JanetC

Welcome to LBT, bandedmama! There's actually several here that are in your shoes -- banded, but unfilled. In fact, let me see if I can find the latest thread: http://www.lapbandtalk.com/showthread.php?t=18499 While I can't understand what you're going through, I can offer sympathy & a willing ear. Hang in there! Be gentle with yourself!! We're glad you're here! Vent away!! (( Hugs!! )) Janet

Now I'm officially jealous of Michelle! Pool, tan & all! :eek: My orange streaks are fading... so I'm off to try something else. I think maybe I just bought too dark a color. I'm going to try a "fair skinned" product this time (I went for medium, lol, in my dreams!)

LOL, awesome post, DonnaB! I'm loving the purple font... yeah, it really does match your coat! :eek: Sorry for the evil flame war you got into. I managed to keep myself away from it, but I think it's safe to say that all members involved on both sides got angry & hurt. I was hurting for everyone while I was ducking! I'm so sorry to hear about your egg incident! It sounds soooo painful! Are you doing better now? And when did you reschedule for? Remember to be gentle & go slowly as you get back to food! Scary stuff! And it sounds like you've got a great doc who believes in follow-up! Keep in touch & let us know how the recovery progresses! (( Hugs!! ))

(( Michelle!! )) Your words always make me smile, thanks! :eek: Julie! I was re-reading stuff & realized I'd missed your post! Sorry about that!! **blush** Your first fill, awesome!!! Congrats!! Party time! Especially with only 2 days of liquids! That's terrific! Are you feeling it at all? Of course with liquids, you might not, but you just might! I heard a rumor that another poster here had a fill Monday, wonder how she's doing?? Oh purple lady? You out there? How'd that fill go? Or did you reschedule? Need me to go with? I will, you know! I've been fighting my fill lately... back to my old tricks of not waiting between bites. I pay for it everytime, don't know why I'm letting myself slide. AUGH!! Back to the basics, back to the basics, back to the basics... *walks off chanting to herself*.

Heh, Donna's our camera shy member, though we caught her in the group pic! :eek: I love going back to the old pics & watching us change! When you making a road trip to DFW, Paula? We'll have a special dinner on whatever day you come! :hungry:

Awww Stacey, you sound like me! I spent the last weekend making every poor choice I could. I even owned up to Mikey that I was making bad choices & that I didn't care. What??? When did I stop caring? **sigh** I tried tanning lotion, but not successfully, I'm afraid, lol. Talk about orange streaks! I want to go to a tanning shop, but the money isn't there right now, so I think I'll just head outside & tan the old fashioned way. Thanks for the warning, though, I'll be sure to put sunscreen on my port scar! Wow Pat, 2500 mg of Biotin? Ok, so now I'm thinking I'm not getting enough! Thanks for the numbers! Tammy, LOL with you about the tanning bed creaking! I started only doing the stand-up beds for that very reason. Well, the creaking & the fact that I hung out on both sides, lol. Made for some weird tan lines! Even the stand-up ones I had to squeeze into & pray that my fat actually touching the light bulbs on the sides wouldn't hurt anything, lol. The things I do to be tan! Oh my goodness, Tammy! I SOOO hear you on the fear thing! I haven't been diagnosed with anything, but mostly because I'm too afraid to go to a doctor! I personally feel that the fear keeps me from changing things to avoid my fears, if that makes any sense. I get so afraid of so many things that I find myself just frozen, sitting & rocking in a corner, sucking my thumb, more or less. I'm so sorry for everything you've gone through, from day 1! No one should have to witness so much loss! How is the salesman from work doing? Did he pull through the attack? I hope so! I've been known to secretly & not-so-secretly wish for an early ending. I do believe I was eating myself into an early grave. It didn't start out that way, originally I was just medicating the pain with carbs. That lovely comatose carb-stuffed feeling that now scares me & sickens me a bit (but I secretly still miss). But eventually the stuffing had to get bigger because the feeling wasn't lasting as long & life was impinging on me & scaring me again. Wow, I really am an addict! I do NOT think you're crazy! I think that our bodies are incredible. Yours had unbelievable stressors put on it & you managed to find ways to deal with that stress while still living a successful life, being married & having kids. Wow! Isn't that amazing! Having the band is really bringing issues to the surface for me. I'm angry about a lot of it. But I think it's good that I'm finally dealing with stuff. I'm praying that you can find answers to the questions you're asking yourself this week! Know that we're here for you & that we love you & that you are a survivor! You WILL triumph! ** Religion alert!! If easily offended by gushing, please skip this paragraph! :thumbs_up: (I know Tammy shares my views, so I can say all this. ) ** And when you doubt, take it all away... everything you've done & are. Bottom line. Beneath everything: your job, your friends, your family, your husband. Beneath it all. God made YOU!! He loves you as his creation. Nothing else you do or don't do matters. He loves you!! You are worth everything in his eyes! As Mikey says, "Something is worth what is paid for it." He paid for you with his son's life. Wow. Really think about that! Feel his arms around you, picking you up & hugging you like you hug your children. Know that no matter what the road ahead brings, he's walking with you, holding your hand. And he's waiting at the end, ready to hug you in person & tell you how much he loves you & just how proud of you he is! (( Tammy!! )) Love you girl! (More on my mental struggles in my blog, if you're lacking for reading material: http://yylc.us/Janet )

Audrey's pics side-by-side: You look like a totally different person!! Awesome results!!

Ouch, Michelle! Three times in one night... and in a restaurant to boot? That's awful! Glad you got through it! And hope it stays FAR away!! Hope your week is super duper short! Happy Monday everyone!

You & your daughter are GORGEOUS!! I'm so glad you drug her along!

Those are awesome Sandybells! Woohoooo!! We missed you at dinner, Leatha! Check out the June time! You'd better be there!

Sorry I've been MIA!! And now I'm off to catch up. Wow I missed a lot! This is going to be a long one! Ahh Cozzie, I'm so with you on eating with other people! I worry constantly! And we eat out in groups a LOT & we haven't really told others we've had the surgery, so I'm very, very careful, heh. Wow, 2 pounds a week is awesome!! (Still Cozzie.) Hope you can keep it up & get that 56 gone in no time! I've got **sigh** a bunch left to lose. We've been doing ok so far, about 1.5 pounds per week on average, but I know that it probably won't be this fast forever. I'm really trying to not focus on the weight. In fact, we just plain ol' don't weigh. I get to weigh when we see the doctor... and I keep forgetting what the weight was, lol. I have to have Mikey write it down for me so I can update my signature here, heh. Hey Michelle! Congrats on your 2cc & restriction! That's awesome!! Sorry about the PB. For what it's worth, the first one is the worst. Not that I love 'em, but they don't terrify me now! And I'm glad the scale's moving, wow, so close to the 1's!! Go go go go go!! Go Julie! Listening to your body & stopping before it hurts!! That's awesome!! How's the training in that area going? I'm still struggling with it, I really don't like stopping! Yay Becky with 1cc fill! Ouch, another fill evaporated. We had a bunch of them just with us Febsters. Weird! 5 hours without hunger?? Awesome!! Is it still working that way? That's so cool! And 28 pounds lost, wonderful! Oh my goodness, JerseyTammy!! With all that's going on in your life you still lost 3 pounds? That's awesome!! On your watery mouth episode, I've been finding that the band is turning fickle on me. Mornings are getting harder & harder to eat. And my period is changing things up BIG time. Some days super loose, some days super tight. I sorta have to play it by ear & hope I pick correctly! I'm praying for your family & you! Hope things turn around soon for those sick & in the hospital! Tammy & Michelle, on the hair loss: Our nutritionist told us this week that the hair loss from the anesthesia (sp) starts at about 3 months out, so it's right on time. Assuming you've been getting sufficient protein & biotin, it should stop soon & should grow back in. You might want to check your multi-vitamin for biotin, it's not always supplemented enough. And we don't really get it in our bandster diet, so we often need to take an extra supplement. Also Tammy, remember that you had a MONTH without eating... I'm afraid your hair loss may go on for a while. Sorry hon!! Really increase your protein or make sure you always get enough, supplement your biotin & maybe stop by GNC & ask if they have a hair & nails supplement or something? Maybe some gellatin caps? (I think my mom used to take those, lol.) Hang in there, it will come back! And remember that stress can cause hair loss, so try not to worry about it! With everything you've got going on, you need some sunshine in your life! Try to get yourself smiling & laughing at least 5 minutes every day & get outside as much as you can! Wow Nanster, another evaporated fill! Glad you got your 2nd one! And that really explains the lack of restriction, huh! 23 pounds is awesome!! Celebrate every pound! And remember that we're in it for the long haul... give it time, you'll get there! Really slow down with your new fill. Make sure you're stopping in between bites & giving yourself time with NOTHING in your mouth! That really made the difference for me. If you're still having problems getting anything down, try sipping warm tea just before eating... I'll see if I can find StrawartS list, it's my golden bandster rule! I'm glad your mom's doing better, Michelle! Knees are the worst, heh. I need mine replaced, but I'm hoping that losing weight will change that, lol. Welcome PJ Robinson!! We're glad you're here! Pull up a chair & tell us all about you! Jump in & start chatting! Yayyyyy Tammy! I'm so glad your aunt's at home!! And that your mom's feeling better! That's great news!! We're still praying for your uncle, hopefully they'll find a great rehab hospital. Oh my word, how dare they reschedule your fill!! I don't think they understand how important & personal this is to us!! "Sometime" in June? Pft!!! I don't think so! I'm so glad you got in to see him! How did it go? Ouch Tamyrn, sorry you PB'd! How've you been since then? Still no restriction? We're really, really close to surgery, so I doubt you've slipped... the sutures should still be really strong. Hopefully you get your fills with fluro, so you can be reassured the next time you see your surgeon! I'm sure you're fine... be gentle with yourself & try to listen to the soft stops & such. Hey Nanster! I'm with you on the port "pain". Sometimes it aches, sometimes it pulls, sometimes it burns. It seems to "hurt" just after I eat, lol. It's part of my new "full" signal. My theory is that my stomach moves which makes the tubing move, which "pulls" the port. I can come up with an explanation for anything! Mine's starting to show more too... I hope it doesn't get too bad! How's your restriction going now? Are you getting solid protein down yet? Hope so!! Ouch on the sick kids, Stacey! How was the weekend? Hope they're feeling better! And for Nanster... the "living with a tight fill" rules (this was a blog post I made a while back): A few weeks ago I couldn't seem to eat without hurting. I golf-ball almost every meal, at least once... sometimes two or three times. StrawartS posted this list to help folks deal with "first bite blues" (also called "first bite syndrome", or "living with a tight fill"). I haven't done the hot tea part yet... I'm not really tight, lol. But if I follow the rest of it, I do well. I've taken to actually watching a second hand... and this is what I found: My normal bites are 0 seconds apart. My 2nd bite is in as SOON as I swallow. My "slow" bites are 3-5 seconds apart. LOL!! Sad, but true. 30-60 seconds is FOREVER!!!! Dealing with first bite blues: 1. Drink HOT tea before your first bite. 2. Take a VERY small first bite. 3. Chew till the end of the earth. 4. Swallow. 5. Wait 1 minute WITH YOUR MOUTH EMPTY. 6. Drink more HOT tea to wash it down. 7. Repeat steps 2-6 for the next few bites. 8. Put your fork down for 30 seconds to 1 minute between ALL subsequent bites. Happy eating!! For those of you getting fills soon, remember this list... review it, memorize it, internalize it, lol, LIVE it!

If you go out to dinner at a nice restaurant & spend less then $10 for 2 of you... you might be a bandster!! (One of my favorite side effects!) If you find yourself looking forward to your next bandster get together so you can update your icon... you might be a bandster! If you just proudly demonstrated to a table of people that you have FINALLY learned how to make yourself burp... you might be a bandster!! **blush** If your dinner conversation included burping, passing gas, colonoscopies, endoscopies, ports, shots, needle size, & scar treatments -- and you never batted an eye... you might be a bandster! (I thought this needed bumping, I missed hearing laughter here.)

Wow, congrats Macs99!! Welcome to LBT! Be sure & keep up with the Texas board, the DFW folks get together for fun & frivolity often & would love to have you join us! We're glad you're here!! Ask any questions you have, someone's bound to have something to say!

Mikey & me (thanks MyKdsDad!) Note the pigs jamming in the background, lol.

Divanita & her daughter.

The image button is gone I'll try to fake it, but I may just end up doing these as attachments. **sigh** Guess it's attachments. One at a time so they show, augh! Ya'll were right, lol, I should have had Randy & Joy move! Still, the contrast wasn't too bad.

Congrats on being banded, Miss Macy! I'm glad to hear it went smoothly! Hope the next couple of weeks continue on the same trend. :confused: And grats on the weight loss! (( Hugs!! )) Janet

Red Hot & Blue Restaurant 5910 N Macarthur Blvd (just off 114 near Royal) Irving, TX 75039 972-402-0225 map Date: Sat, 5/20 Time: 3:00 pm Late lunch, early dinner (hopefully off-peak hours for the restaurant). Meet us for fun & frivolity! Please let me know how many you've got coming so I can warn the restaurant. So far: 2 Janet & Mikey 1 Anita (Divanita) 2 Randy (MyKdsDad) & Ms Joy

Bump, it's this weekend!

Zero for me this week Sarge. :nono: All is well, it follows my pattern. Though I really should up my exercise some this week. LBT Boot Camp Spring Training: Start: 277#, 546.25", 5'5", small frame, bmi: 46.1 Week of: 4/10-4/16 275 (-2) 4/17-4/23 275 (-0) 4/24-4/30 272 (-3) inches 537.25 (-9) 5/01-5/07 269 (-3) 5/08-5/14 269 (-0) 5/15-5/21

I read about the modified surgery where the surgeon's hand goes in, cool to see the scars from it! They're looking awesome! Both you & K@t, hard to believe they're looking so good so soon!

Yummy!!

We ended up with 12 of us for April at Friday's: Diane & Brenda, Randy & Joy, Kim & Steve, Anita, Debi, Donna & Mike, Janet & Mikey. Great fun was had by all! Our server was hysterical & enjoyed us, I think. For those looking for the DFWbandster info -- you need a Yahoo ID to use it. (I'm ByrnelB, I think, though I don't write often, I just read.): Isopure ever returns my call. See you next month! Suggestions for venue? I was thinking possibly a potluck at either my house or DonnaB's... speak up now or I'll just decide! I'd like to get a place where we can all hear each other... or mill around easier. Donna's in Arlington/Grand Prairie & we're out in Keller/Watauga. Either way Randy & Joy have to drive! I'll throw up dates... I'm not putting the 27th up, cuz we'll be in Houston! What time would we like? lunch? Early lunch? Late lunch? Early dinner? Dinner? Late dinner? (( Hugs to all & thanks for coming! ))

I saw someone today who's ticker said 0 to go... I had to look at it 3 or 4 times to realize SHE'S AT GOAL!! Often folks don't have tickers. If I had one, I'd probably take it out once I made it. But I'll probably put something in big pink or red letters to celebrate! I did meet a lady last Saturday that was part of the FDA trials. She lost 200+ pounds over a 2 year period & has kept it off for 5 years. That's right, she's been banded for SEVEN YEARS!! She did have a slip & had her band revised last year to the VG band. She's doing great & looks amazing! Another thread for great motivation is the Century Club: http://www.lapbandtalk.com/showthread.php?t=16050 Good luck with your decision! :confused:

I'm liking the "inside the belly button" scars! Sorta wish mine was there! :confused: Though none of mine are even close to my belly button, lol, so oh well. :confused: