the best me

LBT has the best emoticons.

Jack is a female? Wow, I HAVE been gone a while. I never knew. Hey Jack!

I got an email, I guess that makes me an old timer? It's been a while. I was banded in 2005 and lost about 70 pounds, felt great, but still had another 30 to go. Took the opportunity to finally quit smoking, then lost my ever loving mind for about a year. I gained back everything I'd ever lost. When I finally got my wits about me, I discovered that my tubing had a hole in it, so my trusty band hadn't been working at all for me for a long time. Got it fixed and now I need another fill, but I'm still struggling to lose again. If BCBS paid for it, I'd totally get sleeved. In a second.

the saga continues... The top picture is of the pouch above the band full of the fluid, with some having already passed through, and the next picture is what happened next, my pouch squuezed and tried to get the fluid down, and instead it went back up into my esophogus. If anyone (a moderator? Penni?) knows how to get these pics posted rather than attached, I'd be grateful...please go ahead.

You know how skinny girls look in the mirror and say "I'm so fat!" Well, I have that, too. Only mine is backwards. I take a shower, fix my hair all nice, put on makeup and even lipstick, a nice shirt and my standard black elastic waist wide leg pants from the big girls section and look in the bathroom mirror and go, "Wow! I look pretty good! Maybe I will never be on the cover of a magazine, I'm kinda plain, but I look pretty, tall, not skinny but not that fat...not bad!" Woohoo! I'm feeling good, I'm out the door, and then I get the picture back from that day and think, "Who is she?" Whatever happened to the girl I saw in the mirror that day? What was I thinking? I am so fat. It's true. I'm not ashamed, just realistic, at least when I see the photo and go back to the mirror just to see if it's true, and it is. How does this happen? This week, I am making my fat photo album. I have a stack of pictures that noone else is allowed to see of me, and I will dig them out from wherever they are buried in the closet under the stairs and put them in chronological order and have them handy for my reality checks, when the Body Dysmorphic thing kicks in and I think I can eat this or that and get away with it...well, I can't. Anyone else suffer from this Disorder?

If I get one of these doo-hickies, it will probably be the Acti-trainer. First reason is price. Second is that it can track your sleep patterns. Other than that, I think they (Actitrainer and BodyBugg) are pretty similar. Anyone have a Consumer Reports account? I'm going to dig up something. I really want one.

OMG Sarah, I honestly had no idea you are 25 years old. I just thought you were in your mid 30's...I dunno why? And in your avatar...well, you could pass for someone older. You could! But your wedding pic?! Jaw dropping! You look soooo wonderful! Stunning! Radiant! YOUNG! You have lost more weight and you just MUST update your avatar. Your weight loss has taken years off of you. Fabulous!!!! Congratulations on your wonderful day. I'm so glad it went well and you are happily married! Well done! :scalesno:

Thanks for your reply, Charlotte. I'm still considering the cost...I think I'd really like this little contraption, though. I appreciate your feedback.

I have a few questions for you all... Will the BB tell you your heart rate at any given time? What kind of info do you see on the Bugg without plugging it into the computer? I can't really tell by the website...just how bulky is this thing? Will my long sleeved shirts fit over it? I'm assuming it has to be touching my skin... I suppose my biggest fears are: I use it for 2 weeks and it gets old somehow, or overwhelming, and I give up on it because I feel like I can't use it properly because I'm computer illiterate...or... I pay $399 for it and 3 months down the road I have to pay another $50 a month to keep using it and at that point, it's as useless as a gym membership that I never use. Those are some of my fears...any advice or feedback from those of you who are fans? Be honest...if I'm being unreasonable or unnecessarily pessimistic, tell me! (nicely, please).

Dr. Pedro Kuri Santiago: Lap Band Surgery Website Here is the Dr Kuri I know and love, and his team. All of them are still there, in case anyone is interested. Good luck JennyJen.

Thank you so much. I'm very proud and happy with quitting. It has been very difficult for me to find new ways of coping. It's been 6 months? (since Thanksgiving 2006) and I'm still finding my way. It isn't hard to stay quit, it's just hard not to eat, or want to eat, as a way of coping in the absence of the cigs. That's another thread I suppose, but thank you all the same! That's what I was afraid of. It seems odd she would do that, but it appears to be the case. That is unfortunate. I'm going hunting for Dr Kuri's website, if he has one up and running again. I suppose if someone wanted Kuri to perform their band surgery, they'd call the hospital? Thanks for clearing that up, flower. Your pics look Fab!

Here's a resize of your pic, hope this works. Oh, and congrats!

I just found out about that. I clicked on a BeLiteWeight ad and it said nothing about Dr Kuri. I went to the KuriGrads yahoo group and apparently, JoAnne Nayaran (sp?) and all of the US Patient reps (Sylvia, Ishi, etc) have set up shop in the US and no longer work for Dr Kuri. Dr Kuri has enough business without the US reps. *shrug* I dunno. Maybe Kuri wants to slow down a bit? There didn't appear to be any discord, but one never knows. I do know that Kuri is working out of a nice new hospital in TJ and seems to be doing well. I would FOR SURE invistigate further before scheduling, but I love Dr Kuri and have no regrets about seeing him for my band surgery. I have been banded over 2 years with no problems. Except that I quit smoking and gained 25 of the 70 pounds I had lost...my bad, not his. The band goes around your stomach, not your head, unfortunately. Maybe I need a lobotomy? :nod: Anyhow, good luck. Check out the Kuri boards on yahoo and see what you can find. Also, Obesity Help may have some folks who know the scoop, if there is one. Good luck!

Holy Moly, here's what I get for not checking in more often. I'll have to dig around to get the whole story, but I'm glad you are recovering well, Alexandra. You know what freaks me out? "I'm already hungry" Dang. Found it, I'm caught up. I'm sorry about your slip. Your positive attitude is such an encouragement! Thanks for sharing it. :eek:

For immediate relief, glycerin suppositories. :nod:

Jenna, post the cruise dates and details, who else is going? maybe link the cruise thread. Newer folks don't know what you are talking about and whether or not they might be "invited" even when they are...ya know? Post some details, or else 800 bucks doesn't sound like much of a deal. That's alot of money! Just a thought. :wave:

Wow, Celeste! 143?! Rock on! It's good to see you, Happy Birthday! You really should post some pics...*hint*

I couldn't say it better than this. Missing you, Ryan.

Missing you, Blossom. We got a new pole for your birdhouse to keep the snakes out. I still think of you, especially this time of year. Philip, we hope you are well and happy.

Back in April 2005 I paid $8950. I have no idea what his prices are now, but I assume they have gone up at least a bit. Check with www.beliteweight.com and fill out the form. Someone will contact you.

Yes, the Duggars (I remembered their name) and they are debt free. Have been for years. Amazing.

You have to want to, use the Patches and Wellbutrin (if you can) and make your last cig in the afternoon. I don't know why that helped me. It's been 3 weeks, 2 days for me.

Happy Birthday Dr C!!! Hope your day has been Fab!!

Yeah! Kind of like Jim Bob and Michelle...what's their names with the 16 kids?...except I'm guessing they used any TV money on their house. They got to take all those kids on vacay, too. More power to 'em. I love the Roloffs. Cool family!