DonnaB

singer1, I'm not sure what rules you're referring to but you'll probably get a bigger response if you start your own thread. More people will see it and comment if you start a separate thread. Sorry to hear about your problems, my best suggestion is to call your doctor as soon as possible. Heart palpitations and faiting spells MORE than justify a trip to the doctor's office. Good luck and I hope you feel better soon. Elizabethsew! Great name, do you sew? There aren't many people that do these days. I slept in bed from the first night post op and was able to sleep on my side at about 3 days, was comfortable at about 5 days, and didn't really think about it after 8 or 9 days. I'm not a big fan of MediFast. The Protein I'm using is called Body Fortress - you can find it all Wal-Mart for about $17 for a big 'tub' of it! The one I buy is the vanilla flavor and I mix two scoops (40 grams of protein) in 1 1/2 cups of fat free milk, 3 tablespoons of fat free, sugar free chocolate pudding and 1 tablespoon of reduced fat Peanut Butter and blend it up for a minute or so. The protein mixes easily but the peanut butter takes a minute to blend in completely. It tastes like drinking a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup. Mmmmm. It IS higher in carbs and fat because of the add-ins so I alternate days with my protein cocktail on one day and Isopure clear (50 grams of protein, 0 grams of carbs) the next day. I really look forward to the protein mix days! lol Onother good thing to eat if you're on full liquids is blended Cream of chicken and Mushroom Soup from Campbell's. Mmmmm. I'm on mushies now (I was banded on March 7th) and I'm learning to chew, chew, chew and when I'm done chewing . . . chew a little bit more and even then only swallow a little bit at a time. It's funny how old habits die hard. I've been on mushies for a week now and today was the first day I wasn't just CONCENTRATING when I ate and before the 2nd bite I had swallowed a piece that was too big. It went down but my band let me know on the way that it wasn't happy about it. At least there was no PB. Whew. Congratulations on getting your band and good luck to you on your weight loss journey. Let us know a little bit more about you, maybe set up your "signature" in User CP so we can keep up with you.

Hi Jules, I'm glad you posted here, the people here are so incredibly loving and supportive. When I first joined it felt like I had just met a group of ready-made best friends who all understood exactly what I was going through. I hope that's how you feel too. Like a lot of people who read your post I was furious with your husband and frustrated with you for repeatedly defending him. I think you've had lots of good advise and now you have to decide what to do with it. Which advise to take and when, which advise to consider at a later date, and which advise to just ignore. Some of it I hope you'll look into TODAY. Counselling for yourself and CPAP (nightime breathing machine to get some energy back) are two I hope you'll jump on TODAY. I have two more pieces of advise that I hope you'll take: 1) Start a journal. Write down EVERYTHING, especially the emotional abuse your husband is dealing out. This is going to be hard because you don't seem to feel he is being abusive. You've got to see this from the perspective of a mother - would you put up with someone saying hurtful things like that to your child? Would your mother and/or father see his comments as abusive? Please try to use someone else's perspective here because your self-esteem and situation don't seem to be allowing you to think clearly for yourself. 2) Get an envelope, find a place to keep it hidden and start putting a little money in it every day. Even if it's only a little bit of money, put some in EVERY DAY. On days when you've got a little more money in hand, put a little more than you normally do into the envelope. Make sure the envelope stays your secret. I know it's hard and it seems impossible but you can find a couple of dollars a day and sock it away. When your envelope has $50 - $100 in it, go open a savings account that is in your name only and then start putting money in the envelope again. Repeat. You're going to need this money later - either for buying a new wardrobe or for hiring a lawyer. If it's the lawyer, that journal will come in REAL handy. You can't take care of your child unless you take care of yourself first. I hope the band is the answer to all your prayers. I will tell you it's a lot of work. Your dieting days aren't over, they're just beginning, but at least this time you'll have the right tool to help you stay the course. I don't want to throw a shadow over your lap-band plans but consider this, after losing weight, your skin is probably going to be loose, your boobs are probably going to be loose. Is your husband going to forgive you these flaws? Or will it just begin again? Counselling and self-esteem are going to be your saviors. Sorry if I sound 'preachy', I really don't intend to be. I just want you to come out on the other side of this healthy and happy and whole. Good luck Jules. We're all pulling for you. I just thought of another piece of advise: Print out this thread and give it to your husband! It's an eye-opener!

"Life After Band Removal" sounds the best to me - mostly because I think the name of the new forum should give new members and visitors to the site a clear understanding of what that forum is about. Some of the other names are cute, or are clear to people who participate on the board on a regular basis, but the name should be clear to people who are not already on the 'inside'.

Ohhhh! You're the lady that had 'that' operation. Now I know what she was talking about. Just kidding. Funny post though!

Hi, I'm Donna and I was banded on February 35th. :rolleyes OK, I was banded on March 7th but I read this thread all the time and wish I could be a February 2006 Bandster Uniting! LOL I guess I'll try to remain a lurker and only jump in when I see something I can help with. JANETC? Janet? I can't believe she hasn't jumped in on this since she's the one who recommended it to me. . . . In response to people wanting to know how to track their food, water, protein, etc. (ad nauseum!) intake, I highly recommend www.FitDay.com. If you use the online version it's free which is a great way to see if it's something you'll use and will be useful to you. If you like it you should go ahead and buy the PC version. It costs right at $20 (one time fee) and it has a lot more functions, and even the functions it shares with the free version work better. Specifically, the food log allows you to enter custom foods. So foods you eat on a regular basis can be added to the list of foods in the program and you can simply click on your custom foods to add them to your daily total. The free online version won't keep the portion you originally input so you'll have to keep a paper list next to your computer to use it. The PC version, on the other hand, stores everything you give it and can spit back every kind of report imaginable. It's pretty fabulous. Check out the free online version and become a member. If you think it's a useful tool, buy the downloadable PC version, it's BETTER. Hint: If you become a member of the free version you get a discount on the PC version bringing it's cost to $20. It's worth becoming a member of the free version even if it's just for the discount. Warning: This can become an addictive pastime. Just ask JanetC. I'll bet she hasn't replied to your questions because she's busy adding to her activity log! Thanks for the great thread y'all. Seriously, I look forward to eavesdropping on you great February Bandsters! Janet ROCKS! (and Mikey's pretty cool too! lol)

I just LOVE you Jack. You never fail to make me laugh. Or think. Sometimes both at the same time.

Hi Dawn, I had surgery in Mexico on March 7th with Dr. Rumbaut. He's awesome. His staff is awesome. The hospital was awesome. There aren't enough AWESOME's in this post to tell you how incredible my experience has been. I know what you mean about the misconception regarding surgery in Mexico! lol I was terrified but determined about having this surgery and because I was self-pay I had to make the most of the money I could spend. There ARE other doctors in Mexico who do this surgery for less money. After doing a lot of internet research I chose Dr. Rumbaut because he has the most experience and the best results with the fewest complications. The cost of surgery with Dr. Rumbaut is $10,600 which includes everything but airfare and food. The $10,600 includes: - Hotel for 4 or 5 days - Hampton Inn, clean, all new beds, the staff speaks English. There are several resaurant's that will deliver to your hotel room and are well within walking distance of the hotel. There's a shopping mall with a grocery store and restaurant practically attatched to the hotel! Applebee's is across the parking lot from the hotel and mall. - Transfers to and from the airport, pre-op testing and the hospital. If you want to go sight seeing or shopping you only have to schedule transportation with the hotel - they have a courtesy van which will take you anywhere you want to go at no charge - if you don't schedule with the hotel you can get a taxi, they're very inexpensive. - All hospital costs at the best hospital in Monterrey, which is the richest city in Mexico. Dr. Rumbaut's office told me that the San Jose Hospital in Monterrey is the hospital chosen for emergency care for the president of the United States if he should need it while in Mexico. That's a pretty good recommendation! - Pre-op testing. This was the weirdest part of the trip for me, but only because the doctor giving the pre-op does the chest X-Ray himself while you hold the plate in front of your chest - the room where the X-Ray is taken has a wide, lead strip nailed to the wall. I'm sure it's the same set-up as an X-Ray room in the states but the difference is that the lead strip would be covered by expensive panelling or fabric in the U.S. It was still odd that the doctor did his own X-Rays! - Post-op care. Dr. Rumbaut or his associate, also an M.D. comes to your hotel to check on you several times! - All fills if you choose to return to Mexico to have them done. It will cost me only a little more to go to Mexico for a fill than it does having one here under flueroscopy. If you don't want to return to Mexico, Dr. Rumbaut will help you locate a doctor near you who will do fills and follow up care. I have a doctor close by but I'm probably going to return to Dr. Rumbaut for at least the first fill just because I'm nervous about it! - Any complications which may arise, including band removal if required. Dr. Rumbaut has a less than 1% complication rate, which is better than any other doctor I researched so I'm hoping I won't need to take advantage of this part of the package, but if I do - it's covered. Dr. Rumbaut's staff includes several doctor's who specialize in nutrition and obesity and Dr. Rumbaut is banded himself so he knows what you're going through. I recovered from the surgery with very little pain, I didn't even come close to using up the pain meds he gave me - I think I only took one and then used liquid Tylenol PM. I went home from the hospital the day after surgery and was out at a very nice upscale mall shopping the day after that. My husband and I even did some sightseeing and souvineer shopping the next day before we caught our flight home. I didn't have a single problem from the time I chose to go to Dr. Rumbaut for surgery till I returned home with my wonderful band in place. I know I'm gushing but it's only because I can't say enough about Dr. Rumbaut, his staff, the hospital, and in fact, my whole experience. Best of all, I've been banded for 26 days, my scars are healing nicely (go Maderma!) and I'VE LOST 18 POUNDS already. They told me not to count on much if any weight loss until I was healed and had my first fill. This 18 pounds is just a bonus. Just a bonus. I can't believe I did it and I'm on my way. If you want to look into surgery with Dr. Rumbaut, his web address is: www.gastricband.com. All the information you need is on his website and Cathy, his U.S. Patient Coordinator, is just GREAT. Give her a call. Whatever you choose to do, and whomever you choose for your surgery, good luck to you on your weight loss journey. It's scary but SO worth it.

Sorry to offend you Dody. I'm just repeating what my doctors U.S. Patient Coordinator told me. After re-reading my post it sounds like I meant hospitals are re-using single use items. What I meant to say is that some items are recommended for single use and that SOME hospitals are re-using them, both in Mexico and in the United States. By all means, stick up for the U.S. but I stand by my statement - the hospital in Monterrey was nicer than any hospital I've ever been in in the United States. If I have further elective surgery I plan to return to the San Jose Hospital in Monterrey. Good luck on your weight-loss journey.

I have Aetna PPO - they gave me two thumbs down. It would take several YEARS before they would even consider covering this surgery so I paid for it myself. Good luck to you.

I'll bet you're glad to be home. There's no place better in the world. Belly dancing sounds like fun. I think I'd be too self concious to even look into it, much less sign up and participate. Good for you. I'm glad you're still posting what's going on with your life, I look forward to your posts.

Hi Kristi, I'm in South Grand Prairie (right near where 360 and I-20 meet up) and I looked into having surgery with Dr. Sewell too. I was self-pay so I found a GREAT surgeon in Mexico which was more affordable for me. I totally understand about the burping thing, it'll pass - no pun intended! lol If you're still having gas pains try this: stand near the edge of your bed and bend forward from the waist, putting your forearms on the bed, resting your forehead between your arms. If it's more comfortable you can bend your knees a little too. This was the best gas pain relief I found. Hope it helps you too. You're going to feel better and better with each day. Liquid Tylenol PM Golden Vanilla is a great way to get some pain (discomfort really, right?) relief and a good night's sleep - I highly recommend it. Feel free to PM me if you want to talk to someone local. Good luck with your recovery and weight loss.

Go with Dr. Rumbaut. Go with Dr. Rumbaut. Go with Dr. Rumbaut. I'd type it a thousand times but someone out there would probably shoot me if I did! I know the cost of surgery is an important factor but experience is worth the extra (less than) $2000. Rumbaut is a genius. The San Jose Hospital in Monterrey Mexico is the nicest hospital I've ever been in and they're EXTREMELY picky about sanitation and sterilization and not re-using tools which are meant to be single use. Even hospitals in the states re-use some of these tools which were never intended to be used more than once. I'm not kidding. Dr. Rumbaut has a less-than 1% complication rate which is extraordinary. Go with Dr. Rumbaut. Go with Dr. Rumbaut. Go with Dr. Rumbaut. You won't regret it.

I was freaking out too Kathy. Save yourself a lot of grief - it's not anywhere near as bad as you're thinking - I promise. I'm a worrywort so I spent hours reading about complications, etc. Freaked myself out to the point I was questioning going forward. As a self-pay it was hard enough to take that huge step. I am 20 days post-op and feel great. I went shopping at a mall 2 days after surgery - and I had surgery in Mexico! lol Went to a shopping mall in Mexico! Took a Mexican taxicab ride to the mall! I speak NO Spanish! lol Take a few deep breaths and relax. You're going to be fine. BTW, I've lost 17 pounds in the last 25 days. How many have you lost in that amount of time? I'm not being mean I'm just reminding you WHY you're considering surgery in the first place. Here's the bottom line: You know your body better than anyone. Have you ever had surgery before? Did you have any complications? If so, were they related to your health or the surgery? If you haven't had any problems in the past it's a pretty good bet that you won't have problems with this surgery. Good luck on your weight loss journey.

NewSho, you need to request your records from Dr. No. If he surreptitiously gave you an unfill, he owes you a refund. Seriously. 3loves, a 4cc band actually holds 5cc according to my doctor. The 4cc's is the recommended max fill. I assume that a 10cc band actually holds 11cc's or more. Does that help or does that make things more confusing? lol I agree with leenerbups and KarenB - doctors may have a degree based on averages and theory, but we're the ones living in our skin and we KNOW before they begin to surmise.

How pretty! My husband wants a fish pond in our back yard but I'm the one who'll end up taking care of it. Or feeling guilty about NOT taking care of it. I'm a realist, I barely take care of the yard as it is - no frills. Congratulations on your fabulous NSV!

Thank you Leatha, it's so sweet of you to say that and really nice to hear. I'm looking forward to feeling like I look good and really believing it when I hear it from someone. I also look forward to not stressing out over how I look when going out to meet people - that will be my biggest NSV.

I wondered about this too. I like to drink through a straw, it's just easier. Hmmmmm. To put a positive spin on the loss of my precious straws, drinking through a straw will eventually give you wrinkles around your mouth - kinda like smoker's get (but probably not as bad because there's no toxic smoke wrecking your skin!). At least I won't have to worry about that anymore.

I was banded on March 7th (20 days ago) and my port site just stopped having pains - and the occasional, disconcerting, throbbing feeling - yesterday. It didn't actually hurt hurt but I wouldn't have wanted it to get bumped. As recently as yesterday I still had to stand up slowly to not feel like something was pulling at the port site. Nothing today though so hopefully I've turned the corner with the port site stuff. I also didn't lift anything over 10 pounds until day before yesterday. Take at least two weeks - you'll be glad you did.

LOL! I never had respect for him to begin with. He's like a four year old MONSTER! I loved it when someone called him 'Grandpa Munster' - I just laughed and laughed at that. I loved it when Sil and Paulie got on the elevator and they were all depressed, looking down at their shoes like they were going to cry! I love it that they showed Carmela seeing their reaction to giving away that much money! Could the acting on this show be any better? OMG I think Vito's going to get 'outed' this season, otherwise, what would be the point of the back-story? I wonder if somehow Fin is going to end up killing Vito or being killed so no one will find out about Vito. It's obvious that Fin ISN'T into Vito - can't he see that? Or does he just not care? Yikes, what a horrible position for Fin. I have to agree. I was really getting bored by the parallel Tony stories. Was the monk thing because one of Tony's doctors was asian? I'm usually not 'slow on the uptake' but that didn't make sense to me. I was glad to see TonyB at the 'reunion' because it was solid evidence that the businessman storyline was about to come to an end. And what about Meadow's little-girl voice crying for her daddy, "Don't go Daddy!" That was great. Then the blinding white light, and Tony says "I'm dead, right?" I do wish he'd looked into the house though - I really wanted to see all the people who had been killed off over the years, at a party together, waiting to welcome Tony 'home'. The episode WAS just OK, but now we can move forward. I feel a little gyped over losing 2 episodes to this weird storyline. I felt that way about the episode "Test Dream" too - the one where Tony is in the back of the vintage car and Ralph is in the front with a caterpillar on his bald head, you remember that one? Weird show. But I'm still loving it. Talk to you next week! lol

I haven't had a fill yet Xann, sorry, I can't help ya. It's only been a couple of hours though - give it some time.

I just found out about www.FitDay.com. It's essentially the same kind of thing but it's free. I'm loving it. It breaks down where your calories are coming from, how many calories you need to lose weight, tracks your activities from housework to exercise to sitting and watching a movie (!). Seriously, check it out before you pay another monthly fee for something. I understand from JanetC that you can purchase FitDay and download it to your computer and the purchased version has even more features. It can't hurt to look, right? (If you become a member of FitDay - just sign up, no fee or anything, the purchase price for the downloadable version is less than just buying it from another source.) Good luck.

Yay! Good for you leener - I'm terrified of taking a whole pill ever since one of my post-op antibiotics got stuck and hurt like hell! (I didn't let it soak in Water long enough to soften up.) Your success makes me think I'll survive it when my time comes. Congrat's on your first NSV. lol

I know I've heard of women who had breast work done and were still able to breastfeed babies. I think it has to do with what kind of work is done - lift vs. implants, etc. Sorry I can't give you more info, I just don't know. Contact your lap surgeon to get advise, I'm sure they'll be able to help you or at least direct you to maybe a plastic surgery board? Good luck and let us know what you find out.

Your band can slip if the stitches holding your stomach over the band come loose. I know pulling the stomach over the band is a relatively new way of securing the band so people who were banded before this technique became the standard, rely entirely on sutures to keep the band in place. Any trauma to the stomach - usually vomitting - can cause the stitches to come loose and the band can slip. It can happen to the sutures only method AND to the stomach-over-the-band method patients too. At least that's how my doctor explained it to me.

My doctor said solid foods cause the stomach to flex during the process of digestion. The idea behind waiting to eat solid food is to give the stitches holding your band in place time to completely heal and for the tissue stitched over the band time to build up scar tissue which keeps the band from slipping. I'd stay on liquid or mushies longer if I were you. Depending, of course, on what your doctor tells you. I had surgery on March 7th and I'm still on full liquids until this Tuesday or Wednesday. I'd really, really like to eat mushies right now but I'm more interested in keeping my band so I'm going to follow my doctor's instructions to a "T". Good luck on your weight loss journey.