Manatee

Hey gang I decided to stick my in-progess shots up in one place. Roughly monthly since just before surgery killthefatman

You can change what you are, but it's hard to change what you like. For me, tall and slender has always caught my eye, and the ex definitely fit the mold. It's no double standard to have preferences.

Yup -- "restrictor plate" is precisely how I refer to my band, and that's the mental image I used when deciding to go with it. 24, 48, 42, 55, 7, 20 ---- and to my surprise, I just put an 88 sticker on my truck, now that he's driving for the 'right' team :thumbup:

Might I suggest a fairly simple solution? I am a chronic insomniac, and have been pretty much all my life. It's gotten to the point that some nights I would just be laying there, praying for -anything- to stop the head. I've recently found that a few fingers of really good scotch helps with the sleeping, and that I'm waking up very refreshed and feeling great. Obviously there will some who will be appalled at the thought, but it works for me, and at least doesn't involve strange medicines.

I haven't yet made it to goal, but I have almost exactly the same issue. I just can't see the thin guy, and so I still interact with the world like I was the fatman. I suppose the next step is a shrink....sigh.... To the original poster, I just went through a period of a few months without a fill, and maintained the weight during the time. If you've managed to adjust your concept of portion size during your journey, you should be able to hold your own even unfilled. My endgame plan now is to get to my original goal, re-evaluate, and if I'm happy there get an unfill and up the exercise. I wish I could say I was more like Chickie and weight loss wasn't a huge part of my life, but it really has been the primary focus for me in the past year. It's time to start thinking about life outside the band.

Busted again, lots of 403 error there and elsewhere on the site

As for me and my world-renown dating escapades, let me fill you all in. Ok, done. :tongue_smilie:

Denise, please make sure someone you trust knows who you're meeting and where, and what all his contact info it. Might want to send his profile pics to that trusted person too. I don't want to sound paranoid -- but I am. Edit: And Kate, I like your blog :tongue_smilie: Especially March 4th

At some point this morning the Chat Rooms link started pointing me to a list of smilies instead of the chat. Is it broken, or did I finally irritate someone enough to ban me? :biggrin:

Well, he's the one with the medical degree and 30+ years bariatric surgical experience, so I'll listen to him.

My slip was just surgically repaired. It really wasn't a big thing, and I'm recovering much faster this time. My doc says that he has never seen a band slip a second time after a surgical repair, and that's why he recommends going in and fixing them rather than using the unfill-and-wait method.

My PCP doesn't know. My insurance didn't require a referral, so I simply chose my lap band doc and went from there. If your doc is giving you problems, get another doc. Always keep in mind that they work for you.

Sorry if you took my answer as flippant. It is not. If you don't want us to talk you out of it, then all we can suggest is talking to your doc.

So talk to your doc. None of us have the tools to remove your band. :shades_smile:

I'm getting closer to goal, and feeling pretty good about it. However, I'm starting to get a lot of flack about wanting to be "too skinny". I think I still have a good 20 lbs to go before I will have a stomach smaller than my chest. My original goal was 'healthy', and I've done that. Now I want 'concave'. Look at these pics, and the starting one, and let me know what you all think. Am I fine where I'm at? Current is 5' 9", 174 and a 34" pant. Start was in the 280s (260 in that pic) and 46-48" pant.

I think there were over a hundred A-May-Zing bandsters, and only a handful still show up on the May 07 thread. Where are y'all? How ya doing?

I don't believe he had surgical help. What I DO believe is that his role as spokesman provides a lot of incentive that most people do not have. We've all lost a lot of weight on diets and had it come back when the internal motivation fails. He's got too much of a spotlight on him for that to happen.

Go get an unfill ASAP. I too thought I could ride that feeling out, and a month after the fill I ended up in the ER due to esophageal bleeding caused by the reflux. This isn't supposed to hurt. The "I was losing weight just fine" level is what you're looking for.

I saw something similar. The cash price at my doc was something like 14K. The insurance statement was close to 40K. The hospital REALLY cranked up the fees once they knew it was a third-party-pay scenario

What's your stripper name? - Yahoo! Answers Mine's "Dallas Sweet Heat" :sad::smile2:

Ginger Vargas

Just go, and ignore the food. If someone asks, just say something about some minor complications from the gall bladder surgery, and that your doctor asked that you follow special instructions. It's pretty much the truth, and will hopefully embarrass the asker enough to shut them down.

Get Firefox and the Adblock extension, and you can choose what ads you see.

To get a band requires that you admit you are powerless to control your weight situation. Most guys will NEVER admit that they are not in control of any part of their life. Better to die early than admit weakness. By the time I decided to get one, I had already been shown that control of one's life is an illusion that can be shattered easily. The only thing that matters is tangible results, all else is mental gymnastics and vanity.

If you lose only 1 lb a week, you'll be there in 2 years. A little exercise and eating right, and 2 lbs a week can easily in reach. That makes the journey only a year long. If you did nothing, where would you be in a year? Embrace the change!