Penni60

HUGE congrats. I know you will do fine. You too Trish. And college joe you will get yours too. IT will all work out in the end.

Personally, I was never told to avoid certain foods. It was suggested that certain foods can aggravate the normal function of the stomach and may cause problems. The OJ I drink is Organic and I juice it myself so it does not have as high an acidic content as some of the processed juices. Adding the amount to the smoothie shouldn't hurt you. Try it if you find your stomach is burning more then try Apple Juice or pineapple Juice. I always encourage everyone to juice the ORGANIC fruits and veggies yourself. You get the most bang for your buck and the fruits and veggies are safer as well. Free of pesticides that can leach into them. And by cracky they just taste better. Sweeter if you will. Not nearly as tart as the processed juices. Crackers are a starchy food and to me that is something I would just avoid as much as possible. But if you love them and can eat them then go for it just in moderation. Like maybe two or three but no more. I can't do breads anymore and that is just fine with me. LOL!!

The dramamine could most likely be broken in half or even crushed and taken that way. If it can't be crushed or broken in half then ask your doctor about a liquid form. And if all else fails then don't go on mountains. LOL!! Sorry that was my attempt at humor. I envy the trip to Hawaii. My daughter suffers from motion sickness and she takes dramamine as well. I think you should be able to take the pill. If it comes in capsule form then that would be NO problem taking. The rule of thumb wiht pills is if it is bigger in diameter than an eraser on the tip of a pencil then it needs to be crushed, broken up, or use alternative forms (ie: liquids, etc). The travelling aspect of the trip should not pose a problem but check with your doctor prior to leaving. Just know that you won't get to enjoy some of the great foods you will be tempted with. You will be in the mushie or even on the tail end of the liquid phase. Something else to keep in mind, when I travel (meaning fly) I always always without question am more restricted. So, if you have great restriction after surgery then your restriction might be increased for a day or two after you arrive in Hawaii. It takes a few days to stabilize. If you are like me I am at the higher restriction the entire time I am travelling. Then the minute my plane lands at home my restriction disappears. LOL!! Just my weird body. Pictures are a MUST when you travel to Hawaii.

Kathy and all other allergy sufferers: Yes I think the amount of restriction can be affected. Anything that can cause you to have an allergic reaction will shoot histamine into your system and this can cause some swelling. Sometimes the body can be specific where the histamine reaction shows up but in general the whole body is affected. Hope this helps. BY the way, I am a hay fever sufferer. Yes I get higher restriction when it is flared up. I also have higher restriction when I have a cold or symptoms associated with a cold.

This is the Celebrity Pharmasist Convention disquised as the 23rd Annual Love your body and anyone else's Convention. LOL!! There are spies amongst us. You just never know. Christina dawlin: I don't have time for such nonsense as going out and actually having FUN. I am supposed to be in a session right now and I am too fried to attend. Got two more to attend before I crash tonight. They are an hour and a half long too. SIGH!! But such interesting stuff I am learning. Ok I will share just one thing here. If you use your Microwave to cook your meats (ie: fish, chicken, beef, etc) STOP NOW!! And it isn't because of the microwave emissions either. A study was done by one of the speakers on meats and preparation of the meats and it was discovered that cooking our meats in this fashion will NOT kill parasites, bacteria, etc. The meat does not get hot enough. In one case, a fish fillet was placed in a microwave and it was shown to start jumping around. No the fish was not alive. The fish being cooked in the microwave and that process actually activated or "work up", for lack of a better word, the larvae parasites IN the fish. EWWWWWWWWWWW!!! We had this lecture before lunch. SIGH!! OK no more fish for me for awhile. Especially sushi or sashimi. Well if the sushi is frozen first then thawed then it can kill the parasites. STILL!!!! OK enough lessons for you guys for now. MORE LATER!!

Atlanta is 3 hours difference. So as I type this it is 6:50am here and where you are it is 3:50am and you are still snoozing most likely. Which is where I would like to be. LOL!! Yeah my band is a HE. I first thought it was a she but some of it's habits and how it teases me implies it is a man. Bastard!! LOL!! HUGS Vera how did the court thingy go? By the way, Lisa is off on the Laughlin River Run this weekend. She won't check in till Tuesday most likely if then. LOL!!

I just talked to Mom and after several days of pain meds, sleep meds, and her other meds she is feeling MUCH better. She is getting much needed sleep. Her pain is managable and tolerable. She ordered a better bed and it is in the box in the middle of her living room. I hope to have time to put it together for her before I leave for home. Will have to see. I might not. But my daughter might be able to do that. Thank you for all your support and prayers.

$13,500 -- Dr. Lopez -- Rosarito, Mexico at Sanoviv Medical Institute www.sanoviv.com You can get the surgery for less it was that much for me because of the facility I used. Rosarito is about an hour from TJ. If I had it to do over and know what I know now I would go with Dr. Helmuth Billy in Ventura, CA. Not sure what the charge is if you self-pay with him. Pretty funny Jenna. You beat him to it. LOL!!!

Here in Atlanta. Attending Conference. BUSY BUSY!!! Took time to check in with you guys. I won't have any free time till Sunday night now. So, Everyone stay safe, sip sip sip, chew chew chew, exercise, fight with those docs and insurance co, tell the nosy and bossy co-workers and family and friends to go climb a tree (sorry brain fried and can't think of one single curse word, LOL!!), and for all those new bandsters or soon to be new bandsters YAHOO!!!! It will get better newbies. Iggy is still giving me fits. For those that don't know who Iggy, that is the name I gave my band. He is very fickle these days. I think he is going through PMS. LOL!! Nite Nite!! OH and CHristina I got your message. Sorry, just been really busy and going to bed early. I am tired. HUGS!!!!

I just received word that Jan's mother passed away last night at 8p. Please keep the family in your prayers. THey are coping but it is hard. I think Jan is coming to visit after all the plans are made and her dad is taken care of.

Bandit I have to laugh cause otherwise I would be crying and gnashing my teeth. Oh wait I have done that already too. lOL!!! OH well. I have to correct my post. I looked the report again and it does say I had a 10cm (not cc) Inamed Lapband placed. I mis read the report. I thought it was saying I had a 10 cc instead of the 4cc. The 10cm band does not refer to the amount of saline it will hold. It is the size of the band. So I apologize for making an erroneous statement. LOL!! OOPS!!!

I am laughing so hard. It is in ENGLISH this time, but they claim I had a 10cc lapband placed. LOLOLOLOL!!! Billy confirmed it was the 4cc. Lopez LIES ALL LIES!!!

I have a good friend that is gorgeous I mean model gorgeous. She weighs 167 and is 5'4" and in a size 12. SO SCREW EM! (imagine in Legends of the Fall where Anthony Hopkins is talking to Brad Pitt after he had the stroke.) Love that movie. LOL!!!

Am I the only one noticing the magic 150 number? That seems to be what most of us would like to weigh. What gives? I know that the "ideal weight range" for me based on my height is 135 - 145. Who came up with this scale? I bet it was a man. LOL!! Sorry banded guys. OK I am rebelling against that scale. I will weigh whatever I chose to weigh when I feel healthy. If that is 135 or 145 or 150 or 200 then that is what I will weigh. I am just a little stressed right now and this was the one thing I felt like venting that stress on. LOL!! SIGH!!

Hey Christina: Ask as many questions as you want. There are several people on here that are more than willing to offer their input. Doing a search is a great way to get started.

OK listen up you guys. Your body needs to heal and the band needs to settle for at least the first 2 weeks. And who is eating solid foods a week post surgery? That person should have their hand smacked. I was on liquids for a week then mushie's for a week then solids. The weight you lose in the first week or two is all Water. And it gives the body time to recuperate from the assault of the surgery. Don't start MAKING it do something it isn't ready for. GEEZ!!! SHESH!!! I say all that with LOVE. The time for the actual weight loss will come. I promise.

By meaning a wrap is that a tortilla or something else. I have problems eating tortilla's. I usually don't eat those now.

Hey Tricia you recovered from that Indian food yet? Yup Tricia and I met in Nashville on Monday night for dinner. Guess we had lots to talk about. We meet at around 5:30pm and we were the only ones in the place at that time. We left at 8:30pm and the place was getting full. LOL!!! Yes we talked the ENTIRE time. HUGE HUGS Tricia

HOORAY no slippage and you are eating and pooping. HOORAY!!!

Got a phone call from Mom saying she had to go to the ER on Sunday for the pain in her leg. It is either sciatica or something going on with her hip. Not sure yet. They did an MRI today and we won't know the results from that till tomorrow hopefully. I am most likely gonna delay leaving for Atlanta till around noon. If I don't hear from Mom about any results till then I will call her and see what they found. If she still doesn't know anything then I will go ahead and head to Atlanta knowing I might have to come back. SIGH!!! I am emotionally exhausted right now. I can't take much more. I am on the verge of a HUGE depression episode. Haven't been like this in ages. SIGH!! HUGS

Hey: I live in Van Nuys. I can meet anytime. Presently I am outta town but will be home on the 26th. I would love to set something up to meet. Just keep me posted.

Awww sweetie: this sucks. I know things are hard and it seems hopeless. It will work out. I agree with Kathy. Take names, dates, times, what was said, what was discussed. HUGS darling.

PILATES GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOD!!!!

Ya know even though I am on a trip now this is not the the kind I need. I need a soul revitalizing vacation. Depression is a factor that I fight on a daily basis. I recognize the signs and symptoms and if I allowed myself I would fall into the deep ugly hole easily. I chose to jump back from it and flip it off. But when things happen like they have in the last few months that hole seems to get bigger and harder to ignore. I think John and I are planning on going away together ALONE somewhere when I get back from this trip. We have discussed that. I will relay your concerns, prayers and sympathies to Jan. I agree Hospice is a great thing. I often thought if I return to nursing that is one of the things I would love to do. I would much rather help with a transition to the next step than to cause that step. I felt I was causing alot of death when I was a cancer nurse. Simply because I was giving the chemo to the patient. SIGH!!

I am gonna make an educated guess here. After another person on here was talking about the reflux issues they were having and you now mention it as well I started thinking. My theory is the following: The band is placed around the upper part of the stomach. And my understanding (anyone with more knowledge can correct me here) is that the area where the band is placed is close to or placed on the same nerve that causes the reflux. So in theory the band could be irritating that nerve and increasing the incidence of reflux. When you get a fill the band could squeeze the nerve more than it normally would. The fill will give you restriction but also irritate the reflux nerve. So therefore getting a slight unfill might stop the reflux by decreasing the irritation. Just a theory of mine.