Penni60

Dr. Helmuth Billy in Ventura, Ca is wonderful. He took care of me after my Mexico lapband placement. He is great and so compassionate. I can give you his phone number to get more info if you like. Just let me know.

Hey there Alexandra: Yeah I stayed away long enough and just had to peak here for a few. Plus I had to share my news with my new grandchild. Anyway, here is my update. I am still unbanded and haven't had any other weight loss surgery to date. There are none foreseen in my future either. I have gained back 50 of the 70 lbs I lost with the band. I am maintaining at 278 right now. That is both good and bad. I am 20 lbs from my start weight prior to lapband placement. BAD!! I am 20 lbs under my start weight prior to lapband placement. GOOD!! I am taking it one day at a time. I have had some minor health issues to deal with since gaining back the weight, which slows the losing process. I am struggle with it every day. I have done some more soul searching and am just trying to get through a 24 hour period without eating something I regret. SIGH!! Man is that hard. My mom has had some major health issues and my sister now is going through some health issues as well. My daughter just gave birth to my newest grandchild. (see my thread "New Grandson - From old lapbander" for pics.). I started a new job in Feb this year. We have had some financial concerns. My son has started college. SIGH!! Lots going on. Still fighting the battle. Some days I win some days I lose. But I keep fighting. I don't think I want another surgery. At least not anytime soon. HUGS

I just realized I had not updated this thread since a year ago. OOPS!! Sorry about that. LOL!! Life kinda got in my way. I am still unbanded and haven't had any other weight loss surgery to date. There are none foreseen in my future either. I have gained back 50 of the 70 lbs I lost with the band. I am maintaining at 278 right now. That is both good and bad. I am 20 lbs from my start weight prior to lapband placement. BAD!! I am 20 lbs under my start weight prior to lapband placement. GOOD!! I am taking it one day at a time. I have had some minor health issues to deal with since gaining back the weight, which slows the losing process. I am struggle with it every day. I have done some more soul searching and am just trying to get through a 24 hour period without eating something I regret. SIGH!! Man is that hard. My mom has had some major health issues and my sister now is going through some health issues as well. My daughter just gave birth to my newest grandchild. (see my thread "New Grandson - From old lapbander" for pics.). I started a new job in Feb this year. We have had some financial concerns. My son has started college. SIGH!! Lots going on. Still fighting the battle. Some days I win some days I lose. But I keep fighting. I don't think I want another surgery. At least not anytime soon. HUGS

Annabeyta: I am so sorry to hear you had such a difficult time with your surgery. That is just awful and I feel for you. I hope things are better for you now.

Hey guys: I just started a new job this week and the insurance offered is either Aetna HMO / PPO or Kaiser. Anyone had more or less or horrendous trouble getting approved for WLS with either of these companies? Just need some input before I make my decision. Thanks for all information.

My most successful weight loss whether with the band or after removal was when I counted calories. It made me accountable and I had to face what I put in my mouth at any given time. It just keeps us honest with what we are actually eating. It can be an eye opener when you actually count those pesky little critters. SIGH!!

WOW!! So glad that you are recuperating well from the removal. My removal was a walk in the park compared to the initial surgery to place the band. So I assume the dr. visit to discuss the VG band has taken place. So what was decided? When is that surgery? Prayers and warm fuzzies heading your way.

For those of you that remember SARGE I just spoke with her and she is doing GREAT. Same ole Christina. LOL!! We didn't get to talk too long as she was driving and had only a few minutes. But she sounded wonderful.

OK another update: Just talked to Alicia, my daughter. She is exhausted by the way. She is running on fumes at this point. Jennifer, the ex, is helping out at home along with Danny, a good friend of the family. The kids are pitching in when they can. Wayne, son in law, did not have the gallbladder surgery today as initially planned. His Amylase and Lipase levels are off the charts. Both of those are pancreas enzymes as well as liver enzymes. My speculation is that a gallstone has temporarily blocked the Pancreatic Duct along with the bile duct and is causing the Pancreas to work overtime to produce the two enzymes mentioned. He is in pain related to the Gallstones and now with the pancreas being agitated he is on a Demerol drip. Of course now he is nauseated from the Demerol. I gave Alicia some suggestions to help relieve some of the nausea related to the Demerol. She said she will discuss it with her doctor tomorrow. She is so tired that she really doesn't know what she needs. All she kept saying is pray for him. He is not in a life threatening situation but it is affecting his entire body. His kidneys could be affected next just because that is how the body works. It is trying to flush out those nasty stones and in turn causes the rest of the body to over produce and under work. They won't do the surgery till his levels are lower and he is more stable. His blood pressure was elevated and he was treated for it. He just feels like crap right now. Hugs to all Penni

Just got a phone call from my very tired and worn out daughter. She has just left the hospital where her hubby was admitted for gallstones and a diagnosis of Hepatitis. They are pretty sure the gall bladder needs to come out but being a small hospital and the weekend who knows when it will happen. He is stable right now and heavily medicated for the pain. I told her to make sure they deal with it ASAP in the morning or to take him to Baptist Hospital in Nashville. She said she already thought of that. I am very concerned about him and the Hepatitis. They just told him he had it but didn't tell him what type. SIGH!! Small hospital again. So keep my son in law and daughter and their family in your prayers. I will keep you updated as I know more.

I talked to my daughter yesterday and they have ruled out Hepatitis. They do know his gallbladder needs removing but not sure when it will happen. His color is much better and he isn't in as much pain. He is stable right now. I will keep you posted on the outcome.

Well after working 10 hours that day I was exhausted and was ready for a nice glass of wine and to put my feet up and relax. The trip home took me an hour due to traffic on Wilshire Blvd so I was stressed over that and it was my FIRST day at work. But it was ok once on the freeway going home. I called John to let him know that I was on the way. He said OKAY any ideas on supper. I said No and told him I would see him when I got home. As I got home I walked through the door and was pleasantly surprised. A bouquet of 6 red roses and some star lilies graced our table in a new vase I had just bought in Tucson. GORGEOUS!! The table was set for three with all the trimmings. He was fixing supper for us when I arrived. He had gone to Whole Foods Market and got some Salmon, Risotto cakes, rice, and some spinach. He was heating it all up when I walked through the door. He told me to go get changed out of my uniform and to put my feet up and relax he would let me know when supper was ready. OK Altogether now. AWWWWWW!!!! The food was delightful and tasty. The wine was superb. The company was out of this world. Yes Bradley sat at the table with us and ate the food. And he even had a small glass of wine. SHOCK!! Then dessert came out. It was a Chocolate icing cheesecake with a strawberry on top. YUM YUM!! He is such a sweetie. I love him even more. OK That is my story what was yours?

Gadgetlady has expressed her values she is instilling in her children. I for one applaud her open relationship with her children. You don't have to make remarks that she is deluding herself they will abstain. I think she already understands she can only guide her children and hope some of the values stick. In the end all we as parents can do is teach them the values and morals and send them out into the world to make their own choices. Let's remember how difficult it is to raise kids these days and stop with the harsh remarks. We should be supporting each other.

Well said Alexandra. It is the mindset that the warming of our planet is normal cyclical happenings that scares the crap outta me. If we don't find a way to stop the constant pollution of our planet then we will see the predictions come true. Hey anyone have that Gore DVD they wanna get rid of? I will seriously buy it from you. I want it bigtime.

I would NOT get the vaccine if I were of age which I am not. THere are just too many unknowns right now for me to feel it is safe in the long run. Besides it isn't even a close comparison to all the other vaccines out there now we protect our children with. HPV is a virus that has been shown to possibly cause cervical cancer in some women. What do the studies say about transmitting to another person? I know a man can give it to a woman. Can a woman give it to a man? How does HPV affect a man? Does he have issues to face later in life because he is HPV positive? What I don't like is the stigma that seems to be attached to this virus. It seems to be looped into the HIV stigma and that scares me alot. More education and less scare tactics is warranted. Stop pushing the vaccine and do more education on the virus and its affect on the human (not just female) body. I have HPV, it was diagnosed when I had an abnomal pap smear of atypical cervical growth. Funny thing is I had a hysterectomy in 1988 where everything was taken out including my cervix. So how did I have atypical cervical growth on a pap smear after 25 years after cervix removal? There was a tiny amount of cervical tissue left that could not be removed. When they did the LEEP procedure they removed that little bit of left over tissue. But guess what I still have HPV. Once you have it it is still there. It is a virus. Viruses go dormant in the body. Unless you are given some antiviral drug to kill the HPV then once you are diagnosed with it you have it for life. That is what I was told by my GYN. As parents we should protect our children as much as possible. If my daughters were of age (which they are not) I would NOT recommend the vaccine again because there are still too many unknowns. As far as making the vaccine Mandatory, Not only no but HELL no. How horrible for all the females in schools to be hearded into get their vaccines while the males go play or do what males do. Slightly discriminatory and why not come up with a vaccine for the men as well? Of course the money maker is in the women first I see that too. These are just my opinions as a health care provider and a mother and an HPV carrier. I don't care if you don't agree that is what makes this forum such fun.

I went on NS when I lost my band due to erosion. I lost 6.5 lbs in a month doing the meals. That is without exercising. The thing I find bad about the meals is that they are high in sodium and perservatives. They are tasty meals though. I found that I got hungry between meals so I supplemented with Proten snacks. That satisfied me till the next meal. I liked the pizzas, lasagnas, peppered beef and rice, chili, chicken soups, veggie soups, beef stews, sloppy joe, all the breakfast with the exception of the powdered eggs, the desserts are good but I found I was usually too full to eat one by then. You do need to supplement with fresh veggies, fresh fruits, and reduced fat milk or soy milk. THey give you a guideline of meal supplements and what you should eat at each meal and snack. A month's worth of food typically costs $250. So that is something to keep in mind. That isn't including the supplements you have to buy. That $250 just covers the NS meals.

Avilla here are your pics side by side and resized for you.

You say that you haven't eroded, slipped, etc but no mention of tests being run for those complications. Did you have an Endoscopy (to diagnose Erosion), Upper GI (to diagnose Slippage)? If not then it might be warranted to have them done. What has your band surgeon said about the symptoms you are experiencing? Has he mentioned other alternatives to the problems?

Every year we invite several friends over for a "Christmas Tree Trimming Party". The only admission cost is to bring one ornament. Then we start decorating our tree. Loads of fun. Singing carols while we decorate and it is just a blast. Here is our tree this year and what it looked prior to the finished product. I am including some pics of our food items too. They are so NOT band friendly but hey I don't have a band anymore so there. LOL!! Here is the PRE-DECORATING pics.

I quit counting strings of lights after 9. And yes HOT RUM TODDIES does help with the decorating eye.

And here is the food stuffs.

This is our 12 foot tree completely decorated. OHH AHHH!!!

I was told the minute I woke up what my results were. I was still on the table when he told me my results. So yes they will tell you immediately but if not then within the next couple of days for sure. If you have not heard from him by end of today then I would call him first thing in the morning and bug them till you get results.

How about "better blue than glue" "better blue than poo" "better blue than stew" or "better blue than stew-pid" Points at Bush "better blue than you (points to red state)" Works for me!!

Can we say BLUE! I love BLUE!!