DonnaB

LOL! Dammit is my favorite! Makes perfect sense to me!

Note: dylansmom deleted the post she made which illicited the following response - that pisses me off more than being told to live life to the fullest, live in the moment, be all you can be, yada, yada, yada. I have no respect for someone who deletes their message because it wasn't embraced as an eye opening, life changing, revolutionary thought. Get a grip. I was nice about her response too! Hi dylansmom, Thanks for the pep talk. LOL, I knew this would happen and I appreciate the sentiment and your good intentions in bringing it up, but this thread was not intended to spark a discussion about living life to the fullest and doing what you CAN. I'm doing what I CAN and I hope that at least MOST of us here are doing what we CAN. I started this thread with the idea of opening a discussion about the things we want but have not been able - or willing - to do in a long long time. If ever. This thread is about the everpresent Secret Skinny Dream. Doesn't everyone have them? Now that I'm banded I can actually consider the list as a possibility. That in itself is a dream come true. This is not at all a scold - it's a release from being grounded - it's an invitation to dream. The only thing better than that is for the dreams to become reality.

And this is EXACTLY why I'm not telling anyone I've had the surgery. They can speculate all they want but until I TELL them, they'll never know. Five, I'm sorry you're feeling so pressured but you really are doing great. Maybe if you can let yourself off the hook a bit some of that 'under the microscope' feeling you're getting at work will be easier to let go. Good luck on your weight loss journey.

Ahhhh! How could I have forgotten the (soon-to-be not-so-dreaded) high school reunion! Add that one to my list too.

You should check out the Inamed website - you'll find info there. Better yet, get statistics from your surgeon. Every surgeon has different stats. My doctor has a very low complication rate - he's been doing surgery for a very long time and has done literally thousands of lap band surgeries. A doctor with less experience will almost certainly have a higher rate of complications. There's more to it than your surgeon's experience though. The patient's have to take some responsibility in terms of compliance with their doctor's orders. There are a lot of variables but I'm sure you'll be able to get a sense of where you stand if you continue to do research. Good luck on your weight loss journey.

iwitniss, Ms. Vicki, PB is Productive Burp - kind of nice way to say vomit - but it's really not vomit because there is no stomach acid or bile. When the food you swallow won't go past your band it has to come back up, i.e. Productive Burp. I haven't PB'd yet, I'm still on liquids but as for the "golfball" I HAVE experienced that. I swallowed a gel capsule before letting it soften up and man oh man was that bad. Walked around the house with what felt like a flaming chicken bone caught in my chest. Fortunately the capsule softened up after about 10 hours (OK it was 10 minutes but it FELT like hours) and went on past the band. I have not SLIMED yet but I'm sure I'll have to deal with it eventually. For more info go to the FAQ's and INFO thread here on LBT. Hope this helped.

Oh Jack. You're such a romantic - what a way with words! LOL

Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they're NOT out to get you! It's a joke. Sounds like you have an awesome husband, congratulations. (Me too!)

I say, don't push 'em. If they get annoyed it would be really easy to just write "DENIED" to get it off their desk. Give them some time to check it out. Call back once a week - I'd say mid-week - and just be patient. Just my opinion.

(to be read in a calm, soothing, non-confrontational voice) I guess I should feel lucky. My 4 year old self may want to eat cake but my 44 year old self had the sense to have surgery to make that impossible. Or at least uncomfortable! Please don't get me wrong, I'm all for counselling - I'll almost certainly find myself in therapy for grief councelling over losing my best friend food - but I think it will more useful AFTER surgery than before. What I'm trying to say is, it took me a lot of soul searching to get to the point of having surgery, and at that point I had thought about it long enough. What I'll need is support to maintain my perspective from the OTHER side of the looking glass. What I DON'T need is for someone, either through arbitrary testing or through personal opinion, to put me in a position in which I have FAILED, yet again, to measure up. Having said all that, I must admit that part of the problem I have with the psych evaluation is that it's a requirement (for some) that you pass someone else's evaluation of your readiness for change. Can someone really know you well enough after asking a few questions to deny you the possibility of a happier, healthier future because your test scores don't conform to their idea of 'readiness'? In short, I don't have much faith in standardized testing. I just don't think anyone can be that easily quantified. I think it would go down better with me if the psych evaluation were voluntary - heck I'd participate in that - or if the person being evaluated had the final decision regardless of the outcome of the testing. This is my own personal opinion and is not meant to sway anyone else's. (Is this enough of a disclaimer to avoid pissing anyone off?) The opinions stated in this post are intended for discussion and/or entertainment purposed only. No medical advise is intended or implied. For further disinformation, see all previous posts by this subscriber. If you show signs of nausea, vomitting, bloating, bleeding from the posterior or other discomfort, contact your doctor immediately.

I doubt if it's erosion - I understand it can't really be felt. As to the cause of your burning sensation, I don't know. Maybe some more details would help. How long has it been going on? Does it happen after you eat or when you first wake up in the morning? Does it come and go? Sorry I'm not more help but if you put in as many details as you can you may get a better response.

I almost forgot: Do tell about your hobbies! I'm a costumer and your post has roused my curiousity.

I know just how you feel. I had been putting my life on hold for years. The only thing I can say is, take pleasure in the things you can - there have been moments when I'd trade my soul for some fresh bread - but don't over do it and then beat yourself up about it. You've been strong for a long time, you can hang on for a little longer. How long before the contract goes through? Sorry, not much in the way of advise I know. Good luck.

I'm green with envy when people say they're 10 pounds from their goal weight. Does that count? Happy St. Paddy's everyone! :high5:

Hi all, I just got my band last Tuesday, March 7 in Mexico. Yay me! The problem I'm having is getting enough Protein. Before surgery, during my pre-op fast, I was using Protein powder mixed with milk, berries, and blended with ice. It wasn't great but I could handle it by drinking it down quick and getting it over with. Now that I'm banded - I can't drink quick! In addition I'm a little afraid of the ice chips hurting. I swallowed my antibiotic capsule too quickly before it had a chance to soften up and man oh man did that hurt. "Golfball" my Aunt Fannie! It felt like a throbbing, burning, chicken bone lodged in my chest! Yikes! Is that what a PB feels like? Or - oh my God! - is a PB even worse? I've been drinking Isopure but, today, I just can't gag it down. I can drink Water and Soup so it's not that I'm so swollen I can't swallow it, it's just gross and I can't gag it down. I literally gag when I try. Something else, I have a horrible taste in my mouth - all the time. What's up with that? Anyone? I would really appreciate any suggestions for dealing with this protein issue. I don't want my hair to start falling out. I think once I can move on to solid food (FLAMING CHICKEN BONE! AAAAAAAHHHHH! I'm soooo scared now) I'll be able to eat enough protein without having to use the drinks but that's a good 2 weeks (plus) from now and I need some advise. Aside from this issue (and the catbox taste in my mouth - yuck) I'm doing really well. Dr. Rumbaut is a genius. I had no side effects, no problems, I'm not bruised, I'm sleeping in my bed, no back or shoulder pain after the first couple of days. I went shopping the day after I got back to the hotel and again the day after that. All in all, it was pretty easy and now I'm healing well. All is well except for the protein. Yuck. Yuck. Yuck. Thanks for your advise.

Hi Xann77, You took the words right out of my mouth. Right down to the surgeon! Dr. Rumbaut put that back stitch in me too and, yep, it hurt. Unfortunatley for me I'm allergic to Morphine and I just had to tough it out. I'm 10 days post op and the pain has pretty much gone - every once in a while or if I'm standing at my kitchen sink too long I'll get a back twinge but it generally goes away if I take a break and sit or lie down for a few minutes. meme49, find out from your doctor if he did the extra stitch in the back of the band. If so, congratulations on the extra security of your band. If not, keep digging for answers. Wish I had more for you. Good luck on your WL journey.

It sounds like a racket to help pay for their kids' college to me. Or their trophy wife's bling and plastic surgery. I'm not saying therapy isn't a valuable option I just don't think it really applies to our situation. You wouldn't require a smoker to get a psych eval before prescribing a patch (do you need a prescription for a patch? show's how much I know! LOL) Maybe I'm way off base but it sounds like a waste of money and breath to me.

What constitutes "super-sized"? I need to lose 130 lbs. I think that probably qualifies me. Mostly I hate to think you all will not be participating in the other forums as much if you go off to your own space.

HeatherGurl! You can drink beer? ! *Angel Choir sings* There is a light shining through the tunnel. Oh wait, what if the light in the tunnel is an oncoming train? Does this mean you can burp? Someday I hope to burp again. The real kind, not the PB kind! LOL

Add up the total cost of all the things she's given you in your life. Tell her you're just leveling out the playing field! If that doesn't work, tell her this is her Christmas, Birthday, Mother's Day, Easter, Anniversary, and Groundhog Day gifts, all rolled into one, for the rest of both of your lives. And then make sure you stick to it. Maybe she'll accept it that way. Good luck, and bless you for being a good daughter.

LOL I LOVE that you thought your chain was stretching! That's great. Congratulations! Can't wait for my first NSV.

I suspect the products giving you problems are made with that fat subtitute - I can't remember what it's called - you know, the no-fat fat substitute. When it first came out I remember there were a LOT of people with 'stomach issues'. Maybe not though.

Mederma for Scars says on the package insert if you use their product while the stretch marks are still fresh or red, the product will help. The product will not help if the stretch marks are old or silver. Good luck. A former boyfriend pointed out my first stretch marks. They were red and on my the lower part of my belly (I couldn't see them, that should have been a wake up call) and he ask if my cat had scratched me. I was very casual about it but after he left I cried and beat myself up over it. I still do.

Kitchen surgery! LOL and *shudder*! I hate to think about you paying for a surgery you're covered for. I feel like, ANYONE with a shot of having their insurance foot the bill should push, push, push till they break through that bureaucratic BS, and crash through the almighty dollar barrier! I just hate that the insurance company is going to win. Even though it's not me! Man do I have issues. Good luck to you. Why does your UPS man glare at you? Love me some QVC! HSN too. LOL I know, sick.

I'm still very new to this. What is a gift exchange and how does it work?