Dody

I'd be happy to split my Xanax pills with you Sue. I think being without Valium or Xanax is a disability for sure. :confused:

I think even my money says "In God We Trust". It's a very good motto.

Phentermine came along before the dredded phen-fen. It is a dirivative of it. Dangerous to say the least. I know I took it and had a heart attack on it. Lucky you came thought it alright. If you have a good family physician they are usually willing to document that you have constantly tried to lose weight while under their care, especially if you have been with them for years and they know of your battle. Meridia is counted, and I have no clue why, because it is the absolute worse diet pill ever invented. Talk to your family dr. and see if you can get a letter that you have battled weight issues under his/her care. My dr. did it for me willingly.

Kirstie Alley is the only one I believe is truly doing this on Nutrisystem. I believe her because she is losing slowly, but she is looking better all the time. She is also their spokesperson and they supply all her food, etc., even a personal trainer (like she could't afford her own). I doubt they would be sticking their reputation on the line if she wasn't doing this on Nutrisystem. She looks great, but the change has not been drastic very quickly. Bad part is once you go off it (and most people do) they start right back eating the way they used too. Kirstie lost a lot of weight before and put it back on just like all the rest of us. Gosh it must be horrible to be in the public spotlight all the time. As far as Star Jones goes, I have no doubt she had gastric bypass, but she is such an idiot that I don't pay that much attention to her. Anyone who marries a gay man has more problems than just weight!! (and yes it is well documented he has been in past relationships with men from a very young age, and this didn't come from a sleeze magazine). Star Jones doet protest too much!! This is much the same as Liza Minelli marrying David Guess who is also very gay. They have siome deeper issues then their weight they are carrying around.

Dr. Billings is well-known in the Seattle area and exceptionally well qualified at what he does. Now, that doesn't mean necessarily that this is him, but this is his legitimate phone # that I know. I guess I'm being overly cautious but Dr. Billings is spelled with an S. It seems he would know how to spell his own name. Am I being overly cautious?

One question not answered is where did he think the money came from; what was it meant for; and what did he do with it. I hope he gave it back. Men...I miss mine horribly. He never, ever forgot Valentine's Day and to tell me he loved me, but he died 10 years ago. I miss him with every breath I take.

My dr. says these people used to breathe almost completely through their mouth and had to retrain themselves to go to sleep breathing just through their nose. If you truly are getting dry mouth all the time you are being deprived in some way of the proper amount of CPAP and may be on the wrong dosage. It is worth discussing with your doctor. For some reason you still feel the need to breathe through your mouth even with the CPAP on, which you shouldn't. Hope it gets easier for you.

Horray for you and your great weight loss Irene. I am not banded yet, but hope to be within the next couple months. Sounds like you have breezed through this with little or no problems. That is the stuff dreams are made of. I lived in Mainz, Germany for 5 years and traveled all of Germany, Switzerland, France, etc. I especially love Bavaria. I still have wonderful memories of trips to King Ludwig's Castle. It is like a second home to me, and I'm anxious to go back there to visit the many friends I met there. My dad was born in Germany and I used to speak it fluently. Unfortunately it's been years and Ich habe meine Hausaufgaben leider nicht gemacht!!

I sleep on my back, which is a good thing I think. I'm pre-band, but go to sleep on my back and wake up without a cover ruffled. I am on C-pap, so the ability to sleep on my back has been really a good thing for me. I didn't have to learn something I wasn't used to. For the side sleepers and tummy sleepers I bet there is pain involved, and we don't have any control over what we are doing when we are sleeping. I'm sure from what I've read on here that it is your port letting you know you are sleeping on it and rebelling. Good luck to you. I hope to join you soon on this journey, and I'm sure I'll be full of questions too.

It sounds like your long journey in some ways destroyed the life and livelihood you had before. Did they ever figure out what made you so sick. I would be horrified to get a letter like that in the mail as I'm sure you were. I would certainly be looking for another surgeon. This one seems callous. I think this is the first incident I have ever heard of of being fired by a doctor. Bless you...you have had a rough road, but this forum and the members are awesome and many have had serious problems. Is your insurance a big issue at the time? Sometimes that is the only word that doctors hear is "insurance". You mentioned you had lost your benefits when you lost your job. What a world we live in that insurance is the key word in getting good care. Keep everyone posted. I feel for you. Keep looking for that doctor to get you on the right road again. They are out there. There are good lap band doctors and bad, just as in any occupation. You seem to have met one of the bad ones.

I can't wait to join you either. I'm thinking and hoping May. It looks like everything is going well for the surgery then. You must be flying high as a kite with the liquid hydrocodone. Enjoy it while it lasts and I wish you a happy, healthy and speedy recovery. Just to be on the puter so fast is awesome. Rest and get well.

Not an expert on this, but from what I've read and heard on here you should be on clear liquids and not yogurt. I think that is the second stage about 2 weeks down the road. I would stick with protein drinks, popsicles, hot broth, water, koolaid (unsugared) and not go to yogurt yet. If I'm wrong please someone who is banded jump right in. I just think she is trying yogurt much too soon.

I have had 5 kids, all big, and not one single stretch mark ever. I came home from the hospital wearing my own clothes (and I had been huge with my kids). I'm up in years now and am hoping after surgery I'm just as lucky and never have a stretch mark. My daughter has them, and I gasped when I saw them. I had never seen one before. I consider myself extremely lucky. Must be good genes somewhere. I was not even the slightest bit heavy until 4 years ago when I quit smoking, and sooooooooo the story begins...............consoled myself with food..........not good!!

I was a smoker for 35 years and had several serious operations, one that took 9 hours on the table. Never did anyone say that anesthesia and smoking were a problem. Smoking is simply a problem period. Smoking can cause heart disease and ulcers if you are banded. That are the reasons I know of that they don't like to do smokers. It has nothing to do with anesthesia that I know of. Please feel free to correct me, but having been a nurse for almost 40 years I think I would have heard this one. We operated on people every day that were smokers and found no more incidences of death or any other problems with smokers than non-smokers...only that they are possibly cutting their life span in half. I've been smoke free for 4 years now Thank God and can't stand to be around it. Reformed smokers are possibly the worse critics of all.

I didn't know what to expect from the C-pap, but waking up and feeling so rested for the first time in years is just great. I thought with me maybe it was just an age related thing or possibly my dr. thought chronic fatigue syndrome, but it turned out to be sleep apnea. Somehow having it diagnosed was better than wondering what the heck was wrong with me that I was so exhausted all the time. Waking up feeling good and having some energy is worth having to use the mask. If that's the worse that ever happens to me I will be forever greatful. Finding out I had it before surgery is a real bonus because mine is really bad and there could be complications with the surgery had I not known. Hey, it's not the prettiest thing in the world, but it sure does it's job. I wonder if I would feel differently if I was married and sleeping with someone, but my husband is deceased. I kind of think he would prefer my wearing this mask to my snoring all the time, as he was always waking me up or heading for another bedroom so he could get some rest.

I have sleep apnea and was only diagnosed in December. They came to my home with several types of masks, and didn't recommend the full one that covers the mouth as they said you would get used to it and surgery is impossible wearing one of them as they can't put a tube down your throat. I took to my nose mask (without any leaks whatsoever) like a fish to Water and feel 100% better when I wake up. I had to get the straps adjusted so they were comfortable, but the nose piece has soft gel all around it and is very comfortable, or as comfortable as you can be wearing a contraption of any type. I've gotten so used to it I don't even nap without it. My dogs were terrified of it at first (they sleep with me), as I think they thought it was a muzzle :puke: and refused to sleep with me for 2 nights. When they realized it was for me and not them they were content. It was tough for me to nose breathe only as I have a deviated septum, but I've become used to it with the use of some Nasonex drops to open up the nose. I have to say I love my machine and was always waking up tired before I was on C-pap. Anyone else out there have a positive experience with it? I will be happy when I'm no longer on it, but I think I've had sleep apnea for years, and I haven't always been heavy. I think it's possible to have this problem without being heavy, but I can't verify that. Anyone else out there love their C-pap as much as I do?

I am now 64 and will have the band this Spring. Complications from an ulcer have slowed down my process of getting the band. I'm excited, although optimisticly cautious as to the results. I'm no spring chicken, but I would love to see my grandchildren grow up and get married. My father lived to be 100, so I'm hoping I inherited his genes, and I don't want to be the typical grandma. I want to be more secure in my well-being and a risk taker if nothing else. I'm not worried about the surgery, although somewhat concerned if I will be able to take my medications afterwards. All in all my surgeon doesn't think I'm too old, and I certainly don't feel too old, but I better not say much as I may be back here the first few days after complaining and moaning about everything :puke: Age is just a number!!

Just retired not to long ago as an ER nurse for 38 years. I think I've seen it all and am richer for the experience.

I'm waiting to have my band put in, and you are talking about having it removed for no good reason!! OK, I've heard everything there is to hear in bandland now.

Because I have a very tiny abdominal aortic aneurysm that was discovered 3 years ago and has never grown (I'm so lucky it was found when it was), my GP ordered an abdominal scan (even though I only need one once a yr.) and it showed I have a smaller than normal liver, thus my surgeon says I need no pre-op diet to shrink the liver. I'm not yet to that stage where the surgery date has been set, but at least I know I don't have to shrink my liver and that is a blessing. It also doesn't give me grounds to be a piggy either. I am trying to follow bandster rules before the banding, so I will stick to Soups and mushies for the week before so I get into some good habits. You are all so supportive here. I read all the posts all the time and have become so informed that I have surprised my surgeon with my questions about erosion, port infections and band slippage. I just tell him I have a personal pipeline to some experts :puke:. As of yesterday I am now 64. Do any of you think I'm nuts having this procedure done at this age. I'm hoping to improve foot pain which limits my activity and some other medical issues that most everyone heavy has. Is 64 too old?

Because of the use of NSAIDS and caffeine you could be looking at a potential for an ulcer. It sounds like an upper GI could be in order. I imagine there is a very good reason they say no NSAIDS or pop, and I admit I'm going to have a very tough time following those rules too. I wish you lots of luck in finding out what the problem is. Thank God, ulcers are curable in virtually no time.

I read this thread tonight, but couldn't find any posts by this person who said they were "disgusted with us". Someone has removed them. I guess I have to ask why, and yet I guess I know why, but it makes it hard for anyone to follow what was said by this person in the forum. There are other forums out there that this person can join, and I would highly suggest it. I think it is fair to say you can "vent" or state your views and they can be different from others, but I don't think verbally attacking the whole forum is going to make you any lifetime friends. I guess I question why this person's remarks were removed and yet the answers to it were left. It makes you wonder exactly what the complaints were to begin with. Anyone care to fill me in?

I wouldn't think you would want to be far from home if you were having this surgery. I would like to know my surgeon was close by in case of anything going wrong. It must take courage to go to Mexico and then come home and not have your surgeon right there, although I guess they do get you follow-up care. I will be seeing the same dr. who is doing my surgery for awhile, but then I have to travel to Salt Lake City for a few mo. and need to find a dr. there. I've been putting the feelers out for a dr. in Salt Lake that might do my fills and people on here have been extremely helpful and I thank them.

My ex was from Pittsburgh so I'm posting with clouded judgement :clock: No, seriously I love the Seahawks and am rooting for the underdog. I simply don't like the Steelers, but Dallas is my favorite team. They need a major turnaround to ever be the team they used to be. They used to give the Steelers a great game in the Super Bowl. I say Steelers are

I quit smoking 4 years ago. I hacked up a lung for about a week or so. It's amazing the junk you accumulate in your lungs when you smoke. Yesterday I had my teeth bleached. I had no idea these beautiful white sparkly teeth were underneath the discolored ones from smoking. That in itself would be the biggest incentive in the world to stop smoking. I wish I had known what a difference it would have made before. I can't stop smiling....