Bright

Yay thanks for the validation Alex, I feel so HELPFUL for once! And yup, me and Britney have SOOO much in common - 'cept of course I have orange hair.... hmmmm go on then Donali, you ARE right :rolleyes - actually you probably are - I presume the gas is caused by the air swallowing that must go on with incessant gum chewing... but apparently it's sugar free that causes the bloating, not regular gum so I dunno what that's about! I haven't tried regular gum because I really don't need to be latching on to another sugar filled product.... but perhaps in the interest of science and banded-kind I'll give it a go... Neicy, I so know where you're coming from - I was dependant on my gum to help curb my appetite - I would pop some in to "officially" end a meal and between meals to just have something to chew! Since I've stopped chewing I have started to brush my teeth way more often which is a good thing I guess AND I look way classier not blowin bubbles!

....I have something to add! After being banded for nine months now, I eventually have a tiny nugget of information to pass on to you guys! I have felt pretty impotent here without fill info, pain experience to share! Well - here it is (ta da!).... Does anyone remember me asking about shoulder pain? I was experiencing a LOT of pretty severe pain for AGES in my shoulder, just above my left breast - It left me pretty winded as it hurt when I breathed in deeply or coughed or even moved my arm... I was getting kinda worried about it and posted here - Donali (the big meanie...) suggested that I was overeating at meal times and the diaphragm was causing the gas-like pain. Ok, I went with that and stopped eating sooner that I had been. No go, still bad pain (Wake up! I'm getting to the good part....!) - ok so picture me in the car, driving down through france, well, hubby is driving, I am having my shoulder pain, moaning and whining away, hubby is completely glazed over pretending to listen.... So I turn to my big pile of gossip magazines, and am reading about poor Brittney having put on 1.5lbs and doing 3000 crunches per day to keep her lovely flat tummy - then I notice it says "Brittney avoids sugar-free gum as this causes build up of gas and can leave her tummy bloated and distended! Whoaaaaa stop the vehicle! What have I in my mouth 90% of the time? Only SUGAR FREE GUM! I constantly chew gum after meals, and well, all day long! I spat the gum out, and haven't had so much as a twinge of shoulder pain since! So there. Now I am waiting for my tum to go all flat like Brittney's.... must just have been all that gum makin it hang down to my knees....any day now...................

I don't know if I mentioned before but I have put a lot of stock by the book "Potatoes, not Prozac" by Kathy De Maison - she talks about being MO and addicted to sugar - she originally found out while working with recovering alcoholics, if they stayed away from sugar they could keep up their resistance to alcohol much more efficiently. She then applied this thinking to herself, she was overweight, depressed, having a Jekyll/Hyde personality etc, and realised that she was sugar sensitive. When I read the book I was positive I was too sugar sensitive but did nothing for close to two years as I couldn't bear the thought of not having my sugar every day - when I was out at gatherings/parties/pubs people used to tease me about being tipsy/merry/slightly drunk and I wouldn't have had any alcohol at all - I definitely got a high from my sugar addiction - I was almost manic at times - I had a close friend at the time who is bi-polar, and he used to tell me my "symptoms" were almost exactly like his - swooping manic highs one minute, devastating depressed lows the next. When I was preparing for my surgery for banding, I decided to apply the principles of this book to my future W.O.E. (tm Donali!) and I cannot tell you enough about the difference it has made on my life - forget the weight loss, I feel so great, so in control - I can sleep, I don't feel depressed, I have more confidence, less mood swings etc - Food is definitely an addiction. It is never cured, just managed day by day. I strongly believe I will be managing this addiction forever, with the help of my band.

congratulations Alex - you look wonderful - so happy too! So proud for you xx

wow Donali, you look amazing! It is such a triumph to get into MEN'S jeans too - they are cut so much narrower than female jeans - AND the thigh is slimmer too apparently so double WOW! Loving the bra too - having such trouble getting a bra to fit these days - the "big" bra's in the plus size shops are too big - and the one's for large busts are too small in the back sizes - they only go up to a 38 or 40 here - I really need a 42DD - I can get a 46 EE or a 38DD but nothin in between! Aaaarrgghh! There is a brilliant English company called Bravissimo (www.bravissimo.com) who do great bras for large busts if anyone's interested! Pretty sure they's ship to the US. Sadly they are too tight for me.... I have one bra that really HOISTS everything up - I call it the Medievil Truss.... Think I should try to market the name to Victoria's Secrets?

my sister is anorexic/bullemic and weighs less than 100lbs - she looks scary, and we worry so much about her - when I went to France to "interview" my surgeon who eventually performed the wls, he was asking about my family history - I told him about my sister, and he said "you are both exactly the same - it is the same illness, establishing itself in different ways...." My mother used to call us Laurel & Hardy - helpful! I was watching some old video the other day of me about 2 years ago, at my top weight of 330lbs, and I was shocked at how awful I looked, not just vanity wise, but all puffed up with a sheen of sweat on my face... straining to walk around Disney World.... I was really angry watching that from the perspective of 80lbs lighter - where the hell was my family/friends at that time? Nobody ever took me aside and said "hey, you are going to die young here - can I help you fight this?" Everyone rallied around my sister and begged her to get help, literally moved mountains to help her - I never thought anything of this other than, she has a serious problem and I'm just stupid and fat. It is way more politically correct to be anorexic/bullemic than MO, if you know what I mean. I talk a lot about being MO these days - talking to family/friends about the reasons I got so overweight, and they all kind of turn away, and find the subject a litte distasteful, as if I was sharing too much intimate information..... Fat is definitely the last taboo...

thanks sue - I am just back from my vacation in France - our Ferry directly from France to Ireland was cancelled, and we had to drive 11 hours up through france to England, then 7.5 hours through England to Wales and get a direct ferry to Dublin - Sitting in motorway traffic in britain for so bloody long I was just about ready for a laugh! You obliged, thanks a million! Ps - remind me to fly next time!

.......my husband was like "Wow", Donali - thought you were the "after" on one of those pages for cosmetic surgery, that I'm always looking at! The girls are looking good - no wonder Indiana is buildin up those airmiles!!!

Fantastic progress Babs, well done - I'm absolutely thrilled for you - here's some more dancing bananas!!! :banana :banana :banana :banana :banana :banana :banana :banana :banana :banana :banana

I'm with Weenie Alex - THUNK :knockedou :knockedou :knockedou (me fainting...) Teresa, I don't even want to think about you having all of those accidents - shouldn't you wear bubble wrap or something?

What a wonderful outlook Your girls are gorgeous Alex - wish summer would drop by Ireland!

wow Leo - you look fantastic - you look SKINNY!!! I am so happy for you - well done xx

I know - I'm such a user!!! So basically what you're sayin, Donali, is that I am packing in too much food Gosh, you're probably right, I do tend to "finish my plate" and am eating too much in the end obviously.... How did I guess that the answer to this problem would be "quit eating..." - story of my life

Today it's exactly nine months since surgery and I am still delighted with my wonderful band - at last I have found a fill doctor (I have a 9cc Inamed band which the surgeon filled to 4cc during surgery) and am looking forward to having my first fill sometime in August/September. Anyway - I was wondering if anyone else gets frequent pains under the shoulder area, above left breast? I have been having this pain for weeks now, it's very similar to the gas pains post surgery, and actually I had this exact pain before when it turned out to be pneumonia! I have no other symptoms, and am sure it's not pneumonia this time but it is quite irritating at times, mostly occurs about an hour after eating, so I am presuming it is band related.... it hurts when I move that area and even when breathing in deeply! I am worried that I am doing something wrong which is what prompted a search for an english speaking surgeon to do my "maintenance" - the one who is willing to take me on is very highly qualified and would have been my first choice for the surgery but being self pay, I couldn't afford him at the time! I am off to England to see him for a fill/endoscopy in aug/sept but was wondering if anyone could shed any light on this mysterious shoulder ache in the meantime? Thanks a million

......definitely a waist Don! Looking good (well, in the tummy area, which is all I can see!!) Hope you're feeling better today? Ps Thanks so much Penni for all your great advice - takin' notes here!

Hi Yana, I live in Ireland and looked for ages to find a good european/english support group - wlsinfo is pretty good - they are really helpful - also there is a good yahoo group called European Bandsters - but I haven't "been" there in ages! In all honesty, I find this one the best even tho all weights are in pound and I don't know a tenth of the food they recommend!!!! Still the best and friendliest people on the www! best of luck anyway xx

Sounds like it was pretty awful for you...hopefully that was the worst of it over, and it'll be better from now on.... Thinking of you and looking forward to welcoming you back! :D :D love and hugs xxxxx

it's already Friday the 2nd here across the atlantic, and I'm thinking of you....hope the surgery goes ok and that you aren't in too much pain and discomfort.... Hope your new ghost band kicks in immediately, and you don't feel too bereft without your old one.... we'll be here with cyber hugs when you're ready ((((((((((((((((((((((((((((be well soon)))))))))))))))))))))))))))))) :Bunny :Bunny :Bunny :Bunny :Bunny :Bunny :Bunny :Bunny :Bunny :Bunny :Bunny :Bunny lots of love & hugs (& kisses from Fudge xx)

I just visited the OTHER board to see what all the fuss was about - (I normally avoid the yahoo boards as I find them kinda confusing - never can find the begining or end of threads...) - and can I just say how shocked I was to read people's responses to Donali and Delarla? I mean, actually SHOCKED - forget about any bandster to bandster respect, what the hell happened to manners or just plain politeness? So apparently some of these "oldtimers" have achieved great things on the weightloss front, well done - but they have become arrogant, rude, and condescending in the process. I may be pretty naive, and perhaps spoiled by mainly visiting "our" friendly forum, but I had no idea people would reply to a query or comment in such a horrendously rude manner.... it's like some horrible 80's teen clique movie - honestly, have I mentioned how SHOCKED I am? Sheeeeesh.....I'm off to bed shocked. I am genuinely shocked. :speechles :eek :speechles :eek :speechles :eek

hey if it was planned a few months away, I could even make it! Flights to the US are quite reasonable if booked far enough in advance! Don't suppose y'all want to come to Dublin? :D hmmmm thought not........ Please please make the meeting near a huge mall! Or seven.....

Jennye, what a idiot that guy sounds! I wouldn't waste another second even thinking about him - going by your last posted pics you are looking fantastic... Hope your new resolution goes well too - you and me babe! I've been disastrous lately too, and have gone back to the basics. How's your mom doing by the way? Hope she is much recovered?

I am so happy for you - you have been such an inspiration to me all through your first year - you have done so well, I am completely thrilled for you - congratulations! :banana :banana :banana :banana :banana :banana :banana I hope your next year makes all your wishes come true - please please post us all your hints and tips - and PLEASE some photos! Congratulations again - you're amazing! :knockedou :knockedou :knockedou :knockedou

This is why only my husband and best friend know I'm banded! Well, them and all of cyberworld! I sort of ran by weight loss surgery with my sisters and their lack of support and interest was amazing - they all dismissed any wls as "the easy way out" and genuinely behaved as if I was thinking of getting 44 FFF boob implants! I said no more to them about it, continued with my research, and was banded about nine months later.... I file it all under "people just don't understand" - they're not cruel, or unkind or bad people, they just don't get it. I hope you come here often - I credit this forum with helping me lose weight almost as much as my band - people here get it, and will always support you

Lovin your work Donali

Can I have an extra large of whatever DeLarla's drinkin, pretty please???