TheGh0st

You know technically I have heard of people who had to have their gall bladder removed twice. I'm no medical professional but you can kind of compare it to how the RNY patients stomachs can re-swell. The gallbladder is a holding pouch for bile that is produced (rats can't remember what produces bile right now) Removing the gallbladder is only removing that holding area not the bile producing organ or the tubing to the stomach so there have been cases where the tubing "re-swells" into another gall-bladder like pouch that can form new gall-stones, creating the need for a second surgery. That aside I know how you feel about fate biting you in the rear if you lie and say thats what you had. If you are determined to keep it mum, I lean towards the trying to say she mis-understood and it was just some routing feminine medical tests not a surgery.

Here is a list of names all revolving around the cat theme. Maybe you could use a variation of one of these paired with Ginger or Scarlett. GATTINA KONEKO HAYDARA ARIELLE FALENE SANURA NEKOCHAN You could also use the last name of one of the characters from Gone With the Wind such as Butler, Wilkes, Gable, Dalton, Howard... Of these I like Ginger Dalton

This may be over thinking it but how about Ginger Feeney Boo Boo Kitty was the name of Shirley Feeney's stuffed cat on Lavern & Shirley, so it would be a tribute to both your hair color and your LBT moniker.

Sure but this is probably not the thread to do it. Infact I felt a bit bad posting the comment about the puddings at all as this is a thread for us to vent our head issues not to actually tell each other how to "fix them". But I'd be glad to PM it to you or post it on a recipe thread.

One trick that use to work for me in the past was to make some tasty homemade protein puddings then freeze them until they were the consistency of icecream before eating them. I'd eat one most nights before bed. Then during the day whenever I was tempted to eat something high cal/high carb that I ought not I'd remind myself of the healthy *treat* I had waiting for me that night. Only for the last several months I have been too lazy to take the time to make the puddings to have on hand when I'm tempted. And telling myself if you don't cheat now, you can spend an hour tonight prepping a healthier treat just doesn't work near as well as knowing it is already there and waiting.

The one that is plaguing me the most recently is an old variation of the "I'll re-start my diet on Monday" trap instead I've been telling myself "I won't eat anymore... Valentines Candy, Ice Cream, Rice Pudding, *Fill in the Blank* once what I already have in the house is gone." Problem is once one pit-fall has been removed (via my stomach) another one always pops up.

I think any other day of the year the street vendor flowers would be sweet. It would show he was thinking of you for no particular reason. But on V-Day it seems more likely that he actually forgot and it wasn't until he saw the street vendor that it finally hit him that he needed to do something for me and just grabbed the quickest and most convenient bunch of flowers, no matter what they looked like. My beef with flowers from my DH has actually been more pathetic (on my part) I'm always pointing out to him the various frequent flyer mile specials that we get in the mail around V-Day for flowers, but he can never be bothered to figure out how to do it. Even though it is dead easy, just call the 800 # on the post card and give them the promo code. For some reason it drives me nuts that he can't take the couple extra minutes to figure it out when I've gone to great lengths to tell him I'd rather he spend half the money on a small boquet with FF miles than to spend twice as much for a large boquet and no bonus miles. (OK I'm a little flyer mile crazy but we are working to get enough miles to go on a first class trip to Europe and are soooo close)

Great list Hijabigirl I would add: Under no circumstances, I repeat under NO circumstances ask if I need another fill. If you absolutely insist on complaining that you thought I wouldn't be able to eat that slice of pie after the band then get your arguments straight and tell me off for choosing the pie over a healthy Protein rich meal not for being able to eat in lieu of a meal. And for Pete's sake if you didn't want me to eat a slice why in the world would you by that pie when there was no holiday or company coming over? Is there some reason you are allowed to eat an entire pie by yourself but I can't have a single slice without being told to go get a fill. (Sorry, I obviously am having some issues here) Other suggestions for just after banding would include: - Put a list up on the refrigerator clearly listing the different food stages. I went so far as to arrange both my cubbards and refrigerator according to when I could re-introduce various foods back into my diet. - If you usually do the cooking, try to pre-cook some meals if you are willing but make it clear that they are under no circumstance to insist that you cook a meal for them that you can't eat yourself. (Unless it's your own idea to do it ofcourse)

Hello Kitty, Congratulations, you are doing GREAT! There are differing opinions out there on carbonated drinks. Some doctors say no way no how and others just say take it carefully. The main reasoning I have heard against it involves the difficulty you might find in getting the cabonation back up through the band. I steered completely clear of it for more than a year after being banded which was some feat considering I use to drink over 10 cans of diet coke many days pre-band. I've slowly started drinking it again but rarely have more than one any given day and will still go weeks without drinking one. - I see you are from Glasgow. I'm from the US but graduated from the Uni of Aberdeen back in 92. I remember there being quite the rivalry between the two cities back then. I also remember one of my fav shows back then being Rab-C-Nesbit. I'm back in the US now but would move back to Scotland in a heartbeat given the chance.

The important thing is he is gone.

Cindy - I could have gone back to work within a couple days but then I sit all day. Would it be possible for you to bring in a bar stool or chair with wheels to sit on while you work? And if washing someone's hair is too much for you would there be anyone else there willing to do that portion for you? I'm from the KC area myself, small world.

LJM - my heart goes out for you. I can't imagine the roller coaster of emotions you are going through right now.

I will post an update eventually. Honestly. My PS's mother passed away recently and my follow up appointments have been justifyably postponed while he was taking care of her through her illness and now funeral. I ought to just see if I can't get my neighbor to take some updated photos. She had a TT herself a few years ago and took my 24 hour post op photos. I'll see what I can do.

It is open to anyone. I know one gal that came each month for over a year while battling her insurance company. You can also google "KCBandsters" to find a link to the Kansas City Yahoo Group. FYI - I am always pushing LBT on the KCBandsters as well. Honestly I probably get more out of LBT considering its size but I still love being able to make the local connections and friendships that KCBandsters offers.

OK I apologize for this in advance but couldn't resist putting in a plug for a local KC area support group. There is a Yahoo Group called KCBandsters that has members all across the area banded by a wide range of different doctors. We use to meet each month but stopped nearly a year ago as we thought the doctors offices had all started to have adequate support groups of their own. Just this month it was decided that there was still a desire for us all to meet wether in addition to our local docs groups or in lieu of as the case may be. This is very short notice but the first new meeting will be tonight at 6:30pm at the Antioch Library on the North West Corner of Shawnee Mission Parkway and Antioch (Just East of I-35).

Hey John. Wheetsin is spot on with her post unfortunately. I too would trust Hoehn with my life (and did) but I no longer go to them for my after care do to the same issues she was discussing. I also agree whole heartedly with MEW. You need to form your own opinions. Just because there are those of us that had issues it doesn't mean you will. But its always good to go in with your eyes wide open.

OK I hesitated posting this here because I didn't want to sound like an advertisement. But since someone else suggested I post it as well I figured I'd go ahead. If anyone is interested there is a local Kansas City group called KCBandsters that is going to have a city-wide support group meeting tonight. The meeting will be at 6:30pm at the Antioch Library on the North West corner of Shawnee Mission Parkway and Antioch (Just East of I-35) It is open to all bandsters regardless of doctor and was founded by a local woman banded in Mexico 7+ years ago. I found it fun and useful to me to get out and meet as many bandsters as possible instead of just limiting myself to just those banded by my doctor. For over a year until my schedule didn't allow it I went to both support groups regularily. Sorry for such a short notice. If anyone is interested in coming but can't make it tonight let me know and I'll post a reminder for next months meeting with a bit more notice.

Puddin - I am so glad to see you back here you have been in my thoughts and prayers. Like the others you have been an inspiration to me and have been sorely missed. I am so sorry for what you are having to go through with the cancer. Try not to be too hard on yourself for any choices you made along this journey. God loves all his children. Remember, none are perfect in His eyes save Jesus and it is only by his grace that we are saved. Please remember you are in my prayers and let us know if there is anything we can do for you.

Amazing - Thank you so much for sharing this for everyone. Admit it. I know your a guy and all but isn't it great to have a proper belly button again. I keep looking at mine and smiling. Your incision line looks GREAT. If the doc hasn't reminded you enough already as soon as the drains come out start massaging that scar line like clockwork. Mine is still very purple but other than the color you wouldn't know it was there. The incision is completely flat with no scar tissue built up on the surface or below.

Congratulations and welcome to the banded side of life! I'm glad your surgery went so smoothly.

Hey Robyn I've been thinking about you. Try not to beat yourself up to much. I know I've been there. I'm nearly 20 pounds up from my lowest weight at the moment as well. I won't list my weaknesses for fear of giving out more ideas for cheating. So far I haven't caved to the cheetos but I remember them being talked about at support group as well. I will say today so far I've only had 1-Slimfast merely because I couldn't be bothered to cook a real meal. Then 1 cup of left over mashed potatoes, a cup of homemade rice pudding and a large glass of wine. Somehow I think I'm not doing so great on the protein front. I had lunch with a mutual aquaintance of another Hoehn bandster from back when we were all going to support groups and heard some interesting updates. Don't really want to gossip on line but would love to catch up in person some time. If you are thinking of joining a gym let me know where I've been waffling over a gym for months and would love to have someone to keep me accountable to it.

Oh yeah I forgot the other stupid c**p I keep telling myself which says that I'm so behind on things around the house both physically and financially that I should just put aside trying to lose these last pounds and focus on maintaining until I get caught up on the other areas of my life. This one actually seems to be the worse line of cr@p for me as its the main excuse both my DH & I usually give for not investing the time and money in joining a gym yet. Ofcourse I've found the money and time to get a membership to a local massage spa. So much for priorities.

I've been fooling myself with the good ole' "I never really thought I'd get down to the size I am now so why should I fret over losing these last 20 pounds?" Yet if I really didn't care why do I keep beating myself up like I'm some sort of failure? I really need to give myself a proverbial kick in the arse and either decide I'm happy where I'm at and quit with all the self loathing or get up and actually do something to lose those pounds and be done with it. Other than just whining ofcourse

Their are stories floating around about those who have done this though I can't say if they are just urban myths or reality. I will say that it is highly unrecommended and I know at least 2 doctors in my area that will refuse to continue follow up care to any of their patients if they leave their practice to have a fill somewhere else so I'm sure they would be even less willing to continue follow up care for someone who had a fill at home. Thier reluctance has something to do with worries of any confusion over who may have caused any possible complications down the road. With some doctors charging hundreds of dollars for fills I can see the allure and in the end you have to do what you feel is right for your own care. It is not our place to judge your final decision. We don't know your finances, we don't know the level of expertise of the person you might ask to give you the fills. For all we know it could be a nurse practitioner that gives fills all day long in a clinic and happens to be a relative of yours willing to give them to you for free after hours. But in my own humble opinion I wouldn't risk it if only because I wouldn't want to risk my doc finding out and telling me he would no longer see me.

*Sex Toy* Ha! It crossed my mind as well but I kept flashing to a treadmill or Universal Weight Machine. I wouldn't want the camera right now either if I couldn't use it until the end of the year. With the rapid speed of technology changes I'd be afraid that by the time I could really dedicate myself to taking pics it would already be out of date and I'd be constently annoyed that he couldn't have just waited until I was ready for one and got me the newest and best then. - Oh and definitely go for the spa day. I use to hate that stuff but I'm totally hooked now. It is so much better than chocolate or flowers.