vinesqueen

Oh Teresa, I"m so sorry. I know how you are feeling. We had to put Tipper to sleep, and we were all crying for a week. I know that this was not a situation that your arrived at easily. Two different trainers we used refused to work with Tipper because he was so visciou. There was just no way that I, as a normal person, could have kept him. I firmly believe that he was half coyotee, and that this cintrubted to his problems. (Mom was a stray) Christina, those are very wise words, but Teresa did try a professional trainer. ((((((((((((((((((hugs for everybody)))))))))))))))))))

Probably better than I expected. I have sort of expecting the Band to not work for me. but like Jessie says, "what makes me think I'm so special?" I've lost 30 pounds, and I can't help but want to put the "only" before the 30 pounds. Good gravey! I've lost 30 pound in 4 months! I didn't gain any weight! I LOST weight! I've had countless NSV (okay, I can probably count them) but my DH was banded before me, so I kind of knew what to expect. I dont' know if I answered your question.

Best luck! Not just good luck, but the very best! Here's hoping you have an even easier time than I did, and I was shopping the next morning!

Part of the deal I think is what type of BR you have done. One is where they pluck the nipple off the breast and pop it in the new position. I think this will negate any future breast feeding. I'm afraid that I won't meet the Notch to Nipple test for my BR. We shall see once I lose weight though. (I was a MM while BF my Spud.)

Yesterday Jessie said something interesting to me. "The Band is NOT meant to be surgical bulimia."

Welcome Janice! I don't know of a specific place for you. I think you may be our first VBG. I believe we are all the AGB, or are considering it. But don't let that stop you. I firmly believe that there are issues that face everybody who faces a major weight loss, no matter the cause or tool. It may be that we will not be able to offer truely helpful suggestions or experience. Good Luck in your journey

oh my gawd Jane! You look AMAZING! You have done such wonderful work with your band. I love your fairy party! I hate to break the news to you though... YOU DO NOT HAVE A FAT BUTT ANY MORE. Zoe, get your boot... Darcey! your boy-oh got his BA on the 3 year plan? Man, I'm on the 25 year plan... Love the expression on your fur baby... and yes Trish, next year you will climbing those stairs!

Hippo birdies Greg! (I'd sing "may the cities in your wake burn like candles on your cake" to you, but being the wild man you are... well, not taking any chances, you wild man!)

Oh man! that is wonderful! Break a leg! and a size 18 soon! oh man!

I was pretty freaked out by the thought of having something ... weird and foreign in me. I got over it I think the only hard and fast "rule" for the band is CHEW BABY, CHEW. Some people can tolerate carbination, some cannot. Some continue to drink soda, some have given it up and have never looked back. I've given up sodas 99.9%, although when I make the treck to ID, I will drink Red Bull. (but no Vodka when I'm making the trek...) I know my band is there when I don't chew something well enough, or eat something that is too dry. And I can always feel my port. Some people have to make major changes in the foods they can tolerate, others don't have to make a large change at all. Each bandster is different. My husband was banded almost 2 years ago, and his experience with food is different than mine. Yup, you might have to have that many fills, or you may have to have a dozen or a score over the course of your lifetime. I got the band for life, so I expect that I will probably need to have tweeks when I'm 70, 80 or even into my 90's. (We live a long time.) Of course, with the band, I have a much better chance to make it to my 95th birthday than I would if I was 300 pounds. At the rate I was going, I probably wouldn't have made it to my 80th birthday. the Band is NOT a quick fix thing. One thing to understand about the percentage of weight you will lose. Because you are a big fat boy or girl, and are walking around (presumably) and being somewhat active, your bone density is probably amazing, and you will also have a higher muscle mass, simply because you have to have great musculature in your legs to move your mass about the planet. (I'm currently a big fat girl ) With the bypass, there is the very real possibility that you will lose muscle mass due to malnutrishion. Bandsters don't have that issue. Do not listen to the scale, it lies anyway. I will never, ever weigh 125 pounds, which is the "normal" or "desired" weight for a woman who is 5'5". Besides, I would look terrible at that weight--I actually have a very athletic build, under all my fat, and I'm quite strong for a middle aged mom. One thing to understand is that with the bypass you will loose weight very quickly, but you only have a limited time frame in which to lose your weight. The folks that get the band lose very slowly, maybe "only" a pound a week, maybe slower. Some folks loose a bit faster, in the 2 or 3 pounds a week range. After the first year, it is true that we hae only lost a much smaller portion that bypass patients, but in my opionion, there is not enough statistical information available to say who has a better long term success rate. WLS has not been a popular or viable solution for more than a few years, so to say who has better results is simply not available. So why did I choose the Band and not one of the many bypass solutions? My DH has had great inital success with his band. He's lost so close to 200 pounds, but he's healthy. Also, if something goes wrong with the band, it is 100% fully reversable, and no one has played plummer with my guts. Good luck on your jouney. Only you can decide which is the right WLS for you. Not your mother, not your surgeon, no someone on the internet. Welcome to LBT, no matter what you decide.

They lie! Lie! scales lie, lie, lie! The BMI scale lies! Lie! Lie, lie, lie! The Tape Measure doesn't lie, nor do the body fat % mreasure things lie. (although the % measure things can be thrown off because of hydration or edema issues.)

Hello Daughter (17)! Welcome to the Banded Gentry. What a truely brave and heroic thing you have done for yourself. This probably doesn't mean much, but I am very proud of you to taking this scary step. There are many people here, and elsewhere for that matter, who whish desperately that they could have done what you have just done--get their band when they were young. You are two weeks into the band, and have probably started on soft and/or mushy foods. Life does get better, and soon you will be able to have real food again. It is even possible that you will be able to eat everything you had before the band, Just not the same quantiites. I know at least a couple of bandsters who can still eat cheeseburgers and pizza. (Me for one.) I just can't eat an entire pizza, but a serving of pizza is supposed to be "uh slice" not "uh pizza" You are probably going to feel somewhat isolated, being the only teen you know who has a band. Don't worry, there are lots of people who are the only bandster in their area. For a while, I was the only person in a large chunk of an entire state with the band. (Now there are about 3 of us.) Good luck Daughter (17). You are most welcome here. (and yes, I am a smart ass)

I believe Kathy (the best me) also had some major swelling, but her's was due to an unfortunate Jello incident. My DH was in the hospital for 5 days because of swelling. He was also a very special case because his BMI was so high it was meaningless -- 89. He weighed 600 pounds when his band was placed. I think someone else recently had a really bad swelling thing from a fill. I think it was Nykee. Yeah, ain't it grand to be special? So very glad you are better and belatedly, welcome to Bandlandia

oh, and another thing I was going to say... "and today is diffent how?"

We have a wide viarity of BMI folks here, from low BMI to Extraordinary Bandsters--those who fall into the Super Obese and beyond catagories. You might do a search on "low BMI" and check all those threads. Welcome to LBT

Okay, don't know why my post got eaten, but well, the internet gods are like that sometimes.... I think this is an excellent suggestion Jonathan. It might also be a good idea if no new threads could be started there, only moved there. The only extra thread that I would like to see would be a glossary or dictionary, so folks don't have to constantly try to figure out PB or Stuck.

Hi Aileena, I would say listen to your body. Have a small healthy snack. Don't starve yourself, if you are like me, I get into HUGE TROUBLE if I wait to eat and am ravinous. Things get stuck...

right on Michelle!

Okay, I still don't know if other people have the same problem when they get stuck as I do. However, I did find out some other things. PBing and getting things stuck are not the same. When you get that "golf ball" feeling it's because you are in the process of strecting your esofogus. But you do get the "golf ball" for the same reasons you PB. Your food was too dry, too rubbery, or you were not being mindful when you were eating. E.g. eating too fast, not chewing properly, taking too large bites, etc.

I doen't matter what I want to do. I want to go camping. But I have twin sister-in-laws and they have their birthday on the 4th. So I don't get to go camping ever again for the 4th of July weekend. Yeah, they get all the holidays. I never get to host a single holiday. I had to make up my own holiday-Crystal's Anual Going to School Day holiday...

I don't know if Oprah has had anything done or not. I mean, she's got a personal chef, and a personal trainer. If I had that, I woudn't have the band. There was a thread a long time ago about a woman who got the band and started to workout seriously. She looked amazing. A-freaking-mazing. unfortunately, I don't even know how to go about searching for that thead. I believe she started at close to 300 and ended up Wow without PC.

actually chicken and Peanut Butter are quite nice. I make squers (can't spell to save my life) in different styles. I do a terryaki, a fajita and a satay. The Satay uses a peanut butter dipping sauce. Very nice. It's sort of like chicken and chocolate. Ye-gods! what is she thinking? It's called Mole` (Mexican)

yes, I've noticed and I don't even pay attention to celebrities. "oh I eat all the time, I just work out a lot." What? do you have a tape worm? it absoulutely sets a bad example. the Media hold up these impossibly thin women as the socity ideal, meanwhile, women who are a size 8 or 10 are ridiculed for being fat or "gross." In the fashion industry, models are refered to as "hangers" because they are showing off the clothes, not the model.

How very exciting! I"m wishing you the very best, and yes, we wants lots of pix, not just the pretty ones, just so we know what to expect when it is our turn.