DeLarla

There's nothing better than seeing a new bandster flying through this with no complications! Congrads to you and good luck on this wild ride!

If you are eating mushies that contain salt, you may just be retaining water. Fluctuating up and down several pounds is totally normal. Once you introduce food back into your system, it's not constantly being flushed out by all the liquids. You are doing amazing though, so don't worry about a little fluctuation because those couple pounds might be gone by tomorrow. This is one reason why many of us only weigh once a week. I personally weigh every single day but I only log my weight down on the date of my band anniversary. Good job!

Penni (or anyone that's computer literate): Can you make pointers and explain what we are looking at, for those of us who can't make heads or tails?

Never to busy for a big LBT hug. Squeezzzzzzzzzzes to you!

Bottoms up... just chugged another glass for you. Penni is on the road but I talked to her on the phone and she's thinking of you too. I told her about my water challenge so she's drinking to your health as well. Cheers!

Thank God! But if you are drinking Guava nectar already (which is a thick liquid) then why not drink some thinned down Cream Of Anything soup with the bits sieved out, or thinned down (with milk) mashed tater soup? What good news. You're probably just a slow healer with some acid issues.

Seems to me that you had a problem before the Jello incident. Didn't you feel horrible from the get-go? I mean, didn't you have a hard time getting even water down before that initial PB five days out? You are right that Kuri won't gauge you with prices. He cares more about patients than money. I hope he's able to view the e-mail attachments easily. You probably don't have to send every single image. Only attach a couple, and then start a fresh e-mail. If the file is too large it might cause problems. I wasn't going to spend time at LBT today, but I've been worried about you all weekend and won't feel right till you make it to that "recovered" thread. We are all glad that you have test results and hope to hear good news soon. Meanwhile, I challenge everyone on this thread to drink an extra bucket of water today in Kathy's honor (or whatever huge receptacle you normally drink from.)

Okay silly hens, stop reading between the lines of Mother Clucker! Chris always clucks when the phone rings. He thinks all us banded women are a bunch of clucking hens since we can talk for hours and hours. It's pretty funny. Call me any time to cluck. Cluck cluck CLUCK cLuCk Cluck cluck CLUCK clUUUUUCccckkk!

As if I could resist?

Kathy, did I read rigth? You slimed up brown mucus? Could that be old blood? I don't want to scare you, but I don't think you should slime up anything other than the color you took in. I've only had white/clear slime. Have you tried skipping liquids in the morning and trying your first warm liquids around lunch time? I know the mornings are tightest for me. Even with no port I still can't eat Breakfast. Most of us open wider at night. So instead of trying to force something down in the morning, maybe you can see if waiting till later will bring more comfort. Please call Dr. Kuri and tell him about the brown slime and that you can't get anything in. And PM me your phone number if you'd like a call this weekend, okay? As far as people saying they don't have any advice, let me tell you from personal experience that every single post and well-wish meant the world to me when I was sick. Just knowing I could come to LBT and see my friends checking in on me made me feel so much better. Kathy, we are all here thinking of you.

I had Bunny Foo Foo, but we lived in an apartment. He ate all the electrical cords. He became best friends with a relative's cat. But one day they got in a fight and the cat won. Great, now the cluck thread is the sad thread. Bonehead.

One word: POPSICKLES! Well, a few more words are frozen juice pops, fudgsickels, etc. What about sucking on sum Tums? They dissolve really well. Not the tastiest, but it will help the heartburn. Prevacid comes in capsules. Call your local pharmacist and ask him if that's something you could sprinkle in some broth. The way I go about Band care & maintenance is to take what my surgeons say then compare it to what all the other doctors say and look for the most sensible information. I agree that Kuri probably won't be able to tell you much over the phone, but this heartburn you are experiencing isn't something I'm familiar with.

You people look years younger! Congrads. Her hair color looks great, too.

I'm dying of jealousy over here. Megan, you mean to tell me you have PEEPS? I adore peeps! I never got to have any cool pets like Chickens. My brother in NJ had a rooster that acted human. I WANT A chicken. Cracking up over this thread. Cluck cluck BWAUCKKKKKK Hey, at least we are clucking and not snorting or mooing!

Normal... what's normal? Just a quick HELLO hijack, and are you still going to be here next Sunday? That's a big weekend for me, PM me times n' junk. Hi Megan! Thread Abuser B.

Debbie, that's such a cute story. I went to school in Hollywood and had my fair share of celeb run-ins, and while many are total snobs, every so often you'll find one worth remembering. Nice to know Simon can be nice to kids. Babs, I believe in the conspiracy theory! There's no WAY American voted Scott this far. Sorry, no way.

Going to that site now, but if you ever play in Vegas, let me know!

Teresa, I've checked and checked. They would rather remove my band than pay for a new port. They don't consider a new port a medical emergency or even an urgency. But I'll keep trying! Dr. Billy won't put a new port in for at least 6 months though, so I'm in no rush. Zoe, I wouldn't mind being thinner considering summer is right around the corner, but I'll take whatever I can get at this point. I bought some size 18 shorts, really cute ones. They are tight in the crotch area and do that horrible camel toe thing, so I'd be happy just being able to wear them in a few months. Like 5 pounds is all I need, but I may have to wait till next year.

Paula, who is your Mexican surgeon? It's not the hospital that does the surgery, it's the surgeon. The surgeons can use a variety of facilities. Maybe different doctors use that hospital you mentioned? Just curious. Rebecca, I had a great Mexican experience for my first surgery, as well. I just got screwed around when complications set in. I was cared for very well in Mexico for my band surgery. However, the country does go to sleep at night, so when I needed my surgeon in the middle of the night, I had to wait till the next day. I had a horrible bronchial infection, and there was nothing they could do till the next day, so I never slept at all. In the US, there's always a doctor on call. I had nurses tending to me all night, but no doctor in sight. And the nurses there are so much more loving and caring.

Sobe Green Tea, straight up, is my favorite drink on the market. YES, it spins me all out and makes me go too fast, but I dig it! I'll have to try the new one to clean my house this weekend.

Babs, call me a pimply teenager! I love Constantine (though I see your point that he's a little corny.) But I agree, when he redid I Think I Love You, he won me over. He does all my faves - Bohemiam Rhasody, for example. He's gonna win cuz I said so. Beat me up if you gotta! I'm thrilled that Nadia went home. She annoyed me. But Scott before Bo? America is CRAZY! Bo & Carrie don't even need the show. They should just got get massively famous already. Vonzel is growing on me, but Federov is invisible to me. I don't hate him or like him, he's just there.

Kathy, the thought of food during my first weeks was pukifying! I couldn't believe people actually wanted to eat. Not me, heck no. It was gross. I'm glad you can get Water in. Sip warm tea & broth and use the heating pad all day long. Ya know what I did? Sounds lame, but I layed in bed with a sports bottle and held it to my lips and let it drip in my mouth like an IV. I would do it as long as I could hold the bottle up, because drinking liquids was even a chore. But the little drops just kind of absorb into your mouth and throat so it's not difficult getting it down. And mix some cranberry juice in your water to make it taste better & easier to go down. Did you call Dr. Kuri? And if you did, has he called you back yet? How is his aftercare? Have they called to check on you?

Kathy, please don't be discouraged. You seem to be on the exact path I was on. You are only six days out. It took me two full weeks to feel better. I was so worried that I ran to my primary doctor on an urgent basis. They told me they couldn't fit me in, but I showed up in her office in tears. I was horribly miserable, just the way you were. No, I never PBd or had the heartburn like you, but it was awful. Just a few more days and you should be feeling better. Also, I started feeling better, then WHAM, I felt like hell again. That is totally normal. But call your doctor anyway. I am so, so, SO sorry this is happening to you, but you might just be a slow healer like me. Hang in there. Don't hate your band. At least TRY to think of the bright side, that you got the band to lose weight and now you must be losing, right? But liquids are vital so call your doc and hang in there.

I'm coming up on my one year anniversary of being banded, and the verdict is in. My thought process regarding food is exactly the same. I still think like a fat person. I still obsess about food and give in to the demons. My weight has changed but that will only be temporary unless I find another solution. My thinking hasn't changed one ounce. I hoped that after a year I would have gained a new outlook on food, but it is still just as disturbing as ever. The Band physically prevents me from overeating during the day, but at night I can eat too much, and my head sill isn't strong enough to fight the evening demons. I have a lot of great days, but it's very rare that I make it through the night like a Bandster should. Thoughts of junk food control my mind. I got burned out on trying to keep occupied, and since I have no kids or family and my husband goes to bed at 7:00 p.m., I'm left alone. For me, the Band was a great tool in the beginning, but now I worry constantly that I'm hurting myself. There have been several times that I wasn't able to sleep due to discomfort from eating too much, and I even found a way to eat first thing in the morning, which I didn't do for over 6 months. I used to use LBT on a daily basis to keep me from eating, but I hardly write any more because several members continue to spread rumors about me, and one moderator has frightened people away from using the PM function. People send me e-mails because they are afraid to post their true feelings here because certain members are control freaks that think they own this board. I don't care what people say about me, but the rumors and gossip have distracted me from what's important around here, so it's time I get back to the tough-love support I need at this point in my Band's life. Part of who I am doesn't want me to bitch without trying to find a solution and end on a positive note, so I'll be on-line tonight from 5:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m., right here in LBT Chat to talk about the devil, FOOD itself. My purpose is to check in with other Bandsters BEFORE I begin eating dinner. I have an awful habit of eating the second I walk in the door (a habit my husband got me into.) All I want is to be able to come home from work and avoid eating for one hour, which can happen if I come to Chat first. So there's my plan. One day at a time, one step at a time. Hope to see some of you tonight. By the way, I edited the first paragraph to make it more clear.

I woke up perplexed regarding Mexican surgeons and Inamed. Last weekend another Lopez patient lost her Band, so Penni contacted Inamed for answers, and she received this e-mail from Inamed. “As well as I have complete confidence in Dr Lopez and his team with myself and family members. All people of all occupations have events that are not perfect. I am sure you have had them as well. His results are at the highest levels in the world and his complication rates at the lowest. I am sorry your own and a few others you have spoke with have not been what you want. Please keep in mind there are Thousands of successful surgical patients of Dr Lopez out there.” Larry Kuri, Ortiz and Rumbault, etc. have more complications that Lopez? I’ve seen complaints about the Moulding Clinic and Garza, and I’ve only heard 2 complications with Ortiz. I’ve heard a few minor problems with Kuri, and I’ve never heard a negative note about Rumbault. Yet all these complications have been resolved and everyone still has healthy Bands with not one case of erosion (that I’ve heard of.) Yet I know at least 12 serious problems with Lopez in the past few months alone - with 6 recent Band removals. If Lopez is the surgeon with the lowest complication rate, then I certainly owe him an apology. It’s the nature of medicine that things go wrong randomly, even when the surgeon is immaculate and does everything to perfection. But if other surgeons have more complications, I want to know about them. If it’s true that all other surgeons have higher complications, then information is obviously being swept under the table. Is the Band as safe as we are lead to believe or is important statistical information being held back from us? Help me here.