Smiley

Sorry, don't have any good jokes at the moment, although I am super excited to know that hopefully the joke will be on someone else in less than a week when he sees the new me. I am going to try and be nice to him, but no promises.

I am going to see a bunch of old friends this coming week that I have not seen for 2, 4, or 6 years. I can pretty much guarantee you they will all notice the 85 lbs. that had been lost as of this morning. Only two of them know about the lap band and only one has been priveleged enough to see my progression pictures. I am so excited I can hardly stand it!

I had lost maybe 15 when the first person said something to me who didn't know about the surgery. It caught me off guard because I wasn't ready for that yet and really hadn't noticed much of a difference in myself at that time. It was then around the 30 mark before anyone else who didn't know said anything. The people that knew about the surgery started saying things 2-3 weeks after the surgery. I lost in my face first which is why it was so much more noticeable on me as the face isn't really hidden by clothes.

I haven't heard of anyone doing that. You can go on FMLA and then use any sick or vacation time that you may have built up. If you go on FMLA your doctor has to give you a work release note. They could probably also give you a note that restricted you to light duty only and I would think the job would have to honor that and find something for you to do that was in the light duty category. Might be worth checking with your HR department about or doing a search on-line for HR laws.

May I ask where you all live? Prior to my anemia and deficiencies I did have the same energy level as I did before the band, even though I wasn't taking vitamins - I had them in the house, I just wasn't very consistent. This may be hard to do, but sometimes when all a person wants to do is complain you just have to look at them and say, because I care about you and consider you a great friend that I can't imagine not being a part of my life, I am happy to listen to you, but only if I know you are doing something to correct or resolve the situation. You see, if we are not a part of the solution, then we are a part of the problem, so if you are just going to complain and never try to make things better then I am going to have to ask you to find another source to complain to about these issues because I want to help by being a part of the solution to the issues, not a part of the problem. Confused yet? I had to read it a couple of times to make sure it made sense. Basically, this is the concept of tough love. She may be mad for a little bit, but hopefully she will see the light and get it together.

Yeah! Your son won't remember you fat, in fact some day he will look at a picture of you holding him when he was a baby and ask, "Mom, who is that holding me." It will so be worth it at that point.

That sounds to me like she is probably eating too much. When something gets stuck it hurts. I equate it to trying to swallow a golf ball and only getting it to the middle of your chest. You might ask her if it hurts before she throws up or if it just happens to determine if she is PB'ing because something is stuck or if she is overeating. When something gets stuck you also tend to get a lot of saliva in your mouth as your body tries to remedy the situation. Even when I get something stuck and have to get rid of it I will wait until the last minute before I head to the bathroom as well because I want to be the one in control by not getting sick as opposed to letting the food rule for that moment - I am not stubborn, just determined.

Forget the scales, you can have success without those things. Do report on your success which will be things like drinking your water, exercising, getting in enough protein, etc. I am sorry you are having to go thru this rough time, but I am glad you are back on the forum.

Take the pictures and send them in - it is definitely worth a shot. In regards to the last 2 years of medical history, have you not been to any kind of a doctor in the past 2 years? If you have, regardless of whether you had insurance or not, you should be able to go to their office and request your medical records.

I was where your friend was earlier this year in regards to not having any energy. What my doctor discovered was that I was anemic and low in vitamins D and B12, all of which can cause one to be lethargic. You might be able to break the ice by addressing her lack of energy and just say that you have heard that some people have these problems after they have been banded for a while and suggest that she see her doctor for a full blood work up. Actually, there are a significant number of us on this forum that have had these deficiencies. There is a thread about it on here somewhere. In regards to her throwing food up, Shiney42 is correct in saying that you need to determine if she is PB'ing or actually throwing up. I don't know how long she has been banded, but it has been 19 months for me and by now I have learned how to chew my food correctly. Occasionally I will get something stuck, but 1 to 3 times a week seems like a lot, unless it truely is just a pasta issue and in that case she needs to face the fact that pasta is one of her no no foods or figure out how to eat it without having a problem. You might also ask if she is on any forums like this one and suggest it to her. Take it from the standpoint of her being able to help others based on the success she has had with the band. Then get on here and delete your post so that your friendship doesn't suffer should she come across this thread and recognize it as being you. I want to commend you for being a great friend and for caring enough to seek out answers.

The pharmacist I spoke with recommended that I not crush my multi-vitamin. He said they are coated for a reason and that is because many of them can irritate the stomach. He told me this during a time when I couldn't get the entire pill to go down so I started using the adult gummies. You might call your doctor and see if it would be okay to do the chewables as long as you chew them very very well.

Unfortunately I do know of one person that died after having the procedure, but it had nothing to do with the lab band itself. He had blood clots in his legs that ended up moving about a week after he had the surgery. The clots may or may not have been a result of the surgery as that is an issue with any surgery you have as they can also be an issue with birth control pills and other things. He was also about 450 lbs. which I am guessing is a lot larger than you are and your ability to get up and move after surgery will be a huge benefit. Not to be rude, but the facts are that when we are fat we are more unhealthy than normal which can lead to many health conditions. So, by remaining in your current state you are not doing yourself or your son any favors. No one is guaranteed tomorrow but each one of us expects that tomorrow will occur and we plan accordingly. Plan accordingly to run, jump and play with your son "tomorrow" and do what you need to do today to set yourself up for "tomorrow's" success. From what I have heard some people die in childbirth, but that thought rarely prevents anyone from having children. Just something to think about.

Congrats - isn't it the coolest to feel/see things you haven't felt/seen in a long time or possibly ever? I saw my PCP a few weeks ago and he decided I needed an adjustment. While laying on the the table he pushed on my hips which reminded me to ask him if it was normal to be able to feel your hip bone. He just laughed and shook his head that yes, it was normal to feel your hip bones. I seriously had never in my life been able to feel them prior to the lapband and my TT.

I don't have any experience with blood thinners or blood clots, but I don't think I would have the surgery right now if I were in your situation. Can you call the OCC and see what your options are for postponing the surgery as opposed to completely cancelling it. Hopefully they would be willing to apply your full deposit without you losing any of it if you just postpone instead of cancel. Please keep us posted.

Saaaweeet!

Your pouch should be fine as it is located up in your chest area. I doubt the string cheese covered the hole enough to prevent the V8 from going down. Besides, like the other two said, the pouch stretches after several bouts of abuse or really really really eating too much. I have been known to purposely drink a little bit when I am having snack and have never had a problem as verified by my barium swallows.

Eewww - I would rather be banded 10 times over than drink warm water even one morining. I have never heard this before. I just made up my mind and told my parents what I was doing, period, end of story. I told my mom in the middle of Penney's while we were Christmas shopping because didn't know how she would take it but I knew she wouldn't make a scene in public. She was actually super supportive which really surprised me. My dad was supportive, but a little more reserved, which is so not like him. I think his issue is that he knows he needs to do the same thing to get his weight off. I did have my surgery here in the states b/c of my mom's concern about me traveling out of the country by myself as she and my dad don't have passports, but I don't regret it one little bit. My theory was it was my body and I was paying for all of it myself, so I really didn't care much about what they thought which is why I told them I was doing it as opposed to asking their opinion about me doing it. After all, they were the ones that put me on my first diet a 5 years of age so it wasn't like they were oblivious to the situation.

Glad it went well for you. Saturday's weather was beautiful - can't say the same for today's though.

Sounds okay to me. I have the same band and received 4 cc's on my first fill, but I was eating a cup of food and was satisfied. They gauge the amount of your fill on how much you are eating as well as how long it keeps you full.

I did not PB or slime until about 8 months after my surgery, but when it happened it happened. I still don't do it that often either and when I do it is because I wasn't paying attention to my chewing or bite size, not the kind of food I am eating. At one point I was thinking scrambled eggs were my enemy, but after eating them without a problem this week I am wondering if it was because I cooked them in the microwave instead of on the stove. The microwave makes them drier and more rubbery.

When I listed the procedures I wanted to have done the Arm Lift was at the very top of my list - I have wanted that done for many years regardless of my weight. I have a scar from arm pit to about 2 inches above my arm pit. Yes, the scar shows if I raise my arms, but at least I will raise my arms now. Prior to the arm lift I wore nothing sleeveless and my arms were glued to my side as much as possible. My PS will be taking pictures in November and I am going to ask him if I can have a copy. I have some pictures posted in the gallery, but they are not very good. I have an excellent PS and my scars are very straight - I have seen some that look like they were chewed on by a tiger. It takes about a year for scars to totally heal (more like 15 months in my case). If these scars heal like the ones on my belly and feet people won't even notice I have a scar by this time next year. Unfortunately, some people just don't have scars that heal very well.

We had this discussion earlier today at my surgery center. Scar tissue develops around the band, the tubing, and the port. Scar tissue doesn't stretch, it tears and causes pain. I had horrible pain about 4 inches from my belly button long my waist this time last year and that was 7-8 months after my surgery. Everything I did hurt, including breathing. After running numerous gallbladder test it was discovered 3 months later that it was just scar tissue and a week or two after diagnosis it stopped - thank goodness! I don't know that this is your issue, but it is definitely a plausible option.

He must have been stretched out in there with his feet on your belly button and his hands pushing on your spine.

Congratulations - sounds to me like you have lost a 3rd or 4th grader!

I think it is absolutely wonderful that you do that you are a DDRer! You don't even have to think of it as exercise, you can think of it as quality time with your daughter with an added health benefit. I can guarantee you that with all of the years you will be adding to your life by losing weight it will give you and your daughter that much more time to reminisce about her childhood and her memories of you all doing DDR together. Great job and keep it up!