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Remodeling is stressful! I remodeled this house after I bought it and it was a nightmare for awhile. Sheryl what happened to the guy you were dating who has the Harley? I thought you liked him, and did see possibilities with him. It's nice that you still have your ex to talk to and are still able to find comfort with him Sara I am so excited to hear your news about your dad. I really hope he continues to get good news after the pathology report. I got good news today too. My fusion is coming along nicely and I don't have to wear my back brace unless I leave the house. The best news is my liver doctor feels that my Hep C is not affecting me. He said my body has learned to live with it. The treatment for it is 90,000.00 and my ins would never pay for it because I don't fall under the guidelines for who gets treatment and who doesn't. But the main thing he told me is as long as I don't drink alcohol, not ever, I will die from something else, and not liver cancer. Now I go to physical therapy and I can go back to the gym as long as I am careful . I guess the PT will tell me what exercises would not be good for my back. I can do cardio though, and go back to exercising my thighs, where I have gained most of my weight. I really want to be able to wear my clothes. 15 lbs makes a huge difference in my pants. Floridna, I went to a talk on plant based diets and they talked about MS. They said diet makes a huge difference, but I am sure you have all the right books and are doing what is best for yourself.They talked a lot about eating tons of leafy greens. Please stop judging yourself because you have gained weight. You've had a lot of stress since you came back to the US and your MS is messing up your weight loss, not YOU!

I weighed yesterday and was the same as last week, not disappointed-almost relieved as we had a very busy week food and drink wise. We have decided no alcohol in the house for the next few weeks as we try to get ourselves 'dried' out before we go on holiday at the end of the month. I had a fast day yesterday and came in just under 600, not perfect but OK. Florinda your recipes sound amazing, do they taste as good as they sound as I know you have to make lots of substitutions? I'm only 5' 3" and there is no way I could get down into the 130s I would look ill, we are all so different. I am quite curvy and even as I have gone down I have retained the proportions. I'm aiming to get into the 150s and then review it. I'm still a long way off.

Sheryl that's so awful! My condolences! I never understand why that happens. People have to think that over, and should be considering those they will leave behind. John continues to be sweet and charming. He's very different. I never even realized his Spanish blood. His mom was born in Spain. He speaks reads and writes spanish. He had some alcohol last night and I finally detected an accent. I'm just going with the flow and hoping this surgery next week is going to help me. Right now I have bad days and good days if the sciatic nerve isn't pinching the nerves in my leg. I'm taking pain pills more often now. It really bums me out that I can't fine one full bottle. I hope I didn't leave them at my son's house.

@@UK Cathy I have cut way back on my drinking to prepare for surgery, but I realize how many calories I have been consuming that way! I have the opposite problem, I will forget to eat if I drink alcohol and that aint good either! I think the best answer is to combine alcohol with a real meal (or at least an appetizer) so you don't wind up eating munchy type foods. I tried to see Kinky Boots when I was in New York city 2 years ago, but couldn't get tickets. Can't wait to hear what you think of it! So, I have been doing some casual dating, but this guy Steve I have been seeing since October. No future in it, but super nice guy and fun to do stuff with. anyway, he has gone off the rails. Like depressed. There are some things that have happened that suck, but I think he has a depressive type personality as he has given me hints of it before. I think the reason he is attracted to me is that while I have my ups and downs, I am basically bubbly and outgoing. Anyway, he is hiding from me, like he texts alot but won't even talk on the phone. It doesn't really matter as we aren't in deep or anything, but it is just part of that whole... wtf??? Are there any men on the planet who are fit, middle aged, SINGLE, fun without being irresponsible and not suffering from major emotional issues? Ha

Kim, how nice that they asked you to model for them! I also am not open to the public about how I have lost weight. Some ppl know but I'm not one who shares it with everyone. Cathy, oh no! That stinks. Like you said, they are just things. Still hard to deal with. You had asked if I am happy with my plastics results. I am very happy with my results. I am over 5 months out and in the last month I finally feel really good. Finally I can do all my normal workouts and I am getting more and more used to my new body. It has changed a lot and continues to take shape as time goes on. My dr told me my body will continue to change in the first year after surgery. My favorite part is my completely flat stomach. I love it!! I need to do my inner thighs next. My dr wouldn't do them with the LBL. I'm sure I could've found a dr that would but as soon as I had my consult with him I knew he was the one for me so I stayed with him. I really need to take some pics and post them. After surgery I was so sure I would take pics every month to see the changes but this recovery has been very emotional for me and I didn't want to take pics all the time. Denise, I'm so glad you are feeling better. You've had a rough road. Did Bill stick around and help you or were you on your own all the time trying to deal with this? Sheryl, I can understand why you are hesitant with moving into a serious relationship with someone. Sounds like Kevin is feeling the same. Do you want to be loved and in a loving relationship for the future? I know you didn't have that with the ex. But, the future can be different for you. Don't feel like you have to rush into a decision. I, too, don't understand how some ppl can fall in love quickly. Take your time and you will know what to do when the time comes. Just don't let the fear of being and giving love hold you back from allowing it to happen. It can be a wonderful thing! Mexico was beautiful. We were in Cabo for a trip my husband earned through work. It's hard to come home to WI after being in such was weather and beautiful sunshine. Oh well, back to reality! I'm looking forward to 5:2 this week after eating whatever I wanted whenever I felt like it for 4 days. I don't drink alcohol so thankfully I didn't have any of those extra calories to contend with! The food though, delicious food anywhere and everywhere whenever I wanted it. Thankfully I could only fit in a few bites of everything. But a few bites all day long adds up. It's all good though I'll be back on track this week.

Hi gals! I've had a bit of computer trouble so hopefully it is fully repaired now - hoping your MRI goes well Sheryl - I had to have one on my knee soon after my sleeve surgery and I told myself I was glad that I did not have to be inside the machine because there was no way I would have fit. Luckily, it doesn't take too long. Thanks for the nice list Kim - I should save that and add my own to it. I like cleaning, organizing, labeling things - I think it is a stress reliever for me because it gives me some semblance of the illusion of control over one area of my life. Checking things off lists makes me feel like I am accomplishing something - even if they are silly things. I had a therapist years ago who considered me very ocd with my writing things down and checking them off and tried for a long time to break me of the habit - I think it only served to make me feel even more freaked out and vulnerable than I already did (I have pretty much always felt very unsafe in the world growing up with a raging sexual/verbally/physically abusive alcoholic stepdad and checked out mom.) I know that I will work on all of this stuff until the day I die and it still wont be resolved Florinda, you simply have not met the one yet - I kissed hundreds of frogs before my princely man game along, and by no means are he or I perfect, we can all find someone to love - I did not think this was possible for a long time. I never thought I would find happiness and just when you least expect it - it can arrive. I can completely identify with how you feel - I have been there.

I'm thinking of going to AA meetings. I don't want to, but my party life has gotten out of control. I don't think I'm an alcoholic, but once I have one drink, I end up staying up drinking till 2:00 a.m. Not good. I had a 50 pound weight loss but have gained some back. I'm too tired to deal with it tonight, but maybe I'll start hitting an AA meeting just for sport. I love my nightlife, going to clubs, dancing, bands, but there's always drinking. Where are those dry clubs?

Thank you Floridays. Just reading around here I've noticed a lot of people talking about drinking and eating at the same time and how it isn't really allowed. What is that about? Also, like I said I'm in my early 20's and obviously going out to dinners and bars socially is something I do from time to time. Not saying I abuse it at all or that I wouldn't beable to give up alcohol for my health but is alcohol frowned upon after getting the band?

Re alcohol: I drink wine about 2-3x a week. A big band no-no is to stay away from sodas or anything with carbonation. The bubbles can make you feel pain and stretch your pouch. I take a sip of my husbands soda occasionally. But I'm a rule breaker (and I've also had a band slip, so learn from me!). You're not sposed to drink at the same time as you eat so that you don't wash down the food that it's your pouch before satiation is found. Over the last 3 yrs, I've attempted numerous times (especially while eating spicy foods) to break this rule also, but it never stays down. Some banders get what they call the "cork effect", which is the food that sits in your esophagus acts as a cork and when you add liquid to it, out it all comes. It's now been 3 yrs and it still does the same thing. I will honestly tell you - if you're a rule breaker, you might want to look into something else. I wish I had followed the rules from day 1 (but alas, I didn't) - maybe then I wouldn't still be dealing with a slipped band 6 mths later. That said, I luv my band! Would do it again in a heartbeat! It has helped me take off almost 100 lbs and get to a size 8. I think I would just have done things a little differently, if I could. Good luck with your decision! Marci

One of the people who is closest to me in my life had a 5-6 year bout of drug addiction spiraling down from drinking to stronger and stronger drugs culminating in 2 rounds of detox and rehab. My friend has been clean since the first WTC bombing. I remember it that way because I drove almost 200 miles to the rehab for a "family member" week-long visit and was on my way home from the rehab when it was announced that the WTC had been truck-bombed. We used to debate and argue before that final rehab over who's addiction was worse. My friend's addiction to alcohol and (other) drugs or my addiction to food. We both agreed that not taking the "first" dose was the easy part. My friend could on occasion go for days without a drink or a fix, but one drink, one lousy beer and it was off to the races. In my case, I could go all day without eating and I didn't feel hungry, but as soon as I broke fast, my appetite was stimulated. I went to a surprise birthday party one night for different friend. I had done all the cooking for the party, but did not eat for the first 3-4 hours. As soon as I put that first potato chip in my mouth, it was all over. Even though some people ate and drank continually for the 4-5 hours of the party, I consumed more in the last hour than anyone had consumed in the whole night. Another similarity that by drug addicted, alcoholic friend and I both shared was our excuses for breaking our endeavor to control our addiction. We gave in to Celebrate, we gave in to commiserate, we gave in to be sociable, we gave in when we wanted to be alone, we gave in because we were happy and we gave when we were sad. Food addiction's biggest difference from drug addiction is that drug addiction is illegal. Food addiction's most important difference from alcoholism and (other forms of) drug addiction is that the alcoholic or addict doesn't have to take that first drink or fix. They can postpone that first drink or fix for "one day at a time" or if they are having a bad day, for one hour at a time or one minute, whatever it takes to get them to postpone it. My friend has postponed her first fix for 13.5 years. We, however must take our first fix (food) at least everyday, if not 3 or more times a day. That was the crux of my debate with my friend before the successful rehab. We have to give in and then maintain control after we give in. Ask an alcoholic to have one drink every day and see how long before they are binge drinking. But we must do the equivalent of having 3 drinks a day, everyday, spread out through the day without succumbing to our addiction. Alcoholics and drug addicts do it with support groups like AA and NA. We need support groups also. Lapbandtalk.com is a form of support group. But some of us need more structured groups similar to AA. Do not be ashamed to seek them out. I don't know if members of Lapbandtalk.com share phone numbers for “help me please, I am starving” calls. I wish there was a service like that available.

I'm still slowly losing about 1-2 lbs a week. Down 80 from highest weight, 50 post-op. My six month labs were good, except my protein levels which were low. I've added in a protein snack and I'm trying for 80-90g a day rather than the 60-80 clinic recommended which I had been following. I've added 1-2 strength training sessions per week and 2-3 aerobic workouts. I know I should add more exercise and am looking for classes to add to my routine. Since adding the protein snack, I've been eating around 1100-1200 calories per day. Last night I had my first sip of alcohol post-op at a party at a friend's store on State St. here in Madison, WI. One sip of a strong mixed drink hit me like a Mack truck for about 10 minutes, then it was sober again. But the most wild part of the night was right after the Badgers won against Arizona. Thousands of people (mostly college students) came running down to State St. And congregated in front of the store where the private party I was at -chanting, singing, climbing trees and bus shelters. It was a fantastic celebration. Pics below ( mine are a little blurry.). I added a professional photo, too. The store where the party was has the orange awning.

Beer... hmmm... I miss that stuff from time to time... heck... the times I've had alcohol since my banding could be counted on one hand. I've thought about going back to school for my RN... but the truth of the matter is this... after all of these years working in healthcare... I just don't want to anymore. I wish I could figure out something that would allow me to use the expereince I have without going back into healthcare. Becky... looking forward to those pics! I like your new avatar. I'm not getting emailed with new posts anymore! I went and checks my preferences and it is still set to be notified of new postings... is anybody else having this problem???? I'll be calling the doc as soon as the office opens... I'll let y'all know what happens. I was up most of the night with the cramping knot in my stomach... eating used to help but know it just makes it worse... you'd think I'd quit eating... but nope. Have a good week everyone...

Betty... Have they told you how far out they are booking surgeries???? Not that this will give you an exact date... my surgeon and his office staff told me they were booking two weeks out and my surgery was booked over a month out... but it might give you a better idea of the time frame. I am so sorry that you are paying out of pocket for the whole procedure... but you are right... it will be worth every penny! Miss Lisa... I think a lot of us have an addictive nature... at least I know that I do. I have used food as a cure-all for everything! What I am learning is that I have to deal with the problems that lead me to self-medicate with food or any other substance. It seems easier to get that quick "feel good" response from food... alcohol... shopping... sex... etc... but in the longrun it makes our life so much more difficult and doesn't provide longlasting happiness. (((hugs))) I hope this will become a journey to a less self-destructive way of dealing with stress and core issues... I know it really has become that for me. Darcy

If you add just a tiny little bubble of air to the injection so that the bubble goes in last, it acts like a plug so the drug doesn't run out. I'm talking about a TINY bubble. (Tinnyyyyyy bubbles......<g>) You can also just hold an alcohol swab to the site for a minute or so with a bit of pressure. But that causes more bruising thus the air bubble. Just ask the nurse when they show you in the hospital.

acutally I am looking forward to getting stuck! The band is a tool.....tool that if you eat too much or the wrong kind of food has a consequence. That consequence is getting stuck or vomitting. I need a negative consequence like that. Obviously the consequence of weight gain when I eat certain foods is not enough. So although I do not aim for always getting stuck 'I do aim to feel something. You have to see if from my point of view. I had this surgery, put this foreign object in my body, paid this money, and I feel nothing. It was like I never had it. That is alot to go through for nothing. So I am ready to feel the stuck feeling. At least I know it is in there and I will have a consequence for my action if it hurts that much. I am not saying that it will solve or speed up my weight loss but let's call a spade a spade. I am feelling no restriction what so ever right now. Although I am sticking to no bread, no rice, no Pasta, no soda... I know myself...that will get old. If I could keep doing it I would not have needed the band in the first place. So down the road, when I am craving that bread, and I actually eat it, and it gets stuck and feels horrible...guess what I will think twice about eating the bread. It is the same principle for having an alcoholic take antabuse. You take it, you drink, you vomit. Now obviously the person taking it does not think...man I can not wait to take the medication, drink, and vomit. But obsiously they needed more consequences for their drinking than what they were experiencing. And just like anything I know there is a way around the band. I am not looking for it. I hope that clarified everything for you.

I am 4 months post op and would do it all over again in a heartbeat. Wish I had done it yrs ago. I'm still learning my band. What I mean by that is, you have to really chew your food, chew it to smitherines, chew it to liquid form or you will have a stuck episode and believe me you don't want that, been there too many times, it's painful and gross. You have to take your time eating so if you are in a restaurant, please take your time eating, take tiny bites and chew chew chew. As far as alcohol, I don't drink but personally if I did, I think I would want to put delicious food in my mouth for calories than a drink. This is a lifestyle change, eating healthy, not drinking while you eat and waiting up to an hour for some people after you eat to drink. Some dr's say only 30 mins my dr says an hr and then I can drink. As far as recovery, it wasn't bad. You may have a pre-op all liquid diet for 2 weeks, piece of cake, you can do it! Insurance, I had BCBS at the time and since my BMI was over 50 I didn't have to do the 6 month diet before surgery, they waived that, therefore from the time of my first appt to surgery was very quick. You can call your ins company and ask if they cover lap band surgery and what are the requirements as others have stated above. I started out day of surgery June 13th, 2012 weighing 294 and this morning I weighed 255, so yes I'm happy I did it. Good luck.

Heh. From what I've been told (my boss' daughter had RNY several years ago) the psychological exam isn't that bad. I was relieved that they didn't require it (even with insurance) at my doctor's office. They do, however, require the 6 month supervised diet if you have the insurance to cover the surgery. But, I didn't and so I didn't have to. Here is how it has always been in my family. My parents were both fit as teenagers. As years went by... blame put on pregnancy (mom) and alcoholism (dad), my parents are pretty hefty people themselves. My entire life I've never seen small parents, except the pictures of them as teenagers and when they got married. A typical time for me with my Dad was "the entire family is going on a diet because Debbie is fat." Excuse me? The entire family (except my brother) is fat. Why is it now my fault that we all have to change our eating habits? Then they don't change them anyway. A typical time for me with my Mom (a nurse) was taking me to the doctor who would tell me I was fat and that I needed to lose weight and then giving me all these different diets and/or pills to try. So, instead of my mom straight out telling me I was fat... she relied on the doctor to do it for her. When I was 21 I was diagnosed with Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome and finally had a reason why I was trying all these years to lose weight but with no good results. 11 years later, today, my mom says "Well, your father is just beginning to understand that being overweight wasn't a choice you made." Who cares? I mean, come on Dad... you're a fatty. Not everyone chooses to eat ungodly amounts of food and most of them certainly don't do it consciously. Why is it so easy to point out my obvious problem with obesity when you are dealing with your own? Grrrr. So, she tells me the other night that she's joining WW and I said, "good luck." and left it at that. Of course, my brain was saying, "HA HA HA, you're not going to be able to do it. You're going to fail and it will make up for the two years you and Dad PAID to have me on Jenny Craig and I lost only 20lbs and it was your fault because every other night you were sending me to Baskin Robbins to get you ice cream or sending me to the grocery store to get chips and dip so you could have them for watching a movie and then telling me 'oh this will just be a good test of your willpower.' Screw you mom. Screw you dad." Oh wow. I feel better. Hehe. Thank god I didn't have to see the psychologist.

Linda, I was just taking care of a pt that was sleeved 5 years ago and was going through severe DT's when he decided to quit drinking. He ended up in my ICU intubated for 2 days. When he started coming around we talked for a while, said it started slowly because he was bored and didnt have anything to do with his time in the evenings and weekends and then it gradually escalated to a bottle of vodka a day. Good for you that you recognized it...I can see this being a problem for us nurses when we get home after a bad day and cant eat bad food to self medicate....so we turn to alcohol instead. Like I said good for you, thank yoi for sharing.

it sounds crazy but my sister that is an RN gave me this tip and it worked. Plan old alcohol on a cotton ball.

My name is Kendi and I definitely have an addictive personality. I am addicted to food and have to watch my alcohol intake. I could easily choose to go down the wrong paths, but instead I work at staying vigilant & supplement my addictive tendencies with healthier options. By that I mean that when I sense that my emotions are in a place where I could easily cave into my addictions, I have to consciously choose to replace my addictive behaviors with healthier activities. {Alas I have not reached the place of love & devotion to exercise as some of you have (I still have to FORCE myself to exercise Every da@n day)}, but I have learned to supplement my unhealthy desires into more positive activities like reading a book, doing some sort of art / creative work, sewing, etc. The latter activities help me unwind without harmful consequences (of course with the exception of possibly creating UGLY fashion but that's a different issue)... in reality, I am waiting for the day that I don't have to feel the struggle. I wish my brain would automatically choose healthy behaviors vs. addictive ones. I dislike feeling like I have to fight myself in order to overcome my automatic & initial tendencies... I guess what I am wondering is when do our new habits become the permanent lifestyle change we are all working towards?

Wow ... Do I really want to get married? Do I really want to get divorced? Do I really want to spend $XX thousand dollars on a new home? These and many more life altering decisions can ultimately only be answered by yourself. I think it is very unfair to yourself to put it out on an internet forum like this. Now, I understand the need to just put it out there so you can read it to help you mull it over, but take everyone's response with a grain of salt. I needed to take responsibility for my morbidly obese life and I had to make the decision to make a fundamental change with my relationship with food. I turned to the sleeve to get help to do this. I made this decision. At some point in this journey, it has been my experience from reading the boards for 3 years, that almost everyone at some point has the, "OMG, WTF did I just do to my body! This is an irreversible procedure and my life is RUINED!!" The quickest way for me to get out of this stinking thinking was to remember that this was MY decision to make a change in my life and I was committed to see this through. If a person has the ability to blame someone or something else for their predicament, then I believe it will be even more so to climb out of the abyss of self-pity. Only you know your history. Only you know your demons as it relates to whether or not you abused food. Don't let anyone else make this decision for you. Talk to your doctors and even a therapist if you are struggling with this decision. Guess what answer an alcoholic would receive if they walked into a bar and asked if they should have a drink? You'll get the same kind of answers here. Of course we all think VSG is the greatest thing since sliced bread, but we all have arrived at this decision on our own, and so must you. Good luck. Keep reading and asking questions. PM me if you have a direct question.

I have no answer to that... Primarily because I, too, get/got lots of 'satisfaction' from chowing down inordinate amounts of food... I can only assume that we're creatures of habit.. and why some wls patients 'cheat' their surgery or swap one addiction/habit for another; such as alcohol, drugs, exercise or sex... Either way, we're all searching for the serotonin/dopamine hit... I wish I could get mine from something like.. I dunno.. crosswords...

This is a great post. I am really struggling through figuring out my food issues right now. Reading this is helping me see how I am not alone. I am having my surgery on the 12th, so one week from today I will be recovering . If it was as easy as losing weight I would be so happy. I have done that before but it always comes back. I had a rough pysch eval. She brought up that I might not be a good candidate for this surgery because of my emotional eating. I was really frustrated with her because I was like uhhh... That is why I need this surgery. But I Have been reflecting on it and working with my therapist more to to really try and tackle the underlying issues along with my physical need to lose weight. I have been going to my therapist once a week but also started going to OA. I am not religious, but no hoping to find some kind of spirituality to help me. I have accepted that my parents are alcoholics and have been my entire life. But I'm not really sure how it all equates to my weight issues. My sister and brother had weight issues but both conquered them in their 20s. They both drink and smoke a lot of weed, so maybe they have just chosen a different drug. It is nice to see so many people who have faced similar issues and have come to a better understanding of the causes. I am still working on it, and very hopeful for success and happiness.

You are well on your way to a successful weight loss story! This is exactly what is needed to make this work!! We are addicts of food using the food to mask our pain, happiness etc. No different than an alcoholic or drug addict. Same outcome of medicating what bothers us. You have to look back in life as you go through this journey and fix what didn't work! Otherwise it is just a diet with a little help that will end up with some regain. With that said regain can also be used to learn from. Why did that happen? Many circumstances in life can bring us to being food addicts it's a matter of decoding it. I had a mother in the hospital a lot when I was young and spent many days being the mother. I gained weight as a child through this part of my life trying to feel better. Lost it as a teenager and regained it later because of an injury. The regain wasn't that bad but my mind wouldn't let me see it that way. I got depressed and gained more on top of it! The sleeve has allowed me to lose the weight and begin to feel good about myself again. I have realized that my body image has made me a prisoner for to long and will no longer be a slave to it. I am working on finding other ways to feel better about daily life issues, and the serious ones. Food is not the answer taking the problems head on in a realistic manor is what is working for me. In addition I have learned that carbs really are an enemy for me. They take me down a path of destructive thinking about my abilities and make me want them more. Learning yourself and how to make the changes is what it is all about! Thank you for this thread it has helped me to further validate myself and what I have to do and be for a successful me!

alcohol swabs:thumbup: