GeezerSue

Deal is...there are some men who notice fat women and give them the time of day BECAUSE they are fat. And when that changes, the relationship changes. Speaking as someone who has been married for 31 years, however, relationships change with or without weight loss. Having kids changes everything. Continuing in school and changing careers can change everything. Being broke or being not broke can change everything. I think some of the saddest people I see are those (the ones Alexandra mentioned) who lose 150 pounds in eight months, and even though they are 38 or 43 and have three kids and the stretch marks to prove it, think they are beauty queens. And they start to dress like they would have dressed at 20 if they hadn't been obese at 20. So the entire planet is forced to view their now pendulous abdomens hanging over the jeans (and the hip-level belt) and their bellies (incluing the Lap RnY incisions) above the waist staring back like one-eyed marshmallows. Need I say, "Yuck?"

I was just about to give that girl a call...we need to touch bases. I f you find her first, tell her I said, "Hey!"

I know nothing of this doctor. What I DO know is that Inamed includes any doctor who has (I hope) taken their training...even if they have not yet placed their first band. That list is essentially a list of doctors who want Inamed referrals...and that's about it.

I think too many people worry about slipped and eroded bands, because many of those who DO have them had no symptoms. If you follow the cheddar broccoli Soup advice, skip the broccoli...meanwhile, do you have a Jamba juice nearby? Get a Peanut Butter Moo'd (or a chocolate Moo'd) with a Protein boost. It's protein, it's VERY high in calories (sorry) and it's good. Arlington Whole Foods/Parkway 801 E. Lamar Blvd. Tel. 817.461.9362**Fax 817.461.1688 Austin Whole Foods/Gateway 9607 Research Blvd. #300 Tel. 512.345.5003**Fax 512.345.5331 One American ** accepts jambacard ** 600 Congress Ave. #G280 Tel. 512.478.8696**Fax 512.478.8605 Arboretum ** accepts jambacard ** 10710 Research Suite 306 Tel. 512.342.9998**Fax 512.342.9940 Guadalupe/Austin ** accepts jambacard ** 2300 Guadalupe St. #100 Tel. 512.275.0290**Fax 512.275.0291 Carrollton Park at Tollway / Carrollton ** accepts jambacard ** 3432 E. Hebron Pkwy #116 Tel. 972.407.0875**Fax 972.735.0283 Corpus Christi Corpus Christi ** accepts jambacard ** 5425 S. Padre Island Dr. #114 Tel. 361.906.2474**Fax 361.994.7892 Dallas Highland Park Village ** accepts jambacard ** 70 Highland Park Village Tel. 214.219.3338**Fax 214.219.3382 Whole Foods / Lemmon Center, Dallas ** accepts jambacard ** 4100 Lomo Alto Drive Tel. 214.559.2038**Fax 214.526.0074 Frankford & Preston/Dallas ** accepts jambacard ** 18204 Preston Rd. #E2 Tel. 972.665.0425**Fax 972.665.0426 Greenville / Dallas ** accepts jambacard ** 5923 Greenville Ave. Tel. 214.363.6461**Fax 214.363.6448 Westchester & NW Hwy / Dallas ** accepts jambacard ** 8421 Westchester Dr. Tel. 214.363.6828**Fax 214.363.6811 Fort Worth Sundance Square ** accepts jambacard ** 400 Main Street Tel. 817.870.1001**Fax 817.870.1878 Houston Post Oak/Houston ** accepts jambacard ** 2515 Post Oak Blvd. #A Tel. 713.850.1089**Fax 713.850.1153 Village Arcade ** accepts jambacard ** 2506 University Blvd. Tel. 713.529.3225**Fax 713.529.3661 Whole Foods/Kirby/Houston 2955 Kirby Dr. Tel. 713.520.1937**Fax 713.526.3976 Whole Foods/Bellaire/Houston 4004 Bellaire Blvd. Tel. 713.667.6588**Fax 713.667.4013 Royal Oaks / Houston ** accepts jambacard ** 11805 Westheimer #340 Tel. 832.327.0306**Fax 832.327.0307 Champions Village / Houston ** accepts jambacard ** 5403 FM 1960 West #580 Tel. 281.444.3930**Fax 281.444.3094 River Oaks / Houston ** accepts jambacard ** 2032 - A West Grey Tel. 713.523.4548**Fax 713.523.4598 Jack Rabbit / Houston ** accepts jambacard ** 13325 FM 1960 Tel. 281.897.9923**Fax 281.897.9942 Copperfield ** accepts jambacard ** 7017 Highway 6 North Tel. 281.463.9956**Fax 281.463.9819 Plano The Shops @ Legacy / Plano ** accepts jambacard ** 5700 Legacy Dr. #A2 Tel. 972.398.6550**Fax 972.398.6601 Richardson Whole Foods/Richardson 60 Dal Rich Village Tel. 972.699.8075**Fax 972.699.9419 Southlake South Lake Town Square ** accepts jambacard ** 222 State St. Tel. 817.416.9971**Fax 817.416.6380 Sugar Land Sugar Land ** accepts jambacard ** 2148 Texas Drive Tel. 281.242.0030**Fax 281.242.0037 Webster Clearlake / Webster ** accepts jambacard ** 528 W. Bay Area Blvd. Ste. B1 Tel. 281.316.9965**Fax 281.316.9967

I was banded in Mexico, but in Monterrey, by Rumbaut. I have been to Rumbaut, Ortiz and Kuri (in Mexico) for fills. I would go back to Rumbaut and Kuri. Ortiz is technically competent, but not my kind of human being. If you live closer to Monterrey, that's where I'd go. Rumbaut (and Sanchez) practice in hospitals that are far more familiar to most US patients and are teaching hospitals. The Tijuana doctors use "alternative medicine" hospitals (I'm not a fan), or tiny little (almost primitive) places which have four people to a room and a bathroom down the hall and no air conditioning and are worth every dime of the $50/night they charge. There are a couple of doctors who use nicely decorated places, but they still are nothing like a US hospital...more like a first-aid clinic from 1960. NOW, a lot of people who are knowledgable about medicine use these doctors, no doubt about it. But, it's a no-brainer for me if I choose between a real, big-city teaching hospital with a doctor who has placed THOUSANDS of bands or a pretty or not-so-pretty Tijuana "hospital" (quotes because some of these places are three- or four-doctor places, no emergency staff kind of places) and a doctor who has done hundreds of bands. And if I did choose Tijuana, it would be Kuri for sure.

Depends. Which doctor? Which city? Driving or flying? Which hospital? The doctors who DO accept credit cards will likely surcharge you for using one. If you want to avoid all of this, you could, for example, make arrangements with Dr. Rumbaut in Monterrey, to pay him and the hospital (if it takes credit cards, which I think it does) separately. (Actually, it costs a little less to do it this way, BUT if you pay Rumbaut, he covers any expenses in case of complications. But he's so good, there are almost never any complications and so he makes out like a bandit on this part.) Anyway, you could then enter the country with a cashier's check for Rumbaut and pay the hospital with the credit card. OR, you could pay a deposit to the doctor or the hospital prior to going. In Rumbaut's case (since he was my surgeon, his is the only procedure with which I'm familiar), that money goes to a bank in Texas and so you didn't move any money out of the country. Technically, the rules are the same everywhere, they are just more likely to be enforced in the Mexico City Airport or Monterrey airports than they are if you drive into Tijuana or Nogales. But the dollar amount under discussion is ten thousand. If you want to avoid breaking any rules, it might be best to pay the hospital separately via credit card or pay a deposit in advance. As far as meds were concerned, I made sure I hd a copy of myRx's and I took the pills out of the packages, so they wouldn't look "so new," and just carried them in as I would a package of Sinutab or something. Nobody asked, I didn't offer. Sue I always tell the truth about why I'm crossing the border...usually "doctor's visit," is all it takes.

I think...that you have irritated the stoma (the passageway where the band is causing the most pressure) and the more you try to eat, the worse it will get. I would stick with Clear liquids. Or full liquids with a Protein component. Next, find out at your nearest hospital (which treats cancer patients), which nurses have experience with subdermal ports. Most nurses who deal with chemo patients have a lot of experience with subdermal ports. THAT'S who you need if no experienced band doctor is available. IMHO you have a few choices, none of them great. But the most important thing you can do is to avoid being in a position where you might end up inhaling any of the acid coming up from your stomach. That stuff can cause a nasty pneumonia. And stay hydrated. Next, I would avoid ANY solids. The stoma can become so irritated that people have had to go on NOTHING by mouth and IV nourishment until it settles down. Then, the saliva thing...your brain has not read the LapBand owner's manual. When the stoma is swollen or irritated, EVERYTHING that hits it is interpreted by the brain as "blockage." The brain's first attempt at clearing the blockage is to send saliva...thick, gooey saliva, to "rinse" the blockage through. Eventually, that just makes more stuff that's plugged up AND the brain says, "Well, if it won't wash through, it's coming up." THAT'S when you feel the urge to heave, and why you are throwing up saliva. Anyway, right now, you need to maintain hydration. You can do that IF you can hold down clear liquids. Camomile tea with a little sugar or honey. chicken broth. That kind of thing. Forget food, it will just make things worse. If you cannot hold down Water, start the IV. If you cannot get to a band doctor, find that chemo nurse. And sleep sitting up! Good luck, Sue

To keep my hands busy, I'm working my way through a box of See's candy. I'm thinkin' it's not such a good thing.

Well, I demand a recount.

I wonder if Momster and Francie are/were related. Francie died a few years ago. I don't think she knew about Bondo. But there's a part of me which is partial to Durham's Rock Hard Water Putty (mix it with water and it makes...I dunno...rocks) , so there may be a genetic link. No, Francie's hobby was radio and early television. This scares me because I am working on getting a ham operator license. But she never had one, so I think it's okay. She had lots of tubes. You know, old radio tubes. She was never thrilled with miniaturized and transistorized stuff. She like BIG, overheating radio and television tubes. Well, those and the powdered cheese, I imagine. Why is Momster out loose? Should she not be incarcerated or somebody's thesis project?

Oh, yeah. And my husband's aunt by marriage bought herself a burial plot, right where she wanted to be for all eternity. And then refused to tell anyone where that was. BUT, that was probably okay, since if she had told her husband, he'd have forgotten. We know that because, when he got tired of the kids "borrowing" money from him, he put $30,000 into a coffee can and buried it somewhere out back. He never did recall exactly where. (But it WAS before he put the pond in...makes a body wonder.) When we gasped, he said "Don't make no difference to me where the hell that money is as long as them damned kids cain't get their hands on it." Gotta love family.

There was a couple who named their kid ESPN, after...you know. Your in-laws have seen one too many episodes of Sesame Street (or maybe not enough episodes, if we're being honest here) and think that "Abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz" (Pronounced "ab-cafe-ge-jekyl-manopquer-stuv-wickses," was a really neat street name or something).

Aunt Francie--the eldest sister of the Phone-Free January's aunt--painted. Almost everything...with a roller. Screens dirty? Silver paint! Wish you had purchased the green car instead? No problem. She really, really painted her car with a roller. Not long before she got shipped off to the home for the permananetly bewildered, she called me. She had some papers and photos she wanted me to have. I'm a freak for family memorabilia, so grabbed my kid and called my sister and we went. Boxes and boxes of newspaper clippings. The most valuable one, as far as I could tell, was the clipping featuring actor Robert Young (1950's "Father Knows Best") and his wife coming home from the hospital with their baby. She read that one to me several times. Aunt Francie also apparently had a thing for the cheese powder from generic mac & cheese...because by the time we got there, there were at least two dozen opened boxes--in the fridge--with the cheese packets missing. The grandfather on that side, although kind and loving to me, was a real SOB to his wife and daughters. My grandmother was a virtual slave, at the very least verbally abused her whole life. Sex on demand, babies, housework. She never really mastered English. She had no friends. She only ANSWERED the phone, never once made a call. So excuse me while I chuckle at this little ditty. Grandpa had a stroke. Crash, boom on the living room floor. She covered him up with a blanket. Two days later one of my fireman uncles stopped in and became hysterical! "Ma! What happened?" he demanded. "Papa fall down," she replied. I have always wondered if a little part of her silently also said, "and if the SOB had ever let me use the f'ing telephone, I might have called someone." (Grandpa survived that one and lived for several more years.) I would love your laundry baskets story if it were not for the "Fresh Start" laundry detergent supply I own. I loved it because you only need a quarter cup. But P&G stopped making it and I was sad...until I found it at the odd lots place. We bought what has turned out to be a several-years supply of it. When our kid stops by and looks in the cupboard, she turns away slowly and says, "Uh, Guys? Is there a story to go with all the laundry detergent or do I have to make up my own?" (Did I mention she could be a bitch?)

I have a few relatives of note. My grandfather divorced my grandmother (and got custody of the kids) and then married Grandma's little sister. My mother and her brother--whose aunt became their live-in step-mother--understandably have a somewhat "askew" view of what constitutes "normal" family behavior. That uncle and his wife married and divorced three of four times before she got smart. On the other side of the family, my grandma used to wash paper plates and hang them on the clothesline to dry (the aunts ran around and tore them up and trashed them), and that grandma's youngest daughter now takes her phone off the hook for the entire month of January...to save money. We keep telling her that it doesn't cost anything to ANSWER the phone, but she doesn't see it that way. I remember the Ellie who killed her son's molester. I thought she was dying of cancer. Lisa, I do not think that your youthful environment would have caused me to seek comfort in food. I'm pretty sure I'd have become a serial killer.

Have you thought about celebrating Festivus? A SPREADING DARKNESS Festivus began on "Seinfeld" and is catching on. YEAR-ROUND JOY Krista Soroka's Festivus includes a pole as as well as a book of grievances that she shows off all year. Fooey to the World: Festivus Is Come By ALLEN SALKIN Published: December 19, 2004 GATHER around the Festivus pole and listen to a tale about a real holiday made fictional and then real again, a tale that touches on philosophy, King Lear, the pool at the Chateau Marmont hotel, a paper bag with a clock inside and, oh yes, a television show about nothing. The first surprise is that from Tampa Bay, Fla., to Washington, from Austin, Tex., to Oxford, Ohio, many real people are holding parties celebrating Festivus, a holiday most believe was invented on an episode of "Seinfeld" first broadcast the week before Christmas in 1997. "More and more people are familiar with what Festivus is, and it's growing," said Jennifer Galdes, a Chicago restaurant publicist who organized her first Festivus party three years ago. "This year many more people, when they got the invite, responded with, `Will there be an airing of the grievances and feats of strength?' " Those two rituals — accusing others of being a disappointment and wrestling — are traditions of Festivus as explained on the show by the character Frank Costanza. On that episode he tells Kramer that he invented the holiday when his children were young and he found himself in a department store tug of war with another Christmas shopper over a doll. "I realized there had to be a better way," Frank says. So he coined the slogan "A Festivus for the rest of us" and formulated the other rules: the holiday occurs on Dec. 23, features a bare aluminum pole instead of a tree and does not end until the head of the family is wrestled to the floor and pinned. The actual inventor of Festivus is Dan O'Keefe, 76, whose son Daniel, a writer on "Seinfeld," appropriated a family tradition for the episode. The elder Mr. O'Keefe was stunned to hear that the holiday, which he minted in 1966, is catching on. "Have we accidentally invented a cult?" he wondered. Maybe. To postulate grandly, the rise of Festivus, a bare-bones affair in which even tinsel is forbidden, may mean that Americans are fed up with the commercialism of the December holidays and are yearning for something simpler. Or it could be that Festivus is the perfect secular theme for an all-inclusive December gathering (even better than Chrismukkah, popularized by the television show "The O.C."). Or maybe, postulating smally, it's just irresistibly silly. Interpretations of the holiday's rules differ among Festivus fundamentalists. Take the pole. On the show Frank Costanza says it must be aluminum and "it requires no decoration." But he does not specify what should hold it up nor its exact height. Krista Soroka, 33, the host of a annual Festivus party in Tampa Bay, sank her five-footer into a green plastic pot filled with sand this year. "It's just an aluminum pole," she said, "like Frank says.' After her party last year, she gave each of the 100 guests a miniature: a two-inch-tall ceramic pot filled with plaster of paris with a nail sticking out of the center. Mike Osiecki, 26, a financial analyst in Atlanta, scheduled his Festivus gathering for friends and colleagues for Friday. He said his pole, which he bought for $10 at Home Depot, is suspended by fishing line on his porch, so "people can stare at it or dance around it if they want to." Aaron Roberts, 28, a zoology graduate student in Oxford, Ohio, unscrewed a post from a set of metal shelves and sank it through the top of a cardboard box with weights inside. In Chicago, Ms. Galdes anchored her six-and-a-half-footer in a Christmas tree stand. "This year I am not having a tree," she said. Scott McLemee, a writer, and his wife, Rita Tehan, had no pole at all at their party in the Dupont Circle neighborhood in Washington. They are two of the Festivus faithful who held their parties early in December before friends headed home for more traditional affairs. Both Dan O'Keefe and his son bless the variations. The original Festivus was constantly in flux. "It was entirely more peculiar than on the show," the younger Mr. O'Keefe said from the set of the sitcom "Listen Up," where he is now a writer. There was never a pole, but there were airings of grievances into a tape recorder and wrestling matches between Daniel and his two brothers, among other rites. "There was a clock in a bag," said Mr. O'Keefe, 36, adding that he does not know what it symbolized. "Most of the Festivi had a theme," he said. "One was, `Is there a light at the end of the tunnel?' Another was, `Too easily made glad?' " ~~~~~~~

Be cautious...with this crowd, Bandstock could morph into Bandgate! Film at eleven.

Y'all know what? You're basically kids and this career is just one step in a long path before you. I didn't get to do the job I really wanted to do until I was 47. I ended up retiring beofre I had done it for ten years, but I did it well enough to get pretty good at it and it was a good gig. You will continue to take care of business and your kids (and errant husbands) and learn many helpful things along the way...it's all just part of the program. Your time will come. If you get there too soon, you won't appreciate it, and you won't bring enough life experiences to the table with you! Sue

Good advice. I get so frustrated when I read posts like yours because so many "newer" doctors are doing the surgery but not the patient education. You are NOT going to be full in your belly. The object of the band is to limit how much food you can eat. You will NOT be filling your stomach. And eggs ARE tough because they never actually dissolve. Do you like soft-boiled eggs? Make one of those and just eat the yolk right now. Many people can't eat solids early in the day and have to wait for the stoma to relax and open a little before eating solids. Read your booklet and read all the old posts and FAQ's so you know what to expect. Good luck.

You know, I understand about the drive. Until recently, I had to drive that far (and out of the country) to get an adjustment. But the band is higher maintenance until you find the right adjustment and it's just something you have to agree to adapt to. Like kids or a pet, there are just going to be times when it is time-consuming. And it will eventually be worth it. IMHO, you have received good information here and need to really listen. If a doctor left a nurse in charge of that big an adjustment, then they both need to "get in trouble." That's just a huge jump. First, you can suffer esophageal damage. And, you will lose LESS weight when your band is too tight, because you will learn to live on high calorie liquids. Remind them that the Inamed book says the band works with solid food. And that their adjustment has left you in a position where you cannot eat solid food and that is NOT what you expect. Get assertive. You deserve a lapband that works with food.

I didn't need a binder or Water...none of the other patients needed them when I was there. I think a binder would have made me feel worse that I did without one. You'll get a goodie basket. Are you going alone? If so, take as little as possible, because you'll probably want to check out of the hotel and then back in after surgery to save $100. (and you might want to do that anyway, because the hospital room will have room and a bed for a loved one.) My advice: buy some neat fruit juices at the HEB maarket next door before your surgery, so you have a variety post-op.

So, you're here to advertise TV shows? Don't have weight issues? No surgery questions? Yew-hoo, Alexandra?

I had my band emptied before my plastic surgery to prevent any problem if I became nauseated...but it never happened. They said there was no problem intubating me and it was in and out before I knew anything.

Yup, Favretti in Italy. That was my other choice...cuz I have Italian "connections." http://www.obesitylapbandsurgery.com/cost.html

One more time guys, just for the detail-oriented...Ponce is in Georgia...Ponce de Leon is in Mexico.

Not all insurances require medically supervised diets. Some require a five-year history of MO and evidence that you have tried other methods. (Your lifetime WW Membership Card or something.) Again, I'm not an insurance expert, but I'll bet the farm on this advice: NEVER assume, and DO NOT EXPECT logic.