Devana

Holy smokes, princess that's terrible!! What a trauma for you. Were you banded in the US? If so maybe you can take some legal action. Do you have a good support system around you? Family and friends?

Mandi, I had applied before being banded because I was eager for information, so it couldn't be a dr. or clinic bias. While waiting to get a reply I began to do more lurking on this site and eventually joined. I would be interested in how they decide who joins and who doesn't.

Thanks Aimee, this is the last post I'm reading before heading off to work and your moving scale and positive attitude has inspired me. Maybe my scale will move this weekend. Or maybe I just have to be patient for another couple of weeks till I get my first fill.

Those kind of losses are always inspiring, and I would love to visit that site and take a look. However, that forum has an application process where you have to give personal info and someone decides if you can join. I gave my info and obviously wasn't suitable forum material for some reason as I never received a reply. And because I've already applied I can't even message them now (to ask why) because it's viewed as a second application and isn't accepted. That's one of the reasons I love LBT. Total acceptance.

I understand that fluoroscopy can help determine band restriction, however I keep reading posts referring to it being used to locate ports. Is it really used for this purpose?

Kim, thanks so much for the clarification. I was imagining the worst, ie constant exposure for 5 min or so.

What cuties, both you and DeLarla, Vines. It inspires me to dig around for mine.

Way to go Velvet, congratulations.

I guess this is where I got confused in the first place. The barium part makes sense to me, I had that the day after surgery and it was short and sweet. Using it for finding the port seems like a lot of exposure for both patient and dr.

Hang in there, Cloe, this is the addiction part of the picture. Now's the time for OA, hypnosis or anything else that will help us.

Thanks Anwyn. Now what I want to know is that if the fill is done using fluoroscopy to find the port and determine the fill, approximately how long does it take. I have concerns about radiation exposure.

Here I am at almost 6 weeks, planning a fill and eating a few more solids and actually getting pretty cocky thinking that I'm fairly unrestricted. Boy have I been set straight! Just had my first PB and I sure as blazes don't want to go through that again. So it's back to liquids for a couple of days. Yikes. By the way, welcome Deb.

Digestive enzymes sometimes work. The better ones have amylase for carbs, protease for proteins and lipase for fats. They often work better than the straight bromelain.

Wonderful, Angel. Big changes coming for you!

Becky, the second thoughts are natural. You're right to keep your mind on the outcome. Good luck and a speedy recovery.

Well, I'll go for 10 pounds for the month and 64 oz of water everyday. I'm not going to make any excercise committment until next month. I have too many irregular things going on this month, and if we get another flippin' hot spell again I'll find it really difficult to go walking. I'll do my best, though.

Emilee, congratulations! You're an inspiration. Now go get that pedicure, girl!

You know, I'm reading all this and I certainly have had my fair share of embarrassments, too similar to some that have been posted to bother sharing them. This is making me remember something, though. I can remember when the "Cosby Show" started, and reading about how Bill Cosby had a psycholgist on staff to ensure that there was no sexism or racism presented on the shows. Then there was an episode where one of the little kids was having a birthday party and all the kids were taking turns having a "horsey ride" on his leg. When it came time for the fat kid there was much eye rolling and grimacing and audience laughter. I was disgusted that he would consider obesity as fair game for laughs and even more disgusted that he would use an actual child to do it. Consequently I never watched the show after that.

Well, I'm looking forward to a fill, which will be in a week or two. I haven't lost anything this week either. I think maybe I should join the water challenge because that may make me more careful about getting enough. Two people commented on my weight loss today. That's encouraging.

How are you doing now, Wendy? I did a search for "chicken bone", because that perfectly describes how I've been feeling, and found this thread. I've been banded almost a month and I'm still on mushies. I will be taking everyone's sage advice and returning to liquids for awhile. I called the surgeon today and he seems to think it may be that my esophagus is still swollen from him having removed a lipoma from it when he banded me. I hope it resolves soon because it feels danged uncomfortable and I want my first fill soon. I'm glad it's not aliens. Devana

We always refer to the thrift stores as "boutiques". The best ones for clothes seem to be the womens' ones, WIN (women in need) etc. I know a lot of women who will donate only to those stores.

I had some intestinal distress earlier, what my son calls a "hot tummy", and went tearing into the bathroom. When I stood up to flush, YIKES, the water in the toilet was an amazing blood red! I had a few moments of internal panic when I remembered that I had gone over to my band buddy Jane's place last night and we removed each other's stitches. While there she served me a big wineglass full of freshly made beet juice (with a few other veggies to improve the flavour). Heart, stop beating so fast.

Carlene, great pics. Your quote "She just turned 14 yesterday....LORD HELP", reminds me of when my husband and I were houseparents in a group home many years ago. We used to call 14 the "arsenic year" for girls. That is a tough time. Maybe I'm making a premature assumption about your quote, though.

Funny, that's a damn fine looking bra. I didn't even know there were things like that available in large sizes.

My son has massive scars (not keloids) on his leg from multiple surgeries. Someone gave me a tube of "Keloid gel" made by Weleda in their Wala line. They're an anthroposophic company in Europe that makes homeopathic and organic products. Anyway, it seems to be diminishing his scars, however it's hard to really tell since I've covered them all and haven't done a comparison.