FunnyDuddies

Paul you hit the nail on the head. One thing I want to add, and it is because the thread's creator had her surgery in MX I believe, is that you can still have aftercare if your surgery is done outside of your state or country. The key is to line up a doctor locally before your surgery abroad. I see this as a program like paul said. You really need to have someone locally you can go to, and trust, and ask questions of, and all that jazz. For instance, my surgeon is Dr. Sanchez in Monterrey Mx. I trust him. I trust his staff. I would not choose anyone else to go to. But obviously I can not go and see him once a week right after surgery. So I went to him and asked him who he would like for me to interview here as aftercare doctors. He gave me names of people to check on, and I chose Dr. Jessee who's office is within 10 miles of me. I have my aftercare lined up, and I feel comfortable and secure in going forward with my "program". Great point Paul!! Well said.

i don't like it. i think they are too cheeky with the different future possibilities. Just cause your kid eats junk now does not mean that he is never going to shave, not cut his hair, and have tape on his glasses and wear dirty clothes in the future. Its just a bit silly to me. Plus I think they need to spend more than just 3 weeks with the families. Now yes, I think there is a problem with the way kids are being raised today, but lets try showing parents in a realistic light. How about just basic comparrison to healthy kids. Their cholesterol, sleep patterns, nutrient levels in the blood, fat percentage, etc. but i guess someone got a new toy for graduating their imaging class and wanted to have some fun with it. LOL

I missed it!! What are you doing in your new job? Congratz on it by the way. Sounds like waiting or bartending to me with the "feet hurt" comment.

I am very curious to find out what you hear from them, because I am in clearwater and would be glad to have insurance cover WLS rather than out of my own pocket. There are many good things we want to put that money towards. :confused: Like new boobs. HAHAHA I know that with most individual and small business insurance co's the turn down rate is staggering. And the approval process is much more difficult.

Cashley, I put your name on my post because I was responding to your post directly with that line. Strawarts, you are not reading clearly what I am writing. I didn't say you were irresponsible with your band. I am saying that you are being irresponsible with OTHER PEOPLE's bands by stating that "I did it, why don't you do it too!" If you want to eat that way, fine! Go ahead! But to suggest to someone that because you are okay that the whole system is somehow flawed and that she really shouldn't worry about what she is eating is irresponsible. And you would be REALLY SURPRISED to see what people have done on the internet on the advice of others on a message board. I don't put anything past anyone here. I am sure she is a capable person, and I am sure it is just her frustration, but I have seen more posts about "Well so and so told me I could do this and I tried and now I have pain". Lets talk about your relationship with your doctor since you bring it up a lot here. If you do not trust your doctor...why did you go to him? Just curious. I mean, I like to be informed too, but it sounds like you have just a down right distrust of this person. Maybe you should find another doctor that you can feel comfortable with, and with who's opinions you share. I hope that you find a good one. The arbitrary rules have been pretty fine tuned though, and seem to vary from doctor to doctor. Like I told her, she should go by what her doctor says to do. Education, highschool or doctorate and everything in between, has nothing to do with explanations of rules. She asked for clarification, she got it, along with a few others saying some crazy things about not needing rules, and I hope that she chooses the path that will lead her to wellness.

Tell them that you need to not be in "diet mode" when you have surgery so that you can heal properly, and that you and your doctor have discussed the issue, and leave it at that. If they pry more say "Its complicated and I'd rather not dwell on it all right now"

I am not speaking just to you Cashley. I don't guess you have read through the whole thread. There are more than one person here stating they did the same thing and all turned out fine.

cashley, i am being facetious. Basically in telling her that you did the same thing, and you turned out fine so what does it matter if you follow the rules is not only misguided, but dangerous. Rules are set in place for a reason. That reason isn't to taunt you and piss you off. They are there to protect you. Now say i go and eat a hot dog, bun and all, covered in my husband's 4 alarm chili 2 days after surgery and i do just fine. no pb's, no burning, no probs. GREAT! risky, but great! Does that mean it is ok for me to tell other bandsters that they can do that too? That is what is being said here. Don't listen to the doctor cause he doesn't know what he is saying. Don't follow the rules cause the exceptions to the rules played out fine, so you will be 100% as well. Question everything your doctor has told you because you are having a hard time at it and just want to not do it anymore. If it is hard, in the past you could cheat and not have consequences. Now that you have a band, if you cheat you could do SERIOUS DAMAGE to your body. PERMANENT DAMAGE! possibly even LIFE THREATENING DAMAGE! is that worth a french fry or a ritz cracker? Or jsut to prove that your silly doctor doesn't really need to keep you on liquids for that last week? I hope that this has been a part of the smart, stimulating, effective and intriguing conversation! Don't know how I could have been so stupid last time. Silly me!!

Well here are my two cents... I have known a few people who have taken the attitude that doctors are just there to make money, that they are really sadistic people enjoying the pain of other's lives, and that there is a big concpiracy involving most of the medical profession to some evil end. Whatever. Theorists like that really kinda bring joy to my day cause it is fun to laugh, and they make me laugh. Doctors do not pay the enormous amounts of money and take years and years of schooling so they can become part of some group of coniving power hungry money grubbers. True, there are some out there, but they do not make up the whole of the medical profession. And think about it. They go to school for YEARS. WAY MORE than other professions. They kinda know what they are doing. And when your doctor looks at you and says "You have no self control. I am going to give you a way to have self control. But you have to buck up and show just a little control until this device is ready to work on its own" why do people imediately turn around and say "but i don't wanna and you can't make me!" Did you go to school as long as he did? Have you performed surgery on 100's (and in this case 1000's) of people for this one little device? Have you been eating, sleeping, breathing and living the lapband and everything about it for the last several years from a medical point of view? Probably not. The doctor said don't eat solids. Listen to him. I think he knows what he is talking about. Its not some evil conpiracy. Its for your own health and well being. Besides...did you really just go down and hand some guy $9k just to cut you open and diddle your insides a bit? No, you went down there to make a life changing enhancement to your digestive system. And to screw around with that is a pretty not-so-smart move. Disclaimer: I am not calling you not so smart. I applaud you for coming on here and asking a question that most people prolly feel at your point of healing. I also have no problem with those of you who have said do what you want, its your band. But those of you who have said "Bah what the hell does your doctor know? He's just the guy with the knife. Not like he REALLY knows anything anyhow"...shame shame. is that really the advice that you give to people who are struggling with something that has such great capabilities?

ok this weekend sucked for me, but i am back on track and with a quick peak at the scale i think i am in for a very happy surprise this wednesday. hopefully the weight loss will make up for the eating bread two days in a row. sugar i can take or leave. but holy hell giving up flour is a pain in the buttinski.

so i put in my request to have my insurance approve or deny me for my apron removal. I am just running the flag up and seeing which direction its gonna fly. if the insurance company will cover it then i can have it done before my lap band surgery date gets here and i will have an easier tummy to work with. *sigh* why do our bodies need so much freakin work??

yes that is the one. money grubbing sob. LOL i have watched it a lot. i know of some of the places they have gone. i really don't think it is rigged. i think it is one of the better ghost chasing shows out there. i DO however think that there is a lot of psychology that goes into it, and that there are some things that they really wish were supernatural but just were not. but there is some stuff that just rocks! LOL some of those reactions cannot be staged! I love when all the guys jump into each other's arms and cry like little girls when a tv comes on by itself. that is just pure genius right there LOL

The attendant told me to keep mine with me. They said that they have 10 on board at all times, because they expect people to take them. And that it costs about $5 for them to replace. So I took mine. $40 on ebay seems a bit steep after her telling me that. LOL

For me the surgery has to be done by someone who has done thousands instead of hundreds as well. I am in the same boat. I know that after that many, not only is it the act of doing it, but knowing what works best after years of putting them in, for the long term weight loss and overall health. Sure a doc here who has done a few hundred will know how to put it in, but they won't have the history to rely on to answer questions that may come up. I want a surgeon to do my surgery who has seen every complication possible. Aftercare can be figured out and setup before your surgery. Just start interviewing docs and clinics. Your surgeon in MX can also help with this with recommendations.

YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Oh my god girl!!! Way to go!!!! ((((HUGS)))) OH I AM SO HAPPY FOR YOU!!!!!!

Here in Tampa it ranges from about $2.85 to about $3.15 for regular unleaded. It costs me approx $75-80 to fill up the van. But amazingly enough I get about 29 miles to the gallon in that thing so thankfully it lasts me a good long time.

We are a family of 4 with a dog and lots of home projects...so of course we have a minivan! LOL We have a dark green 2001 Ford Windstar. Its great in size and makes things easy for us, but honestly I hate driving a minivan. I am thinking of getting a fully loaded large Taurus. They never wear out, and they get pretty good gas mileage. And the trunk space is HUGE. DH is looking for a 1980's BMW to restore and fix up. If he does get one and the project goes ok then he is going to get me a Jeep Grand Wagoneer. I LOVE them. They are the ultimate beach SUV with the wood panelling. That would be my baby if I could get it.

I didn't have to complain. We have pretty good friends. Without a fuss my husband and Greig, Tera's husband, went to the owner who was near the front and quietly talked to him. I begged them to wait till the end before we left to go dancing cause I didn't want to deal with the stares and the possible very public apology and then even worse service by them raising a fuss early in the dinner. They didn't listen, but the owner was nice about it. He took our address from rob, and never even looked towards me. At first I thought it was a wasted effort. Today in the mail I got a 2 PAGE apology letter from him. Can you believe it?? He said he would be happy to provide me with a refund, or a free meal, or whatever I wanted for this, but the leter was perfect and all I want. I will call him later to thank him. THAT is the way things should be dealt with.

I just flew to washington state and back to florida on continental and i weighed 355 at the time. I got an extender, but fit fine. A little cramped, but I fit between the armrests. I think the honeymooning couple sitting next to making out the whole time had more to be embarrassed about. LOL

We went out to eat and drink last night. A night away from the kids. I was so excited, and was totally dolled up and rarin' to go. I have been working many many hours (103 the week before last) and really needed the break. Had a night of good food, good friends, good fun, and lots of dancing planned. Get to the restaurant, and the waitress states loudly that they better seat us at a table, because i prolly wouldn't fit into the booths. I had been there before. Fit just fine, with room. And our friends we totally shocked. They tried to hide it, but you could see their initial reaction was shock and sympathy. But I put it aside. No big deal. Maybe she was really trying to be nice to forsee a possible problem. Ok. Then she came to take our order. I order lasagna. She says that they are out of lasagna but that they have some really good options on the back of the menu. EVERYONE at the table flip the menu over and see that it is their "lighter fare" menu. Tera, my friend just stares at her in shock. Then looks at me and says "no, you should get the ravioli, its really good." So I do. Then about 10 minutes after our food comes out I see 2 dishes of lasagna served to a table a little ways from us. I felt fat all night, didn't want to dance, and drank waaaaay more than I should have just because I was feeling sorry for myself. So much for a much needed night out.

I have always been told by doctors that most hicups are caused by a low amount of oxygen in the blood by not breathing deeply. The drinking Water, and scaring someone, and holding your head underwater, and all of those funky remedies are ways to take a deep breath, or to hold your breath. basically most hicups can be cured by a series of breath holds after very deep breaths. Now with the band being close to the diaphram, it could be that it is causing the diaphram to spasm due to irritation. This is a different situation entirely as just holding your breath won't really do much for it. Try some stretching, or lay down for a while so that it gives your diaphram some time to relax. maybe that will help it.

Thank you so much!! But I had to push my band date out to July 28th. I absolutely love that you remembered my original date though!!! :eek:

I sort of stop eating. Basically I can drink anything clear and eat any fruit or veggie after 9pm. We usually go to bed around 2am. so this helps if i get hungry i can snack.

Now if you are going to watch it and want to be surprised...don't read on. If you don't think you are going to watch it tho, read on for the REALLY COOL thing that happened in this episode. ******* It was the episode on some adobe style house in california. it was a ranch, once owned by a some indians and a spanish man. i can't remember his name. but his wife's name was Espiritu. There was a sewing bust in what was once her room, and it had one of her old dresses on it. Well, the host and another girl went to it and saw it was on casters, so they tried touching it for their energy and to see if Espiritu would move it. Well of course it moved, but it could have been them. THEN!!! My favorite of all the guys, goes up, and he tries it. Nothing. With his hands touching he he starts to joke around. He picks up the arms of the dress and swings the bust around dancing. Then he jokes around saying "Or do you want to get down and dirty" and spins the bust around like he is going to hump the damn thing. They all laugh. He turns it around, gets serious, goes to touch it AND IT MOVES AWAY FROM HIM BEFORE HE CAN TOUCH IT!! They got it on camera too. And then they got two cameras. One shooting the base of it to show his feet are no where near it, the other at his hands to show that they are not touching, and he starts to speak to Espiritu again. The whole thing moves visible several inches towards him! It was AWESOME! It was so much for him that he actually took time to beg forgiveness from Espiritu for the joking around and begged her to realize that it was a bad joke and all in jest. He was visibly shaken by the whole thing. I would be too!! LOL There was some other really cool stuff in that one too.

Dawg that is awesome!!! BIG HUGS!!!! now maybe you will be willing to get your butt in the groove and start working out. drag pnut with you. If I am dying working out an hour a day then you have to too. LOL