Devana

Welcome sweet mama. Have faith, be patient and we'll keep rooting for you and perhaps you'll be through your red tape soon. Good luck with it all.

Hi there, Newfie boy. Congratulations on your weight loss so far. It sounds like you're really taking your health in hand. Where are you getting banded? I'm assuming you're in Newfoundland. Is there a band surgeon there?

Welcome Angie, I'm glad you found us. Good luck with your "hoop jumping", I hope it all goes quickly for you.

Sometimes when a rib is "out of place" it can give those symptoms. You might want to let your chiropractor check it out.

Hi Deb, glad you found your way over here. Congratulations on your loss. Now, if you hit a plateau come and talk to us instead of fretting. Yes, knees seem to be an issue on this thread.

Thea, Kat put things so beautifully that I can only say that I concur. Hang in there, a whole new life awaits.

Hi Julie, and welcome. I'm glad you started posting. I lurked for quite awhile, too, and all the information helped me make my decision. It's great you have so much support. Good luck in April and keep us posted. You may want to check and see if there's an April bandster thread started yet, and if not, why not start it?

Welcome AM. Sounds like you had a little rougher time of getting banded than is usual. I'm glad things are settling down. Keep us posted.

I'm not doing anything specific at the moment except portion control, but I'm at the point where I'm getting frustrated with the fact that most of my loss happened in the first month and has been at a virtual standstill until last week. And now it seems to have stopped again. So with that in mind, I'm thinking of doing Atkins for awhile. When I've done it in the past I've lost weight quickly (however, preband, I gained it all back again), I've felt amazingly wonderful (all my aches and pains gone) and everyone commented on how good my skin looked. Maybe I can get things going again.

I think one of the things I should have put on my "peeves" list would have been this. It drives me nuts having to wait at the drive through ATM, behind someone who isn't prepared. Or having to wait for someone who decides to do their whole month's worth of banking while there's a line up behind them. Go inside if you need to do that!

This can be hard, too, being away from your traditional network of support and friends. And it's not always easy to find new ones. I really became aware of how terribly important our networks are when I was going through some post traumatic stress. My sweetie was right there for me as were my family, but it was socializing with my girlfriends that really helped heal me. Just getting out for the odd coffee or lunch was better than drugs for me.

Geez, TOM, I'll bet you cook, too! No, that would be too perfect.

Holy Smokes, T_O_M, you guys have a lot going on. I wasn't actually making any assumptions about how connected or close you are, I was just thinking about how both my sweetie and I can make the world right by getting back on track with each other. However, when I read about the deaths and illness you both are encountering, it reminds me of when our son was ill. Being close and united with my husband helped me get through it, but I still was a basket case for a long while just from the stress of it all. So I guess I'm saying that I understand a bit more what's going on in your case than with my first reply. Maybe this is a normal reaction to an abnormal situation and just has to be ridden out. All the best to you both in this difficult time.

Absolutely! However, be warned that my laser wit has been dulled into fuzzy bunny wit by a bout of post traumatic stress disorder that I'm only now coming out of. That's alright, I guess, you guys have enough to make up for my lack! Scotch sounds good. It may entice me to give up my membership with Margarita Sluts International.

You'll do it! My bandster buddy Jane and I just looked at each other as our plane was taking off for Mexico and said "Are we CRAZY???", but we've both agreed that it's the best decision we've ever made and the best money spent.

Welcome Kelly. This is a good place to come when you're making a decision. Good luck with it and keep posting.

Hi there, KoobiesMum, I'm glad you found us. This is a great place to come for information when making a decision. I don't know of any drs in Calgary, however, you may want to check out the Canadian threads, there are several that deal with band surgeons. I'm in BC and I chose to go to Mexico. I'm still very happy with that decision. Good luck with all this, and keep posting!

Welcome, Marcia. I don't know too much about why some people end up with more loose skin than others. I think it has a lot to do with age and genetics. How did your meeting with the surgeon go, by the way?

I think increased intimacy is the cure for almost anything. More quality time with nose to nose conversation. I don't know about you guys, but sometimes our busy lives get in the way of our connecting on a deep level. If left too long, all sorts of weird things happen to us and we have to do some emotional first-aid. We usually start with a longish drive somewhere, because we really seem to connect in the truck when we have no distractions like the phone, tv, etc. We both comment that when we're well connected on a deep level, all seems right with the world. Good luck.

OMG, it made me positively weak in the knees!! Yikes!

Too funny!!!

Mrs D, I'm so sorry about what's happening to you. Here are a couple of ideas, and you can find these on the BBC online news site: The head of the Materials and Testing Lab which provides testing for the NHS says that the use of silver impregnated dressings should become standard when dealing with MRSA. You could consider getting a high quality colloidal silver from a health shop to take internally and externally. This stuff saved my son's life (although he was left crippled) after months of IV antibiotics failed to work. You can PM me for details about dosages if you want. Also a University of Manchester test found that there are three essential oils that kill MRSA in three minutes and one is longer lasting. The article didn't say which oils, however, that should be fairly easy to find out. I'm certainly not suggesting you forgo the antibiotics, however, with a bit of extra help you may be able to save your band. All the best with this.

Oh dear, oh dear.

I know a number of US retirees who have found themselves Canadian spouses and moved here with the admitted intention of receiving affordable health care as they age. Even if the marriage ends they stay. Most of the ones I know have their families in Washington state so it's fairly easy to go back and visit them.

No book, and yes they are no longer terrorizing small towns. Life got in the way I guess. However I now declare the "sisters" back in business. It's about time!