Momotrips

I have rosecea - I've never actually been treated by the dermo for it, though. Mine is generally manageable, but I have oily skin. To make matters worse, I live in Houston which is HAWT & humid - sweat city. I've tried all of the mineral makeups like Bare Minerals (they're supposed to be good for rosecea) & they work pretty well in the winter when I'm less sweaty and oily. However in the summer, if I wear them and get hot and/or sweaty my skin itches and burns. Besides the fact that the powder melts into the oil - yuck. What kind of makeup do you oily skinned ladies use? I'm constantly blotting...

Thanks for all the responses! I'm happy to hear that most of you have had some improvement. I had my boys' first communion this weekend and the stress of the brunch, etc. had me running to the ladies room. Bummer. I have my seminar with the surgeons office tomorow - hope all goes well. My husband is supportive, but he's 6'3" and just lost 20 pounds in three weeks cheating on South Beach. He only gains weight because he loves sugar - it's never too much out of control for him so he doesn't really "get it". He loves me no matter what, but I know he'd rather I looked like I did when we met - thin and curvy in all the right places. I know I'd rather me that way!

Oh yeah, smaller bras with less than 4 hooks with cups that I could not fit my head in would be AWESOME! Melissa

Okay, they're 8 years old! I know mothers of triplets that are size 2 - I'd like to smack 'em! Melissa

I'm kind of a pear that's gotten more proportioned after having my triplets and gaining 100 pounds and only losing about 40 of those over 8 years. At one time I wore a size 6, but I'm pretty sure that those days are over. I'm in an 18/20 bottom and usually a 14/16 top - I'd be happy in a 12 bottom and ecstatic in a 10. Anything beyond that I would be over the moon. I have a really big butt and thighs, so I have to be realistic. (My Humps, Telly!) Melissa

Anyone have IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome) w/urgency, not constipation or PCS (Post Cholestectomy Syndrome - Post Gallbladder Removal) before being banded? Did it improve? The type of IBS I have is not the kind where you CAN'T go, it's when you HAVE to go. The removal of my gallbladder made it even worse. Some days I GO everytime I eat anything. I've learned to live with it and it's not that big of a deal. However, you guys talk a lot about being constipated, so I was wondering if the IBS would improve and I'd become "normal" or if it would swing the other way and I'd be blocked or if by some chance it would get even worse:omg: . It won't effect my decision at all, I'm just curious. Thanks, Melissa

Wow, Amy, awesome thread. I know exactly what you mean. I'll try to make this coherent, but I am being bombarded by so many thoughts and examples, bear with me. First off, I'm Catholic. I was raised as a child as Church of Christ, became Presbyterian as a teen and after ten years of marriage, the death of my mother and my triplets, converted so that my family would be united. (In a non-related "cool" story, my sister, brother-in-law and nephew-in-law also decided to convert at the same time without knowledge of each other. They all used my wonderful husband and the way he lives his life as their inspiration. Pretty weird and neat, I think...) I'm so happy that I did. Moving on, I'm from Houston, the home of the "mega churches", Lakewood Church in particular and Joel Osteen*. I have a friend that attends Lakewood and she's one of those that likes to bask in how devout she is, however her approach to religion is that she likes to pick and choose what she believes in. Her home church is one of those little country "Church of Bob" places that's not affiliated with any governing body, some guy out in the country just started up his own religion, basically. She calls this pastor in regards to every decision in her life - it's always jarring to spend time with her because of it. Her husband makes a lot of money because he's specialized in the oil industry - not sure exactly how much, but let's say that we are quite comfortable and I'm pretty sure that her husband makes double or more what my oil and gas professional husband makes. She kind of judges herself by this. Her children have literally every toy and video game known to man, unless it in some odd way doesn't meet her "criteria". Her criteria is ever changing (no magic or Harry Potter, but superheroes are okay - wha?...where do their powers come from?) so it's hard to keep up. I'm actually very interested in her views on The Narnia series, seeing as how it has a whole huge section in the Christian Bookstore! I digress... She has always had this pushy way about her, a sense of entitlement, if you will, she's really a steamroller. I never figured how this fit in with her super Christian values. Being a Catholic, we are taught much more that humbleness and charity, etc. are the preferred ways to live, not that there aren't those that think they can buy their way to heaven, mind you. A while back another friend called me and said that I had to watch Joel Osteen later because it would explain a lot of our friend's behavior. She was watching as she got ready for church that morning and was shocked by his sermon. And yes, I agree that Joel Osteen is a great motivational speaker, however I'm not so sure about his creditentials as a Bible scholar. I enjoy a lot of his sermons. That said, what I heard later that evening was unbelieveable! He kept going over that his parisioners were "favored" by God. If you believe then you are "favored". The favored reached so far as to get him an expensive house for 1/2 price and he didn't have to follow airline rules because he was favored and it was God's will, etc. He said that when you're favored you get the best parking spots, the and on and on. (I wondered what the people sitting in the very back that had parked a mile away were thinking about all of this...) The best part was that if you are favored, people WANT to do things for you and you should never be afraid to ask them, in fact his comments came down to the fact that you don't even really have to ask, you can assume and basically force people to do what you want for you. This explained it all for us. She was always just assuming that we'd want to sit for her ill behaved children or go out of our way to do what SHE wanted everytime we got together. Her entire life made sense to us when we heard this. It also explains why she praises God when she gets a good parking space... the worst part is that you can feel her judging you so much of the time. I, by virtue of being Catholic and our other friend, a lot of her judgement came down to that in the past they haven't been able to "live as well" as she thinks she and I do. However, this other friend is now moving on up into a beautiful new home they're building (bigger and better than both of ours - Yay S!) and it is galling my "favored" friend to no end. It really annoys her. She was a little upset when I moved into a house that's comparable to hers as well several years ago. If anyone ever called her on it she'd deny, deny, deny. Why do we remain friends with her you ask? Well, she's kind of fun a lot of the time and time makes ties hard to break, but mainly, because she insists, so we have no choice but to remain her friend or make an ugly scene which would be uncalled for. Don't get me wrong, she's basically a good person and I know that she means well. I just don't understand a lot of her beliefs. Another example is a relative by marriage. He joined an evangelical church years ago for the sole reason of becoming wealthy. He wasn't shy about stating this either. He tithed, his family did without and in the long run, he did become wealthy - at his family's expense. Also no one could stand to be around him as he was always trying to "recruit" or brag about his wealth and standing in the church. You'd swear he got a cut of their donations or something - and probably did. He basked in his wealth and his "relationship" with God. He was just really annoying and strange and his kids grew up with eating disorders and teen pregnancies, anything to gain control of their own lives from him. However, what goes around, comes around and he got caught recently embezzling from his most current church and having an affair with the nanny. He has lost everything. His home, his job, his stock in the large corporation he started with and the respect of his community and church. Amazingly his wife has stayed, only because I think she has no where else to go. Very sad for all involved. So I just don't understand this relationship with faith and wealth (money), either, Amy. My only connection with faith and wealth comes down to the faith that I will always have enough to put my share of wealth in the collection plate! However, my biggest gifts are my family. Disclaimer* I'm not bashing anyone! Believe what you believe, it doesn't mean we all have to agree.

That's my reasoning exactly. I'm a great dieter when I'm seeing results, but when I hit a snag I fall hard. The band will allow me (I hope) to see results, not feel hunger and in turn encourage me to exercise more. I generally like good quality food anyway, I just like a lot of it. I'm not a big snacker, or drinker, so I'm counting on this being a huge help to me. My sister had open gastric banding several years ago at 325lbs and lost 135 pounds, but never got to goal. She's had problems and has gained back about 40 pounds. She's a grazer and should have had RNY instead. I know that our issues are different and that the lap band is right for me. I also realize there will be a long road ahead. I just don't want to wake up one day and be 300 pounds - I know it's possible because I never thought I'd weigh 180 or 200 or 230, either. I can always use my triplet pregnancy as an excuse, but I suspect I'd have gotten here anyway - it's always been a battle. The band will be my ultimate tool and encouragement. Luck to us all. Melissa Sugar Land, TX

Not banded yet (end of summer after vacation, I hope), but know all about the coffee habit - my biggest vice. I had to give up caffeine 2 yrs ago (sob) due to benign arrhythmia, & I've been tired ever since! I actually have a coffee shop in my subdivision that has better coffee than Starbuck's - yeah, I KNOW, right? I always get decaf, non-fat, latte - hot, iced or iced-blended, w/sugarfree flavorings. Starbuck's only has SF vanilla & hazelnut, MY fav shop has several - SF Almond Roca is my favorite. I guess I'll just switch from grande to tall... Melissa Sugar Land, TX

I'm still researching - not banded - yet, but I did have gallbladder surgery 2 yrs ago, a c-section with my triplets 8 yrs ago and a laporoscopy 10 yrs ago. The gas pain in shoulder was kinda bad for a few days w/lap, incision was painful w/c-sec, but there was little or no pain w/lap gallbladder. Surgeon said that they have more effective ways to remove the CO2 from the body cavity now. Maybe some surgeons are better at that than others. I have had since then, benign PVC's (premature ventricular contractions of the heart). I have cut out caffeine and take beta blockers and they are hardly noticeable anymore. I do have them more around my period and when I have caffeine or alcohol. Has anyone else gotten this after a surgery? It also seems to be worse if I have reflux or overeat. Cardiologists insist that there's no GI connection, but I have read otherwise from other sufferers. Just curious... Melissa

Thanks Barbara. I just told my husband to chat w/HR about this to see if it's been done recently & how it went. It's a big company owned by an even bigger company, so SOMEONE'S bound to have done WLS. I wish I could have it done before vacation, but then I'd not be feeling great all week. Oh well... Melissa

Hi, new here. I have an appointment with Dr. Adam Naaman. He's in the UHC Network and they didn't balk when I called about the surgery either at UHC or Dr. Naaman's office. Dr. Spivak, of course is out of the question, now. Dr. Naaman looks good so far - he's a very experienced lap surgeon and is doing more and more lap bands, along with RNY that he's done for a long time, etc. and some general lap surgery. He teaches and has developed lap surgery techniques. He's at Memorial Hermann Memorial City. I hear he's quiet and businesslike, but very good and caring. Anyone know any more about him? As for Dr. Spiegel, from what I've read he's kind of a "Cattle Call" setup and pretty mercenary, as opposed to Dr. Spivak who is supposedly very warm and cares about the good work that he does for people. At least that's what I've gleaned so far in all of my research. Dr. Spivak dropped UHC because they weren't paying enough percentagewise for his services. I hear that Dr. Spiegel is being dropped BY UHC - overcharging maybe? ($600 for a fill...) I'm hoping to be banded by the end of summer/start of school. Has anyone here been banded on the Mustang Engineering UHC plan? How difficult were they to deal with - I've never had a problem with them before, but I've never had WLS, either. They keep telling me that it just has to get approved, but not that there are any pre-requisites. I'm getting pretty nervous. I could afford self-pay if I had to (OY!), but convincing my husband that he wanted to let go of the money for it would be another thing all together...He's kind of getting used to the idea, though. Wish me luck. I wish everyone else luck, too. Melissa