hagerteresa

Sorry Darci, I wasn't looking at your name just your avatar and forum name. Didn't realize I was dealing with the same person. LOL. I am really hoping I'll like Tom Eubanks office and won't have to look for a fill doctor else where. Since I am kind of in the middle of the state it is a 2 or 3 hour drive no matter which way I go. I want to try in Portland first. Best wishes, Teresa

Hi Darci, I sent you a personal email too with Tom Eubanks number. I am still looking for Kelly Fitzpatricks phone number too. I don't know why I am still losing honestly. I do watch my calories and follow all the other rules as much as possible. The only excercise beside my house cleaning job and whatever daily life style walking I do is Water aerobics twice a week, but alas... I am still losing and I am darn happy about it too. I have heard that heavier people do lose more quickly at first but it will get harder later. I think the closer you are to goal the harder it is by my observation. I lost 3.3 lbs each week for the last two weeks and closer to 4 lbs the weeks prior to that and am now at a 46 lb loss 10 1/2 weeks out. I saw one lady on here recently who weighed something like 425 initially and was banded almost 3 weeks after me and has lost close to 75 lbs. I was amazed. Nothing would surprise me. I think I will keep losing at the current restriction for at least a couple of more weeks but who knows???? I always dread going in and weighing like it was my old diet failure days and then I am always happily surprised to see a loss. How have you done? Let me know who you get a fill with and how it goes. I'll keep looking for Kelly's number. Someone else mentioned something about knowing a fill doctor in Portland on another thread so I asked her who she knew. Still waiting for a response. Teresa

I am so glad you are okay now. What a relief for you. I think we all missed you all day and were thinking about you. So glad no erosion, etc. I bet you are mega relieved. You sound so cheery, I want some of those drugs. Get your rest and see you tomorrow, Teresa

Nice to meet you Lisa, come back often. We are quite a friendly talkative group, Teresa:)

I know Lisa/Delarla really liked him and I have heard good things about him. Who is it you know for fills in Portland. Someone else just asked me for some ideas of fill doctors in that area. I know of Kelly Fitzpatrick and tom Eubanks. Let me know, Thanks, Teresa

Hi Maureen, You will definitely get that support and friendship you need here. Just make sure you are a part of the group and correspond with us frequently... Ask any questions you might have... We're here for anything. I got banded 5/8/04 in Tijuana Mexico by Dr. Lopez. I haven't had any problems and am down 46 lbs. I know that weight loss is pretty unusual but I am pretty fanatical about my calorie counts and started off super heavy at 362 lbs. From what I understand and have read, the heavier you are the easier it will come off INITIALLY. I think it gets harder down the road. Glad to meet you, tell us more about yourself. Here is some personal info on me: I am 30 years old, married 5 years, live in Oregon, no kids, LOTS of pets. I enjoy swimming, gardening, cooking, travel, the beach etc. You can find a lot out about each one of us further down this thread. A lot of us contributed information about our personal lives on another thread in this forum. Look around and make yourself at home, Teresa

I think my port is in the pretty typical spot a few inches below left breast and between my side and my belly button. I HATE IT THERE!!! For about the second or third time I have irritated it doing ab workouts at water aerobics. It will hurt when I take deep breaths. The first time around I swore I must have had pnuemonia or something. It is just a throbbing kind of pain. I just did it yesterday so it is still a sensitive topic. It hurts the worst the evening it occurrs, it isn't a horrible something is terribly wrong feeling but it is annoying and sore. Today it was a lot better but still can definitely feel it too. Nothing LOOKS out of order, no color, lumps or bumps or nothing of any kind so I am assuming I just actually USED that stubborn stomach muscle. I just think it is a stupid annoying spot to have put the thing. If I had any input in it, I would have chosen somewhere else. Teresa

Good Job Lisa (fitting in the old pants). Keep up the good work. No more fainting either. I don't think we even have an avenue store anywhere in our area. I'll have to look. I love the bargain shopping too. I try never to pay full retail price for anything. Take care and hope the oozing lets up, Teresa

I also find this thread very helpful and informative. Since I haven't even had a fill yet and am still riding it out from the initial surgery, it just confirmed my initial feeling about fills. People have asked me, why haven't I gotten one yet? I try to explain I am STILL losing, why would I need one yet. I typically feel satisfied off of my meals till the next one, etc. I read about those over filled people and it makes me cringe. That would be the last thing I would want to do with myself, make it so even eating small amounts is unbearable and painful. How awful would that be. At least I get my baby dinner sizes now. LOL. Thanks all for you input on this thread. Teresa

Especially financial stress... LOL. It seems like you are spending more than you are earning Miss Lisa. Maybe you should drop the second job, you would be richer. Teresa

Hello, I am glad to meet you also. I remember I was prescribed eggs as a soft food in any way shape or form. Another favorite was purchasing one of those nice already cooked rotisserie chickens throw it in the food processor and chop till pretty smooth. Not creamy but very small chunks. Seperately chop a little onion in the food processor, olives, celery, or whatever. Remember NOT TOO fine but small little tiny chunks. Mix that with the chicken and add a little mayo and mustard and viola' you have chicken pate/salad. It really is pretty good and sticks to you a little better. For some reason crackers were on my list of foods that I could have pretty early on. So I really enjoyed the chicken stuff on saltines. Initially I ate it just plain and enjoyed it then too. Cream of wheat works too. Very heavy cream Soups, or slightly blended chunky soups work good too. I remember being hungry a lot during that phase too, but now the weight loss won't quit and the hunger problem improved dramatically once I was on solid foods. Needless to say I am 10 1/2 weeks out and haven't felt a need for a fill yet at all. Best wishes and good luck, Teresa

Tom U-Bank, Portland Surgical specialist Kelly Fitzpatrick I think there were a few more in portland and then one in Coos Bay, Klamath Falls, Bend was iffy they would take me. I can get you phone numbers of those two Portland ones. I haven't needed a fill yet but am planning on using Tom U-Bank when I need one. Hope that helps, Teresa

Good Job!!! We are all very happy for you, Teresa

I read dozens and dozens of them and just feel awful about the losses. It said at the top front page something about statistically only .2% die from that surgery. I have always heard higher statistics. The things people do for weight loss...:think Teresa

Hi Penni, I'll be thinking of you and sending you healing vibes. We'll miss you around here tomorrow:think Teresa

Hi Michelle, Those all sound delicious. I wrote down that mock danish recipe and keep forgetting to try it out. The artichoke chicken sounds delicious too. My father in law was a chef and makes something similar and it is one of my favorite things on the planet. Yours sounds easier so I'll have to give it a shot. That frittata can also be made fiesta style, I have used the taco cheese blends, chilis, etc for a little different taste. Another good recipe is Mock Chili Rellenos (excuse the spelling) I whip together a bunch of eggs, layer chiles and cheese in a pan and pour the egg mix over it. Cook it the same temp and time as the frittata. Or just keep an eye on it. You can add chicken or steak whatever... I know cooks who follow every recipe exactly... I am not one of those, I like to experiment. Its what keeps me ticking. Besides that is how new recipes get invented. LOL... I don't know how many times I have taken an old favorite and enhanced it one way or another. Anyway best wishes. We'll have to have a feed back section when people try things. Teresa:cool: Marie, your welcome in my home anytime...

Lisa Lee- We can't make this descision for you but I think if you asked any one of us 2 questions here is what our answers would be. 1) Were we scared when we went in for surgery? Who wouldn't be a little apprehensive of any type of surgery? I sobbed going into surgery for both my broken ankle many years ago and my band. Shoot they had to give me a relaxant shot when they got me on the operating table for the band, I was crying so hard. It was just a long day full of lots of different stresses and like you I was just plain scared. 2) Are we happy we had it done? I think you have heard from all of us that we are all indeed happy we had it done. Even those who have had to have further surgeries and complications are happy they had the initial procedure done. I don't know how over-weight you are but this group represents people of all body shapes and sizes so you are not alone no matter what it is. I started off at 362 lbs. I just got sick of it!!! The whole last year I had completely given up on any sort of dieting and just felt done... I am sorry you are scared but please know that it is normal and we have all went thru it. The recovery is as minimal as it can get for surgery. I have heard a ton more recovery horror stories on the tummy tuck I want when I reach goal. Best of luck and keep us posted. Teresa;)

I have heard of some people just keeping their current fill if it is appropriate, I have heard others get a little unfill to just maintain and others actually had a hard time stopping the losing for a while. It did eventually stop but she was trying to eat more high calorie/ high fat items to stop it. LOL... Teresa

Hi Debra, Glad to see your making it and alleviated our worries!!! You know that is funny you mention the pain there because I have noticed that I get this occassional feeling like someone is flicking me on the inside out in the same area, a few inches from my belly button but not as far over as my port. Hard to locate or describe it exactly. It seems to happen every 15-30 minutes about an hour after I eat or if I am standing for a long time doing dishes or ironing. Its not exactly painful and all my wounds look fine but it is a very odd sensation. I also got a really bad lower stomach ache last week. It only lasted 15-20 minutes but it was kind of stabbing pains in the lowest part of my gut. Probably just something I ate and not band related. Anyway I have deviated from my initial conversation: Glad your alive and doing okay. You'll feel much better soon. Teresa

That seems to be up to particular doctors. We are frequently speculating on the reasons why some of our doctors say no soda and from what I understand the carbonation is acidic and could cause irritation. We really don't want to irritate the banded area anymore than we have to. I allow myself one diet soda once a week while visiting at my moms house. Otherwise it is completely OFF limits. I will not buy it. I used to be a soda addict and had a bit of a mini stress out over not having it about 2 weeks after surgery but since then I have really overcome the urge. I drink a LOT of water and ice tea. Some people are allowed soda and do fine, other people find soda uncomfortable and wouldn't want to drink it because of that discomfort. I just try to stay away from it. Teresa

I know at most colleges if you take a class you can get free legal representation. Our local college's attorney has helped me out a lot in the past. It seems like there should be some way to get your name off the loan. I also know in our city there is free legal aid help. I would really check out the options and find out what the law says. Best wishes to you, Teresa

That is funny!!! (Bringing your whole family) You'll do fine. Don't worry. I have heard good things about Ortiz. Best wishes to you, Teresa

LOL!!! Yeah my hubby is getting the tummy too! His family is all pretty darned skinny also. Maybe there is something to your theory Lisa. Teresa

Hi Birdee, The nice thing about the band is that it is permanent (ussually) and you can always pick up where you left off. No matter how you feel about your success, you are STILL lighter than you were last year at this time. Appreciate even that!!! One of the pschological questions I was asked before I got the band was, "would you be really depressed if you got the band and didn't lose anything?" Well I said I would be kind of bummed but it wouldn't turn me suicidal or anything. LOL. You should feel very happy about the success you have had, not the failures. Start pushing the Protein, blah blah, I know you have heard it all. You just need to take action again. Have you gotten that new book by the Jessie lady? I am waiting for my copy but I am sure there is information in there that would help too. Do you use fitday or track your calories some other way? Maybe it is time to change your tactic against the evil fat plague. Feel good about yourself, you deserve it. Teresa:)

I liked pudding and applesauce too but you might add them in towards the end of the liquid stage. Teresa