justduckie

Drews -- you look great! And younger! Isn't that amazing? Keep up the good work. I got home this morning (just finished a set of nightshifts) and I have a message on the phone from the surgeon's office. "Hi Marci, we need to change you appointment on the 21st....." Instantly, I was pissed. I thought this was going to be the second time they cancelled on me! It's hard enough to get time off for fills since I have to travel such a long way for them, but for them to keep cancelling........Argh! Well, then I finished listening to the message and they just needed to move me up to 1:00 instead 2:30. Whew! I calmed down a bit after that. Got all upset for nothing. I'm stuck again......I swear, I am so ready for that fill so I start my steady losing again. Lose 3 lbs, stay the same for forever. Very discouraging. But I keep telling myself to hang in there! Drews -- I hope your husband gets well soon. That way you can both enjoy a happy life together. Linda -- Doesn't it feel great when you can fit into clothes you know that just a few months ago there would have been NO WAY you could have gotten into them. I know that feeling about loose clothes.....you hide behind them and hide from yourself in them. But now.....you go girl! And wear those jeans with pride. Marz -- that's a great NSV. And a fun one too. Now you'll have to hit the amusement parks more often. Healthy1st -- I know I'm not going to make my 20 lbs either. But I'll take the 15 I have lost. Those are pounds I will never see again. Ever. And what you have lost is gone for good. Yeah for us both. I am going to take pictures next weekend when I go with my husband to a Cult function. That way I can be dressed up. After meeting all day Friday there is a Steak and pancake dinner (no pancakes for me! I'll puke!) Then Saturday there is a semi-formal dinner and dance. I really hate his Cult functions, I really have nothing in common with the other wives there. The men call them "little women" which really makes me want to puke. The first one that asks my husband to introduce "the little woman" I'm going to punch right in the face. I realize this is an organization that has been around literally for centuries, but I don't like to be talked down to. Especially since in real life I probably make more money and have more responsibility than 90% of those men. Funny how losing a bit of weight has made me more assertive. LOL!

Yep! That's it! The one in red is my current. Though after my trip to the dr. the other day, I should change my highest to 271......though I probably didn't remember it because at the time I didn't want to accept that number. Now it's kind of like, 271????? Whoa! That was a lot! But look at me NOW!!!! Did 30 minutes on the Treadclimber......I was dripping! But it feels good to be able to make 30 minutes and not die. Or feel like dying. LOL! At the end of this week I have to walk 4 miles in my half marathon training. Oh, joy.........3 miles made me go home and take a nap.

I am so sorry that 3loves is no longer here. I will miss her. Fortunately for me, I didn't know anything about the "goings on" since this is the only thread I post on and for the most part, read. (I have a couple of other boards that have nothing to do with lapbanding that I'm a regular on.) You all have been my post surgery support and keep me on the path to success. I hope everyone stays and we Maysters hang in there together. After my UTI last week, I picked up some kind of a bug that's going around that knocked me down for a couple of days. Fever, chills, headache, achy body......kind of like a type of flu. So yesterday, when I was finally feeling better, we went to the movies and I ate some popcorn after a nice dinner of shrimp kabobs. (Yummy!) So today I am retaining Water.....ick! It's funny how your body reacts when it hasn't had something in a while. My hands are HUGE! The only good thing is my rings almost fit right again instead of spinning around my fingers. (gotta find good in everything!) Well, I'm off to do 30 min. on the Treadclimber! Everyone keep up the good work.

Well, we are in the final stretch! For me, my Challenge ends on my birthday....September 13. I will be 46. And since I won't get to check in tomorrow (darn work!!!! I wish they would just send me a paycheck and let me stay home!), today will be my start of the month. Yesterday was a very bad day and a very good day. I woke up in the morning feeling strange and when I went to pee I about passed out it hurt so bad. Then I had to pee all the time and started passing blood. So I hurried and called my regular doc since I was sure I had the UTI from hell. They made me an appointment for 2:00 and of course I was there early......even after taking AZO and a handful of tylenol, it was still killing me. So they call me in, ask me how I'm doing (I'm doubled up in pain! How do you think!!!!) and ask me to step on the scale. Now I hate my regular doc's scale, it always seems to weigh me heavier than most. A lot heavier. So I chuck my sandals, step up.....lightly, very lightly.....then peak out with one eye. 226! One pound more than this morning with a pair of jeans on!!!!! In the afternoon and I hadn't peed in the cup yet!!!!! I was thrilled. So I asked the nurse how much I weighed last time I was in. She scans up the chart and gasps.....wow.....271.....in February......that is FANTASTIC! She asks me how I did it and I told her about my surgery. Then the doc comes in and she tells me, yep, you have the UTI from hell and oh my god! look at how much you've lost! We spent about 30 seconds talking about my UTI and 10 minutes talking about my surgery. She has 2 other women that are looking for letters to send for gastric bypass and she told me she's going to recommend that they research the band first before going on with the gastric bypass. I told her I was so incredibly happy with mine and so glad I didn't get "replumbed". She told me the patients she has that have had gastric bypass aren't well......they have a variety of problems and even though they have lost weight, they look sickly. And her comment to me was, "you look soooo healthy and happy! Keep up the good work. I like the idea of the band so much better than bypass. I think you made the right decision." So that made me feel so good. Now today, hopefully my antibotics will make me feel better?

Drews aand Mvpo.....I will think good and happy port thoughts for both of you. Drews, I hope they are just missing it! I would have thought they would have done the fills under flouro to start with? Mvpo, maybe it will flip back? Well, it's official......I've lost 3 lbs this week! I couldn't wait till tomorrow for an official weight, so I got dressed this morning and hopped on the scale. Since my original weight was taken fully dressed, that's the way I've been weighing since. Though buck naked (shudder at the thought of that! LOL!) I've lost more. Maybe if I don't make my September Challenge, I'll use that weight instead.....heheheheheh.........

Finally, finally.....I think the scale is moving! FINALLY! It's not official till Thursday, though. So I will wait and see what my total loss is. Since I didn't get my fill today like originally planned, I upped my protien and water over the weekend while I was on nights and I think that is what finally broke the plateau. And I wasn't hungry......very busy, but not hungry. I started to think about the lowest weight I've been at and that's where I'm at right now. Somewhere in the mid 220's. I hit a plateau back a few years ago at this weight and again these last three weeks.......at about the exact same weight. I wonder if my body just likes it here? Maybe now that it seems to have broke, I wonder if I will lose it as quickly as I did the month before. Hmmmmm......it's interesting to ponder........:rolleyes And I am officially in training for my Thanksgiving Half Marathon in Atlanta. My oldest daughter is "encouraging" me. She isn't going to let me out of this one. The slave driver............ She has reminded me I only have 12 weeks to get in shape. Good job everyone! You know, we are all going to have to post pictures come Sept. 13th. I think everyone has lost at least 10 lbs since we started the Challenge, I'm sure the pictures will definitely show it. So start thinking about it! I would love to see "before and after" pictures of everyone. :clap2:

3Loves -- my surgeon went to a Trauma Conference and cancelled all her appointments for the week. I asked if the her partner could do the fill and was told no, he didn't do that any more. (sounds like they are having a feud over how much time she spends in clinic compared to him....and no, they aren't married! LOL!!) So her next clinic date was the 12th and I'm working dayshift that day and it's a four hour drive and I hate to take more time off work, then the next date is the 21st. A day off for me, so that's when I scheduled. Linda -- that's what I think I will do. I have to go to the grocery store tomorrow and stock up for nightshifts. I was thinking about getting extra veggies and big bottles of Water. Maybe if I snack on some veggies I won't be so hungry when meal time comes around. I know I will be ok, it's just frustrating. I was looking forward to this fill and getting "back in control". I just need to knuckle down and quit being a big baby.

Oh, no!!!! My fill appointment for Tuesday was cancelled!!!!!:faint: Now I have to wait till Sept 21 to get my next fill. :think :angry :think I'm going to just have to tough it out, quit relying on my band to control my eating and really really really watch what I eat and how much. I know I'm going to be really hungry........

Sleepyjean -- I know how you feel. I haven't loss anything in THREE WEEKS!!!! And I'm eating a whole lot more than I was. I need a fill! Thank goodness I'm getting one on Tuesday. Unfortunately, I eat without thinking and there are no consequences. No pain, no PB's, no nothing but a burp after a while telling me enough is enough. It's not nearly what I used to eat, but it's too much to really lose with. Drewslou -- hang in there! Thats a beautiful tat. I've thought about one on the top of my foot but thought it would really hurt. I know what my next one will be......a winged victory! If I can find a good picture to take to the artist..........I want to get it after I've made it to Onederland. It's been so long since I've been under 200 I figured it would be a good way to commemerate and to remind myself never, ever to gain it back. It's back to work tomorrow :cry .....I've been on my seven days off.....and we have MSHA at the minesite. Oh, joy. Ever since the fatalities in Kentucky and Virginia at the start of the year, MSHA has been everywhere and rather unreasonable. They need to concentrate on the underground mines and not the open pit ones. The vast majority of fatalities don't happen at the type of mine that I work at. In the 26 years I've worked there, we've had one fatality in the pit. Most of the MSHA inspectors don't know what they are looking at and don't pick up on the important stuff and get hung up on the little things that don't mean anything. It makes my job so much harder and of course causes stress which makes me......... EAT!!!!!:hungry: (yes, there was a reason for my rant!:heh: :heh: :heh: )

Hello Maysters! I haven't posted in a couple of weeks because I was on vacation and then I was on dayshift. (16 hour days don't leave much time for the computer.) While I was on vacation, I did not make good food choices, drank diet coke and even had a margarita! I gained 3 lbs. Bad Marci!!!!!!! But I lost the 3 lbs this past week, so I've really stayed the same for over 3 weeks. I'm still hoping to make the Sept. Challenge, but it's going to be tough. I am going for my second fill on Aug. 29. I can eat WAY too much and I've found that food that used to really bother me, doesn't any more. So I'm sure it's fill time. Vacation was a blast. We spent the week at the Sturgis Bike Week. I put 1012 miles on my bike. We rode all over the Black Hills, went to a concert, hung out in some of the biker bars and generally had a fun time. Here's a picture of me on my bike. My youngest son (14) was riding with his dad and swung around with the camera and took this picture. And here's a picture of my husband and I in front of Devil's Tower. Notice how I "hide" behind him and the bikes? Well, even though I've lost 40 lbs, I still am not a "biker babe" in tight leathers and I HATE to have my picture taken! Maybe next year........... Everyone sounds like they are doing great! I took me a while to get caught up on all the posts. Keep up the good work and since vacation is over, I will try to post more often.

Hello Maysters! I'm checking in for this week. And surprise, surprise! I lost 2 lbs this week. It really shocked me since I didn't think I would lose anything after spending a week on the road and then being hungry for some reason this last weekend while I was working nights. I didn't make the greatest food choices, but they must have been small enough portions that they didn't effect my loss. I think I'm ready for another fill. After reading the "Are you ready for a fill" questions over again, I'm pretty sure it's time. I can eat too fast and except for bread and sometimes chicken, I can eat anything I want. So I better call and schedule me for my second fill. On another note, it's time for Sturgis! And I'm 40 lbs lighter than last year. I'm still not a "biker babe" in skimpy leathers and a vest, but I feel so much better and know that riding this year isn't going to wear me out like it did last year. My husband is going to an Alice Cooper concert on Saturday (I have to work) then we are going to see The Steve Miller Band and Cheap Trick on Monday. We may go to another concert sometime later in the week but I really didn't see any band I absolutely HAVE to see. The weather is suppose to be nice, not too hot, not too cold, so it sounds like a perfect week to ride the bikes. We are staying at my sister's house in Lead, SD....about 15 miles from Sturgis.....so we will be close but far enough away that we'll actually get some peace and quiet if we want. It should be fun! Welcome Barbara and everyone else, you all sound like you are doing so well! Keep up the good work!

It seems like I notice it more and more all the time. I was banded on May 1st, have lost over 30 lbs. (scale at the gym is broken, so I'm just guessing) and it seems like I notice my port all the time. It doesn't hurt, it's just THERE! Just like when I'm doing crunches during my workout. There's my port. I was laying on the side of my pond, re-arranging plants and cleaning.....There's my port poking me. Getting dressed, there's my port! Maybe I'm just more aware of something that's never been there before?

Hey everyone! I'm back from my trip and thankfully I didn't gain anything. Didn't lose anything, but hey! Sitting in a pickup for 4 out of 5 days isn't the greatest for good food choices and exercise. For those of you that are frustrated, hang in there. Stick with the program and DRINK YOUR Water. You'll be surprised when you break your plateau. Unlike those people with the bypass, we still have our stomachs and intestines and they still work as nature intended. Our bodies still go thru starvation mode where the bypass patients don't - the drs. don't know why they don't, but they don't. This is one of the things that my surgeon pounded into my head before surgery so I would be prepared for the plateaus and I would be ready for losing at a very slow rate. It takes your body some time to get used to losing all this weight and sometimes it just wants to hang on to some. But you will lose it! You will! And don't just go by the scales. Measure yourself to see how many inches you have lost. That is the true indicator of your weight loss. And if you are exercising a lot, muscle weighs more than fat, so if you are just holding steady on the scale, you might be losing more than you think. On that note, one of my long range goals is to walk a half marathon with my daughter in November in Atlanta. I have walked one before....about 5 years ago and at the time I was about at the weight I am now. So I know I can do it. So as of today, I'm officially starting my training. I'm doing 5 weeks of a "beginner's training", then transitioning into the actual half marathon training. So today I'm suppose to walk 30 minutes. Believe it or not, the beginner's training is actually harder than the marathon training!~ But it's all good. I'll keep you all updated on my progress. I'm trying to not step on the scale every day. But it's hard. I've decided to be happy as long as the scale doesn't go up. I've been stuck for about a week and a half, but I start nights tomorrow and for some reason that's when I lose the most. Maybe my body is so tired and confused that it just goes, hey, what's a pound or two? LOL!!!! Anyway, I need to get my self up and moving. Have a great day!

Good job Marcy!:clap2: :clap2: :clap2: Good job ousooner!:clap2: :clap2: :clap2: Keep up the good work.:biggrin1: I've dropped another 3 lbs. in the last 1.5 weeks. Slow and steady!:clap2: I think this heat has helped because I'm just not hungry. Thirsty, but not hungry. I'm really starting to have people make comments to me about how much I've lost and that makes me feel good. Tomorrow I'm off to Atlanta ------ driving---------ick.....:angry .... My son, his girlfriend and I are going to go get the rest of thier stuff and bring it home. My son got tired of trying to make it in the music business and is coming home to make some money and get out of debt. He's working at the same place I am and they pay really well. So first it's halfway across the US, drop the girlfriend off in Nashville so she can spend the weekend with friends, down to Atlanta to see my oldest DD, back up to Nashville to pack and pick up the girlfriend, then head home and be here by Wed. evening. Very fast and VERY exhausting!:think I will check in while at my daughter's and see how everyone is doing.

Happy Anniversary 3Loves! It's always great to find someone who shares an important date with you. I talk to my patient coordinator last night and we decided that I didn't need the fill I was scheduled for today. Yippee! I wasn't looking forward to it at all and since I'm still losing my1-2 lbs a week.....sometimes I lose 3 weeks at once, then nothing......they were happy with my loss and told me to schedule my next fill for the end of August. So I will just keep on keeping on and hopefully my loss will be nice and steady. Kim -- I like those guide-lines. I asked myself each of those questions and here is what I came up with. 1. Have your food quantities increased? No, I'm eating about the same as I have been for the last month 2. Are you staying full after eating for at least 3- 4 hours? Oh, yes! Sometimes at work I will go 5-6 hours without being hungry. Of course I'm pretty busy too, but I don't feel like I'm going to pass out if I don't eat. 3. Are you losing weight? You bet! Not massive quantities, just slow and steady. My patient coordinator was thrilled with my loss, so I am too. I'm glad you posted your guidelines. Now when the end of August rolls around, I will be better able to tell if I'm ready for my second fill or not. Well, I just got off nightshift and I'm tired. So I'm off to bed! Have a great day.

Hello everyone! I haven't had a chance to post in a bit since I've been so busy. Work has really been work lately. And my shift schedule doesn't help. But I had kind of an accidental NSV on Sunday. I had asked my husband on Saturday to throw my work clothes into the washer. And of course he thru them in along with a bunch of other stuff.....too many clothes in the washer! When I got home from work, my son stuck the stuff in the dryer and I figured I would just grab my jeans and stuff out in the morning. Well....my alarm goes off the next morning at 3 am like always and I turn it off and go back to sleep!!!! When I finally do wake up, it's 10 till 4 am -- I'm usually gone by that time -- so I get up in a panic, run to the dryer and MY CLOTHES ARE STILL DAMP! Ick! Well, I had bought a new pair of pants on Thursday and they were still in the bag at the end of my bed. Even though they are a size 18, smaller than anything I've worn in years, I was desperate and grabbed them, took off all the tags and prepared myself to slither into them, hoping they weren't too tight to get on. Not only did they pull on easily, I didn't even have to suck it in to zip! I was amazed! They fit right, they were loose, they didn't cut into me......WOW! It was great! Also, after two weeks of losing nothing, all the sudden, this past week I lost 5 lbs. It's weird.....I work so hard and lose nothing, then on a week where I work 6 days out of 7 and really don't exercise too much, that's when I lose. It's so frustrating, but when it finally comes off, it is exciting. I just hope it keeps coming off. Right now I'm doing ok for our challenge. I just have to keep it up. Yesterday was our 27 anniversary and we went to dinner and a movie (Nacho Libre -- silly but funny). At dinner I actually made good choices -- Alaskan King Crab and a salad. But when we went to the movies, I kept stealing my husband's popcorn. It still wasn't as much as I would have eaten before, but it was popcorn with butter. Today I need to get back with the program and forget about popcorn. Though it really tasted good......... Well, gotta get going! Have a great day!

Oooooh, Christy! You are lookin' REALLY GOOD!!!!! Good job! Those jeans will be falling off you soon!:clap2: :clap2: :clap2:

Click on my blog link in my siggy and you can see my latest pictures. I can actually see a difference!

Hello Maysters! Ok, to start off my September Challenge -- official weight on the new scale -- 237. Stupid scale....:cry ....I like the old one better. It would have said 232. But at least I have a starting point. That's still 31 lbs from my heaviest and 25 lbs since surgery.....I think. It's rather confusing since I started with one scale and changed to another. But still that would be 217 by my birthday. :clap2: Wow! I haven't been that low in 10....maybe 15 years! I'll take it. Today was a rather slow exercise day. I did 30 min. on the treadmill. I actually entered in a "program" -- beginning walking -- and did that. I still did over a mile. With HILLS!!!!! Then I did about 20 min. on the circuit. Dr. says to make sure I do weights and that circuit is definitely weights! I started thinking the resistance on the machines were too low, but by the time I finished, my arms and chest and hamstrings were screamin'. So I guess it was ok. I'll get measured tomorrow, so that should be interesting. If I still had my old scale, I think this last month would have been around 8-9 lbs. Oh, how I miss that old scale!!!!!:think

Drewslou and LindaV -- yes! I will take up the challenge. Linda, your birthday is the same as my best friend from high school's. It's funny our birthdays are so close together.....just like our banding dates! So tomorrow my gym should have the new scale....the old one got jumped on and kicked one time too many but not by me!!!..... so I will weigh and use it as my July 1st official weight. I'm sure it's higher than the old scale was -- I think the old scale was about 5 lbs light. That's why I liked it so much!:biggrin1: I don't go see my dr. till July 18th for another fill, so I won't do that official weigh in for a while. But 20 lbs in 10 weeks -- that's 2 lbs a week. Just what we should be doing so it's VERY doable. Anyone else want to join the Mayster's Challenge?????

Drewslou! You look great! I can tell the difference in your face. Keep up the good work. I'm going to take my 2 month postop pictures on Thursday. I'll see if I can post them. Also, you said your goal was to lose another 30 lbs by Sept. 13. My birthday is Sept. 13, so you can lose it for my birthday!!!! Oh, yeah, and of course for Dave Matthews.......:rolleyes I'll be happy to lose another 20 by then. One cool thing I did today was ride a horse! I haven't ridden our horses in years and years because one -- it was very uncomfortable and two -- I always felt sorry for the horse that had to carry my big fat butt around. But today I fit in the saddle, I wasn't hanging out anywhere and I even trotted without falling off. It was really great. I still feel sorry for my old horse that has to haul my big fat butt around, but at least there is less of it than before!:biggrin1:

Well, I had a great NSV yesterday. I knew I had a pair of jeans in my closet -- size 18 with the tags still on. When I went in for surgery, I was in a TIGHT 20. My pants have been so loose lately I thought.....hmmmmm, wonder if I can get those jeans on? So I got them out of the closet, pulled them on (yeah! they went OVER my hips!) struggled to button them :paranoid , but they buttoned, laid down :rolleyes and zipped them up. They actually zipped up!!!! :biggrin1: :biggrin1: :biggrin1: They are still a bit tight to be wearing out, but another couple of weeks and they should fit right. When I first bought them, I couldn't even get them over my hips and they've been hanging in the closet for 3 years. I'm looking forward to being able to wear them all the time.:clap2: :clap2: :clap2:

Oh, yes, Christy, I can see the difference! Isn't it exciting?

Hello Maysters! I haven't had a chance to check in because I was on dayshifts this week. Darn work! I wish they would let me stay home and just send me a paycheck. My biggest challenge right now is trying not to eat too fast. When I'm at work, I'm so busy, especially on days, that I find myself eating too fast then the horrible pain hits. My dispatcher yells at me (I tend to eat lunch up in her office) and tells me to slow down! The worse day was Tuesday. I was pissed, I was frazzled, I was being ran into the ground. So when I sat down to eat, I was talking and chopping at my hamburger patty, just shoving it into my mouth. And when the first bite hit.......:omg: :omg: :omg: !!!!!! Now when I go eat lunch, she reminds me before the food is even out of the microwave to eat slow and calm down. She's my savior!:clap2:I think I scared her when I had my "food attack". I made it thru the next two day without feeling like I was having a heart attack. Someone mentioned port pain. I'm almost 7 weeks out and I still get port pain sometimes. Mainly when I'm working because I ride around in a pickup all day on really rough roads. I think the bumps make my stomach muscles clench and by the end of some days, my port site is very sore. I hope everyone is doing well. Have a great weekend!

Linda -- I'm glad you are feeling better. I know that horrible feeling and why they call it a "productive burp", I have no clue. It's more like a SHPDMT -- "shove a hot poker down my throat" .:omg: Christy -- As for drinking with your meal --- I too, don't like having the food taste left in my mouth. :speechles So what I've been doing is taking a VERY small sip of Water when I'm done, swishing it around and drinnking that. It doesn't seem to harm anything and I don't have that "aftertaste" left in my mouth. Or if I'm home, the first thing after eating, I go brush my teeth. I'm going to have the whitest teeth of everyone I know here pretty soon. I should start taking a toothbrush with me to work, that way I'm not tempted to drink there either.