ljones4521

To be totally honest with you Paul I first became interested in WLS when I decided to have a breast lift. I knew I didn't want to spend money to have these things returned to thier original locations (breastfed 2 kids) and one day lose weight and my breast look totally stupid. I also had some concerns regarding my health but this wasn't what the motivating reason. So I used the money I would have used for the PS and am now saving up for the PS to be done one day...I hope. Shallow, huh?

Melissa, I weighed this morning and came just a smidgen (made up word) under 200. I am hopeful by Sunday the needle will be noticeably below 200. Do you eat the cottage cheese plain? I never thought of this. I have been drinking the Campbell's Soup at Hand and yogurt. Cottage cheese might be a welcome change.

You aren't hungry? That is great! I am starving 2 - 3 hours after eating. I had a yogurt and that seems to fill me up for 2.5 hours. I am gonna stay on liquids for tomorro to give my stomach a little more time to heal. BTW I think I have lost too. I weighed myself when I got home this evening and I was 202lbs with clothes on. I usually weigh in the morning with no clothes on. I think as the day goes on you weigh a little more. I cant wait until the morning to check. Lisa

Melissa, Liquids for a week?! I was gonna do liquids for 2 days and then mushies for 2 days. Now I wonder if I should try doing liquids a bit longer. My doctor told me to do them for the next day. BTW my fill was today and it was a breeze. The only discomfort I felt was the little prick for the numbing. I didn't even realize she was finished. Heck I didn't even realize she had even started. My next fill is scheduled 3 months out. May I ask why you have another fill scheduled in a month? I am hoping I can stretch this next fill for four months so I can save a little money. The first 25lbs were without a fill.

My first fill is scheduled for Wednesday as well. Not sure of the time. Have to search previous posts to find out.

I too applaude you in your courageous act. This attack somehow feels so personal as I think of my fellow lapbanders as an extended family of sorts. It really pains me to know you have been injured. I wish you a speedy recovery.

Count me in! I think I do better with 'buddies'. I am with Telley in that I will be doing a lot of weight training the next month so not sue if the scale will register, but I am willing to give it a real try. I am also scheduled for my first fill on the 12th so this might also help. Current weight:200 7/7/06

Rum Congratulations! You're 76 proof, with specific scores in beer (20) , wine (50), and liquor (60). Bring on the mixers! Take something strong, add something without any alcohol and you got yourself a Cuba Libre, a Presbyterian, a Greyhound or a Whiskey Sour. You like your drinks strong, but with the flavors of your favorite colas or juices. You're willing to try something new, just so long as it doesn't give you a headache What does Rum mean? My score seems pretty low, huh? BTW I am not much of a drinker. Love Whisky Sours, Amarretto Sour...anything Sour. I scored 0% on proof and 99% in wine, beer and liquor.

Here are mines. The largest is my current weight at 200lbs. The next are 175, 150 and 140. I want so much to get to 175 but can't seem to get the scales to move. I am scheduled for a fill on the 12th so hopefully I will begin to see some progress.

What's the cost for the VG sleeve? Can you have the surgery in Mexico or Europe? Thanks

EmileeKaye, Have you been out on your bike recently? Don't you just love the freedom, the air blowing, the close up view of nature? I do, in fact all of us do. My oldest son loves birds while the younget son loves reptiles. Makes for an interesting bike ride. They are able to see so much more than we are in that darned car. We have been out twice now within a week. Last weeked we went out, got lost and came back exhilerated. We tried to get our more last week but the torrential rains prevented us from doing so. Now the sore muscles might prevent us from returning too soon (LOL). We did right at 10 miles yesterday. I hope to do 20 miles 3-4 times a week soon. Might have to get a new seat as the one I have doesn't feel very comfortable after 6 miles or so. How does Telley do it? Thirty five miles in Florida's humidity must be unbearable. Let me know when you jump on your bike again. Lisa

I would do a dance with you except my butt hurts from a long bike ride. CONGRATULATIONS!! What a wonderful accomplishment.

Kathy, I totally agree with you. I have been banded since December 12, 2005 and I can count the number of people who have been told (other than lapband and other boards). I really can't figure it out, why I haven't told more people. I just haven't. Somehow it really does seem very personal. I can't imagine what it must be like for a person to be in the limelight and have to tell. Criticisim, haters, gossip would be too overwhelming for me. Perhaps this is why I haven't discussed my decision with many people, my mother included. BTW I am not a fan of Star Jones. I have watched the view on several occassions and enjoyed but not a real fan of anyone. I do believe Star shot herself in the foot when she refused to discuss the procedure, had a wedding befitting a queen and more importantly her dress and make up both on and off of the show. At the Daytime Emmy Awards she looked like a professional working woman (actually not as good...and I am not talking about the professional working women who pay taxes on thier income), on one of the shows (The View) she came out in a black after five sort of dress while everyone else had on daytime attire. She really turned me off by her dress. Somehow she thought she was J. Lo or Beonce, Brittany. She is far too old to wear some of the outfits she selected. DonnaB agree with you as well. I support her in her decision to disclose she was not returning on Tuesday. The network wanted her to wait until Thursday so they could avoid the media. This way everyone would have returned from teh long holiday and forgotten about the whole thing.

Now that I no longer have any sort of pain, I ALWAYS forget. ALWAYS. Even when I eat. It is pretty customary for me now to prepare smaller plates, but it is not that I remember I am banded. Instead I catch myself saying, "I really am not that hungry" or "I just don't eat that much anymore" Even if we are at a restaurant I just look at my plate and mentally calculate how much I am going to eat. The only time I really remember is when my youngest son is excited and wants to hug me. He is my "accident prone" child. If there is pain to be inflicted you can believe he is the one to do it. On a few occassions he has squeezed me too tight or elbowed me or something. Sorry to go on and on.

It appears we all have our own experiences and so you will definitely have to make the best decision for you; however, for myself, I would not attempt to drive home alone at all. I had sharp pains, spasms, gas etc. If I had been behind a wheel of a car it really isn't any telling if I would have survived much less anyone else. Also, what if you have complications later that night. My coordinator was a lifesaver because she was able to bring things to me and in general made me feel safe. Can the friend come over? Perhaps teh friend knows a someone who can spend the night with you. Nurse's Aides are usually pretty affordable. A teenage babysitter, etc.

The family and I biked for about 15 miles yesterday. Initally we planned to do 5 miles but realized we had gone about 5 miles in one direction. We then got lost in the woods and decided to go with the flow. It was a really beautiful ride. Eventually, some 14 miles later we found our way to a major street and were able to take the street back to the car. My husband and I plan to attend a bike touring next month in July. Each day we will bike about 15 - 30 miles. Just depends on our (my) body.

I think you should wear or bring along slip on shoes. You will be so happy with yourself when you get to the airport security line and they ask you remove your shoes. Also, very loose underwear. I traveled in December to Mexico but bought along a wind breaker for the airplane ride. I kept the jacket on and sort of pulled togehter in the front to disguise the fact I didn't have on a bra. The bra was far too restrictive for me and much too close to my incisions. Also, the jacket really came in handy on the plane as I seemed much colder than normal.

Lianna, Thanks for bringing this subject matter to the forefront. I have been at 200lbs for a few months now and have been trying to maintain a positive attitued. Just recently I became a little irritated and upset with my failure. However, I was at 200lbs for about 2 years prior to being banded and perhaps this is why my body has refused to budge. I was about 165lbs for 2 years and 128 for most of my teenage and young adult life (31yrs). Maybe I'll plateau at these as well. Now, how do we break the plateau? I have a fill scheduled for July 12. I am hoping this will help. I feel burning around my port, I figure this is the liquid seeping out.

ROFLMAO!! Congratulations It took me a while to figure out what you were talking about.

I've never heard of Peanut Butter or sugar. Will keep this one in mind in case it ever happens again. This is the first time I've gotten hiccups since the band. DonnaB- I tell you the only thing I could think of was my $7,300.00! It was the only thing on my mind. At first I tried holding the bag to my mouth but I couldn't get a good suction, so I tied it around my neck and then held it with my hands. I was trying to get the bag to fill up with carbon dioxide as quickly as possible. I think if it had started to feel woozy I would have torn it off or something..:-). Fortunately, they stopped. I just can't figure out what brought them about. I sure hope they don't come back becasue i don't want to do anything to jeopardize my investment. Thanks

Thanks for responding. Yes, my surgery was in December of last year. I wonder what made them come about. All I could think about was my $7,300.00 for the procedure. I eventually got rid of them by tying a plastic bag (kind from Safeway) around my neck. My oldest son was completely baffled by my actions. He said, "Mom, do you remember you told me that plastic bags around your head will kill you? That's a plastic bag you have around your head." I fell out laughing.

Hi Everyone, The last few days I have been 'noticing' my band. Never before did I notice it, heck weeks have gone by and I had completely forgotten about the surgery. Well, the last few days things have changed. A few days ago I felt some sort of burning just above the big scar in the middle. My port used to be below this scar but now it is above due to some weight loss. I can feel my port through my skin very easily now. So, I think it was the port or maybe some of the saline slipping out. ??... The last few days I have also noticed that when I get in my van to drive I feel uncomfortable. Not pain, just uncomfortable. I reach behind me and unbutton my bra. This seems to help a lot. All day today this happened. When I just got home it seemed like I had a recurring throb just under my left rib cage. I timed the frequency of the 'pain'. Again, it is not painful, but whatever it was was definitely noticeable. I took a few pillows and sort of hyperextended my back. The discomfort has stopped. I am not sure if this actually helped or if the episode has run its course??..?? BTW I had eaten before this episode started. I had a bite of one chicken wing, 2 bites of pudding, 2 bites of a chicken finger and a cup of coffee. None of these would have gotten caught in my band. The chicken was chewed very well (finally has become habit). At any rate, please share. If you have had complications or episodes of discomfort, will you please share your experience. I feel relieved the throbbing has stopped but am scared to death this might be an indication of something worse to come. I am going to do liquids for the next two days. Here are the times. They indicate how much time passed between each throb. 28256028383149554438233937215014404327281:07122933281:171:192:11564832

Do a little happy dance for you!

I just called and te hospital fee is $300.00 AND the doctor's fee is $500.00!!!!

The SIL doesn't really want the baby, she needs the baby to access the Social Services System (food stamps, food, housing, vouchers, etc.) If the cousin wants to keep the baby she will need to keep money/luxuries (cigarettes, candy, etc) in the SIL's hands until she has legal custody. The child is simply a ticket for the SIL. The SIL will make demands for the child as long as the child is her ticket to free stuff...particularly stuff she can sell. I pray that the interest of the child is served in this case. Sometimes it is hard to admit what is best. Let's hope the SIL can come to grips that the innocent child's life will be affected.