K@t

Thanks again guys, it feels sooooooooooo good now that i have it all out. I'm just glad every one understands, I was waiting for some...stop whining and suck it up comments...:drool:

I read an interesting article today about little David, they said that because he started at the top and was soo good, that eventually people would get bored of him. So he actually messed up last night on purpose to create a little drama. He is still one of the favorites so he is in no danger of getting kicked off, and next week he can wow the judges again and make it appear that he is progressing. That theory makes sense to me because he forgot the lyrics? He has been performing since he was like 7. That is a very amateur thing to do, so I think they might be on to something.

Any way, David Cook is still my fav. And I like Brook and Amanda. Carly isn't doing to bad for herself either. Jason is a hottie but I don't think he will make it to the top 4. We shall see tonight. I am sure Kristi is going home. She took that country thing WAY to far. The song could have been good if it was slower, the pace was way to fast for that song.

BTW did you hear that David Hernandez use to strip in a gay club. I noticed they didn't put that in his little clip.:biggrin2:

Thanks guys, I really appreciate the support, I guess I was just feeling really frustrated with the whole situation and it really helped to get it all out in the open. I am glad to know there are others out there who feel the same frustration. I just hope I have some more positive news to share in the future.

Thanks for the support guys. I should just clarify a bit. The people who pm'ed me were not rude, just curious, but I got the vibe that they were judging me a bit, and it just bothered me a bit that even here we have to be judged. But the stress of it all has been weighing on me heavily for awhile and it feels good to put it all down on paper. (or um...webpage, forum, whatever...):biggrin2:

wow! congrats on the 40lbs down, that is awesome! It's nice to have a quick and easy stick :smile:

I totally feel your pain. See my post in the general thread. I too feel defeated and hopeless. But I am trying my best. I don't really know what I need to do but I have to do something. I pay out of pocket $180 for each fill I think. But I need to hit that sweet spot and try to loss weight. I just keep thinking I didn't pay all this money and go through all this pain for nothing. We should be band buddies. Pm and we can coordinate some stuff. :wink: Lets try to stay positive and beat this thing.:smile:

Maybe it's just excess gas....:smile::biggrin2:

It sounds like you are on the yellow brick road to surgery. Good luck and let us know when you get a date!

Okay, so this has been eating at me for awhile so I decided to post about it. I have had several pm's regarding my weight ticker and my surgery date. I have tried to explain the best I can in the pm's but before I get another one I felt like I might as well post everything. So here it is..the good, the bad, and the ugly.

I lived in Portugal for 5 years. My husband is Portuguese and I moved there, married him, and we had a nice life there. It was in Portugal where I first heard about the lap-band. It was a spot on a local news station and my mother in law called me and asked me to turn it on. I was very excited and I decided to do research, and then by luck, a guy that I met on a PC forum from Portugal had also had the lap-band. We spoke about it and I decided I had to do it.

I have always been borderline obese and I just barely fit into the required BMI limits. My husband was totally against the whole thing and I have never had surgery before so it was taking a big risk. The cost was 8,000 euro, around $10,000 at the time. The surgeon was a very accomplished laproscopic surgeon but I was to be his 13th lap band patient. (no I'm not superstitious :smile:)

I had the surgery in April of '06, it was very hard to get in to see my doctor because he worked in between several hospitals. It took me almost 6 months to get my first fill. I was seeing a nutritionist that kept telling me what to eat and do (while she put out her cigarettes!). I told her I didn't like fish, she said it didn't matter I needed to force myself to eat it, among other things she said I had to eat. She told me I had to eat dinner around 6pm, even though I was teaching nights and it was impossible for me to eat then. I asked her to help me make a different schedule and she refused telling me it was impossible.

When I went in for my 2nd fill, 3 months after the first (it took me that long to get another apt.) I told my doctor how unhappy I was with the nutritionist. He sent me to another one that cost me 120 euro a visit. She was great, and I lost 25lbs during that time, but I couldn't afford to keep seeing her.

I went for my third fill, 3 months later(again) and thats when the doc told me that my port was flipped, I needed port revision surgery. During the port revision surgery he put 3cc's directly into the band.

I was struggling a lot to lose weight and I tried to keep up with what my nutritionist told me, but I got depressed, the port revision caused another nasty scar (over the old one that had healed so nicely) and I developed a nasty reaction to the bandages.

It was also very difficult because I told my husbands family (if I had it to do over again I would have never told any one) They kept looking me up and down all the time looking to see how much I lost. It was very disheartening. So when circumstances in our lives changed and we decided to move back to the US I was excited to see a new band doctor.

I never really thought I felt restriction, but then again I was never sure what was restriction any way. When I got here to the US, I made an apt. with a Fill Center USA in St. Pete. The fill specialist there was excellent. She told me that my port was on it's side, not completely flipped (I broke out in tears in her office thinking I might have to have another port revision) but she managed to hit it with my on my side. She pulled out all the liquid in my band. My doctor in Portugal said I had 9cc's in my band and that I was totally full. Turned out I had just under 3cc's.

The fill specialist asked me when I actually felt restriction and I said the only time I could really remember feeling any thing was after the port revision, when he put the fill directly into the port (when it was sticking out of my stomach when he opened me up to turn it right). She gave me another 1.5cc and told me to come back in a month, when I got back I had 4.5cc so she determined that there was no leakage, the my doctor in Portugal had simply missed my port.

So, taken all this into consideration I have only actually had some restriction since this summer when I moved back here. So I have actually gained back the original weight loss I had over the year that I had no restriction, and I am now struggling to start losing again.

I actually have another apt. in 2 weeks for another fill. I had my first PB a few weeks ago. I am experiencing things as if I was just banded. I am not saying that is the whole reason I have not lost weight, I haven't followed all the band rules as closely as I should have. I honestly have no excuse for it, but that doesn't make me a bad person. Nor does it make me a failure.

Several times I wish I could rip this band out of me and eat whatever I felt like. But I am trying, trying the best I can. And I hope that with the support I receive here, and my own will power, I can make this band work for me...finally.

umm...sorry so long.:wink:

I was sorry to see Asiah and Danny go. I really thought Asiah was good, Danny wasn't the best but he had the personality. I agree with Georgia that I love Jason, David Cook, Amanda, and Brook. I also like Michael as well. It's going to be a good battle. I can't wait.

I think from the girls I like Amanda the best, I was a little worried after her last performance last week, but she totally rocked it out this week and her hair looked a lot better this week. She took Simons advice.

I was wondering about Paula also, I haven't watched this since season 1 since I was in Portugal, but it seems like she can't put together a sentence. I think Brooke is nice too, but I would like to see a rocker win this one. And honestly I think one of the guys will probably win.

Lets see who gets cut tonight!

Congrats on getting your date! And welcome to LBT.

Good Luck Michelle, keep us all posted on how things go for you! I'm glad you went to a seminar they can be really helpful.

I feel the need to open a restaurant that charges people by the weight of the food they order!

Oh, wait that's been done it's a deli!

This falls under the heading, it takes all kinds of people to make the world interesting. That includes penny pinchers and people who throw money away.

Oh well.

There are actually 2 restaurant like this in Portugal called "O Peso" and "O Kilo" (Peso = weight, kilo=kilogram) and both have a buffet at the front with meat, salads, fruits, sides etc. You load your plate with what you want, and you pay by the weight of your plate. My hubby use to always pay a lot more then me because he got a lot of meat.:biggrin2:

Yeah, Luke does sort of look like Orlando Bloom, but in my opinion he is one of the worst, I don't know if it's the song choices or his high pitched voice but I never liked him much. Jason is the one with the dreads, which isn't my usual attraction but u can tell he's a shy guy and i love that, plus...those hot baby blues! I also LOVE David Hernandez, he is a hottie hispanic guy and he has an excellent "pop" voice. The other guys are more rock. And the little David is a musical prodigy, but he is still really young and will have a lot more opportunities. I think one of the older guys should win. We shall see the girly girls tonight.

I sometimes ask to order off the kids menu. I have a card but I never showed it. If they refuse I just say ok and ask for a box. I think it should be up to the restaurant if they want to do it or not. Of course the nice thing to do would be to allow it, but if they don't want to, there is no point in getting upset. And I think buffets should be off limits for banded people any way its just sort of asking for trouble. :biggrin2:

I totally love Danny, he is funny. My secret crush is on Jason Castro though. I dunno what it is about that dude but ohhh momma . And ohh yeah...his singging isn't bad either. I don't care much for Luke, but I hope David and Michael make it farther in the competition. I like the rocker boys. I can't say I care much for any of the girls, but I guess I may be a bit bias.:shades_smile:

you know how old people go around farting like they have that right. Well the other day i let a huge one rip in front of my grandpa and he was like...HEATHER!!! And I'm like what..? The cat did it.:shades_smile:

well good luck! Keep us all posted. I had some issues with my band but my doctor was a little inexperienced.

that sounds yummy! How did you cook the zucchini? You added all those things after it was cooked?

you can actually feel the food going from your small pouch to your stomach. I can usually feel it going down my throat to my stomach but I don't usually feel it going though the pouch. The best thing I can suggest is to talk to your doctor. Good Luck!

Has any one tried it? I am 26 and I still have problems with acne sometimes, I break out at the worst possible times. I have tried everything from Avon, to nutrogena, to dove, to clinique and nothing seems to work. I have heard some positive things about it from other friends.

Welcome to LBT! You found yourself a great resource. Good luck on your surgery...keep us all posted!

Hey Susan,

Congrats on the trip. I fly all the time. I fly to portugal or from portugal at least once a year and its a 12 hour flight each way. I flew to Teas 2 weekends ago. I am 5'5 and 258 and I did not need a belt extender on American Airlines. It depends on the carrier you are going on but I doubt you will need one. I do preffer the outside seat because its more arm room. I would seriously not stress out about it, it's relativly painless. Bring a book or something to keep you occupied. I'm not sure drinking is the best solution it may cause nausea depending on how your movement tolerance is. If any thing I would just bring a sleeping pill. On my 12 hour flight to portugal its an overnight flight so i take a few tylonal pm or something like that. Good luck with your vacation! I expect to see photos!

I would call your doc to see about a slight unfill. Congrats on the weight loss, but when you cant keep anythign down its a sign something is wrong. It may just be some simple stomach irritation and a slight unfill will help, but only your doctor can tell you what you should do. Good luck and keep us posted.