DeLarla

Relationships are all about give-and-take on one hand, which goes along with making sacrifices. On the other hand, each person needs to maintain their own identity. I don't feel that you should be forced to tolerate the associate. Let your SO know that you love and care for him, but the associate is "toxic" to you. He wouldn't force you to drink poison, so why should you be exposed to something that will harm you (either physically, mentally, emotionally or spiritually?) Sounds to me like the associate might even know he's torturing you to some degree. Maybe he's even holding something over your SO because he enjoys the friction he's creating?

I paid way too much money for several visits with a hypno-therapist. As far as the "hypno" part, I was never hypnotized or "put under." But he was an amazing therapist, and I wish I had thousands of dollars to see him on a regular basis. He did a lot of visual imagery. I'd sit back in the dark room in a relaxed state, and he'd take me on these adventures. One session he had me walking through my dream house, happy, confident, totally at peace. Then I had to look in a mirror and drop my robe, and while looking in the mirror he had me unzip my "fat suit" and step out of it. Then I had to carry the fat suit, then put it down and walk away from it lovingly. Naturally I walked away lighter than air and on Cloud 9. Then I woke up! DOH! But I wanted to share this story since it kinda fits in here. Second: What's worse, being fat and ugly, or "having such a pretty face?" Till this day I HATE that phrase. People think they are complimenting me, but when I hear what a pretty face I have, it just reminds me what a fat body I have.

I'm a biggun (5' 10") so I'd be happy at 200. I'd look like Calista Flockhart at 150, which would also be fine by me!

P.S. I just remembered something. The girl, Emily, ended up going home a day early. Once the nausea subsided, she felt remarkably better than the rest of us and decided to check out and go home early. I hope you speed along like she did.

There was one girl in the hospital with me that had the same nausea and dry heaving. She looked absolutely miserable, but the hospital staff said it's fairly common after surgery, and most likely from the anesthesia. If you are still in the hospital, they may be able to give you something.

Jenna, last night I was sick in bed sending you telepathic messages to call me. I had a fever and didn't want to go across the cold house to turn on my puter for your number, so I was willing you to call me. I guess our ESP is out of tune. May 7 is just around the corner, so you may as well enjoy life till then. Don't fret, restriction is on the way!

I don't understand what the heck is going on with me. I never drank Pepsi before the band, but sometime last month I got in the habit of sipping on one in the afternoon as a treat. Now I'm hooked. I guess just shoot me.

I've heard several people complain about heartburn. Doctors often prescribe some type of antacid. You should ask your surgeon. As far as feeling bad after only a few days, that's totally normal. Some of us take longer to heal, so give yourself a couple weeks before you expect to feel great again.

I tend to get them more frequently, too, but not as much as you. I think it's common for newly banded people. Everyone has their own remedy but mine never fails me: Hold your breath & count to 10, swallow, cough then breathe normal. Sounds stupid, but it really does work for me.

There's nothing better than seeing a new bandster flying through this with no complications! Congrads to you and good luck on this wild ride!

If you are eating mushies that contain salt, you may just be retaining water. Fluctuating up and down several pounds is totally normal. Once you introduce food back into your system, it's not constantly being flushed out by all the liquids. You are doing amazing though, so don't worry about a little fluctuation because those couple pounds might be gone by tomorrow. This is one reason why many of us only weigh once a week. I personally weigh every single day but I only log my weight down on the date of my band anniversary. Good job!

Penni (or anyone that's computer literate): Can you make pointers and explain what we are looking at, for those of us who can't make heads or tails?

Never to busy for a big LBT hug. Squeezzzzzzzzzzes to you!

Bottoms up... just chugged another glass for you. Penni is on the road but I talked to her on the phone and she's thinking of you too. I told her about my water challenge so she's drinking to your health as well. Cheers!

Thank God! But if you are drinking Guava nectar already (which is a thick liquid) then why not drink some thinned down Cream Of Anything soup with the bits sieved out, or thinned down (with milk) mashed tater soup? What good news. You're probably just a slow healer with some acid issues.

Seems to me that you had a problem before the Jello incident. Didn't you feel horrible from the get-go? I mean, didn't you have a hard time getting even water down before that initial PB five days out? You are right that Kuri won't gauge you with prices. He cares more about patients than money. I hope he's able to view the e-mail attachments easily. You probably don't have to send every single image. Only attach a couple, and then start a fresh e-mail. If the file is too large it might cause problems. I wasn't going to spend time at LBT today, but I've been worried about you all weekend and won't feel right till you make it to that "recovered" thread. We are all glad that you have test results and hope to hear good news soon. Meanwhile, I challenge everyone on this thread to drink an extra bucket of water today in Kathy's honor (or whatever huge receptacle you normally drink from.)

Kathy, did I read rigth? You slimed up brown mucus? Could that be old blood? I don't want to scare you, but I don't think you should slime up anything other than the color you took in. I've only had white/clear slime. Have you tried skipping liquids in the morning and trying your first warm liquids around lunch time? I know the mornings are tightest for me. Even with no port I still can't eat Breakfast. Most of us open wider at night. So instead of trying to force something down in the morning, maybe you can see if waiting till later will bring more comfort. Please call Dr. Kuri and tell him about the brown slime and that you can't get anything in. And PM me your phone number if you'd like a call this weekend, okay? As far as people saying they don't have any advice, let me tell you from personal experience that every single post and well-wish meant the world to me when I was sick. Just knowing I could come to LBT and see my friends checking in on me made me feel so much better. Kathy, we are all here thinking of you.

I had Bunny Foo Foo, but we lived in an apartment. He ate all the electrical cords. He became best friends with a relative's cat. But one day they got in a fight and the cat won. Great, now the cluck thread is the sad thread. Bonehead.

One word: POPSICKLES! Well, a few more words are frozen juice pops, fudgsickels, etc. What about sucking on sum Tums? They dissolve really well. Not the tastiest, but it will help the heartburn. Prevacid comes in capsules. Call your local pharmacist and ask him if that's something you could sprinkle in some broth. The way I go about Band care & maintenance is to take what my surgeons say then compare it to what all the other doctors say and look for the most sensible information. I agree that Kuri probably won't be able to tell you much over the phone, but this heartburn you are experiencing isn't something I'm familiar with.

You people look years younger! Congrads. Her hair color looks great, too.

I'm dying of jealousy over here. Megan, you mean to tell me you have PEEPS? I adore peeps! I never got to have any cool pets like Chickens. My brother in NJ had a rooster that acted human. I WANT A chicken. Cracking up over this thread. Cluck cluck BWAUCKKKKKK Hey, at least we are clucking and not snorting or mooing!

Normal... what's normal? Just a quick HELLO hijack, and are you still going to be here next Sunday? That's a big weekend for me, PM me times n' junk. Hi Megan! Thread Abuser B.

Debbie, that's such a cute story. I went to school in Hollywood and had my fair share of celeb run-ins, and while many are total snobs, every so often you'll find one worth remembering. Nice to know Simon can be nice to kids. Babs, I believe in the conspiracy theory! There's no WAY American voted Scott this far. Sorry, no way.

Going to that site now, but if you ever play in Vegas, let me know!

Teresa, I've checked and checked. They would rather remove my band than pay for a new port. They don't consider a new port a medical emergency or even an urgency. But I'll keep trying! Dr. Billy won't put a new port in for at least 6 months though, so I'm in no rush. Zoe, I wouldn't mind being thinner considering summer is right around the corner, but I'll take whatever I can get at this point. I bought some size 18 shorts, really cute ones. They are tight in the crotch area and do that horrible camel toe thing, so I'd be happy just being able to wear them in a few months. Like 5 pounds is all I need, but I may have to wait till next year.