Humming Bird

There is a class action lawsuit against Alli. I can't remember where I heard it .... T.V.? If any of these OTC diet products worked the U.S. would be full of skinny people

hmmmm .... I say just look at it in the best light for now .... may just be a harmless compliment. I hope so

I was selfpay and think it was worth every cent. I just made the last payment this month! wooo hooo! Keep in mind that the band works a little differently for everyone and you don't know how things will be until you are already banded. You can get an idea by hearing how it is for other bandsters, but your journey will be unique. My experience has been pretty wonderful. I reached my sweet spot with my 2nd fill. I dropped 100 pounds in the first year with very little effort on my part. I have never counted calories or tracked anything. I do stay mindful of some things like getting Protein. I have not had to work at it. I was wearing size 22/24, now I wear size 10. The only things I experienced that would be considered 'bad' : I did suffer from thinning hair (has grown back now). There are some foods I can not tolerate from day one. (I don't miss them, they don't even sound good now) I had refered phrenic nerve pain in my left shoulder for months. (gone now) Life is good with the band

Did you stick with a day or 2 of liquids after the fill? If not, you may have caused swelling. Can you keep liquids down?

Yes, if it is still there, go to the dentist. (hygienist here) Dentists look at mouths all day long. People here can not really help. You need someone to look at in the flesh, so to speak. It may have nothing to do with the band or a deficiency ..... It might just be a mucocele (MYOO-koh-seal) , a blocked salivary duct, but I couldn't say without seeing it. Those are no big deal, but can be very tender and annoying.

Go have your dentist look at it.

A bad stuck episode can also cause swelling, so you may have to stay away from solids (like meat) for a few days.

checkin' in ............... not much going on .... SOS (same old shit) ..... trying not to gain weight while I wait for my fill date. It's been nice to have some spring weather here..... a bit of snow , a bit of fog and a bit of rain.

If any of them look bad you can get them lasered off. I had a small tattoo above my left breast and from many years of tanning it got very faded. I even had the ink redone once. I decided I didn't like it anymore and had laser removal. Now you can't even tell where it was. I had the tat for about 20 years. (the cost for laser removal is expensive, they charge per square inch)

I've seen this same question come up many times here at LBT and I do understand why the thought goes through your mind. It's all about living every day as a bandster and learning how to manage and have a good life no matter if you are on a vacation or just living your normal day. Leave your restriction like it is, keep your mind on the fun or relaxing time of the vacation. You will be much happier when you get back home.

Men tend to lose faster, just like any other weightloss program. Other things will make a difference as well like your starting weight, how much you exercise, what types of food you eat, how tight your band is, drinking alcohol.......... If you start out at 400 pounds, your weightloss will be faster than someone who has only 70 pounds to take off. I lost 100 pounds in the first year.

I like the places that have coffee. I order a coffee and slowly sip it during the first part of the movie. When the coffee is all gone I can munch on an atkins bar, or have a couple handfulls of someone else's popcorn. I have also taken in sunflower seeds and use the empty coffee cup for the shells.

Here is some info for you: Lap-Band Support Group Meets the first Thursday and third Tuesday of the month, 6:30 p.m. Penrose Hospital Cancer Center Conference Rooms A & B 2222 N. Nevada Ave. Colorado Springs, CO 80907 Contact: Fran Jackson - 719-776-5359 http://www.penrosestfrancis.org/body.cfm?id=106

There is a support group that meets at Penrose Main Hosp. I'll see if I can find a link for you.

If you are tossing around the idea of talking to someone about it on a regular basis, I think your mind is telling you the need to. The one you mentioned sounds like a good choice since she is banded. If you go a couple times and don't like how it is going, you can always go to someone else. You are right about attitude and success. I'm not sure where they get those low numbers like only taking off 40% of the excess weight. I've also heard 50-60%. In my experience, when proper restriction is met, I don't see how a person could not take off 100% unless they live on icecream and candy bars. Keep in mind that when you reach a BMI of 25 (normal), you have lost 100% of your excess weight. I see your goal is at 23.7 and when you get closer to that you may want to adjust your goal. I think your mindset and attitude sound great so far and you are well on your way to skinnyville!!!

Bobby! Right now, yes I feel full/satisfied when I eat. I'm very tuned in with my full signal. The problem I have right now is I'm very hungry about 30 mins. after I eat. I need a fill. I couldn't get an appointmant for one til the 6th. Do you think maybe you are just eating a bite or 2 too much? Maybe you are eating stuff you can no longer tolerate.... like steak? I would think this far out you should not have pain like that. Maybe you are missing your 'soft sign/full signal'.

Denise, I'm sorry all this is going on, but glad you and DH have each other. The storm will calm with time.

Most of the time I feel normal like there is nothing there, but there are times when I can feel the band. It's like something bumps up against a rib or something. I know it's not the port at those times.

y'all are wearing some heavy clothes! Weigh naked, then put your clothes and shoes on and weigh again. See what you come up with. I bet it won't be 4 extra pounds.

As long as you have dropped some weight pre-op I don't think they would delay your surgery. Long term, my own scale is the one I go by. There have been times when I don't even go to see my doc for 9 months. This time it has been 10+ months. I'm going in on May 6th for a tiny fill and then, who knows, it may be a year before I go back and weigh on the scale there.

Honestly, my relationships with my husband and everyone else in my life have changed for the better because I am a happier person. If your marriage is already on the rocks, it could go either way after a big weightloss. Sometimes the scars in the bond of marriage are too great to repair. I wish you luck with both journeys in the future.

I'm with you on this one. I tell everyone and have from day one. When people notice my weightloss and ask how I did it, I feel like it is only right to tell the truth. My eating has changed so drastically I could have never kept it from my husband. I also had a long recovery time. My son is a grown man and he would have been hurt if I had kept a major surgery from him just as I would be if my mother had. Everyone would have been worried that I had an eating disorder after the drastic changes in my habits and the rapid loss of over 100 pounds. All that being said, only you know the people around you.

Everyone will be different because of our anatomy and how much our docs put in at each fill. I reached my sweet spot or green zone at fill number two. The surgeon also put in some fill during surgery.

I took off one week, but was NOT ok the next week at work. Two weeks would have been soooo much better. The recovery and fatigue kicked my butt. It sure is worth it though

I did this Atkins type pre-op diet as well. It works great, so just go with it. It sure was no hardship compared to the liquid pre-op diets.