sweetsue

I was banded 25 days ago. I gradually moved into eating solids and now I find I can eat anything - pizza, Pasta, muffins, chicken, egg rolls, sandwiches.... I'm feeling like my old gluttonous self again. And my portion sizes are platefuls. It all goes right through that band. And I'm not washing it down with beverages either. I'm scheduled for a fill in 2 weeks. I know I need restriction. Now, once again, I'm experiencing the last-meal syndrome. I'm a little discouraged and surprised by this. I've heard something about this being a time when people lose the most weight. Not me. I might even be gaining weight. I need a kick in the but. My husband feels like we just blew $10,000. I sure hope the fill changes things because this isn't working for me now. I am my old hungry self. I had such high hopes and now I'm feeling rather discouraged. Thanks for listening. Susan

My story's below. I wonder if any of you have had similar problems. I'd love to hear your advice. I'm really getting discouraged. Thanks so much. Sincerely, SweetSue My first fill was .75 cc's - This was too loose. My 2nd fill was 1.5 cc's- This seemed to start out okay but eventually I found it became too tight. It got to the point where I couldn't even swallow Water. I suspect I may have had inflamation caused by acid-reflux and sometimes I was forced to throw up to relieve the pain in my chest. Unfill - I got to the point where I was unable to swallow water so I went for an unfill. The dr found I had only .4 cc's in the band. There was some sort of leak apparently, but the dr was not too concerned. That little bit of saline had my super tight - wierd. Spent 2 weeks unfilled and stayed on a liquid diet. In short time the swelling went down and I was wide open again. About 2 weeks agao I went for my 3rd fill. This time I got 1.2 cc's pumped into my empty band. I went home and for the first few days I thought I had found perfect restriction. I stayed on a liquid diet for the few week as advised. Before long I experienced bad acid reflux once again. (This occurs when one is too tight). I started on OTC Prilosec right away. Now I'm all swollen and back to being all super tight and unable to swallow water. I am throwing up a lot. I am super thirsty but can't keep the liquid down. I'm sure I am throwing up from my lower stomach and not my pouch. This is making things worse of course. In 3 days I have an appointment for an adjustment. I was banded in Mexico and have only one fill doc available locally. He doesn't use flouro. It's costing me $400 for every adjustment and I'm self-pay. He said people normally get 1.5 cc's on their first fill. I think my biggest problem is that the acid reflux causes me to get really inflamed and super restricted. I think once the inflamation is under control, I might have proper restriction. But I might die of dehydration before that happens. :help:

I've read that one should eat eraser-sized bite-sized pieces. Is this acurate? Cause that's corn kernal! Also, all you tuna eaters - are you using mayo? I drink about 3 cups of coffee every morning - is this going to end for me? I understand I'll need to eat our food without drink and chew until it's babyfood consistancy, but eraser-sized bites are super tiny. Thanks.

Hello, Perhaps you all can help me solve this medical mystery.... I found the restriction on my band gradually grew tighter and tighter over about 2-3 weeks time. I was often uncomfortable after eating and the pain was so bad that I had to throw up. I thought my band was too tight or maybe I didn't chew well enough. It worsened to the point where there were 3 days were I was unable to even drink Water because of too much restriction and the pain was unbearable for anything I swalled. I suspected I was dealing with inflamation caused by several bad nights of acid reflux followed by coughing. In addition, one night I hurled a forceful puke (which was not self-induced) and it was a painful experience. Fearing I would need to be hospitalized for dehydration, I got a complete unfill as soon as possible by my local fill Dr. (I was banded in Mexico.) I felt immediate relief. Here's the medical mystery..... The Dr found that the band system was not under pressure as expected. He had to pull out the saline out by drawing up on the needle (normally the saline would just sort of pop out under pressure). We expected to find approximately 1.75 cc's in my 4cc band. Instead the doctor found there was less than .75 cc's in my band, which is not much. Somehow 1cc leaked out in just a month's time. 1cc is a lot of saline to lose. I don't quite understand why was I growing more and more restricted and at the same time I was apparently losing both saline and pressure in the band system. Now I'm wondering if I have a leaky system and if this will require me to have more surgery to replace parts. I briefly spoke to Dr Ortiz in Mexico over the phone who said "don't worry about losing saline, there are a thousand possible causes for this, stick to a liquid diet for 3-5 days and wait at least 2 weeks before having another fill". He felt confident I didn't have a slip in my band because I wouldn't have been able to eaten lunch (without problem), which I did before I speaking to him. I forgot to ask him about the lack of pressure in the band. I guess I won't really know if I have problems in my lapband system until after my next fill. If I encounter further problems, I'll have to pay for an upper GI to investige I welcome your opinions on this strange phenomenon. Thank you for sharing your knowledge and for your support. This is a wonderful forum. Sincere regards, Sweet Susan

Hi friends, My 4cc band is currently filled at 2cc's. Dec 15th I had my last adjustment (a .25 unfill). I believed I finally was at the so called "sweet spot". :clap2: However, I experienced a few occasions where where it felt like I could eat almost like prior to banding :hungry: without much problem and I wondered if my band was restricted enough. Knowing there are tight days and lose days, I felt I was probably at a at a good restriction point. BTW, I'm down 25 lbs in 3 months and 3 adjustments. :huggie: Things have really changed for me this past week. :think I have been in pain and cannot eat or drink at all. The last few days I have been really sore. It feels like I am all burned up inside and swollen as a result of a bad habit of self-induced puking and from acid reflux. I feel better standing than sitting. My surgeon thinks this is the result of throwing up too often and recommends that I have a slight unfill. I have one scheduled but must wait 10 days for my appointment. This probably all stems from some bad habits that I developed. If I ate something that felt uncomfortable in my stomach pouch, then I would simply go off to the bathroom, put my finger down my throat and force myself to throw up. Then I felt immediately better. I did this at least once a day if not more. Most of the time I think the discomfort was the result of me failing to chew just 1 of those bites well enough. Or maybe I ate too fast. Or maybe it was just a bad food choice. My recent problems with pain seemed to begin right after this particular event.... Last Monday night, managed to eat half a bag of Smartfood popcorn :pop2:with no problems (bad, bad - I know). Later that evening I drank a shot of nightquil to help me sleep. :notagree I do this every night practically. The nightquil didn't go all the way down and just sat in my pouch and gave me an icky warm sensation. In an attempt to better wash it down I drank about 6 ozs. of aloe-vera juice. I made the mistake of drinking the aloe-vera juice it too fast and didn't consider the fact that it was cold right out of the fridge. The cold sensation made it feel like it was expanding in my chest. Moments later the pain - yowsa - major chest PAIN!!! I ran to the bathroom and purged out the whole nasty concoction. Later that night, matters were made worse when I experienced acid reflux followed by a coughing fit. The next day I found my band was too tight to eat Breakfast or even drink coffee, but this isn't all that unusual for me. I had a lunch date. I ate small meal of 4 little shrimp from the top of my uneaten salad. I came home feeling uncomfortably full and and increasing sensation of pain in my pouch. But I didn't purge. I haven't been able to eat or drink since then without major pain. :tape2: It feels like a pulled muscle in my chest. Not even Water, tea or Soup. This situation continues still today and it's now Friday. Besides puking, another nasty side-effect of my band that I should mention is this... After food or drink, I often will convulse my esophogus and then spit out slime. :spit: I know slime is not all that uncommon with bandsters, but this happens several times a day. I imagine this convulsion thing cannot be good for me either. Here's the thing, a week ago I felt like I was at the sweet spot. Maybe I don't need a slight unfill. Maybe I just need to heal and really work on improving my eating habits. I self-pay so it will cost me $150 for another slight unfill, so I hate to do it and then need a fill (another $150). What do you all think? :noidea: :help:Have any of you had problems with burning pain and inflamation similar to this? I know some of you are going to suggest that I might have slipped my band. Geez, I don't even want to consider that possibility. Thanks in advance for your advice and feedback. Sincere regards from SweetSue (who's lovin the smiley's)

Thank you on all your feedback. Here's an update on my situation... After being unable to eat or drink for 3 days because of too much restriction I spoke to the on-call doctor later on that evening. I was growing concerned that I would be in the emergency room for dehydration over the weekend. I couldn't even swallow Water without throwing up & sliming. I managed to get an doctors visit for an adjustment the next morning. Now here's a medical mystery. The doctors notes showed that I had 1.75 cc's in my 4cc band. When he removed the saline only .75 cc's was found to be in the band. 1cc got lost in the last 30 days somehow. Also, the band had no pressure in it as would be expected. All the saline was drawn out and removed. Mystery - How was I growing more and more restricted with so little saline in the band? And what happened to the 1cc of saline? Anyways, I feel 100% better. No more pain. No more difficulty swallowing. No more slime. After the unfilled I had a small lunch - 1/2 a roast beef & cheese crepe (delicious!). After lunch I called Dr Ortiz in Mexico for his advice & opinion. He said don't worry about the leakage, there could be so many causes. He said because I was able to swallow that lunch without much difficulty it was unlikely that I had a slip. He also said I should stay on a liquid diet for 3-5 days and delay another fill for at least 2 weeks. I am sticking to my dr ortiz's orders. I love Ortiz & Martinez - they are the most knowledgable, professional and they make themselves so available for advice and support on the phone! Now, by the way.... Some of you have gave me grief over the self-induced puking. You are absolutely right! This is a bad-bad habit. I only did it because it was the only way to relieve the pain I was feeling. I believe it was a vicious cycle which was causing my inflamation and gradually made the stoma tighter and tighter and the food more and more difficult to swallow until eventually I ended up completely restricted. I still don't know what happened to the missing saline though. Also, regarding food choices... It's best to eat healthy. But when you are eating small portions anyway, I think it's ok to treat yourself occasionally. Thanks for your feedback! Sweet Susan

A lot of bandsters cannot eat chicken. This is because chicken is often just too dry. But I found that McDonald's salads with the grilled chicken are easy to eat because this chicken is really moist and goes down easy. Just thought I would share this little tid-bit with you all.

I've been drinking a "Smooth Move" herbal tea every evening sweetened with splenda. It's good and it helps. Found in supermarkets.

I truly believe you guys know more than the doctors so I'd love to hear your opinion. 8 weeks ago - banded in Mexico w/ 10mm band 3 weeks ago - first fill 1.5 cc's (not enough restriction, little weight loss) yesterday - 2nd fill .75 cc's And now - wow, I am really tight! Before the fill I tried to talk the doc into considering .5 instead of .75 but he said, no - lets do this instead, this will really help you lose the weight. Now I find I can only swallow pureed Soup and it gurgles really slowly through my band and feels like a clogged drain going down. No solids will pass thru. My doc told me not to worry. Just drink soup for a few days, then try apple sauce, then move on to mashed potatoes. Things will losen up a bit in a few days he said. He said "You want to see progress in your wieght loss, right?" His office will be closed for the week of Christmas, so I'm a bit nervous that I can get an appointment if I need to. It's pretty easy to pb the soup back up too. But it's been only 1 day so far. Is this normal? (By the way - no fill xrays were done.) Thanks for your support! SweetSue

I too am experiencing jaw pain. I'm probably clenching my teeth in my sleep at night due to stress. But maybe it's my jaw musles from t chew chew chewing. I'm taking chewable tylenol go tabs for the pain which has persisted for 4 days now. It's really pretty painful too.

Hello, As I learn more by reading all these posts and doing research into lap-band I am giving serious consideration to having it done. I don't think my cigna insurance will cover the procedure because I have a bmi of 39 and no co-morbidities. I'm a 44 yr old female who lives in central Connecticut. Because I'd need to pay for it myself, I'm considering having the procedure done in Mexico. Perhaps with Dr Ortiz, he seems to have a good reputation. Anyone know of any place that would do fills in CT? Also, if there were complications and I needed a medical attention, would I be turned away by local bariatric doctors? It would be re-assuring if I could get some after-care in Connecticut. Can anyone offer me any advice? Thank you! Susan

Hi all, I have a question for you. I was banded around 6 weeks ago. I had my 1st fill 3 days ago. I find that when I swallow certain foods, I experience a scratchy sore feeling as it passes through my stoma. It's actually painful. This doesn't happen with all foods, just some foods - for examples crackers, crust, etc. Also, I still don't feel as if my pouch is filling up - I think everything is still going right through, and I can actually feel it going through. Is this normal? Is there a point of adjustment where the food feels like it's actually sitting there for a while and not just squeezing right through? Thanks! :cheer2: Sweet Sue

This morning I swallowed 2 tic tac sized pills (perhaps bigger) and completely forgot that I had a lap band. Luckilly, they didn't get stuck.

Hi Chrissy, I was also banded on 9/29. You're ahead of me. I'm only down around 9 lbs. I just got my first fill on 11/6. Before my 1st fill I was able to eat anything. Now I am just trying to get used to the restriction. I've experienced that tight very painful feeling in the stoma after eating certain foods. I don't know what my procrastination is but I must start my exercise regime. Also, I must get serious about beginning a healthy diet. I do okay but I could do better. This band thing - it's so wierd. I read so much about it and then now having it, it isn't exactly what I expected. I don't understand why everyone loves it. I was just thinking, I am never going to eat in front of other people ever again. Because when food gets stuck, the discomfort isn't something you can easilly hide. I wish you continued success in your weight loss. You are doing good! Sweet Sue

I am also a binge eater. Here's my theory about why we do it.... We distract our minds with thoughts of food. While consumed with thoughts of food, we push away other thoughts - thoughts that are perhaps too painful to deal with. So focus is on food and eating instead. There's the pre-eating thoughts of food ..... What will I eat next? What's in the house to eat? Where can I get some food? There's the active-eating thoughts of food ..... This tastes delicious! I want some more. Yum, yum. Then there's the post-eating thoughts of food.... I'm such a fool. Why did I just do that? I can't believe I ate all that. Why am I so weak? The problem is not just happening in the moments when we are eating, food is on our minds all day. My theory is that we push out the difficult real-life thoughts and replace them with food thoughts. Just like an alchohalic clouds thoughts with the hazy feeling of booze. Sweet Sue

I LOVE OPRAH! She can do no wrong. I give her I lot of credit for her weight loss success - she obviously works hard at diet and exercise. If you watch just a few of her shows, you'll soon get hooked like me. I saw that show and thought it was well worth watching. A great show. I definately have an addictive personality. I've been hooked on cigarettes and alchohol and kicked both bad habits. Now I'm fat. food definately feels like an addiction to me. Believe me, it's been pretty darn hard to keep my cotton-picking hands away from my kid's halloween candy up to now. (I vow not to take anymore). But why the hell do I keep thinking about that candy? What the hell is my problem? - geez I'm not 10 yrs old. I definately can understand that people do pick up new addictions to replace old ones. I hope I develop an obsession with working out, but that will never happen. The thing with the gastric bypass is the alchohal gets into the blood stream much faster and the person gets drunk faster. This situation can lead to big trouble with some people. I'm planning to watch the Discovery Channel's "You on a Diet" with Dr Oz on Fri Nov 3rd. He's a regular guest on Oprah. He's excellent too. Good luck y'all! Sweet Sue

Looking for a fill Dr in Connecticut... I'm considering going to Dr Ortiz in Mexico but want to have a complete plan before I commit to any surgery. Not only fills, but also after-care examinations in the event that I may need it further care or have complications. Your comments are greatly appreciated. Thanks! Susan

Found this great article in a newletter on liquid every day for at least several days before the fill. (You really need this amount at all times anyway). Drink especially well the morning of the fill. If you're flying in, it can be much harder to stay hydrated, so take a drink bottle and drink very often! Those little "to-go" packs of Crystal Lite are ideal - ask the flight attendants for a refill of your Water bottle, pop one in, and then you will have plenty to drink. Those little 4-oz cups of liquid they give you during flight are useless. (Hint - While you're on the plane, also take a couple of those white barf bags – good to keep one in your purse or car, both now and later for emergencies.) 2. Be sure not to have any solid foods for at least 6 hours before the fill. Don't eat a huge or late dinner the night before. If you're having any trouble (reflux, possible slip, etc) please have nothing but fluids after dinner the night before. In some cases, food can still be in the pouch for 12 or more hours. 3. Don't drink COLD fluids for an hour before the fill. That will shrink your stoma and give a false fluoro reading. Room temp fluids are fine. Let the ice in your drink bottle melt, and then you'll have room-temp fluids to drink right up to the fill time. 4. Avoid getting a fill during a menstrual period or a few days before an expected one. During this time, we are usually retaining water, and the fluoro will not be as accurate. 5. If at all possible, hang around for at least a few hours after a fill. Don't run right back to the plane. It takes the normal swelling after a fill 1-2 hours to develop, and by that time you might be too tight. 6. If at all possible, stay overnight and catch a plane out the following late afternoon or evening. If you are too tight, this will allow time to get a small unfill before you leave. This is not very convenient, but sure beats having to possibly return to TJ in a few days, on short notice, in pain, and at high last-minute plane fares! This is "prevention!" Overfills are not common, but they DO happen, even under the best of conditions. Be prepared, and think about this overnight stay. 7. After a fill, please have liquids only for at least 24 hrs. This allows the stoma to rest and heal. Then, a day of soft foods, then back to regular foods. 8. Review the eating and food guidelines again before every fill. You’ll need to refine your eating more and more with higher fill levels, and there will be less and less room for goofs. 9. Please don't get a fill if you are having ANY trouble with the current level of fill. This means ANY regular pain, PB or barfing more than maybe once a week at the most, not able to get enough calories in, not able to drink enough, able to eat only soft foods or fluids. More fill will NOT help, and will make things worse. 10. First fills are not routinely given at 6-8 weeks - but only as you need them. Many people do, some do not. We'll help you decide if you need a fill - just ask. There is no rush for fills. Too much can get you in trouble, and you end up further "behind" than if you had gone slower with fills. Please remember that good fills are very elusive, even with highly- experienced people like The Kuri Team. There are just too many individual factors involved that the docs cannot control. Even the fluoro is only a clue, and not entirely accurate - for some of the reasons above. It usually takes 3- 5 fills to slowly and safely creep up on a good level, and they can be safely given a month apart. Trying to go faster with a bigger fill is not the solution, and the stomach rebels at big sudden fills. SLOW and GRADUAL is the key! This can be frustrating, but is well worth the wait to avoid problems.

Hi Mangojoy, Like you, I had to seriously ponder this difficult decision. I started at 5'2", 206 pounds & age 44 and completely healthy. Insurance wouldn't cover me and so I didn't even bother. I went to Mexico for surgery with Dr Ortiz on 9/29. You are right to be cautious, surgery is a risk and not something you should not take lightly. I have the tools to lose weight. I have no job for one, I have an elliptical, I have exercise tapes, books, recipes, supportive family, etc. I was doing the elliptical for an hour every night for a good long time but hardly lost a pound. I've adopted a lot of good eating habits - splenda, light dressings, chicken w/o skin, lean cuisines, etc. I often exercise - but I'm not always good at dieting. Or I'll do great at dieting but would not exercise. I'm especially weak around sweets. Could I do better? Yes absolutely. Could I keep up a good diet and exercise pattern long enough to lose 80 lbs? Absolutely not. I really struggle and can't even lose 10 lbs on my own. I've been fighting this battle for 20 years now. I keep trying but instead of losing, I've been gaining over the years. The fact is, very few people are successful at losing significant weight and then keep it off with diet & exercise alone. It takes a LOTs of drive and determination. My dad has diabetes. I thought about my 5 yr old daughter and weighing all the risks. I need to be there for her for many years to come. I realized that my greatest health risk is not the lapband surgery, my greatest health risk is continuing at this obese weight. One way or another, things had to change. So I was banded just 10 days ago. I'm down 6 lbs. Hopefully the wieght will continue to come off and I will have added years to my life as a result. I'll believe it when I see it. Good luck in your decision! Let me know if I can be of help. Susan

Ingredients: 1 small pita low fat riccotta tomato sauce Slice a pocket in the side of the pita. Smear the ricotta inside with a knife. Place it on a pan in the toaster oven and toast. While toasting, place a small amount of tomato sauce in the microwave. When the pita appears toasted, plate it and and pour the sauce on top. If your stomach can tolerate the crunchy toasted pita, you'll find this is really delicious. You can doctor it up to your liking (some add-in options: mozzerella, pepperoni, spinach). :hungry:

Add me to the list of September bandsters. I'm scheduled with Dr Ortiz for 9/29. Yikes it's coming quick. I am nervous! Not nervous about the surgery as much as I'm nervous about living with the lapband. I'm nervous I might suffer painful PBs. I'm afraid I'll forget to chew thoroughly enough. I'm nervous I might puke in front of others. I LOVE food. I feel like I might possibly never enjoy food again after lapband. I might really just hate the chewing, chewing, chewing. I don't really have time for a 45 min lunch break. I know I probably sound a bit overly dramatic. I'm sick of being fat so I'm going forward with this in spite of some of the horror stories I've read. Good luck to you all! Susan

Hi All, Perhaps you can help me with this question. I'm pre-banded and I'm hoping to keep my surgery confidential. Here's my situation, I have the good fortune of belonging to 2 social groups who dine together. I'm wondering how I'm going to be able to keep my little secret among these groups? Is it going to be even possible? I really don't want them to know - it will be like telling the whole town. Can I push my food around my plate to make it look like it's been eaten, hide some on my husband's plate, clear the table so noone sees how little I actually ate? One group is called the "international dinner club". It consists of 6 couples where we dine on a home-made ethnic meal every other month. This is a a pot luck where we all contribute a part of the the meal according to the country chosen by the host. It's always a really delicious multi-course. Unfortunately, these dinners are often a variation of chicken - which is not easilly digestable for a banded person. Also - appetizers, soup, salad, bread, entree, veg, dessert - all home-made! The 2nd group is called the "lunch bunch". It's a group of 8 women who get together for lunch to celebrate each other's birthdays. We had been meeting in restaurants but now we've decided to save money and instead take turns hosting these celebrations in our homes. The hostess will prepare the entire luncheon. Eating in a restaurant would have been easier because I could order what I want, but when you eat at someone's home, you get what they serve. What's a bandster to do and still be polite? A typical lunch will be chicken ceasar salad or cruisant sandwiches. How am I going to be able to keep my little secret in these groups? Is it going to be impossible? Some of you will say, just be honest and tell them. But I really don't want them to know - it will be like broadcasting it to the whole town. Lapband will be a stigma for me. Forgive me for being crude, but I actually know a guy who had his penis shortened because it was too long. Now everyone who knows his secret must associate this guy with the thought - "Damn, this guy's dick was soooooo long he had to have half of it cut off". I made the mistake of telling too many friends about my breast reduction. Call it paranoid but I often wonder if people imagine that I have Mrs Frankenstien's tits and cringe when they think of the scars. I know people just love to gossip, I'm no fool. Thanks for your feedback! Susan

Me again, thank you for all the feedback so far. You all make me feel much better. The reason I think that people may actually take notice is because I'm the kind of person who would notice. For example, if I searched for the perfect recipe and worked to make a wonderfully delicious appetizer for my friends, I serve a small plate of it in front of everyone there sitting at the dining room table ..... everyone is raving over how superbly delicious it is and then there's a person sitting there who's refusing to even give it a try, yeah I might be just a little bit put off. That's what I'm worried about - the cook's pride. Somehow I'll manage somehow I guess. Hopefully you guys are right and they won't notice.

Hey Mert, I hate to tell you this but your brothers are a-holes. I have an older brother who is an a-hole too. I think the verbal abuse dished out by our siblings and/or parents is what drives us to find comfort in food in the first place. They've probably have treated you poorly since childhood. Tell them "How dare he speak that way to me! And that you're tired of his sh-t and you refuse to be around negative people anymore." Somehow they go the impression they can talk this way about you and it's alright. I'm guessing you must be rather passive. That's got to change. Stand up for yourself and show them your anger. Good luck! Susan

Hi All, I've been lurking and finding so much valuable information on this website. Gee, how did we ever manage before the internet? So let me introduce myself... I'm a fairly healthy 44 yo w/a bmi 39. I have about 75 lbs to lose. I'm going to self-pay and will get banded by Dr Ortiz in Mexico and he will fix my hiatal hernia too. I am currently looking for a doctor in Connecticut who would be willing to provide me with after-care & fills. I hope to have the procedure done late September 2006 in Tijuana. I've decided to keep this a complete secret from everybody, but my husband. My family will think I'm nuts to go to MX for this and just worry and give me all sorts of grief if they knew. I just hope I will adopt better eating habits after getting the band. I'm fat - so of course I have bad habits. I eat when I'm not hungry. I'll even eat when I'm full. I especially love sweets. I've even eaten frosting right out of the can to get that sugar fix. The hardest thing for me to understand is the banded feeling, and given all our life-long bad habits - how will this work? If I over-eat will the food come back up? Will cheese-cake still go down smoothly? Frosting? I understand I will need to adopt a some self-discipline if I want to see steady weightloss. But I've been a life-long failure as far as will-power and diets go. Hopefully some of you will share your wisdom with me. This is a really awesome website and you are all such wonderful people. So glad to meet all of you! Thanks & sincere regards, Susan