jcgrove29

I used Dr Ortiz in Tijuana Mexico and I am very pleased with my choice. Relocate JC

I was banded by Dr. Ortiz at the Obesity Control Center. I am very pleased with my decision. One of the biggest deciding factors for me aside from the cost was the fact that one of our local doctors was banded and trained to do lapbands by Dr. Ortiz. Relocate JC

Thanks Chrispy and everyone. I am locking my emotions down into hard core mode. Which means fix the thing whatever it takes, be smart enough to slow down and heal, come up with a game plan and when the time is right either amp up the excercise or something. I will have more info after my follow-up August 9. Until then I am going to rest a little bit and pray alot. I do want to say congratulations Chrispy you give the rest of us hope. Also you better be dropping the pounds because after the 9th I will be losing weight banded or not. :-) I am looking into a couple of things 1. The Underground Railroad Bike Trail Adventure Cycling Association 2. The Bike Catrike Performance Trikes 3. Sleeping Accomodations Hennessy Hammock: Explorer Deluxe Asym I have 2 and 3 I haven't ordered the maps yet. JC

A lot of people mistake outgoing personalities as flirty. I was just picking because of the mood I was in. Like I said I sometimes joke in order to cope. As far as my personal stuff. My wife and I have been separated for a year and a half. My son is technically my stepson but I treat him and feel like he is my flesh and blood. I am the only real father he has ever known. There have been so many people come in and out of his life, IE he never even saw his biological father until about two years ago when he was 15. He lost both grandparents on his mother's side and his paternal grandparents are self absorbed, so they don't have time for him. There was no way I would walk out of his life. When his mother and I split I sat him down and explained to him what was going. I told him that no matter where I ended up or what I was doing there would always be a place for him. I told him that I considered him my son and that I love him no matter what. JC

Deanna, thank you, and btw your pics look great. I have been having back pain since I did that 3 mile jog the other day. I was sure I pulled a muscle or popped a rib out of place. This is where things get fuzzy. I think maybe I was passing a kidney stone I am not sure. What I do know is Monday afternoon I felt nauseated. I started puking, I was able to control this by pushing and not wretching. I drove my son to his Boyscout meeting in Tampa. I had to stop twice to get rid of this flem that was building up. I bought a coffee took a couple sips and full on blew it out. Then I started wretching I mean deep deep wretching. Like I chugged a whole 5th of Tequilla after drinking a case of beer wretching. After that all I could feel was acid like burning in the upper part of my stomach. I started to go to the E.R. right then and next time I WILL. Instead I went home and tried to get some sleep I had already made up my mind that I would require an unfill. By 2:00 am in knew I was bad off just not how bad. By 4:00 am it was old bile and some blood coming up.I did not know that it was blood because it was very dark from being in there with the acid. At 6:00 I drove to my St Petersburg fill center location. When I arrived I was feeling somewhat better I told the receptionist that I was in trouble and required an unfill. They got me in right away unfilled and looked at the band with the C-arm which confirmed a slip had occured. When I drank the water I felt a little better but, I had stopped and purchased some pedialyte on the way knowing that I was dehydrated. When that pedialyte hit my stomach I came unglued. The NP there told me I needed to be seen at Tampa General. She has a working relationship with the Bariatric team and called them in advance, she also sent all the important paperwork to them, this helped fast-track me through the E.R.. I can tell you this even if I lose the band I have to count myself as one lucky person. This is my overall opinion the the lapband is a safe BUT, we have to share our experiances and educate ourselves because it is not something to take lightly or try to tough it out when somethig goes wrong. What I am trying to say is; if you go to another country/state/area for the procedure, you need to make connections in your local area for support and not expect that the support will automatically be there for you. I am fortunate to have found the fill center that I am going to because those connections are in place which saved me a lot of time. I would encourage anyone who is not working with their surgeon for aftercare to do your homework and find out who is around locally that can understand and assist you in case you get in trouble. JC

Thanks Deanna. I will take it easy for a while. JC

I have to have humor or it would get ugly. :-)

Juli, you crack me up, I know your flirting! lol Anyway it's going to take 4 or 5 days for the tent to get here. Is that enough rest?? Just kidding, it's how I cope. Honestly I am going to collect the things I need to AMP up. So that when I am ready I will be able to hit it hard!'' Thanks for the concern and the advice. JC

All right back to reality, I am going to have to amp up the excercise. This means staying out longer so check out what I just found. I ordered the Expedition Asym HENNESSY HAMMOCKS: ultra-light line of jungle hammocks, ultra-comfortable camping hammock /chair/ tent combo very cool. JC

How the hell does something like this happen ??? 5 pounds from goal! I just don't know...................

Thank you, I really appreciate that. I will know when I go in for a follow up. I am supposed to schedule an appointment which is something I usually handle right away, but I have to admit I put it off today. I am kinda scared of the thought that they may have to remove the band. I paid cash out of pocket last time and don't know when I would be able to afford to do that again. I am usually a rock solid wide open "Aint Scared" type of person, but I can tell you I am honestly rattled right now. JC

I had some luck on my side, when the GI group shoved that camera and all those other tubes down my throat they said nothing looked right, so they shot some air in and it pushed my stomach back through and untwisted it at the same time. JC

Thanks, I sure hope they can leave it in there. JC

Thanks, I will try to rest. JC

I think I passed a kidney stone or something any way I got sick and started puking, that caused the slip, next I started wretching which apparentlly twisted my stomach. That caused further puking with bile and old blood coming out which freaked me the hell out. I had a severe burning feelling. By 4 am I knew I was in deep trouble and drove myself 2 hours to St. Petersburg. I was unfilled at my fill center location then transferred to Tampa General. Kathy G. at the fill center location has a working relationship with the bariatric dept. at Tampa Gen. so she was able to fast track me through the E.R. my sister works there as well which doesn't hurt. It was pretty dang scary. It is a good thing I did not try to ride this thing out because apparently if the thing twists it can kill the darn stomach by cutting off the blood supply. I was in the beggining stages according to my blood work because my white blood cell count was rising. It is something to be aware of because I have heard of slips but not a twist. I'm sorry if any of this is incoherent I am still a little fuzzy from the meds. JC

Hey J, I slipped my band then twisted my stomach. I didn't know it could happen like that but it can actually kill your stomach and actually be fatal. I'm ok for now but I may have to have surgery to remove or revise the placement of my band. JC

Denise, DerbyGirl, Thanks for the well wishes. I'm not out if the woods yet. I have to do a follow-up in a few days. The Surgeon who saw me wants to evaluate the next step either removal, revision, or no changes. The best thing we can do is to encourage or fill doctors to start a relationship with the nearest bariatric surgeon in the area. Lucky for me the staff at Tampa General have in their mission statement a commitment to the success of lapband treatment for obesity. A friend of mine is always saying I'd rather be lucky than smart, in this case I could not agree with him more. I appologize if some of this doesn't make sense, I am still feeling the morphine demerol and whatever else effects. Hey Chrispy, you can breathe easy for at least a month, I don't think I'll be passing you up. :-) Also congrats on the dating thing, if I read it right your doing good. JC

Hey Denise, I think it started with a kidney stone. I then started puking which caused my band to slip. After the slip I started wretching which twisted my stomach. About four in the morning it progressed to puking bile then blood. I live alone so I drove myself two hours to St. Pete and was unfilled at my fill center location, then transferred to Tampa General. Kathy G. has a working relationship with the bariatric unit at Tampa Gen. She arranged to have me fast tracked into the system. My sister works at Tampa Gen as well so she was onsite to help out. When I called her she freaked because she said that she knew I must have been half dead for me to call for help. I can tell you I knew it was serious but had no idea that a twist was possible and possibly fatal. Live and learn if you have a slip do not hesitate to get it looked at, if I had waited to see if it would straighten out there is no telling what would have happened. JC

Hi everyone, sorry I've been away so long. I was just released from the hospital. I went in late Monday early Tuesday something like that. I had a slip with a twist which is potentially fatal. Apparently it is similar to having a tourniquette around your stomach and it could cause your stomach to die and quickly become necropic. Not fun. I am feeling fine now however I am still weak. Just wanted log on and say Hi. JC

Hi everyone, sorry I've been away so long. I was just released from the hospital. I went in late Monday early Tuesday something like that. I had a slip with a twist which is potentially fatal. Apparently it is similar to having a tourniquette around your stomach and it could cause your stomach to die and quickly become necropic. Not fun. I am feeling fine now however I am still weak. First thing I had to do is log on and say Hi. JC

My Grandad always told me "If you're going to be stupid, you are gonna have to be tough, and boy you're the toughest I've seen!" I really miss him. LOL JC

BG, I feel like pouting too. I finally took a few vacation days and got called into work today. When I finished up the rain hit no excercise for the Bonehead who answered his cell phone when trying to grab a few days off. I am going on an adventure with two of my best friends tomorrow. We are taking a boat out on a maiden voyage. It is a funny thing when the three of us get together it's like a Three Stooges Reunion. Somebody please get a little extra excercise in for me. JC

Seems to be in the air. I finally took a couple vacation days and got called in to work today. When I got home it started raining and didn't stop until about an hour ago.

Hey DerbyGirl, I can relate. Is it just me or has it been very quiet around here on this thread? JC

I Aint right in the head :-) JC