hagerteresa

me and my hubby too.

I can totally relate too Paula. It never fails the more I want to something the harder it is to eat. I went out for breakfast with my hubby a couple of weekends ago. I swear I chewed well but 4 bites in my band said,"NO MORE!" Oh I was so bummed. Of course leftover eggs and hashbrowns never taste good later. We went for lunch at the Olive Garden with some friends over the weekend and I try really hard never to have an incident with them. So far so good. I have had to make emergency PB stops too. Steak has given me a problem on a few occassions. It seems harder to get down if it is cooked too well done. Anyway Paula, I can definitely feel for you. No, I don't carry around a plastic bowl. I just pull over and hang my head out the door. I swear I startled some poor person in the car behind me the other day. Best of luck to you all, Teresa

Hi Laura, CONGRATULATIONS!!! You must feel so relieved to have a tentative date! I'm glad you had such good success going thru your insurance company. Best wishes to you and keep in touch, Teresa

Hi Tanya, I'm another Oregon girl but down in the Eugene area. I use Dr. Eubanks for fills and really like him a lot. I know there a couple of great support groups up in your area (if you live in Portland). In the Eugene area there is just a few of us that get together and enjoy each others company. Anyway welcome to LBT and hope to get to know you better. Teresa

I think you just type their name into the search box for the forum and it will pick out any old threads that mentioned them. There have been a lot of recent complaints regarding erosion cases with Dr. Lopez but I don't know if these cases are more than the normal ratio for any doctor. We just seem to hear a lot about them. I actually used him and have not had any major complications but I do maintain a certain amount of fear that problems could occur. I have heard wonderful things about Kuri, Rumbaut and Ortiz. Best of luck, Teresa

Hi Karen, I'm happy to see your smiling face as well. I was sure sorry about your loss and of course it concerns me to being a Lopez patient myself. I'm glad to hear your hanging on to your loss so well. I hope we get to see you again at the 2005 Vegas get together. Best wishes, Teresa

Hi Vera, I'm sure glad you got that all taken care of and it was such a simple fix. Thanks for keeping us posted. For some reason the fill doctor I use in Oregon doesn't believe in doing a yearly thorough exam with flouro. He says that slippage and erosion will manifest thier own symptoms and insurance won't cover edoscopy or anything. He'll only do it when he thinks there is a problem. HMMM... I think he is a wonderful doctor in all other areas. I also am a little perplexed that he doesn't use barium when he does flouro fills. I have heard other fill doctors in Oregon don't use the barium for flouro fills as well. Anyway glad your on the mend girl, Teresa

I'm there too. Bummer about your room taken though Lisa. Have you found any cheaper group rates yet Princess? Teresa

What do I keep missing? I haven't seen any name calling and very little bickering... Whipple I hope you really don't say goodbye. I don't think this is too "clicky" either. I started on here about a year ago (a bit less) and have felt a part of the core group who got banded about the same time but I always try to take time to share and welcome newbee's too. Best wishes everyone, Teresa

Best of luck Big T. I know the possibility of set backs can be a real bummer. Glad its going so well for you, Teresa

I just posted the following message on Betty's message on another thread but thought it applied here to so I am coping and pasting it. I have not seen any out of hand emotional fits either but ??? When I was still researching the band I saw the yahoo boards and they were all bickering and putting each other down. That was one reason I chose this sight but I also love the fact that you don't have to deal with advertizing here, you can read all the responses without it being a hunting game and waiting for it to load ect. This sight just has a much nicer, easier layout. I also like the fact we can put pics for our avatars here. Yahoo just had NO warmth, ease or personality. So what if a few people bicker once in awhile. Jeez, my family actually enjoys bickering. I've seen people get their feelings bruised over pretty minor comments or snap back over the same reason. There are a LOT of people on this forum now and some disagreement is bound to be expected. Overall I think we definitely accomplish our goal of supporting each other and educating others. If someone is blatantly mean than that should be looked at but people need to understand that we all have different experiences regarding particular doctors and they may not all be rosey. Everyone has the right to share their experience. I don't know what other bickering your talking about Betty. I have days I don't post but it isn't because of any of the attitudes on here. Its because I work, am taking classes, have a household to run and take care of and just get busy. Some evenings I finally get the chance to get on here but am too bushed to want to. I also have evenings that my favorite shows are on. Its nothing personal and I'm sure other people are experiencing the same life juggle. I'll often just check in here to see whats going on but don't have time to post much too. Anyway, things will settle down I'm sure. Thanks for the sweet pm too. Best wishes, Teresa

When I was still researching the band I saw the yahoo boards and they were all bickering and putting each other down. That was one reason I chose this sight but I also love the fact that you don't have to deal with advertizing here, you can read all the responses without it being a hunting game and waiting for it to load ect. This sight just has a much nicer, easier layout. I also like the fact we can put pics for our avatars here. Yahoo just had NO warmth, ease or personality. So what if a few people bicker once in awhile. Jeez, my family actually enjoys bickering. I've seen people get their feelings bruised over pretty minor comments or snap back over the same reason. There are a LOT of people on this forum now and some disagreement is bound to be expected. Overall I think we definitely accomplish our goal of supporting each other and educating others. If someone is blatantly mean than that should be looked at but people need to understand that we all have different experiences regarding particular doctors and they may not all be rosey. Everyone has the right to share their experience. I don't know what other bickering your talking about Betty. I have days I don't post but it isn't because of any of the attitudes on here. Its because I work, am taking classes, have a household to run and take care of and just get busy. Some evenings I finally get the chance to get on here but am too bushed to want to. I also have evenings that my favorite shows are on. Its nothing personal and I'm sure other people are experiencing the same life juggle. I'll often just check in here to see whats going on but don't have time to post much too. Anyway, things will settle down I'm sure. Thanks for the sweet pm too. Best wishes, Teresa

Hello, Broken ankles stink... I know... 5 years ago I fell down and broke my ankle in a very strange way. It only looked like a small break but ended up requiring surgery, pins and screws put in. I was wheelchair bound for 3 months and gimped around on a walking cast another couple of months. I actually never did any physical therapy and have never had a problem with it since. The only lingering affects are the scar and the bad memory. I have been much more careful about walking and falling since then. At the time my hubby (boyfriend at the time) decided he could make more money fire fighting to make up for the loss of my income, so not only was I crippled but all alone most of the 3 months. I couldn't even get out the front or back door on my own. It was a very tough time. My parents came over to check on me every couple of days and took me grocery shopping. My dads truck is really tall and jacked up so there was no way I could even attempt to get up in that at the time. The best thing was getting to ride around in those electric wheelchairs at the grocery store and costco. I found I really like those lean cuisine chicken with stuffing meals and they only have a couple of hundred calories. Cooking was tough trying to balance and deal with the hot stove and knifes so if you could stock up on healthy decent tasting microwave meals and low calorie Snacks you should do okay. I don't recall gaining anything during my experience. Best wishes to you, Teresa

Hi Patty, Sorry to hear about your difficulties. They can't just fix the leaky tube part or do they think its the band that is leaking? If it were me, I would probably just get another band and skip doing the bypass but that is your decision. How do your ports keep breaking or what is breaking on them? Thank you for joining this group and sharing this problem with us. Best wishes to you, Teresa

Hi Tina, I grew up heavy and even though I had a low self esteem during the school years I have since gotten to the point that I could care less what people think. We have a hot tub in our backyard and live in a 4 plex. Trust me, there have been a few times the neighbors got a little surprise flash. LOL... I love the sun and Water and I came to the conclusion long ago that I have as much right as anybody to enjoy my life. If they think my body is gross than they can look in the other direction. My hubby evidently likes heavy women and I have a bigger fear of what that will bring as I get skinny. His co-workers playfully flirt with me. It doesn't really bug my hubby too much yet but he definitely ponders it. Anyway, best wishes for you and hope you get all your heart's desires. Teresa

Hi Betty, Life wouldn't be the same without you girl... I think people get entirely too sensitive here sometimes. I just try to take things with a grain of salt and be as uplifting as I can. Hope your day improves Betty. Teresa

Hi Betty, Good post. I don't know if I would neccessarily call my obesity an illness but in my case it is obviously hereditary. I am the spitting image of my grandmother and great great grandmother. Heaviness runs in my family everywhere. I also know people who are very thin and can eat whatever they want. It seems obvious there is something different in my metabolism when I see people like that. I was thin till I was about 3 years old and then I started getting heavy. My parents were dealing with emotional stuff at the time so I don't know if that changed their meals or what but I also have always eaten too big of portions and I think being on the depo shot for the last 9 years has played a role in my adult obesity. One clinic had quit giving me the shot because of my huge weight gain but I continued getting it elsewhere. New evidence shows that shot definitely causes bone loss, so just recently I switched off of it to a lower dose pill. I think many factors have played a role in my weight problem and they have all compounded it. I think insurance companies should be more willing to treat it as a disease and treat it as such. If I even mention weight when I see my family practitioner my insurance refuses to pay and sends me the bill for the entire visit regardless of what the appointment was actually for. That is very wrong in my books. Best wishes, Teresa

I'm just popping in to this debate... It has been a beautiful sunny winter this year (VERY VERY unusual for us) and I have been snacking too much too. I haven't really gained back and forth but I get in long plateaus and I know its because I eat too much of the wrong foods. I even got a fill a couple of weeks ago and I can tell it is tighter but I still manage to get the wrong foods to go down... Or maybe its the easy to swallow foods... I strive to get my protein in and do eat a lot of meat and cheese but I also love nice soft quiche, mashed potatos, chocolate, etc. This next week is my birthday so I'm sure more of those favorites are coming but I definitely need to cut back on the quantity I consume. My hubby works swing shift so I am home all alone every weekday evening and seem to munch all evening long. In the morning it has been tough getting anything down but it gets progressively easier (only a little in regards to meals... dinner still seems tight and tough) thru-out the day. I don't know why snacks always seem to go down so deliciously easy. Anyway we all struggle with this problem. Nobody is alone and we all must learn our own ways of dealing with it. I don't want to have to think that because it is cloudy in a given week that is automatically going to smash my success. Best wishes all, Teresa

Congratulations Penni! Job well done. I want to see new pics after this workout experience. Best wishes, Teresa

Hello Tarafeena, Congratulations and WELCOME to BANDLAND! Glad it all went smoothly and you made it home safely. Now... Take it easy and have a good recovery. Ask... whenever you have a question about anything, etc. My tummy definitely made some new noices after surgery too. Best wishes, Teresa

When you check into the hospital see if there are any other patients getting banded. When I had mine done, I was always zipping down the hall to see how my fellow band patient was doing. We were in Mexico and had to stay over two nights but hopefully you should be able to meet someone during your band stay. Best wishes and we'll be thinking of you, Teresa

Hi Chantel, My sister had that same situation but hers happened much earlier in the pregnancy. I think she was on complete bed rest for 4-5 months. Hope your sis follows the doc's advice and all else goes smoothly. It would be tough if you already have so many children and having to stay horizontal. It was my sis's first baby when she experienced the torn placenta thing. Best of luck to you and your family, Teresa

Hi Rachel, Welcome to bandland!!!! Congratulations!!! Sorry it was such a tough day but that is pretty normal. I never felt sick but definitely had that beat up feeling a was bruised all over for a week. That broth sounds yummy. Just take it easy and have a great week, Teresa

Ditto on what Alex and Betty said. I totally thought it would just be another thing I'll fail at when I got my band but it hasn't been that way at all. I swear my band is the thing that makes the decision if I'm going to eat easily or put up a fuss. I went for breakfast yesterday and after 4 very small well chewed bites I got that total feeling of discomfort... It wasn't a PB but I knew enough to stop eating. Later at dinner though I was totally able to eat a nice reasonable plate of food and only felt that little band nudge towards the very end reminding me I can't eat limitless amounts of food. I have allowed a single candy bar daily thru my entire band journey and have never felt like a failure or deprived. I recall meeting someone last week at my gyn. docs and she said I really must feel deprived. I had to immediately chuckle and tell her that was not the case at all. I still get my treats, I still on a very rare occassion eat at places like McDonalds, I don't feel deprived at all. (Okay... except for maybe when I really want to eat some particular yummy food in front of me and my band doesn't want to let me) BUT that is the only time and doesn't happen too often. Ussually I can eat nice amounts, feel satisfied and lose weight. Best of luck to you, Teresa

Hello, Can you tell that this has happened to other people too? I'll never forget being a week or two out and popping a peice of sausage in my mouth. OMG!!! Thank God I was able to spit it back out but it is so easy to do things like that without even a thought. At the time I was making Breakfast for 8 people at the bed and breakfast I work at. Having to prepare food while not eating it is tough business. I love Spinach Gnocci and somehow decided since it has kind of a soft squishy feel to it, IT MUST BE a MUSHIE!!! I never determined the correctness of that but WE definitally all make mistakes. I tried very hard to be good and no damage was done to my band. Best wishes, Teresa