DonnaB

LOL NewSho! I noticed that too! You Copycatter you!

Hi Erynn123, welcome to LBT. I'm not a big lush either but I enjoy an occasional alcoholic drink! My doctor says it's not a problem that will bother my band but gave the fairly common - and completely accurate (DANG IT!) - caution about the super high calories in alcohol. The other thing you should know is that carbonation is a no-no with a lap band, which means if you enjoy beer, or Rum and Coke, or Scotch and Soda (blech! lol), or any mixed drink that involves carbonation you'll have to find a new favorite. Beer is my lost love, *sigh*, and I will always remember it fondly, but we had to split up!! Oh well, I'll just have to console my loss with a Margarita! Problem solved. You can see it, sure, but its not horrendous or anything. If you want to see some pictures, there is a thread called Scar Stages Show Yours - just use the search button and type in Scar Stages and it will come up. You'll see some people have more visible scars than others but none of them that I've seen are awful. Mine looks very much like a friends appendicitis scar. I'm only 11 weeks post-op and my scar is getting more and more faint. I'm using Maderma on it. Some people use Vitamin E. When you talk to a surgeon about getting a lap band, ask if he can use plastic surgery type sutures - it's called subdermal - and glue rather than using staples and you'll end up with less scarring. LOL before I went for surgery I attended more "Last Suppers" than Jesus on black velvet! Guess what? It was totally unnessesary. So far I can eat pretty much anything I like just in smaller portions. Granted, I haven't had a fill yet - I haven't needed one - so that's going to change as I lose more weight and have the band filled, but there are lots of people who eat the things they enjoy with their band, AND still lose weight. So far, the best benefit of the band for me is that I'm very aware of what I'm eating, I don't feel hungry all the time, and I eat less. There will almost certainly be things you can't eat - I recently discovered that scrambled eggs are off my menu because I got some stuck and had to bring it back up (it was unpleasant). But that's OK, there are plenty of other ways to enjoy eggs since I like them and they have a lot of Protein with low calories - over easy worked great, hard boiled with a little mayo was great, I haven't tried it but I'm betting coddled eggs will go down fine. Stuff like that. It's not the last time you'll get to eat. It's the last time you'll get to shovel it in with wild abandoned! But, in my case, that was a good thing! lol The lapband isn't magic. It does take work - read my signature line for a great analogy! - but for the first time in years I feel like I'm back in control of my weight. Good luck to you Erynn in whatever weight loss journey you choose. Keep posting on LapBandTalk, there are a lot of people here with a lot of good advise and insight.

Great pictures! Audrey you are amazing! When I (finally) grow up - I wanna be just like you! Is one of your favorite things in the world shopping for clothes? lol (Thanks for the tissue Susan - you know I needed it!) Audrey, I'm curious about something. Did you have any complications along the way or did it all work out as you had hoped from the beginning? I hope you'll forgive the question, but I think most of us consider the "what ifs" and would like to hear from such an obvious success story what their journey was like. Thanks.

Even Jack's Devil has the squint-eyed-AAARRR! going on! LOL JennyJ, I'm sorry you're having such a tough row to hoe. You've got a good attitude though and I'm sure you'll be successful. Welcome to LBT and good luck with your weight loss journey. Keep in touch so we'll know how you're doing.

I can eat chicken just fine but I can't chew scallops enough to break them up enough and end up swallowing a bite that's just a little bit too big. I get a slight pressure in my chest until they pass.

The pictures came out great - good job Janet and Randy! Glad you made it to your event with no problem Randy, Mike's usually spot-on with directions - I count on him a lot! Randy, how's this color on your eyes? I wouldn't have changed for just anyone - ask Mike, pink is my all time favorite color! Purple comes in somewhere in the top 3 though so, alls well! Anita, you and your daughter are both lovely women - how proud you must be of your beautiful daughter. As always it was great to see everyone and I look forward to seeing you all again next month.

LOL OMG this is funny! BTW, isn't being quickly devoured better than being slowly savored? lolololol funny funny funny. Mine said: While walking near a construction site, an open box of nails is dropped from several hundred feet above your head. You are impaled by hundreds of rapidly-falling nails, turning you into a human sieve. Great, I'm gonna get nailed!

I bought a Cuisineart 'stick' blender and I just LOVE it. It's the same as a blender but you blend in the pan or glass you're already using. Way easy to use and keep clean! Much better than cleaning your whole blender every time you use it, which is several times a day at first and almost daily even now! Here's a picture of the box so you can see the product I'm talking about: If this thing broke today it would still have been worth the money and I'd go out and buy another one immediately! lol I agree with the person who recommended mouthwash and I'd include breath mints! All that Protein makes your breath pretty yucky for a while - until you add normal food back into your diet. Another good thing to have is a front opening nightgown - much easier than pulling one over your head. At least one comfortable pair of slip on shoes which you can wear outside. Liquid Tylenol PM Golden vanilla Flavor. The flavor part doesn't matter but I didn't see Tylenol PM unflavored so I thought I'd put that in so you'd know what you're looking for. It was a great way to get some assistance falling asleep after 24 hours of laying around. I only took one of the prescription pain pills my doc gave me. After that the liquid Tylenol took care of the pain easily. If I think of any more I'll add them later. Congrats on your surgery and good luck on your weight loss journey!

Hi GreatDame, Welcome to LBT and congratulations on your upcoming surgery/life change! If you need anything, please don't hesitate to ask here or PM me if you like. I don't know how much research you did but if you have any general or specific questions, LBT and most of it's members are a great source of information. Of course, you should always follow your doctors instructions over us! but it's always nice to see the range of information out there. Good luck on your weight loss journey!

You're right. They're always FULL of hard hitting, accurate journalism! And they've NEVER been sued! LOL National Enquirer! This is sarcasm folks - humor - not debate! :dance:

Helloooooo? "National Enquirer" Nuff said.

Can I hear an "Amen"? :amen: P'nut, you've brought this thread full circle with dignity, respect and aplomb. :hail: I congratulate you. Your willingness to assume the best of people is unbelievable! You've got more patience than I'll EVER be able to muster. Are you shootin' for friggin' SAINTHOOD? :angel: If I wasn't such a sucker for 'daytime drama' I'd be begging a mod for a :lock1: because you've made a PERFECT bookend to this thread! lol As it is, I can't wait to see what happens next!

So sorry about your mom Audrey, I can't even imagine how you're feeling right now. Take plenty of time to grieve and heal. Congratulations on your weight loss - it's truly inspiring. What is your goal weight?

Ha ha Telly! You can't escape with that delete dodge: How's THAT for some rubber on the bonfire!!!!!! LOL You know I'm just giving you grief, right? Right? Telly? (If I really thought you'd be upset I wouldn't have done it.) (If you really are, I'll delete it immediately.) DELETE HAPPY!!!!!!!!

Sounds like normal post-op gas pain to me too. Here's a tip to relieve some of the pain: Stand next to your bed, bend from the waist and rest your forearms on it with your forehead resting between them. You can bend your knees a bit if it's more comfortable but try to keep your rear end as high as you can. It looks completely crazy and doesn't offer much in the way of mobility, but I've shared this with lots of people who, like me, have found some gas-pain relief in that position. As much as you can, walk walk walk. Don't stop drinking, the bloated feeling isn't cause by too much water and drinking can actually help with the bloat. More importantly, you need to drink to stay super-hydrated which will also assist with dissipating the surgery gas.

Yay for you! Can't wait to see Onederland myself. I guess I'll have to possess myself of patience - it won't be for a long time! What are you going to do to celebrate your mini-goal success? Clothes, vacation? Just stare at your reflection in wonder? ALL THREE? !!!!! lol CONGRATULATIONS!

I guess you told me, huh? For the record, I never said I didn't want to hear the pros and cons. Like most people, I prefer to go into unfamiliar territory with my eyes open. All I'm asking for are fewer negative generalities. I lost 15 pounds in a two week period - does it really matter that the knife came in the MIDDLE of those two weeks? Do those 8 pounds pre-op and 7 pounds post op not add up to 15 pounds lost during the same two week liquid diet? I do realize that's still only 75% of the proclaimed weight loss you so disparage in your post, but all in all a significant weight loss. I'll take it. AND publicly Celebrate it. GeezerSue, I didn't intend for you to be so upset by my perspective. I'm merely supporting P'nut in her Quest for understanding the negativity, which I have also witnessed on occasion, being spewed on enthusiastic 'newbies' - dreadful term in itself! LOL I hope this thread won't make future discussions between us strained and am sorry to hear you're on medication. What is wrong with you?

Yikes! That was never my intention either. The VAST majority of the time I spend on LBT is positive and supportive. I never meant to imply that veterans were being mean to newbies. Waaaaaa! lol I'm so sorry if my runaway keyboard has made anyone think I don't completely appreciate their time and advise. I do. I can even appreciate a running battle like this thread has turned into! I tend to forget that not everyone enjoys a heated debate. My sincere apologies if my posts have offended you.

It takes a leap of faith. Done the research? Check! Found the correct surgeon? Check! Know about post-op considerations? Check! Considered past history? Check! Anticipate future health? Check! Time to make the leap of faith. Check?

Hi y'all, I wasn't sure until today, but Mike and I will be there tomorrow. Look forward to seeing everyone.

You might want to take a page from your own book on that subject GeezerSue. I'm not trying to be argumentative, but I lost 8 pounds pre-op, 7 pounds immediately post-op and have been losing steadily since. My loss wasn't deydration and I didn't regain any of that weight. As you say, 'your mileage may vary' which means you have to allow that some people DO lose that amount of weight two weeks post-op whether you think it's "bullshit" or not. A blanket statement is a blanket statement whether its made by someone else or by YOU. The rest of this post is not specifically directed to GeezerSue but to all veteran bandsters who feel the need to 'protect' us newbies from our own expectations by cautioning us 'for our own good.' What we need is positive advise and support. That's not to say that we don't want the truth, we just want you to try to remember what it was like when you were full of hope and anticipation and give that truth in a friendly, supportive way. Is that asking for too much? Continuing the newlywed analogy, if someone got married that no one EVER thought was the marrying kind, a comment on the line of "they're doing so well" at six months out might be quite a success. While I freely admit that that doesn't guarantee a lifetime of bliss, there is nothing wrong with being happy that they've made it, happily, to six months. By that same token, if someone has tried for years to lose weight and never had success beyond a month, then six months is quite a feat. It's OK to publicly Celebrate a six month success. It doesn't mean that at 2 years we'll be forced to eat our words. Success builds upon success. The best way to build confidence and boost the chance for longterm success is to be successful early on. Why do some people feel the need to lay a wet blanket on enthusiasm? There's a huge difference between giving a cautionary statement like "you should be aware that a lot of people gain back some of their post op weight loss when they start eating mushies and move back to solid food" than an attitude of 'you'll see when the honeymoon is over that marriage is just drudgery and work.' Happily, though the exact feeling of euphoria may not last forever, some honeymoons do go on and on. And on.

I grew up in Las Vegas and when we would visit my grandparents in Arkansas during the summer all the people would ask: "There are schools in Las Vegas?" "What do they teach you? Gambling? How to shuffle cards and the like?" I was eight years old! Ya, that's what they teach eight year olds in Sin City. I mean, why teach us to read or write or do ANYTHING that doesn't involve gambling or being a showgirl or a prostitute! Las Vegas has grown so much since I moved away, and has so much publicity I often wonder if people from Vegas are asked questions like this anymore.

Hi Steve, Here is a link to the Frequently Asked Questions forum: http://www.lapbandtalk.com/showthread.php?t=7959 If you want to find it for yourself, go to the home page and scroll down till you see the Frequently Asked Questions forum, click the link and scroll through the threads to find out what you want to know. Abbreviations is the first 'sticky' thread in that forum. Sticky means it's been attatched to the top of the forum so it's easy to find. Welcome to LBT - LapBandTalk - keep posting so we'll know how you're doing. Good luck on your upcoming surgery and on your weight loss journey.

$900 is in NO WAY the normal amount people have to pay for a fill! I had surgery in Mexico and set up local aftercare before I went to have it done. I'll be paying $250 for a fill WITH flueroscopy, or if I wanted to save a little and take a little gamble with a big needle, $150 for a fill without flueroscopy. $900 is totally out of line. I've never heard of anyone paying that much. Especially since it can take SEVERAL fills to get to the 'sweet spot' - not to mention unfills if you've overshot the mark. I'd find someone else.

Go off of BCP now and use some other method of protection until you're ready to conceive. Your cycle can be messed up after going off of BCP's, so you want to give your body time to adjust - that and just be further from the chemicals in BCP's before getting pregnant. JMO