DeLarla

Sue, bump this to the top of the list daily... YELL it in the streets! There were 6 band patients having surgery when I got mine. I paid $1700 less than them. I'm the only one that called my doctor's office directly. They all came via referral from belighter.com or similar coordinators, and didn't even know they were snowed till they met me. I didn't have any language barriers since I'm 80% fluent in Spanish. However, if a doctor in another country is performing surgery on American patients, he'd better have an English speaking staff, or I'd chose someone better equipt to meet our American needs. One woman actually spent thousands more to stay in a resort, where she could enjoy all the spa amenities and stay for 4 full days. If anyone would have approached me to give me a pedicure or a massage the first two nights after surgery, I'd have strangled them with my IV. It's a gimmick and a waste of money. Go to Mexico, have your surgery the same day, spend one night, then get the heck home and start healing! These coordinators remind me of the old Pyramid scams. Let's all get a slice of the pie!

I come her to feel the love (and to get in an occasional cat fight.) Hey, who said that?

Thanks, Terry, but everything in my marriage revolves around how tired my husband is. And I can't even blame him. He's a pipefitter, and his job beats the hell out of him. It's 106 today, and he's working outside in long pants, boots, long sleeve shirt plus all his welding and protective gear while working with flaming fire all day. I'd LOVE to give him more lovin' but he's too damn grumpy. Construction jobs should end when a guy turns 30 cause the make men mean and old! It's funny, cause he took a week off work and my friend wanted to know "who's that nice guy living with you?" Even though I love him, I refuse to sit around on weekends, so it's really hard on him watching me run around with my friends.

I can never figure Chris out. First he was attentive, then a tad cocky and jealous, but now he's attentive again. I think it will take adjusting as the weight comes off... even though I've gained a few pounds back for no reason. Water weight, plateaus, blah blah blah...

Rica, your band and my band must be from the same batch! I'm exactly the same with not being able to eat in the morning, being able to eat a small lunch, then a small dinner.. but at night I get hungry again and can eat almost anything. I had my port removed in June, but they gave me a fill before taking it out. It took almost a full month before gettting major restriction from my fill. I got my fill in June and had my first PB last week because I had too much restriction but ate anyway. What's in Propel? Will any of the ingredients keep me awake at night?

LJ, what is your wife's screen name? I look forward to seeing her around here.

Sacijo, are you out of your mind? You ARE at goal in my eyes. You look adorable. And the bartender wasn't looking for a tip, he was trying to get laid. OOPS, but you're truly darling and only 1/2 of what you used to be. Don't even for one second longer think anything less than what a fabulous accomplishment you made. But I agree that you should start your own post, because I almost didn't see your pics. And if I had, maybe it would have kept me from eating a 2nd dinner... small, but 2nd nonetheless, so it's your fault. Kidding you know. Penni, whip me up one of them Virgin Marys. I'm addicted.

I've heard some band doctors prescribe diet pills when you are first banded, because the very beginning is not for losing weight, it's only for healing and letting the band anchor properly around your stomach. I wasn't told that before my surgery either, so I didn't know what restriction felt like for quite awhile. But be careful with what you wish for, because one day I had no restriction, then BOOM, the next day major restriction. We have funny little bands that surprise us with restriction even when you least expect it.

Wow, there are a few really sweet husbands around here. LJ, thanks for posting... brought a tear to my eye. Peace, LJ (Lisa Joanne.)

Finally, I'm not the one trashing up the site! Cake weenies? And Darcy! I guess I better go get my weenie, and I'm not saying what kind!

Kimber, I'm just checking to see when you post a status. Please let us know as soon as you hear anything.

This inspired me to post my before and after... but I took mine in a 2-piece bathing suit. Not something even Delarla is ready to post! I have been e-mailing Donali, and she sounded a little tired so I sent her a pic of my sunburned butt to wake her up. Poor girl puts up with so much from me!

Wow. I've been so busy "elsewhere" today that I'm just seeing these. Penni, you have bones now! Very cool. Very, very cool. And are those Avenue capris? If so, they're on clearance for $9.99 now. Hope you didn't pay full price!

I got my band out of box of Cracker Jack, and it specifically said NO SCARFING. That was a joke, because my band and I are good friends. I didn't get any instructions that said "no scarfing" but I'm pretty much thinking that's the same as "chew chew chew and eat very slow."

Penni, I called Francesa last night and told her to check her scars. She laughed at how weird it sounded, but she was also able to see all her scars. She's down 43 pounds but her puter's been down. She's still PBing, but her doc said nothing's wrong, so I told her she needs to slow down and chew better. She agreed.

Yep, life sure can throw a fast curve ball at you. I had a really horrible childhood, but then I meet people who have lost children or their parents at a really young age. I had a hard life, but nothing tragic, so I always wonder if and when my number will come up to face something tragic. My girlfriend was killed right after high school. But I didn't find out till a year later because we lost touch when she met a new boyfriend. It was hard when I learned, but till this day it really didn't sink in since I tend to disbelieve things unless I see them for myself.

Wow, what a great ending to a not-so-happy start. You got your man's support, and that's deserves a high five! A cool thing happened to me yesterday. We have no kids, so I dropped my clothes and went into the pool. My husband came outside with this puzzled look on his face. He said he saw me from across the house through the window, and he had to do a double-take because seeing me from that angle showed my weight loss really dramatically. So I looked down at my belly and noticed my scars are all really close together. Right after surgery, I had 5 scars, and one was really low and to the left, so I'd have to lift my fat up to meet my face... well that scar is right here now close to the others. I can see them all without moving fat around or straining my neck. Just a funny observation.

Uh, Marie... didn't you read the directions on the band when you opened the package? Rule Number 1: No scarfing, ever. Rule Number 2. No eating in the middle of the night. Need I go on? xo

You mean 14 of your friends died in one summer? I don't even have 14 friends, so I can't imagine losing even one of them. You probably did deal with it internally by eating for comfort. I spent my teens self-medicating. Back then, I thought I was just partying, but I was diagnosed with severe Anxiety Disorder in my 20s. That's when my doctors told me that all my drinking was self-medicating in social atmospheres because I had social phobia. I must have really wanted to change, because at 41, I'm all about socializing! I've hardly drank in the past decade until my port went south. Now I have to wonder if my old days are creeping back up on me, because suddenly I find myself thinking about cocktails every weekend. It's weird. Giving up the food makes me crave alcohol, I guess. I've never, ever had to fight the urge to drink booze. This is a brand new craving. Odd.

Tears in my eyes from laughing after that one. Wait, do you guys want me to post my avatar as a pic of me PBing? Should I laugh or worry? One of my friends gave me a plastic moose for Christmas that pooped jelly Beans. When she saw it, she said it reminded her of me. Hmmm, how do I digest that? Thanks guys!

I think I weighed 118 when I was 4. Leatha, that is a lot to gain so fast... did something happen to trigger it? Michelle, I'm bad with coming up with the right words, but you know you're in my heart. Even Chris asks how you are when he sees your name in my chat box. xo

HAHAHAHAHAH She'd KILL me if she knew I posted that! She hates her braces.

And I'm not the only dork. Babs WAS drinking and didn't even know she had green frosting all over her face and shoved up her nose after her hubby gave her a big smooch.

You gotta believe me when I say that my Avatar picture was just a really great shot. That is actually my "before" picture. I don't know what Donali did to it when she shrunk it, but I love that pic. I look like a little kid.

Chris will have the huge turkey roaster in the oven, the electric frypan going, something in the microwave and pots on the stove all at once. And that's just a typical Monday night. If I went home and cleaned the entire kitchen when he was done, or kept the kitchen stocked, he'd cook like that every single night. But I don't want to eat the second I walk in the door. When I come home, he helps me open the door and take my purse so I can sit down and start eating. That's how I got over 300 pounds. It was insane, and no matter what I'd tell him, he won't listen. I've asked him hundreds of times to cover the food or put it in the fridge. If I come home to see an enormous pork roast, potatoes, etc., sitting open on the counter, that's nothing but a big fat trigger. I take his leftovers almost every day for lunch. He does associate food with love. Men always want what they can't have. They want hot looking women that can eat like lumberjacks... good luck. But he loved me fat at least. I'd cry over my 120 pound gain and he'd joke and say, "but look at my masterpiece." Like he was proud to have gotten me that fat. Now HE's getting fat for the first time in his family's history. It's all in his belly, and all our friends are teasing him, but he's proud of his fat belly. Weirdo.