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Julie - it's WONDERFUL that you lost 2#! Eight pounds is a lot to lose in one week and I am super happy for you that you lost 2. I bet you anything that you will keep losing now and that is awesome! I'm proud of you! :lb4:

Remember Trudy that it took such a long time to put our weight on....if it "flew off" of us, it surely wouldn't stay off or our skin would sag more. I too am a slow loser (for various reasons) and am getting my first fill next week. It is something I am looking forward to, but I do need to remember that the band is not magic and it's just a tool for us in our weight loss journey. I know for a fact that I would not be able to look myself in the mirror when I got up in the morning if I had spent all this money on this band and then went back to my old eating habits. Just because we CAN eat anything we want doesn't mean we should. I think each of us must have a reason inside that will make us "guilt ourselves" into not eating poorly anymore. Mine is the money I spent. Yours will most likely be something else. But sit down and maybe write down what it is that will help you and then put it on your refrigerator or even mirror. I absolutely LOVE hamburgers and seriously could live on them. I could eat them every day for the rest of my life. But, because I know this is a serious issue for me, I have not allowed myself to even eat one of them since my surgery and once you begin to deny yourself of something you love, it gets easier and easier. I hope you don't think I am lecturing you...just trying to give you some other ideas to think about. Best of luck to you...

:lb9: Welcome to our group X-ray! What part of Alaska do you live in? I lived in Sitka for 20 years. I adore Alaska!

:lb9: Nice to meet you. You will love it here!

Here are some links to do that Stormy. Not sure what Michelle uses but these are decent ones: http://picasa.google.com/ http://www.slideroll.com/ http://www.familyhistoryproducts.com/free-...show-maker.html I haven't used any of these specific programs, but I looked for free ones that looked fairly simple. Good luck!

Feels good to invest in your heath, doesn't it? Your 20 days will go quickly...you are on your way!

Hi Jo! :lb9: You will learn so much here and you will love it...just like all of us do! Great to meet you!

Truly...you guys have brought up my spirits!!! I am gonna do some "sit down" exercises like Jann suggested and I am having my first fill in less than a week...so I am thinking that will definitely help! And, everyone who said that doctors can be jerks are SO RIGHT! (Dr. O and Dr. M are the exceptions)...

I wanted to let everyone know that right after I had posted on Julie's thread about the OCC not answering emails to me, I was contacted by Lori at the Occ and asked to resend my requests. Apparently they had some type of a computer issue during that time and they were working on the server, so we think that they were caught up in that. I sincerely do believe this as Lori had always been right on top of things before the surgery, so I can't see why it would happen otherwise. I don't know what happened with Julie (and that seems inexcusable), but I did want to write and let you know that my issue with them has been resolved.

Thank you SO much everyone for being so kind. I can't believe how emotional I am over this! I am still fighting off tears off and on today, but hopefully it will get better. I'm somewhere between anger, sadness and devastation now. I know that there are so many others who have it so much worse than I do (Jann for instance). I do appreciate more than I can verbalize eveybody here and how everyone all helps each other out. It means so much! And...to OICU812...please not that...that would be the FINAL straw I'm afraid...

Hey guys, Most of you who know me know that it's not like me to come here and whine about things. I truly believe that keeping a positive attitude is so important when making life changing decisions and I try really hard to stay positive. But, I've been crying all afternoon and am pretty devastated at the news I received today. You know that 10 days after my lap band surgery I had to have knee surgery for a meniscus tear? Well I have NOT been doing well at physical therapy and the same pain I had before surgery is still there, but worse. Two days ago I was getting dressed and felt a tear-like feeling in my knee. It shot up my leg like the last tear did. Now, the LAST tear that I JUST had surgery on happened to me A YEAR AND 1/2 AGO and after seeing FOUR doctors, someone just diagnosed it!!! Well, I went for my 3 week checkup today and not only did the doctor tell me that my knee pain was arthritis, he refused to even ACKNOWLEDGE the "tear feeling!" He dismissed me with 3 weeks worth of Celebrex and told me that if it was still there in 3 weeks that I'd need a total knee replacement!!!! I am about to lose my mind I think because I am do damned upset! I CAN'T live like this! The pain is so horrendous that I have to walk with a cane and even then I am in agony every time I put weight on the leg. I have not been able to work for 7 weeks, and now he says I have to be off of the leg another 3 weeks and that almost certainly will lead to the knee replacement, which will be probably 6 weeks before I can be back on it, if not longer! But beyond the pain and the fear of "not knowing," I am unable to exercise or do much more than walk from bed to a chair and I weighed myself this morning and lost one more pound...big whoop!!! Truly...I know that losing ANYTHING at this time is better than gaining, but it just depresses me SO much! I am scheduled for my first fill next week, so maybe I will lose more then...but this whole deal just STINKS!!!! :lb6: Sorry to be such a "Debbie Downer." ;(

My God Julie this is just awful!!! I can believe it though because I have gotten absolutely NO response from the emails I have written to my patient coordinator after surgery. She was wonderful BEFORE surgery and was on top of everything. But, it almost seems like the moment you are done with surgery, they shove you out of the way and that's it. I'm very disappointed from hearing this! I also feel honored that my band was done by Dr. Ortiz and Dr. Martinez, and feel that there is no doubt they are the best in the business, BUT....perhaps their office staff is the problem. It sure sounds like they have dropped the ball. And, this definitely makes my mind up about not going back for my fill. To me, if I have an emergency, I want to have it close to home. What a smart thing for your fill doc to let you eat...that's just a smart cookie you have found there and I'm so glad you have someone to help you after such a bad experience. What a nightmare! I'm so sorry that you had to go through that! ;(

Glad you are better and glad you got another day off! Hope tomorrow is even better.,,

Hi October 2, I was banded exactly one month ago today - August 29th. ALL of my scars look like cat scratches and I can barely see them. Even my largest scar is not raised and is barely visible. However, we all do scar differently. These "scars" are so minimal though, I don't think that anyone would be able to tell unless they were right up on you and looking very closely. Besides, there are a lot of things that cause a person to have these little laparoscopic scars. I had my gallbladder taken out 10 years ago and had 3 scars at first. These are completely invisible now. Regarding the postop diet, just keep telling yourself that it is going to end and count down every day. Tell yourself how lucky you are to be able to even get the surgery in the first place. So many aren't. Think positive. You will look wonderful afterwards! Best of luck to you...you will do fine!

You are doing SO well! You are one of the real "motivators" on here! You deserve to be very proud!!!! :lb21:

Hey Julie, I got a few really good tasting protein bullets from GNC right before surgery and used them after...they were tasty and I didn't even have to "chug em." I hope you feel better soon... >

Gosh...I'm so new to this (only been banded 1 month), but I almost think that it looks like you are not eating enough. This is a huge worry of mine as well...not losing as well as some because I KNOW I am a slow loser. But I hope that someone who is really experienced in this will answer you. Whenever there is an answer here, it helps all of us. Best of luck to you and hopefully this will end for you soon! :lb18:

People can be so ridiculous! Just wait until you reach your goal weight...that will make him change his tune! Best of luck to you!

Wow!!! That would majorly suck! ;(

That is SO wonderful! I look at myself and think that I can never get to losing that much weight...but then I see others (like you) who did, and it just really gives me a huge boost! Thank you for sharing your weight loss with all of us newbies out here...

Have a safe trip Julie. It should be really nice weather there now...

:lb12: AwwDANG IT!!! Guess no one from OCC told me about the "rules" since they figured I was too danged OLD! :lb20: LOL

Could someone please give me Melissa's email? I didn't get my receipt either and just now realized it when I read this...sheesh...what was I thinking?

You were beautiful in January and you are gorgeous now! Also, I agree...your attitude is wonderful. That makes SUCH a difference! :lb13:

Not a nurse either, but would definitely suggest having it checked. You are probably right about it being something benign, but just for your peace of mind....