donali

the long tassles on Jack's pasties, which were spinning so fast that they cleared the smoke directly in front of him and knocked ReneBean's camera out of her hands and sent it flying, breaking it into a hundred pieces. ReneBean wanted to cry, but she was laughing so hard that she almost fell over...

All of this stuff is great advice! My personal recommendation would be to have a regular meal prior to the party, and then have a big Water bottle and challenge myself to have it empty by the time the party is over. Before having any scrumptious bite, 10 deep long draws on the water bottle. By that time, someone will have asked you a question or you will be on to your next demo item, and you'll have forgotten all about the food in front of you... Plan, plan, plan. Everything is harder until it becomes a habit. I also have to say I love Megan's attitude - girl, you sound like you are having the time of your life!! And your advice on the adult content thread! I've got to try that eye contact thingy... lol

I believe that growing a baby to term takes a lot of nutrition. Dr. Lopez told me that while you're pregnant, the baby takes what it needs first, and then you get the rest. So if that is true, it sounds to me like the whole time you were pregnant you were probably getting too few calories, and now that the baby is here, and not taking any of those calories, your body is starting to store what it now considers to be "excess" calories, even though you may be taking in the same amount as before. And if you are able to eat more than before, it probably is time for a fill... Just some thoughts. Congrats on your new bundle of joy!

I tore my port surtures and had to have a revision, and 7/04 my band was removed due to 40% erosion. I LOVED my band, and still think it is the safest, best WLS currently available. http://lapbandtalk.com/showthread.php?t=933 http://lapbandtalk.com/showthread.php?t=1318 http://lapbandtalk.com/showthread.php?t=2256

OMG!! I just burst out laughing! How truly horrible and traumatizing - I'll probably have nightmares about that now... UGH!! lol

Johnny Quest and Simba the Lion were two of my favorite cartoons. (Of course Bugs and that series always tops the very favs - PePe la Pew, the witch that always had the hairpins flying everywhere, the little martian guy...) Speaking of martians, loved My Favorite Martian, Mr. Ed, I Dream of Jeannie... And ZOTZ and PopRocks were hip waaay back then... ;D Purple Passion soda - yum... lol

There's a SanDiegoBandster group - they meet once a month. Post questions here: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SanDiegoBandsters/ Here's a San Diego thread here at LBT: http://lapbandtalk.com/showthread.php?t=794

Hi PrettyOne - I am so glad everything is going well. I am sorry that you feel this board is anti-Lopez - it is NOT, but there HAVE been a number of people who are members of this board who have had some less than desireable outcomes. It is unfortunate that those who have positive outcomes feel as though they cannot share their experiences (USUALLY it's the other way around!!), but it is SO RARE to find a board that allows people to actually relate their less than positive outcomes, and actually let those posts REMAIN, that it may feel as though positive posts are not welcome. Nothing could be further from the truth. We ALL care deeply about every banded patient, and we ALL want everyone to have the absolute best outcome, regardless of who they choose for their surgeon, and how their own outcome may have progressed. I think we all realize that every doctor has their less than successful cases, and ALL doctors are human - eventually there is going to be a mistake made. No one should be made to feel defensive about their choice of doctor, OR the posting of their outcomes, good or bad. When I was doing my research I asked for people's experiences with the doctor I was considering. I was on the biggest boards, with the most people. I did not get a single negative comment, and lots of raves. I read lots of posts from people who said what a great surgeon my doc was, how they had actually WATCHED him perform surgery, and how impressed they were. I went with my doctor. BUT - I KNEW that at worst, the people giving me advice (everyone's a stranger, so I have to use my best judgment when evaluating their advice) had something to gain by promoting my doctor, and at best were giving their own personal experience. I'm a relatively intelligent woman, but frankly, I could watch a butcher perform surgery and not know if he were doing a good job or not - so I could only surmise that MOST people would not be able to make any kind of value judgment on the quality of a surgeon, unless they were a surgeon themselves, and actually worked side-by-side with the surgeon they were evaluating. So if nothing else, these people had surgery with the doc and survived. When I was diagnosed with erosion I considered myself to be a fluke, a part of the 3% erosion cases, the fruition of an unlikely risk that I accepted when I was banded. Prior to losing my band I personally knew of one other Lopez patient who had to have her band removed due to erosion. SINCE I have had my band removed, I personally know of two more who have lost their bands, and there are several other people on this board that I do NOT know personally who have also lost their bands who were Lopez patients. Certainly there are WAAAY more Lopez patients that have had postive outcomes than there are who haven't. Because the gathering of factual information from all patients, regardless of surgeon, seems virtually impossible, no one can scientifically speculate on any one surgeon's complication rate. It is certainly possible that it is mere coincidence that a number of people on this board have had negative outcomes - to make accurrate statements one would have to know the sample base size, and a lot of other information that generates reliable statistics. I can NOT in good conscience recommend or advise against any particular surgeon - I can only relate my own personal experiences and my own personal knowledge, and point people to places where they can gather their own information and make their own decision. I send those people HERE, because this is the ONE board I personally know of that is NOT run by a doctor, or a particular doctor's advocates, and I know that EVERYONE is allowed to post their experiences - good or bad. If you want to post something good about Lopez, make your own post about your good experience. Just don't confuse your good posting as doing "battle" with those who have posted negative experiences. Your GOOD experience does not negate the negative experiences, and the negative experiences do NOT negate the positive experiences. There is no right or wrong - just our own personal stories. I always hate to hear anyone say they're leaving the board - I hope you don't, because there are wonderful people here with lots of good info. Yes, there are some very emotional posts, but we are emotional people. Wishing everyone continued success -

Hi PrettyOne - Any updates on your port? How are you doing? I don't see any posts from you since your first day, and hoping all is well in your neck of the woods.

http://lapbandtalk.com/showthread.php?t=434

There seems to be a lot of that going around... I, too, have to cancel my plans. WAH! Wish me luck in finding an inexpensive and yet reliable car... Looking forward to seeing the pics!!

Knows nothing until viewing world. ghber

Salt! (for a few back that didn't get anwered!) CD. Back rub or foot rub?

Do xylophone players regret anything? qqmhr

Or was that an 'L'? Love believes understanding is there. wupbe

I believe understanding is there. wupbe

Fall. Dogs or cats?

Every rogue understands "play time." klpev

Don't let them go quietly. hwprr

Before I had my band removed, I told my doc that I had been having dizzy attacks for a couple weeks, but that they had since resolved before I could get in to see him. Because I'd had that intense concussion in November I was afraid that it was some sort of residual thing. He told me that he'd had a rash of dizzy complaints around the timeframe I had mentioned, so not to worry about it. He said it's common to have large groups of people complaining about dizzyness at one time, and he didn't know why (I am assuming they were all checked for some sort of inner ear thing). I suggested some sort of shift in the earth's electro-magnetic field, and he said it was possible... Maybe he was just humoring me??? lol The earth's electro-magnetic field has to be strong enough for birds and sealife to navigate, and we have those unexplained whale beachings, etc., so maybe they were dizzy at the time?? I love being such a source of concrete and helpful information... lol

Not sacrifices - informed choices. You have permission to eat anything you want, so it really comes down to educated choices. If you choose to eat something less healthy, don't feel guilty!! But know the kind of choice you're making. That's what the book is about...

Great visual, Kare!! lol Sorry, don't know anything about CortiSlim... Any pill like that that interests me invariably has normal ingredients you can buy, so I end up not getting it... Try the B Vitamins alone. I haven't taken them, so can't confirm Kare's warning, but I'll take her (?) word for it...

The capacity given for the pouch is always misleading to folks - IF the pouch was a closed system, it is designed to only hold a few ounces. BUT, the pouch is NOT a closed system. Think of it more like a funnel than a container. How fast the funnel empties determines how much volume you can eat. How fast the funnel empties is determined by: How much restriction you have The consistency of the stuff you eat So, just like a real funnel, liquids will pour right through. If you have a big opening in the funnel you may not be able to overfill the funnel's holding tank. If you have a small opening in the funnel, even liquids can start backing up into the holding tank and eventually overflow if you pour stuff in too fast. Just like with a funnel, the more liquidy the stuff that goes in is, the faster it drains out of the pouch. If you put chopped up chicken in your funnel, depending on how big the opening is, it will either get clogged up or trickle through. How much you eat at any given time is determined by WHAT you are eating, and HOW you feel. Once the swelling from your surgery goes down, you may feel as though the funnel is wide open, and no matter how fast you pour stuff in, it runs right through. However as you get fills the funnel opening becomes smaller, and stuff doesn't go through as quickly as before. It's always good to go slow and test the waters each time you eat, because the feeling of restriciton does vary, often times throughout the day. Hope this makes things clearer!!

Tricia - thanks for the kind words. I have certainly learned a lot, but I won't lie - bandless after being banded isn't any easier than before the band... However I have a lot of emotional tools and information now that I didn't have before, and I remain ever hopeful... YME - I had my band removed due to erosion - nothing to do with my port. Removing your port and leaving in your fill isn't really a great idea. I personally would suggest MOVING your port to a different location and see if that doesn't help. Living in pain if you don't have to isn't very appealing to me, either... Let us know what happens!!

How long have you been banded, Cathy? Just out of curiosity. If you are concerned there is no reason why you shouldn't get tested. But if you're really newly banded, it's probably nothing. If you've been banded for a few months and the sensation doesn't go away, it doesn't hurt to get checked out.