La_madam

Porclndoll Add a little crystal light to your Water OR a couple of squezzed lemon slices with a packet of equal or splenda, tastes just like lemonade..both work great for me. I also like to know how much water I drink in a day so I keep a gallon of water with me all day long and my daily goal is to drink it all , somedays I do & somedays I dont but either way I know how much I have drank..I put a packet of crystal light in the entire gallon container and it sweetens it just enough. I do not worry about the excess skin and right now Iam fortunate enough to not have hardly any so if I can get this last 25lbs off and still look like I do ..reconstructive surgery is not important to me. I just wil lbe happy to be 100 lbs lighter and healthier. Good Luck :cool:

Carbs in the morning have the same affect on me..I'm starving all day long or atleast I think Iam ..so I stay away from those bad bad carbs ..thank god for this fill because because those bad carbs (bread, rice, pasta)won't go through to easily

Great Article...thanks for sharing it with us Congratulations to your Mike :cool: He has done fantastic!

Here is some info on Kuri's bash 3rd Annual Vegas Bash. We have a Place, Date and room rate! Monte Carlo Hotel (on the strip) May 29th - May 31st 2005http://www.montecarlo.com/intro-flash.php3 Sunday 29th May (registration only.)Monday 30th May Meetings and Bandster discussions most of the day, dinner dance Monday night. Monday is Memorial Day, and of course is a holiday!!!! Hotel room rate is $89 per night and for a 4* poperty on the strip on Memorial day is fantastic!! This year we will be having more of a Q & A type format for the professionals, and of course as always, our Bandster Discussion Groups and Dinner Dance.

Very interesting..kind of concurs with all the posts on Bandsters and Mexican bandsters about Belighter. It has been said by a member over there that she did not have a business license in Las Vegas and it caught up with her which is why she is now in Arizona..something about misrepresentation who knows if it is true or not..Lots of unhapy people with Belighter though and that is very sad :cool:

Way to go Bobby..keep coming here for support and encouragement..it really helps to keep us focused. For me it has been my safety net. Support is very important, we all need it. Looks like you are determined to get back on track..that is great!

WIshing you possitive news Do not worry about slippage...if it iwas slippage you would not even be able to drink Water without throwing up..nothing would get past the band without vomiting. Erosion is rare..I think you just need a slight unfill or a complete unfill to give your esophagus a rest. Your band will be fine, try not to worry :cool:

I do not know of too many people who had a middle man that have been pleased with their care & support after surgery. I did not use a middle man because of this reason. The price difference is anywhere from 500-1000 dollars. These companies like belighter.com are not offereing their services for free, they are in it to make money. Do you know the price from belighter? If so call Kuri's office direct and act as if you are a new patient and ask what he charges. do not mention belighter and see the difference . Why do you need someone to go to bat for you? No way would I pay an extra 1000 to have someone do all the leg work for me and then drop me like a hot potato after they get my money. Obviously all of the dishonesty that belighter represents has finally caught up with them for there to be all of this bad publicity on all of the boards. Good Luck to you

GINNY!!!! Where have you been? I have missed you..did you get the message I sent you?

Dr. Kuri is a wonderful, experienced Dr. This has nothing to do with the Dr.'s they are representing, it is all about the services they offer and promises they make and never make good on them, they are making money off of you. I bet if you were to call Kuri's office directly your price would be alot cheaper. These women are the middle man, making money of about 1000 per patient sometimes more

Midnite Every Dr. has their own post op diet they want you to follow. One thing I was told by Dr. Ortiz is that when Inamed came out with the band they had no post op diet so every Dr. and his nurtitionalist made up their own. My Dr. has a longer post op liquid phase then most. 2 weeks clear liquids, 1 week full liquids at week 4 was mushy food for 2 weeks then solids at week 6. Not many here have I heard of them having 3 weeks of liquids. He also may have had a pre op diet to follow, more so in men who have a higher BMI and have more fat around their livers some Dr's require liquids pre band to shrink the size of the liver, it is easier to place the band that way.

Ryan Iam so happy to hear Patty has gotten relief My husband is suffering badly right now, as you know he has battled chronic back pain due to a herniated discs. He was doing great until last week when we had to put our dog to sleep and he lifted her ( rottweiller) to and from the car and into the vets office, his back has been out for a week now and we go tomorrow to see his pain doc..I can relate..seeing the person we love in pain is very difficult, it weighs heavy on my heart but more so on his because he feels like such a failure as a father & husband, I do my best to keep him upbeat. Hang in there Ryan and know we are all pulling for both you and Patti. You are a great man!

Rebecca I can totally to relate on following the rules in the beginning, it is what helped me too but then the Holidays came and I became complacent..this last fill I had has rejuventated me. I'm diligent and back to basics , now if I could just get my butt movin' with the exercise :eek

You really can not overdue the liquids during the liquid phase since liquids go right through your pouch..do not want to get dehydrated

Yahoo Bandsters and Mexicanbandsters are loaded with Belighter posts...something is going on over there...lots of unhappy people and Teresa from what I have been reading looks like someone is going to sue them also..GO do a search on Bandsters and Mexicanbandsters type in Belighter in the search archives and lots comes up!

Gas X & Walking.. You will have lots of gas and swelling from surgery so take it easy, theheating pad is a good thing to have handy for your tummy when it is sore. I also took adult strength liquid tylenol for the pain and it worked great. Congratulations I'm glad you are home and everything went well for you....Update us on how you are doing when you feel up to it

Becky, you look fantastic! What a difference in those 2 pics. 80 lbs is awesome! And you all say Iam an inspiration..Uh.. Becky is the inspiration, banded 2 months after me, weighed less then me and has lost more then me..Unbelieveable Becky, and you barely have any fill or do you have any at all? You are one determined disciplined woman. As Paula said " What is your secret"?

Lisa Start your phone calls again at night..You can call me anytime. It worked last time didn't it?

Way to go all of you losers

Klyeigh..how in the heck did you find that on E-Bay?

I agree Teresa, since my last fill I have been afraid to eat bread, rice, or pasta, so I have been sticking to protein and veggies..something's working

Bobby when you go in for a fill, if you Dr. does his fill under flouro it will give him an indication fo erosion, since with erosion the barium flows over the band instead of through it like it would with no eorsion. Erosion has no ryme or reason, I haveseen the most model bandsters have erosion. It is a very rare occurance. We all worry about it, you are not alone...I'm sure everything is fine and maybe all you need is a little fill wich iswhy you feel no restriction.

This thread started on July 19th, a little over 6 motnhs ago, my starting weight on that day was 229 as of this morning 189, that is 40 lbs..Amazing!!! I love this challenge

Eli You can have carbs but it is reccomended that you eat your protein first, then veggies, the fruits and then if you have room your carbs..by the time you get to your carbs you are usually full. Sounds like you need to sit your Dr. down and have a heart to heart with him or find yourself a new Dr. How much of a fill do you have now?

Dr. Martinez told me this past week that there is a dead space in the band that they fill first right before your first fill while they have the port accessed I know for a fact in my dead space I have .4 cc's which in all actuality would make me have 2.9 but you do not count the dead spcae as part of your fill for restriction,or a part of the 4 ccs your band will hold..this must be the pocket you are talking about Shelly.