TheGh0st

Just quit trying to please everyone and go back to your plans for Aruba if that is what you and your soon to be DH really want. Remember, to everyone else this is just a date in their calendar book but for you this is going to be your life long memory, it should be what you want. Ofcourse if you are determined to please at least one other person besides yourself and your fiance I say have it in Kansas City then you'll have pleased one person on LBT, me. :cursing:

Good Luck SoccerMom! I had to wait several months myself. Some clinics talk about patients having a "Last Meal". But I think the hardest part of the extended wait for me was feeling like I had to go on some sort of Farewell to food Tour! Honestly though I can't say there is one item I ate in the run-up to the band that I either can't eat now or just plain don't want to anymore. Again good luck and glad you found this site. Its been a real blessing to me to have such a large community of fellow bandsters.

I'm so sorry for your regain Karey, but you need this time for your body to heal. Try not to beat yourself up to badly over it right now. I seem to have regained the 1/2 pound I lost the previous week. Two more weeks and counting until they will start refilling me again. I have to say I'm actually shocked I haven't gained more. I feel like I'm eating WAY TOO MUCH! Maybe I just don't know what normal is anymore? Let me rephrase that I KNOW I'm not eating normal. but I don't know if the quantity or calorie level I'm eating is as terrible as it sounds to me. I'll bread down one ot two of my recent days for you guys to dissect tomorrow but have to rush to second job now.

Glad your computer is back up and running. Do you have the lapband or are you researching it at this point? Do you have any questions? I'm no expert but I'd be glad to help in any way I can.

Don't ask why but yes it will work. You don't even have to buy multiples of 2. Walgreens Coupons alwasy have a published limit but for some reason they don't enforce it. Ofcourse if you get the one stickler of a clerk that reads the fine print and refuses to do what every other store does then you would end up still getting all 3 packs for the 2.97 as the loss of coupon on the 3rd item would be $5 which is equal to the register reward coupon that would print after you paid. And 99-cents per package is still extremely cheap. Let me know how it works. I'm one that doesn't need them myself but still plan on doing it for the $2 profit, then saving them for a present or donating them. If you ever make it over to the KC side of the state I'd be glad to "donate" them to you. :thumbup: One tip: You can do the deal multiple times by going through the line more than once but you can't use the first $5 coupon to help pay for more diapers or it won't print out another $5 coupon. The deal state one per customer so when you use the coupon it the register recognizes you have already participated and won't print out another one. Again I have never heard of a store refusing to let a customer do it more than once just because they saw them doing it before. Good Luck

Even if you don't need diapers for your family this is such a good deal it would practically be a crime for anyone who can not to go buy them to donate to a local church, women's clinic or other charity. And it really isn't as hard as it sounds. You just need to hand them 2 coupons one from each month's book available at the front of every store.

OK this one is a bit more complicated for the uninitiated but here goes... Walgreens has a monthly booklet at the front of the store called the Easy Saver book next to the weekly sales flyers. This Saturday the "July" & "August" books will both be out and valid creating a situation where you end up saving more money than you are spending or effectively getting paid to buy their diapers, if you buy them on Saturday (IT MUST BE SATURDAY). Here is how it breaks down. $ 17.97 for 3 packages of diapers at the sale price this week of $5.99 each ...........(Sale ends Saturday night so you must do this on Saturday) - 7.50 using the coupon out of the July Coupon/Rebate Book - 7.50 using the coupon out of the August Coupon/Rebate Book $ 2.97 Final Price out of pocket for all 3 packages of Diapers Note: you only need one coupon from each book the register will automatically adjust the discount to apply to all three, and YES they will allow you to use the coupons from both books though don't ask me why. On its own this is already a fantastic deal BUT it gets EVEN BETTER as after you pay for the diapers when they hand you the receipt they will also give you a $5.00 coupon (called a Register Reward) which can be used to buy anything in the store except tobacco or prescriptions. In other words after you deduct the $2.97 you just paid they are basically paying you $2.13 to buy their diapers on Saturday. Yes you have to spend $2.97 to start but then you could turn around and use the $5 coupon to either buy yourself some milk/bread or some other necessary item you would have most likly bought from somewhere this weekend anyways. If anyone really loves this deal and wants to know how to make it into an even BIGGER moneymaker just let me know. It involves saving the register reward coupon you get from the diaper deal and using it to pay for another "money making deal" that is coming up next Friday at Walgreens.

Old thread but thought I'd post a new one or two I found. Here is a simple one: Borders $5 off $5 or more at borders.com Promo Code: BR41925 Expriation Date: Unknown If you pick something under $5 and choose the option to pick it up at the store then you pay Zero Zip Nada!! I found a cute CD for my 4 year old for $4.99 before the discount. I couldn't believe the number of items under $5 I had to choose from Not bad at all.

One more thought from a non-Texan. There is another "old-timer" on this site called Wasabubblebutt who was banded in Mexico and lives in Texas. I think she crosses the border for her fills as she is near the border, however she has been a big advocate of going to the well qualified Mexican docs and I bet she might have some good suggestion on Texas docs that might be willing to do the fills. She might "suggest" that this should have been planned out before you were banded but but she is well meaning, if blunt at times.

Thankyou so much for sharing your photo's even sharing "success" photos of PS can be intimidating but to share the "problem" photo's you have takes much strength. But it is just as important for us to see the complications as it is to see the successes. You look fabulous with your clothes on and deserve to look and feel just as fabulous with them off even if only you and your husband get to see it. :biggrin: I will keep your revision surgery in my prayers.

It sounds possible that changing out the port during your TT aggrevated the issue. My PS wouldn't touch or even lipo near the port. However, it also could have been a reaction to internall swelling caused by the HCG hormone treatment you were trying. I'm not sure there is a way to really be sure what caused it. We are all just glad you are on the mend now. And on the topic of my DH. Don't get me started. We've been married 15 years and the entire marriage one major theme of discord has been the fact that he can't get it through his thick skull that I (and most women) do not respond well to the mean football coach (or drill sargent) personality that berets you about your inability to fix something until you decide to do it yourself and prove them wrong. I keep telling him to either butt out or act more like a supportive cheerleader with the "I know you can do it" attitude.

Well the DH found out over the weekend I'd had my unfill. I hadn't told him before as I was worried about him hovering over every bite I took. As it was he still brought it up on his own. Thinking I was eating more than he thought I should he asked point blank about my "fill" last week and even though I didn't have a problem avoiding telling him about the unfill I was unable to lie directly to him. Turned into a 2 hour argument. Still I appear to have lost a whopping 0.4 pounds since last Sunday. I'll have a hard time believing it wasn't just a fluke until I see the same results (or better) next Sunday. Though I am making sure to weigh myself at the same time and in the same clothing (Sunday Morning/ in nothin' but my undies) It has been so nice not to have acid reflux or hearburn for the last 12 days but I'm still scared I'll never get good restriction again. But how can I complain when compared to what others like Karey are going thru?

Michelle - No great advice here other than I'm going through the same thing right now. Was banded Sep of '05 and have probably been too tight for over a year now. I did have the acid reflux and heartburn at night but was also finding I could slowly eat more than I use to without pain (except at nights). My doc said that this almost always corrects itself given enough time without most or all of your fill. Then they can start to refill us. I had over 1/2 mine removed nearly 2 weeks ago now and haven't gained any weight "yet" but the reflux and heartburn are completely gone. I have also noticed I'm able to eat more solid Protein rich foods than I had been for ages without even realizing it and I'm back to drinking a good 5 bottles of Water a day when before I could barely manage 2 bottles. I tell you it has been very humbling. I've been one of the first to advocate someone getting an unfill just to be safe and here I was limping along with too much of a fill telling myself my only problem was not following the bandster "rules" better.

The Old feeling so many of us equated to full that involved the wish to unbutton the top of our trousers should NOT be the new feeling of full. That feeling came from the fact your stomach was literally stretching and pushing against other organs. The "New" full is more in your upper chest. I relate it to a feeling I use to get pre-band where I wasn't yet "full" enough to wish someone would just roll me out of the room but was full enough that I felt I couldn't take another bite without stretching, yawning or burping to make room for that "one last bite". It can take some getting use to but as the OP Mikochan stated you can still feel "satisfied" without needing that old bust a gut feeling. Good luck all!

I'm glad the doc was able to reassure you. I hope I didn't come across as trying to intentionally scare you or be over dramatic. I've just had a couple friends recently with some serious complications to being too tight. On the other hand I've known many that put up with fill too tight for months like myself with minimal problems. In my case I could drink cold drinks but it would quickly give me terrible heartburn, and after being too tight for so long I found I was slowly being able to eat more but still suffering from the bad heartburn and acid reflux at night. My weight loss was non-existant and I was very frustrated. When I finally went in and spoke to my doc in depth he said that it sounded like I had streched out my esophagus and took out nearly all my fill. Sure enough I haven't had a single case of heartburn or reflux since then and he will start refilling me in about a month after giving my esophagus a chance to heal.

We are obviously not doctors but you definitely sound too tight to me. I lived with a fill that was too tight for over a year even though I knew better. Trust me it is NOT worth it. Despite common sense it slows or even stops your weight loss and can put you at higher risk for serious complications such as band slippage. Please do as I say and not as I did and talk to your doc about whether you need an unfill.

Found this link below to his website. Dr. Jesse J. Lopez, Jr. I was banded by Hoehn but I actually use to attend Lopez' support group meetings as well. For a while there I was attending around 3 different groups a month. (Great excuse to get out of the house and leave the toddler with the DH) They meet the second Teusday of each month at the surgery center. I also had my surgery there (albeit with a different doc) it was a great facility.

Hey there Jessica! Where are you getting banded? There is an area wide group called KCBandsters that's next meeting is on August 11th at the Antioch Library on SM Parkway and Antioch at 6:45-8pm. It is a non-doc specific group with around 12-20 people each month. Ranging from pre-op to 7+ years post-op. Most docs also have their own support groups. Some of them are open to patients like Doctor Malley's others are closed to only there own patients like Dr. Hoehn/Hitchcock.

I know many women that have ended up with more than 10cc in a band labeled for 10cc. From what I understand I guess that is just a guideline not a unbreakable rule. Speaking of "unbreakable" I have heard stories of doctors playing with unused bands in their office trying to see how much they could put in a band before it burst like a Water balloon. Supposedly the doctors were able to put in over 150cc and it never broke. I'm not saying the band couldn't break just that it would be impossible for a doc to put enough saline in a banded patient for it to burst.

Mmmmm Beer cheese Soup! Also on the Isopure. I like them as well but the flavors are quite week. They taste better if you mix in a Crystal Light packet. My favorite is the Grape Frost with lemonade mixed in to boost the flavor.

saima - sorry you are having difficulties. Personally, I ended up with about 12cc in my 10cc band before feeling I had gotten to a restriction level that didn't "dissapear" after a few days. HOWEVER, each person is completely different. I have another friend that was banded over 7 years ago (albeit with a 4 cc band) and only ever had one fill. It really all depends on how much "fatty tissue" is between your band and your stomach. They use to tunnel through that fatty layer to place the band directly against the stomach wall but found that the complication rate was much lower if they left the fatty layer intact. My own non-medical you get what you're paying for it opinion is that the trade off for fewer complications unfortunately seems to be the need for more fills that first year than with the old technique. I hate to say it but this may just be what many refer to as bandster hell. Still you need to be proactive and ask your doctor questions, ask if he has checked that your original fill is still in the band or if there seems to be less Fluid than the charts say there should be which could indicate a leak. And if you truly can eat absolutely anything in any quantity such as an entire pizza in one sitting you may want to push for tests to make sure there aren't any problems with the placement of the band. In my 2+ years on the board I have heard of around 4 people who found there band had not been properly "locked" and was therefore not giving any restriction whatsoever. With over 30,000 members on this site that's a pretty uncommon problem it is still worth checking like I said if you can still really everything in site and not just more than you think you should be able to. (though I don't read every post and not all bandsters post here)

Its more than a little out of your way but there is a great doc in Kansas City who is a proctor for Allergan and has done over 1000 bands. He only charges $100/fill, takes patients banded in Mexico and uses the Floro at no extra charge. If you don't find anyone in the DFW area it might be worth the travel.

Karey, I can't believe this happened to you! I am so glad you are alright and got into the doctor quick enough. Please let me/us know if there is anything we can do to help. I wish you were in the KC area I'd offer to come over and help around the house.

Interesting idea, I never thought of trying that before.

Going down means the food that is blocked manages to pass through the band and the discomfort goes away Coming up is referring to the concept of PB'ing (or Productive Burp) a PB can mean different things to different people. For some it is a simple and painless as the term suggests, a burp that happens to bring up some food with it. For others it can be more like throwing up. But it should NEVER be the gut wrenching, praying to the porcelein god type throw up. If it by some chance it was that would be a major red flag that your band was too tight and you needed an unfill. Try not to let all this talk scare you too much. It is good to know that if you don't chew well enough or eat certain foods that they can get stuck and feel uncomfortable. But you have to realize that this is very different from person to personThere are some bandsters who never really have a problem with this. For some it is just a mild discomfort that tells them to back off for others it hits like an unsuspecting freight train. But how many times does it really take a person jumping off there deck and crashing down below before they realize they can't fly no matter how many beers they drink? OK couldn't refuse that bad analogy. :wub: