[BamaGalRN]

Heather hi! I'm a bander, but I'm singling you out because I live in Mobile, AL-- pretty close to you. Hiiii!

That being said, Hi everyone! I'm Melissa and I had my lap band placed in the Spring of 2010 in Monterrey Mexico by Dr. Zapata-- my insurance doesn't cover bariatric procedures and as a self pay, it was the only way I could afford it.

My band is great. It's currently completely unfilled-- they thought I had some gall bladder issues that were causing me to vomit constantly. *sigh* It turns out that I just was lying to myself and was in no way, shape, or form following WLS rules. I was eating all the wrong things, too much of them, drinking with meals, etc. So, I lost 60 pounds in the first year and then gained it all back within 4 months after my band was unfilled. Ridiculous of me, but.. I guess it just took me longer to "get it."

Luckily, though, I've had a revelation and am using this tool that I paid so much for. I'm down 20 pounds and have joined Overeaters Anonymous to help me through it. And 3atchicks, obviously...

Looking forward to getting to know all of you!

[jiffypop]

a little moderator magic, and YOU have your own thread, BamaRN! people tend to post in the general part of the forum, so you'll get more responses here.

It takes some of us longer than others to figure out how to live with our surgeries - no matter which one we choose. And, of course, some of us have to do it the hard way!!! <yeah, voice of experience here!>.

What kicked off your revelation? I've gone back to protein shakes, just to get myself back into some semblance of nutritional balance, and it's really helping!

welcome aboard!

[BamaGalRN]

Well, I had spent the better part of 3 years vomiting everytime I ate. Silly me, though, I had myself CONVINCED it wasn't my fault. It was my gall bladder. And then, when having it removed didn't do anything, I was seriously wondering if I had esophageal or stomach cancer. I put myself on a liquid diet to make it through finals-- I'm in nursing school and I was so busy throwing up I couldn't focus on studying-- and everything stopped. So.. I decided to hit my band rules hard and I feel great! Amazing how I could finally see that it WAS my fault and I COULD fix it if I chose to.