Mariposa Bella

The dress is beautiful and even though the pic is blurred I can tell it looks really good on you. You are so beautiful.

I would try Dillards, they have tons of dresses on sale at this time, I bought a formal for my brother-in-law's wedding and it was on clearance and then had an additional 30% off, I paid $50 for a gorgeous gown. The selection was very good, give them a try before you go out and spend tons of money on a dress you'll probably only wear one time, cause if your anything like me, you wouldn't dare show up to another special event with a repeater dress.

that was hilarious

I have come to believe that there are only two reasons why people don't agree with wls, they are either ignorant or are jelouse. I have dealt w/ both all the ignorant comments and even more sadly the jelouse (sp?) aspect of it, especially from my best friend. Her life has been on a downward spiral for awhile now and because she sees how well I'm doing she frowns upon that. She said I was crazy for having my band surgery and she tells people about it, when I have specifically asked her that I wanted to maintain this as private as possible (so that I don't have to deal w/ others opinions on this) she says well they will eventually find out, how if not for her big mouth. If she calls me and I'm out shopping she gets mad, says I shouldn't waste money that way. I'm sorry, but if my husband doesn't mind my shopping addictions, why does she. Besides we work hard to have what we have. She was foolish and decided to end her marriage after having an affair, she had an awesome husband who was a good provider for her and now that she no longer has that she has to work very hard to support herself and her children, but I am not responsible for her bad decisions. It is killing our relationship, if she calls me and I'm at the mall, I have to lie to her and make excuses of where I'm at, its silly, really. She does nothing but complain about her weight and her financial obligations, It is not my fault. Well, I'm getting off track here, but in my opinion that is the two reasons why people disagree w/ wls. If they only knew how difficult it is to be overweight and how difficult it is to finally come to terms and decide to take control of your life, maybe then they would understand. I for one told my family because I knew they would understand, but chose to not tell others and especially my husbands family because they just plain wouldn't understand. Well that's all I have to say.

Feliz Cumpleanos, Feliz Cumpleanos!!!!! Oh, by the way, what does the token lesbian mean???

Hi there, I got back from my three weeks vacation to Texas and Mexico on Saturday, did any one miss me? I see there are lots of new members and lots of posting going on. I am so swamped with work this week, it will take me awhile to get caught up on what's going on. Well, I am doing really good and lost some more weight on vacation. I am down to 142 and can see my final goal weight is finally approaching. I wanted to share with you all how exciting this past month has been for me. These 7-8 lbs I have lost this month have really been a defining point in my weight loss journey.. I am not fat anymore. I have been fat for so long that I never realized how good this feels. My sister-in-law took some pics of me on her digital camera and when I saw them I was truly astonished. I don't look fat anymore. People have been telling me for awhile, but even though I look at myself in the mirror, the picture is so distorted I never realized how I've changed. I have been screaming it out, I'm not fat anymore, isn't that wonderful???? I don't want you to think I'm conceited or anything, but I do look really good and for a person that has hated the way she has looked all her life and has been the fat girl all her life, this is major stuff. The compliments I received from family members that have not seen me where awesome. It just boosted my self-confidence that much more. I am so excited to share this with you all. What's even more important, my husband, who has never in the eight years that I have known him ever given me a compliment, told me I look really nice and that he would like me to maintain this weight and not lose anymore, he says this is the perfect weight for me and that I look just perfect. I wanted to get a fill on the way back because my band surgeon does them for free and my husband said absolutely not, I don't need one, this weight is perfect and that I need to keep my walking up and my weight training and that's all I need for now. Isn't that fabuloso. Well just thought I'd share this with you all my lapband family that has always been here for me. I love you guys. Well I better get back to work, I have a board meeting tomorrow and I need to get ready for it. Talk to you soon. Love ya,:nervous

I posted the information below this post just after I had my tummy tuck on July 4, 2005 and I can honestly say that after my band this has been the best investment I could have ever done for myself. I am so happy with my results and just ecstatic about how wonderful I look. I am now gaining the self esteem I wished I had had all my life. I just got back from Christmas vacation and the compliments I got from family members that had not seen me were just fantastic. I am so proud of the way I look but most importantly I feel good about myself and it is such a new feeling for me. I have been promising pics of me for awhile now and apologize for not posting them, but I will try my best to get that done very soon. I truly recommend anyone wishing to get this done, to go for it. I had to go to Mexico for $ purposes, there is no way I could have ever afforded to get this done here. I am very pleased w/ my surgeon and with the hospital where I got my care. My sister-in-law just had her tummy tuck done Dec. 21 with the same surgeon, and her experience was also very positive. I would have no reservations about returning and having some more ps. Well good luck and let me know if you have any questions. Hello, everyone, just wanted to update everyone on my tt and lipo. Well, I got back last night and I'm really exhausted. The whole thing was really hard, it is quite uncomfortable. The tt itself didn't hurt and doesn't hurt, its all really numb. The all over lipo is what I'm sore from and was even more just out of surgery. I went into the surgical room at 10:30 am to get drawn on and prepped and at about noon I went into surgery. It was a really long surgery, I didn't get out until about 7 or 8 pm. The doctor says that the body liposculpting is time consuming as he has to hit all the fat deposits on the body. I mean everywhere. Arms, upper and lower back, the side of my breast, the fatty spot between your breast and armpit, waist, thighs (inner & outer), butt, just everywhere. I am still swollen from all the lipo. Then he did my tt and injected some fat into my butt to give it a rounder look, I can't see any difference there, yet, my lower back is too swollen. It was hard for me, there were nights I layed there and thought what the hell did I do to my body??? Am I crazy, how can anyone cause so much pain to themselves???? You wonder? I can't tell you how many times I promised God to let me get through this and I will never do this again... I stayed in the hospital 2 1/2 days and that was really good, the hospital is a private hospital and I was so well taken care of, the nurses don't speak Eng., but since I speak Spanish there were no communication issues. They were there for my every request and question. Let me tell you I'm not an easy patient to take care of, I think I wore out the nurse call button, I'm sure they were glad to see me go. The doctor and his staff were incredible, just wonderful, answered all my questions and concerns before and after surgery. He would come see me 2 or 3 times a day, which was wonderful. The first time they took my full body girdle at the hospital to clean my incision, I looked at my scar and belly button and got really anxious and nervous and almost passed out, I started crying and got really uspet with the whole thing. That was when reality hit me what I had done and how major this was, so it was quite disturbing at the time, The nurse ran to get the oncall Dr and he stayed with me until I calmed down and didn't feel like I was going to pass out. I have to say that if you are planning on doing this, make sure you will have someone with you 24/7 to help you, you will not be able to do this alone. It is not easy. But it will be worth it once its all done. I am still in between, I don't know if this was the right thing to do and I'm sure it will be the right thing to do. Its just hard. The whole time I was in pain, all I could think of, I could have taken a two week vacation in Hawaii with my husband with all the money I spent and I could be having fun enjoying myself, instead of being in pain. My mom and stepdad where wonderful, they took awesome care of me and my kids, my oldest daughter also helped me out alot, she's great. I was nervous about my little one not understanding and wanting to jump on me or what not, but he was great, he was told mommy had boo boo's and he would try to stay away from me. Well, that was my ordeal, Its two weeks today, so I'm still not out of this, it will take a while, but it looks like I'm going to be okay. Oh, I forgot to tell you all, the shunt for drainage is a pain in the ass, I hated that thing so much, I just had it out on Friday morning, I was draining more than the usual and the Dr. had to leave it in longer, oh my what a pain in the butt, that was the worse thing about this. Well, I'm glad to be back, I have tons of work to do. The best thing is to be back home and to see my husband, I sure missed him, it would have been easier to have him on my side during the recovery. Well, got lots to do and will have to come back and read up on what everyone has been doing these past two weeks.

Mostest Craziest Bandster- Delarla

I'm sorry, but I have been so busy w/ year end and getting ready for my trip that I haven't really been keeping posted on happenings. What happened to Penni?? Why did she have to have surgery??? I read that she is okay and I am so glad for that. Can someone please fill me in. Tks.

I am really tight right now, and only able to eat very small quantities, mostly mushies. I do however agree with you all on keeping my fill, I am probably just have .5 taken out, that would leave me with 2.25 cc's which is still good restriction. And don't worry I called the Dr and he said no I couldn't get unfilled for the holidays. I guess I had a brain freeze, I just needed you all to set me straight and kick my butt into gear. I feel so awesome today, got up early, did my 2.5 miles this morning, got my tight jeans on and I look fabulous. I feel so pretty, that is so weird for me, there have been very few times in my life that I feel this good about myself. Life is great. Well thanks for the advice and I'll let you know how it went after my vacation. Have a wonderful Christmas.

Well, I have lost the 10 lbs I had put on after ps, and I am down to 148. I have been walking 2 miles every morning and watching what I eat. I am at a good restriction level, the last fill I got put me up to 2.75 cc's. Problem is I am getting ready to go on my Christmas vacation to Texas and Mexico for 3 wks and I am seriously thinking of getting unfilled all or some. Last year I had just been banded and was unable to enjoy most of the foods that were prepared especially for us. Is it wrong to want to enjoy myself. I will have access to my band surgeon, he is right on my way and I am planning to see him anyway. Should I get unfilled, I can get filled back on the way back. Is that really stupid?? Should I just skip out on enjoying those foods. Please give me some advice, it would be of no cost to me, since my dr, doesn't charge me for fills. What should I do?? Has anyone ever been completely unfilled. I would be unfilled for about 2 1/2 wks and then I would get filled again. Tell me, is this wrong?????

I'm on there.

You look beautiful, just beautiful. Congratulations, you look beautiful...

Hey Roger, your confusing me. I am Miss April and Estela. NO really, my name is Estela, but a while back ago, the girls here on LBT came up with the idea of doing a lapband calendar and sell it and profits would be used to help Delarla get her port back, and I had called dibs on the month of April, so therefore I am also Miss April. Did that explain why you were confused. Cause I'm a bit confused myself. Well good luck and let us know if we can answer any questions.

Want me to come and kick Erin's butt?? Cause I will, someone hold me back....

You should really check into it. I live in Florida and this lady I know had the gastric bypass surgery at the Cleveland Clinic in Fort Lauderdale and it was fully paid by Medicaid. She just had a tummy tuck or body lift and it covered that procedure as well. So check into it. You might be able to get it done.

Don't cheat, you could make youself really sick. You are not reallly hungry you just think you are. I know that sounds weird but really, if your stomach is full, you aren't hungry, but because you know you are eating so little you think your hungry. Did you understand cause I've already confussed myself. Listen honey, it is tough in the beginning, but you can do this, think of how wonderful it will be once those fat ugly pounds start dropping off. Besides that the doctors put us on a specific diet for a reason, I made myself very sick and landed myself in the hospital cause of my stupidity. So calm down, find something to do, read a book and don't stress about it cause the more you think about it, the anxiety will kick in. so relax and remember, Monday will be here before you know it. Take care.

Please, please don't cheat. I too thought I could sneak in some solid food on the liquid stage and paid the consequences for it. I got so sick that I landed myself in the hospital. For me it was such a horrible experience. I aggravated my band and caused swelling, then I kept trying to drink liquids and I would pb, so I would try again until I agitated my band to the point where nothing was going down, NOT even my own saliva. It was such a horrible feeling I felt to thirst and was so dehydrated. Please be very careful and follow your dr's instructions. That hospital visit for me was $15,000, had to have two mri'sl, who every thought a four hour visit to the hospital would cost that much. So please don't beat yourself up for having eaten that little piece of meat, but use my experience as warning of what could happen -Worse case scenario of course. I never do anything the easy way, that's for sure. Take care.

So is this legit, have you ordered stuff from here??? Sounds like you have, but do you have to give them your credit card # for the shipping charges. I'm so skeptical of things like this cause I've learned that nothing ever is really free. So give me the scoop.. I love silvery jewelry, but I don't want to get ripped off.

Suki, from my experience, I have lost very slowly, I started at 190 and wanted to lose about 50-55 lbs, I thought surely it will be fast since I don't have as much to lose. But I was hit with a slap on the face, it has been a year since I was banded and I am still not at goal. I was down to 146 right after my tt and lipo and have gained back to 159, yuck! Will I ever win this weight loss battle?? I went without a fill for a long time due to the recover time from the ps, but I got filled this week and I think I over did it. I have been suffering with horrible acid reflux and I am so miserable. I had gotten a fill last week from 1.5cc's up to 2cc's and felt nothing, and went back on Wednesday and got an additional .75 cc's so I'm up to a total of 2.75 cc's and I'm too tight and now its tough luck for me. My doctor is out of town for the holidays and I'm stuck with too tight of a fill, it really sucks, but its all my fault. I didn't have to do any pre-op diets so I continued to eat normally until my surgery date so I did enjoy some of my favorite foods. Its normal, so don't be so hard on yourself. Good luck on your upcoming surgery. I'm here if you need me.

I went back for another fill, thinking that I didn't have any restriction since my fill last week, and so I drove out to Miami again and got another .75cc's so I'm up to 2.75cc's. Well anyways, I don't feel like I'm too restricted but I made the mistake of eating posole (Any Mexicans out there will now what I'm talking about) its a shredded pork stew, with hominy corn that is really spicy cause of all the ancho & chilli peppers I put in it. It was really good, knowing that I had just been filled I ate the broth only, well I woke up in the middle of the night, with it coming back into my throat. It was so gross and hurt. I stayed up all night with this heartburn that is killing me, I finally just sat up in bed and slept that way, cause everytime I layed down it would come back up. I feel horrible. It has been all day and I'm still burping it and can't get rid of the hurt. Do you think the fill has aggravated my acid reflux??? I am so miserable, I had brocalli n cheese soup for lunch and had no problems, but I can't get rid of this acid that is killing away at me.. Any ideas??? Has anyone ever had such a problem after a fill. I don't think I'm overfilled since I have been able to eat without a problem. Oh God, I hate this. Well if you have any advice, please share.

$6500 in Mexico. The ps was very qualified, I checked out his credentials with the Mexican Board of Plastic Surgeons, doesn't have one complain against him, the surgery was done in a private hospital in Reynosa that was very clean (very imptortant) and has and ICU unit, just in case, and the care I received was top notch. I am fluent in Spanish so the communicating was no problem for me. And one of the major reasons I chose him because he is only 5 miles from the US border, in my mind I figured that if there were any complications it would be easier for my family to take me to a US hospital. But I had no complications (thank God) and the surgery went very well. The tt was awesome, my stomach muslces were sore, but the lipo on my back and breasts was a little more uncomfortable and having the drain in was a pain in the butt. But overall it was not bad, the day after when they took off the bandages to clean me and I saw how big the cut was, I freaked out, just cause of the reality of the whole thing hit me, but after I calmed down I was fine and I am 100% satisfied with the results, especilly my back, just imagine no bra overhang, hooray!!!!!!

Oh, I thought of having my boobs done, but they still look pretty good in a bra, now when the bra comes off that's a whole other story, maybe later when they don't look good in a good bra, I'll reconsider.

Done did it, I had a tummy tuck and body liposculpture. I had my upper and lower back, arms, sides of breasts, fat from between arm and breast, inner and outer thighs, lower buttocks and then they injected some of the fat into my buttocks to make them look rounder and into my right hip bone area where there was a huge fatless hole. So it was pretty major, and I am recovering fine from all of it.

Welcome to LBT, you will find that this site is filled with wonderful, awesome people and advice. Good luck in your new journey and yes, we will all conquer the fat monster and reach our goals.