Laura_MD

So he got an MBA at Harvard. Harvard gave us W. too, so that's two strikes already. Romney had the NERVE to stand up and say that he is the only candidate who knows what it is like to hold a real job! PLEASE! He was born with a golden spoon is his mouth and everything he has (including his education in all likelihood) has been handed to him on a golden platter! If Mummy and Daddy donate enough money, you can have any degree you want, and if they own the company, you can have any "job" you want. Tell me that Mitt worked for minimum wage at Mickey D's and then we'll talk. Romney has spent millions of his own fortune on this campaign and still he is only running second to a guy that could barely make payroll. Haven't we had enough of "them" and isn't it time for one of "us" in the White House (I am referring to socio-economic status only here). None of the candidates are "poor" (it takes millions to run for office these days), but of the field, Romney has a definite financial advantage, and I am sure he would work just as hard as W. to help his friends keep their financial advantages at our expense. :frown:

I have seen many posts on this site regarding "self-pays" worried about paying for subsequent surgery when they have a problem such as slippage. You should all be aware that even though the Lap-band surgery was elective and may not have been covered by your insurance, problems that arise later are very different! If you have a slippage for instance, that is potentially life threatening and MUST be corrected. That means it is required, not elective, surgery and your insurance must pay for it. Go to the mat with your insurance company, even call the insurance commissioner's office for help if you have to, write the appeal letters and ask your doctors' office to help you if need be, but make them cover it! Don't take no for an answer, and DO NOT put off proper care because you are worried about the cost. Besides, any doctor worth their Hippocratic Oath will do the surgery regardless of your coverage, if your health is at risk. Please take care of yourself first and the details later.

Hopefulchurch, you mentioned that you are self pay, but that should not matter if you have a slippage. Even though the banding was elective surgery, the fact that something is wrong makes any procedure to fix it a medical necessity. I hope it wont come to that, but if it does, you go to the mat with your insurance company or call the insurance commissioner's office in your state for help if need be to get it covered! I am really surprised to hear that you guys are having problems with acid reflux after the surgery. I had a hiatal hernia prior to the surgery, but my doc fixed it when he banded me and I have not had a single problem since. Perhaps because I don't drink juices much (the doc drilled "don't drink your calories" into my head until I dream about it!). I am not sure what is going on, but I wish you both luck on Thursday. Laura

Yeah, "bad" foods sometimes go down easier but there are so many "good" foods that go down just as easily if not more so. If your husband is having trouble getting foods down perhaps he should try different preparation methods, for example: meats - cook them less for a more tender serving Vegetables - cook them more or steam them to make them easier to eat Also, he should really see his doctor and discuss the problem because overeating can lead to more than just weight gain. If he stretches his stoma, he will not be a happy camper. This is a dangerous game he is playing, he really needs to make an appointment with his doc. You might also be able to help if you do most of the shopping by not bring the "bad" foods into the house. If it is not there, he can't eat it (at least not at home). You could look for some recipes that will be easier for him to eat and shake things up a bit, maybe he is just bored with eating the things he initially learned were "safe" foods. Sometimes we are scared of getting something "stuck" so we are hesitant to try new things and we keep eating the same ol' same ol' until we are bored to death of it. As for foods "getting stuck" or "not going down", I have found only a few foods that I cannot eat (conch, and broiled pork or chicken). I have found that almost every time I have experience discomfort/pain the problem has actually been that I had too much air in my stomach (because I waited too long to eat). I theorize that as the food tries to pass through the band it actually displaces the air and the air tries to escape but is blocked by the food (just like the air bubbles that infants get). I have found that it really helps when my husband burps me (yes, patting the back the whole nine yards, well, eight, he doesn't sling me over his shoulder). Once I get the air bubbling out past the food, and burp a good sailor's burp, I feel much better and I am usually able to finish my meal. It is at least worth a try. I am sorry for writing a book here, but I hope something in there helps. Good luck.:frown:

Hey, has anyone else noticed that you like foods now that you never liked before or could not eat. Particularly spicy foods. I was a total wimp for "hot" foods pre-band, but now I can eat things I could never have eaten before. I even ate catfish last week and loved it. I have tried catfish several times over the years, but always hated the taste but now I really enjoyed it. I can't get too carried away with the spices because I can't drink anything to wash it down with, but there is a tremendous difference between before and after. Has anyone else experienced similar issues?:frown:

Consistently being active is great but be careful about being too consistent in your workout. What I mean is that you have to very your workout routine or your body will stop responding as well as it did at first. Find three or four different exercises for each muscle group and rotate them routinely for best results.

I like Prince's best of because most of the songs are upbeat Welcome to the Jungle - Guns & Roses Def Leopard U2 Fergie Basically, anything with a fast beat and is NOT country.

Good for you and I am glad everything is good. That's how my excursion started, I was having a lot of tenderness and some outright pain. At first I thought I pulled something at the gym, but it didn't go away so I went to the doctor. He was unsure of what the problem was so he ordered a mamo and sono. There was such a change from last year's mamo that the radiologist could not use the films for a comparison so he looked very carefully at the mamo and sono and found the lump. It was partially cystic (fluid) and partially solid and it was vascularized (had blood flow to it). That scared me! I had already had a hysterectomy years before, so I was not taking hormones and I don't drink caffeine at all, so I couldn't figure out why my breasts were hurting so badly. The doc said the soreness was likely from the flood of hormones from the weight loss. Fortunately, it was only atypical hyperplasia (malformed cells in the ducts). They do have to watch this closely, but in all it was good news. Good luck to everyone when you get your exams. Don't wait, call now and make the appointment.

There is a physical reason for the depression, in addition to all of the emotional changes that losing weight, losing favorite foods, and sometimes friends (eating buddies) brings about. Our bodies store hormones (and lots of other nasty things) in our fat tissue and as we start to lose weight that all gets released. If there is enough junk or you lose fast enough, your mind and body get flooded with chemical rushes it doesn't know what to do with. Then the tide may suddenly shift and the levels may fall dramatically, it's like being pregnant or menopausal (regardless of you sex). Don't blame yourself or beat yourself up for getting down, it's part of the process that most of us have or will experience. I had a period of depression about 6 months (60 lbs) after my surgery and I had to take Wellbutrin because it got so bad. Then I learned, about two months later, that the hormone surge had actually caused changes in my breasts when I found a lump which had to be removed. It all turned out ok, but I have some permanent changes in the breast tissue that now have to be watched carefully. Maybe they would have occurred regardless of my weight, but the doc said that they were certainly accelerated by the sudden release of many years of stored up hormones in a matter of months. So ladies and gents, please, get your checkups and mammograms as recommended!

The Pats said that they were not using the tapes to cheat and, obviously since no one has beaten them yet, they were telling the truth. Stop making excuses before your team even loses (which they will of course). Ha, go Pats!

I recently took my first extended airline flight since being banded and I got very restricted during the flight down to Antigua and it stuck around for about two days. Same thing happened on the way home, but to a lesser extent. Has anyone else experienced this change in restriction when flying?

I can't believe how many of you have a 4cc band! Mine is a 12cc band and I have 10cc filled. Once they put in 13cc by accident and oh my, was I in misery. I was 2 hours away from my doctor and had to sleep with a wash cloth in my mouth because I could not swallow my ow saliva! My point is, don't push it. The discomfort is not worth it. Laura

If the guys laugh at you, let them give it a try for an hour. Bet they won't do it, and if they try, I bet they fall off. Then you get the last laugh!

Just click on your ticker in one of your posts and enter your pin that you used when you created your ticker. Once you edit it on the website, it will automatically be updated in your future posts.

Here is a terrific source of recipes for anyone who has had or is considering surgery. It gives the estimated quantities for various people (i.e. lap-band, bypass, and others who have not had surgery like family members), for each recipe. There are some really great ones in here too. It also gives the nutritional info for each recipe. I got mine on Amazon.com for less than $12. Here's the info: [ame=http://www.amazon.com/Eating-Well-After-Weight-Surgery/dp/1569244537/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1201408728&sr=8-1] [/ame] [ame=http://www.amazon.com/Eating-Well-After-Weight-Surgery/dp/1569244537/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1201408728&sr=8-1]Eating Well After Weight Loss Surgery: Over 140 Delicious Low-Fat High-Protein Recipes to Enjoy in the Weeks, Months and Years After Surgery[/ame] by Patt Levine, Michele Bontmpo-Saray, William B. Inabnet, and Meredith Urban-Skuros (Paperback - Jun 11, 2004) [ame=http://www.amazon.com/Eating-Well-After-Weight-Surgery/dp/1569244537/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1201408728&sr=8-1]Buy new[/ame]: $16.95 $11.53 [ame=http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/1569244537/ref=pd_bbs_sr_olp_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1201408728&sr=8-1]37 Used & new[/ame] from $7.50In Stock Eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping. [ame=http://www.amazon.com/review/product/1569244537/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1_cm_cr_acr_img?%5Fencoding=UTF8&showViewpoints=1][/ame] ([ame=http://www.amazon.com/review/product/1569244537/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1_cm_cr_acr_txt?%5Fencoding=UTF8&showViewpoints=1]55[/ame])

I understand where you are coming from, but you see, I love to cook and I love variety. So finding this book that gave me great ideas for some wonderful new foods (most of which were really easy to make even though they were out of the norm) was great. Plus it provided quantity guidelines and nutritional information for each dish that I found invaluable. I guess it is a matter of how you cook/eat in everyday that will determine how much you use it , but even if you only pick one recipe per week to make on the weekends, it breaks up the routine and is well worth the $12 bucks to me. Another book that is interesting is Eating for Life by Bill Phillips. He also wrote Body for Life (which I believe is more responsible for my weight loss than the band). Both books offer a lot of inspirational stories, some exercises to work your entire body, and Body for Life has some recipes, but Eating for Life is primarily a cookbook. Most libraries have a lot of these books or you can go to the bookstore and look at them for yourself to see if they fit your life/food style before you buy them. Happy eating!

I really like using the ball as a chair. It forces me to use my back and stomach muscles without really feeling like I am doing anything. And if you move around in your work area at all, you get to use your obliques and/or legs to twist or rotate on the ball or, dare I say, stand up and move around from time to time. Shocking I know, but I have been known to actually stand up from time to time after planting myself in my seat, when my seat is the ball. A chair on wheels makes it way too easy to be sedentary for the entire day.

Exactly, I was wondering if it had to do with the temperature change since it is cold in Maryland and very warm in Antigua. But then my husband pointed out that the increased restriction first occurred in flight. Who knows why, at least we know we are not the only ones experiencing this and that we are not imagining it!

Here is a terrific source of recipes for anyone who has had or is considering surgery. It gives the estimated quantities for various people (i.e. lap-band, bypass, and others who have not had surgery like family members), for each recipe. There are some really great ones in here too. It also gives the nutritional info for each recipe. I got mine on Amazon.com for less than $12. Here's the info: [ame=http://www.amazon.com/Eating-Well-After-Weight-Surgery/dp/1569244537/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1201408728&sr=8-1] [/ame] [ame=http://www.amazon.com/Eating-Well-After-Weight-Surgery/dp/1569244537/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1201408728&sr=8-1]Eating Well After Weight Loss Surgery: Over 140 Delicious Low-Fat High-Protein Recipes to Enjoy in the Weeks, Months and Years After Surgery[/ame] by Patt Levine, Michele Bontmpo-Saray, William B. Inabnet, and Meredith Urban-Skuros (Paperback - Jun 11, 2004) [ame=http://www.amazon.com/Eating-Well-After-Weight-Surgery/dp/1569244537/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1201408728&sr=8-1]Buy new[/ame]: $16.95 $11.53 [ame=http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/1569244537/ref=pd_bbs_sr_olp_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1201408728&sr=8-1]37 Used & new[/ame] from $7.50In Stock Eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping. [ame=http://www.amazon.com/review/product/1569244537/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1_cm_cr_acr_img?%5Fencoding=UTF8&showViewpoints=1][/ame] ([ame=http://www.amazon.com/review/product/1569244537/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1_cm_cr_acr_txt?%5Fencoding=UTF8&showViewpoints=1]55[/ame])

Hey, can someone tell me where in the profile section to paste the weight loss ticker info so that my ticker shows on my posts? Thanks, Laura_MD

I take the Viactiv vitamins and calcium chews and I really like them (as vitamins go). I get to get a little chocolate fix and its good for me too. Can't ask for much more than that. Viactiv products come in multiple flavors too, so if you don't like one, try another before you write them off. If you belong to a support group that meets regularly, you can have a taste testing with your vitamins, protein shakes and favorite recipes so you can try it before you buy it.

I have an exercise ball from Dick's Sporting goods and the real trick to buying one is to get one for your height. The sizes and heights are listed on the box. They are portable, cheap, fun and effective. I worked with a trainer and learned a lot of exercises to do with the ball before I bought one, then it came with a DVD and I learned a ton more, you can work nearly every muscle in your body with this thing. Probably the best investment I ever made in a piece of exercise equipment! As for falling off, yeah, it's pretty common, but I didn't fall as much as I though I would. I recommend trying it at home a few times before jumping on at the gym, just to get the hang of it and get over any fear that you have. The beauty of the ball is that it lets you work specific muscles with different moves but it is ALWAYS strengthening the core body muscles while you work. I use it as a chair while I am working at my desk and it works my abs and core, while boosting my balance at the same time. to quote Tony the Tiger, "It's Grrrreat!". Good luck, Laura the Loser (and proud of it):cool2:

I know that Dr. Kimberly Steele at Johns Hopkins Bayview campus has taken on patients from Mexico in the past. I do not know that she is still doing so, however. But it is worth a phone call. Good luck!