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You've lost 10 pounds already. The liver is the first place it goes so you should be fine. Your doctor isn't going to close you back up. Relax and keep following instructions. You'll be fine. Good luck with your surgery and enjoy the journey. It's awesome!

Aww you can do it connie, this is the worst part, nothing compares to that pre op diet, i felt just the same, i was constantly in the bathroom too my bowels wouldnt agree with the pre op diet, i was also so emotional i cried every day. If it was a normal fad diet id have given up but look at what your going to gain from it a whole new and healthier lifestyle. How long do you have to do the pre op diet for? I only had to do it for 2 weeks and was banded 3rd july. I use to phone my dietician every day in tears and by day number 10 she was pretty harsh and said 'you have 2 options.... 1 - get on with it and do it and 2 - dont have the band...simple. those were the exact words i needed to give me a kick up the bum lol. So after that i kept repeating those words in my head xxx

I have had a lap band for 10 years and yes, you get hungry with it but I will say that I never felt hunger pangs and bad as before. I am considering revision to sleeve and I know for sure that there is a head-hunger that is in no way related to my stomach. It occurs when I have any kind of anxiety such as a deadline at work or even when I an anticipating something good. I have no idea how to rid myself of that and it may be what others are experiencing.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5406732/: "The number of laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomies (LSGs) performed worldwide as a primary bariatric procedure has grown exponentially in recent years, given the simplicity of the technique, the low complication rate and the good short- and mid-term results regarding weight loss and the resolution of co-morbidities. However, there are a limited data from long-term studies. In this study, a standardized LSG proved to be safe (no mortality and a leakage rate of 1.2%) and highly effective in terms of weight loss after 5-year of follow-up, particularly in patients with a low preoperative body mass index. This manuscript provides additional evidence supporting the role of laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy as a stand-alone procedure for selected morbidly obese patients". https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4879937/ "Perceptions of the mechanisms responsible for the beneficial metabolic effects of metabolic/bariatric operations have shifted from being mostly restrictive and malabsorption over the last 10 to 15 years to being more neuro-hormonal in origin".

Interesting point. Also maybe due to evolution the metabolism slows down since it would require us to use less energy resulting in us having to hunt and gather less calories to survive? Also, sadly, very obese people may not live as long due to an earlier death from a comorbidity of obesity. Honestly I always just thought that obese people are so much less likely to make it to old age. Sent from my Nexus 6P using the BariatricPal App I think that is what most people say but it isn't 100% true.Oh I understand, nothing is true 100% of the time, but according to my surgeon being 100 pounds overweight, on average, takes 10 years off a person's life. Ten years less than average life expectancy doesn't really give you time to go into a retirement home. Of course there are people who beat the odds, like smokers who live long, healthy lives, but they are not the norm. I do understand that elderly people lose muscle mass, and height as well, so they tend to shrink. And often lose appetite as well. That is the least of my worries personally. Sent from my Nexus 6P using the BariatricPal App

I had started mine the day before surgery. I was also on blood thinners. That cycle lasted 7 days. I had about a 10 day break and then it came back with a vengeance for two weeks… so roughly 3 out of 4 weeks I had a heavy period. Cramps were horrible with heavy clotting. I was told to watch my cycles and if it continued to check in with my gyn, but also told that it’s not out of the ordinary to have cycle disturbance early in. Also got the “very fertile” time warning but I have my tubes tied and my hubby has a vasectomy - so we are clear there.

Your body is probably holding on to fluid as you are still recovering from the surgery. Don't worry about it. You can walk but your surgeon should have given you some guidelines about exercise. If not, call them up and ask them. I wasn't up to more than walking, and not even much of that, for about 2 months post-op, but everyone's different. Some people start back at the gym sooner than that. Also, I was told not to lift anything heavier than 10 lbs for 6 weeks. That made bringing groceries in a team effort.

Last night I had a meeting for my son's high school football team. I had not seen many of my friends from football since before the summer. It's only been 10 weeks since my surgery, but I got so many compliments on how great I looked. I have not felt pretty in YEARS! Last night I felt like Miss America! I also felt confident and happy. I am amazed at the psychological change losing weight brings on. For those of you experiencing stalls early out and stressing over them.... I have had two so far (am currently in one now) that have lasted a few weeks. Trust me when I tell you, your body is still changing for the good!

I just got done decorating my 10 foot monster tree! I love decorating qith tons of colored lights. The only color that scares me is beige. Lol [ATTACH]38077[/ATTACH]

Mine was rather normal but last month I was 10 day late and this month I've had it for 14 days straight. My doctor said its because of all the hormone changes and its completely normal. I hope this helps!! Linda www.fatontheinsideblog.wordpress.com

I am new to this site. As a matter of fact, I am new to on line chatting completely. The first time I posted to this site I managed to post on a NJ thread that was just for chatting about family and friends. I had no idea. I finally found the place to start if you are a beginner!! I am 42 years old and I have struggled with weight all of my life. Since a small child I have been on a diet. I remember when I was going to Elementary School (maybe 4th grade) and my mom and dad put me on a diet and I brought just celery sticks in for lunch. All the other kids just kind of looked at me while they were eating their nutritious lunches. I felt like a freak. There were times when I was able to keep my weight under control...but that was mostly through starvation. I did Slim Fast throughout the 80's, and got on the Phen Phen wagon in the 90's. During those times I was only eating a bagel or a small salad once a day, but I was a size 10 so I felt good. When Phen Phen was taken off the market, I gained weight and have been very overweight ever since. I did lose a little over 70 lbs over a year ago (I work for the Navy as a civil servant and was asked to go to Iraq to support the effort there. I lost weight consistantly the whole time over there. I started gaining the moment I hit American soil September of last year). Afer much research, I have decided that the lap band is a tool that could help me be successful. I am a bulk eater....big portions at lunch and dinner. Dr. DiMarco (Harrisburg, PA) is my physician and he has made it very clear that this is not a cure all, but something that can assist me in being VERY successful with my weight loss. I have to be committed to my own success and I know that. I have been stopping by this site every couple of days and I it just so inspiring to me. In the beginning of my journey I was so afraid of failure again. After reading what you all have had to say, I feel so much more in control. You are a great support system and I hope you will be there for me as I will be for you. I made my appointment for my surgery today. It is 1 Dec 05. I am nervous and excited at the same time!! Any words of wisdom that you have would be SO inspirational for me. My doctor is not making me fast before, so I am most concerned about the first two weeks of nothing but liquids....were you hungry at all during that time? Looking forward to getting to know all of you!! Keep up the good work!!

Hi - I've only posted a few times, but I thought I'd post because I'm a bit shocked... I have been going thru my 6 mo. PCP visits, and finally finished them last week - got my file to the surgeon's office on Friday, and they said that it would take about 4 weeks to get a response... and that I should plan on a surgery date about 10 weeks out or so. Well, got a call from my insurance today - and they approved me already - not even 48 hours! Yikes! I have no idea what that means for my surgery date!!! I know it is all good, but I wasn't prepared for it to happen so quickly - maybe a sign that it is the right decision!

HEY! Thanks for the warm welcome. To answer your question, I will tell you the reason I wanna become a doctor. I grew up in a very Impoverish, and Crime ridden area. I witnessed someone being shot in the head, from a far enough distance. Everyone scattered, but me.. I was 8 at this time. I ran to the man, who to me was just a heroin addict. I held his skull, and brain for as long as I can. I even took off my shirt, and tried my best to control the bleeding. The Paramedics came in 45 minutes, when the nearest hospital was only 10 city blocks. I don't know if the man, lived or died that day, but all I remembered was the anger I felt towards the EMTs, and the Firefighters that were there. The lack of care and compassion they showed. That angered me. I might have been a naive little eight year old boy from, Spanish Harlem that didn't know the type of man the victim was. I didn't care. I wanted to help. Now, I believe that my education is priceless, yet- I believe that I want to join a group of students, that follow the true scope of practice as a doctor (Hippocrates Oath) which is to Serve without Judgement, Promote Healthy choices, Prevent Diseases, and Treat, with Care. The only school that does that is LASM. Yes, its in Communist Cuba. But the extensive training, and their Family practice approach is something that I like. Its free to attend. Its accredited here in the US. LASM has a tradition of Serving the poor, and the "Have nots"... Thats why I rather go to LASM, then the five schools I got accepted to ( Johns Hopkins, Yale, Mayo, North Western Columbia) P.S. My Older Sister graduated from LASM and is a ER Resident.

I'm going through this right now. I posted on another forum and have copied and edited it a bit below and hope I can help anyone in preventing this. As far as your question, yes you can get the pouch back to normal but you and you only can make that happen. It's difficult, but, it can be done. If the pouch is really stretched badly they will un-fill you and place you on liquids for a period of time. My doctor told me 6 weeks of liquids. Holy smokes!!! Here is my post from another thread: Under floroscopy my doctor told me that my pouch was bigger than it should be. She told me that I would get a warning this time, but if next checkup showed the same, she will un-fill me and I will go on liquids for 6 weeks. For now I have been instructed to measure my portions. I did get a slight fill, so, I'm thinking that I'm not that bad yet. I keep a loose band because my allergies and drainage cause the dreaded lapband cement on the pouch that is only dissolved by drinking lots of hot liquids and is very unpleasant, thus I have to be a bit more careful with my portions. I have decent restriction and my portions have been at least 1 cup of food and sometimes 1.5 cups, however, I got into the habit of not chewing well and eating too fast. I rarely got stuck because of my loose band. In my opinion, not chewing well and eating too fast is what caused the dialation. I was also doing way too much exercise and was feeling more hunger and I would eat way to fast and not chew well with the hunger I felt at times. Someone asked about symptoms. First of all my weight loss stopped for months. My weight would go up and down by 6 lbs. and went on like this for at least 8 months. I tried increasing calories, longer work outs etc. etc. and nothing! My biggest symptom was more hunger in between meals and was getting hungry every 2-3 hours. The most obvious symptom that I should have never ignored was feeling satisfied (full) and would get that uncomfortable feeling of "no more" at meal time then all of sudden I would feel a thump in my pouch, due to food going thru quickly, then I could eat another meal if I chose to and honestly sometimes I would. I thought this was because I needed a fill, however, this was not the case and Doc said that a enlarged pouch of course holds more food and will push everything down quickly. Since being warned I have gone on liquids 2 times consisting of 4 days of Protein drinks and 1 can of Soup a day. In addition, I have modified my drinking and wait 1/2 hour before a meal and 1/2 hour after a meal. I now feel a huge amount of restriction and can only handle the 1/2 cup of food at mealtime. So, yes you can reverse the stretched pouch. I will continue to do the liquid thing at least every other week for a while just to be on the safe side. Since doing this I have lost 10 lbs. Lesson learned? If something doesn't feel right get it checked. I knew something was wrong, but, I was embarrassed to see the doctor because I had not reached goal. I think the biggest disappointment is first myself and second, being banded is high maintenance, but, we are the culprit to our own complications in most cases. I still love my band though! Hope this helps anyone who may be experiencing some of my symptoms and have ignored them. jake

Hi Everyone! I am brand new here! I got my lap-band on 9/25/12. I have lost 14 lbs since then. I am still on the full liquid diet and have my post-op appointment on 10/9. I am so proud of myself for getting this far. I started the process two years ago when I went to the informational session but didn't move forward with everything until this past summer. They also ended up removing a hiatal hernia I had. I had to get this lap-band after all the years of attempts. My babies need me healthy. Anyways, I am glad I am here and looking forward to meeting you all. Julie

Hello! I had surgery this past Monday (on the 21st). Supposedly at this point I am able to drink 43 ounces of clear liquids. However, I haven't even been able to hit 10 ounces! I take about 3 sips an hour and it's taking me forever. Iv'e had about 3-4 tablespoons of sf jello throughout the day also. I'm not sure what to do. I feel kinda full. At least, I think it's full. I don't even know what I'm feeling to be honest. I just feel heavy in my stomach. Is this normal? I'm just concerned I'm not getting in enough liquids. Your input is appreciated! Oh and btw, besides some expected soreness at the incision sites, I'm doing pretty good! I haven't felt too much gas (unless THAT'S the heavyness I'm feeling??) and I haven't even had to take any pain medication. No nausea either. I've been trying to walk around the house as much as possible. I've taken a couple of 1 hour naps throuhout the day but I suspect that's more due to boredom than actually being tired.

Many people over this last year have asked me what I did to prepare for my weight loss surgery. There were many things that I did and not one was more important than another. The biggest thing to keep in mind is that your preparation heading into surgery and especially the liquid diet the week or two prior will be the hardest and most important thing you do as a part of your journey. You will work hard to prepare your mind, your body, and to some degree your spirit to go though the surgery. Once you do have the surgery the hardest part is over. If you can survive the months before taking the plunge then everything you do after will be a piece of cake in comparison. I am here to tell you that anyone who says having a weight loss surgery is taking the easy way out is someone who will never understand what it truly takes to go through this process. To some degree I feel sorry for those who don't get it. They will never understand the joy and excitement that comes with going through this transformation. To be honest, even though my wife loves me and has been an amazing support through this whole process, she will never full know or understand what it is like to make this decision and prepare for the surgery like I do. This is part one, in a series of three posts, detailing my preparation for surgery. The first aspect of this preparation I will cover is how I prepared my body. This was pretty simple for me really. I was in bad shape and was huffing after just sitting up from a chair; as my transformation video in an earlier post has shown. I was miserable! I would practically crawl through my front door after just my first night back to work. I work as a pharmacy technician at a hospital and walk 8 to 12 miles a night. I was living off of Tylenol and Bengay. Honestly I smelled like I was probably 90 years old. Looking back I find myself completely disgusted that I ever let things get that bad. Since I could not really do much working out because of the toll work was taking on my body, what could I do? The answer came from my brother. He is a nurse and knows a ton about medicine. I honestly think he should have became a doctor, but he didn't want the added responsibility. Before I had fully decided on having the bypass surgery and long before anyone knew I was even contemplating that option my brother came to me, as serious as I had ever seen him. Those that know my brother know he's a bit of a joker and very lighthearted. His demeanor kind of scared me, but in this conversation would be the answer that would help me prepare my body for surgery. He explained to me that he wanted to see me healthy, that he wanted me to be able to be the cool uncle when he had kids, and how he wanted his brother back. He was scared that I wouldn't be around much longer and didn't want to see me die. Looking back I really think he was right. Then he did something that floored me and provided and amazing answer to how I would physically prepare for the journey I was about to take. He explained to me that he wanted me healthy so badly he would pay for my gym membership if I promised to go three times a week and swim. On a side note; He religiously checked up on my progress with the gym manager to make sure I was going and even went so far as to meet me at the gym and swim with me. I swam on a team in junior high and he explained to me the benefits of working out in the Water. Water has the ability to take all of the pressure off of your knees and other joints. It can keep you cool if you are prone to overheating and provides an amazing about of resistance if you find ways to take advantage of it. He set up a plan and told me just to come three times a week to swim and do what I could. So that is what I did. I did not want to let me brother down and I would hope he would agree it was the best investment he ever made. So that is what I did; I swam. I swam freestyle, I swam breast stroke, I saw backstroke, and when I was feeling particularly squirrely, I swam butterfly. Butterfly was my specialty when I was on swim team but man it is a butt kicker. I started out with 10 laps, which was a lot better than I had thought. I found I could move more freely and with less pain in the water. From there I just simply added one or two laps each time I went. Before I knew it, I was approaching my surgery date and I was swimming close to an hour non-stop! Why should I work out prior to surgery? There is a very simple answer. To prepare your body. You need to prepare your body for what you are about to put it through. This is major surgery and not something to take lightly. You also want to work out to build up your cardiovascular and pulmonary endurance. Strengthening the heart will make you strong for surgery because your body will be stressed, because of this your blood pressure will spike for a short time after surgery and it is a lot to put on yourself. Strengthening your lungs will help keep you from a common post surgical complication which is pneumonia. My goal in preparing my body was simply to be able to survive the surgery, keep my complications down, and my hospital stay short as should be your goal as well. I want to tell you right now that preparing my body worked out well. I had no major complications and I left the hospital three days later, which was the minimum hospital stay my doctor required for his full bypass patients. What if I can't swim? The key here is to simply get moving. If you can walk, then walk. If you have access to a pool, then you can water walk or water jog. If you love biking and can do that, then do that. You just need to move. Your goals with this are simple. First, you want to make sure you are panting a little from being out of breath when you are done. This will show you that your lungs have been pushed a little and if that is true then your heart will have been pushed also. Second, each time you work out, just add a little to it. If your taking laps on a track, add a lap or a half a lap each time. If you are walking your neighborhood then walk for another 30 seconds or a minute. If you do this early, as soon as you begin contemplating surgery the further along and better prepared you will be, come surgery day. As always, if you have any questions, or if there is anything unclear, please post your questions and comments below and I will work to answer them all as soon as I can. Also check again soon for part 2 of the series about dealing with the psychological aspects of preparing for the amazing journey you are taking.

I went on my yearly girls get away to Turks and Caicos only to find out when I came back that my surgery waa moved up to August 20th. I have several outfits from Torrid, Lane Bryant, Avenue, and Ashley Stewart. I also have about 4 pair of sandals and three of them have never been worn. I also have a brand new pair of Uggs that are a size ten that have never been worn. I am interested in selling everything. If your interested in purchasing the items please emai l me at jrlashe@gmail.com and I can send you pictures. I wish I was able to donate them but they've only been worn once some not at all and I have to get things situated before surgery.

My doctors were up front about the lackof long term results with this surgery. They have a patient who is 10 years out from their first gastric sleeve and her results have been decent. But, I know the research is out there for the results of my morbid obesity and could imagine what problems I would have b/c my parents are having major troubles...hip replacements, severe arthiritis, high bloodpressure, and increasing immobility. Weighing those issues for me, it became an easy choice to pick the sleeve. I have 3 young children and a fit husband. We want an active and healthy lifestyle for our whole family and I was holding that back. In my mind, if I only bought mysellf 30 more years to live into my 60s in a healthy way, this surgery would be worth it as my children would be adults. So, I think you should ask your doctor every question thatcomes into your mind. Then weigh yourpros and cons once you have the info you can get. Good luck with your decision!

Hi there, I'm in Katy off I-10 and Fry. I would love to be a part of a support group. I am going for my first consultation on Thursday and waiting for insurance approval. Lori

Hey katy bandsters, I have been banded. :clap2: Sept 19. I am doing good have not gotten sick at all. I think I need a fill. I know this is a tool but I would love to wake up and be 50 pounds liter. GOOD LUCK TO ALL StaceyLCA

Sunday, March 13, 2005 By Dan Fitzpatrick, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette All Murrysville dentist Michael Gigliotti wanted was a relatively cheap, last-minute flight from his mother's house in Florida to a natural-gas auction in Texas. But a $552 bill for the late-Februarytrip quickly went up when a late-boarding passenger complained he could not fit in the seat next to the 5-11, 300-pound Gigliotti. A supervisor from Southwest Airlines boarded the plane, crouched next to Gigliotti and said he would have to pay for a second seat on the return flight, claiming the dentist's large frame would not fit entirely in the 17-inch-wide space. Gigliotti did not feel humiliation -- just rage. "This won't hold up in court," he told the Southwest supervisor. "It already has," was her response, according to Gigliotti. The exchange captures a touchy topic in aviation -- how to deal with larger passengers as the nation's waistline expands. More than one-fourth of Americans are now classified as obese, and in an industry obsessed with fitting as many people as possible inside a giant aluminum tube, airline seats have shrunk to 16 inches measured from arm rest to arm rest -- narrower than an average-size computer keyboard and a tighter fit than the typical office chair or general-admission movie seat. "The airline seats are simply too small for a high percentage of the flying public," Gigliotti said. "We are getting bigger, we're getting taller, we're getting wider." Southwest is not the only major airline with a large-seating policy. US Airways, Northwest Airlines and America West Airlines all can require an overweight passenger to pay for two seats but said they do everything they can to find a pair of empty adjoining seats on the plane at no additional charge. Midwest Connect, which serves Pittsburgh from Milwaukee, requires that passengers unable to fit in one seat buy two; if there are other seats available on the same flight, they will be refunded for the second. But other carriers serving Pittsburgh, including United Airlines and Delta Air Lines, have no large-seating requirements. Hooters Air, an airline featuring slim, scantily-clad "Hooters girls" as flight entertainment, has no such policy, either. "We love large people," said Hooters Air President Mark Peterson. Hooters, which flies from Pittsburgh to Myrtle Beach, S.C., has never charged for an extra seat, he said, and fitting a larger passenger onboard has never been an issue in two years of operating the airline. While critics of Southwest's policy acknowledge that other airlines do the same thing, some said Southwest deserves to be singled out for its rigidity. "Southwest really expects its employees to enforce it, " said Mary Ray Worley, a board member on the Sacramento, Calif.-based National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance. At other airlines, she said, "it seems to me their employees exercise a lot more of their own judgment in enforcing or not enforcing their policies. A lot depends on the prejudices of the employees involved." The large-seating policy is nothing new for the Dallas low-fare carrier, considered one of the industry's most successful companies, having made a profit 31 years in a row. It initiated a "customer of size" policy in 1980, requiring a larger passenger unable to fit in one seat to pay for two. But the airline, saying it could no longer ignore complaints from slimmer passengers, began enforcing the policy more vigilantly in 2002, requiring passengers to pay for the extra space even if others were available on the same flight. A refund is made available if the flight takes off with empty seats. Each case is a judgment call. There are no scales at the check-in counter. The test appears to be whether a passenger can sit in one seat without lifting the armrest. The increase in enforcement, leaked in a 2002 memo from Southwest President Colleen Barrett, sparked a few lawsuits and criticism from fat acceptance groups as well as jokes from NBC "Tonight Show" comedian Jay Leno. The negative attention was unusual for Southwest, used to glowing PR. Leno, in one of his monologues, stuck it to the Texas company, saying, "Boy, Southwest is cracking down on overweight passengers. Now any fat people standing in front of the terminal for more than 15 minutes will be towed." In another joke, he said Southwest had "been overstating each passenger's weight by 80 pounds so they can sell more fat ass seats." Southwest spokesman Ed Stewart attributed the controversy to "entertainment value." He mentioned the jokes from Leno and said "the reason you do it is because you think you can get a laugh out of it and it is something that affects everybody." The constant attention has "nothing to do with news value." It is little more than "people liking to make fun of other people." Most passengers, he said, like the policy. "For every 10 letters you get, nine of them will say they did not enjoy their flight because someone was sitting on them." Stewart said. A few, though, were upset enough to sue. New Hampshire businesswoman Nadine Thompson filed a lawsuit last year claiming she had no problem fitting into a Southwest seat but still was asked to pay for a second seat on a Manchester, N.H.-Chicago flight. When she refused, she was escorted from the plane, according to her lawsuit. Another woman in Spokane, Wash., filed a suit last year saying Southwest humiliated her in front of other passengers on a Orlando-Spokane flight, and that she spent the ride home in tears over her experience. But no one yet has been successful in overturning the policy in court. In 2000, a California judge ruled that Southwest's policy was "reasonable and not discriminatory" after a woman weighing 300 pounds sued. The woman's civil rights were not violated, the court said. But "I still think it's discriminatory to make me buy two seats," said the 5-foot-1, 350-pound Ray Worley, of the National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance, who often will call ahead before booking flights to make sure there is enough room. "I believe I am entitled to the space I take up. It's a basic civil right issue. A lot of people believe it is within my control to be whatever size I am. That is completely false." When Southwest began enforcing its policy more strictly, it went before the National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance's annual convention in Atlanta to explain it. It did not go well, according to Ray Worley, who was there. If Southwest hoped to make the policy more palatable, "They completely failed. ... The impression I got was they do not want fat people flying their airline. They don't want our business. They want us to go away." "What would make me want to fly Southwest?" Airline industry expert Terry Trippler said his biggest problem with the policy is its lack of consistency. If gate agents on one end of a round trip allow a large passenger to pay for only one seat, then the gate agents in another city should arrive at the same decision. But it doesn't always happen that way, Trippler said, and "everybody doesn't always have twice as much money for the airline ticket." "It's a tough call." Gigliotti, the Murrysville dentist, also has a problem with the way the policy is applied. "I think there has to be a measurable standard," he said. "The standard should be, can you put the arms down?" Gigliotti, who said his shoulders are wider than his waist from weightlifting, claims that he was able to get his arms down "without undue stress." The company, on its web site, said the armrest is the "definitive gauge." But in a Q&A about the policy on its Web site, Southwest said employees can still question the passenger "if a concern exists. ... Condoning an unsafe, cramped seating arrangement onboard our aircraft is far more inappropriate than simply questioning a customer's fit in our seats." Asked about Gigliotti's experience, Stewart, the Southwest spokesman, said, "I am sure he is a very slim 300 pounds" and it is "always going to be a judgment call." But every time the policy has been challenged, in court, "we have prevailed." Gigliotti was not charged extra for one leg of his trip, from Tampa to San Antonio, but he was charged for a second seat on the return trip to Tampa, despite the presence of other empty seats on the plane, he said. He was able to get a refund by calling a customer service number, but the experience is still with him. He fired off a letter last week to Southwest calling its policy "arbitrary and capricious." He vows never again to fly Southwest, even after its starts service from Pittsburgh in May. "I just want the public to realize what can happen to them if they fly Southwest."

Well, I decided I was going to have my first salad today for lunch. It consisited of ver well diced up: lettuce, tomato, parsley, a little green onion,and cucumber.... I used a very little amount of Organic Viniagrette. With in just 10 minutes of starting to eat I had a terrible heartburn problem. So much for eating any salad for a while. Anyone else have this problem with salad? Blessings, Brenda

My surgeon told me at least one week off...but I you have a job that requires you to life more than 10 pounds then you need to take 4-6 weeks off.

I am 10 days out, and when I do too much it is pain in my left rib... No where else. Has anyone else had this?