Stupid, useless, insignificant, no sex appeal. I haven't felt this worthless since I got out from under the heavy yoke of my parents at 16. It's almost like the collapse came out of the blue this time. I forgot about the self destruction, but I remember the other symptoms. This iteration of me is in its death throes. I would never pull the plug on my children's father, but if there isn't going to be some kind of phoenix with an actual pop, I really don't want to come back. I am so tired of struggling and never getting anywhere. If I cannot find the strength to topple the lead domino the next version will be weak too. Christ, I have made it into a pillar of Stonehenge. Where will I find the strength?

 cookinlover wrote:"They"?  Who is that? Point 'em out to me. I will go pinch them around their measly little throats with my rite claw hand.

 jadewahoo wrote: 
Do they call you Lobster Boy?

how do you feel right now?

With my left hand, in this moment. My right hand isn't for feeling so much as it is for grasping.

 hippiechick wrote: 
I know every song from this play.  I'm guessing my mom played the record all the time when I was a kid!

 kysmet wrote: 

and, i imagine, the amount that works comfortably could change for the same person from one time to another....

 lily34 wrote: 
Thanks, sweetie

kys, you look great. and i can totally tell a difference! i'm sorry you're not feeling well today, but i'm always happy to hear you're in such good spirits along the way on this journey of yours! i am sure you'll be fine. you have the right attitude.

 triskele wrote: 
Hopefully that hasn't been happening too often and hopefully they're going right back to get that taken care of...definitely can't be pleasant.  There's not an exact science.  As far as I know, there is a set amount that they add for a fill but everyone is different.  What might not be enough for one person may be too much for the next.

I'm feeling like Andres Galarraga wacked me across my lower back with a baseball bat.

 kysmet wrote: 

hmmm...interesting.  i guess the girls here at work have had adjustments like that, because that's what they talk about...not even being able to keep water down...

glad your experience has been great!

 kysmet wrote: 
Excellent progress!

 hippiechick wrote: 
It's on at 4.  I'll check it out.

 kysmet wrote: 
May I recommend that you watch the Oprah Show from today. It was very interesting.

 ndg wrote: 


Thank you! There are three there now; I put one up from November that I found. I even happen to be wearing the same outfit. Those pants are falling off of me now :D

 kysmet wrote: 
 Of course!! Note that the volume loss

Good! ¡Animo! 

Pretty smug.

 rosedraws wrote: 
I am!  I wish I had started back in August.  Not sure why I didn't; it crossed my mind but I kept forgetting to take progress photos.  I didn't take one right before my surgery either.  I'm going to have to search through my photos to try to find something that reflects my starting weight...I was just never too keen on people taking full-length photos of me.  I put this gallery up and only have two photos so far.  The first was 5 days after surgery and the 2nd one is from Monday.  I think you can tell a little bit of difference between the two photos.  

 kysmet wrote: 
Interesting procedure, and great results for you!  I hope you're documenting with pictures.

 triskele wrote: 
I've been doing great and feel like a new person!  45 pounds down since I started the approval process back in August, 15 of which have been since surgery, which was 6 weeks ago today.

Adjustments, aka fills, are part of the lap-band program.  The band is put in empty and then the first fill is done 6 weeks later, at least that's when my surgeon does it.  Then they are done based on your progress.  Monthly follow ups are imperative as this is a whole program, not just a situation where you get surgery and then you're on your own.  If you're getting hungry between meals, which should be at least 4 hours apart, and/or aren't losing weight for 3-4 weeks, a fill is done.  It's not unpleasant at all; they just inject saline via a syringe into a port that's mounted beneath the skin in the abdomen.  If an adjustment ends up being too tight, which results in not being able to keep food or liquids down (the only unpleasant thing I can think of that would be related to a fill), some saline can be taken out.  

I had my first fill on Monday but this doesn't seem to be related to that.  My temperature is a little high and I've been able to keep liquids down (I'm not back on solids yet until tomorrow) and when I called the surgeon's office today, I was told that a fill that is too tight doesn't cause nausea or fever.
 
Here's a link to a page that explains the lap-band with a movie with an animation that shows how fills are done if you're interested.