Zoe

I can see why you're worried, Babs. Let us know what the docs say. Is it possible that the plastic surgeon intended to take out just .5cc but changed his mind while you were under anaesthesia? I hope you're OK. And I second what Vines said. Good grief, woman, you've just been through major surgery! Let your body heal. Any additional weight loss can come later.

Happy belated bandiversary, Aud! I'm 365 days behind you. So where are those photos?

Another weirdo here! Years ago, a shrink put me through a bunch of tests and gave me a printout of the results. I was literally off the charts on the "alienation" scale. When I showed the charts to my grad school mentor, he laughed. "Look at how f-ed up the rest of the world is, pumpkin. All the best people are alienated." Years later, he was denied tenure -- but I still think of him as the smartest guy I ever knew. Who wants to be conventional and mediocre?

What wonderful news! Thanks for letting us know. And look how many pounds you've lost between the two of you -- truly inspiring!

The 18th is a Sunday. I could probably make it on the 17th or 18th.

North side here -- I'll be gone the last weekend of September. Maybe we should meet in the Loop so it'll be equally inconvenient for everyone!

Amen! Go to LBT's Insurance forum and search for threads on your insurance company to try to find bandsters who successfully appealed a turn-down. Who's your insurer, anyway? Sounds like they suck!

Congrats, Kellie! Double figures are just around the corner. . . it's every bit as exciting as when we yanks hit "Onederland" or "Twonesia" for the first time in ages, if ever. Nice of your guy to buy ya flowers!

Hi Crystal -- I like the theory behind your idea, but I can see one problem with it. Clothes sizes are wildly inconsistent. A Lane Bryant 14 equals a Liz Claiborne 16 equals an Old Navy 18. Most of us need only look in our own closets for evidence! That said, maybe those of us who've posted on the "before and after pictures" thread should include something about the sizes we're wearing in the pictures. Even an approximation can help overcome body dysmorphia. Whether you're wearing a 14, 16, or 18 hardly matters if you're still thinking of yourself as a size 2 or 28. And it helps to know heights, too. Someone five feet tall might be upset at having a 30-inch waist, but it sounds great to me.

I just sent an e-mail to Alex and asked him to post here if there's anything we need to change to our LBT account settings.

A quick US-UK/Oz/NZ translation: US chips = crisps; Oz chips = US french fries. My weakness? Ice cream. The band doesn't help with that one! But it helps with everything else, including spud madness and pizza.

I think I'm gonna cry! I've been looking at the half-empty side of life lately (must be all those screwed-up hormones), and sometimes I forget where I was 12 months ago: not only 65 pounds heavier, but with high blood pressure, joint trouble, problems walking without getting winded, not to mention a sense of hopelessness about my weight. But, thanks in part to the wonderful people at LBT whose posts I read before taking the big step, I wasn't quite ready to resign myself to a (short) lifetime of total fatness. Maybe I haven't lost as much as I hoped to, but without the band I surely would be at least 275 lbs. by now. And I would have missed online friends like all of you! Thanks for your kind words, everyone, and a special thank-you to Eileen, who thoughtfully started the thread. BTW, my goal weight is still 160 -- by my second bandiversary, August 26, 2006.

I love La Madam's suggestion and wish I'd thought of it myself!

Wow -- that's an achievement. So when will you finish the five classes?

What a lovely surprise to find this message! Yes, it's been a year. I've been absorbed in too many other issues lately to do much serious reflection on the band, but I'll check in soon. Thanks!

Thanks again, everyone, and a big thank you to Kathy for not publishing the Fred photo here! I still have a 1996 photo of my giant cyst, along with one of my surgeon, radiological oncologist & the lab workers all giving a big thumbs-up when they discovered it wasn't malignant after all. Don't worry -- I won't post them! I sure hope I can get my surgery date bumped up, but I can't count on it. Meanwhile, the alien (which under ultrasound looks like an eclipsed sun) is pushing on my back and belly. My sciatica's back (no pun intended), but at least I haven't bled for a while. I just have to hang tough for another 5-1/2 weeks. What really surprises me is how many women I know (in real life and online) who've undergone this surgery or who have been told they should do so. We are legion.

Oh, Alex, I hope everything's going to be OK. You're such a success story! Sept. 8 seems a long time to wait, but at least your reflux should disappear. I know we'll all be thinking of you and wishing for the best. Sending good vibes from the Midwest!

Hi Loulou: I am another one who can definitely relate to what you wrote. At one point I realized that by reflexively rebelling against everything my parents said or wanted I was still letting them control my life, because they were defining my opposite path. It's a long struggle. I finally got past it by (1) overcoming depression through therapy (no longer) and drugs (still on 'em; probably will be forever) and (2) getting older. Reread your first post! You have a lot of self-insight and clearly are a reflective person. I don't have any advice. But since you are (painfully) aware of what you're doing, you're off to a fine start. Good luck.

For the past 10 days or so, I haven't received any e-mail notices regarding new posts on threads to which I subscribe. I've checked my "User CP" preferences; everything's OK there. I checked a couple of threads, and yes, there were lots of new posts. I checked my e-mail account too, and it's fine. Is anyone else having the same problem?

And I thought this ad was going to be a full-sized woman offering to wash men's bodies! Sigh.

Almost 30 years ago (I am so effing old) I went on a solo bike trip through Wisconsin in a manic fitness moment. One night I camped at Newport State Beach, a beautiful car-free spot in Door County. In the middle of the night I heard footsteps and scratching outside my tent, growing closer and closer. I froze with fear, terrified to move or even look. After a sleepless (and eventually quiet) night, I crept out, only to find the leather toe-straps on my bike gnawed to pieces and a big irregular chunk taken out of the bike seat. The culprit, according to the guy at the next site, was a band of porcupines. They have a thing for leather, it seems! Scared me to pieces.

Well, Miss Penni, if you can say that about having the operation while you were in your 20s, that's mighty encouraging to an old broad like me. I'm going to Northwestern Memorial Hospital, maybe the best in the city, so no worries on that score. I just wish I could have the operation right NOW!

Thank you, thank you, everyone. Mousecrazy, I've already checked out hystersisters.com; it's great. Vera, how are you feeling now? My fibroid is 13 x 10 x 9 cm -- "the size of a baby's head" according to the doc. My big old belly will be flatter once this thing is gone; it's sticking way into my abdomen. Surgery date: October 3. (I tried to get in earlier, but between the surgeon's schedule and the hospital's, no way.) This is such a wonderful support site. I knew I could count on my LBT friends! Now if only I could find a way to go to Vegas next month. . .

It's almost exactly a year since I was banded, and while I thought I'd be under 170 pounds by now -- we all have our fantasies -- it's been a rewarding year, except for some "female trouble." I've been going for lots of gyne tests and biopsies over the past two months, and (on the advice of two specialists) will be having a hysterectomy on Oct. 3. After a quick search on LBT I realized that several women here have undergone this surgery either before or after banding. Anything I should know that hasn't been posted elsewhere (e.g., on Vera's thread)? I'm not as freaked out as I was when I had an enormous cyst along with a tube and ovary removed years ago, probably because I'm 48 and menopause is on the horizon. I'm definitely not interested in getting pregnant! The doc said I could keep my remaining ovary, which relieved me. It's done yeoman's service over the years and I'd hate to kick out such a reliable old friend. BTW, sick soul that I am, after the doc gave me the dimensions of my biggest fibroid this afternoon, I came home and took a bunch of hamburger out of the freezer to estimate how much the thing weighs. Looks like I'll lose about 3-4 pounds! There are some things only other bandsters understand. . .

Alex, I had reflux for the first time in ages a couple of nights ago, so I can imagine what you're going through, although your experience sounds more painful and intense than mine. I hope the unfill does the trick. I've been wondering about getting one myself for a while, but I'm embarrassed to go to the doctor since I've lost so little weight since my last fill! Anyway, please let us know how you feel after your appointment on Thursday.