La_madam

I'll give it a try angel.atheart@cox.net

Lookin like a "Hot Mamma" in those pics Betty.. Hey are you surei t is food poisioning? There is a stomach bug going around that I had allweek last week, it felt like food poisioning...whatever it is I hope you get to feeling better. I can relate I was miserable all last week.

Mary..what a reality check. Loved the honesty in your post. I know I have been in a slump to from the Holidays, reading your post has inspired me to get my butt back in gear. Thanks for sharing with all of us

Amoro It has been thought that some of the people posting on behalf of their Dr. are true patient coordinators trying to recruit, but on the other hand there are several people here who truly believe in their surgeon and will post their possitive experience. Iam one of them I love my Dr. and if anyone is sitting on the fence as to who to choose, if they ask me I will tell them all about my experience. I do find it odd though that another Dr. would bash another Dr., that seems very un professional and un ethical but despite what bkacknamaste says...the condition of the facility you will be having suregery in does matter...a sterile clean environment is very important as well as an experienced surgeon.

I sleep on my stomach!

Leigh, you are here on a Lap Band Board..so of course most of us if not all of us will tell you to go with the Lap Band I chose the Band over Bypass because there are less risks and complications. No dumping syndrome, no malabsorption issues, less down time, less healing time, less liquid diet, no re routing of my insides, the list goes on and on. I do not regret my decision one bit

There is a cream you can put on your port area before your fill..it is called Emla Cream. My son used it on his port before all of his cheno treatments. It worked well for him. It kind of numbs the area, we would put it on about an hour before they accessed his port to make sureit was nice and numb.

Dont take this the wrong way please.. It is not mean to sound mean or spiteful but honest.. how many other diets have you tried in your life time and been somewhat successful? How many times did you give up ? How many of those times did you gain the weight back? If it were that easy for us morbily obese people, none of us would be here. My take on this and it is my opinion only is that any person who has 100 lbs or more to lose needs the help of a tool like the band. The time it will take to get the 100 + lbs off, many or most get discouraged before they finish, to only gain the weight back again. For me losing 73.5 lbs in 9 months is something I have never achieved any other time in my life and I have tried all the diets known to man. This is the first time in my life that I do not diet. I eat what I want..I do not weigh or measure or have to eat specific foods or count points and I am losing weight, how great is that? Do you really want to follow a prgram for the rest of your life? I sure don't..I ate this Thanksgiving , I ate holiday crap all this holiday season and only gained .5 of a lb, that has never happened in my lifetime and now I have that .5 of a lb gone plus one more this past week. If you have any doubts then I would cancel..but just think about the questions I asked you . I knew I could not do it on my own, or otherwise I would have..I knew if I tried I would get discouraged and tired of following a strict diet I was 100% honest with myself and 100 % sure.. and knew it was time to have the lap band! No more fooling around.I wanted this monkey off my back once and for all!!! best of luck to you on whatever you decide..only you can make the final decision, we are just hear to give our input and support. Your 15 lb loss is great in just a short time, maybe you are an acception and wil lbe able to achieve "permanent" weight loss with the South Beach diet..I did not..I tried it, lost some weight, got fed up with having to follow the program. I gained what I lost back and then some

Congratulations, that is fabulous! ..It only gets better:)

Oh I forgot to mention along with my head cold..I suffered a horrible stomach ache..where I could not go to the bathroom and had horrible cramping and could not pass any gas either which is so rare for me...my family also suffered the same thing so there must be a little bug going around

Mistybreezes.. I experienced the exact same thing you are going through right now. I ate to my hearts content right up until the night before surgery. I too was also on liquids for 3 weeks and I was worried I would never make it through it all but I did and honestly I was not even hungry for the first 2 weeks post op. You have so much swelling and gas that food doesnt even sound good, atleast for me it was that way. Everyones weight loss varies I lost 19 lbs in the first 6 weeks...many will tell you though that the first 6 weeks is not about weight loss but healing, any weight you lose is a bonus, so do not get discouraged if your weight loss is slow during this time. Some have lost lots of weight where others have not, it is once you start getting your fills is when the band really starts working. However, there are both men and women who have great restriction from the start and go months before ever getting a fill. Some have also made it it goal with no fill, but that is more of a rarity. I had my first fill at 9 weeks post op. I am now 9 months post op, have lost 73.50 lbs and am goin in for my 3rd fill next Monday. Best of Luck to you onm your upcoming surgery.

Thanks, Looks like I will finally have to be forced to get a passport.

I just got over a cold last week. The thing that worked best for me were "Cold Eeze" lozenges, they diminish the symptoms of a cold and cut the cold time down. They taste great too! They are found in the cold medicine section with the throat lozenges.

Melissa.. I'm so glad you went to TJ to have your port looked at and got it all fixed up. Looks like you are on the mend now

Hi & Welcome! Every Dr. has different pre fill advice. My Dr. does not want me to eat 2 hours prior to a fill but I can drink liquids up to a half hour before a fill. Other then that , it is a pretty quick and painless process. Does your Dr. use flouroscopy? Best of luck to you both..I remember the anticipAtion of my first fill, alot of nerves for nothing.

Becca..lookls like by the sounds of it Dr. Ortiz has changed his post op diet guidlines if you get to move from liquids after 8 days because in April 2004 when I had surgery I was on Clear Liquids for 2 weeks and 1 week of full liquids..so consider yourself lucky Some great things that helped me were popsicles and Jello, they both felt like food but were both clear liquids. Hang in there it will be over before you know it and so worth it, but do try your best to stick with his instructions , there is a reason they are there. I remember the feeling of wanting to burp but couldnt, that my friend is from the swelling and the trapped gas in your diaphram, as the swelling goes down you will be able to burp...Good Luck

Teresa, if you go to expedia.com and sign up to get there weekly email on fare specials to Hawaii, they will send you specials all the time. I know this becasue my son lives in Hawaii and it is how I get his tickets. I also use Aloho Airlines alot too, they seem to be the cheapest from my area anyway. Best of Luck to you. Hawaii is beautiful.

Lenna If the problem persists..I would call your doctor. Having as little as .2 cc's removed can make a huge difference. PBing too often can result in slippage of the band and I do not think you want that. Also everytime you PB you should be on liquids for atleast 24hrs or the exact same thing will happen next time you eat. You esophagus needs a rest. So if you have PBed and then continued to eat, that could be part of your problem also...Like Alex says..many docs require liquids for 2-3 days after a fill. When was your fill and how much do you have?

Monday 1/10 191.50 down 1.5 lbs for the week Melissa - Iam glad to hear everything went wellfor you in TJ,and that you are on the mend I read your post on the other thread. Congrats on your 6 lbs that is awesome! Darcy - Fantastic Job..way to go! 7lbs is superb in 1 week

Alice..Sorry to say this but everything is going to make you gassy that did not before, so get used to it. Many of us here have posted on how much more gas we have now then ever before prior to banding. Sorry But true

Alex, the liquids for a few days will definately help. Got to give your esophagus a rest so it has nothing to spasm or irritate it. The script Ortiz gave me actually made it worse for me so my PCP told me to stop taking it and within days & liquids only I was so much better. The script he gave me actually sped up the spasms instead of slowing them down like it was meant to do..You definately will not experience hunger when your esophagus is irritated, atleast I din't. I also took prevacid which helped heal my esophagus. I did not have any reflux or heartburn, just the pain in my throat and constant spasms. Liquids for a couple of days and you should be good ..unfortunaltey I was on liquids for 2 weeks becasue the first week I was in denial still eating somewhat solids & thinking it would go away and then by the 2nd week I could not take it any longer and went to TJ. I now know better and have learned from this experience. Next time, if there is one, straight to liquids for me. Hope you fell better soon

Do a search on Dr. Verboonen, there are mixed opinions here and around other boards about him. I have heard nothing but great things about Dr. Kuri

My husband and I lost a child as well and it has only made our marriage stronger. I was told the same thing, that a loss of a child will destroy your marriage. They were wrong. And Anyone who allows their weight loss to affect their marriage is not thinking of their vows..for better or worse..sickness & in health ..til death do us part. He loved you when you were fat didnt he? This is just my opinion though. My marriage & sex life has improved 100 % since my surgery..we have rekindled that flame My husband has been the most supportive person in my life since getting my band. He has been there for me every step of the way and is soooo proud of me and tells me so everyday..now how could I ever think of leaving a man like that ? No matter how thin I get He loves me like no other man ever will love me..to him I am a queen and he treats me like one too. I love him no matter if Iam fat or thin.

Looks Beautiful Penni, especially since all we have been getting is clouds, wind & rain

My best girlfriend has Asthma..one of theworst cases I have ever seen and one culprit for her is mold ( she had it in her house) and the other is damp rainy weather..we live inCalifornia and it has been raining for a month, she can not breathe..is on every kind of asthma medicine imaginable and the steroids. Hers has also gotten worse from scar tissue build up on her lungs..