Leecelove70

Here I am with the Nurse Practioner Dory she is also the Head of the Bariatic Department and is well know in the field.

Me and My surgeon Pic 2 taken today at follow up appointment.

Me with my surgeon taken today at my one year follow up appointment. Picture 1.

:clap2:Today is my one year Bandiversary! What has a year brought to me : 1. Lower Dosage in Blood Pressure Medication. 2. I lowered my Cholesterol to a more normal range. 3. I cleared up my Bundle Branch Blockage in my Heart. 4. I can walk again without being out of breath! 5. I can dance again my favorite activity! 6. Iam a smaller size- from 32 to a size 20. 7. Learning to like exercise and not dreading it! 8. Drinking even more water than ever before! 9. Learning to not compare myself to others, we all lose weight at a differnt pace because of age, height and medical history. 10. Asking for and getting support from others - whether it be in person or over the internet. I weighed myself this morning on my home scale and it said 245 from the 252 I weighed on May 25th in the surgeons office at my last visit. ( Iam still fighting this dam Stomach Viral Infection) I go for my one year follow up tomorrow so that will be my offical one year weight lose and I will change my ticker to that tomorrow after my visit. So for now I have my ticker at what I weighed this morning. The TickerFactory has great new sliders now and I really like this one since I hope to fit into these clothes next time this year! My new goal is to be 200 by September for my brother's Wedding on September 15th in San Francisco. So today starts the second leg of my journey and Iam ready ........ Lisa

BARB 465: WE MADE IT TO OUR ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY! JUNE 13, 2006- JUNE 13, 2007! I HOPE THE YEAR AHEAD GOES SMOOTHLY FOR BOTH OF US AND FINDS US AT GOAL NEXT YEAR AT THIS TIME! LOVE AND BEST WISHES , LISA

I wrote my post out of frustration! I have never ever compared myself to anyone in this room since I know that we all are of different ages, heights and beginning weights. Sometimes I get so envious of those who are almost at goal and I hate myself for not being there. I keep thinking I could of done something different! Its those times that really get me down and make me feel like such a failure. With this band I have lost more weight than I have lost on any diet I have ever been on before--NOW THATS AN ACCOMPLISHMENT!:clap2: Also our surgeons have different requirements, mine had me do a two week Optifast liquid diet.( I lost 7 pounds on it and would never do it again, it gave me the worst case of the runs!) Others were told to do South Beach or find a diet to do on their own. We followed our own doctors instructions. Also some of your doctors have diffferent rules about fills and some of you had alot of fills done during this year. My doctor has strict rules about fills and will not do them unless he fells you absoultely need one (also it cost me $80 dollars out of pocket) I have had two this year only and one unfill. Also some of us have medical problems and take alot of medication that can slow down weight lose, in my case Iam Bipolar. I have had my medication changed 5 times since January and have seen my weight change drastically from it. My highest weight was 290 when I began my journey, surgery weigh was 283 from a week on Optifast. My lowest weight was 233 and that was in February. At my last weight in I was 252 that was on May 25th and since June 4th I have had Gastroenteritis-Viral Infection of my Intestine. I have not been able to eat anything except broth, some rice, icepops,the occasional toasted whole wheat english muffin and oatmeal. I have not weighed myself but I feel my clothes are lose! Tomorrow is a big deal to me since it was a dream that I made come true for me! I HAD THE SURGERY FOR ME -- I SAVED MY LIFE! Thanks for giving me the encouragment to move on- Tomorrow starts the second leg of this journey and Iam ready! Love, Hugs and friendship and sisterhood, Lisa

Iam going to be a year out tomorrow and I had the same systoms last Monday but with abdominal pain on the my right side. I was doubled over in pain! I was sent by my surgeon to the ER. I was told to have an Ultra sound done, blood work and urine test. I was found to have Gastroenteritis- Viral Intestinal Flu. Its an infection of the intestine. Its been more than a week and Iam living on dry toast, rice and hot tea. I have lost about 60 pounds in my one year I go for my one year follow up on Thursday. Its going around, I hope you feel better soon! Lisa

Tomorrow is my one year anniversay and I told my husband this morning that I want to do something special for myself to celebrate. He told me celebrate what-- Did you lose 100 pounds in one year? You cheated on cake and icecream and ate shit sometimes: I told him this was when I was depressed -MOST OF IT WAS BROUGHT ON BY YOU ! ALSO I HAD MY MEDICATION CHANGED 5 TIMES IN 5 MONTHS - MOST CAUSED WEIGHT GAIN THE DOCTOR SAID! He said your going to celebrate a 50 pound weight loss, you act like your lost 100 pounds! I wanted to buy myself an I-pod to encourage me to get back into my exercise routine and to get to the gym. I saw some great sales and he said no,your going to put us back into debut with your spending! So what did I end up getting $40 dollar gold earrings from a gift card that my husband got for Nurse's day ( He is a transporter at a Hospital and they gave the Nurses and Transporters gift cards a while back) so he gave it to me . Iam so mad right now! What made it worse was he came on this site and looked at the post and saw all of your before and after pictures and said - see these woman lost almost 100 pounds WHY COULDN'T YOU ! I HAVE NEVER FELT SO HURT AND LIKE A FALIURE ! My surgery was done on a Tuesday so it was technically a yeas ago today on June 13th. I look at my day of surgery picture and Iam no longer that person , I will never be her :cry. This dam insensitive bastard! Thanks for letting me vent! Lisa

We all accomplished so much this year so congratulations to all! Lisa P.S My one year is tomorrow !

Pinky: Its nice to put a face to your post! I posted mine by uploading from my HP downloads I had on my computer and I could not figure out how to make them smaller either.( I noticed yours were from photo bucket) Its nice to see everyone's photo's and put faces to the person. I have to take my one year photo next week and this weekend I think I will buy a special outfit to take the photo in. Iam still not sure what do to celebrate my one year since Iam not going to Vegas with the others. Its a toss up between A Glamour Shoots photo shoot with the little black book which I found out from the site they let you take like 4 poses and they put them into a book for you alond with the make over and hair for $40.00 dollars plus tax and so on. My second its to treat myself to a Dooney and Burke bag I have had my eye on that cost about $200 dollars--Its a special occasion so the cost on the credit card its worth it right! The third is a day at the spa which I had for my 30th and 35th birthday and the whole day cost $300-- again --Its worth the cost on the credit card! My husband and I have agreed that when I reach goal we are going to go on a special vaction together without our son --a second honeymoon of sorts. So Does anyone else have a day of surgery picture that they are brave enough to show like I did? It took alot for me to share that photo with all of you. I have only shown that photo to my Nurse ANP and my surgeon and no one else until now! I look at it now and it make me cry to see that 290 pound woman I was and to see how much I had let myself go ! I have not weighted myself since I saw the Nurse ANP on May 25th she had weighted me as 252 but that was a 10 pound gain from my March 13th weigh in. The cause was the medication I was and my depression made me go back to my complusive overeating. I have been gaining and losing from the medication Iam on for my Bipolar! Since May 25th I was on Optifast up until May31st ,when I started to have the abdominal pain. When I called the surgeon he told me to stop takeing the Optifast since it was upsetting my stomache. June 4 I was in the emergncey room for what I thought was a Gallbladder attack its Gastroenteritis ( see post of that day). So I have my once year follow up on June 14th and Iam looking foward see how much I weigh since I have not been able to eat anything except-- broth, jello,icepops,dry toast and some rice. I need to drink even more water than I have as no to dehydrate. I feel horrible ! Oh, well --I will get over this! HAPPY BANDIVERSARY TO ALL WHO CELEBRAE THIS WEEK!

Socal: Your so pretty! Its so nice to finally see what you look like. All the pics I posted were my before and the rest were my after up until December. The profile picture is from Jan 6, 2007, my 37th birthday so you can see the change in my face. Iam taking my 1 year picture on June 13th and will scan and post shortly afterwards. Thanks so much for sharing! Lisa P.S. What is your real name?

Christmas 2006 with my hubby and son.

My husband and I at his office Christmas party.

My son's 4th birthday Sept 19th and down 40 pounds!

August of 2006 at Sesame Place with me son and down 38.5 pounds .

Here is my day of surgery picture that my hubby took of me with a polariod right before I had to go down stairs for srugery. As you can see I let it all hand out and I blocked out the below the belt part. I look at this picture now and I can not bleieve how huge I was! There are more to follow... Lisa

I was thinking of this and there is a place called Glamourshots at the mall. They give you a mini makeover and take glamorous photos ( a few different poses of you). My parents gave it to me as a gift for my 21st birthday and the pictures were beautiful! I have to scan and upload my before and after pictures. I have changed so much! I just wish that I did not get this gastroenteritis( see my last post). It's really knocking me out! Happy Bandianniversaary to all whose anniversaries are comming up this week! Mine is the 13th! Me and Barb 465 share an anniversary-- she is going to Vegas-- I hope she enjoys herself for me! Right now Iam on a budget since I just paid for my fight and hotel for my brother's Wedding which is September 15th in San Francisco. My son is the ring bearer he is going to be 5 and Iam doing a reading. We are staying in Fisherman's Wharf from September 13th until September 17th. We were able to get a very good deal on Expedia.com Iam hanging in there and hope to get over this Gastro thing soon. Lisa

Over the past few days I have had alot of pain on the right side of my abdomen. When I checked online I seemed to have some of the symptoms of Gallstones. This morning I woke up doubled over in pain and I called my Lapband surgeon who told me to go to the ER and have an Ultrasound done. So, I went and..... I got home at 530 from being there since 1030am! I had the ultrasound done and blood work plus urine test. I have GASTROENTERITIS- a common viral illness. Symptoms include nausea, vomiting, stomach cramps, diarrhea, and slight fever. I have to start on small sips of water as every 20-30 minutes and graduaally increase to 1-2 cups as tolerated, broth, Jell-O, dry crackers, and toast. Stay away from dairy products until symptoms improve. Iam to call the doctor and return to the ER if I have: Persistent vomiting, bloody stools, deyhrations, fainting, high fever, increased pain in the abdomen on the right side. Thank God it was nothing more serious! I have never been so scared! My anniversary is June 13th and I am finally back on track since now Iam finally on the right Bipolar medication and I just finished my two weeks on Optifast( I was put back on it when I went for my 11 month check up ). Iam hanging in there! Lisa <HR style="MARGIN-TOP: 10px">See what's free at AOL.com.

Alot has been going on with me and I really need talk to my Lapband friends ........ Iam still having a hard time with my Bipolar medication. I was having really bad episodes and had to be take me off the Tegretol which I was on from April 21st until May 12. On May 12th I had a really bad episode and my therapist said we have to take here off this medication right now! My psychiatrist was away for the weekend so I had to go to the hospital emergency room to have my medication changed.(My therapist had one of the emergency room psychiatrist evaluate me). I was put on Klonopin and it has made an amazing difference for me. I told the my psychiatrist who I saw Saturday, that Iam worried about this constant change in the medication and that my depression is getting worse. Also that Iam gaining my weight back and that my compulsive overeating is coming back full force. He told me that these are the side effects of some of the medications, that my main concern should be to get my mental health under control and stabilized. Then get the weight under control. I told him I had my Lapband surgery to control my weight, but to also control my depression since that was one of the things that was a cause of my depression. I have my 11month follow up on Thursday with my Nurse ANP and I hope to get a fill and maybe with this new medication I can start over again on my weight loss journey. I want to have a good talk with the nurse & dietitian and see if they can help me work on this along with taking my Bipolar medication. I have read on some of the Bipolar sites and books that with the medication Iam on there are certain foods that I should avoid totally. So Iam going to take that information with me to show my dietian and nurse. I have been really feeling like a failure lately as far as my Lapband is concerned. My complusive overeating is back full force! I have been eating cake with vanilla icing that I make for my son and also eating Mr. Softie which we get from the ice cream truck, popcorn with lost of butter. This is my daily diet , I have no problems with these foods, they go down so well! When I eat healthy foods like chicken and brown rice or eggs I get sick and PB. I have been put on liquids for a week now but it has not been easy. I just hope that a new fill and the help of the new medication will get me back on the right track with my life. Iam sorry to dump on you all in here, but I feel like such a failure with my band. I had lost almost 70 pounds & I worked hard to lose that 70. Right now Iam luck if I have even 40 of that still off. Iam so depressed, since I had bought such nice size 20 capri's to wear and I can not fit into them anymore. I am thankful that I did not get rid of my size 24 jeans and my sweatpants. I have my brother's wedding in September which we just booked the airefare and hotel for. I was hoping to wear a really nice dress in size 16 , but even that now looks impossible. On June 13th is my one year surgery date and instead of looking foward to it , Iam dreading it! I hate that this dam Bipolar has taken over my life! Lisa

I saw last year on a talk show promoting her book and she now is having the band taken out. Also keep in mind she had the band put in when it was first introduced back in England and her's is not the same band that we all have. That whole family is totally weird anyway! Poodles your doing great and your ass is not fat!-lol

PinkyLee: Happy Birthday and all the best for the year ahead! Love, Hugs and friendship, Lisa

Hi all! Thanks to all that posted with their kind works of love and support! Thats why I have stayed here in this June Crew through all my personal and Lapband Challenges. You all have become like a second family to me that I can turn to for love and support. My husband and I are working thing out as best as we can one day at a time. My son is doing better and doing BM's reguarly now ! Its only been a few weeks on the new Bipolar medication so its to early to see if this new medication is working. The side effects suck , but sometimes you have to way them out in order to see the good effect it has on you. As for my weight, Iam fighting my cravings each day. One of the side effects of both Bipolar medication is weight gain in some form. Depakote the medication I was just taken off of did make me gain weight. This new medication, as I mentioned its is to soon to see the full side effects yet. Iam really happy for all of the rest of you that are getting closer to your one year goals--- Regina - Congratulations on hitting the 100! I just went over the recent post. Also glad to see your on the mend and home now. Well, Iam hangin in there, again thanks for all your love and support! Lisa

Momma: Iam so sorry to hear about your daughter. Depression is so hard on children. Lexapro ( the right spelling ) is not a bad anitdepression and does work , but it takes a while. If she just started it they probably only put her on 20 mg. which is what they put us on to start with. They will monitor her for a few weeks and then probably increase the dosage. She will need to see a psychoth erapist which is what I see who work together with your psychiatrist ( who prescribes the medication). This how it works for me, it might work differenly for her since she is not Biploar like Iam. All I can say is get involved fully with here therapy and treatment. Its the best thing you can do for her and your family. Has she done any school consuling for her depression? Maybe the depression was brought on by something that happend to her at school: Is she being teased or harassed by a classmate? Is a teacher treating her unkindly? We here so much about kinds holding back things that have happend to them - leading to depression and worse. Iam gald to hear that at least she was started on some type of medication that might help her. Anitdepression are not danger to children as some might thing or fear. If they do their research they will see that antidepression have helped many young children. You said that your daugther is 12 and that is not a very young age for her to be started on anntidepressions. My therapist has told me of some children she has worked with in the past who were as young as 7 and 8 who benefited from taking this medication. I tell you all this as someone with a mental illness and first hand experience. If it were not for my great therapist, psychiatrist, and above all my great family, I would not be where Iam today! Through taking my medication and going to therapy Iam living with my Bipolar and surviving one day at a time. You will get through this and you have my love, support and friendship. We all have hard times to go through,but through reaching out to other we can help ourselves! If you need to talk, please PM me anytime. Lisa

Hi all ! First off, I hate the changes to this site! Alot has been going on in my personal life, so I have not been in here to post. I have read everyone's post and I have nothing great to post :cry ! The end of March started with an increased in my medication which of course, I hate since there are always added side effects. April was looking okay until my son developed constent constipation. We took him to the pediatican and he was puton all types of special stuff to make him go. The poor kid was so uncomfortable! We are refered to a specialist and the appointment is for the following Wednesday, April 25th. Then my mother-in law fell and broke her pelvis - that was on a Friday, April 13th. She is being tranfered to a rehab hosptial the week of the April 23th. On April 21st, I again have my medication changed, taken off one and put on another. They are trying to get my levels in check - I have Bipolar 1. Monday, I think the stress off my son being constipated and the medication got to both my hubby and me and we argued and fought. It got ugly and we decide to seperate for a while. In the mist of it all we had to take my son to the specialist who had us give my son two emea's to relief his constipation and it finally worked Monday night --THANK GOD! We had to talk to our therapist about all this and it was not easy. His therapist in my opinion is jerk and only in it for the money. Mine on the other hand is the most caring women on earth who lets me call her anytime even on the weekends! Yesterday he finally came back to live with us but it will be hard , we actually wrote out a list of rules and have them on the refridge. Its long with 20 items and we both agreed that if we can make the first 5 work then we know we are going to be okay. We have been married for 5 years and have been through alot -- Our son was born at 32 weeks premature and weighted only 2 pounds 11 ounces at birth . He was in the NICU for 2 1/2 mouth and almost died of pneumenia when he was three days old. My Bipolar, my surgey last year! Its alot and still we are together! As for my weight -- I am not doing well, I have been under tremendous stress not knowing what is going to happen with my son( they wanted to do surgery to see if there was a blockage if he did not go soon !), my marriage ( are we getting divorced). and my Bipolar( what meds are they putting me on next !) it was alot to handle! i was throwing up both good and bad food, and was feeling sick. I called my Nurse ANP and she said that the muscles around my espaghus are probably so tight from stress. That it happens, and to try to relax before eating . She also told me to try just eating bland food like oatmeal and drinking protein shakes. I am hanging in there right now, my therapsit has been great and so has my best friend. My husband has been taking my son to visit his cousin who lives near by for play dates so I can have time for myself. I do not know what will happen with us, but I will keep you posted. Thank you for letting me post here. Lisa P.S I no longer get the post by email here anymore, since they go to my spam folder. WHAT HAPPEND TO THIS SITE!!!