DeLarla

Very cute! Too bad I just stocked up on panties, but those are cute!

I still have phatom restriction, probably has something to do with my old hernia? But I feel it sliding away little by little. I'm hungry now, and a 400 calorie lunch doesn't sound so appealing. Penni, fight it! Run, Forest, Run!

I'm going to start a separate thread just for weight loss. This way I'm not stepping on Debbydoos great NSV thread. But I'm still in this challenge! I say we have to list our NSV each Monday, how's that?

Didi, don't freak me out! Part of good, healthy band maintenance is for doctors to look at the band from the inside. That means you go under anesthesia and the doc slides a little camera (on the end of a tube) down your throat to take pics of the inside of your belly. Most docs don't require regular endoscopies (endo for short.) Most doctors get a look at your band when they do fills through the x-ray machine known as fluoroscopy. When you get a fill, they'll have you stand in front of the x-ray machine while drinking barium so they can see that the liquid flows correctly through your band. If the liquid flows over the side, that's usually a sign of erosion. Most doctors that I know don't recommend an endo unless something in the barium swallow doesn't look right. My band surgeon has been placing bands since 2001 with no cases of erosion. However, after removing my band he became worried (since he's seeing erosion over and over from the same 3 surgeons.) He told me & my hubby that he might consider doing endos on all his patients every 3 months or so, just to make sure everything's okay.

AWE, I'm crying at my desk again because I forgot to add "No crying at work" to my 2006 Resolutions! I'm just giving back to LBT what LBT gave to me. I would never have made it without Donali, Penni, Alexandra.... geeze, there's no way to even begin to list the people that held me up when I couldn't make it through another day. I'm glad to be part of this whole LBT thingy, so thanks to Alex, Mr. Mystery, for starting this family

Go easy on yourself, take it nice and slow. My physical therapist gave the best advice on Earth for stomach crunches, so I'm finally doing them properly. Lay on the floor with your legs on the bed and your butt pulled in close to the bed, then cross your arms across your chest and lift slowly, then hold. It's the best way to avoid injuries. Start with just a few reps, then gradually increase. Good luck!

Your symptoms confuse me a little. Do you have to try gulping several times before stuff goes down? I had that problem, sometimes it would stay in my throat for a minute before moving down. It has to do with the motility of your esophagus, the way your esophagus moves/pushes food down towards your stomach. In my case, I had erosion and my stomach was inflamed, plus I had some erosion on my esophagus. I could write pages on this topic, but what I'm basically trying to say is that you need to take it very, very easy by sticking exactly to your doctor's orders and staying on liquids till your mushy phase, then sticking with mushy food till the next step. Your band is a delicate tool that requires strict eating. If you force down something to big, too soon, or too fast, it could cause problems in your esophagus.

I think I have some alien condition that gets me sicker than most people during surgery. I was up walking within an hour of my initial banding surgery, while others waited till the next day to get up. Maybe I'm allergic to anesthesia or something, but I always get so sick. I never had bad "pain" when I was banded, but I stayed sick and just felt super gross for 2 full weeks. I also woke up from band installation grabbing my throat gasping for air and ended up with a bronchial cold during recovery. The same exact thing happened during this removal. I still have a low fever even a week later. Penni had her band removed and was pretty out-of-it as well, yet Tizag went shopping? All I can say is, WOW. My pain was too intense to get out of bed, and they didn't even remove the cathetar till the next day so my surgeon aparantly didn't expect to see me up. Tizag, did you have holes in your stomach that needed to be repaired? I did, so maybe that's the difference? As far as removal being easier for the doctor, I'm not so sure. I know that Billy described the unbanding process as an art. He said some people never get the hang of chopstix, so some doctors never get the gift of using laproscopic tools, I suppose. Ti, why did you have your band removed? As far as your constant hunger, my doc gave me a stearn lecture on eating the right kind of food to keep you full between meals. It's true that we sleep about 8 hours straight without starving to death, so I'm just trying to make it from Breakfast to lunch, but right now I have enough swelling that I feel tight and full after a cup of food. If you eat Protein without carbs, it's supposed to keep you full longer. JD, tell Billy if you see Billy, tell him I'll arm wrestle him next time I'm there! He's a hardass and doesn't take any excuses when it comes to overeating, so I should put a pic of his face lecturing me on the fridge. I just finished my 400 calorie protein lunch. Woof. I'm glad you're seeing him. He's not very sympathetic, but he's the best surgeon I know, and he knows what he's talking about.

I'm not following your exact guidelines, but count me in. Here's what I'm doing: B: 400 calories in Protein only L: 400 calories in salad & protein D: 400 calories of whatever hubby eats Good luck. Being thin is amazing, and we all deserve it. Hard work pays off. Peace.

I'm up, I walked and sweated and even did 10 reps with my barbells (7 days post band removal, gotta start somewhere.) My NSV for today is that I'm sitting here at my computer with my legs corssed! Before my band, I'd have been sprawled out like a cow waiting to be milked, that's only if cows sprawl (city girl here.) I'm off to a 400 calorie Breakfast of mush now. Good luck to everyone, you may need it because I'm feeling mighty serious right now!

Deb, thanks for starting this challenge. I took the liberty of making a list of everyone who COMMITTED by putting their starting weight. Once you commit, the challenge becomes real. I hope you don't mind me jumping in like this, but I needed a challenge, so you're on! If I missed your name or screwed up, remember, I'm fuzzy from band removal surgery drugs. Since being debanded, I'm really afraid of gaining, so I'm taking this challenge to heart. I've rounded up half pounds since some scales don't register half pounds to make it fair to everyone. Here's what I came up with: Anwyn ~ 220 Bandedforlife ~ 211 Cissy ~ 210 DawnNH ~ 273 DeLarla ~ 243 Debbydoo ~ 181 HeatherGurl ~ 296 Jessiebear ~ 305 Justbeingme ~ 255 Kare ~ 180 Lianna ~ 214 LSasha ~ 291 Maggie63 ~ 255 Mariemaru ~ 225 RoadQueen ~ 177 Shanna ~ 189 TessL ~ 200 TommyO ~ 355 TriciaK ~ 236 Vtobon ~ 244 Since I didn't start this thread, I can't make any rules (boo hoo.) But I will send the winner, who will also be the biggest loser, a fabulous prize basket from Slumber Parties. I have lovely items from rated PG to rated XXX, so get your butt moving! If anyone else wants to send a prize to the winner, add your name to this list by cutting and pasting it into a new thread. 1/1/06 ~ 3/1/06 LBT WEIGHT LOSS CHALLENGE LIST OF FABULOUS PRIZES! 1. Gift basket from Slumber Parties by Lisa (DeLarla) 2. (You don't have to write what you'll send, just add your name saying you'll send a prize.)

Zoe, I've been trying to send you a get well card from the summer LV bash for 3 months. I think I finally threw the card away because, well, because that was 3 months ago. I might be able to fish it from the bin, so if you want it, PM your address (I got a new puter and lost all my info.) Glad to see you. KIT, damn it!

Am I the only one still confused? Can someone spell out how things work now? I'm so fuzzy from surgery that I can't figure it out. I see things that I marked unread, other things bold, other things coming back from the dead even though there's nothing new posted. Is there an LBT for Dummies thread?

I don't have a good number. Some very angry man told me to pound sand.

See my signature line. I had 5 major and 3 minor surgeries due to complications. My first port became badly infected and was surgically removed. The wound never healed and tubing eventually stuck out of my body. My port was eventually surically replaced, but the 2nd one also became badly infected. I was poked, sliced & drained then eventually diagnosed with erosion, so my band was surgically removed last week, and I'm currently recovering from 1.5 years of hard times. But I'm down 70 pounds and got my life back... I just hope I can hold on to the loss.

My husband with me being his girlfriend and our friend, Chief Deputy D.A. Dan. Dan once told us that since drunk driving wasn't in his jurisdiction he couldn't help us get out of any drunk driving problems. He said if we were ever pulled over while drinking to make sure we killed the cop, then he could help us as h6ead of homocide. Boys are so bad!

I'm still recovering from band removal surgery. I can't believe, based on how poopy I feel, that I ride a Harley. But I'll be well soon. I've grown out of my 1200 so I ride the Dyna whenever my hubby doesn't get to it first. Here's me & hubby & some friends on our way to Utah last summer for the Thunder on the Mountain rally. I don't know if we can make it to Sturgis this year. I have two trips planned already for my Slumber Parties business (New Orleans & Dallas) so I don't know how much vaca time I'll have. But we're always at the local rally, and we won't miss Laughlin's River Run!

We have a 2005 Dyna Wideglide and a 1200 Custom. This is one of my favorite pics of the back of hubby's head riding through Bryce Canyon, UT during the poker run while at the Thunder on The Mountain rally in Brianhead, UT. I rode up on my own bike but left mine at the hotel so I could enjoy the views from back of my husband's. Sometimes it's nice to be a girlfriend and ride on back, sometimes I just gotta ride alone. Those are all our Vegas riding friends in front of us (4.5 hr ride from Vegas.)

It's hard, I know. I never tried as hard as you, but Chris and I never got pregnant together. Nothing is medically wrong with either of us according to our doctors, but Mother Nature gets to decide who has kids and who doesn't. I'm sorry about your news.

I'm hoping for scar tissue to form in the shape of a little white band with a belt around my belly! Penni, tonight when you go to sleep, try to channel my ghost. Ghosts can split in two, making 2 new exact ghosts. Burn some incense and start chanting.

Thanks, Betty! By tomorrow I should be almost back to normal.

NJ, I have the book! Dr. Billy made me buy it, only mine is a different model. It's an excellent source of good food choices.

Tonight marks one week since band removal and Day 2 of mushies. I realize I'm still really swollen, but I have the best and most comfortable restriction ever. If there was only a way for medical science to clone the exact structure of my stomach like it is this very minute, life would be sweet! I have that same tight, full sensation in my upper belly, but nothing uncomfortable, no feeling of a PB coming on, nothing choking me, no slime. Just beautiful, glorious restriction that should last for ever and ever and ever and ever. It's so peaceful and pleasing that I just had to share, because tomorrow the swelling will have gone down some and my ghost band will eventually fade away.

Dr. Lopez did it with a Lap Band in the operating room.

Me & Francesca were at The Oasis of Hope.