Elisabethsew

Oh my, what a treat for Melanie. I bet she's counting the days until she can feast on your half naked body. LOL. Hey, she's single... you never know.

LOL, the game show host! I love it. One was done by Dr. Geiss, two was done by the male PA and three was done by Melanie. I go back in early Sept. for a check. Who did yours?

How about something like, "Goal now, gone forever"

Fills are done based on the individual's experience with the band. If your weight loss has slowed, you feel little to no restriction, and you can eat solids with no problem in good sized portions, you're due for a fill. Some people "like" to be overfilled thinking it will make the weight loss faster. In effect, NOT being able to eat solids usually results in weight gain. As for the place, I would go where they are the best priced as long as they have a proven track record.

Losing a pet IS losing a member of the family. I'm so sorry for your loss.

I haven't read any post today but suspect there must be some negative threads out there for this one to be necessary. I worked a 12 shift last night and watched a young woman in the ICU die of terminal cancer while her husband begged her "not to go." I think people should just be glad for what they've got and live life to the fullest. You really don't ever know what day might be your last.

After using a tiny subcutaneous needle (similar to insulin needle) was used to administer the lidocaine, a 19g 4" huber needle was inserted into the port to instill the saline. All 3 fills were painless and uneventful.

I have a friend who decided to "splurge" on herself by joining a gym that involved working out with a person trainer three times a week. So, can anyone remember their first trip to the gym and what it was like? I entered a gym for the first time in my life when I was 41 years old. I weighed about 220 pounds and decided I had lost enough weight (200 pounds at that time) to safely begin a formal exercise program. So, into the gym I went and got talked into a 3 day a week program with a personal trainer. I looked around and saw most of the women were a size 5 and most of the men had about 3% body fat. Hmmmm.... I was given a form to fill out that contained questions such as, "What gyms have you belonged to?" I asked why there was no check-off for "none" and was met with a wide-eyed look of surprise and the response, "YOU'RE a gym VIRGIN?" At this point, I am getting the impression that I might have bargained for more than I intended. Next came the orientation. My trainer, Satan, had me mount a machine called an elliptical work-out. He set it for ten minutes. At two minutes I was ready for oxygen and at three minutes I told him to get ready to do CPR. As a crawled off the ellipital device, Satan was calling for me to "hurry up" so my "heart rate stayed up." I gasped that I was an RN and that if my heart rate rose anymore I would end up in the morgue. The half hour of torture moved onto more machines designed to induce pain. I was very happy when I got to sit on one machine where I was instructed to place my legs straight out on a cushioned cradle. This joy quickly faded when Satan turned some lever and I found my legs spread further apart than when I have a GYN exam. Instinctively, I told Satan to put my legs back together. He informed me I needed to use my leg muscles to FORCE my legs to come together. Hello!!! I don't have muscles, I have fat! I informed Satan that I had never done a split in my life and NOW was not the time to begin. This pattern of abuse continued as he ran, and I staggered, to one machine after another and then another. When I got home, I showered and collapsed in a chair. I went to bed early that evening but when I woke up the following morning, I was sure I had some horrible disease because it hurt to move the covers off my body and standing was torture. Every part of my body ached! I contemplated calling an ambulance but realized it was too late to call into work. I tried to fall onto the toilet so I would not have to bend my legs and would have welcomed a continuous IV infusion of morphine. As I began to dread my next session with Satan, I wondered why I was deprived the experience of an endorphin release. I surmised this was nothing more than some lie made up by a thin person to get fat people to sign up for 3 days a week of torture with a personal trainer. Now five years older and 90 pounds heavier, I am wiser. At present, a walking program is all I can handle with severe knee arthritis. I still develop nausea when I pass a gym! What was your experience like?

I'm doing oven "fried" tilapia. I take the filets and douse them in egg wash and then some seasoned bread crumbs. On a foil lined pan (easy clean-up), I spray some olive oil Pam and then lay the filets on top and give the tops of the filets a spray of the oil before baking at 400 degrees for 2-3 minutes. Flip over and bake another 2-4 minutes. I steamed some fresh green beans and some flavored rice and dinner is served.

I hope the eggs were not UNDERcooked!

I delete most of mine but do save a few. As others have suggested, I cut and paste and email it to my home address and then delete here.

It seems strange that they would hit a nerve but I guess anything is possible. I've had 3 fills and all were uneventful. Try putting some ice on the port and taking some tylenol.

I work 7 PM to 7 AM and exercise as soon as I get home. I have breakfast at 10 AM and go to sleep @ noon. Dinner is at 5 PM and then I pack a lunch to take to work and have that at 3 AM. On days off, I go back to a "normal" life.

I went into surgery at 4:30 PM and was home the following morning at 11:00 AM. I don't do well with anesthesia and told them that before hand. I was medicated twice for nausea and then was fine. At home, I took pain medication the first night and then liquid Tylenol for 2-3 days post-op. I had no gas pains but the port area was very sore and I had to sleep flat on my back for a few weeks. It took a good 5 weeks before I could sleep on my left side. I felt very tired for the first 5 days but then improved quickly and went back to work after about 8 days.

I was never told not to eat white potatoes either. I bake all kinds.

Yup, it is on the right. I had mine out 4 years ago but the pain you're describing might be GB pain. It can radiate from side to side as well as from front to back.

WOW!!!!!!!!!!! Congratulations on making the 100 pound milestone. That's wonderful and your progress has been astounding. You'll be at goal in record time.

I'm also on Long Island. I did 2 weeks of full fluids post-op and then 2 weeks of a soft diet and got solids at 5 weeks out. Good luck to those who are soon to be banded.

I'm not a fan of red meat but was given the OK to eat it at 6 weeks post-op. I went to dinner at a friend's house and filet mignon was on the menu. I ate it at about 2.5 months post-op and had no difficulty. Chicken is the food I have the toughest time with.

I didn't bounce right back the way others seem to but by 8 days post-op, I felt human again and went back to work as an RN.

Rissa, gallbladder pain is on the right side and you are describing classic symptoms of gallbladder disease so you should make an appt. to have it checked out. Terri, I'm an RN and I don't understand what the problem is. If the gallbladder fails to show-up on a HIDA scan it means there is a blockage. They can give you an isotope "chaser" and rescan you in 20 minutes and I think that's what they did for you. If the gallbladder STILL doesn't visualize, you're usually referred to a surgeon to have it OUT. Follow-up with a surgeon and take your HIDA scan and sonogram results. You need surgery, not a runaround.

Since Decarla is not here to speak for herself, I think it's best to not let this thread turn into something ugly. If she wants to come back she will and if not, it's her choice.

A real diagnosis requires an endoscopy but your surgeon could get more info. before the endo if he/she did a physical exam and a barium swallow under floroscopy.

I know exactly how you feel. My highest weight was 440 and I dieted down to 195. The way people treated me was so different but I felt great physically. You WILL get to goal and what you are feeling is perfectly normal. Keep looking ahead.

I lost on the pre-op diet and then a little more post-op but it was mostly a challenge to maintain my losses until I got decent restriction... on fill #3.