DeLarla

Hi Blossom, I was already super depressed today, but your post almost made me cry. I'm so angry at your doctor right now. I agree that you should at least "consult" with another doctor - get different opinions. Yes, Inamed thinks sneaking up on good restriction is the key, but all doctors have different ways of doing things. Hang in there. I'm in the same boat only I have different problems. Having a band is like having a child that needs constant attention and costs a small fortune.

My relationship with food is very screwed up. I have issues with "abundance." For example, if someone offers me a cookie or a taco or a piece of chocolate, I can easily walk away. But if there's a heaping platter of the Cookies or tacos or candy, my head swims, and I can't concentrate on anything but that food. This comes from a childhood of never having food. We were not poor, but my mentally ill mother would not keep anything in the house that children would eat. There were brown, mushy rotten bananas, plain yogurt, lentils, and liver, and she never prepared anything. We used to eat mouthfuls of Creamora (powdered coffee cream) since it was the only palatable thing in the house. There was no sugar or Cereal, Snacks, soda. We learned to survive by stealing money from her. My older brother & sister would buy huge bags of junk food, and we'd hide and gorge ourselves. Or we'd steal cake batter from our neighbors. I never had meatloaf, macaroni and cheese, lasagna, pot roast. Not even Top Ramen. My sister and I turned out with the same food obsession. We can easily say "no" to a handful of chips, but put us alone in a room and the bag will be gone in 20 minutes. When I see meatloaf, my eyes Water and my mouth drools. When I see picky eaters I hate them, I mean I can't stand people who are finicky about food. People who scrunch their noses up because they don't like what I'm eating, or ask for things that aren't even on the menu, holding up the restaurant so they can have their picky little food exactly the way they want it. To me, a hunk of dried out meat and raw brocolli is survival. So thanks to Momster (my mother) I will never have a normal relationship with food. Sure, I've been to therapy, and I have a band, but I still eat too much because my head can't stop obsessing on all the food around me. And today is supposed to be the start of a new year, but someone brought platters of ham and party leftovers - a large abundance. So I'm trying to focus on work but I'm being harrassed by a dead pig. When I order a meal, I can never order small. Now that I make my own money, I order way too much. Hubby always wants to know why I order so much, but I can't help myself. I see the menu and all those choices and my eyeballs spin in their sockets like I'm hypnotized. Waiting for the food to come causes anxiety, even till this day. When I see actors on TV pretending to eat, I can't concentrate on the show, but instead I wonder if they'll ever actually take a bite of the phoney food. I could go on for hours, but I think you got the picture! Sorry for taking so much time.

"There's no better revenge than success!" I think that's the quote of the year! I used to just put the plate back in the cupboard after eating. Whatever can't be scraped up by a fork or spoon got mopped up with bread. Rinse sauce down the drain? No way. But now I'm throwing a lot of food away. I don't like it, but I have no choice.

I think it's time. This is just for starters. Please add or modify by cutting and pasting into a new post so we keep the list current: PB - Productive Burp: There are many versions to the PB, but it's basically when slime comes back up often followed by the food you just ate after the food refuses to go down. NSV- Non scale Victory: Something fabulous that happens as a result of weight loss that doesn't have anything to do with numbers, like getting flirted with or picking up something off the floor without falling over. ESOPHOGITUS STICKY PM - Private Message: If you want to say something privately to another member, just click on their name for an option to send them a private message. ACID REFLUX FILL UNFILL

Wow, you learn something every day. I still think "sticky" belongs in the dictionary. I always thought it had to do with food sticking. I didn't now you could keep a post at the top, and I never knew how those push pins got there. Interesting.

The richest man in the world trips over a bottle in the sand, picks it up and wipes it off, and POOF, Genie appears before him and grants him one wish. The man, being so rich, has everything he wants except for one thing - he's afraid to fly. So he asks Genie to build him a bridge across the ocean so he can travel by car and finally see new countries. Genie scratches his head and apologizes to his new Master, "but Master, that is too large of a request; just locating and gathering the supplies needed to build such a large bridge would take your entire lifetime. Isn't there something else you really want?" And the Master says, "Why, yes. I have always wanted to understand women." And the Genie replies, "so, exactly WHERE did you want that bridge?"

Wow, I haven't seen that picture in a long time. Why did this come back? My incision has been closed for about 3 days now, but it's a little pink, tender and poofy. If it gets any worse, I'll have to go to Urgent Care to have it lanced.

I don't have the courage to get on the scale today. My monthly weigh-in is the 5th, and this will be my first gain. I hate the holidays - everyone ends up fat, sick and broke. I've picked up all my bad addictions... now how will I break them?

Alex, this whole threat started cuz I keep seeing the term, "sticky." Now you used it in your response, but the defininition is still blank! What is a sticky? I thought it had to do with a sticky band, like food getting stuck??????? Good job on filling in the blanks!

Gayle, good point! I had the pleasure of meeting Dr. Ortiz, and he does speak better than a lot of people I know! He barely has an accent.

Kelly, all joking aside, you should call Inamed immediately and tell them it's an emergency. We can't be throwing up so much - you could risk hurting your band. Larry and Craig at Inamed might be able to make a suggestion or at least maybe they can get through to a doctor. Those Inamed guys seem to be good friends with a lot of doctors, so maybe they have cell numbers or home numbers. This is not good. Are you nauseous? Would something like Pepcid calm the belly, or is the aggravation higher up in the pouch? I have actually heard rumors of two local Vegas people that give their own fills - but it's strictly rumors and Inamed is against it. Also try anything warm, like baths, heating pads. One of the Inamed guys told me to drink warm liquid in the morning to open up my esophagus. Since the liquid isn't staying down, how 'bout a hot steam? Just boil some water and toss in some eucalyptus or any other nice herb, then put a towel over your head and breathe. I'm reaching here... I just don't want you throwing up anymore today.

Theresa... I LOVE your face! Great avatar!

Megan, go find Penni's thread about "liquid vitamins" and you'll see a whole discussion on Chromium. I avoid it, but I bought a case of Advant Edge Protein Shakes without reading the label. After just one small shake, my whole house gets cleaned. Then Penni posted about her liquid vitamins saying they give her energy. So I looked at the label of the Vitamins, and sure enough, they contain chromium. But her vitamins have half the chromium of the Advant Edge skakes. To me it's like taking a diet pill, but I think a certain amount of chromium is actually good for you. And that's not a beanie and scarf, that's my swimming cap and towel because all we do in Vegas is bask in the sunshine. NOT... silly girl, it got into the 30s already this year! It even snows once every couple years for a few minutes! Yesterday it rained all day and stayed in the 40s. That's damn chilly for us lizzards.

I thought there was a worldwide conspiracy against me till I read this post. You're going though the same nightmare as me with my band. Nothing but recordings, unanswered messages, ignored e-mails. Does anybody remember the days when doctors and nurses actually cared about patients? She's a lucky gal, that's for sure.

You look like a regular size person! Did they give you the before shots to show us?

You get 3 gold stars for only having A cookie. Yesterday I had five before noon. Today I had a protein shake that has chromium in it (like a diet pill for me.) So I've been good so far, and I already finished my daily water requirement. I must be serious!

I hear that "sticky" term alot. Is that another word for the Bandster Dictionary?

It's always best to get banded locally, close to home. But if Mexico is your only choice, who said you have to go alone? People from this board go to Mexico all the time for fills, so maybe you can hook up with a band buddy that will meet you there to hold your hand. You don't have to speak Spanish since most doctors send a car to the airport to pick you up. The doctors and their staff all speak both English and Spanish and are very understanding of our American needs (most doctors, that is.) I wish I could have afforded getting banded here in Vegas. I've been sitting here on hold trying to find out how much it currently costs, and I just choked on my own saliva! The hospital fee alone is $13,000, then you have to add in the surgeon's fees and the anesthesiologists. The surgeon's office wouldn't even quote me a fee, but they said the surgeon is about the same as the hospital.... choke choke.

Good to see you here. I used to sleep with a CPAP machine to keep me breathing at night (had sleep apnea.) Several months back, I noticed the machine was really drying out my nose and throat to the point I couldn't stand using it. I was afraid the apnea would keep me away, but now I sleep like a baby. I've only lost half the weight I need to lose, but my apnea is already under control. Good luck to you and your hubby.

Kelly, the acid reflux is something I used to have a huge problem with pre-band. But did you notice before getting sick that you always wake up with a raspy throat? I've been thinking it was just allergies, but I'm convinced food and/or liquids from my belly are still creeping up my esophagus every single night. I had a hiatal hernia before getting banded (my doc must have positioned the band to hold the hernia down.) I had that same "choking on food" thing all the time before. Even when I stop eating hours before going to bed, I still wake up with a raspy throat. I hope you get better soon. Being on liquids is really hard for me. The only way I'm able to do it is by having the Protein shakes with chromium, because it's like a diet pill for me that helps me stay away from food.

Megan, you hit a good point. For me, the calories and fat in goodies don't bother me. It's the addiction they trigger that holds me down. Once I started by eating one or two, my body/mind/soul NEEDED more. I don't know how to break the horrible cycle again. I guess I need 2 bands.

Oh my gosh... look how far apart your feet were in your before picture. Now look at your after shot! Great job. That's it, I need to post more "after" pictures, which means I'll need to lose more weight. My weigh in is 1/5, and I'm afraid I might have to post my first gain. NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

Good ones! My original thread said I'd pound a glass of water for each chuckle, so I just finished one and working on my 2nd. Keep 'em coming!

To delete an entire thread (you had to start it) just hit the edit button. It will bring you to a place that asks you if you want to delete it. Make sure to click on the box at the left before hitting "delete." HAPPY NEW YEAR RIGHT BACK ATCHA!

I envy your gorgeous hair! At Christmas I tried standing behind hubby for our picture. But he swung me up front and said, "you don't have to hide behind me anymore." So there we stood, side-by-side for the first time. I still have my Xanax, but I can't remember the last time I took one. Welcome, Rachel. I'll be sitting in the bleachers with my pom-poms when you go for surgery!