DeLarla

Shelly, no you are not! I have no boobs. That purple bra pic, I swear it's the angle and fat. That bra takes all my side fat and turns it into boobs. They should advertise that bra on QVC. The lines would explode with orders. I got it at The Avenue and next time I go will get one in every size and every color. I've always been on the Itty Bitty Titty Committee and wore a 38A before gaining 100 pounds. Once when I starved myself down 60 pounds, this chick yelled across my work, "Lisa done lost all her boobies." I guess I'm lucky to gain evenly and not just all in my butt! And I HATE the way they construct all bathing suits with all that extra lining as if we're all D cups. I always cut the lining out. Sure, spend $60 bucks on a new thing and slice it up. Same with underwires, they get cut out right away. Better to talk about boobs than my port. Thanks for the laugh.

Maybe I'll save a buck and let Gross Darcy do the surgery since she likes blood & guts! Got a bottle of tequila and a butter knife? Just kidding about the Gross part. My best friend is Gross Mary cuz she loves gorey bodily fluids. New Hope, yes, this problem could have happened anywhere. I doubt it has anything to do with my surgeon. I heard Lopez has done a few of these before. And I'm sure Ortiz has had patients that needed port revisions, it's just that his staff returns calls. And yes, I cried when I told Lopez that it took me 15 calls to get through to him. He promised to call me directly on Wednesday to find out what time I'd be there Saturday.

I'm a Jersey girl myself so thanks for the hug from home! I'm exhausted. All I've done today is yap and fret about this problem. I'll probably take off work Friday and drive down to Mexico. My crazy neighbor wants to come with me, so that naturally made me cry. It's a 5 hour drive. The way I see it is that I'll sit around the airport 2-3 hours wasting good driving time, so driving is only a couple extra hours. I told Dr. Lopez to expect me Saturday morning. Gag, puke, hurl. The thought of another operation... eek. Plus a 3rd sometime down the line to replace the port. While I'm feeling sorry for myself, they gave me a tetanus shot in Urgent Care the other day. Another OUCH. Darn thing is swollen & bruised! Maybe I should just go get some root canals to round it all out. Peace, babies. Thanks for your friendships.

I'm non-existent as well. I guess you and I are the only two tall plus-size girls on the entire planet. Funny how all the tall sizes are always first to sell out at the plus size stores.

I called Lopez. He needs to remove my port. I said I'd be there Saturday morning. I'll have to pay to stay one night in the hospital. Donali, can you e-mail me at lisabones@cox.net with your number? I have it at home. Brain racing.

My neighbor got through to Mexico for me. It's now 10:30 and Nora just called me (Dr. Carmen never called back.) Nora said Dr. Lopez will call me at 1:00 p.m. when he is out of surgery. I gave her an earful. She told me I should have seen Dr. Teng. I explained that he refuses to see Mexican patients except for fills. She said she just got Saturday's message this morning. I reminded her that they promised 24 hour emergency service. I'll be sure to tell all this to Dr. Lopez when he calls.

Jacqui. I agree to get rid of your current doctor. A gastric bypass operation mutilates your anatomy. They have to cut and rewire your guts. A band simply goes around the stomach and is 100% reversable. I'm having major problems with one of my incisions now, but I'm still not giving up on my band.

Thanks, Vera. I can't even work. All I can do is sit staring at the phone and checking for new posts. Ann Marie is out of the office till Wednesday. Dr. Carmen has picked up her phone 6 times now calling out "Lisa, can you hear me?" so she knows it's desperate. You'd think she'd pull over and use a landline or have her office call me.

I just called the local doctor, Francis Teng. Now one of my options has been eliminated because he won't even do any port related surgery. The only thing he'll do for Mexican patients is fills. Donali, if Mexico calls, I may see you this weekend afterall. How safe can it be to walk around with tubing sticking out? Damn!

Uh, are those Zip-up jeans in that aftershot? Far out, big difference. Oh to wear jeans again!

Dr. Carmen just semi-answered with a horrible connection, but I heard her say my name and that I have an emergency. She asked for my number but I don't know if she heard me. But the office has all my numbers. I told her I had an emergency for my doctor. Time 9:11. Let's see how she handles this one.

Had to close my office door because I'm sitting at my desk crying. I'm so frustrated and emotionally drained that I shouldn't even be here. I just got back from Day 3 of Urgent Care to have my wound re-packed. Only they couldn't repack it because part of the tube is now protruding out of the open wound. The doc tried to push it back in, but it popped right back out. I've been on the phone for 20 minutes trying all the numbers I have. I even tried Ann Marie, but there's a message that the office is closed till Wednesday for an annual seminar. Nora's number has a message that the number is no longer in existence. Carmen's sounds like she tried to answer a couple times. I can't get through to Mexico - all I get are recordings. I'm sitting at work with bandages covering up the open wound that has tubing popping out. I don't recall ever feeling this depressed before. Sorry, wish I could say I'm doing better but now I realize I need port surgery ASAP, only nobody will call me.

Leave it up to me to stir up some shit.. and now I'm stirring it up in another country! Excuse my language but I earned a few cuss words this week! Kathy, you didn't scare me. I need all the info I can get, and that's why I posted here. I can't wait to get past this infection issue because I've been eating too much for 3 days straight. I realize that's supposed to be okay, since this is a long journey, but now I'm uncomfortable and can add mild depression to my list of ailments. I'm not allowed to get a fill till I'm healed. I don't mind plateaus or gaining a couple pounds, but I know how bad I'll take it if I gain back 20 pounds after how hard I worked at taking it off. Plus the antibiotics make me feel queazy, so I'm feeling droopy all around. I need to get past the infection and regain my energy. I layed around longer with this episode than I did after having the actual surgery. I hope tomorrow is the last time my wound needs to be packed because it hurts like hell when the doc mashes the port area to make sure all the liquid is out. Good to hear from all you guys. Michelle, thanks for all the numbers & suggestions. Kathy, thanks for asking your doc on my behalf, and Donali, thanks for telling Ann Marie. I swear, I'll never refer anyone to Dr. Lopez again. Like I said earlier, I certainly hope he isn't aware of these issues, because I've lost complete faith in his office. Tomorrow marks one entire week of Dr. Carmen ignoring my infected pictures. You guys all saw those pics - it didn't take a rocket scientist to conclude something was wrong. I hope my bad experience doesn't change anyone's mind about getting banded. I should have warned you guys that I have a black cloud. Even my husband knows I'm always the one that ends up in these predicaments.

I'm freakin' speechless for a change. I can understand why insurance won't pay for someone who is only 20 pounds overweight, but this is ridiculous. Damn insurance companies should realize that an extra couple pounds could throw you over the diabetic border, or worse.

I was fortunate enough to finally talk to a band surgeon over the phone today. He patiently listened and questioned my entire infected history. He told me I did the right thing by going to Urgent Care and said they treated me exactly how I'd have been treated if I went to an actual band surgeon, which was to lance, extract, drain, then pack the wound along with aggressive antibiotics (I'm on 4 Keflex for 2 days then 2 per day for a week.) He heard the anxiety in my voice and calmed me down, and then was very honest that my wound may heal but he warned me that some people struggle 2-3 months before the incision finally heals completely. Not that it's going to happen, but he said even if it heals, I shouldn't be alarm if it starts to drain again in a week. A small percentage of us might have to take several rounds of antibiotics before we heal, but he gave me back my band confidence. I also heard that my doctor is out of town. While that's no excuse for not checking his office messages for emergencies, I'm going to give him the benefit of the doubt and see if he calls me tomorrow. If and when we talk, I'm going to tell him about my horrible experience with his staff. I certainly hope he's just as shocked as the rest of us over their lack of care and concern. They are very friendly girls, but yes, extremely disorganized and unprofessional. We just had major surgery, yet they can't return our calls? And the last thing Dr. Carmen says every single time we talk is "we'll be in touch." No, they never called after my surgery to check on me. I'm sad for Dr. Lopez, since this all reflects on him. He's a wonderful man who came highly recommended and I think it would hurt him tremendously to hear his name being tarnished. Let's hope he puts his foot down and corrects these problems soon.

What signs should I look for if I get an abdominal infection? Shouldn't that be something that I'll be aware of, or is it one of those silent things?

Oh, and double-whammy-OUCH at the way today's doctor had to mash my port/incision area like I was a Thanksgiving Day potato! Holy smoke did that hurt! He couldn't numb the area today, but he mashed and mashed deep into the tissue to make sure he got all the liquid out. I tried to take it like a man, but he had to tell me breathe, breathe, like I was in labor.

I was having tons more energy, also. But now I'm back to square one just trying to recover from my bad incision. Can't wait to get back to walking.

Kathy, I appreciate and share your concerns, but I can't get any doctor to call me back. I've left several messages for 4 different doctors in Mexico since Friday. Apparently they don't care whether I live or die. That's how I feel today. Meanwhile, there aren't any local doctors who work weekends. Their message says to call 911 if it's an emergency or wait till the office opens. Tomorrow I'm going to try to get an appointment with a local band doctor whose phone was busy all day Friday. I'm having very bad aftercare luck. I just got home from Urgent Care where the ER doc was very optimistic about my incision today. He said it looked really good. He said there wasn't much more drainage last night, and he thinks tomorrow will be the last day I'll need to be repacked and then the wound will heal naturally. He said the problem was that the wound never closed and became infected (I was a leaker.) This just makes me all the more frustrated that Dr. Carmen took my weeping/leaking wound so lightly. I've had several conversations (when I'm lucky enough to get through) in the past month with her over concerns about my incision, but she just kept telling me that unless pus actually comes out of the wound, everything's normal. Everything was NOT normal, because the puss and scar tissue were trapped under the incision. She should have told me to get my ass into a band surgeon's office ASAP considering a weeping wound is an open wound. Today's doctor saw part of the tube and said it looked good and clean. And he said after my last re-pack tomorrow, along with the Keflex antibiotic, everything should be better pretty soon. I realize that's not saying much since he's unfamiliar with the band, but it's all I have. Meanwhile, I peeked at the wound after he removed my bandage and was relieved that it wasn't half as scary as it used to be. It's a lot flatter and less red now. And the piece of gauze that was sticking out wasn't saturated with Fluid, but clean, dry, and white. If anyone out there has a doctor that answers calls on Sunday, maybe you can put a call in for me as an emergency after reading this post about possible band infection. Just when I thought I could stop worrying, right? You'd think any band doctor would be willing to help, because if Heaven forbid my band is infected and I end up on the mortality list, then it makes all bands and band doctors look worse. Thanks for the info. I'll call the local surgeon first thing in the morning.

Why am I on the computer when I'm supposed to be back at Urgent Care having my wound re-packed? Uh, because it creeps me out. Gotta force myself to go now. Ugh, gag, hurl, etc. lunch Loser Lisa

I have this one piece spandex undergarment that I bought from Nordstrom over a decade ago. It looks like a size 4. It takes about 20 minutes to get in the thing, but hot damn, it's the most amazing piece of equipment I've ever owned!

And now Nightengale's name makes sense! I'd have let you do it. My best friend is Gross Mary. There's nothing gross about her, but she's like you and loves that kinda gore. But she was out of town. She's going to be devastated when she finds out all the grossness she missed out on! Last night I had a few margaritas and decided to lance it myself. I got the surgical area prepared with alcohol, peroxide, steralized blade, fresh gauze (looked very impressive.) I was trying to act like Patrick Swayze in that movie where he gives himself stitches. I sat there psyching myself out but couldn't do it. Chickened out. Good thing, too, cuz I'd have feinted. No doubt about it. Maybe if I'd gone with straight shots of tequila.... Better off now though cause they gave me antibiotics!

Yes, my little Bird, I made an appointment with my Veterinarian, who gave me the answers I needed! A few years ago while getting my dog his shots, the vet asked how I was doing. I told her about this long medical mystery I'd been struggling with, and she had the solution at her fingertips. So I went to the pharmacists, who confirmed the vet and mentally flipped off my useless doctors. Too bad the vet won't actually see me, cuz I'd saddle up in a heartbeat, but my Kitty had a cyst so we went to the vet yesterday. While there, I showed the vet my incision. She winced and told me exactly what it was, an "infected pustual that needed to be lanced ASAP." She even told me which Urgent Care to go to. I was left on my own at a very early age. Forced independence made me pretty darn resourceful! If a vet can help me, hell, I'm not proud!

Alex, last night we had a party at my house and all my friends showed up. I've lost 29 pounds, yet not one single person noticed. Not one little comment. I'm tall like you, so we distribute our weight over a lot bigger area so I guess we have to wait longer to be noticed. I was just a tad dissapointed, but no biggy since I know the truth and clothes are all droopy. There are benfits to being short and benefits to being tall even though it seems the grass is always greener on the other side. Now I have to get past this emotional/physical hurdle because it's making food thoughts rule my brain! An idol mind is the devil's playground, and the devil shows himself to me in the form of food!

There was an entire alien community in me! I'm taking it even easier now than I did after my surgery. Back then I felt it was important to move around. Today I feel it's important to lay around. I've only gotten up to check the boards & go potty & to chat with friends. Now I'm taking my tea & going back to the big bed with my loveable mutts, who take very good care of their sick Mamma. My husband comes in every hour to see if I need anything. I said, "yes, could you go rent me some videos" but that crossed the line. He's not that advanced and wouldn't know how to rent a video if his life depended on it! He tells me he married me cause I'm smart enough for the both of us! Other than that he's taking good care of me.