piercedqt78

I prefer a straw, the bendy kind in bright colors. I also love to shoot straw paper at whom ever happens to be sitting across from me at meals. My family will take the paper off of a straw before giving it to me to prevent me from "attacking them" I have even reloaded and reshot a few times. Pass the straws please~Mandy

cracker barrel has pop rocks, I know cuz hubby and dd just had them from there. I had 2 pop rocks and burped for like an hour straight. It was ugly, there there was no pop involved. ~Mandy

I put it in ice trays and then added it to smoothies in place of ice, worked really well~Mandy

We had a blast, it was 10 days of magic. I really believe that there is Magic there if you look for it. I could live in the Orlando area, there is always so much to do there, just like here in Chicago but it is warmer there. Dave and I are going back in October without Abigale, only or 4 days but without the little one we can get as much done in 4 days as we did in the 10 we just did there and we can eat at the nicer restaurants. If anyone is interested, Disney is offering free dining from mid august through the end of Sept. There is more information at www.allearsnet.com there is a ton of info there about all things Disney. I am also willing to help out with planning. My theory is if I am not there I am planning to go there. So I stay in the loop of current Disney information... Like I said we had a blast, but we always do. ~Mandy

This was an internet postcard that I sent myself from Epcot. I wanted to share the picture with my LBT family. Notice I had all of Abigale's hair cut off? ~Mandy http://www.thinkingofyoupostcards.com/epcot1.nsf/postcards/3E70AA?OpenDocument&1AE616

I knew that I had found my true love, not because he completed me but because he made me want to express my true self. He wanted to know what was really inside, not just see what he was looking for. He still makes me feel like a princess, just by being there for me. Does that even make sense? ~Mandy

Tink, I just wanted to update this thread and give you a heads up. We are going back to Disney and when I made the ADR's, they reassured me that if I could show a card explaining my surgery I could eat at the kids price. So Chef Mickey's will only cost me $13 instead of $27 I am taking my card and we are eating at several character buffets and all of them should allow me to eat at the kids price. I also plan on sharing my counter service meals with my daughter. Hope this helps. ~Mandy

I was approved with a BMI of 39 with comorbidities. I had to fight Highmark BCBS for it but they paid 100%. ~Mandy

That sounds very exciting for you. I would love to be able to pack up and move half way around the globe, but my husband is just not that open minded. Make sure you are safe there, the bars on the windows and doors look a bit intimidating but I am sure they are just extra security measures. Is the house yours or is it part of the salary? Be extra nice to your security and life will be much easier for you, and get those dogs, the sooner the better. You have a once in a lifetime opportunity, I hope you cherish every moment of it, these are days you will never forget. ~Mandy

I have been suffering with my gall bladder for 18 months, but because I didn't have stones the doctors kept telling me my gall bladder was fine and didn't need to come out. My issues were not band related, but it is common for people to need the gallbladder out after weightloss or a major diet change, WLS or not. My MIL for example had to have her's removed after doing a 12 week opti-fast type diet. ~Mandy

I think the gall bladder was worse. I felt great after 2 or 3 days with the band and with my gall bladder I was in pain and really uncomfortable for 8 or 10 days. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that it was my 2nd surgery in 6 months? I'm not sure, but my gallbladder was definatly harder for me. ~Mandy

9 weeks post-op I was riding roller coasters and taking in 4 theme parks in 4 days with no problem. I managed to do all 4 Disney theme parks in Orlando 9 weeks out and had more energy then I thought possible. I was able to eat just about anything I wanted and it was just before my first fill so I had little restriction but I still managed to lose 4 pounds on that trip. ~Mandy

I was the same way, I counted down the days until I could feel like myself again. I thought the recovery was a bit harder then my band recovery but most people say it is about the same. I think that the difference for me was my band was in July and it was beautiful outside so walking the gas out was easy. My gallbladder was in Feb and it was cold outside so walking more than just the length of my livingroom was a b it difficult. Good luck to you, I hope all is smooth and this makes you feel back to normal again. ~Mandy

I posted my gallbladder saga here: http://lapbandtalk.com/showthread.php?t=15656 It was a long ordeal but it is gone and I am feeling better. I am not affraid to eat anymore. ~Mandy

OMG I just saw that you are from Chicago. I also have a great guy for you. He is an RNY'er and just a total sweetie. We both live south of the city, let me know if you are interested. ~Mandy

I can't tell you how to feel or what to do, but I can tell you my story. I married a man that used me as a trophy, I was thin (diet hell) and he and his friends all found me attractive. I was also 18 and he was 23. We dated and married within 8 months and he would go to the bars until 2 and 3 in the morning and leave me at home alone. He would go to parties and events without me because I wouldn't have fun with him. I started to feel bad about who I was and wondered why he didn't want to be seen in public with me. I was fine to cook, clean, pay half the bills and have sex with but not to go in public. I also packed on 95 pounds in that year. Things took an ugly turn when I decided to enroll in community collage and make something of myself. He became abusive and downright mean. One night he decided that I had to quit school and be a wife, when I refused, he beat me half to death literally. He then proceeded to destroy my home and leave. I filed for divorce 3 days later and it took me a full year $10,000 to get rid of him. During the process of divorcing my ex jerk I met a wonderful man that not only complimented me on my apperance but held open doors for me and sent flowers to my mom to thank her for such a wonderful daughter. We have been together over 6 years now and I still get goosebumps when he touches me. We have a beautiful daughter and we are happy with the life we share. I just asked him a few days ago if he could go back in time and do it all over again would he? He answered without hesitation, the only thing he would change would be to stop me from working the night I was in a terrible accident. He said he would not only marry me again he wants to renew our vows on our 10 year anniversary. There is a mr. right out there for you, don't settle for less. You are only worth as much to someone else as you are to yourself. Think about that~Mandy

I was talking to my sister about this today and she reminded me of something very funny: When my sister was pregnant with her youngest (the girls are 16, 14, 12, and 7) the then 9 year old oldest asked where babies came from and my sister proceeded to explain the facts of life to her. When she was finished as the poor child could say was "You and dad did that 4 times??? it was priceless. ~Mandy

Read this and see if it helps. : http://parentcenter.babycenter.com/refcap/bigkid/graisinggreatkids/67908.html ~Mandy

I am just over 7 months and have lost 62 pounds. ~Mandy

Gallbladder pain is different for everyone. I just had mine removed and dairy was waht really set my pain in high gear. I didn't have a single gall stone but my gallbladder was shutting down. An ultrasound was normal for me I had to have a HIDA scan to show the function of the gallbladder. I have been pain free since surgery. My pain was under my ribcage, felt like a balloon being inflated inside the ribcage and then someone trying to pop that balloon with a very sharp knife. ~Mandy

Mine is on the left side just under the ribcage. My scar is just above the port. It is starting to stick out a little but not too much. I was thinking about having a low profile port put in but mine is not leaking, infected and my tubing is good. I think I will listen to the old saying, if it ain't broke don't fix it. ~Mandy

We love Red Robin, we have to drive almost an hour to get to the closest one but it is well worth it. I order the cajun shrimp and pick off 90% of the breading. I also love the pot roast there and it reheats really well. ~Mandy

You will probalby get more responses inthe insurance forum. I am not from texas but I thought I would try to help. ~Mandy

Last fall there was a luncheon planned and several people said they would attend. I know of at least 10 Chicago area bandsters on this site. I would have monthly meetings even if there were only 5 or 6 of us attending. Every group has to start somewhere ya' know. ~Mandy

I have received several very nice and encouraging emails and several questions about my experience with my gall bladder. Since there are so many people with questions I thought I would make a thread about it, who knows it just might help someone else. I started having pain just under my right rib cage almost 18 months ago. Sometimes it was a burning pain and sometimes it felt like I had a ballon inflated under my ribs. I would wake up at night feeling like there was a knife sticking in my side. In that time frame I have had 3 ultrasounds and each one came back fine. I asked my surgeon to remove my gallbladder during banding and he said no, it was too risky as it can cause infection around the port and band. After surgery I was told my gallbladder was fine and didn't need to be removed anyway. The pain continued. My PCP treated me for gastritis (sp?), heartburn, reflux, GERD and anxeity. Nothing was helping. I went to my new band doctor and told him that I either needed an answer as to what was causing this pain or I wanted exploratory surgery so he could have a look around in there and possibly find a cuase. The pain was preventing me from eating and by this time I wasn't sleeping either. It had progressed from greasy foods bothering me to everything I ate causing me pain. Dairy was a really big one, I was living on propel and applesauce. The new band doc said that there was a test called a HIDA scan that would check the function of the gallbaldder. We set it up for the very next day. The test was simple enough they put in an IV and injected some dye into it. The a machine took pictures of the path of that dye from my liver to my gallbladder to my intestines. The after about 90 mins of laying still for the pictures, the tech injected a fat enzyme into the IV and that caused the same pain that eating was causing. Basically the machine takes a second set of pictures and the gallbladder should be about half the size it was in the first set of pictures. Mine didn't shrink at all. Also the tech said that the pain was a good indicator and that was actually part of the diagnosis process. My surgeon called me the very next morning and said that my gallbladder wasn't working properly, less than 25% and it needed to come out. I had surgery a few days later and I haven't had that pain after eating since. I am able to sleep on my back again and I even managed to sleep on my right side last night. If you are having pain on the right side, or even in the right shoulder, have it checked out. There is no reason to live with pain, especially if it was be treated. If anyone has any questions feel free to ask. ~Mandy