giveyouthemoon

I just want to say for the record that I LOVE this thread! And Pianoman! Glad that things have "come into focus" so to speak. That is a VERY good thing IMHO.

Nana! Thanks for the hugs, I need 'em. And yeah, you make a good point....it's no longer the first date. Here's hoping I get a second chance to make a good impression!! Okay, I like that idea. Next date isn't an "eating" date. Yeah, I like that idea a lot!! I also think I need a little fill taken out. I've been struggling with it anyway...hmmm. Thank you as well Victoriana!! Your words are so kind. Like salve on an open wound!!! So now "the next day" I still feel really goofy about the whole thing. I guess the whole "will he or won't he call me" thing is on. I told the whole story to the person who set us up and she said in her opinion, he's so easy going that it probably wasn't a big deal. Here's hoping. Thanks to my LBT family for giving me support!!!

Okay...so this evening I had a sorta kinda date...... Quick background...I was with the same guy for seven years and we parted ways two years ago. So it's been ~9 years since I had to "think" about dating. I'm a little...shall we say....rusty. Needless to say, I was INCREDIBLY nervous. I also had a sh*tty day at work...I mean a REALLY stressed out sh*tty day. So I was a bit spun up by the time the evening rolled around. So......since we were meeting for drinks, I wanted to be sure I ate something because since being banded, it takes only a little drink to make me VERY drunk. But having food in the belly helps. I had a Protein bar around 4 but we met at 6. So I was hungry again. So we got some chicken wings. I have had good luck with the wings at this very place. I mean, fine in the past. Perfect bandster food. Not tonight. Yes, you guessed it. Katrinka (my band) began to act up. I got STUCK. : cry : So I was able to nonchalantly go to the restroom and had a quick PB. So I went back to the table. I thought I was "all clear" so I tried a bit more chicken. By this time he's noticing that I wanted food but am not eating...or drinking. I eat a bit more chicken. And I get STUCK. Big stuck. Not sorta. Not a little. Big stuck. Katy bar the door stuck. STUUUUUCK. So I'm sitting there in SO much pain...trying to just get through but it's getting worse and worse.....I'm trying to listen to what he's saying while NOT barfing at the table. I'm fidgeting. There is no comfortable way to sit. I am in AGONY. That little bit o' chicken is now a GOLF BALL. Ow. He finally asks "are you okay?" I had to admit I wasn't. I said "I'm having terrible reflux" and he said he understood. I got up and ran to the bathroom again. PB'd BAAAAAAD. Oy. Eyes watering, the whole nine yards. So I get back to the table, sheepish and just said something like "oh I had to go burp" or something like that. He laughed and I felt MUCH better at least about the stuck but felt like SUCH an idiot about the whole sequence of events. I seemed to do okay recovering from that. But ay god!! I have these big plans in my head for being *cool* and all cavalier. Uh..no. First date out of the chute and I'm in the bathroom barfing up chicken wings. :sob: And of course I like the guy....so OF COURSE Katrinka gets wacky. First impressions are everything right? His first impression is me doing a five yard dash to the bathroom.......why me god? WHY? : cry : Anyhow, at the end of the night he did suggest we "do this again" so maybe that is a good sign. Maybe I'm not out of the running. Or maybe he was just being nice. If we do go out again I'm TOTALLY eating before hand.....I just can't do that again. Great. Just great. I want to be pretty, alluring, mysterious, desirable. What I am is pukey.....eye watery.....chicken in the esophagus. Great. Just dandy. Ya'll say something nice to help me feel better. I'm beating myself up pretty good.......

I second everything Bensmum said. She hit on ALL the things I would have said. For a first timer, I really do suggest Sausalito. Either by ferry or drive over the Golden Gate. So incredibly beautiful!!! Have fun in SF. It's such an amazing place to be!! I wish you had more time to be there, there is TOO much to do!!

:comes running into the thread: Where are the guys?? Someone said guys were in here!! I *adore* guys. :waves:

I guess I'm most shocked at the number that voted "no this is ridiculous". I mean....there but for the grace of god go I....how can thoughts, seriously scary but very human thoughts be "ridiculous". I honestly think that for folks for whom this topic is scary or causes them to run that they need to take a look at that fear....and figure out why it resonates so hard with them. It's all about self awareness. And I just want to stand up and applaud johnqpublic. That cannot have been easy to share. What a hard story and what a beautiful success you are. You wife is incredibly lucky to have a man such as you. You are very appreciated!!! Bless you!!!!

Okay I did it too! This is SO much more spread out than the one I did on another site!! lol!!!

Walking! Get up and move around, it honestly helps keep the gas moving!! Walk around your living room if you have to just get up every hour or so and KEEP MOVING! Congrats on your band by the way!! Whoooo hooooo for yoooooou!!!

I second the vote on Melantonin! Goooood stuff! Alex, I'll have to look for the chewable kind! I take a small capsule. I loooove it. It sometimes give me odd vivid dreams, but they are kind of fun.

I am one of those who is WIDE OPEN when I am PMS'ing and on my time of the month. It's like I have two good weeks of restriction and two WIDE OPEN weeks. It's a tough call how to get filled for that. For me personally, I decided on my second fill when the two weeks of restriction wasn't really all that restrictive. Maybe talk it over with your doctor to find the right "sweet spot".

Dawn - here's what I did. I found at a health food store powdered egg whites. Yep, strange I know. But I would blend a scoop into the Protein shake, couldn't taste it and it WAY boosted my protein intake since it's nothing BUT protein. I liked the powdered egg whites because they didn't add a lot in the way of calories and didn't have all the "extras" of other protein powders (flavors, Vitamins, etc). There is also such a thing as soy bean powder but it's tough to find. I got some at Trader Joes. It has to be soy bean powder not soy isolate or soy flour. I think there is also whey powder out there but it's normally flavored and crammed with extra vitamins. Other things I tried were adding a spoon of Peanut Butter or almond butter to my Protein shakes. It adds fat which TOTALLY helps you feel full for much longer and it adds protein.

I have, more than once, prayed constantly that God would just end it. I mean BEGGED him to let me die. I would never do it by my own hand, and I don't know if pray as hard as possible to die constitutes "attempting", maybe it does. I suffered through about ten years of bulimia and there were nights I was sure that was it. My heart was beating irregular and I was so weak, I was often shocked (and unhappy) I woke up the next morning. All of that wasn't just about being obese. It was about a lot of things and the obesity surely didn't help.

Heck I'd pb on potatos of any kind fill or no fill. Just say NO to potatos. I say maybe keep trying. Aim for a no pb day, you are probably all swollen up. And then if still a problem get a slight unfill. Hang in there!

I agree totally with aaamom. DO NOT get another fill. You are already probably a skosh too tight. Maybe you get a slight unfill? That what it sounds to me is going on. Hang in there and much luck to your hubby soon to be banded!

The girl in the hat is ADORABLE!!!!! And the hat is just too damn cute.

No you are not kidding because I've done this. It's a Hulda Clark remedy. Liver cleanse I think it's called. It was a weird process but MAN OH MAN did I get some pebbles out of me!! I haven't done this for a couple years but it does in fact work. There are plenty of places on the 'net to find the instructions. I'm currently taking Actigall I guess to head off gall bladder problems. The stuff is supposed to be "mild" but basically I can't have a solid number 2 when I'm on it. Grrrr. Since I've lost 60 lbs I've been thinking about doing the gallbladder flush. Just in case, you know? Anyhow, bandman....sorry to hear about the problems. I hope it all works out right for you!!

Wow. Wow. Wow. What an amazing success!!!! You look great and what an amazing thrill!!! Your LBT family is cheering right along with you!!!!

For my psych eval, I just talked to my therapist. She asked me why I wanted the surgery. What were my plans. How I would handle the depression of not having food. How I would handle the depression of body changes. And was I committed to the process. Then she wrote a letter to the doctor. That was what mine was all about........

I second THAT emotion. Penni, I cannot tell you how happy I am that everything seems to be fine.

Whoa no, Whoa no My buddy De has no erosion to show At work I will think of her, this we all know Whoa whoa no (I'm always yer girl for any kind of "fun with insanity"!!)

:does the happy dance for Jonathan: Wow, what a relief THAT is!!!! And like DeLarla said, some MUCH needed news around this place!

I think it depends on the person and depends on a lot of factors. Relative level of restriction seems to be the biggest common denominator. And PB's range from a mild "sort of stuck" and just spit up some saliva to a full on leaning over the toilet waiting for particles to come up. For me, with just my first fill, I PB'd maybe once a week if even that much. With my second fill I have great restriction but I'm having a hard time getting used to the new pace of eating so I'm pb'ing a few times a week (not always a full on leaning over the toilet kind, often just a "something is kind of stuck but I can wait it out" kind) and working VERY hard to get that reduced down. I don't think the PB should be dreaded. It should instead be seen as a learning experience. I mean, you get immediate feedback when something didn't go down right. My surgeon calls the band "surgical behavior modification". That being said, a PB is hard on the band and of course something that we should all be working to avoid. I'm only five months out from surgery so I really feel like I'm still learning and each day I hold positive thoughts that my band is fine and properly in place.

Whoooo hooo!!! Good luck, I know everything will go just great! Let us know when you are banded. I'm excited for you!!!!

I got 5/10...lol! And I work for an IT company!!! Shows how much I think of "my boys" eh??? Truly I wonder about some of the specimens I see in the cafeteria.

Lisa, I'm so incredibly sorry. I lost my kitty several years ago but it still hurts to think about it. There is nothing like the unconditional love of a pet. It's a beautiful thing. And I agree, Alex, let your kids know that kind of love even it if means one day they hurt. It's beautiful for a mom to want to protect her kids from hurt, but knowing that kind of love and yes, that kind of loss, is what makes us human. Sending big hugs to you Lisa. My heart breaks along with the rest of us in your LBT family.