NewSho

Greg, Seriously- You have GOT to submit (with the parents' permission) your grand daughters cake picture and the one where she's wearing the scarf to PARADE Magazine. They do post cute baby pics and they used to pay pretty a decent amount if they used the photo. Those are winners. All the pictures on this thread are adorable - but that cake picture takes The Cake! (*smile*)

I just posted an article on my blog about how manufacturers have changed sizes to fit the "expanding American girth." It's very deceptive indeed.

Like with any surgery, it's important to find the doctor who is right FOR YOU individually - not who's right for your friend, neighbour, or someone on TV. Having done The Most is not exactly the same as being The Best. As always, Good Luck!

Oh, he's way up far North of Houston, right? Honestly I don't know a single one of his patients. Not one. And I know a lot of WLS patients statewide.

((( HUGS )))

I must have Remedial Nerve Endings :scared: - because I only feel my port when they poke around for a fill or when somebody asks to feel it. Other than those times, I'm never conscious of it. Of course, I'm (very) single so it's not like anyone else bumps up against it or anything.

Hmmmm......

...One Hot Mama! :kiss2: (or, is that one hot Mama-To-Be?!? )

WELCOME TO BAND LAND, Terry. I bet this is just the tool to get you where you want to be, weight-wise. We're rooting for ya!

Congrats. That's a huge step for us, isn't it? It's like saying "I trust myself (or my band) that I won't gain this weight back." It's sooooo hard. I've given away, put the cuter, name-brand things on eBay and still have literally bags and bags of clothes. I'm drowning in them. :faint: It's a very strange feeling to have closets full of clothes and be surrounded by clothes I can't wear. It's great to be able to wear cuter, sexier, more fashionable things and I love it. But it seems like even though my weight loss has been so slow, I can't keep up with my clothes. I still haven't tackled getting rid of the majority of it.:scared: I was just saying to my sister (I've given her some choice pieces but it's hard, because she's used to being smaller than me. Now we girls understand that even if we're both overweight, it's a big deal when one is bigger than the other - but becomes the smaller one. She's sometimes very supportive and yet, sometimes.... I dunno.:phanvan But thanks for the inspiration. I will try to tackle the closet very, very soon.

C O N G R A T S

Wow, those shoes are (as the kids say) : Grown and Sexy! :kiss2: Love 'em! Anyway, don't fret. Some people's feet do get smaller after surgery, so far mine is pretty much the same. I wear the same size, and the same width but the difference is I think my feet look MUCH better in my shoes. Even in the teensiest, narrowest styles they look more like they did on the mannequin. And as we know, SHOES and clothes are what I really care about. :scared: So looking better in shoes is always a plus. You'll proabably see a difference too. Good Luck!

Congrats! :clap2: Here's hoping for continued blessings for you and your family!

For general PS (Plastic Surgery): I always recommend the MSN Plastic Surgery Experience Groups (there are a couple - all good ones.) Now, you have to join (and agree to the terms of service, and not to be offended) but those members share pictures, experiences, answer questions and really inspire me. For specialty surgery (ono various body parts): Plus there are specialty boards out there depending on what part you are interested in getting surgery on. There are all sorts of boards from Boob Lift boards to Abdominoplasty boards. Just remember, don't be a lurker. Jump in and share! Post your pictures too. It was hard for me at first because I thought my body was the World's Worst. But some weeks, 680 people view my photos and I know they are only referred by medical/plastic surgery sites. Good Luck!

Ouch, VegasWildFlower. I know your hubby must love you very much, but I think it would really hurt me if a loved one said that to me. This isn't an easy journey, so just be confident that hair does grow back (*fingers crossed*) and that breasts can always be 'fluffed back up' a bit later. Keep your head up.!

If only I ate a small amount of food. But seriously, I'm single and eat most dinners out (I don't really 'Cook for One'). For me, I found that only when I eat too quickly do I get really burpy hiccups. But if I drink (I dunno about everyone else, but I love a drink before dinner) normally and eat an appetizer for my entree, nobody really notices or cares. I often order something that the whole table might enjoy for an appetizer and I share it. I still eat, I'm just eating less. :hungry: I order band-friendly foods and just simply skip the bread basket. (Truthfully, I have little bread craving when I'm well-restricted. It doesn't even tempt me.) When I stopped making a big deal out of it, it generally stopped being a big deal to anyone else. Bon Appetit !

Restriction varies from patient to patient. Repeat after me (I have to remind myself, too): It is NOT an exact science. One size does NOT fit all !!! One patient's 1.0 cc may be SO TIGHT to them and yet another may have 2.75cc's and not feel a thing. Also many patients with smaller start weights, smaller internal organs, and sizes may need more restriction. When I was heavier, 1.5 - 2.0 cc's was tolerable restriction. Now that I've finally lost weight and am getting closer to goal, I need at least 2.8 just for a bit of restriction and my sweet spot used to be approx 2.9. So the bottom line is, we all just have to find out what restriction is right for them. Your cousin may honestly need more than she has. If she can eat two hotdogs then she is obviously not well-restricted. But what is the right level for her, may not be right for you. (If her doctor has given her 2.5 in a 4cc band after 8 weeks, maybe the doc suspected she would need substantially more 'fill' to see some progress). Good Luck, hope it goes well for her.

(*slaps forehead*) Oh yeah Sue. I hadn't forgotten you were banded but I did forget you were banded in Mexico. Yep, Mexican-banded patients are often charged much more because (even here) fewer surgeons will take them as patients. It's all Supply and Demand, I guess. More demand, fewer to supply, more

Right, of course! How could I forget the famous Vegas motto? And you know what else is funny? SusanP is exactly right. When I was drinking glasses of white wine a few months ago, I was NOT losing weight. Then, I switched to cranberry and vodka (HEY it counts as a FRUIT ). OK, in fact it's actually more Vodka with (some) Cranberry. I lost more though I drank a bit more. (I can usually only tolerate 1 glass of wine, but can handle 2 Cranberry Vodkas. Go figure! ) But I drank those all over Vegas. My Breakfast drink ( this is really awful but they bring you alcohol even at breakfast in Vegas ) was either a Mimosa (champ+ OJ - again for fruit ) or a strawberry dacquiri (another excellent source of fruit - errr, every bit counts, right? :nervous ) I even had the strawberry dacquiris with whipped cream. (Cuz I wasn't getting my normal dairy requirement.) Still lost almost 2-3# a day, more than twice what I would ever lose in my best week at home. I definitely don't drink that much under normal circumstances, but it's nice to know that I can Celebrate a special occasion and still lose. Oh, and by the way - the following week I went to central Ohio on my next vacation. It was a convention, and we spent so much time walking around a stunningly large university campus, around a cavernous convention center and even did marches and walking rallies. There was no alcohol the whole trip. (We were so excited when we were flying home and I saw the airport bar, LOL ) I ate less than normal, walked a WHOLE bunch more than I even did in Vegas. Lost? 1-2 measly pounds. So the bottom line? For my body: Staying busy +having a nice drink or two (*hiccup*) meant more loss than eating right and walking like a fiend. (And no, I didn't build muscle, apparently :phanvan ). Life is funny! The Band is funny, and sometimes we just gotta laugh at it all.

BigPaul always makes me feel really good about myself. He's funny and silly but really smart right when you need him to be. DeLarla TellyMelly keeps me motivated on days I think I want to slack and theres always a smile on my face when I'm talking to her, she just keeps me laughing. She brightens my day! Cutiern reminds me of my daughter. I love how she is young, independent, and willing to make financial sacrifices to change her life. Dawg is a great husband. Selfless and supportive. He lives a banded lifestyle, without the band, so that he may succeed along side his wife. Pennie always seems so level-headed and diplomatic. I really admire that. Jack cracks me up with the use of his warped sense of humour in the manner in which he offers practical advice. Humour and practicalilty...great match and I always appreciate his input. (I also like his avatar!!) The best me (Kathy) has one of the most loving and tender hearts I've ever seen. She is always caring and giving to others even when she's needing support for herself. Her love of God and her desire to be a better servant shows in every post. Paula is my sweet Band-daughter and I'm so proud of how genuinely sweet she is and how her caring heart and love of God shows by her actions towards all others Iluvharleys has a good heart and is always so thoughtful, kind and caring always thinking of others in their time of need. NJChick (Eileen) Cracks me up!!!! She brings a smile to my face no matter what the topic. Bandland would be a boring place without her : - ) VinesQueen reminds me never to give up no matter how bad things seem at the time and encourages me that I should dance my heart out no matter whos watching~and I wish she would hurry up and get back on LBT!!! Michelle, without a doubt the most inspirational person to me. Even while having her own family problems, she finds time to come here and offer her help. She's a great person! Susan (PhotoNut) is one of the most supportive and knowledgeable people I've ever known. EmileeKaye is the sweetest, most genuinely nice and wholehearted bandster and online personality I have ever met.. and I have met quite a few. The sun shines on her goodness and it feels really nice to surround myself with people like this. K@t has been my friend and support since the moment I joined this group. She listens and gives without asking in return and makes me feel anything is possible. Vinesqueen is an absolute treasure. She has the most amazing ability to be enviably strong yet human, in the face of outstanding challenges. She always takes time to remind that's it's health first, and that our health supercedes everything, including our weight. Plus her journal really rocks. She's a jewel!

I guess I would ask what amounts the unfills were. Glad to hear you're going to see your dov next week. Hopefully you and she can get to the bottom of the mystery. We do know that you don't get enough calories in early, it's easier to overeat later in the day and still not adequate nutrition. Keep us posted on what your doc says next week.

Quite honestly - no one can tell you which surgery is best for you, your metabolism, your lifestyle. But this quote stands out at me: So you think that at nearly 400#, you are a better athlete than you would be if you lost 150# or more pounds with a LapBand? This makes no sense to me, honestly. I mean you can't think that the LapBand is going to interfere with your sporting activity? It doesn't, people are very active after banding with no trouble. But wow, it's incredible to me to think that at just under 400# your concern is how this will affect your sporting. I don't mean to be harsh BRD, but hopefully you will find some method that really works for you. Being obese is the toughest thing in the world, and no matter what surgery you choose I'm sure that getting 150# to 200# off your frame really will 'Transform your life' as you hope it will. Good Luck!

My doc set a very conservative goal of 80# (would have been higher if I had the RnY bypass, but he admitted I'd lose 10#-20# less over longer period, with LapBand) for me, but I am hoping to lose at least 10# more than his goal. We'll see how my body decides - it might have the final say!

On another thread, I recommended doing a search (I'm not spamming - I don't work for him, but he done extensive presentations at ObesityHelp and other bariatric conferences) for "BodyLiftHouston" as that Plastic Surgeon now specialises in Plastics after Weight Loss Surgery. It's his primary area of interest, and let's face it, not many surgeons are devoting themselves to the OTHER half of the Weight Loss Surgery puzzle. Read his web site info - and the pictures will amaze you.

Insurance paid for my TT... Best thing I've ever done. I have some tips on getting Insurance Coverage for TT and other PS - on the "Approval" page of my PS blog that talks about it. I think there's a link on my profile page. Also I can recommend (for information) doing an Internet search for BodyLiftHouston - that plastic surgeon specialises in Plastic Surgery after Weight Loss. It's his 'thing' Good Luck!