Penni60

Rica: There is a post called "Dr. Billy Appointment" you should do a search for and you can see my opinion of him. In simple terms I LOVE HIM. Great bedside manner, cute, caring, listens, answered all my qyestions, cute, and did I mention he was cute. LOL!!!

Leatha and Michelle: Thanks bunches. You know after I posted this thread I realized I already knew the answer but it is always nice to have it reinforced. I just love this board. Hey has anyone else run into the problem of an allergic reaction after being filled? If you remember the pics of my belly with the redness and I thought it was rejection of the port well I have a small about a half dollar size right around where he did the injections just like that redness. It is hot to touch and itching and tender. Anyone else experience this? Or am I just the weird cookie here. If it persists or gets worse I am gonna call him. But it just was weird how it came up last night before bed. I think I am allergic to the betadine. Or maybe latex??

Hey just a statement and looking for other input. I got a fill on Friday the 9th of 1cc. I felt restriction drinking Water. I know can guzzle water with no problem. I haven't started mushy foods yet so I might still have restriction but was just curious about how much I should try to eat my first time after the fill. I know I should take it slow but I usually just put enough on my plate to eat to fill my pouch and no more. Now I don't know how much to give myself. Any suggestions? I know this has been asked many times before and I am just not listening. LOL!!!! Donali, where are you.

Um, LEO you gotta girlfriend yet? WANT SEVERAL????? You look awesome. Keep up the good work. For all the ladies out there don't you just hate that men lose faster than we do? WHOO HOO LEO!!!!!!!

WHOO HOO!!!! Welcome to the land of banded.

Michelle: He doesn't do the fluoroscopy. He said he has done many of them without and unless there is a complication and he can't do it then he will schedule the procedure. He said for the most part you should only do that if there is a suspected problem. We did not discuss the cost of fills or anything since they are filing my insurance. If my insurance doesn't cover it then I will know what they charge. But believe me it is worth it to not have to go to Mexico again. I am calling his office manager on Monday to talk about when, where, how, and what needs to be done to get the insurance to cover it and get this done in time for October. I will be there with bells on. AND protrusion less.

Just got back from Dr. Billy. I love him. He is a cutie plus a great surgeon. He explained everything in detail and told me what to expect and everything. OK the protrusion is part of the tubing. It has kinked up cause that is the weakest area. He said he would like to go in and fix that. He is pretty sure my insurance will cover the procedure. IT will be outpatient surgery at one of the area Ventura hospitals. Nothing that Lopez did caused this kinking to happen. He said it is part of the individual surgeons technique. He, Dr. Billy, has started to double check and make sure none of his patients have tubing that has backed up that could cause this kinking. It is sorta like an excess of tubing with no where to go. IT has NOT herniated. Thank God. But he did warn that it does have the potential to break through the skin. He doesn't think it will do that any time soon but we agreed to get it fixed as soon as possible. We are looking now at Insurance coverage and how soon we can get it scheduled. I will keep you posted on that issue. OH and he is a cutie, hottie, drooled the whole time, couldn't take my eyes off him. His office is about 10 min off the 101 Freeway in Ventura. Very easy to find. Staff is very supportive and takes their time. You are seen in a timely manner. They have a 24 hour emergency number you can call. THANK GOD!!! Did I mention that Dr. Billy is a cutie? Hmmm. Slurpiliscious!!!!!!!!!!! OK, I am now in the land of filldom. I got a 1cc fill while I was there. WOW! I could feel him when he hit the reservoir because he moved the port around and it made me woozy. It didn't hurt but it sure did make me feel funny. LOL!! He got me a wet towel and patted my head and hand to make sure I felt better. YUM YUM!!! Yes, I really did feel bad. LOL!!! Anyway, got the fill and drank two glasses of Water while there to make sure I was OK. He had to stick me 3 times because my port is tilted. Just took some manuvering on his part to find it and then get the needle in. But he managed. I am on liquids for 24 to 48 hours then mushy foods for 5 to 7 days after that. Then back to solid foods again. He gave me some patient literature and a card from Inamed for all lap band patients to carry. Different than the one that Lopez gave me. I highly recommend anyone within 4 to 5 hours of Ventura, CA to go see Dr. Billy for follow up. He is awesome and such a sweetie. I could eat him up. LOL!!!!! Did I mention he was CUTE!!!!!!!!

IF you are or have responded here to say you are coming in October please visit the Head Count thread so we can get an accurate number. I will close this thread in a few days. So please go to this board to respond. http://lapbandtalk.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=2433 Thanks

BUMMER

Ruthy: You could also contact Inamed directly www.inamed.com and see what they have to say. They manufacture the LAP BAND.

Joyce: I started working out a month after I was banded. I started slow and easy. Don't try to do too much too fast. I started out walking every day then progressed up to doing weight training and power walking. SLow and easy is the best way. I was banded on APril 6, 2004 and started working out a month later. So you should be OK in my opinion. What does your doc say?

Marie: that is ok someone has to be good and someone has to be bad. Just come to Vegas in October and we will corrupt you. LOLOLOL

Marcia: The other board we are referring to is not even worth our time. It was a Yahoo board.

AYE!! Megan go try it. Actually my daughter got the spray on tan for her wedding this past June. SHE looked awesome. Well and the tan looked good too.

WOW!! 4cc sounds like a lot for a first time fill. I thought I read somewhere that you shouldn't get a fill more than 2cc. Thoughts out there. Donali chime in.

MENACE HERE. And proud of it. LOLOLOL:D :D :D :D :D :D :D

Kelly: I have had a complete hysterectomy and am banded. I have noticed that I don't take my hormones anymore and have NO side effects. I just increase my Calcium intake to offset the lack of Hormone therapy. Couple of things. 1. She needs to have a serious talk with her doc about who is in charge of her body. He does not get to dictate when the fill is done or not. Only your sis can do that. He can recommend it all he wants but he has to go by what she says. If she cannot get him to understand this then it is time to find another doc. 2. As women, Estrogen is stored in the fat cells of our bodies. As we loss weight those estrogen stores are released. Therefore we need less estrogen. I think that is why I am not needing any at this point. I don't honestly think there is a correlation between a hysterectomy and being banded. If anything we are happier because we don't have the mood swings. LOL!!! I have been banded 3 months now and have lost 40 lbs. I think the 30 lbs loss your sister has experienced is awesome. That is 10 lbs a month. That is an average of a little more than 2 lbs a week. Losing faster than that is dangerous actually. You start to lose muscle mass then and not fat. SO your sis is right on track and doing GREAT. So, tell your sis to tell her doc to shove it. He is probably confusing her with an RNY patient and thinks she should be losing more. He needs to refill her if she wants it. Just my opinion.

Yup guzzler here. Hmmm!! Sounds like a super hero. GUZZLER to the rescue.

Don't know anything about Dr. Ponce. I am sure there are some on here that have had him for their doc. Just give them time to respond.

I am jealous of your trip. OH MY a beach house. I wanna come.

If you visit this site and are interested in attending the OCtober Vegas BAsh then please go to the board entitled "Head count for October Vegas trip" THanks

The only reason to avoid corn other than the fact it is hard to digest is corn is chocked full of carbs. Less is more with corn. I love it too but you have to eat it in moderation but look at what population I am talking to. We eat less than moderation. LOL!!!! I was not given any specific instructions on what to avoid or to eat for that matter. I sorta found out myself through trial and error. I drink with a straw and have found it to NOT be a problem. I agree with Alex we are all individuals and what works or doesn't work for someone might do just the opposite for someone else.

WHOO HOO!! Come on July 23rd. ANother banded person. Welcome on board.

Michelle: I was hoping ot have a number to tell them first. I need to know who is committed to going. Then once I get a rough number I will call them and see what I can get.

Sahara has rooms for $95 per night. Looks nice.