NiceWillSuffice

i cross the border in TJ twice a month. Unless you are selling drugs, buying drugs, walking the streets, partying in the bars etc you will have no problem. you odds of being in a car crash driving to san diego are higher. Your friend clearly doesnt go to Mexico. I assure you they will be happy to pick you up at the border if you are worries about it. its really no big deal.

Hey, everything "comtemplating" said is right on. I would further add what my doc said when i had similar concerns. I was told the band settles into place but also there is fat on the outside of the stomach and as you lose weight it shrinks and makes the band looser. But since you just had surgery probably swelling is the real issue as already posted. I'll also suggest that the feeling you described about drinking too fast etc isn't the same thing you will feel once you finish with band-hell..get some fills and truely experiance restriction. Don't worry..you'll go through lots of questions and feelings over the next few weeks. Just wait until you are fully healed and discover you can eat a big mac and fries without a problem! haha...that will be your next thing probably (it means you are ready for a fill!)

I hit 7-11 with the kids. It was hot and they wanted to get their snack on..and so did I. Depression kicked in after I scanned the drink selections. Nothing that is both sugar-free and non carbinated. I felt discriminated against! There was some Fat-free for the suckers that think Fat makes you fat (opposed to calories)... not nodda sugar free. THEN...and I had to re-read it 2 or 3 times...I saw one of the choices on the slurrpy machine was Sugar-free Crystall Light Slurrpies! It was amazing and the highlight of my day! Not only did I find something at 7-11 but it was wonderful. going back today.

The primary contributor to "weight" loss/gain is calories. Exercise burns calories. Eating Adds calories. If you intake less calories than you burn you lose weight. If you intake more calories than you burn you gain weight. The band, in combination with better food choices reduces your calorie intake. You should lose weight without changing your burn. You can speed up weight loss by burning more. (now im sure 20 people will respond swearing they never lost a pound until they exercised ha ha).

it took about 18 months for the pain to go away in my marrage. it started getting better at about 1 year. we stayed together and have been going to counciling twice a month for over 3 years now. Marrage is better than ever. The cheating doesnt really come up anymore because it is just a symptom of deeper problems so we have both taken responsibility for our parts. we just had our 18th year annaversary. we still have our issues but we understand our relationship more than ever. #2 is posible about the honest marrage as a result. this will make you stronger, it forces you to accept you don't have to be dependant on your partner to survive and that is liberating. I suggest stopping the xanex by the way. I know what it is for and what it does and took my own share of it. You need to process the pain. the xanex will keep you down and numb and you wont progress while you are taking it. if you drink even a glass of wine you intensify the effects. It will distort your emotions and is very addicting. Sorry for the lecture..been there, done that and watch it a 100 times in friends.

Hey Evie71609, I think that is me. :blushing: My mind tells me you are right but when I see a half cup of food I think no way can that be enough for me! but im tired of getting it wrong so will follow your advice...

Go to New Image Bari in Riverside. they do both and everyone loves them.

Crystall light. didnt they give you a list or anything???

oh man thats a bummer. i assume you checked out areo Mexico and also checked for connecting flights from Mexico City or BJX? it IS amazing how much the prices vary to mexico..but they are always full.

i was told the same thing that jodi_620 said above. approval weight is all that matters - so go buy those ankle weights and drink some salt water and get approved! jk. Mine was bmi 35 (the minimum) at approval and 32 at surgery. haven;t got a bill yet from insurance over it ha ha.

Trust me on this, when you truely have restriction you will know. What sucks is even after your first fill you might not have it..or even after your 3rd. SOme are good on 1 and some are good on 8 fills. everyone is different..but if you have to ask then I am certain you don't have it yet...but you will! keep watching your diet the best you can until its all dialed in after some fills.

You are describing where I was up until saturday, same as you. Made me start questioning if the band even does anything really beside a slight reduction in food volume. Sure if I swallowed wrong it hurt but it seemed like I could eat a lot and the slower I ate the more i could eat. Sound about right?? Saturday I got my 3rd fill and NOW...finally..the band is in action. How do I know when I ate too much? I burp up the differance!!!! there is no posible way for me to eat too much at this point (unless i eat liquid or super soft food bypassing the band). My point is, once you are dialed in..you will know if you are eating too much.

David, I was 263 and my goal is 195. That is 68 pounds. I have the band and it rocks. I was already down to 250 by my surgery (was dieting by choice). So really I got the band being only 55 pounds from my goal. If you want someone to tell you to just do it..I will. Go for it. 80 over is fat and unhealthy and you deserve to feel good about yourself and to be healthy. You are posting here for a reason. Start taking the steps for approval or budget to self pay. I think it is GREAT you want to proactively fix your situation before it gets more out of hand. howz that? :wink2:

Hey Andy, what you feel after 7 days and what you will feel at 5 weeks when you are basically healed is night/day difference. I don't think liquids can get stuck..but i suppose if you are swollen enough you could be blocked in which case you would probably burp it all up. Honestly what your describing sounds more like irritation, swelling, etc which will eventually go away. I bet if you call your docs office and describe it they will put you at ease..or have you come in.

You say you voted for Obama because he claimed to be a christian. Yep, he made a proclaimation of faith and described the experiance. You can watch the whole thing on youtube. Do you feel that the 'fruits' of his christian faith have come shblicaining through? Compared to you? or me? Nope. Compared to McCain or Bush? Yep. In my opinion, I feel that he is not doing as God would like him to do. That is an expectation no pres can live up to because it would result in the discrimination of all the other religions and freedoms in this country. The days of religion driving politics in America are over. Good? Bad? .. it moot. But I don't see him going against God. Just his abortion stand alone shows me that he doesn't respect God's view on the preciousness of life. What stance are you referring to? And what about all the financial mismanagement? God has asked christians to be good stewards of their money. Did you forget the crisis we are in was inherited from 8 years of Bush? ..and that the personal debt American aquired (christain and non-christain) is of their own doing i.e. Using their house equity as ATM machines. The price of gas alone the 2 years leading up backrupted many small business's..thats BIG OIL..thats republican..thats Bush. I am curious to see what your solution to our countries financial situation is. Vote for McCain then what? Normally I would be against his approuch for the reasons you are implying..BUT..we are in a situation today that requires extreem measures and that is why I support what he is doing for the most part. (although in some ways I don't its a mixed bag) Obama has lied many times as well. He made many campaign promises that he didn't keep. Name 1. Keeping in mind he is 6 months into a 4 year term. Isn't it a little early to say he didn't keep a promise? What exceptions to abortion do you have? My only exception would be to save the mother's life. Mine too, although there may be some similar situations I am not thinking about. I also believe that marriage is between 1 man and 1 woman only. God agrees with this also. Me too. To discuss the prayer in school thing, come over and visit us on the "decline of morals in America" thread. okay? if i get more time i will. Yes, God is real. thanks

I buy into everything you say here, further i believe in intelligent design and creationism. I voted for Obama because he claims to be a Christain and his public proclaimation of faith and because McCain is a consistantly shown to be liar. I am generally pro-life but think there are personal exceptions that have to be considered. I believe marrage is between a man and a woman and since my vote is my own i voted against gay marrage. liberals think I am conservative and conservatives think I am liberal. I think they are both wrong. I think there is a fine line between extreem left, extreem right and the taliban. Opps, forgot to mention prayer in school. I am against a teacher leading group prayer in the classroom. I am for a child being allowed to pray at their discretion. Who wants some of this? Bring it.

I lay on my back, pull up my shirt. The doc injects painkiller and its optional. I barely feel a prick and thats it. He has me do kind of a sit-up to help him see the port. Then he inserts a valve thicker than a needle. absolutely can NOT feel it go in whatsoever. Then I sit all the way up and feel nothing. Then he screws on a syringe and pushes in Fluid while i drink to determine restriction. A little interesting fact they told me in the hosital is the stomach has the least nerve endings and is one of the least painful places to get a needle. You will feel nothing related to the injection.

I'm your man! (and becoming da man haha). I'm in Elsinore area and was banded by Doc Coon in Riverside. feel free to msg me anytime. :eek: I'm 9 weeks banded. who is your doc and where are you in the process?

how big is your band? I had 3 fills in 2 months and am up to 10cc's in a 14 cc band and things seem just right for now.

I found riding in my truck which is bumpy or on my motorycle helped. It shook me up like a soda pop and after that I could clear the room for 30 minutes!

Hi, I have 10cc in a 14cc band. It is an APLarge which is the mens standard. I have little restriction. My concern is since its only been 7-8 weeks, am I at risk of having to fill this thing up completly? He is having to add 1-2cc each fill. thanks :thumbdown:

Hey all, i wanted to follow up on this thread i started last friday. I was on mushy's as i got a fill the day before and was feeling like maybe it wasnt gonna work. well now I'm eating "whatever" and it is like a night and day difference. The 10cc's I guess for now is my magic number. Finally I am experiancing what I thought I should be experiencing. But since its really only been 4 days of true restrictions I don't trust it HAHA..so i keep screwing up! My brain wants a plate of food and I keep thinking I can eat it but no way! So now i am just trying to udnerstand how much I really can eat without pain or chumming. I freaking LOVE this. Tonight i had half a chicken breast and half a potato and since i was banded 9 weeks agos I tought for sure it would be no problem. I expected to be full..but expected volumn to be about right. I am happy to report that was too much food! I burped up the differance haha. My next meal will cut that in half and see how it goes. my Doc advertises 2 ounces well chewed and up until saturday I could eat 10,000 ounces but now..no way. soooo, it seems that 10cc's in a 14 cc band was my magic number for now. but i guess I'm never happy because i read how peoples bands can tighten up in 2-3 weeks after a fill hopefully that doesnt happen or it'll be too tight YIKES! haha. Well i'll just enjoy the weight loss till I hit the ER. I'm excited to really be experienancing "the band" because up to this point its really been me dieting and counting calories because i could still volumn eat. so releieved. now I am missing food though. :wink:

I'm a guy! my bmi was only 35 though. I have the band and am trying to love it. there are multiple kinds of bypasses/pouches and pulleys (bands). If I were huge I would have done bypass. If you get the band and its dialed in you won't be able to eat huge meals. Mine just got dialed in on Saturday and I’m still chumming up the toilet trying to understand what I can eat and how much. I had half a chicken breast (yuk) 30 minutes ago and half a backed potatoes. It was too much so I burped half of it up (at least). If your intention is to limit food intake it seems to me the band will do it. Of course you still have to watch what you eat because you can still drink 5000 calories a day in milkshakes. I choose the band because i didn't want to lose more than 65 pounds total (30 away from my first goal already) but I do want to keep off what i lose. I also like that it is reversible and adjustable. Having no idea what I am talking about here, i suggest the bypass as well for you. If you are that big you probably love sugar or grease or both (yes we all have slow metabolism and thyroid problems i know ha ha). I am finding and have also read on this site the greasy food and deserts go down smooth, and based on my dinner tonight its clear healthy food does not ha ha. The mal-absorption effects of a bypass my be a good thing for you if you don't think you can abstain from the tasties. Of course if your issue is just volume and nothing else the band will restrict for sure. everyone i know with the bypass is full active now without restrictions in activity. Clearly a lower maintenance choice after your healed. So i don’t know man..I like the band for now not sure what to tell you. sorry if i am making assumptions about your situation just trying to help and babble.

I found I felt differently every 2 days or so. My point is how you feel today may be differnt than Sunday. I was told the stuff they used to put you to sleep wears off over 2 weeks but hangs around a little while too. Point is you might feel better in 2 days, or worst. 2 days after surgery isn't long enought to know. Its truely a 1 day at a time thing. I found it took 4-5 weeks to consistantly feel the same level of good. I am 8 weeks out and learning patience and not to push. But it's rough as I want to lose 10-15 pounds a month (and have so far). I also had a hiatial hernia and am super happy they fixed it! It fixed my snoring by a large percent and my chest/lung pain is finally gone. The incisions heals in about 6 weeks although will still be visible particularly around the port. At 3-4 weeks I started getting hungry, the fills are helping but im not there yet. have a great recovery!

Hi, ok I had to look at the calender, and it looks like I was banded 8.5 weeks ago. Fill #1: 7cc's at week 5. Fill #2: 2cc's at week 7 (putting me at 9). Fill #3: 1cc at week 8 (putting me at 10). The 3rd fill I went back so soon because I had almost no restriction and my next appointment was too far out and I know he is going on vacation so basically I just showed up and asked him to fill it more and he cauously did. That was Weds and I am only eating soft food today, so its hard to judge. It seems like there is more restriction I'll know for sure tomorrow....but based on that sticky post I am wondering if 2 weeks from now the restriction is actually going to tighten up? That would not be a bad thing since my next appointment is a month away. I'm not complaining..in 8.5 weeks I am almost 50% to my goal, although I feel like I am dieting more than I want too. Had I not got the band I would not even make the effort as I gave up on dieting alone 2 years ago. So I am pleased, blessed and happy about the progress but there is always that fear of bindging. Hopfully I will puke my brains out if I bindge. I dont know how to spell that word haha.