Anyway - good idea Robin, we can set up our own thread and quit monopolizing my super size thread. But I can't post in here anymore 'cause I'm in MO.

Scheduled for another fill next Friday! I'm at 2 in a 4, so I'm going to see about 1/4 cc or so. I have restriction, just not enough... but don't want an overfill either.

Hi Girls-

Just wanted to check in and let you know I am still here....I have worked 36 hours in the past 3 days and I am soooo exhausted. I'll try to post tomorrow pm. Carb detoxed again this week...then got shaky and bad bad headache this pm, caved in and had a serving of carbs....I hate myself for doing it (once again)...but I feel so much better (physiologically)....although psychologically I feel I have failed myself once again...I don't know why I do this to myself....the carb roller coaster sucks!!!

Hi girls, it's me Chantay, I haven't posted much on her but hope to post more frequently now and meet everyone soon. I have talked to Robyn a few times on AIM and (I finally met your sister at work Robyn) We talked a little on Wed I think? Anyhow a quick update on me.

Im 35 weight 315 wear size 26/28 (did someone say free clothes?? LOL)

I saw Dr Sabopathy last Monday he gave me the all clear, then I had my X-Ray and pulmanary testing Thursday all clear as well. I go to the dietician and do my cardiac testing the last week of this month. Then Billie will submit my letter to First Health and I pray Im approved!! (IF it's Gods will) so I hope to hear something by the end of the first week in Aug. She says DR Hoehn is booking into Sept. I was sure hoping to meet everyone at the support group but Ill be out of town. Going to Dallas (Bedford) to see my sister then to Houston (The Woodlands) then to a place we have never been...Corpus Christi, long trip but hoping for lots of fun. I'll be gone from the 26th till Aug 1st. Anyways can you girls talk to me about what to expect..I mean I have read ALOT but can you tell me more..expecially since you have all been through SMMC..and DR H also like what if anything are your regrets or problems from the surgery? And what kinda things will I not be able to eat etc....And one more question...I have noticed in a lot of pics that women like me with "before" big saggy boobs seem to have nicer looking maybe firmer or just not as saggy boobs? Is it cuz they shrik up too? Thanks for the help Ill keep you posted~Chantay

Hi Chantay, welcome to our thread. I don't remember you, but I'm really bad with names. Notoriously bad. But I'll do what I can to answer your questions:

nyways can you girls talk to me about what to expect..I mean I have read ALOT but can you tell me more..expecially since you have all been through SMMC..and DR H

Hmm... kind of a tough one to answer, because "what to expect" is such a big area/broad topic. Any chance you can ask something a little more specific? Are you wondering about the surgery itself? The first few days after? Something entirely different? Before your operation you'll meet with... can't remember her name... something McDonald I think... and she basically givs you a run through of what will happen during the surgery, what life will be like the first few days after, and what's happening on the medical side. Your appointment with her will probably provide more insight toward your question.

also like what if anything are your regrets or problems from the surgery?

Personally - no regrets at all. And no problems at all, so far, but I'm only 4.5 months out.

And what kinda things will I not be able to eat etc....

This varies completely from person to person. Robyn can't eat chicken, I eat chicken daily. I can't seem to do eggs, but a lot of people continue to enjoy them. It's completely individual. You'll get a lot more information about this when you meet with the dietician. She'll give you a big information packet, including foods that are likely to cause problems. From there, it's trial and error. For everyone who says, "I can't eat this" there's someone else who will say "I can."

And one more question...I have noticed in a lot of pics that women like me with "before" big saggy boobs seem to have nicer looking maybe firmer or just not as saggy boobs?

Can't help, I don't have big or saggy boobs. I know you can lose some of the excess fat in the breast area, but whether or not they stop sagging will depend on the remaining elasticity of your skin... which in turn is controlled largely by genetics, the amount it has been stretched, and the time it has been stretched for.

Hope this helps, at least a little.

Yes this helped thanks!! As far as what to expect...it was just a general question and any type of answer would be fine.

I do have another question though...I see a lot of people say they are satisfied now after eating a little etc...satisfied and full...well I would assume that many of us (like myself) are obese because we eat and eat and crave and eat beyond satisfaction so how easy is it to go from being an overeater to eating till your full or satisfied this will be a whole new thing for me. Now I do realize that we I wont have much choice that the main reason Im doing lapband I feel I have to do something that will "MAKE" me change my ways, is that how you all felt?

I am planning on taking a week off..I just it at a desk and answer phone calls, is a week good enough? Will I feel better or worse than after my C-Sec? ok im done thanks!~Chantay

How easy it is will be a factor of a few things. This is all just "my opinion", and really they all trickle upward to one overarching factor -- your ability to understand why you overeat, define what it is that you get out of it, and then find other ways to address the behavior outside of food. You will likely have several (number varies) visits with Dr. Sabapathy before your surgery, and this is likely a lot of what you will discuss. Any other factor is going to be associated with making key behavioral changes. For example, your ability to differentiate between head hunger and physiological hunger.

Also how quickly you comply with reinforcement factors... so you'll still be able to eat more than you need to stop the hunger, but if you eat to a point of excess, chances are your band will strike back. Think of it like reaching your hand into the cookie jar. Your hand only gets slapped so many times before you'll start to reach into the jar less and less, and soon -- not at all. Or, depending on the severity of what happens - maybe it will only take you a time or two to change your behaviors. How quickly it happens can depend largely on the level of trauma associated with the consequences. Maybe it's 10 slaps before you quit reaching for a cookie, but you're only going to put your hand in the fire and get burned once or twice.

I did not feel that the band would make me change my ways. I went into this knowing I would have to change my ways. What I expected the band to do was act as portion control, give me a feeling of satiety on less food, and teach me what things I can or cannot eat. And so far that's exactly what it has done for me. You're still going to have to make the changes. There are ways to eat around the band, and if someone is determined to remain an overeater, or eat poor food choices, they can continue to do so even with the band in place.

I had my surgery on a Wed. Friday evening I was out at a store walking around, and Saturday we went out of town. I still had a lot of pain with getting up and down, so Monday and Tuesday I worked from home (I can telecommute) but I could have gone in to work if I'd needed to. So for me a week would have been plenty, but I didn't have any gas pains, no problems with infections, etc.

Never had a C so can't help there.

Hi guys! I haven't been on much lately. I have read some posts but hadn't written much. Robyn I think it'd be fun to do day of beauty for your one year celebration. Sorry eating didn't go so well on your trip Angela. I have done so so on my eating lately. Wes and I went to eat with my Dad this morning but I ate pretty good. Then I came home and cut the grass so I think I sweat off a few pounds. I am planning on making some bracelets and earrings this afternoon and that keeps my mind busy and I won't eat til I'm really hungry again. It's time I make jewelry again because that helps me a lot and people at work are asking for bracelets and ear rings again. Robyn when are you leaving on vacation? Holli are you leaving the end of July? Hopefully we will here something from insurance again soon. I won't be able to take any time off til after August 24th unless I just call in sick a couple of days. I sure am hoping we can get insurance to cover this revision or whatever. Well I'm off to the bead store I'll check in later.

Who gets stuck on a chunk free soup, but can eat calamari and chicken for dinner?

MEMEMEMEME! Try the fact that I ate a whole 10 oz piece of salmon, about a cup of steamed veggies, and a good sized side salad at 54th street Grill for Lunch.....now just now I PB'd after about 2 mouthfuls of (crunchy with no milk) special K cereal. It's so weird how not only can our bands vary from day to day...but even meal to meal:confused: ......That's probably my one and only gripe about the whole tool because I am constantly going back and forth on "am I tight enough or not"? I know Holli and I have talked about this many times before....just when you think you might need another fill....then you PB on something and think "nahhh, I'm too tight".....then a day later you eat another horse and think you need a filll.....then the next day you PB again.

Great story though on the limo PB....Angela, you have the VERY best PB stories of anyone I have ever heard. As for the one you told about the little girl and her mom in the bathroom stall, have you ever tried flushing just before you start hurling?? I have tried that trick many a time I don't know if Holli can attest to this or not (of course I have had a lot more experience than most with hurling due to the time when I was unadjustable and too tight)...but after a while it became much easier. I no longer have the whole period of misery just prior to the actual PB like I did when I was first restricted.

Robyn, I am so jealous. I wish I could skip the "whole period of misery". I am always in pain. I have been lucky though and only had a handful of times that I have been stuck or slimed or PB'd. I would say I have only had about 6 incidents in the 15 months I have been banded.

I do think the whole "I am too tight/I am too loose" thing is driving me batty though.

Ok guys...I have to tell you how proud I am of my daughter. She had a hernia repair surgery this morning and she was sooooo brave! I, however, have discovered that I get nausea from just being in a hospital. I was fine until we went to join my daughter in recovery. The blood started rushing to my head and I was shaking and I thought I was going to pass out. It was very unsettling when my daughter was sitting there groggy...poor baby. She even told me at one point to go outside if I was feeling sick. I wonder if it wasn't the smell. Does anyone else have problems with hospitals in general?

Also, I was so nervous yesterday that I found myself grazing on junk food all day. It was horrible but I didn't know what else to do. Hopefully there will never be a next time, but I hope if there is... I can deal with it a little better.

Holli sorry your daughter had to have surgery but I'm glad she is doing ok. I have worked in hospitals for 28 yrs now and when I am visiting and not working I think they all smell funny and I get nauseated and feel really gross. Sometimes I get queasy when I go to support group. I don't know what it is. I ate bad this weekend but I am back on track today. I told one of the guys I work with I have to go back on my Atkins induction and he said he would help me. I'll check in again later.

Wow Holli -- now I'm thinking maybe I PB way too much. I've already hit 5 or 6 times, and I'm not even 5 months out. Once was my immediate post-op accident... then on regular foods every other time. I get stuck at least once a week. I'm starting to get gun shy about what I eat because I don't want to hurt any more. I think the travel et. al. exacerbated things during the last few days.

So Robyn, when is your bandiversary?

Holli - sorry your daugther had to have surgery, but I'm very glad to hear about how well she did. Sounds like she took her surgery a lot better than I took mine.

Cynthia - is Atkins induction the way you're going? I did that for a LONG time. Lost a lot of weight. Please feel free to post any questions you have!

Oh, and no - I don't get nauseous w/ hospital smells... well sure, those hospital smells (!), but the smell of isopropyl alcohol will raise my blood pressure. I associate that smell with needles, and although I'm a little more desensitized to them now with the surgery & fills, there was a point in time where that smell was enough to get me light headed (because I strongly associate that smell with a particularly bad experience I had once, when a needle broke off in my arm during a blood draw, and I managed to douse the walls, nurse and myself before they could cover it & then work on getting the needle out... I never realized before then that the blood continues to come out even if the little tube isn't hooked up... I always thought the needle was just "there", but the tube somehow formed a vaccuum and SUCKED the blood out... silly ,but I was a kid... quite traumatic at the time, and sent me on my downward spiral of hating needles).

BTW, since I'm bored at work, did I ever tell you guys that I had spinal meningitis? I had it when I was a newborn. Actually I was born a little over 2 months premature, and diagnosed when I was about 2 weeks old, so I had it before I should have even been born. They had to run something like 20 IVs in the fluid sac around my spine & brain, and do a LOT of spinal taps... enough that at one point they told my mom they couldn't do any for whatever amount of time, because I didn't have enough fluid to tap. My mom used to be as bad about needles as I am, but sitting with me through all of that cured her REAL quick!

Angela, I think the amount of PB's varies hugely from person to person. I know some people PB a ton more than I do.

Also, I think Robyn's 1 year anniversary is August 5th. We were just talking about it last week when we met for coffee. Is that right, Robyn? We really should celebrate. You have done so well, R!!!!

Sorry for my ignorance, Angela, but what kind of issues do you have from spinal meningitis?

No real issues, I was just blabbing. I think that's where my needle phobia comes from... the follow-up spinals that I can still remember having to "sit" through. Don't expect me to be coherent or make sense when I'm blabbing b/c I'm bored at work.

No more meeting for coffee without the rest of us.