the best me

Hey BCW. Welcome to LBT! Several here have used this doc and he seems to have a good reputation, if I remeber correctly. They will show up here and give you their opinions, I'm sure. If you want to find out stuff now, go up to the blue bar and hit Search. Then type in Rumbaut (not Rambaut) and you should find some threads with posts mentioning him. Oh! Also, go to the Texas Forum and find threads about fill docs near Dallas. I think folks have been having a hard time finding aftercare there, but I'll bet someone has some ideas. Hope that helps. Good luck!

Sounds like it's healing. Is it red, or swollen, or otherwise possibly infected? If it's healing nicely on the outside, your chances of it healing nicely on the inside are better, so it may be just healing. Plus, if you did stretch the healing tissue, it has to regenerate. Glad you called your doc, though. Don't take chances with port infections! And take it easy on your port, maybe move a little slower standing, and lean back when sitting, if possible. As long as it's not infected, all the port discomfort WILL get better.

Hey there again, I replied on the other thread...go see it there! Hey teach, I get my first fill in a few weeks, so I don't have any words of wisdom except what the others have said. Do lots of reading here and the picture will become clear. Your doc should be filling you in on your pre- and post-fill menu. Be sure to call. Some docs want you to not eat for several hours before a fill. But always do liquids for a day, then mushies, then slowly back to regular food. Some docs numb the area with a spray or injection of some sort. Some docs are very skilled and hit the port right on, no probs. If your port is wacky for some reason, it may be a bit more difficult. Most times, though, it's quick and painless and you come home with restriction!

Pretty good, here. I can eat more than I should be able to, but I have been staying away from junk. No cheetos, no ice cream, no milkshakes, no chocolate. Its the actual food I'm having a hard time with. We had Wed Night Supper at church and they served pizza. mmm. I ate 2 slices...I posted something about this somewhere...anyway, and today for lunch I had Chick-fil-A. I did nibble a few fries but ate the sandwich (with bun) and the cole slaw. OMG! I forgot! I drank about a 1/2 of a Diet Dr Pepper today!! I waited until it went a little flat and sipped on it an hour after my lunch. No calories? But junk. I don't know what I was thinking, I usually get Water or tea at a drive thru ...anyhow, it's unusual so I'll count it as a small brain fart. pppppbbbbbt ('scuse me!)

I found Walk Away the Pounds at Goodwill. $1.50 each? Bargain! I don't have those cute little ball weights they have, but I do have a small set of hand weights, 3,5, and 8 pounders that work just great. Okay, maybe I'll walk away some pounds tomorrow. Thanks alot for reminding me! (groan!) Tae Bo is hard, but I made it a bit easier by NOT kicking anywhere close to as high as those crazy CA girls do on the video. I kept it very low and did what I could. I didn't hate it as much that way, and it IS a good sweaty workout! Fine, I'll get my tapes out. Thanks alot. (groan!)

In the US or out of the country? I was banded in MX and it was $8950, plus I had to pay the airfare and some spending for food/drinks/tips. All hospital, labs, Pre-op testing, surgeon fees, the actual band, hotel, transportation to and from the airport, was part of the deal. Other MX docs are around that price, give or take a few thousand, I'd say. In the US, I have heard prices as low as $10,500 and as high as $25,000 or more. Good luck on your research! Ask questions, do lots of reading. Folks here are really nice and helpful.

Blonde, the only thing that concerns me is, what if you don't need a fill? If you are full up top and empty in the bottom, you must be restricted, right? Do you NEED more restriction? How's your eating going? What's your daily food intake like? Are you hungry? hmmm, let us know! Remember, too tight is not a good thing.

Big shove from me! You can do it! Just remember, when you think it's some kind of wierd, freaky, lonely, stupid-thing-to-do, crazy journey, YOU ARE NOT ALONE! All of us other freakazoids are doing it right along with you. And slowly but surely we are hitting milestones and reaching our goals. You have LBT and all these nice folks here. WE know what you are going through, WE have the resources , experience, advice you need to be able to handle your journey. You are NOT alone! There are lots of other boards out there that are great, probably a great local suport group for you, too, but there is NO way I could be doing this without LBT. Go, Star, go!! It really is happening!! Wahoooo!!!

Oh I just got myself SOOOO distracted! I can't stay on the 'puter No Mo'! But please hit the Search button on the blue bar above and type in slippage. Once you wade through it all, you will find info...I started wading and wandered all over this board, now I goota run. Happy searching Jones!

Cool, I wonder if you have to be a Presby patient? Kim or Melissa, do you know? We have Judy, SPJones, and Barbara in Durham...wow! Look Judy, two more for your IHOP gatherings!!!

Good girl Nita, take it easy! But check back in so you can get all your warm fuzzy good wishes! Your punched in the stomach feeling is normal, but probably worse due to post-op vomiting. It happens. Be careful with your pain meds. If you can stick to liquid tylenol (or if your meds are liquid) you will do better. Sip, sip, sip, walk, rest, heating pad. It will be behind you in no time-a little bit every day-don't worry. Congratulations!! You got your BAND!!!

Yay Keri! You did it!!! Congrtatulations and welcome to Bandland!! You get a banana! :banana

Welcome Kim! I have noticed your posts on other threads, who knew you were from Charlotte!! wahoo! You should go to the Introduction Forum and post an intro, tell folks a bit about yourself and your doc and weight loss goals. Let everyone say hello. I read your other posts and it sounds like you are doing great! I'll bet Melissa above can't WAIT to talk to you!!! Anyhow, welcome, make yourself at home here on LBT, be sure to read alot and get ALL your questions answered. There is no reason to feel alone with LBT here. Looks like we need to be scheduling a little informal meet-n-greet? I'll start a new thread in a few days and we can leave this one for Judy's NC Support groups, which is what she wanted to find out about in the first place and ended up creating a Charlotte Support group!!

Yes, I promise. It's always there, and you know it, but it doesn't hurt and it isn't aggravating or distracting. Sometimes I find myself pressing a bit and messing with it, checking on it, making sure it's still there? or whatever. My little port. I like it. It really does get better about the port. And you are just a few short weeks away from being able to tell a big difference.

Last night I ate 2 slices of pizza and a small salad. I could have lived without the 2nd slice of pizza, but I REALLY wanted it! It was very yummy. So what I noticed was that 3-4 weeks ago I had much better restriction than I now have, and one slice of pizza was PLENTY! Yes, I could have shoved few more bites of another slice, but I was able to say, "nope, I have had enough" and be done. Now, I am not as restricted (fill time!) and I really, and I mean really, wanted that second slice. So I ate it. I had less will-power to turn down that second slice. I am not properly restricted, or it wouldn't be an issue. Noone looked at me funny, I didn't feel out of place even though I sat and chewed and chewed and chewed and then got a bit of the burps (one of my signals to stop eating) but I wasn't this "banded moron" at our church supper. On the flip side, pre-band, I would have been able to eat 4-5 slices of pizza, plus the kid's crusts, and the salad, and a brownie for dessert. I would have been able to eat ALL that, AND I WOULD HAVE. I can tolerate this long term implication. Good luck to you!!!

I found this link again for another thread, maybe this will help you all, it did me! http://www.room42.com/nutrition/basal.shtml You put in your height, weight, age, and activity level and it gives your calorie, fat, carb, and protien levels for either losing, maintaining, or gaining weight. I want to lose, of course, so it said if I eat 1200 (min) calories a day with 40g fat, 45g protien, and 165g carbs I shold lose 1+pounds per week. I wonder if I reduced the fat and increased the protien by just a bit, maybe I'd lose a bit faster? Also, www.FitDay.com is great for tracking calories, etc. Denise, I think adding banana or Peanut Butter to your protien drink is a great idea. Maybe you could add in one more protien drink a day, and that would get you up over 1000 pretty easy. LittleBigFarms, as you add in regular foods, it gets a bit harder to lose as quickly as during the liquid phase. This is normal, don't worry. Once you get your fill and get your restriction back, you should find it easier to eat less and feel Oh! so full. I am banking on my own advice as I wait not-so-patiently for my first fill. You are doing great!!!

Okay, Paula. Rachel has been working hard on getting her reply ready. Today, she totally dressed up in her recital outfit and had me take pics with the camera phone. I am SO tempted to post one anyway, but I'll wait until tomorrow so she can "write" her little letter back to Anne. You should see these. She arranged her stuffed animals and moved her Bratz poster to over her bed so it will be in the pic. It's so funny! Anyhow, it's coming!!

Hey Mary, didn't you just end up having your gall bladder removed? I am so certain, I'm posting this before checking! Hope I'm not wrong?! If so, Violet was right on, huh? Things that make ya go hmmmm...

I have been thinking about this for myself... I don't always have the snacking fiend thing in the evenings, and there is no real rhyme or reason to my "cravings". The only factor I KNOW about is late afternoons, kids running around, getting ready for supper, hubby on his way home, hectic, and I can easily start shoving Snacks during that time. If I plan better and manage my time (can you say Crock Pot? Oh Yeah!) then it's easier to stay away from the nibbling because I'm not so stressed. I also usually put on a small pot of coffee in the afternoons. That helps. SO, what causes this hunger? I THINK it's metabolism related. I hovered around 220 for months and months before banding. Since 2 weeks after surgery, I have been hovering around 208. For weeks! I think our bodies try to maintain our current weight? If it starts to lose, we get the hungries so we will maintain instead. I remember my sister saying that Oprah said hungry is good. Blech. No way, you shouldn't feel starved when dieting. I'm thinking now she is right? A little bit of hunger is a good sign that the output of our metabolism and exercise is outweighing the input of our calories. Now, to NOT eat when the hungries kick in. That's the hard part. Jacks' food demon, right? However, a properly adjusted band helps SO much with the hungries. There's a website I found out about on here...let me find the link. I need to take another look at this one. Hope it helps you, too. http://www.room42.com/nutrition/basal.shtml

Bumping AGAIN! for newbies. And there are LOTS of you...welcome!!

Jake was happy and loved, that is the best gift you could have ever given him. And in return, you were loved by him. Our lab passed away a few summers ago in the same way, laying in her regular nap spot, no sign of struggle or pain. On this sad note, my sister called early this morning (so I knew it was alarming news) and told me their parrot had died. His name was Peter. That bird was, they think, 39 years old. For the last 4 or 5 years he lived with them and was happy and cared for and loved. Before that, the poor thing lived in a smokey home full of yelling, arguing, drug use and was neglected. She takes comfort even this morning knowing Peter was happy in his home. They found him on the floor beside his perch. So sad. I'm sorry for your loss, and for your difficult day. God Bless.

Congrats on the new job, Megan!! We want to hear all about it! If your office has a fridge (most do) you can put Lean Cuisines in the freezer. Something new every day, bring in your new stash for the week (or daily) and then all you will need to pack are snacks/salads and keep dressing in the fridge. Kind of like what you do at home, just move it there! It does take some prep time and energy. But just like getting your outfit ready the night before, add the lunch items to your list. And go and get yourself a cute little new lunchbox. A big girl lunchbox! Like Working Girl! I love that movie. Melanie is awesome. So are you! Way to go!

Peanut Butter is infinately better than Alpo. I think you are on the right track.

At my meetings I start my logging on to LBT, then I go to the New Posts list, and start reading...hehe, not what you wanted, right? Gaining control of the meeting...take a list of requests for topics, come to a consensus about the topic for the next meeting. Make sure there is "open question" time at the end of each meeting. If someone tries to go off topic, write it down for the list of "open" items at the end. If everyone wants to drop the meeting topic and move on, do it. Let the participants have the control, you just direct the time, provide the structure, be the "orchestra" conductor. Have a pre-made list of on-topic questions to ask to get people talking? Or, okay, I'm brewing now. Say the meeting is an hour and a half. Fifteen min for greetings, intro of topic, reminders, etc, then a half hour for topic, half hour for off-topic, and the last 15 min for NSV's, funny personal stories related to being banded, etc. Know what I mean? Is that what you had in mind? Hope that helps.

Hey Barbara! Your e-mail isn't enabled so I hope you will log on and get this... Who's your TJ doc? The best advice I got on this site is to line up my local after-care BEFORE going to MX for surgery. So I did and I have my first fill scheduled with Dr Gonzales at the Surgical Weight Loss Center in Winston-Salem. He gives fills for people banded in MX and it was no problem to schedule, 'cept I'm having to wait until JULY 6th!!! Conferences, vacation, etc. Anyhow, the number there is 336-784-8299 and the address is 1000 south Park Blvd W-S, NC 27127. Non-flouro fills are $200 (I am getting non-flouro) and Flouro fills, if needed or wanted, are $300 for the doc plus $250-300 for the hospital flouro equipment use charges. I have checked lots of prices over the months and those are reasonable, so be sure to budget for up to 5 fills the first year, just in case. I did, but I will be over 12 weeks before my first fill. Some folks get their first fill at 6 weeks. I'm under-budget! woohoo! I would LOVE to travel back to Dr. Kuri for a $70 flouro fill but with airfare and time away from my family, well, I'm planning to hit the highway for a 1/2 day. Should I need flouro, maybe I'll take the flight. One other thing, should you have a problem and need to be seen by Dr G, I'm not sure about his office visit costs, several hundred buck, I'm sure. My MX doc was available by phone and e-mail in the few weeks after surgery. He still is now but I just don't need to call him! whew! Anyhow, it's good to know you can be seen locally. All you need is some cash. Good luck! Keep us posted! And let me know if you have any other questions or concerns...I'm an open book, just ask!