Penni60

Any weekend in October works for me. So what is the overall consensus? Give us some weekends that work for you?

Darcy: I am all a twitter in excitement for you with the surgery date fast approaching. How are you doing with anxiety, excitement, frustration, etc etc? I was so anxious and like I was on some really good drug HIGH prior to the surgery that I did not come down till I woke up in recovery room. I had a HUGE smile on my face the entire day of surgery. I ran to the OR when they were ready for me with my hospital gown flapping in the wind and mooning everyone in sight. I jumped on the table and pulled up my gown and had put an X where I wanted the band placed. LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!! You will be in my thoughts and prayers this coming week. Don't forget to take before and after pics. Up close, side view and back side. You will be amazed at the transformation. I am beginning to see my body change now. I am two months post op and still have restriction and haven't had a fill as yet. If it is working why get a fill? LOL!!! Lost 39.5 lbs and 23 inches to date. HOORAY!!! Love ya

Darcy: WHOO HOO CELEBRATION alright. LOL!!!! We'll keep the light on for your return.

Birdee: The ones I use come from Usana www.usana.com and all you add is Water. If you are interested in getting some then I can put you in touch with the distributor I use and she can order them for you initially then you can order them yourself. Just email me.

Delarla: You are so bad. LOLOLOL!!!!!!!!!!!!

October 15th works for me. Friday 15, Saturday 16, and Sunday 17. Other thoughts?????

Sunnyone: Just don't press yourself to exercise the first month. Take it easy as much as possible. Give you stomach time to heal. I did not do anything as far as exercising till after my first month and then I worked up to a more vigorous routine. I will keep you and your family in my prayers.

I agree Donali with your analogy. I will make one observation though. The slippage can also be up toward the esophagus as well as down. The up slippage is more emergent than the down would be. Pouch dilatation in my book is when it stretches or the band slipped down, in both instances the stomach pouch is bigger and allows more food to accumulate or to be ingested. If the doc is calling dilatation the band opening itself that is an unfilling situation. You should get the doc to clarify what he is checking for. Make him get specific with exactly what he is looking at. Hope this clarifies this.

Hey I am soooooooooooooooooooo there. October I think. Pick a date or a weekend or whatever. Someone offered to look at package deals, go for it. I am going to bring my camera and video camera so beware there will be proof of this weekend. But only if things get kinky. Hey Lisa; how does your husband feel about drunk women coaxing him into doing a strip routine. NOTICE I said routine; not the real thing. LOL!!!! Hey give us a lyric sheet and I will sing along with the musak. After all I have a musician for a boyfriend. LOL!!! Yes we WILL get loud and rowdy. Bingo disruption? I am all about that. Never fought a blue - haired lady but there is a first for anything. Is there a cheap show we could all go to or is that asking too much for one weekend? LOL!!!! I have some 22/24 size clothes I can bring. I get my stuff at Avenue, Lane Bryant and Catherine's. I might even have some 26 sizes as well. I even have some shoes I would be willing to let go of. They are in near perfect condition only wore maybe three or four times. Size 8, 8.5, 9 wides. Tennis shoes, sandals, dressy stuff clothes and shoes. I would need to bring a suitcase just for those clothes I want to exchange. LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!! October dates needed. Someone suggest a date or weekend.

I have been using Fitday for a week now and love it love it love it. It keeps track of the calories I am taking in and that helps bunches. Thanks Alex for mentioning this program

Let's shoot for October then. That gives everyone enough time to save up money for plane fares. And you can get them really cheap. Southwest is really cheap if you get them early enough. How about a weekend thingy. We arrive on a Friday, have a pre-determined place to meet, then we head to Delarla's for some fun fun fun. If that is OK with Her and hubby of course. We could check and see if there is a bed and Breakfast close by that we could rent out. I like that idea. This is gonna be fun fun fun. Can't wait.

Hey what about October? Halloween LOLOLOLOL We could all come as Lap Bands.

Delarla: I will resend the email. I will post an update after my visit with Dr. Billy. I wanna get a second opinion on this port protrusion thingy. LOL!!! According to Mapquest it takes about an hour to get to Ventura depending on the traffic of course. We could actually plan an office visit together and you could either fly in or drive over and spend the night and then we could drive to the Dr. office together then you could spend some time with your family. OR whatever. I will let you know how it goes.

When would you guys want to plan it? Delarla when is a good time for you? Hey why don't everyone give us a Month and a day of the week that works for them? I think weekends are the best. Friday, Saturday, or Sunday. What about you guys? 3rd week of July (might be too early for this but it depends) 2nd or 3rd week of August 12th of Sept on is good for me. Hey we could do Thanksgiving in Vegas. LOL!!!!!!!!!! Between all of us we might be able to finish a Turkey leg. LOLOL!!!!!!!!!!!!! :D :D :D :D

Lisa: I just got off the phone with Dr. Hellmuth Billy's office in Ventura, CA. They had no problem taking me on as a patient of Dr. Lopez. I have an appointment to go see him next Friday the 9th. Not sure what the cost will be the person I needed to speak to was away from her office. But they had no qualms about accepting me as their patient for any emergencies or fills or whatever. And hey maybe my insurance will cover these visits. Ya never know. I know it would be a schlep for you but at least it is someone that will return your calls and I have Dr. Billy's voice mail number as well. LOL!!!

Works for me. Small works. More intimate. Now we just gotta decide where and when

I waited for at least one full month prior to doing any strenuous exercising. I then started out doing the treadmill 10 to 15 min every two days for a week. Then worked up to my current 50 min workout every day.

How original. I love it!!!!!!!

OK, How about we take a poll to see who is interested in this project to begin with. Ask their location, how far they are willing to travel, how far in advance do they need to plan, what would they like to "do" at this meeting, how much are you willing to spend on this meeting, what do you expect to get for your money, etc. THoughts on that? What about a cruise? I am OK to travel to the East Coast for a meeting. Boston or Philly or somewhere in New Jersey or New York. The idea of an equa-distant site is cool too. That could be Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, etc. Wherever we decide to hold this first event we would need someone in that city to help coordinate the travel plans and where we will stay. If we have events at this meeting then we could enlist a fitness person to come and speak. We should have someone be coordinator of meeting events. Is this first one gonna be just a "get to know each other" or do we want to have a speaker? Then there is the food aspect of the meeting. Should we reserve a room at a restaurant or hire a caterer at a hotel? Then comes the cost and how it will be covered. Hey maybe we could get Inamed to sponsor this event? Wouldn't that be a hoot. Maybe we could get some of the Protein drink people to do the same, Pilates guru sponsor, Vitamin people sponsor, all kinds of companies ya know. All of these are just me rambling and throwing stuff out there. I am all about feedback here. Let me know your thoughts on this?

Does anyone out there know the standard protocol for fills? I have heard anything from being filled 2 weeks post op to every 4 weeks post op to every 6 weeks post op. Is there a protocol for each doctor or is there a standard and then it is adjusted per patient? Anyone know? Anyone given literature or instruction on how their fills would be managed pre or post op? Curious as there seems to be this haphazard approach from some doctors and they are making up their own protocols as they go. There should be a standard and then adjust per patient as needed.

Magnolia: I waited at least a full month before I did any kind of exercise routine. Then I started out doing 10 to 15 min on the treadmill three times a week to where I now do 50 min power walking 6 days a week. So my advice is to take it easy the first month and then work up to your exercise routine gradually.

Magnolia: I love that name. I do mushy scrambled eggs in the morning. There are also protein drinks that can give you the protein as well.

Think I will start a new thread about this idea.

MIchelle: I think we should all go to Vegas for a weekend of Bandsters Bash enjoyment. We could invade the chippendales show. WHOO HOO LOLA is all for that. Seriously though I am willing to help organize the event. I think it would be a hoot to get together and finally meet everyone. I am sure we could get a major hotel chain to give us some discounts on rooms if we get a block of them.

We should organize a meeting or something. Make an annual event out of it. Have the meetings in different cities each year so not everyone has to travel far. I am game to help with the organizing. Or we could start with regional meetings first. THoughts?