DeLarla

All this time I thought Lopez trained Ortiz. I honestly never knew Ortiz trained Lopez. I knew they were partners, but I was under the impression that Lopez had a lot more experience in bariatric surgery. If Ortiz did train Lopez, maybe he needs to sit in a few surgeries with Lopez to see if everything is being done correctly.

This was my first stab at a poll because lately I've been getting a lot of calls and private e-mails with new erosions, port removals, infections, etc., that I thought we need some type of poll. But I should have asked everyone to help me build the list of questions. You can only have 15 questions in a poll. Should we all make a better list and start all over? I can delete this one if you guys think it could be done better. Comments... feedback anyone?

Zoe, it's YOUR birthday but you send ME a present? I got the box today! Thank you, and a very happy happy happy birthday to you!

Please answer honestly.

Hopeful, I wish I could help you, but the Band is only a tool that will restrict the feeling of being full. I'm struggling, too. All I can say is "Today is a New Day" and we can do something one day at a time. Just get through today, that's all you gotta do.

Okay, this is going to win the award for the GROSSEST LBT POST EVER, but I just gotta share. My best friend from highschool is a certifiable whacko. She was also one of those people who are horrified of using public bathrooms, and she was married for 7 years and never pooped while her husband was in the house. Once when we were roommates our plumbing went out, so I went potty in the next-door neighbor's apartment (no problem, I'm not ashamed of being human.) When I got home, Jill's face was beat red and she had the garbage disposer running and there was a chair by the sink. She refused to admit it, but she sat her ass on our kitchen sink and pooped into the garbage disposal!!!!! Till this day we still laugh over that, but I never used that side of the sink again.

I'm still trying to figure out if you eat the eyeballs when you suck them out. When I peel my shrimp, I devein them and take out that long strand of poop. If you suck the heads off of a crawfish, are you sucking in the poop stringy thingy like the vein in a shrimp?

Julie, I've tried every magic potion on the market. If Green Tea worked, the world would be skinny. Most of us have fallen for every gimmick in the world, but the only real way to lose weight and maintain weight loss is by eating smaller, healthier portions, which is why we all either have, had or want a LapBand.

My new rule is to tell ANYONE about the band before sharing a meal with them. One of my good friends almost called 911 last week when I had a PB at our lunch table. I never warned her, and she was freaking out more than me. She told me my eyes were popping out, my face was red, my eyes were watering, etc. I think it would be far more embarrasing to let a guy learn the hard way. Or, just order broth and mashed potatos. But then he'll think you're really weird. Men really love seeing women eat real food. You'll be eating really slow, and you can't talk while you're eating. Oh, and you can't talk during a PB to explain that you're not dying. It's not much fun going out to eat with people who don't understand you. I'm still chewing the first bite when they are ordering dessert. I feel like I get cheated out of eating when I go out so I decided to let people know in advance.

Alexandra & Alex, Lately LBT has been bombarded with so many new members that it's hard to keep up. I love my band regardless of the problems I've had, but I think some of the most important posts are getting lost. May I suggest adding a new forum for "Problems with the Band" specifically for erosions, port infections, etc? New people researching the band need to know how serious this procedure can be even though most people are very happy with the product. Thanks.

Sweet Tooth, you're probably banded by now! Hopefully all your worries are over and we'll be hearing from another happy patient.

Plain Creamora. Big mouthfuls of it when I was a kid.

I'm with Kathy on the head sucking cause there are eyeballs to reckon with, aren't there? Are you eating the eyeballs?

Vera, my puter says you posted at 1:43 a.m. Are you awake now? Call me collect.

Thanks for the reminder.

Vera Darling! I tried calling you tonight but lost all my phone numbers in a computer crash. I'm having a tech work on it next week to recover my stuff, so call me collect or shoot me your number. This is such great news. I hope you're feeling better.

My band has been so fickle lately that I popped a Dayquil capsule down my throat. Within 30 seconds it was the worst PB yet. I never drank during a PB but started sipping Gatorade to help it, but that made it much worse. I was at the convenience store and had to run to the bathroom & scared the hell out of the staff. More slime than ever, worst pain yet. The pill never came up, but the slime was creepy red from the Gatorade & looked like blood which really freaked me out. But then I had one last lump of clear slime come up. I'm going to try my hardest to stick with mushies for three full days. I swear, it feels like I did damage this time. My sinuses are so bad that I squished the juice out of the second caplet. No more messing around for me, I've learned too many lessons now. No matter how loose we think we are, the band remains a very fickle tool that demands full-time respect.

I'd smoke it! Wait, I don't smoke. I'd use it for legal fees. I'm dying to take in some of the homeless teens in Vegas. They get often get showcased on TV, living on the streets, eating out of the garbage, making money in ways that no child should ever endure. We have the love, the home, the food, the dogs, even a pool and wonderful neighbor kids, but the laws won't allow us to invite them in our house. Most of their parents (the ones they can find) refuse to give up their rights, so we could get thrown in jail for even offering a warm shower or a safe night's sleep. I'd buy me some kids with that money.

I was banded the same time as a 13 year old. Her aunt was also having the surgery. Her mom & dad became my friends, they stayed with her the whole time. Her mom had previously undergone a bypass and lost all the weight, but she looked old and haggard. You could see the pain in Dad's eyes over what his daughter was going through, but they were very supportive parents and said this is what she desperately wanted. Having been a fat kid and fat teenager, as much as it would probably kill me I would allow my kids (if I had any) to get the Band. Mine was such a painful childhood. I would have risked my life to be thin as a kid, and lived wishing I was dead. So I guess I'm all for it if it's something that might save a kid's soul.

Sounds like you might have been choking on a finger... OOPS, sorry, couldn't help that one. Paula, my brother has severe acid reflux to the point he feels like he's having a heart attack when he gets heartburn. What you described sounds like bad, bad heartburn. You sound like me though, eating the spiciest thing out there when you know you should be careful. My doc prescribed Zantac twice a day but Prilosec or any of the others should help.

Location, location, location. Oh, and if I wasn't married he'd be madly in love with me, snort snort... had to get that one in before Penni did. Neener neener.

If you're only having 1/3 bottle a day, it's probably not enough water. Don't drink it all at once, but sip it constantly. I had a hard time getting the water down, so I got a sport's bottle and just held it like a baby bottle and let it drip down my throat while watching TV like an IV drip. Water gagged me more than juice, so I added 1/4 of cranberry juice to my water, which give it just enough flavor to get down. And I ate a lot of frozen pops. Made my own with watered down fruit juice.

I'm sitting at my desk staring at my wedding ring as it slowly slides around my finger. The diamond won't stay in place any more. It slides to the underside of my hand where my palm is. I spin the ring so the diamond is on top again, then watch it slide down. I've watched it 10 times already in complete amazement. I had to smear lotion all over my hand then struggle to get my ring off before my Band surgery. Now I have to wear the diamond on the inside of my palm because my ring is too big. Looks like I'm just wearing gold bands. Fascinating. Having my wedding ring sized down simply doesn't compute. Wild.

I say we start doing it in ALL the stores! I just bought 2 for $10.00 sports bras at Walgreen's Drug stores. They have always carried plus size!

I hate Victoria and her stupid secret. The only secret she has is she's probably bullemic. I've been boycotting them for years and write them nasty letters when they send me cataloges because they don't cater to plus size (uh, REAL) women. So I have this fantasy, kinda a Pretty Woman scene. I spend hours with the sales clerk at Vicky's Secret selecting thousands of dollars worth of merchandise. Then, after they ring up the purchase, I tell them I changed my mind and make them back off the entire sale." Then I spin on my heels and tell them I decided to go buy some pretty bras at JC Penny who loved me even when I was fat.