BayougirlMrsS

Wow. Come on y'all put aside your differences or take it some place else. @@Babbs sweetheart You know I love ya. Your better than this. You make great post and are encouraging To everyone. I don't know @lili2333. Actually this is the first post I see. Not a great impression. Just saying Chrystee came here for a listen ear and to hear from people that are going through what she is. Maybe a little advice from people and too know she is definitely not alone. Not two grown women going at it like high school girls.

thank god i have very little to almost no hair in my arm pits.

I just saw this post.... I live in houma... anyone want to start one in NOLA.... I would deff. go. BR is a two hour drive for me.

@@Chrystee Of course you do. You wouldn't be human if you didn't wonder what it is in him that makes him desire a larger woman, when WE... see it as unattractive and disgusting. I avoided intimacy with him, i mean i never said NO, but i didn't initiate it either..... Now that im a "normal" size he want's nothing to do with me sexually. He hope that i gain the weight back. He has told me this. He said losing weight was the worst thing for our marriage. I told him... sorry, im not gaining it back to boost your insecurities... Not going to happen. You are a beautiful woman... and you are doing an amazing job with your weightloss.... Keep going and i pray he will come around. Chris

those are the moments in life after WLS that makes everything you go through, all the ups and down, that makes you beam with pride. I had that experience when i was at my lowest... Paula was my Dub. I did the same thing... i walk up to her and ask all those same questions.... she planted my seed of hope. You my friend planted your seed of hope... You probably will never know the emotional impact you have made on this young man. If it works out and he does the WLS... Oh man... the pride. I have had two such seeds that were planted.... My friend Leslie..Every time she saw me she would say...Chrisy you look great... i would say Leslie.. you can do this i know you can.. Well Last April 1st she had the sleeve done... i was there at the surg with her and know it would be a battle because of the negative family members... but i kept encouraging her... she has to date lost 109lbs. I beam with pride every time i see her... the other day i was going to Walmart and getting out my car... i hear Satan's helper (girls scout) ask, mam would you like to buy some Cookies... and i hear a very familiar voice say... No thank you.. I had bariatric surgery and i don't eat that anymore... It was Leslie... she saw me and said... Did you hear that Chrisy... I said.. I sure did... God i am so proud of you. My friend Jessie.... she had GB in june and has lost 115lbs.... i had dinner with her the other night.... OMG... She kept saying... thank you over and over... and how i inspired her... she is now paying it forward with her mother... It's those moments..... Dub...you keep encouraging and inspiring... You are doing an amazing job... but then again.. i always knew you would. These are two of my seeds.... I know they would be ok with me showing there face... but i blocked out anyway... Leslie is holding her pants.... and jessie is in the white jeans... (that was at 85lbs lost, she has lost 30 more since)

today's lunch: half of an avocado stuffed with chicken salad.

@@Elode You are going to Rock this girl .....

@ No my dear it is not just you. In all the years i have been here... the sex drive has to be one of the things that comes back with a vengeance. I know mine did. The getting hit on is a struggle... the attention and all the flirtation... is intoxicating (especially when you don't get it at home)... and can lead one to do things they once said they would NEVER do. Im learning now the hard way.... Who to trust and not... you would think at 47 i would know... But we live and learn... get knocked down and pull ourselves back up.

@@Chrystee I read your post and it could have been something i would have written. It's no secret that me and my husband are not on the same page anymore. my story is a little different as we we first met i was a whooping 100lbs. So he has seen me at super thin, fat and then where i am now (which i say, curvy) others say thin. Anyway, he never ever called me fat or told me i was fat... but... once i started losing weight he did start making the "too thin" remarks. It not that i think he is attracted to Larger woman... i think he just like the control he had over the "fat-me". When one has no self esteem or confidence we do and say what ever we have to to keep what we have. I think that is true on both parts. He says the mean things in hopes that i will gain back...He now knows that won't happen. So now one of the only ways he controls the relationship is through SEX. He knows how my drive is and continues to reject my approaches. So i have stopped, im tired of the way i feel after he tells me no. So needless to say in the past 6 months we have been "intimate" twice. I have asked... no Begged for counseling... he wont go... or better yet the last time i begged him he said..... Get a part-time job to pay for half and i will go. (i already work a full time job). I have done the "sitting him down" and telling him exactly how i feel and how he is making me feel and how i assume he feels. This normally last for a few days and then things go back to the same. So i'm at the cross roads in my life and im stuck at the intersection... paralyzed with fear as to what road to take... Stay and be unhappy, unforfilled, unappreciated, not desired.... or the other that leads to divorce and the what if's.... what if i can't make it on my on, what if i end up alone for the rest of my life, what if i meet someone else and it turns out I'M the problem after all..... I really hope you and your husband can find some resolution. As for me i'm just taking it a day at a time.

the devil.....

@@Elode Think of it this way. After you had those c section you had three beautiful children, but was left with an ugly tummy. This Time you'll come out of this with an amazing set of boobs and killer stomach.

this year.... i will go skydiving.... few possibles.... lose another 10-15lbs., maybe do another play at the theater, buy another Harley...(i miss my bike), and you just never know what else.

@@Elode i promise you baby girl... it's not as bad as you would think. you survived 3 c sections.... it's the same thing. you can do this and will be soooooo happy you did. I really wish you could stay one night... but most dr. send patients home right after.... I was glad mine didn't. That one night stay was key i think. I can't talk on the boob part, as i still have the ones God gave me... lol.... My husband only had one day with me too... but he didn't want me to have the TT... but i did it anyway... I did have a friend that came for the first night at home and like i said my son and DIL came and checked on me twice a day for the shots. I even lost a few lbs after due to me not having any hunger at all. sleep in the recliner if you have one...get the pads... I walked like the Evolution man for a while... you know started off all hunched over, then each day i got better and better and more upright... STOP!!!! watching the vids.... they are scary as hell.. @@Queen of Crop I just read what you posted and i have to say.... a slimmer "kitty" was an unforeseen bonus. I didn't think that when they pulled up... that the kitty would trim down... but it did... I freaked out the first time i went to the toilet and things were not going straight down, but more forward should i say... and now with out the stomach flap.. i can shave kitty without any problems... So Elode... yet another reason to do this.... trim kitty.. lol

@Elode... First off..... wowwww girl that orange dress.... HOTTT... I think that size is perfect. I was fortunate in that my breast stayed full. I was a 44H and now im a 34H. Anyway, you asked for tips. I had my TT Feb 2012. Hip to hip with muscle repair. I like you had had 2 c sections, and a few other surgeries. I was expecting the worse with the pain from the tt.... But i have to say, it really never came. I didn't even finish the pain meds he gave. You can expect to feel the same as how you felt after the c sections. I spent one night in the hospital with a morphine pump. went home the next afternoon. I'm going to try and remember things that helped me. A great Dr. is key... i had his personal cell if i needed anything. My dr didn't do drains which i loved... most problems and pain i have seen came from drain tubes. He also didn't use stitches on the outside... he glued. Some dr. do lovenox injections for clotting... mine did, i was lucky that my son and DIL are both RNs and came twice a day and gave me the shots. Make sure the dr. gets you a great compression garment I slept in my recliner for the first week... If you have one... make it your home for the first week or so. Walk Walk Walk as soon and as much as you can. you being a RN know how much this helps. I read some place that pineapple juice helps with swelling... i drank it and it did seem to work. I bought the jumbo Kotex pads and taped them together like a train and put them across my incision. Be prepared for how it will look the first few weeks... Yes your stomach is swollen, the incision is dark and if your dr. does Lipo... you will have bruising... but all that goes away and you will have a nice flat stomach and look banging in a bikini.... I also bought the expensive lotion and it works... but so does the cheaper stuff... as long as you keep it moisturized.. that's all that matters. (after your dr says ok) I feel i was very lucky. my pain was minimal, my healing went great, the muscles in my stomach is still tight, and my scar looks great i think. No, it's not perfectly straight across... but its not visible most of the time unless i point it out. I'm thrilled with the out come. I was back to work in 12 days. Stop watch the youtube vids..... This is the garment i had and it worked wonders.... i wore it for the first 8 weeks... I took it off only to shower... This is what my scar looks like as of this past weekend which is 4 years 2 weeks. Hope it's not to much... to show here... but i hope it helps. You already look hot as hell... i can only imagine after... Good luck sweetie..

@CHMD.... i know this struggle....

So i have been going through old post and blogs reading where i was back then and some of the things i was going through. Some of which im STILL going through.... Like this one. Not so much the Botox thing (although i would if i were a rich woman) but other stuff.... Like, why am i still looking for validation in my life...? Why when people say... your pretty, your a beautiful person (inside and out), you thin, in great shape... Why do i not see that... and still seek others approval only to not believe them.... So i thought i would share this old Blog post from 2012 (which by the way, seems like a life time ago): july 2, 2012 by scale?.... I was completely caught off guard by that question. So i asked my self..... Why am i so consumed by the number on the scale (aka the devil)? i really don't know why. I got the band to stop the cycle of Heart attacks and diabetes in my family and i wanted to be able to run and play with my grand kids. I also wanted to stop having to shop at Lane Bryant.... I wanted to feel good and look good, i wanted to be pretty again... You would think being a size 6 and 143ish pounds would be good... Enough. Why is it not? My first goal was to be a size 10, got that. Then i said... well if i could only be a size 8 then i will be happy, got that.... then it was... i hate this stomach roll... boy if i could just get that taken off.... i would be happy and not need another thing, got the Tummy Tuck. Now it's my face.... What...? Yes my face, now that i lost the weight, i can see all the lines and wrinkles that the "fat" face hid.... So at dinner the other night... i brought Botox..... my husband of coarse rolled his eyes.... my son the RN went thru all the horror stories about botched Botox..... But none set in as much as my 6 year old Grandson when he said..... Nana... i think your beautiful just the way you are....(insert tears)... If a 6 year old can see it... Then why can't I?? So that's why i ask..... When is Enough... Enough?

Deleting stuff has made me look back on some old post.... this one i really loved....

@@RoseyRose .... all dr. are different and yours may not put in that much. Right now you are in whats called "band-hell" meaning... the band is there and you feel like you should have woke up and not feel hungry. You should still be on your liq. diet and yesssss you will be hungry. Fight through it.. Watch the kinds of liq you are taking in. Make sure they are not high in fat or calories... I wish i could tell you that you will come out of your first fill and not feel hungry.... but there are no guarantees... I have the 14cc band and it took till i had 5.5cc in before i felt "not hungry". Now... going on year 7 i have 10.5cc and im hardly ever hungry. in fact there are days when i forget to eat. I know that sounds strange... but it's true. So, i have to remind myself to eat Breakfast at least... lunch is up in the air. i try and eat supper at least a few bites. If i don't then i am hungry in the am. I have coffee and yogurt with granola most every am. If i do eat lunch its something small and light... Soup/baked sweet potato, guacamole, tuna salad... most of the time i eat it by itself... No bread/crackers/chips... Supper is a few bites of what ever i cook. Last night i fried them shrimp with fries..... I ate 4 small-med size shrimp but i saute mine with a litter pam/butter and ate with a half of avocado. Hang in there.... it is so worth it... the band works if you work it..

I havn't had a fill in years.... but when i did... My dr. would put a small roll pillow under my back.... this pushed the stomach up and the port was super easy to fine and access.... Never hurt at all. a fill in dr. did it once in that crunch position... and it hurt and to top it off he missed the port...

Where to start..... the beginning i guess... So it was the summer of 2009 and i stumbled upon this site... but back then it was Lapbandtalk.... but not only LB people came here... People looking for answers, support, comfort, a place that they could feel connected if you will with people like them selves. I meet some of the nicest, amazing encouraging people here. Some of which i am still in touch with via Phone, FB, chat... Some i have even had the pleasure of meeting in person and have life long friendships with. Some i have never met in person, but feel like i've know them my whole life. Kindred spirits if you may. But, Alex saw the need to have one site that everyone could come to no matter what WLS journey you were on. Some loved it.... Others, well not so much and left, never to be heard from again. I, myself left for a while. But felt a need to reconnect and get some encouragement to get back on the wagon as you would say.... I had let my success make me complacent.... and in turn i gained back 20lbs. This time i recognized what was happening before i let it get the best of me... and got the best of it. So now im back at the 140is range and happy happy happy. As a lot of you know, my journey has not been the "ideal" one. No, i didn't have problems with my band (one 1cc unfill in over 6 years) whoop whoop... My problems came from some place worst... much worst.... In the form of the person that should have been my rock, my back bone, my at-a-boy giver... the person that should have been there encouraging me and praising me to keep striving to do and be better. Instead, i got you will never succeed at this, why do you need surgery, can't you do it the "natural" way.... Then you're too thin, you look sickly, your face is sunk in.... LB is just a hobby... you have a surgical body.... but the best one.... Your losing weight was the worst thing that ever happen to us..... And yes im talking about my Husband... The person i have spent a quarter century of my life with. the person that i once thought i would grown old with... The person i thought would be the one to say...Wow, you look nice, pretty, sexy... Now we are room mates in the same home if you will... two people that see each other everyday... but never really SEE each other. And yes im just a guilty. When i started this i had a few friends ask.... Do you have a strong marriage? I thought what a strange question... Of course i did... or so i thought. So i find myself at a cross-road if you may between staying in a marriage of convince where there is no romance, no intimacy, no connection. OR.... taking the leap and getting out and jumping into a world i no longer know.... Another world were there are no guarantees that i will be happy. What if i end up alone? (no i will never be a divorced cat lady)... What if i can't make it on my own? I never really had too. I mean, i got married the first time at 16, divorced at 18 and remarried at 23...... What if ... What if... good Lord the What ifs..... Anyway, in my journey of self discovery, I have made incredible successes as far as weightloss, feeling and looking better than I have in year.... But, i have made some terrible mistakes, trusted people i thought were my friends... Seeked out approval from people i should not have and in ways i should not have. But, i made my bed so to speak... So in my haste of anger, disappointment, and a lot of hurt... My first instinct was to leave this place, leave the place that lead me on a few paths.... One of great success and the other great self disappointment. So i deleted... deleted... deleted... i thought that's it... Im not going back. but then i realized... it's not this site.... It was me. I made those choices.. No one did that but me.... I have a lot of self reflection still to do.... I hope one day to have an Epiphany if you may and wake the hell up and Piss or get off the pot..... It's just so damn hard to pull that trigger, cuz once the bullet leave the chamber, something or someone will be damaged and life will never be the same. So, thanks to all my friends that have supported me through the years and i know will continue to support me. And to those i have offended and hurt along the way... I ask for your forgiveness. I am but mere mortal.... I know that in the years i have given lots of good advice, some say even great advice... I have been open and as honest as i can... some took me and my advice as negative... but in the years i have gotten way more thank yous... the F yous... So i consider that pretty good coming from a southern fowled mouth, shoot from the hip, tell it like it is girl.... So for this, I will stay and bug the hell out of all of you.... lol...... its not that you all didn't mean the world to me, but I deleted all my friends in my haste... and if you still want to come along to see where this journey leads... friend me again... Thanks for everything...... Chris AKA BayouGirl....

Your stomach does NOT remain whole. You have a little pouch that is made. The difference between GB and the sleeve is with GB they leave the remaining larger part of your stomach attached while with the sleeve it is removed(normally 85% is removed). I wouldn't want any newbies to miss understand what you are saying. Thanks for the information. I think I'm still a few months away from getting it done, I want to know all I can so when the time comes I am well informed. I was curious about the pain. I've had three c section in 4 years, all of which were very easy to recover from. Is it similar? Worse or better? I had my LB on tuesday and was back to work on Monday. Now i do have a sit down job, but my pain was minimal. I also had had two c-sections, Hysterectomy and gallbladder removed, LB and TT.... the most painful was my Csection. the others were a breeze... I know for my Hyst. i was back to work in a little over two weeks only because my gyn would not release me. My GB i was back at work in 3 day. TT i was back at work in 12 days

Why are you limiting your self to those two? I myself had the band done in 2009 have lost and maintained 87lbs. I have had NO complications at all. If it's portion control you want, then the band does it better than any other. All surgeries have there pro's and con's and i have Many personal friends that have had all.. 4 have had the GB: One passed away due to obesity. He lost over 300lbs and gained it all back. two did well, gained it back and Untill just this past year i had one friend that lost and kept it off... but sadly she has gained it all back too. 3 sleeve friends: One had done great, she had it done two years ago. she had a ruff start as something went wrong in surg. and had to get a stint put in, she has maintained over 100lbs but she also bust her ass in the gy.....one did great, lost 150lbs, she had hers done in 2008, sadly she has put back at least half. the other never really did that great and sadly looks to be the same weight she was when she had it done in 2011. My friend paula had the band a year before me and last year had her band removed and got the sleeve. She had re flux... she loves the sleeve. Christine, Me and Paula's gf had our band done the same day. Chris and Mia both lost over 60lbs and has kept it off... and me. Gina got her band a year after me and has kept it off. Not Mica, lost over 200 and had gained a bunch back due to a back injury and steroid injections.. This is what i can say about the band: yes there is maintenance, fills and such. But, i loved it because it gave me time to adjust my eating... Learn great portion control. my band keeps me in check. Yes if i eat too fast or don't chew good enough i "uneat".. Aka throw up... but, that's my fault. My suggestion is too go to some seminars.... talk to people who have had... ALL three... talk to your dr and come to an agreement on what you both think is best.

I stuff mine with either chicken or tuna salad.

Best way to make coffee.... Which i drink all day... one or two ways. Best way... step one... get dressed, two..get in car, three... drive to starbucks, four... order a tall white chocolate mocha Hot... Done. second best way... get to work and wait till co worker makes the coffee... done

I got my band nov 10, 2009.... So I think nob is a great month. Wish you all the luck