PamRN

Wow, Darcy that looks painful! I dont remember bruising like that when my gallbladder was removed laparoscopically. Is that your port site? As gross as it is Delarla, you and your goo crack me up. I do hope that gets better for you. I'm wondering too, with all the work you're doing on the homefront, if maybe it's contributing to the problem? Remodeling dust isn't your friend when you have an open wound, that crap will just invite itself right on in and make itself at home anywhere... & everywhere. :alien

Leatha, Great pics of all of you! Your daughter is gorgeous...looks like her mama IMHO

Awesome pics Penni! My greatest hope is to spend a lengthy vacation in negril while I'm young enough to enjoy it all. I'm soooo envious! Good Luck Andrea! We'll be praying for you

Happy birthday Penni, You look great, I wish I were in jamaica with my girls right now! What an awesome time you must be having.

Congratulations! I'm glad everything went well. Isn't benefiber a once a day treatment? Some of my patients take it only in the morning, but I'm not sure if it differs for bandsters, or from person to person. As long as you have some sort of regularity, whether it's normally several times a day, or normally once every third day, you're probably ok. To be on the safe side, email your doc or patient coordinator.

How exciting! Best of luck to you Andrea! I wish you good blessings and a great outcome.

avoid all salt, it makes you retain water, drink more water, it helps your kidney's function more efficiently, then they will draw additional fluids out. There are some otc pms meds that take care of bloat, but I'm not sure it's something you can take once banded, better ask a doc about that one. I wouldn't want you to go from bloated to dehydrated.

I don't know about the rest of you, but tylenol never helps a headache for me, though it is pretty good for fever or muscle pain. Excedrin is my drug of choice for HA. I'm happy to see that the quick tabs are ok, I'll gladly deal with an after taste in exchange for some of the headaches I get.

<--- amazed yet again, at the invaluable education you all provide, and adding symptoms of protein/fat deficiency to my list...

Congratulations Kimber You're an official Bandster! :bandit

Well good luck to you, and best wishes for an easy surgery, and quick recovery. Do keep us posted with your progress! I suddenly realized today that I've less than 3 weeks til my own date, I kind of shocked me with that thought. it's the weirdest mix of pure terror, and absolute excitement...

Thanks girls, you're all a godsend. I've tried that chewing thing, it's something I'm going to have to consciously pay attention to for a while, and I do drink pretty well, though I need to increase my Water. I've been trying harder to get more water into all of us for a while now, but there are days when it's not nearly enough. It's now the only drink I allow with dinner, as it was one time I could get it in my kids. Dr Ponce de leon is in Tijuana, He's with obesity goodbye, and I see that he's also with Bajanor group. Both are similar in price. Thanks Bobby for the vote of confidence!

Ohhh I've seen the pics... some are quite lovely thanks lol I'm particularly fond of the red stripper gloves highlighting the cute little port poking out. As sad as that was, it truely cracked me up & I gotta say Donali's hot bra and jeans pics made me giggle too... she's a braaave woman, but then again if I looked as good as she does in some jeans like that I might be equally so. Thanks for the input on the soreness thing girls, I'm glad to know that at least I'll be able to put underwear on in time for work lol! My scrubs are pretty comfy, though they do have an elastic waist. I guess if the lifting is bothersome, I'll just have to ask for some extra help. I can't voice enough appreciation for all that this site has helped me with. Even this morning, I was pondering whether this is something I really should do right now, what with the cost, the potential problems, the pain, and just everything under the sun that I could worry myself about... Then I logged on here... You all are truely great inspiration and I thank you from the bottom of my heart. I'm going to Tijuana!

What a great new beginning at what promises to be a great new life. You bring tears to my eyes with the mental picture of your family on the picturesque ride. They surely must be soooo proud of you. Congratulations, you give me hope, and surely many others as well.

Hi Zoe, I'm glad all went well for you. I'm going down in 3 weeks for my band, and I'm worried about that soreness thing. I'm only taking 2 weeks off work, as a busy charge nurse in a hospital, where I do lots of heavy lifting. If you don't mind my asking, did the doc glue your incisions? I believe the other two incisions you can't remember are for a light and scope so dr can see what he's doing on a screen. Keep us posted on your recovery, I hope it continues to improve. Pam

Sue3 I just want to extend my sincere apologies if my response made you feel unwelcome or attacked. It was my total intention to help you understand the seriousness of the procedure, & guide you to make an informed decision. I made an uninformed reply, based on the information given, which really wasn't enough for me to understand what you needed. Seeing the whole picture of what you're going through changes everything, and I hope you continue to feel welcome and supported. This forum has totally guided me and informed me like nowhere else I've looked. I hope it does the same for you. Good Luck! Pam

Hi Zoe, I'm glad all went well for you. I'm going down in 3 weeks for my band, and I'm worried about that soreness thing. I'm only taking 2 weeks off work, as a busy charge nurse in a hospital, where I do lots of heavy lifting. If you don't mind my asking, did the doc glue your incisions? I believe the other two incisions you can't remember are for a light and scope so dr can see what he's doing on a screen. Keep us posted on your recovery, I hope it continues to improve. Pam

Saw the pic of whipple daddy... want to see a pic of his pink tutu and ringlets! Best Wishes and happy healing Kimber! I'll be thinking about you tomorrow :Bunny :Bunny :Bunny :Bunny

Hi, Ive just found a doc in central IL I've talked to the office of sidney Rohrschieb in Clinton, IL. He'll also do lap-banding at Carle Surgi-center in Champaign. His office charges 14,500, and it includes the first fill, preop physical, and nutritional consult. The rest of the fills will cost $78. I know that some of the mexican doc's include fills for life, but the cost of getting there will be more than $78, so I'm thinking of getting mine here. Has any of you heard about Dr Rohrschieb? I don't know him and am hoping he's ok.

Hi all, Guess I'm changing Doctors... once I decided on Mexico, I researched and decided on verboonen, patient experiences and price were number one and two in priority for the decision. BUT... I found out today Verboonen is out of service until late in Sept. I've been scheduled with dr. Ponce de leon for Sept 21st. I don't know much of him, and haven't researched him yet. I'm getting to it though. I'm not sure how I feel about not being told immediately about Verboonen's absence and Ponce filling in either... especially since I have already started paperwork with their office for time off, and financing arrangements. I guess I'll have to decide after I research him. It may be fine, I might like him better, I guess we'll see... If everything happens for a reason, maybe this is a good thing?

I think I've decided on Mexico. Dr. R is just too expensive for me as self-pay. I've called and talked to Dr. Verboonen's office in Tijuana and I'm feeling like this is the best choice for me. His packages are very reasonable, and his patient's seem happy with him. I'm looking at possibly going down on 9/21. Aftercare is a bit concerning, but not too much since I checked round trip ticket prices at cheap tickets and it's around $143 round trip, so if I need to I suppose I'll just go back down. I think it's very sad that we as such an "advanced nation" are so behind and expensive in health care that our own citizens choose services in another country.

Wow! You look beautiful, and happy. and yeah... we do know IT, I miss it and would give almost anything to get it back... IT is Priceless. (for everything else... there's mastercard)

As an RN with some health knowledge, I'm afraid I have to agree with much of what G-Sue says. I hear your distress, and I understand, I remember how distressed and crappy I felt at a BMI of 30. I knew I needed to do something, and I tried.... everything. I remember thinking if this weight gain keeps up I'm going to have to have something done...i.e. gastric bypass...it kept up... After many failed diet and exercise rollercoasters, I'm now at a nice and dangerous BMI of 43.6. After much gastric bypass research, I've decided on the lapband instead. Mostly because of the reduced risk, and ability to keep my intestines intact. Sue's right, that's a lot of money to spend, and I'm guessing you'll have a lot of trouble finding a legitimate surgeon to qualify you, and perform this, unless you have some serious co-morbidity's. Keep researching weight loss, you may find that there's something more appropriate for you than bariatric surgery. Perhaps the B.I.B? If you feel you must have bariatric surgery, and can find a doc to do it, keep reading here. The information is priceless. Good Luck, and don't lose hope.

Good luck and good speed Zoe! Can't wait to hear your story.

Best wishes Zoe! I hope all goes well, and look forward to hearing about your experiences. Have a safe trip, Pam