Iluvmyboys

Hey there!! Wow, too cool huh? I live in PTC just down the road... I had my surgery done in Costa Rica and everything went great! My sister had it done in Mexico by Dr. Ortiz and as you have probably heard a million gazillion times, he is one of the best in the world. I had a fill done by his office in Mexico and they are great! You will have no problems at all....you are in good hands.....I have NO regrets!! I feel great!

Hello ladies, I am a fellow Georgian also! I have not been around in a while and therefore haven't gotten to know you all.....my name is Patty and I am located in Fayette County. I had my surgery 9/29/04 and have stopped losing.....I have had 2 fills and cannot get another drop in there w/out being choked, so I don;t know why I am not losing anymore.......anyways, I didn't want to complain, just say Hi to everyone!

No, never, nada! I was on my way to a miserable existence probably with diabetes!

Wow!! Joyous news! How cool is that? I am so glad to hear that! Take care,

Smokin' Crack baby!! Pass the pipe somewhere else! I agree with Carrie 100% on this.......and you are doing GREAT!! I have childrena nd cannot do the 5x a week excercise thing either. I eat what I want and stay away from bread, pasta potatoes etc... but, if I NEED to have bread....I have it! I cannot torture myself by trying to eat 700 calories a day. I don't even have time to count to 700!! (lol) I may not be losing as fast as I would like, but I am SO happy with my progress. Sorry to say, but I wouldn't listen to anything that crack smokin' Dr. has to say, because like you said, if you could do what he wants, you wouldn't have gotten the band in the first place! Good Luck and keep us posted on his "Einstein "ideas!~! Mrs. P

Jason..........first of all, let me congratulate you on deciding to have the Lap Band done!! I had mine done in Costa Rica $8900.00. My sister went to Dr. Ortiz in Mexico. If I had it to do over, I would go to Mexico too. Dr. Ortiz is now my LapBand Dr. I go to him for all of my after care including fills. He and his staff are out of this worlr. My sister is a RN and cannot believe the level of care he and his staff deliver to his patients. It is truly remarkable. Unlike our too busy for the patient Dr's. we are used to here. If you go to Mexico (or anywhere) if you are self pay you can write it off on your taxes too. Good Luck........check out Dr. Ortiz on the web and of course on this board! Patricia

Bright, I have a 11cc Inamed Band. I got it September 29th of 2004. At the surgery, the Dr. put in 4cc.'s. I felt no restricition when it was time to eat real food again. I lost only 8-10 pounds (don't know how many stones that is). Then I got a fill of 1 cc. 6 weeks later and lost only 8 more pounds. ....I was so discouraged.....at my second fill I asked for 2cc's. I live in the US and was traveling to Costa Rica for the fills. He gave me 1.5cc's and I finally have restriction! I am finally losing weight......about 5 pounds a month but it's something. So, total I have 6.5 cc's in my 11cc band. I hope this fill last me a good while. Hang in there, you may need one more fill to have that restriction that I finally felt. (I had no idea what it felt like until it hit me with this last fill). ...........my family is from Antrim and Fermanaugh! Good Luck and keep in touch. Patty

Hi all, Would I be able to make a deduction on my taxes for monies paid to a doctor out of the country? What would I need to show proof?? Letter from him and a receipt? Gosh, this would really help me out if it ends up I am eligable to do this!!!

Count me in too!! I can't wait to meet everyone and pass the peace pipe! (just kidding!) Sounds like a FUN time!! Happy New Year everyone! See ya'll in the mud of Bandstock! :laugh

I have the Inamed 11cm. band. During surgery my Dr. put in 4cc's. After 6 weeks I had 1.5cc's added to it. I don't have much restriction and have only lost 15 pounds so far (almost 3 months out). Question: I am self pay, need another fill, have to travel to Costa Rica to do this and don't want to go for a fill as often as if I had a local Dr...... how much of a fill should I ask for? I know that the ladies who have the 4cm bands get smaller fills, but it seems to me that with this band I need more each time to feel it. Do you think if I ask for 2cc's next month that will be too much to ask for? I don;t even know why he used the 11cm band (BMI 32%) but it's too late now for that question. I just want this band to work better than it is at the present!! Thanks for any advise you may have!

Lisa, Everyone is right so far here........remember, this is her food evil. We all have a reason why we are here. Maybe she HAS to have a food buddy wherever she goes in order to cope with her problem.....Trying to make is cute and fun. But her big ol' butt aint cute and fun anymore and she can't stop. She knows what she is doing to you, but in reality she can't help herself.........that is why she is overweight. Tell her she is welcome to keep on feasting, but it is getting you off track and you just can't "hang" with her anymore at lunch etc.......if you tell her you have to cut her "off" trust me, it will hurt her and she may just come around......Good Luck.

Good Luck Phyllis.....we will all be here for you and thinking of you! Isn't it the greatest feeling! Take care,

Penni, Congratulations Girl!! Way to go!! You look beautiful! You deserve to be happy....you are such an inspiration to us not to mention a caring, kind, funny person too! Thanks for being you Penni and enjoy your new beautiful booty!!

Hey Ladies, I have the 11cc Band from Inamed. I couldn't figure out why my Dr. put it in me either...my BMI was 32.5 .........After the surgery, I could eat like a hungry cow! He said he put 4cc's in the band during surgery. I still could eat like a cow.....I only lost about 9 pounds during my first 6 weeks. I went back for a fill and got 1.5cc's and started losing right away. (Not like the others on this board though) So far I am only down 15 pounds.....but it has kicked in! I would like another 1.5cc's to really feel like a true bandster. I have no idea why he used the 11cc band on me. Anyone have any ideas on this? Good luck to all!

I went back to my surgeon in CR and had a fill on Wednesday. Everything went fine. I got 1.5cc's in my 11cc band. He put 4cc.'s in during the initial operation so with the fill I am at a total of 5.5cc's. He did it under the X-Ray machine (aka floro???) What exactly is flouro? Is that when you drink the barium? Anyhow, I got to see the band and the port which was easy to access. It took about 1 min, and only as painful as a sting from the needle. I can barely feel a difference in the fill though. Does it take some time to have the fill set in? I will go back to see him at the end of January (summer there) and have another fill. I was able to get the flu shot while I was there which was nice since there are non around here.

Thank you so very much Miss Leatha! I don't feel much different than before he did the fill.....is that how it should feel?

Penni, I have a question for you. What is the signifigance of the liquid diet after a fill? Is it OK to eat lightly if you "can"? Thank you in advance!

Good Luck! I hope you are feeling well soon. Take care of yourself, see you on here soon!

Hi Magster and Sheeanisland, Do you know how much Dr. Rn and Dr. Fielding charge MX patients for a fill? Thanks for your help and good luck with your bands!

Hi jeo310, Congratulations on your band! I had mine done on 9/29 in Costa Rica and I am trying to find a Dr. to do fills for me. So far I haven't had any luck in my area. I am from the South side of the Atlanta suburbs so I wouldn't mind going as far as Foley for a fill and a vacation too! Do you know if your Dr. does fills for others and how much are they? Thanks for your help here! Good Luck with everything! Patty

Hi everyone, I am dustin' off the treadmill and nautulis machine but have a question here first.....how long after surgery is it OK to do sit-ups and stretches? Is there ever a chance to "pull" the port out of place by doing these things? Thanks ladies....you are all so inspiring to me.....I just can't tell you! Thanks so much for all of your daily input to this board.......it truly is a lifesaver to some of us (ME!!!)

Welcome to Band Land!! Hope all is well, feel better soon!

DeLarla..........You are too funny!!! I am still laughing at that post!! Thanks for making us ALL feel better about this struggle and being new at this!

gagirl, I am about 34 days Post-op and have lost 10 pounds. I am very discouraged and keep thinking "what am I doing wrong here" I too see that everyone seems to be losing more in the first month than I have so it is hard to see the light ahead for me too. I am hoping that after my first fill next week I will start to see some significant changes. But for right now, I can eat way more than what is recommended. Not nearly as much as before the band, but still not 1/2 cup of food! We are Georgia twins! I feel the same way but I try to hang on to all of the post here from the ladies that have done it before us and see what they went through and know that it will get better. ------ Question for the ladies who have gone before us: Since the recommended serving is 1/2 cup for the new small pouch, what happens if I eat more than that? Will the pouch strecth out? Will the band slip? Ok, for instance, the other day I ate a slice of pizza and a small salad. Is that WAY too much for my new pouch? Would that damage anything? That is my biggest worry/fear right now. Thanks!

Good Luck with everything! My fingers are crossed for you!