the best me

Awww, now let's just all gush at your cutie pie son. How precious is that?!!! My little man will be 3 in Feb. I can't wait! Well, yes I can. Too fast! Too fast!

Whoa Nellie! Please keep us posted.

Yes. And cheaters go to HELL!! Just kidding, really! I figure someone who goes to church and sings in a ministry group will laugh with me at my tasteless comment?! You should follow your docs instructions but I think you will be fine if you stay on track the rest of the week. My BMI was 38 and I had no liquid pre-op. My surgery was Laporoscopopoppoic (sp?)...

I believe it does...I have my reciepts and plan to deduct from taxes for medical expenses. I don't see why not, I have always assumed you could use your Flex spending type health plans. Just be sure you get all the documentation you need from your MX doc before you leave MX! It's a bear to have to drag all that stuff up later. Kuri gave me all I needed no problem. It's looking up! Wait for feedback from our resident insurance experts, though.

Most antibiotics come in liquid form for kids. You'll have to put up with bubble gum flavor, which sounds a heck of alot better than what you had today, and you might have to drink 84 ounces at a time to get an adult dose (okay, that's an exaggeration) but you get the pic. It CAN be done. Docs are great, but it helps when you are VERY specific about what you need!!! Call the pharmacist first, see what's available to substitute, then call the doc back with what you need. Maybe that'll help.

Seems like someone else ran across this same thing at UCLA...maybe do a search? Yep, sounds exhausting. Yep, I went to Mx. BCBS doesn't have a good rep for paying just yet. I have it. No go. Maybe it's better in Ca? Whew! Good LUCK!!!

http://www.intuitiveeating.com/ great web link. check it out.

Okay, I'm going to go back and hit the link for intuitive eating...I just don't understand that at all. For example. Hubby bought a biggie sized pack of peanut M&Ms. He and my daughter ate some. I went into the kitchen and saw this folded up packet of peaunut M&Ms on the bar...huh? I ate 2, there were 6 left in the bag. Who leaves 8 M&Ms in a bag and folds the pack up for later? Who? I ask?!!! That befuddles me to no end. Why don't you just EAT THEM????? How can a person just say...I don't want any more? Thing is...as dumbfounding and irrational as that is to me...I only ate 2, and I left the other 6 in the bag folded up on the bar. hmmmm, does banding make me intuitive? Does refusing to feel guilty for eating 2 M&Ms help me stop at 2? All I know is, I did it, and stood there mouth agape, still wondering how in the world HE did it.

I gained about 5 or so before surgery. I just quit worrying about it. I really really enjoyed some favorite "last suppers". But I like the weight I have lost better. Stay in good shape before your surgery by not going overboard. 10 pounds in 10 days is a good bit! But do enjoy your food. It's a whole other world after banding.

I agree. The thing that always worries me about port pain, the kind you are describing 2 years out, not post-op stuff, is infection due to erosion. You have GOT to get to the doc. Chances are, all is well, but port pain like that is not good, and I can't believe you haven't followed up on your broken arm! Go, go go!! Let us know how everything goes, okay?

From Rags to Riches...AMEN JohnQ!!!!! Thanks for that. It was beautiful and inspiring.

I'll do it! Just know, that if I don't manage to get it all taken care of, one of you will be getting an ornament off my tree, shoved into a gift bag at the last minute. As long as that's an okay Plan B...I'm in! I can't wait to see everyone.

Be scared, it's a pain in the butt. I'm cash pay, went to MX, and I'm not floating in money either. *line up a local fill doc BEFORE you go to MX. It's the Cardinal Rule of Mexican Bandsters, at least on this site. You'll regret it if you don't. You never know. KNOW that someone will see you before you leave. *I went to the ER for IV fluids 1-week post-op and my insurance paid. I had an upper GI there, too, to be sure I wasn't obstructed and the contrast Fluid was slowly trickling through. The IV's got me over the hump to reducing the swelling and feeling lots better. *I can guzzle 8 ounces of Water. Well, 3-4 ounces at a time, then right back at it. Unless you are post-op or are filled too tight, you can drink water that fast. *My weight loss has been slow. But I'm so happy with my band. It makes it possible for me to do the work needed to lose my weight, day after day after week after month. Never before has a well-balanced diet lasted so long!! The results are slow but sure. Yesterday I weighed 187.6. Wow. It's still hard, but doable. Set yourself up to be surprised by nothing, should it happen. Know that you could easily spend 10K PLUS! for your band and not have it a year or two from now. Know what you need to do to keep your band healthy and happy. Eat correctly, don't over-fill. Even then you could still be part of the percentage of people who have trouble and even lose their bands. It happens. You could be wasting your money. BUT! You could also get banded, have a fairly smooth ride, lose your weight and keep it off for the rest of your life with a happy healthy band. It's a crap shoot. I risked the odds. It isn't always easy, but I have no regrets. Should I lose my band, I have learned alot about myself and my eating and I think I'd be okay. I'd be really mad, but okay. Good luck!

For anyone else, I'd admonish you and say you are Too Tight!!! That ain't right. I don't have a problem with 700 calories for a few weeks, but if you CAN'T eat more or you'll PB...well... So, will you wait it out and see if you lose resctirction? As in, testing for a leak? Just wondering. My issues with the head vs real hunger are related to my body trying so hard to maintain it's weight. After a few days of cuttng way back, I get hungry! If I'm at my "low weight" for a few days, I get hungry! My body really is hungry because it's trying to maintain my weight while I'm trying to lose it. So I try to ignore it. I think about the food I'm feeding my body and if it's enough, I ignore the hunger signals, or do my best to eat around them...for example, eat a yogurt or apple instead of something more fattening. Yes, I think you are probably really hungry. Use your head to decide if you should eat or not...your intelligent head, the brain one, that knows what's going into your body and makes informed decisions. Are you too tight?

Happy Big 3 birthday, Mark!!! What a cutie...they grow so fast! You should post a big boy 3yo pic, too. Make his day as special as he is, Mom!

Kim, hang in there. Curtis will be all fixed up and all of this will be behind you soon. I know the docs will take good care of him and he will do great! (((HUGS))) and prayers for you and Curtis and your family. You get Mom of the Year for handling this with such grace and dignity! God Bless you.

Found and Bumped "I Hate Fat People". That one should really be Stickied.

Bumping for Vines. I found it!!! It's a good one.

uhhhh...Chicagoboy? BigT???? I think it was BigT.

I think you are choosing between the top 3 docs in MX. Now, where do you want to travel and what's your "style"? What do you appreciate in a doc? I think think think Rumbaut is in Monterrey. GeezerSue used him and she is very very well-researched. I used Kuri because of his reliable track record and good reputation. His facility isn't so fancy. Ortiz has an excellent reputation as well, and seems to have nicer ficilities (by report...I have personally never seen them) but some folks say he's a bit...confident? That can't be bad. This is just my opinion based on what I'm reading and what I experienced with Kuri myself. So, do your own research. But it sounds like you are on the right track!

How interesting HarleyNana! My hubby has RLS. He hasn't been to the doc yet, but it's so aggravating he's considering it. Here is what I know so far. *He likes it super-cold in the bedroom. He'd leave the heat on 66 if he could get away with it. We compromise at 68 and I had to put another balnket over my half of the bed and on the kids' beds. I was crawling in bed freezing!!!!! ME!!!!! *I read up on RLS in a Natural Cures book (not the Trudeau one, another one) and it said most folks with RLS are known to have low Iron levels. An iron supplement is on my list for hubby, but I'll wait and see what other folks say here. His multi-Vitamin for men does not have iron in it. *His RLS is worse when he has worked physically hard that day, or for several days in a row. He's a General Contractor and does lots of remodeling, so if he's doing hard physical labor all day (hmm, he does that every day! Okay, EXTRA hard labor) it gets worse. I'd like to know the name of your med, if you don't mind. He's considering going to the doc for it. Drives him nuts. And he needs his sleep!!

My Mom had lots of success flattening out her belly with lower back exercises the chiropractor gave her. It made a big difference in the way her pants fit across the front of her. She does butt lifts, leg lifts, crunches, etc and targets those areas and it helped. Okay, so she's only 135 pounds at 5'1". Still, the difference was visible. And she's 66 years old. So why don't I do her little 15 minute routine every night? That's the $16,000 question. I'm sure I'll need a tummy tuck.

I had to vote "No, this is ridiculous" but it isn't ridiculous. Just because I wasn't suicidal doesn't mean my pain and hurt and lack of hope weren't real, and it wasn't a far step from suicidal either.

Way to fight jill!!! Go get 'em!!! Keep us posted, kay?

I don't know about GMT, but I think you need to click on PST or Pacific Standard Time? Is that right? Wow, what's the time for Australia?...it'd be funny to plug that in and see what posts...awwww, getting ideas!!!!