AshevilleEddie

Caresa, If you normally take in a lot of carbs and your liquids are low-carb, you may be getting some "brain fog." That's happened to me when I low-carbed in the past. The good thing about that is that it will pass in a few days. If it's not that, it may just be the hunger. It does strange things to our brains, even when we don't realize it. Don't forget that we're all here for you! And if you just have to take someone's head off to vent the frustration, pop over to the Rants & Raves section and go off on whatever thread riles you up! Anything's fair game over there... :heh:

OMG! I'm begining to think Sean and I are bigger Lesbians than all of you! We camp, we watch football (ok, I don't watch a lot, but he's a sports freak), we listen to country music instead of show tunes and we have a pickup truck. Oh wait, we like boys. I guess we'll have to settle for the title of "honorary Lesbian." Pooping in the woods, Pamela?? Ok, even when we camped in the tent we never did that! I suppose you're the biggest Lesbian around...

Are you kidding me? Of course there's a difference! And like Juli said, you are a cutie pie. But of course I've already told you that, haven't I? Geez Juli, bad campout experience?? Sean and I go all the time and we love it. Of course, we don't tent-camp anymore... :guess Hi Caresa! I'm glad you quit lurking and joined us! My hubby and I were banded 3 months apart, so we have something in common with you and Vicky. Be sure you don't compare yourselves to each other. Sean's already at goal (!) just 7 months post-op (he's lost 108 lbs). I'm 4 months out and only down 40. We all progress differently, don't forget. Of course I'm reminding myself of that too! Gee Stevee, we couldn't tell...

Edd, that bug has been going around up here too. Both my kids and one of my coworkers have had it. Thank goodness Sean and I have avoided it thus far... Stevee, your day is coming up fast! Not that I need to remind you, but keep us posted. Juli, I think I got the same handbook you did. I threw it away. Sean and I generally have more Lesbian friends than any other demographic. The exception is our Rainbow RV group - lots of great folks, both women and men.

Ok, I don't know what's up - I haven't been getting any e-mail notifications from the forum. I was starting to think no one was posting anymore, then I just got on here and checked (duh!). Not a lot going on around here. I went in for a fill last week. He put back 1.5 of the 2 cc I had had removed. I already called and scheduled another one for Monday because I just don't have great restriction. The good news is I thought I had gained 6 pounds after the unfill, but I weighed the other day and I actually stayed the same! Yay! So now after the fill I have scheduled for Monday I should start losing again. My husband, on the other hand, is now only 7 pounds from goal! He's lost 126 lbs since last August. A couple more months and I'll post before and after pics of both of us (I want to get closer to goal first). Hi Bill! :welcomeB: I'm with you on the label thing. That's one aspect of our community that has always seemed divisive to me. "I'm a twink and you're a bear and ne'er the two shall date!" It's the same way I feel about the whole "Gay men and Lesbians can't be friends" thing too. If we can't accept each other, how can we expect the rest of the world to accept us? <Eddie now steps down from soapbox> Anyway, chubs, twinks, dykes, femmes, muscle queens...doesn't matter - everyone is welcome here. Even the occasional Str8 folks! Speaking of Str8 folks, good luck tomorrow Chris. :heh: Give us an update when you're able.

Umm, aside from the "wait X weeks before immersing in water" I would be scared to death of getting some sort of infection. You know there's a thousand kids (and probably just as many adults!) peeing in that water. EWWW!!

I'm with Wendell on this. I had an episode a few weeks ago - one morning I just couldn't keep anything down. Called the docs office and went in. I honestly thought I had a stomach bug, but he did a pretty big unfill (2 cc) and I was fine. I had not had a fill for several weeks prior to this episode and don't know what brought it on that particulary day, but at that point I was definitely too tight. I had to push a lot of liquids the rest of the day because I was on the edge of being dehydrated. Plus, if you're not drinking any supplmental protein, that 3 oz of meat is definitely nowhere near enough. I try to keep mine at a minimum of 60 g per day. As for the morning restriction, my doc says a lot of his patients experience that. The esophagus and stomach are muscle, and tend to warm up and relax as the day progresses, thus allowing you to eat more the later it gets. He doesn't care if I don't eat breakfast as long as my Fluid and protein intake are where they should be. If you have to force lunch, you're at an increased risk for a slippage (or increased vomiting, which can in turn also lead to slippage). I know you like the faster weight loss that comes with the increased restriction (so did I) but I'd go for a slight unfill.

Pre-op I was on 100 iu of Lantus (basal insulin) daily, plus 10 mcg Byetta injections before lunch and dinner, plus 1000 mg of Metformin twice a day and had horrible control. I'm now on no meds (yeah, you heard right - zero) for diabetes and have pretty much non-diabetic blood glucose levels. I'm down so far from 262 to 224 and from size 46 pants to mostly 40s (plus a few 38s and even one pair of size 36 shorts!). Another 20 pounds or so and I should be able to look down and see my, um, toes. :heh: Yeah, it works.

Well, this is the first chance I've had to post since our extra-long long weekend. I've had the week from hell at work. I pretty much HATE my job right now. That's a shame, because I've been there for 8 years and used to love it. Anyhoo, the vacay was a blast. We climbed up Lookout Mountain at Rock City (supposedly you can see 7 states - don't ask me how you actually know you're seeing them) and weren't even tired! We took a lantern tour of Ruby Falls, which is in the middle of the mountain (yes, inside the mountain), rode a steam-engine train, went to the TN Aquarium and ate dinner at the Chattanooga Choo Choo. Oh, and we got massages - it was the best I have ever had! If anyone's planning on visiting that area and wants a kick ass massage, I'll give you the guy's name and number. On a band-related note, I was really concerned about gaining while we were up there as I don't have near as much restriction since my 2cc unfill, but I'm still at 224. I have an appointment with the doc next Tuesday, so I'm sure he will add at least part of that back. Edd, welcome to Bandland! The gas pains will pass, I promise. If you're getting the back pain, try lying on a moist heating pad. Sean had the shoulder pain and that helped him a lot. And don't forget to take your pain meds. They will be your best friend the first several days! Hi to all the new folks! :welcome2: As always, it's great to see fresh meat, er, new members of our little family! :heh: Hee hee!

Hi family, Just dropping in for a quick minute while I'm here at work. Sean and I are leaving this afternoon for a mini-vacay to Chattanooga, TN. Just us, no kids! Woo hoo! So I may or may not be posting anything until Monday or so. Don't want anyone to think I'm MIA...

Fortunately I didn't have to do liquids for 2 weeks. I'm not sure I would have had that kind of resolve...

Damn, Faith...don't hold back, tell us how you really feel!

I agree with both you guys. I have a hard time with the death penalty - don't really believe in the whole "eye for an eye" thing. In theory, it would seem like it costs more to house an inmate for the rest of his/her life, but how much money is spent by the government on appeals to death sentences. Besides, being incarcerated is not a vacation. I think spending the rest of one's life with absolutely no freedom is pretty good punishment. And putting a child molester/murderer in with the general population? Stellar idea!

Eddie St Johns, FL Banded 5/17/2007

What is this, the week for band issues?? I had to go in yesterday for an emergency 2 cc unfill. I started vomiting (not just pbing unfortunately) yesterday morning. After the 5th time I decided I should call the doc's office. I thought I had a bug or something, but the doc seemed to think I was too tight. He was apparently right on that issue because immediately after the unfill I was able to hold Water down, something I had not been able to do all morning. The bad news is that it wasn't my regular doc (he was on vacay) - this doc doesn't do many fills. Can I just say OWWWW!! He had to fish around in me for four or five attempts. Finally he said "if I don't get it this time I'm sending you to the hospital for radiology to do it." Well, I'm not much for prayer, but I muttered a few at that point! He wound up hitting the port, but it HURT! I don't normally even flinch when I get a fill (with no lidocaine, mind you) but he even numbed me and it still hurt like a bitch. At any rate, I don't have much restriction now. I had a fill scheduled for the 11th so I'll probably wind up with just part of that unfill going back in. On to more pleasant subjects. Hi Flipper & Donna! It's always good to see fresh meat, er, new folks! LOL! A while back, I mentioned a roll call...I think it's time for that. If everyone could just do a quick post with your name, location and band status. Let's do them as separate posts so they don't get lost within a longer post. I'll go first...

HAHAHAHA!! Eww.

Hi all! Just checking in post-weekend. Hope everyone had a good one. We went out with our Rainbow RV group. I got a nasty sunburn cause I WENT WITHOUT A SHIRT! Yes, I did wear sunscreen. I just didn't reapply like I should have. But I WENT WITHOUT A SHIRT!! And wasn't overly self-conscious. That's a big thing for me. Everyone was very supportive of my weight loss so that helped. We were at the beach this trip and we had a sand sculpture contest. Guess whose team won?? :guess Jo & Juli, I know the feeling of not being able to eat real food easily. Since my last fill it's been tough for me too. In fact, I had a fill scheduled for tomorrow and called rescheduled for three weeks later. Hiya Peach! Nice to have you aboard! Stevee, what's the latest? We want an update!

Some time back I started a Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgendered thread in the Support area. Sometimes we deal with issues that other folks don't. We do have some supportive Str8 folks - some are regulars, some pop in from time to time (Green has posted once or twice). Feel free to stop by!

Thanks for the compliment Stevee, but I don't know if I qualify as remarkable. I am however, pretty fortunate. We're not rich, but we do make enough to have a nice (not luxurious, but nice) home and support our RVing habit. :biggrin1: As for the extra $60, let me clarify. I'm pretty much copying and pasting what I e-mailed to you Stevee, so if it sounds familiar that's why. I’m a notary & one of my clients came in yesterday to have some documents notarized. We don’t charge for notary services, so when she asked how much she owed me I obviously told her “nothing.” Well, she pushed $60 at me and told me to buy myself lunch. I argued with her for several minutes, even telling her that I would just deposit it into her account after she left. She told me she would be very upset and hurt if I didn’t take it. (Of course I did remind her about my surgery – she already knew – and asked if she realized how many lunches that would buy me!) Anyway, I wound up keeping it. I was thinking about it last night and decided that since everything happens for a reason, that I was meant to pass that along to Stevee. So I did. Nothing remarkable, nothing heroic...just me being me. You see, I'm honestly an incredibly selfish person (don't believe me, ask my husband) but I do believe in helping others when I can. All of us have our families of origin and our families of choice. You guys are members of my extended family of choice. I've never met any of you face to face (yet) but you have been more caring and supportive than many of my local friends (and family of origin) and I love you all. So there was never any question in my mind about helping Stevee. I just got lucky enough to have extra to pass along. So I'm done waxing sentimental and am changing the subject completely. Has anyone watched Burn Notice on USA? We've only missed one episode. It is such a cool show. And for the guys (or our beloved St8 grrls) - is not Jeffrey Donovan freakin' HOT?? :flame:

Thanks Green! I spend a lot of time in the GLBT thread. I do check in here from time to time, but there just hasn't seemed to be a lot going on. You know me, I love to get in the middle of shit. Why don't you start some for me to jump into???

Awesome! Keep us posted...

Eww! Spears of green?? Poking up from there?? Double eww!!!

Hey Bubble, I don't have a clue how those things work but I just noticed your ticker...WOW! You're almost there! Congrats!!! :confused:

Count me in too. We are family, after all...

Hey, how have I managed to miss this thread for so long? I could swear I looked for a Florida thread months ago! Oh well, glad I found you guys. My name's Eddie and I'm in St Johns (halfway between Jax and St Augustine). I was banded on 5/16/07 and am down 36 pounds so far. I haven't read every single post on here - is there anyone else from N FL?