StrawartS

You know, Paula, I have to agree. I was beginning to think I'd never have one again! It's nice to know that my band is still in there somewhere doing it's job. And after the first couple, I know how to handle them, so they really ARE just small, non-terrifying, productive burps...no more 9 inch bubbles.

My secret bunny gift arrived today! My secret bunny only put her real name on the box, and I'm not sure if she wants that disclosed on this thread, so I'm waiting for a PM from Kim to thank her in person. I got a fabulous silver lamp with a beaded purple shade. The lamp holds a strawberry gel candle that smells delicious! As you can see from the pictures, the package was wrapped so beautifully that I didn't want to open it. Also, the lamp matches my living room perfectly as you can see from how well it complements the photo over my fireplace. Thank you so much, secret bunny! I love my gift! Edit - my secret bunny was Maggie63, and I just sent her a PM thank you. Thanks again Maggie!

Hey, great palindrome, Tommy! And excellent quote, too. But I'll stick to my paranoid excuse to stay off the treadmill.

Oh, the first time I couldn't swallow my own spit, I was NOT calm. It actually helps to loosen up if I sit still and don't get too excited. Oh, another thing that makes me tighten up is any sort of traumatic, blood-pressure raising event. For instance, when I was driving to the DFW lunch at Jason's, there was a cop tucked away into this lovely little nook on the freeway just waiting for us to zoom by. He didn't get me, but I tried to take a sip of Water afterwards and found myself stuck! Very weird. It went away in a few minutes. Mikey, the leftovers have been put away so as not to taunt me. But hold on, let me courier some over to you right now.

Oh, it wasn't even crap food! I made a pretty healthy meal - Emeril's chicken apple sausage Cheesy garlic mashed potatoes from the box Canned green with sauteed onions And it was on the 1st bite...I hadn't needed any warm tea lately, so I figured I had just gotten used to my fill. And now I'm spitting my saliva into a cup because it creates a golf ball if I swallow. Pleasant, no? It'll go away in a few hours. Ahh...such is life with the LapBand.

That was just a golfball. See this post for a graphic description of my first PB: http://lapbandtalk.com/showthread.php?t=15400&highlight=pb%3F+worst+experience

I'm pretty sure we decided to just mark our naughty threads with an XXX. No adult board necessary.

Apparently 1 PB wasn't enough. I don't think she likes the way I'm talking about her, so she had to stick it to me and make me PB again.

Anthony had a similar problem with uncontrollable gas. Check out this thread: http://lapbandtalk.com/showthread.php?p=151624#post151624 I believe that he had his band removed and revised to vertical gastrectomy. How tight are you? I have found that when I am more restricted I am unable to burp...and it has to come out the other end. This is one of the complications they just gloss over during the presentation. Sorry you're having trouble.

Oh, well then I take back my bitchy response. Sorry!

Thank you, Diane. My point was that both are wasted calories for me. I might as well just inject the fat directly into my arm since I am not getting any sense of satisfaction either way. Obviously soup (certain kinds) has nutritional value. But if we're talking about vegetables, I'd rather eat whole ones that will stay with me longer. I maintain that soup is for the freshly post-op and the infirm.

I have no problem with you eating pizza 10 days post-op. I don't believe that you need 30 days to heal from this surgery. I would only suggest eating more wholesome foods if you're so hungry. Maybe a turkey sandwich or a roast chicken and veggies wouldn't feel so yucky.

Uhm, no, I'm not kidding. Liquid calories make no sense to me in any form. And I'm not seeing how my comment was off topic.

Kellie, you look outstanding! And don't take the pictures down! I am so impressed with your breasts...I had a reduction about 7 years ago, but it did not turn out as well as yours. My nipples are 2 different sizes, and I don't think he made them small enough. Janet - hehe..the amazing shrinking areolas do not happen. They get cut down during the surgery. Mine look a little shaky, and I'm thinking of inventing some sort of device similar to a cookie cutter for future use.

OH MY GOD, DON'T GET ME STARTED ON SOUP....and Protein drinks for that matter. Aren't we told from Day 1 to avoid liquid calories? How the hell is a bowl of chicken noodle different from a cherry coke? It doesn't fill you up any more than a cup of tea. I swear to god, the next time someone tells me to eat soup, I'm going to pour it on him.

I'm with your friend on the exercise! I refuse to do it. I just don't get the point. I love my resting heart rate. I love being able to have a conversation with someone while I am sitting in a sedentary position. I do NOT love running (Ok, walking) on a treadmill going nowhere and watching all the skinny people work ten times harder because they are terrified of looking like me someday. And I don't buy that runner's high bullshit. I just cannot fathom how one could enjoy being out of breath, tired, and sweaty...ON PURPOSE! My other thing is diet products - skim milk, fat free yogurt, lite cheese, etc. (Why did I list all dairy?) The real stuff tastes better, and if you're only eating a bandster portion, who cares how many calories it has? That said, before banding I thought there were some food products that I could not live without - diet coke being the main one. I can still drink it now, but with proper restriction, burping is not possible, and it has to come out the other end...not too comfortable when you're trying to hold that in while in a room full of people for hours at a time. I now only drink it when I know I will be at home alone or in a crowded noisy place. :confused: So I guess my whole mindset toward food has changed. I don't really crave junk food anymore, because I know it goes right through my band and keeps me hungry. Now I crave cheese or meat or vegetables...very weird. Last night I was at CVS, and I couldn't resist a Cadbury cream egg, but I just had one...not one plus the Dove chocolate bar I was eyeing. When you say fast food, do you mean McDonald's type stuff, or just eating out in restaurants? A lot of us find that with proper restriction, we just CAN'T eat hamburgers or french fries or chicken nuggets, etc. Either way, you'll work it out - I doubt you need to bring your own food to a restaurant, I'm sure you can make good choices...and if you're restricted enough, you won't really have a choice!

Janet, I wish you would have asked me in person! I went through this exact same thing for at least 2 months post-op. Anwyn is RIGHT - it's referred pain from the diaphragm being irritated. That gas pain talk is bullshit that our doctors tell us because it's easier to say "gas pain" than explain how referred pain works. Don't drive yourself nuts by trying not to drink air! I promise you're not gulping air! When I had this pain, I had it when I ate, when I woke up in the morning, after I drank Water, all the time. My theory is that the diaphragm needs to get used to this weird new pouch pushing up against it at all hours. I'm sorry that your pain is so bad that you have to curl up, but I hope it goes away like mine did. The only association I can make with the pain going away is finally getting proper restriction. Maybe by eating less food my pouch doesn't push on the diaphragm so much. Try taking gelcaps or liquigels of whatever pain med you use, and keep using your heating pad. And don't be afraid to get fills as often as you need them. Hope this helps!

Who got kicked off? I missed it.

Phyllis, we haven't decided on the date yet. Did you vote above? We'll probably give it at least another week or two to make sure everyone who wants to come has had a chance to see the thread.

Ms. Vicki, I totally agree with you! I never would have met someone off the internet in person before LBT. After our DFW get together, it's much easier to just say that I'm meeting with FRIENDS. The response has been fantastic! I am more than happy to change my vote to the 27th so Janet and Mikey can come. I think it would only be about 3 hours to get to Spring rather than the 4 or so to get to the city from DFW.

Dear StrawartS's Body, Congratulations! We've lost 20 lbs. since being banded. And I thought we couldn't do it - ha! Our weight now is some people's goal weight. We should be overjoyed, right? But there's just one small problem...where exactly did these 20 lbs. come from? We haven't lost inches or sizes, and no one has noticed our weight loss except the damn scale. I think I know the answer. I think this 20 lb. loss comes from the loss of our SOUL, due to the SOUL-SUCKING BITCH we call the LapBand. God forbid it give us ONE MOMENT of peace or one moment of distraction from thinking about it EVERY SECOND OF OUR LIVES. On the other hand, since we haven't had any non-scale victories, I guess we have to be happy about actually losing weight. Body, keep up the good work...I guess. Love, StrawartS's Mind P.S. I hear people talking about this "exercise" thing all the time. I'm pretty sure that driving over the speed limit doesn't actually count. So get off your lazy ass every once in a while, ok?

Janet and Mikey - did you vote on the poll? We'll just do it on the most popular weekend.

Hey Mikey, do you want me to do a voice recording of my post so you can use it with DDR?

Everyone else is going to tell you that you're over-filled, but here's my advice on how to get food down: 1. Drink HOT tea before first bite. 2. Take first very small bite. 3. Chew till the end of the earth. 4. Wait 1 minute. 5. Drink more HOT tea to wash it down. 6. Repeat 2-5 for next few bites. 7. Put fork down for 30 seconds to 1 minute between ALL subsequent bites. If you can get down Water, I don't think you're too tight. You just have to work with yourself and figure out how to get past the initial tightness when you start eating. I also don't eat anything until noon.

I'm not sure why you bumped my comment from five days ago. I got the idea already that you don't want to answer. Seems like if you wanted to let the conversation die, it had already done so. I hope you don't get defensive to this comment, and I understand that your long band journey has probably made you cautious, but it's just a little odd that you refuse to name names. It does look like you're promoting a different sort of agenda than just giving us information when you refuse to answer very basic questions about your story. Unless your posts are largely cathartic, and you don't expect any replies, I would think that you would be more open to being completely honest about your story. It was pointed out in another thread a while back that you originally said you were banded recently, but then admitted that you had only been recently RE-banded and had actually had a band for five years. It's just hard to understand your posts when you don't give the whole story every time. I debated posting this, because I know how you get when people question you. But I don't think it's fair for you to post all these comments that obviously illicit some doubt and questions from others and then get angry when we start questioning you.