Alexandra

Thanks for the giggle, VQ!

Congratulations, PinkMary!! Can't wait to meet the Pinkbaby. Take care!!

Check out this thread.

Wow, Barbara, that sucks. But it's his problem, not yours. Your employee's the one who's going to feel horrible, and he will indeed. I feel sorry for him, in fact; think about how he's going to face you! He's probably worried about his job right about now. Yuck. You'd think this sort of thing went out with tube tops. That wife needs to wake up and smell the 21st century. Good luck!

Congratulations to all the moms to be!! What a wonderful gift a little band of silicone can give. take care and don't worry about your weight!!

VQ, best wishes for a quick resolution, again. :hug: Just another ride on the merry-go-round!

Holy cow, lady! What the hell happened? How ARE you?

Melissa, this is not all that uncommon, but needs to be followed carefully and cleared up. Wound healing seems to be a function of personal physiology as much as anything else; some heal faster and some heal slower than others. But it may also be a sign of infection and that can cause big problems so you want to be as careful as possible. Good luck and please be careful with it!

I'm so sorry you're feeling lousy; good move on calling your doctor! Best wishes that your tests come back normal and it's just...well, something else. Good luck!!

Big hugs from me, Paula, and everyone who is dealing with this in family members. I was married to a person like this, too, but our marriage didn't survive. I'm not sorry it didn't, but I hope he's found the help he needs. Good luck, and don't forget to take care of yourself. :hug:

Congratulations, Maggie! I'm wondering the same thing as Kim--what was the initial reason for your denial? Was it because there was an exclusion in your policy or was there some other reason? Thanks for any information. Every time someone one wins one it gets a teensy bit easier for everyone else!!

Not moving your arms in a circular motion? Your band is attached to your diaphragm? These are new ones on me. When I started working with a personal trainer, he put my body through paces I really didn't think would be safe with the band. I asked my doctor repeatedly about whether I could damage it or myself, and was assured each time that I really couldn't do anything via exercising. Period. It's located deep within your body and no matter how you twist, turn, or use your muscles exercising it is not going to move your band. I know, it was hard for me to believe in the first place too. But my surgeon is really a recognized authority on this stuff, and I figure he knows what he's talking about.

When I started working with a personal trainer, he put my body through paces I really didn't think would be safe with the band. I asked my doctor repeatedly about whether I could damage it or myself, and was assured each time that I really couldn't do anything via exercising. Period. It's located deep within your body and no matter how you twist, turn, or use your muscles exercising it is not going to move your band. I know, it was hard for me to believe in the first place too. But my surgeon is really a recognized authority on this stuff, and I figure he knows what he's talking about.

Back in my first year of banding I didn't exercise much at all. It wasn't until I had lost about 50 lbs that my self-talk won over my self-defeatism and I got myself over to the gym. This was at about 8 months post-surgery, I think. Lo and behold, it's a LOT MORE FUN if you don't have so much extra weight! I'm not saying it's a barrel of monkeys all the time or whatever, but don't discount it until you try it. I discovered that in the right circumstances I can really have a good time working out, and the way it makes me feel is just sort of a bonus. I don't think, though, that the amount I exercise really ever helped me lose weight, or is helping to keep it off. Fat weighs less than muscle, so the scale alone is not a good reflection of the effects of exercise. What matters more is the way my clothes fit, my muscles feel, my spirit and overall bodily sense is vastly improved by regular exercise. Now that I'm 120 lbs lighter, physical movement is pleasurable in a whole new way. Now I take walks because I want to, ride my bike with my kids because it's fun, and ice skate because it feels good. I get to the gym during the week because at the end of a day spent sitting at my desk I need it to get my blood moving. There's no question exercise is crucial to overall health, but I have never exercised with the specific intent of losing weight. It's been more a result of weight loss than a cause.

My surgery was scheduled for something like 7:00 a.m. and I was out around 1:00 and went home. I'm sure it's just a matter of scheduling and common practice, and possibly a function of hospital openings as well. Where I am, I imagine there's a big push toward outpatient surgery since the area is so densely populated and hospital beds are so expensive. These things vary widely around the country, so these practices do too.

Greg, thank you so much for sharing this news. If widespread healing thoughts count for anything, Ryan will be well-supported through this! Please tell Patty we are all thinking of both of them through this trying time. Big strong vibes for strength and healing and peace for them both. :hug: What is going on? This is the third friend/acquaintance I've known to be diagnosed with a brain tumor in the last month! :omg:

I had one last March after 2.5 years of being banded. It was a bit nerve-wracking, but they knocked me out and I didn't feel a doggone thing! Some people report a sore throat later, but I didn't have any after-effects. As always with me, the worst part was the anaesthesia. If you're good with anaesthesia, you have nothing to fear at all. It's not a routine part of pre-op or post-op care as far as I know. If you have any gastro-intestinal issues going in, like reflux or a hernia, I imagine an endoscopy would be in order prior to surgery to see what's going on. Post-operatively, it's only used if someone is having symptoms that don't seem to be easily explained: an endoscopy is needed to diagnose erosion, for example. But it's by no means a test done on everyone.

Yeee-ha! Congratulations, Emilee!! You must be on cloud nine!!

My PCP's role was to give me a physical and write a letter supporting my medical qualification for bariatric surgery. She'd been treating me for several years and so was able to substantiate my various efforts to lose weight. My OB/GYN helped too, in that she gave me copies of several pages of her notes taken during my two pregnancies. Basically it was to support the claim I was making to have been obese for many years. She didn't have to write anything, just copy a few pages from my records and give them to me. I sent them to the insurance carrier.

Hair loss is temporary, though a bit bothersome. I don't think there's anything you can do about it except wait it out. My hair came back better than ever after all the hair-loss episodes. (It happened not only after banding surgery, but after both of my children were born and also after my endoscopy, for some reason.)

According to your dates I'm a Scorpio, but I am often considered a Sagittarius. My birthday is November 22--how does one figure out which sign is "correct"?

No caffeine restrictions here, either. What did your doctor say?

Oh, Robin, what a pain! I've had cellulitis and man, it hurts. Best wishes for a quick recovery and on to band success!! Take care of yourself, you've still got some healing to do.

She sounds like a charming woman. Wheetsin, you have a WONDERFUL attitude. My hero!!!

Congratulations, leener! I knew they'd come through for ya. Take it slowly on eating; you never know when restriction will kick in or whether you'll have swelling in response to the increased tightness. Everyone is different so PAY ATTENTION to your body's signals. Welcome to bandlandia!! :clap2: :clap2: :clap2: