((hug)) You know Lucy, despite this - I still feel like a success story. I just want this thing fixed so it can stop raining on my parade. It's not easy but I'm trying so hard to keep a positive attitude. I tried getting help before but my tests didn't reveal anything.. the docs looked at me like I was crazy... and I was humiliated.... was I crazy? So I tried the "ignore it and live with it approach" - that landed me on my arse. Whatever this is, it demands that I don't ignore it. Hopefully, I past the worst warning I'm gonna get and now we can get it fixed and I can go on being a success and enjoy it to the fullest. Whew! Girl, you really HAVE been through a lot in the past 20 months. I never realized just how much until you listed it all. Look at you...through all of that.... you are a strong lady! Are you happy with your reconstructive work so far? What else where you thinking of having done? My sister just had her second round of plastics - a reverse tummy tuck, BL/BA, arms.... WOW she looks SOOOOO good. The only thing she has left to do is her thighs. She's talking about doing that in the next couple of months. Do you have any advice to pass on for the thighs? Hugs, Pam

~OMG your hair looks so GOOD!!!!~ I absolutely LOVE your new haircut!!! I miss everyone too. I'm going to try to be better about checking in. I just can't believe how uneducated the medical professionals in our town are about gastric bypass. It really is frightening because the wls popluation is growing here and all of us are going to need to rely on them at some point in our journey's. It is just pathetic. The moment I walk in to a doctor's office or this hospital - I'm tagged "the woman who had gastric bypass." This means, I'm an alien? No one wants to take on the responsibility for this case. EVERYONE is curious about it - they gather around my films like I'm a freak show and they act like it's something that has been set before their eyes for the very first time, and worse, it probably IS the first time. Then, the doctor's office, *psht* This doctor is of the opinion that since I have had gastric bypass, I should expect to live with pain because she believes it comes with the territory. And we all know that is the furthest thing from the truth. I will say that I'm frightened by the possibility of having this condition... but there's a part of me that would be relieved to have found the source of the pain and to have the opportunity to have it corrected.... AND to know I'm not CrAzY!! It's so humilating to go in there in so much pain and have them look at you and tell you "there's nothing wrong with you, you are healthy. These are just the pains to be expected from gastric bypass." My God, I have never had so much pain in my life as I had this past weekend. I waited 13 hours before giving up and going to the hospital. I couldn't walk, I could barely talk, I was curled up in a ball, morephine did NOTHING and they are telling me nothing is wrong.... like I'm putting on a show or something?!? I really thought at one point I was going to die. I really did. It was humiliating and degrading. You can imagine how upset I was when I got those test results, realizing the doctor never read them, then she blew it off and then the phone call to my surgeon.... augh. It's crazy....and I'm just rambling now.... lol.... ((sorry! I just get so wound up every time I think about it...)) Great big hugs, Pam

Kerri, I love your new picture and haircut. You look gorgeous I still need to change my picture but haven't figured out how to do it. I don't want to remove the one I have now without anything, I had that figurine OH puts in there - a fat head one at that! I hope more of our fellow Junebugs come back and start posting again. I sure do miss everyone. For sometime now, it's been hardly 5 of us posting occasionally here. I, too have been struggling with grazing issues since the winter. Now, with the major portion of my reconstructive plastic surgeries behind me, I have to get my act together. Our two year anniversaries are coming up in less than 3 months. YIKES, where did the time go? No more plastics for me at least until the end of this year. Then I might have my turkey waddle removed from my neck, beginnings of nipple recontruction and I think I will need a revision around my breast lift area - hanging skin on the sides that he didn't get this go around. I've had so much surgery in the past 21 months. I need a rest from surgery now. It's time for this girl to have some fun! Take care my dear friend. It was so good to see you here. Love, Lucy

Welcome Back, Chip! I think that we need this board as much now as we did during the first year for support. Most of us seem to be struggling with the same things~ eating too much, eating the wrong things, not getting enough exercise, etc. It is just so easy to think that we are normal. I knew that this would be a far more difficult time...no more major compliments about how good you look. Many people are watching to see if I gain back the weight, what I'm eating, how much~ with a few people probably hoping that I do gain it back. It's hard!!! I don't dump on sugar, but I have been fairly good with the exercise. Participating in all of these 5K's, 10K's and 1/2 marathons keep me motivated. Plus the t-shirts are cute! Good for you for going back to the basics~protein first. I still drink a double-triple scoop protein drink every day. But, I, too, have gone up and down about 7 lbs. I had really been between 3 lbs. until I did the last 1/2 marathon in Feb. I gained 7 lbs. over the course of several days. Although most of that was swelling, my body never went all the way back down again. How is your heart doing? How's your health otherwise? Take care, Kerri

Hi Chip! Glad to see you here on the board. Yes, I do believe that so many of us are struggling these days. I had fallen too and started grazing during the day. Once I start, it's so hard to stop. I've been losing and gaining the same darn pounds the past 4 months even with having plastic surgery. I probably would have gained a lot more. We have to hang in there and get back to basics. Remembering where we came from and don't want to go back there again is vital. I hope that other Junebugs who are lurking on this board, have the courage to post their own struggles and successes. After all, we are here to support each other in good and bad times. Take care and post often. We missed you! Lucy