Desi80

dang it, i just tried and it said it was closed!

One of the doctors here has explained why he doesn't do fills...he is a surgeon, he doesn't have time to do fills all day. And really, its a free country, if they don't want to do fills for other doctors they don't have too. Thats part of the research involved when you get the lapband. Yes it sucks and makes it harder for people who can only afford to go to Mexico, but I'm not going to bash US surgeons for choosing to take care of their own first. I already have a hard enough time getting in to see my surgeon, i'd hate to think of what it would be like if she did a fill clinic too.

congrats! and welcome to Onederland

1. use my gym membership more 2. pay off my bills after that, things should be running real nicely lol

wow you look GREAT!!! How tall are you? Congrats on your engagement, i can't wait to see wedding pictures.

I was on Paxil and trazadone for post traumatic stress, i've been off meds for over 2 years, talk therapy works much better for me.

I had very little pain, was on morphine the first day, a mild pain killer on the second day, and tylonal for a day after that. I was having sex with my hubby on day 3/4 :banana

YAY!!!! Onderland never looked so good HUH! I'm so close to wonderland i can taste it. I'm at 201..i want to be under 200 by xmas....i got a week...i think i can do it if i go to the gym everyday this week!

i had my period while in surgery it was fine.

ditto Carrie, I drink a little here and there. I'm staying full, and loosing weight so I don't think about it to much.

Delarla, why would they not let you keep the new port they used? Its not like they can use it on someone else.

congrats!!! You look fabulous, with all this bad news we've had lately its great to see someone having lots of success!

I'm another who quit smoking, and doesn't crave a cigerette. I can't stand the smell anymore to be quite honest. I also LOVE my band. food is not evil, you just have an unhealthy relationshop with food. I don't love food anymore...i don't hate it. It is what it is, an energy source. My life is SOOOO much better since the band, even if i have to have it removed next month, i would heal up and be rebanded. Since being banded i spend sooo much more time living and not worrying about food. I'm sorry you have so much emotions going on. Its hard not an easy thing to deal with when things aren't going the way you planned, but i do hope you find peace with your situation.

i have 2 cats,1 dog ,1 turtle, and fish. I'm vet asst so i'm around animals all the time. Love them, love my job.

no pre-op diet, no required weightloss.

ugh i was the same way...i hovered at 206-208 for like 3 weeks, then after i got my period i lost 3 lbs and back to loosing...i just know i'm going to get to 200.5 and stall. LOL

my goal was to be under 200 by christmas.... i'm 202.5 AHHHHHHHHH i'm going to be weighing myself 5 times a day till i'm there LOL:Bunny

there are no guarantees with the band or any weightloss surgery really. Some people with the band take a really long time to get proper restriction and give up before they get the restriction they need. Some bypass patients lose the weight then start gaining it back (my SIL is on of these) Basically what it comes down to is are YOU ready to make this life changing choice? Are YOU ready to make changes to your life to make the band work for you? Are YOU ready to give up alot of junk food and breads? If your commited to working the band , then yes it will work for you. Also you have to be ready to face your food demons. There will be food that you just CAN NOT eat anymore. Some of these things maybe your favorite foods..how do you plan on dealing with that? How will do deal with not being able to eat as much as you want. I wil admit that i spent thanksgiving crying alot because i couldn't eat as much as i wanted. But i sucked it up and got over it. Some aren't able to deal with these emotions...thats why the psyc exam before surgery is important, so that can take care of these problems before surgery. When you meet with the surgeon and his/her team, they will talk to you and if they think the band won't work for you they will tell you. But really you won't know until you try.

anyone want to chat in the chatroom??? I'll see ya there! For those who don't know how to access it look up to the blue tool bar that says User CP FAQ etc there is one that says "chat" click on it and as long as you have java , you should go right in.

depends on how much time i have. I ALWAYS have a carnation instant Breakfast no matter what. When i have more time i will eat oatmeal bacon hash browns yogurt sometimes i'll just have a slice or two of turkey. breakfast doesn't always have to be "breakfast" foods

basically three thing will happen 1) you will PB (not good) 2) you will PB so bad to the point you vomit (REALLY not good) 3) you will sit around in pain for 5-10 minutes until is passes and sometimes vomiting seems like a better solution (not real good either) The idea is not to get to that point. Eat SLOW and take small bites. Its going to happen, i don't know a single bandster (who has been banded for awhile) who hasn't Pbed on occasion. The idea is to do what you can to the best of your ability not to PB. If you PB oftern (once or more a day) go on liquids for a couple days to rest your stoma/band. Then try again..if your still PB and you REALLY feel you are chewing things fully and following the band rules, make an appointment with your surgeon for a possible unfill.

let me clarify the difference between being two tight and "eating around the band" as sometimes its hard to tell the difference. I will use myself as an example. I had my first and only fill in oct. Went back a couple weeks ago and had lost 18lbs. Other then the occasional PB and vomit for eating something I either A) shouldn't have (bagel) or didn't chew/take small bite. All was well. We decided to ride out this fill and did not do another fill. Then I started doing stuff like "hey instead of eating a few bites of chicken, i can eat a whole bowl of cottage cheese. Instead of a salad, i'll have these refried Beans. It wasn't about being too tight, i just was greedy and wanted to eat more. This past week or so i began to think i needed an unfill, i was PBing, and just had a general loss of appettite. I did a liquid diet and allowed my stoma to rest, and i'm back to being able to eat. So lets review. To tight...PBing frequently , unable to keep solids down when bites are small and well chewed. Go on liquids for a day or two and problem does not resolve itself your still too tight. eating around the band... eating soft foods because you can, you enjoy eating that big bowl of ice cream instead of slowly chewing up that salad. Eating that can of refried beans (or pintos and cheese from taco bell) cause its "quicker" then baking some skinless chicken....ya'll get the point.

i love mederma, my doctor prescribed it to me (before it became otc) when i had surgery on my hand...good stuff...not perfect, but much improvement .

Harley Nana..it is harsh, but like you said soo true. I'm saying this as someone who has to struggle against it. It doesn't take long to learn what won't go down at all, what goes down well and follows the band rules, and what goes down easy. Of course the stuff that goes down real easy are the stuff that isn't good for us. ice cream, popcorn, nachos (the taco bell nacho bell grande goes down waaaay to easy) fried foods. etc I could easily live off of all the above because its easy. i can eat and eat and not have to THINK am i full? am i going to PB if i eat another bite? Unfortunately eating those things aren't going to make me loose weight. So I have a choice, i can be lazy and eat what goes down easy or i can put the effort into working my band. Somedays its not an easy choice.

congrats , it must be great to have someone who knows what your going through. My husband has talked about getting banded after we see how i do. Sometimes he totally DOES NOT get what its like and the ups and downs that go with it. I'd love for him to go through it so he could see what its like and i can say HAHA TOLD YA SO!