TheGh0st

OK Where are the wedding photo's? :wink2:

Since you posted your freebie I thought I'd add mine Springhillnurseries.com is offering $20 of an order of $20 or more. In otherwords you can buy $20 bucks of stuff for just the cost of freight. Not bad!

Thanks, and will do. Just no new news at the moment. Same old hurry up and wait routine. My next appt isn't until thursday the 22nd and even then its only to run more tests that I won't even know the results of until who knows when after that.

I was leaving a message with the husband of a neighbour lady last night and without going into a long story the fact I'd had the lapband came up in the conversation. He responded that had met another lady in the neighbourhood that had the lapband even though you would never guess had once had a weight problem. I was curious as to who it might be so he started describing her. Can you guess who it was??? . . . . . . . . :thumbup:ME:thumbup: It may sound strange but the fact he thought he was talking about someone else really blew me away as there was no way I could spin it as he was just "being nice". I know I've lost most of my weight and I realize I'm already several sizes smaller than my original goal but it is so hard not to continue to assume everyone doesn't still see the "chubby" short girl I see every time I look in a mirror.

May be a bit late in coming but I'd like to add an "Amen Sistah" to Wasa et al re there comments on it being difficult for us to accept any compliments regarding our looks no matter how sincerely intented. That said I have to admit I was so PISSED at my father's wife the other night when I was speaking to her about some recognition I had been getting recently regarding my success with the lapband she had to comment that she & my father were so proud of me, as she had never thought I'd be able to stick to it. WTF!!! :biggrin: OMG was I furious!!! This woman never even met me until a few months before I had the surgery nearly 3 years ago and in all that time I've barely seen or spoke to her more than a dozen times so who did she think she was to come to that conclusion much less have the audacity to tell me like it was some kind of compliment that I'd surpassed her low expectations of me. Boy I wanted to bitch slap that b..but I bit my toungue for the sake of my father.

Overall he's a good guy. But he had lost a lot of brownie points on this issue when he decided to start up an old argument over whether or not he thought I was "Saved" the night before the appointment. Definitely pushed my buttons with that one. Then he had the audacity to ask if we were going to "Cuddle" later that night. I was like Hmm.. let me think about it for a moment. Nope, don't think so dear. I'm afraid questioning whether or not I'm going to hell just before asking for some action has to beat the old "Honey, are you awake?" line hands down for worst pre-foreplay conversation. As far as I was concerned he was lucky he wasn't sleeping on the couch.

Oh, I have to tell you an amusing story from the appointment. My DH has been so worried he was not eating or sleeping well in the days running up to the appointment. When we got there he kept complaining he was hot. I'm always cold now so I didn't pay him much attention. Next thing I know in the middle of the doctor outlining the problems and risks with both surgery and waiting while pointing to various parts of a plastic cutaway brain she was holding my DH nearly passed out. He had to lie down on the examining table and the nurse ran to get him some pop and a candy bar while the intern stood there with a fan over him. Poor DH felt so silly, he kept trying to get up but everyone was telling him to lay back down. I think I was the only one in the room trying to hold back a laughing fit. But lord help me at least it shows he cares.

Well Thursday's appointment was a mixed bag. I found out that it is not a functioning tumor producing prolactin itself but instead a non-functioning tumor that is just pressing on the pituitary stalk which is blocking the hypothalamus from sending the pituitary gland the signal to stop producing prolactin. They call this a stalk effect. What does this mean? Well, it seems to mean that drug therapy would not work as it works best on tumors that are actually producing the prolactin. They also said that even though I am experiencing some apparent loss of vision in my left eye that the tumor is only very close to the optic nerve but not yet pressing on it. Meaning they think I have some other yet to be diagnosed issue causing the vision changes. So where do I stand? More tests, more specialists and a big decision to make with little assistance from the doctor. She says that as far as the tumor goes, I don't need to be rushing in to have it removed in the next few weeks but that considering my age and its current size I will eventually need it out sometime in my lifetime. I can either choose to do so now and accept the risks that come along with surgery, or I can take a watchfull waiting approach with regular 6-month MRI appointments and wait until it grows large enough to start causing more serious problems. Taking on the inherent risks associated with that approach. I guess I'm leaning towards having the surgery sooner rather than later and waiting a few months rather than years. I just wish I could figure out how to convince my family it was a good idea to have my breast reduction surgery first. I already lost the argument with the doctor over having them both around the same time and just taking off work once to recover from both.

Jennifer - Sorry I can't help you but maybe my bumping this thread will get someone else to respond.

Hey Everyone! Our May meeting is coming up this Monday, May 12th from 6:45-8:45 pm. We meet at the Antioch Library in Merriam, KS. Directions are below. Come join us as we discuss various issues that arise in our banding journeys. There is always time for questions and answers for those looking into surgery or waiting for their surgery date. So, we hope to see you this coming Monday evening! Jen Runyan Banded 1/11/01 Directions to the library: I-35 to Shawnee Mission Parkway Go East to Antioch and the library is on the NW corner of the intersection directly across from an IHOP restaurant

Just thought I'd pop in and say hi again. I've been struggling with weight gain since an unfill in Sept 07 as well. I've had several re-fills but still can't seem to relose those pounds. I know it is mostly head issues at this point but sometimes I worry I may also have a bit of a slipped band. If I could only commit to following the bandster rules again for a couple weeks to see if I still have problems I'd go back in and start asking for some tests to confirm or rule out a slip.

How about fashion consultants. Like the what not to wear folk? I've found it hard to learn what clothes are now appropriate for my new bodyshape and would love some fashion advice.

Thankyou for your quick response Dr. S.

Yes, Thankyou Dr S. I was going to suggest something similar from my own experience but I am no expert, just a patient. But what is your opinion on my time off work considering I just have a sit down job and usually have the attitude if I can sit in front of a TV recovering why not get paid to sit in front of my computer?

The neurosurgeon wanted me to see an opthamologist before my consult next Thursday as well as a bunch of new blood tests. So I went in yesterday morning and I swear they drew nearly a pint of blood out of me just for testing. She kept pulling out more and more vials, of different sizes and shapes. When I asked if she was looking for something special she said "No dear the doc has requested all of these." Even with fills I'm not thrilled with needles so I just bit my knuckle and tried to focus on that instead of the needle. Then I saw the opthamologist yesterday afternoon. He confirmed that there is a small amount of vision loss in one corner of my left eye. It is in the area near your nose just below the eye. They make you stare at a light in the middle of a white box then press a button each time you see a flash somewhere else in the box out of the corner of your eye. Apparently I missed flashes in that area just out of the one eye with the tumor pressing on the optic nerve. Don't think I'll hear anything new now until Thursday. I'd had an appointment on Monday with a different doc but after researching him a bit online and through other contacts I decided to cancel his appointment. Thanks again for everyone's concerns. I'll let you know what she says on Thursday. Just keep sending those good vibes my way. I have a trip to Vegas the end of June I really don't want to have to cancel so I'm hoping this can either be removed quickly enough to recover before then or postponed until I return.

Yes I have to say this is one of those time that the "d" in DH actually stands for Darling :cool2:

Congrats - Just found thread and hope all is going well. In regards to the ticker if the tutorial doesn't help. This is what I do. 1 - go to tickerfactory.com to create ticker 2 - once ticker is created forget all that code "Stuff". Instead just highlight the picture of the ticker on the screen (Note: you might have to play around a bit with the position of the mouse to get it to highlight the picture correctly) 3 - Right click and copy the picture of the ticker and then paste it into your signature line on the LBT control panel. PM me if you need any help.

UPDATE: Got tired of my DH calling every hour yesterday asking if I the refferal clerk had called with an appointment time yet so I bounced from person to person until I finally found someone who would even try to help. Then all she could tell me is that she saw I already had an appointment set up in the system with a neurosurgeon. Only no one had called to tell me this. And get this the "STAT" appointment my doc requested is set for JULY!!! Can anyone tell me on what planet 9 weeks is Stat? The gal I was talking to couldn't explain why it was so long, couldn't/wouldn't give me a direct number to the neurosurgeon's office and said I'd have to wait until the referral clerk called me to officially tell me when the appointment was to find out why it was going to take so long. I AM STILL WAITING FOR THAT CALL!!!!! THEN, I went online to do a little background check on the doctor they had scheduled me with. After all maybe he was so good it took that long to see him. Who knows that may still be true but according to the internet he only graduated just under 2 years ago and he doesn't even specialize in Brain tumors or Pituitary disorders. Needless to say this didn't sit to well with me or my DH. So when he got off work he started making phone calls to the insurance company as well as neurosurgeons off our in-network list. And within a couple hours he had 2 different appointments with neurosurgeons who both specialize in pituitary disorders one of them in the same group as the appointment my doc's office has yet to tell me they set. And get this both appointments are for next week! Kind of interesting how my husband was able to get an appointment 8 weeks sooner than the doctor's referral clerk who was told to get a STAT appointment, and they work at the same university hospital.

Quick update. I have no update. The doctor told me yesterday morning she would be having a neurosurgeon contact me "as quickly as possible" her words. Then her nurse called back at 4:30pm (nearly 6 hours later) to tell me that a "Stat" referral had been requested. I remember thinking WTF?! Wasn't that already done 6 hours ago! Sure doesn't sound Stat to me. Now here I am well over 24 hours since I spoke to the doctor yesterday morning and still no call from a neurosurgeon's office and I can't reach anyone of any use at the doctors office to even ask who it was they were trying to get to call me so I can call them myself. Come on people, you don't just drop a bombshell like this on someone and just leave them hanging. Who knows what I would have done if it hadn't been for the age of the internet. At least I've been able to get some answers from Google and it doesn't sound all that bad. I keep telling everyone I'm not freaked out about this whole thing but I'd really like to get a move on and figure out where I go from here.

I did some digging the other day and found the actress that plays Ashlee has her own MySpace page but I've never got into myspace so I don't know how or if I can send her a message. I'd love to ask her if she has heard of LBT or if she even has an alter ego over here. If any of you are ambitious enough to send her a message let us know if you hear back from her.

I agree, I think the problem is $$. First off, one of their major rivals, Johnson & Johnson are the backers of the Realize band and I'm sure they don't want to do anything that might help them even if they don't have a competing product. I suppose if Allergan paid them enough they might consider it. They don't even use accurate credit card logos next to the register at "Company" or in the storefront windows. They read "Vista" and "Master Care" presumably because they weren't paid for product placement. I'm wondering where Ashlee is right now. Haven't seen her for several days.

"Surgery through the nose" Good grief, I should be happy that there won't be any scars but all I can think of are all the nose picking jokes the guys down in service are going to come up with. Question though for any of you that have had this or know someone who has. Do you know if they have had to go on anytype of hormone replacement therapy? I know the pituitary gland is like some sort of master gland that regulates other hormones and their glands such as the thyroid, growth hormone and prolactin. My particular tumor is affecting my prolactin growth, so I don't know if they remove the tumor is it only going to effect the prolactin hormone growth or all the hormones that the pituitary controls. It may sound petty but my biggest fear is that the surgery will screw up my thyroid levels which are perfectly fine right now and that I thought I had heard that thyroid problems can cause weight gain. Just what I don't want after all the time, money and effort I've put into this band.

I wish I was joking, but unfortunately I'm not. I went in for my annual physical (a couple years late) and while I was there I mentioned that my menstrual cycle had suddenly shifted from 45 days to 90 days pretty much overnight nearly 2 years ago. I'm only 38 but was wondering if there was any chance I might be in some early stage of menopause. So my doc said she would run some extra blood tests. First the nurse calls me back and says everything looks normal, I think great but that still doesn't explain my change in cycle (Mind you I wasn't complaining) Then a couple days later my doc calls me and drops the bombshell and tells me she thinks I may have a tumor in my pituitary gland and to come in for an MRI to make sure. She said not to worry they are almost always non-cancerous and that I should be able to treat it with drug therapy. Well, I had the MRI on Friday and I finally get through to my doctor today on the phone. Turns out she hadn't seen my test results yet as they were physically sitting on her desk rather than in her computer. (What a novel concept!) So she looked at them while talking to me and confirmed that not only do I have a tumor but it has grown large enough that it is now pressing on my left optical nerve and is no longer a candidate for drug therapy. UHGGHH!!! I'm still not terribly worried but I wasn't thrilled when she said she was going to get me scheduled with a neurosurgeon as quickly as possible and call me back later today to tell me the when/where's. Not sure why I'm posting this. I'm really not trying to play a pity party I just wanted to vent my frustrations.

There is a wide spectrum of different pre-op diets around varying from doctor to doctor as well as depending on the individual patient. Technically the Lap Band patient booklet from Allergan that goes into some detail listing general guidelines for post-op eating mentions nothing about a pre-op diet. However, the doctor I go to for my fills is a proctor for Allergan. Originally he did not require any pre-op diet but after having to abort surgeries on two patients whose livers were too enlarged to operate around he started requiring pre-op diets of all his patients, ranging anywhere from a couple days to a whole month depending on their BMI and other health factors. Now those 2 patients only represented less than 1% of all those he had banded with no pre-op diet. But he never wanted to have to explain to another patient why they didn't have a band yet when they woke up from the anethesia. So if your doctor is not requiring a pre-op diet I would suggest you voluntarily go on a two day non-sugar liquid diet strictly for the purpose of reducing the size of your liver. Ofcourse I am NO Doctor or medical professional. So take my advice for what you paid for it. :biggrin2:

tztmama - Long time no see. Great job on your weightloss. I'm glad you popped in to check on us. I wish us old-timers would be a bit more active. I know many of us are at or near our goals but the scale isn't the only challenge we face living with our bands as you can see from some of my posts above.