JulieM.

Shalee, I know its hot there. I like it because when I'm there I'm seeing my sister and her family. I was actually born in a small town outside Bakersfield called Wasco. When my family from Bakersfield comes out here to visit they always talk about all our trees and how green everything is. Yeah well with that green and trees comes lots of bugs and humidity . I love it though. I just hate being away from the people I love. Bloom where your planted right!!

Hey friend! I've got family in Bakersfield. I live in Texarkana Arkansas and when I saw you lived in BF I smiled.

Hello Homeys, Can I hang with you? My name is Julie. I have been looking for a new home. I hope I have found it. I was banded in June and have lost a total of 28 lbs. I'm in a rut. I have had two fills and craving sweets. I know I could be doing better. I'm very active at work and home and try to work out two to four days a week. I was doing pretty good before I went on vacation and then it all went down hill. It seems once I get out of my routein it is impossible to get back in it. I'm due for a fill Monday. Will see what happens then.

I talked to my doctor about that very thing today. I found out that I have the 14cc band. He said that is the standard band now. They used to have two smaller ones but since they have updated the bands they no longer use those. The old ones are the ones they use in Mexico when you get banded there. So the standard size is 14cc allergen band and then they have a large ( not sure the cc on it).

Good Luck. Looking forward to the rest of the story.

Wow, just read the whole post today. Great story. When you get married and I know you will......can we all come??!! Congratulation on your journey.

I put my choc. protein mix with a little creamer and splenda in my coffee and it makes a nice mocha coffee in the morning for me. I'm having it right now. Yum! Get the warm liquid and protein all at once.

Congrats Tiffany. Pre op diet is hard. Day three is when I hit the wall. food addiction is tough. Its so worth it. Keep your hopes up and your loved ones close. Take one day at a time. I'm 43 days post op and still learning how this all works. It gets hard and then it gets better, I promise. I have lots of family in California. My neices and nephew in law live in Bakersfield and my sister and brother in law live in Taft. Small world. ~julie~

Hey Ya'll! Shoes? Whats that? In Arkansas we don't have things like that. In fact we are all barefoot and pregnant. Gotta go out and get me some of those new fangled things.

Ya'll I believe we are in what is called "Band Hell". Most of us are over a month out. Our insisions are healed and all the expectation of a new life and new hopes are at our front doors to speak. We are realizing its not as simple as all that. We are in the time frame of healing and getting to the sweet spot. For some of us it will be sooner than later. Until we get there it is a process of willpower and white knuckling it. We will be hungry until we have restriction. Or at least thats what I have gathered in hours and hours of reading these message boards. My Nutritionist said 4 oz of food is all my stomach would hold. I've got news for her....not true. I feel like I have been given a bill of goods. Yeah maybe I'm not doing my part to the letter of the law but what they said isn't the gospel either. May I say again BAND HELL. This is so much a process of emotional growth as much as physical. Its comforting knowing I'm not alone. Maybe in a few months we can look back at this and know it was just a phase and time really did solve everything.

I was wondering how you are able to eat just 1800 cal and run like you do. Shouldn't you be eating more at this point? I was wondering because I am working out at the gym. Cardo plus weights 4 times a week. Today I burned 415 cal on the eliptical and then did the weight circut. So thats probably over 500 cal. Well if I'm eating 1000 a day how can I maintain my energy level. I still have to work and live life. Just wondering how you did it.

Your day was crappy. You had a very stressful accident with you mother. You get home and your dad was harsh. Stop apologizing for feeling the way you did. Your dad was wrong. Thank god you did listen to your heart since your mother broke her knee cap. Who knows the complications she could have if she hadden't gotten medical treatment. Your mom needed you to stand up for her. Your mom and dads relationship is their business and she knows what she bargained for years ago but this situation was different. Yeah your family didn't want their family business put infront of others so what. We all have crap. We all make bad choices and we learn from them and we move on. You know we are all fat for a reason. Most I could guess is because we held in our feeling for years and ate our way into obesity. I applaud you for standing up for yourself and your mother. Part of this process is to reclaim your self worth and reaffirm your power. If your father can't make the right decisions for himself and his wife (your mother) You have every right in my opinion to stand up and voice yours. No apology needed!

Hey any of ya'll taking mobic for arthritis pain? My GP perscribed it to me a year of so ago and I stopped taking it. I wonder how it effects the band? To late today to call the doctor. Wondering if any of you are on it.

Holy smokes, I think I need a drink. I haven't had one since I was banded but if I had a day like yours I would have pizza in one hand and a beer in the other. Congrats for knowing how to come to the boards and vent instead of going to food. I'm gonna go get a diet green tea and calm down.

Well I'm glad I'm not alone. I can eat pretty much what I want to. I don't but I can. I haven't lost any weight in almost 2 weeks. I'm working out and drinking my fluids. I got my first fill on July 7. Still not much restriction. But hey we are in this for the long haul. 1 or 2 lbs a week right. Thats what everyone keeps saying.

My best advice is don't eat chicken chili two days before a colonoscopy. I should have just eaten razor blades. You have an amazing spirit man. We are all on pins and needles reading your story. With your attitude you can't help but have success.

Hey Ya'll! I had my first fill two days ago. Come to find out the doc. put in 2.4cc of fluid in my 14cc band at the time of surgery. At my fill they put in another 2cc. I had no idea there was anything in the band until I asked. All is well and I have had no problems eating or drinking since the fill. Good luck everyone.

I'm so happy you are doing this when you are 30 and not wait until you are 40 or even older. I wish I had taken control of my life sooner. You're gonna get down, you're gonna get mad, sad, frustrated....Stay the course. Your gonna hurt and going to the gym is gonna be the last thing in the world you are gonna want to do...go anyway. The pride and self love you will have for yourself will be a great healing tool for all the times in the past when you let yourself down. You deserve this man. Your wife deserves a healthy happy husband to share her life with. Congratulations.

Went there on the 4th when my family was in from California. I had eggs and bacon. I was very happy. Everyone else had pancakes . Its okay, I've had about 40 lbs of pancakes in my life and look where its gotten me.

Hey does anyone have the low down on the Lap ban support meetings in Texarkana? Are they at Wadley or Holiday Inn by the mall, and when? I'm getting conflicting stories.

I was banded this month and I have been looking at alot of posts on the message boards. As you can imagine I have some concerns about long term success with my new friend "the band". It seems you have had your band over a year and are having problems with constant weight loss. Are you saying the problem is with the band? I have not had a fill yet and dont' know how I'm going to feel after that. I'm just trying to eat small protions now knowing I won't be able to eat them later, right? I COULD eat more right now I just don't. I guess i just don't know how this is all going to play out. Is it like every other time in my life when I have tried to diet and failed? Am I going to give up on the band because it doesn't make me lose weight constantly or is it my responsibility to work the band and not work it? I'm new to all this and just trying to figure it out.

Hey Chris, pretty soon were gonna be callin you Slim Jim in stead of BigChris!! Way to go man.

Wow! Something happened to me this morning that hasn't happened in years. I got on the scales and it said 199.0 I looked again and it was true. Wow this is really working. You decide to make just one good choice and then you make another. Before long you have a week of good choices and so on. Not just food. Making a choice to work out, take the stairs, park in the back of the parking lot. Anything. And one day you wake up and get on the scales and you see something you haven't in a very long time.

Hello Ya'll. I am 20 days post op and my incision next to my port site is sore. Also it feels like a wad of something is underneath the skin. Maybe the port cord? I have been working out so maybe its friction. I was wondering if this is just part of the healing process or if this is something I should call my doctor about. Your imput is appreciated.