Devana

Good luck to you both as well, Munchkin and Linksmom. Hope all goes well.

Read this guys!!

Congratulations on your surgery. Don't worry about the liquids. You CAN do it. Remember, your band needs this time to heal. All the best!

Anne, welcome and good luck tomorrow. Let us know how you do.

That is so beautiful, Carlene. Yeah, I would get it checked out. If it is a genuine golden topaz, this will be the first time I've seen one that large. The only reason I know anything about topazes is that I grew up believing they were golden. When that fellow at the gem show said that golden ones didn't exist, I had to find out if he was correct or if I had been mislead all these years. I hope it's genuine. My mother has an older ring with a very large alexandrite. It has absolutely amazing colour changes ranging from navy blue to pale pink, magenta, purple and sea green. It's stunning and exquisite. It's history is a bit fuzzy in that it's an old ring that a friend gave her without any details. I borrowed it for awhile and looked up a bit about alexandrites and realized that if this stone was genuine, it would be worth a lot of money. You know, the sell the ring and pay off the house kind of money. I was about to get it appraised when I found it's twin on eBay for a couple hundred of bucks, describing it as a manufactured stone from the late '20's. I was actually happy about that because it's such a cool ring, I'd love to see it stay in the family, which wouldn't happen if it was worth a bunch. So then I was inspired to buy an imitation alexandrite for myself. I got a fairly inexpensive silver ring off eBay, and was disappointed in the stone. It basically turns from magenta to purple and that's it. That's alright, I don't wear rings much anyway.

Janelle, I'm so sorry about your nephew. He has my prayers and healing thoughts.

Years ago, in the mid '70's we were living up north, and on one of my husbands business trips south to the big city I asked him to pick me up a workout record (Yeah, LP's in those days). He came home with one with contemporary music on it as well as the verbal directions to the accompanying workout sheet. So now I cannot hear those songs without the workout instructions going through my head: "I just want to stop (back up and right over) and tell you how I feel about you babe (back up, stretch upward, then over to the other side)" Yuk.

Apparently there haven't been any around to mine in a long while. That's why Citrine has now become the November birthstone. In the 80's when I was living in the UK I was talking to someone in a jewellery shop who, when I told her I had a golden topaz, insisted that I didn't, that it was really a citrine. I always meant to bring it back with me from one of my trips home but never got around to it. I was at a local rock and gem show a couple of years ago and a youngish man had an assortment of topazes, all clear or smoky. When I told him of my golden one, he said that they didn't exist. I guess he was just too young to remember. Of the people who come to see me, the older Scorpio ladies often have them. About 10 years ago, I found a very expensive pair of golden topaz studs in a store that were the same shade and shape (but smaller) than my ring. I was sorely tempted to buy them but faced the reality that I would probably never wear them because I like the dangly stuff.

I notice it's your birthday today, Tricia. Happy Birthday to you, and have a wonderful year at your goal weight!

Way to go, Shell!

Jane, I've been thinking. I know that in Canada it's possible for a physician to discharge someone from care for valid reasons, one of which is non compliance. I don't know if that is the case with you, however, I do know that for whatever the reason you are discharged, the physician has to provide you with the name of another who will look after you. I've lived in the UK for a couple stretches of time and I'm 99% sure the same applies there as it does here. So my suggestion is that you contact the College of Physicians and Surgeons and confirm that you were supposed to be referred to someone else on discharge, then ask how you can file a formal complaint. Call the original surgeon and inform him or her of your intentions unless he refer you to another surgeon. Remember to call the College of Physicians and Surgeons rather than the British Medical Assn. The College is their disciplinary and regulatory body while the BMA is their trade union, looking after their financial interests. Another suggestion is that you can arrange for a band surgeon in Florida to unfill you while you're over to allow you to heal. All the best.

Congratulations, Midge and welcome!

Jane, I forgot to say that when I searched for the book on Amazon nothing came up when I plugged in his name, bit it did when I put in "Lap-band for Life".

Welcome and good luck on Thursday!

Welcome, Kathy. I've got my fingers crossed for you getting approved.

Hi Jane, I'm sorry you've had trouble and been abandoned by your surgeon. You might want to go to the complications threads. I know there were several going about stretched pouches. If I remember correctly, the solution is to unfill and go back to liquids and mushies for awhile. Anyway, check it out. Also you can start a new thread on the subject in that section if you want. I checked out Amazon for Dr Oritz's book and it's available. However, it costs twice as much on Amazon uk. I'm in Canada and sometimes when I want something from the US that I want to carry across the border rather than have it mailed and have to pay duty on it, I'll get it sent to the hotel I'm staying at. You might want to order from the US site a bit before you come over and have it waiting for you. I also saw another book about banding when I looked. You might want to check that out, too. However, all that being said, I find that LBT is an incredible source of information. We even have a band surgeon, Dr. C, who will answer questions. Read, explore and ask questions. All the best to you, I hope you get your band working well.

Hi there, I'm very close to you in age and was banded June 29 2006. I, too have lost about that much. I wish it was more. However, I'm still very pleased. Come on over and join the June 2006 bandster thread. It's in the General Lap band site on the main page.

Welcome to LBT!

Too funny!

I've had a really pleasant surprise. Last year my potted Ginko tree kind of got neglected and died from lack of Water. I blamed my knucklehead husband because he usually does the watering. I was particularly choked because I have had it for a few years and they are very slow growing. I did not relish starting from scratch. Anyway, I was doing my spring yard clean up this morning, (yeah, I know, it's late) and there was my tree, with little leaves beginning to sprout. Ginko's get their leaves so late that if I had done my spring yard clean any earlier I would have tossed it.

I have never been into diamonds. I do have a few diamond rings that have been given to me by older relatives, however, I never wear them. A few years ago I read a National Geographic article about how manufactured diamonds are so much like the natural ones that the only way they can be identified is when a certain wavelength of ultraviolet light is shone on them. One of them (I can't remember which) glows for a split second after the light is turned off. In the article there were quotes from somebody that this was terrible because people would then not know if their diamond was "real" or not. I don't understand this. If the manufactured ones are alike in every way, beauty and hardness etc, I would be inclined to want them as opposed to the natural ones. I've seen the environmental mess that diamond mines create. When I got married, as a young hippie chick living in a different country, we used a plain brass band we bought in an Algerian market. I wore it for a few days until my finger turned green. I still have it somewhere. I do have a funky Indian looking gold band that we bought a few years later. I have a real golden topaz ring that my parents gave me when I was a teenager. I understand that that colour are not available anymore. For the last 30 years I have worn a silver chain with a small "om" pendant on it. I take it off occasionally when I dress up. Then I'll wear the funky Tibetan type of stuff with old silver and carnelian or something like that. As for earrings, anything groovy and dangly. I don't even own a pair of studs.

Me too! My friends call me an "earring slut".

Way to go! How are you doing?

Superstore sells a whey powder called Dynawhey. It mixes easily and comes in Strawberry-Kiwi and Chocolate-banana. It has zero carbs and 30 grams of Protein per scoop. The beauty of this stuff is, is that it's cold processed whey which means that if you take a selenium tab with it you get maximum glutathione production. And remember, glutathione is kind of like the master antioxidant. It costs about $26 dollars for about 30 scoops worth.

Sallyjo, Pam has all my best healing wishes.