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Faybie, I vote for starting a new thread. It's kind of nice to have the thread be current with each month. To me it's like a fresh start and a fresh recommitment to better lap band practices and goals at the start of the month. Just my 2 cents. Jo Ann

Tonya, I just read that excellent article you recommended. It was really well done! I've bookmarked so I can share with others as needed. I had also never heard of this group, but now I'm interested in learning more about the organization. It is so exciting to learn new things! Thanks, Jo Ann

Julie, Congratulations on clearing out the old clothes! That's what I spent yesterday doing. I went in to my majorly overstuffed closet with the intention of finding out exactly which of my many black slacks actually fits right now or will fit soon. Along the way I filled four garbage bags with clothes - 2 with sport/casual and 2 with office/work clothes. The 4X pants are history along with any of the 3X tops and some of the more generously cut 2X tops. The pounds aren't really dropping but my body is definitely rearranging. Tomorrow I'll reconnect with my old trainer and get back into going to the gym regularly. Hopefully the scale will start moving again. Jo Ann

And another Betty Grable here! Jo Ann

August Bandster Club There should be one for people who were banded in September. Jo Ann

HAPPY NEW YEAR'S TO YOU TOO!! Jo Ann

:clap2: :clap2: :sleep :whoo: :first: :Banane34: :Banane34: :Banane42: :bananajump: :bananajump: :Banane10: Way to go Cherg! Keep us posted please! Jo Ann

Well said Kat! Jo Ann

Dear Julie, What a big loss to lose such a supportive friend, it must be hard to hear that he says he's in a better place now rather than continue the relationship. But I understand his viewpoint completely. Some years back I was very close to a woman who did some part-time work for me. We enjoyed working together and talked often. At the time, both she and I were deep in the middle of our own personal bouts of depression. So we talked and commiserated about life. As my meds kicked in and I began feeling better, I began to notice that the tone of all our conversations were the same. She could complain and moan about how bad things were for her, but there never seemed to be time for me to be the one who received needed encouragement and support. The relationship was not one of "give and take", rather it was, "I give and she takes". I noticed that I felt worse and worse after our phone calls and there was no positive energy. So I began to disengage; calling less, talking less and leaving the calls more focused on the work. To this day, we are still friends and care deeply for each other. But for my "psychic protection" I keep the calls short and few and far between. I don't know if my story rings any bells of recognition for you, but it is entirely possible to be very close to someone for a while and then find that your paths diverge. For you it could mean that someone new is waiting to come into your life. In the meantime, what are you doing for YOU that nurtures you in this period? Do you need some help managing your sadness and loss? Maybe it's time to reach out and see your doctor for some advice on handling the sadness. We're all pulling for you! Jo Ann

Lynn, Here are some :) :girl_hug: for you. What a bummer! Nobody wants to spend the holidays with a backache and worrying about having maybe "broken the band." I hope you'll be kind to yourself while you are waiting for your appointment on Jan 2nd. And who knows? Maybe you can start a new national trend for the "healthier way to bring in the new year"! My thoughts and prayers are with you and please let us know how you are doing. Jo Ann

:wow2: :clap2: :clap2: :eek: :mad: :D Liberty, you must be so proud! Way to go!! Jo Ann

Dear Cherg, Your post really worries me, yet I am so glad you wrote in to tell us what is going on. I admire your goal to get to 140, but putting off dealing with the throwing up after every meal and postponing therapy until after you reach goal weight is like putting the cart before the horse. Constant vomiting raises the possibility of band slippage or erosion. At the least, it leaves your esophagus in a more or less permanent state of inflammation and swelling which means it cannot recover and that can lead to some serious problems down the road. The habit of throwing up after each meal is pretty well in place now since it has been going on since early summer. Eating foods that you know are not your best choices and justifying it by saying that you would just throw it up anyway is a form of crooked thinking. Not seeing this current situation as a pretty big food issue may be another form of crooked thinking. And thinking that leaving the current "too tight fill" is helping you reach goal is yet more crooked thinking. Here's a thought -- I think you would agree that your current plan isn't working so well and you are miserable as well. What if you rethought everything and : Acknowledged with pride the weight loss you have had since surgery. Focus on what progress you have made to date. Saw your doctor to verify that nothing has happened to the band, and had your irritated esophagus treated and an unfill as well ? Contact someone qualified to talk with you about your relationship to food. (If you don't have someone in mind, I'll bet your doctor can make a recommendation for you.) Took the time to get yourself right and THEN pursue those last pounds to get down to 140 Think it over and give yourself some TLC. You deserve it. Stay in touch. We want to know how you are doing. Jo Ann

Now that you have had a little "reminder", I trust you will manage yourself just fine. Good luck! Jo Ann

Kay, I've not experienced that kind of pain around the port area before, so I can't give my direct experience. However, your surgery is pretty recent and it makes me wonder if you haven't been overdoing it a little bit since you've been recovering. Have you been lifting or dragging anything larger than a loaf of bread? Some folks feel so good after surgery they forget the port is stitched in place and overdo things. I think it is something that you should definitely mention to your surgeon if you feel anything like it again. Let us know how you are doing. Jo Ann

I've had those. I call'em "Duh" moments! Jo Ann

ROFLMAO! :bananapartyhat: :eek: Jo Ann

Talk about seeing what you expect to see instead of what's really there! Tha's OK. We cheer your current clothes size! Jo Ann

Hey Judy, Welcome back and it really sucks about your insurance situation! My insurance had the WLS exclusion too. :frusty: Have you looked into the Mexico option? Many people on this site swear by their Mexico experiences. It just behooves you to check the doctors out thoroughly because everyone has not had a wonderful experience . I would do a search for the Mexico stuff on LBT and be sure if you choose the option that you have a local doctor lined up to do the fills before you even get to Mexico. I don't know if your health is stable enough to consider this, but a second job could help you get the money together for Mexico. Or maybe you are eligible for overtime pay. The cost is a lot less than in the states from what I see, and it shouldn't take too terribly long to save the money if the paycheck goes with into your Mexico WLS account. :love: We're pulling for you here at LBT. Let us know how things are going and the solution you came up with; because I am confident that you will come up with a solution! Jo Ann

My sister gave me my MB last summer before I was banded. I love this thing! No it is not really a juicer, although it hints that it can do that. The motor is not powerful enough for that; I wound up buying a Jack Lalane juicer that I also love. The MB is great for Protein drinks, but came in really handy when I was in the mushies stage. That's where I figured out that I could have almost the same dinner as my family. All I had to do was put in the meat, veggies and starch (sometimes), add hot Water, blend to "mush", and pour it into a crockery cup. It works better to have a cup that no one can see through. Add your spoon and you can sit at the dinner table like people and eat what works for you. Because I got a great deal of my protein in this way, I was seldom hungry between meals. One caveat I had to introduce at the family table with my kids is that no one is allowed to comment on the color and/or texture of my meal. So the MB is very versatile, while it is more costly than the HB, I think it can do more things. Best wishes, Jo Ann

Slokat, I did a little research and found this information about swimming in the Katy area. The YMCA in Katy is an outdoor pool only. Mary Jo Peckham Park Located at 5597 Gardenia This 5.5 acre park facility features an indoor heated, handicapped-accessible, Olympic-sized swimming pool with fully equipped barrier-free dressing rooms. It also features a beautiful playground containing equipment designed to promote integrated play between disabled and non-disabled children. The park is run by Harris County Precinct Three to provide Harris County residents with therapy for the disabled, adult exercise programs, and instruction for all ages through the American Red Cross. Some featured programs include: Adapted Aquatics Lessons, Water Aerobics, Adult Lap Swim, and Adult Instruction. For more information about the park and its programs call 281-391-4482. Hope this helps, Jo Ann

Way to go! Things can look a lot brighter after moving around. I'm really glad to hear you sounding better and stronger. Best wishes, Jo Ann

Josette, I saw your post about dealing with depression and I believe I have something that might help during these short days and long nights. Do you know about SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder)? Some folks who have depression are greatly affected by the lessening of sunlight during the winter. Those in the northern latitudes are affected more strongly. It has it's own form of depression and it increases the symptoms of depression greatly for one already in place. Even living in as far south as Texas for 17 years, I've had to deal with this ailment. What I use is a desk lamp with a special bulb that shines the light in the same spectrum as sunlight. I sit under the light while I have Breakfast and read the paper each day.The extra light seems to counteract the light missing from being outdoors like we usually are in the summer months. Here is some additional information: Click here: MedlinePlus: Seasonal Affective Disorder Click here: Seasonal Affective Disorder SAD Light Therapy Winter Blues light boxes Full Spectrum lights Hang in there. If you can start feeling a little better with more light, maybe it will make it easier to get through the holidays without loved ones. Take care, Jo Ann

My package arrived Thursday and I was surprised by the size of the box for starters. Inside I found some beautiful Christmas tea towels, a tasty Christmas smelling candle, two huge snowflake mugs, and a delightful squeeze and play reindeer. You can sqeeze one hand and tell him something. Then you squeeze the other hand and it plays it back. My daughter has been using it to play with the dog. She records something silly and then takes the toy over to the dog and plays it back. Our dog, Lacey who is often confused for a golden retreiver rug or doorstop, lifts her head, looks slightly startled, signs and lays back down again. My daughter finds this hilarious and repeats the cycle again. My thanks to Amy Drewston for my SS present. It was delightful! Jo Ann

It's Friday! And I've got just the thing to put you in the holiday mood. Especially if you are "of a certain age." http://www.mesasoftware.com/merrychristmas.htm Jo Ann

Hi Suzy! It is normal to have a bit of a mood downturn after the surgery. In my opinion, several things are happening: The body acts very strangely after anesthesia. Thinking can become distorted and you may not even recognize yourself and the things you are thinking/worrying about. Your body has undergone a shock too and it needs time to adjust. I know, the first few days after surgery, usually while having gas pains, my mind would start spinning, whenever I thought about what I had really committed to. I think I was really hoping to wake up after surgery and the fat would just be gone! I knew better than that, but that was my secret hope. For me, everytime I have embarked on a big new direction in my life, I would generally feel overwhelmed by the hugeness of the task. Imagining life without cigarettes was so scary, that I literally couldn't even to talk to myself about "quitting." When the day came, I just never had the first one of the day. I still haven't had that first one and it's been more than 25 years! When we committed to having the band, we committed to getting in touch with the way we handle food and chose the lapband as a tool to help us with portion control and (hopefully) hunger so we could make steady progress in losing the weight and not having to regain it as soon as we got off the "diet" as we had so many times in the past. This tool is meant to help us stay the course as we take a look at our relationship to food in our lives and learn how to make OTHER choices that are to our benefit. It gives us some time to break the chains our other food behaviors have put us in. It is not going to happen at once; there is time to adjust. That's what the LBT is all about. We share our fears, make confessions to behaviors that we never told a soul about before, our victories and setbacks to people who know exactly how it is for us. So if I can take you back to the cigarette analogy, concentrate on taking care of Suzy today. Let the future take care of itself. Drink your Water and other liquids, walk for gas and BREATHE. Tomorrow do more of the same. No one expects you to do anything for the next six weeks but to follow instructions your surgeon gave you and heal. Any weight loss in that time is a bonus. If your mood doesn't lift in a few days, ask your doctor for help. In the meantime, know that we are here for you! :xena_banana: :girl_hug: :girl_hug: Jo Ann