DeLarla

Try baking chicken at a low temperature for a couple hours in BBQ or broth instead of 1 hour at at a high temp. Or cook chicken in the crock pot with a little Water. Slow cooking makes it fall off the bone, much easier to swallow. Lots of people food-process chicken to make pate.

"I have a tendency to eat until I'm stuffed and crave sweets. I look forward to getting to know you all better." Boy, who does that sound like? Oh, me! I'm glad you're not lurking any more. Peace.

I stress-eat, too. But I've always had a good amount of humiliation. I couldn't imagine parading around the office at 10:00 a.m. with a man's dinner. Can't she be a normal obese woman and hide the food in her desk drawer? Just venting.

I think we've all been in your shoes. The skinny hot women get all the attention, dates, flowers, etc. Here's the way I twisted it to make me the lucky one: First, think about all the rotten men that have screwed us in our lives (not saying all men are rotten, but too many of them are.) I wish it was as easy as kissing a few frogs to find my prince, but it was more like being bitten by snakes, attacked by wild tigers, crushed by stampeding buffalos and crapped on by elephants before I met Chris. That's what my dating days were like, anyway. Nothing but lyin' cheatin' two-time double dealin mean mistreated pigs, which is why I put up with so much from Chris cuz he ain't anywhere near as bad! I dated about once a year, but my skinny friends had dates every single weekend. So I consider myself fortunate that I didn't have to wade through half the crap, neglect, abuse, lies, affairs that they had to. The cuter you are, the more dates you have, the more dating-drama and BS you gotta go through. We are lucky cuz when someone pays attention to us, we know that they are paying attention to "us" and not our boobs, flat sexy belly or big poofy hair. Guys that hit on chicks just cuz they look hot are real sleeze bags to me, so let her have the flowers.

That's so true. I'd have said, "yumm, gimme some." But actually, no I wouldn't have done that, not in the middle of a rush project in a law firm. Maybe I'd have snatched a piece and hid it in the fridge. I figured out that she waited for the partner to leave for a court hearing. She's sneaky that way.

I'm so disgusted right now. Our trial went horrible on Monday (I'm a paralegal) so it's been "all hands on deck" this week scrambling to appeal the decision. The whole office is running in circles over this enormous legal document that's about 200 pages. I'm working with 2 attorneys plus Erin (she's the secretary) to get this enormous project out before the noon runner arrives. So at 10:30 a.m. I was running in circles around the office, looking for Erin, who had a stack of the documents. I start smelling garlic, so I head to the kitchen to find her making two huge french bread pizzas in the toaster oven. She's got the pile of docs that WE NEED NOW sitting on the kitchen counter; she's got sauce on her fingers, burning them as she gets the hot pizza with bare hands. Who the hell stops to make french bread pizza at 10:00 a.m. in the middle of our most hectic day/disaster in years? Oh yeah, Erin does.

Sweetness, my husband likes to feed me, too, regardless of Band rules. So last time I saw my surgeon, hubby was with me, and my surgeon looked right into hubby's face and told him the rules. Chris has been much better since then. Fight fire with fire, ask your surgeon to call your house and ask for your mother. It's hard enough fighting cravings without people shoving chocate mousse under your nose! I wouldn't have been able to resist that!

This severe anal odor only occurs in a small percentage. I read a post where a young man was forced to stay upstairs in his room alone on Thanksgiving because his odor was so repulsive that nobody could bare being around him. And I've heard that people wear carbon filters in their underpants. There's a very popular person around the boards that has the problem (most people think she has a band, but she's also had somewhat of a bypass.) I won't breach her privacy, but she said there's no odor that can compare. Apparently it makes regular pook-pooks smell like Heaven in comparision.

Shae! Wow, I've been watching and waiting, and here you are on the other side. Trust me, I felt lousy, and if I can get better, anyone can! I didn't have any Band related pain though (except in my back and shoulders.) Sip warm tea with honey, water all day, walk as often as possible. None of these things helped me, but they work for most people. Just relax and let that heating pad sink in. Or have someone put one of those huge heat pads on your lower back.

Where do I start? First, one of the girls that got her band in the hospital with me dry-heaved right after surgery for hours. It's really important NOT to throw up or dry heave because it could cause slippage, so do whatever it takes to avoid it. As far as calling your doctor, that's what I did. I was so bad that I ran to my primary care doctor. She approached me to listen to my belly with the stethoscope, but then jumped back after a huge belly rumble and yelled, "WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?" The rumbling scared her from across the room, so she ordered every test possible to rule out bacteria or Mexican bugs. All my tests came back negative, so she just told me to take some Imodium. However, things didn't run through me instantly. I was having some very "urgent" moments where I couldn't get to the bathroom on time though. So use your best judgement, it can't hurt to call the doc, but I think you sound how I felt. It took two full weeks before I was okay.

Nope, I'm not kidding this time. According to my surgeon, I will most likely lose my Band in the future due to "rejection." It is rare, but it happens, and it's happening to me. So I have to consider my other options, which means I'm considering a future gastric bypass. My biggest concern is the horrific anal odor that's one of the documented occasional side effects. I know 2 people that have to wear carbon filters in their underpants because the smell is so offensive. Can anyone offer an explaination? More info? Comments, suggestions, concerns... WITHOUT letting this thread get too far off track? Greg, I'm talking to you, because somehow you'll turn it into a sex thread! Betty, how's this one?

I currently have 1.7 in the same size band, but I don't have much restriction.

It is quite normal to start feeling better after a few days, then to feel worse than ever for a few more. I felt the same way. I felt pretty good after five days, then WHAM, felt like hell for another week. I posted the same message, because it scared me, and I learned that a lot of people go through the same thing. Some people snap back and go to work after a few days. Not me! Some of us take our time healing and get worse before getting better. I got lots of suggestions for things to do to ease my discomfort, but nothing worked except my heating pad. I was never in any pain, just felt really lousy and had horrible bloating, gas, diarreah - general grossness. By the way, "Misty Breeze" is on the radio as I'm typing.

I'll start a Before & After pictures thread, then maybe Alex can move your pic there? Alex? A guy named Rich in the UK contacted me because he's doing research for his girlfriend, Lu. Lu is an obese 25 yr old who is afraid of the Band. But Rich said she's hugely inspired by the before and after pics. I think it will be a great thread.

Your pics got me all choked up. Not much left of Big Ethel, is there? Amazing, great job!

Aftercare is a HUGE issue. The surgery is the easy part, it's all the Band maintenance and aftercare that gets tricky. The band is a very high maintenance tool (in my opinion) considering you'll never know how many fills you need or if/what complications you might run into.

Kelly, your secret is safe here!

Sept. 2 & 3 Kylie Penni Sept. 9 & 10 Greg Neicy Blossom DeLarla (this weekend works best for me but I'm flexible)

I agree 100% with Penni. I think our bods know how much they want to weigh. My mother was super slender till she retired. If you think it's hard having a skinny sister, try being fat with a thin mother - torture. But she recently admitted to me that she was practically anorexic to keep herself looking that way. She admitted she was sick all the time. She had constant hunger pains, dizzy spells, black outs, missed periods. She wasn't skinny, just slender. Now she's a Vegan, her only pigouts are from whole grains and veggies, yet she weighs 200 pounds at 5'10". I am stuck right around 250 now, but like Penni, I can climb steps and walk fast without dying. I can lose more weight, but I feel too hungry and deprived. I hoped that a fill would keep me from getting hungry, but so far, no luck.

You sound like how I felt during the first couple weeks. I was so sick with diarreah that my local doc was convinced I picked up some horrible Mexican bug. She even tested me for everything she could think of, but the results were all negative. I like to think the diarreah is simply cleansing all the toxic waste that's built up over the years. I didn't have any stomach pain though. I treated myself to a new Kingsize heating pad, which helped the shoulder pains, then I'd switch it to my lower and upper back for all the other discomforts. The first time I was allowed soup was a heavenly experience. Cream of chicken blended to get the chunks out... very nice. And lowfat fudgsicles, too. Good luck on your journey.

Wow, Intant, you sound like Superman (or Superwoman?) You had a great recovery! I can't imagine going back to work in a couple days. And your loss is amazing. Good work!

Babs, are you talking about Kuri's Vegas bash? We need to call ours the Mini Vegas Bash so we don't confuse them.

Joking or not, I don't want to be the one that started this sick new behavior! Now where did I put my salt lick?

No wonder I'm so cranky... I'm all bloated!

I envy your restriction! I can eat almost anything as long as I chew, but a lot of people also have problems with rice, pasta, and even crackers.