IsabelSofia

That was Kenny Rogers!!! OH MY, I'm only 32 but I remember listening to endless Kenny when I was growing up!! Here's one--does anyone know ANYTHING Hootie and the Blowfish are singing about??? :music:

My friends mom has it (she's not banded) and she does have a shunt. Sometimes she gets blurry vision and headaches and they do lumbar punctures and this helps her some. They are always thinking her shunt has clogged and she has had so many radiology visits. I'm so sorry that you have to deal with this but you seem to be going about treating it well so you will do fine. My friends mom is about 40lbs overweight but I had no idea that losing weight could help put it in remission.

If you're in Charleston, Dr. Byrne at MUSC is now banding patients. I hope you feel better soon!!

Yeah --Same here!:confused: Al's not dead, I just saw him yesterday morning giving the weather report. He did gain back about thirty pounds I hear. That's too bad.

It was about three or four years ago. I was watching Discovery health or one of those channels that have the shows that highlight different people having weight loss surgery. I think it showed two having lap-band and two with RNY. The Rny chick was trying on a leather jacket after she lost a lot of weight and was riding a Harley. The only thing I remember about the Lap was the girl eating cream soup at a table with her boyfriend, then standing in front of a mirror trying on clothes in a dept. store amazed at how much she has lost. Oh, yeah!! and her first fill. If anyone can tell me the name of this show, I would Love it!!! ( I think it was Al Rokers surgeon who was on the show--I think the surgeon was an Indian woman)

Here's mine. It's so corny but I was driving to work and billboard for an auto dealer has this saying. I thought that would apply to me. "Not Whatever ; Whatever it takes"

I had it 2 years ago at a weight of 265. I had not even started looking into WLS yet! My double chin was horrible and huge and a true source of unhappiness and shame for most of my teenage/adult life. They did lipo under my chin and behind both ears along the jawline. I also had buccal fat removal a few months before that since I could not close my mouth without my inside cheek fat getting bitten! I am SOOOOO glad I did it. It has made a huge difference for me and I still see the results. My PS said that I had an outstanding result and I signed a release so he could use my photos in his conferences! I look much better and still in proportion to the rest of me and when I get the band it will just stay tight. I have no visible scars and the pain was minimal. I think the intubation tube hurt my throat more than the actual surgery and I had almost no swelling. The buccal fat removal-now, that had me looking like a chipmunk storing nuts for the winter!! Get the Dr. to show you some before/after photos and then make your own decision and don't worry so much about who will and won't approve!

There is safety in persecution I suppose. Being invisible was the unwritten contract I had with the world. Just reminded of another thread where one of us was Mooed at. Read it? I think the reason why this kind of attention is so hurtful is because it is 'Breach of Contract'. I didn't sign up to be a clown... I am invisible, remember? The asexual person who ignores everyone else, please, just ignore me too. I have never been able to put this into words before--I feel this EVERYDAY! If I wasn't sitting at work right now I would be bawling my eyes out. You know, I really didn't think anyone else could understand how I felt so I never bothered putting it into words for anyone else. Thanks for putting those words out there--it really hit home for me!

I think a lot of my denial is in always having to put on my "fat-girl-game-face" everywhere I went. I had to pretend that I fit it and that the snickering I heard was not about me, when it obviously was! I had to act as if everything was normal and the bigger I get the harder it is to pretend so I usually just stay home. I too was someone who "saw" myself at the weight I was 7 years ago before my kids--oh yeah, big, but everything was in the right place. I have now gotten to the point where I just cannot tolerate it and I can see myself now and it has sent me spiralling into depression. There's a lot to this denial thing--it keeps some of us on the level that we can function from day to day without a mental breakdown. I have my consult on June 15 and I am not the least bit nervous. I can't wait to be banded. I hope no matter how much I lose that I will always keep my fat-girl heart when dealing with the world.

DR. Byrne and Dr. Morgan from MUSC in Charleston are now offering the lap band surgery. Noone has been banded yet and I hope to be on the list as soon as I get my package filled out and faxed to their office. They only offered RNY before and I absolutely knew that I did not want this. After about a year of research, I finally came to my senses and thought that I would be left with no other surgery choice until this week!! I am so happy! The band is what I want and I hope that everything goes smoothly. I have MUSC Options as an insurance provider and they cover the procedure. It also scares me to see how many people go to Mexico to have this surgery then get home and have nowhere to get follow up or fills. Now that MUSC is offering this, I hope more people will come to Charleston for their care. I'll post soon and keep ya'll updated.

Hey Ya'll, I'm new to the forum but I have been wanting the lap band ever since I saw a show about it years ago on tv. I just knew this was for me. I live in Charleston, SC and I just found out the Dr. Byrne at MUSC is starting to do the lap band procedure--:clap2: I had researched RNY for about a year since this was the only surgery he offered. This is the best news since I knew I did not want a bypass. I sent an email to his office and they say that my insurance will cover it. :faint: . I can't believe this!!!! She said that NOONE has had the surgery here yet and he needs 5 women with a BMI of at least 40. (mine is 42). I am so glad that I have found this support site. In the last 2 days I have gotten more info than ever. I will keep everyone updated and I look forward to reading everyone's posts.:grouphug: