Penni60

For whatever reasons, Delarla is not here and I doubt she will come back anytime soon. HER CHOICE HER REASONS. We cannot and should not speculate why she isn't here. Dredging up old 'dead' issues is not healthy to LBT at this point. If this thread continues down this road it will be moved to the Rants and Raves section or Locked altogether. And ya know that would be a HUGE shame since someone was missing a board member and wanted to express that sentiment. If you did not agree or do not miss that member they WHY respond? Now back to regularly scheduled programming. I too miss Delarla posts but not the heated ones.

Hey, I just got a phone call that a dear dear friend of mine just had a stroke last night. She is only 39 and is in relatively good health. I was and am so shocked to hear of the stroke. The early reports are that she is doing well and can speak but has problems writing. That is all I know. Keep her in your prayers, chants, send white lights, etc. I can't even begin to tell you guys how this affects me. I am just so devastated by it all. Just such a surprise. Now that I have permission to post the name of this friend it is Christina (Illsucceed). I just got off the phone with her and she sounds great actually. It was a stroke of superficial infarction in the cerebellum. She wanted me to let you all know she is doing well. I am going to call her back later tonight. The following is an email I received from her older sister Lisa. Penni - Christina has had a minor stroke on Monday. She is in the hospital and doing pretty well. She still has some problems with some words and writing skills but is getting better every hour. She will be in the hospital for a few days so they can run several tests to try and figure out why this happened. Unfortunately strokes do run in our family, both our father and grandfathers died fairly young from strokes. Thank you for any prayers in her behalf. Lisa (her older sister) She can be reached at William Beaumont Hospital 3601 W 13 Mile Rd Royal Oak, MI 48073

Yes I do Jewelry Parties. I only started this little business in October of 2005 and already going international. YAHOO!! I have instructed my contact in Nigeria that I will NOT ship till I have collected the monies owed. They are in agreement. Believe me I get the same skeptical emails and I know which ones to weed out. A simple response or two can answer lots of questions for me. I don't and didn't want this thread to be a step in advertisement for my business so if you peruse my site and like something PLEASE PLEASE email me directly. And yes it isn't even about the money I will make on this sale (although that is nice too), it is all about the recognition for an unbiased person regarding my collections. It is validation that I am talented and heading in the right direction. YAHOO!! Heather, shhhhh commission in tact. LOL!!

I value each and everyone of your guys input. Dr Billy mentioned going the HMO route since there is a clinic / group that refers patients to him for both surgeries that is within spitting distance from me. One other tidbit is that my PCP takes HMO and that would take a HUGE load off me. I was paying out of pocket every time I go see him. If he is under the HMO then cool beans. I have some calling to do tomorrow to find out when open enrollment is for our little company. It is just John and I in the company so it shouldn't be hard to figure it out and get the question answered. LOL!! Also gotta call Heather (Billy's insurance person) and get some feedback from her as well on the Insurance aspect from his side. The reason I haven't already done ANY surgrey is because I can't pay out of pocket for it and my insurance doesn't cover ANY of the WLS. But the HMO will cover them. GO FIGURE!! My co-morbities right now are High Cholesterol (again), joint pain (again), chest pains (again), etc. Everything I had before the Lapband has come back now that I have gained some weight back. So, I wanna nip this in the bud before it gets much worse. I have grandkids to enjoy now. Thanks again guys.

It is about darn time you posted. Where is SARGE? We have been waiting patiently for Sarge's return. So stop your slacking and get back to hounding us again. LOVE YA GAL!!!! Continued prayers coming your way.

Got mine all packaged up and it will be in the mail tomorrow. Mine is heading into Canada as well. Hope you like it. If not send it back and I will keep it my own self. LOL!!

Some friendships can be quite TOXIC to us. I have had to cut ties with a friend years ago because HE was TOXIC to me. It was the hardest thing in the world to do because I loved him dearly, see he was my husband. When I started gaining weight he ignored me and fled to the bed of one of my so-called friends. He immediately apologized and came home with his tail tucked begging for forgiveness. I caved. We had children (4). He was good for awhile. He jumped ship again and this time I did not throw out a lifesaver. He drowned in his own shit. We divorced and it was the happiest day of my life. And the saddest. But let me tell you the bright moments came later (about 4 years after). He called me one night saying he knows he screwed up with me and was wondering if there was a second chance for us. I gathered up my courage and strength and said these words to him, "Not a chance. Only when HELL freezes over." And hung up the phone. That was the hardest thing to do. We now have a healthy respect for each other since we do have children together. It gets easier since the kids are adult now. But still it kinda stings every now and then. He was my high school sweetheart. I just adored that man. I have my soul mate now. He is my dream man. I found him at the age of 38. We have been together now for 8 years. Couldn't be happier. Long story to make a point HUH? LOL!! Someone that LOVES you truly will not USE you and make you FIX things for them. Whatever situation he put himself in that ONLY YOU can fix is a bunch of hooey. He made the problem let him fix it. TOUGH LOVE. I have experience with that as well. It sucks!!!! But in the end only they can change things for themselves. NOT YOU. I will keep you in my prayers.

My understanding after several phone calls to Inamed after my erosion last December, is that they suggested to all Surgeons placing the Band in both US and MX to start using the Pars Flaccida. Inamed went on to say they can only suggest this technique to the surgeons. They cannot regulate how each person runs their practice or their techniques. I do know that my band surgeon in MX used the perigastric (OLD TECHNIQUE) and that is most likely why I eroded. Although it couldn't be considered absolute reason. Just my theory, after speaking with my US Surgeon and Inamed. It boils down to you just don't know for sure what technique is being used unless you ask. This goes back to being more informed and doing your research.

So far I have walked in about three. And all have been a blast. Really alot of fun.

I do the 5K Walk in Los Angeles every year. It is an awesome feeling to cross that finish line. My time was just under an hour. Something like 58 min and 15 sec. There is a walk in Sept in Santa Monica, CA. I will sign up for that and then also find another as well. Hey we should get pics of us at the event and then post them here. What fun? After everyone posts their pics I will put them in a Collage and then repost it. What fun? Now I have something to occupy my down time. YEAH WHAT IS THAT?!! LOL!!! Hugs to all

Christine: I am so incredibly sorry for your problems. AS you know I was a Lopez patient as well. He just sucks as a surgeon. Personally I would NOT waste my time talking to him or even sending him an email. I did that got no where, Lisa did that got no where. I called Inamed and reamed them a new one got no where. SIGH!! It just sucks big time. On the lighter side, my insurance covered all but 900 bucks of my band removal. I have Pacificare PPO coverage. Keep us informed and I am so glad that you are seeing Billy. He is such a sweetie and realy takes his time with his patients.

If this continues the Moderators will have to move this thread to the Rants and Raves section. Everyone has their own opinions, please respect each others. You can always agree to disagree. You can always chose to NOT respond or post to a particular thread. You can chose to NOT feed into the line of thought.

Hey Donna I don't see it as a slam at all and it isn't taken that way. I guess my statement was just expressing my feelings of "if I had known then what I know now" kind of thing. Ya know? LOL!! I don't want anyone to see my comments as a slam on the lapband. That is NOT my intention at all. I just feel like in my particular case I might have done better with a Bypass instead of the band. I made an informed decision to get the Band in the first place. I knew the complications upfront and that Erosion was a possibility. Just like I know death is a possibility with Bypass. But honestly isn't that a possibility with any surgery? Anyway, Just venting here. Sorry sorta got off track.

Here is a link to my Erosion story complete with pics. The first page shows the pics. The Whitish thingy with green goo is the band eroded into my stomach. It was really bad actually. http://www.lapbandtalk.com/showthread.php?t=12385&page=11

I Eroded so answering this poll didn't make sense to me. I am now faced with making a decision to either struggle like I have all my life and fly solo or fight with the insurance companies and HOPE I have other options be it bypass or whatever. Since losing my band I have gained 40 lbs. I was debanded disbanded whatever back in Dec 2005. I am within 20 lbs of my pre-band weight. How disappointing is that? I paid $15,000 for my surgery out of pocket and now I feel like I have just pissed that all away. I only had the band for 18 months. The band wasn't for me.

You can always do a search on anything you want to find on this site by simply typing in the word (EX: Erosion) and it will pull up all the threads about that word. Erosion = Can be varied in how it happens. No known consistent signs or symptoms are associated with this complication. Some experience loss of restriction, although that was NOT my case. Some have heartburn more than the norm, we are talking extreme cases here, also NOT my case. Often (NOT ALWAYS) times if you experience complications with the port area there is a good chance you MIGHT erode later. Complications with the port are something like infections, revisions, early on in the process. I had a weird issue wiht my port where it tilted and the tubing was ALMOST popping through my skin. My MX surgeon ignored the situation so I changed to a US Surgeon and he repositioned the port and I had the band for another 16 months. Once the Erosion was diagnosed (By and Endoscopy) we (my surgeon and I) determined it was most likely caused by the initial infection and tllted port complication I had early on. Definition = The Band is placed around the outside of the stomach wall. Some kind of irritant (infection, leak in the wall, stitch, rubbing due to not properly placed, etc) can wear down the area and cause a hole into the stomach. The band is considered at that time to have Eroded the stomach wall and is inside the stomach wall. It may or may not be noticable on an ENdoscopy at that time. Mine was about 40% Eroded into my Stomach. I have pictures where you can actually see the band from inside the stomach. Pretty impressive. Pretty darn scary too. Repair = They take the band off. Repair the hole in the stomach. You are to take it easy for several days wiht your diet. You really want to let that hole heal properly before you eat a steak. Liquid for a week then soft mushie foods then on to regular diet. Now all of the above is what I learned about Erosion (NOT CORROSION) while going through it personally. Everyone has different opinions and experiences. So I just offered my knowledge on the situation. Hope this helps. By the way, I wish I had chosen Bypass instead. I would be at goal weight right now I am sure. And a LapBand is NOT in my future due to previous scaring from the first surgery which is normal. The landmarks are not as easily definable the second time and the chances of Eroding again are higher. I am now considering a bypass as my next option.

Don't you just LOVE him. His whole staff is wonderful and so supportive. I go see him on the 18th. He has been my saviour since all my complications and ultimate removal of the band this past December. We are weighing my options and hopefully I will have a decision made soon. Nice to see you posting again, Christine. Maybe some time soon we can hook up again. That was fun eating at Mimi's. Maybe next time we could meet at California Kitchen. YUM YUM!! HUGS!! My appt on the 18th is at 10am. Any chance of hooking up then? Email me at penni@pennimerrick.com if there is a chance.

Just heard from Christina yesterday. She had another stay in the hospital. They think but not confirmed she might have been having TIA's. The laymen's explanation is mini strokes. She is home now and recuperating. Having more tests run and MRI's and such. She sounded really tired but good. She said she misses us all and hopes to be back soon. She is just taking it easy for now. More when I have it. Continue to keep her in your prayers.

I have wanted to post something like this for a long time so here goes. 1) If you make a decision to get the LapBand or in fact ANY surgery whether in the US or outside the US you should do plenty of research. 2) Research the doctor. What kind of follow up care is provided? (ie: fills, unfills, endoscopies, fluroscopies, port revisions, removal, etc). Ask to speak to about 5 or 6 of his patients before you make a decision. Ask those people if they have any complaints or issues with their care before, during and after the procedure. How many of the procedures has he done? What types of complications can occur from this procedure and how frequently do they happen? (ie: perforations, etc) What types of complications has he personally ran into doing this procedure? What is his policy when a complication occurs during a procedure? (ie: does he discuss options with family or immediately convert to bypass or other WLS). Is he Inamed approved for the procedure? If not then who qualified him to perform the procedure and can you have literature to verify this? 3) Research the procedure. How is the procedure performed? What will change on the inside? How will my eating habits change? What will I need to have prepared when I get home in way of food items? What are the short term issues? What are the long term issues? How will I be able to take my pills? 4) Follow up care. What is the schedule for fills? When can I get my first fill? How is the fill procedure performed? (ie: with or without fluroscopy) What is the cost for fills? (under fluro and not) How often will I need to be seen? Will I have access to a Nutritionist? How do you handle unfills? Is there a direct line in case of Emergencies? Does your doctor have email address? What Vitamins should I be taking? Will I need to crush my pills? If so then for how long? Are there any pills that cannot be crushed? If so then how will I be able to take them? 5) In the end you are the ONE person that knows your OWN body. The doctor doesn't, the nurse doesn't, your best friend's neighbor's daughter's friend's dog doesn't. Get the picture? You know when your body is telling you that something isn't right. For instant, you are nauseous, light headed, and feeling tired. Could be flu, could be low blood sugar, could be dehydration. The fact is you are being made aware that your body is not happy. So maybe drink some Water, eat some Protein and rest. If that doesn't work then call your doctor. Not next week not tomorrow but right then. It might be nothing but better safe than sorry. 6) If you are working the band (i.e. drinking before /after small bites forks/spoons down after bite/ protein first - all those things) as hard as you can, and you are still not losing weight, then you might need to be evaluated for metabolic issues. Do not accept the band as just another failed weight loss gimic. Push for answers. 7) Do not leave the hospital before you know exactly what your post op diet should consist of. Including when and how to advance the diet. (ie: clear liquid, liquid, mushies, regular diet). Also, have a clear picture of what each phase looks like. (ie: clear liquid = broths; liquids = protein drinks; mushies = mashed potatoes; regular diet = protein then veggies then carbs). And unless YOUR doctor told you it's ok to change his or her instructions, then NO.. its NOT ok! 8) ON the issue of Pregnancy and being banded here are some questions you might want to address. How soon after being banded can I get pregnant? Once pregnant, will I have to get a partial unfill or be completely unfilled? Should I expect any issues/complications with a pregnancy after being banded? If there are any what could they be and how will they be addressed? After being banded, are most babies delivered via c-section or can they be delivered naturally? If my baby needs to be delivered via c-section could that damage the port and tubing? Are there additional vitamins I should take while pregnant? If you can't keep water down and you have been suffering for days then CALL YOUR DOCTOR!! If you are having days of reflux and a burning sensation in your belly then CALL YOUR DOCTOR!! If you have a redness, swelling, tender, and hot area around your port then CALL YOUR DOCTOR!! If there is just something that doesn't 'FEEL' right then CALL YOUR DOCTOR!! If someone has more to offer then please add to this list as needed and then I will post it and close the thread and make it a sticky. Please know that I am not suggesting that any of us aren't smart enough to know when something is wrong but sometimes we know more what to do for others than we do for ourselves. We have to LOVE ourselves and take care of ourselves.

Here I am. I have been inundated with family since June 14th. The last of them left yesterday. Almost too busy to breath these days. LOL!! Delarla is caught up in her Slumber business these days. She made a decision to post only so often here. Donali is also in the Slumber business as well. So that may be why she is posting as much either. I heard from Kelly(dylansmom) the other day and things are going well for them. HUGS TO ALL!!

So the Shelton Family was on the TODAY show this morning? If so I have clicked all around the site and can't seem to find the segment mentioned. Can someone please put the link to the correct segment?

IF you are willing to drive to Ventura I can recommend a GREAT band surgeon that takes on Mexico patients. His name is Helmuth Billy. He has been my band surgeon and seen me through removal of the band due to erosion. My band was placed in Mexico as well.

Of all the complications I had I would still have gotten the band. I just would NOT have gone to Mexico to get it done. I think the benefits are wonderful and the risks are low.

NewSho: I read those lyrics of one of my favorite singer/songwriters and it brought tears to my eyes. Thank you that uplifted me more. Yes I am finding my SECOND WIND. HUGS PinkMary: That is a sweet response. And the offer to come to Greece for the surgery is something to consider. I am very happy with my surgeon in Ventura, CA but the cost is a REAL factor right now. I can't self-pay and unless Insurance covers the surgery then I won't be having one. SIGH! Still lots to work out and I will certainly keep you all informed along my journey.

OK are you taking big spoon fulls of pudding? Are you chewing the pudding? THat sounds strange but if you are swallowing it without letting it break down in your mouth first then it will give you the sensation you are talking about. Here is a rule I followed when I started soft mushie foods. Take a bit like you would feed a baby. Then let it sit in your mouth like a baby does then chew the food even if there are NO chunks just to let the mouth break it down into liquid. Then swallow. If you are still having problems then you need to stay on liquids till the swelling goes down. I assume you have no fill. If you have a fill then take things much slower than suggested. DISCLAIMER: This is my opinion. For any further questions or concerns please contact your own physician and follow his instructions.