shellyj

thanks ladies!!! renee~ i am going hiking again this weekend to the narrows of the harpeth! it is beutiful and my dogs like to swim!

hey alexandera! your doing GREAT!!! 45 pounds in 7 months is.....9 five pound bags of sugar! imagine those stacked up! i agree you do have a great understanding of the band and you have helped countless people on their banding journey! your truly an inspiration!!! i am thinking as spring and summer get here i'll lose a little more just from doing more things outside! BLESS THIS WARM WEATHER!!!!

thats great news!!!

WOW MARY!!!! congrats on your CENTURY MARK!!! that is such a milestone!!! we also share a NSV!!! we both have waistes!!! your getting curvy in a GREAT way!!! i cant wait to see your 1 year pics!!! what an inspiration!!!!!! :eek:

WOOOHOOOO BIG AL!!!! i would pre-buy some gas-x youll probly feel bloated the first few days. loose pants too, dont forget those. good luck and post an update when you feel up to it!

WAY TO GO DONALI!!! thats awsome!!! 213!!!!! it sounds more attainable everyday! you are an inspiration! keep up the great work! cant wait till your a member of the century club!!!

i would consider it a NSV!!! i was talking about a boob job this morning with bf! i just want to be full perky c's! i am that now (not super perky) down from d's but i am afraid they'll head south as i lose! bf of course says do what you want so i am planning on it! i'll get a tt before that though! that will be top priority!

hey i agree with big al! if your pops makes 6 figures AND has little debt maybe he'd do a personnal loan for you?

LYCRA SAGGING!!!! I am WAY impressed!!!

good for you c!!!!! thats very impressive!!! you ROCK!!!! you are making major life changes in order to have a better quality of life for you and your family!

ooooops!!!! someone delete this please! i thought i was replying!

thanks donali!!! Alexandra~ gee i thought i looked kinda goofy in the sideview pic! i do feel sooo much better! i hiked 2 miles this past weekend! pre op i never would have made it from the car to the trail!! Jennye- thanks girlie! i cant wait to get weighed in 2 more weeks to see how much i have lost in a month with restriction!!!! chantal thanks!!! thanks debra! i never know how good i'm doing till i look at pics! thanks bright!!!! look at you you big LOSER -53!!! your doing GREAT!! thanks vera! you are so sweet and supportive! becky!!! your day will be here soon!!!!! thank so much chickadee!!! and congrats on your upcoming date!

hi i just thought i would do a photo update. i was banded 8-18-03 i lost 25 pounds prior to banding and 50 since banding for a grand total of -75 pounds!!!!! i hope the pics show up alright i played with the colors because they were kinda dark.

hey renata i know exactly how you feel. i went 7 months with no restriction (well i actually got a taste of it for two weeks in november but when i got my next fill it all vanished.) anyhow, atleast you have the revision in the works! you will get this taken care of and be on your way in no time! in the meantime keep doing what your supposed to be doing protien first then veggies and dont drink till 1 hour after a meal. even with little restriction following the bandster rules helped me control the portions even still 2 cups of food wasnt uncommon for me. just keep on keepin on and feel free to come and vent all you want! you definitally have the right to be frustrated!!!

Non Scale Victories!!!!

way to go alexandra!!! i guess you should have dug out that box BEFORE winter! lol. oh well theres always next year err this year! i cant wait to get new fall/winter clothes i like those colors best. i had a few NSV i have realized lately: *my rings that were once to tight (not even wearing ANY of them pre-op) are now spinning on my fingers!!! *my bmi has gone from 51.7 Super Morbidly obese to 40.6 almost just 'obese' *my double chin is SHRINKING!!! when i smile it doesnt look my face is gonna EXPLODE!!!! *I also feet and am just starting to see my neckbones! Great job!!! I love NSV's as much as scale drops! (which since this last fill it is doing!!!)

i think your supposed to wait 1 year and keep your weight stable for that whol year. michelle

sung to '99 bottles of beer on the wall' 96 ounces of Water in my belly, 96 ounces of water, drink another round, pull my pants down, 96 ounces of water in my belly i have worked out a system that has worked great this week before breakfast- 32 oz room temp water eat Breakfast at 9:00 at 10 start drinking again this time 48 oz (3 16 oz cups) lunch 1:00 start drinking again at least 16 oz usually 32 oz. after that i drink tea with splenda and lemon. being a southern girl i cant give it up!

hey zhanna when they would remove the fill all of it WAS there. it was all clear so they didnt think anything WAS wrong. when they were adding and removing the fill they said the fill needle didnt have any pressure in it. when they got it in the right spot they felt the pressure. AND it only tool 3.2 cc's to give me restriction!

hey firegirl- they actually figured out what was wrong with my band. BUT before i tell you what it was the amounts of food you listed really doesnt sound like alot to me. i was able to EAT with no restriction. never tight in the morning or ever really. here is a copy of what i posted: i have been dealing with a lack of restriction for a while now. i ended up contacting inamed to have them review my last swallow study (i dont have ins coverage on the band) well after they contacted my dr, my dr called me and wanted to do another swallow study at 4.1 cc (last on was at 3.8 cc) so this is what happened... go in drink barium look at band. NO RESTRICTION. check to see whats in the band 4.1 cc. everyone is very confused how can this be yada yada. fill me to 4.5 cc. drink barium. no restriction. fill me to 5.0 cc. no restriction. the fluid in my band came out a little murkey. they decide to change the t-shaped fill needle thing. when changing them out the dr wants to access the port himself (pa had done in past and today) he is poking jabbing stabbing etc. he even BENT the needle trying to get it in. switched again, got it in. removed all fill. still not happy with the connection so they switch access needles again. thank god they decide i need another numbing shot. so they fill me again to 3.0 cc and have me drink. i had a little restriction, bump me up to 3.2 cc now my opening resembles a bandster!!! remove fill, fill, swallow barium. remove fill, fill. swallow barium. they leave me at 3.2 cc. they concluded that when i was getting filled before, while they were accessing the port they were not getting the fill fluid into the part of the port that would send it to the band. when they would withdraw fluid it wasnt coming from the band but a pocket in the port. i dont know. i dont care. all i care about is if i have restriction!!!! i had a can of cream of chicken soup and was able to drink the entire can with relative ease but thats just soup so we'll see as i get more adventerous tommorrow and this weekend with foods of substance. they were also VERY impressed with my loss since the band hasnt been offering me any/very little restriction. my dr has banded 200+++ patients and i am the only one this has happened to so dont worry i am an oddball! i guess i am in the 4% complication rate...but not anymore!!!!! i hope!

with my new restriction i am hoping to see a big loss. to help that along the way i have challenged myself to drink 100 oz of Water a day! i have done all this week. want to join! youll probably lose three just in water weight! oh yeah and i am restricting carbs and of course no sugar!!!

i plan on having children! that was a main reason for having the band. http://www.geocities.com/karlak68/ another good one who is now pregnant! thas is a link to bandster who had a child after banding. good questions. fyi my surgery was a WHOPPING 45 minutes! michelle

I was teasing about the quote!!!! um they say I THINK 35%. who they are i dont know because most bandsters lose that in the first few months!!! here are some links to bandsters that have lost ALL their weight or are close to goal. i FULLY expect to get to my goal wich is anything under 200! which will mean a total loss of 150. i think it totally depends on you! you do have to stay on top of adjustments. if you can eat to much get a fill. the band only works when properly restricted. my surgery was outpatient. i went in at 6:00 am and left at 4:00 pm. i had surgery on a monday and went back to work on friday. i was sore but i made it! http://www.geocities.com/robinh26/lapband.html this one is awsome! she has lost 145! www.kimswlsjourney.com this girl kim has lost 97 pounds in 5 months! DEFINITALLY CHECK OUT HER SITE!!!! LOTS OF GREAT INFO!! http://www.myagb.homestead.com/ another goodie...not sure how much she lost i think 100 http://www.fisherchristine.addr.com/band.html she has just lost 100 lbs as of this month!!!! in 10 months!!! http://www.geocities.com/karlak68/ another good one who is now pregnant! http://www.employees.org/~kirsten/ this girl has lost 85 but hasnt updated her page in a long time!!! i am sure she is down more now! http://www.geocities.com/laylaburd/AGB/laylaslapband.html This is a link to extraordinary bandsters http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/ExtraordinaryBandsters/ these people have over 100 lbs to lose you will have to join the group to read post and look at photos (its free and fast) http://supergramemr.homestead.com/Index.html

you should heed your own quote!

hey amanda~ the epideral is a question for your dr. cause i dont know and i have never heard of it except with childbirth! i dont really know about blood clots either BUT they give you those hose for circulation. i wore mine for DAYS!!! just to be safe and i did my breathing exercisis RELIGOUSLY! i can understand the fear of death BUT if you dont have the surgery what realisticly do you think your life expectancy would be? at 325 and 26 i was having chest pains, nausea, dizziness, blurred vision etc. i also had a uncle who JUST had a heart attack at 30 so i KNEW i was in really bad shape. the way i looked at it i was signing the death certificate to not have surgery and taking a chance at life by having it! this is a pretty mild surgery. i had mine outpatient! if there were serious risk of death i dont think they would offer it outpatient. i would say a dr who has done 50 or more bands would be a safe bet.