FunnyDuddies

I LOVE degree! It is all I have used for the last 8 years. And there is nothing better than FREE!!! LOL

You should appeal to the insurance company to get back your one chance. Let them know that the medical staff in his office did not include all the pertinent info, and that you should not be punished for the incompitence of others. let them know you are sending a copy to the state insurance board, and they should give you back that one try. If you have concerns about his staff, talk to him about it. They are his workers, and express how sad you are that now you have to wait for everything to be sent in again, with the added worry that it will be done correctly again. At my old OBGYN the office staff were about as sharp as wet toilet paper. But I LOVED my doc!! He saved my life and my daughter's life during her birth due to his knowledge and experience. I would never change, even with my second on the way just because his receptionist didn't know how many days were in february. LOL Just say something, and express how much you trust and appreciate him, just not his staff.

Its weird but since going on atkins and eating really small portions (trying too) when I over eat now I actually get stuck! And I am not even banded. It makes me realize it will happen more often after I get the band and I have to get used to chewing a lot and eating slow. I got stuck the other day with a steak fajita. holy crap my chest hurt! And I had to stretch on the floor and roll around. My kids thought I was playing and jumped on me. LOL not good. I can only imagine how bad it will be when I am banded. I have already sworn off bread because of the atkins diet. I think that might be a good thing to get used to if eating bread when banded is tough.

nah right now mine are all pretty stupid. LOL but once they are gone my butterfly will havetonsof meaning!! Amy

I was told 3-4 hours before bedtime. This ensures that the food isprettywell digested, willhelp with acidreflux, and that it won't just be sitting in your tummy all night. But a set time is not goodfor everyone. 7 would not work for me since I usually go to bedaround 3am. I would be a starvin marvin!! Amy

AAAAAAAAAAAH! You posted! Caught you! :target: Look, bottom line is this. For the doctors, if a patient decides they need to complain to you or others because of the care they have received, they have every right to do so. And those who have paid for it themselves have even more of an "investment" into all of this. I think that sometimes surgeons lose site of the fact that many people who have this done save every penny for it, and are taking a big risk health wise and financially. For a surgeon to make a comment like the ones that have been thrown around here are surprising to say the least. If I was wanting more business I would not be making such comments on a board like this one. You want your appearance here to be one of compassion and caring, not of sarcasm and ridicule. And whether it is meant that way or n ot, it is certainly how it came across. Got to remember...we are a bunch of fat and formerly fat people. We have tender feelings and roiled emotions already. :crazy: As for surgeries in Mexico...My grandmother always used to say "One person's palace is another person's shithouse." Do your research, listen to experiences, but there is no way you will know every single detail possible. Just make the most informed choice possible. I feel comfortable with my choice of Dr. Sanchez. But part of that is knowing that if something goes wrong...he takes care of it. And I have spoken to people who have had to have him correct things. I know this is a fact. Seems there are some surgeons out there willing to offer a guarantee on their work. That gives me hope and trust. I cry at some of the stories here. I feel for the folks who have eroded or had some other complications. I sweat over decisions that aren't in my hands. I worry and pray for test results and dr. appts that my fellow LBTers go to. This is damned near a family situation here. We are tied to something, and not just tied by the band, but tied by a common history. A common story. And a common journey. To trivialize anyone's experiences and trials is to trivialize your own. It all comes back to the golden rule, which we have so kindly been made aware is "Do unto others..." Amy

HAHAHAHA Thats funny....as a prank. I'm sorry, but I have so many tummy troubles throughout my life, the last thing I need is to add something that makes it worse. Besides, these cheapo apartment toilets would prolly stain badly from the orange, and I'd get charged to pay for new toilets. LOL Amy

As was pointed out in the other threads, I think it is more an issue between the clinics rather than between the countries. There are certain clinics that seem to have a higher rateof erosion. And there are other clinics that have almost nil when it comes to erosions. Its the same as it is here in the USA, and in France, and in Australia. Amy

i like the jokes in the classic playboys Amy

There is so many directions that thread could take LOL Amy

The articles!! lol Honestly, the internet provides quite a bit of entertainment as well. more so than playboy. LOL Amy

pre-band: scheduled for end of april. looking forward to this!!! Amy

jessie, we are too!! LOL I have tons of pictures, and we subscribed to playboy just for some examples. They are all fake anyway, so we know what can be man made LOL Amy

I woke up today feeling great!! and I was so NOT hungry, I didn't even think to eat until around 1:30 LOL And no headache. Great job on the treadmill!!! That is awesome! I am gonna workout tonight now that the headache is gone. I am really excited to have the time to myself. Amy

:crazy: now now. Don't be getting down because of what RYN'ers have to say. That is like being upset that your cat isn't learning anything in puppy training class. You don't need a support group like that anyway. Not only will you not share in their experience, but they can't share in yours, and neither is of help to each other. LBT is a good support group. Lord knows, we are all together in this and there for each other come thick or thin. :target: I really think you should find a bandster that is local that you can talk with. Check here on the board, or call a local lap band clinic and see if they have a board to post a 3x5 card asking for a local sister. Someone you can meet for coffee with and get a hug from will help greatly!! Hugs to you, and I hope this weekend finds you happier!! Amy

i'm on atkins...so our super bowl munchies consist of pork rinds and diet coke. wooohooo!!!!!!!! amy

oh i am terrible about naming animals. we couldn't figure out a name for the cat for 4 weeks after we got him, and the dog didn't get named for 3 whole months. a name is such an important thing. and i am so picky. keep in mind though, you might find yourself yelling this name at a park, or calling him using the name over and over again. make sure it is easy to say, and doesn't sound weird or offensive when yelling it out at the park. LOL Amy

:bananapowerslide: :bananapartyhat: :youcandothis: :bananajump: :welldone2: :Banane13: :Banane03: :Banane21: :Banane35: boobies!

I am glad to see Dr. Ortiz coming here and stating these facts. Here are some thing that I still struggle with. - Yes, the erosion rate is 1%, and the more patients you band, the more erosions will happen. But why are we seeing so many from Dr. Ortiz from one time period, and none from the other Dr.s who have done over 3000 procedures? - If his office did not have such a larger number of patients who have eroded, there would not be such an uproar, and he would not feel the need to come here and explain this "epidemic" - Why is it that eroded patients do not have everything covered when they erode? It seems that after patient care is extended and everything is covered right up until erosion usually occurs, but when someone erodes, they have to spend thousands to have it removed, and then thousands more to have a new band put in if they wish. - Surgical technique is NOT the same across the board. Some stich or staple the band in placeon the stomach. Some even fold the stomach over the band to keep it in place. Some fill the band immediately to keep it in place. Some place the buckle differently. Some place the port in different areas. Each surgeon has their own way of doing this surgery. And those they teach pick up their method of doing the surgery. Is it possible that a technique that one doctor (or one doctor and his clinic of other doctors) uses a technique that is more prone to cause erosions? Who can tell. But unless the surgeon explains his exact way of doing the procedure, and it is scrutinized along side of many other doctors, we will never know the answer. Again, I respect Dr. Ortiz for coming on here. I think there are a few points not covered, that are still on many people's minds. But the first step of making himself approachable with this is a great one. I know he has MANY happy customers, and that he is highly respected. I think rather than point fingers, we need to strip away all of the emotion and get down to brass tacks. Erosion is a worry for all of us. And we should all be interested in solving the issue of erosion as much as possible. I'll step off my soap box now. LOL Amy

I stayed below 20g of carbs all day today! I didn't work out because I have a wicked headache from the carb withdrawl, but I drank my gallon of water. When the carb withdrawl is gone I will get back into doing my workouts. It is not a cop-out. Its a true mild migraine that just isn't leaving. But I am walking the dog ever 30 minutes if that counts for anything. LOL I will be weighing in on Saturday, and doing my measurements. I will be thinner every day after today. Amy

Jacqui, I tell DH about that, and he agrees, we go for it, and he takes an hour. I ask after "I thought you were going to be quick! What happened?" His response... "I know that once you started you would want to go as long as me." Just slightly conceited... LOL Amy

God no you are not the only one!! My DH doesn't know the meaning of "quickie" and thinks the longer it takes, the better it is. And I mean the man would go for 4 or 5 hours if I let him. I love him to death, and se is awesome, but after about an hour, I am tired. Maybe as I lose I will be able to keep up as well. Amy

PUDDING!! LOL Always a big hit, and you can make it low fat with skim milk. Amy

Oooooh. Fears. My DH hates my fears. He says I am too crazy. I am afraid to be in the bathroom while a toilet flushes. So when I go to the bathroom i stand up after, get my clothes all situated, open the door, stand as far away from the toilet as I can and still reach the lever, flush, then run out. When I was three my dad hid in the bathroom when I was going one time. When I flushed he jumped out at me from behind the shower curtain. Scared the bejeezus out of me. That bring up another fear. Shower curtains. I have to have clear curtains, or glass shower surrounds. I have to be able to see into the bathtub when I go into the bathroom. Or I just won't go. And that keeps me from going in public places. I have to be in a serious bad situation (about to piss my pants) before I will use a public restroom. I make DH crazy when midday on the weekend I will pack everyone up from where ever we are and go back home jsut to pee. LOL Spiders. I am deathly afraid of spiders. When I was 2 I lived in Hawaii. I walked between two cars in a parking lot one morning, and a banana spider (look it up. they ain't pretty.) had built a web between the cars. He was sitting right in the middle of it. I got bit on the forehead and had an awful reaction to it. And I am afraid of spider webs too. Spider egg cases make me want to vomit. We were given a chance to go to australia for our honeymoon. I couldn't do it, and we had to cancel the trip and make last minute plans because of the spiders they have in austrlia. I have fainted three seperate occasions when, each time, a daddy long leg has gotten on me. Things under the bed. Well, this fear is pretty much quelled, cause we keep our mattress flat on the floor. no space between the carpet and bospring. But the guest room and kids rooms are on stands, and I can't even sit on the bed. I can't go into my pantry unless the light has been on in there for at least 5 minutes before I open the door. And I can't stand the pantry door being left open. And I was attacked my a hammerhead shark when I was 11 snokeling with my dad. I can't go into live Water now because of it. It could be a pond, lake, ocean, doesn't matter. I even have a fear of large pools because of it. And I can't swim in a pool if it has a logo or something dark in the middle on the bottom. If I do get in the pool, I stick to the wall. LOL Those are my irrational fears. Amy

I love tae bo vids. And when I am a little slimmer I will join a gym and start doing weight training as well. We are going to be moving into a house later this month (ack! I have so much packing to do) and it has a HUGE master bedroom. My DH said he is going to set up a little workout area on one side of the bedroom with free weights and a weight bench, and a bike. That will be nice. Along with the great flight of stairs that I can use for a bit of cardio. Amy