Marimaru

So for the "Just Like Me" stuff, is it really watery? Or is it kind of a gel? Just curious

This is how I found him http://www.obesitylapbandsurgery.com/index.html

Kathy, that's a great list you got goin' there! I have a tip for ya on the underwear; Some of mine are baggy in the butt and they are too high on the waist with they way they cut the jeans I've been buyin' lately, so I roll them a little at the waist. It'll help 'em last a little longer before you gotta go buy more. I love the wedding rings one. I fit in my class ring a while back and thought it was great, and of course wedding rings are so much more important!

Quilter Mom; it's highly likely that your loss will slow down for a while if you eat a bit more, but on the other hand, if you were to hit a plateau while eating 600 cals a day, what would you do? I'm personally a firm believer of 'eat as much as you can while still losing weight' so that you can cut down if you get stuck. But that's just my opinion and I thought I'd share. Leave whatcha don't want and take what helps you

I have no idea when this list was updated last or anything, I just did a google search for "NSAID List" and this was one of the first lists there. We are supposed to avoid all NSAIDS for the most part. I took Aleve once a day for a couple of weeks for Tendonitis, but then stopped as soon as I felt I could (as told by the doctor): http://lyberty.com/encyc/articles/nsaid.html

Serenity is the movie for my date this weekend with Mike . We started watching Firefly when it started showing on the Sci Fi channel recently. We also don't miss Stargate

I have had some of the Nympho Niagra. It's tingly but not overly so. I'm not super sensitive though, so if you are, you might consider staying away from all the tingly stuff, you know?

Congratulations!!! That's really terrific! Maybe your body is going to finally catch up with all your hard work!

CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!!!!!!!! Wow!!!!!!!!!!!

Weight:225 Chest: 39 Waist 42 Hips: 48.5

Not a doctor here, but I think that the band could not possibly be used to treat bulimia. It could be used to help a person lose weight so that maybe they don't feel like they need to purge, but throwing up often is VERY bad for a banded person, as it's one of the bigger causes of a slipped band. I've heard of people who've been denied by the psych evaluator because of recent bulemia, and they couldn't get banded without seeing a psych for X amount of time. I'm glad to see the band moving into the 30 - 35 BMI range.. I think it's true for alot of people that they hit that range on the way to a higher BMI. Regarding the original poster's question, I would think that in your case as you've described the band wouldn't actually help you all that much. If you are eating reasonably heathly, and you know that you have to get more activity to lose those extra pounds, the band isn't going to do much. You'll still have to get in the extra activity, and all the band will do is restrict the amount you can eat at one sitting, you know? I think it could defintely help someone who struggles with going up and down stay in a relatively close range to their goal weight, but those last 15 pounds or so seem to be the hardest for people and even with the band they really have to work for it. Hope this makes sense..

Well.... how about.... Happy UNBirthday!

Well, I don't actually intend on wearing it so tight as to sinch (whenever I get it, haha), but just tight enough to hold stuff in place, lol. We'll see though. I might just wear it at home, lol

I got some lacey low cut thongs, but they do have some coverage. I probably will go back for the corset. I've been wanting to do something about my upper tummy roll for a while now, and that seems to be a good answer. Besides, there's nothin like having a sexy secret under your tshirt!

My mom wrote a check. I told her I'd found out about the band surgery and was telling her about it (I didn't even mention that I wanted to do it) and she says "You should get that done, I'll pay for it". I started sobbing, lol. I was in debt at the time and was working on getting that paid off (2 months debt free now, WOOHOO!), and there was no silver lining in the near future telling me that I'd have a way to pay for it, and she just says she'll do it. All I can say is that I hope when I'm her age I'm in a position like her so that I can help her or my own kids in similar ways (though I hope I never have to buy my kid a band, you know?).

I'm not a doctor, but I have had the same thought myself. I think that if someone has a history of weight struggle, but they aren't necessarily overweight (or not by much) the band will eventually be approved for this. I think there will still be conditions, such as how much you have struggled with your weight, documentation by the doctor of X amount of time, etc, etc. Of course, I guess the 2nd question to match this one is whether you could EVER get an insurance company to pay for it as a preventative measure.

I just bought a few things from lovefifi too. I was too chicken to get a corset tho... lol

You have it exactly right. The difference is, the band is there to kick your butt if you eat too much. AND since that is true, a binge is not what it used to be. My most recent binge was 4 shortbread Cookies, 3 laffy taffy candies, and a few bites of ice cream. Sure, I broke my calorie intake for the day, but I didn't DOUBLE IT, you know? Having the band is more motivation than you can imagine. Even as far as "I had surgery, I better friggin make it to the gym today", you know? So, you eat less on a general basis, binging isn't QUITE so horrible, and you have an installed motivator. I've had trouble changing my habits, and I have NOT been exersizing in quite a long time. But I know I'm eating little enough that exersize is just the step up I need to start my way down again (just gotta do it), and the band will be there for me whenever I'm ready.

I'm sure this is going to fly across the internet wrong, I really mean this with the most sympathy possible but; what were you expecting from major surgery? As "inevasive" as the lap band is, anything that requires anesthesia is "major surgery". I really hope that you feel better as soon as possible, and I hope you are able to get better care, or find a doctor that will provide you with better care. Maybe when you are feeling better you can write a letter of complaint to the practice about the horrible care you received. Feel Better.

Baths are only out for a couple of weeks. You WILL be able to go back to your restaurants, just not for a while (liquids, go and have soup), and not the quantity you had before. Have a bubble bath anyway, of course . Go run your marathon, that's probably out for six weeks, HAHA, I don't really think there will be much after banding that you wont be able to do... maybe have a big plate of Pasta and a sandwich (together or separate, whatever).

Okay, as part of the "Slow Loser's Club" we have been ordered to each have an NSV list (ordered in a good way of course). Here goes (in no particular order): My class ring fits. I quit wearing it when it started eating my finger and was more comfy on my ring finger. That was some 4 or 5 years ago. I found it a couple of months ago and it's been on ever since (because it fits, not because it's stuck, LOL). I am in a size 16/18. I graduated in a pretty solid 18. I can't find my darn Prom dress and I'm pretty confident it would be too big. I gotta search some more for that! I am LESS than what it says on my drivers license, and I KNOW I was lying, because you can tell by the picture and what I look like now. This pretty new: my engagement ring is only 3/4 of a size larger than my sister's class ring. It's 7 and 3/4 and I was sure it would be an 8. 1/4 of a size isn't much, but it means something to me. My mom is telling people I'm looking good, and it's getting back to me. This is an NSV because she would NOT tell other people that if it weren't true. Even if she told it to me to my face (which I'm pretty sure she wouldn't, she's 'brutally honest') she wouldn't tell other people if she didn't believe it. I can SEE the change in the mirror. It took MONTHS for this to happen, but I'm finally seeing it. Albeit part of the change is that my panni and boobs are hanging lower, but I know that's because there is less fat in them, LOL. I HAVE A NECK!! I noticed this when I posted my before and after pictures on that thread. I can still make a double chin, but it's not ALWAYS there, I know you guys know what I mean. I took a link out of my medic alert bracelet the other day. I'd taken it out before but had to put it back because it just wasn't comfortable... fit, but wasn't comfy enough for something that is always on. I'm keeping my toenails painted; this goes along with my "Woo! I'm sexy!" thread and picking something about my that I like (to start with). I also wore make up today and have been wearing mascara occasionally just because I feel like it. I'm wearing it often enough that I actually bought eye makeup remover the other day. My fiancee told me that he noticed a difference. This was a while back, but he says it's hard for him to see because he sees me every day all the time (he doesn't notice things like going from red to burgundy hair either, so this was kind of big for me). I'm smaller than when I met my fiancee. I met him on the internet and found the pictures I'd scanned and sent him before we first met in person. There is a pretty decent difference there. I needed less than 20 lbs of weight when I went scuba diving this summer. Last time I think I needed 25 lbs. It's horrible to lug around that weight on the surface, but you need it to sink under Water, so the bigger you are, the more weight you need (how sick is that, huh?). That's it for now. 10/04/05 - Today I joined a gym (an NSV on it's own) and the guy signing us up asked when the last time was that I felt "great". I said I'd always been a bit overweight and he interrupted me and said "You aren't overweight." I laughed and he said "Really, you have a little toning to do, but you really aren't overweight to me." I thanked him for the compliment but of course was thinking in my head "yeah, 80 lbs of toning up, lol". Update for 11/1/05. I compiled this list for the Slow Loser's NSV Challenge and thought I'd update it here. I had a session with a personal trainer at the gym I joined, and when he asked what I'd been doing and I told him 35 minutes on the Elliptical, he told me I was ahead of the game because alot of folks go in there and can't do 10 minutes of cardio. There was a time when I was one of those people, so I think that's an NSV. I bought a shirt at Hot Topic the other day. Granted it's a 2X in girls which is kind of funny, because I have Large shirts that are bigger, but hey. It's a "girl's" shirt, so it's more form fitting and look pretty good. Oh! I went to Lane Bryant to get a shirt, and the smallest shirt size they had was too big. I could still buy pants there, but not shirts! I've been moving back toward my funkiness from my fun days. I used to dress exactly how I wanted at it was "me". Then I entered the corporate world and gave it all up, so now I'm getting it back! This goes along with caring what I look like when I go out. First I just wanted to look 'nice' or 'decent' and now I want to look like "me". If that makes any sense.

Oh wow... LOL

Happy Birthday Again!!

Well, they've certainly quit making clothes that make a size 16 look like that! haha! I think that people that we know and are close to that know WHO we are, see past it. My younger sister told me she never really saw me as fat. Knew I was big, but not fat like "other people", she just saw me differently. By the way Vines, I'm really going to need to get some hair color secrets from you. I can't get even hair color of 'natural' colors to stay in my hair for very long.

I'd probably have described myself as large. I'm 5'6" and a 16/18. I think another thing is that the person you meant doesn't have the same idea of large as you do. It seems her idea of large is maybe our idea of "humongous"? Different people have different ideas of what fat is you know? I met a woman at the doctors office who was banded to lose 50 lbs. Another woman was banded and had lost almost everything she wanted to lose, and had her daughter go in for that balloon procedure... that girl didn't need to lose ANYTHING but her mom wanted her to lose 10lbs. Some people are getting up to 400 lbs and they don't think they need to do anything about it. I'm not actually sure if what I said above has anything to do with it, but it's a matter of perspective I guess, right?