Kat817

Mandy---it is hit & miss on the email notification----some I get others have quit. Soon it will all be back to normal! Thanks so much for all the support guys! As we feared, Rick's blood is now too thin. They want him between 2.3 and 3.3 to be considered therapeutic. As of this morning he is at 6.4. It is extremely worrisome with his bleeding history, but he is not overdoing, and not having any stomach upset---so we will taper off the high dose coumadin, and let the numbers drop again. I am only mad about it, because we told them, it was too strong of a dose, we have been here before, but did they listen??? Nope. Now not only is he too thin, I will have to fill another prescription for another dosage amount. Oh well, I am going to go to Walmart or Target and fill it. I used our usual pharmacy for his last one, and they charged me the full co-pay of $15.00----Walmart and Target advertise it for $4.00! If I have to change this everytime I turn around, it will make difference! I am so sad-----my inlaws left for Texas today---I should be going to meet my friends! I will....it just won't be now. I was so excited!! As soon as we can, I'll be letting you know! We tried to get them to wait it looks as though they will be driving directly into some pretty severe storms at the state line, and over into the Lubbock area. Hope they are careful. We actually have beautiful weather outside right now, they say a possible thunderstorm tonight, but it is gorgeous out right now---thinking I may go for a walk, and destress a bit. Thank you all SOOOOOOOOOOO much. I cannot imagine my life without you my friends!!!!! Kat

Hi all! Awww Brenners I am sorry you ran into a problem. If you do a search on Port Revision, you will find several members with similar issues. And as I recall, it was a pretty quick fix, and they have went on successfully as I am sure you will. Lunasa---PLEASE don't apologize! You nailed it girl!! I really try not to say more, moan and complain about her or the constant comparison thing my MIL does. I am afraid it will come across as sour grapes....and it really truly is not. I am thrilled with my weight loss, I have and continue to do it in a healthy manner. If I were to lose my band, I have learned something from it, and from my friends here, in regards to my eating habits. I did not learn how to stick my finger down my throat. And yes Terry---she seems to be doing it on purpose. The 2 times I have PB'd, it was not an option to throw up----it was happening! I have seen (how gross huh?) her stick her finger down her throat. We were driving home from CO, and she decided her milkshake was not going down---so she pulled over to throw it up---I could see her in my side mirror---and it was finger down the throat. If it was not going down, there would have been no need to gag herself. I fully believe her DD is right, it is a combination of attention and a deterrent from anyone else having the surgery and being successful. Her sister (my other SIL) in Denver thought about it, and decided after seeing how she does she does not want that! So if that is her goal, she is succeeding! Once again---you guys were right, everything, whether it be her brothers current health issues, or last month her sister had knee replacement---whatever, it comes back to being about her! The other 3 siblings joke that she was raised by different parents! She is always talking about her horrible childhood, and the other 3 thought theirs was great! I do sound mean and petty---and I hate that. There are times this SIL will do anything for you---she can be caring and loving. Then others not so at all! She is unhappily married for as I say over 30 years---there is no physical comfort in her marriage at all. They smart off, and put down, and joke and roughhouse---but there is no hugging, no hello or goodbye kisses---nothing "soft". Not just between her and her DH, but not with any of her 3 DD's either. None of the DD's has had success with relationships---they have the same hard shell. She expresses her dislike of me "waiting on" my DH. I will get him a soda to drink, or bring him a napkin, little things---that he also does for me. She was raised seeing this---my MIL does it for my FIL. So who knows. I do know I am so thankful you read between the lines, and read what I said in the way that I meant it! Tracy----it does not surprise me a bit, what you have done for that woman. You are the very rare---truly nice person!!!! Big ((((HUGS)))) to you for being such a sweetie! I too love the vanity aspect of my weight loss. I no longer feel embarrassed for DH to introduce me...embarrassment for him more than me. I look pretty "normal" walking down the street or shopping for clothes now, and that feels good. But I had some serious health issues as well. I was on 2 meds for high blood pressure, I was on Metformin for blood sugar, and my cholesterol was high. I come from a family with strong heart problems. I was actually afraid I was going to die from one of these things, and that noone would be able to lift my casket. I told DH I wanted to be cremated, when I really don't----just so I could save my family and friends the embarrassment of it taking a dozen big men to carry me from the church! I also have grandbabies now, and I couldn't get in the floor and play with her (the now 2 yr old). I thought ahead to their soccer games, or music programs at school, and did not want them to be embarrassed by me being there. Now my 1 & 2 year old grandkids, will likely never remember me being seriously obese. I play chase with them, even have been on a trampoline with my newest granddaughter to be, who is 6. I can go to the park, and fit in a swing----I climbed the slide with my grandson!!! This is a combination of vanity and health---but it has been a HUGE improvement in my life. One of the major differences in my SIL and I, is I tell everyone---she has kept hers secret from all but family. I would tell ANYONE who ask, hoping to inspire and help someone else find their way out of the hole of obesity. Now with that being said, I totally understand not telling especially when they hound you about how much weight you have lost each day at work for instance. I no longer work outside the home---so no one but my inlaws ask me that!!!! My suggestion to those being ask that, would be to tell them, "I don't know---I got so tired of being ask that, I put my scales away, and am only going to weigh once a week now---but I have clothes that used to be too tight that fit now, so I know it is working!".....I bet they would quit asking! Thanks again for understanding---no wonder I love coming to this thread!!!!! Kat

Welcome Legs! I personally love hearing about the path that brought us all together here! Hope all goes well in your quest to have your band---hang out and keep us posted!!! We are glad you popped out of the May thread to introduce yourself!!! Kat

As far as the taxes issue----back when they pulled the ads from TV there was a big outcry that both the stations, and the cigarette companies would suffer----didn't happen. It may cause a shift, but I myself doubt any of us would feel a change. The biggest difference in overeating, and quitting smoking for me, is this....when I quit smoking, I quit cold turkey. That was it, I made the decision, I felt empowered by making it, and I followed through on that. I did not have to smoke a safe cigarette 3 times a day.....when I faced the eating issues, I could not simply go cold turkey. I had to decide what was safe (healthy) to eat. How much to eat etc. I couldn't just walk away from food. It makes a difference in the mind set. It would be just as unsuccessful for me, to have quit smoking, while having 3 cigs a day. It would have simply led to more. Comparing the 2 is not a fair comparison---compare it to quitting drinking or other drugs, not a necessity of life. My best friend recently ( a month ago) got a Rx for Chantix. So far the only thing it has been successful at helping her do, is a place for her make up bag to sit! She has not so much as opened the box since shelling out her $100.00+ for it! Why? her nagging husband! If he would quit bugging her, she would do it, she just refuses to let him think she is quitting for him. He wants to think that so rags on her all the time----at this rate she will never get to prove to herself she can quit. And she knows she can---she now only smokes at home. She commutes a total of 3 hours a day, and is working in another state where she can smoke outside, but she doesn't....at all! She smokes at home to show she can. It has moved to a battle of the wills, not an addiction issue. I would bet many smokers feel the same. Kat

My first fill was 1.25 cc's, and I only got minimal change---I was forced to slow down is about all. I went back 4 weeks later and was given .50cc's. I didn't hold much faith in it, I thought if 1.25 didn't make much change, what would 1/2 a cc do???? Boy was I wrong! That little tweak, made a world of change! I got restriction! I have been riding that fill for going on 10 months!!!!! Kat

I would pretty much ignore what the nurse said, and research it yourself, the stats are very similar for long term success, and in fact may be opposite what she led you to believe. It WILL take longer to get to a goal weight, and you will have to do some work on it yourself---but it is entirely possible to lose, and maintain that loss with banding. My PCP Dr. was quite encouraging---he in fact has spoke with me about having his wife see the surgeon I used. There is a lot of information out there---settle in, and research away----you know you best, you know if you can follow the necessary dietary changes for the short term. Read through this site, and look into some of the others, and weigh (pun intended) your options. Keeping in mind, that these forums, have an unbalanced complication rate. Many people don't come to post, unless they are having problems. The ones without issues, are not as frequent of posters usually. Ask any questions you have----lots of friendly people here! Welcome to LBT! Kat

Patty---you are so sweet, you made me cry! Thank you more than I know how to say!!!!! Kat

Pretty much the same situation with me. I was totally disgusted with myself, and the weight I kept gaining. I was afraid I was going to die of one of my health issues, and that no one would be able to lift my casket! Seriously---I worried about it! A friend and I had discussed the band, and began looking into it. She and her husband went to MX self pay within a couple of months. I was trying to get insurance to pay---so fought with them for almost a year---and ended up in MX self pay as well! By the time I had my surgery, she and her DH had both lost a lot of weight! My SIL and I went together to have it done. I do not regret a single thing about it! I'd do it again in a heart beat. I have recommended it to lots of people (who ask---I do not go up suggesting it to strangers!!!!), and have had a couple follow me! Good Luck in making your decision. Do lots of research! Welcome to LBT! Kat

Hi everyone---sorry for the sporadic reporting. I feel so bad---I KNOW you are always there for me, and then I just flake....it has been a rough week. Rick has not made much of a change. The Dr. situation is not acceptable. We are in a catch 22, and totally unsure what to do about it. All of our local cardiologists, hace recinded their hospital privileges. Yep, there is not a single cardiologist in our area, who can practice in the hospital, this is a hospital with a new state of the art cardiac care center. The dr.'s do not like the hospitals guidelines, so are pulling out. So the day the cardiologist sent Rick to the hospital, he went to ER---then he had no Dr. His PCP is out of town.....so they admit him, without choice, he is in A-Fib (atrial fibrillation). The top part of his heart is not beating correctly, it is quivering, as opposed to beating. His heart rate is not going down below 100, and hasn't for 2 months, and has been as high as 186. That is higher than mine when I am doing cardiac training exercise! So once he is admitted, he has no heart Dr. So the Dr, filling in for our PCP for the weekend, comes in ,and he studies the situation, and puts Rick on blood thinners, despite the GI bleed he had. Says that is the best option. So we are stuck in the hospital---no way to leave other than AMA---which would trash our future insurance coverage of this. No one wanted the responsibility of letting him go. Finally Monday morning our PCP released him with STRICT orders concerning the blood thinners. The PCP is the one who saved his life with the experiment he did. So we go see the cardiologist, who is less than helpful---and schedules him for some tests----on the 30th of May! He keeps his blood thinner on a VERY high dose. The PCP wants his PT/INR checked every 3 days---the cardiologist says it is ok to go until today. Ignoring the PCP's orders, who we trust implicitly with the bleeding issue. Rick felt crummy all weekend, no energy, we are afraid his blood is too thin, his heart rate remained in the 120's. So he goes today for the check on his blood, and they cancelled him, there was no one to do the check, the girl had to leave to have a tooth pulled. Their response---maybe tomorrow, they would call. So we go to the hospital, and were turned away, we had no orders. I tried to get the PCP, he was in surgery (he's a gastro--and does back to back colonoscopies all day on Mondays she said), I even ask the cardiologists nurse for a prescription for a blood draw at the hospital for PT/INR, and they refused. I was a basket case! I come home and sat down with the phone, and called his original heart surgeons office, at the Heart Hospital of NM and told my story several times, finally getting to talk to his cardiac surgeons nurse. Bless her! She actually had me talk to the Dr. who set us up with the cardiac electrophysiologist---he said if he needs electro shock or ablation she is the best. And she would know best if he needed either. He said if he had problems of Rick's nature, she is the Dr. he would choose for himself. She is going to call our PCP, and send him a holter monitor to hook Rick up to for 48 hours, then she will have some info when she sees us next week. I got off the phone and just cried. Relief...... someone is going to at least take concern! I had it out with my SIL over this, and family relations have been very strained. It has been a difficult time. We live here, our lives are here, his job is here, but we have health issues that are only able to be met now 300 miles away! So......that's been my life! Weight is stuck.....food is not, it is going down real easy!!! And right now with all the other stress, I am not even going to consider a fill. If it takes another year to get the rest of, then so be it! Will be back to catch up with each of you!!!! Kat

Hi everyone---sorry for the sporadic reporting. I feel so bad---I KNOW you are always there for me, and then I just flake....it has been a rough week. Rick has not made much of a change. The Dr. situation is not acceptable. We are in a catch 22, and totally unsure what to do about it. All of our local cardiologists, hace recinded their hospital privileges. Yep, there is not a single cardiologist in our area, who can practice in the hospital, this is a hospital with a new state of the art cardiac care center. The dr.'s do not like the hospitals guidelines, so are pulling out. So the day the cardiologist sent Rick to the hospital, he went to ER---then he had no Dr. His PCP is out of town.....so they admit him, without choice, he is in A-Fib (atrial fibrillation). The top part of his heart is not beating correctly, it is quivering, as opposed to beating. His heart rate is not going down below 100, and hasn't for 2 months, and has been as high as 186. That is higher than mine when I am doing cardiac training exercise! So once he is admitted, he has no heart Dr. So the Dr, filling in for our PCP for the weekend, comes in ,and he studies the situation, and puts Rick on blood thinners, despite the GI bleed he had. Says that is the best option. So we are stuck in the hospital---no way to leave other than AMA---which would trash our future insurance coverage of this. No one wanted the responsibility of letting him go. Finally Monday morning our PCP released him with STRICT orders concerning the blood thinners. The PCP is the one who saved his life with the experiment he did. So we go see the cardiologist, who is less than helpful---and schedules him for some tests----on the 30th of May! He keeps his blood thinner on a VERY high dose. The PCP wants his PT/INR checked every 3 days---the cardiologist says it is ok to go until today. Ignoring the PCP's orders, who we trust implicitly with the bleeding issue. Rick felt crummy all weekend, no energy, we are afraid his blood is too thin, his heart rate remained in the 120's. So he goes today for the check on his blood, and they cancelled him, there was no one to do the check, the girl had to leave to have a tooth pulled. Their response---maybe tomorrow, they would call. So we go to the hospital, and were turned away, we had no orders. I tried to get the PCP, he was in surgery (he's a gastro--and does back to back colonoscopies all day on Mondays she said), I even ask the cardiologists nurse for a prescription for a blood draw at the hospital for PT/INR, and they refused. I was a basket case! I come home and sat down with the phone, and called his original heart surgeons office, at the Heart Hospital of NM and told my story several times, finally getting to talk to his cardiac surgeons nurse. Bless her! She actually had me talk to the Dr. who set us up with the cardiac electrophysiologist---he said if he needs electro shock or ablation she is the best. And she would know best if he needed either. He said if he had problems of Rick's nature, she is the Dr. he would choose for himself. She is going to call our PCP, and send him a holter monitor to hook Rick up to for 48 hours, then she will have some info when she sees us next week. I got off the phone and just cried. Relief...... someone is going to at least take concern! I had it out with my SIL over this, and family relations have been very strained. It has been a difficult time. We live here, our lives are here, his job is here, but we have health issues that are only able to be met now 300 miles away! So......that's been my life! Weight is stuck.....food is not, it is going down real easy!!! And right now with all the other stress, I am not even going to consider a fill. If it takes another year to get the rest of, then so be it! Will be back to catch up with each of you!!!! Kat

Wonderful Job!!! congratulations!!!! Kat

Michelle---I travel from my home in NM to Canon City CO for my fills, and we hang out, and shop, we have went done it in am immediate round trip as well. I have only had 2 fills, but have went with my SIL for several fills, and one unfill---and it has never sidelined us from anything except eating food the remainder of at least that day. Watch what you do as far as you might not want to lie on your tummy, it may get a bit sore from the needle poke, but you should be fine. Jennifur----((((((big giant HUG)))))) sorry about the job. Actually around here the day shifts are what they are having a hard time filling. Students do a lot of the evening and weekend shifts, but days are hard to fill. I use a sublingual B complex. It is a liquid, you fill the dropper, squeeze it under your tongue, and let it sit for several seconds, then swallow what hasn't absorbed. Doesn't taste like something I would really choose to drink---but it isn't gag worthy either!!! Be warned, any addition of B vitamins to your diet will change the color of your urine to BRIGHT yellow! I know this sounds kinda gross, but I always judge whether or not I am drinking enough, by the color of my urine. The surgeon told me it should be clear, or pale yellow at the most---if it is darker, I need to drink more. Imagine my shock when suddenly I was borderline yellow/orange!!!! It does seem to keep me energized some---I miss it if I quit using it. My DH was on jury duty last month, he was scheduled to go 7 times in the month, and all but one was called off before he even left home, and they cancelled the other when he got there. We have an appointment in ABQ, with a cardiac electrophysiologist, on the 16th. It was the first available, and she (the Dr.) wants him to go to our local PCP, and she is fedexing him a holter monitor, for Rick to wear for 48 hours prior to the appointment. Hopefully this will get us some answers and results sooner. OK, I am off to light the BBQ---going to grill dinner, since it has finally quit raining!!! Kat

I am another very happy Dr. Aceves patient. The hospital was clean, amazingly so! There was actually an attempted assassination of a Mexican official the day after my surgery (4-25-06), and the injured were taken to the hospital I was in, for emergency surgery! I understand they both survived. Dr. Aceves, his staff, and the hospital staff are all very well educated, worked to educate me concerning my band, and were helpful the entire time we were there. They also worked tirelessly with me arranging after care in the states. I could not have ask for a better experience. Kat

As a reformed smoker myself, I was happy to have the city nearest us, go smoke free. It was apalling to me, to see the high school kids on lunch, how many of them were not only lighting up, but pressuring other kids to do the same!!! The food court at our mall, had a smoking section back then, and the kids would all stand watch (they were obviously underage) and take turns smoking. A friend once said something to them---and they took a window out of her business (an eyeglasses shop)....so it always left me uneasy about saying anything to the big group of kids. Mall security was worthless. So when the town there went smoke free, it was great over there! Then we found trying to get into our favorite little Mexican restaurant here in our little town, was all but impossible, you HAD to make sure to walk around to the non smoking side---there was standing room only in the bar, where they were smoking! Then along came the governor (a current presidential candidate) and enacted a state wide smoking ban! It also makes it illegal to smoke within 25 feet of a building. So we no longer have to walk through the haze to enter our hospital! Or any other building. We ask the owner of our little restaurant if it hurt his business, he said not at all, it actually improved. He said they were turning his smoking patio into a full fledged bar. They did not come to eat, and drink, and have a smoke or 2. They came to party,and smoke. They would take up one table for 4 hours, never order food. He said it cost him his usual customer base. This was a rare restaurant, it actually is almost 2 separate buildings---with full doors between the 2 areas, but now we can actually go to the place, sit on the patio, listen to the live music...and....breath! Quitting was not easy for me (lucky Alex), I quit because it was bad for me, and for those around me. If I chose to do the difficult thing of quitting, I do not want to breath someone elses smoke, and encounter the same dangerous issues I quit to avoid. I quit 16 years ago---an have avoided smoke ver since. IF you could smoke, not exhale, and not have the smoldering cigarette then smoking would only be your business. Same as a person chewing tobacco, and swallowing as opposed to spitting---it is not affecting me, only their own health. I am not subjected to it. When you can smoke without subjecting me to it, then it is your right, without infringing on my rights. When it (the smoke) mixes into the air, I no longer have a choice of whether to breath or not. I watched a TV report the other day and I think they said it was in Hawaii, they are trying to make it illegal to smoke in your car, if a child is in the car..... At our local grocery store, the cashiers used to stand guard smoking at the door, especially in weather extremes. Now they can't. So they decided to "get even" and they marinate in perfume---seriously, to walk in it smells like a cosmetic counter---or as my Dad referred to it ( how he knows I don't want to know!!!) a whorehouse!!!! I can no longer shop in my own home town. I fired off a letter to Safeway headquarters! I do not lecture my best friend who is a smoker. I am not lecturing anyone here. I do not want her or anyone smoking in my house. When I go to hers, she smokes out on the deck---out of courtesy. Same as when I take dessert to her house for potluck, I make it sugar free---her DH is diabetic. It is common courtesy. Kat

My inlaws are both diabetic, and she takes a sugar free pound cake she buys at the store, and cubes it up, and layers it with the same things you mention, and makes a beautiful trifle with it---it always goes over well at church potlucks etc. The only problem is keeping the dessert for those needing sugar free. I double checked with her, and she said yes she makes it low sugar as you did with the cool whip stuff, or she will make it more sugar free by using SF pudding. Kat

Good Morning all you Shrinking Violets!!! HmmmmSV for short, same as Scale Victory----very, very fitting!!! Today we see the Dr. again, I don't think they will do anything, nor plan to do anything, they said they wanted to give the meds a fighting chance, and that could be up to a month or longer before change made itself apparent. I hate this part---I am an instant gratification kind of gal---waiting for results is so hard. Jane---what kind of issues are you having? That has to be scary! Tracy---keep trying those pants, you will be surprised, even when the scale says there is no change---there will be in inches! My BIL did similar things to my SIL that your DBF is doing, and the good news is, once he settled in to the fact that she was not using her surgery as a roundabout way to change him, he quit. He is now pretty supportive, and is actually seeming to change his own habits a bit---not much, but he binges less at home. While you might think the issue is strictly yours---it isn't, they are both in their late 50's and have been married for over 37 years, and still had to deal with the insecurity that sometimes happens with this. He (my BIL) needs to lose weight desperately, he has a horrible family health history, and carries it ALL in a HUGE belly (kinda like me!!!!!). I know he will never go for banding, because my SIL has made it an undesirable to everyone, because she throws up everything she eats.......and tells everyone that. I don't know whether to think she just exchanged one eating disorder for another---obesity for bulemia, or whether it is her way of being the only one to lose the weight, which is what her own daughter thinks---it is scary! Just really glad I am not depending only on her for lap band support!!! Judy---I am going to have to take computer lessons from you!!! We are talking about buying a new one, and I am dreading it like I cannot even tell you!!!! atcgirl---working in the yard is what I was trying to do yesterday between the rain storms! DH come home with 4 new rose bushes for me yesterday--gotta decide where they are going! He found a lime green colored hybrid rose, it is pretty cool looking!! Christy---how you feeling? Consider the prayers, a done deal! Pamela---you going to share that slasa recipe????? I have to be careful whenI eat hot stuff---I cannot do it within a couple of hours of when I will be laying down. I reflux then, I guess the increased acid gets me. But if I eat early, and give myself time, I can still have my hot food! Terry---yea---you made it through your first fill!!! I have a hard to hit port---it is a low profile, and buried deep---like I say I have lots of belly fat---and it took a few pokes, but even at that, it wasn't a big deal! Monterrey girl, TekyMom---welcome---these are a great group of girls who let me hang with them!! You will love the support they provide! Jennifur, Househuntress, Jennifer, Sara, Laura----and everyone---excuse me if I left out your name, but I suffer from CRS---have a great day!!!! Kat

Just imagine---that niece/nephew will likely never remember Auntie Lauren as being heavy!!! I love that my youngest grandbabies, will never remember me at my heaviest! And you will be up to chasing him or her when the time rolls around!! Congrats to your family! Kat

You will ask yourself those questions and others like them for many months to come!!! But you will be doing so in good company!!! Welcome to LBT! It truly is a daily learning experience with food! But eventually you settle into your new way of life, and embrace it for all the good it has done you. I find myself thinking differently now, thank goodness.....my former mindset was always worried about food, food, and more food! It was never enough, while eating breakfast, I planned lunch, and during lunch I thought about what to cook for dinner....it was all consuming. Now, it takes so little effort---we eat healthier, I would have thought it would take more work, and it doesn't! I actually had my surgery in MX, but use a follow up Dr. in Canon City, CO. Also a Dr. Brown! We have family all over the Denver area----and spend quite a bit of time there. Do you live in the area, or did you just go there for the surgery? I hope you take some time, look around the site, and let us get to know you---it really is a help having all these people here who have gone through all of this as well!! Once again---welcome to LBT, and welcome to Bandland!!! Kat

The house is coming along great---and so are you!!! What a wonderful future awaits you. One day soon, you will sit down at your dining room table, look out your new window, feeling the sun shine on you, and look down at yourself, with lots of weight gone, and you will have to pinch yourself, to believe it is all real. I am so glad you are taking charge at such a young age. I wish I had done this sooner! Enjoy every second of the transformations---don't miss all the wonderous steps waiting for the final product! Both you and the house will go through awesome stages----enjoy them all. Kat

I think I would be calling my surgeon, so you could get direct advice from them. I know infection can travel through the port, down the tubing and to the band itself, or visa versa. There may be meds that work on the infection that you have better than others. Certain infections respond better to particular medications. I would imagine the band surgeon would be more familiar with what you may be dealing with, and if nothing else, could be in contact with a more local Dr. and coordinate your care. This is not something I would fool around with, with a Dr. not even familiar with a lap band---that seems scary to me! What type of antibiotics did he put you on? I hope you get some help, and advice here---the situation you are in is worrisome! Welcome to LBT----hope you get some direction here! Kat

Wow---this thread moves so fast, I spend all my time catching up on you guys!!! Rick is hanging in there, he is still in A-fib, but faithfully taking his meds, and hoping it is helping, we see the Dr. again on Monday, and also have a PT/INR check of his blood then too. I can't believe y'all are starting fills already---amazing how Dr.s differ! I was banded on April 24th, and didn't get my first fill until June 16th. He made an exception and did it a week early, because he was planning a vacation, and did not want to fill anyone the week before he left, in case there were issues of someone being too tight and needing an unfill, he wanted to be sure to be there. Jennifur--I would call the DD's BFF's Mom, and be very friendly and nice, and ask her if her DD had mentioned the shared party, and if she says no, tell her you are sorry, that you thought it had been discussed, so why doesn't she call you back after chatting with her DD. If she says yes it is ok with her, I'd say I was calling to get some things squared away, who was doing what, and laugh about being afraid you'd end up with 2 cakes, and no ice cream....or something. Then ask her if next Saturday would work to get together to work on the back yard, and pool area, so it will be ready. Not actually ask if she will help, ask if the day is ok, like you EXPECT her help! Tell he maybe the 2 of you can do the hedges, while the girls (plural---hers too) clean the lawn furniture---detail it enough so that she might realize how much work is involved. Then if no one wants to help--I'd call her back and ask if she was willing to help pay for a public location, since there was no way to get all the work done alone. I always ended up being the Mom with all the parties at my house, but I insisted on help! It annoyed the hell out of me, when the kids were little, the parents dropping them off for a party, then not showing up til 5 hours later! I finally on youngest DD's invitation, to a summer fun party (her birthday is in the winter, so we had a party just for fun) put "Unattended children at the party will be fed pure sugar and sent home with a puppy!" I made sure I had plenty of lawn chairs, and iced tea, and expected them to stay and care for their own kids! We met the family in town for breakfast today---was a bit quiet, his sister didn't show----oh well!!! I enjoyed it anyway! Then Rick and I drove up into Colorado, it was snowing---did some shopping, just spent some time walking around, making plans for some new yard changes. Then come back to our favorite Mexican restaurant, and went in and had a Cinco De Mayo Special----I have not cooked at all today!!! I LOVE IT!!! I'm going to read up the rest of the missed posts, will check back with y'all in awhile! Kat

Morning Girlies---tipping my hat to you all!!! I can just see me in a pink rhinestone cowboy hat!!! A visual oxymoron!!! I at one time had pink boots! Ok I will admit they were given to me, but I did actually wear them! Now I wear some really exciting buckskin colored boots---woohooo!!! I hate seeing you all worry over the stall of weight loss. You do have several things going on inside your bodies. Your mind made this choice, your body did not, and it is not appreciating what you have done to it! It wants the fat, and it wants the extra food to store....it does not want to go to the work of burning off stored fat---what on earth were you thinking???!!!! I joke, but in all seriousness, you really have shocked your bodies, and they are doing their best to keep things as they knew them to be. When you have been putting 2000 + calories a day in, and then suddenly drop to under 600 or so for liquids, it takes your system a little while to realize you cannot live on that amount, it is too low. So when it does realize it, it does everything to "help" you survive. (Keep in mind this is what my fill Dr.'s assistant told me, when I was freaking out---you are not alone, in this happening at this point in time.) The theory is that your body slows down its metabolism, it robs nutrients from other areas...possibly the cause of hair loss, and nail breakage. You have issues with dehydration, because your body is utilizing the fluid you take in , in different ways. The fluid issue, results in constipation or diarrhea, and digestion issues. But it also affects our memory, and our own battles with depression. All of these are affected by the sudden onslaught of estrogen as well. We flooded our system with it during the initial sudden weight loss....and the one hormone surging, causes every other hormone in our body to fluctuate, trying to balance out. One of those hormones is called (don't trust my spelling here) Grehlin. It is a hormone produced by your stomach, and it sends a signal to the brain, that you are hungry. The hormones in your body work to constantly balance with one another. The connection between estrogen/progestin and this Grehlin is a long standing connection, and has been widely studied. It is what causes you to overeat during PMS, or the old story you hear about old women having a hysterectomy and getting fat. It is all related, when one hormone dips, the others surge trying to revive it...so when you mess with one, you mess with them all. And for those who are having issues like Christy---it is a double whammy. As with any other "habit" your body will settle in. The new levels will soon be recognized as "normal". And you will start the fill process, and the weight will once again begin dropping off. Repeat your cheer---relax a little---and trust that this WILL work---or I'll get out my riding crop, and y'all will be in big trouble then!!!!!!! ((((hugs))))) Kat

Hi girls! Wow, go away for a day---and I need an hour to read---I love it! Glad to see everyone is hanging in there! Not much change with Rick. Heart rate is still high, but has dropped a few. He has a medication increase, and we go back Monday. He has several tests scheduled the end of the month, they are going to give the meds til then to work. He is off until Monday, then will go back to work. He is a foreman at his job, so he has the option of pointing his finger and telling others to do the job....it is not how he usually works, but they all know he is having problems, so it should be ok. Tracy---very cool picture ticker----I am not that computer handy!!! I have to have someone resize all of my pics---I am lost! Christy---I read where you were going to the Dr. then nothing, did I skim over it? What did she have to offer? Adorable----hiccups are my soft signal----I get a soft stop signal before ever getting the hiccups, my nose gets sniffly---it is telling me to quit, before it gets more demanding, with hiccups, then PB! I have learned to listen!!!! Terry---hormones--and weight loss, yes they do go hand in hand. I read about it in another thread back when I was first banded. They were warning of the emotional outbursts. Fat cells store estrogen. So when the fat cell is eliminated, I guess the estrogen is released into the body----so you WOULD get similar symptoms to PMS. I thought I would be free of those issues, because I no longer make hormones, but was told, my body continued to horde them, and I was emotional. I felt like I was the worst bander ever, I ate the wrong things, and I was losing weight, but I still had this huge fat belly, and I was always going to have it because I was cheating with my eating....I was like a dog chasing his own tail, I went around and around, bemoaning the same issues!!! The good news is, it DOES go away! I no longer have the bursts of emotion that way---I stay on a pretty even keel most of the time. When I do lose it, it is usually related to outside stresses, like with my SIL the other day. Rick was sick, and she was riding my ass, so I lost it on her! She is barely speaking to me----too bad! Judy---isn't that the truth, Rick just utters the words "lose some weight" and 5 pounds jumps off. Totally unfair!!! kity---I wondered when I opened up LBT today too who she was. Would have been cool to have had one of our successful banders up there! Michelle--- we are going to have to come up with some new categories for you....person no one recognizes anymore (lots of weight loss) One too busy exercising to do everyone elses job...!! Lunasa---love the insights!!! Keep 'em coming!!! Laura---can't wait to see more of your house!!! Not trying to ignore, anyone, my brain is totally fried, and I cannot scroll back any further!!! Back in my early LBT days I made a cheat sheet of my thread buddies, I may have to resort to my old tactics.....or maybe I could get some sleep---there's an idea!!!! I need to check in a couple of other places, will be back to check on you all----all you bandsters---you all made it, and I am so happy for you!!! No surgeries cancelled for fatty livers ( I made a type there and it originally read, fatty lovers---another aspect of the thread I was going to address!!). You worked it, and you all made it, I feel like a proud Mama!!!!! Libido---will make some serious changes. Or your acceptance of it. One of my "goals" was to hop on top again (sorry---but it is true!), without smushing poor DH! Well ladies this cowgirl is riding again! I move easier, feel less self concious, and know I may not look nice and smooth and sleek, but he isn't complaining so neither am I!!! Hang in there. I have never felt my port without some serious prodding, even my Dr. has trouble, so that I can't even respond to.......sorry!!! Kat

LOL Lucy---I agree, and she (my DD) does cook it that way---she was wanting it last Christmas, and didn't get it, and now you find them everywhere...much cheaper, so I thought what the heck---if it worked....but now we know it doesn't!!! Last Fall, one of her best friends, daughters was burned seriously when she hit a pan on the stove, and dumped hot grease on herself. She was 2, and had picked up a grocery bag (plastic) up off of the floor, where it had fallen out of one of the fabric tube things that hold the used bags. Her Mama had been frying chicken, and had filled a plate to take to the table, and the little girl flipped the bag up like a parachute, and just as her Mama yelled, she did it again, and the handle caught the pan, even though it was turned away, it had a rubber coating on the handle, and the bag just grabbed it and stuck, and pulled the grease down on her, burning her head, and down one side of her face, shoulder and arm. She has had several grafts, and surgeries, and is healing pretty well for the severity of her injury. My DD went through a phase with that, that she only cooked on the back burners, pots with no handles, super scared of what could happen. She had this idea, she could use her kettle (which was closed) to boil water, and keep the pasta cooker back on the counter. She has since mellowed, but is still VERY cautious. Scared more than lazy! But I too ask her, how hard is it to cook pasta???? Kat

WoooHooo lets party!!! Kat