Apples2

Thank you for the kind words. I will definately accept your friend request. You are doing great! You will be at your goal b/4 you know it. Keep up the good work.....If you ever want to talk, PM or email me and we will stay in contact. I'm on a thread that I love..."I'm here to help" ...it's in the mentor section and started by Indiogirl. There are so many nice people on that thread and so willing to answer your questions, visit about real life, just a little bit of everything and so willing to accept new people. Come joing us! Take care and wishing you continued success!

Hey Laurie...good going on getting banded and also on your weightloss. Keep on following the band rules and you will be at goal b/4 you know it.

Sorry for the delay in replying....at the lake most of the summer...only home two days a week.

If you send me your email address, I will send you b/4 and after photos. I don't post my photos on LBT.

Stay in touch and if you have any questions, just let me know! Karen

Yep, Allie....you PM'd me but you didn't leave me you email address so I can send you that photo...PM one more time and just write your email address and I will send photo right away. Karen

Hey Janet. I have name address if you want to send Mrs. Bubba a card. You can also go on hospital website and send an ecard.

Julie Rader

St. Alexius Hospital

900 East Broadway Ave.

Bismark, ND 58501

Karen

Charlene..here's a couple of my recipes:

Banana Bars

3 large bananas, mashed

3 large eggs

1 cup Splenda

1/2 cup honey

1 1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup I Can't Believe It's not butter

1 cup white flour

1 1/2 cut whole wheat flour

1 tsp vanilla

Bake in jelly roll pan for approximately 25 minutes. Done if they spring back in middle when touched.

Frosting:

1 8 oz 1/3 fat cream cheese

2 cups Slenda

Blend with mixer until nice and smooth. Spread on cooled bars.

Blueberry muffins:

1 1/2 old-fashioned oats

1 cup whole wheat flour

1/3 cup packed Splenda brown sugar

1 Tbls baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 cup skim milk

1/4 cup I can't believe it's not butter

1/4 cup honey

1-2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries

Bake muffins at 400 for 15-18 minutes

Enjoy!!!!!!!!!!!!

Denise....just want to wish you luck on this next leg of your journey. I know revision would be a tough decision but you have suffered long enough and you are being very smart and proactive in taking the next step. Just all the best to you and keep us all posted. Karen

Lea....there's a great and helpful mentor thread titled "I'm here to help" started by Indiogirl. Just look for it under the mentor/buddy section. I subscribe to that thread. Everyone is very helpful and mostly successful banders. I am at goal (not without struggles) and very healthy and happy. You can PM me anytime with questions and I will see if I can help. OK? Karen

Hey Alex...not sure why but I am not getting email for my subscribed threads. I see others have posted about the same problem. Is there a solution to this problem?

Also...thanks for providing LBT. I recommend it to all persons I know that are considering LB or who have been banded and do not know about LBT. I can honestly say that LBT and the experience and help from others greatly contributed to my success with the band. Apples2

Hey, Kerry. Have not heard from you for awhile. How are things going? Contact me if you feel like it. I am anxious to hear from you. Karen

Hey Kerry. Haven't seen you on the board lately. Hope all is well. Things are pretty good with me. Waiting to have a fill next Tuesday. Had restriction up until a week ago. Attribute two weeks of it to flying and getting tight. Even though I have been hungry, I am sticking to my dr.'s strict rule of eating 1/2 cup 3x daily and that's it.

Think I have also hit a plateau and trying not to let it get to me. It's bound to happen once in awhile.

Hope things are going great for you. Check in if you have time. Karen

Hey Kerry, Just checking to see how you are doing and how your surgery went. I'm 8 days out and doing fine. The lap surgery was a breeze but surgeon did more than I expected. Had a hiatal hernia larger than a baseball. He was going to just repair it, close me up and not do the lap band. He talked to his team and they decided that since I had worked so hard and lost b/4 surgery that it would be worth a try. He told me yesterday at my visit that my recovery will be pretty long.

I have had extreme shoulder pain for the entire week. Every time I swallow (even saliva) I have such terrible pain that I can hardly take it. My kidney stones are less painful. He is unsure how long this will go on. It is from the hernia repair. He also cut away quite a few adhesions and I have to go back in when I am healed for surgery on a number of hernias in my belly.

Anyway, he told me yesterday that I can do NOTHING for six to eight weeks. I can walk but I can lift no more than a pound for that time period. I have to be careful how I get in and out of a chair and how I roll over in bed.

It's a bummer but worth it in order to keep my band. He stated that once the band has time to form some scar tissue, my chances of keeping my band increase. I want this to work so I will be very good. My husband is chasing me up to the lake for the next six weeks. (I am very picky about my house and he is afraid I will over do).

Anyway, that's my story. I'm a little bummed but plan on working really hard to make this work. Anxious to hear how you are doing. Let me know when you feel up to it. Karen

Kerry, just sending a message wishing you good luck tomorrow and a easy transition into band life. Make a pact with yourself to follow all the band rules. You can then look forward to a new you. God Bless. Karen

Hi Northern Lady, What part of MN are you from? Don't worry if you do not want to say. I'm from West Central MN. Have my last visit to surgeon (had to do six mo. supervised diet) on Tuesday and then will send paperwork to BCBS for approval. Sounds like you are doing great. Always nice to meet another from MN> Karen