La_madam

I agree Leatha ..also the fact that the other 3 women on this board who have had erosion with Lopez is not here say or rumors either. For every good experience with any Dr. there is a bad experience. Margaret is the fortunate one to have had a good experience and I wish her the best and am happy for her but the fact still remains there are many unhappy Lopez patients here and on other boards. Just becasue a Dr. is good at installing the band does not make him a great Dr. there is so much more to just the actual surgery in my book...aftercare and patient follow-up being one of them! P. S. Do any of you find it interesting that whenever there is a negative thread about Lopez someone comes out of the wood work and posts a thread totally defending him? I'm wondering why Margaret never comes here to share about her experience since banding but only to boost Dr. Lopez and his practice...Margaret how else is everything going for you? Hows the weight loss? Hows the band working for you? We would love to hear how you are doing instead of just always coming here with a "tooting Lopez's horn" thread. Oh and one last thing...Margaret are you saying that the 3 other women who have posted here with erosion from Lopez are just rumors and they are lying? Why would anyone lie about that?

Carmen..What a great inspirational post on the day we give thanks,, indeed you do have something to be thankful for. Congratulations to you..I'm very happy for you

Hi & Welcome..I know several people who have had the lap band and have had diabetes and have lost weight and no longer take there med for it. There is several people on thissite who have or had diabetes..I'm sure they will post all about it.

I spoke wit Sandy at Orti'z office, there was a delay and she said they should be sent out this week. Also for those of you who ordered, please make sure you were not overchargerd. It has been posted on other boards that some have been charged 129.50 on their credit card statements instead of 12.95. If this is the case for some of you please call the publishing company MWP Publishing at 949-715-7924. It seems to have been an error on the part of the publishing company and they are aware of it as well as Ortiz's office and are working to correct the problem.

Getting a fill is when you go in to get your band tightened or adjusted. It is what gives you the restriction you will need to eat less. Some people do not need fills but that is the minority, most of us need fills anywhere from 3-5 fills until we get to our goal weight. It is adjusted with saline through the port the doctor places under your skin and the saline travels through the tubing top the band to tighten it..

Glad to hear everything went well for you and that you had such a possitive experience with Dr. Lopez & his staff. I loved the Lucerna it is a beautiful hotel and the entire staff was so helpful. Best of Luck to you on your weight loss journey

Congratulations on getting a date..you are going to love your band! Best of luck to you

Congratulations Kim I wish you the best with your new band!

Like Marie said..if you live here in the US..make sure you line up aftercare in your area prior to your surgery. I have heard it many time when a patient gets banded in another country and plays hell trying to find a doc in their home town who will see them. Many docs wont touch patients banded in other countries and if they do they charge alot! Best of Luck to you? Why Belgium or France? Just curious?

Happy Thanksgiving to all of you my extended family Like Lisa I have lots to be thankful for this year.. Be Safe Everyone... And dont eat too much

Hi Carol..so glad to see you are back but sorryto hear of your illnes. I hope you are on the mend soon. I'm doing good, have lost 10l bs since Vegas. I will be in those 14's soon. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving. I think of you often

Thanks Greg ( I think) for noticing I had not joined this challenge yet. I just can not get motivated to exercise..I promised my self that once I got to ONE-DERLAND that I would. I need HELP!! Is there a prize for this challenge :laugh Maybe that would help! My weight loss is going great without it so I dont want to mess up a good thing ...Excuses Excuses..Someone kick me in the ASS Please!!! I did go shopping for 4 hours today and wrapped all my presents when I got home ...Does that count :ermm

Lauri..there are other ways..I went to Mexico and was a self pay..Dr. Ortiz offers financing through Capital One.so do other Dr.s in TJ..if you want this and your insurance will not cover you ..Go to Mexico. Many of us here have and have NO regrets. I sold my most convertible mustang to have this surgery thats how bad I wanted it...and I know when I'm thin I will want that car back but I also wanted this surgery badly and I was not going to fight with my insurance company and take months to do so..I'd probably still be fighting them 7 months later and now I'm over half way to my goal weight 67.50 lbs lighter

I'm telling ya Betty..I really believe this weekly weigh in has helped me to be so successful. If I get on the scale more then once a week I obsess and I do poorly and end up sabatozing myself. Plus weighing in with all of you keeps me accountable and focused...Glad to here we are doing it right & your nutritionalist agrees with our strategy

Nancy What was on that list of yours? The only thing on my NEVER to have again was NO CARBONATION! Other then that, I can eat what I please. Some Docs I have rread will give post op instructions based on the Gastric Bypass..could this be what your Dr. did with al lthe NO NO's?I was told from Inamed told me the reason that every Dr. is so different with post op instructions is when the band was approved there was no set standards for post op diet that each Dr. and their nutritionalist made up there own per say Some of the Dr.s who proctor will pass theirs along to the Dr.'s they have proctored. this is why we see such a variable degree of post op diets among all of us.

GLitz I'm almost 8 months post op and I experience the same pain in the left side ( like I just ran a marathon) from time to time..I have asked my Dr. about this and was told it is normal. He said it is nothing serious and is most likely trapped gas or just a muscular strain from doing too much. I know I have no infection or flipped port since I just had my check - up last week and everything was fine. There are several women I have spoken to who also get the sideache pain..mine comes and goes..somedays I have it and other days I dont....

Go to the Dr. and get an unfill..you know your body better then anyone. Do not listen to this nurse. If you can not eat mushys or solids you need an unfill..everytime you throw up you are risking slippage of your band. everytime you throw up you are damaging your esophogus..this is not how the band was designed to work. Getting as little as .2 cc's removed can make a huge difference. Don't be foolish..tighter doesnt always mean you will lose faster. With the Holidays coming , do you really want to be miserable like you have been? Call you Dr. today!

Teresa....Way to go Girl! Fantastic weight loss! I'm proud of you too

Check out this site, it will help you determine if you need a fill or not. I go by my weekly weight loss..if I have not lost weight in 3 consecutive weeks and I know I'm making good food choices, drinking all my Water..then possibly I would schedule a fill. Most of the time for me ..low weight loss is bad food choices and not drinking all my water..I try and stay real honest with myself and ask myself ..do I need my band adjusted or do I need my head and attitude adjusted..it is usually my head and attitude that I adjust. I have had 2 fills and do not plan on having one anytime soon..I got this fill in August and I have lost weight every single week since..I have good restriction..I have been losing 1-3 lbs a week since being banded... Good Luck http://lapbandtransformation.com/Adjustments.htm

Fantastic Job!!! Cindy you have done awesome..so happy for you. Like Teresa said I will definately have to start tipping the Water bottle more often. I agree with you whole heartedly about this place playing a key role in your success. I have said the same thing many time to my husband and friends..The support I get here is what keeps me focused and keeps me motivated and is a big part of my success....Congratulations to you Cindy..Job Well Done

Thanks Betty..that is so neat. I just calculated mine and printed it out . Great info!

Good News Kim, isint it amazing how little 1cc is but what an amazing difference it can make..good or bad? You did the right thing by having some removed. You will thank yourself for it in the long run. So many people think it is better to be tighter and they will lose faster but that is not always the case.. For me, the damage that can be done from being filled to tight is not worth any ammount of weight loss! Hope this fill ammount works well for you.

Monday 11/22 197.50 2.25lbs loss f or me Congrats ..Melissa way to go on your 5.5 lbs gone forever! Greg and Betty..to me NO GAIN is a huge loss..glad to see neither one of you are discouraged. Best of luck to all of you in this coming week with all the goodies & food we will be facing! I'm making a mini goal this week for me of NO GAIN, I will not give into temptation, I will not give into temptation..I will not give into temptation, I will not give into temptation...... :nervous

Ok I just saw the hats Becky made Vera ...I'm jealous. I want one too I read your intstructions Teresa and I'm not that talented or artistic.those instructions seemed like a foreign language to me..so If any of you would like to make me a hat..I would like that very much and will pay you for the material and your time

What an adorable picture! Beautiful hats...I want one I just looked at the post where Teresa gave instructions on how to make one and all I can say is there is NO way I understand all that.