Brinabrina77

Yup. mine is in the same spot too. I kind of like it there. It does not bother me at all unless I sleep weird (i sleep like i fell out of a tree anyway) and then i feel it. no pain, i just no its there. I liek that position because i can imagine the poor doctor who would have to go through all of my abdominal fat to find it. I'd be there until Jesus came home. Not to mention the lenght and girth of the needle that would be used to go through my belly fat. Also I have spoken with a few people who had had their ports flipped and the doctors have placed them all somewhere in the upper chest area, so I guess his location is not that outside of what has been done. When i get fills they use this tiny needle that is less than 3 inches long. they numb it first, of course, then I'm out the door in no time. If you have your surgery performed by Dr. Bagnato in GA then this is where he places his ports. He is a fantastic Doc by the way. :wink_smile: As you can tell by our port locations, both ParaGirl and I both were banded by Dr. Bagnato. However, in the end i think that it is up to the surgeon's prefernce. As long as I got banded by a confident and skilled surgeon (and i researched my butt off especially after i read the lap band complications forum) I don't care where they placed the port.

Hello April: You need to ingore that blankety blank blank and with her bleeping atttitude. I would have told her to bleeeeeeeeeep and the horse she rode in on too!! :: that was edited since you mentioned that you have a 5 year old :: I don't want his mommy to pick up my potty mouth. Anyway... i don't know what has come over me and when it happened. I used to be the quiet invisible big girl. I'd hear the snickers and see the looks that peopel gave, but I used to just shrink away. Well, I don't know when someone snapped my last nerve, but I got over than. matter of fact, you don't even have to insult me personally...all I need to do is see you insult another person like that in my presence you get to speak to my inner angry black lady. This was *BEFORE* i got banded. Can you imagine the mouth on me now? lol. I remember that I was shopping one day. There was some younger girl...a plus sized girl..shopping by herself. She was holding up a pair of jeans. A group of guys passed by and one of them said soemthing like, " Daaaaamn, i didn't know that they made jeans that big!" Without missing a beat (and regardless of the fact that he was not talking to me. I saw how badly he hurt that poor child's feelings), I replied," Loudly...(and with a I DARE you to say something back tone)," Well, we both learned something today then. Until this moment I did not know that a**hol*s could talk!!" Result: Blessed silence from the group of guys. well after i got finished muttering obscenites under my breath. I gave the girl, a freindly southern head nod and a smile and continued shopping. Moral of the story: Ignore those blankety blank bleepin' people. People who say and do things like that are simply unhappy with themselves and want to share the misery. And that little BLeeep who said that to you in front of your child clearly has no upbringing and was raised in a barn with the rest of the pigs and asses. :thumbup: Be proud of you. Enjoy the time with your family. No matter what is said..and you know that this won't be the last time because people are well...people. Words can not erase the accomplishments that you have made so far. I am proud of you and I don't even know you. And a size 13!!! Girl please. Let me get be able to get into a size thirteen and I would rule the world.

Hello ya'll: I posted this by request on another forum on this same board. I love this list. This list is not meant to be offensive!!!! I am sending this becasue i found this saved on my computer. I found this searching the web somewhere and I love this list. I admit that most of these are superficial, but it still shows some of the things that normal sized people take for granted. If you are a big girl/guy or former big girl/guy, you can probably relate to some things on this list. If you in the process of losing weight, it may give you some things to think about. Some are funny, some are hilarious, and some unfortunately are sad. I can pretty much guarantee that greater than 90% of these things have crossed my mind at some point or another. I hope you get what you want out of this list. feel free to pass it around. Neat Reasons to lose weight! 1. To feel better about myself. 2. To increase my feelings of self worth. 3. To be able to run and jump without worrying about hurting myself. 4. To look good in a tight dress. 5. To be able to wear shorts in the summer. 6. To be able to go swimming without being self-conscious. 7. To feel I can go swimming at all! 8. To be able to run with my grandchildren 9. To be healthier. 10. To not have fear going to the doctors, because he'll make me get on a scale. 11. To be able to wear a bra that actually fits. 12. To not worry about lawn chairs breaking. 13. To not worry about where to sit at a picnic or on an airplane. 14. To not get "those looks" at a restaurant, even when eating normal food. 15. So my ankles don't puff up and look like there's half a tennis ball/loaf of bread on each side. 16. To be able to use a public washroom comfortably. 17. To be able to go into any store, and buy the clothes I like, not just the ones that fit. 18. To not feel awkward about going clothes shopping, or shoe shopping. 19. To be able to order clothes from a catalogue without worrying if they will fit. 20. To be able to wear something that doesn’t say PLUS on it. 21. To reduce my blood pressure. 22. So I can feel comfortable. 23. So I can run on the beach in a bathing suit and feel proud. 24. So taking a bath is a luxurious thing, instead of taking a shower so I won't risk overflowing the tub. 25. So my pants won't wear out between my legs while the rest of them are still in good shape. 26. I want to be able to read the scale by just looking down, straight down. 27. I don't ever want to feel my fat jiggle again! 28. So I can look in the mirror from the neck down and like what I see. 29. To feel strong and fit again. 30. So I can show off my muscles, instead of just feeling fat. 31. So I can play with my dog again! 32. So I can drive my car and feel comfortable. 33. So I don't feel like I'm always leaning back while sitting in a chair, because of my butt. 34. So I can walk up a flight of stairs and not feel winded. 35. So I can wear tight jeans. 36. So I can get up and dance and not feel weird. 37. So I can go on rides at amusement parks again, without stuffing myself into the seat shamefully. 38. So I don't have to worry about the maximum weight an exercise machine can take before I use it. 39. I want to deprive my cats of a perching spot on my chest because it’s too small. 40. So I don't get that pitying look when I go to a gym to work out. 41. So I can lay outside and suntan on my front lawn if I want. 42. I want to wear underwear that looks cute and dainty, not something industrial. 43. So I can buy lingerie that fits, and looks good. 44. So I can buy lingerie without getting weird looks from store clerks or other customers. 45. I want to be able to at least consider entering a triathlon and have it be a possibility. 46. So getting dressed every morning is a joy and not a dreaded chore. 47. So I can pick the haircut I really want and not just one that is for fat people. 48. So I'm when people start talking about weight loss, I don't feel they mean me. 49. So no one ever calls me "a big girl" ever again. 50. So I'm not embarrassed to have my picture taken. 51. So when my photo is taken with my family I don't have to groan inside myself as I know how terrible I am going to make the family picture look. 52. So I don't get those indents on my thighs from the arms of the chair I'm sitting in. 53. So I can cross my legs. 54. So I can walk in heels without fear. 55. So I can put my jeans in the dryer, have a shower, get out of the shower, walk to the dryer and just pull my jeans on, instead of waiting to really, really dry off and then fight to get the zipper up. 56. So I can put my clothes in the dryer and forget to check the timer, and not worry about them fitting. 57. So my bras don't stretch on the sides, or get pulled seams. 58. So I can crawl around on the floor hooking up computer cables without wondering how bad I look. 59. So I can look in a full-length mirror with pride, instead of despair. 60. So I can get up from the floor in one smooth move and not a grab and hold on to something move. 61. So I can get on with my life!!!!!!!!!!!! 62. So those stupid gowns at the doctors or chiropractors not only fit, but also are too big. 63. So I can show off my legs, instead of monster ham thighs. 64. So I can look good in a business suit or a short skirt, instead of always wearing loose clothing. 65. So my back doesn't hurt so much. 66. So I can lie in bed, look down and see my toes without lifting my head off the pillow. 67. So I don't have to worry about what fits in the closet and what doesn't. 68. So I don't have to worry about the seasons changing, and will my summer/winter clothes still fit. 69. So I don't fear the onset of summer and light clothing. 70. So I don't crave wintertime, so I can hide under big jackets and sweaters. 71. So I don't think mean thoughts when I see skinny women. 72. So my doctor will never say, "you really need to lose some weight" to me ever again, but instead says nothing more than "see you next year". 73. So no one will ever again ask me "when is your baby due", and I'm not pregnant. 74. So people in the supermarket don't look in my cart when they think I'm not looking, to see what a "fat person" eats. 75. So I look lean, mean and powerful. 76. So I can say my weight out loud with pride. 77. So the old pictures of the fat lady at the circus don't look like me. 78. So I can say to other people who are overweight, hey, I was there once too, and maybe help them get to where they want to be. 79. So I don't wonder if people are saying, "what is HE doing with HER "? (My honey is skinny and can eat anything) 80. So I don't have to worry about my bathroom scales breaking. 81. So I am in control of what exercise I choose and not what I am able to do as of being so over weight. 82. So I don't have to give excuses for being over weight. 83. So I can shave my legs in a shower without gashing myself because I can't see around my fat. 84. So I can ride a horse again! 85. So I can go out fishing with friends, and not be scared to walk inside the boat because I'm so heavy I will tip it. 86. To be able to go canoeing, and my end doesn't sink real low while the other person is almost in the air. 87. So my Grandchildren never remember me as fat. 88. So I can stand up in a boat again, with balance and grace, instead of hanging onto the sides and wondering how I'll get back in if I fall out. 89. So I can boat out to the middle of a lake and go swimming, and be able to pull myself back in the boat. 90. No more "beached whale" comments, anywhere. 91. So I can go into public and not care what type of looks I get. 92. So I can sit on a bar stool and I'm actually sitting ON it, not on it and around it too. 93. So a regular towel goes all the way around me, and maybe even looks cute. 94. So my socks pull all the way up. 95. So I can hug my knees to my chest again, and it’s comfortable. 96. So I can sit on a chair, and have my feet on that chair too, and not be sitting on them. 97. So I can wear a low cut sweater and my collarbones show. 98. So I can wear a light blouse or sweater, and there aren't dents where my bra straps are. 99. So I don't have to worry about arthritis or joint replacement when I get older. 100. So furniture doesn't groan when I sit on it, or wear out long before it should because I'm too heavy. 101. So I never have to look at someone else with envy again, thinking, "Wow, I wish I was that thin". 102. I want to lose weight so that my breasts stick out more than my stomach and not the other way around. 103. I can sit comfortably in the lawn chair all the way instead of sitting on the edge and the arms pinching me. 104. I can fit into the theatre seats comfortably. 105. I can sit at the booth OR table in the restaurant. I don't have to be embarrassed because I need a table. 106. I can look straight down and see my toes instead of bending over to see them. 107. I can bend over comfortably to tie my shoes. I am adding #108: So I can shop at stores other than Lane Bryant, Catherine's or Catos or Ashley Stewart. Don't get me wrong, i love thier clothes, but so does every other plus sized lady in town. If you are in a small town or a town that does not have that many plus sized stores ALL the big girls look like they are memebers of a uniformed services because WE ALL WEAR THE SAME CLOTHES from the same "big girl" stores. Oh well. What can you do but laugh at that. I am also adding 109: To die naturally and peacefullyof old age...not from some obesity related illness. and 110: To stop dreading summertime/sunshine. Hell hath no fury like a angry, hot, overweight woman in the summertime/heat!!! (then again, maybe that is just me) *****To give credit where credit is due, i got this list fromNeat Reasons to lose weight. just google this phrase and it will take you to the site. the site has nothign to do with weight loss, but the list is still there.

Hello Everyone: It gives me a warm feeling that so many people on this site asked about me when I vanished for a while. Although I had not been posting, I had been lurking. I have been readign the board and trying to stay motivated. What's going on with me? Well, I am tired. I am in this perpetual state of being tired. I know all of this has to do with (1) my job and (2) not having anything else in my life right now but my job (i.e. no social outlet, no significant other, not having the desire/energy to engage in hobbies) yes, yes, people...I am back on this again. Well my job has changed. I am now working a shift that varies and i go through periods of time where my body has a hard time adjusting. I can't figure out when to sleep...which means my eating schedule is off..which means that I am hungry at obscene times of the hour...and this is havoc on someone who is banded. So whenever I am hungry i have to sit and figure out the last time I ate and figure out should i be eatign again. Today for example, i was hungry at 5pm. I berated myself for being hungry at 5pm, becasue this is not a normal time that i eat (where I work the lunch hours are normally at 7pm or 1am). Not to mention that i had woke up. If I eat anything when i just wake up..no matter how hungry i am...well..lets jsut say i get to taste it twice. Once going down and once coming back up. so i am trying to figure out why I woke up starving at 5pm. Well come to find out the last time I could remember eating anything was at 5 AM. So i guess i had the right to be hungry, huh? Then I have to sit there an be hungry for at least another hour or so cuz if i eat anything, i run the risk of brining it back up. Then I am so tired i come home and crash. Other times I have so much energy that I can't sleep. No wining for poor old, Brina. I have not exercised. Well unless you count lifting my hefty ass in and out of bed. I shoudl have thighs o' steel for doing this alone. I am thinking of ordering a mail order husband. They HAVE to make those. It woudl be downright sexist if they had mail order brides, but no mail order husbands. All he needs to be able to do is nod yes, rub my back and feet when they hurt, and father two children. Then he is off the hook. If he can do manly things like kill bugs and fix things, then that would be a bonus. Speaking of children: Does anyone have any extra sperm laying around? My mama just had a hysterectomy because she had numerous fibroids. One was the size of a 4 month pregnancy. Turns out it runs in my family. My aunt had them, her duaghter had them. I told my OB-GYN this and he gave me an ultra sound. Take a guess who has at least 2 fibroids..one the size of a ping pong ball?? Survey says: BRINA!! He told me that if I wanted to get pregnant that i should do it earlier instead of later becasue he does not know how they will affect my fertility. I have not told my mama yet. But last week she did remind me that she has kids from all of her sons but none from for her only daughter. I wanted to tell my mama (with all the love in my heart..cuz i love my mama) that I was not a tulip. I don't just go to bed at night and wake up pollinated. ::Insert dramatic sigh here:: My scale is tormenting me again. I jump on one day and I am 280 something the next time I am 270somthing. I know that is snickers behind my back everytime it does this. If you heard a loud *TWANG* this morning, it was the sound of my last nerve snapping. Then again, ya'll know that I would not be me if my life was all rainbows and kittens. Expect drama from me. I keep trying to live drama free, but all I seem to get is free drama. Good news though..I am banded. I am truly grateful for that after seing what so many people have to do. I did not know that you had to go through so much. People have to see dieticians, go through mental counseling, and fight with insurance. I was referred to Dr. B in the beginning of January. I was approved by mid Feb by my insurance. I had surgery on 2/25/08. There are people who have been waiting for YEARS to have surgery. Lord. O. Mercy. anyway, to sum it all up: :: thinks of catchy tune to hold up a sign and march to in parade/demonstration :: Chanting while marching: "I'm fat and I'm here and I won't disappear" If God willing and the creek don't rise (i had to say that) I will be lurking here for a while. Thank ya'll for making me feel valued. I don't seem to get a lot of that lately. I am so proud of everyone. Ya'll continue to be my (s)heros.

Hello ya'll: I had no idea that they had a WLS group for women of color on here. I was bored outta my mind and surfing around on this board when I found it. Hell. to. the. yeah. Is all i have to say. I love this ENTIRE board, but I love seeing women of color on here. Cuz I was told fiftyseven'leven times that black women "don't get wls". "we are made to be thick" " why you wanna look like the women in cosmo" blah blah blah. Don't get me wrong. I love me. But I want to be a healthy me. I have no desire to look like the women of Cosmo. I would have a fit if I woke up one morning and realized that the T&A fairy had come and repossessed all of my goodies!! I want to have some curves. I have no desire to look like a Newport cigarette. Anyway, I am originally from central Florida. However, I have been living in south Georgia for the last year and a half becasue my job relocated me. Nice to meet everyone. Please feel free to drop me a line anytime. take care. PS. Should we be called THICK G.R.I.T.S ?? :tongue2:

Hello Everyone: Since my surgery at the end of February Ihave had 3 fills and I have lost 40 lbs. My scale says 45, but I only record what the scale says at my fill doctor. I am sure that I could lose more, but my exercise routine is currently not consistent. However, I lose 8-10lbs a month, so i am not goign to compain. Fills: I found out that my doc had left in 2.0cc after surgery. (At my first fill the nurse drew back Fluid to see if there was any in the band and she was able to draw back 2.0 cc. I had 2.0 cc on my 2nd fill. On my third fill, they put in 2.0 cc. When I tried to swallow some Water before leaving the office I felt horrible, so they took out 1.0cc. So far i have 5.0 cc in a 10.0 cc band. Congrats on everyone's successes.

I have posted these pics in our small local support group forum (of less than 30 people i think) where I felt it was "safe" to post them. The green shirt is around january 2008. It was taken a little bit before being banded. The striped blue and white shirt was taken today (-38 lbs). Small difference in the face...bigger difference in the waist (my clothes are much looser now. I slide in and out of my jeans like huggies pull ups). I have taken a brave pill and decided to post them here..in the main forum..in front of the piercing eyes of hundreds of people... ..maybe even thousands of people... :tt2::whatchutalkingabout I am leaving before the brave pills wear off. I am already sprouting chicekn feathers as I type. Congrats to everyone and their success!!!!!!! Thank you guys for being such an incredible source of motivation.

I am trying to make myself post every one to two months regardless of how much i have lost, gained, or remained the same. I think that if I feel that I have people to "answer to" will keep me on track (i.e. if the pics start to look like I am ganing instead of losing or no longer losing when i post, it will guilt/motivate me to do better).

Hello Tiger: i know what you mean. After my surgery I had pain right in that exact spot. I am sure that it has something about where he had to manipulate some tissue to get the port where he wanted it. Then for a while, if I I would lie on my back and press down right along the edge of my ribcage i could feel this lump. I mean it did not hurt, but it was a noticeable lump there. Any weirdness that i felt on my left side after surgery i attributed to band placement. the funny thing is that most of it is gone now. I had my surgery on 2/25/08. Congrats on finally getting banded. I remember that the heating pad was my friened because i had a helacious back ache for about the first week or so after surgery. I don't knwo if it was becasue of the way they placed me on the operating table or if it was becaseu of all the trapped gas or a litttle of both. Pretty much the heating pad was my savior. I swear that if my eyelashes so much as itched i was reaching for the heating pad.

Hello everyone: Please take a moment to go to this site. It is not spam. It won't sign you up for anything or ask you for a retinal scan, your first born child, or a DNA sample. **I just think that each of the Bagnato Bandits needs to hear/read this.** Automatic Flatterer <--go to this site and put in your name where it asks you to do so. Trust me, I'm a veterinarian. (I have always wanted to say that.) We all deserve to hear such things from time to time. --Love, Brina brina fo feena banana fanna mo meena. Fi fi fo feeena. Brina BRINA. PS. feel free to pass this sight along. Who does not need to hear such things?

Hello Everyone: I posted this on the wrong thread originally. Sorry. I have an appointment on June 25th for my 3rd fill. There is a possibility that I may cancel that appointment. No, it is not becasue I have lost a dramatic amount of weight. (A girl can dream though, right?) When I went to get my second fill (May 19th), they put in 2.0cc. Leslie and Elisabeth had me drink a glass of water. By the time I had made it from the little exam room to the front waiting room, i had this fantastic urge to puke. The ended up taking out 1.0 cc of the 2.0 cc they had jsut put in about 3 minutes prior. I really don't think I will be ready for another fill. I am at the point that I can eat, but I have to eat extremely sloooowly. I also have to remeber to drink extremely slowly. i am also realizing that my eyes were truly bigger than my stomach. I still fix myself my normal portion size of food and end up only eating a fraction of it. Everyone else constantly tells me, "You know that you are not gonna be able to eat all that." I argue til i am blue in the face that I will. Note: I am a black female. So can you imagine the extent to which I have to argue to figuratively turn blue in teh face. Guess what? Everyone ends up right. It is still hard for me to grasp that I don't need to eat so much now. I fianlly gave in and bought some of those kiddie trays that are divieded into three sections. They are like $0.96 at walmart and are microwaveable and dishwasher safe (unlike the "designer" kiddie plates). When I fill those things up it looks like I have a TON of food. I made the mistake of transferring that same amount of food into a normal sizze plate and it looked like I was eating crumbs. I seriously thought that this "use a kiddie plate to eat from" was a big, whopping, load O' crap, but i am now realizing it is all true. So seeing as how, (1) they had to take out fluid in my last fill and (2) i will PB in a heart eat if I don't listen to my band and i can't eat my "normal" quantities of food, I think that I may cancel that appointment. I really think that if they put any more in right now, that I would have discomfort and lots of PBing when I ate or drank. I AM NOT 100% SURE ABOUT IT But it is looking like I might cancel. I think i have like 5.0 cc in my 10.00 cc band. on my first apptment, Elisabeth was able to draw back 2.0 cc of fluid before she put another 2.0 cc in. then the next fill i got 1.0 more cc. So there ya go...5.0 ccs. I will know closer to my fill date. I want to try to give them a week's notice. If anyone is interested in grabbing that appointment, let me know.

Wooo Hooo!! :: insert catcalls and construction worker wolf whistles here :: I know..I know, Pamela. You hear enough of that at home. You look terrific woman! You (and the rest of the fabulous Bagnato Bandits) are my personal heroes/sheroes. Ya'll continue to be my inspiration.

the first pic in the green shirt is before surgery. The second one is about 2-3 months post op and -30lbs. I sat and stared at both of those and i dont see a difference. other peopel say they can see it..but at the same time most people know that I have had surgery. I wish i had not told people, so that i could really know if they see a differnce or are just telling me what they think they see or expect to see.

Hello Everyone: I am thrilled to death that you guys have started brainstorming on some ways to start exercising. All of them are great. I. so. want. in. However (as usual) my work schedule has just taken a large change. My noraml work schedule is supposed to be from 815pm until 5am. Now that has changed dramatically. Now, to make it simple, i am on a variable schedule. This will start 5/25. When i say variable..i mean variable. It will kind of be an as needed thing. This was done without any warning or anything. i am rather unahppy about it. i am going to see how it goes. I quit my last job becasue they worked me to death. I had no life. It had gotten to the point that when i had days off all i wanted to do was sleep. i did not watn to spend tiem with anyone..not even family becaseu i was so stressed and exhausted. The past few weeks that they have had me on my original schedule have been blissful. Now they change it. i moved all the way from florida, left my family behind, and came to geaorgia..a place where I know no one. I took this job becasue it promised set hours and paid decently for this area. I have been working on a variable schedule since about june 2007 (and this was without warning and NOT to my liking, but it was promised/hinted that this would change when they hired someone). Now it seems that is not the case. So it pretty much means, i am goign to see how this new schedule i have been assigned to will work out. Right now, I dont see how i am goign to enjoy it. I dont see how i will plan my life around varying hours. Especially when i can be "needed" at any time. so i am in a wiating game right now. i dotn know when i will be eating, sleeping, or exercising. Hell, i don't even know if i will be working like this for long. i might like it. I might hate it. i don't know. we will see. So I am one unhappy person right now. i wish i could find a job in which i was rally valued as an employee..not as an expendable pawn that they can move around in any manner that they like. so, sorry about the loooong explanantion. Please pray that I find my happiness.

Hello everyone: I have not been to the board for a while. i had to go home and help my mama recover after her fibroid surgery. She is doign well. i went and had my second fill on 5/19. they put in 2.0 cc of fluid. i had lost 6 more lbs in SPITE of the fact of how poorly I ate when i was in orlando. they put in the 2.0 cc and asked me to swallow some water. i swallowed and within 3 minutes had started salivating and doing my routine pre-puke signs. they ended up taking out 1.0 cc before I left the office. Holy crap. I could not bleive that. I was not able to swallow water. She told me that she thinks that i could reach my sweet spot soon if i responded like that. We will see. Exercise? What is that? Uhm..My name is Sabrina and I have sinned. I have been sitting on my butt like it has been velcroed to the couch, father. i know i know better and it will catch up with me. Part of it is laziness, the other part is my dislike of heat (I step outside and melt into a puddle of chocolate), and the biggest part is fear that i am gonna hurt my knees again. I had never been in pain becasue of my weight until i turned into Jane Fonda, over did it, and shot out both my knees. thank ya'll for bringing up exercise though. You know how i give into peer pressure anyway. All the cool banders are doing it, so you know I will be out there walking or cycling or "walking off the pounds" pretty soon. I am on my way to work now as we speak. i am ready for them to give me some weird schedule change which will truly screw up my eating pattern. I think my job likes my hips. It is doing everything in its power to help me keep them. take care everyone. Each of you is my inspeiration. if ya'll do form soem kind of exercise group or soemthing, PLEASE post it so that I will know about it. I need people to threaten to come over with a cattle prod and make me get off my butt every once in a while. I promiose to lovingly do the same for you. :cursing:

Hello Everyone: I probably am late in catching on to this, but I thought that this site was great. It is called DownSize TV. People post videos of their weight loss. It is one thing to see photos, but to see videos is a whole different thing. Here is the link: Change is Possible - Before and After Weight Loss I am doing okay. Just goign throughsome stuff. I wish I had not told so many people i was having surgery. Well, i told a few and rumors got around. Now everytime someone says that I look different, I don't believe them. I think that they are saying that because they feel obligated too. :Banane53: Sigh. 'Tis my life. Not to menntion, I really don't see a difference. My clothes have always fit loose on me (i have always been inbetween sizes..the next size up is too big and the next size down fits me so tight you would think that i was surgically implanted in them). This is not a post of me giving up, it is just a mid way complaint. Hence my search for more motivation. Does anyone know of a place where they do Water aerobics that is big girl freindly? I dont care if I have to drive an hour or two to get there (I live in Albany). I hope everyone is doing well. I hope you all have an ultra fantastic mother's day. :welldoneclap:

Hello Oneder_Woman: I noticed the same thing myself. i really don't know what that is, but i calmed myself stating that this had to be scar tissue or soemthing. Even to this day (and i was banded on 2/25/08) that far left incision is the one that if i press on jsut right i can get a small little twinge. I felt the know there too. I was laying down flat on my back and I ran my hands right below the edge of my ribs...and sure enough it was like a ball sized knot. I also told myself that it was also the incision that was the biggest becasue he had to push the port through and all that good stuff. The things is that i could REALLY feel the knot right after surgery, but now i can only feel it if I lay a certain way and really look for it. i am taking this means that it has shrank some..as scar tissue or inflammation will do. The only other scar that messes with me is the scar that is by my armpit..that one still feels lumpy. The rest of my incisions are all flat and you cant feel anything beneath them. But i think that the incisions on the left involved bigger incisions and they had to manipulate the tissue more and push the band and pot through that tissue. Again, this is what i am telling myself. If you are truly curious/uncomfortable ask Dr. B and staff. They are great with stuff like that. I never asked because i reasoned myself out of asking because I have doen surgeries before and i know how tissue tends to heal. how are things going with everyone? Mia: i am happy that you are doing better. Pamela: i am glad that you dont seem so upset about the staff infection this time. You handled the last one like a soldier and kicked its butt...you will get over this one fine too. everyone: I am looking for a pottery/clay sculpting class. Anyone know of any being offered in albany or somewhere with less than an hour drive? i am going to try to start up with my art stuff again. The last thing I made was a diaper cake (a cake made of baby diapers) for a baby shower and I had a blast doing that. i also decorated tiny baby bottles. I think getting back into craft mode is just what I need.

Hello everyone: Thanks again for listening to my plight. What are the names of the techincal colleges. I want to see if they have any classes that I wish to take. Thank ya'll so much.

Hello Everyone: Although ya'll do nto see much of me, i still visit this board daily. I think I should jsut figure out a way to mince this site up, make little fine lines out of it and snort it. I feel that addicted to this site. Each and every one of you is an inspiration and a life saver. Well, it seems that my lack of social life/personal enrighment outside of work is finally getting to me. Don't get me wrong, I am not your typical 30 year old. I would rather gnaw my own legs off than to spend ALL my time hopping from club to club and doing what a lot of peopel my age consider "fun". However, I need some type of enrichment. But unlike a lot of you, I am really, REALLy new to GA. I live in Albany, GA. I have no kids and I am single. And because of where I work and this conflict of interest clause there, I doubt that anything will waltz into my life anytime soon. I have been her about a year. Besides my coworkers, (and you fabulous people) i don't know anyone. My closest friend lives in tallahassee and she is about to have twins, so her time is already being consumed. Being bored and lonely is starting to wear on me now. My family lives 5 hours away so I dont get to see those dear crazy peopel that often. My work schedule is crazy and I work the night shift. I am looking for somethign to do. I said I don't go "clubbing" but i will go to one on occasion..maybe if it is a bbw or big girl kinda thing. Although I can't swim (no comments please), i will fish my butt off but I dont know any kind of spots to fish. I pass several rives and such, but i dont know how to access them. I love art, crafts, unique places to shop, festivals..stuff like that. So this is my utter plight to find some self enrightment. 1. so that i wont go crazy and paint a face on a basketball like Tom hanks on Castaway and 2. when i get bored and lonely, i tend to eat. i know that none of you are responsible for my personal enrightment or sanity (thank your stars for that) but any help would be appreciated. PS. My next fill is on may 19th at 1:30pm. If anyone sees me there, don't be afraid to say hello.