Penni60

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?

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.

Hey guys, let's as many as can get together somewhere, Vegas was a suggestion, and finally meet each other. Any thoughts? I would help organize the event.

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?

I agree about the "OTHER BOARD", I visited long enough to post about the possibility of starting an L.A. support group. BY the way i have received ZERO responses. BIG surprise. The feeling you get when you read the boards is just creepy. I love the warm fuzzy feeling I get here on this board. It is truly like a family and not like it is a competition which is the feeling I get there. I dropped the membership from that board. So if someone wants to talk about a group they can just try to find me.

I pretty much hibernated on the couch when I got home. I had a taxi take me to the San Diego train station about 2 hours too early and had to sit there till it was time to board. Then the 3.5 hour train ride which really wasn't all that bad. I was just tired and sore. My sweetie met me at the Van Nuys stop and then home. Where I immediately fell asleep till the next morning. I did not do a whole lot that first few days. I did try to walk around the block but that was way too much exercise for me right then. I just took it easy and played up the "fix me some Soup, bring me some Water, rub my feet, help me take a shower, etc" cards. LOL!!! I have a really really GREAT sweetie. He pampered me the whole time. Darcy, you will do wonderfully. I am still so excited for you.

CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!!! What an absolute beauty. I love the name. Is there a meaning with that name?

HI Julie: We weighed the same pre-op. I have lost 39.5 lbs and 23 inches thus far. I was banded on April 6, 2004. You are doing really well. Good for you. Keep up the good work.

Soups, all kinds that don't have Pasta or rice in it. I like the organic Soup you get from Trader Joe's. Gatorade - makes for a great alternative to Water I had hot tea every night before bed. Might want to invest in some bandages just in case you start to leak like almost everyone else has. LOL!!!!! In Lisa's case get some KOTEX. LOL!!! Love ya wink wink! I know I am forgetting something.