BigT

I am a boy T lol.... I put Tony in my signature but maybe that doesn't mean much nowadays. Years ago a Y for tony mean you were a guY and an i on toni meant you were a gIrl. But now with so many creative ways of writing names that may of changed. I did think about changing my name, but I am reserving that for a time when I meet a weight goal. Probably not my final goal weight but at some weight in between--perhaps when I am no longer obese? I will have to figure that weight out and see how far away that is. Thanks so much for all the well wishes....I really enjoy reading them. I may of spoke too soon, as the deep down soreness is starting to set in--nothing terrible yet but just making me more aware that I had surgery yesterday. T

Had my surgery yesterday. Doctor said it went well. Boy do I hate that sleepy feeling you have when you are post-op and trying to wake up and nodding off and then trying to wake up. To me that was the worst part. I had surgery start at 9:30 and at 3:00 pm I was released. I stayed overnight in a motel since home is 3 hours away from the hospital. Was even able to sleep on my side/belly last night. Had some pain meds yesterday but none since then. Today I drove home and just got home a few minutes ago. Feeling pretty good-have some gurgling and the baby hiccups and burps from the gas but surprisingly none of the gas pains from the surgery. Today I was celebrating my band surgery with a huge steak and eggs Breakfast and couldn't seem to get much of it down......just joking!!!!!!! Today I don't have any appetite so I have just been taking in some juices/gatorade and for lunch I will try some chicken broth. Just trying to be sure to take in enough fluids for the healing process and not really worrying if I am hungry or not--not trying to force those thoughts of hunger to start just yet-wanting to take it nice and slow and not rush any food (liquid) things just yet. I am trying to just take sips every now and then so that I have liquids in me or flowing thru me constantly. For minor pains, my neck is sore a touch--don't know if that is from surgey or from sleeping ackward last night. Also I had Ace bandages around my legs since the anti-embolism socks looked like anklets on me and the nurses thought the aces would be better. When I took them off today, I noticed my legs were sore some-it seemed they were a touch tight and caused me the soreness. But I would rather them too tight then too loose otherwise they would not accomplish there purpose. So I guess I will be on here alot for the next litle bit till I can start doing some other work. Still wondering if I really have a band in me or did they just pretend to put one in.....lol. T

If you are in northern alabama--then my doc in michigan will be within a long day's drive. You can do a mapquest.com driving directions from Detroit to your city and it will give an idea about how far it is and how long it will take. T

Also after a fill are you going to liquids/mushes for a few days afterwards? If not, and you are hitting the "hard" stuff right after a fill, the restriction you are feeling could be your stomach is still irritated and swollen some. It seems some get more irritated from a fill then others. Some can eat solids right after and some can't. But it seems the best route is liquids/mushes for several days after to give your stomach a rest and then move on to the solid's. This allows the swelling to go down some before the stomach is put back to work. Also several other also have noticed the same thing you mention--that a fill will "tighten" up a few weeks after you get it. Most of all remember that your new pouch should only hold about 4 ozs. of food at a time. That is a super small amount compared to what we have grown accustomed to thinking of as normal sized. Its about 3/4 a cup or so volume wise. Keep that in mind when eating. I go for banding tomorrow and I plan on actually using a measuring cup at first to help me get accustomed to the new volumes of food that will be normal for me after surgery. Of course that will be a few weeks down the road after my liquids and mushes stage. T

For you ladies that use the hydraulic exercise machines--how do you like them? I am looking at buying one and was not sure of the back and forth under pressure movements. Many say that you get twice the workout since you are working in and out. Do you like them better then free weights or a one way machine? What are your thoughts? Thanks, T

First of all I want to thank Alex for this site and the many others that have replied to my posts. I truly have learned alot about the band and the many issues and nuances of being banded. Regarding the problem- For a suggestion as to solving and preventing this in the future. 1st- Have a list of what is considered appropriate behavior and what is acceptable and not acceptable in regard to posts. This list must be agreeded to by all who post here or join the site. 2nd- have one moderator (and one alternate to act when the primary is gone)with the abilities to edit,delete and remove posts. This moderator will act with a light hand and only enforce the rules of #1. 3rd- on many other boards I have been on-there is another button on the posts labeled-{report this post}. If a person feels this post is against the rules or offending then they can report it and a copy of the post gets sent to the moderator and his/her alternate. If it can be programmed maybe after 3 such reports from different posters the post will be temporarly but automatically pulled until it can be reviewed by the moderator for compliance with the rules. If deemed okay- it will be returned in its entirety. If deemed in violation- it is removed with a PM to the author explaining which rule exactly is in violation. If the post is salvagable--i.e. just a particular word or phrase is in violation-the author is given the option of editing his own post and reposting the now acceptable post. These are just suggestions that I feel will make the moderators job easier to do-provide the board some level of self guidance- and at the same time identify what is acceptable behavior for the board. What do you think? T

Hey Scotty, We are real similar in weights, I go in for my band on Monday. From everything I have researched, the first weeks weeks your body is still in recovery from surgery. It tends to hold onto the Water you are taking in. It also may be getting and using your fat stores while you are building muscle--especially if you did not regularly exercise previous to your surgery. Muscle weighs more then fat- so that can be part of the non-weight loss. Try and be sure to take in adequate amounts of Protein, if your doc allows that at the food stage you are in. There are lots of good Protein shakes and drinks. Your body needs protein to repair itself from the surgery and from everytime you exercise. If you aren't taking in enough protein the body will break down itself and sacrifice itself to repair itself in other areas-this is not good in the long term. It also keeps the calorie stingy mode locked on since the body thinks it cannot repair itself so it needs to hoard everything you do give it. For a guy your size--my size-- I figure that I should have at least 1200 calories a day after surgery with the bulk of that (50%) coming from protein once I can start the Proteins (week 3 post op -I beleive). Being a large guy we have lots of muscles just to support our frame and weight let alone move and exercise. Those muscle need food to work! Don't worry about losing weight the first month-some do, some don't-just concentrate on establishing good eating habits and exercise habits and things will work out. T

If he had this problem he should not of had a fill. It sounds like an irritated esophagus and/or stomach. And now after the fill it is even more irritated. It is not normal to not be able to keep liquids down, even after a fill. See your doctor right away. Be sure you explain everything in detail to him-especially not getting the liquids down. There are anti-inflamitory meds for the esophagus and stomach that will help with this. And you are right if he keeps up with this problem he will get dehydrated and the problem can worsen. See your doc right away. T

In my long search I did not come across any discounts for cash, but some docs did offer a self pay discount and/or package. The one I settled for cost me $12,500 for the band and 2 years of aftercare and fills. My Dr. is Dr. Pleatman and he is located in Michigan near Detroit.Some other Dr. have self pay packages that make getting a band in the US very competitive with Mexico when you factor in the fills and aftercare. Of course your location also makes a difference in costs...and your willingness to travel some too. T

Chat is open!!

How about we put our collective thoughts together and come up with a fast food list of band and health friendly foods. Since I am pre-band - I really don't know what I am talking about, but I do know that since I travel alot and alot of my food was fast, I am wondering what, if anything is band friendly? Having a nice concise list to look over before going into the restaurant will make choices alot easier! Thanks so much! T

When you have a burn mark on your shirt from your car's steering wheel. When your car seat is so far back that your arms and legs don't reach anymore. When you notice the car door drags on the cement till you get out. When you are always fighting to get your drink in them tiny cupholders. When a supersized drink doesn't last thru your whole meal. When your laundry basket gets filled up with three of your shirts. When the plastic hangers bend due to the weight of your shirt. When the metal hook you put your coat on looks more like a nail when you leave. When the farthest you can see looking down is your bellybutton. When the light of day never gets to your legs. When you can put your shoes on better by feel then by sight. When you see a wooden toilet seat and pray that it doesn't break with you on it. When you stop flying because it is just too expensive to keep buying 2 seats for one body. When the elastic waistband on your pants is so tight that you are afraid it may kill the person next to you if it gives out. When you have more rolls then the bakery does. How are those? T

Thanks for the suggestions! I am planning on taking some more pics before the surgery. After I reach my final goal maybe then I will show them...the befores. The way I look at it, 3 pounds a week should not be too hard to reach but hard enough that I will have to work at it consistently. You know many therapists say that after 9 weeks of performing an action it becomes habit- so I hope that is true because eating to stay thin is one habit I want to have. Also by compartmentalizing the goal to one year time frame I feel that helps me make the goal acheiveable- not some pie in the sky goal that is so far in the future it is easily put off or procrastinated on. I just got a new treadmill and am looking for an exercise machine to encourage muscle growth as well as weight loss. T

Can I join too? I don't get banded till March 7th, but I think I can make up for it some.... Also if All my great plans for eating and working out come to fruition I will be the biggest loser.....in a good way. My ultimate,shoot for the stars, goal is to loose 3 pounds a week on average for a year or 156 pounds total.... Leaving me 34 more for my goal weight. My start weight is 441 today--next Monday is my surgery-so I will probably get weighed before that. T

It can be--just be sure to ask how long the technician has trained and be sure to point out any body areas that are a concern to you. A skilled technician is hard to beat verses a machine that sprays everyone the same. A technician can adjust the formula for different areas, apply heavier or lighter where needed, and can even touch up areas that you are not happy with if they are too light or are streaky. None of this is offered with the machine application--to my knowledge. Also many airbrush technicians are used to applying on MO people due to there shyness about using a tanning booth and its "striped" effect due to the way the body "folds" when laying down. As with many things, getting a good technician is 3/4 of the results- the chemicals are about 1/4. T

I just wanted to clarify my post some--it seems that the spray on tanning most of you are talking about is a booth that sprays you. The airbrush tanning I am talking about is one that a technician with an airbrush sprays you with--hence probably the results difference everyone is experiencing. When you go to the airbrush technician set-up it is customized to your needs and wants--like not getting your hands and feet orange,getting all the hard to reach areas even, making areas darker or lighter then others. In most areas the airbrush by a technician cost is about the same as the spray booths-also the technician applied way does not have any rubbing in or blending needed. You just stand there-be applied-wait a minute or so and then re-dress. Hope this clarifies things some... T

My sis in law does the spray on tanning. I helped her set-up her business some so I got to know a bit about it. Just like the self applied type-there are good ones and bad ones. Alot also has to do with the operator. But first and foremost, the customer has to come to the session without any moisturiser (sp.) on and needs to be exfoliated. The tanning solution only activates on the dead layers of skin-just like the self tanning solutions do. So if you have a moisturiser on it will prevent the tanning lotion from penetrating the skin evenly. The coloring process takes about 8-10 hours to fully darken. Washing off (showering/bathing)is not recommend till overnight.The tanning lotion has a colorant added for immediate coloration and to aid the applicator with an even coating. This colorant will rub off but will not affect the final color as long as the skin is not aggressively rubbed. Most of the problems of un-even-ness is actually caused by poor/no cleaning before the session. Practised applicators can help make up for some streakiness due to poor skin preparation by using activators or various tanning lotion strengths--never heard of bleach Water though. Also the brush on tanning applicator can help you get good coverage where you have skin covering skin-you probably get what I mean.... It was pretty interesting to learn that many of the hollywood people get the spray on tanning and have for years since you get a good tan without any UV exposure. The tan usually lasts 7-10 days or as quickly as your body gets rid of its outermost layers of skin. The solution is totally safe and is actually a type of sugar water from cane --if I remember correctly. The ones my sis-in law do look okay when first done and look great and natural after the shower the next day when the colorant is washed off. Hope this little tidbit of info helps someone----I sure don't know why I remembered it all-guess part of my know-it-all---learn-it-all personality. T

Thanks for the support! Its just hard getting all geared up for surgery-then not-then go again! Hopefully I will be posting soon complaining of gas, not being hungry, or even chest/shoulder pains.....lol. T

I have my band date set at March 7th. My Dr. decided to double check my thyroid since I had been off of medication for a few years due to some bad side effects due to the high dosage I was on earlier. So the TSH test came back a little high. Dr. said I need a letter of clearance from an endocrinologist or my PCP that treated me before. To me this surely signified a postponement of the surgery date. So today I contact my PCP and leave him my test results and his nurse said she will get back with me later after the PCP has time to look things over. So today at about 5:45 I get a call back from the nurse. She tells me the doctor is calling in a prescription for the thyroid medicine, and as long as I start taking it right away, he will clear me for surgery and write the letter up for me next week. So right now I am overjoyed!!!! I had been eating light and preparing myself for the surgery so now my work is not in vain like I thought. I just hope something else doesn't come up-because things like this make me so nervous as I like to have a controlled and scheduled life-lol lol.... YAHOOOOOOOO--- I sure hope my Band Doctor is ready--becasue I sure am!!! T

I would appreciate that greatly! Thanks, T

I have been researching some and found this deal with some help from others on this board. Dr. Pleatman is offering an almost too good to be true deal. Here is a quote form his website:"We often receive inquiries from patients who want to have weight loss surgery, but don't have insurance coverage. We are now able to offer a package price of $12,500 to patients who wish to have an adjustable gastric band (LAP-BAND). This price will include the hospital, anesthesia, surgery, as well as 2 years of follow-up, including band adjustments (fills). Please email us or call the office for further details. "" His website is : http://www.laparoscopy.com/pleatman/index.htm All of the comments I have come across about him have been positive. I also am glad to see that he is first of all a laproscopic surgeon, with many years of that type of surgery-so he knows his way around the body. He has done about 250 Lap-bands according to his office with no fatalities and no erosions. He also seems to stress follow-up care and uses email to keep him up to date. He has been performing these for over 2.5 years with over 14 years of lapro surgery. What is real cool is that he had invented a tool used in lapro surgery and it is named after him--the Pleatman Sac. Here is a link for more info-- http://www.laparoscopy.com/pleatman/pleatsac.htm . It seems that you can get a real good doctor for a real good price and in a couple more weeks I will have my first doctors appointment with him. Will let you know more then about him. For the price, though, it has eliminated me from the Mexico options as his surgeries are performed at a hospital with an ICU for added reassurance to me. Also his included follow-ups for 2 years in that price make up for alot of any savings going with another doctor that doesn't include his fills may offer. Anyways just thought I would throw it out to any looking for low cost US options. T

First off I want to apologize if I offended anyone. Also please read all the way thru before condeming me. I am having a bit of a time getting something out of my head. I have a problem with seeing fat people in public and thinking to myself negatively regarding that person-even avoiding them. You know-looking at that person with sort of a disgusted look on my face-wispering to myself what happended to them,how could they not care. These thoughts coming from a 430ish pound guy-probably looking worse off then the person I just saw. Does anyone else have or previously had this same thoughts? I am not sure what is the cause of this but after some thought I came up with a few ideas. The first one is that society in general forsters this kind of thinking and it is socially accepted to "make fun" of an obese person. Secondly, my weight got put on me quickly with my thyroid quiting suddenly-leaving me with a mental body image quite different from reality. I sort of knew I had gained weight but always thought I looked better then I really did-sort of a glory picture in my head of days long ago. Then as time went on I noticed my weight in different body parts-my face,my belly and finally my first overall body viewing in a full length mirror. I was an obese man--I weighed it, I looked it, I felt it!! Then a sort of depression set in-only punctuated by periods of time of intense effort to fruitlessly loose some pounds only to regain it back. I am a very caring guy- I stop and pick up hitchhikers, pull cars of people back onto the road that ran off of snowbound roads, hold doors open for people going into a store after me, spend as much time as I can with my kids playing games with them-yet I cannot understand my "hatred" of obese people! Perhaps I cannot come to grips with the fact that I am one of "them" and despise what I let happen to myself. How could I let myself "go" and not care about how I looked for so many years? How could I bury my head for so long till I opened my eyes and am now such a socially disdained person. Could my slow social evolution from being semi-social to being isolated to being avoided be caused by my weight gain? Could my hatred of so-called friends that are now no longer around now that I am obese be fuelling my own dislike of obese persons? Never being a popular person has me,at least that's what I think, of being more than aware of my "social" standing-perhaps paying more than the usual attention to it or to the lack of it as the case may be thru my life. Sort of always wanting more of something that I never really had. Now I am at the total bottom of the social ladder and my sense of competition has taken a huge blow. Has my years of thinking I am better than many around me taken its toll and I have become prideful in my own little way? Am I afraid to eat some humble pie and accept myself as others view me. Just a few days ago- I was checking into a motel for the night- I noticed that they were remodeling and the new rooms looked very nice. I saw some people going in to the new rooms earlier so I asked the clerk if I could get a remodeled room. She told me that they are very picky who they rent the "new" rooms to and that I couldn't have one. I was amazed- my first recollection of discrimination based on weight. This hit me like a ton of bricks. You see I had always been raised at the middle to higher middle range of the socio-economic scale and always treated people nice and was treated in kind back. Now because of my weight I was no longer middle class but something lower-sort of a lesser human. And now this is my problem- I was a lesser human because of the choices I made for myself-not because of who I was born to or some life tragedy. I made bad choices- in what I ate, in how much I ate and in what I did or did not do for excercise. I made myself this lesser human and now I cannot seem to do anything on my own to get myself back. Am I alone in my thoughts? Has anyone else has similar thoughts or feelings? As I work on rooting out this negativity, I appreciate you comments and ideas. T

I am have my first appointment later this month with Dr. Pleatman in Pontiac MI and was wondering if anyone has had dealings with this doctor and can elaborate on their experience? You can email or PM me if you wish, also! Thanks so much!!! T

It has a weird name--To your Health,but is a great one to take. It is based on food sourced Vitamins not inorganics as alot of the more common ones do. This helps explain why some vitamins give you more ompfff then others. The food derived vitamins give your body a source that is more readily absorbed and digested verses an inorganic source-such as tar that has alot of vitamins in it but is not as readily used by the body. A good test for a solid Vitamin is to put in a glass of Water and see how much of it dissolves after 5 minutes, even with vigorous stirring. One that readily dissolves is usually a better grade of vitamin. IT can be ordered at www.tyh.us or at 1-866-438-7323 It is pricy at $35-40 per bottle but lasts a long time and a single dosage is only 1 Fluid oz. Below is what 1 dosage provides.... <TABLE borderColor=#008000 cellSpacing=2 cellPadding=5 width=486 border=1><TBODY><TR><TD vAlign=center width="67%" height=28>Ingredient </TD><TD vAlign=center width="19%" height=28>Amount </TD><TD vAlign=center width="14%" height=28>% RDA </TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=center width="67%" height=28>Total Carbohydrate Sweetener (Crystalline Fructose) </TD><TD vAlign=center width="19%" height=28>9.0 gm </TD><TD vAlign=center width="14%" height=28>3% </TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=center width="67%" height=28>Vitamin A (Palmitate & B-Carotene) </TD><TD vAlign=center width="19%" height=28>10,000 IU </TD><TD vAlign=center width="14%" height=28>200% </TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=center width="67%" height=28>Vitamin C (Ascorbic Acid) </TD><TD vAlign=center width="19%" height=28>1,000 gm </TD><TD vAlign=center width="14%" height=28>200% </TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=center width="67%" height=28>Calcium (Calcium Gluconate) </TD><TD vAlign=center width="19%" height=28>50 mg </TD><TD vAlign=center width="14%" height=28>5% </TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=center width="67%" height=28>Zinc (Zinc Gluconate) </TD><TD vAlign=center width="19%" height=28>15 mg </TD><TD vAlign=center width="14%" height=28>100% </TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=center width="67%" height=28>Vitamin D (Cholecalciferol) </TD><TD vAlign=center width="19%" height=28>400 IU </TD><TD vAlign=center width="14%" height=28>100% </TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=center width="67%" height=28>Vitamin E (Alpha Tocopherol Acetate) </TD><TD vAlign=center width="19%" height=28>400 IU </TD><TD vAlign=center width="14%" height=28>1333% </TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=center width="67%" height=28>Vitamin K (Phytonadione) </TD><TD vAlign=center width="19%" height=28>80 mcg </TD><TD vAlign=center width="14%" height=28>100% </TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=center width="67%" height=28>Vitamin B-1 (Thiamine Mononitrate) </TD><TD vAlign=center width="19%" height=28>3.75 mg </TD><TD vAlign=center width="14%" height=28>250% </TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=center width="67%" height=28>Vitamin B2 (Riboflavin) </TD><TD vAlign=center width="19%" height=28>4.25 mg </TD><TD vAlign=center width="14%" height=28>250% </TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=center width="67%" height=28>Niacin (Niacinamide) </TD><TD vAlign=center width="19%" height=28>55 mg </TD><TD vAlign=center width="14%" height=28>250% </TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=center width="67%" height=28>Vitamin B6 (Pyridoxine Hydrochloride) </TD><TD vAlign=center width="19%" height=28>6.75 mg </TD><TD vAlign=center width="14%" height=28>250% </TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=center width="67%" height=28>Folate (Folic Acid) </TD><TD vAlign=center width="19%" height=28>400 mcg </TD><TD vAlign=center width="14%" height=28>100% </TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=center width="67%" height=28>Vitamin B-12 (Cyanocobalamin) </TD><TD vAlign=center width="19%" height=28>36 mcg </TD><TD vAlign=center width="14%" height=28>600% </TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=center width="67%" height=28>Biotin </TD><TD vAlign=center width="19%" height=28>600 mcg </TD><TD vAlign=center width="14%" height=28>200% </TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=center width="67%" height=28>Pantothenic Acid (Calcium Panthothenate) </TD><TD vAlign=center width="19%" height=28>31.25 mg </TD><TD vAlign=center width="14%" height=28>250% </TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=center width="67%" height=28>Choline Bitartrate </TD><TD vAlign=center width="19%" height=28>10 mg </TD><TD vAlign=center width="14%" height=28>* </TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=center width="67%" height=28>Inositol </TD><TD vAlign=center width="19%" height=28>10 mg </TD><TD vAlign=center width="14%" height=28>* </TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=center width="67%" height=28>coq10 </TD><TD vAlign=center width="19%" height=28>2 mg </TD><TD vAlign=center width="14%" height=28>* </TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=center width="67%" height=28>Alpha Lipoic Acid </TD><TD vAlign=center width="19%" height=28>10 mg </TD><TD vAlign=center width="14%" height=28>* </TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=center width="67%" height=28>Grape Seed Extract </TD><TD vAlign=center width="19%" height=28>10 mg </TD><TD vAlign=center width="14%" height=28>* </TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=center width="67%" height=28>Quercetin </TD><TD vAlign=center width="19%" height=28>5 mg </TD><TD vAlign=center width="14%" height=28>* </TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=center width="67%" height=28>Magnesium (Magnesium Gluconate) </TD><TD vAlign=center width="19%" height=28>25 mg </TD><TD vAlign=center width="14%" height=28>6.25% </TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=center width="67%" height=28>Chromium (Chromium Polynicotinate) </TD><TD vAlign=center width="19%" height=28>120 mcg </TD><TD vAlign=center width="14%" height=28>100% </TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=center width="67%" height=28>Selenium (Selenium Amino Acid Chelate) </TD><TD vAlign=center width="19%" height=28>70 mcg </TD><TD vAlign=center width="14%" height=28>100% </TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=center width="67%" height=28>Copper (Copper Gluconate) </TD><TD vAlign=center width="19%" height=28>2 mg </TD><TD vAlign=center width="14%" height=28>100% </TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=center width="67%" height=28>Manganese (Manganese Gluconate) </TD><TD vAlign=center width="19%" height=28>2 mg </TD><TD vAlign=center width="14%" height=28>100% </TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=center width="67%" height=28>Potassium (Potassium Gluconate) </TD><TD vAlign=center width="19%" height=28>50 mg </TD><TD vAlign=center width="14%" height=28>10% </TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=center width="67%" height=28>Boron (Sodium Borate) </TD><TD vAlign=center width="19%" height=28>2 mg </TD><TD vAlign=center width="14%" height=28>* </TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=center width="67%" height=28>MSM (Methyl Sulphonyl Methane) </TD><TD vAlign=center width="19%" height=28>10 mg </TD><TD vAlign=center width="14%" height=28>* </TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=center width="67%" height=28>Trace Minerals (Plant) </TD><TD vAlign=center width="19%" height=28>6000 mg </TD><TD vAlign=center width="14%" height=28>* </TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=center width="67%" height=28>Lycopene </TD><TD vAlign=center width="19%" height=28>100 mg </TD><TD vAlign=center width="14%" height=28>* </TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=center width="67%" height=28>Lutein </TD><TD vAlign=center width="19%" height=28>10 mg </TD><TD vAlign=center width="14%" height=28>* </TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=center width="67%" height=28>5-HTP (5-Hydroxytryptophan) </TD><TD vAlign=center width="19%" height=28>10 mg </TD><TD vAlign=center width="14%" height=28>* </TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=center width="67%" height=28>Amino Acid Blend </TD><TD vAlign=center width="19%" height=28>50 mg </TD><TD vAlign=center width="14%" height=28> </TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=center width="67%" height=28>Herb Profile </TD><TD vAlign=center width="19%" height=28>250 mg </TD><TD vAlign=center width="14%" height=28> </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE> Other Ingredients: Purified Water, Crystalline Fructose, Citric Acid, Natural Flavors Blend, Malic Acid, Potassium Benzoate and Potassium Sorbate used as preservatives, Zanthan Gum

Well thanks so much about all the info. My work takes we away for days at a time so I apologize for not getting back sooner. I do appreciate all the info shared with me. It seems the gist I am getting with the Mexico doctors is that they are getting too busy with this work and some of their aftercare is suffering. Also if a problem presents itself after the surgery,then getting care at another facility may be a problem. I did just register with the extraordinary bandsters on yahoo and am awaiting approval. Thanks for the suggestions. I found this site by doing a search.com search for lap band. INTANT, can you please forward me Dr. Horgan's contact info please? Thanks, Tony