La_madam

Very interesting site Denise, Seems to be very popular. I can not believe Constantine was voted off! Unbelieveable!!!!

Got to www.lapband.om and click on surgeon locator on the top right side and put in PA,that should give you a list or you can email Don Mills at Inamed, he will send you a list hisemail address is Don.Mills@inamed.com . I have a girlfriend who lives in PA who has the band, she has seen Dr. Bonnanni in Redding , I do not know how close that is to you but there is also another one I know she sees for her fills a little closer to her home I will find out and post it once I know

Great Job Wyld! You have done a fantastic job so far. Keep up the good work Thanks for sharing

Several members her have used Dr. Sanchez and have had nothing but great things to say about him, Iam sure you wil lget lots of replies to this thread. You can also do a search in the upper right hand corner just type in Dr. Sanchez and Im sure something will come up! Good Luck t oyou

I have OCD, I only wish I could manifest it into my exercise routine and walk everytime I eat! Then I wouldnt be here and never needed a band Hey if it is working then good for you! More power to you I tihnk it is great you have that kind of drive & motivation

Proposed Timeline for Implementation for Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative Requirements The travel initiative requirements will be rolled out in phases, providing as much advance notice as possible to the affected public to enable them to meet the terms of the new guidelines. The proposed implementation timeline is as follows: * December 31, 2005 – Passport or other accepted document required for all travel (air/sea) to or from the Caribbean, Bermuda, Central and South America. * December 31, 2006 – Passport or other accepted document required for all air and sea travel to or from Mexico and Canada. * December 31, 2007 – Passport or other accepted document required for all air, sea and land border crossings. I thought I would post the latest update from http://www.travel.state.gov/travel/cbpmc/cbpmc_2224.html for those of us who travel to Mexico, from what it says we will not need a passport to cross the border until December of 2007. I specifically asked the border patrol and there answer to me was "If the President signs this into law then Yes we you will need a passport" and he directed me to this web-site for the lastest info Just thought I would share it with all of you

Bandit May 9th is right around the corner, and I have heard nothing but great things about Dr. Kuri. You are in very good hands I wish you the best and hope everything goes smoothly for you

Grammi glad you are back, Sorry you left under such sad circumstances and had to re-schedule surgery, but things happen out of our control. Now it is time to get focused on you and get ready for your big day it will be here very soon. May 12th is just around the corner. I wish you the best on your upcoming surgery and hope all oges smoothly for you

Nykee protein first means this, if you sit down to eat and your plate has lets say a piece of chicken, some veggies, some rice you should eat all of the chicken first, then the veggies, then the rice if you have room left. For example my lunch today was a small zuchini cut up into small slices, 3 slices of the tyson all ready cooked chicken strips, I sauteed them together in a pan with non stick spray and vegetable seasoning, I will eat the chicken first then the zuchini it is a high protein, low carb meal with very little fat if any. Protein supresses hunger, the more you eat, the less hungry you are. Examples of protein are chicken, beef, fish, tuna, eggs, cheese, cottage cheese, some beans, some nuts, You can do this, from one Ortiz patient to another I know he stresses protein first, if you need a little kick in the butt call me or email me, I will help you get through it. If you do not eat food that way, then maybe try starting to do it that way if at all possible. Honestly for me carbs kill any attempt for weight loss , if I eat protein it keeps my cravings and hunger under control, carbs make me crazy and ravenous all day long for more food! Good Luck to you Nykee, you can do this!

Penni, that is a vicotry!!! It is obvious you worked well with your band while gone Being on the road, living in a hotel and out of a suitcase for a whole month and only gaining 2 lbs is awesome, you are right , it is probably just water weight from flying, you will be back to your lowest in no time. You should be proud of yourself

1. What is your first name? Michelle 2. How long have you been banded? 1 year and 22 days 3. How much weight have you lost? 90 lbs 4. What was your favorite food pre-banding? Fresh hot sourdough breadwith real butter 5. What is your favorite food now? Do not really have one 6. Are there any foods you can't or don't eat? Not too much bread , past or rice any more due to fill level 7. What is your favorite snack food? Sliced cheese with Peanut Butter 8. Has your SO changed towards you in any way since you were banded? No, he is still the loving caring supportive man I married 13 years ago 9. What are some of the things you can do now that you couldn't do before? 10. Do you have any pets? What kind? 2 dogs ( jack russel terrier/beagle mix & Shepard/ boxer mix & 1 cat 11. Wht would your dream vacation be if you could go anywhere you wanted? Pay off my house and remodel it from room to room 12. If you won a million dollars, what would be the first thing you would do with it? Get back to you on that one 13. What are your favorite books to read? Romance novels 14. What is your favorite TV program? ESPN SportsCenter/ American Idol

Corgi ,I'm happy to hear you called your doctor and are doing better. I hope things work out for you with your fill . Keep us updated

Hi Karen, Congratulations on your new band and your weight loss For what it is worth I started this journey 1 year ago at 265 and a size 20/22 Iam now 175 and a size 10 Never thought I'd see a size 10 ever , I do not ever remeber being a size 10 , so it is possible You will be a size 10 in no time Best of luck to you I hope you have a possitive & successful journey

That is great news Jamie! Iam so happy for you

Emmy, a good rule of thumb is if you are losing 1-3 lbs a week you do not need a fill. If it were me I would leave well enough alone. My band only holds 4cc's , how much does yours hold? What is your current fill level right now? How close are you to goal? The reason I ask is if you get another fill while still losing and you keep getting filled to the point you are at maximum fill level and are not close to goal, then what? I use my fills for when I have stopped losing for some time. I have had 3 fills in a year , my last fill was in January of 2005. I still have room in my band for more fills and am 10 lbs from my original goal weight I set back in April of 2004, I may want to lose more weight once I reach the 100 lb mark so Im keeping my band filled conservatively to have the option of more fills down the road for further weight loss. However this requires more head work on my part and not relying on my band to do all the work but I want my band for as long as I can have it Am I making sense here? I feel like Im rambling, but this is just my opinion on this. Iam sure you will make the best decision for you Best of luck to you

Thanks everyone for thinking of me today

Corgi, I had 1.1 on my first fill If you can not keep anything down, call your doctor and tell her, you do not want to become dehydrated, having as little as .2 -.3 cc's removed can make the biggest difference in comfort and being able to keep food down but still offer good restriction. Not to mention you do not want to do damage to your esophagus by being too tight. Or experience reflux in the night. Every doctor has different rules for after a fill, my doctor has me on liquids for 3 days after a fill in case of swelling from the fill. Best of luck to you

Great NSV! Going down a size always feels good. I'm so happy for you.

Nick, please tell your other half that you will still be able to go out and enjoy fine dining and eat the same foods you do now but in much smaller portions. This has not changed for my husband and I , we still go out to nice restraunts, I still order what I want, I just eat less and I have lost 90 lbs doing it in 1 year! Being afraid of the changes it may bring is also normal, but later on down the road your other half will love the new you and will reap the benefits of a new healthier you. Trust me! If it will make your other half feel better have him call my husband and he can shed a little light and offer some peace of mind to your other half. My husband loves the new me, we do so many more things together now, we go out more, we do things we have never done before in 13yrs of marriage. My kids are also loving their " new mom" Best of Luck to you

Dallasdoll, you have only been banded for 10 days? Lucky you, Iwas not onto solids until I was banded for 6 weeks. The band is designed to be filled with saline to work at it's best potential. Since you have not had a fill yet, this could be why you feel the band is not working. Once you start getting your fills, you will notice a difference and you will be greatful for all the practice you have gotten in with small bites and chew chew chew. The tigher you are filled the more you need to chew and the tinier bites you need to take. What you are experiencing is normal for a new bandster, just hang in there and you will see that the band does work once it is filled, it may take 1-3 fills before you notice a huge difference but it will happen

I have been banded for 1 year and 2 weeks I have lost 90 lbs I eat a 1/3 of what I did pre band I do eat sweets when I feel the urge for my chocolate The band is the best thing I have everdone for myself, other then marrying my husband

Great News Alex, I'm very happy for you Going to the next size smaller is alwasy so exciting

Paula, My PCP has me do it every 4 months, as a matter of fact I'm going in this morning for some blood work. It was back in December I had my last one. I like to have it done for my own peace of mind

Jenna I got that all the time in the beginning. Occassionally I still do and I am 1 year post op. When I asked Dr. Ortiz & Dr. Martinez about it , they told me it was normal, and that sometimes gas gets trapped around the port area around the tubing. Not to worry, you are normal. Over the last year of being banded I have heard this same thing from many many bandsters. But to make you feel better, you know you can call Dr. Martinez anytime on his cell phone and he will ease your mind so you are not freaking out

Are you able to keep liquids down Kathy without vomiting or PBing? One thing Dr. Ortiz & Martinez told me a sign or symptom of slippage was when nothing will stay down, if I vomit liquids or food constantly with nothing going down.. to be concerned about slippage. However some here have had slight slippage without these symptoms, I believe it was Leatha if my memory serves me correctly. You are doing the rightthing by going to the ER and having your local band doc take a look tomorrow...I'm hope you get good news and your band is fine