Rett

Hi there everyone I just heard of another fill doctor in Texas, a women. Has anyone had any experience or heard of anyone who has gone to Texas? Also, how many out there from Utah are planning a trip to Mexico for a fill in the near future??? Like, say, October??? Rett

I contacted Dr. Mckeen's office and he does them for patients done in Mexico and his rates are good.... but, he doesn't use fluro, just has you drink some water before he takes the needle out to make sure it goes through. In most cases I think that would probably work out OK but it does make me a little nervous. I'd like to contact your friend about the dr she found. Is he in Utah??? Rett

Since Dr Green is no longer an option, what are you doing??? Rett

Today is one week post op and I feel pretty lousy. I noticed a hard, raised vein on my arm about 1 1/2 in in length. Now it is about 3" long and not quite as hard, could it be a blood clot???? How much can you usually drink on the full liquids?? After about 1/4 cup I start to feel bloated. I don't know what to think, I feel bloated all the time so I spend much of my time eating GAsX and holding a hot pad on my stomach. A near starvation diet can't be healthy so I have been trying to get in some nutrition but I am so uncomfortable and feel rather grouchy today I also experienced for the first time ever a cramp in the FRONT of my leg..... lack of Potasium?? I got home from Mexico on June 8th and on Sun., June 11th I learned that my niece had passed away at the age of 21, just 6 months older than my daughter and they had been very close growing up.... Today, Tues. I learned that my daughter who lives in Korea, where her husband is stationed in the military, is flying home tomorrow for the funeral and is not planning to go back but will be staying at our house until her husband recieves new orders in September. I would love that except that I haven't been able to do much for a long time and her room is chuck full of boxes of things that I can't move. My quiet recuperation time has been turned on it's ear, my usual stress "control" is eating oops, can't go there....... so what do I do??? :help: CAN ANYBODY HELP ?????? Rett

Got my band Tues. 6-6-06, I've got more questions than I thought I'd have... like "where's my stomach?" and "am I hungrey or have I injested too much?" "whats this moving inside me that feels like a baby's foot?" I just know that can't be right! "Why the back ach?" "The pain med isn't very strong, can I take Excedrine or ibuprofin?" "Or, how about a little morphine?" Anybody know whats going on????? Rett

Weight watchers is still the best all around, I can do this the rest of my life diet. I plan to use the program after I'm banded. The reason? It takes into consideration all the elements of weight loss and a healthy lifestyle. Like for instance, sometimes, if you aren't loosing, you actually need to be eating MORE. I found that I lost better when I ate ALL my points instead of scrimping. Unfortunately, I found after I had lost about half the weight I needed to I started getting into the nervous, If I eat less I'll loose faster, diet mentality and then your leptin control kicks in and ORDERS your body to FILL UP THEM EMPTY FAT CELLS! and all is lost. But with only 30lbs. to lose I'd REALLY reccomend Weight Watchers for life. And if you can lose the 30lbs then you can go free and therre are no side effects. Good luck with your efforts. Rett

My husband just found out that his company offers an insurance carrier THAT PAYS FOR LAP-BAND! If he had known we could have signed up for it next January but we didn't and so I'm having the surgery in 2 days and we're self-pay. Now he's really depressed and I'm thinking how all that money could have gone so many other places:omg: that puts extra pressure on me to make it all worthwhile --- life is a bummer, it just never stops! Wouldn't it be nice if insurance companies would keep pace with available treatments instead of working so hard to find ways of raising premiums for less coverage? Sorry for venting my frutration, my husband was kind of a pickle when he found out.... Rett:rolleyes

Hi, I know how you feel, my surgery is Tuesday 6/6/06 and I'm up and so excited one day and then, like last night, I'm scared to tears and sobbing all over the place. I'm 57, 5'1" tall and over a hundred pounds too heavy and like you have been suffering for a long time with back problems and foot problems and sleeping problems and pain, pain, pain. I can't keep up with my housework I'm no fun and of course I look terrible feel terrible and can't really do anything so I eat which just makes it worse and then... well you know the story. I guess there are no garantees in life, except I think we are pretty much garenteed more of the same and worse if we don't lose weight, and if we go on another diet we know we will end up another 10-20 lbs. heavier, so the band gives us HOPE and I think it's the best option we have. Once a person puts on 100 or more pounds it doesn't matter how hard you work to take it off or keep it off, your body hates the empty fat cells and is constantly trying to fill them up. Bummer!!I'm cared t be able to handle the new life style because everything in life seems to revolve around food. All my husband and I seem to do together is go out to lunch. Now we'll have to find something else..... or have nothing. After all our strugglings, which have been in vain, I believe there remains within us, a last, effectual struggle to be made. Good Luck !!! This is going to take a major leap of faith, but what do we have to lose, except say, 100lbs.? Rett

I'm just wondering if you have to walk across the bridge into Tijuana?? and how can you be sure Miguel is Miguel?? and did you need a heating pad?? what kind of snacks did you take???? and what did you do after the tests on Pre-op day???? Did you take a phone card? do they have phones in your room at the hotel??? Last min. jitters I guess, sure would appreciate hearing from a few of you.... Thanks, Rett

Hi, I am being banded in just one week and I am excited. I've been on the pre-op diet and it has been really interesting to me that I haven't even thought about Pepsi and I haven't been ravenous, there is a certain freedom I've experienced because I haven't had to think about food and dieting and weight every min. of every waking hour. All my journal entries, for over half my life sound the same, "I've got to lose weight", or "this time I'm going to stick to my diet" or "this has got to be the last diet I have to go on" and I've dieted and lost and ALWAYS gained it back with a little extra, a little extra weight, a little extra depression, a little extra pain in my back and feet, a little extra obstruction in my throat etc. MY hope for the band is that I can begin to eat and think and live in a normal fashion. I want to do something besides think about my weight. We all know how to lose weight, the band helps to KEEP IT OFF. I've been researching the band for about a year and my dad keeps bugging me about it till finally when my husband said if I wanted it we'd find a way to pay for it, I jumped on it and that was about three weeks ago. Good luck with your research and decision. Rett

YA! Bug, WOULDN'T IT BE GREAT TO WEAR ZIP UP JEANS!!:peace: Rett

just thought of another reason.. I want to go boating and find that my XXXL life jacket not only snaps all the down, but is actually soooooooo big that I have to wear one of my childrens life jackets. YES!! Rett

keep those reasons coming. I've lost 8lbs. this last week on the pre-op diet but every time I have to down a protien drink my whole being shrieks "Is it worth it???" but when I remind myself of all the reasons motivating the effort in the first place I can answer myself with a resounding "YES!!!!!" it is sooooooooooo worth it! :clap2: Rett