oktwigs

The "procedure" went well. No problems...love good drugs that put me to sleep. =D> No need to tell them about the band at all.

Thanks for all your extra leg work on that! I really appreciate it. Twigs

I'm scheduled for the end of May. He promises me I won't feel a thing. :)

Thanks Blazn...I'll look forward to your input. That's the problem with small town living...you can't burp without someone knowing about it. My Mom, sons, and the rest of my family thought I went to a "retreat" aimed at helping people with weight issues. Close to the truth, but not quite there. I also flew down to SD for my first fill. That time I was out of town for a class. In my profession it is common for me to leave town for classes and such so no one thought anything about that absence. I guarantee you though that if one records person or nurse at the hospital/clinic knew about the band it would become common knowledge. Oh yes, I soooo excited abut the colonoscopy (NOT). Here's what so funny about it though...when given the choice of the dates I picked the day of an annual event here in my school that I just hate. Sitting in the bleachers with my students or going under sedation....uhmmmmmm...I'll go for the drugs! Thanks for the input. Twigs

I'm scheduled for my first colonoscopy in late May. My Primary Care Doc knows I'm banded, but we've elected to keep it out of my medical records...this is a small town and even with privacy laws we felt it was a private matter (only husband knows i'm banded) and didn't want it leaking out into public knowledge. I saw the doctor who does the colonoscopy and didn't tell him...should I? Again, I don't want it in my medical records, but in a normal 'scope they don't need to put a tube down your throat for anything. What do you all think? Twigs

The main recommendation for eating in MX is to eat only things you can peel or wash yourself in water with either microdine or a few drops of bleach. Make sure your drinks have purified ice...restaurants want tourists to come back and so do a pretty good job. I had the best ceasar salad ever at a small pizza joint in Todos Santos this winter...organically grown just out of town. I've been to MX for two vacations and not gotten tourista and I'm even brave enough to eat from roadside stands. But...I am known for having a cast iron stomach. We went for two full weeks this past Xmas with my whole family and out of a dozen people we only had two cases of mild tourista that were gone within a few hours. Do make sure you brush your teeth with bottled water and only drink bottled water...I think that will solve most problems. Good luck! Twigs

I'm especially glad that only my husband knows I was banded. I'm almost to my 1 year anniv. and I've only lost 25 lbs. this year. Part of that is the difficulty I have in getting fills since I live in a very remote area. I haven't had a fill since Oct. and will get one at the end of the month. Good thing about the band is that I haven't gained the weight back. I alternate between being grateful for the band the fact that its kept me from gaining weight...and then back to feeling discouraged that I haven't lost as much as I'd like. If people knew I'd been banded I would have had to deal with questions and knowing looks, and gossip that I haven't lost weight. Even my best buddies don't know -- only my banding buddies. Twigs

I agree...she does say that WLS is the easy way out. Remember the show she did on people who just switched their food addiction to drugs or alcohol? I hope OCC knows what they are getting into. While I like Lady O, I sometimes worry about the influence she has on people...she has lots of power and if she does a negative piece on OCC and banding, it could really backfire. As for me -- I am very pleased with my experience and although I haven't lost as much as I'd like to, I am still plugging away at it. Twigs

I've had three fills in Arliington...all went very well and no problems finding the port,

WHOO HOO! That is great news. I am so pleased things are ok with your band. I'm still feeling a pretty good restriction. I don't even try to eat my usual breakfast any more...one warm low fat cocoa until about 10:30. Sometimes I can eat a small amount of cereal then, other times I just end up eating a granola bar. Have you tried those KASHI ones? Delicious and they aren't too bad calorie wise. The rest of the day is made of healthy choices. I wish apples were easier to eat, but oranges are a good afterschool snack for me. I have a few things I'll be packing my MX bound suitcase, the granolas being one of them. I'm working harder at the exercise too. I pretty much took the first quarter of the school year off, but now I'm back at it. If I'm going to try surfing down in MX at Christmas i'd better be sure my shoulders and arms are strong so I'm hitting the weights at the gym very regularly. Man, was I sore for a few days, but it is better now. Are you fixing the Thanksgiving dinner or are you traveling to one of your family's homes. I'm doing the cooking and will probably get the last of my shopping done today. I think I'll brine my turkey this year. It'll be interesting to see what I can and can't eat and I'll have to be especially careful with the current fill I have. I wouldn't want to PB in front of the family since they all have no clue about the band. Again though, I am soooo glad I didn't tell anyone. DH keeps an eye on me whenwe eat out or around friends and will ask me quietly if I'm ok if I lay my fork down (ha ha ha) -- something I'd rarely do beforehand. Now I try to put it down inbetween bites. Do you waterload before meals? I try very very hard to drink a full 16 oz. before I sit down to eat a meal. It does help with that temptation to drink during meals. At restaurants I often suck on an ice cube rather than taking a drink. I remember Dr. Miranda suggesting that and it works well. I get that need for a drink taken care of without water choking me. Take care hon, let me know how it goes. Janice

That is the restriction you are feeling from the band being placed. After the surgery your body reacts by swelling. Most of us only feel that sensation when we eat too fast, or too much, or don't chew our food to mush, but if you are newly banded that swelling is normal. Does it feel that way all the time or just when you have your liquids? Remember you shouldn't eating any solids or even mushies at this point....total liquid diet so the band has a chance to heal. Good luck. Where are you at....East side or West Side. I'm hiding out over on the East side of the state. Twigs

That's pretty cool ... five eh? I would like to talk the doc in Omak who does fills for his nurse (also banded in MX, but in PV) into doing mine so I could stay close to home. Most of the bandsters in my area are pretty private about it, but I've heard of three others who were all banded in MX, but don't know their names...I'll have to put out some feelers. Good luck with your fill and I hope it works well for you. I had half an apple as an after work snack and only ate half of a piece of fish for supper, so that's good. Hopefully things will continue this way. Twigs

We are on the same page....I was just over to Arlington yesterday, but was able to zip over North Cascades Pass once more before it gets closed due to weather. It looks like we might be lucky and it'll be open for at least another few weeks unless the snow just dumps all of the sudden. I left home at 7:30 am, was filled by 11:15, and back home by 4:00...stopping to take pictures quite a bit on the way home. I'm up to 2.9 cc and am doing just fine with it, almost feel like I could have had more. I'd love it if they'd get set up in Spokane occasionally. It's just a tad bit closer for me. I'll probably be in Leavenworth in Jan. too. Aren't they wonderful? I really appreciate their positive friendly attitude, I just wish they were closer. Twigs

I went by myself and my husband stayed home. No problems...I had fun with my banding sisters, who all took me under their wings. Twigs

Probably not. Usually slip symptoms include vomiting frequently. If it continues to be a problem a quick fluro will give a clear answer. I'm not a doc of course, so take my advice for what it's worth. Twigs