HeatherO

Wow, it would be interesting to be involved in the rescue efforts. I just heard about the crash this morning. I guess my first question would be if you gained on your six month diet - what do you think the reasons were for the gain? You should analyze what you did at the point to see if there is anything that you could have done to improve your results. As far as the liquid diet now, since your timeline is so short, you should do everything you can to follow the liquid diet perfectly and keep calorie intake under control until February 20th. Lose as much as you can, as fast as you can with no cheating and put in lots of exercise as well. If you lose significantly, even if it is not the full amount, you have a much better shot than if you went in with no loss or even a gain. Good luck.

I am sorry you are having a rough go of it so far. He might just come around with time. He might be scared of the surgery or of what the future will bring. However, you need to do this for you if you want to get healthy. I would give him a few days and then have a heart to heart conversation with him. If you are doing this via email, I think it shows that there may already be significant communication issues to begin with in the relationship. You might want to find out the reasons why he isn't supportive of this so that you can counter that and help him feel better about the decision.

I agree about Sam Elliot. He just has such a cowboy cuteness factor going on, and I like his voice with the slow drawl but could go without the lengthy mustache. I find Billy Bob Thornton cute in a strange way as well (just not the sling blade version, lol). I think gray hair can be sexy on the right person (and the right shade of gray). Jennifur, I agree . . . a good kisser is very important. I am happy your girls are back in order, lol. I would be scared to death to get the jewelry back in if they wont go on their own. Laura, I can't wait to see your nursery once it is put together. I have to start coming up with ideas for my own, lol. TracyK, I am suffering with back pain as well . . . so I hope you get some good drugs and feel better soon. I am also happy you are moving. I could never feel comfortable in a neighborhood with frequent robberies all around. It sounds like the next house is going to be so much better anyways. Also frequent moves keep you lean and efficient as far as "stuff" is concerned. Moving after you have been in the same place for 10 years is an exercise in insanity if you have packrat tendencies like me. Good luck with your move. Suziecat, I think I like your psych too :0). TracyinKS, Is the Twilight series a good read? I keep hearing about it. mdrai, Zumba is soo much fun. I miss my class, lol. I hope your DD is feeling better.

It is the first time i saw somebody write about this. I feel unusual in the fill office as well. I have never seen anybody close to my size during my appointments in the waiting room, most are still somewhere between obese and morbidly obese. I am sure there are plenty of others who have lost most of their weight, but I just don't seem to run into them during appointments. The first thing that happens when I go to the waiting room is probably the same thing that happens in all of the WLS office waiting rooms across the world, everybody kind of looks at everybody else in a discreet fashion kind of sizing each other up and wondering if they are up for talking. Next comes the small talk about the weather, or what have you, but I can see the questions on everyones faces (when did you have the surgery, how much have you lost, etc.). I also notice that a lot of eyes are focused on me, but I think it is because of my current size more than anything else. I am always happy to talk if someone wants to talk (probably no surprise to anyone with my lengthy posts, lol). The part that makes me feel a little guilty during this is that many people have lost more weight than me, sometimes alot more weight than me . . . but we don't look the same. I feel like some people feel that I had an easier road with less weight to start with . . . and you know what, I think that is absolutely true. It might be a little hard to exercise if you are out of shape with 50-100 extra pounds, but at 200+ extra pounds it would be extremely hard. If you lose 50 pounds it looks a whole lot different (and the size changes are a whole lot different) depending on how much extra you had to begin with. Even general overall health tends to be different depending on how much weight you have to lose. Even with this, I still feel like banding should be available for everyone who struggles on a daily basis with their weight, even if they only weigh 200 pounds. I really wish it was easier for all of us. I have heard that medical knowledge roughly doubles every 10 years. If that is true, then I do think it is going to get easier for all of us. Perhaps we might just be able to truly beat this obesity epidemic in the future so that those of us who struggle don't struggle in vain.

Somehow, I get the feeling that you would like to decide for all of us. It is the sanctimonious Realize bashing that is getting hard to swallow after a gazillion posts. Research is definitely important and anyone who gets a band without doing their own research should not have a band. You have valid points and I appreciate your posts stating objectively what the research has shown. But please, don't go out of your way to try to make people feel stupid for choosing the J & J Realize band. I have the Realize band, have lost 100% of my excess weight, have been lucky enough not to have any significant complications, and I feel very lucky indeed to have my band. My results may not be typical, but I am nonetheless pleased with them. I probably would have had good results with the Lapband as well but I am not ashamed of my choice.

Are you just trying to make the poster feel bad with this statement? If I had to guess, that the surgeon was probably trying to put differences in laymens terms and the purpose of any port is to be accessed. If a surgeon is stupid for making any statement on a product that they placed seven times . . . all I can say is that you are making these statements, how many Realize bands have you placed??? If you have personally placed less than seven, does that make you stupid for making statements???

Placing the Lapband is still business for the surgeon even if it is not the Realize band. I would think that most surgeons who plan on placing medical devices are concerned more about results and safety than getting their name on a website. It is their careers on the line, not to mention malpractice insurance soars ever skyward when you have claims - so placing bad products is bad business indeed . . . some doctors don't have the best bedside manner, but lack of intelligence doesn't get you through medical school. As far as I know, they still are not giving out medical licenses in cracker jack boxes.

I agree with this. I would want more information regarding the surgeons reasons for the last minute switch. The surgeon should have probably said that I prefer placing the Realize bands for such and so reasons, do you have a preference?

Yipppyyyyyyy!!!! I wasn't crazy about the original topic anyway. :wink:

What a great story

OMG . . . you just brought tears to my eyes!!!!

I agree with the others suggesting that you speak to your doctor. If you are trying too hard to make the redness go away with ointments, you may be aggravating your skin. My incisions were red as well for some time after surgery. I didn't have infection and healed nicely . . . it might have just been that I have a very pale complexion.

I have found that if I get stuck really bad, sometimes whatever it is hangs around in my stomach for a day or two and liquids kind of go around it. I would definitely baby your stomach with warm liquids for a day or two, especially if you are still sore. If you try too much too fast, you might just get stuck again and increase the swelling.

Congratulatons . . . you are doing great!!! I also did a lot of sugar free popsicles, jello, lots of broth and clear strained soups.

It gets easier and fast. Just give it another week or two and liquids will go down very easy.

My average over the time of banding was 1.43 pounds a week over the first 8 months until I became pregnant. I have to see if I can get a graph to post.

That is just strange that they would give it to you. If I had to carry the needle around with me, of course I would look at it and get nervous about it, lol. It seems silly to give it to a patient to tote around.

The needle is a little long but I have no pain, only a little pinch and they don't use numbing agents in the office. It is not even as bad as a bee sting so you really shouldn't worry too much about it.

Wow that is scary. I am sorry that you were unfortunate enough to have him as a doctor. I hope you can find a different doctor to do your next surgery.

Mine thinned. I think it is mostly only noticeable to me. I am no longer losing but I haven't regained much. I notice the difference mostly on the top around my bangs which are thinner and a little more scalp shows through. I also had perfect ringlet curls before and now they are looking a little more "frazzled." My curl texture was also affected but that might be pregnancy related and/or weight loss related. I miss my hair, but it is a small price to pay for getting to goal.

Now that I think about it, even though email might not have been the best way to talk to you about it, it may very well have been the least painful way to let you know how she feels. She may not have been emotionally up for the conversation.

I would try to be understanding as well. It is hard to be the one who isn't pregnant when you want it more than anything. I remember I have felt occasional but very strongly felt pangs of jealousy (although I kept it well hidden) over almost every pregnant friend I have had over the past 15 years. I always felt guilty that I felt that way . . . but you feel what you feel and all you can do is try to ignore those feelings. I would just give her some space and some time. Perhaps with time, things will even out and your friendship will pick up where it left off.

I had the cough, sneeze and some leakage problem to the point that I was wearing panty liners daily just in case. It was completely resolved after I lost the first 30 pounds. I have never had another episode since that time. I think mine must have been entirely weight related since it was so easily resolved.

I probably should have also said, if you ever get to the point where you are throwing up liquid or they just wont go down, call your doctor immediately. If it dangerous to stay tight to the point where liquids wont pass.

I had this same problem before after a fill. However, the problem was that once I got something stuck, my stomach would swell a little and then I would keep getting stuck on everything. I have since learned that after I am stuck, I absolutely must go on liquids for 1-2 days and then my stomach goes back to normal. When I don't do this, I keep getting progressively more stuck. If you can get liquids down safely . . . I would suggest you spend 1-2 days on liquids. Afterwards go from mushies to solid food. You can also drink something hot before to help loosen your band a little. However, when you do go to solids you will probably need to chew more and go slower than ever before. Every level of tighter restriction brings a need for following the bandster rules in a more strict fashion.