Hollie519

I know age is wisdom, blah blah blah. i just don't go to school right now and I work in Foreclosures, so i have no peer interaction for the last 6 months. No disrespect, but i just want to talk with people my age. Oh and It only takes me one drink to get drunk since the band. i'm pretty smart about it. I have also matured a lot faster, but I didn't want to. I live in my own apartment with my boyfriend and am still 18. I haven't even hit party mode. I'm just trying to have a good time. I've drank a little bit throughout my journey and it hasn't made me gain or anything. I'm from San Diego, so patying is more of an option. :] So purple girl, how did you have the surgery at 16?

Sunny San Diego, California. Home of the beautiful people!

I believe mine must be a 4cc as well. I was never told but when I was at 4 cc's it was too full. My stomach swelled too much. Now I believe I am 3.75 cc's and its just right. everyone is different though. You can't base your fill on anyone elses.

you should get help while you have the band. it'll help you more than battling it without a tool. I have the same addictive personality. I didn't start counseling until this month and i am doing fine. i wish i would have started sooner. So get on it girl. You will love the way you feel toward food afterwards. It takes time though. One day at a time. Good luck!

My hair has thinned out as well. I don't know if its from the band or if its because i pull it out when I am bored, nervous, or aggrivated. Try taking some protein capsules. Hair loss is usually from lack of protien. I also have heard vitamin B but that lady could have been crazy. Try protein first and it doesn't work than vitamin B. I'm pretty sure Vitamin B is just supposed to give you energy but who knows.

The port is stitched on the inner dise of your abdomen muscle. The band is stiched between the top of your stomach and esophagus. You should be able to feel your port if you tighten your abs. Lay down on your back and do like a crunch. Thats how they will do your fills. i have the lap band, so it could be a bit different. You should still be able to feel where your port is. Thats how the doctors will feel it too. The band should probably be in the same place regardless if it is a realize band or lap band.

Does anyone have tattoos who have lost a bit of weight so far? I was continplating getting one but I still have 27 pounds to lose. I don't want it to mess up my first tattoo because what I want is very meaningful. I want to get a wrench with the name Basore in it in honor of my grandpa who passed. He was like my father and I've wanted this tattoo since I was 10 (he died when I was 8). Can anyone tell me their experiences with it?

See that where I wanted it. To start from my ankle bone and go up. My legs were like the first real noticable thing that shrunk. And I do have a little bit of sagging skin in my stomach, my arms and my thighs. Not too bad that it won't eventually tighten. Still makes me cry though lol But my surgeon has reassured me several times that it will tighten with the exercise that I am doing. He just said drink A LOT of water. Now the hard part is finding the right artist I want to do it. This tattoo is super personal and i don't want just anyone working on it. So any good suggestions in San Diego?

Girl you are from So Cal! You will be fine :] lol If I can do it here with temptation, You can do it too. After a while, you won't even think about food anymore. You'll just eat healthy because you like it. And you will love the energy you have and the way you feel about yourself. Its amazing. Just have faith!

I know it is not always easy living where there is food that you did not hand pick. My mom still bought ice cream after my surgery :/ Your roommates obviously know that you will be having the surgery, ask them if they could keep their junk food in their rooms. I am the kind of person that if its there, I think about it. If I don't know its there, I don't think about it. I mean the fridge is something you can't help unless you get your own mini firdge or they get their own. Its not a good idea at all for you to have that kind of food in you reach; ESPECIALLY in the beginning. It doesn't matter how much will power you have, there is always temptation and you can't guarantee that you won't cave. Its like trying to get sober. You don't go hang out at the bar right?

So I have noticed that sometimes when I feel more pressure than usual when food is going down, if i move my bra up, it releases pressure. I did it just now and it made me burp quite a bit. could my bra be pushing on my band? I know when i did the test where they messure the pressure in your esophagus that mine was different than most peoples. The doctor said that in relationship to my diaphram, my esophagus is higher than most peoples. Could this be why? Is anyone else having this problem?

I am almost at my year mark and have lost 94 pounds. Losing a 100 is very doable. just like everyone says. Don't be discouraged if it takes you a little longer to lose 100 pounds. My mom's friend has lap band and it took her 2 years to lose 100 but she has kept it off wonderfully. The slower you lose, the less likely you are to gain it back. i know its hard because Americans are used to instant gratification.

The things I have changed since lap band: *the way I view myself *letting go of the anger i have toward other people *GOT OFF THE PITTY POT *Can now cross my legs *all of the relationships I have on a daily are better *Let go of my EGO *became more humble It makes me cry thinking about the opportunity I have been given by recieving the lap band. After trying almost every diet known to man, I have finally found something I can be successful at. And DAMN it feels GREAT!

Realmccoy, Your band could possibly be too tight if you are having that much problems with food and you are picking things that are easier to get down. The band should not decide what you eat, just how much. See if your doctor will give you an x-ray to make sure you aren't too tight. If you get sick frequently when you eat normal food, than you need to get unfilled. I had that problem and my stomach swelled shut. BAD

Oh how sad for you realmccoy. I love food still. I have always loved healthy food. I just never knew when to stop eating. There are so many good healthy choices that you can make. Even as a dessert I can eat frozen yogurt. Its sugar free and 160 calories in a pretty big serving. Granted yogurt doesn't make you stay full for very long but i never seem to be unsatisfied. I don't obsess about food the way I used to. If I'm full, I don't eat. There used to be a time where I could have eaten and someone asked me if i wanted to go out to get something and i would. Uhh it grosses me out now thinking how I used to over indulge myself every single day. The lap band has saved my life.

All people need counseling. Look at the world.

WOW! I can't believe he would say that to you. My boyfriend told me he feels like Shallow Hal because when he looks at my before pictures, he doesn't remember me looking like that. They shouldn't see you on the outside like that. He should see you for you. No offense but I would be done if someone said that to me. Thats bull shit! Just like a girl who sits next to me at work. She says her and her husband see each other as exactly what they looked like when they met in high school. Thats true love. No man should ever belittle who you are because of what you look like. Maybe you guys have that kind of relationship but I wouldn't ever want that. My boyfriend has always looked better than I. Before my surgery he gained about 40 pounds. Since my surgery he has lost about 20. Either way, I love the way he looks all the same. Muscles, fat, harry, bald. I have no preference.

HAHA that is funny. Mine knows by the look on my face not to follow me into the bathroom. He can also tell when i try to burp and there is no burp but another like gargling sound and I think by how fast I move for the bathroom is a clue too.

Congrats! Be careful though. Don't let that trick you into thinking cheating every once in a while is ok. If you think that, than you will cheat more and get into a downward spiral. I have been guilty of that :/ Otherwidse keep up the good work!

By the way, it also depends on you. You may find yourself at a point where you know you were staying with him for the wrong reasons. A lot of heavy people cling to the first person who cares. This is a possibility. I know there were several times growing up had my mom been thin, she would have left my dad. Don't get too excited though. I went through that phase but it was only because I wondered what skinny life was like. I'm cool now and can experience it with my boyfriend. He isn't as bothered by guys hitting on me because he knows my self esteem just wants to be flattered and I am not taking the bait. So it depends on you. If you've had thoughts about leaving him before, than they will just come at you X 10 now. If you haven't you may get second thoughts but see a counselor. This way you can have your thoughts sorted out.

I have a boyfriend who had the same fear. We have been together for almost 4 years. He knows that i used breathe confidence before even having the surgery. For me to be thin, would destroy our relationship. Well it didn't. I think he actually even understands me more now than he did before. He understand the way i feel about myself and my body. Honestly, I just told him, Babe I want to be happy about myself. i don't want to feel like people are staring at me because I am ugly. I want to have the confidence to be all I can be. You have loved me at my worst and for that I will keep you. I know you love me for me. I just want my outside to match my inside. I mean you guys are married, so you might want to word it a little different. I just told him to have faith and trust in me. Keeping you unhealthy is the way that he is securing himself that you won't leave. Not to say that more people don't want you, but its his insecurity that causes him to be this way. As long as you get him through it until you have the surgery, he will be happy with the way you are reacting to the results. You will be a more happy person in general. Believe me its the best for both of you. Let me know how he takes it.

I just got a phone call from a writer at the Union Tribune. For those who don't know what that is, its a huge newspaper in the San Deigo area. I'm actually not sure how far out their papers go. Anyway, I did an interview about the lap band in May and its finally going to cycle. It comes out in 2 weeks from Sunday and its the FRONT PAGE! I'm so happy. The lap band is my future. In 6 months from now, I will be working for UCSD helping people who are just like how I was before the Lap Band. I'm so happy. I have always known that I wanted to help people but not exactly which catagory. Now I get to help people feel good about themselves! THANK YOU LAP BAND!

Wow that is really cool. I wish I had some pictures. My surgeon discovered how to do a laproscopic removal of the gallbladder through the vagina. Do you think that would have been less painful? I have no clue about gallbladder removal. lol