TheGh0st

Yipee!!! When I got on the scale this morning I'd dropped another pound! I'm still going to have to average a smidge over 2 pounds a week to get to goal by my anniversary Mar. 9th but for the first time in over a year I'm starting to feel like I might just hit one a short term goal I've set for myself. Yipee!!!

ok...i do not like the format change today....i used to use the quick links primarily...for subscribed threads, and todays posts...I WANT IT BACK...the links button does NOTHING!!!

First I have to say thanks for all of Alex's efforts on this site. He's doing a GREAT job!

But I do agree I MISS the quick link to "RECENT POSTS".

Miztrniceguy - You should be able to access your subscribed threads by clicking on "MY ACCOUNT" a couple extra keystrokes but it works. As far the new posts link, I couldn't find a way to navigate to it through the website BUT I did find in my computer's history log the following link that will still take you to the current new posts: http://www.lapbandtalk.com/search.php?searchid=1087385 Hope this helps you in the interim.

Hopefully it won't take long for the link to start working again. Things could be worse. Alex could have temporarily taken the site off line while he made all the updates.

All Hail the LBT God :hail: :hail: :hail:

Shoot - where did that little smiley go? I liked him. Oh well there are at least 20 new ones I'm dying to have an excuse to use.

My doc also said if the band could be removed if someone wanted it to. But then even if you were so confident you no longer needed it. Whe pay thousands more to remove it in an elective surgery when you could just pay little to no money to just have the band adjusted to its loosest possible fit and be able to eat nearly if not fully unrestricted? That would give you both a cost benefit and an insurance policy against any future failure to maintain your weight loss?

It is sad but true the lap band was only placed around my stomach NOT my head. I was recently reminded of how true this was when I went in for a sizeable unfill as a precaution before a surgery. I told myself that after 2 years of living the banded life and losing weight it would be easy to maintain my weight without my normal restriction. Oh BOY was I kidding myself. Without the restriction the band gives me the same old hunger demon came rushing back full speed right along with the other little demon whispering in my ear to take advantage of my loss of restriction and eat all kinds of foods I had previously given up and hadn't even craved for ages. Thankfully I'm back on the bandwagon both physically with a new fill and mentally and the few pounds I gained in the last couple months are almost gone already. But boy oh boy did it really remind me how much I really do need this band. It helps reduce the physical "hunger pain" cravings drastically and limits my capability of eating too much when I give in to the mental cravings.

Hi everyone.... ok the band is permanent.. but what I'm wondering is what percentage have to be taken out because of medical problems????

Quoted statistics will vary ofcourse. I would suggest doing a google search for "Dr. Paul O'Brien" he had been one of the leaders in research on the lapband for over 10 years in Australia and has several published case studies that are very interesting to read. One thing to be careful of with the stats is to look at what pool of patients they used. Where they all banded with the same band, or the same technique. Some studies have potentially inflated removal rates due to the inclusion of patients from earlier versions of the band and more importantly earlier surgical techniques for placing the band.

I have been using Mederma. I actually used this when I first got all the crazy itching and it helped me get through that. My scars are shrinking, so I am happy.

Sorry, I wasn't trying to suggest that Mederma doesn't work. My PS just said he thought it was too expensive and that I would get good results with a strong Vitamin E Lotion. If I found it on a good sale I'd still love to try it though at 3 months out my scar is already looking much better than I ever expected.

Grrrr... Why did you have to mention cereal. Here I was all comfy cosy in front of the computer thinking I'd make it to bed without an evening snack. Then you go and mention high Fiber cereals. Now I'm obsessing over eating some yoghurt with some Muslix mixed in.

It wasn't really on my agenda today but neither was going the whole day with nothing but one slimfast, one Protein pudding and one 1/4 cup cashews. I had planned on having a salad for dinner but NoOoO my DH had to use the entire 1/2 full bottle to marinate some chicken he and DS ate last night while I was at Physical Therapy.

If we do this though we really ought to start a new thread for it. And leave this thread for any newcomers that might want to start another 2-day challenge.

Hmmm... I may still be interested though the whole say no to nuts bit would be hard for me. I'm going to be out of town for the next two weekends so I may want to mull it over and think about starting it Monday the 28th which would give me just enough time to finish up before Valentines.

Sorry Ellen I don't know. But if no one else has any ideas I can always ask my doc next Friday when I have my follow up appointment.

Kimberly - Thanks I needed that

LOL Hi Diane, That is so funny I forgot too that your Sept 05.

I asked Alex to ad us and he did instantly.

I was not able to find out anything on the discount. I wonder it that was just something for the first week.

If I remember correctly I think Darlene said that they would be coming back in for another support group at some time.

I think the gal from Contour is due back in February. At least that was the plan. I will either wait and see what she says to the group then or if she calls to see what I think of my garment I'll ask her then. (Yeah I finally picked one over a month later!)

How are you feeling? Hows the Tummy Tuck going?

Feeling pretty good except my bum shoulder. But it is feeling a little better these last couple days. My physical therapist still thinks I may need surgery but I'm going to fight it if I can. The TT is completely healed up and I can even go without my Spanx for a day without it feeling too uncomfortable. Though the Doc still wants me wearing it 24/7 for now.

I have been starting out everyday with starting to get back on track! I sure hope today is that day!

:tt1: I've been telling myself the exact same thing for the last couple months. Heck! for the last YEAR! But fingers crossed so far this week I actually seem to be sticking to it. I stumbled on a thread about taking a 2-day Say no to Carbs Challenge and decided to join in. After all as the original poster said anyone can can commit to a 48 hour diet. The idea was to purge our bodies of the carbs and therefore break that carb addition cycle. And I got to say I think it helped.

It's rainy and cold here today. We had some snow. You would think that the world was going to end!

We snowed here last night as well. Didn't hear the news but think it was 2-3 inches. Kansas City isn't as far south or warm as Texas but sometimes I still wonder about the drivers and the road crews. In Nebraska 2" would be nothing. But here nearly every school was closed and the roads were so bad from inadequate plowing that I was only driving 35 miles an hour on a 70mph interstate. And even at 35 I didn't feel to terribly safe.

Have you seen any of the TV ads? I'd love your feed back from them.

I TIVO everything I watch so I usually fast forward through all the commercials But I'll keep an eye out for the commercials and slow it down to watch them and give you some feedback. Can you give me a brief synopsis of one so I know what I'm watching for while they are whizzing by?

I'm so glad you posted here! Your right we should somehow notify all the 9/05ers.

If one of us gets a chance I think we should go hunt a few of their profiles down and PM them about the thread. If we both end up PM'ing the same person, no harm, they'll just see how much they are missed.

banana 555" data-cite="Anna banana 555" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="46528" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic">

(I think the reason the band works so well is because our jaws get too tired from all the dang chewing so that's what causes us to stop eating!! ha ha Plus it takes so freakin' long to eat anything that there's never enough time to finish!! )

Here's one more reason you didn't mention. It takes so freakin long to eat that your food gets too cold to want to finish eating it! :tt1:

But seriously I think Wheetsin nailed it in her post. The only thing I might differ on is the effect drinking Water can have on eating. Everyone's experience is different mind you, but for me if I drink small amounts of Water from before I start eating and consistently through my meal I do find I'm able to eat larger quantities of food. THIS IS NOT A GOOD THING! It does not make me feel any more "full" no matter what your definition than if I don't drink water. Now if I don't drink before my meal and eat even a small amount of food before taking a drink, the water just feels like it is sitting on top of the food below with no watering down effect just like Wheetsin described, infact it often makes things worse at that point.

As for feeling "full" I like Wheetsins different descriptions of full. I might go a bit further and say there are two versions of "stuffed" for me. There is the I feel completely stuffed like I couldn't possibly take another bite but mentally I still want to eat more so I find my self stretching, yawning, shifting in my seat anything I can think of to try to find room for that "one last bite". This is a feeling I use to associate with family gatherings like Thanksgiving even pre-band. There were too many great choices and just not enough room in my stomach to eat them all. Then there was the stuffed feeling I associated more with buffet restraunts though to be honest it was frequently the next feeling to hit me at Thanksgiving as well, and that was the feeling of OMG I am SO FULL I can hardly breathe, walk or keep my pants buttoned & zipped up. Post band I do still get that feeling of I'm so full but if I could only find room for one more bite I'd gladly take it. What I never get is that "Do you think anyone will notice if I unbutton my pants?" feeling any more. That version of stuffed has to do with our stomachs being so full of food it is pushing into other organs making us physically uncomfortable something many of us overweight people have turned into thinking was the true feeling of full or satisfied.

.... I've never been one to lay around a pool and can't imagine that I'll feel any better about it without the pannus, but we'll see.

Sisters I tell you, Sisters. Even now without my pannus I still can't imagine just lying around a pool in a swimsuit. After all the TT didn't do a thing for my legs. Maybe if I didn't feel to out of place I could see lying next to a pool in a 1-piece suit and some sort of wrap around my waist. But then I'm so pale skinned that I swear I can get a sunburn from just looking at pictures of the beach and like many other pale skinned red-heads my eyes are overly sensitive to even normal light. I'm most happy on hazy overcast days. Pre-banding I wouldn't have even thought your husbands trip sounded remotely fun. The idea of going somewhere sunny and hot where everyone was walking around in shorts or a swimsuit with sunglasses & sunblock on would have been absolutely repugnant to me. Now I'm just a little bit jealous. Still think I prefer the climate of good ole Scotland but yes I am a bit jealous of you and your husband.

I say go for it! Take the risk and have some fun for us all!

I tried Atkins with some "temporary" success 5 or 6 years ago. Refresh my memory though what does the induction phase involve?

Last week the idea of a 2-week committment would have been too daunting but after this weeks efforts I might be interested. Tell me more.

Thanks 2bmeagain. I think I'm going to print your post as a reminder for me tonight. I really hold no ill will to his classmates parents. I'm sure every parent has a similar story where they had troubles explaining the difference in definitions between two words that either sounded or were even spelled the same but meant totally different things.

Thanks Paula. You make me blush!

I know I've been whining on a bit about the swelling and such but yes I am extremely pleased with the results and would highly reccomend my surgeon. Not only is he an all around excellent PS surgeon but he reputed to have done hundreds of PS's on patients with the band and is fully aware of some of the special issues we face as PS patients.

...Now if only the scale would reflect some of what I see in the mirror... But there I go again. Sometimes I think I need someone to sit next to me and constantly slap me upside the head everytime I start down that path.

Glad you found some relief. Hope the endoscopy can confirm whether there was any other underlying cause or if you were just too tight. Don't get me wrong being too tight is nothing to take lightly. Has your doc asked you to do anything like switch to a liquid diet for a day or two? Even if he didn't I'd be tempted to baby my band and stick with liquids or mushies for a couple days if I were you. Let us know how it goes.

Sorry I've been absent from this thread for a while. But I have a bit of a Rant that I thought might be appropriately posted here. It's really nothing serious but I'm having a hard time with my 4 year old at the moment. Ever since he was an infant we have said prayers with him every night and ever since he has been able to talk we have encouraged him to add his own words to the prayers as well. But that isn't my rant. The problem I'm having is that we always end the prayer with "Dear Lord please Brian grow up to be a good strong Christian man." But for the last several weeks he gets very upset with us when we say this. He starts to cry and nearly has a tantrum insisting he is not Christian and doesn't want to grow up to be Christian. We understand that the reason he is saying this is because there is another younger boy in his pre-school class named "Christian" who he doesn't currently get along with very well, and when we say we want him to grow up to be a good Christian he thinks we are saying he will become like the boy in his class and no longer be called Brian. We haven't been able to get him to understand the difference between being a Christian and people who name thier kids Christian. I know its not the other parents fault but sometimes it hard to not wish they would have thought more about how the name they gave their child might effect others as well as their own son.

Now, if I can't get him to grasp the difference soon I will be forced to change a "life-long" tradition with our son and come up with a new phrase to end the prayer with that will show his/our desire he be raised in Christ. If any of you have any suggestions I'm open to ideas.

No it makes total sense. And if you are seriously thinking about looking into Mexico more closely there is a woman here in KC that went there 7 years ago. Actually there are a lot of local people that were banded in Mexico, its just that she use to host a local non-doc specific support group and would be a great resource to contact for any questions you might have.

I can PM you her e-mail as well as a link to the Yahoo KCBandsters group if you want. Just let me know.

One more thought Steve - As far as your neice goes. I don't know how old she is or if she would be interested. But even though I'm nearly 40 and have a full time job when I found out last year that Starbucks was giving even their part time employees access to a health insurance plan that included coverage for the lapband I wished I had known it before I'd paid for the band. I would have gladly taken a part time job at least long enough to get the surgery covered if I'd only known.

Wheetsin - Yup I've abandoned SMMC altogether now. But did I heare that Billie is back there or is my calorie/carb deprived brain just playing tricks on me? I'll have to go check the old SMMC thread out and see if there is something there about it.

Steve - Yeah, the first time I met Malley for a fill I swear if I had seen him out in the parking lot first I would have easily mistaken him for a panhandler. No, but really I think he is great. I even like the fact he is so down to earth and not one of those "pretty-boy" docs. And as far as the fills go. You are right a lot of docs will not fill patients they didn't band, but last I heard Malley was still accepting new fill patients he didn't band. Some of the reasons the docs don't like to fill other patients is it crowds up their already busy schedule which can frustrate patients they banded but also the other docs seem to be worried that if one of the patients has complications down the road that it still might hurt their own stats or reputation even though they weren't the ones that placed the band. Malley on the other hand seems more concerned with helping anyone he can than his "reputation". But keep in mind if you are banded in by Malley he includes 1 year of adjustments free, and if you get banded in Mexico you will have to pay a $250 initial consultation fee with him then $100 per fill. Stats say that patients average 6 fills per year but don't count on it. I've known some who had 1 fill in 4 years and then I personally had 14 my first year alone, which if I'd had to pay for them it would have been an extra $ 1,550. I was self pay as well and I just don't know part of me still thinks I should have researched going to Mexico more so as to have saved some money but really I'm just so glad I have the band I don't care how much I saved.

Good grief I have so much I want to share but am afraid to scare you all off with a novel. So I'll try to space it out a bit over several smaller posts.

Recent Weight Loss Efforts

First off for those curious how I was able to drop 4-5 pounds in just a few days keep in mind with all the swelling I still have most of it was probably Water weight. But I'm happy with what I've lost no matter where it came from. Anywho this is what I've done recently...

Last Wednesday I met with banded friend and we walked nearly 4 miles at a pretty good pace. We had some bad weather last night so my friend backed out last night. But I did manage to get some stationary bicycle & treadmill time in at the physical therapists office by showing up 20 minutes early for my appointment and using their equipment until it was my turn.

Then this Monday I started a "Say no to Carbs - 2 day challenge" with a couple other gals here on lapbandtalk and followed the following diet. http://www.lapbandtalk.com/f15/say-no-carbs-2-day-challenge-come-join-me-48654-new/

Monday/Tuesday: 2-3 Low-Carb Slimfast, 1 Protein pudding & 1/4 Cup Cashews.

Wednesday/Thursday: 1-2 Low-Carb Slimfast, 1 Protein pudding & 1 salad (2 leaves of Romain Lettuce cut up with kitchen scissors into small pieces, 2 tablespoons Asian Sesame Ginger Dressing, 1 oz crumbled Sundried Tomato Basil flavored Feta cheese & 1/4 cup mixed nuts:sesame seeds, walnut pieces & sliced almonds)

Friday (Tomorrow): I plan on having the following: 1 Low-Carb Slimfast, 1 salad, 2 oz baked Tilapia with cajun seasonings, 2 small broccoli florets, 1 inch cube of boiled potato and possibly one protein pudding or a second Low-Carb Slimfast if I just can't resist something in the evening.

This Weekend: I'm planning on being out of town so I really don't know what I'm going to do diet wise. I may try to watch my carbs real close or I might just forget about counting carbs and eat whatever I want in moderation then repeat the whole process next week.

My sister the little Ms. Size 0! and her Deputy Sheriff husband who both have a full time careers, 3 pre-teen boys and are working on becoming a certified personal trainers in their "spare" time are on some similare regime where for 5 days they eat practically no carbs then for two days they claim they have to cheat in order for the plan to work. In thier case they are working towards building muscle not losing weight but I got to say part of me loves the idea of any diet that requires you to cheat. But on the other hand now that I've actually gone 3 days without eating "normal" meals I actually am a bit reluctant to start eating again. I'm just a bit scared of going from one extreme to another, but I do know that I can't just live like this forever.

Thought I ought to give everyone an update about my tummy instead of my shoulder for a change, since this is what the thread was suppose to be about. :pray2:

I plan on posting the docs 3 month follow up pics after my checkup with them on the 25th. I also had my hubby take some pre-surgery pics of me in jeans and a tight no-sleeve shirt I usually wore under other shirts. My plan was to have him take some after shots in the same outfit. Only I still haven't had him do that. I can tell you though that the top fits much better around the waist than it did before.

The swelling is still an issue for me. I don't have any more seroma's but I can definitely tell my legs and whole body are retaining more Water than normal. A week ago I peaked at 180 (7 pounds over my pre-surgery weight). I believe a good portion of that is due to the swelling but I fear the rest can only be attributed to all the Cookies, pies, icecream, chocolate, etc. etc. I ate throughout the holidays while I was still unfilled. Happily though I can report that after finally rededicating myself to the band last week I've managed to drop nearly 5 pounds and am hoping to lose those and be at my pre-surgery weight by next week.

Kimberly

"Does your right shoulder hurt, from all the left arm massaging? lol

If so, how's that left arm lookin' these days? Just hoping to cheer you up. I still have not tried it ... but if I will need shoulder surgery - I'll skip it. My shoulders are bad anyway. "

All kidding aside it all started about 2 weeks after I started rubbing my left arm. So I have to wonder.... The physical therapist doubts it but says it is possible. He also says to quit worrying about it and just focus on making my shoulder better now. What he doesn't get is my arms are now lopsided. Because it did work. I actually managed to shrink my left arm down by nearly 3 inches compared to my right arm. But without knowing if that contributed or caused the pains in my right shoulder I've been too afraid to work on my other arm.

Seriously.... I hope with some therapy, and no surgery you will be OK. If you require surgery, You will be in my thoughts and prayers.

The therapist is still convinced I need an MRI and probably a surgery. I want the MRI too but am hoping he is wrong about the surgery. Fingers crossed it is getting a bit better. Last week the pain was so bad I had to get my doc to phone a hydrocodene (SP?) order into my pharmacy. Thursday thru Saturday I was popping 2 of them every 4 hours and still in some pain and unable to lift my right arm in a "jumping jack" motion. Sunday & Monday I was able to cut back to 1 every 6-8 hours and for the last two days I've only taken one when I wake up stiff and one at night before I go to bed in the hopes I won't wake up so stiff.

My Mom has had both of hers worked on, and has very limited range of motion in both, you are much healthier, active and young.. you should be just fine even with surgery. Good luck and keep us posted. Kimberly

If I do need surgery, the therapist is fairly certain the tear is limited to my supraspinata muscle (sp?). It is a muscle that runs on the back side of my shoulder that seems to control a very limited variety of movement. For example I could actually do that jumping jack motion I described with absolutely no pain as long as I turned my wrist to point my thumb upwards, but if I kept my palm flat and facing the floor it wouldn't budge past about 12 inches from my side. Ofcourse now that pain in that muscle is subsiding my bicep has felt like it has been constantly siezing up on me. Sometimes it feels fine, like now, then it just spasms and won't relax for the longest time no matter what I do. I think it is just complaining about having to take up so much of the slack with the other muscle not working.

Karey:

"Miriam and Diane: Thanks for the encouragement. I'm trying to have realistic expectations. I'm not aiming for perfection and I don't want to get carried away with working on everything. "

That's a great attitude to go in this with. I've tried to have the same attitude. And I think once some of this Water weight comes down I'll feel a little less hyper-critical about the whole thing.

"My PS wants me to do the back side and arms in 6 months and I would like to, but we'll see. I may and I may not. I'm going to take it 1 surgery at a time. I can see the allure when they tell you that they can fix this and fix that. I wouldn't mind getting my neck wrinkles taken care of, but at some point I guess you have to accept and love yourself for who and what you are. That being said, the tummy and sagging breasts are going to go! "

We could be sisters. I feel the same way. My flabby fanny pack and Sock in Rocks are a MUST FIX and I'd love to have the time/money to spend on my arms and of all things my eyelids, not eye wrinkles just excess skin in my eyelid. Crazy I know. But unless I win the lottery it is nowhere in my future. Like you said at some point you just have to love yourself for where you are and not where you might get to.

"I will deal with the swelling and work on my patience. "

Good Luck on this one keep us posted

"Oh, I do have one question for you guys. My husband wants me to go on a business trip to Puerto Rico with him in April (5 weeks post-op). Do you think I can handle a 9 hour plane trip? I know I can handle resting by the pool! LOL! I guess we can buy trip insurance in case I have any complications. I'm just not sure what my expectations or stamina will be. Opinions welcome."

I agree complications aside. If all you have to do is lay around a poolside once you get there you should be A-OK. How long a flight will it be? I'd try to get up and move around once in a while if you can, or at least move your legs around. With all the swelling you wouldn't want to risk some kind of blood clot. Oh and one other minor problem I don't know how comfortable you will be poolside in a swimsuit unless you can find some kind of binder (maybe a Spanx with the legs cut off?) I know that only now am I starting to feel quasi normal without mine on for short periods. It doesn't hurt it just feels TOO WEIRD, very hard to explain.

Hmmm... So where are you looking for a doc? Their are some gals that come to our support group in KC that were banded in Topeka by a group called Tallgrass. They lived in KC but chose to go to Topeka because it was a bit cheaper and they were self pay. I can't remember them having any negative things to say about the docs at Tallgrass.

There is also a Yahoo group called KCBandsters where a lot of us Kansas City area people chat. We have members from as far as Wichita and Springfield that post thier. I can give you a link if you are interested.