DonnaB

OK Ladies, Allow me to contribute to your Jack fantasies: On reading a thread started by Jack titled 'a calorie is a calorie', Jack revealed that he heats his home using only wood. Hearing of Jack living such an earthy, seemingly simple, lifestyle - and remembering THIS thread - made me think of a song by Carly Simon called 'Fisherman's Song.' So I've taken the liberty of copying the lyrics for you: Fisherman's Song In a pine forest cooler than the rest of the island Lives a young fisherman with eyes like the sea He built his own boat and made his own cabin but hes broken the hearts of the likes like me Now you must understand he made me a promise there were secrets we shared we planted a tree We lived in a cabin, I fished along side of him I fell under the spell of his sorcery When he cast me adrift at the end of the summer It was not for another but his own privacy I fell apart like a rose, but the scent of my longing Remains and it weeps like an old willow tree At night when its still, with a yellow moon rising When his candle is snuffed and hes deep in a dream I move like a cat, and crawl into his window And lie down beside him in a golden moonbeam The smell of his skin is just like the summer When our love was as fresh as the grass in the fields And ever so softly I kiss his eyelids Before slipping away, my secret concealed Though Im in it alone, Im still in it, In love And love can be lonely like a sweet melody But just maybe he feels me like a whisper inside him Like an angel beside him, keeping him company Now THAT's a stalker! lol It's a lovely, haunting song that has been one of my favorites for years and years. I'm sure if you wanted to, you could do a Google search and listen to it. It's worth a 99 cent download certainly. Enjoy!

sisterfunkhaus, I had very little gas pain and was out and siteseeing in Mexico 48 hours post-op. I was sore but not suffering. I took only one of the pain meds given to me by my doctor and then liquid tylenol for a few days. That was it. I really didn't even have much pain with standing, sitting, or walking. The worst it's been for me was sitting in front of my computer (on LBT!) for too long wearing jeans - the waistband put too much pressure on the port wound site and it began to hurt but that really only lasted for a couple of weeks and only hurt after sitting here for a couple of hours. So what did I do? Unbuttoned my jeans and kept reading and posting on LBT! lol If you can handle a c-section I suspect you'll be able to handle this.

I'm 44 years old and have only had one mammogram. It hurt so badly, and left my breasts to covered with yellow-y bruises that I swore I'd never have another one. I realize that I need to have regular mammograms but I just can't make myself go through that again. I'd like to know how other people's mammograms were. Surely not everyone went through the kind of pain I did. Who would ever do it again? What kind of doctor would recommend it? I felt like the mammogram was actually causing damage to my breast tissue - and the bruising kind of confirmed that. What's up with mammograms? Is there another alternative?

TheWomanWithin, I think it's great that you're taking your responsibility as a parent this seriously even at your children's age. It's great that you're watching for signs of trouble and are thinking about ways to head it off IF it comes. Your daughter has a history that you're aware of which means you have an open line of communication. If your daughter has a problem, it's likely that she'll come to you with it if it truly IS a problem. I must say that I couldn't disagree more about making your daughter take a drug test and I hope that's not something you'd actually consider. The theory of "if she's not taking drugs she won't mind" is just insane. All you would accomplish by demanding a drug test is that she'd move out even sooner than she's planning to, and most likely she'd be even less prepared to take care of herself and therefore more vulnerable to the wrong kind of people. You daughter should feel that you trust her and that she's worthy of your unconditional love. I think you should be careful of 'sitting down and talking to her' if you've already done it in the recent past. If you constantly question her, she may think you don't trust her no matter what she says and so she might as well do some of the things she feels accused of. I think you should consider that super thin is super popular right now. I realize that Linsay Lohan, Misha Barton, Paris Hilton, and Nicole Richie aren't the best role models for behavior or decorum but you have to understand that they set the bar for what a young woman is supposed to look like. At least what your daughter, as a 19 year old, thinks she should look like. Rather than drugs I think you should look into how much TV, magazine, and shopping time she's putting in. Something else, daughters and mothers, throughout history, have typically gone through a breaking away stage. Daughters will do almost anything to break away from what their mothers represent to them. Having grown up in a house with an overweight mother, this clearly noticable difference in her weight may be nothing more than an expression of her need to be the absolute opposite of you. If this is the case, it's not a BAD thing. It's normal and necessary. Even daughters who have good relationships with their mothers go through this. I think her picture looks good. I don't think she's TOO skinny. It's OK to worry about your children and to try to do everything in your power to protect them. Just remember that if you overdo it, you'll do more damage than good. In my opinion, everyone messes up their kids in some way. The only thing you can do is minimize the damage and do what you can to give them a good foundation on which to base their own (hopefully) good choices. Good luck.

1. how long have you been banded? 10 weeks yesterday. 2.5 months if you like that measure better. 2. rate your level of restriction: A. NONE (fill or no fill you can eat whatever) B. Little (occasionally you will have a hiccup, your eating the same or a little less than pre-op) C. Moderate (have some restriction but not much!) D. Moderate/CLOSE to sweet spot (have good restriction but still need a little more) E. Sweet Spot!!! (perfect restriction) F. Too Tight (need/want a unfill) G. Too Tight (DONT WANT a unfill eating mosty liquids) 3. how long after you wake do you drink your first liquids, are they hot or cold: I try to drink my first bottle of Water (room temperature) when I first wake up, after I've brushed my teeth. 4. how long after you wake do you eat your first food, is it solid or mushy? I usually have coffee and then nothing till lunch or I have (Holy) Shredded Wheat which starts out crispy but before I can get even close to done is mushy! LOL if it is mushy, when is your first dense protien solid? Lunchtime 5. does your restriction change throughout the day? a. slightly tighter in the AM looser in the PM - but not always looser, sometimes I get that golfball feeling on foods that I usually don't have a problem with. I seriously think the band might be affected by changes in weather. b. pretty tight most of the day- small SOLID breakfast and lunch, loosen up solid dinner c. pretty tight most of the day- small liquid/mushy breakfast and lunch, loosen up for a small solid dinner d. tight all day, if you dont make sure you are constantly drinking you will get tighter, have to REALLY work at getting food down. loosen up slightly with a careful mostly mushy dinner 6. how often do you PB? Only once ever and I never want to do it again! 7. is it mostly Slime/Saliva or is it the offending food or liquid that comes up? Slime and saliva. Eventually the bite of ravioli went down. 8. why are you PB'ing? a. i forget i am banded and try to swallow stuff whole (oops) b. i ate something dry c. i didnt chew good enough OR d. i chewed good but the texture didnt agree - not really sure which e. i sometimes do with first liquids of the day f. i am eating beyond the pouch capacity Good questions, I like to see what's happening with everyone else. Thanks Michelle.

How much fill do you have? I think that before you start going back to the old style of dieting, you should discuss your hunger with your doctor. Discuss the use of diet pills with your doctor while you're there. I'm with Stitchy - sounds like you need a fill.

If you're having your period right now you're probably feeling more restriction than you will once it's over - at least that's what I keep reading here on LBT. I had my one and (I can only hope) ONLY PB while on my period. I know, dream on. I haven't had a fill yet and the reason I haven't, is because I'm afraid I'll PB over and over until I can get it into my head I HAVE TO TAKE SMALLER BITES! I HAVE TO WAIT BETWEEN BITES. I'm working on it but it's slow going. Keep us posted about your restriction. I'm particularly keen to know how it's going as I have my first fill scheduled for this Monday - but I may chicken out and cancel.

Glad to hear things are starting to work out as planned! Keep posting so we can keep up with your success.

Wow Michelle, that really sucks. I also had surgery with Rumbaut but the nurses at the hospital were always right there for me. Hmmmmmm.

I just bought some 'Tan Towels' from HSN. Tanning product is delivered on a paper-towel-like cloth which you rub on your bod. We'll see how it works. I don't like tanning lotions because they never go on evenly, and I don't like spray on products because of all the overspray. I'm hoping that this method of application takes care of both of those problems. They say this tanner doesn't have that funny smell but don't they ALL claim that? I'll keep y'all posted.

I had surgery with Dr. Rumbaut - he's great, as are all the people in his office and the San Jose Hospital in Monterrey where he performs his surgeries. Dr. Rumbaut will help you locate a doctor for aftercare, just make sure to talk to him and/or his U.S. liason, Cathy, beforehand. You can check him out and get Cathy's number at his website: www.bariatricsurgery.com Good luck on your journey.

Huh? Shaking my head and re-reading. Huh? Rubbing my eyes and re-reading. HUH? Fried chicken salad? Ice cream cone? What are you thinking? So, uh, fried chicken and ice cream aren't greasy on your planet then? LOL

Hi kutter, welcome to LapBandTalk. If you scroll down the homepage you'll see a forum called Cosmetic and Reconstructive Surgery. If you look through that forum or ask your questions there you might find out what you're looking for. Congratulations on your weight loss so far, keep us posted on your progress. Now that you've found LBT why not post before and after pictures? Good luck.

Not to be a Forum Nazi but, doesn't this thread belong in the Lounge? Don't get me wrong, I enjoy discussing my favorite shows too, but not in the Support forum. JMO

Oops - posted in the wrong place. But I agree with maryb - alter the recipe so your family benefits too! And now we return you to your regularly scheduled thread. :nervous

Chew more and wait between bites and that flaming golfball feeling won't happen. 5cc in a 10cc band is still relatively loose but your continued weight loss - 30 pounds is great - says you don't need another fill yet. I'm not a doctor so this is just my opinion, but if I were you, I'd try eating small portions of what the family is eating - unless it's something you KNOW won't got down well, chewing better, and giving yourself only 30 minutes to eat. After the 30 minutes get up from the table and do something to change your focus - something you enjoy that will distract you from eating. If you're still hungry after 20 minutes or so, go ahead and eat a little bit more. Just make sure you're not having another whole meal. The idea is to be satisfied, not to feel FULL. It's a whole new concept for most of us but that's the way it works best. Good luck on your weight loss journey. Keep in touch and let us know how you're doing. P.S. It takes some people SEVERAL fills before they find 'the sweet spot'. You'll get there.

Hi Bandedbabe, Welcome to LBT and congrats on your weight loss so far. I was also banded in Monterrey, Mexico. Who was your doc? Rodriguez, Rumbaut? I had mine done on March 7th by Dr. Rumbaut so our band-day's aren't too far apart. Good luck on your weight loss journey. Keep in touch.

Post removed by DonnaB

Did you post a picture of it on the Art work and Artists thread?

I'm wearing an "It Figure's" skirtini. Completely covers me without being too God-Awful old-lady! Who am I kidding? It's as old lady as they come, but it's comfortable and works well on my tall, long waist. I'm so old.

You'll have a quicker recovery if you stay on the diet. Does that help at all? It should, quicker recovery means less pain. It's worth the diet.

It does not sound as though you got all the information you needed while making your decision to have lapband surgery. You DO have to diet. You DO have to exercise, and your surgeon should have made you aware of how the surgery works to assist in weight loss. The point of the band is to keep you feeling full longer so keeping to a diet is EASIER to do. It sounds to me like you thought the lapband was like a RNY, but I see from another of your posts that you don't know whay a RNY is either. RNY is the procedure where they separate or remove a portion of your stomach and re-route your intestine. The stomach remaining is smaller so you eat a smaller amount of food. The intestinal re-routing is to give the food less time and space to be absorbed by your body. It is a malabsorptive diet. With the RNY you cannot tolerate sugar - or at least most people can't - and you suffer from what is known as sugar dumping, or dumping syndrome. My understanding of sugar dumping is that you feel very sick and weak, your heart races, you sweat profusely and you feel nauseated and very, very, ill. I can't give you information on the Duodenal Switch (DS) - I'm not even sure I SPELLED it correctly. So someone else will have to help you with that procedure. I expect that if you were to "Google" the name of the surgery you'd find ALL KINDS of information about it on the internet. You cannot eat junk food and lose weight. I'm not suprised you couldn't eat a breakfast sandwich from a fast food restaurant. Your next post says bread hurts. Isn't there bread on a breakfast sandwich? I think the only way the band is going to work for you is if you start from the beginning and relearn to eat. It sounds like you're in a cycle of irritating your stomach, eating, vomitting and irritating your stomach. You'll never get out of that cycle unless you change your eating habits. You sound suprised by your lack of weight loss but don't you see that you cannot expect to continue eating the type and quantity of foods you always have and expect a result that's different from the one you've always had. You must change your habits to change your weight. Period. Do you have access to a nutritionist? By not following the rules of the band - did you know in advance there WERE rules? - you're not giving your band a chance to work for you. Eventually your band will slip from all the vomitting and eating foods which irritate your stomach and you will have to have it re-placed or, more likely, removed. It's time for you to have a frank discussion with your surgeon to decide on a future course of action.

You have to see this new mirror at Wal-Mart! I think this mirror will be so popular that it may be a good time to buy stock in Wal-Mart. http://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h91/fuzzy_pink_poodle/NewMirroratWal-Mart.jpg

Hi, welcome to bandland! One day at a time for the first couple of weeks - you'll do fine.

Hi Christie, Welcome to LapBandTalk. You're always welcome to come to the Dallas area and join us for lunch! I know, kind of long drive for lunch and chat! Good luck on your weight loss journey.