PhotoNut

Pardon me for hijacking the thread for a moment... NewSho, I just noticed your BMI! Congratulations!! :clap2: And now back to our regularly scheduled program... Marys, I'm still laughing at this... "well, I'd rather have too much then too little" and glance down at their crotch - men tend to think they are their penis so this one works great. Awesome... just awesome! :pound:

Wow! Someone from Wyoming! w00t! Grats on your NSV and I don't think it was a small one at all! Get prepared for lots more. I swear this has got to be the adventure of a lifetime. Every week brings new surprises and joys. :grouphug:

Another interesting thread on this subject is going on at the same time. Check it out: http://www.lapbandtalk.com/showthread.php?p=228264#post228264

I agree with DonnaB and in addition... Being on a diet for six months is going to mean weightloss, right? And the reason you're wanting the band is so you can lose weight, right? So, this is the beginning of your weightloss journey. It's not a delay. It is your decision, but if it were me I'd be chosing someone close to home so I had aftercare and then I'd be spending that saved money on a new wardrobe or a nice pair of boobies *winks* Best wishes in whatever you decide.

You did just fine with your post! Welcome to LBT! *laughs* I remember feeling the same way! I would have given my right AND left arm for a big ole steak! Fortunately I was able to talk to my surgeon and get his permission to move on to mushies after week two. I'm telling you what, that first bite of cottage cheese was pure Heaven! Talk to your Dr and see what he/she thinks about your moving to mushies. If they dont want you to, then I have a suggestion. I blended Bean with Bacon Soup in the blender before heating it. I got it to pure liquid but its warm, its thick, and it's rib sticking. That will help. Are you keeping up with your Protein? 60 grams per day minimum? If not, try upping that. It won't cure the desire to eat, but it will help you feel better. Hang in there. It's rough the first few weeks of liquids, but it will get easier and you'll do better in the long run by sticking to Dr's orders.

Welcome, welcome to all the new folks. You've found a great place for support and information. Check out the "Sticky" posts in each of the Forums (they are the ones at the top). They are a good place to start for information about the band and about getting around on LBT. The FAQ Forum would be my first recommended stop. Best wishes to you all. :grouphug:

Ah, well in that case... no worries! That stuff will slide right off and help your skin look better! *laughs*

Congrats on the new job Skye! And it's great to hear that Duke is doing well enough to return to work. I'm sure you've heard the saying, "That which does not kill us makes us stronger." I'm sure you're family is being strengthened a great deal! Much love and continued prayers, Susan

Well, Pillow hasn't been back to LBT since posting this, so I guess they found another site to get answers from or they can't remember this addy. Anyway, there were a lot of other questions and concerns asked in this thread that never got any responses. I'll try to address each, although I'm sure there are other folks out there that also provide some good advice. Marie485 - It sounds like you are over filled. You should get right in to get a slight unfill. PB'ing everyday is NOT a good thing. It could cause your band to slip. I can't believe they told you to "hang on". Let us know how you're doing? Y5clm2000 - You must still be too tight. Is your Dr doing your fills under fluro? That GERD stuff is usually a sign of being banded too tightly or perhaps even slippage. I'd have that checked asap. Analoren - You said things get stuck in the morning and at night. I've read many posts by people who have to stick to liquids until the band loosens up a bit during the day. Others have said they feel more restriction at night. Are you able to eat solid foods during the rest of the day? I've also heard people say that drinking some warm tea or broth prior to eating helps the band relax a bit so you don't get that first bite syndrome where the first attempt at eating sticks. urbrdfs - That is exactly what people need to do. Find that sweet spot. Not too tight, not too loose. It takes time for some people. No one should be willing to work with being overfilled. They'll end up eating foods that can go through the band, which are usually high calorie and high in sugars and the weight loss will slow. It should be everyone's aim to be able to eat hard Proteins such as fish and chicken, and vegetables and fruits (not all of course.. there are some that just aren't band friendly). I'm glad to hear you found that sweet spot! DianeChef - "After reading some posts on fills - this is my opinion: Whenever we retain Water, whether it be the time of the month, flying in a plane, having surgery, whatever it may be........it does something to the band. For me it makes my stomach really swell & it has a hard time going back to normal after the fact. It really messes me up big time!" I think I have the opposite situation. During my TOM I felt like I had very little restriction and I was starving! I ate 6oz of roast beef at one time and then went back for more 30 mins later! But now that the TOM has passed, I'm back to feeling restricted. I have to eat slowly or I feel the threat of things sticking, and I can now only eat about a cup of food again. These bodies of ours are certainly odd, aren't they? Oh, and about your assistant. I have the same Help Wanted ad running in our local paper. Do you think we will find someone who will do all of this for room and board? I'd be happy to kick out my son and let them have his room. *evil grin* PlunderBunny - "he took me down to 1.0 and it sounded like a clog had been cleared" *laughs* I can just hear that! I only have 1cc in my 4cc band too. Seems to be just right so far. Chelleanne - That same thing happened to me after my first fill. It took a few weeks for things to calm down. Even then, as you can read above I still go through period of time when I feel like I can eat too much. I think I'd rather deal with those times than to be overfilled. I would suggest that you journal your food intake and track your calories and Protein intake. I thought I was overeating too, but my averages for the month showed I'm eating about 950 calories and 85 grams of protein per day. That includes the days I was ravenous. I think that our perception of "normal" food amounts changes so radically after banding, that it's hard to judge how we are doing without writing down every bite for a realistic account. Pinkpanther06 - Your friends should ask their doctors to refer them to someone for fills and follow up care. If they can't then they have a couple of other options. They can begin to call around to find local surgeons that do the band and ask for a referral to someone who will do fills, or they can check out Fill Centers USA and see if there is one in their area. Having access to good follow up care is as important as access to fills. I hope they find both prior to going to Mx to get their bands.

Hey MJK, are you getting enough protein in your diet? You might just need more "food". Can you give us an example of a day's food intake?

Carol? You have something smeared on your ass. *laughs* Too funny! :grouphug:

My surgeon here in Idaho has his patients on liquids for three weeks too. Then three weeks of mushies. I sure hope that infection clears up quickly. *shudders* Keep on top of that, it can lead to serious issues if it worsens.

Susan said it best, it matters not what others had to do or were allowed to do. Your surgeon will have his or her own guidelines based on what they have found works best for their patients. Of course, if you find you really need to change that you are always welcome to go in and talk to them about the possibility of progressing on sooner. I was banded by Dr Cahn too, and after week two I was ready to eat the legs off the diningroom table. I asked if I could progress to mushies and the Dr agreed based upon my progress.

Excuse me??!! Donna... you weigh 252 pounds and you look like THAT? *whistles* Damn girl, you've got it going on! :grouphug: I havent used anything on my scars except lotion after a shower and they are getting fairly light. I saw Hippo'sHope's scars up close last week and after less than a month, they almost weren't visible! She swears by cocoa butter.

Misfortune, you should change your name to Fortunate because you are certainly fortunate to have survived that horrible ordeal. I hope you're finally over it all now and back to good health. You said they had to remove part of your stomach... did you end up with a smaller stomach which reduces the amount you can eat? I guess I'm wondering if you're planning to continue with your weight loss attempts, but I'm also thinking you probably lost a lot during those months of suffering. How are you doing? And what are your plans now?

I've been in similar shoes, only I was at work. This punk kid I was having problems with was making Shamu comments under his breath at me while we were working. I was so hurt and embarassed. I went and talked to our manager and he was told to back off. Still the damage was already done. So I know how degrading and hurtful that is. I guess I would have asked them if they felt they had any chance of growing up to become semi-decent human beings. Or said something like, I may be fat but I'm working hard at doing something about it.. what are you doing about your immaturity and hateful spirit?

:note:Happy Birthday to you! Happy Birthday to you! Happy Birthday, dear BrandNewMe! Happy Birthday to you!:note: :happybday: :happybday: :happybday: :happybday:

:note: Happy Birthday to you! Happy Birthday to you! Happy Birthday, dear Pianoman! Happy Birthday to you! :note: :happybday: :happybday: :happybday: :happybday:

:note:Happy Birthday to you! Happy Birthday to you! Happy Birthday, dear Puddinpie! Happy Birthday to you!:note: :happybday: :happybday: :happybday: :happybday:

To everyone competing in the Spring Challenge - The first week of the challenge was 8 days long, so totals for perfect weeks would have been 8, 16, and 24. All following perfect weeks would be 7, 14, and 21. Please make any corrections you need to make before we get to the end of the challenge. Wednesday will be the final day of competition. Everyone will need to add up their points and fill in all blanks on the scorecards. I will go through each score card on Thursday and verify the totals. The winner will be announced on Thursday or Friday on the Gone for Good Club June 2006 thread. Unless we decide to have another challenge for June, there will be no score cards on the June thread and this one will be locked after I get the updates made for Wednesday May 30th. Everyone has done a fantastic job with this challenge! I hope more are able to participate next time. I really wish more of you would give me your weight loss updates each week. I know we can be losing over 100 pounds a week as a group. Come on Gone for Good'ers, let's get active!

Welcome to Bandland, Ron! So glad to hear that you're doing well. Take it easy for a few days, sip sip sip your Water, walk as much as you can, and before you know it you'll be good as new. I look forward to hearing about your progress. Here's to a happy and successful band journey!

*laughs* When I first saw myself in the mirror after surgery, I swear I looked 9 months preggers. It's the swelling and gas. Don't worry, it will go down soon. Grats on getting banded! Are you home already? Quick trip and sounds like a fairly easy recovery! I'm happy for ya. :grouphug: Keep sipping on your Water. It's important to keep yourself hydrated. Keep us posted on your progress and take good care of yourself.

Iyay ancay eakspay igpay atinlay. Oesday athyay oundcay? Impressive language skills we have here!

Well yeah, they have been wearing them low... but down so far they are almost not even on the butt? *grins at Donna* I love living behind the times. Gives me longer to appreciate the "good old days". And I think it would be GREAT if you moved here! *huge smile*

You're welcome and you're not alone. *big hugs*