TheGh0st

Malley and the others shouldn't mind if you have all the labs done at once and sent to each of the docs. I was self pay and the regular 6 month lap work tests the band docs want me to do isn't covered. So I got the list of tests they wanted and showed them to my PCP She was more than willing to add them to the lists of labwork she wanted to run so my insurance would pay the bill. Then I've just hand delivered or faxed the results in to my band doc. I was originally with Hoehn, but switched to Malley this year. So I haven't done this with him yet but I'm planning on doing requesting my next round of labs from my PCP next week. Some docs might require the labs to be forwarded through more formal channels but they should have no reason to insist they all be done seperately.

Karen - Happy Bandversary - I know this last year's been rough but hopefully this weekends trip will fix that. Try to stay positive and let us know next week how it went.

I rub it hard enough it sometimes turns the skin pink but I can't say that it ever hurt the arm I was rubbing. The shoulder of the hand I'm doing the rubbing with has been a different story though. I went at it a bit too vigourously at the start and somehow pinched a nerve in my other shoulder. Or it might be just a coincidence and I just slept on it wrong. But if it is hurting I'd say take it just a bit easier. And PLEASE let me know if you see any results within a week. I'd love to know I wasn't crazy.

Heather - because of my shoulder pain and the fact I'm already scheduled for PS on my tummy in 3 weeks I haven't really done any serious massage to my pannis. Though I would think if it really is helping the skins tone and overall "health" that it might help with a quicker recovery and better results, at least it couldn't hurt. I've also heard recently about a technique called "skin brushing" that is suppose to help but haven't tried it yet. Skin : Women Beauty Whole Health Clinic - Dry Skin Brushing

I know many people who had friends and family members that were against the surgery. They either thought any surgery was too dangerous or that I could just do it on my own. Like that had worked so well in the past! Many I know chose not to tell some or even most people they'd had surgery (including thier own husbands in a couple cases) and were just vague when people started to notice the weight coming off. My mother in law was against it. She worked a combination of acting like I was wasting her son's money (OK, I make MORE than him but whatever) and the good old "If you just used a little will-power, & restraint you could do it without surgery." I finally had to have it out with her when over 6 months after surgery and 60 pounds down she kept going on and on about whether I'd read some dribble (I mean book) called "Why French women aren't fat". My own mother fought tooth and nail for me not to have the surgery, begging, crying, yelling, using every scare tactic she could think of to talk me out of it, offering to pay for all sorts of alternatives from hypnosis to a fat camp. Sometimes I'd wished I'd kept quiet about the surgery as well, but that's just not my personality. So I dealt with it. Now my mother couldn't be prouder and I keep getting asked by both of them to talk to their friends or co-workers who are looking into surgery about my experience with the band.

Congrats - The 28th is a GREAT Day, ofcourse its my Birthday, but still I'm excited for you.

I'm finally at a point where I'm ready for the unfill. I've been dealing with this for nearly 10 months. sleeping propped up with 7 pillows and still waking up coughing and spitting a couple times a week. I know eating or drinking after 6pm aggrevates it but its hard to be tight enough that you can't eat until nearly noon then be loose enough and hungry enough in the evening to get the food down only to have it come back up when you try to sleep. I used my PS in a few weeks as my final straw to push me to schedule the unfil for the 25th. Now I can hardly wait. I'm sick of being up past midnight waiting for my stomach to settle. All I've had since coming home from work today at 4:30pm has been 24 ounces of fluids (half of that a Protein drink) and 1/3 cup of sunflower seeds. The last I ate or drank was 9pm then tried going to bed at 10:45. Should have known better. Now I'm sitting her rambling to you all with this terrible nasty taste in my mouth that I can't even wash out because it will only make things worse. Top it off I can't find anymore cough drops which were the only thing I knew that would help. UHGHHH!!!

PRBROOKSIE & LYNN MARIE - Shout out to fellow Malley mates.

Betsy - I'm with you 100% GREAT POST!

Thanks Juli! Deanna! JUST 3 MORE WEEKS!!! Just a quick rant today. My sister came down (the size one Bi$c#! - gotta luv her) to visit a week ago. She came in the room while I was on my internet checking some posts on LBT. I offered to show her my befores if she wanted. She physically flinched and responded vehemently she didn't want to see them. It was as if she was so offended that I would even ask her to look at them. At the time I just laughed it off, after all not everyone is into the same interests. Though I would have thought she would be a little interested seeing how she's had PS as well (albeit breast enlargement). But the more I think about it the more annoyed I get. Even though I know not everyone is interested, and even though I am just as disgusted with how I look under the clothes, it bothers me that she would be so offended to see my photos. It's not like I'm actually nude. And I've seen her plenty of times in a bikini. Why does the excess skin make my photos unthinkable for her to look at the same time she wouldn't think twice to walk in front of me in her bikini?

Karen, I'll be praying for you this weekend. Good Luck!

Sandra, I know its hard, I really do. My food today consisted of 1-Low Carb Slimfast, 3/4 cup mixed nuts, 1-asian salad with LOTS of nuts & Feta cheese, 2-3 ounces of chicken with a cream sauce, All sounds pretty good, pretty healthy. But then I topped it off with 4 balls of frozen chocolate chip cookie dough. And over the weekend it was homemade soft cream cheese wedding mints. Whipped it up while DH was out just so I could eat it. I know that my current weight is great and everyone says I look good but it is still hard not to beat myself up when I make these same bad choices over & over. I too have a hard time thinking about where I could be now if only I stopped. My point, not to brag, but do look at where I am now. And that was without being perfect then or now. Instead I've lost in spurts. There was that initial rush of weightloss after the band then its come in 2-5 pound burst over a week's time then no weight loss for long periods. It very frustrating, I don't think there has been more than a few days in the last 2 years I haven't felt like I was either on the brink in not already a failure at this whole band thing. But then it hits me I've come from a size 24/26 to a 10, I repeat a 10, one that my friends are even saying is starting to look a bit baggy! Then if I'm not carefull I start to feeling guilty about being depressed over not losing weight. SCREWED UP!!! Aren't I? Hang in there, and you too will get there eventually.

I'm aware of the certified training required for the conceal & carry. We are a C&C state and I have a permit. Would love to see it expand to all weapons. On the other hand I'm against the Federal form 4473 & fingerprints allowing the government to keep tabs on the law abiding citizens who choose to purchase firearms legally. The only exception I might concede on that view would be for the fully auto weapons. (Several of which a relative also owns, legally.) I guess basically I'm for as little control over it as possible but I do like the idea of education/safety classes. After all we wouldn't just allow any tom, dick or harry to buy a car and drive off the lot without proving he knows how to drive it. It's just smarter to have the government prove you know how to handle it before you use it rather than waiting until you screw up and kill someone first. (Whether that is with a car or a gun.)

I just rub the heck out of them for short periods of time whenever I think of it throughout the day. For example while sitting at a red light in traffic or now while I'm posting this. I doubt I rub for more than a minute or two at any given time. But I do rub hard enough to occasionally turn the skin pink (very fair skinned). Kind of like when you give someone a knuckle rub on thier head, or holding my hand in a rigid karate chop type pose and using the side of my hand to rub. Haven't figured out how to do this very effectively to my inner thighs though and haven't been able to convince DH to consider it part of intimate foreplay:eyebrows:. I did start seeing results on my arm within days. It took about a month to get to 2" and maybe 2 months to get to 3" though I don't do it as often as I use to, skipping days here and there. I would LOVE to have someone else here give it a try. Take some pre/post measurements and let me know how it works.

Terri - Offended might be too strong a word. I have been to Vegas a couple of times and have had a great time there. Just hadn't been to T.I. before. I'm sure it will be GREAT and am hoping I can get there.

I've heard that about the calcium as well but I do still drink at least one glass of skim milk a day and my 6 month blood work ups have always come back fine so I haven't worried about it yet.

SlimFast - May I ask which one you are drinking? I love the Low Carb version. Not all stores carry it. Walgreens does but CVS doesn't. But it has 20g of Protein to 6g or carb and 4g of those are Fiber and can be subtracted. I have it practically everyday for Breakfast. First Fill - I absolutely hate needles and am afraid will my first fill did hurt. But since then that first one it hasn't hurt again. There have been fills where he was done before I even knew he had started, and my doc doesn't even use a numbing agent like some. He likes to laugh at me though because I tend to bite a knuckle while he fills me to give me something to focus on, just on the chance it hurts again. Good luck! Try not to worry about your fill. Bite your knuckle if you have to (it really helps)

Vitamins - I actually look forward to mine. I use the Chewable Centrum Silver and Chewable Viactive Calcium they are kind of like a little "candy" for me. Protien drinks - I'm pretty tight in the mornings as well. I usually wait until around 10 am then have a Low Carb version of SlimFast. I've tried other drinks and have nothing against them but I like that the Slim Fast has a variety of vitamins/minerals as well as 20g of Protein to 6 Carbs (4 of which are Fiber).

This site is a great resource for support. You should also see if there are any local support groups as well. Its always good to try to meet people in person as well if you can.

It really depends. I'd say for most of us yes PS is inevitable, or at least the desire for it. Things that my doc says works against you are your age, existing stretch marks, fair skin and if you already have a pannis hanging down. Being younger and of darker complexion though is NO guarantee that you won't need PS. There is mixed advice out there about exercises and lotions. But the prevalent medical opinion seems to be that it really won't help shrink the skin. Exercises work muscle not skin. They can help a little in making the skin hang over nice muscles instead of flab but it won't really shrink the skin. I have heard unsubstantiated rumors that lotions or wraps with seaweed extract are being found to help promote better skin elasticity and therefore "shrinkage" but haven't been able to commit adequate time to using it to see if it really works. The information I had said it worked best if applied with heat for 15+ minutes once a day. I have the lotion but not a good way to apply heat or the time it would take to slather myself up, heat and rinse with a full time job and a toddler running around. The other non-scientific method I've heard of involves intense massage. This one sounded as lame as the other to me but I had seen some promising before/afters on a TV show so I gave it a try on just one arm. If you do a search for a thread marked "excess skin issues" you will find some photos of my arms. I actually managed to lose 3" in my left arm just from massaging it. Now I'm working to get my other arm to catch up. I don't know if i will have to continue to massage my arms to maintain the loss or if the change is permanent. But even if I have to do it once or twice a week for the rest of my life I think I could manage.

I agree, Don't beat yourself up. Celebrate that the band allowed you this "honeymoon" time off and just get back on the horse again. (And if you figure out how let me know.)

Hey there Pam - I was just getting on line to bump this thread when I found your post. I've been wondering how everyone's been. I'm just now at 90 pounds down though I started a bit lower than you. I've been beating myself up a bit as well. I lost the first 85 pounds in about 14 months then have struggled to get and keep off these last 5 pounds. And I still want to lose another 25-35. I just haven't been able to get motivated either. I love my band in that it's helped me keep off what I lost but darn I wish I would get off my backside and start eating healthier on a regular basis again. I'm actually scheduled for a bit of an unfill in the hopes that I'm too tight causing me to make some of the poor soft food choices I've been making for the last 10+ months. That said I know I really shouldn't complain considering how far I've come but darn it I really would like to reach my goals and not just "settle".

I'm a supporter of our rights to bear arms and do not support laws banning certain weapons, for one the only people it stops are the law abiding citizens anyways. That said, I would be all for a requirement for a person to be required to take a gun safety class in order to recieve some sort of government issued photo card which would be required to buy the weapon. These cards could be made to expire on a reaccuring basis and be used to also prove that a person does not have a felony that would prevent them from purchasing a weapon. Similar to how we need to show a Drivers License to buy alcohol or tobacco. What I'm suggesting is just an ID card that shows we are eligible to purchase not a tracking method for government to keep tabs on what we have purchased. Again just like the example of the alcohol & tobacco, if you walk in and pay cash the store keepers check your ID but DON'T log it for government record. I will agree that again that the criminals could still find ways around these laws but the point would be to educate as many people as possible in the safe use of guns as opposed to stopping their purchase.

Doesn't have to be the Turkey Pepperoni, But the Turkey version is much lower in fat/calories than the regular variety. I learned this "trick" from a local band support group. They are a great snack when you are craving salty potato chips. I have a couple of male diabetic co-workers I've also turned onto these chips. Serving Size: 17 Slices Calories: 80 (35-Fat Calories) Carbs: 0 Protein: 9g Sodium: 600mg They even taste good with sour cream style chip dips. If you really want to push it you can make a home made dip with one of those powdered mixes and substitute half of the sour cream with cottage cheese that you've run through the blender. It boosts up the Protein to carb ratio without affecting the taste.

Sandra, Gjdf52 - If it helps, try to think of the band as a tool to keep you from backsliding too far on the scale while you're taking a break from this whole thing. I know people try to say you need to start a whole new life with the band and not just treat it as a diet. But come off it, if it were that easy, we wouldn't have needed the band in the first place. Yes we do need to strive to make those permanent lifestyle changes, but we are still human and most of us will still get discouraged and fail from time to time. I know I went over 10 months gaining and losing the same 5-10 pounds. It was very disheartening. But still I remind myself I gained over 50 pounds in that same period running up to getting the band over 2 years ago, so it could have been worse, much worse. I've been lucky enough to find a local support group that meets each month with several members who have been banded over 4 years who still come regularily. One has actually been banded 7 years! It has really helped me to know her, her triumphs and her struggles. She is so beatiful, the absolute picture of success. But when she talks you realize she is still struggling inside, still giving in to those feelings of failure, and still going through periods where she makes poor diet/exercise choices. I could be discouraged that after 7 years she still doesn't have it all together, but instead I feel encouraged that even with all her "flaws" she has made it so far. It has really helped me to know that I don't have to be perfect or fix every part of me all at once in order for this band to continue to help me in this struggle.