donali

DeLarla wrote: Girl, yes you did tell me, but I thought we were keeping the fact you were a superior being a secret, and now you just let it out of the bag!!! lol Now that everyone knows you're an alien, wave your magic wand and put me at goal!! I really love your roses trick the best.... :cool: My list... Dang, I can't even remember their names - just how I felt. Does that mean I'm halfway to forgetting the hurt? Or just that much closer to Alzheimer's? lol

The minimum time between surgery and the first fill is almost always 6 weeks. Not everyone needs a fill at 6 weeks, so that part is individual. But most docs won't do a fill earlier than 6 weeks out from surgery. Fills are based on the individual's NEED. Some people are tight enough with an empty band, and never need a fill. Some people need in excess of five. Most people average 2-4 fills in their first year. Fill amounts are also very individualized, and vary widely. It's like asking what shoe size you're going to be. Who knows? Who cares? You just get shoes that fit. As you grow, your shoe size changes. As you shrink, your fill size usually changes. There are only three types of fill amount: 1. Not enough 2. Too much 3. Just right And 1,2,3 are completely and totally determined by the individual, and is rarely static. What was a good first fill for me is too little for me now, 97.5 pounds less than where I started. Where I am now in my fill level would have been waaaay too much for me as a first fill.

One of my favorite "get back" fantasies is to reappear in a "fat" outfit so I look like my old self, then replay a rejection scene. Preferably with someone who paired with a "gorgeous" thin person, but is totally miserable because that person is a bitch, and high maintenance, and demanding, etc., etc. After listening to the sob story, and murmering words of condolences, etc., I'd finally zip off the suit, and tell them what a wonderful person I was, and how much value and worth I had, and how THEY could have been with ME all this time, and look what they'd have NOW if they hadn't been so wrapped up in "thin" back then. And then tell them many, many thanks, because they did me a huge favor by thinking I wasn't good enough for them, because I was with a real man who deserved me. And then I'd like to travel across the country and do that to EVERY SINGLE MAN who looks down their nose at fat women, and maybe, just maybe get their "big" head working a little bit... :cool: Wouldn't it be great if thousands of women ran around in fat suits so that guys never knew anymore who was really fat and who wasn't? And they had to start actually interacting with women for WHO they are on the inside? And by the time the unveiling came around, they realized they really didn't care if it turned out to be a fat suit, or real fat - they loved the woman anyway? Thank God there are guys like that already. It would just be nice if they were all that way!

Get naked. Use an eyeliner pencil or something similar to outline on your body your goal shape. Then take your photo (use the self-timer if you don't want your husband to do it). And use that self-timer for the naked behind pic, too - you're running out of time, and when you're a size 2 you'll wish you could do the compare... :cool:

DeLarla - Remember, your band is wide open! Once you start getting fills, some foods may start giving you problems. Just don't want you to be surprised if/when it happens! :cool: When I was in Texas there was a sign on the juke box of the local Mexican restaurant "NO MORE PLAYING LA BAMBA" lol

lol... Vera, hopefully she won't remember that answer later on when she understands the implications... :cool:

4. Go to a swimsuit store, ask to see their bikini selection, pick out the smallest, stringiest ones and ask "Where's the dressing room?" :cool:

Follow those links I posted the other day. One of the case studies was a woman who had never had a fill, and at 7-8 months her band had eroded. I have an offline friend whose banded eroded and had to be removed before her one year anniversary. I think I just read about someone else being eroded at 7-8 months. So "long term" is not a requirement for this complication. It happens, but to a small percentage - regardless of "when."

http://www.riddleware.com/funny/grocery_store_kid_no_candy.avi

It's that time again... :cool: Two guys were discussing popular family trends on sex, marriage, and values. Stu said, "I didn't sleep with my wife before we got married, did you?" Leroy replied, "I'm not sure, What was her maiden name?" -------------------------------------------------------- A little boy went up to his father and asked: "Dad, where did all of my intelligence come from?" The father replied. "Well son, you must have got it from your mother, cause I still have mine." -------------------------------------------------------- "Mr. Clark, I have reviewed this case very carefully," the divorce court Judge said, "And I've decided to give your wife $775 a week." "That's very fair, your honor," the husband said. "And every now and then I'll try to send her a few bucks myself." -------------------------------------------------------- A doctor examined a woman, took the husband aside, and said, "I don't like the looks of your wife." "Me neither doc," said the husband. "But she's a great cook and really good with the kids. ------------------------------------------------------- An old man goes to the Wizard to ask him if he can remove a curse he has been living with for the last 40 years. The Wizard says, "Maybe, but you will have to tell me the exact words that were used to put the curse on you." The old man says without hesitation, "I now pronounce you man and wife." ------------------------------------------------------- A blonde calls Delta Airlines and asks, "Can you tell me how long it'll take to fly from San Francisco to New York City?" The agent replies, "Just a minute..." "Thank you," the blonde says, and hangs up. ------------------------------------------------------- Two Mexican detectives were investigating the murder of Juan Gonzalez. "How was he killed?" asked one detective. "With a golf gun," the other detective replied. "A golf gun?! What is a golf gun?" "I don't know. But it sure made a hole in Juan." ------------------------------------------------------- This guy has been sitting in a bar all night, staring at a blonde wearing the tightest pants he's ever seen. Finally his curiosity gets the best of him, so he walks over and asks, "How do you get into those pants?" The young woman looks him over and replies, "Well, you could start by buying me a drink." ------------------------------------------------------- Moe: "My wife got me to believe in religion." Joe: "Really?" Moe: "Yeah. Until I married her I didn't believe in hell." ------------------------------------------------------- A man is recovering from surgery when a nurse asks him how he is feeling. "I'm O. K. but I didn't like the four-letter-word the doctor used in surgery," he answered. "What did he say?" asked the nurse. "Oops!" ------------------------------------------------------- While shopping for vacation clothes, my husband and I passed a display of bathing suits. It had been at least ten years and twenty pounds since I had even considered buying a bathing suit, so I sought my husband's advice. "What do you think?" I asked. "Should I get a bikini or an all-in-one?" "Better get a bikini," he replied. "You'd never get it all in one." -------------------------------------------------------- Two Reasons Why It's So Hard To Solve A Redneck Murder: 1. All the DNA is the same. 2. There are no dental records.

Feeling restriction right away from your first fill is not guaranteed. You might, or you might not. But regardless, restriction WILL come. Do not be too much in a hurry - you have a lifetime of poor eating habits to relearn, and getting to restriction gradually gives you the time to learn new habits, AND adjust emotionally to eating less food. Believe me, eating less food is a BIG change. And you might be surprised how you react to that in an emotional way. Your journey will take time. You've got time. Don't put unreasonable expectations on yourself or the band. Starting at a lower BMI could mean that your weightloss is slower. It really depends on your metabolism, what/how much you eat, and your exercise level. Just remember, if you do drastic things to lose weight, you will have to KEEP doing drastic things to keep it off. Make gradual healthy changes that you can maintain for life. Weightloss will follow.

Terry - That is a heartbreaking story. But you are strong, and have survived, and life is on its way back up for you. The advice you give about patience is right on, in my opinion. 5 years from now it won't matter if we lost our weight in one year, two years, three years.... whatever. The important thing is that we are on the journey. And life does not start AFTER the weight is lost!! LIFE is NOW!! :cool:

I didn't see it either... hmmmm. Welcome BACK!!! Congrats, congrats!!! Whooo hooo! Bear in mind that often things get worse before they get better, so if you have a couple of really bad days in the first two weeks that's pretty normal.

2. Reorganize your closet. Sort everything by size and put little dividers between the groups so once you move out of a size group you can grab the whole bunch at one time to donate. 3. Get out all your skinny clothes and review what's there. Get them grouped by size as well, and put them in your closet if they'll fit. Donate anything that you don't absolutely love once you can get back into them.

Surely in all of your research you have read many times that until the band is filled to your proper level, it will not help you much. The time prior to your first fill is about HEALING, not weightloss. Any weight lost during this time is a bonus. Concentrate on recovering and following your doctor's eating protocol during this time. Your band is empty, and it's very common to feel as though nothing has changed as far as hunger and eating amounts go. Once you start getting fills your hunger will decrease, and so will your ability to eat large quantities of food. Generally it takes 3-4 fills for a person to reach a level they think is just right.

Carolyn - It's the CARBONATION that's the problem - not the "soda". Champagne, beer, Perrier, soda, sparkling Water... All of these things have carbonation, which is acidic.

Ginny - Click on the www button at the bottom of one of my posts - that will get you there.

Welcome, Terry! You look great, and much younger than 50! I agree with everything you've said about the band and how it changes your life for the better - I've been banded just slightly longer than 16 months now, and am down 97.5 pounds. I, too, have a good 70 pounds to go, but even if I never lost another ounce it has all been totally worth it!

Teresa - There are lots of options for low-calorie drinks that are non-carbonated besides Water and iced tea. There are tons of sugarfree mixes on the market, like Crystal Light, Kool Aid, things like that. There is also a large market of flavored waters, like Fruit2O. Of course, the very best thing is plain ol' water, but I know that doesn't always satisfy the taste buds. Try one of the many sugarfree flavors out there! Or splash some lemon, apple cider vinegar, or even juice in your water to alter the flavor. As far as the carbonation dilemma goes - at some point you may be at a restriction where you CAN'T drink carbonation anyway, whether it harms the pouch or not. But if we're not supposed to have NSAIDS because of possible gastric ulcers, I can't imagine that carbonated beverages are much better. And anything that can irritate/erode the lining of the stomach increases the chances that the band could be eroded through those thinner stomach walls, so for me it just is not worth it. I don't even think about it - I just don't have it. Period. But lots of people do - you have to evaluate the possible risks against your desires, and make your own decision.

Thanks, everyone!

lol - they kind of reminded me of that lounge owner on "Angel" (the spin off from Buffy the Vampire Slayer) only without the green skin. He's such an empathetic... demon? I'm not even sure what all those creatures are - I guess he's from some other dimension, or something. Anyway, I did find the little horns intriguing for some bizarre reason - kind of like a real life Pan, I guess...

I would just leave the gauze for now - I don't think it could get trapped in the skin itself??? (Not a medical expert, so you have fair warning! Use your best judgment.) You're very fair to be subject to keloids - they tend to be more of a problem for darker-skinned folks. I have heard of people having procedures to reduce them, but sometimes the scar from the procedure isn't much better than the original keloid. Maybe once it's fully healed it won't stick out so much? And lots of people say all their WLS scars disappear with their tummy tuck, so... Don't even make me ask about the BB... lol Wild woman, yourself! My dad had a BB lodged under the skin on his calf from when he was six years old. His older brother's friend told my Dad that if he would run along the hill and let him take practice shots at him, then Dad could have a turn shooting at him, knowing full well that at 6 years old Dad couldn't have hit the broadside of a barn. lol He never told his folks, so he kept his BB in his leg until the day he died... lol It was creepy... I wish he were alive today - I'd tell him he was a precurser to these guys that have surgical steel implants under their skin for decoration... His just wasn't a very interesting (or big) design... lol

I can't explain it, but here's the thread: http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/GraduateBandsters/message/8153?threaded=1 One of the responses to the thread was: "My doc said it is very common about half his patents at goal are this way. I've been at goal for a good while. I was banded at the same time (8-01) as three friends and we are all at goal by now. 3 of us needed several smal unfills after goal until the new reflux went away and we all take nexium or somethiung like it. Of course you need to not expect the band to keep you thin, just as the band did not stop you from eating bad things."

I watched "Taboo" on the Discovery Channel last night, and one of the segments was on body modification. Just pretend you're living on the edge, and are wearing your "difference" on the outside. You belong to a huge group of people with the same markings... Hey, we're kind of like our own cult, huh? lol Those people were paying big bucks to get branded and pierced and stuff. At the end it showed a group of them at a place like Beni Hana's, and a couple of the guys had horn implants. Maybe it was just because I was coming off my week of junkfood orgy, but... They were looking kind of cute... That wouldn't be considered beastiality, would it? Doing it with a guy with horns?

Sue made it through her PS! Congrats, Sue, and give us a shout over here when you're up to it!!