RyanTheGirl

I am a nurse in a dermatology office- and I have never seen anyone come in with this- and we have had multipule post-banding patients (I often see that they have been banded and talk about it with them since it is something I am in the process of trying to get!!) Though hormones and things are often shifted with weight loss, i personally dont think it's because of that. We have had adults (over the age of 60!) have their first "flare" of rosacea. I have never seen the doctor I work for prescribe doxy for 3x a day though- crazy! Hopefully they don't have you on it for very long!! Did they also give you a topical? (Metrogel? Finacea?) Just curious!! The doctor I work for doesnt like to use steriods unless really necessary, and never have I seen it for rosacea, but if it worked, I am happy! Keep me posted on this, as I am very curious as to how it goes for you!

We arent supposed to eat bread because it goes straight through the band- it isnt a "getting stuck" issue. We aren't supposed to eat anything white (i.e- white bread, white rice, white pasta...) and we aren't supposed to eat anything that starts dissolving in our mouths (like bread does when we eat it- gets all moist and everything) You have to remember that the band isnt going to do the work for us- it's going to help us (once we get to our own personal "sweet spot")-- but we have to respect it- we have to know what we SHOULD and SHOULD not eat, not just what we "CAN" and "CAN'T" eat. It's a new challenege every day! I wish you the best of luck!!

You made your new turn by realizing that you needed help in gaining control over your own body again, and by taking that step and getting a lapband you were able to show yourself that you DO still care- you care about how you feel as well as how you look. You are just like me- we both have a little girl at home who is looking up to us daily- watching what we do... And yes, this includes watching what we eat. So as we go through this new path in life- a healthier path- our daughters are going to watch that- and thankfully we are changing our life while our daughters are still young and impressionable-- we can teach our daughters HEALTHY habbits before they have a chance to develope too many bad ones! We are not only giving ourselves a new chance at life- but we are giving them a second chance as well! Keep your head up girl- everything is good in the end- if it's not good, then it's not the end! Just remember that every day is a fresh beginning- leave the "oooops, I messed up" in the past, and try harder!

Congrats on the weight you have already lost! I hope the rest of your pre-op gets easier for you and wish you the best of luck with your surgery!

Congratulations! That is certainly something to be proud of!!! :bananapartyhat:

I have lots of skinny-girl-to-dos, that arent related to the health reasons I want a lap band... posted some in a blog, but I'll write my list out here too!! -Being able to bend over to paint my own toe nails! (without rolls of fat in the way lol!!) -Wear more skirts/shorts/dresses/tank tops/halter tops (ok, u get the point!) -Enjoy the look of pure "WTF" on my ex husbands face after I reach goal (i only have to see him like once a year- we have a daughter- so he will see a definite difference!) -Enjoy pissing off his new wife who is 6 inches shorter than I and probably weighs around 300 pounds- yet she calls me "fat and ugly" (oi vey) -Being the one the guys look at when I'm out with my friends -RUNNING a 5k -Pinup photo shoot (seems all of us want this!) -Getting my next tattoo- a Black and White pinup of a nurse (which i am) but having the face look like me and the only color on the tattoo will be my blue eyes and the red cross -Hooker-Boots -Actually taking and sending the dirty pictures my bf asked me to when he was deployed! -More sex in the shower I could go on for forever lol

Ah... Well- honestly, I've been there, done that. It sucks, it hurts, and it's just plain ole Eff'd up... If others need someone to make them look better, then apparently what they look like to begin with isnt all that! lol!! BTW- O'Shea's is my faaaaaaaaaaaaaaavorite place in Vegas.... spent like 16 hours playing Hold 'Em when I was there..

I am actually not banded yet, but have discussed this with my doctors- I currently take Vyvance (which is XR) and was told that I could open the capsle and just stir in the powder into a small glass of water and drink it if i wasn't comfortable swollowing the pill whole.

So I went to the contest site that the developer of this site had posted (3 winners get a free lapband lol) and so this is what I sent it (had to be 600 words or less, ugh!--what can i say? I was bored, so I did it, what could it hurt?! lol!!!) I am more than just a pretty face; I am a whole person. I am a single mother, a student, a hard worker, a possitive attitude, a smile, a daughter... most of all, I am a person who is looking for a second chance at life. I have been over weight since I was 4. Every memory I have involves me being obese. Camp when I was a child? 10yo and shopping for camp clothes, size 16W... Prom dress shopping? "Sorry, they don't make that dress in your size." Wedding dress shopping? HA! Whatta joke... I have always wanted to change my weight, tried diets, taking three gym classes a day in high school, diet pills, curves, hourglass fitness, weight watchers, 1000 calorie diets, scale solutions, metobolic weight loss... you name it, I've tried it. Sure, I've been able to lose 20-30 pounds here or there, but it all comes back. When my daughter ws born, I was so excited about the fact that I had only put on about 18 pounds- over looking the fact that I was over 245 when I got pregnant to begin with. The following Friday I was in the ER- fever over 103, couldnt breathe... little did I know, I was experience Congestive Heart Failure. I had developed cardiomyopathy- my heart couldn't keep up with me being over weight, my blood supply and the baby's blood supply. My left ventrical had increased in size by over 30%. 23 years old and having heart failure?! The nurses told me to enjoy the time I had with my daughter, that no one could promise any out come- that I should say goodbye, "just in case." Just in case what? I die? Die, leaving my new precious baby girl without a mother? Obviously I recovered- my heart is going back to "normal size" and I have been taken off the medications I was on. I was told I cannot have any more children without risking my life- leaving my child motherless. I had already faced that fear of leaving her motherless once- I couldn't and WON'T do that again. My daugher is active and spirited. I need to take care of myself, physically and emotionally- and provide a POSITIVE role model for her- not one who cant even get off the couch because being over weight and always drained. My daughter deserves a mother, not a 268 pound dent in the couch. I want a lap band to help me "remodel my house"- I know the work itself is mine; that I must be accountable for my own actions and make the right decisions, but I need my "hammer" to do this "remodeling". It will be my daily reminder of the struggles I have already gone through, and reminder of the positive choices that I am making and will continue to make. It will be my "helper" in treating myself right, which in return, will help me treat my daughter right. My daughter is my reason for being, the love of my life, the warmth in my heart, and the sparkle in my eye. Losing weight to have better quality time with her has been my dreams since she was born. Being able take her to Disney and actually letting her ride the rides she wants to because I will finally be able to fit in the seats with her as well- I cant even being to express how much joy that will bring to my life, and hers too! I want to take this tool and use it the way it was meant to be used! I want to be able to tell people when they ask how I've lost weight that it has happened with hard work, proper-HEALTHY choices, and with the help of my tool, the lap-band...

Frustration is really an awful thing- and I am so sorry that you are having so much of it! I am also pre-banded, but have learned a few tricks to help me to lose a little weight before the process-- -no drinks at all when you eat- it just washes your food down and the digestion process starts quicker (even without a band!) -walk 2 miles a day (or as often as possible!) it really is better than doing the elliptical- once you reach the two miles your body then stops triggering the wrong sources of energy within your body and starts to trigger fat hang in there girl, things will work out!!!

Though my banding wont happen until some time early next year (Jan or Feb) I have decided to use this time before hand as my "rehearsal dinner"- changing my eating habbits, re-evaluating my relationships (healthy and unhealthy ones) with those in my life, realizing that I AM worth a lot more than I've allowed myself to feel and be treated lately.... Last night was a "going away party" for a friend who is moving to Hawaii- because I had to be at work pretty early this morning (630am), I didnt do the whole "partying" thing with them- but I did join them for dinner at Carrabba's (Italian restaurant). I made pretty healthy decisions as far as what to eat-- Blackened Talapia, fresh green beans, and a ceaser salad. Sure, I ate basically everything, but it wasn't a huge bowl of pasta with a cream sauce! I tried to time my meal so that it took the recommended 20 minuts to eat- chewed each bite at least 30 times, etc... It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be lol! And, I don't really think I drank much while eating either- which is really a big deal for me, because I'm usually gulping down something! (Even if it's just water!) This morning for breakfast I had some string cheese and a chocolate-peanut butter protein shake- which is actually delicious! I will have something to eat at 1030ish (4 hours after breakfast)- and continue to try to follow the through with the right decisions and hopefully form that as a new habbit BEFORE I'm banded... Now, the relationship part is a little tougher... my weight isn't 100% to blame on my relationship issues- it's self esteem issues in general, growing up with an alcoholic father, dealing with abandonment issues, parents who always cheated on each other- etc. So, obviously I've made a lot of bad decisions when it comes to who I've dated in the past- 95% of them were cheaters themselves, my ex husband is an alcoholic, etc... Yes, I'm lonely most of the time, yes I enjoy having someone show me affection, yes I probably settle for less than I deserve... Wait, scratch that- there is no "Probably" about it- I DO settle for less than I deserve, or at least-- I DID! I was so desperate for someone's affection that I didn't take the time to be picky about WHO was giving it to me... And sadly, those people are still in my life. Making an apperance when THEY want to- not when I want them to (well, I always want them to, but you know what I mean!) So quick to say yes when they ask if they can come over, so quick to letting them in to hang out and watch a movie- KNOWING what the out come will be later-- so quick to forget the anger I have towards them, the resentment, the pain... all for what? A night of forgetting about my loneliness, only to feel even more lonely when I don't get a phone call the day after, or even the week after? That's ludacris!!!! So as part of the "new me" that I'm working hard to create, even before I get a lap-band, I WILL NOT put up with it anymore... I will not be someone's option when I've made them my priority for so long- they are now just my option- and honestly, they aren't even my best option! I'm going to learn to be conent with what I already have in my life, I'm going to learn how to take care of myself- physically and emotionally- because once I can do that, then there are no excuses for someone else not to take care of me in those same ways!!! No more using me, no more making me question myself when it's been them doing the wrongs, no more thinking "well, I guess this is all that I deserve"-- SCREW THAT! Even being fat I know that I deserve to have someone in my life to look at me and think I'm the most beautiful girl in the world, I deserve someone who is going to be open and HONEST with me, someone who is going to be loyal, and someone who is going to treat me the same way I've been treating others! I took the first step last night- "he" came to dinner last night, and normally he would have come home with me, watched a movie or whatever, and well, I don't have to spell it out... but when he hugged me goodbye, I turned my face so he couldn't kiss me goodbye, got into my car quick enough that he couldnt even have the chance to invite me over or ask if he could come over- and when he sent a text a few minutes later (of course saying BS like "you should have come over for dessert"--- gag me!!!) I sent back- "Sorry- I'm learning to be selfish and putting myself first- satisfying you is not on my to-do list... you can be my FRIEND- and that's exactly how you will be treated" I am finding "myself"- the girl that I've always been, but let others push into the corner... I am going to have moments of weakness, sure- we all do right? But I will have the courage to pick myself up and give it another try every time I fall! :clap:

OK, there could be a lot of judgments made about me because of what I'm about to post- and to be honest, sure- I could be questioned about my morals and all that- but it's all a part of MY past- and things that I have to live with on a daily basis- and I feel comfortable enough to post them here to share with you all-- so, please leave your judgments at the door and take this for what it really is-- I saw my therapist yesterday (not the one for the lapband, but I see one monthly--for me I found it helps to unload my issues on a stranger and get someone's opinion or advice from someone I dont have to look in the face every day lol!) So anyway- she is supportive of my lap-band decision 100%. I was talking to her about my fears yesterday, concerning my lapband and the changes that will be made with my body. As I told her, I think I've somewhat been hiding behind my fat- as if it's almost been my escape goat to blame everything on- What happens when it's gone? Are there still going to be things I do that I feel that I shouldnt really do- and if so, what is going to happen when I cant blame it on being fat? Example- when I was a little younger (I'm 27 now, and I'm talking about being like 21, so not that far away, but I still feel i've grown up since then!) I would go out drinking with the girls, and if someone would show me attention, it's almost as if I did things I probably shouldnt have- and I think my mentality then was, "I'm fat, if I dont give him sex then he wouldnt show me the time of day or like me"-- ok, obviously me being fat wasnt 100% of the reason of it all, I have other issues lol... but I am smarter now, and know that if I wouldnt have given him sex or whatever it was (making out, blah blah blah) then he would have found someone else who WOULD have- and it still would have been the same situation- even if I had been skinny back then--Those werent the best guys in the world- and because I felt as though I wasnt worth being treated better- because I was fat- I did things and settled for way less than I deserved.... So now, my fear is- when I DO get banded and take better care of my body, will I take as much care of my mental health? Will I remember to feel as though I AM worth the work? Or will I all of a sudden enjoy all the new attention, and rush out to share that? I would like to think that I am WAY more in control of my mental self and KNOW that I am worth better than I've been treated in the past- and all of that, but I still fear that I will some how have issues with it all... I am a mother now, and I wasn't then, and that has been the biggest influence in my life, so I know that as long as I keep her in mind, I will make the right decisions.... Changing my apperance isnt just going to affect just that- I will definitely affect every part of who I am, and I just hope that I am as ready as I think I am!

ok, I have more to add to this list... -shopping at stores like PacSun- and not having to look at the "guys" side-- cant wait to get the "Girlie clothes" I've always only been able to DREAM about -Being excited about shopping for things OTHER than makeup or purses or new earrings (even shoe shopping isnt fun for me right now lol!!) -Seeing the look on my ex husband's face the first time he sees me after I've gotten into a shape other than ROUND -Knowing that my ex-husband's new wife will be totally JEALOUS!!! (she is AT LEAST 50 pounds heavier than me, and 6 inches shorter.. and pointing that out isnt very nice of me, i know.. but if you knew the kind of person she was, you would understand lol!!!) -finally going to do the "pinup photo shoot" I've been waiting for, and being able to actually FEEL sexy!!! -not taking all my pictures with my camera 108232407234 feet above me to make me look thinner than I am haha -Not being scared that I'm too fat to sky-dive!! -BETTER SEX!!!!!! ok.... that's all, for now!

Ok, I'm over weight, I'm fat- I know it, and anyone who can see me knows it as well. Those of you, my online support family if you will- understand the reasoning behind me wanting to get banded- and so, because of that- I thought I would share my non-health reasons... because honestly, I'm not sure if it's amusing, or if it's slightly psychotic! hahahaha!! -Being able to go places and being the one the guys hit on, not my friends. -Completely shocking everyone at my high school reunion in 2012 -Having a "fair shot" at actually meeting a man and having a relationship (yea, yea, if he was a decent guy he would see past the fat and see into the me on the inside.... I call BS! lol... And I will be the first to admit- I usually don't find overweight guys attractive- it just doesn't do it for me- so I can completely understand why I dont have guys knocking on my door all the time lol) -Not being the girl they are talking about when they say "the big girl" -Painting my own toenails- without getting stomach pains or having to hold my breath while I'm trying to paint them -Riding more rides with my daughter at the fair, and not being worried that my belly pushes out the safety bar too much that it isn't safe for her -Seeing my collar bones It's just the simple things. I know that I will DEFINITELY have some issues with not being able to see myself as thin- and even if I was able to see myself as thin, I will have to make sure I don't let it get to my head. Hell, I've been fat since I was like 5, so I want to enjoy being thin and having confidence- I just pray that I dont get cocky with it- because I've always hated when others were that way!!! As of now I've been telling basically everyone about my lap-band, they are MOSTLY supportive- but i've run into those who are not as well. After I actually have it done, I may be a little more picky as to who I tell. For now, I still have more of the pre-op process to get through...

Well, I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I will be a January bandster! We shall see!! I am being banded in Savannah, GA by Dr. Angstadt.. They have a pretty decent program, I think most of the requirements are the same for the self-pay and the insurance patients though.... Info seminar 2 support groups (pre-op) 1 nutrition evaluation Psych evaluation Surgery clearance (for me that is from primary care and from cardiologist because I have heart disease) 1 fitness education class 1 band education class Of course there are a few other things like paying my "program fee" ($275, that inculdes the support groups post-op, nutrition classes if they feel as though I need them after) I have completed the original consult, the info seminar, going to a support group in the morning, got thumbs up by the psych evaluation and by my cardiologist, and have also done the nutrition education... I saw my PCP today to give her some of the paper work that is needed- so I will get all of that together and hopefully everything will be there to submit to my insurance... I guess my insurance required a 6 month diet/workout program by my physician, but they are changing that requirement come January, so they didn't make me start it just to have to changed- so it was waived... I am going to a support group tomorrow morning, and then another one the first week of January- so that will be marked off the list... Just have to come up with the 275 and attend the band education class- and all should be ready to go I guess...