less-of-me

I am glad to help. I was looking for info right before surgery and I couldn't find anyone that would really take the time and give me advicee from their personal experience. Oh and I met dr daniella and she is really nice! If you have any other questions just keep them coming and I will do my best to answer them.:biggrin:

I am happy that you are ready for your journey. But If I may suggest something. find out about the dr in atlanta to do fills and the cost. Here in phoenix I tried going to fill center usa for my first fill. They did not do it under fluroscopy, they do whats called bling and feel for your port and then start stabbing. they stabbe constantly for 20 minutes went through 3 differant people trying and then they told me they thought my port had flipped upside down and that I would need to go back to mexico to have it surgically fixed. They still charged me the $369. Instead of going straight back to mexico I decided to try a dr 2 hours outside phoenix who did it under fluroscopy and did it in a hospital and only charged $250. I went to him and under flouro he said my port was sideways which is normal with a lot of weight loss so he layed me on the table and pressed on my port till it layed down flat. then they were able to do the fill. I am happy with my dr and was very unhappy about fill center usa. Plus I hear that if they do the fill blind they have a possability of hitting the tube that goes to the band and creating a leak. I dont mean to scare you but it a lot easier getting plans and dr in order before surgery if you know some additional information to ask about. I hope this helps. congrats and God Bless!

John, thank you for the advice. Last night I was able to eat a little more solid food. I appriciate you positive response. The Mayo banditos have beeen the best. no one ever attacks one another and genuinely wants to help one another!!! It really helps make this process and adjustment so much better. so thank you all!!! ANd John yes I will listen to my body and do whats best.:sad:

The dr that did my surgery was dr Lopez assisted by dr Pompa

Well, before I had my first fill I could almost eat anything...breads, pizza, chicken...ect but 3 weeks ago I got my first fill. ever since I am having a hard time finding things that my band can tollerate. Chicken always gets stuck no matter how much I chew it and then I start sliming. I have almost been living on a thick soup for lunch and dinner and skipping breakfast unless I have a protein shake. Most times I get hungry I try little chicken or somethng and about the second bit im in agony and then cant eat for several hours and just have something like soup or yogurt. on my first fill they only put 1.5cc in my band so I dont have much in there (i do have a 4cc band though) I cant just go back to the dr because it is done at a hospital 2 hours away and costs $250 each time I go there. I'm not really complaining because other then only eating mushies I do feel great. Just wondering if anyone else has problems with chicken?

I had the actual FDA approved lapband. One thing you do need to know is that in mexico they still use the 10cm-4cc band. where as the US uses the 10cc-14cc band. I like the smaller band you need less fills and you have more restriction. I did have a little trouble with my port the first time I went for a fill becasue of all the weight I had lost it had turned sideways so they laid me on my back and pressed on the port till it layed down flat. Then they were able to do the fill. Also find out if you have any dr in your area that will do a fill for a mexico patient and the cost. I live in the big town of phoenix and drive 2 hours out of town to a wonderful hospital in flaggstaff that does my fills under fluoroscopy for a total of $250 a fill. I do not regret this one bit. I am thrilled everyday that I have this wonderful tool to help me. I have only had one fill but as of now it is doing wonders. I litterally cant eat breads without feeling the pain of the stuck feeling which you keep in mind and stay away from (breads are my weakness pre-surgery). I was on the fence for a long time and I know now that this was the best decision I made for myself!! I am happy to help with any other questions you may have. Are you going through ISA for your surgery with LIMARP? Hope this does help.

Hi newbie, Yes, I had my surgery with dr pompa an may 29, 2009. It was a great experience. I am currently down 46 pounds and feeling great. I am almost half way to goal! who is your patient cordinator that you are going through? I am happy to give you any information that you need...just let me know.

well, I lost 1 pound this week. I sould be happy that I am losing but there is always a part of you that wants more! I have been having a hard time finding things that wont get stuck since my before my fill..so I haven't been eating as much as I should. Maybe I just not getting in the calories that I should. But I will be happy for a 1 pound loss. Gongrats to all the banditos on doing so well!:wink2:

well i recieved my first fill this week 1.5cc in a 4cc band. this week my starting weight was 243 as of yesterday 234. that is 9 pounds down!!! what a great week!!! congrats to all banditos on their weight loss:lol:

well, Im excited to post today. Yesterday I drove out of town to see another dr to see if my port was actually flipped like the last dr stated (he had also said i needed surgery to resecure the port). Well this new dr did the x ray and could see the port. after 3 attemps and not being able to get it he realized that the port wat on its side. so, he layed me down on the bed and pushed my stomach for awhile working the port to lay down flat. after that he used xray to get the needle in the port and then helped me stand up with the needle still in. with me standing up using fluoro he was able to finally give me 1.5cc in my4cc band. So, this means I do not have to go back to mexico for surgery again!!!!! Im so glad that I went to a differant fill dr. They want me on liquids for 48 hours and that is fine with me. It will help jump start more weight loss and I am just happy to have a fill! Oh and I just got back from a week in las vegas and yesterday ended my monthly cycle...and today I was down 6 pounds!!!!! That makes up for all the stress. Well thanks for listening to me ramble on:thumbup::biggrin:!

Linda, I just got back late last night from vacation in vegas. I had a really hard time with food. every time I ate I got stuck. I chewed chewed chewed and still it happened...even on things like scrambles eggs and soft fish. I haven't been able to get a fill yet (still waiting for another appoinment to see if my port has flipped over) I just dont know why I wasn't able to eat really for a week. luckily I brought some slimfasts and that helped a bit. Hope things go better for you!

well, before I go to Mexico my surgon wants mw to go and have a fluoro to see if it is actually flipped. they said that it might be the dr was too inexperienced and was doing it blind. they said a fluoro will give us an exact answer. so I have to pay to get another fill appoinment to see if it is flipped. But if it is I am out that money too. And to top it off they cant even get me in till the 27th and I leave on vacation tomorrow. I just wanted to go on vacation and have restriction so that I didnt focus on food the whole time! Well, I guess I will have to wait to see how this all plays out. please pray that when I do get into the dr that my port is not flipped and that I wont need surgery again. Thank you for ALL of your support...it means a lot to me Thank you

well I have not had an xray yet nor have they called me back yet. But I do feel less stressed. I know it can be fixed, if that is truely the problem. But my cordinators think they might not hvae been experienced enough. so she suggests I have the xray and see whats going on before i freak. she did say that if I did need to have it repositioned that I would have to drive or fly to san diego and they would pick me up and charge me $300 to fix it. Im not sure if the $300 is fair though when it wasn't my fault. And thankyou for those of you that commented on my situation...support really does help ease the frustration!!!

well this morning I was on the verge of full blown crying. I went in for my first fill at fill center usa since I was banded in tj mexico, well after 2 needles and 20 mins of constant poking around under the skin with the needle, they told me they could not do my fill because they believe that my port has flipped over and floating around. they want to send me for xray and see if I need to go back in to surgery and have it sutured back into me!! Im so disapointed plus the fact that I am self pay and this is going to get much more expensive. I so wanted just to get restriction especially before I leave on vacation this thursday. I just feel so helpless besides the fact of just trying to do my best with what I have already. It has been a though day emotionally and just pray that they will find a doctor this week that can do the flourascopy (at a reasonable price)! sorry for the rant but I feel like nobody here understand what I am going through. well I better stop because the tears are starting to well up in my eyes again.:frown:

Well Im stuck at the 30# weight loss. Tomorrow I go in for my 1st fill. I am very nervous but excited! cant wait to see the scale keep going down. Have a great weekend banditos!!!:tongue_smilie:

John, you are doing amazingly well. I can't wait...tomorrow I get my first fill! Today Im exactly 6 weeks post op and feeling great. I just want to keep losing weight and Im stalled at 30 #. Lets see what this first fill will bring!!!!:tongue_smilie:

congrats Juniper on becoming a bandito! this is the begining of your new life. soon you will be sharing with us your great news of a healthier life!!!!!

I was able to fit into my old size 18 pants (down from a 24+) and have lost 2 cup sizes in my bra(now only an H...yay for my back problems). what a great feeling to be going in the right direction!

xavier thank you for your concern. I am eating more and getting my protein in. I have upped my calories and and back to losing weight! I am probably getting around 900 to 1000 calories a day now. I am making healthy choices and feeling great. last night I was craving fries so I cut up a sweet potatoe into fry pieces rub 1tbs olive oil and chile powder and a little lite salt and backed them for 20 min in oven crispy little tasty fries...mmmmmmm. oh and thankyou xavier for caring to make sure im eating better. way to go banditos!!!

Well last week I had gained back 3 pounds...but this week I lost those 3 pounds plus 3 more!!! The only bad thing is today is my TOM and my back and tummy are in lots of pain! Im not sure if I can take anything for it yet, but I do miss soaking in the tub to release back muscle tension. Anyway congrats to all!!!

you are right we are all differant and our bodies react differantly. I was stuck for a week and a half and then gained 3 lbs back. but this week I lost those 3 lbs and an additional 2!! our bodies are strange and we are all learning how to live this new life of a banster and what does and doesn't work for each of us. Im glad you checked in and feel better about your weightloss. Keep striving forward and you will do great!!!:thumbup:

I can relate. all of my incisions were healing fine until the other day. After wearing a bra all day I went to take a shower and realized that the incision in the middle under my breast was sore. I looked at it it looked irritated and mybe small puss bubble. so the last couple days in the morning I shower put on zinc oxcide and a bandade over it to protect it and at night let it have air. and now it looks fine again and back to healing!!!

I will call todaqy to find out about vitamines. thankyou Anne!