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Donna I have stayed at this Occidental resort once before and I loved it! My friend that I am travelling with has been to DR probably 8 times and this is her favorite resort. I remember reading bad reviews last time about the food, people, room, etc you name it and people complain about it. I mean really some people just have the idea in there mind that they are going to the Ritz. yeah most of the resorts are 4 or 5 stars but you are also not in the states or Europe so things are going to be different. Some travellers just dont have an open mind. I do would love to be a travel writer in my next life. I love reading travel books especially about the islands. I have read 2 true stories about cuba and i loved them and wish I could find more. good luck on the research for Costa Rico

Good luck with your visit to the PS Kat...hope all is well with your new belly! and I cant wait to be away for 3 weeks!!! Im not sure if I will get homesick or not but all the cute dominican men might help ease that :-) and I will have alot of catching up to do with Karolina - have not seen her since she was home for a few days during Christmas time so we will have alot of talking to keep us occupied. and we will be celebrating it up in DR so I dont think we will have time to miss home!!!

Great job on the weight loss Trish!!!!

Donna this will be my 3rd trip to DR but I have not been since 2004 so im super excited. We are staying Occidental Grand Punta Cana and we actually stayed there on our first trip in 2003 and loved it! the area outside of this resort is not that bad there are shops and bars that we might go to since we will be there 3 weeks but they have a club right on the resort that everyone including locals can go to. Its great because you get to meet so many different people. 2 weeks to go and I will be sitting on the beach all day and dancing all night what can be better then that??? :ohmy:

George I dont know the % of people without fills but I am one of them. Im a little over 7 months out and have not had or needed a fill yet.

Diane I hope that things turn around for you and that you start feeling better soon!!! Sending HUGS and love your way! Donna im going to Dominican Republic in a few weeks and I am happier then a pig in sh!t :-) I also love traveling and wish I could do it more! Trish - I too cheated a little on the liquid stage. my last 2 days while having my broth I put in one cracker and let it get soggy and kind of dissolve. I probably ate only half the cracker but it made me feel better. good luck on the rest of the post op diet - it does get better. Hello to everyone!! HAPPY FRIDAY

If you feel like you are doing good without a fill then dont get one. From what I read you dont sound like you would need one - your weight loss is great and you are keeping your portions small. I am a little over 7 months out and still have not had a fill so it is possible to do lose without one.

I have BCBS of NJ PPO and I went to my PCP once a month for 6 months to get weigh ins and try various diets that he suggested. Im not really sure what my PCP but down that he had me do as a diet but really I didnt do anything - I have been overweight all my life and tried it all before. I had no problems getting my approval from the insurance. I went to my surgeon for my consult on 10/19 and a few days later I had my approval and surgery date.

thanks!! get back into it but take it one step at a time and if anything else feels wrong definitely see your doc. Good luck!

Congrats on taking the step of joining the gym!!

Karleen I work out 5 days a week and do crunches or some sort of ab work in every workout and have not had any port problems. If you felt something tearing in your stomach I would say go visit your doctor to have him check it out. Better safe then sorry. Some people have said that there port is noticable after a bit of weight loss but so far I have not seen or felt mine. the only time while working out the I feel anything is when im doing an exercise laying on my stomach on one of those big blown up balls. and I dont feel pain just have to shift to the side so im not directly on my port or where I think my port is. check with your doc just to be sure everything is ok

have you talked to your doctor about getting another fill? to me I dont feel like im on a diet. yes I am eating less but that is because my body will not let me eat more. dont be discouraged by your 10 pounds just think of its as a stepping stone. your weight has dropped not gone up and to me that is something great!!

thanks for all the tips for my back! I got another pad/cream from the store yesterday - actually my mom got it since she is the one that has been helping me out...the back is the hardest place to reach - so I will try that and see what happens. If it doesnt help I will contact my PCP to see what he thinks but that may have to wait until after vacation. I have had occasional breakouts on my back maybe one or 2 every once in a while but nothing like this. and it makes me mad because all of the dresses I have for vacation sit just at my bra line and all of the redness mess on my back is just above my bra line! Im hoping that maybe the sun will help too. Im more self conscience about it showing here then I will be when im on vacation. I have been trying to find something cute to wear out on saturday to Celebrate my bday and didnt want anything that showed the top part of my back :-( Betty I leave on July 8th - YAY less then 3 weeks!!! I dont drink but I will have them put some fruit and an umbrella in my Water for you!

do any of you dear ladies have a remedy to help my back that is breaking out? It started about 2 months ago and I think it might be from working out. I have been using clearasil wipes and clean and clear ointment but its not really working. It will dry them out a bit but the redness is still there. I dont know what else to try. I dont want to spend a ton of money on something that is not going to work but I will try what I can. thanks for any info.

whew Kat just reading your posts makes me tired!!! you are one busy bee but sounds like you are having a blast! Donna when I had my nutritional class it wasnt that bad because it was just me and one other person so we got more of a 1 on 1. Im sure I would have dozed off if there were more people and it was just someone talking and me listening. hope it goes well for you!

I use Dr Bertha in Florham Park - 973-410-9700 - and I love his entire staff. He works with Dr Abkin so you can see anyone of them in office.

welcome to the group Donna!!! Good luck with you pre op diet!

Trisha glad to see you are home and doing good. The gas pain does get better just try to walk around as much as you can and the heating bad does really help. And dont worry about whining!!! whine all you want here we have all been there before and know where you are coming from! have a great weekend chicas!

Good morning ladies!!! kat - great to hear that things are getting better with you and Rick!! Diane - I hope things get better at work or that you find something better for you! I am so jealous of all you ladies with pools! we have one but by the time I get home eat dinner then go to the gym come home and shower it is bed time!! Maybe this weekend I will get to spend some time out in the pool...fingers crossed! and as far as packing that is not even on the list of things to do until the night before we leave!! and we have to be at the airport at 5am so there will be no sleeping that night but it will be well worth it!. I have bags and bags of clothes and bathing suits that I have bought for vacation sitting in my closet that I am afraid to open it! Just trying to get stuff little by little so that when Karolina comes back home our shopping can be focus on getting her stuff and all the WalMart stuff like shampoo, soap, lotion, etc. I also dont want to buy to much for myself right now because I am still losing and hate the guessing game of if it will fit when I leave. and I am trying to be as cheap as I can because most of the vacation clothes will be just that because I cant wear them at work. I did find some crops on clearance at target for $3.47!!!! check it out ladies that is an awesome price!! well i have rambled on long enough...have a beautiful day chicas! hugs and love to all

dita I too started a few days before my surgery and it wasnt a problem at all. Not gross or bad at all. you will be fine and the doctors and nurses have dealt with this many times before.

Kat its good to hear from you and I hope you are doing better emotionally and physically. HUGS!!!!!

awwww mandy sorry about your accident. Glad your ok but not your car :-( didnt you just get a new car? or was that someone else here? im so bad at remembering things!! and the puppy is SOOO cute!! so is the scooter but that thing scares me!! I am so excited to be gone for 3 weeks but im going to HATE coming home. my first trip there was 1 week then my second was 2 weeks and now my third is 3 weeks so lets see what happens on my next one!!! :-)

good luck tomorrow Trisha youre going to do just fine!!! ask away to the ladies on this thread any questions you have they are the BEST!!

Congrats!!!! and good luck on your triathalon. and I agree that it is Africa kinda hot in NJ right now!

sherry I am so not looking forward to returning to work because I am the only one in my office that can do my job - I do scheduling of technicians and service billing. I wasnt sure if they would give me 3 weeks but I put in the request and 2 weeks later they approved it. the day that I got the OK I went straight to the travel agent after work and booked the trip so they had no time to change their minds!! its been a little crazy trying to shop for this trip because right now im shopping for me and my Karolina - my friend that is coming with me - because she is teaching in Poland right now and doesnt return to NJ until june 29th. so that will give us one week to get everything else together. I went as far as creating a google calendar with everything we need to do and when we are doing it. No minute that last week had been spared! but it will all be worth it when im on the beach!!!