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angelarias

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About angelarias

  • Birthday 08/14/1973

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    http://obesityhelp.com/member/angelarias
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    phoenix arizona usa
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    Hi All:<br /><br />I was banded in July 2004 and will be banded 5 years. I check the board monthly and am so glad there is so much more information available today than there was when I was researching weight loss surgery.<br /><br />I chose to be banded because it was a reversible procedure and I thought in 10 or 20 years, with medical technology as quickly as it is progressing, banding would no longer be done, RNY, DS and VSG would be long gone as viable surgical options and instead replaced with true, safe, non-invasive procedures. My band is just fine (Thank God) but I have never believed that it is a lifetime implant. For example, my dad's pacemaker has already been replaced and my mom's hip replacement from 10 years ago needs to be revised. These are lifetime implants. Hopefully, our bands will last 10-15 years-let us pray!<br /><br />For newbies out there, no matter how good insurance you have, never asssume emergency surgery for you is going to be free or lowcost. For those of us thast have insurance (with a wls exclusion), an emergency medical fund is essential. I have been thrilled when I read about one you being able to save enough for plastics but I have never read anyone mention that they have money set aside just for a wls emergency. IT IS essential. I travel extensively for work and wherever I go, I have the name of the local band surgeon and where to go for a fill.<br /><br />Here are my stats. I am 35 yrs. old, 5'5" and started at 260. I lost 10 pounds on the pre-op liquid diet which took me to 250. I lost another 30 pounds on the 6 week liquid diet which took me to 220. In the next 2 years I lost an additional 40 pounds which took me to 180 in 2006. I am now 200 so i have lost and maintained a 50% weight loss. Was weight loss surgery a good investment? I think so. I like to do a cost per pound analysis. I have currently spent $3500 for fills and $8500 for the surgery. $12000 for 60 pounds or $200 a pound. For those of you bandsters that paid out of pocket divide your pounds lost by your surgery and maintenance visit costs and you'll get a cost per pound.<br /><br />I would love to see posts on this forum from patients 5-10 years out of surgery--what ever surgery type you had. Share with us what the "weight loss real world" is like.<br /><br />More importantly, the questions I'd like to pose to everybody out there. What weight loss surgeries will we be discussing on this forum 10 years from now? Will our bands be still in place? Will the DSers have a modified new DS? Will the RNY still be the gold standard in the U.S. I'm not looking to start a debate about weight loss surgery methods or inspire negativity or drama. <br /><br />Just posing a straight up question to look 10 years into the future. As you can imange 10 years ago, we were discussing phen-fen and had no idea what a RNY or a DS or a VSG or a gastric band was! So 10 years from now guys, what do ya think? Will peple have gastric stimulators, a revised TOGA procedure via endoscopy, biodegradable bands (yes, gastric bands that do their job and break down in the body with no surgery), brain electrodes to lose weight (like recently featured on Oprah), a weight loss pill.<br /><br />I am not a medical person but I love to discuss technology. So chime in everyone. What new wl technolgy will we be discussing 10 years from now on the OH boards?<br /><br />By the way, I am filled to 6cc in a 4cc band and I have little restriction. I do like my band and am not thinking about a revision. I'm happy with my 60 pond weight loss and will try to lose 60 pounds in a year's time.<br /><br />ALL the best,<br />Angel<br /><br />Banded July 2004<br />Drs. Ortiz/Martinez Tijuana,Mexico<br />band filled 6cc in 4cc (band still in good position but little restriction) cannot get any more fills--band full<br />260 starting weight<br />250 surgery weight<br />200 plus or minus 5 pounds current weight<br />50 percent weight loss<br />goal weight 135-http://www.obesityhelp.com/member/angelarias/<br /><br />my blog about interesting wls articles, insightful questions and answers about wls, recipes and more<br /><br />

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  1. Hi there: Thanks for the advice. I don't mind traveling to get a fill. Unfortunately, plane and long car rides and stress make my band tighter and I'm unable to get a "proper fill." I don't like that DR. berger has to numb the area before a fill--the logic being is that if one is good at fills, they could do them blindfolded and without numbing the area. He does them with fluoro and has to numb the area? Hmmmfff. Does Dr. Aldriedge have to numb the area also? Flaggirl and all others out there who get "stuck" with the doc's nurse or physician assistant to get your fills--if you are unsure about their "fill ability" just refuse to get a fill. I've known no less than 5 bandsters who had a port leak because of inexperienced fill providers. To all Phoenicians out there, Fill Centers USA is opening an office on 40th st and mcdowell this saturday. I don't use fill centers but they told me that "vera medical" (i couldn't find their phone number) will be doing fills on 4040 east mcdowell. fillcentersusa.com is opening a fill center in peoria. they are pushing an annual membership plan that is $1300 and includes 6 fills I think. THEY DON'T USE FLUORO YET--BOO... All the best, Angel
  2. JENNIFER FROM THE OBESITYHELP.COM FORUM POSTED A GOOD LIST OF WEBSITES FOR GETTING YOUR PROTEIN SAMPLE PACKS. I was unable to include the links so click and paste into browser. If anyone has cheap sources of protein drink samples, please post them! You've probably heard your tastes will change after surgery, so don't buy a big tub of any one protein powder. Here is a list of sites that offer protein samples at great prices. I ordered from several of these sites before surgery and I've been working my way through the samples. The variety has made it easier to get my protein in, because I'm always excited to try the next flavor. And tastes are definitely different... a lot of people swear by the Nectar Syntrax but I can't stand them. Plus if not for the sample packs I wouldn't have discovered that early on the high protein hot chocolate was the easiest for me to get down. You will probably have 3 protein drinks per day in the first month, so it's not unreasonable to buy quite a few of these. Definitely get the Nectars and the Chike samples because they are practically free, the Netrition pack has a great variety, and Unjury is very popular. Unjury https://www.unjury.com/ssl/purchasing.php Samples $1.75 each Chike http://www.chikenutrition.com/half-samples.html Sample all 5 flavors for only $3 shipping Netrition Protein Sampler Pack http://www4.netrition.com/netrition_protein_sampler_pack.htm l Includes samples of 14 different proteins, including a New Whey 42 g protein bullet and Champion Nutrition Pure Whey Stack. 17.99. Nectar Syntrax You can get a box of all 11 nectar protein flavors directly from Syntrax for $4.99 plus $5.99 for shipping. Contact Rick Davis Medical Sales Manager nectar@si03.com 1-866-333-7403 ext. 803 Vitalady http://www.vitalady.com/cgi-bin/commerce.c...Order=ascending Tons of samples of lots of different protein products from an OH member. Smart Forme Early Phase Bariatric Surgery Nutrition Starter Kit https://www.smartforme.net/store/cart.php?m...ct_detail&p =6 One carton each of Chocolate and Vanilla Ready-to-Drink Shakes, Chicken Bouillon Soup, Cream of Tomato Soup, Wildberry Cold Drink, Peach Mango Cold Drink, Orange Cold Drink, Hot Chocolate, Cappuccino, Chocolate Pudding/Shake, Vanilla Pudding/Shake and Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal. $19.99
  3. HI ALL: Dr. Berger in Flagstaff does fills for patients banded abroad. I think the charge is $225 WITH FLUORO. Does anyone know if he is indeed skillful? Only Dr. Ortiz from Mexico and Wendy from Mesa have done my fills and they never have poked or missed the band port. Has Berger does hundreds of fills or has he done thousands of fills? DOES ANYONE KNOW? I don't need to know about his surgical competence-I want to know about his "fill" competence. Can anyone help me on this one? For newbies or long-termers out there, always try to use a fill provider that has done at least a thousand band fills. . You need to ask the person that is ACTUALLY DOING YOUR FILL what his/her individual experience is. I have talked to Berger's nurse and of course she gave him a glowing review. Problem is--I don't know of anyone that has used him for fills. His reviews on obesityhelp.com write nothing about his fill skill. If anyone knows of affordable prices with fluoro in Arizona updated for 2009 please post them. The only one I know of in the reasonable range is Dr. Berger for $225. Cheers, Angel Banded July 2004/Drs. Ortiz/Martinez Tijuana,Mexico 260 starting weight/250 surgery weight/200 plus or minus 5 pounds current weight 50 percent weight loss attained/goal weight 135-140 I have 6cc's in a 9.75cm (4cc) Lap Band. I am hoping to be at goal 135-140 in a year! Thanks for the encouragement all of you have provided me! LONG TERM BANDSTERS WORLD-WIDE, SHARE YOUR BAND SUCCESSES AND YOUR BAND SORROWS!
  4. hi: don't give up--treat this as a second chance. exercise and diet are the only things that gets the weight off. i've only lost more than 50 percent of my weight and i am 5 years out. i don't like to be discouraged. 193 is the weight my body doesn't like to budge from. don't rely too much on fills--you can be restricted for three days then poof! nothing. put your hard earned fill money to healthier foods and a trainer once a month--someone you can weigh in front of, get measured and discuss your nutrition choices. someone to teach you how to exercise for your body type and someone to be accountable to. you can do it!
  5. hi there: we'd love to get a day-by-day update of your hospital stay when you are home. how wonderful!! i think it's great that you are getting three procedures done at once instead of going there three separate times. can you tell us a little about the quotes you got from u.s. doctors vs. the quotes from tijuana. how many hours will we be "under" anaethesia? how many drains will ya have? iwho is going to do yr surgery? if you need any fat for your butt transfer, my ass has lots of fat to "volunteer." lol so happy for you, angel
  6. hi there: it is amazing how many life events we missed out on because we thought we were too fat. people really don't notice, though. they just miss our presence!! to those that are waiting to "fit into the right dress" or "not be the fat one", don't. go to these events--your family and friends want you there. life is too short. what a great post and nice photo!! cheers, angel
  7. hi there: you'll find that many docs don't do fills unless they or their associates have banded. i budgeted for my bands and intial 3 fills to be done in mexico with ortiz. good luck on yr upcoming surgery! angel
  8. Hi All: These have been posted before and I think it is a great way to try a great-tasting protein drink. It has a high protein to weight ratio. That means that the 26g serving size will yield you 23 grams of protein. Other protein drinks I have tried have a 30g serving sixe and 15 grams of protein. The rest of the 15 g is sweetener or filler or whatever else they put in those protein supplements. YOU CAN ONLY ORDER THESE BY PHONE. THEY ARE LIMITING ONE PER PERSON. IF YOU HAVE NUMEROUS PEOPLE IN YOUR HOUSEHOLD, YOU CAN PUT IN AN ORDER UNDER THEIR NAME AND CREDIT CARD. SYNTRAX'S PHONE NUMBER IS 1-866-333-7403. ASK FOR CUSTOMER SERVICE (THEY CLOSE AT 5P.M. CENTRAL TIME, I THINK) and place your order for 10 samples for $9.99 UPS GROUND shipping. Bodybuilding.com has all the flavors available. Search "syntrax nectrar" 2.2 pounds 36 servings is around $28 and their grabngo packs are $24 for 21 individually-wrapped servings of one flavor. Bodybuilding.com has a good price on click coffee protein but melting mama is the best one to contact for all the click protein promotions! Question: the max protein the eggface uses in her recipes is quite expensive at gnc. does anyone know a website that carries this protein for a reasonable price? what flavors do you all like of the max protein?i know even if i don't like the protein, i can always make protein ice cream. i am soo sick of sugar free popsicles and crystal light pops. i wish grocery stores carried healthy protein ice cream. I like the herbalife unflavored protein powder and their shakes. i go through reputable sellers t hrough ebay (always fresh products--great service) because i don't want to go through a local distributor that wants to recruit me into the herbalife organization. Herbalife chai latte ranks up there along with click and my syntrax nectars. i buy the unjury once a year. i like all the flavors but i prefer the syntrax. The unjury soup is okay. If i had to do preop again, i would do unjury for two weeks instead of the expensive and bleh tasting medifast and optifast for 2 or more weeks. UNJURY HAS SAMPLES--ABOUT TWO BUCKS FOR EACH FLAVOR. you have to check with your doc, of course. for those that are mandated to do the optifast/medifast "hell" you might be able to find affordable products at dietdirect.com--they have a lot of protein-enriched liquids that are less than a buck a serving. when i go on a roadtrip vacation., i like the smartforlife.com. Yup, those are the gimmicky cookie diet folks! Their cookies are okay and prevent my convenience store snacking that i do mostly on weekends (choc chip is the best IMO) but what i love are the shakes--the powder is premixed in a little bottle. you have to add water voila! i love their shakes--it's cheaper to go through costco.com and search "smart for life" or through their website. The SMARTFORLIFE.COM company sometimes lower the price of items if you ask. Here are my favorite Syntrax Nectars: fuzzy navel, twisted cheffy, chocolate truffle and capuccino. They mix well in a shaker bottle and not in a magic bullet. As people have mentioned. they have a "foam" bot a not-so-heavy protein taste. i mix them with skim milk, soy milk, filtered water, g4 gatorade, vitamin water zero, powerade zero, crystal light, coffee, orange juice (i love the tropicana 50--coupon on tropicana.com--it has 50 perecent less sugar than regular oj). I HOPE EVERYONE GETS TO TRY THE SYNTRAX NECTAR SAMPLES! Please post where you get your wls samples, what you paid and what you got in the sample pack! Cheers, Angel in Phoenix
  9. Hi All: I was banded in July 2004 and will be banded 5 years. I check the board monthly and am so glad there is so much more information available today than there was when I was researching weight loss surgery. I chose to be banded because it was a reversible procedure and I thought in 10 or 20 years, with medical technology as quickly as it is progressing, banding would no longer be done, RNY, DS and VSG would be long gone as viable surgical options and instead replaced with true, safe, non-invasive procedures. My band is just fine (Thank God) but I have never believed that it is a lifetime implant. For example, my dad's pacemaker has already been replaced and my mom's hip replacement from 10 years ago needs to be revised. These are lifetime implants. Hopefully, our bands will last 10-15 years-let us pray! For newbies out there, no matter how good insurance you have, never asssume emergency surgery for you is going to be free or lowcost. For those of us thast have insurance (with a wls exclusion), an emergency medical fund is essential. I have been thrilled when I read about one you being able to save enough for plastics but I have never read anyone mention that they have money set aside just for a wls emergency. IT IS essential. I travel extensively for work and wherever I go, I have the name of the local band surgeon and where to go for a fill. Here are my stats. I am 35 yrs. old, 5'5" and started at 260. I lost 10 pounds on the pre-op liquid diet which took me to 250. I lost another 30 pounds on the 6 week liquid diet which took me to 220. In the next 2 years I lost an additional 40 pounds which took me to 180 in 2006. I am now 200 so i have lost and maintained a 50% weight loss. Was weight loss surgery a good investment? I think so. I like to do a cost per pound analysis. I have currently spent $3500 for fills and $8500 for the surgery. $12000 for 60 pounds or $200 a pound. For those of you bandsters that paid out of pocket divide your pounds lost by your surgery and maintenance visit costs and you'll get a cost per pound. I would love to see posts on this forum from patients 5-10 years out of surgery--what ever surgery type you had. Share with us what the "weight loss real world" is like. More importantly, the questions I'd like to pose to everybody out there. What weight loss surgeries will we be discussing on this forum 10 years from now? Will our bands be still in place? Will the DSers have a modified new DS? Will the RNY still be the gold standard in the U.S. I'm not looking to start a debate about weight loss surgery methods or inspire negativity or drama. Just posing a straight up question to look 10 years into the future. As you can imange 10 years ago, we were discussing phen-fen and had no idea what a RNY or a DS or a VSG or a gastric band was! So 10 years from now guys, what do ya think? Will peple have gastric stimulators, a revised TOGA procedure via endoscopy, biodegradable bands (yes, gastric bands that do their job and break down in the body with no surgery), brain electrodes to lose weight (like recently featured on Oprah), a weight loss pill. I am not a medical person but I love to discuss technology. So chime in everyone. What new wl technolgy will we be discussing 10 years? i AM SURE ORTIZ AND MARTINEZ WILL BE PRACTICING AND STILL THE GREATLY QUALIFIED SURGEONS THAT THEY ARE! What weight loss surgery do you think they'll be doing? Finally, are there any long term bandsters here? From the early 2000's? From the 90's? What do you all think is the life span of the lap band? I know, I know our surgeons have told us it's a lifetime implant! In theory, yes--in reality-who knows? I have been banded for close to 5 years and I believe I have 5 more years to go. hopefully, i'll have this tool for life but i want a "real band world perspective" from long-tern bandsters! By the way, I am filled to 6cc in a 4cc band and I have little restriction. I do like my band and am not thinking about a revision. I'm happy with my 60 pond weight loss and will try to lose 60 pounds in a year's time. When I researched, Ortiz and Martinez 5 years ago, they were as highly-qualified as they are now! For you guys, doing your research of band surgeons in Mexico, Ortiz and Martinez are really the most competent lap band surgery team in the world. Are they in trials for any alternative weight loss surgeries. Moderators and OCC staff, please chime in! All the best, Angel Banded July 2004 Drs. Ortiz/Martinez Tijuana,Mexico band filled 6cc in 4cc (band still in good position but little restriction) cannot get any more fills--band full 260 starting weight 250 surgery weight 200 plus or minus 5 pounds current weight 50 percent weight loss goal weight 135-140
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