Kat817

Many towns like ours have a Farmers Market, full of fresh locally grown produce. I hit ours every week, and load up on fresh, usually organic, fruits and veggies. My only problem is I want them all NOW!!! I am madly putting things in the freezer, and when I did, I ran onto the stew I blended, back in my liquids/mushies stage!!! I agree, I did my best to eat healthy, but to also eat whatever the family was. I then didn't feel deprived! Good Luck!! Kat

As you say, there are no guarantees, and no set stats to the questions you ask. I can tell you in my case, I still eat everything except glazed donuts! I swallowed a bite too quickly and those 2 bites felt like they grew to the size of 2 dozen!!! I have never tried another! I have only PB'd one other time, and it was a piece of popcorn chicken as I was shopping in Walmart, I forgot what I was doing popped it in my mouth chewed a couple times and swallowed, as it went down my throat, I realized what I did!!! And sure enough it got stuck, and I was miserable! But in 15 months those were my only bad times really. I have had the golfball feeling where I ate too fast or too much, and it feels stuck in my esophagus---but when I walk a bit, and breath deep it settles down. I take small bites, I chew well, and give each bite a few minutes to go down before taking the next bite. I learned to really pay attention to my body. When I get full, my nose feels kinda itchy, and like it wants to run---if I eat another bite, it turns to hiccups, and if I eat anymore, I am miserable!!! The bodies natural reaction to us overeating is to start sliming to try to help it pass. The body produces HUGE amounts of thick gooey saliva. So I think the runny nose is something to do with the whole mucus thing. It is called a soft stop, and most people have it if you will just pay close attention. A big majority of banders do end up giving up bread. Bread tends to get into the stomach and ball up, and then as it breaks down it is full of gluten, and is very hard to pass. Toasting often helps, and I find it easier to say eat a sandwich than just a slice of bread. Well part of a sandwich! If I have meat and cheese, to help digest the bread it works better, than the bread alone. Watching to make sure you are not overfilled when that time comes is the best way to avoid eliminating foods from your diet. You should be able to eat hard Protein without issue. If you can't you need less fill. Go very slowly when introducing new foods, or foods with high Water content---fruits for instance, they tend to be something I have to eat very carefully. It is like drinking with food I think, it feels like the fruit floats---so I have to take tiny slow bites. If you go slow, and give each bite some time, you should be able to avoid a serious PB issue, and if one happens it should be minor. Another thing to keep in mind is that these bands are fickle!!! One day you may be unable to eat something, and the next day it will be fine, or just the opposite, you may eat yogurt every day for Breakfast, and one day it will not work for you. It can be the same way from lunch to dinner! Why we suddenly have more restriction at some times, I have no idea, just be aware of how things feel as they go down and react accordingly. If it does not feel right, stop. You can always find something to eat later if you feel better, just don't ever push it----it WILL push back!!! Welcome to LBT, and welcome to bandland! Hope all goes well for you! Kat

I too have the low profile port, and my fill Dr. was shocked at how deep mine was placed. I have lost 100 pounds, and if I lay on my back I can feel a firmness where it is at, but nothing distinguishable. I do have to be a little cautious if I am lifting something against myself (I noticed it when bucking 80 lb. bales of hay)--I feel pressure when it is pushed on while the muscle it is sewn into is flexed. And since everyone expected this thread to be about this....occasionally in certain sexual positions I feel pressure on my port, but it is not painful...and we just move! I don't think my port will ever protrude regardless how thin I were to ever get.... Kat

Keep in mind, if you get super thin, and have no hair, you can always buy a cool wig. On the other hand, back when you had a full head of hair, you could not go buy a thin suit to slide on....keep it in perspective, and it WILL quit!!! This is what I posted before, and I think when I finally accepted that and relaxed with it...it stopped. Now it could have just been time for it to stop I have no idea, but relaxing helped....sorry anyone else has to go through it, even my DH admitted the other day he felt sorry for me you could see my scalp so clearly!!! Thankfully he didn't say that then, I would have been more of an emotional wreck. But I repeat---It WILL stop! Kat

bms---if you don't get an email reminder when someone posts in this thread, all you have to do is go to the top of the home page (or any page for that matter) and click Quick Links, and go down to Subscribed Threads, and any thread you have typed into, will be listed, and when you click on it, it takes you there. You can also subscribe to a thread you want to watch without "speaking" by using the Thread Tools also located at the top and clicking subscribe. Before long you will be going all over this site like an old pro!!! Welcome to you too!!! Kat

I am 15 months out from my banding surgery. How much you can eat will depend on you and your Dr. When I was newly banded without a fill, I could eat anywhere between 1/2 cup to 1 1/2 cups of food. When I got my first fill it dropped to pretty steadily being 1/2-3/4 of a cup of food. Then down to the 1/2 cup with the second fill. My fill Dr. is VERY aggressive, he wants his patients to eat 3 bites and consider themselves done....I said...Not me! I have not had another fill since the 2nd one over a year ago. I still have restriction, but it has loosened, and I eat about a cup of food per meal. My weight loss has slowed, but it is still coming off, at a safe rate, and I do not feel deprived. Would he give me another fill if I went in for it? You betcha! But I have dropped most of my weight without the worry of being overfilled, and have no intention of taking that chance now! IF you allow a Dr. to fill you to a serious restriction, you may be only able to eat a shotglass full of food, but I have ALWAYS been able to eat more than that. And I feel my band has been highly successful. As for the drinking, it is a learned feeling. There are times I can chug Water or tea, other times I can only sip it---but I can sip it steadily, if that makes sense. I have never been unable to drink enough. Practicing to sip is fine, immediately after being banded you are often times quite swollen, and you can only sip small amounts---but the swelling eases. Then you can begin drinking more normally. Other than avoiding drinking with my meals, I drink as normally as I ever did, with the possible exception of a true guzzling when I am out doing something like mowing the lawn. Fluids have not been a problem. They told me my bites needed to be the size of a pencil eraser, and I thought...WHAT???? I do eat small bites, but I don't consistantly eat them that small---although I did at first, to be sure what I could and could not eat, and I still chew forever! I believe the things they told you were to prepare you for the first few weeks following the surgery....and once you get off of liquids following the surgery, you might have to do very small meals---but as you and your band adjust to one another, and you begin your fill process, you will find how YOU can handle it. Don't panic---we all survived the first weeks out, and you will too!!! Welcome to LBT by the way!!! Kat

My personal experience with it, was it started about 4-5 months out and lasted til 11-12 months out....and it did seem to lessen, then suddenly would be horrible again. But it stopped just as suddenly as it started, and it was just before my bandiversary. I too lost well over half my hair. As I said before, they mentioned mine might have been more severe due to having lost 100% of it before due to chemo. It will quit, and I feel like stress only made it worse---breath deep and repeat...it will stop, it will stop..... Kat

Hi! When we first got the elliptical, I struggled and I do mean struggled to do 5 minutes. My DD come in and effortlessly went for 35 and then got off because she had to get home---good thing I love that child! I worked it up by the minute...I used to do it EVERY day, then DH went into A-fib, and he couldn't use it, so guess who slacked off with him!!! Now he has been released...so I hopped on, and even on standard, no resistance, I could only go 25 minutes, without feeling jelly legged. I used to quit on the time, not because I was feeling the workout...back when I did it daily! DH wanted to do the programs again, so we began that, and OMG!!! I was gasping and wobbly legged after 15 minutes of the easiest one on there, it is a 20 minute program, and I could not finish! That is my goal, to finish that first workout, and do it without dying, then move on to the next! My legs are not my weak spot...I have VERY defined, and toned legs....if the rest of my body were in the shape my legs are---I would be in excellent shape, unfortunately---the rest of me is far from toned!!! In my legs, I can see each muscle separately, they are so defined. hmmmmm my legs are the only place I will ever have a 6 pack!!! I have the entire KEG on my belly!!!! I am using the elliptical more for the cardiovascular workout than anything. But thanks, I feel better about doing it last night!!! I feel so bad for you girls fighting the TOM---I suffered (and that is not an exageration) for years, trying to get something done, and they hated to do a hysterectomy, insurance was hard to approve, yadda, yadda, yadda....then lo and behold cancer struck, and wham! bam! thank ya Ma'am it was GONE!!! I don't miss it a bit! Tonight when my DD come to get the girls, we were eating shaved ice, because they had been sooooo good! It was a great day for both girls. Lindzie behaved for Nana and for me too---so we celebrated. I love their SF French Vanilla shaved ice.....anyway, Manda told them to hurry they had to get home and pack Lindzies clothes, she was going to go camping with her Mommie---and all hell broke loose. She was crying and screaming, and repeating she wasn't going, she was NOT going....on and on and on. Manda went right to her and tried to talk to her, but she was borderline hysterical. Earlier when they were playing on the swingset, I had the little digital recorder out, so it was on the table, I picked it up and turned it on, and recorded her out of control hysteria over going to her Mommies. She was bargaining, and begging....Manda finally got her calmed down, and by then, she and both girls were in tears. Kinsey saw her Mama and Lindzie crying and had to join them. I kid you not she was wild eyed, and freaking out, for 15 minutes straight. She never said WHY....just begged not to go. It was unreal. Manda finally told her they will talk to Daddy, and she will do what she can to let her stay home. I sent the camera home so he could see it. She just called a few minutes ago, and said he called her Mom and said she was not going, and from here on out her visits will be supervised, and if she doesn't like it, get a lawyer, because he damn well will. In hindsight now, it has seemed as each day went by she improved just a hair.....maybe since her last visit. Anyway, Manda said their counselling session was supposed to be tonight with just her and Ryan, but they are taking Lindzie, I am keeping Kinsey. And she is calling for an appointment with her pediatrician tomorrow, to have a check up done on her. Breaks my heart, I know I have been less understanding than I could have been, I feel bad, but I was/am at my wits end. Maybe if she doesn't go, and can talk about what ever is bothering her there, or at least feel Daddy & Mom (Manda) are backing her up, she will be easier. And school starts in a week. Anyway---pretty sad...something sure has her in a tizzy. I would hate to be her Mommies bf if they find out he did anything to her---my future son in law, may go to jail! Well I need to go crush some nuts (sorry the reference to the above sentence made me laugh!!! Maybe Granny is a weebit emotionally strained too)---I am using these--- macadamias to encrust some fish for dinner. DH is not a big fish eater, but he will eat it this way, so if that's what it takes!!! I will talk to y'all later! Kat

Watcher, I would say without a doubt you will have less of that problem as you go on to lose weight. However I would not be surprised to see the problem go away as soon as you "see the light at the end of the tunnel" and know help is on the way. Would almost bet when you get a surgery date, you can also get a date with a happy ending!!! Good luck on all your pre-ops----the band is SOOOOO worth it! Kat

I am 5'9", and my 14's are very loose now....but 12's won't button around my belly still....tummy tuck here I come!!! Waiting until mid January---get all the holidays and summer behind me and I am gonna do it! I can walk into anyplace now that sells up to a 14 and find something to fit. My bra band size has gone down from a 46-48 to a 38-40...but the cup size has actually seemed to increase, due to the size discrepency now between the fuller part of the breast and the smaller band size...sometimes in the cheaper off the rack bras I can find a 40DD that will fit....but a fitted 38DDD is much better looking on. I am afraid when I finish I will be in a 36 loooooong!!! Kat

LOL I just read this, and was going to suggest she look you up Jack!!! Kat

I personally do not have heart issues other than a murmur I was born with, but my DH just had open heart surgery followed by cardiac ablation last month. At one of his visits, it come up that I had been banded, she ask me all kinds of questions about it, and indicated that if that is what it took for me to lose weight then it was all a good thing. She said the excess weight is terrible for you so it is good that you took care of it before it caused you problems. So hopefully your Dr.'s see it the same way! Good Luck! Welcome to LBT! Kat

Awww Tracy, sorry to hear son is having issues this morning. My morning is quiet so far. Lindzie is veru subdued, lying on the couch watching TV, which she would do all day, every day, if I allowed it. I should have turned it off by now, but they are watching, How'd they Make That....and the girls are talking nice and calm about it---so I am letting it go for now, not ready for the battling to begin! Lazy Granny!!! They are going to stay with my folks for a couple of hours this afternoon, 2 of my friends (we have been friends since 5th grade!) want to take me to lunch for my birthday, and since we might not be here next week we are doing it today. One of them, has not changed one iota! Well actually they are both the same the one was a strange girl, and grew into a strange woman!!!! I don't mean that to say I don't like her, she is just a wild, crazy, lady! She got pregnant and left school VERY young. She lost her baby, and went on to go through a pretty rough decade or so of drug use. She eventually straightened up, and had a son. Then her DH died, from the exact same type of GI bleed my DH had---same bleed, same Dr., same hospital, everything. Except hers died...scared me to no end, when Rick was so bad. I really thing they learned something with him dying that helped save Rick. She has since gone on and remarried. It was her twin brother who was killed in the forklift accident I mentioned a few months back. But now she is telling us she is communicating with the dead. And she held a double conversation, with the other friend and I and some dead biker she knew!!! I'm telling you these lunches can be interesting!!! Well I did my elliptical last night, for a whole 15 minutes. I have begun using a set work out, so the resistance goes up and down like you are climbing hills. I used to be able to ride it without resistance for 30 minutes. OMG this way, I barely made the 15 minutes!!! But it raised my heart rate without a doubt! Today I will hit Curves. And do some free weights tonight. DH will be keeping me in line now! I have to add WWDHD to my WWJD!!! I know what neither one of them would have done, and I Did do last night. ***warning food porn*** I battered and fried some fresh squash last night, it was so good!!!!!!!!! I was positive I could fit in one more slice---oooooh there was no room, and I made myself so sick. I spit the entire time I was on the elliptical, trying to keep from tossing everything, I felt sooooo sick! I managed not to PB with it, and the sliming stopped, but the thought of food just turns my stomach right now. Eeewwww. And my friend is hinting at Chinese for lunch....double Eeeewww!!! It wasn't the squash, or the fact that it was fried, it was my own stupidity trying to eat too much! I knew better---I KNEW. But it tasted so good, I wanted more.....now I don' wanna no more! Judy glad you are moving ok this morning, hope the kids at VBS are nice to you!!! My SIL just called, she just come home yesterday from taking 2 of her DD's to be banded. And she had most of her fill removed, she was way too tight. She said she feels much better now, so that's good. Well I am going to go get some things done....I have to leave feedback....good feedback!!! We bought the kids a set of Mexican Train Dominoes, and they came yesterday. I like their set better than my own!!! Everyone have a good day, hope your son settles down Tracy--bring him to my house I'll let him veg in front of the TV I am so good!!!! Kat

You are right Lori, everyone WILL have a different journey, heck there will be days that yours changes from morning to night!!! BUT with careful attention as you figure this new way of life out, and a good Dr., and there is no need to suffer through the things that the OP is dealing with. I am amazed and impressed that with all that going on, that she still loves her band! The difficult issue with the band is getting it to the proper restriction without going over that point. When you do that, and you can eat healthy foods, without issue, you will just eat MUCH less. Then your mind finally gets into the game, and you realize that if you can only fit .5 to 1.5 cups of food in now, that you better make it good quality food that will help you get healthy. So instead of a dinner with say, fried chicken, mashed potatoes & gravy, dinner rolls, green Beans, and dessert. You will look at that and KNOW there is no way to eat all of that, so you change to roasted chicken, and eat some chicken, and some green beans...and if you have room, maybe a bite or 2 of potatoes & gravy. But not double helpings of each! The band gives you control back. It is amazing the smarter choices you can make when you are not starving all the time. You will shock yourself when you remember to drink a glass of Water and see if you were actually thirsty and not hungry in the first place. There is no more wondering where your next food is coming from---that is no longer priority #1. Whatever meal you choose on the menu WILL be enough food---and you will almost always have a take home box! You will find which restaurants let you order from the childrens menu!! You start really tasting your food---when you have to chew something VERY well, you get to sample its flavor in a serious way...not chomp chomp, swallow! You don't walk in the house after a long day and grab the first thing you can get your hands on---I always did! A bag of chips or Cookies, or both! Now I am not famished all the time, so I can take some time to toss together a small salad, or make something more healthy than those chips or cookies. Even if my head hunger takes over---a single handfull of chips, or a couple of cookies, and the binge is over! No longer is it a surprise to find an entire sleeve of cookies just gone! It isn't something I can do! When you get your band properly adjusted---you CAN eat things besides Soup. Yes there is a high liklihood that there will be some foods your band does not tolerate, and those foods can change from time to time. IF you find a good spot with restriction, then you eat in the way you are told, small bites, chewed well, fork down between bites....you will learn to recognize signals from your body. I have heard people eating bites the size of half of a pinky nail---I have never been that precise---but I do take small bites. I chew them up, sitting my fork down, swallow, and see how it feels. If I am at home, who cares how I eat?? And I have found when we go out with friends or family to eat, everyone is concentrating on their own food, or when they are talking to you they are making eye contact, not checking out the size of my bites! I eat slower---it ends up that I am finished with my smaller portion about the same time they finish their entire plate---and all they end up noticing is that I am taking a lot home. I have eaten too fast before in a restaurant, and needed to get up, to ease the "golfball" the OP mentioned. If the bite was small enough, usually moving around will be all it takes, with some deep breaths, to let it pass on down. I usually just pick around at my meal after that...take it home! I haver never been embarrassed when out eating. Quite the opposite. When I was at my heaviest, I felt like every eye was on me in the restaurant when I walked in, and that people were wondering why in the world I was there to eat even more! Now, I fit in booths without question, no one looks at me regardless what I order. As for the hair loss, yes. In my opinion it was the worst part of my being banded. Now keep in mind it has been mentioned that mine might have been worse than normal, because I have had full hair loss before due to chemo. But I lost lots and lots of hair. I kept my Protein up before and after surgery---so don't kick yourself, I don't think it makes a difference. I lost hair doing Atkins, and all I ate was protein! I think STRESS plays a huge roll. The stress on the body of surgery and anesthesia, and the diet change---the body freaks out! I was getting to a panic point when the hair loss stopped as suddenly as it had started. Now it is growing back---and I look a sight without lots of product to hold the new growth down!!! BUT give me a few months, and not only will my hair be back to normal (it will take awhile to get my full length, but that's ok) I will be to goal, or darn close to it! There are many points the OP makes that could be fixed with a proper fill level. I am just glad she is not ready to give up on the band, because I predict when she gets to a GOOD spot, she will really be happy!!!! And OP if you are out there still, are all these people you know who have the same issues, patients of the same Dr.? Some Dr.'s are extremely aggresive with fills. My fill Dr. is one of them, I just refuse to be as tight as he thinks I should be. I have lost 100 pounds, I don't think it was necessary! Hang in there, and if any of these issues the OP brings up scare you---talk to your Dr. about them. If your Dr. blows off your fears or tells you yes they ARE normal---find another Dr. The band DOES take aftercare, find someone you can work with, who will care about how you feel. Good Luck! Kat

BCBS of TX does not have an exclusion, but some employers have the exclusion. Lucky for you it sounds like yours does not! This site was and is a life saver for me, it is such a huge life changing thing, that it is hard not to obssess over it. When I started seeing my family & friends eyes glaze over when I mentioned the band again, I would log on here!!! Here we all obssess together! Feel free to PM me anytime with any questions or concerns, and if it would be easier I can PM you my #. I am so thrilled with my band, I cannot recommend it enough!!! I know this is going to sound very strange (!!!) but several of the women I chat with in the New Jersey thread are from Texas!!! And I am there from NM, and there's one from California, and another from Illinois....who knew Jersey was so big!!! Right now we are under the thread title of something like August NJ thread . I know they would welcome you as well, and you could ask them their locations in TX---I want to say they are more in the Dallas area...not sure, we were going to meet between Abilene and Dallas I think---we are still going to try this fall. Kat

I don't find fault in how the family seemed to very loving, and willingly helping out---now we all know they DID know they were being filmed, but in general seemed very happy. My biggest issue with having that many kids seems like you miss knowing each of them as well as you could with less. I do realize uncaring parents may not know their one child. But like I said before, the play time one on one with your child, or knowing that Jimmy doesn't like the food on his plate to touch, or that Susie is not drinking her milk it is just sitting in the glass....little things that seem impossible to deal with when you constantly have an infant, and then 16 others as well! Then maybe she is just a whole lot better at it than I am!!! I did daycare, and we limited 4 children to one caretaker...which is about what she has when you consider her oldest children as caretakers. As one of only 2 children, and my only sibling being a brother, I always wanted a sister to talk to and play with, these kids never lack for companionship. Which is one of the big reasons I did daycare, so my only child DD would have that...then I married a man with 2 kids...and the 3 were all one year apart....so they had close siblings in the end, and it was great! It definitely is not something I would ever care to do---from the begining to the end---childbirth is not fun! And I can't see myself maintaining my sanity and raising 17 kids into healthy happy adults!!! I am sure my kids are glad too!!!! Kat

Unfortunately I DO know their game---and my advice is to play their game to the letter! Take detailed notes if you talk to them, note who you talked to, and when as well as what they said. Then do everything they say WHEN they say to do it! My program at the time 18 months ago was requiring 12 months. We have Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas. I was 10 1/2 months into it when I was in a car accident that landed me in the hospital and having knee surgery. I missed an appointment for nutritional counselling while I was hospitalized, my PCP saw me in the hospital, but for the injuries not the nutritional consult. So when I went back ---still on crutches --- I was told I would have to start the entire 12 months over because they have to be consecutive!!! I appealled it, and was told they would be happy to cover it WHEN I did the 12 consecutive months....so it was another year away. And they they informed me that they would not pay for another sleep study, or for repeats of some of the tests, they are only allowed every 2 years, and yet the band surgeon requires them to be within 6 months....I was heartbroken. About a month later, the other drivers insurance company called me to settle my medical, and they actually gave me a cash settlement for it as well, and I took that cash and ran myself to Mexico!!! I actually went to a Dr, that friends had used before me for banding, so I had thought about it, but was not planning on spending our savings on the surgery since I had insurance coverage. But when the money come to me that way it seemed the right thing to do. Now looking back on it, I would have just finished up the year not long ago---and would just now be having surgery. BUT in the last year, my DH has had open heart surgery and survived a life threatening GI bleed, so I am sure through all of that, I would have missed another appointment, and been back to square one, yet again! SO follow the rules!!! And be glad it is only 6 months, it will be here before you know it!!! Happy Christmas present to yourself almost!!! A little belated!! Kat

TracyK---you have absolutely NOTHING to be worried about! You look GREAT!!!! Strut your stuff baby!!! Judy---owie!!! I am so sorry you crashed! Hope you are ok! I think for the most part Jennifers advice through Tyra is right except these people are all going to be looking at Tracy going "Holy Smoke, I better do something--look how much she has lost, and how good she looks!" It will leave them feeling like they have work to do!!!! Seriously though it is perfect advice!!! Kat

I was originally required to do a 12 month medically supervised diet. All it entailed was the Dr. giving me healthy diet guidelines, and me following the recommendations. He had me of course cut down the sugar, and the carbs in my diet, and wanted me eating low fat.....I tried, but to be honest, I had done all that, and even when I lost weight, I regained it, I just wanted my band!!!! Is the pre op required by the surgeon or the insurance? Welcome to LBT, you will love the support!!! I live in NM, but we have property in central TX so we go back and forth several times a year. Hang out, let us get to know you! Kat

Not sure if the antibiotics can bring on break through bleeding, but the CAN and DO often times cause your BCP's to be useless!!! In other words, use back up protection!!!! My anitibiotic baby is named Amanda---she is 25, and my antibiotic "nephew" (actually a best friends son) is named Cody! Be careful, the # of banders getting pregnant quickly following is pretty impressive, probably something to do with all the release of hormones, but if you are not ready don't take any chances!!! Kat

Metalband---if you won't tell about the bag of Skor candy bits in my fridge that I sometimes add to my Protein shakes...your M&M secret is safe with me. Maybe we really need to try the chocolate liquer!!!! I think there is such a thing!!! Kat

TracyK---in my opinion, how you look in the suit is going to count for very little. How you project yourself in the suit is the biggie! If you walk out there, sans towel, shoulders back, and strut your stuff, like you feel you have nothing to hide (which you really don't) then that is the attitude they will see you with. If you are hiding behind the towel, and a tshirt, they are going to think that yeah you got something to hide..... If walking out in it is something you just cannot make yourself do, wear a cover up, or shorts & a shirt, but when it comes time to get in the pool, just strip it off, like it is an everyday thing, do NOT act embarassed! Be FULL of confidence, be chatting to someone, and just strip it off, and walk into the pool.... I was the same way about taking the kids to the public pool....and finally I thought to hell with it, and I went for it. If someone is in the dressing room with me, I talk to them, it keeps them in eye contact with me!!!! I vote YES enjoy your party! Is SIL nice about her skinny mini self or not??? All Aboard!!!! Woohooo a boat owner! We technically own part of sons boat! Both he and DD's boyfriend have boats. Personally we spend our $$$ on bikes! Congrats on the win. We ebay a lot, but our numbers are still pretty low---going to go up when he gets this bike tore apart for me to sell!!! Tracy hope you feel better---I don't miss cramps....wish yours would go away! Have not spoke to the MIL so it's been ok! Today went pretty well with Lindzie until about 1/2 an hour before I planned to leave the park. Kinsey and Ray (a friends son) had come over saying they were thirsty, so I got in the cooler and got them some juice, when she saw it she started crying it just wasn't fair how she was treated, she didn't get a drink....I sat her down and told her "you did not ask for a drink, you did not say you were thirsty, there are lots of drinks in the cooler, and when you wanted one I figured you would ask---but not whine, so now we are going home, and you can have your drink there" and we come home. With her wailing the entire way about how unfair it is that she only wanted a drink and now can't play on the monkey bars anymore. I ignored her. When we got home I told her if she wanted juice she just needed to ask, if she wanted water she knew how to get it, but she had 2 minutes to stop the crying or I was going to give her something to cry about and I picked up the flyswatter---thank goodness she fell for a bluff!!!! The rest of the day went better! Not sure how to do this!! We went and picked up pictures I had made of the girls together, and she was dancing because there were more pictures of her alone than Kinsey alone! I have met jealousy before, but this is unreal! Just raided the tomato vines DH is getting BLT's for dinner ASAP!! Ok maybe not ASAP...ASAHGH...As soon as he gets home!!! It is one of his favorite things especially with fresh tomatoes! I walked the track around the park while the girls played today---not sure how long the track is, I don't think it is a standard size, so I have no idea how far I walked. I even jogged a couple of times---girls I felt so old doing that!!!! Not thinking I will ever be a runner! Tonight I will hit the elliptical again. I need a new audio book for my elliptical....any suggestions?? TTYL~ Kat

For the most part I don't think much about food anymore. I cook what sounds good, and I eat what I can, proportion wise. I am able to eat almost anything (glazed donuts are my enemy!!). The only time I "resent" the band---is like the other night, my DH grilled these burgers, we had fresh from the garden veggies, they tasted soooooo good, and I wanted to be able to eat more......to enjoy it more! Reheated meat is usually not moist enough---so lesson learned, keep one patty out to grill for lunch the next day!!! I eat my burgers same as I always did, the bun, the condiments, and veggies on them---I just now eat about 6 bites---small bander bites and I am done, rather than eating 2 full burgers. But man I enjoy those bites. Unsure how it relates to an alcoholic and their booze---never had THAT problem!!! I quit smoking years ago, gave up on wild men, when I married DH many, many moons ago...and now gave up on my gigantic food proportions.....alcohol missed me!!! Thank heavens I don't know if I could give anything else up~j/k Kat

Jacqui, mine fell out---with the bulb at the end attached! BUT---I had been through total hair loss before due to chemo, so think maybe that made my experience different. And now I am living Faiths nightmare----I have about 2" hair THICK all over my head. No wide part, no scalp showing, hair is healthy---but I look like a dandelion if I do not slather my head in product!!!! Hang in there!!! Kat

My SIL and I went together to get banded...the same day, by the same Dr. We come out of surgery in different ways, and continued to this day to be nothing alike in our band journey! We went the same day to have our first fill...and he gave us the same amount. I felt some change, not a lot, I was doing it mostly on will power (or is it won't power...I won't eat it, I won't eat it!) So a month later off we went for our 2nd fill. I had been losing steady, she had not. With the second fill I got restriction, it almost seemed too much a couple of days, but I never got to where I couldn't eat. I was very careful, and the weight continued to drop. Not so with SIL, so she went for her 3rd fill the next month, within days we knew she was too tight---she kept throwing everything up, and by the time we got to the Dr. she could not swallow her own saliva! So they took some out, and she went on liquids, til she felt better. Now I have lost track of her fill/unfill schedule, she has had a bunch! When she found restriction though, the weight fell off of her, she is at goal. She just yesterday had another small unfill. Me? I have never had another after my 2nd---which was over a year ago. I am still slowly losing, but living a VERY NORMAL life. I eat whatever the family eats, we dine out, we travel (by motorcycle) all over the place...eating at rallies, and fairs and the like. Could I drop the last 20 some pounds quicker with another fill? Probably, but I also take a chance at getting too full, and I have had zero problems, why take that chance? I have had my band for 15 months---I have PB'd twice...neither time during the "getting to know you" phase, both times on the run, and I slipped into old habits, popped a bite in my mouth chew chew swallow, and about half way down I realized what the heck I just did!!! One was with a piece of popcorn chicken, in Walmart no less!!! The other during a Sunday School class, and I was eating a glazed donut, and had a point I wanted to make so swallowed quickly---BIG mistake!!! That single bite felt like it grew to be a dozen donuts!!! I do still eat chicken, I avoid donuts!!! But I eat all foods really---bread, pasta, steak, chicken...I just try to remember everything in moderation....yes me too...even ice cream. I love it! No 2 people are going to react the same. There does seem to be a common line in the responses you are getting, and that is simply that your problems lie in being too tight. My Dr. told me, that the fill may take days to kick in, if that is what happen to you, seeing it during the process on the fluoroscopy is no indication of how it is now. You know when I started this I was a really big lady. But if I could have even done something that would have guaranteed me not to gain even more from there, I would have done it! It may take me several more months or longer to lose the last 20 pounds....but you know I used to look at people with only 20 pounds to lose, with a combination of irritation and disbelief, that someone could be unhappy with only THAT little amount to lose! Call your Dr. and tell him how you are getting along with your band--or not getting along with it as the case may be, I would bet even he suggests a slight unfill, and a return to liquids for a few days. Your restriction very well may change without an unfill, as your weight drops. I no longer have the serious restriction I did...but don't wait so long to do that that you take a chance on losing it all together due to serious problems resulting from an over fill---they really are quite common, and easily fixed! Good Luck- Kat