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Good luck Glou..., I wasn't strong enough to break up with my alcoholic toxic father until he died and now there is peace! Take care Nancy.

I have two bags of sour mix, and a bigger can of pineapple juice. It looks like I am an alcoholic too, instead of carrying it up to the third floor I have it at work. I have it in the back but people still see it when they get nosy!!

Ok! I got a big thing of Margarita Mix, a big thing of Pina Colada mix (slurp), and a small thing of Zing Zang's bloody mary mix.. this is a semi-regional thing, if you like bloody marys, this is the best mix evah. Russ probably thinks I up and turned into an alcoholic.

Did you look for those marshallow mud pie bars with only 1g sugar alcohol -- they are absolutely delicious I'm telling you

So sorry about your dog, Candace. Hope she heals well, and quickly! Have a wonderful time in France! We'll be waiting to see photos. Are you renting from Car?? I remeber seing dialogue between you. That seems like it would be a really fun thing to do. How could we forget you?? We love you! Yes, I did talk to Steve. He is still cultivating the internet relationship with the Philippine gal who is almost young enough to be his daughter (36 vs. 20)! We mostly talked about his oldest son, who at 16 is now living with his girlfriend. If Steve and/or his (estranged) wife don't take control, he'll soon be a grandpa and I'll be a great-grandma! DIL is an alcoholic who lives in LALA Land! GS girlfriend allready had one scare in that arena! Steve is more focused on going to the Philippines to meet his internet girlfriend, who continues to chat me up on FB. AT least she is now calling me "mam" instead of "mom". GRrrrr! I told her two nights ago that if Steve had money for a trip, it needed to be to Spokane to take control of the situation with his son! I talkd to GS other grandparents about the same time. Nothing they can do. GS has been allowed to call the shots. Thinking of asking Tracy if she wants to take a "road trip" to Spokane (and Montana to deliver Steph's breast cancer quilt), and we can visit GS and try to knock some sense in to his head!! We were looking forward to driving to NY until DHs talked us out of it. So nice to have a gardener in residence here! Ice packed Lortab daze sounds very pleasant at the moment. I need an escape! So happy for your new job. DD got laid off from her high school health room job. She was there 4 years. Today was her last day and there wasn't even a decent "farewell". Nurse she works for just told her she was going to a staff luncheon so DD may as well go home because there was nothing more to do! She was pretty hurt. Tried to get her to go to lunch with me but she was too bummed out. Didn't you just love that warm CA air, Karri??! I love it down there and I don't think the summer heat would bother me a bit. Up here I am ALWAYS cold. Everyone else can be in short sleeves and I'm wearing a jacket or sweatshirt... even a hooded sweatshirt. Lunch was not good. Went with ladies from church for a birthday luncheon for one of them... fancy tea house... not exactly my cup of tea.. pun intended! I should've made a more intelligent choice.. like quiche, but I ordered soup and spinach salad. So.... by the time they added my pot of tea, tax and tip, i paid $17 for a small bowl of tomato soup and spinach salad that had absolutely nothing in it but a few slivers of almond and some mandarin oranges. I was expecting some onion, bacon bits, boiled egg.... something. So I got absolutely no protein. And the service was so slow we were there going on 2 hrs. Good company, at least, but I left somewhat annoyed at what I got for the money. And I realized the spinach wasn't going down well, so I ate very little of the salad. Welcome, Connie!

Hey don't get too worried about needles, you'll just feel worse for when it does happen. For me I'm used to needles but honestly I hated getting the fill, my nurse did it and it was the first time - the surgeon was there watching over but like I said it was his first time, the thing that hurt the most was him pushing on the port and I heard a clicking noise and then it hurt a little bit (not from the needle) and needless to say I burst out crying for no reason lol. But that's just me. At the moment feel pretty good, straight after I got it done, I felt like a numbing feeling in my mouth but they didn't numb the area just wiped it with the alcohol wipes so don't know what was up with that. I was planning on transitioning into foods over 3-4 days but I was so hungry at lunch today so I had a tin of spaghetti which was really soft as it absorbed lots of liquid, I had that 20 minutes ago and although it didn't fill me completely I feel like I could already eat more which sucks =( The only discomfort I really had was having to hold my stomach afterwards to make sure it didn't bleed which it didn't. Also yesterday straight after the fill my throat felt tight and I was paranoid that I was going to be too tight and not be able to eat, but nothings come back up so I guess I'm good. I hope everything goes well for you for your first fill.

Here it is....black & white...the reason I still have waaay too many wobbly bits still 2+ years on... Restriction is suppose to mean "feeling full" but in my experience the term restriction means exactly that, food is literally restricted, it's not that I feel full, it's that I can't eat much, which sucks because instead of feeling satisfied it leaves me with head and eye hunger. I CAN'T eat the food, but I'D still LIKE to...so, while the mechanics work, it doesn't take care of the desire. My mistake is that I wanted the band to act more like a wand and CHANGE me, instead of the reality that it can only be used as a tool to help me change myself. I didn't and don't want to "DIET" anymore...I still have the urge to overeat regardless of what the band is capable of. Hence sabotaging by eating "around" the band, Ice cream and chocolate and alcohol when I can't get the bread & chips into me. My desire to binge is as strong today, 2+ years post band op, as it was the day I paid money in desperation to get this fat monkey off my back The only thing that has grown stronger is my own resistance. I STILL DO NOT WANT to DIET anymore..I'm sick of it, which is why I got the band and is why I misunderstood what the band does. I have given the band more power than it or I posses...It is a Band not a Wand If I didn't eat when I wasn't hungry, I wouldn't have needed the band...so how do you change desire? I have reasons why I want to lose weight and reasons why I don't want to diet...I am conflicted and as a result ambiguous!! I suck!! Only thing I can do now is come to terms with my very obvious emotional need to stuff my face!! P.S....I am going to stick to the apt to dump this on 'those with the needle', and more than likely get poked with said needle also

Hi shoes, Are you in Ireland? What I mean by obstruction is, getting "stuck" on food, having to excuse myself after a bit or two to go and hurl it back up in the loo... My band was obviously too tight. It got to the point that I couldn't even drink fluids, it was pretty bad so I had a complete unfill last sept. Restriction is suppose to mean "feeling full" but in my experience the term restriction means exactly that, food is literally restricted, it's not that I feel full, it's that I can't eat much, which sucks because instead of feeling satisfied it leaves me with head and eye hunger. I CAN'T eat the food, but I'D still LIKE to...so, while the mechanics work, it doesn't take care of the desire. My mistake is that I wanted the band to act more like a wand and CHANGE me, instead of the reality that it can maybe be used as a tool to help me change myself. I didn't and don't want to "DIET" anymore...I still have the urge to overeat regardless of what the band is capable of. Hence sabotaging by eating "around" the band, Ice cream and chocolate and alcohol when I can't get the bread & crisps into me. My desire to binge is as strong today, 2+ years post band op, as it was the day I paid money in desperation to get the fat monkey off my back The only thing that has grown stronger is my own resistance. I DO NOT WANT to DIET anymore..I'm sick of it, which is why I got the band and is why I misunderstood what the band does. If I didn't eat when I wasn't hungry, I wouldn't have needed the band...so how do you change desire? I have reasons why I want to lose weight and reasons why I don't want to diet...I am conflicted and as a result ambiguous!! I suck!! :blushing: Only thing I can do now is come to terms with my obvious emotional need to stuff my face.

I thought I didn't have any before pictures.... But I found some that were taken on New Years Eve 2007-08. That is the only way I could get in front of a camera, with a few drinks in me.... The other was taken in June 2007. The current pictures have all been taken in the last month (alcohol free :blushing:).

Morning gang~ Janet.... you look AMAZING in those photos! WOWZERS! And regarding the Juniper Berries reference... are you telling me I can have gin?! LOL. Kidding. Back in 2001-2002 during my struggle with infertility and 10+ IVFs, I didn't have a sip of alcohol for two years. And ever since then really lost my taste for it. I will have one glass of wine on special occasions, but that's it. I am a cheap date these days! Really.. on vacation, DH was commenting how much less our bills are now that I am eating off the appetizer menu and he is eating less and no dessert! : ) Apples.... Happy Anniversary Baby, got you on my mind. <singing> Meredith, Meredith... you made me laugh and cry regarding the olives. You have no permanent damage my dear. : ) After all, we are only human! You are almost done! Keep up the good work!!! TOM is visiting AGAIN, darn it. And he's back with a vengeance and 9 days early! Actually had to cancel my gym today... feeling horrible, crampy and accidents. And of course I had my annual appt with the gyn for tomorrow but had to cancel b/c they can't do pap. Any of you menstruating women notice a change in your cycles after being banded and losing weight? My cycles are ALL over the place and crazy heavy! TMI I know. I had the 0.2cc put back in yesterday... and I know it's early to say, but I think I am either VERY close or at my sweet spot! Things going down well but feeling very satisfied after a small amount! yeah!!! Have a great day everyone! xoxo peas

I have to say this has been an interesting thread to read with the back and forth banter over who or what is better for America. As a healthcare provider, a Registered Nurse, I can tell you that I know of not 1 doctor or nurse I've ever worked with want the government to take over our healthcare system. I worked in critical care for my entire nursing career, and half of the nurses I worked with in the 90's were Canadian, because they couldn't get a job in Canada after they graduated from nursing school. Not only did they have to come to the US to work, they shared their knowledge of the Canadian healthcare system with all of us. I can tell you, if the government takes over our healthcare, services WILL be rationed. It happens in Canada everyday. People die waiting to have heart bypass surgery. They don't just go to the ER and end up having emergency surgery like we have here. They only do heart bypass surgery at a few selected hospitals there, and many times the hospital that provides the service will be a 2 to 3 drive from where they live. They also have age limits on procedures. For example, a 70 year old person is considered to old to have bypass surgery, so they just have to live the way they are until they die. They don't take into consideration how the persons' general health is either. There are a lot of people who are 70 that look and feel like they are 50. It's not just heart bypass surgery, it's any kind of surgery. If you need to have your gallbladder out, you may have to wait a year to have it done, and hope you don't die from what we call a "hot gallbladder" before the surgery date finally comes. A hot gallbladder is extremely painful, plus has an infection that will spread throughout your entire body. So, no, I don't want the government taking over our healthcare. Procedures we perform here on a daily basis during emergency situations a lot of the time are not done to the patients who need it there. It was mentioned that Medicaid and Medicare were very expensive to run, which they are. However, a lot of the problem is abuse of the system and fraud. I am disabled now, and when I lost my job due to an infection I caught in my lungs from a patient I was caring for, I had nothing coming in at all. I had a house, car, utilities, groceries, and all other necessities I had no money to pay them with. I had to be off work a year and a half before I was even eligible for disability, much less any other kind of help. Savings doesn't last long when you have to pay for everything with it, I can assure you. However, I was told at the social services office that they had people in their 40's that had been in their system their entire lives. I wasn't eligible for Medicaid, because I didn't have any small children. I wasn't eligible for Medicare, because I wasn't considered disabled until the year and a half was up. So, don't even try to tell me that Medicare and Medicaid work right. They sure do let a lot of hard working people who have either fallen on hard times, or gotten sick fall through the cracks, like me. Here is a subject we all know about, and that's the food we eat. Mr Obama has decided we shouldn't be able to eat fast food, or drink cokes, so he's going to tax them heavily. I'm surprised he let the taxes go up on cigarettes, since he's a chain smoker himself. I guess when you're the president, it doesn't matter how much things cost. I don't think we should all have to pay these outrageous taxes on food and soft drinks just because Obama has decided we don't need them. Who is he to tell anyone what they should or shouldn't eat or drink. Alcohol is already heavily taxed, but Cokes? This is going tooooooooooooo far people! Also, if you think back to when all of these financial companies and other businesses started to fail, it was Freddie Mac and Fannie May that started the whole thing. Those were government run programs that the democrats were in charge of. But, the responsible people, such as Barney Frank, don't take any responsibility for what happened. They told everyone that those 2 entities were stable right before they failed. What a joke! As far as the government taking over the car industry, that's a scary thought to. The reason the American auto industry got into the financial ruins they are in now was caused by the unions. It's rediculious for a person working in a auto plant to make $40 per hour. Nurses sure don't make that much money. I would think a nurse would be worth more money per hour than someone who helps build a car. Give me a break! I used to work for a company that had the same union the auto workers have, and they didn't do anything to protect our jobs when the home office decided to take our government contracts because they couldn't get their own. I am a conserative and proud of it. Do I accept my momthly Social Security check? You bet I do. I paid into it my entire life from the age of 16 until I became disabled. I don't feel at all guilty about the money I recieve every month, after all, I earned it. I will get down off of my soap box now, I just had to put my 2 cents in. I guess I'm just tired of hearing about how great Obama is when he is going against everything this country has ever stood for. He's definitely not the kind of change I was looking for. His race has absolutely nothing to do with it at all. Before long, he's gonna have us as socialistic as the European countries. What a sad day that will be for America. Joan

Hi Setagirl, I am feeling ya. I might actually be able to help. I had the same problem as you and it nearly drove me insane, but it helped me figure my body out. I discovered that my appetite is largely dependant on blood sugar swings. if it swinging around wildly, I am hungry and seek out sugar with vengence. A few years ago I put myself on a low GI diet and stopped craving sweets for the most part. If I vary from this I start craving again. Up until that point I was putting on weight again and it pretty much stopped. I also realised I had an alcoholics relationship with chocolate. It I eat even I tiny amount I start craving it again and I can't stop. It's worth a try. I also find I get really depressed on the high Protein diet they recommend. Like you I can't digest it; even after twelve years I still can't deal with chicken. The only think I can suggest it pureeing it. That seems to help me.

Yes I think everything is under control:scared2: not. Im absolutely C***ing myself. But I have got the flights, painkillers, soup, glass mugs and stretchy clothing organised. I think when I read kathys post it really scared me so I wish I could get my brain organised as easily. I attend a weight management course but havent really taken it seriously until 2 weeks ago. I know after first week I lost 3 and a 1/2 pounds so hoping to do the same again this week as I have been really good. No alcohol for over a fortnight except on Satuarday at my friends silver wedding anniversary and I can assure you it went straight to my head. So no more I want my liver in 1/2 decent condition for op. Anyway time is creeping up cant believe its came round this quickly. J x:sad:

hands up here for the 26th june too!!:smile: getting very close now homecare think i have everything prepared lists upon lists..:wink: been on the low fat/no alcohol diet from sunday doing ok but not too strict as the hard work will really start from the 27th june!! how are you getting on got everything sorted ready to go.. and still looking forward to having the surgery?? i just wish it was tomorrow then could get it over and done with so i can stop worrying about stupid things and get on with the weight loss battle:rolleyes2: take care

I can chime in on ths discussion. I went on a cruise in May and drank alcohol just about everyday, usually with dinner or at the pool. I don't drink wine, so usually had one of those fruity drinks or my standard amaretto & 7-up. Thr carbonation in the mxer was a bit uncomfortable sometimes, but a burp usually took care of that. I did feel the liquor a bit sooner than before the VSG, but not too much. It probably affects people differently. Other than on the cruise, I am lucky if I have 2-3 drinks a month. And as for the weight gain - I actually lost 2 pounds while on the cruise!

Singing a religious song at a concert is not tantamount to establishing a religion. How do you not get that? Schools that ban all references to religious life are taking it to an absurd extreme, you'll get no argument from me on that. Then who decides? Who makes the decision if prayer can be in school or a religious song? This is where you get division. If it was good enough for our founding fathers children to be taught biblical morals and to pray to God in school, then it should be good enough for our children. Who ever decided to ban it anyway? If they didn't like it, they could tell their children not to say the prayers with the others, or they could home school or set up private schools that excluded God from them. This is where we, as a Christian Nation, went wrong. We allowed the minority who didn't believe in God to infiltrate the rest who did. And, in case you didn't know this, the words Under God are not part of the original pledge. In fact, when I was a kid, I was taught the "real" pledge that puts the emphasis on indivisible, the way it should be. I knew that 'Under God' was added at a later date. Indivisible just means undivided. We stand as a nation together, undivided. That has nothing to do with undivided in our religious beliefs. And so what if 'under God' was added later? It only confirms and endorces that even the government in 1954 under Eisenhower's presidency knew that God was the reason for this Nations greatness and power. He understood that it was only by God's grace that we were a blessed nation. Do you see when the tide in this country turned? It wasn't much longer after that time when prayer was removed from our schools. This is about the time of this countries moral decline and it's jump in everything of no virtue. (abortion rates, the gay movement, out of control crimes and prisons filling up to capacity, sky high divorce rates, people living together was acceptable, drugs in the 60's which brought drug addictions and alcohol abuse, murders on the rise, and I could go on) It's been downhill since then. When you choose to remove God from a Nation, you remove his blessings as well.

Hello Everyone, GREAT Thread! I was banded May 21,09. I had my first fill today not much pain at all. My Dr. asked that I lie on my back and left both legs a bit as if I was doing crunches for my lower body, I did and she felt with her hands for the pot. She swabbed me with alcohol to clean the area. I closed my eyes because I am very afraid of needles. Small prick. Dr. says she put 5cc in I had my eyes shut the whole time. Not much restriction at first. My stomach growls a bit. I had Water and a yogurt, some Peanut Butter, I was hungry.

Lisa, I lost a bunch of it starting in February getting ready for my surgery. I used an Rx to help with appetite - Phentermine. But I went off of that before surgery and that last week on clear-liquids, I lost 20 more. I haven't lost anything since. Well, I guess 4 or 5 but that was like the first few days after - the scale hasn't moved since. My post-op diet was: week 1 Clear Liquids, week 2 full liquids (he allows oyster crackers, saltines, and graham crackers on your full-liquids phase), week 3 (where I am now) is soft foods. He allows Cheerios and Corn Flakes on this phase as long as you chew them to the consistency of toothpaste. I just started soft foods on Friday. I've had guacamole a few times, I had a cheese enchilada (it was VERY soft so I'm assuming it was OK - I took very small bites and chewed well), I've had scrambled eggs several times. I had re-fried Beans with cheese. Starting Friday (week 4) I'm on regular foods only I'm still not to eat any bread, fibery vegetables, salad, red meat, or pork and no alcohol or carbonated beverages. I have lost little weight since surgery. When I was on the post-op liquids, my calories were very low, and now they are higher but still very much lower than they used to be maybe 1000-1200 a day. I've been very hungry but I still think that keeping it down that low is no over-indulging. But the scale isn't moving right now. It will, though.... I'm going to be patient and keep working at doing the right things.

Hi All - OK, gotta tell you what happened to me in Belgium - a cautionary tale for anyone heading out there (or getting the band anywhere.) I went through the surgery and Dr. Chris had to stop without banding me because of problems with my liver. I have non-alcoholic cirrhosis. I did inform the doc on the forms of this but did not verbally go into the full history. Nor did he ask - which I think makes us each 50% culpable. As I understood my medical condition - which is seven years old - I had improved to the point where it was a lasting but non-progressing condition. So, I had the surgery but no band. Dr Chris said it was only the third time he had to stop a surgery. It is not only the money I lost (but I was refunded 2K for the cost of the band and, I believe, the doctor's own fees) but it is the huge disappointment - and also the trauma of undergoing surgery for nothing. My disappointment is huge, and I am actually feeling quite depressed about it. As we all know, no one enters this lightly and I believed it to be my real last chance. If I had successfully lost weight on my own, I wouldn't be here! I had so many hopes and plans for my thinner, healthier future. Anyway, please, please, please, do yourself a favour and do not hold back any information whether you think it is relevant or not. I understand and appreciate that Dr Chris stopped my surgery as a life-saving measure (he said when my liver was touched it started to bleed enough to worry him that I could bleed to death - you can't argue with that). But going through surgery for no gain is a serious situation. Good luck to you all - and especially ShellyG and Mairaid who were there with me, also lovely Alan. Shelly, thank you for all your support and I wish you all lots of weight loss and good health! Kathy

Yes, I am terribly sorry I had the surgery. I have no appetite; most food doesn't appeal to me. I miss the conviviality of dining and socializing with friends. If I want a drink - not an alcoholic drink, just Water, then there's no eating. I bought over $100 worth of Celebrate Vitamins which I liked prior to surgery, now I can't stomach the taste. I've resorted to the 'gummy' vitamins for adults from TARGET. My surgery was done at Kaiser Permanent/So. SF on March 2nd and pronounced a success; dropping 53 pounds post-op (and 87 pounds prior to surgery). I find myself crying a lot and looking back from my mirror is a face and body I don't know teeming with lots of extra skin. I look older and more 'wrinkled'.:thumbup1: I've been in a warm water pool regime for two years. I arrive at 5:30 AM and spend at least an hour moving in the pool. I am also recovering from another major surgery performed on May 4th - a total hip replacement. Hence my body is in stress. I really only had the VSG, so I could get the weight off quicker to have the much-needed hip surgery.

Hi: I think that those that are under 30 have more social committments and they go out alot more than older people. Because of this, they also have more occasions that can involve alcohol and food. Maybe I'm wrong. My doctor told me that his under 30 patients are less successful than the older patients. I can only assume this is based on his experience. You know the old saying about assuming, so I probably shouldn't make any assumptions. I think he and his partner have done about 300+ bands. Perhaps this is too small of a number to use as a base. There are probably more stats somewhere on this board that relate to this. They have a great support system and follow up at their group, so I would think that if the Under 30 group is less succesful it's not because of the effort made on the part of their practice. Maybe people in their 40's and 50's are in more of a hurry to get to their goal weight than someone in their 20's. I hope that everyone succeeds that gets banded. I love my band and my new flat tummy. Sue

Can you have alcohol after the band. I realize I won't be able to have a drink until the band heals, but what about later? I do enjoy a margarita or two...;o)