I am now a Bandster!

[Doula Lea 0]

I don't post here much, but I wanted to quickly post for the newbies. I just got back yesterday from surgery in Mexico with Dr. Sanchez and I am just thrilled! He is the warmest nicest doctor that I have ever met and everyone on his staff was just as wonderful. I am a nursing student so you can bet that I throughly checked out the hospital- it was state of the art and so very comfortable. The hotel staff was gracious and many of them spoke English which made the trip so much easier.

I am feeling really good now, just hungry and a little gassy! I have quite a bit of bruising at the incision sites (I am a fair skinned Celt) which has helped to make them sore, but other then that I feel better then I expected to. I am just already tired of liquids and am able to drink more then expected in a sitting. I know that I have another 2 weeks of liquids and am not looking forward to it, but all in all am so happy in general with the band and with the Mexico experience. My biggest problem now is trying to convince my 2 year old daughter that Mommy is no longer her jungle gym !

~Lea

11/8 Dr. Sanchez

253/.../199 mini goal

[Vera 7]

Congratulations Lea

Welcome to Band Land!

Dr Sanchez is so wonderfull. I bruised alot too. Did you get an AMI band?

[Alexandra 55]

Congratulations, Lea!! I know about the jungle-gym thing, indeed. For weeks afterward my daughter was asking me if she could jump on my tummy yet.

Here's wishing you a quick and easy recovery. Welcome to Bandlandia!!

[Doula Lea 0]

I got the Inamed band because I wanted to make sure that I could still get fills easily in the states if needed. Dr. Sanchez actually placed the AMI band in his daughter (he says that she is his worse patient) and that made me re-consider my choice, but at the time I already had a fill doc lined up in TX. Now, getting back from surgery I find out that my fill doc has stopped doing fills for MX patients. :angry I guess I will have to go back to Dr. Sanchez for fills, it is just more expensive and a lot of time wasted, grrrr... I am a little worried about not having a doc in this area that I can go to with problems though....

~Lea

11/8 Dr. Sanchez

252/.../199 mini goal

[Vera 7]

Lea

Sorry to hear about your fill dr. I came across a dr who wouldn't fill non Inamed bands.

I counted 13 Texans registered on this forum and I bet theres more! Compare the cost of Mexico to finding a Fill dr. in Texas. I'm sure you can find a resonable Fill doc near you. Ask around? Obesityhelp has lists of drs.

As for the cost... my first Fill cost me $371 och. Now I'm looking at a new doc who just started his practice 20 miles from me and is asking $200 plus needle fee. I offered to be a guinea pig...Still waiting for a response.

Gee theres alot of 2 year olds, I'v got one too. Just watching him move wears me out.

Good luck

[Doula Lea 0]

I am looking very hard to try and find a new fill doc. It would be so much more convenient to stay in the states.

BTW, I forgot to add two things to my original post.

The first is that I would not recommend the pain meds in recovery if you don't really drink. They knocked me out for almost 6 hours (they gave me Nubain)! The meds that the nursing staff administered once I was in my room were much milder and were probably helpful in avoiding inflammation.

Second, I got to see a tape of my surgery! The anethisiologist came into my room to check on me the afternoon after my morning surgery and he had 3 videotapes in his hand. I knew that Dr. Sanchez only had 3 surgeries scheduled for that date so I asked him if one of those tapes was of my surgery and it was! Anyway, My best friend (hubby stayed home with our daughter) watched the tape right before we went to sleep. Dr. Sanchez actually came to see me in the middle of viewing it and he narrated the whole deal! It was so cool (speaking as a nursing student here)! After seeing the tape, I am even more convinced that the surgery was the right decision as I had plenty of fatty deposits around my organs. Also, Dr. Sanchez is going to make a copy of the tape and mail it to me in a couple of weeks and I am going to try really hard to gross out my hubby with it .

~Lea

11/8 Dr. Sanchez

252/.../199 mini goal