UpperWestSide

Hi Everyone: it has been many years since I was active on this Board but I wanted to share some exciting news, especially for New York City area people. I had lapband surgery almost 8 years ago and I have written a show about both my life before as an Opera Singer, my surgery and my life since. It had its debut performance on May 15th to a sold out house so we have added a second performance on July 11th at Dixon Place in New York on the Lower East Side. I wanted to share the information in case of any interest here. This board was so important to me when I had my surgery that I wanted to come back and let you know. http://dixonplace.org/performances/bandwidth-the-ups-downs-of-a-lesbian-diva/

Hi Everyone: it has been many years since I was active on this Board but I wanted to share some exciting news, especially for New York City area people. I had lapband surgery almost 8 years ago and I have written a show about both my life before as an Opera Singer, my surgery and my life since. It had its debut performance on May 15th to a sold out house so we have added a second performance on July 11th at Dixon Place in New York on the Lower East Side. I wanted to share the information in case of any interest here. This board was so important to me when I had my surgery that I wanted to come back and let you know. http://dixonplace.org/performances/bandwidth-the-ups-downs-of-a-lesbian-diva/

Hi Everyone: it has been many years since I was active on this Board but I wanted to share some exciting news, especially for New York City area people. I had lapband surgery almost 8 years ago and I have written a show about both my life before as an Opera Singer, my surgery and my life since. It had its debut performance on May 15th to a sold out house so we have added a second performance on July 11th at Dixon Place in New York on the Lower East Side. I wanted to share the information in case of any interest here. This board was so important to me when I had my surgery that I wanted to come back and let you know. http://dixonplace.org/performances/bandwidth-the-ups-downs-of-a-lesbian-diva/

Well, two years later and I feel pretty great. I am down nearly 90 pounds and have been able to maintain it. I exercise regularly and just completed a hiking and biking trip of Alaska. 12 days of really hard stuff and loved every minute. Some things have been really hard. I divorced my partner of 15 years but am now in a really satisfying relationship. I want to get to my next level this year and feel in a good place to do that. Best of luck to all of you.

Has anyone had any experience with eating steamed mussels with a band? I would love to try them but I fear that they are too rubbery. I have a similar fear with clams. I recently had an oyster and everything was fine but that was raw. Any thoughts here? Thanks.

Actually, I think this is very interesting. At the pre-surgucal seminar, the Dr. I heard actually said that he does get a lot of requests for unfils from his Jewish patients for Pesach. He did indicate that he loosens the band before the holiday and fills it again after. I was not quite sure if it was because people wanted to eat more or because they could not eat the matzah easily although I thought he meant the latter. But he said it was a very common request, especially from the orthodox community. No one else has heard this?

I am thinking of having an unfill when I go on a trip in June. This is not so I can pig out on vacation. I am now healthy enough to do a hiking and biking trip of Alaska! I never thought I would be able to do that when I was over 300 pounds but now I am really looking forward to it. But I have a concern. I am thinking about asking for an unfill for 2 reasons. One is that I will be exercising very hard during this trip with long bike rides each day and we will even be climbing a mountain. I am worried that I won't be able to eat enough to keep up my energy although I guess I could eat those energy supplements. But my real reason for thinking about an unfill is that I am concerned what would happen if I had a band problem while in a fairly remote region. What if something got seriously stuck or I had a stomach virus. I can't imagine that a local small hospital would have any idea what to do. Anyone had this kind of experience or any thoughts about it.

OK. Did I get your attention? I really just wanted to share with you that after a conversation with the powers that be here at Lapbandtalk, a forum for those who love and care for us little ol' lapbandersters to have a place of their own to talk about their concerns and questions has been set up. No where on the whole internet is there a place for people involved in the lives of banded people just to talk about their concerns and figure out what changes they need to make or expect as the significant person in their life makes this huge change. The divorce rate for WLS patients is quite high. Well maybe if there was a place that was comfortable for those we are involved with to talk it might be lower. Feel free to share this space with those in your life who are on this journey with you (even if the problem may be that they don't go on the journey). It might make a difference. http://www.lapbandta...ends-new-forum/ It is new and there is not much there yet but I bet it can become quite active.

OK. Did I get your attention? I really just wanted to share with you that after a conversation with the powers that be here at Lapbandtalk, a forum for those who love and care for us little ol' lapbandersters to have a place of their own to talk about their concerns and questions has been set up. No where on the whole internet is there a place for people involved in the lives of banded people just to talk about their concerns and figure out what changes they need to make or expect as the significant person in their life makes this huge change. The divorce rate for WLS patients is quite high. Well maybe if there was a place that was comfortable for those we are involved with to talk it might be lower. Feel free to share this space with those in your life who are on this journey with you (even if the problem may be that they don't go on the journey). It might make a difference. http://www.lapbandta...ends-new-forum/ It is new and there is not much there yet but I bet it can become quite active.

Great, Alex. So how does it get added as a new section?

I was wondering how a new section gets added to lapband talk. There are at least 3 current threads either started by or about providing support for husbands, wives , partners and friends. The divorce rate is so high amoung bandsters and there really is no place on the net for this kind of support for our loved ones. If you could create a section where they could talk or ask questions i bet it would get active quite quickly. While some do participate in the general forums, having a specific space for them to create community might begin to address the high stress levels in our relationships. Thanks

I used to sign in to a page that would show the most recent posts. Does that not exist anymore? I found it the best way to keep on top of trending topics. Thanks

Thanks for responding to this thread. I totally get what you are experiencing and how hard that can be. It may be your job to make the changes for yourself but I can't believe that your husband is putting chocolate bars in front of you. That is just sabotage, plain and simple. I'm glad to hear you have a therapist during this because that can really help get you through all of things associated with making this change. Believe me, not only will people notice and begin to express their interest, but you will not be willing to put up with the old way of living all that long. I can't really believe that I have so much confidence and belief that I am actually beautiful. But I am and I do. I have a new love in my life who appreciate me and cheers me on in this process. I deserve that and so do you.