jcgrove29

I am glad you gave her a try a had a good result :-) . She has been a blessing to find! JC

Eyespy, good for you, if they'er no good chuck em to the weeds!.. I don't know about the additional 425.00 because I was self pay but it sure doesn't sound fair or right. I have just started playing stupid patient tricks in order to try to have insurance cover plastic surgery. JC

Hey Chrispy, must be something in the air. My ex showed up at my office I feel ok though because I let her have it, big time! I am packing to go kayaking going to get away for a long weekend. Got to keep burning calories due to the no restriction issue! JC

Sorry it took so long to respond, I have some pics of the kayak trip I was on, on my myspace account. www.myspace.com/str8jacket29 I will be heading back there for the weekend Thursday night, any way to answer your question you can check out fillcenters usa or contact Millenium Mediical St Petersburg 727-541-2675 Kathie Gonzales is the Nurse Practitioner there. I don't think it would hurt to contact in advance. JC

For me the band: 1. Refuses to allow me to eat too fast no matter what my hunger level may be. 2. Restriction holds food up around the area that contains the nerves that inform your brain that you are full so I do not eat as much. JC

<p>I have used a canoe since I was very young, but in my opinion kayaking is much better, I now own two.</p> <p> </p> <p>This is the kayak trip I am working on. </p> <p> </p> <p> Bioluminescent Bay /Vieques/biobay/ Mosquito bay/Puerto Rico</p> <p> </p> <p>Looks very cool.</p> <p> </p> <p>JC</p>

Thought I should share. I recently visited the St. Petersburg fillcenters affiliate and couldn't be more impressed the NP there is top notch in my opinion also has flouro. JC

WOW you guys have been posting like mad. Ive been out of touch because of a huge workload and it took me about a day and a half to eat my sofa remember chew chew chew!!!! Speshelk, I have a plan, I just don't know how well I can stick with it!! We'll see. Denise822, I am knocking down the protein left and right, Thanks Eyespy, cool profile. Too bad you don't like bad boys! What part of Florida do you call home? Chrispygal, thanks for the encouragement I think I'll be back on track quickly, I am really trying to fight ballooning because I have a consult with a plastic surgeon Monday. AnotherMe, You are so right! I worked for a surveyor for a few years and spent most of my time trudging through the FLorida swamps even in cold weather and NEVER even got a sniffle. Get an office job and this happens! I am so happy to have found new fill center. I would love to get some new recipies! By the way do you how many carbs are in an entertainment center?!? :-) thanks for the support all of you are great! JC

speshelk, thanks for asking I got down to 228 lbs about a month ago and I caught a dang stomach bug that was going around at work. After all the wretching I swelled shut and got to a point where I could not get any fluid down. I got an unfill then it seemed instantly I put on about 15 pounds! so two weeks after the unfill I got a refill. Two weeks later I was back down on my weight and the next thing I know I swelled shut again. I tried to ride it out, spent 6 days without food fighting all day long to get fluids in my system. Then couldn't take it any more so I went to a different fill center location to get another unfill and could not have been more impressed. I was seriously about to head to Tijuana but am thankful to have found a clinic in St. Petersburg the NP there wants me to wait 4 weeks to heal then we will do a barium study. I have absolutely no restriction so I am walking 4 miles a night going to kayak Tampa Bay Friday night (full Moon) will try to do a few long bike rides (50+miles) and have swapped WW for Atkins. I am up 4 pounds right now and fighting tooth and nail. JC

Do you ever get on any of the rails to trails? JC

It doesn't hurt my but, sometimes it's hard to stay awake!

Hi Loridee, 30 pounds cool start! Deal Breakers, definite Abusive behaviour be it Drugs, alcohol, mental, physical, drama queens and LIARS I have found that often times where a littany of excuses lead BS follows. Boy am I cranky, strarting to feel effects of that darn unfill!!! I could eat my !@#R$@^%^& *(&*&^%^$# $#$@# coffee table right now!! Three weeks to refill :-( JC

Whenever I go for a long ride, I pop a couple Endurox Excel tablets. I get them from GNC. JC

Hi Everyone I am fortunate enough to live in Central Florida. There are 5 trails close to my home. The best being the Withlacoochee trail 92 miles round trip. I ride a BikeE and a catrike 700 very nice as far as the tush factor is concerned! JC

Hi Angie, looks like your off to a big start!!! JC

It will pay off big time if you do it face to face, the colors and contortions are something to behold JC

Thank you, I can tell you I thank God I found out about Dr Ortiz. I went to a seminar a hometown Dr was holding about the lapband his name is Dr. Grossbard. He was not only trained by Dr Ortiz but banded by him as well. This gave him an edge on the competition in my eyes. My insurance company stopped paying for bariatric procedures so when faced with paying for it myself Dr Ortiz became my natural choice. The staff is top notch at OCC. The whoke process was pretty darn smooth. There were a couple of logistical issues that did not amount to anything for me. If you are considering Dr. Ortiz lookup user NoWorry on this forum or on the Obesity Control Center Forum Lap Band Forum (Powered by Invision Power Board) this person wrote a journal that was extremly accurate. You will get a pretty good idea of the whole experiance. Just keep in mind that NoWorry is a bit sensitive to the unknown the things that were issues for him/her I experianced and easily brushed off. btw I saw a new Fill Dr (Nurse Practitioner) in St. Petersburg last week and she asked who did my band. When I told her Dr Ortiz she smiled and said " oh good, he does great work". JC

Sometimes comedy will ease tension. I just remembered what I told my little negative buddy before I left. I was researching on lapbandforum.com when I saw a thread about the different misconceptions people had about Mexico, Tijuana specifically. I read some of the posts then combined the stories into one through in a couple urban legends and had some pay back. I called my friend told her that I just found out my arrangements: I would fly into San Diego where I would be give a ride to TJ in the back of a produce truck, after which we would go to a special room in the back of a cantina, drink some tequilla and have the procedure. I told her I was informed that a single kidney is a customary tip, you know to offset the tremendous discount I was getting. I think some people grew up watching too many westerns or something. The private clinic I was in was nicer and more modern looking than some of the rural Hospitals in my area. Take Care, JC

Hi I had a similar experiance. I told one person what I was thinking and the negativity/fear that rushed out of this persons mouth almost stopped me in my tracks. I told no one else until the last minute. This was my justification: I just had successful weight loss however the weight was coming back on. I knew I would end up between 375 and 400 pounds before it stopped. I knew I could not sustain this much weight. We have a local lapband Dr in my hometown Dr Grossbard. I went to his seminar and guess what? He was not only trained in Mexico but banded as well. There is risk in everything we do but I figured if he felt safe enough to have it done there I should be OK. I am sorry your friend reacted that way. I think the best you can do is research the Dr you are scheduled with and try to get to level of comfort with your decision. JC

I have had good luck with fill centers in Florida, especially in St Petersburg. The thing about them is the pricing is set and it is reasonable. After the startup fee of I think 300.00 the fills are 155.00. Good luck in your search. btw which Dr are you thinking of seeing in Mexico? JC

Hi Karla, thanks for the welcome. The people I was referring to are people that I was close to, some I was actually intimate with. This is a small town you can kinda tell when people are avoiding you. I really feel better getting that rant off my chest. I think I know what you were trying to say about the head games!! JC

Thanks for the kindness Chrispy. I'm sure you will get up enough motivation to excercise. One thing I noticed is the lighter I get the more active I become. Good Luck and keep up the good work! JC

Well thank you for the warm welcome. My story: I have been overweight for many many years. I have steadily dieted my way UP! When I shot up over 310 I almost could not stand it even though I was still very active. I approached my wife about the lapband and was told if I would only stay on a diet I would lose the weight (She has a weight problem TOOOO!!!???!!) she continued by stating that I wouldn't be happy with the band any way because it's not going to be what I think it is! HUH? Not much later we split 8 years of marriage over done! 10 months after our split I gave myself a lapband for my 40th Birthday. Told almost no one, flew to Tijuana by myself and the next day I was banded!!!! Due to the amount of physical activity I put myself through and an agressive fill maintenance there has been incredible weight loss. Note: My first 100 mile bike ride I completed took me 11 hours and I weighed 340 lbs. I try to walk 4 miles each week day. I kayak and/or bike ride you name it. As for dating I tried to rekindle an old high school relationship it didn't last two weeks. I am having a lot of mental type hurdles now. There are a quite a few people coming out of the woodworks since I have lost the weight. These same darn people used to avoid me when I gained weight. I am sure many of you can relate to the scars I have from those wounds I don't know if it is just exagerated with me because I used to be very popular and then I was just basically abandoned because I gained weight!! I am the same person! I guess I would have understood someone not being sexually attracted to me but I was treated as if I had a contagious disease. Any good advice on how to deal or get past this? Thanks for allowing me to vent, I feel better now. JC

Thanks Never Again, I didn't want to step on any toes. JC

Hi everyone good idea for a thread. I haven't read all 30..... something pages! Wow! but have a read a few seems like not many of the guys participate is this a ladies only deal? JC