jena

Yes, yes, yes! Go pick up that dog! I love cats, I have all my life. When I moved out to the suburbs I found a house on a wooded lot with 2 neighbors houses. The three of us are on 10 wooded acres and not on a street. I have rescued cats since I've been here. At one time I had 15 little cherubs and each one was so different. Because they were rescues and some of them were in their later years, I had to deal with them passing on. The loss doesn't get any easier, but it does get easier to let them go when it's their time. I now have 5 cats and one 100 pound golden retriever. My oldest cat Clark is between 15 and 18 years old and he is in his twilight years. It will break my heart when he goes but he has lived a dream life for a cat. Okay, I'm babbling now, but what I want to say is that is is my philosophy that when God is ready for you to have another pet, he sends it to you. Apparently God has decided that this is the right time for you. Celebrate your darlings life and the time you had together by adopting a homeless pet. Hugs to you and let us know what happens! Jena

Atta girl Cathy! Don't wait like I did. Get thee to a filling station! Ha! Jena

Thanks for the update Jim. Military funerals are so beautiful and heart wrenching at the same time. What an amazing young man your son was. Serving his country, reenlisting and donating his organs. He was a very unselfish, giving person. You and your wife did a great job raising a son with such good character. You and your family have a lot to be proud of. Hugs, Jena

For a week? That's all? Dang! It's good for me to see you being so aggressive to hit the sweet spot. I could kick myself for sitting around fighting *real* hunger and not head hunger when I just should have scheduled a fill. Now that I'm walking in your shoes, I totally understand your frustration before and after your first fill. Yes, this thing is a tool, but you have to USE the tool to see results. It's like having a nail gun but using the sole of your tennis shoe to put a nails in a wall. Jena

What time is your appointment? Mine is at 1:40! Jena

Hi Mona, my craptastic sister, I thought your last fill did the trick. I'm looking at your progress to gage my own since I have the VG band as well. I don't know if you remember, but I set my first fill appointment for August 6th at the OCC because I wanted my first fill there, but darn it, I have no restriction at all and have put on a few pounds. So, I made an appointment for this coming Saturday at Fill Centers USA in Roswell Ga. Apparently the nurse won't do them without floro (which is an extra $200) so I will be having that each time. I am going to the OCC in August for a second fill. I'm glad you posted the information about people with the VG band needing more fills. I was wondering about that. It seems logical to me. Did you know that Dr. Ortiz is one of the folks that got together and started Fill Centers USA? Jena

Thanks for mentioning that Paula Bee! I never smoked but my parents did. My dad quit smoking cold turkey when his doctor told him if he didn't quit he would be dead in 5 years. That was 36 years ago. He just had his 73rd birthday! My mom was not so lucky. She was a 3 pack a day smoker and never even tried to quit until she was diagnosed with lung cancer and had half a lung removed. She died about 6 months later. Those of you who have quit are my hero's! You have done an amazing thing, not only for yourselves but for everyone who loves you. :lb13: :lb10: =D>

I'm not from there, but I've been there. It's an awesome place!! So how did your surgery go? How are you feeling now? What is your after band eating schedule for the next few weeks. Welcome! Jena

Congratulations Diana!! You have made it over to bandland. What you are describing is what I went through as well. I took Tums chewables for the gas/bloating problem. My port was sore until about week 5. It hurt for me to bend over, even sitting in a chair and trying to pick up something on the floor. As each week went by, it got a little better and now I almost never notice it. As for the creamy soups, my favorites are the Campbell's cheddar cheese and Southwest Jack (a little spicy). The cheddar cheese soup tastes like cheese dip and the Jack soup tastes like a very mild Mexican cheese dip. You can make a quick potato soup by heating up in a pot some mashed potatoes (I bought some of the ready to microwave mashed potatoes) and add some chicken stock and milk to get it to the right consistency. Throw in some garlic powder and/or onion powder for some taste and some of your favorite cheese. For a change of pace, I would heat up some pizza sauce with a little Parmesan cheese on top! I would coat my spoon with it and savor every bite. Yum! Good luck sweety! You'll make it through.

You'll make it. I will admit the last week is really, really tough, but just keep thinking about all the money you have spent! That was enough to motivate me.

Bandgroupie, I just tried getting into chat using the link you gave in the pinned forum. Just FYI. Jena

I have walked in you shoes, Dawn. The same thing happened to my mom almost exactly 19 years ago. Of course I wasn't banded back then and it was really tough. She passed away January 19, 1990. Honestly, I believe it's easier (although HARD) to deal with and focus on the eating problems than to deal with your mother's illness. In this situation, there's nothing wrong with that. You are under more stress than you realize 24 hours a day. You've got to do whatever you can to get by and deal with what is happening to your mom. Now is not the time to beat yourself up. If it means eating ice cream with your mom, then by God, eat ice cream with your mom! You have the band and it's a tool, however now is the time to lean on the band to get you through. Make sure you have a good fill and have restriction. It will keep you from eating too much during this time. Take it easy on yourself. Know that you and your mom are in my prayers. Jena

Beautiful kids, hot hubby, and who is that sexy woman with the smokin' hot legs standing next to him? Girl, if I were you I would have nothing but mini skirts and short shorts hanging in my closet! Jena

EXACTLY the experience I'm having lynzz. I had mine done on May 8 and at first it was all easy sailing. I scheduled my first fill on Aug. 6 at the OCC because I wanted them to do my first one and it was the first date I could get a cheap ticket. However, a couple of weeks ago I noticed I was eating more and I had no restriction. So, I went ahead and scheduled my first fill here in Atlanta for next Saturday and I'll have my second fill at the OCC. So, I say go as soon as you can at the 6 week mark! Jena

EXACTLY what I was going to say! GMTA! This technique isn't new to me. Here are a couple of things I do. Instead of preparing all of the food, ask people to bring something. Actually, make up a list of people and what you want them to bring. They always say "What can I bring" so you might as well have something in mind for them. Otherwise you'll end up with 10 green bean casseroles, 20 bags of buns and chips and enough soft drinks to last you all year. haha! Then you be responsible for the meat and any sides that YOU can eat. Have those throw away containers ready and pack up food for everyone to take home so you don't have any problem foods left. Don't be afraid to put open bags of potato chips into zip lock bags and pass them out to the kids. Make a big fruit salad. Don't be surprised if everyone eats your fruit salad. I'm a Southern girl and to us, food is love and feeding people is showing them how much you love them. It's a hard thing to do to even let people bring food! Finally, instead of planning the food, plan the entertainment for everyone. Don't have a pool? Tell everyone to bring a suit for the kids, get a sprinkler, attach it to the hose and they'll have a blast. Look for a slip n slide! Those things are FUN. (and cheap) You can set up a badminton net and have rackets and shuttle cocks ready for playing. I love croquet and it's a great way to have fun at a family get together. You can't have a get together with my Tennessee family without playing horseshoes! How about a game of half-rubber. Don't know what that is? It's played like base ball but with a broomstick and a hard rubber ball cut in half. Lot's and lots of fun. Even sitting stacks of Trivial Pursuit cards around where people are is fun. People just naturally pick them up and start reading then start asking the questions. As for the alcohol...go ahead any buy what you would for everyone. Make yourself drinks with Special K protein water Tropical blend with a touch of pineapple juice and a little vodka. Throw in an orange slice and a cherry. Or you could use the lemonaid, add a little fresh lemon juice and slices and a touch of vodka. At least you'll be getting protein and fiber with each drink. Parties are for enjoying each others company and having FUN. Jena

Cedar & everyone, Anytime you want to start a chat with your fellow OCCers, use gabbly. Just type in www.gabbly.com/<any web site> and the web page will open with a gabbly chat box! Just invite whoever you want and give them the url. You could PM or message anyone on the board with the url. No login, so register, no nuthin. You may want to change your name when you come in so people will know who you are. For example, you can start a gabbly chat by using www.gabbly.com/lapbandforum.com Give it a try! Jena

Mine growls so loud now it's embarrassing. I never had this kind of problem before. Is it gas or what??

Nope, not me, but I lived in Starkville Mississippi once.

I thought of you today Mona when I scheduled the appointment and how happy you said you are with your second one. I believe we both have the VG band. How many weeks did you have between fills? It will be almost 4 weeks between my two so I'm hoping that the first one will carry me over until the second one. Jena

I'm in Atlanta. The email I received today with the guidelines says "have nothing by mouth 4 hours prior to your adjustment" I don't see anything about what to do after the fill. Jena

Mine is at 1:40. If I could eat before having it done I would say let's have lunch. I would love to meet y'all in the flesh. Jena

I waffled back and forth about where to go. In the end I decided to go to the OCC because I wanted to make sure if anything was amiss like a port flipped or whatever that I could take care of it while I was down there. For peace of minds mostly. Also I could fly out there from Atlanta on Air Tran, do the hotel for one night, transportation and floro for just about the same price as I could have it done here. Actually I think it is a few dollars less. However, I couldn't get a cheap flight until August. I made the reservation about 4 or 5 weeks ago - before I started having difficulties with eating. I didn't see waiting until August as a problem BACK THEN. Ha! Little did I know! So I've already got the August trip paid for so I might as well do it there. I've also got a ticket for September and I'll go back if I need to, otherwise I'll use the ticket for something else. There you have it!

Some of you may remember that I scheduled my first fill at the OCC on Aug. 6. I was banded on May 8. I've really, really been struggling the last few weeks. I can eat way too much, I can stress eat now with abandon and fighting it is exhausting. Even when I don't overeat I physically feel like I have because of the tricks my mind plays on me. So it hit me yesterday...eating too much...gaining some weight back...ding ding ding! That's when you need a fill!!! I mean, that's one of the guidelines, right? So I filled out the form online for fillcentersusa.com and called today for an appointment. Thank God that they could take me on July 12, one week from this Saturday. Then I'll go to the OCC on Aug 6 for my second fill. From what I get from reading the boards the first fill usually doesn't do much. I've got a VG band, so there's lots more to fill than the smaller band. What gets me is that I went to the trouble and expense to get this tool and I'm not using it the way it should be used! I'm trying to tough it out hoping my eating will get better (like in the pre-band days) rather than listening to my body and my band and going to get a fill when I need one. Thanks for letting me spill my guts. Y'all are the only ones I know who understand. Jena

Thanks for the kudos everyone! I was astounded that my feet had lost that much weight. heh! But I can see bones and veins in my hands and feet that I haven't seen in ages! All of you are doing so fantastic!

We must all be on the same wavelength! I started a new job this week and I have not walked this much during the work day ever! I was thinking I should get a pedometer just to see how much it adds up to. The parking lot I park in full by the time I get there in the morning so I have to park way out in the back. Then in the office it is jammed packed with cubicles so getting from point A to point B is no easy task. It's like walking through a maze and I get lost all the time. I walked around the floor for 20 minutes this morning before I found where I was going!! There are tons of meetings I have to attend during the day so I'm walking all over the floor from one to another. On my last job I walked across the street from the parking lot to the building. It was valet parking so I wasn't walking very far. Then I would sit on my big fat behind all day long and the only walking I did was to the bathroom. Such a huge difference!!