I've been having so many of them lately. 1. Clothes getting so baggy I have to get new ones (four sizes down on top and two sizes down on bottom) 2. I fit into chairs with arms!!! 3. I fit into chairs in the movie theater without spilling into the seat next to me. 4. I can walk all around and not get tired. 5. I can clean my house, do my dishes, bend over to scrub the tub, and vacuum, and wish I had more time to keep working instead of collapsing into a sweaty exahusted heap. 6. The person in my life reaalllly likes my weight loss (wink). 7. My rings are loose. 8. When I lay on my back, my neck fat is not choking me any more! 9. I can cross my legs!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 10. I am now under the weight limit for treadmills, memory foam mattresses, epidurals, and many other things (that I don't use, but still....) I think that's it for now. And the "SV" is 50 pounds down. --Becky

Oooh how I love, love, love this show! I think Joey Lawrence and that guy from Saved By The Bell are AWESOME! I think either of them could be professional. I thought that about Joey Lawrence last week too. I think he might be the best on the show and I like his upbeat personality. He could eaily be professional if he wanted to. I love Emmitt Smith too. It's very surprising to me that the men are much better than the women. Maybe the men's parts are easier to do? Well, it all looks hard to me! Of the women I think Vivica Fox is pretty good and the youngest woman, I forget her name, the pretty Black woman. They are the best two of the ladies. That show makes my life worth living.

If I have those particular two choices of who loves me, I think it's time to move to Canada.

I have a friend who is really dear, but not the brightest bulb in the bunch. We were all sitting around one night and discussing pregnancy and we were talking about how the vagina expands, etc. and she said "what are you guys talking about? The baby come out of the asshole, not the vagina!" At first we thought she was joking, but then came to realize she was serious. She said "yeah, because the asshole stretches out alot more than the vagina." and we kept trying to tell her and she was adament that she was right (keep in mind we were all adult women in our 20's, not kids) she kept saying "No, I think you're wrong". We just laughed and laughed. About a week later, she said to one of our friends "I researched where babies come from and you know what? I think you were right!" This same friend recently told me that hurricanes are named after the "person who spots them". Again, insisting that she was right. I don't know if she ever realized she's wrong on that one. She also claimed that Black people have to have their right to vote renewed every 20 years. (She got confused about an article she read on the renewal of the civil rights act, but still, the enormous amount of misinformation she spouts...) She also claims that the reason why Americans are so violent (she's from India) is because we don't normally have our children sleep in the same bed with us until they hit puberty. My husband has a good one: he's an IT Director at a national company and deals with high level operating systems all over the US. One time a co-worker approached him and said "I'm so glad I found you! My mouse pad is broken!" Despite my husband's assurance that the mouse pad was fine, she insisted it was broken and made him give her a new one. Later he asked her how her new mousepad was working and she said "oh thanks so much! It's working great!" Go figure...

Here was my doc's recommended schedule: four weeks full liquids two weeks mushy food two weeks "soft solids" Regular food Here's what I ended up actually doing: Three weeks full liquids Two weeks mushy Solids It worked fine for me and he was fine with my progression. He told me the rules are more of a guideline and people have to progress at the their own pace.

Hi, I don't have "constant" port pain, but my port area is definitely still tender even after almost 7 months of being banded. If my cat jumps there it's horrible and when the doc probes it before my fill it hurts alot. I would get yours checked out though if it hurts all the time.

I tried to go to 1.5cc but it was way too tight and I could not swallow water and had to get an unfill. I was filled back up to 1.2cc and seem to be doing well since that fill five weeks ago. I have good restriction but am full on small portions. I'm only PBing about two times a month now. I'm down 50 pounds and have been banded for 6 and a half months.

First They Came for the Jews First they came for the Jews and I did not speak out because I was not a Jew. Then they came for the Communists and I did not speak out because I was not a Communist. Then they came for the trade unionists and I did not speak out because I was not a trade unionist. Then they came for me and there was no one left to speak out for me. Pastor Martin Niemöller

I definitely get alot of soreness and tenderness at my port area after a fill, and sometimes just randomly too It goes away after about four or five days.

OK, so now they're saying that all of the following have been ruled out: Heart disease Illegal drugs Foul play Stroke Heart attack Natural causes Suicide Does anyone have any idea what that could possibly leave???

Foot in mouth award goes to me: Yesterday I went out to lunch with my co-workers and I was ranting about the Ren Fair, about my complaints regarding authenticity, and I was going on and on about how Pirates of the Carribean has nothing to do with the Renaissance, etc. Well, I noticed my co-worker dropping back from the group (we were walking to the restaurant) and asked her what was wrong. To make a long story short, well, her boyfriend had proposed to her this weekend at the Ren Fair, dressed like a pirate from the movie and on the ship they use for the pirate shows there with the main guy who looks like Jack Sparrow. Oh, and she was also dressed as a pirate too and her boyfriend had talked the actors into incorporating the proposal into their show, etc etc. So she now feels like her romantic proposal story has been, ahem, shat upon by me... WHOOPS!!!

LOL Carlene, earlier in the thread they were discussing lesbian things revolving around female members hugging and rubbing oil on each other which is what I was referring to. I don't know if the tee shirt means she's Gay, but it's pretty funny either way!

Really really scary.

I just attended the Ren Fair last weekend and I didn't like it. I thought it would be more "living history" but it's not at all. There were people dressed in Hobbit costumes and Lord of the Rings merchandise was everywhere. These things have zero to do with the time period of the Renaissance. I was very disappointed. Do you know why it's like that? Very disappointing.