Betsyjane

hairball. Good one. I'm going to tell my cats that I feel their pain now.....

Oh, that's gooood. I'm going to tell my hubby to watch out for it.

I am also diabetic, and I've never been able to lose weight without daily exercise. For me, it's a treadmill at a gym. I hate regular exercise and I want to know that I'm getting absolutely efficient exercise, not wasting a minute, and get it over with. I want to watch TV or listen to music, shut my eyes, have the treadmill figure out how to keep me at my target heart rate, and have the darned thing shut off when I'm finished. For that short stupid annoying time, I pay $25 a month to the gym, but at least I know I'm getting it in. Then I can do stairs instead of escalators, play with my dogs, or whatever, but I know I also got in that one perfect exercise time.

I had my first fill Monday. I haven't seen this on any of the posts, but here's what I did.... After the fill, I just felt this unbelievable urge to test it and find out what it was like. I was told to eat soft food for 2 days , and that it would swell and I probably wouldn't be able to eat much that evening. So I ate. Nothing. I ate more. Nothing. The rest of Monday, I ate more than I should, chewed less, ate the wrong things. It was totally strange and disheartening-I was mad at myself and disappoiinted in the fill. So the next day, this morning.... I ate what I should, measured portions and calories, did my water correctly, chewed, slowed down....and I was full after 4 ounces this morning, and 6 ounces at noon. Everything is just fine. I guess I can plow through anything...or I can slow way down and let the band help me. Scary to know that I can binge if I want. Satisfying to know that I feel full and not at all like binging.

It would be intreresting to know if the mood on this thread varies based on whether the writer is needing a fill! Just kidding.

Shoot. The media can't even get it right whether Sharon Osborne had a lap band or gasrtic bypass! I was in Thailand last Spring, and I loved watching the news! I heard about what was going on all over the world and in interesting detail. We may have freedom of the press, but the press doesn't choose to freely report much. We end up so biased and so isolationist.

Oh, and on the issue of the wall at the Mexican border...you've probably all heard this, but I was listening to a comedian on TV, who wondered..."if we arrest the illegals, who's going to build the wall? Sorry. I'm in Texas, and nothing gets built here, farmed here, or ranched here without the help of illegals.

Just as an aside, I have this weird conflicted feeling....Glad that Saddam the sadist is gone. Guilty that we destabilized the country and now will need to leave. Even if all we did was take the lid off a Pandora's box of old feuds that have been around since only a few years after Mohammed died in the 600's, we're the ones who did it. Seems like maybe the thing to do now is to also do alot more humanitarian aid, even if we do it for the selfish reason of public relations. Hopefully, we could also do it out of compassion, but it would be nice to be a better guy than the bombers...... Besides, I'd rather send troops to Darfur (as part of a real UN force)m, at this point.....

I haven't read this thread for a very long time. Glad to see it's still edgy. I'm assuming no one has convinced anyone of anything yet......but everybody's just having a roaring good discussion. Here are my two cents about a good end to the Iraq issue. The differing religious factions in Iraq started warring each other in around 636 AD. Hussein was able to stabilize the country through control and terror. We took him out. So now the country is back to status quo, and all that is familiar to Iraq. We can't stop them. We can't split up the country or Iran and Syria and Turkey will step in and stop it, so there will be a bigger squabble. So we should follow our agenda. Let the country fight itself until it is tired of doing so. Protect and support their government if they ask us to. Protect and support Iraq's new rules that allow outsiders to have a say in the oil. Keep a peacekeeping group there to keep our presence next to Iran. Talk to Iran, Syria, and Turkey to try to stabilize the region from having a conflict that expands beyond Iraq. Stay out of the civil war. Make a better deal with Canada than China has, to get our oil from Canada instead of the Middle East. Set up a free enterprise zone along the border with Mexico where factories can open and people can work for less than minimum wage, to get our manufacturing back, somewhat, from China. Any immigrant who works there 5 years and stays out of trouble, becomes a US citizen and can enter the rest of the country to get better wages, etc.

I GOT MY FIRST FILL THIS MORNING!!!! She had to wiggle the needle around to find my port, and I was surprised---it didn't hurt at all!!!!!! She put in 1cc and then I drank barium and we watched it fun right through the band. so she added .6cc more and we did it again. This time the barium filled up the little stomach and backed up, and then slowly spritzed through the band. That was it. She just said to come back when I stop losing weight. I talked with everyone getting fills in the waiting room, and to the staff, and they said tyhat almost everybody goes back to eating too much and the srong things when a fill is needed, and especially the first fill. They also said the first fill usually doesn't last long...it gets absorbed into the dry band. The second fill usually stays put. Whatever.... And now it's back to work eating like a skinny person again. Woo Hoo!

I'll be there. I agree...others will join in later.

Great idea. Not a clue how to do it...... Can you tell me where to find instructions?

I'm not griping about losing 15 pounds. I'm griping because the 15 pounds were before and immediately after surgery, but now I'm just struggling no to regain it! Looking forward to my fill...... Regarding a gym membership, cold weather, etc. There are exercise programs on TV and there are used exercise videos on sale on ebay. Even if it's not ideal, getting moving really does help! I'm so much better on days that I get in a good sweating half hour as a minimum. Honest.

I was self pay too. Right after the surgery, I told my primary care doctor, who is a twit, that I had the surgery. His response was "I lost 40 pounds and all I did was eat 6 small meals instead of 4" and he pulled out his drivers license to show me the change. All I could say was "Good for you." People who should know better often don't get it..... so we hang with people who do!

Great! I'll take a head count Tuesday and make a reservation under BANDSTERS. I'm looking forward to it. Humble City Cafe is by SE corner of the intersection of 59 and 1960, on Main Street. Can give exact directions as needed.

Anybody want to meet this Wednesday 12/13 at 6:30 PM at Humble City Cafe for dinner or a cuppa...to say hi, chat, and plan a NE support group? I'll call for reservations if I can get a head count.... Or if that day doesn't work, let's talk. Frankly, I'd prefer a lunch meeting but I'm guessing that won't work as well for everybody... Betsy

I'm getting my first fill Monday and I'm counting the hours!!!! I can eat almost anything in almost any quantity, so it's almost as much of a struggle to be good as it was without the band. I do remember when I first had the surgery, there was such a relief in only being able to eat small and forget about food the rest of the time. Looking forward to some of that feeling again.........

Well, I've said it before and I'll say it again. This mushy thing is totally different for me with Muscle Milk Light. I eat my 3 tiny melas and have 2 shakes a day in between,. Muscle Milk is the only protein shake I've found that is truly FILLING! I have no stock in the company, honest. It's jsut made everything so much easier for me.....and I get to have chocolate twice every day! But I still can only find the Light type on eBay....

Brava, Chrissie!!!!!!!!!!! And many more......

A walk in the park is great! Today, I'm graeful for 50 degrees and sunny skies here, and a wonderful ranch to walk around on, followed by my pet fallow deer, dogs, cats, miniature horses and miniature goats. Being thin will really top it off!

Bravo, Dani! When people are upset with us, it's because it reminds them of their own issues...whether control issues or appearance issues! On my good days, I remember that! Glad I didnt have to go through the arterial thing! For me, the worst part was that I was so sick from the anaesthetic for a few hours after surgery, and trying sooo hard not to throw up! After I got home, I slept for hours and felt so much better. Then all I had to deal with is that painful gas. Otherwise my recovery was a piece of cake! (Hmmm....I'll have to come up with new non-food expressions....)

MyPov...I havent' read this thread...just the title. It cracked me up. So taking care of your health is going to ruin Christmas for everyone! Just shows you how food involved we are! I got banded just before Thanksgiving, and although no one said it outright, several enablers in my family were anxious about my timing. My mother wouldn't include me in food prep or even planning because "you won't be participating anyway". In what??? In being with family? In great conversation? I had actually planned to bring turkey baby food to the table, but instead, we cooked some veges alot longer for me, and mushed up a tiny bit of turkey, and I nibbled along and had a great time talking with everybody. Shoot, by the 25th, all you'll need to be careful of is little kids jumping in your lap and pounding on your tummy!

I think one reason for all the emotions is that we've all been so bad at losing weight in the past. It's a core issue for us. Now, as we await first fills, we're anxious about again not losing weight well...scared about whether we will stretch our pouches, cause slippage...not behave well with the fill. I have all those thoughts, anyway. I also have thoughts of great joy and anticipation. All of that seems pretty normal to me, given who we are and where we've been in life. PS...my first fill is a week from tomorrow!!!!!!!!!! I will say this....whoever on this site talked about Muscle Milk Light....sure helped me! It's the only protein shake I find to be REALLY filling! and creamy and chocolatey..... But I can only find the Light on ebay.... Carol-go to tickerfactory.com

I'm frankly not surprised that you've gained. No activity. Meds. Probably depressed. That's certainly a recipe for weight gain! I have Lupus, and I know how meds can put the pounds on...as can inactivity. Maybe a strategy at this point is to begin thinking of being stuck as a temporary situation, and rehearsing how you're going to get back to exercise and good eating soon....and how the weight is going to start coming off. A wise person on this site said that this is a marathon, not a sprint, and that helped me. There will be setbacks, cheating, things to deal with. We certainly know that from dealing with illnesses too. Start thinking about this as just a temporary bump in the road and expect that there will be others. Life keeps coming at us. Hang tight, dear. We're with you.

OK. Guess I'm doing OK. It's not so much what I'm eating as that I'm also battling my old eating habits. I'm cheating alot...just lately. It's like I never had a band..... I think I'm just reacting to the old habits being there....The reality is if I hadn't been banded I'd be gaining, and not just struggling to maintain a 15 pound loss. And I'd be eating alot more crappy things than I am. What really cratered me is that I......I....oh, it's hard to say....I bought a piece of Tres Leche cake in the grocery store. Hey, it's mushy....but probably 4 days worth of calories. I've been kicking myself ever since. Then I didn't feel like doing my treadmill workout, and so goes the downward spiral. Tomorrow is another day.