Mariposa Bella

Hi girls, I am in Florida too, I am so happy to finally find someone that is closer to me, I was banded on November 4, 2004, I am still learning how to live my new life as a bandster, still don't have too much experience, but I can assure you that there are many wonderful people on this site and they have tons and tons of good advice and have been very caring with all of us here. I consider myself very fortunate to come across this site, because I couldn't have done it without their support. I am glad to hear there are other bandsters in Florida, where in Florida are you? Tarafeena, so you have your surgery scheduled for Friday? Where are you having it done? Are you close enough that I could come visist you? Well hope all goes well with your surgery, I will keep you in my prayers, let us know how it goes. Love,

Please help me, I have been trying to find a doctor who will do a fill in Florida. The only doctors that I had found are extremely expensive and way out of my budget. I was planning on flying back to MX to get a fill next month, but cannot take the time off work, bummer. So I started my search again, for a fill doctor, I came across Dr. Joya support Group and it had two doctors listed, one of them is Dr. Eddie Gomes in Coral Gables Florida, I called and they do band patients like myself that were banded in Mexico. The cost of the fill is $300 w/out flouru, is it dangerous or bad to get a fill without this??? PLease --Please give me your opinion. If I get a fill with flouru its done at the hospital and the cost of a fill doubles, which at this time is a bit much for me. Boy oh Boy, what to do? So does anyone have an excessive amount of frequent flyer miles that could get me a plane ticket to Mexico, LOL or maybe I should make donation jars and put my picture on them and put them in the local convenience stores -- the message would say ""Fat girl is in dying need of a fill adjustment in order to get restriction and get to goal weight"" hey if the little pageant girls can ask for money at the Handy store, why can't I... LOL OH well I have scheduled a fill appointment for March 1 w/out the flouru, I am two and a half hours away from Coral Gables, but its a nice drive. Well please let me know if you have heard of this doc and if I should go ahead and get the fill with out flouru or if I should just wait and fly to Mx at a later time. So many questions, but I have very little restriction and because I have not lost any weight I am getting discouraged and doing some bAD EATING HABITS, HELP PLEASE!!!

Yep, I entertain my kids with all the noises I make, but what they love the most is all of my burping, I do it so much that sometimes I forget to excuse myself, but my little 3 year old reminds me, "mommy, you didn't say excuse me", that's what I get for teaching them manners, lol

You all will have to give me a crash course on sushi foods, I have only had it once, I craved it when I was pregnant, I saw a movie where they were eating sushi food and I couldn't get it out of my mind. You are not supposed to eat raw fish while you are pregnant, but I spoke with my ob doctor and he said that if I had a small amount of it, he didn't see any harm in it since I was really pregnant by that point. Well my husband and I went and it was a different experience, I didn't overindulge wanted to keep my baby safe, but it was truly delicious. My husband also enjoyed it until that night when he got very, very ill, he was sick all night and the day after so he swore that he would never eat it again so we never go, but I will have to try it again, sounds delicious..

Hope all goes well, take care and keep us posted. Love,

I know what a barium swollow is, but I don't know what flouro is, the last time I got a fill, he did it under some kind of x rays, I could see the band and when he did the fill, I could actually see the liquid going into the band, I guess I will let him decide how much I should have, because right now I don't feel much restriction and so I have been kind of eating too much, I have managed to maintain my weight loss, but I am disappointed that I have not been albe to lose any more weight. I am now wearing a size 12, so I am extremely happy about that, I have roll over hang over the top, but my rule is , if you don't have to lay on the bed or jump up and down to zip them up, they are just right!!! Well thanks for the advice and would you please tell me what flouro is.

Donali, you are so correct, it is really hard work to eat some foods and actually when I first started eating solids I had a very rough time, It was kind of disgusting to keep chewing the food in my mouth, so that I could swollow it, like so many of us, I used to just kinda chew and swollow and keep gobbing down the food. My favorite food is seafood and I just loved shrimp, but I can't eat them now, its too rubbery for me to try and chew it enough to eat it, it is really quite disgusting, yuk... I have eaten pizza, but I don't eat the 3-4 slices I used, I eat 1 slice and I have to chew it really-really good. I sometimes just eat the cheese and the pepperoni cause the bread gives me problems and it takes to much time to chew it down.. So I still satisfy the urge to eat it by just eating the cheese and toppings. You know what I wish I could have, a cold, cold beer. I'm wasn't much of a beer drinker, but now that I can't have it boy do I crave one. My husband and I went dancing Sat night and he was drinking beer and boy did it look good, all cold and frothy, boy oh boy, do I crave beer, do you know if there are any beers out there that don't have gas, cause if there are, I want some...

So it dances to music, I have a dancing band or port? lol . Blossom, you are luckey that you can get your fills done there. I am returning to the doctor that banded me, the fills are free with him, all I pay for is the floro or x rays, what ever they do. So I fly in to McAllen where I have plenty of relatives I can crash with and then head to Reynosa where my doctor is. The problem is getting the time to go do it, I have three kids and to make arrangements for my husband to keep them is tough. He gets overhwelmed easily with all three kids, especially cause the little ones are only 2 and 3, so I can't blame him. Besides he's always working, so its kind of hard, you know. But hopefully I can fly out there next month, I think my sister can help me with the kids. Well thanks for the info., time for me to go home and pick up the kids.

You tell him Trish, like I said its a very personal decision. I chose not to tell my husbands family, because they don't like me as it is, so I know that any opinions or comments from them would not be good ones. So I am sparring myself from their negativity. My mother-in-law always tells me how much heavier I am from the first time she met me, she is very crude. I really just chose to not tell them, they are very ignorant and would not understand.

I am so happy for you. Please let us know how it goes, and take care of yourself.

How in the world are you able to eat tamales in the mushy phase? I can't eat them now. The masa is too thick for me, it hurts and eventually pb's, I have tried several times, I was in Mexico over Christmas and my mother-in-law makes the best tamales, and I was not able to enjoy them, I can't eat doughy stuff like that, I can't eat tortillas either, which is really hard considering I'm Mexican and they are a big part of our diet. Well I guess I should consider myself luckey that I can still eat beans!!!!

You guys are hilarious...thanks for making me laugh. Blossom you got banded a day after I did, I see you have three fills, where did you have your surgery, does your same doctor do your fills? I have to fly back to Mexico, I didn't find anyone affordable to do a fill here in Florida. It is way too expensive, its less money to buy a plane ticket and fly to Mexico. I don't feel much restriction, right now, so I am really looking forward to getting a second fill.

NOOO way I am not pregnant, had them suckers cut and tied tied two years ago, Maybe my stomach is growling and that is what makes it do that, I'm not really concerned about it, just curious... doesn't hurt or anything, well it better not be a kid in there, cause if it is, I'm going to be pretty upset, I can barely handle my three kids now. I was just telling a friend this morning that I must be the oldest 32 year old anywhere cause I am always so tired and wore out... having a full time job and a family is hard, hard work.. Luckily I have a pretty easy going job that I don't stay too busy at, thank God, cause now that I am hooked on reading the posts on this site, (I used to shop online when I wasn't busy), now all I want to do is read, read, read, Its like I finally found a group on wonderful people that feel exactly the same way I feel and understand what I'm going through. Its just wonderful.

Sorry for all the mispelled words, I should start using spell check, huh...

I too have only told a handful of people, my husband of course, he forked over the cash for the surgery and other family members as well, I wish I wouldn't have told some of my family members, actually I didn't tell them, my mother did and some of their comments have been very stupid. They also think I took the easy way out, as if this is easy, little do they know. And I am sorry to say that my two best friends have taken it upon themselves to tell others, which upset me very much. My bestest friend in the world disappointed me when I found out she told a former boss of mine, which is also a dear friend of mine, that I had the surgery, I don't think it was her place to tell him, her explanation for this was that they are going to find out anyways, so I asked HOW WILL THEY KNOW??? she said she just assumed that because my wieght would come off so fast people would know, little does she know that this takes time and is not a miracle cure or that the band surgery is a magic wand and that I will wake up the next morning and be skinny. ha, ha -- I wish. I was so upset with her, she apologized and said she would not do it again. As for comments from other people that I am loosing weight, well it doesn't really surprise them because they know I am eating healthier and that I am working out with a personal trainer twice a week and that I spend my lunch hour at Curves every other day. Loosing the weight is work, the band has allowed me to not over indulge, but I doing my part and really working at it, just like all of you. I have not lost anymore wieght now, but I am planning on a fill next month and hopefully that will give me some restriction, becasue I don't feel like I have that right now. Well to tell or not to tell is very personal, and you should make that decision on your own, but I do recommend that you only tell those people that love you and will respect your decision, you should also sit down and educate them on what the procedure is and how it works. L, e

It is really weird, last night I was laying in bed watching television and it starts kinda jumping, vibrating it is a weird sensation, I know I am not imagining it cause I can see it through my skin, it is just too weird. Maybe I have an alien growind in there that is trying to get out. LOL - Hopefully the nose bleeds are just what you said, thanks for the advice and hopefully my alien port buddy will stay in its place.

I am flying to Mexico next month to get my second fill, (I wasn't able to find a doctor in Florida that was in my price range, they all want over $1000 for a fill.) I currently have 1 cc's and didn't get any restriction with that first fill, what do you all recommend that I get. Should I assume that my doctor will know best? He did not want to be aggressive with the first fill, as I was really sick after my surgery and had a very rough time. I did call him and told him that the fill had not given me any additional restriction than the band alone, he said he would be more aggressive but how much do you think I should get, I certainly don't want to get over filled, but hate to go so far and through the expense and not get restriction. Please help and give me some advice.

I want to ask if anyone has had a similar problem, in the last week I have had two episodes of PBing, I ate too fast I think, well anyways I felt like I was choking and couldn't grasp air. I ran to the bathroom and after I PB, I went to the sink to wash my face and my nose was bleeding, and it wasn't like I strained bad when I PB, is this normal? has this happened to anyone? I also wanted to ask if anyones port vibrates, or jumps while laying down, feels weird, like its jumping inside or something? Is that normal???? Just when I think that I understand this, something new is sent my way. Thanks.

De Larla, I made the mistake of not having someone for aftercare, after my surgery I was very ill and landed in the hospital at an expense of $15,000+, My problem was minor, I was swollen and couldn't keep fluids down, but all the MRI and X rays that were done, sure add up. I went back to Mexico to get a fill first part of January and have differerence in restriction that I had right after the surgery. I have been trying to find a doctor that will fill me in Florida, but the three that I have found, one of them doesn't do patients that were banded in Mexico and the other two are outrageously expensive, Dr. Grossbard in Clearwater wants $1000 for the first consultation and then $500 for the fill, that is too much, and Dr. Rosenthal on the east coast wants $250-450 for the first consult and then $658 for a fill, for that kind of money, I might as well fly to Mexico, the airfare is about $250 and my fill only costs $100 for the xrays, Is this how much fills generally cost here in the US? It is just not right. Well I better start planning my trip to Mexico.

It is really scary to see what could happen to you if your port gets infected, I have had two infections, it was kind of gross, too see the wound open I thought I was going to die and mine wasn't nearly as big as that, mine was just a tiny bit open, but it looked like something was trying to get out of the wound, like a glob of chicken fat or something it was gross, the surgeon just suggested I wash it really good everyday and it healed up, hopefully it won't get infected again, Let me ask you all a question, I have been trying to locate a doctor here in southwest Florida to give me a fill and I can't find anyone. I found a doctor in Naples, Fl but he won't fill patients that he did not band. And I found a Dr. Rosenthal on the east coast, but I have to do a consult with him first which will cost anywhere from $250-450 and the fill itself is $658, that is outrages, the plane ticket to Mexico is a lot cheaper than that, I didn't know fills were so expensive here, my doctor in Mexico doesn't charge me anything I just have to pay for the xrays at the hospital. Anyone have any advice, I guess I can wait another month or two and fly to Mexico, I just got back from three weeks vacation last month so I can't take time of from work right now. Well hope that everyone has a great day. Estela

Just wondering if there are any bandsters here in Southwest Florida? Does anyone know how I change my feelingloney name on this website? The day I first posted I was feeling really lonely note loney.. LOL But hey if I have to keep that name its okay, maybe I could do something else and aka feelingloney, what do you think???? If I can change it, will you all help me think of a name to use.. So let me ask you all something else, I am Mexican-American and a large part of my diet used to be tortillas, now I am not able to eat them at all, is that one of the foods that is off limits? Well just wondering.

Congratulations on getting banded. Leatha is it normal for my port to be kind of painful, I had my surgery 11-5-04 and two months into this now all of a sudden my port hurts, I am having trouble getting comfortable at night and can't lay on my stomache at all. Maybe its that I have been eating like a pig, I have been so bad and I have only worked out once this week, I don't know why I can't get back in the correct mindset. What's wrong with me.. I was doing so good, why am I slipping back to my old habits.. Well just wanted to let someone know how bad I've been so that you can give me a good talking and I can be good again. Tks.

I want to thank all of you for your wonderful advice and encouragement, I did speak to my surgeon and I told him that I had not noticed any difference with my fill, he said he will be a little more aggressive next time, that since it was the first fill he didn't want to overfill me and me to get sick, since I did get really sick with the swelling after my surgery. I plan to go back in March to get another fill, but in the meantime, I am working out and trying to eat right. My friend and I plan on running a 5k (or probablyl more like walking) at the end of February, so I am going to start training for that. Who knows maybe I'll be ready to run in the next Olympic Games, LOL..... Well thanks a bunch for your encouragement. Love, Estela

I have to confess something --I have been avoiding mentioning my start weight, because I did not have as much to lose as some of you, I started at 190lbs, since I am only 5'2" that was too much weight for me, after trying diet after diet and diet pills after diet pills my whole life, I decided to take this alternative, some people think I took the easy way out, but in reality they have no idea, how hard this is and what a tough lifestyle choice this has been for me. I can honestly say that this has changed my life for the better, I now only eat what I need to eat --I don't stuff myself just because I'm lonely, depressed or mad or even happy, I am learning to eat the right foods and to take my time eating and enjoy my meals. I too am making smarter food choices for my children, so that they will not have to go through my experience of being overweight. There wasn't a day in my life in which I didn't hate myself. I am now learning to love myself and to love the way I am starting to look, I have been overweight my whole entire life and as you all know people can be cruel and when you have been told your whole life that you are fat, it hurts, I remember in six grade my classmates called me Miss Piggy and although I think Miss PIggy is beautiful, it hurt that they made fun of me, so I have always hated being fat and at 32 I see how other people that take care of themselves have more enjoyable lives, I want to be healthy and feel good about myself and the way I look, I know I will never be a skinny person and that is quite fine, but I think that if I can get to 140 lbs, I will be happy with myself. I wantThank you for all your encouragement and you are right, April is right around the corner and I will probablly not get to my ideal weight by then, but I am happy today cause I did get messured today at Curves and I have lost in inches, and the scale actually shows a weight loss of 7 more pounds, I weigh 167. I am working hard at getting to my goal weight so that I can start enjoying my life. I am so sore, I worked out with my personal trainer last night, and since I hadn't been going due to going on vacation, I am really, really sore today. I really appreciate all the advice that I receive on this board, this has been a true blessing for me, you all are so awesome, I do get a little jelouse of you all sometimes, because you have lost so much weight, I wish I too could shed the pounds in that manner, but as you said the weight will come off slower, but hopefully by the end of this year I can be at my goal, I have to tell you something that touched my heart last night, I was headed out to go work out and my three year old little girl asked where I was going, without thinking I blurted out, that I was going to work out so that I could lose weight and be beautiful and she looked at me kind of confused and said, "but mommy you already are beautiful." That just made my day, I wish that we were all beautiful in everyone's eyes, not just children, don't you just love their innocence and sincerity. Thanks again for your advice. Love, Estela

I got my first fill two weeks ago 1cc and I have not noticed any difference in the amount of food I can intake, I think I can actually eat more, or I am craving more of the foods I shouldn't eat. I had lost 24lbs since my surgery in NOvember, but I gained 5 lbs after my fill, what's going on??? I have started excercising and hopefully that will boost my metabolism, because I have had no weight loss at all this week and I want to get to my goal weight by my birthday in April, I have started saving money to get a tummy tuck, my skin is so loose it's disgusting. Maybe I'll get butt implants too, cause baby ain't got any back left, I think that is the first thing I lost, now its just wide and flat. LOL Banded Nov. 5, 2004 Dr. Ernesto Castellanos (Reynosa Mexico) weight lost to date 18lbs.