Susan, you can eat the tortilla on quesadillas? I'm scared that they will get stuck or ball up in there. But if you can get them down, I may try it too. Like I need that.
Martha
Hello. I am new. My name is Judy. I am planning to be banded Jan. 4 by
Dr. Huacuz. I just missed a bit of discussion about him. I really want
the sleeve but it is too expensive so I doing this. I am excited and I
am ready to lose some weight. Second time around, first time I lost
weight with strict dieting. I have not been able to get back on that
train since I fell off. I am scared and excited. Judy
I just love Mexican food. Not the American version of Mexican food, like Taco Bell, but the real thing, extra spicy. What are sopapias? Like a mexican pancake? What I am craving (and yes, I am STARVING now as everyone said I would be) is a chicken enchilada, extra spicy hot. So, as a banded person, you still can eat Mexican? There ARE some dishes that are healthy choices, right? What is the serving size? Why am I doing this to myself? I need to quit obsessing on the Mexican food. Actually, if I could eat anything right now, it would be from my favorite genre ... Middle Eastern. I could go for some stuffed grape leaves or Tabouli.
Ok, enough.
Gotta go drink some crystal lite.
Lisa
230/219.5/140
1 week 1 day post op
Dr. Kuri, 1/5/04
I live in the Dallas, Texas area. Actually I live about 65 miles northwest of Fort Worth, but there is a Tex-Mex restaurant where I love the food and it's only twelve miles from our house, so I go there when I have to take my husband to the doctor and when I have to go pick up his medicines at the drug store. It's close to those places. But additionally , Mexican food places are all over Texas. You'll have to come for a visit and go eat Mexican food. We have one place that has sopapias that are larger than the size of your dinner plate. My husband and I together could not eat one, back when I ate such horrible things, with butter and honey on them. LOL We once stopped there just to have one for a snack in the middle of the afternoon. No meal, just a snack. How's this all related to the band? It's not good for a banded person to eat this good stuff. One time when four of us banded people went to eat our traditional Mexican dinner after our weight support group
was over, we ordered a sopapia and all four of us tried to eat it and , of course, we couldn't. We could all have a bite though.
Martha
I think you'll find that people are using xray and fluoro
interchangeably. Either way, it is using xrays, and the difference
being whether it is captured as a still image, or as a moving image on
a screen. The fills I've had have been done with fluoro, and even
have the videotape of the fills.
Monday, January 12, 2004, 10:39:14 PM, you wrote:
SR
SR
SR
SR
SR
SR
Dan Lester, Boise, ID honu@... www.gailndan.com/lapband
Dr. Ortiz, Tijuana, 4/28/03
323/221/199 Age 60
Arrogant and secretly jealous, I think. Arrogant to think they are better than the Mexican doctors. And jealous because the Mexicans are so much more experienced than they are at this procedure. Also they know the Mexican men are more handsome...LOL!
I wouldn't trust an American doctor with my band or my port. I couldn't get anyone to take my phone calls when my port had disconnected last year. These guys don't deserve to be called doctors. Yet, my Mexican doctor is made of gold... he'll treat anyone else's patient. He's more caring than any American doc I've ever met. The Mexican medical establishment has more of the old fashioned values that the American doctors USED to have when I was a little girl. It's worth the trip to TJ when I need fills... I get to see that warm, smiling face when he says "how are you, honey?" I have doctors here who I see once a year for various checkups and they barely remember my name.
Susan from NC
Banded 4/3/02 Dr. Kuri
222/140/140
STOP, Martha, you are making me hungry. I would die for some Mexican food. Where do you live? On the border??
Wendy: When I went to get my first fill (from an inexperienced surgeon), he
poked me about 20 times and said he got 2 cc's in. I went back a week later
and he poked me another 20 times and gave up. I went to another fill doctor
in Dallas about two weeks after that (I'm in Houston) and he got it in one
try. He could only pull out .6 cc's from the 2 cc's the other doctor said
he put in and he filled me back to 2 cc's. I went back three weeks later
and he could only pull out 1 cc and filled me to 3 cc's. I went back for
the last time about three weeks after that and he only pulled out 1 cc. The
first 4 months were definitely frustrating for me as I thought this wasn't
going to work for me, but after my repair, everything has been fine.
Don't ever let anyone poke you more than 3 times. I had to learn the hard
way!
<Message: 8
Date: Mon, 12 Jan 2004 15:46:24 -0000
From: "gypsyqueen1968" <gypsyqueen1968@...
Subject: Cassie's leak -
How did you know you had a leak?
wendy
WAAAAA! I did not have orange juice on my post op menu. I love it too but can't have it. Well, I could if I was going into a diabetic coma or something close to that. LOL. Each doctor tells his patients to have what he wants them to have and each one is different, so it's best to just do what your doctor tells you to do and if you can get answers out of his office , then do that.
I tried to eat two more meatballs tonight and PB'ed the whole mess, I'm thinking I vomited because I had two sets of food come up and it felt like it came from down deep. It didn't taste like acid though. So five meatballs is not what I can have, it's 3. And I think spaghetti is completely off limits. I had a tablespoon of it and I think that is what caused the upchuck. But it could have been the extra two meatballs. Three little meat balls seems like so little to me. At lunch today I had one beef enchilada, one filling of a chicken enchilada, and one cheese enchilada, and a fourth of a cup of refried beans. I did very well at lunch. For breakfast I had a protein drink. For dinner I had to vomit the meatballs. So tomorrow I'm having chicken enchilada soup made by the Chili's recipe. It has chicken, cheese and lots of onions and tomatoes. I'm adding some black beans and corn as when I ate it there, I know I saw some of those in my soup. It is not on the
recipe but I know I saw it in there. I had to find a Spanish speaking person to ask if the Mesa that I was buying to use in the soup was the same as the words on the recipe . I hope this tastes half as good as it did at Chili's. It was super good. I'm going to put lots of chicken in mine.
Martha
Eric,
Also, I have a question about doctors, PA's, NP's in the US doing fills on
patients that have their lap band surgery done in Mexico. Maybe a few of
the other PA's here, too, can answer this.
The surgeon that I was originally going to use for my surgery in Denver
refuses to do fills for Mexican patients. I know this is not that uncommon,
but what is their deal? My doctor says there is too much liability. Huh?
Why is it different if you do a fill on a patient from Oregon, Pennsylvania,
or Tijuana? What would prevent someone from going to a surgeon here in the
US for a fill and telling them that they had the surgery done in the US,
when in fact they really had their surgery done in Mexico??? I told my
surgeon that I thought he really ought to reconsider doing fills for Mexican
patients, as these are people that need his services and he would be doing
them a great service by helping them with fills. He refuses and says that
Mexican surgeons do not carry malpractice insurance, so if someone comes to
him (the surgeon here) for services, the "onus" is placed on him for
liability. I told him that I had found another doctor in my state to do
fills and he believes that this doctor is really hanging his neck out on the
line and that all it will take is one lawsuit to make him change his mind
about doing fills for Mexican patients. Is he being lawsuit paranoid or is
this justified, in your opinion?
I asked this surgeon if someone had heart surgery in Europe, for example,
not by choice, then moved to the US and had some complications, would he
refuse to treat him, too? I didn't get an answer. (o:
Call me suspicious, but I think some of these US doctors are just a little
paranoid.
Any comments would be appreciated because I'm really puzzled on this one
(anyone else?)
Suzanne
Dr. Ortiz 1/9/04
I am combining responses to a number of posts about fills into this one
post:
Martha 1/3 of .5 is about .166, so if your understanding is correct, you
have about 2.17 cc's .
Fills are an art not a science, everyone is different. I had 1.2 my first
fill, then .8 my second for a total of 2.0 then got esphogitis and had to be
unfilled. I have now had my first new fill and am at 1.2 again and do have
some restriction. I am taking it slowly, I do not want a recurrence of my
previous problems, but will probably go back fairly soon for another fill.
Dr Maese will in all likelihood bring me up to the 2.0 level again. From
then on, most docs go very slowly. often a tenth or two at a time.
Some of you know Cynthia of Banlandia (formerly with New You) She has lost
210 lbs and recently posted about this issue. She said that at 3.2 she is at
maintenance, and 3.3 she is in weight loss mode, and at 3.4 she is totally
shut off! So, those tenths of a cc do count and are not minor.
Also, for others who seem to be confused, your band has a hollow tubing that
lines the inner side of it and is attached to your port with tubing. The
fill goes into your port and through your tubing to your band and it of
course fills your tubing before it can go into your band, it could not be
otherwise. Depending on your size, and on the placement of your port, the
length of the tubing will vary. The size of the bands vary, Inamend sells
three sizes. For the one most frequently used, which is I think the 9.75, it
holds about 4cc, but this is not exact because of the amount that will go
into the tubing. Some docs place the port on the left side (this is where
mine is) and so I would have more tubing than my daughter because Dr Rod
places all ports in the center below the sternum so it is closer to the band
and there would not need to be as much tubing.
If you do not like the way a doc is doing a fill, or do not understand what
is going on, ask questions! By the way, as a matter of protocol, all docs
are supposed to remove all fill when you go in for a new fill to make sure
that there is indeed the amount in your band as there is supposed to be. If
there is not, then you either have a leak, a disconnect, or you last fill
doctor was not accurate in what he recorded or told you. Once the doctor
removes the fill, he will fill you again adding in the new amount. If you
are getting it done with fluro, then he will leave the needle sticking out
of you while you swallow the barium to make sure all is okay before he
removes the needle. When we are not informed, then things can seen scary or
peculiar, and it is easy to jump to incorrect conclusions.
HTH
Judy C
Dr. Rodriguez charges $7,000.00 for surgery.
The transport lady charges $450.00 (that also includes the hotel)
Hi Eric,
I'm a new post-op patient. Had my surgery on 1/9/04 with Dr. Ortiz - can you
help me understand why some fill doctors (PA's, NP's) do fills with an x-ray
as opposed to using fluro? Is one better than the other or are they just
different? And, is it YOUR preference to do the fill with an x-ray or is it
up to the patient? Is it easy to do a fill without having an x-ray or
fluro?
Thanks
Suzanne
Thanks, Martha.......I'm only 3 days post-op, so I figure the OJ will be
okay for now. It's on my list of approved drinks for the first week (Orange
juice with no pulp). I figured I'd take advantage of it now since I love it,
and will probably have to have much less of it later due to the high sugar
content. I do not have diabetes (thankfully), so I guess I don't have to
worry in that regard.
Suzanne
Dr. Ortiz 1/9/04
Looks to me like the saline would have to also fill the tube, what's to prevent that? It would go to fill the band and have to be in the tube also. I don't think there is anything there to keep it out of the tube. I'd say it's "going down the tube" and staying there as well.
Martha
I just want to thank you for doing this for people, America needs more people like you and when they figure out that money can be made by doing this, I think more will do it.
Martha
Martha - what's your fill level now?
2 .3 cc's I think is what it's called. I had 2, got a half more, then removed one third of that half. That's what I have left now.
Are you going to be a model when you grow up? You are nice and tall.
Martha
When I went to Dr. Rod for my fill , I parked my car in the taxi parking lot which is fenced and free. I took a taxi to the hospital, and it cost $2.00 to cross the border, $3.00 for the cab fare and $2.00 to get back across the border and $3.00 for that cab ride back and Dr. Rod. himself called the cab to come get me when he finished my fill and was ready for me to leave. It's probably not a mile to the hospital from the border. It's not far, I really don't know the mileage, but not far at all. I would not hesitate to leave me car on the American side at the Taxi company. You can easily do that to have your surgery as well.
Martha
It's normal and ok , and will go away, just walk a lot and that helps , fart a lot and that helps even more. LOL I remember that, it took about two months to finally not have gas every breath I took. I was a big fart! I kept apologizing to my husband who was with me every hour of every day. He said not to worry , he'd heard me fart before. I felt like crawling into a hole, He didn't have to tell me he'd heard that. LOL
Martha
Be careful about orange juice, it's almost like drinking a cup of sugar. Apple juice would be a better choice , or one of those diet fruit juices they now have at the store. Also if you are diabetic , orange juice would not be a good thing to be drinking ever. Fruit juices are not recommended to banded people, I've heard it is better to eat the fruit rather than drink the juice as there is too much sugar in the juice. Lots of banded people are diabetic and they take them off their diabetic medicines often after surgery and they have to think about the sugar and carbohydrate intake. I'm diabetic , that's why I have this piece of trivia.
Martha
Dan,
I truly appreciate your honesty about your faux-pas, shall we say.
Try not to beat yourself up over it. LIVE AND LEARN. I'm sure this is what
you try to do ALL the time, it's just that this monster called food still
likes to pick on us sometimes.
I kind of notice a trend sometimes here, of folks saying they were "very
naughty" or "very good", or "I ate some bad things today". This really
makes me realize that these old, shameful BAD GIRL, BAD BOY from our many
years of dieting, do not go away easily )o:
Please, y'all, try and remember, that nothing you do is BAD. YOU are NOT
BAD. Even if you made a not so good choice, give yourself a huge pat on the
back for all of the POSITIVE changes you have made in your life!!! Think of
how well you are doing now compared to a few years ago! You have made MAJOR
life changes and you should be very, very proud of yourself. Whenever that
good/bad monster rears it's ugly head, slap IT upside the head and tell it
to go away, because you are all fighters and will not take this nonsense!!
LOL
Suzanne
Denver, Colorado
Dr. Ortiz/Martinez 1/9/04
237/???/140 or so, or whenever I can wear a bathing suit and not be
self-conscious (o:
Martha - what's your fill level now?
Wendy from Birmingham, AL
age 35, 5'10"
Dr. Rumbaut (Mexico): 8/5/03
Dr. Morton (Nashville): 9/15/03 1st fill, 1.6
1/12/04 2nd fill, 2.2
as of 12/16/03: -33 lbs
ideal: -145 lbs
mini: -110 lbs
BMI 40.8 / 36.1 / 20
Hi Suzanne,
I am one week post op and I can tell you - WOW do I feel better. It made a
big difference, just a few days. I am still having a little discomfort in
the shoulder but nothing like the first day of surgery or first week.
I woke this morning feeling like my normal self. By the end of a very
strenuous day, cause I felt so good to do a lot, I have a little soreness
where the port is, and feeling a little run down and burning where the
incisions are.
Believe me, you will feel better.
Lisa
230/223/140
One week post op
Dr Kuri 1/5/04
Suzanne,
Congratulations on your successful surgery. I had my surgery done a few
days before yours with Dr. Kuri. Did they give you anything for pain in
your IV? Sounds like you had a good experience.
Lisa
My daughter was banded by Dr Rod in July (I was also banded in College
Station Texas as my insurance paid, hers did not) We all loved Dr Rod. We
had a bander's holiday, my other daughter came as well and my sister and
niece. First my daughter was banded by Dr. Rod, then three days later I was
banded back in Texas. The hospital in Acuna is very small (10 beds) but very
clean and well run. Dr Rod is one of the more experienced band docs, he has
done about 1000 bands and will use any of three bands. He is also set up to
do the extremely obese as he has extra length trochars. The hospital is not
fancy like some of the ones you will see advertised, but as he says, you are
only there for one night. His price is very reasonable, last I knew it was
about $8000. You can also pay an American woman (I think she charges $400
or$500 and a real bargain) to meet you at the airport and take you to Acuna
and back again and give you lots of support, she is great! I have no
hesitation in recommending Dr. Rod, his bedside manner is terrific, he is a
top doctor, and very caring.
HTH
Judy C
Kelly,
I just had my surgery done this past Friday with Dr. Ortiz and Dr. Martinez.
I had a really good experience with them, Mama Ortiz (Dr. Ortiz' mother),
and Marissa, the nutritionist (Dr. O's sister). I went down on Thursday,
met up with another lady at the airport who was also having surgery the next
day, then met four others at the hotel! We all had dinner together Thursday
night, and had SO MUCH FUN!
Surgery was a breeze. If there are other people having surgery the same
day, then you will all be in rooms side by side and across from each other
(at least that was my experience). It was fun to walk the halls and visit
with my fellow bandster buddies that knew exactly what I was going through.
Why don't you call Robin and ask her how many others are having surgery that
day! We had a group of six and it was fun, fun, fun. After the surgery,
most of your discomfort will be at the incision where the port is. I didn't
have any pain at all in the smaller incisions, and NO GAS at all. No pain
in my shoulder, and today, three days post-op, I have a little bloating but
it's not bad. I went to the outlet mall today, walked around, went to the
grocery store. I really believe the best thing you can do for yourself
after the surgery is walk, walk, walk. Rest when you feel tired, of course,
but the walking will really help. And you won't be as stiff.
Hope this helps!
Suzanne in Colorado
Dr. Ortiz/Martinez 1/9/04
237/???/137
This sounds screwy to me! Why would a doctor give you a fill and not give
you enough to give you restriction in the first place?
It is my understanding that the actual band that goes around your stomach
has a balloon in it. When saline is added, the balloon gets a little larger
and hence, the restriction.
Are you confident that this Dr. knows what he is doing? Are you in Texas?
I heard that this doctor used to practice in Colorado, then went to Texas,
but I don't know much about him.
Are you a member of smartbandsters? If so, you might want to pose this
question to that group as Jessie or Sandy RN or someone might be able to
help more.
Suzanne
Colorado
Dr. Ortiz/Martinez 1/9/04
237/???/137
Can't tell you about driving, but CAN tell you that all my crazy ideas about Mexico regarding medical stuff were dead wrong. Everything went off without a hitch.
tcottle2000 <fenton5clan@...
Hi,
I'm thinking about being banded by Doctor Rodrigue's in Acuna Mexico
and would like some info. about him, the hosipital, and the
experience. I'm a little worried about having done in Mexico, so can
anyone tell me about cleanliness, skill level, and any complications
concerning this doctor and and the facility. I live in Midland Texas
and would like to drive down to have this procedure done. Has anyone
else done this?
Thanks,
tcottle2000
Debbie,
I had my surgery on Friday with Dr. Ortiz - you were given papers from
Marissa, the nutritionist (no?). It fully explains what you should be
drinking and eating the first week, second week, etc. Marissa also made it
clear to me that should I start to feel LETHARGIC (not weak or hungry)
before 10 days is up, then start on some protein (powder) with milk.
If you misplaced your sheets from her, PLEASE Let me know. I can fax them to
you. Or call Dr. O's office and get it faxed to you right away. Don't
delay as I believe you could run into problems if you don't follow the
instructions carefully!
If you got the instructions and are just looking for "other" things to
drink, I went to the store and got some Sobe Energy Drink. It's in the same
aisle as the gatorade and things like that. It has lots of vitamins. Also
try PULP free orange juice, and sip, sip, sip, water and gatorade all day
long, along with your chicken broth and jello.
Good luck
Suzanne
Dr. Ortiz/Dr. Martinez 1/9/04
237/???/137
Lisa,
Congrats on being a loser! I had my surgery with Dr. Ortiz this past Friday
and I'm having the same "bloating" that I think you are experiencing. My
tummy is kind of hard where the port incision is, and I actually told a
friend of mine today that I feel about 5 months pregnant!
From what I understand, some swelling is normal, as we are healing. Maybe
some more of you experienced folks can help us with this. I don't have any
more pain than I had the first day after surgery, just a little pain where
the incision is.
Can someone advise if this is normal and is it due to gas and healing, and
how long will it take to subside?
Suzanne
Colorado
Dr. Ortiz/Dr. Martinez 1/9/04
237/???/137
Sounds like it's time for another fill! Hang in there. Don't loose
control over this minor problem. Get your fill and then get back on
track. You'll do well.
Alex
Banded 2/28/03 Dr. Ortiz
Preband 404/299
Hi,
I'm thinking about being banded by Doctor Rodrigue's in Acuna Mexico
and would like some info. about him, the hosipital, and the
experience. I'm a little worried about having done in Mexico, so can
anyone tell me about cleanliness, skill level, and any complications
concerning this doctor and and the facility. I live in Midland Texas
and would like to drive down to have this procedure done. Has anyone
else done this?
Thanks,
tcottle2000
Hi all
I finely got another fill. I have not lost weight sense Oct. I am
very tight now. I'm on just liquids for three days, but I don't
think I could get anything solid down. I was filled by Erik, Dr.
Sanchez's P.A... He has moved to Vegas to finish a law degree of
all things. Any way he will de dong fills there soon. (as soon as
he gets set up). I will post a phone number for him when he is
ready. I think he said he has done over 500 fills. He did a great
job on me.
Feeling tight, Brad
290-250-195 Dr. Sanchez June 2003
Monday, January 12, 2004, 9:49:19 AM, you wrote:
d
d
Thanks. That's why I posted it. Maybe it will help someone else,
though did get flamed for it on another group....oh, well....
dan
Dan Lester, Boise, ID honu@... www.gailndan.com/lapband
Dr. Ortiz, Tijuana, 4/28/03
323/221/199 Age 60
I'm going to be moving to New Orleans next month and would love to be
a part of a group that may get together. please keep me posted.
Hi all. I just had my first fill on Friday in Baton Rouge. The most
wonderful/amazing part about it (besides seeing the fluoro image) was
meeting other bandsters. My area has at least 6 doctors who perform
the bands and NO organized band support group. That was the most
enjoyable waiting room time I've had since sitting in the ob/gyns
office comparing notes with other mothers to be. It's a similar
situation. The fill was painless and (I'm finding) reasonably
inexpensive and I've got some restriction. They cautioned me to do
liquids for a day or two, then softs for a day or two before diving
back into the solids. I am following every instruction as closely as
possible.
I met Gaynelle (who also posts on this site) there - she drove to
B.R. from Atlanta. If any of you who post or lurk are from the New
Orleans metro (or even Gulf Coast) area - maybe we ought to think
about putting together some kind of local support group. Or just get
together to compare notes.
Laura
Dan, I don't call that being stupid, it's just called "continuing education" in my book.
Martha
Well folks, I am very frustrated right now. I have
stopped losing weight. I know it's my fault because I
have gone back to me bad habits somewhat. It's all
because I can eat more. Besides the occasional
sticking of chicken, I have not PBed once. That is
great because that is what I have been trying to
avoid. So, I need a fill and I can't wait! I have
gained back 2 pounds and I don't feel as good as I did
defore. You know, that feeling of knowing you are
heavy... When I was wittling my way down, I had this
wonderful feeling of lightness; like anyday I could
fit into those size 14s with room to spare.
Now I want a filling so tight that nothing but liquids
can go down. Mind you, when I got me 11cm band, I got
a 2cc filling so it would stay on better. Boy that
didn't last long! The one thing that is killing me is
the cravings. When I couldn't get that stuff down, I
didn't want it or need it. Now, well, that's a
different story.
Anyway, I frustrated and thought I would share...
Bianca
10/30/03 Dr. Rod-Acuna 230/211/150 +2 lbs
Well, I had a great weekend, but a really dumb one, twice.
Friday night we played bridge. I ate a lot of garbage, like bunches
of almonds, too much cheese, too much fatty salami. I'm well
restricted, but things open up in evening, and those things are soft.
Well, almonds aren't soft, but they chew up pretty well, especially if
you're drinking crystal lite with them to wash the bitty pieces
through. Even ate a few pieces of candy, which I almost never do, and
it wasn't even good candy. Oh well.....
Saturday and Sunday were both good days, getting lots of stuff done
around the house, trying to get prepared for the Bash next weekend,
and so forth. But Saturday evening I decided to have some artichoke
ravioli for supper. Gail had bought it ages ago, and it needed to be
eaten or tossed. So she cooked it up and just sprinkled some parmesan
on it. No sauce. And of course they were already sticking to each
other on the plate with no sauce to lube it up. Well, a couple of
those and I was barfing. For an hour anyway. After barfing into the
sink and running the disposal I decided that the rest of the ravioli
were all going down too. And they did. Afterwards Gail reminded me
that we had some alfredo sauce in the fridge I could have lubed them
with. Fortunately, they were all gone, and I'm sure I'll never try
pasta again unless it has sauce on it. Preferably NOT alfredo sauce.
So, what about last night? We'd TiVo'ed Angels in America and were in
about the fifth of the six hours of it and I got a craving for
"something crunchy". Didn't feel like going out in the fog to buy
anything. Unfortunately, there were a bunch of pecan halves in the
pantry. I had about a dozen. Plain. Didn't drink with them. Drank
some later, no apparent problem. A couple hours later I had some
cream of cauliflower soup that Gail had made (courtesy of a wonderful
recipe from a wonderful Idaho bandster, Shannon, having previously had
some of it at our last soup night at her house). A few bites of that
and I had several golf balls in my chest. I spent over an hour
producing tons of slime from BOTH esophagus and sinuses (yes, Jessie,
I'm now sure it comes from both places, not just the sinus). More
than an hour of barfing slime finally led to the mass of chewed pecans
coming up. Relief at last.
Damn, I'm stupid. I thought about the pecans not being too smart
while eating them. And of course the thick soup just worked like
adding mud to straw to make a nice solid mess down there. By far the
worst stuck thing I've ever had. The McDees biscuit piece was stuck
longer (about four hours), but nothing else has hurt like this, not
the biscuit, not the burrito, or anything else.
And they say that as we get older we get smarter.....don't count on
it.
dan
Dan Lester, Boise, ID honu@... www.gailndan.com/lapband
Dr. Ortiz, Tijuana, 4/28/03
323/221/199 Age 60
How did you know you had a leak?
wendy
ronk2105: I wasn't banded by Dr. Fransico Trevino, but he helped Dr. Rumbaut
repair my leak in my tubing on July 5, 2002 (it was punctured by an
inexperienced surgeon). He is great! When did he start doing lapbands?
Cassie
Dr. Rumbaut
March 1, 2002
238/143/138-145 (I'm there)
<Message: 9
Date: Mon, 12 Jan 2004 03:42:17 -0000
From: "ronk2105" <ronk2105@...
Subject: Dr Tervino
Has anyone been banned by Dr. Fransico Trevino in Monterrey, Mexico?
Was watching the tube tonight and there was a promo for Oprahs' show on Monday. It is about what happens after WLS. The picture showed a very large woman on a gurneybeing wheeled down a hospital corridor . She was in obvious distress. I could not tell from the film if she was pre or post surgery.I wonder what spin they are putting on WLS now? I am in the Los Angeles area so I'll see the show on channel 7(ABC) here at 3:00 pm Monday Sue H.
Banned from what?
Has anyone been banned by Dr. Fransico Trevino in Monterrey, Mexico?
Now THAT was great! What's the post # of Mike's to which you refer?
wendy
Welcome to the club, Starlynn. :o) I will share what I think and this mostly applies to me and my experience and I'm not picking on you, I'm trying to figure out a way to say stuff that conveys the message. :o) We can talk about how it effects us, but I'll tell you what seems to be the "deal" to me. I have been doing the same thing as you but with my second fill , my first one had made no difference in my ability to eat whatever I wanted. But now, I'm doing the same thing you are. I think it is just an adjustment period that we have to figure out how to eat with the band doing it's job. I think in my head still that I can eat more than I really can so I get more and never can eat it. I get sick from eating too much, too fast, don't chew long enough, all this stuff. I have to realize that what people have been telling me all along the way, eat slow, take little bites, sip water, eat a little, chew well. That stuff applies after you get this kind of fill, so
now is the time to adjust to it or we will be puking for the rest of our lives. It's just learning to read your body signals, it's hard to do if you have never been aware that you have any signals to read. I never thought I ever felt any signal that said, you are full , quite eating, I just quit when I ran out of food. I'm finally learning the difference between the signal in my stomach that says, "I'm warning you, you better stop this instant" from the one that says, " I told you not to take that last bite, now go puke" I am beginning to realize that I have to start watching out for this stuff. I am learning to wait a minute for stuff to go on down and for small pains to go away. Then maybe I can take another bite or two, but I absolutely must wait. I am not good at it yet, I still puke some , but I'm learning. It's a tough adjustment, but you will make it. The bands says so. And by golly, you better learn to listen to it because it doesn't negotiate with you
as you've discovered if you are puking a lot. You have no choice except that you throw up all the time if you don't learn to pay attention to what your body is telling you. So this is no help for your condition, but it's just to sympathize with you and let you know you are not alone in the battle.
If you read the post from Polarbear Mike , he explained it to me and it sunk in and I've been practicing eating more solids and accepting that I will not hold much , that I have to chew better, have to wait as I go, have to give it time to go down. Try those things and see if it helps you.
Your weight loss is not going to happen eating what you are eating as you can tell. If you think you need more adjustment time. at the very least, it may help to eat high protein soft food. Eggs, cottage and other types of cheese, yogurt, milk, beans, if you think you have to fill up on something make it sugar-free jello and popsicles, Crystal Lite, stuff that has no calories rather than chips that are fattening. When you try eating solids, try only l/4 cup of food at a time , if you have to eat six times a day until you get the hang of how much you can eat and keep it down. You may only be able to eat a tablespoonful of tuna or a tablespoonful of meats, but I have figured out that is what I am going to have to work on and I am and it's hard, it doesn't go down, half a hamburger patty is all I can eat at one time. A couple of chicken nachos, that is just unthinkable to me, but that's what my band is telling me now, so I have to go with what it lets me eat. I was
doing the soft stuff and still do some meals, but I was using as much protein related stuff as I could for calories. So I was losing weight and inches, and mostly inches. I know this is not fun at all right now, but I look at it as "what choice do I have?" I can't take the band out, I don't want to sabotage my band and my weight loss program, I do want to lean to change my eating habits, I do want to succeed. I will do whatever it takes, begrudgingly sometimes, but I will do it. This is not what I expected at all , but it is reality and I can do it if everyone else can , so can I. I will do it! I think I can, I think I can, I think I can! Remember the little red train that went up the mountain?
Martha
Thanks but I'm looking for enlightenment, and only sharing my experience, I need just as much help through this period as the next guy and am glad to get it.
Martha
I have just gotten my first fill on Wednesday and am very
frustrated. I can't find that in between where i just feel full. It
seem by the time i feel full I have to PB it all up. I can't really
tell when i feel full, except the few times where i just get so fed
up of not keeping anything down that i cheat with stuff for some ODD
reason goes down...like Cheetos...(goes down NO problem) just so i
can feel satisfied. I know this is wrong, but i'm just getting so
frustrated because anything i should be eating won't stay down and
everything i shouldn't be eating does. What's the deal. I lost 12
pounds in the first 10 days and i haven't lost any since...i'm sure a
lot of ppl have gone through this but i'm just so depressed about it
right now...HELP!
Starlynn
Dr. Ortiz/Martinez
11/29/03
195/184/135
I agree with Wendy, I so enjoy Martha and Dan's posts. I always
watch for them to see what new enlightenment they are dispensing. I
am sort of in the mental health field also, as I am a school
psychologist working with 9-14 year olds. I too wish I could retire
soon. I was born 4 months too late to take the early retirment
option that is offered in Illinois. I like my job, but at 53, I am
ready to work just part time. Dream on. Glenna
The Seattle Winter Bash and Splash Website
New information: *There are Sunday AM discussions scheduled now. See
below for information.
*The hotel is sold out for Friday. Check for
cancellations if interested.
* 11 rooms left for Saturday January 17th.
The hotel will only honor the
* $79 rate if you use the bandster code BSTC
when making the reservation.
* If you're arriving on January 16th check
the PNW site. There is a dinner scheduled.
*Go to the PNW database and add your name.
Time and restaurant will be announced.
*If you need an extra meal ticket for spouse
add name to PNW database.
*If you need to meet with a certain Surgeon
please call the Surgeon and arrange for an
appointment.
* I anticipate there will be over a hundred
people at the Seattle Bash. We will be starting
on time...
*********************Please note the Courtyard Marriott Hotel is
located at:
400 Andover Park West, Tukwilla. It is 1
block South of the Southcenter Shopping Center
and right behind Barnes and Noble. Please
note that it is Not the Marriott Courtyard on
West Valley Blvd or the Marriott Courtyard
at the nearby airpot.
Phone number is 206-575-2500.
******************** The conference on January 17th,2004 is at the
Grand Central Casino.
It is 2 miles from the hotel. It is
located at :
\ 14040 Interurban Ave. South.,Tukwilla.
Phone number 206-244-5400.
* Please check the Bash Website for Maps to
above locations.
Many thanks to the following:
The coordinator of this activity will post times closer to the
event. If
library.
We will have a hotel hospitality room available to us on Saturday
night
Sunday Morning Discussions hosted by Patrcica H.
Time: 9:30-10:30 A.M.
.... Exercise.... the E word facilitated by Sarina and Dan and
.... Body Recognition facilitated by Patricia and Jan
Once again both discussions will be going on at the same time so you
have to pick your topic. They will take place in the same room so we
will be at either end of the room.
Hi All
Anyone wishing to attend our little get together is welcome. Here is the info for the San Fernando Valley Support Group meeting.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Hope to see you soon ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Sunday January 18th @ 1 p.m.
Simi Valley Starbucks
118 Freeway - Sycamore Exit
(then head South - one half block)
North East corner of Sycamore and Cochran
Carolyn
Thanks Wendy, this sounds like a great book.
Lauren
Portland, Oregon
Dr Lopez 9/15/03
Hi Suzanne Congratulations!!! I am very happy for you I have to wait till Feb 13. I am very excited. There were 5 of you that went together were you discharged 24 hours aftere the surgery? Did anyone have any complications? I am so excited. I cnat wait to hear the entire experience.
Kelly
Wanted to say how much I have enjoyed reading these posts....I have
learned so much too.....I was banded 8-03 and told no one but my
husband and best friend (sister-in-law). Then I came home and
pretended like nothing had happened expecting the weight to just pour
off.....I lost 20 pounds and then needed a fill at 8 weeks.....called
every Dr. in PA and Ohio listed by the band company and not one would
help me, not just because I was banded in Mexico but because they
were not doing lapbands or fills, just bypasses.....I don't know why
they were listed as lapband doctors......anyway, I knew we were
moving to Reno in Nov. and called a Dr. there that would help me...I
got my first fill in December and after two days, no
restriction....he had told me that sometimes happens so had made me
another appointment for today (second appt.at no charge)....Jan.
04.....I got my fill and it was so tight I couldn't even drink water
in his waiting area....he then unfilled me a bit and now it is tight
but it is probably how it should have been since August. So, even
though I was banded in August, I feel like I am starting today! I am
so glad to begin my new life! I met a gal going for her first fill
in the waiting area and she directed me to this board......I now
understand the band is a tool for me to use to lose this weight, it
is not going to happen just because I have it in place.....
I am happy that at least I kept off the 20 pounds and didn't gain any
back in my long wait for a fill.......My husband's job keeps us
moving around the US though and we will be in Baton Rouge LA next
year....does anyone know of a Dr. there? I don't want to wait till
next November only to have this happen again. I appreciate any help
or support.
Mike, today at dinner I ate a hamburger patty with a tablespoon of beef gravy , well I got down a good half of it and the whole thing was the size of my palm and about a half inch thick, a few bites of saulted mushroom and two bites of a baked sweet potato. I had nothing for breakfast, but two and l/6th deviled eggs for lunch, a small bag of popcorn at the movies which I PB'ed, should have stopped at half a bag and would have been fine. I drank 2 oz of water at 6 am, l/4 of a Crystal lite, could not get liquids down this morning , then drank 20 oz of water, now am working on another quart of water. I have not been home at all today but carry water in the car, but could not get it to go down today so I have not had enough water today. I do try to get solids down and if they go , then I'm all for that. I do not get hungry at all during the day even if I can't get anything to go down, I'm never hungry so far, but I still want to eat three meals a day like normal
people if I can. I have been trying to figure out if there is any good reason why I'm not able to eat more , but so far I haven't figured out anything. I just have to accept eating less. I could eat a whole cup of food the first week after this second fill, but now can't hold that much, on the days I can hold anything. But I am going to stop with the soft stuff, and venture out, I am pleased that I have been able to hold down solids for two days here at some meals, the ones I can eat anything at. I thought it funny that yesterday I could eat a half cup of chicken enchilada soup, with vegetables and chicken chunks in it and 2 and a half chicken nachos. 2 and a half, 2 and a half! Whoever heard of eating 2 and a half of a wonderfully delicious plate of nachos? I hated to leave those there so bad, I boxed them up but decided to leave them as I was going to the pet store and spend the rest of the afternoon, so didn't want to leave them in the car all that time, but
my friend could eat two and I could eat my share and still there were six left on the plate and they were the best ones I've ever eaten in my whole life. What a shame to waste them. But I wasted them for sure. That was a good amount of food for that meal and I was glad to get the chicken down with no problem.
Thanks for your comments. I take them to heart. All except the "six year old comment". LOL.
Martha
A new book is coming out January 13th called Passing For Thin: Losing
Half My Weight And Finding Myself by Frances Kuffel. It looks like
it will be really great! Has anyone heard about it? Here's the
Inside Flap Copy:
An intimate and darkly comic memoir of a woman who does a 180 with
her body.
In the opening pages of Passing for Thin, Frances Kuffel waits at the
airport to be picked up by her brother, Jim. He strides past her
without a glimmer of recognition because she barely resembles the
woman he is expecting to see. Jim had last seen her when she was 188
pounds heavier.
What follows is one of the most piercing explorations of the limits
and promises of a body since Lucy Grealy?s Autobiography of a Face.
With unflinching honesty and a wickedly dark sense of humor, Frances
describes her first fumbling introductions to the slender, alien body
she is left with after losing half her weight, shining a light on the
shared human experience of feeling, at times, uncomfortable in one?s
own skin.
Buoyed by support from a group of fellow compulsive eaters she deems ?
the Stepfords,? Frances adjusts not only to her new waistline, but to
a strange new world?the Planet of Thin?where she doesn?t speak the
language and doesn?t know the rules. Her lifetime of obesity had
robbed her of the joys of lovers, a husband, children?and even made
it impossible to enjoy a movie, when standing in line was too
painful, or travel, when airplane seats were too small?and hadn?t
prepared her for the unexpected attention from strangers, the deep
pleasure of trying on a tailored suit, the satisfaction of a good run
on a treadmill, or for the saucy fun of flirting and dating. She
joyfully moves from observer to player, while struggling to enjoy the
freedom her new shape has given her.
As Frances gradually comes to know?and love?the stranger in the
mirror, she learns that this body does not define her, but enables
her to become the woman she?s always wanted to be.
wendy from b'ham
dr. rumbaut, 8/5/03
Hi everyone,
Well, I'm now officially a loser. Everything went down yesterday without a hitch, and I'm staying at a hotel in San Diego tonight and will go back home tomorrow. I met five other fabulous ladies who were there having surgery on the same day - we all had dinner together Friday night and it was a lot of fun! I'm so thankful to have met them, and we all got discharged today!
I took some pictures that I will post tomorrow once I get home, just wanted to let you all know WE ALL MADE IT!
Talk with you all soon and will talk more about my experience.
Suzanne
Colorado
P.S. Dan and Stacy, I told Mama Ortiz and Dr. O that you said hello!
Hi, I am going for a second fill to tijuana Monday, but am leaving tomorrow. Has anyone driven across the border to the Oasis Hospital? I am desparate for directions
Thanks, Jan
Sorry it has taken me a couple of days to get back to you - my life
has gotten very complicated and BUSY since losing so much! but i'm
here NOW and will try to offer whatever advice i can:
that's not on my diet, but I rarely eat too much stuff that is way
off, however I've had a fear of trying new foods, and since my second
fill has tightened up pretty tight, I'm afraid to try solid foods.
So far, some days I can eat them and some days I can not but on the
days I can't eat, I eat soft foods and on the days I can eat, I do
eat some solids but still rely on softs mostly and I know this is not
good, but I don't seem to have the guts to venture to try out many
other foods. I have bought out Wal-Mart of all their strawberry
yogurt, sugar free popsicles, sugar free pudding and jello. All
soft foods. I think I'm afraid I'm going to throw up the solids. I
can't eat even a half a tamale some days and I think of that as a
worthless soft food and I bet I've eaten tamales at least once or
twice a week in the last month every week, because I have less
trouble getting it down. I know where all the good tamale stands are
in this city and the ones within 25 miles. LOL, so what do you think
would be a good plan of action for me.
Well, the OBVIOUS good plan of action Martha, is to stop eating soft
foods! You don't say you CAN'T, you just say you're afraid to TRY!
This is a problem we have with my grandson - He's 6 - you're NOT! It
is a KNOWN and proven FACT that soft foods don't fill you up and you
will feel hungry faster if you eat them. Also, Most soft foods are
LOW protien, high sugar,fat, and carbo. Just exactly inverted from
what you NEED! I GUARANTEE that if you eat solid food in sufficient
quantity, you will not be hungry as quick, and you will feel full
faster. I further guarantee you that you CAN eat solid food IF YOU
ARE WILLING TO DO THE WORK IT TAKES TO EAT IT! You have to sake
bites that are about the size of a sugar cube, chew it WELL, eat it
slowly, and you WILL be able to eat it without pb'ing.
I would not like to get un filled.
I've never heard a bandster yet say "I want an unfill"; "I NEED one",
yes, but not i WANT one - none of us ever do - they are difficult to
obtain, expensive, and require a LOT of sacrifice - so why on earth
would ANYBODY ever want to give any up! Sometimes though, it is the
right answer to an overtightness problem and you have to be realistic
about that situation - if you're REALLY so tight you CANNOT eat, then
for God's sake, get an unfill - you CAN get more fill later when
you've lost more!
Almost all days I can eat no food at all in the mornings, soft or
otherwise, and then some days I can eat some lunch about 1pm and then
I can usually eat dinner. What do you think I should do here? Do
you think I should depend on some protein drink for breakfast, and if
I can I'd eat solids for lunch and dinner but what would you eat if
you can't get solids to go down without vomiting. It seems I've
vomited a lot when trying to get the solids down ,and figured I
needed to lay off them to give my stomach a rest. But for how long is
a rest needed, certainly not as long as I've given it, but I'm really
tired of throwing up. I consider that as a signal that my stomach is
saying , "Don't eat any more solids". You think it's just saying "
Only eat one or two bites of solids?" I know every day at 6 am, my
stomach is closed off, water will not go down there, it goes down
but it just sits there groaning for a while, 30 minutes to 1 hour.
If you know of a good plan of action that I should take, then I'd
appreciate your comments.
I'm one of those people Martha! I CANNOT eat solid food before about
11:30 in the morning, and then only soft stuff. Here's what MY
average day looks like:
4:30am morning meds and 16 oz of water
6am 20 oz of hot tea sweetened with nutrisweet- sip till 6:45
7am breakfast - one scoop of unjury protien in 8 oz of milk (29g
protien) - (band is too tight for anything else)
between then and 11:30 - one to two liters of water sipping
constantly.
11:30 an Atkins advantage protien bar chewed REALLY well!! (23 g
protien) or sometimes it's 6 oz of crab salad, or chicken salad or
similar, or a boiled egg and a lowfat yogurt if i'm really tight that
day and need soft food.
(band is beginning to open up for the day)
between then and 3:00pm, about to two liters more water depending on
how much i got in in the morning - i try for a total of 3 liters,
combined - drinking is easier now.
3:00pm snack - 2 chips of beef jerkey, or 1/4 cup of soy nut based
trail mix, or an ounce of string cheese, or similar high protien low
fat snack. (around 15 g protien) (Band is almost fully open now)
5:45 - dinner is whatever my wife prepared - usually 3 oz of meat or
fish or fowl (26g protien) and about 2 or 3 tbsp of veggies or 2
veggies and one of fruit, but sometimes is a slice of pizza, or a
hamburger, or a burrito (bean, green sauce, onions and extra cheese)
or whatever she's gotten together for dinner. I try not to cringe at
the junk food - i don't eat it too often and i probably need a kick
in calorie consumption every now and then, anyway...
(band is wide open and i can eat almost anything!)
6:45 to 10 pm - a 64 oz insulated mug of crystal lite, which i sip on
all evening while on my computer till bed time - i usually finish all
of it!
10:00pm bed - then get up and do it all over again! I'm almost NEVER
hungry - i'm 6'3"tall, male, in a physically demanding job, 55 years
old, and this satisfies me all day!
As I see it, the MAIN point here are EAT SLOWER, TAKE SMALLER BITES,
CHEW WELL, and EAT SOLID FOOD. Try it and let me know what happens!
polarbear Mike
Friday, January 9, 2004, 8:55:33 PM, you wrote:
d
kidney stones.
The kidneys process all sorts of wastes, some of which are mineral in
nature, the kinds of things that make stones. Drinking more reduces
the concentration of those minerals (think of the stuff that gets
stuck in your plumbing pipes, sinks, toilets, etc.) and thus reduces
the chances of their being enough to create stones.
I have a friend with stones, and he drinks a LOT to help reduce the
chances. He also avoids certain foods that make them more likely, and
also takes a med for it. Just like drinking water will reduce your
chance of bladder infection, it'll reduce the chance of kidney stones.
No, I don't think you're guaranteed to get them, any more than you're
guaranteed to get gallstones.
dan
Dan Lester, Boise, ID honu@... www.gailndan.com/lapband
Dr. Ortiz, Tijuana, 4/28/03
323/222/199 Age 60
Have fluoroscopy done, it would show up there.
Martha
Thanks Lea , you are going to be a hum dinger nurse. Good luck with your career. This is good information and I'm glad I asked.
Martha
Simply search google for things like medical financing, health care
financing, and so forth. You'll find tons of them. However, I'd try
first for a loan from my local bank or credit union, which are much
more likely to have a reasonable rate. For that matter, you might be
able to get what you need on your credit card, though the rate will
also be high. Also, consider having a family member cosign for you if
need be, and if they will.
dan
Friday, January 9, 2004, 2:57:17 PM, you wrote:
CF
CF
CF
CF
CF
Dan Lester, Boise, ID honu@... www.gailndan.com/lapband
Dr. Ortiz, Tijuana, 4/28/03
323/222/199 Age 60
I sure wish I had done two things before leaving for Mexico.......
1. splurged on a new scale and gotten a first-thing-in-the-morning
weight and
2. measured myself in upper arms, thighs, hips, waist, bust/chest
Too late now (for me), but not for those of you who've not yet had
the surgery.
DO IT!!!
wendy
Speaking of obsessive compulsive personality disorder, just out of
curiousity, if I wanted to make sure everything was okay: no leaks,
no streched pouch, no slippage, etc. What would I have to get done?
Coulda fooled me! Anyway, you are at "thorough" on this board as I
am in my daily life. I love it!! I was thinking this morning about
how much longer I have to work (unless I get thin and marry rich).
You are very knowledgable and hilarious. I always enjoy your posts,
and Dan's.
wendy
Dan,
I just noticed your surgery date and your weight loss. WOW. So you have
lost 101 pounds in about 9 months? Awesome!!! I know you have probably
written this out for folks before, but I haven't been on that long so can
you tell me the dates that you have had your fills? I read your daily food
schedule yesterday and was wondering if that has been your typical day from
the beginning (not including the month after surgery when you were on
liquids).
Lisa
230/224/140
5 days post-op
Dr. Kuri, 1/5/04
Last night at the gastric bypass support group, they were told that if you don't drink your water , you will get kidney stones. Do you think that meant that drinking water prevents the stones , or because of what kind of surgery they have, they get them if they don't drink water, or would we get them from not drinking water. Why doesn't the whole world have kidney stones, because most people don't drink this much water.
Would someone elaborate on this and tell me what the scoop is about water and kidney stones.
Martha
Wendy , that was a joke. I don't work at all, I play all day long on the computer. I am retired from the work force.
Martha
Sylvia, yesterday and today I have eaten solid foods and had no pain at all and ate almost a cupful, not quite, but I was thrilled to death. This is what I'd like to stay doing, I ate chicken too. It did fine. I ate a deviled egg, and for dinner I'm eating turkey salad. I hope this continues then I'll do even better. I won't be so afraid to eat solid foods if some start staying down with no vomiting.
Martha
Martha you don't say whether or not you are losing weight eating the soft food...if you aren't then what's the point? If you are then you need some way of getting some big time protein in (at least 20 grms with each meal) otherwise you could be in trouble. However, you eventually have to eat solid foods so don't let this go on for any more than 2 weeks. I know of a few bandsters who vomited too much and their band slipped, they had to wait six months to have another band installed, one even twisted her band through violent vomiting and had to have it removed.
Sylvia
Jean, you are doing super excellent. I wish I would be that lucky. It will be this time next year at the rate I'm going before I'll lose 60 pounds.
Martha
On that last email I should have clicked on the Mike's name, but
posted to the group by mistake..sorry 'bout that.
Sylvia
Friday, January 9, 2004, 10:42:38 AM, you wrote:
JN
I imagine that the "beauty may be in the eye of the beholder", but
here is what it is for me.
JN
JN
I get up at 500 am every weekday. When I get up I have a cup of sugar
free hot chocolate, about fifty calories. That lets me get my morning
Allegra down, mainly because it helps to dissolve it, but also because
warmth opens it up a bit.
The rest of the morning I drink my crystal lite to be sure to get
enough fluids. Sometimes I THINK I'm hungry (or my mouth/brain are
hungry), but if I try to eat anything it'll probably get stuck and
hurt, and make bunches of slime. This morning I tried to eat a bit of
lean turkey about 10 and I couldn't. It got stuck and I slimed. I
knew better, but my brain was confused or senile.
By noon or 100 pm I can usually eat some turkey, some cheese, some
beef. In other words a bandster lunch of high protein foods that are
solid. I can't eat more than a few ounces, and that's fine. Sometimes
I'll have soup or something else, but not a soup that is pure liquid.
By late afternoon I usually have a bit more of the meat or fish. At
supper time, usually about 700pm, I have some meat or fish, some
veggies, maybe a little bit of carbs (never bread, sometimes a little
bit of pasta, or frijoles (which are also protein). At supper I
probably have six or eight ounces of food.
JN
JN
Well, there's a problem. High fat, high carb, and soft stuff that
slides right through. I probably could do that too in the evening,
but I don't. If I go somewhere like that I order something with meat
in it, or fish, and eat a bit of the pasta with it. The rest goes
home and the pasta gets eaten over the next several days, a bit at a
time. I'm not an Olive Garden fan, but we do love Romano's Macaroni
Grill.
JN
JN
That's great progress.
JN
I'm 8 months and a bit more, and have lost 101, and have converted
lots of fat to muscle. But guys lose faster in general, and I work out
a lot. Plus it isn't a competition anyway.
JN
JN
I've maybe another 30 to lose, as I sure don't believe that nonsense
on the "standard insurance charts".
JN
JN
Well, my advice would be to get away from all the carbs (and I realize
you may have just given an example and not a typical meal). And
exercise, even if you're just walking a half hour or more a day,
preferably as fast as you can.
I firmly believe we can lose all of our weight. All of us. At least
as long as we don't want to look like Twiggy or Flochart or someone
like that. For me a BMI of under 25 is a weight of 173, and I don't
have that as a goal. A BMI of under 30 (just overweight, not obese)
is 208. I expect to get under 208, but NOT under 173. With my
muscles and bones and build the 173 would be pretty gaunt looking, and
probably unhealthy.
I may get a TT to get rid of some of the flab hanging off my belly,
but my inner thigh flab and arm flab (not really batwings, but loose
skin) will just have to stay there, though working out is putting more
muscles there, too.
Could I get to 173. Yea, I think I could. But I won't, I'm sure.
Just be sure your goals are reasonable (I have no idea where you
started, where you are, where you're trying to get to).
Keep in touch
dan
Dan Lester, Boise, ID honu@... www.gailndan.com/lapband
Dr. Ortiz, Tijuana, 4/28/03
323/222/199 Age 60
If anybody has Norton's Virus Protector and has had a problem with MS Word in the last few days (not opening documents/slow opening) it's not your computer, if you need the details of how to fix it fast let me know and I will email you the details.
Sylvia
iamyuneek@...
Mike you may get this message twice from different Isp's let me know
if you do..I think I figured it out..when I sent you email from the
Friday, January 9, 2004, 9:21:47 AM, you wrote:
LD
Glad to hear that. Some people are pretty compulsive and think they
should be back doing aerobics in three days.
LD
LD
LD
Sounds like here. Our snow is turning to slush and water today,
though, with lots of fog as a result.
The itching is good. Just don't scratch. Put a little cortisone
cream on them to stop the itching. I'm sure things will continue to
improve for you. Where do you live?
dan
Dan Lester, Boise, ID honu@... www.gailndan.com/lapband
Dr. Ortiz, Tijuana, 4/28/03
323/222/199 Age 60
You're way too early to exercise other than walking. Just walk around
the house or outside if the weather is decent where you are.
When I say "exercise" walking is what I mean. I am in no shape to exercise.
We have an indoor track at the Y and I was thinking of walking there. It is
very cold here with ice and snow on the ground. My incisions are starting
to itch!
Lisa
4 days post-op
Dr. Kuri 1/5/04
230/225/140
Thursday, January 8, 2004, 4:37:15 PM, you wrote:
LD
LD
You just had surgery. You should EXPECT to be tired and in pain. It
takes a couple weeks to get over all the effects of the anesthesia,
which often include depression.
LD
LD
LD
LD
LD
LD
Trust you didn't try solid food. Don't even think about it. Stick
with the liquids like your doctor ordered.
LD
LD
LD
You will eat solids again, but not for a few weeks. Don't worry about
it. Besides post surgery depression you may also be frustrated with
not being able to eat, seeing others eat, etc.
LD
LD
LD
You're way too early to exercise other than walking. Just walk around
the house or outside if the weather is decent where you are.
LD
LD
LD
LD
I did. I was VERY tight, and you probably are too. Just keep sipping
a tiny bit at a time, all the time.
LD
LD
LD
Yup, your brain and mouth are hungry. Learning to deal with mouth
hunger vs. stomach hunger takes a long time for most of us. You're
only three days out. It'll happen, but not fast.
LD
LD
LD
LD
LD
Don't take advil or other NSAIDs, as they'll cause more irritation and
swelling. If you really need pain meds, call your doc. Otherwise use
liquid Tylenol.
dan
Dan Lester, Boise, ID honu@... www.gailndan.com/lapband
Dr. Ortiz, Tijuana, 4/28/03
323/222/199 Age 60
I'll tell you truthfully, I think it was vomiting sometimes, well once anyway, but it's all slimy too, but it was deep from within, not puke, puke comes out from the pouch to me, and vomit comes out of the bottom part of your stomach and you don't want to do that one, but I did vomit once , had to , there was too much to have been only in my pouch. I think I am just having to learn to adjust to what the band tells me to do and it's my first time to go through this and it's taking me time to figure it out, but I'm doing better.
Martha
Martha
Quit fighting. Don't eat in the morning. And do you mean pb or vomit? They are not the same. pb=slime, vomit=acid.
Joan
Hi Lisa!
I had the gas problem. I was miserable for a couple of days but then
I started taking Gas-X and drinking fresh lemonade or limeaid and the
problem went away. Since I discovered this miracle remedy I use it
everytime I get a gas attack.
Hope this helps!
Stephanie
10/03/03
299/242/??
Dr. Rod. - Mty, Mx
Tonight I ate a half bag of Fritos, because I could. LOL I know that's not on my diet, but I rarely eat too much stuff that is way off, however I've had a fear of trying new foods, and since my second fill has tightened up pretty tight, I'm afraid to try solid foods. So far, some days I can eat them and some days I can not but on the days I can't eat, I eat soft foods and on the days I can eat, I do eat some solids but still rely on softs mostly and I know this is not good, but I don't seem to have the guts to venture to try out many other foods. I have bought out Wal-Mart of all their strawberry yogurt, sugar free popsicles, sugar free pudding and jello. All soft foods. I think I'm afraid I'm going to throw up the solids. I can't eat even a half a tamale some days and I think of that as a worthless soft food and I bet I've eaten tamales at least once or twice a week in the last month every week, because I have less trouble getting it down. I know where all the
good tamale stands are in this city and the ones within 25 miles. LOL, so what do you think would be a good plan of action for me. I would not like to get un filled. Almost all days I can eat no food at all in the mornings, soft or otherwise, and then some days I can eat some lunch about 1pm and then I can usually eat dinner. What do you think I should do here? Do you think I should depend on some protein drink for breakfast, and if I can I'd eat solids for lunch and dinner but what would you eat if you can't get solids to go down without vomiting. It seems I've vomited a lot when trying to get the solids down ,and figured I needed to lay off them to give my stomach a rest. But for how long is a rest needed, certainly not as long as I've given it, but I'm really tired of throwing up. I consider that as a signal that my stomach is saying , "Don't eat any more solids". You think it's just saying " Only eat one or two bites of solids?" I know every day at 6 am, my
stomach is closed off, water will not go down there, it goes down but it just sits there groaning for a while, 30 minutes to 1 hour. If you know of a good plan of action that I should take, then I'd appreciate your comments.
Martha
LOL! I haven't been hiding at all! Quite the opposite! I'm a
moderator on Bandsters, Smartbandsters, and Malebandsters, and
subscribe to 15 other bandster boards besides that, including this
one! I post infrequently because my time is mainly spent reading all
the posts on all the different boards, and performing my moderator
duties! I'm a member of OSCB - Original Southern California
Bandsters Support group, and last year i was the discussion group co-
ordinator for the TJ BASH.
Most of what i know, i got from these boards, but yes i am VERY lucky
to have been allowed to watch! It really clarified some of the
things you hear about and cleared up a bunch of questions.
Actually yes, I AM banded myself! 5/8/03, (8 mos bandiversary today!)
by Dr kuri! My all time high weight was 427lbs (BMI 53) and i am now
at 267 lbs. (BMI of 33) - yes down 160 lbs it's not a typo. I had a
VERY easy time with surgery, recovery, and with the band since it was
put in! No pain, distress, nausea, or anything else! I wish
EVERYONE could have a banding experience like mine! Haven't been
hungry for 8 mos! It's WONDERFUL!!! I have been on these boards for
almost 2 years and read every post every day! THAT'S how i got most
of my info. There really isn't too much to tell about the 3 to 6
month period - except that's the time you're gonna do the most
battles with your "head hunger issues" - your brain still thinks you
need to eat like you did pre-band, but your band is telling
you "LISTEN UP - i'm teaching you something here - THIS is how you
should be eating!" and if you listen to it and work with it instead
of fighting it, you're gonna be a LOT happier! When you finally
realize you no longer CAN or even WANT to eat like you did before,
and step back and really look at what you NEED, you can then make the
adjustments in your intake that contribute to weight loss, health and
contentment! Most of the people i have spoken with who are
experiencing no/slow weight loss haven't learned that lesson yet, and
when i tell them what i eat daily, it blows their mind! I get about
1200 calories MAXIMUM daily, around 154 oz of water, at least 4 hours
of yoga a week, and i have a VERY active job (I'm a land surveyor for
the Calif Dept of Transp.) The bandster rules - they WORK! all you
have to do is discard ALL preconcieved notions of what eating SHOULD
be like, and eat only what you need! Follow the tules about water,
exercise, protien et al. and you can't HELP but succeed!
I watched April's banding on July 19th and got my first fill then
too, of 1.8cc - i covered things that come up in the previous
response paragraph, but if you have questions, i'll be delighted to
try to answer them.
polarbear Mike
HI Martha and Lea! I had the GREAT good fortune to be allowed to be
actually IN the OR, and watch Dr Kuri perform the banding of my very
dear friend April, from OSCB. AWESOME!! Having been there and SEEN
with my own eyes what happens during surgery, I can attest that there
is an airway into your trachea, and a tube with a CALIBRATION BALLOON
at the end that goes down your esophagus to your stomach. The
balloon is then inflated and "calibrates" the size of the pouch so
you have a 1.5 oz size pouch after it is over. It is deflated and
withdrawn as soon as the band is in place. The gas they inflate your
abdomen with is carbon dioxide (your body makes this gas constantly,
and you exhale it everytime you breathe out) And Yes, there is one
stitch that is taken into the front of the diaphram. It's an AMAZING
proceedure, and Dr Kuri is DEFINITELY one of the BEST!! I feel very
honored to have been allowed to watch him at work! It is evident he
loves his job and is GOOD at it! The left shoulder pain is
called "referred pain" and it isn't because of ANYTHING in or around
your left shoulder - it's "referred" because the pain you experience
there isn't originating there, that's just where your brain
interprets that it is comming from - it's actually from the diaphram.
Sitting or standing very tall and erect helps, as does a heating pad
applied to the bottom of your sternum (breastbone) and/or your left
shoulder. The gas can produce a referred pain in your left shoulder
also because of the pressure it puts on the diaphram from your
abdomen; fortunately, this pain passes in 3days to two weeks and
increased activity, particularly walking, will help disperse the gas
till your body can absorb it and carry it to your lungs for
exhalation. The referred pain from the stitch will also go away, but
takes longer - expect anywhere from a month to a year!
I hope this helps answer your questions - if not or if you have
more, feel free to e-mail and i'll do my best to answer them for you!
polarbear Mike
Well, where in the world have you been hiding, you answered all our questions and very , very well. You were lucky to get to watch a banding, and you sure learned everything there was to it as well. So I've seen your name on the web rings, but you don't have a band yourself? But your friend does and you learned all you could about it? Because if you do have a band, then you can tell us more about the 3-6 months following the band. Tell us what you know about things that come up during that time. Besides food , of course. When did you go watch this surgery?
Martha
I just got my second fill with Dr. Snow yesterday. He said my band
needed to be primed and that's why I didn't feel any restriction
with my first fill. He said all the saline was in the tubing and
nothing was in the band. I'm really glad I didn't wait any longer
to get my second fill. He only put in .1cc
I was going to wait because I was thinking "maybe I could do more".
But at the time I was walking 4 miles 5x a week and eating the right
way but at a stand still or even gaining. I'm glad I didn't psyche
myself into thinking I should wait.
Now I'm on fluids and am feeling the restriction already! Even
though I haven't eaten anything I'm not hungry. I'd advise anyone
who is not loosing to go get a fill. Anything could have happened
to decrease your restriction. You could be sitting there right now
beating yourself up over no weight loss or even weight gain.
Now that I'm restricted properly I don't feel hungry at all and I
haven't eaten anything since Tuesday night. Where as when I had my
first fill I was hungry before I even got home!
Make sure the band is doing it's job because it will make yours a
lot easier!
Kimberly
Lisa, do not worry about protein while you are healing. The first six weeks is for healing. Do what you can do, not what you heard other people do. You will be fine to not have protein for a month if need be. I did not have any protein other than soup for six weeks post op. Lots of people do that. If you need to do that , it's not going to hurt you. I have had five protein drinks since my surgery 3 l/2 months ago. I am still alive here, and so will you be. And you will heal much faster if you don't worry over all this stuff. I think it will cause you less stress and your stomach will heal faster if you just drink what you feel like it and don't worry. All that is necessary is that you do not quit drinking altogether. Take your vitamins every day. Two Flintstone chewable.
Martha
Lisa, I don't think I remember drinking and eating much the first week after my surgery. I stayed in Mexico and I think I drank a little soup maybe twice a day and a little Gatorade or apple juice, a couple swallows, I did not worry about it though. I think you should just not worry too much either. Let your stomach rest, try drinking what you can, preferably warm broth l/2 cup at a time , don't eat anything for six to 12 hours and give your stomach a rest. Sip warm broth when you can. Maybe you are too swollen yet. I had a friend whose stomach was too large to fit into the band and the doctor shaved some of her stomach off so he could get the band around it during surgery and she could not drink much for a month after surgery due to swelling and then it became much better. She said all she did the first month was lay on the sofa and foam at the mouth when she tried to drink anything. So there are all extremes of this, but I think you just have not had much
time to do much healing yet and maybe you could be rushing your recovery. It isn't going to hurt you if you don't drink for 6-12 hours, but you don't want to get dehydrated so what you feel good to drink, do and do the soup, but nothing else and that will give you a little more healing time and rest time for your stomach.
Always remember this band is for life, you have the rest of your life to lose weight, so don't be in any big race thinking you have to be at some goal at a certain time. Goals are good but there are no rules. You heal when you heal, you eat when you can eat, you fill when you need it, not at any date just because the date has arrived. So perhaps you need a few extra days to heal, take those days off and just let your stomach rest, there is no rigid rule that demands you drink all and eat all the first week. There has to be some kind of guidelines for people but it just simply can not apply to every single person and you must feel comfortable to adapt to what your body is telling you. Now it's saying "Lisa, I'm just not quite ready for what you are putting in me, give me a break , let me have more time off from working so hard." And as for you feeling tired , that is normal , you should be resting, and walking, resting and walking, resting and walking. Not
going out to play ball. Resting is laying down or sitting down and sleeping or watching tv, not cooking, not going outside to work in the yard. Everyone is different. You got it now? Don't feel bad to rest, you need to do that , you just had surgery, you are expecting far too much of your body right now , I think. If after a month you have any of these problems, write me again, and I'll tell you what I think , but I'll be willing to bet that you don't have those same set of problems then. LOL It will be a whole new set of 'em. Good luck to you. Everyone feels like they maybe made a huge mistake getting this band the first week. You are perfectly normal. Don't worry. Take it easy, rest, rest, walk, walk, walk, that's your job for the first two weeks post surgery.
Martha
Hi Cassie,
You're a beautiful girl! Great pictures and congrats for "getting
there"!
Ardie
Laura, many people get fills before they get to the six weeks time. If everything seems to be going well for you, you may very well be able to stand a fill. And two weeks later you may also realize that you need one more fill. Of course you don't feel like you have much restriction, you have none right now, they don't put fills in during surgery , most don't anyway. You should be able to eat normally until you get fills. Not that you should go wild and gorge yourself, but you can probably eat anything you ever ate before. I could. I also got my first fill at 6 weeks, a friend got hers at 4 weeks post surgery. She and I both got our second fills one month after our first one. So you are normal. Get your fill if you feel like you need it. You will be fine.
Martha
The Seattle Winter Bash and Splash Website
is;http://barbooch2.homestead.com/SeattleBandsterSplash.html
Volunteers
I so excited! I decided to use Dr. Ortiz in Tijuana. I will be
having surgery by the end of Feb! It took me a long time to decide
and I did a lot of researching. He is the best I've found as far as
experience and reasonable price. Some of the other Drs in Mexico
claimed to have taught American drs. but when I checked with the band
maker I found out they were not truthful. I contacted INAMED and got
this reply...
Hello Dawn,
Yes, Dr. Ariel Ortiz is approved to use the LAP-BANDŽ System. INAMED
Health also uses Dr. Ortiz's services as a proctor, from time to
time, to teach US doctors who are learning this procedure.
Dr. Ortiz is a very experienced and well qualified to do band
surgery.
Regards,
Don Mills
INAMED Health
I was banded 12/5/03 and have an appointment to get a fill tomorrow.
It just occurred to me that maybe I need to wait - it seems like I
remember reading 6 weeks somewhere and tomorrow only makes 5. The
issue is that I really think I need one. I am on solids and feel
like I have almost no restriction. I haven't eaten a steak yet but
feel like it wouldn't give me (much) trouble. The 'local' doc who
does it only does fills once a month so it's either tomorrow or wait
until February (not sure yet whether it will be the 6th or the
13th). I'm pretty sure by that time I'm going to be moving the wrong
way up the scale.
Any thoughts?
Laura
I thought it was when you were able to eat about a cupful of food per meal and felt full. But I did not think it was a too tight fill, too tight doesn't allow you to eat solids well, and not enough at one meal. You have to just work with it if it's too tight or get some removed and they cost so much , you hate to remove any, so you try to work with it if you can. Every morning at six am, my fill is so tight water will not go down freely, it sits in there and gurgles and groans for about an hour it seems. I really don't know how long it's there, I go back to sleep for at least an hour and it's gone when I wake up.
Martha
You're probably trying to drink like you
always did. Just take a TINY sip at a time, every 30 seconds or so.