JanetC

Those are awesome Sandybells! Woohoooo!! We missed you at dinner, Leatha! Check out the June time! You'd better be there!

Sorry I've been MIA!! And now I'm off to catch up. Wow I missed a lot! This is going to be a long one! Ahh Cozzie, I'm so with you on eating with other people! I worry constantly! And we eat out in groups a LOT & we haven't really told others we've had the surgery, so I'm very, very careful, heh. Wow, 2 pounds a week is awesome!! (Still Cozzie.) Hope you can keep it up & get that 56 gone in no time! I've got **sigh** a bunch left to lose. We've been doing ok so far, about 1.5 pounds per week on average, but I know that it probably won't be this fast forever. I'm really trying to not focus on the weight. In fact, we just plain ol' don't weigh. I get to weigh when we see the doctor... and I keep forgetting what the weight was, lol. I have to have Mikey write it down for me so I can update my signature here, heh. Hey Michelle! Congrats on your 2cc & restriction! That's awesome!! Sorry about the PB. For what it's worth, the first one is the worst. Not that I love 'em, but they don't terrify me now! And I'm glad the scale's moving, wow, so close to the 1's!! Go go go go go!! Go Julie! Listening to your body & stopping before it hurts!! That's awesome!! How's the training in that area going? I'm still struggling with it, I really don't like stopping! Yay Becky with 1cc fill! Ouch, another fill evaporated. We had a bunch of them just with us Febsters. Weird! 5 hours without hunger?? Awesome!! Is it still working that way? That's so cool! And 28 pounds lost, wonderful! Oh my goodness, JerseyTammy!! With all that's going on in your life you still lost 3 pounds? That's awesome!! On your watery mouth episode, I've been finding that the band is turning fickle on me. Mornings are getting harder & harder to eat. And my period is changing things up BIG time. Some days super loose, some days super tight. I sorta have to play it by ear & hope I pick correctly! I'm praying for your family & you! Hope things turn around soon for those sick & in the hospital! Tammy & Michelle, on the hair loss: Our nutritionist told us this week that the hair loss from the anesthesia (sp) starts at about 3 months out, so it's right on time. Assuming you've been getting sufficient protein & biotin, it should stop soon & should grow back in. You might want to check your multi-vitamin for biotin, it's not always supplemented enough. And we don't really get it in our bandster diet, so we often need to take an extra supplement. Also Tammy, remember that you had a MONTH without eating... I'm afraid your hair loss may go on for a while. Sorry hon!! Really increase your protein or make sure you always get enough, supplement your biotin & maybe stop by GNC & ask if they have a hair & nails supplement or something? Maybe some gellatin caps? (I think my mom used to take those, lol.) Hang in there, it will come back! And remember that stress can cause hair loss, so try not to worry about it! With everything you've got going on, you need some sunshine in your life! Try to get yourself smiling & laughing at least 5 minutes every day & get outside as much as you can! Wow Nanster, another evaporated fill! Glad you got your 2nd one! And that really explains the lack of restriction, huh! 23 pounds is awesome!! Celebrate every pound! And remember that we're in it for the long haul... give it time, you'll get there! Really slow down with your new fill. Make sure you're stopping in between bites & giving yourself time with NOTHING in your mouth! That really made the difference for me. If you're still having problems getting anything down, try sipping warm tea just before eating... I'll see if I can find StrawartS list, it's my golden bandster rule! I'm glad your mom's doing better, Michelle! Knees are the worst, heh. I need mine replaced, but I'm hoping that losing weight will change that, lol. Welcome PJ Robinson!! We're glad you're here! Pull up a chair & tell us all about you! Jump in & start chatting! Yayyyyy Tammy! I'm so glad your aunt's at home!! And that your mom's feeling better! That's great news!! We're still praying for your uncle, hopefully they'll find a great rehab hospital. Oh my word, how dare they reschedule your fill!! I don't think they understand how important & personal this is to us!! "Sometime" in June? Pft!!! I don't think so! I'm so glad you got in to see him! How did it go? Ouch Tamyrn, sorry you PB'd! How've you been since then? Still no restriction? We're really, really close to surgery, so I doubt you've slipped... the sutures should still be really strong. Hopefully you get your fills with fluro, so you can be reassured the next time you see your surgeon! I'm sure you're fine... be gentle with yourself & try to listen to the soft stops & such. Hey Nanster! I'm with you on the port "pain". Sometimes it aches, sometimes it pulls, sometimes it burns. It seems to "hurt" just after I eat, lol. It's part of my new "full" signal. My theory is that my stomach moves which makes the tubing move, which "pulls" the port. I can come up with an explanation for anything! Mine's starting to show more too... I hope it doesn't get too bad! How's your restriction going now? Are you getting solid protein down yet? Hope so!! Ouch on the sick kids, Stacey! How was the weekend? Hope they're feeling better! And for Nanster... the "living with a tight fill" rules (this was a blog post I made a while back): A few weeks ago I couldn't seem to eat without hurting. I golf-ball almost every meal, at least once... sometimes two or three times. StrawartS posted this list to help folks deal with "first bite blues" (also called "first bite syndrome", or "living with a tight fill"). I haven't done the hot tea part yet... I'm not really tight, lol. But if I follow the rest of it, I do well. I've taken to actually watching a second hand... and this is what I found: My normal bites are 0 seconds apart. My 2nd bite is in as SOON as I swallow. My "slow" bites are 3-5 seconds apart. LOL!! Sad, but true. 30-60 seconds is FOREVER!!!! Dealing with first bite blues: 1. Drink HOT tea before your first bite. 2. Take a VERY small first bite. 3. Chew till the end of the earth. 4. Swallow. 5. Wait 1 minute WITH YOUR MOUTH EMPTY. 6. Drink more HOT tea to wash it down. 7. Repeat steps 2-6 for the next few bites. 8. Put your fork down for 30 seconds to 1 minute between ALL subsequent bites. Happy eating!! For those of you getting fills soon, remember this list... review it, memorize it, internalize it, lol, LIVE it!

If you go out to dinner at a nice restaurant & spend less then $10 for 2 of you... you might be a bandster!! (One of my favorite side effects!) If you find yourself looking forward to your next bandster get together so you can update your icon... you might be a bandster! If you just proudly demonstrated to a table of people that you have FINALLY learned how to make yourself burp... you might be a bandster!! **blush** If your dinner conversation included burping, passing gas, colonoscopies, endoscopies, ports, shots, needle size, & scar treatments -- and you never batted an eye... you might be a bandster! (I thought this needed bumping, I missed hearing laughter here.)

Wow, congrats Macs99!! Welcome to LBT! Be sure & keep up with the Texas board, the DFW folks get together for fun & frivolity often & would love to have you join us! We're glad you're here!! Ask any questions you have, someone's bound to have something to say!

Mikey & me (thanks MyKdsDad!) Note the pigs jamming in the background, lol.

Divanita & her daughter.

The image button is gone I'll try to fake it, but I may just end up doing these as attachments. **sigh** Guess it's attachments. One at a time so they show, augh! Ya'll were right, lol, I should have had Randy & Joy move! Still, the contrast wasn't too bad.

I'm going to list all the opportunities for bandster socialization. Several of these are compliments of DFW Bandsters (a Yahoo group). Mikey & I have been attending them regularly. They're a fun group. The attendance varies from week to week, but everyone's been really nice. Basically, with these events included, we have something band related every Sat of the month except the 2nd one. Good times! Burleson Bandster dinner, Date: Saturday May 27, 2006 Plano Band Buddies Saturday lunch Date: Saturday June 3, 2006 Time: 2:00 pm - 5:00 pm Hosted by: DFW bandsters (Yahoo health group) Repeat: This event repeats on the first Saturday of every month. Type: Lunch Location: Aparicio's Restaurante Mexicano & Tequila Bar 1001 E. 18th St. Plano, TX 972-423-6980 Aparicio's Restaurante Mexicano & Tequila Bar is located 3 blocks east of Central Expressway on 18th Street in Plano, TX (or 1 block west of Ave "K". Restaurant sits on the immediate east side of the DART railroad treacks. food is delicious and the service is accomodating and efficient. The fellowship is the best!!! List of LBT-ers going (I'll let the Yahoo group know): 2 Janet & Mikey DFW LBT Dinner Date: Saturday June 17, 2006 Time: 4:30 pm Hosted by: Um, us!! LBT DFW-ers! Repeat: This event repeats on the 3rd Saturday of every month. Type: Dinner Location: Red Hot & Blue Restaurant 5910 N Macarthur Blvd Irving, TX 75039 972-402-0225 It's just NORTH of 114 on Macarthur. Yahoo maps is off, but not too much: the star is just on the wrong side of the highway. The restaurant was nice. Good meat selections, great adult beverages, fairly quiet, nice comfortable chairs. If you want us to move again, let me know! Also, if the time is getting too late, let me know. 3pm was just a little too early for dinner, and too late for lunch, lol. Though it was nice to be the only folks there! List so far: 2 Janet & Mikey Burleson Bandster Dinner Date: Saturday June 24, 2006 Time: 4:30 pm - 7:00 pm Hosted by: DFW bandsters (Yahoo health group) Repeat: This event repeats on the last Saturday of every month. Type: Dinner Location: Antonio's Mexican Restaurant 344K SW Wilshire Blvd. Burleson, TX 817-426-3460 Antonio's is on SH 174 (Wilshire Blvd) about a mile west of I-35. Exit I-35 at the Wislhire Exit (can only go to the west) and come west about a mile. Antonio's is in the Strip Mall on the right hand side (north) opposite the China King Super Buffet. It is in the center of the shops in the corner of the ell shape. List of LBT-ers going (I'll let the Yahoo group know): 2 Janet & Mikey Hope to see you at one or all of these events! Pics from yesterday's get together:

Congrats on being banded, Miss Macy! I'm glad to hear it went smoothly! Hope the next couple of weeks continue on the same trend. :confused: And grats on the weight loss! (( Hugs!! )) Janet

Bump, it's this weekend!

Zero for me this week Sarge. :nono: All is well, it follows my pattern. Though I really should up my exercise some this week. LBT Boot Camp Spring Training: Start: 277#, 546.25", 5'5", small frame, bmi: 46.1 Week of: 4/10-4/16 275 (-2) 4/17-4/23 275 (-0) 4/24-4/30 272 (-3) inches 537.25 (-9) 5/01-5/07 269 (-3) 5/08-5/14 269 (-0) 5/15-5/21

Yummy!!

I saw someone today who's ticker said 0 to go... I had to look at it 3 or 4 times to realize SHE'S AT GOAL!! Often folks don't have tickers. If I had one, I'd probably take it out once I made it. But I'll probably put something in big pink or red letters to celebrate! I did meet a lady last Saturday that was part of the FDA trials. She lost 200+ pounds over a 2 year period & has kept it off for 5 years. That's right, she's been banded for SEVEN YEARS!! She did have a slip & had her band revised last year to the VG band. She's doing great & looks amazing! Another thread for great motivation is the Century Club: http://www.lapbandtalk.com/showthread.php?t=16050 Good luck with your decision! :confused:

I ache for Randy... it seems to me that he's trying to hide the gain by wearing concealing shirts, keeping his arms in front of him & by leaning into the table. Simon is not the most caring & understanding of folks when it comes to weight. I dread when he starts picking on Randy about his weight again.

Awesome Anita! :confused:

Morning all! I'm with you, Stacey... I've been thinking about the "restricted enough" question for myself. I think I can eat too much. The doctor's office feels like as long as I'm losing weight I shouldn't get filled. I want to tell them that it's just a matter of time before I gain instead of lose, lol. Mikey tells me to focus on how much less I'm eating today then last year. But, but, but, I want to be eating less! But then I hear horror stories of those that get too tight & have to battle reflux, slipping, liquid syndrome, etc. I don't want to be one of them. So I guess my advice to you is... um... yeah. As long as you're losing, keep your current fill. But if you're losing through sheer grit... through will power only... and you know you can eat more, you're just keeping yourself on a tight leash... then tell your doctor that & see if he'll go for another fill. Keep in mind that even taking out your pre-op loss, you've lost right at 1.5 pounds a week, so you're on a rabbit's pace. You're doing great!! (( Hugs!! )) Let us know what you decide! :confused:

Wow, that's so cool! Congrats! :Banane13:

Wow, that's great news, Big Red! Congrats on your date! :Banane13: I've heard great things about Dr Spivak, you're in good hands!

I'll, um, raise a glass for you, Straw! :Banane13:

LOL, I started a post for numbers & such: http://www.lapbandtalk.com/showthread.php?t=18346 Mikey helped me look for restaurants & started salivating at the thought of Red Hot & Blue, lol. Hope everyone else likes it as much as he does! I've never been there... but I heard the rumor that they have adult beverages! :Banane13: I called & they do have tables (Mikey thought they were all booths). It's even a touch further south! Heh, operative word being a "touch", lol. :Banane11: Hope to see you there!

LOL, Michelle! Complain away! It's what we're here for! Hope your product launch goes smoothly... and quickly! I'm so glad your scale is moving!! And good luck with your fill tomorrow! Congrats on your 1 pound, Tammy! I know what you mean about it seeming SOOOO far, but at least it's a pound in the correct direction! And with what you've been going through, ANY loss is worth celebrating!! I'm so sorry about your uncle & aunt! How provident that the heart attack happened inside a hospital! I'm sure she was better off with the immediate care. If you can, try to focus on the positive... she lived through it, she's doing ok, they're both in a good facility that's taking good care of them. I know it stinks to not be there (I'm away from my family too), but you can be an awesome long-distance support: pray, send cards, telephone. You get to stay in touch & help them smile & not have to hear them whine! :Banane13: I'll be praying for you!! Love you, girl! Ouch on the no restriction, Tamyrn! But a trip to Mexico with your son, how fun! On your question, I ate lunch last Sat with a lady that also has a 4cc band. She said that at 3.7 she has no restriction, at 3.9 she's too full, but at 3.8 she's at her sweet spot. So there's hope!! And Kelbel just got 10.1 in a 10cc band, lol. Weird, but true! :Banane45: You'll get there! Welcome SRaeM!! It's never too late to join us! Jump on in & start telling us about your journey! We love to celebrate & cry & prop each other up as we struggle towards our goals together. Ahhh, another VG band (10cc). Tammy & Mikey have them as well. It seems like someone else did to, but I can't remember who! :woot: Hang in there, restriction WILL come! Ouch, Stacey!! And OH MY GOODNESS, you weight 175!!!! When did that happen? Heh, these things just slip up on me! That's so awesome, though, you only have 50 more pounds to go!! You must be feeling so great! My advice, lol, if you choose to accept it. Hmmm... um... yeah. So I'm off the wagon with you. Focus on one thing. Start with water. Get in enough of it. And keep your bod moving! Try to substitute something else for stress eating. Squeeze a tennis ball, punch a punch bag, take up karate (lol), scream in your car, anything but food. And now I get to go read that last paragraph to myself in the mirror! :Banane11: Here, I'll boost you back up on the wagon. Then if you wouldn't mind, would you pull me up behind you? Thanks! That's awesome news about your aunt, Tammy!!! Thanks for keeping us updated! We're still praying... let us know how it all goes!

Wow that's a lot of saline! Hope it works for you, Kel! And that you can still get food through! :Banane13:

LOL, can I be the clever duckie? Can I? Can I? Man I hope she means me & not the other Janet, lol! :Banane13: Love ya, Kel! (( Hugs! ))

(( HUGS!!! )) Hang in there thru the agonizing wait time! Think happy thoughts & keep yourself busy, lol. I'm so excited for you for the possibility!! Crossing my fingers, eyes, toes & legs!

Red Hot & Blue Restaurant 5910 N Macarthur Blvd (just off 114 near Royal) Irving, TX 75039 972-402-0225 map Date: Sat, 5/20 Time: 3:00 pm Late lunch, early dinner (hopefully off-peak hours for the restaurant). Meet us for fun & frivolity! Please let me know how many you've got coming so I can warn the restaurant. So far: 2 Janet & Mikey 1 Anita (Divanita) 2 Randy (MyKdsDad) & Ms Joy