La_madam

I agree with Sue..the cancer nurses are very familiar with ports. My son had cancer and had a port , I have spoken to one of them and told her about my port and she told me if I was ever filled too tight that she could extract some of the saline for me in an emergency. When I had the espohagitis, the only thing that worked wel lfor me was clear liquids, everything else made me so umcomfortable. I never had refluz or slime or spitting up but anything other then clear liquids irritated my esophagus horribly...after about 4 days of clear liquids, I weent to ful lliquids and I was able to tolerate them..then to mushys..then to solids but it was 2.5 weeks of this. Hang in there Kelli..I hope this all passes soon. I can sympathize with you.

Jonathan be careful..This is a fact, there are other women who have been told they were getting an Inamed Band and that there Dr was certified by Inamed by a certain patient coordinator and when they got home from Mexico and went for aftercare they had a Swedish Band and this same patient coordinatoor who told them they were getting an Inamed band does work for the molding clinic. 6800 would make me leary..most of the very experienced band doctors in Mexico charge 8000-9000..if one was charging 6800 and others were charging 8000-9000 I would wonder why. That is a big difference My doctor in Mexico has financing through Capital One which is a very reputible loan company with very very low interest rates You say you can not afford more right now, but you need to think long term also , in my opinion using a more experienced Dr is cheaper in the long run. Did you read the posts here about the molding clinic? There are two other posts on this board about the molding clinic maybe you can send a private message to the member who started the post and get more info, that is what I would do and also on Yahoo groups there is MexicanBandsters which has info on the Molding Clinic you will just have to do a search on it in thearchives. Im not trying to deter you from the molding clinic but if it were me from what I have read abou there and on other boards I would be a little leary but that is just me and my opinion.

I used cashiers checks It was not a problem going through customs, they just asked what I was bringing back

Ryan, you are awesome! Patty is a lucky gal ot have a hubby like you. I thought I had the best hubby in the world but he is a distant second to you. I sympathize with you..I know all to well to know what it is like to have your spouse live day to day in chronic pain.Honestly..I could learn from you. Hope Patty is feeling batter after your return from Cleveland.

In Mexico most of the Dcotors do not require a pre op diet unless your BMI is over 50 to shrink your liver my BMI was 42 so I did not have one. As far as the molding clinic..I do not know personally anything about them but have read some negative things here on this site and other sites, who knows if it is true or not.. have you looked into other Dr.'s in Mexico? There are several very qualified and experienced Dr's in Mexico. Just becasue it is cheaper doesnt mean better. I went to Mexico and chose one of the most experienced band surgeons in the country, yes it was more money then other Dr's in Mexico but it was so worth it to know my Dr' has placed over 1500 bands and is a proctor for Inamed. I have "heard" some of the other doctors in Mexico are not using the Inamed bands so please be sure to see the band you will be getting and make sure it is an Inamed band or else you will have a hell of a time finding a Dr. in the US to do your fills & aftercare on the Swedish or Mid band. Best of Luck to you..

Wow you look fantastic and so happy! You have done an incredible job Thanks for sharing the pics!

I have lost 72.5 lbs in 8 months and the first 6 months I ate pretty good healthy wise and followed the rules but now I am eating like I did before part oif the time but in much much smaller portions. I look at it like this..you get out of it what you put into it.If you want to lose much slower and are content with that, then Yes eating Mcdonaleds french fries are OK.. My weight loss has slowed very much ever since I have been making bad food choices..am I ok with that? Somedays I am and somedays I am not! The band is a toool we still have to do some of the work. I am ned of a fill so with that and making bad choices , Im seeing the results of it..no weight gain but very slow weight loss. The good thing about my band is I can still enjoy life and eat what I want but smaller protions without fear of gaining.

I found out on Christmas Day that my Aunt teaches crochet classes at Tall Mouse (crafts store) here in my area so after the first of the year I am going to go and take her classes..

My hubby who is a mechanic swears by Fords..it is one of the cars he sees less of in his shop. Hyaundi's & Saturns are the worst according to him, very hard to find parts for and have lots of problems, at least that is his opinion and experience. I have had a For Aerostar for 11 years now and have had no problems with it other then normal wear and tare.

One of my employees is also a personal trainer, she told me today if you are trying to flush out your system and lose weight you need to drink 1/2 of your body weight in ounces of Water. so so approx 95 ounces for me a day!! I remember reading somewhere for every 10lbs you are overwieght you need to drink an extra 8 oz glass of water..so that is about the same as half of my body weight in ounces of water.

Isint that the truth..I'm freezing cold,& raining it is hard to drink all of my water..so far I have drank 40 oz.

Lisa..I think we are all i nthe same boat as you..I cant wait for all of this Holiday goodies crap to be over! I'm scheduling for a fil lsince I can eat alot more these days and the scale is showing it

Staci, if your band slipped you would not be able to keep down anything..liquids or food...Like Betty said, you are able to eat alot becasue you have not had a fill yet..things wil lchange once you get filled and mushy foods go down real easy with no restriction or problems.

Teresa, My hubby is an auto mechanic, owns his own shop. I can ask him what is a good car out of the ones you mentioned.

it's true, I have the same problem and asked my Dr. about it and he told me less insulation

I got a gift certificate to Victoria's Secret also and I am proud to say I now fit int otheir bras..I was in a 42 DD I am now in a 38DD, their largest size is a 38DD so I just made it..I love their panties too and now I can wear their Large & X Large so I went on a shopping spree yesterday..it felt good! As far as saggy boobs..I had my boobs lifted & implants to make up for the loss of a lift back in 1998..long before I ever thought of the band , good back then but bad now cuz all you see when I come towards you is boobs..

Iam in..I need this challenge!

Monday 12/27 192.50 1/2 lb loss for me I'll take it since the scale has not moved in 3 weeks and I have bee a little bad on my food choices

Ryan...Great story...thank you for sharing it with us.. You always capture me with your words

Creamed Spinach, hummus, refried beans all worked well for me

Im right here with you both..believe it or not, my tree is all ready down in the garbage at 9:00 am , gifts are all put away, decorations are put away & the house is vaccummed, you would never know it was Christmas here this morning. Breakfast is done along with the dishes..I have showered an am ready for what the day brings..which is absolutely nothing and I love it! Finally a day to relax..I do not even have anything planned for dinner tonight, so Im going to do a search and see what is open tonight...Merry Christmas

I'm heading out too for a few hours, going into Los Angeles to my Aunt's house for a Lebanese Feast..should be interesting, I have not eaten Lebanese food since my band. Any one know anything about Lebanese food, the use alot of rice and wheat germ..it expands in your tummy, you are not supposed to drink for a good hour after eating ..so that should be good for me now ..Merry Christmas to all of you. Be safe & have fun! Zoe...you are so right in your post. I feel so confident this New year about my weight for the first time in my life .

Hey Lauri Hope you are feeling better. Did you go to the Dr. that your mom was going to take you to see? Any news?

Congratulations Lisa ... Ha Ha Seroiously , sorry to hear you had a PB but atleast you know your band is still working right? That is a good thing! Your concerns for erosion should be at ease a little bit now, if you were eroded , anything and everything would be sliding down that hatch with no pain, no slime. I'm so glad you heard my voice..I hope you listen to it What I experienced after my major PB was NO fun at all! Just think with you doing soft foods and liquids today, you will have cushion for tomorrows goodies without any weight gain..pretty good huh?

Congratulations Darcey from one happy Ortiz patient to another. I'm so glad to hear everything went so smoothly for you, that is great news! Rest up and take it easy! You are going to love your band!