Penni60

Kelly Ann's another banded person. Another one bites the dust. Pretty soon everyone will want the BAND. WHOO HOO!!

WHOO HOO!!! BETTY'S BANDED!!!! Let's all do the banana dance. :banana :banana :banana :banana :banana :banana :banana :banana :banana :banana :banana

I was really good this morning. I did 45 min on the treadmill and then 20 min on the recumbent bike. WHOO HOO!! My legs are gonna hate me in the morning.

Michelle: How are things these days. Have they found out anything yet with the testing? Continually keeping you and your family in my prayers. This is one reason I stopped doing Cancer Nursing. IT just isn't fair what this disease can and does do to our families, our children, and our lives. Makes me so mad, but then I had and have to remind myself to channel this negative emotion into a postive one. That is the hard part. My thoughts and prayers go out to everyone's families both healthy and suffering.

Believe me Becky when I go on the road or travel more than overnite I take my laptop. I gotta have my LapBandTalk website fix. I get all jittery and really cranky and sniff alot if I don't get my fix. LOL!!

Tricia: I don't attend I live in Calif but I have a friend that just had the RNY procedure at Centennial and she might be attending those groups. Her name is Brenda Petrus. She works at the VA hospital as a Bone Marrow Transplant Nurse. She is a beautiful black lady with short hair. If you see her there then tell her Penni says HI. She would be a good person to get in contact with. She is such a sweetie. Just a suggestion.

Congrats to Michelle and Teresa. Darcy it will pick up again once you get over your stomach problems. Lisa, Wench for winning in Vegas, you know I love ya. Hanging steady back at the 247 mark. THat is down 49 lbs. Michelle and I were banded the same day. So what gives that she is losing more than me? It ain't right!! Oh well, life isn't fair. Congrats to us all. This is such a long and sometimes arduous journey and at times we all want to just give up and say to heck with it. Then there are times we say "WOW, look my clothes are loose." Keep it up guys. We are all "BIG FAT LOSERS!":banana

OH NO!! You mean this is an addiction! Damn just when I thought it was safe to come out of my shell. OH WELL!! C'est la Vie! PAR TAY!! :banana :banana :banana :banana :banana :banana :banana :banana :banana :banana :Bunny :Bunny :Bunny :Bunny :Bunny :Bunny :Bunny :Bunny :Bunny :Bunny :Bunny :Bunny :Bunny :Bunny :Bunny PS: The Avatar dilemma is ongoing. Some people have the capabilities to post and some do not. I have sent an email to Alex, owner, and told him about this. No response as yet.

Al Roker had the RNY surgery not the Band. But yes I do agree with you on the premise.

Keep us posted Kelly Ann. We are all praying for a speedy recovery.

I will be keeping you in my prayers. GOOD LUCK and best wishes. Come back as soon as you feel up to it and let us know how it went.

To change your CUSTOM TITLE: Go to the MY ACCOUNT link Located at the top of page. Click on the Edit Profile in the Left menu box under Settings & Options. The second box that says OPTIONAL INFORMATION you should see CUSTOM USER TITLE that is where you can change the title to whatever you like. Then click save changes. To change your CUSTOM AVATAR: Click on the MY ACCOUNT located at the top of page. Then click on the Edit Profile Picture link located on the LEFT side of page. In the box that says CUSTOM AVATARS FROM YOUR COMPUTER click on the browse box and find the pic you want to use for your new Avatar. Then click Save changes. Some people are not showing either of these options. I am have emailed Alex and let him know the problems.

Go to the USER CP link Located at the top of page. Click on the Edit Profile in the Left menu box under Settings & Options. The second box that says OPTIONAL INFORMATION you should see CUSTOM USER TITLE that is where you can change the title to whatever you like. Some people are not showing this option and some people are not showing the CUSTOM AVATAR option either. I am have emailed Alex and let him know the problems.

Go to the USER CP link Located at the top of page. Click on the Edit Profile in the Left menu box under Settings & Options. The second box that says OPTIONAL INFORMATION you should see CUSTOM USER TITLE that is where you can change the title to whatever you like. Some people are not showing this option and some people are not showing the CUSTOM AVATAR option either. I am getting ready to email Alex and let him know the problems.

Leatha: Dr. Lopez didn't even give me a sheet of paper with "YOU HAVE A LAPBAND" printed on it much less a booklet. LOL!!! It wasn't until I saw the FAMOUSLY handsome and marvelous Dr. HELMUTH BILLY (drool drool) that I got some information and a INAMED card. SIGH!! I agree this site is awesome. Wish I had known about it way before I was banded. Glad I found it now though.

Here is what I see when I click on the Edit Avatar link under the cartoon pages. I could not copy the entire page but here is the jest of what is there. I doubt I would be responsible for uploading or changing avatars for you guys. Might just be a glitch in the transfer of some data when the website went through the upload process. I will email Alex and let him know of the problems. Can you guys change your title under your name? I know of one other person that can't do that either. You guys might try to refresh your page and see if that helps? Custom Avatar If you have a custom avatar and want to keep it as it is, leave the fields below as they are. Use Custom Avatar You may upload a new custom image using the controls below. Either enter the URL to the image you wish to use, or use the upload control to upload an image directly from your own computer. Enter Avatar URL: Upload an Avatar From Your Computer: Note: The maximum size of your custom image is 50 by 50 pixels or 19.5 KB (whichever is smaller).

I have experienced the same thing. Too weird. It is like our minds and bodies are playing tricks on us just because they can. That is just sooooo mean. LOL!!!

Paula and Lisa G: I am all for having a bash in Jan/Feb. Just let me know what I can do to help coordinate. By the way, any Houston Astros fans out there? Looks good for them in the World Series don't it? Oh yeah and I am a YANKEE's fan. They beat the snot out of Boston Red Sox last night. 19 to 8!!!!! Can we say World Series Bound?

Tim: In actuality it most likely will help in those areas. The running for sure. The band is not like a bypass at all. You will not be able to get out there immediately and start playing but when you do you will be down most likely 20 or so lbs and that alone will free up your breathing and running capabilities. The port is so tiny. It might be uncomfortable at first but as your body adjusts to the postion you will not even notice it is there.

Yeah I have the custom button directly under the page #s. Hmmm that is strange. AT the top of the Edit Avatar page what do you have?

Celery: I have not explored just eating celery by itself yet. I have heard that the fiber (strings) can cause problems for some bandsters. You might want to try a small piece first just to see if you can chew it enough. I haven't been brave enough to try it yet. I have eaten cooked celery and not had a problem. It basically disintegrates in my mouth if it has been cooked. But that defeats the purpose of the nutritional value of the celery. I used to love to eat celery with peanut butter so I haven't tried that yet. Varicose Veins: I had them pre-surgery. I cannot tell a difference in them actually post-surgery. They might get worse but that probably won't have anything to do with the surgery. If we are predisposed to them because of genetics or a prior history of having them then it will continue whether we had the surgery or not and it will progress at whatever rate it had already established prior to surgery. Just one of them thangs we women have to deal with unfortunately. I wish my varicose veins were in my lanes. Then I could stamp them out. LOL!!!!! Hope this helps.

Tim what is your BMI?? If you don't have any co-morbidities then it will be difficult but not impossible to qualify. Most Band Surgeons require your BMI be at least 40 and to be 100 lbs overweight. If you self-pay then the band surgeons may overlook the below 40 BMI.

Ginny: Have you thought about asking the doc to check to make sure the fill is still intact? IT almost sounds as if the liquid leaked out somehow. That would explain being able to eat more. Just a suggestion though I would ask him to try to take out the fill and see how much of it he gets back out. One other suggestion then I will shut up. LOL!! Just because you can eat more doesn't necessarily mean you should. I have to remind myself that because I don't get that "golfball" feeling first doesn't mean I can't just stop eating when I feel full. That feeling of "fullness" is completely different than the "golfball" feeling. So I tend to listen more to the Fullness meter now. It is all a matter of being more intune with your body. Hope this helps and you take the information as a loving caring banded sister meant it. HUGS!!

Ok ladies here is how to change your avatar PIC. Click on the USER CP located at the top of page. Then click on the Edit Avatar link located on the LEFT side of page Under the SETTINGS & OPTIONS box. Scroll down the page past the cartoon avatars and you will see CUSTOM AVATARS. In the box that says CUSTOM AVATARS FROM YOUR COMPUTER click on the browse box and find the pic you want to use for your new Avatar. Then click Save changes. VOILA' you are done. Any problems give me a holler.

Cissylea: Here is a couple of docs in Mexico I would steer clear of. Understand this is a suggestion strictly based on my own experience with one of them and what I have heard and read on the other. Dr. Juan Lopez Corvala (aka Dr. Lopez): Although he did do my surgery and several others on this board and I was pleased initially, his after care is practically nonexistent. If you have your aftercare set up then I would suggest taking a LOOK at him. He is very personable and appears to be caring but when it comes to complications after the band is placed then that is where the inconsideration, not returning phone calls, giving information that turns out to not be true, his staff shields him from emergency calls, his staff barely speaks or understands english, his staff is rude and will ignore you, has gone through two assistants in the time frame of 4 months, the list could go on and on. I am sure others can fill in their experience with Lopez. I had my surgery at a place called Sanoviv Medical Institute with Lopez. (www.sanoviv.com) There are much cheaper facilities that offer the surgery. I chose this facility cause it came highly recommended by a close friend of mine. I was there for a week and loved it. Of course it is expensive to stay there for that long. You can elect to have the surgery there and then only stay for one or two nights then go home. THat would be cheaper. Or there are other facilities in Tijuana as well that are just a good a place to have the surgery. Others can fill you in on those places. I don't remember their names. Dr. jaime Ponce de leon: Works with www.ObesityGoodbye.com clinic and the www.Bajanor.com clinic who set up his surgeries. He or his staff has been misleading his patients in that he claims to be placing INAMED LAPBANDS when in fact Inamed is no longer supplying Dr. Jaime Ponce de Leon with LAPBANDS. He will place the Swedish Band which is not FDA approved in the US although it is in trials here now. So it is best to ask the surgeon and staff to show you the band that will be placed inside you. Most reputible surgeons will do that without you asking. Also ask to get the box it came shipped in. Ask if it is the LAPBAND or the SWEDISH band. His partner Dr. Sergio verboonen has been arrested in connection with Health Care Fraud. Dr. Jaime Ponce de Leon should NOT be confused with the Dr. Jaime Ponce that works out of Georgia and has a GREAT reputation. Some Docs to look into: Dr. Kuri in Mexico Dr. Ortiz in Mexico Dr. Billy in Ventura, CA I am sure there are others that people will chime in and report on. Hope this has helped.