La_madam

Hi Nancy Great News! Glad to hear you are home safe and all went well. Each day gets easier and easier. Do'nt push your self. You want to heal and rest as much as possible. For me I felt so good after surgery that the next day I was shopping in TJ but when I got back home It had taken its toll on me and I was exhausted. I took my time going back to work, I wanted to make sure I was feeling strong enough physically and mentally. Congratulations on being an official bandster.

I used Dr. Ortiz and have been very successful. I had surgery April 6th 2004 and I have lost 52.75 lbs as of this morning. I also live in Southern California and going back to Tj for my aftercare has been very easy for me. I'm only 1.5hours from the border. I have had 2 fills and no problems, nor regrets I love my band! Dr. Ortiz & Martinez and the entire staff of Obesity Control Center have satisfied my every need. Best of Luck to you.

Thanks Darcy for the Kudos! Like you said in the weekly challenge post..atleast the scale is going down instead of up. I'm happy with any loss. I did not do so well with the water and exercise this week. I did not feel good from Wednesday until Sunday night. I felt nauseus (sp?) light headed, just not right. I kept thinking it was from not enough water like I was dehydrated and maybe it was becasue last night I pushed the water big time and I feel much better today. My goal this week is to drink my water and to ride my exercise bike 3x's for 20mins. Eating too much or the wrong things is not my issue I do great with that its the exercise and water I seem to have slowed down on! I honestly believe this weekly scale challenge helps me tremendously to keep focused and accountable.When I look back to the beginning of this post on July 19th my starting weight was 229 so in a little over 2 months I have lost 17lbs! I look forward to my weekly weigh in on Monday mornings. I have yet to hit a plateua since banding.. been losing something every single week but I'm sure that day will come when I hit a plateua and I'm ready for it nor will I let it get me down becasue I know it does and will happen!!

Marie way to go..you flew right by 40! Delarla as long as you are happy with no gain at the end of themonth then we are all happy for you. We all have our own pace, no one can tell us we are doing it the right way or the long way!

Yes Betty I agree this site has been very helpful to me since banding, especially the page about how to tell if you need an adjustment.

Marie is right..this is a great NSV! Would you have done this 5 months nad 50 lbs ago?

Margaret looks like you have fallen into the soft food syndrome. Yogurts, puddings & soups are just wasted calories and just go directly through your band Did Dr. Lopez not tell you all of this?. Weight loss will be minimal if at all eating those items You need to eat your hard proteins like chicken,(dark meat is easier forme not so dry) tuna, turkey but if you are having a hard time and cant keep it down then maybe you might need a little fill removed. 3cc's personally for me seems like alot for your first fill. I have had 2 fills and am only at 2.cc's and have fantastic restriction Yes everyone is different but do not be foolish if you are having a hard time eating , make the right choice and have some fill removed. You will only be hurting yourself and band if you dont. It could mean as little as .5 of a cc to make a huge difference The foods that work best for me are dark meat chicken, tuna, sliced turkey breast, ground turkey, ground beef, spinach, salads, all veggies and most fruits but I do have difficulty w/ breads, pasta and rice I do eat eaither a couple of wheat crackers or triscuits when I need those kinds of carbs.I do not eat ice cream, yogurts, soups but on occassion I do have a 1/2 cup of sugar free chocolate pudding for those PMS days when I crave my chocolate ...Best of luck to you

Monday 9/27 212.25 a loss of 1 lb this week Hope you all have a great week!!

Congrats to you. Hope you enjoy your bandas much as I do mine!

Hey Ruthie Congratualtions on your big day tomorrow! I hope everything goes very smoothly for you and your daughter. It's great that the 2 of you will be going on this journey together you will be able to support eachother all the way through. Best of Luck

I dont know if you are choosing the Basic, Gold OR Platinum package for your surgery offered on Macareno's Web site but I can tell you this , my surgery had all the ammenitities of the Platinum package and it was at the Basic package cost with a very experienced band doc in TJ. I agree with Sue if you have to travel from another state then it may be wise to look for a surgeon closer cost wise ..for me I live just right across the border so aftercare in TJ is very easy for me even in the event of an emergency! If you choose to go to Mexico and will not be going back and forth to TJ for aftercare it is VITAL that you pre arrange aftercare in your area. I have heard it happen time and again where a person gets banded in Mexico and does not arrange aftercare locally. Many US docs will not touch a Mexican patient but there are some who will for a price .

Well it is 9/25 and you are done with surgery! I hope it al lwent well for you. Can't wait to hear how it all went for you.

I dont know if I personally would risk it if it had any carbonation that was one of my docs NO NO's..no more carbonation! But as leatha said maybe let it sit to let all the bubbles out of it but who knows if you do that if it takes away from its affectiveness.

Hi I was also banded in TJ in April 04 and researched many docs for over 6 months and I have to honestly say that I have never heard of him. Is he new? Is he an Inamed certified doc? How many bands has he done? Those things are important to know the answers to before making your final decision. There are several other well qualified docs in TJ if you choose not to use him. Best of Luck to you

Hi Rose Congratulations! I'm so happy to hear everything went well for you. You are now officially a bandster! How exciting. You're going to love your band..

How much is he charging you for his aftercare program? What does it include?? the reason I ask I becasue I have a fellow bandster friend who had surgery in TJ and is having a hard time finding a doc for her aftercare in TN without it costing her a fortune. She has been going back and forth to TJ for her aftercare right now.

Penni..Glad to hear that things went well.. You are a good daughter to be there for your mom in time of need and I'm sure she appreicates you more then you know. Have a safe trip back to Cali! Rest up cuz 2 weeks from today Vegas here we come! You wont even have time to unpack AGAIN!

Don't know about your DOc but my Doc has me do 3 days of "full" liquids (full means anything that will go through a straw)

Onederland is awesome ! Congrats to you. I can't wait to get there myself.

Hey Ryan soory to hear all of this..I would agree that the ibprofen can be the culprit. I had an ulcer with no pain and doc said it was from my daily dose of ADVIL...ulcer is all healed and I no longer take any NSAID's only tylenol Better to find all of this now then to have problems after being banded right? You have a great attitude about all of this..it's just a little bump in the road is all. You will get your band Hang in there and keep us posted Wishing those ulcers a speedy dissolve

If my memory serves me correctly Naproxen is a NSAID Non Steroidal Anti Inflammatory Drug I was told by my surgeon to not take these kinds of pain meds due to it can cause irritation to the lining of the stomach and can "possibly" cause erosion. I have never had any stomach problems pre band taking NSAIDS but I would not want to try it in case I have problems with irritaion in my stomach now that I'm banded. I now only take Tylenol. Maybe the dosage of 500 mg is too much for you now that you are banded. Did you surgoen OK the NSAID's..did he tell you it was OK to take NSAID"s after banding? I would check with your surgeon. My surgeon told me NO so I'm not risking it ( every doc has such different instructions)...I use to live on ADVIL & MOTRIN pre band

Hi Kari He is a link with alot of info http://www.lap-band.com/ The band has changed my life .I 'm so happy with my band! I would of never imagined in 5 months I would be down over 50 lbs with minimal effort..I have tried all the diets known to man to never have such success as I do with my band. Best of luck to you on your decision. This site will be sure to help you find the answers you are looking for

You get your fills from the doc who did your surgery. When you see that they have to travel it is becasue most of us went to Mexico and live elsewhere so we travel back to Mexico for our fills. As far as when you get your fills , everyone is so different. I have had 2 fills in 5 months. You need a fill when you have not lost any weight in 3 consecutive weeks (following all the bandster rules) Every ones fill level is different also. And going in for an unfill only happens when you are filled to tight.

Hey Tall Guy We would love to have you come to Vegas, it is our first annual LAPBANDTALK VEGAS BASH There is about 20 or so from this group meeting there the weekend of OCT 8th- 10th Penni is the co ordinator.. Try to come it is going to be a blast!

The only thing I have had to give up is Carbonation..Beer /Sodas It is hard for me to eat bread or rice with my current fill level but thats Ok to not have bread or rice. I get my carbs in with other foods. There are certain guidlines they "reccomend" you follow more then asking you to give up things. Like not drinking with your meals and not drinking until an hour afer you eat. Or eating your proteins first, but not everyone follows the rules to the T it just depends on how bad you want it. Some have their own ways of achieving success with the band, its whatever works that matters as far as I'm concerned. If your losing, then the band is working is how I see it! Sometimes you have to sacrifice things to get what you want. I want to be thin so the things I have had to sacrafice are so worth it. The band is the best thing I have EVER done!! It has changed my life in such a possitive way.