DeLarla

Wow, welcome back! It sounds like they are taking good care of you. We were all told to walk as often as possible, but I've never heard anyone on a schedule - sounds like a great way to get all your walking in. Sounds to me like you're doing great. And yes, the handing-over-of-the-check wasn't so easy on me, either.

How about something simple like e-diets.com or fitday.com? The answers are all there.

Michelle, you could save money by taking less since the instructions on my bottle say only take 1-3 ounces once a day. Damn, makes me want to buy more now that your son isn't as sick.

Karen, I don't want to get in Dutch with the masters for advertising or selling, but I don't know how to buy it. I guess on-line, or maybe you can PM Michelle and she'll hook you up with her distributor. Or PM me and I'll give your name to the woman I met; she owns the UPS store so I could call her.

Here's a place to add your favorite quotes. Here's mine for the day: My dog is worried about the economy because Alpo is up to $3.00 a can. That's almost $21.00 in dog money. - Joe Weinstein

You asked for it! Dawn breaks over the jungles of Southeast Asia and begins to burn away the nighttime mists. Although it is early, the streetside produce markets in villages and towns throughout the land are already bustling with activity, for today is different. In these tropical climates, most fruits and vegetables are available any time of year, but today the open-air markets are humming with an almost electric anticipation. This only happens twice a year. Every six months. That’s the harvest cycle for the fruit prized above all others. The Queen of Fruits! For countless generations, the people of Southeast Asia have valued the mangosteen above all other fruits. These are people intimately acquainted with the plants of the rain forest. There are hundreds, if not thousands, of edible fruits, nuts, stems and roots. And yet only the mangosteen carries the label “The Queen of Fruits.” Why does the mangosteen deserve such a title? Certainly a major reason is the role the mangosteen played in ancient Southeast Asian medicine. Traditionally utilized to control fever and ward off infections of every kind, the whole mangosteen fruit was used and revered. But the people of early Southeast Asia weren’t all that different from us. Yes, they recognized and valued the medicinal benefits of the mangosteen. But what really caught their fancy was the taste! Difficult to describe, yet impossible to forget. Although almost unheard of in the temperate zones of North America and Europe, mangosteen is so prized by inhabitants of tropical rain forests that it is universally known as the Queen of Fruits and the Fruit of the Gods. About the size of a tangerine, the ripe mangosteen has a smooth, dark purple rind encasing snow-white fruit. Unlike other tropical fruits that are so unusual and obscure that eating them requires an “acquired taste,” mangosteen has a sweet, mild flavor that appeals to everyone, beginning with the first bite. Limited to tropical zones with abundant rainfall, the mangosteen tree takes 10 years to mature and bear fruit. Fully mature trees can be up to 80 feet tall, and may produce thousands of individual fruits each year. In Southeast Asia, where the mangosteen is predominantly grown, the people value this exceptional fruit for its premium taste and heavenly flavor. In fact, when Queen Victoria tasted this imported delicacy in the mid-1800s, she promptly declared it her favorite fruit. Although readily available in season throughout Southeast Asia, until now the mangosteen fruit in its whole form has never been commercially available in North America. While most people know about the antioxidant benefits of Vitamins C and E, far fewer are aware of the incredibly potent antioxidant power of xanthones. Xanthones are natural chemical substances that recently have won high praise from numerous scientists and researchers. Xanthones have been studied for their medicinal potential, since they demonstrate a number of pharmaceutical properties: - Supports microbiological balance - Maintains immune system health - Promotes joint flexibility - Provides positive mental support What’s remarkable is that the mangosteen—not just the inner flesh, but the whole fruit—represents the single greatest known supply of these tremendously beneficial xanthones. The pericarp, or rind, of the mangosteen is particularly rich in xanthones, which represent the next generation of powerful phytonutrients—phytonutrients that will change the future of dietary supplements. XanGo™ juice is a patented formulation featuring mangosteen whole-fruit purée, utilizing all the xanthone-laden components of the fruit. The result is a heavenly-delicious beverage that brings a wealth of incredible benefits.

Wow, somebody else takes this stuff? Far out. It tastes like really strong concentrated fruit juice, like cherry, but with some tart twangy thing going on. You're only supposed to take 1-3 ounces a day. It's really expensive. The bottle is $37.00, about the size of a wine bottle. Michelle, how much do you drink each day? I can't tell a difference in the way I feel from one dose. I never fall for gimmicks, but the other day I asked my doctor for a B12 shot because I'm simply drained. He gave me the shot, but I still don't have any energy. I'll try anything right now.

I don't care WHO you are, this is funny!

This one still gets me!

Brandi, just as well. We look like we could get in trouble together.

I do. I did really well with the band when I ate small portions, but I've had some complications and let my eating slide. I want to get back on track, so I'm seeinig my band surgeon this weekend.

Kathy, you look great, but there's no way nevaeH (that's how I'm spelling it) can be a year old! No way, she was just born??? That pic of you & her is so sweet

I love the snugglie bunnies, but YOU were in Vegas and didn't give me a ringy ding?

Thanks everyone for keeping this thread going. Trish, you're a living doll! Darcey, I used to live with a weiner dog, one lives next door, and my friends have two. Weiner dogs are hysterical with their funny little personalities. Vine, so nice to see your smiling face finally! And that baby girl sleeping with her fur baby? Paula, you know I'm all over that... but those fairies! Burnsun, will you adopt me? Did anyone notice the cake table and all those goodies?

Trish, all I see is your smiling sunshine face. Next time get the license plate number and ol' DeLarla will hunt her down for you. I'm really good at dealing with that kinda person. Some young kids did that to me once, and I chased them down in my car laughing. I told them, "you wouldn't be checking me out if you didn't think I was sexy, huy baby?" The guy that made the fat joke turned beat red while his friends started laughing at him. Soon they were on my side and their friend was the idiot. You are still fabulous.

I'm just mad that you haven't come back and told us more yet! I might be looking into converting from the band to bypass one day, so I welcome welcome welcome. I think it's super that you're here because it gives us a view from the other side. Many of us wonder about other types of weight loss surgery. Good luck to you. I hope you do well.

"WOOF. Please pass me the cow." That's me a week before my period. But when the bitch gets here, I'm practically on mushies cause I get extra restriction from the bloat.

Have you had your thyroid checked? Ask your doctor to do a metobolic panel. Sometimes we always look to the Band for answers when it could be something completely non-related. Just a thought.

We thought we were eating rotten zuccini! Still spitting. Zoe, you come to the bash in September and fry us up some pickles and I'll give them one more chance, but I'm not making any promises.

Rene, it really impresses me when people do so much personal research prior to getting banded, which is why I think the Band will be everything you expected since you'll know so much. Did I expect to only lose 1/2 the weight? Yes, because that's what statistics say about the band. Did I expect to get skinny? No, because only a small percentage lose all their weight. Did I expect complication? Sort of considering I'm always the one that gets complications. Did I expect the complications to cost so much? No, I was badly informed. Am I happy with the results? Yes, very much so. Has the Band changed my way of thinking about food? 70% of the time, no. But 30% of the time, yes. And 30% is pretty good for a gal that used to weigh 315 pounds. Just keep reading so you'll know every little detail. Expect the worst, but HOPE for the best! Good luck.

And I realize this is a huge hijack, but deep fried pickles are wrong, wrong, wrong. No, no, no. A group of us ordered a massive take-home meal from a popular rib joint in Las Vegas. We all tore into the FRIED ZUCCINI first, then we all ran around the house spitting out the rancid, spoiled appetizers. It was truly disgusting, so we called the rib joint who told us they removed zuccini from the menu and replaced it with deep fried pickles, which NOBODY in Vegas has ever heard of. Nasty, nasty trick. Maybe if we knew they were pickles they'd have a chance, but I"m ruined for life.

I'm still just as fat today as I was when I weighed 70 pounds more. My head hasn't changed, so I'll probably lose my band eventually. I admit it, I'm a bad Bandster. Well, I'm not bad, I just don't follow the rules because my obsessive-compulsive-overeating-binging-addictive nature doesn't give a damn if I'm hurting myself. Put a Band around a smoker's lungs and they'll smoke anyway. How much do the Mexican doctors charge for that lobotomy? This, my friends, is why I'm always laughing. There's no reason to cry; this is life, make the best of it, fat or thin.

No, I'm not going to get my new port. Billy is mad at me cause I never went back for a follow-up after my port removal. He won't even talk to me on the phone till I get my ass back in his office. Penni, John, my sister and I are having dinner on the beach, where we'll be able to see fireworks from our table (according to John, who made the reservations.) The place is called Gladstone's, which is my favorite restaurant out there. Penni lives where I grew up - my old stompin' grounds! MY CAMERA IS LOADED... IS YOURS?

Oh my gosh, please never ever stick your finger down your throat! When you PB, the food hasn't passed through to the bottom part of the stomach yet. A true PB is not vomitting. A PB comes from above the stomach when food can't pass through. For me, the food gets trapped somwhere near where you'd burp, deep in the esophogus. If you stick your finger in your throat, you may cause yourself to vomit from deep in your stomach, and the vomit would have to come up from the bottom, up through the pouch, which could cause slippage. If you don't PB, consider yourself lucky. You probably are following rules better than some of us. I ONLY PB when I eat too fast, too much, or take too big of a bite.

If you can't go to Mexico, go see your primary doctor. Tell him you have an implanted Gastric Lap Band that isn't working the way it's supposed to, and demand an endoscopy. But MAKE SURE you get the endoscopy done by someone who is familiar with the Band. Dr. Lopez would probably be happy to talk with a local surgeon or doctor on the phone to give them instructions on what to look for. If the person doing the scope isn't familiar with the Band, they could overlook problems. Girl, where are you??? Have you made the appointment yet? Don't make us worry, okay?