Rockin' Robyn

Holli- GIRL!!!! WHAT IS GOING ON WITH YOU LATELY!!!! That is one of the weirdest things I have ever heard. Why did they take so much out....were you still in excruciating pain and unable to swallow saliva or something when you went in..... Was this the recommendation of Dr H to take out 5 cc, or the decision of the ER doc?? I'm so sorry!!! It's VERY late...longest day yet. Very fun filled, and productive....yet exhausting. Went to the NASA space center and the kids had a blast...I'll have to send you all some pictures when I get home... NSV today!! I actually bought an outfit at Old Navy!! Never done that before...and can I just say that regular sized people get much better deals on clothing:biggrin1: Quick report on food for the day: B: Nothing L: (late breakfast..shared a monstrous Texas sized breakfast platter with my hubby). Coffee, 1 over easy egg ....(I've found those go down better than scrambled now), 5 bites of hubby's country fried steak...YUMMY! S: Couple bites of Dippin' Dots D: Split entree with hubby again....about 6 bites of spin/art dip and chips, 2 bites of mashed potatoes, 4 oz (if that) of grilled steak. Hubby, kids, and I split a bananas foster dessert 4 ways (bananas have potassium and are good for you right?? ) Not too bad today, but not great either...No gym work out, but OMG soo much walking my feet hurt bad tonight!! Thanks Diane for the kind words! You are right....every day is a new start, and I just can't believe how much fun I am having compared to what it would have been like for me to come down here last year. I would have been miserable in the heat, aching, exhausted constantly with no energy to do anything. I"m having a blast with family/kids, and for that I need to be so incredibly thankful!!! Talk to you guys tomorrow. Nighty Night:notagree

Hang in there.....try visiting the "Who has lost 100 pounds" link. I truly believe the key to success with the band is RESTRICTION...RESTRICTION...RESTRICTION!! I know other bandsters who are very reluctant and even scared to get to the point where they can't eat their favorite foods anymore. However, it has been my experience that if I am properly restricted, the weight melts off. I have been all over the charts over the past year with multiple surgeries (resulting in unfills with every surgery) then struggling to get back to my sweet spot. Through all of those ups and downs in my fills, the one thing that I know in my heart is that I not only need my band, I need to to be functioning as it was designed...to be a restrictive tool and keep me from eating the large portions I have been used to. If you can achieve proper restriction, follow the bandster rules, and make the most of each and every day with your band...I am confident that you can and will be successful. Hang in there and good luck with your surgery!

Angela-You are doing so great!! I just can't say that enough. :kiss2:

Sounds like a plan .... Hi!!! Just got back from a fantastic day....Tonight we went to a Boardwalk area with yachts and lots of fun seafood places to eat, along with lots of carnival type rides along the boardwalk for the kids. I did pretty okay today....Woke up early to my brand new MP3 player not working...which bumbed me out...then went down to the workout room to find two EXTREMELY old men working out (literally huffing and moaning....kinda gross). I almost turned around and didn't work out...but I waited. Did 45 mins on the bike...then my 13 year old challenged me to do 100 sit-ups, which I did!!! Yikes...I'm sure I'll be feeling it tomorrow:( I also walked a ton today with all the site-seeing......... Here's the breakdown on food for the day: B: not much, couple bites of cereal L: ate at Souper/Salad..., had 1/4 cup tuna, about 1/2 cup tossed salad mixture. S#1: Small Carmel LIGHT Frappacinno from Starbucks S#2: handful of nuts D: CRASH AND BURN!!! We ate at an underwater aquarium restaurant...shared an appetizer of shrimp/crab dip, then DH and I shared a broiled seafood platter....that's not the bad part though. Then we ordered dessert....I had a whole piece of cheesecake (that has protein right??) Darn it....once again, good all day until the evening time I crash. It could have been much worse. Need a filllllllllllll NOWWWW:angry !!! Up to the room now to go to crash....going to the NASA space center tomorrow. Maybe I'll get to eat some freeze-dried space food...that can't have very many calories can it??

Okay Diane...I love ya ...but the cottage cheese talk has to stop:puke: I can't stand the stuff after I ate it so much during the mushy stage!! (I'm just kidding of course Diane:D ). How about those who can plan on meeting at Panera for either coffee/dinner....(your choice) at 5, then those who would like can also go to the Mexican place after support? Does anyone know the name of it by chance to check on the hours? I'm sure they are probably open until at least 9? Diane...funny you posted what you ate on here today. I'm feeling really guilty, I know...I know it is our vacation, but I swore I wouldn't let what happened to me 3 weeks ago on the family reunion trip happen again....by the way...I have taken the whole 16 pounds off that I put on YAY!:clap2: Okay so like it or not...I'm going to post the truth and nothing but the truth this week on what I am eating. I need a little extra accountability...part of the problem is that we are eating at these children's attractions that only have junk food. Even though I ate crappy as the day progressed, truthfully I would have given anything to have the "choice" to eat a salad. Anways...enough blabbing, here goes.....Did I mention I need a fill????? B: 1/2 bagel w/cream cheese, 2 bites scrambled eggs, coffee (free, but limited selection of breakfast items included in price of hotel stay) L: 1/3 of a foot long chili cheese dog (split with DH), about 4 Doritos S: 100 calorie pack S#2: :kiss Cold Stone Creamery...didn't order my own, but still had I would say about 6 bites of DH/kids ice cream D: Chinese Buffet..(you know I can't remember going to a buffet since I have been banded:) )....1 egg roll, 2 crab rangoon, 3 small california rolls, tried to each the General's Chicken...but up it came:bandit ....I know better than to do ANY chicken...So does dinner really count then??? I have always wondered that when you PB!! (LOL) S#3::think I know I know....but it's late, the kids are in bed, I'm in the hotel lobby on the computer, and ice cream was once again calling my name...so I stupidly had one of those Tollhouse cookie Ice Cream Sandwiches...they sell them in the Lobby..."only" 520 calories:omg: ...I could kick myself. I even made it through dinner without visiting the massive dessert buffet, then I go and do this to myself:angry Tomorrow is a new day right??? I'm gonna be good tomorrow, if no one minds I'm gonna post again tomorrow what I ate. Maybe that will help if I have to "tell on myself". I've come too far to go back now:confused:

What a great thread....I just broke down and got mine resized last week...since I'm an RN, I was washing my hands all the time at work and it was falling off..... my DH would have had a fit if I lost it, so I got it resized....I was very surprised, I went from a size 9 to a size 5! YAY!!

Hi Guys! I have been going through serious LBT withdrawl...been missing ya! The hotel has an internet/computer room, but for whatever reason yesterday I couldn't access the LBT site. You're not going to believe this, but for the first time EVER in my life...I actually set my alarm, on vacation mind you, to get up at 0700 and (gasp!!) EXERCISE! Hubby and I left the kids sleeping in the room and went down to the exercise room and worked out....and know what, it felt great. Have been pretty good today, although had about 4 bites of cold stone creamery ice cream....Have mostly eaten crap today, but hubby and I are for the first time "sharing" meals, so I am only eating very small amounts of the junk. We went to a really cool indoor huge Aquarium attraction today. The kids absolutely loved it. Tomorrow it's the children's museum, then the NASA space center on Sat...Circus....Boardwalk...Astros game...Hope to be back on Weds night....just in time for support group Yes...it's true, I actually have planned my summer vacations around support groups.:embarassed: Jen--I'm up for going out before support....one hour before doesn't give us much time to chat...but for anyone that wants to go out after we could do that too (Cynthia:biggrin1: ). I'm up for either or both! Cynthia, I can't wait to see/talk to you. Seems like we keep either playing phone/e-mail tag. Hi Diane-glad you could join us...good to see you on here. Okay guys....so when I get back..I'll call Melting Pot to make reservations for Sunday the 6th. Angela-did you get an answer on your pool yet?? I'm already planning your pool party :biggrin1: Cate-I'm soooooo glad you are enjoying yourself and liking NOLA. When are you going to be back in town next? We will have to start planning way ahead of time so we can actually get together when you are back I'll try to check back in soon....the weird thing is it is actually cooler down here than it is in KC:clap2:

Yep...I'm sad to say that I'm one of those that can now "irp on demand" as you put it :eek: but only if the trigger (food stuck in my throat) is there. If I get the sliming etc...which by now I know 100% of the time if I'm going to have to hurl or not....I just excuse myself immediately to the bathroom. Usually the mere smell of the BR and bending over sliming in the toilet elicits a response:rolleyes: ....I have to say though... If I were in complete and utter agony like I have read that some go through when food gets stuck...I think I would opt to use my finger to induce vomiting....I'm sorry, I said it! But if you are going to mostly likely end up puking anyway, why not just get it over with rather than suffer for an hour and then end up with the same result? That's just my mind rationalizing it I guess:heh: Holli and Cynthia....can either of you do something on the 6th? Leaving earlier than expected...won't be back until Mid next week, but if I have time I'll check in on my Dad's computer.

Hi Terry- I am so sorry to hear of your port infection. I too had the same thing happen....incision didn't heal well at first....then opened up incision to drain for a while....site drained constantly for 4 weeks, then when skin finally healed, it trapped infection inside...then developed large painful lump over port site 4 mos post-op....had to go in and have port removed.....had to pack open (gaping) wound for 8 weeks. Hang in there...it will get better. At this point it is more of a psychological battle more than physical (if you are anything like me). If you had to go to any sort of pre-op psychologist visits...I would highly suggest just going back and talking about what you are going through. I wish I would have done that now in retrospect because the whole port infection was an incredibly depressing experience for me (and why wouldn't it be??) Hang in there and keep your chin up...this too shall pass. You also might want to do a search on port infections on this site. There are lots of stories (unfortunately) on here and even some pics.

Hi Doinit4me! Nice to meet you (what is your real name by the way:biggrin1: )? As far as I am concerned, that would be great if you would like to meet with us sometime, as long as you don't mind us yacking about our doc...we don't mind you yacking about yours ...I have actually always wondered about Malley's patients since his practice is SOOOO advertised on TV etc. Did he make you go to pre-op stuff, like lots of psych visits to prepare for the surgery/what to expect after etc? Also does he provide monthly support groups for his patients to attend? I've just always wondered. Angela-That's still okay for melting pot even if we don't have a coupon.....If we split something 3-4 ways, it still won't be that expensive How is the 6th for you?

Sorry Angela...It was very impromptu after my last fill I called Holli, and it just happened to be right at the time she was getting off work I still PB quite a bit...but I don't worry about it as much anymore. I have such a wide range of being too tight/then too loose. If I had any of my fill taken out at this point, I would be gaining like crazy. This may be a stupid theory, but if I feel like I'm going to have one...I get it over with immediately so the food isn't so "deep" down in my stomach around the band. Then I am not wretching my stomach/band to get it back up. I personally believe it is much less traumatic. However, I have definitely had those more painful PB's and I can see where they could cause trauma to the band/stomach itself. Yep...my bandiversary is August 5th. I just can't believe it is already here. It has been quite possibly the fastest year of my life. I have been dropping hints to my hubby that I want some sort of party to celebrate...but he isn't the type to usually "get" my hints. I have been thinking...I actually called Mario Tricocci, and while I would love to go there...they are WAY too expensive for my needs right now. Maybe someday when I'm ready for a 'total makeover'. I absolutely LOVE the melting pot, and I have actually been there twice since being banded. It is VERY band friendly because you have to eat slow....AND all the meats you can get for your main meal are great bandster choices. Angela, did you say 1/2 off coupons...that's unreal! We always spend so much moola when we go there :hungry: . Maybe we could do the pottery thing first, then go out for dinner afterwards. Would you all have to do a weekend. How about Sunday noc (I think that would be the 6th?) Has anyone heard from Cate yet? Hope she is doing well. I know she was soooo busy AND having some fun before she left, but I didn't see any posts from her prior to her leaving. She is doing so well, hope she keeps us updated on her progress. Holli-To answer your question.....yes I get a nauseated and sick feeling when I go into hospitals....mostly just because that means I am arriving at work!!! LOL!! Very sorry about her surgery...that is so young to have to go through that. Hope she is doing well. Kids are such troopers when it comes to that stuff though. Oh and by the way, that 16+ pounds I put on in 5 days at the family reunion....I have taken 11 of that off...yay! But need to get back down to my pre-op weight because I definitely want to be to my goal by my one year.....Holli, the obsessive behaviors like we talked about are starting to kick in with a vengeance:o

MEMEMEMEME! Try the fact that I ate a whole 10 oz piece of salmon, about a cup of steamed veggies, and a good sized side salad at 54th street Grill for Lunch.....now just now I PB'd after about 2 mouthfuls of (crunchy with no milk) special K cereal. It's so weird how not only can our bands vary from day to day...but even meal to meal:confused: ......That's probably my one and only gripe about the whole tool because I am constantly going back and forth on "am I tight enough or not"? I know Holli and I have talked about this many times before....just when you think you might need another fill....then you PB on something and think "nahhh, I'm too tight".....then a day later you eat another horse and think you need a filll.....then the next day you PB again. Great story though on the limo PB....Angela, you have the VERY best PB stories of anyone I have ever heard. As for the one you told about the little girl and her mom in the bathroom stall, have you ever tried flushing just before you start hurling?? I have tried that trick many a time I don't know if Holli can attest to this or not (of course I have had a lot more experience than most with hurling due to the time when I was unadjustable and too tight)...but after a while it became much easier. I no longer have the whole period of misery just prior to the actual PB like I did when I was first restricted.

Hi Girls- Just wanted to check in and let you know I am still here....I have worked 36 hours in the past 3 days and I am soooo exhausted. I'll try to post tomorrow pm. Carb detoxed again this week...then got shaky and bad bad headache this pm, caved in and had a serving of carbs....I hate myself for doing it (once again)...but I feel so much better (physiologically)....although psychologically I feel I have failed myself once again...I don't know why I do this to myself....the carb roller coaster sucks!!!

I just remembered...I was thinking it would be kind of fun (for anyone who was interested in going with me) to go out and Celebrate..in a non-food fashion...my ONE YEAR BANDIVERSARY! (Or maybe just to celebrate being alive at this point:p ...boy, that was dramatic!) I was thinking maybe something along the lines of a day or part of a day at Mario Tricocci where we could all get facials together, drink wine etc...etc. That is something I never would have thought of doing before, but now I think it would be kind of fun as a girl's day out. Maybe on a Saturday or something. What do you all think? I just want to have fun now and start living life to the fullest (without binging on my favorite foods of course). Just a thought....

Hi Guys- I'm at work today, and the day is going reaaally slow, so I thought I would check in to pass the time. My one incision site is really killing me today...people I don't even know keep stopping me in the hall asking if I'm okay, I guess because I keep wincing, especially when I am pushing something heavy or lifting a baby:rolleyes: . Just gotta get through until 6:30 when I can go home and take some pain meds :cry Angela-sounds like your day started off pretty crappy, but sounds like things are going better. Are you in tampa again? I don't know all the abbreviations for the airport. Yep I can do all and any kinds of fish, including shrimp. We are going to visit my dad for a week next Tues, so I can't wait to go down to Houston and have some good seafood. I haven't really tried brown chicken meat, mostly because I never liked it before....I always hated seeing the veins and tendons and crap that are on a chicken drum...grosses me out...I know its stupid! Holli-I don't really remember what all kinds of clothes were left...I know I took a lot of 18/20 jeans in hopes I would be into them this winter...didn't take much of anything over size 22ish that I remember. There was a TON left though. Cynthia-I have been thinking of you a lot today. Call me sometime maybe tonight?? I plan on pretty much going home and crashing, but I would still love to talk to ya soon. Hope you are doing well and keeping your chin up. On the bright side of things....I low carbed it and REALLY watched it yesterday. I've lost 5 pounds of the 16 I had gained. I got a fill yesterday, but so far...not much of anything different. Since I go on vacation next week, I pray that I am feeling some restriction again by then. Anways....hope everyone is doing well today. I'll check back in later! Robyn

Nope....just chicken hurts for me....that's why I'm SALIVATING over A's recipes :hungry: . I had my post-op appointment today. He is so funny....I of course have seen WAY too much of him, (and I have learned by now to take something to do when my appts are in the middle of the pm, so I took my new MP3 player I got for my b-day)...anyway the first thing he says when he sees me with my head propped against the wall and my earphones on is....."Well, you look grumpy today!" I just laughed! I probably did because I have had these horrible headaches, which I'm attributing to coming off of the narcotics that I have been taking every 4 hours for 5 weeks:phanvan . I told him I was just tired, which I am...accompanied by these dumb headaches. I'm really feeling like it is time to move on now..yay!! I'm praying this is all behind me and hope to finally start focusing on healing, living healthy, and not focusing so much on all the complications. BALANCE...is what I long for now;) . On a sad note..I had gained 16 pounds, yes I said 16 pounds from my pre-op all time low. Kinda sucks, but now that I have had a swift kick in the butt...I'm ready to kick some major a-- and not only get it back off, but also the other 9 pounds I had to lose to make it to my one year goal....it's gonna be tight, but I think I can do it if I go back to being good for the next 3 weeks. Hubby wants to get on computer...I'll post again in a little while:biggrin1:

Hi Girls- Just walked in the door back from St. Louis...and the land of no restriction :faint: .....SO ....I've read through all the posts and I'm confused...are we getting together tonight or not??? To be 100% honest, I would rather NOT if Cate can't come...solely for the fact that I wanted to see her before she left, and I'm going to be leaving my son's baseball game an hour early to be able to make it So.....if she can't make it, can we all just plan on going out after next support group, can't we (even though I would love another excuse to just get together) Cynthia...that means you too girl!! Somebody call me on my cell...I have to leave for the game in 10 mins...it starts at 6:15. Holly, would you mind calling Cate/Angela if you get this message and then call my cell pretty please with kisses??:kiss2: I'll post more later tonight. Missed you all...talk at ya later

Katt- I know from your other posts you are an RN, and evidently one who is in some sort of supervisory role. You know from your experiences that you cannot control all of your staff, and while you may try...it's just impossible. Although I'm sure you feel that the care you provide personally is great. That is the prospective from which I choose to view the program. Dr. Hoehn is hands down THE most wonderful bariatric surgeon I believe in the KC area. I work with LOTS of doctors around the area, some of which are surgeons, and he is by far the most sweet spirited and gentle, humble, well-mannered surgeon I have ever come in contact with. His right-hand lady, Billie is absolutely wonderful too. She runs support groups and is wonderful at returning phone calls promptly and answering questions to the best of her ability, as well as telling you point blank when she doesnt know the answer...but then she tries to find out. All of us on this thread go to his LB support groups regularly. One reason we started it was to have a forum in which to discuss our day to day concerns and problems with the lap-band. Since we are tied together with the common thing being that Dr H is our surgeon, there are of course going to be things that come up regarding our experiences with his office staff, common people we know etc etc.... It's just like with any relationship, it is not always going to be smoothe sailing, and if you said it was..you would be a bold face liar. This is not like the usual doctor-patient relationship in where he fixes you or prescribes you a script and you are gone for the next 6 months or year. With bariatric surgery we are constantly having questions, problems, tune-ups (fills) etc etc where we are continually dealing with 'someone' in the office. I know MANY other people that have had lap-band in KC and NONE of them have as comprehensive or as many successful patients as he does. I truly believe it is because of the long pre-op period where they make SURE you are ready and a good candidate, NOT just do you have the money to pay. Dr H and Billie truly do care about you being successfull, and for that...even with all the 'other stuff' I wholeheartedly still recommend their program. One problem I always had with reading Dr. H's reviews on Obesityhelp.com is that EVERY single one practically says "oh he is wonderful"...and no one ever offers to say anything practical or realistic. That makes me question the validity of the opinions. We still think he is wonderful (with just a few staffing issues that he is aware of). But, at least with us, you are getting both sides of the story. None of us sugar coat anything, which is one of the reasons we chose to come together in some way to help support each other. Hope that helps, keep us posted on your surgery, and please know that you are in great hands! Good luck!

Good Morning/I guess it's actually Afternoon Girls! Happy Birthday to me:faint: Okay...just got finished with a concerning call from the office. Someone from there called last night at 6:00, which I thought was weird because it was 4th of July???? No message left, so I called back today. Need to share, but not on-line. Let's either set up a chat, or Holli, Cate, and Angela call me individually this afternoon. I'll PM my phone number again, but I'd prefer a chat. Gotta go...talk to you guys later!

Hi John- I am so happy to see this challenge. It just so happens that August 5th is my One Year Bandiversary. I don't think I'm going to make my personal goal because I have been in a real funk lately, mostly due to all the surgeries. The weight came off very quickly at first...but I have only lost two pounds in the last two months! I weigh in at 247 today....so 11 pounds lost would put me at a total of 150 lost for the year....Thanks for the motivation, gift or no gift...it will be priceless for me to make the most of this last month before my bandiversary. Thanks!

Hi Everybody- Just wanted to check and let you know I am doing okay....I am still in an enormous amount of pain if I don't take the pain pills every 4 hours on the dot. So basically I have just been sleeping for 3 days straight:notagree Weird that this has been the worst surgery yet, I thought it would be a breeze....Oh well, brighter days are just around the corner I'm sure. I have what looks like a second belly button now...it looks like where my herniated tubing was (he found one full inch that was in fact herniated) he stiched the bejesus out of it and it is puckered very badly....Hopefully when some of the swelling goes down it will be minimized. My hubby told me not to worry about it because it will be gone someday when I get my tummy tuck:p . I'm going to my mother-in-law's house tonight for my birthday bash... Don't feel much like eating or celebrating, but still gotta go through the motions. Hopefully I won't fall asleep over there from the narcotics, because I don't know how she would take that:rolleyes !! Holli-I'm SOOOOO happy they found endometriosis!! At least you know what the problem is, and that is 90% of the infertility battle....I know that very well having been there done that. Make sure you start having your "O.S.athons" here pretty soon because they say you are most fertile 3 months after the procedure (but try not to obsess about it of course :Banane22: ). Cynthia-I am so proud of you. I know it is hard to share your weight with others and be accountable for gaining some. I have been there recently. But now you have put it all out there, and we will help keep you accountable in a loving way:kiss2: . I read this great quote today and thought of you....write it down and tape it on your bathroom mirror and read it whenever you get discouraged. It goes like this: "Though no one can go back and make a brand new start, anyone can start from right now and make a brand new ending!" Jennifer, Angela, and Cate-you guys are being aweful quiet this weekend...Hope you aren't enjoying your 4th of July weekend TOOOO much :Banane57: !! Love you all, I'll check back in later. Robyn

Good morning Girls! I am at least awake this morning....still in lots of pain..Although it's weird because the most severe pain is on the right side of my back.. the pain meds weren't working at all. So I got the bright idea of asking a neighbor for a heating pad, which has helped sooo much. So I'm sure many of you are wondering....yes he already knew about what had happened when he came in to talk to me yesterday pre-op. I'm not real sure he knew about the bleeding though. I think my nurse told him because I mentioned it to her. He came in and said he was concerned about the bleeding and we either needed to postpone the surgery and get an EGD done outpatient to see what was going on inside my stomach....or go ahead and do the surgery, but do the EGD (where they put the scope down your throat) after they put me out just right before the surgery. Then he said the "E" word.....Scared the bejesus out of me. He said "I don't think it is an erosion, but since you are having bleeding we need to make sure. And if I do find that it is an erosion, I will just take the whole band out while I'm in there. I was so scared:think But everything worked out....I asked if they would take some extra pics of the scope and they did. It shows that I had a "tear" in the lining of my stomach. You can see it pretty clearly in the pics..looks like a 'slash' on the lining of my stomach. Anyway he went ahead and repaired the Hernia (he told my hubby that in fact about one inch of the tubing had herniated and was poking through my abdominal wall....also that my gallbladder had some "pretty large stones" in it. I"m just so glad its over...I've been popping pills like crazy though. This surgery has been the most painful one so far:sick And also.....he informed me he would have to "completely" deflate my band to do the EGD. Which I totally understand, it just sucks because now (once again) I don't have restriction. He could tell that was one of the things I was most worried about, and he actually said "We gotta do whatever we can to make you healthy. I know you are worried about the loss of restriction again, but I don't care...I'll see you every other day and give you a fill if I need to.":) I thought that was very sweet of him to say. I did bring up towards the end of the conversation that I thought I had caused a lot of trouble at the office yesterday. He didn't respond much (nor did I want him to at that time)...he just smiled and said "No you didn't." I still love him and think he is great. Hopefully I can move on from here and put all of this behind me. I feel like I am in this constant state of negativity, and I don't want to be like that any longer. On the positive side of things...I woke up yesterday morning and had lost a pound (I had been on a 2 month plateau)....even though it is just one pound, I just about did a little dance. I'm so excited that I FINALLY get to change my ticker. YAY!!:clap2:

Hey Girls- Starting to feel pretty tired and weak tonight from the clears, which is probably good so I can sleep. Thanks for the calls and words of encouragement. This will hopefully all be only a bad memory by this time tomorrow:tired Angela-You are beautiful!! Seriously, the face of model:kiss2: I just woke up and got your message...but I'm pretty wiped out tonight. I'll try to call you sometime this weekend. Holli-Good Luck tomorrow too. Love ya and thinking of ya!:girl_hug: Cate-Do some shopping for me:) I'm bummed that I can't take advantage of the sales....does that mean things are on sale for $21 (or what does the 21 sale mean)?? It would have been fun to go shopping together..I can honestly say I have never done that (gone shopping for clothes with other girlfriends:confused: ) Crazy huh? The things I have to look forward to;) I'll post again as soon as I feel up to it after surgery. Thanks guys!:grouphug:

Yes...I definitely believe it is a result of the wretching/vomiting related to the gallbladder issue...but my concern is what damage am I doing to my band as a secondary problem by my nausea/vomiting not being addressed. I had called the on-call dr last night...Never once did she ever suggest anti-nausea meds to stop the wretching....she suggested I either wait until 0900 when the office opened and talk to Dr Hoehn (which he wasn't back today anyway), or just go to the ER. Well from my previous experiences with ER's post op...they are completely incompetent and ridiculous when it comes to bands...they say "You had a lap-what?", then proceed to give you all these 'possible' scenarios of what could be wrong....could be a bowel obstruction...could be a 'mass'....could be...could be. I just can't take hearing any of that at this stage of the game with all that has been going on. SO...I decided to wait and call the office this morning.............and so the saga begins:cry First time I called I was given to Billie's voice mail....Second time I called and someone besides Becky answered....I told her it was mandatory that I talked to whoever was covering for Billie/Hoehn, and she told me "No one is covering, but I can give you to Billie's voice mail." The third time I called, I said to Becky very sternly..."I need to talk to someone because I need someone to hear that I have been vomiting blood and cannot keep anything down." She said "I'll transfer you to Linda's voicemail"...which to me still is not an acceptable thing to do when you have someone on the other line firmly saying they want to speak to someone now. Long story short....when the office returned my call, they were ridiculing me for NOT going to the ER. I kept trying to explain to Linda that the N/V was related to my gallbladder and NOT my band...but that the band was being affected by all the wretching....she just kept saying, "Why didn't you go to the ER?" Finally I was the one that stopped the back and forth ridiculing of my choice not to go to the ER...and I said to her could you at least ask the doc on call or whoever to prescribe me some anti-nausea medication, which they finally did on my request...Thank GOD! I ended up calling Holli after that to vent because I was almost hysterical I was so upset. Holli asked me if I had asked to talk to Jessica. I had never thought of that option because they told me no one was covering for Billie/Hoehn. At that point I didnt feel comfortable calling the office for a 4th time....Holli graciously asked my permission to call the office and see if Jessica was there. Holli called me back and said she was there and that Jessica was going to try to get a hold of someone to let them know what was going on. Well evidently in the meantime...The office manager somehow found out that Jessica was trying to get a hold of Billie and started asking questions and basically wouldn't let Jessica talk to me or Holli about the situation (a little bit of a control freak maybe??) She evidently told Jessica that it was a "privacy issue" and she wasn't allowed to call Holli or me back. (NOW I DONT GET THAT...EITHER JESSICA IS ALLOWED TO ACT AS "PATIENT ADVOCATE" OR SHE IS NOT) Sounds like a lot of confusion and mismanagement going on there if you ask me...but no one did:guess So....back to topic...without the office manager even ever having talked to me before, she phones me back, NEVER apologizing for the way things have been handled....She called me and handled the situation with a total lack of class. The first thing she says to me is "so what is the problem that you are having with us?" :grouphug: First of all, when you are doing customer service recovery, you never start out the conversation with those words....it came off as being extremely accusatory and judgemental. It would have went a lot better had she actually had the skills and a little common sense when it comes to dealing with recovery of bad service situations. The more she prodded, the more upset I became, and could no longer articulate my concerns. It was clear that she wasn't getting it anyway.....The rest of the conversation just ended up being more of the same crap some of us have been going through for the past couple months.....The office staff making their patients feel stupid for having concerns/questions. This whole situation just sucks because it's not like I/we can just sever all ties because we are dissatisfied with the way the office is being managed/ran. Too bad Hoehn/Billie can't transplant themselves to a more ideal situation (maybe an all bariatric office). As soon as our bands are put in, we are stuck there for the rest of our lives. I just have to focus on the fact that I love Dr Hoehn and Billie:biggrin1: (Becky is nice too depending on how stressed she is), and those two are the only reasons I continue to go there. The rest of the office staff is incompetent and at times even rude in my book. I can't get hung up on the other's ignorant behavior and let that sway my opinion of Dr Hoehn. But unfortunately, they do in a round about way represent him. Unfortunately, half of them don't even understand what is going on around them including the other general (non-bariatric) surgeons who work there (Hello...there is this thing called Lap-Band patients!) EDUCATE EDUCATE EDUCATE!! I'm not going to mention any of this tomorrow before my surgery...just because if Dr H does ever want to discuss it, I want to be able to communicate the concerns with him in a dignified manner, not an emotional one.:phanvan However, a little birdie told me that Dr Hoehn is extremely aware of the problems with the staff and that I am NOT the first one to have complaints. That made me feel a smidgen better:angry The same little birdie told me that they hired someone that was "non-medically" qualified, but had been a bariatric patient about 15 months ago to do a job similiar to what J is doing now. Evidently, that it was a nightmare, they ended up getting rid of the person, and they swore they would never do it again....But they did....interesting (Heavy sigh)..... Okay...thanks once again for allowing me to vomit all over you all...I feel somewhat better now.

:help: Okay friends....say a little prayer...I'm at work, and remember I talked a few days ago about this strange (seemingly gallbladder associated) nausea that has been sweeping over me that has been causing me to have gut-wrenching vomiting (not the usual PB)...Well I started throwing up blood tonight...fresh and old (heavy sigh). I have this incredible burning pain right in the middle of my stomach. I called the on-call doc and they said what I expected....go to the ER of it gets worse. I've gotta tough out the pain here at work because I won't be able to work the rest of this week or the beginning of next after my surgery. Leaving work equals no pay.....I'm such a bad patient:tired Gotta hang in there...only 3 more hours to go....I can do it:think .......I'll post more after I call the office this morning. They say Dr Hoehn should be back today, but I'm not sure if that is true or not. Although I'm not expecting the plan to change since I am already scheduled to go in tomorrow. I'm not gonna eat or drink anything until I talk to him. Oh the insanity of it all!!!