La_madam

http://ir.inamed.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=90325&p=irol-newsArticle&t=Regular&id=615494& According to Inamed BCBS does cover the band in Tennessee.

Melissa I just bumped 2 threads for you about Port problems from Lisa a long time ago, they both have pics attached.. "Port Pain" & "Warning-gross pics attached" are the 2 threads I bumped for you With all that you know of going on at the Molding clinic Iam certain you will get in touch with your Dr. today. I hope you hear from him, if not, it would not hurt to have your PCP take a look at tit to make sure it is not infected if for anything, peace of mind.

Bumping for Melisa

Bumping for Melissa

Melissa PM Delarla ( lisa) or Penni, they both had ports that looked like that, they can help. It looks like Lisa's did... From what it looks like, it looks like your tubing wants to come through...Call your Dr. too. Who is your surgeon? Do you have his cell number?

Pat I live an hour and a half from TJ, and the local Dr. in my area is an hour and a half away also so I chose aftercare in Mexico with my Band surgeon...I like the fact he uses flouro and does my fills according to what he is seeing under the flouro. I have a friend who flys here from PA who is banded and stays with me and we just drive down together. It is cheaper then what her local Dr. charges her and Mexican Dr's are much more aggressive on their fills...Blossom take charge and demand more fill, it is your band and your body only you know what level of restriction you are feeling, it has nothing to do with how much you have in you, everyone is so different. 2cc's for me may be too much or too little for someone else.. ..

Blossom, this is just a thought.. Have you ever considered going to Mexico for a fill? I do not know where you live but . Mexican Doctors all do theirs under fluoro and a much much more aggressive in their fills, the do not follow any national protocol, that is why they use the flouro so they can see each individuals restriction level. I have had good restriction with both my fills it was in August that I had my last fill and lost over 30lbs with it...I know you say money is an issue but in the long run it would be worth it, since you will be eating less food at less money, you will not need to buy bigger clothes which is less moneythe stress level of it all and the obsession of all of this.. etc..etc..American Doctors have to protect their butts per say, even in Dr. Ortiz's book it touches on how American doctors are so conservative with their fills, they like to creep up on the sweet spot where as Mexican Doctors like to hit the sweet spot sooner. Mexican doctors will see any patient banded anywhere. There are many of us here who went to Mexico as a matter of fact I am going to be scheduling my 3rd fill in Mexico with Dr. Ortiz ..I need one desperately!! Like I said it is just a thought

www.lap-band.com then click on surgeon locators on the top of the page, put in Seattle and start calling. I know there are a few who will take Mexico patients as one of my band sisters lives in Seattle and has had her fills in Seattle, I do not know his name though. Before you go to Mexico, get it all lined up first. I have seen many men & women not line up aftercare in their area and have had no chhoice but to go back to Mexico for fills & aftercare. Many US docs will not take patients banded in Mexico and the ones that do, charge a fortune! Good Luck

Oh My what a difference..You look beautiful and so happy! Great Job Congratulations to you

Teresa I get the same thing from time to timeit happens more often since I have lost more wieght, not so much in the beginning.. my port is fine. I have spoken to Dr. Ortiz aboutnthis and under the flouro my port looks perfect but I did go to him and have him check it out for piece of mind..maybe you should do that same thing, atleast have an X-ray?

I agree with Sue..the cancer nurses are very familiar with ports. My son had cancer and had a port , I have spoken to one of them and told her about my port and she told me if I was ever filled too tight that she could extract some of the saline for me in an emergency. When I had the espohagitis, the only thing that worked wel lfor me was clear liquids, everything else made me so umcomfortable. I never had refluz or slime or spitting up but anything other then clear liquids irritated my esophagus horribly...after about 4 days of clear liquids, I weent to ful lliquids and I was able to tolerate them..then to mushys..then to solids but it was 2.5 weeks of this. Hang in there Kelli..I hope this all passes soon. I can sympathize with you.

Jonathan be careful..This is a fact, there are other women who have been told they were getting an Inamed Band and that there Dr was certified by Inamed by a certain patient coordinator and when they got home from Mexico and went for aftercare they had a Swedish Band and this same patient coordinatoor who told them they were getting an Inamed band does work for the molding clinic. 6800 would make me leary..most of the very experienced band doctors in Mexico charge 8000-9000..if one was charging 6800 and others were charging 8000-9000 I would wonder why. That is a big difference My doctor in Mexico has financing through Capital One which is a very reputible loan company with very very low interest rates You say you can not afford more right now, but you need to think long term also , in my opinion using a more experienced Dr is cheaper in the long run. Did you read the posts here about the molding clinic? There are two other posts on this board about the molding clinic maybe you can send a private message to the member who started the post and get more info, that is what I would do and also on Yahoo groups there is MexicanBandsters which has info on the Molding Clinic you will just have to do a search on it in thearchives. Im not trying to deter you from the molding clinic but if it were me from what I have read abou there and on other boards I would be a little leary but that is just me and my opinion.

I used cashiers checks It was not a problem going through customs, they just asked what I was bringing back

Ryan, you are awesome! Patty is a lucky gal ot have a hubby like you. I thought I had the best hubby in the world but he is a distant second to you. I sympathize with you..I know all to well to know what it is like to have your spouse live day to day in chronic pain.Honestly..I could learn from you. Hope Patty is feeling batter after your return from Cleveland.

In Mexico most of the Dcotors do not require a pre op diet unless your BMI is over 50 to shrink your liver my BMI was 42 so I did not have one. As far as the molding clinic..I do not know personally anything about them but have read some negative things here on this site and other sites, who knows if it is true or not.. have you looked into other Dr.'s in Mexico? There are several very qualified and experienced Dr's in Mexico. Just becasue it is cheaper doesnt mean better. I went to Mexico and chose one of the most experienced band surgeons in the country, yes it was more money then other Dr's in Mexico but it was so worth it to know my Dr' has placed over 1500 bands and is a proctor for Inamed. I have "heard" some of the other doctors in Mexico are not using the Inamed bands so please be sure to see the band you will be getting and make sure it is an Inamed band or else you will have a hell of a time finding a Dr. in the US to do your fills & aftercare on the Swedish or Mid band. Best of Luck to you..

Wow you look fantastic and so happy! You have done an incredible job Thanks for sharing the pics!

I have lost 72.5 lbs in 8 months and the first 6 months I ate pretty good healthy wise and followed the rules but now I am eating like I did before part oif the time but in much much smaller portions. I look at it like this..you get out of it what you put into it.If you want to lose much slower and are content with that, then Yes eating Mcdonaleds french fries are OK.. My weight loss has slowed very much ever since I have been making bad food choices..am I ok with that? Somedays I am and somedays I am not! The band is a toool we still have to do some of the work. I am ned of a fill so with that and making bad choices , Im seeing the results of it..no weight gain but very slow weight loss. The good thing about my band is I can still enjoy life and eat what I want but smaller protions without fear of gaining.

I found out on Christmas Day that my Aunt teaches crochet classes at Tall Mouse (crafts store) here in my area so after the first of the year I am going to go and take her classes..

My hubby who is a mechanic swears by Fords..it is one of the cars he sees less of in his shop. Hyaundi's & Saturns are the worst according to him, very hard to find parts for and have lots of problems, at least that is his opinion and experience. I have had a For Aerostar for 11 years now and have had no problems with it other then normal wear and tare.

One of my employees is also a personal trainer, she told me today if you are trying to flush out your system and lose weight you need to drink 1/2 of your body weight in ounces of Water. so so approx 95 ounces for me a day!! I remember reading somewhere for every 10lbs you are overwieght you need to drink an extra 8 oz glass of water..so that is about the same as half of my body weight in ounces of water.

Isint that the truth..I'm freezing cold,& raining it is hard to drink all of my water..so far I have drank 40 oz.

Lisa..I think we are all i nthe same boat as you..I cant wait for all of this Holiday goodies crap to be over! I'm scheduling for a fil lsince I can eat alot more these days and the scale is showing it

Staci, if your band slipped you would not be able to keep down anything..liquids or food...Like Betty said, you are able to eat alot becasue you have not had a fill yet..things wil lchange once you get filled and mushy foods go down real easy with no restriction or problems.

Teresa, My hubby is an auto mechanic, owns his own shop. I can ask him what is a good car out of the ones you mentioned.

it's true, I have the same problem and asked my Dr. about it and he told me less insulation