Miss Michelle

So I was banded on 5/23/08 and in November of that same year I found my sweet spot after three or four fills. Since being banded I have lost 135lbs but have still not made it to my goal weight (at my lowest weight I was about 20lbs shy). Recently I have been able to eat a lot and even wake up hungry in the morning which I havent felt since before surgery. I even have gained about 15lbs in the last two months. I have had acid reflux and heartburn since banding and my doc did find a very slight slip in my band at my last visit but nothing enough to remove fill for or need to worry about at that moment. My question is- does my sudden change and weight gain mean my band has really slipped or is it possible to need a fill even after I was at my sweet spot for so long? I know the obvoius answer is to have testing to see the placement of my band but since surgery my ins has changed and it currently does not cover any band related expense. So I would have to self pay and money has been tight lately. I am so scared that some sort of revision will be needed and I literally will not be able to have it done because of cost....

Ok, I am sure someone else has posted about this somewhere..Since being banded last year my already fine hair is just getting thinner and thinner. It falls out if I brush it too much, dry it too long or flat Iron it. I have stopped styling my hair and decided to just keep it up becuase I am so embarassed by how it looks. The breaking is making it look like I have layers, and not flattering ones!!! What do I do? A friend who had gastric reccomended Biotin which I have been taking but it doesnt seem to help. I considered cutting it so that it may look fuller if shorter but I am terrified that it will never grow and keep breaking until I have to have a pixie length cut. Has anyone found anything that works??? HELP!!!

Hey, everyone- I checked the fitness section here on lbt but didnt really find any great recomendations for workout dvds. I am looking for something fun and that will make up for the days I miss the gym. I would love something like flirty girl fitness but dont want to spend the $200 for the set...Any suggestions???

Hi Maureen, Congrats on the start of your new life! You will be FAB! OK, so for the ticker: Go to User CP on LBT Select 'Edit Signature' In another window, go to www.ticker factory.com Select 'Weight Loss' and create your ticker. When your done, copy the 'bb Code'. Paste it in the signature box on LBT. Preview to be sure it looks right then save. GOOD LUCK!!!

September 2007- Pre Banding May 2009 - 1 Year After Surgery

Congrats to all! I am super excited- I lost 125 exactly by my 1 year bandiversary on the 23rd! The next day, one more lb lost and I AM IN 1DERLAND!!! WooHooooooo!

People suck , don't they? Right now I am dealing with a friend who texts or calls me with these rediculous statements without considering my feelings. She texted me just yesterday saying she was looking a pic's from a b'day party we recently went to and said (and i quote) "I am looking at pictures of us at my mom's party and I am twice your size! I hate you, stop losing weight" I ignored it because how am I supposed to respond to that??? She has also said jokingly that she hated me for losing so much weight cause now she's the big girl of our group of friends. WTF????

Can you believe it May Flowers / Shrinko De Mayo's- our 1st year bandiversary is fast approaching. I think it would be nice for us to check in and update us all on our progress so far.... My bandiversary is 5/23 and so far I am down 121 lbs but am hoping to be down 125 by the 23rd. I will check in again closer to then As for my band- this was the best decision I have ever made! I am finally able to be me! For years I was so misserable I even dreaded leaving the house. My doc, Dr. Fielding of NYU was banded himself and at the very first seminar I attended he said that I will stop thinking about food the way I always had. It wasn't going to run my life anymore. I never thought that would really be the truth, I honestly thought it was a sales pitch. But it is so true. It's almost unexplainable to people who have not been through what we have. I can't eat alot of the things that I used to love but ya know what? It doesn't matter anymore. My pants are SMALLER, LOL! So no matter how close I am or how far away I am from my goal, I know that I am getting there and I have no regrets!

UGH! I STILL HAVE A HARD TIME LOOKING AT MY BEFORE PIC'S. I WAS SOOOO UNHAPPY! BEFORE: IN PROGRESS:

I think I am broken. I don't want it more, I actually have been wanting it less. I mean, sex is better once I get into it but poor DH, getting me in the mood is soooo hard to do lately. I dont know if it has to do more with my diet, or my long hours at work on top of an hour+ commute each way, but I have no energy and am EXHAUSTED!

I :drool: NY & COMPANY!!! I buy all of my work clothes from there!

Yay, KristiLynn! When I hit my 100lb loss, I went shopping! I bought new clothes in a size 14! 14! I will def be buying soo much more once I get to my long term goal and am thinking of a tattoo. Something with cherry blossoms....

113 lbs down for me so far....

At my lowest adult weight I did have a cute round butt, but the more weight I gained, the wider and flater mine got. So, since losing 112 lbs my round booty has reimmerged! I actually think its ever rounder than it used to be and as I lose I have found that my body has changed shape alot too since I was 16. Well, either that or clothing sizes got a little bigger. At 213lbs I can wear a 14, when before a size 14 meant I weighed 190lbs. Hmmm... Anyways, I keep getting caught by DH looking at my booty in the mirrors at home becuase it just amazes me! LMAO!

I went into Charlotte Russe and was so sad to see that I still cant fit into anything there (wearing a missys 14, and the biggest size they carry in my local store is a juniors 13). I am trying to keep in mind that less than a year ago I wouldnt have even had the guts to go in! So I think we are all doing fabu-less-ly and we have to remember that when we are out shopping! So far, some of the stores I am dying to shop in: I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the Guess accessories store but my feet are still too fat I think to fit in thier shoes, lol. Soon enough, soon enough.... Victorias Secret. Five years ago I got a gift certificate for X'mas from there (not sure what my step mom was thinking...) and DH overheard someone say "She knows she is too big to be going in there". I will not step one toe in there again until I at my goal weight, then I say screw them all and whatever they are thinking! Bitches! ALDO shoes- My shoe size has already gone down a 1/2 size so I dont want to spend too much on any one pair until I am at my goal. I wouldnt want such hot shoes to go to waste ; )

110 lbs ago, I was dying to shop anywhere but Lane Bryant and/or Avenue. Now that I can wear more things and show off my style, I am having a really hard time finding my new go-to store. I am inbetween a 14-16 right now so there are still a few places that I cannot buy anything from just yet, but hopefully soon I will be able to go into any store I want! So, May bandsters, what I want to know is, what is your new favorite place to buy your clothes and what is your goal store???

Congrats, Kiki!!! My latest NSV: Today, I went to a really big mall about an hour from home and me, my hubbby, son, bf and her kids all walked around for HOURS! Everyone was complaining about being tired and thier feet hurting....but not me. I wasn't tired or in any sort of pain. A few months ago, I wouldnt have been able to do that! Second best thing that happened today- In Macy's I picked up this super cute leather jacket in a Large. It was teeny. I figured I'd try it on to see how much further I had to go before it would fit. Well, guess what!?! It not only fit, but buttoned and looked nice too! If it werent for the $300 plus price tag, I wouldve worn it all the way home! LOL

YAY, Christine! Woohoo for being obese...lol and for not being MORBIDLY obese!

K, I am gonna turn up the heat for a sec....:thumbup: My newest NSV: Last night during the middle of sex w/ DH, he picked me up to switch positions. Just in case you missed that-HE PICKED ME UP! Of couse it freaked me out and I screamed put me down because I still suffer from fat girl syndrom. I am trying to let go of my issues but I still see myself as that chick who still carries the 102 lbs I have lost so far. I am working to get over it and, *ahem*, maybe a few more lbs and I will request to be picked up :thumbup:

2 MAJOR NSV'S FOR ME, PLEASE! 1. OK, I may have cried :tongue: in the shoe section of my local department store yesterday! For me this is a HUGE NSV!!! For years I have been dying for a sexy pair of tall, pointy toe black leather boots -think: the friends episode where Monica spends like $1200 on a really hot pair of boots and they were gorgeous but she couldnt walk in them and Chandler ended up having to give her a piggy back ride around NY. Anyway i could never find a pair that I could zip up over my calves...That is until yesterday! YAY! And they are not even wide width or made for large calves!!! They are so cute, I cried!! I even made hubby take pictures of them on me in the middle of the shoe section and send them to my mom's cell phone for her to see, lol! 2. According to my newest BMI reading, I am OBESE. Yes, I know most people would not be happy with being called obese, but for me, coming from MORBIDLY OBESE, being just obese..this is HUGE! CAUSE I AM NOT SO HUGE ANYMORE, YAY CHIQUITA!!! (Chiquita is my band, hehe...) Keep it up May Flowers and Shrinko De Mayo's we are doing GREAT :sad_smile:

I think all of our DH's react differently to us being banded but most have these reactions I think becauswe they are scared. Maybe because they do get comfortable with how and who we WERE. I dont think he is intentionally trying to sabatoge you, but I do think that he is a man who is worried about how the band might change you, and more than just phsyically. Luckily my hubbys is not forcing my favorite foods on me but at one point I felt like he was in a way competing with me. About four months post op he started going to the gym at 5am before work and then again after work. Sometimes he even went more than twice a day, it was rediculous! Once when a friend noticed his 20 lb loss he said "Well, someones got to keep up with Michelle". That remarked made me so mad and I didnt get why he was looking at it that way. My mom says he is worried that I will get skinny and leave him like my cousins wife did. (She had gastric bypass and then started cheating on him after losing over 100 lbs-although I cant just blame her, I mean they had to have some marital issues that were kept quiet in order for this to happen, right?) Lets face it. Unfortunately we live in a world where the majority of people do not look at us fat chicks as attractive or beautiful. As pretty as my hubby thought I was, I honestly believe that he didnt think he had to worry about looks from other men or me being hit on before being banded. He was comfortable. I have lost a lot of weight since my surgery in May and recently, it has been much more noticeable. I can already see that he is not used to me getting attention from others. Its made him very nervous and he started acting strange like with the gym thing and then calling me at work like 6 million times a day. I finally had to tell him that Yes, I did this for me but my surgery in a way was for us too-my family and he needed to relax before his actions seriously started causing us relationship problems. Since then thngs have been better. I guess just talk to him and tell him that you need him to be supportive now more than ever. And just because you cant or dont want to eat certain foods anymore doesnt mean that you expect him not to too. Oh, and tell him to pick up after the dogs too, lol! Good Luck!!

I still have 65-70 lbs to go before I am at my goal weight, but I have begun researching Plastic Surgeons and costs so that I can really start saving. I came across Dr. Kolker's website and his before and after photos are AMAZING. I was wondering if anyone out there has used or heard of him? Thanks!:cursing:

I am so excited about an East Coast Conferance! I'd prefer NYC but I would do either NY or NJ!

DH has been acting really strange lately. He keeps complaining about everything I buy for myself which I could understand if I were spending alot of money or if he was conservative with his. He is a Jordan fan, you know those $150+ sneakers and owns dozens. This has always been a sore spot for me since I believe that buying a new pair every month is a waste of money especially since he very very rarely wears any of them. Anyways the point is I have been shopping alot for me lately but- because I am-yay me-changing sizes I am not interested in spending alot of money on any one item. I havent even bought a winter coat yet becuase I am trying to get one at the cheapest price since I am hoping I will not be wearing the same size next winter. I have been doing alot of shopping at Marshalls and AJ Wright, etc. I mean literally I have not spent more than $19.99 on pants! How can anyone be upset with that? I also am a manager at work and have to look the part. I cant be walking around with droopy elephant ass becuase my pants are too big, ya know? :biggrin: Well things got really aggrivating when last week I cleaned my closet out for the 2nd time since surgery. He kept making comments about, "hey- cant you shrink that, cant you have that taken in?" I know he was joking and trying to be funny about it but Damn it- let me have my moment! This is the first time in a long time that I am spending a little money on myslef, dont I deserve it? Am I overreacting-I am very moody lately- or is he being an ass?