wretched_hyena

First meeting of the Denton Bandsters- Feb. 1, 2007, Jason's Deli We plan to meet each first Thursday of the month. Next meeting again will be at Jason's, March 1, 6:30 - 8:30 p.m., across from the mall, in the shopping center on the northeast corner of Loop 288 and I-35e. Spouses and friends welcome.

Right at first, I had to take my medicine one pill at a time, but it wasn't difficult. I did have one horsepill that I had to break into pieces at first. It didn't take long to get past that, and a couple of weeks after surgery I could take all my pills in one swallow again.

Just a quick note before the dinner. It's snowing and sticking to cars and grass, but the temps are not supposed to go to freezing tonight, and the streets are only wet. I'll be there. I hope to see you.

Just a reminder to all. The dinner is tomorrow night (as of this posting), Feb. 1, Thursday, 6:30 - 8:30 p.m., at Jason's Deli, Loop 288 at I-35e, in the shopping center on the northeast corner, across from the mall. See y'all there. Spouses & friends welcome.

Being in DFW, if you're in the Denton area or want to travel that far, we're having a bandsters meeting at Jason's Deli, 6:30 p.m., Feb. 1, Thursday. It's at the shopping center on the northeast corner of Loop 288 and I-35e, just across from the mall. Maybe we'll see you there.

I can't figure out where they got a tape measure that shows 10" and 20" instead of 1' and 2'. Weird.

Hey, everybody! I just wanted to say I'll see you at Jason's.

On my second day, I experienced exactly what you are talking about. I'm sure I simply drank two sips too close together. It felt like a bubble that was stuck with a tight feeling in my chest. I began to worry, but I simply waiting an hour to drink anything, then drank water (carefuuly) only for a while. Burps never felt so good! First few days, you have to watch the size and frequency of your sips.

Until I was diagnosed with diabetes, I was checked for thyroid every six months. At one time, it had been every year unless the dose was changed, then it was six months. The doctor I have now does six months no matter. With diabetes, I get checked quarterly as I get checked for everything else. I think you're correct that, if you gain or lose weight, you need to be checked again.

I've only just begun. Banded last Monday, Jan. 8. I'm just in the middle of my liquid diet. I have lost from 280 to 269 so far, though. 104 to go!

I moved to Abilene at age eleven, in 1964. I only lived there for two years, but it was a bright spot in my youth. After being just a normal kid in Lubbock and Sweetwater, I had been treated very badly in Nolan (Divide) and Blackwell. The kids and teachers tormented me for being the new kid and a preacher's kid. After Abilene, in Irving, I didn't do very well, either. I was bullied a lot (no, I was not an overweight kid, just different somehow). But, in Abilene, I was accepted, in fact, popular. Girls liked me, boys befriended me, even my sixth grade teacher sent a note home to my father telling him that it was nice to always know he could look up and see a smiling face. Good old Mr. Merkel. Thank you, Abilene! Richard

I am 5'-10" and, in 1985, weighed 165 lbs. I had been skinny all my life. Suddenly, I began gaining weight. I didn't overeat and was getting lots of exercise. It continued for several years. In 1089, I was in a car wreck. Because of a back injury, my lawyer sent me to his doctor buddy (whom I later realized was in cahoots with selling me down the river and therefore not concerned about my well-being). During one of my visits, I told the doctor about my weight gains. He said I was just big-boned and should be a football player, a statement I knew to be untrue. He offered the Medifast plan, a plan for which I had no funds. He never checked my blood, but then, this is a doctor who never did a single X-ray or MRI for a back injury in a legal suit. (He claimed I just had a strain, and the lawyer led me to settle for ten-thousand- only six of which was mine.) In 1993, I went to another doctor because my face was swelling, I was hurting all over and my weight continued to climb. The first thing he did was run blood tests. He called me and said I had Hypothyroidism. I was in an advanced stage. That meant that it had begun years before, like in 1985. Upon taking the Synthroid, I lost the pain and swelling and some weight. I couldn't lose all the weight. I asked a doctor why, being given the hormone, I didn't go back to my normal weight. He said they can't give you the amount of hormone your own thyroid produced when healthy because it causes deterioration of the bones. They simply keep a balance that keeps it in check. Yes, hypothyroidism causes weight gain. No, thyroid medicine doesn't cure that. That's the indication I've gotten from doctors. Meanwhile, two back surgeries and countless diets later, I got banded at 280 lbs. My other point is that the idea that a lawyer is going to get you the most he can because he gets a percentage is a myth. The lawyer will weigh how much money he will get for the amount of time it will take to get it. Often, that means settling for the bottom dollar with very little time invested. Richard

Jules, I think the factor that sets the Rodriguez team above many is the information. They sent me tons of stuff to read. I read it all as well as other stuff on the internet and in books. I'm surprised at how many people there are out there who have been banded but don't know how to use it. I got a great price with Dr. R. (the "Internet Special, for which the only stipulation is simply having the surgery on a Monday, saves three hundred dollars off the regular price, so I paid a total of $7000). But the special attention is the biggest benefit. Richard

One other thing. My understanding is that drinking during or just after a meal makes the food go past the band, undoing what the band is there for. It's not that it fills you and keeps you from eating. It actually makes you eat more because the food doesn't stay in the small pouch. The band is made to stop solid food, not liquids or mushy foods. Drinking just before your meal is important, however, because it goes past the band and fills the main stomach. Richard

I don't know about the other doctors, but I just had my surgery in Acuna, by Dr. Jose Rodriguez. One thing I'll say, his support staff, based in San Antonio, is great. For no extra charge, they pick you up at the airport in S.A., take you to Del Rio, put you up for the night before surgery at a nice La Quinta Inn, take you shopping and dining in Mexico and back to S.A. They give you lots of info and support. You know exactly what to expect. Richard

I saw that coming. Highland Park is an old, wealthy part of Dallas (actually it's own city, but surrounded by Dallas). Highland Village is a suburb just off I-35e, just north of Lewisville. It is much closer to DFW. Richard

Mary (or anyone else), It was last summer that you were inquiring about people in the Denton area who had been banded. Well, if you're still interested, I was banded by Dr. Rodriguez on January 8, 2007, just four days ago. I was referred to him by a friend who had done it almost a year and a half ago. She now lives in Denton. So, here I sit, on vacation from work, on my liquid diet. My wife took great care of me on the trip, and continues to do so. My dogs make sure I do plenty of walking. I started at 280 lbs. before the pre-op diet, lost three lbs. on that, and, at 5'-10", my goal weight is the 165 lbs. that I weighed in 1985. That's a long way to go, but I intend to lose 100%. Peace, Richard