Wheetsin

Indian has never been a problem, and I don't make it mild. :rose: One of our favs is chicken tikka masala. It's kind of the perfect dish. The chicken cooks forever and always comes out tender, there's a sauce to help it down a bit, and for DH I just add some Basmati. Chole Punjabi has to be a close second. I signed up for an Indian cooking class this weekend, so I'm hoping to learn some more tofu dished. Some great Indian recipes here.

Barium is something I've never had, but I've watched people choking it down. Laurens - the patties are GOOD. I always have a box in the freezer. I just toss them in a skillet sprayed with Pam, and fry utnil they're a little crispy on the outside. I was soooo pleasantly surprised the first time I had one. They've become a staple.

I'm going on 8 months post-op and I can't swallow them. I had a prescription that was about the size of a Tylenol, and figured I could just cut it into a few pieces. They were *nasty* and I didn't want to taste them. Major MAJOR stuck, requiring a major PB to fix. On something about the size of a 1/3 to 1/4 of a Tylenol. My rule is, if it's larger than a BB, it gets crushed. To hide the taste, I use yogurt smoothies and a deep tablespoon (measuring spoon). Put in some smoothie, sprinkle on some powder, top with smoothie, place spoon as close to the back of my throat as I can get it and pour. Repeat until all poweder is gone. If I'm lucky, I miss my tongue all together. Normally I'm not lucky. But it beats having it spend any significant time in my mouth.

My advise is so good, you have to ask for it twice. :heh: You know Bitter, I'm on the fence between advising more fill, and less. Let me ask you a few questions. Are you taking your pills whole, or do you cut/crush them and take them mixed in/with something? And what size pills are they, say compared to a household product. Tylenol? Tic Tac? Eat the wrong way as in - eating foods you don't tolerate, or wrong eating mechanics? (too big bite, too little chew...) Are you open more during certain times of the day? Do you ever have a problem getting plain old liquids down?

DH & I are planning a family trip to Orlando for 6, our expense. We're leaning toward renting a villa over staying in a hotel. I've found tons of villas online, but I've noticed that most of the owners have UK email addresses and do not offer phone numbers to contact them. Several also require cash, check or MO payment. So my question to you guys - are there known "scams" that locals are aware of, but tourists continuously get trapped in? (Every city has at least one "haha, stupid tourist" pitfall that locals are aware of!) Any rental companies or people that you know, in particular, to avoid? How about any you know are legitimate?

Anyone can be smokin' with a celeb's make-up and hair artist. At its roots, beauty is about symmetry and proportion. The more symmetrical the face, the more it pleases us (insert lots of brain & chemical reactions here). That's why beauty consultants (I'm guessing any hair stylists out there probably give the same advice) advise people to never part their hair in the middle. The middle/symmetrical part will actually draw attention to the asymmetry of the face. (Shannon Doherty is a prime example of this - and that's why most of her shots are taken with her head at an angle - she's very asymmetrical). Proportion works in 3 ways. One is the proportion of features themselves to the face overall. E.g. a small face with an oversized nose, or Jay Leno's chin. Two is the placement proportion - things being evenly spaced, and where we expect them to be. E.g. you notice quickly when someone's eyes are closer together than normal, or when there's more than average space between someone's nose and their mouth. Three is balance proportion. E.g. Steven Tyler's mouth being so big compared to the rest of his features. Three does a lot for interpreting mood, too. I have big eyes, a small mouth, and fairly thin lips. People often tell me that on first sight I "look" mean or mad. Probably because the proportion of my features mimics the proportion of features when someone is angry/scowling. My husband has a large mouth, very full lips, and small (because they're set deep) eyes. People tell him he looks friendly & approachable. Probably because his features mimic someone who is laughing.

Oh, the toe is fine, jsut a little purple. But I had no idea how many times I stub my toes. Now that it really hurts to do so, I'm much more aware of it, and it's a f-in lot! What really got me was the "we don't want anyone to get AIDS." When you hear something like that, it's almost surreal. It took a few seconds to register that she wasn't joking.

Laurend does this really taste like chocolate & Peanut Butter, as opposed to, say, the cheap ass easter candy "chocolate and peanut butter" that are waxy chocolate surrounding compressed peanut butter flakes? I normally just add a spoonful of peanut butter to my chocolate mixes, but if I can get the flavor, without the fat/calories... I'm "in like phlegm" (as my husband, who often misunderstands English, would say).

I don't take them, but I was given a shot of Heparin during my prep. My mother has taken Coumadin for many years, and when she has required surgery, they have given her a program to wean off her medication for a week or so prior to the procedure. If she ever requires emergency surgery, maybe they'll just shoot her full of Vitamin K - who knows.

I range from a 14 to a 26. Most often I'm an 18/20 (split between a 1x and a 2x). A little consistency would be nice, especially since I tend to buy things and try them on at home.

What? :confused:

Normal. As long as it doesn't smell really bad.

ee if your surgeon is concerned. If he's not, here's what I would adivse. You could have some residual swelling. Especially if the 3cc caused you some problems. I went from 2.5 to 3 and found 3 to be way too tight. I needed an emergency unfill. I had been at 2.5 for a very long time and had only mild restriction. They took me down to 2.0, and for a while I was tighter than I had been at 2.5. For about 2 weeks, in fact. This made sense when I considered all the crap my esophagus had been through just in the 4 days I was at 3.0. If you can get liquids down, go with them for a day or two. Then try a warm basic mushy like thinned mashed potatoes. Only teeny bites, and waiting about 5 mins between bites to make sure it's not going to haunt you. If the potatoes do ok, give mushies a few days. If you're still doing ok, progress so soft foods, etc. Just like pre-op. If the potatoes do not do ok, I would seek an unfill. I had to work my way back up to 2.5 - it's not that unusual.

Answers below in blue.

Band incisions were closed with staples covered with sheets of clear sticker stuff. Had another lap surgery a few weeks ago and he used absorbable sutures and steristrips, covered with the same sticker. Except for the navel incision which was left as-is (and ended up pulling open). I found the sutures & strips to be MUCH itcher than the staples, but the scarring (so far) much, much less.

Not a vegetarian, but I don't eat red meat, and eat veggie probably 60% of the time. With the lap-band there aren't any guaranteed eating nevers. I'm about 18 months out and have yet to find something I can't eat. I had asparagus lastnight, eat it about once a week, it's one of my favorite vegetables. It just takes a lot of chewing, and I have to trim off more than I would pre-op. Rubbed in olive oil, sprinkled with garlic salt, and cooked on the grill. Mmmmmm. I lurve lentils - probably have them cold in a salad or hot in a Soup 2x or 3x a week. A store by my work, where I usually have lunch (IF I have lunch) has a great Turkish lentil curry soup - and I don't even like curry.

BTW - we found ours through VRBO too, after seeing some that looked kind of shady on other sites based in the UK. We're going late February. This year is my parents 35th anniv and my in-laws' 40th, so this is our gift to them. I go to Tampa all the time for work, but haven't been to Orlando. We have friends there so we're hoping to get the low down on good places to go. Disney doesn't do much for me. I grew up in San Diego and went to DLand all the time, visited about 2 years ago and it was way too -- over the top. But we'll see - really depends on what the parents in the group want to do since it's their trip (just my bill). I would like to get a scuba dive in, and go deep sea fishing. Hubby wants to go to Canaveral - he's a space/science nut. My parents want Sea World (we had annual passes in San Diego, and they've missed it dearly) and Medeival Times. The in-laws are from Europe and have no clue what they want. That's a lot for 1 week.

Thanks guys, I'd appreciate the info. We have one we really like, and I have the contract filled out but not signed/sent. The guy seems legit and he uses a local mgmt company, which is a heck of a lot better than someone saying "just send me a check."

Was responding to her, but I get it now. I read things very literally.

Not that big of a deal. I saw some butt cleavage, but didn't NYPD Blue or smtg have butt shots in it? *sigh* I miss European commercials. Even the ones with Eric Roberts. :paranoid

Your band should not be felt. You'll feel it enough the first time you do something bad. I do feel my port - from the outside, but also inside if I move/twist wrong. For a long time I thought I could feel my band itself from the outside, and would get some uncomfortable pressure if I was in a particular position. My surgeon explained this as scar tissue (being the "lump" I was feeling) and scar tissue/band pressing on other things being the discomfort.

Answers below in blue. All just IMO.

My plan is an EPO specific to the Midwest. My fills were free for a year. Me surgeon always includes free fills for one year - or did when I was banded, anyway. After that, they were considered office visits and charged at my $20 copay rate.

Tears for Fears :rockon:

Let's clarify something that may be adding unnecessarily to your confusion. When you say that you have UHC, that just means that UHC is your carrier. It has nothing to do with your coverage. As a company, UHC will offer several different coverage plans - kind of like the grocery store carries several different types of groceries. Some UHC plans exclude WLS. Others cover it at 100%. And between those two extremes there are a LOT of options. My employer offers something like 9 different UHC plans (my band was covered 100% with a $20 copay). My requirements were BMI over 40, or 35+ with 2+ comorbidities. Another person here at my work has a different UHC plan and he is required to do a 6 month diet. What you need to do is find out which plan you have, and get the SPD (Summary Plan Description) for it. The SPD will detail what is covered and excluded. If WLS is excluded, it will be in there. This is assuming exclusion isn't at an employer level (I *think* employer enforced exlcusions are listed in the exclusions esction, anyway). If all else fails, call your insurance company and ask them if it's covered, and/or what the requirements are. BUT, do not ask about "Lap-Band". Lap-Band is a brand name, like "Tylenol" -- not a generic term like "pain killer." You will want to ask about the procedure, not the band, which will be "adjustable gastric banding" or something similar. There's also a procedure code you could use, but I don't remember what it is. If you search here I'm sure you could find it. Hope this helps.