Phoenix

Congratulations! Enjoy all the milestones to your goal!

I make lotion, soap, balms and multiple skin care products. I used to work for P&G a million years ago... I have fragrance oils and essential oils in quantities that would scare normal people. That said... Exactly why do my arm pits need to smell like Vanilla Chai? Who is sniffing me there??? And sparkles? Why do they (my arm pits) need to freaking GLITTER? Or smell like PEACH??? Someone educate me please? (for those who don't have teen aged girls or who haven't shopped the deodorant section for a while Secret antiperspirant -- made by P&G -- glitters and smells like things most arm pits haven't considered in the ~35,000 years man ((or our predecessors)) has been known to inhabit our planet)

Welcome! I'm glad your experience was as good as can be!

3% was the number Dr. Ortiz gave me. I worried about it every day for a few weeks. Doesn't everyone?

After Tuesday's fill, I was a big chicken. I ate solid food. I am certainly more restricted than I was on Monday. But I'm not holding at full for over an hour with half a cup of food. The little banana didn't stay (or stick). It went down. Aunt flo came to visit me on the flight on the way home from the fill, so if some of you are anything to guess by, I'd say that's as tight as this fill will get. Do we need to keep fill appointments 4 weeks apart or is it reasonable to move the next one up?

Congratulations! Diamond Jim here didn't have a lick of discomfort. Maybe you're another of the lucky ones!

Well HI! Nice to SEE you! Impossible to see yourself through other's eyes. You're looking at an image and a comparison in your head based on your own goals. I see a person who is shrinking all over. Face, shoulders, chest, hips, stomach, forearms, arms, legs, butt...except your hair. That looks better than the first picture. Your posture is better, too. Have you noticed? I also see some bravery, phenomenal loyalty and great humor in that face.

Cool! I hope you love them for a little while and follow up with their NSV successor soon!

Enjoy the milestones! You worked hard to get there Congratulations for seeing the seventies! I hope the sixties welcome you soon!

WHAT AN ACCOMPLISHMENT!!!! CONGRATULATIONS!

I'm on this bus, too! Thanks for posting this!

You GO Girl! Congratulations on your successful milestone!

Cathy, with all complete respect, I disagree with a fill before heading to Asia...I travel there a lot (Korea/Taiwan/Japan/China). If I were going over there as an ex-pat on a long contract with my own kitchen, food supply, etc, then you're absolutely right. Hong Kong and Shanghai have plenty of plastic surgeons and bariatric clinics in case of emergency. In country, not so much. As a short time stint, I'd get an unfill. Asian foods are frequently sticky (chop stick sticky) and if you got stuck all the time, that would be awful.

Banded, liquids for 3 weeks. Okay. Then -- gingerly, you try solids for 3 weeks. Cool. No restriction, but you're testing the waters, so to speak. First fill. Okay. Saw band, saw pouch, saw port. Everything looks good, just like it's supposed to. Liquids for 3 days. That's a snap. Now it's time for solids and I'm afraid of them. What if I don't have restriction? I can't deal with a mere 7 pounds lost for another month! It's too frustrating. More worrisome: What if I do? What if after all this time, I mess it all up? I know it's stupid. I'm not one to twist in the wind normally. It's time for the band to work like a tool now, as long as I do my part. What if it doesn't? Sorry, being a worry wart. It's showtime for my band and I have some weird performance anxiety about it.

It was your IV drip. The liquid in the pouch dripping into you was Lactated Ringers.

That's good news, actually Your skin has healed sufficiently to replace itself, so the glue fell off. My little incisions took about a week, too. The larger one about 10 days. Good for you!

1. How much did your lap band procedure/trip cost? Answered in a PM 2. What kind of band do you have, REALIZE or Inamed/Allegren and which do you advise? Dr. Ortiz chose the band. I asked him which he chooses and why. He chooses the band that best fits your stomach. For mine, he selected the Inamed 4 cc band. 3. How many fills will I need after surgery? Is it true they cost around $150-$300 Yes. Fills are not possible to predetermine. Some people get 2 or 3, some far more. 4. How big is/are your scar(s) and how ugly is/are they? See MamaMichelle's bikini pictures. I have 5. 4 of them are 1 cm long and hard to see now. The one where the port was put in is about an inch long. It will look like a scratch soon. 5. Also, I'm a college student, I was thinking to do this during labor day weekend (August 31st-Sep. 1st) and then go back to school. Is 3 days enough? If you don't have heavy lifting to do, probably. But a week is better. 6. I was also planning to study abroad starting January in China for a semester, do you think I'll still be able to do this if I get the band? Depends where you are in China. If you're in Hong Kong, Beijing or Shanghai, you'll be fine. If you're inland, I'd get an unfill for the period of time you're there. There is no way to avoid sticky rice and/or noodles for a semester outside of the large metropolitian areas. Hong Kong and Shanghai are two of my very favorite cities. Thank you so much for your time and support!

I watched. Large needle. I'm tender, too, but less than yesterday. Small bruise, not much bleeding afterwards, a tiny band-aid did the trick.

Have a wonderful new year!

A birthday cupcake for a little cupcake! Happy Birthday!

Same song, 2nd verse: just do what your Dr. tells you Ortiz' office (Dr. So) said liquids for three days, then back to solids. Asked if they had to be clear liquids for any of that time, he said no. Just smooth, no chunks.

I was there about 10 in the morning wearing sandals, jean shorts and a black t-shirt -- utterly unmemorable ;-) I waited until about 11 for a fill. There was a husband and wife team, two people who had been banded (One named Nancy who got dental work) and AlainaD and her mom. My picture is on the profile page. My cat had renal failure at 16 1/2 and I gave her ringers lactate (lactated ringers) subcutaneously for 7 months. The water alone weighed 2.2 lbs, but the added salts and sodium lactate made it 3 pounds. We had the same brand in the OCC. Three of them...I counted. (and sped them up as soon as the nurse left the room) How are you going to lose the extra weight? You're going to pee them out, just like the rest of us did It isn't fat, it's just fluid. Your body will let them go when it's ready. And it will be ready as your internal organs un-inflame and your bruises heal. No worries.

Oh my yes! They put three bags of lactated ringers in at 3 pounds each. Then there's the swelling from the surgery that also holds fluid. Your kidneys will eventually work thru it, but it might take a week.

There's plenty to know! If you have the older style high profile port, they can exchange it for the lower profile port . If you have your surgical report, it will tell you the band type you have and you can Google for the specs. I asked just Tuesday about this and what Michelle said is on target: if you have the low profile port already and it sticks out, then they will do a local anesthetic procedure to bury it under the muscle wall. I didn't ask the cost, but it takes about 20 minutes. Congratulations on your success!

Frequently. :-? I don't know what it is, but everything looked good on the x-ray Tuesday. I think it's maybe a little scar tissue pulling loose.