marlynncreel

I am 33yrs old and have been banded since 06/2007. My BMI was around 30, And I weighed 217 lbs with absolutely no comorbities. Insurance would not cover me for the lap band so I contacted Ready 4 A Change and went to Monterrey Mexico and self paid for my surgery. I decided on May 23rd to have it done and got a surgery date for June 6th! I don't regret my decision because I didn't have to go through all the frustration I've heard insurance making people go through. No psych Evals, no nutritionists, no 6 mo doctor supervised diet!

A trip to Vegas would be awesome! I've never been and my husband I have discussed going for a weekend, but we would be willing to go at any time. I'm game for the fall when the temperature comes back down below sweltering. Just keep us posted on the game plan.

Hey everyone! It's been awhile since I've been back, but things have been crazy with me studying and taking state board exams and the weird work schedule. I had my first fill last Saturday, and had 1.5cc put into my 4cc band. I'm kind of dissappointed that I don't feel any different (but my Dr. told me I probably wouldn't). Since my surgery on June 7th, I've only lost around 15lbs and I thought I should've lost more than that. I also have trouble with my husband trying to help me, but he says things like,"You better slow down and quit eating so much after I paid all that money for you to have this done." He says it in a joking manner, but it still makes me angry, because I don't eat nearly as much as I did before being banded. The main thing I'm looking for is how others are doing on the wt loss since being banded and what they're feeling after their first fill. Let me know so I can decipher if I'm doing things the wrong way.

Okay, this is for all you bandsters and future bandsters that's been searching high and low for the Magic Bullet. I've seen a few posts where people have found some at various locations for around $50. I just saw an infomercial on this gadget and this is what they're offering.... A 21 piece set for $99 and get another 21 piece set for free....what's included in the offer: High-Torque Power Base The Power Base is the heart of the Magic Bullet. Simply plug in the Magic Bullet, place one of the Bullet Cups or Party Mugs onto the High-Torque Power Base and press. No buttons to press, no complicated manuals to read. Nothing could be easier. Cross Blade and Flat Blade The Magic Bullet comes with two blades: a Cross Blade for chopping, grating and blending foods such as onions, cheeses, meats and frozen drinks, and a Flat Blade for whipping cream and grinding hard foods like coffee Beans and spices. Both blades are are made of stainless steel, so they are dishwasher safe and never need sharpening. Tall and Short Bullet Cups The unique bullet shape of these cups is the secret to the effectiveness of the Magic Bullet. The Short Cup is ideal for making dips and party foods like homemade fat-free fruit juice and the Magic Bullet becomes a personal smoothie machine, pulverizing the ice and giving you a perfect, nutritious smoothie or Meal Replacement fat loss drink in 8 seconds. Plus, each container is cheese, the other is for finely ground spices such as cinnamon or nutmeg, so you can grate cheese or spices and serve it right to the table. Stay-Fresh Re-sealable Lids No plastic wrap or storage containers are needed to keep your leftovers fresh. Your Magic Bullet comes with two Stay-Fresh, Re-sealable Lids that fit right on to the Short and Tall Cups, and Party Mugs to keep your leftovers fresh for days. Four Party Mugs with Comfort Lip Rings These self-blending Party Mugs turn your Magic Bullet into the Ultimate Party Machine. Now you can make recipes your whole family will love. From Breakfast recipes for pancakes, omelets and piping hot muffins to 6-second lunch recipes like salad and all the way to gourmet dinners such as homemade spaghetti meat sauce. There are even recipes for scrumptious Desserts such as creamy cheesecake and frozen fruit sorbet...as well as delicious party dips and fantastic frozen drinks! And best of all, they can all be prepared in 10 seconds or less! I just thought that some of you might be interested in, esp. if you knew of others who wanted one and could go in halves with you. I don't know what the package from the stores come with, but I thought this sounded like a decent offer. I ordered one for me and got the other for my mom, both of us are bandsters....oh yeah, the website for this is..... www.buythebullet.com/2for1

Hey Stefanie, I was banded on June 7th and can't even consider a fill until July 19th (6 weeks post-op). That's okay though, because I'm pretty happy with where I am in being able to eat and the amt of wt I've lost so far....I lost 12 lbs in the first week....down 15 lbs now thanks to a stomach virus I had....but I'd like to be able to continue eating what I want but in the way smaller amts like I'm doing now. Anyway, good luck to you and hope you have continued success. Marlynn Creel

Remember, you should take at LEAST 20-30 minutes to eat a small meal. You should chew your food really well, and give your body time to tell your brain that you're full in order to avoid overeating. I've been learning that lesson too.

Sorry, another post, but I thought you might welcome this suggestion for those of you still in the clear liquid phase and tired of chicken broth. I cooked a beef roast and a pork roast for the family and was able to drink the broth from those....it was THE best tasting treat I've had. Anyway, good luck.

You must realize too, that when you restrict your body of food (esp such a drastic amt) it says "hey, I'm starving" and starts to hold onto everything you're consuming. so, you really do need to eat in order to lose....moderation is the key. sorry to be preachy, but people think that if they eat just one meal a day or something along those lines they'll lose fast, but in reality the body starts to horde every calorie and fat gram you place inside your body.

Sterbear, I too was banded by Dr. Zapata in Monterrey! WOW, what a small world. Were you the one wearing the "navy" tshirt at the nutritional meeting at the hotel or are you the blonde? That's so neat! I just told my husband that I was going to try to find out your names so that we could keep in touch and track each others progress. I'm glad to hear you're doing well. The first night I wanted to cry thinking I had just waisted my money and what in God's name had I done to myself. I've just completed my second night back at work and it's been a little better for me tonight than last night. I worked the ER last night and was busy (I stayed on my feet too long, and did too much bending). No gas pains, and surprisingly not really hungry. I'm still pretty restricted, so maybe with this small band I won't need a fill for a while....that would be great to lose most of my weight without a fill. So, far I've lost 10lbs by the hospital scale. Yeah! Let me know who you are...PM me sometime. Bye

Sterber, I was also banded on 6/7/07 in Mexico! Where at in Mexico where you banded and by which Dr.? How are you feeling now?

Okay everyone, this is day 5 postop for me, and I'm still feeling restricted. Is anyone else feeling this way this far after surgery? I can't tell with the way I feel if I'm hungry or still full. Anyone have any suggestions. I kind of just hurt all the time....I know it's not gas. I haven't had gas pains since day 2. I'm still in the liquid phase and only able to drink about 1/8 cup of anything. I'm hoping this gets better when I can go to mushies on Thursday. I'm scared of stretching my pouch since I'm not sure what the pain is for....hunger or fullness. I still can't sleep on my sides or stomach either. Help, I'm kind of out of ideas.

Well, everyone, I'm back home from Monterrey, Mexico! Flew in today, and I was so glad to be back home! The hospital and staff at Monterrey was wonderful. I couldn't have asked for a better team, esp. Dr. Zapata, he's wonderful and very informative. I got to the hospital on Thursday and went directly to pre-op where they did my lab work and EKG. They stuck me 9 times for my IV, but that's okay. My anestesiologists was great and talked to me to help keep me calm during the IV starting process and then the next thing I knew I was waking from surgery. I remember feeling some pain and the Dr. telling me he's giving me some morphine and something for nausea. I went into surgery at 11:00am and woke up in recovery at 2:30. The first day was hell. I hurt all over and had terrible gas pains. I couldn't believe I had done this to myself and how was I gonna get back on a plane (twice) to come home feeling like this? Well, I walked a lot and burped alot and slept little the first night. I felt a little better the next day but was VERY restricted from the swelling. I couldn't hardly drink anything. I had 2 small bites of jello and 2 sips of gatorade and 2 sips of CB all day, and I still felt like I had swallowed a whole chicken that was just sitting in my chest. I took a pain pill (Tramadol) and went to sleep and slept well in the recliner of the hotel. Got up this morning and took another pain pill for the flight home. The trip wasn't very rough, but was uncomfortable. The worst part was walking the Houston airport from customs to terminal A. I would've missed my flight if I'd waited for the "assistance" that was supposed to be waiting for me at the plane. Anyway, back home now, and still gonna have to sleep in the recliner....can't lay flat or on my sides yet...looking forward to it though. Gas pains are gone....the only thing I can say about that is....walk, walk, walk. It'll do you the most good. I was worried about the restriction since I have the small 10cm (4cc) band, but I guess that'll get better with time. I haven't experienced any nausea yet, but hope I don't. Hope everyone else is starting to feel better, and good luck to those of you yet to come. Even though it's been rough, it's been worth it so far.

Hotty, I have the same feeling yesterday and today. I think it's because I'm so restricted from the stomach swelling. I know it's been a few days since your surgery, but it's probably just eating a little too fast or too much at one time. All I've been able to get down is like 2 small sips of clear liquids every few hrs or so or it feels like someone's fist is sitting between my breast and I can't breathe. The gas, to me, feels totally different. I'm not having much gas pain anymore, but it's taking some patience and learning to eat with my new band. Hope things start getting better for you.

Good afternoon everyone! Say a little prayer for me tonight....I fly out in the morning at 5:20 on my way to Monterrey for my surgery. I will be banded tomorrow afternoon sometime and I'm getting nervous! An excited kind of nervous though. Good luck to all of you getting banded today or have been banded today. Let me hear from you so I'll know if what I experience is even remotely what I should be experiencing. I can't wait to join all of you in bandland.....yipee! I catcha once I return home (Saturday night).

Hey Stefanie! Wanna hear something really cool? My name is Stefanie Marlynn! I've never known anyone else that spells their name with an "f" other than the famous Stefanie Powers. It's nice to meet someone else with the similarity. Good luck on your banding and keep in touch with your progress.

ok, i got my passport application from the dept of state website and had it filled out and went to the local postoffice (they did everything) and had mine expedited for only and extra $60. i got everything done and sent on May 6th and received my passport on May 29th. If your post office doesn't do the photos, you can have them done for around $8 at CVS or Walgreens Pharmacies. Good luck!

My ring is the real thing. I have a 1.38 carat pear-shaped solitaire with a round anniversary band on one side and a pointed anniversary band on the other side to accomodate the point of the pear...it looks like it sits in a guard but it doesn't. Even though my solitaire is an expensive piece, my bands were only $50 each (real diamonds). If you like the idea of the diamond for the quality but not the price, check out moissanite. It's as close to a diamond you can get without being made by nature. It even fools most jewelers!

Faithmd, I totally agree with you. People are too caught up in is the war right/wrong, has it gone on long enough, or should we really have ever gotten in the middle of this, when they should be supporting our troops with more fervor. The fact remains that they're over there fighting for a cause that they believe in (whether we do or not) and they still deserve our love, devotion, and support! These ARE our family members, treat them as such!

I'm jealous! I've never been on a cruise, but would love to go next year! I would be newly banded and probably still swelled like a bullfrog at the time of this cruise anyway. Have enough fun for those of us not going this year to live vicariously through you guys! Please post some of the wonderful things you get to do so that we can enjoy it too. Congratulations for everyone!

just wanted to say hello to everyone! hope all is well with musicalmomma and everyone else already banded this month. i've been thinking about you musicalmomma, and hoping your finding yourself more comfortable now you're at home. keep us abreast of your recovery.

Well, the first post on this was made on 4/4/07 and when I went grocery shopping day before yesterday they were still selling it. I doubt they do take it off the market, it's no different than the other sweetners and they haven't taken them off the market yet. Rest assured if they do, they'll just remarket it under another name. It's all a money maker, and the "recall" information was probably put out by the competition. Don't start panicking yet....lol

I would definitely let the doctor know about her behavior, and that she is affiliated with a wt loss program in another hospital. Her opinion is clouded concerning WLS since this is the case. That cloudy judgement is definitely portrayed with the personal attacks on you in saying that you can just lose wt again with dieting.....the only reason she's there is to make sure you're not doing this to compensate for something else that's not going to improve with this type of surgery. Anyway, that's my soapbox. I'm glad you got through that without losing hope and patience. Don't let one quack end your journey. Good luck.

Hey Junnies! It's been a few days since I've been on, but trying to get used to working these nights....this is new to me. Anyway, I just wanted to let everyone know that I'm all set to travel! I got my passport in on Memorial Day, so all I'm waiting for is the morning of June 7th....OMG, that's only 4 days!!!! I'm so psyched....can't you tell. Okay, I'll spare you the boredom, I'm going to make laps around the hospital (where I work...lol) to stay awake. Catch y'all later.....Oh congratulations to those banded on the first and I'll praying for those of you being banded in the next few days!

okay, anyone out there having their surgery done out of the country and have to have a passport? well, i am, and i received my passport this morning. to my horror, i realized they have misspelled my name! i leave in 10 days and noone is available to answer my questions or concerns (it's a holiday) and i don't know what to do! my name is Marlynn and they spelled it Marilynn. my friend says that the name on her passport is not the same as on her driver's license and she just came back from Mexico....on her license is her full name and her passport has her first name, initial of her maiden name, and same last name. has anyone encounter this problem too. some suggestions would help me alot! thanks, marlynn creel

oh, god, it's so comforting to hear someone say that. that's what my friend said, but just hearing it from one person still makes me anxious (i'm joking borderline OCD).....but hearing it come from another person, also, makes me feel a little better. thank you so much for the reply!