KarenB

One of the most popular and in my opinion talented surgeons in Mexico (Ortiz) praises Dr. Rumboult to no end. Dr. R enjoys an EXCELLENT reputation--he was a consideration for me, just harder & more expensive to travel to from NY. (Like TJ is easy!). From what I hear, you can't go wrong with him. As Leatha says he is certified/licensed (whatever it is) and he had indeed proctored many sureones in the U.S. Good luck & let us know.

Ditto what everyone already said. You are a true inspiration!

There's no doubt about it, the pre-op liquids suck, and the docs all know we eat "one last meal" However, Vines is right on the money. This is for a reason, a very good one. They have to move the liver out of the way to perform the banding. The less fatty it is, the easier the banding goes. Also, the duration/need for the liquids usually depends on your starting weight. Here's my tough love. When I lost my fill last week (got most of it back tonite, thank God) & bitc#ed * & moaned about staying on liquids for a weak yet again, my nurse pract. pointed out that many people go for months on a liquid diet. Of course most gain it back, but it's just for a small time for us & then on to bandland! The benefits FAR outweigh the inconvience/pain in the neck.

Hi Michele. I know for sure that Dr. Ortiz does many bandings over bypass. Don't know about Dr. Acevedos, but I'm sure people here will advise. Good luck to you.

Lisa, your point is very well taken as to "why didn't the people get out?" History repeats itself in disasters, natural or not. After the atrocities of the Holocaust were revealed, people kept asking the same thing..."why didn't they leave?" Many couldn't, wouldn't leave sick/elderly relatives & some just couldn't believe it could happen. In this case, it's kind of hard to leave if you've never left your home town before, have no car, and have no place to go. Everyone has valid points here. As a New Yorker, I can't help but see the parallels(sp?) to 9/11 going on. We get stopped at bridges & tunnels when an orange alert goes up--sometimes! I was in & out of NYCon the day of the London bus bombings & to tell you the truth, there just wasn't that much police presence! I was horrified. It's plastered all over the newspapers & tv news that the NY subway system is JUST getting underway installing video cameras. I wouldn't get on the subway if you paid me. Then again, I don't work in NYC & when I did, it was the only way I had to get to work every day! I guess I REALLY needed to vent about this stuff. But venting is not enough, my small donation to the red cross is not enough, but I can send old clothes & I'm going to go pack up everything I can lay my hands on.

I got my period on Saturday & since then, my what I thought wasn't a tight enough fill became too tight. I can only swallow liquids & it hurts sometimes. I hemmed & hawwed since yesterday then today decided I'd better take my own advice & call the doc. Dr. Martinez said this could possibly still be from my period. As long as I can swallow liquids, I'm not in immediate danger & to continue w/the Maalox & liquids & if it doesn't loosed up, go to Dory (my aftercare person here) and have the .2ccs's removed on Monday that she added 3 weeks ago. (She's only on Long Island on Mondays) If by chance I loosen up by then, then that's great. He said he hears this a lot. In his words: Many of you want to be tight to lose more weight. This band is supposed to be for life & if we eat correctly, we will lose weight. This is not a race. It is dangerous to have a too tight band. (I'm not talking post-op--this is all about after the 1st fill & beyond.) Again, please don't misunderstand: it takes time to adjust to the band & many of us do PB a few times until we know what foods we can & cannot tolerate, etc. In the beginning it's to be expected. I'm talking about down the line when we've been at this for a while. This is what my doctor said and I trust him. I am just sharing my experience both because I need support & in the hopes it might help someone else.

I like the slim-fast too. I've also used vanilla spiru-tina powder blended w/milk & frozen strawberries.

Yup. THe liquids just weren't getting down, I wasn't starting to feel better except the pain being gone & I was worried about going over the long weekend. I pigged out yesterday, was "good" today & hope to get some fill back tomorrow if she'll let me; if not definately next Monday. And yes, I'm hungry. If I can't get back to her tomorrow, I think I'll just go on slimfast for a week! Thanks, Paula.

Just to add my 2 cents in, I personally do think the lack of response has a lot to do w/racism. If the majority of people stranded because they hadn't the means or ability had been white, I think Bush would have acted a lot sooner. And not stayed on vacation. And shame on the secretary of state for going shoe shopping. People keep saying "why didn't they leave" and the answer simply is in so many cases, they had no place to go, and no cars to get there. Michele, you're right, buses should have been sent in right away. A man here in NY has offered to pay for transportation for 37 or 38 people to stay in his large home & give them a stipend for several months to get back on their feet. He first wanted to just give $100,000, but figured this would be more helpful. I really like that idea!

I had to get unfilled totally later in the week. Boy am I depressed! I hope to get some back ASAP!

Vines, I think not feeling like we fit in was why a lot of us became overweight in the first place. food doesn't judge us, it numbs us from feeling so alone. I liked David Cassidy, but what about Bobby Sherman? I wonder what ever happened to him.

That's so funny, Celeste. I thought I was only one who thought some things were easier than water. For me too! For some reason, camomille tea goes down well too. I had 2 slim fasts & some soup today & I'm working my way up to soft food. I've never wanted tuna so much.

Sorry, Alex, I forgot this thread about your unfill & I asked you on your original one how you're doing. Been there, done that, and it's pretty scary. But you know you did the right thing. I'll be thinking of you till the 8th.

I just went through it too...still can't figure out why. Alex, did you get an unfill? BTW, before I was banded I was on Nexium for reflux & it was great for me. Insurance companies are getting worse & worse..My company's changing in Dec., and I can't wait to see what we're getting next (not).

Debby, I didn't realize you live so close. I'm in West Hempstead. There's one in Wantagh (Long Island) 2nd tuesday of month. If intrested I can find out more details.

Gee guys, thanks. & here I thought nobody cared! Seriously, this morning I had .3cc's taken out. OH, BLESSED RELIEF! I was originally going for .2cc's to be removed, but I decided not to be stupid over .1cc & go with my provider's advice. She was shocked at the weight I'd lost & trust me, I'd rather have just lost a lb. or 2 in these past 3 weeks. I lost 9 lbs. in 7 days & that's not supposed to happen this far down the line,no matter how tempting it sounds. I was miserable & don't think I could have stood another day. Those last few days I've barely been able to sip Water...It didn't come back up, I just couldn't tolerate it & it hurt. Since this a.m, I've had liquids & I'm even now eating a little diluted pudding. It doesn't hurt! Well, that's the whole update. Thanks for the support, I sure needed it.

Alex, what is it with us and our fills? I'm getting the last .2cc's I had put in taken out on Monday. I can't wait. I could just get down liquids for this whole week. I thought it was just my menses, but NOT. I think some of us are more sensative than others. What were your worse symptoms? Were you able to get any liquids down. Sorry if you posted this already, but I must have missed it.

Loupyloo: I've been to some open AA meetings; and that's exactly what they sometimes do. When they tell their stories, they describe what they drank & took. I guess we're no different. Sorry, Penni, but ice cream is my fave. Maybe I can burn down the baskin robins they're building?

Has anyone heard of or tried Fuze? It's pretty new, and the fruit punch is sooooo good. The little cafe in my office bld jstarted selling the fuze about 2 months ago, and the owner says it FLYS off the shelf. Just so the bottle doesn't go to waste, when I finish one I refill w/H2O & 2 cristal lite packets, 1 lemon & 1 rasberry. Yup, there's no accounting for people's tastes.

Didn't mind the optifast, did mind the $. If I had it to do over, I'd do the new slimfast. Don't know if that would have been o.k. nutrition wise for 1 month, I only had to do it for a week.

I never watched anything, but after having surgeries & not having anything else to do, I love: Law & Order (SVU fave, like them all) MONK CSI, LV & FL The Closer The Greatest Race or whatever that was called

Maybe you're right, Pat. But I see plenty of people around here who do just fine w/their fills in the 4cc band, and read that people have some problems w/the 10cc band. I just can't wait till Monday A.M. Thankfully I can still get down thin liquids. This is NOT the way to loose weight!

Heather, if the meal replacement bars are as good as their cereal bars, I'm gonna love them! Thanks for the tip.

Congrats to you both. What a great accomplishment! You're both inspirations.

ICE CREAM!! I've only had it a few times. Unfortunately the band does nothing to restrict it AND even worse, a Baskin Robbins is opening about 1/4 mile from my house! My all-time favorite flavor is from there, and I won't even mention it. The other stuff I love is really hard to eat (cake, pastries, etc.)