CalKev

Great thread and post.

I've read about several "bad" US doctors on another lapband site. People having staples on their incisions and having to go back to get them removed, getting out of the hospital the day of the procedure, someone even mentioned they were "binded" with gauze and tape after their surgery - and these were ALL in the states!

My family and friends went into a panic when they heard I was going to TJ and thought I was being treated in a 3rd world country by some doctor who learned how to do this on cows (the bovine type ). They couldn't be more wrong.

Fur, You are so right. I sat down with my mother, yes my mom, a retired nurse and went over C.V.s. Powerful stuff facts can be. When others asked who was doing or had done my surgery I said a Proctor for the Lapband maker Inamed. At that point it didn't really matter where it was done to them. When you can go to the Teacher why go to one of his students.

Hello All!

Well I am going to blame Greg for this (I'll use his term) "rant" on what appears to be a taboo subject on the board.

The last time I was at OCC I stood in the lobby with Pre, Active, and Post plastic surgery Bandsters talking band talk. You know all the stuff talked about here on the board. One subject came up that appeared specific to Bandsters close to their goal weight and those who had reached it. The premise was how relationships can change with weight loss in a bandsters inner circle of friends, family, and spouses. I heard many views on how spouses had reacted to those who were particularly obese losing large amounts of weight. Words that came up were spousal support and sabotage, divorce, separation, insecurity, embraced change, increased attention and decreased attention. I know this is a tough one and may be best addressed in a professional office setting i.e. Therapist office. There does seem to be a lack of open board communication and support on this subject even though it can be a valid part of the weight loss journey for many. The loss of a spouse could be tough for some and as I witnessed a welcome change for others.

The remarkable issue was that the notion that banding and weight loss would shape spousal relations only dawned on some after they had become part of the process. This is easy to do it but it could be a tough wake-up call. So to just put it out there if you think your relationship is a candidate for this type of spousal response you may want to educate yourself on how to respond before your weight loss success turns the corner to the single life. Yes I have spoken with one person that broke the camels back in this manner. As you noticed I have not reflected on my own spousal relationship and I am thankful that I don't need to. I mention this only to acknowledge those looking for support and to throw this subject into the Bandster ring to kick around.

I started by blaming Greg for this "rant" and it was for the simple reason that he reminded me this is a support board and it offers the rare opportunity to relate with our peers for which we should all be thankful.

Viva La Band! Kevin

My long term outlook very well could be my way to have realistic expectations. But there are some facts that I use to maintain my outlook. Comparison studies of different WLS use 30-36 months as their measuring point for 'success'. RNY patients usually lose their maximum weight about 18-24 months after surgery. And the band is documented to be a slower method of weight loss than RNY on average. I guess I would call it 'educated rationalization'.

But it also has to do with being comfortable with my weight. I have never been of a 'normal' weight my whole life. I am used to being fat. Being obese is all I know. Many bandsters have a different background, having gained all their excess weight later in life. Many bandsters were of normal weight in the past. I think this fact makes many bandsters have the short-term outlook.

If a person has memories of being thin 5-10 years ago, they yearn to feel like they remember. I have no such memory to cause me anxiety. My memories of 5, 10, and 15 years ago are memories of being obese. This can be a blessing for me, or a curse. I have not yet figured it out.

I know I am getting into a deep psychological subject here, but I think it helps explain my patience and outlook. I want to be thin as much as anyone. But I am willing to wait for it to happen, being it will be a new experience for me. The healthiest days of my life are yet to come, not a memory of the past. Perhaps that makes me different. Or, maybe others just do not verbalize their experience. I tell anyone about being banded. Others keep it a secret. We all are different.

Kevin, you are right: you deserve a break and time to savor your 70 lb drop in weight. It is very smart to let your body adjust to your new weight. Having a stable weight is a victory in its own right. I look forward to the day I can be at a stable 300 lbs. I learn much from your experience and others.

Sorry to all for getting into a 'deep' rant here. But, this is our support group, and to me, expressing our thoughts is a part of that support.

Greg, We are on the same page. I also have been a big guy all my life. In High School football I was a rusher and always had two defensive players across from me. My take on your experience is that others do not verbalize as well as you about where they have been and where they are going pertainig to health. Focus appears to be on the process of banding and not the results to come or historical health data. I'd like to throw a taboo subject in the mix that I have not seen addressed but have heard talk of in the lobby of OCC. Maybe I should post it in open forum to see if anyone bites. Thinking out loud here. I think I will because it is what you call a "deep rant" subject if there are any takers.

Greg - appreciate the good word and your consistant and knowlegable participation in making mine and all members lives better informed by your honest straight talk. Keep it coming! & Continued success! Kevin

Kevin- thank you for the kind words. I do not think my progress is that stellar, but as you know, I am on the slow losing plan. My plateau seemed to occur from the day I was banded to my last fill in early Feb.

I have not been weighed in about 3 weeks, but 2-3 inches have disappeared from my waist in that same 3 weeks (as measured by my belt).

However, my greatest success from my perspective is patience. I stated it in another post, but will repeat, this is up to a 36 month weight loss process. Losing almost half of one's body weight healthily takes time.

And regarding your current plateau, I feel the magic of being banded is in not re-gaining weight. When your body is ready to resume weight loss, you will not have to re-lose 50 pounds. And for those of us with higher BMI's, that in and of itself is a true blessing.

I have been curious, however, why you have not gone for another fill. With your proximity to OCC, it would appear that would be a simple trip for you. I am sure you have a reason, but can you share?

Best wishes as always.

Greg,

You have an excellent perspective on the process from this bandsters view. Progress you are right should be our focus not the speed of the progress made. Very healthy timeframe you have. In the same avenue that is one reason I have not gone in for a fill until the 22nd of this month. It has felt good to stabilize at a weight and not go through the daily worry of gaining weight. Also thought I would just let my body rest after the 70 lb. loss and get acclimated before continuing. It is a double edged sword as I want to lose again though another part of me says hey it's ok to even out and then continue down.

My band is also I feel in it's sweet spot for my current weight. Appropriate restriction is in place to maintain. I have been working on what I eat and letting the band tell me how to eat it to see if that would change the equation to a losing one. No luck so far.

Restriction beyond where I'm at is going to be an art to negotiate. It feels like walking to the edge of a cliff and you know you could drop off (to tight) with the next step but you take the step anyway. So I am going to take baby steps from here on down at the fill station. I do not want to go through the "so tight that it hurts to swallow liquid phase"

Hi Fellow Bandsters,

Have to say first Greg is doing awesome! Would like to hitch a ride going in his weightloss direction. Been awhile since I have posted here. Mostly due to the ugly plateau I have hit and a busy schedule. But in looking back that is the very reason I should be participating.... might jog me out of this weight state. Going in for a small fill on the 20th hoping to jumpstart a downward turn. Greg going to join you soon!

The real reason I am posting is to let you know that the border is not a line in the sand only an inconvenient reality. The surgeon you choose has the greatest impact on your success with the band I think most would agree. The sister of a good friend of mine is having a tough time with the process she went through with a stateside surgeon and her banding. She was finally scheduled for surgery but on the date she was to undertake the procedure she had a bad cold. She could not pass the oxygen level blood test as hers was to low. The surgeon made the decision to artificially elevate her oxygen levels for surgery by putting her on a ventilator. After the procedure she was taken off the apparatus and was breathing on her own. She has been experiencing lots of pain even with a very high pain threshold. Also she has now developed a case of pneumonia to go with the pain. She was banded the 5th and is not improving from last report.

Just from my limited experience with OCC my guess is if she had failed the oxygen test she probably would have been rescheduled. This is only a guess ..... but an educated one. If your reading this and on the fence about going to OCC in TJ for surgery just do one thing. Ask your surgeon for his C.V. and hands on experience with the band and the access Dr. Ortiz C.V. on his website and call OCC and ask how many Lap band procedures he has performed, mortality rate, and percentage of patients that had the band removed due to slippage, erosion, and other issues. Stay with percentages as it will give you more accurate data to compare surgeons. Sit and read all the info you gathered and make a side by side comparison. Call Inamed and confirm credentials with company. Read publications on lapband surgery including Dr. Ortiz's academic source book. Once you put most if not the majority of stateside surgeons data in side-by-side comparison to Dr. Ortiz's data you can make a very educated decision.

The day I went to have surgery Dr. Ortiz came into my room and asked me a question that was basically Why had I come to OCC for surgery? I told him what I still believe that I wanted the best surgeon in the lapband field to do my surgery. From the research I did on surgeons local to me and Dr. Ortiz there was not even a question I had made the right choice. I hope you do the math and can be as confidant with the surgeon you choose. My friend says her sister wishes she had gone to OCC for banding after the fact. Hindsight is mostly 20/20 but foresight can come into better focus if you choose you edify yourself without borders. Just one bandsters opinion.

Does anyone know if Lori is on vacation? I emailed her over the weekend after reading a post about the surgery with Dr. Ortiz was on special or discounted for some reason. I haven't heard back yet. I didn't expect to hear from her on the weekend, but thought hopefully by today.

Thanks for any feedback on this.

Judy

Judy, I have sent her a couple emails and she has not returned them so I do believe she has been unavailable.

Hope this changes soon as I miss her informative and helpful emails!

Viva La Band! Kevin

> =D> =D>

I HAVE A WONDERFUL SCALE VICTORY TO SHARE WITH EVERYONE

AS OF MY 4 MONTH MARK FEBRUARY 16TH I AM DOWN............50LBS yes yes yes

CAN WE SAY I FELL GREAT - AND I LOOK GREAT -----

AND THE NEXT BIG DRUM ROLL.......I AM WALKING ON MARCH 3RD THE AMERICAN HEART ASSOCIATION IS DOING A 5K AND 1 MILE HEART AND STROKE WALK - I will be participating in the 5K with a bunch of co- workers from Banner Baywood Heart ---http://www.phoenixheartwalk.org/ is where you can go to sponser me if you would like just click on participant and type in my name Cyndi Wilson and it will show me in Gold Canyon -----any donation would be great ----as you can tell I am very proud of myself.....LOL I am joking with all of my husbands clients that since it is 50lbs I have lost that is the minimum thier donation can be - I have 3 that have actually gone for it ---and a great BIG THANK YOU was told -------WOW > you guys are awesome ------HEY LORI BECKY - how about passing this on to the staff at OCC I would love for them to read my sucess so far and add them to my list of sponsers??????? =D> =D> =D> =D> yes i am begging for that big round of applause from everyone LOL

I LOVE MY BAND

Cyndi! AWESOME! =D> =D> =D> =D> =D> =D> =D> =D> Kevin

A Manly Married > > > > > > for you Roo!

We are all so different. No problem with rice, beans, legumes, etc. but have trouble with noodles (PB Every time - 3 in all) and pita bread in particular. I am a vegetarian so I rely heavily on whey & soy as a protein but they need to be in a drinkable form. All I can say is when I have had that stuck feeling about the only thing that helps is pounding on my chest a bit like I'm trying help the band just let the traffic through. Doubt it helps the band but it does distract me from the traffic jam in my band.

Mornings I still have a EAS protein shake and a Starbux tall non-fat latte. Lunch is usally another shake and for dinner I have soup made fresh at local deli. That's Monday through Friday on the weekend I'll go for a breakfast burrito and fresh OJ, protein shake for lunch, and dinner is a single serving dish at a local restaurant like rice & curry, Thai food full of stir fried veggies I eat reeeaaall slow or fresh fruit bowl.

Foods I used to miss but don't have a place in my diet: pizza, cheese enchiladas, deep fried foods, anything with refined sugars such as candies, ice cream. No fast foods other than a vegetarian breakfast burritos I mentioned and Starbux non-fat latte are in my diet.

Thats my food post. Look forward to seeing others. BTW since I started solid foods I have hit stubborn plateau that I am trying to break through without going back to liquid diet. Kevin

Actually, this question was addressed during my first fill. Dr. Romero said that after a year or so, after 75-100 lbs lost, a fill is normally required to compensate for fat loss around the stomach.

I ask lots of questions during my visits. For example, Dr. Romero lives in National City, and both Dr. Ortiz and Mrs. Ortiz live in SD. My curiousity is never satiated.

Greg, Thank you for the info. Please keep asking and passing on.

I have a friend who lives right down the street from Dr. Ortiz in a very nice area of Chula Vista. Very close to the border in South San Diego. He has a short commute...ah.. other than that border thing.

Greg thanks again! Kevin

Good to have a bantering with you Kevin. I know your job search slowed you down from forum activity, and I can imagine the stress involved. I just learned last week at my employer that our largest contract has chosen to terminate my company's services. That means I am expected to bring in an extra $100,000 per year in profits. Career change may be in my future as well, as an extra $100,000 in profits is a huge barrier.

Yes, I feel fortunate that I have not gained any weight through this process. I also expected from the beginning that I would not lose much weight until fill #2. I guess that is why I am frustrated. Fill number two is here, and I expect much more from myself and my band going forward.

I know an over-fill would be cause for concern. I will rely on Dr. Romero's expertise to ensure that I will not be over-restricted. I merely was expressing my desire for a level of restriction that will last a few months. I love San Diego, and visiting is a pleasure (especially escaping Nebraska's -2 degree temperatures), but I hope not to have to return every 4-8 weeks.

I know this process can be slow, and size 36 501's is a nice vision to aim for. Heck, I look forward to size 40's! For today, however, I discovered a place named Phil's BBQ that is highly recommended for SD. I think I will indulge, as tomorrow I doubt I will be able to get BBQ through my band.

Thank you for your advice and support.

Greg,

It's nice to have some time today. Spam has dropped off this afternoon which gave me a little time to actually read the posts on the board.

First don't fall in the stress trap like me. That soiunds like a large piece of business getting thrown on your shoulders.

On the subject of fill #2. When I had mine I stayed in TJ overnite after the fill and did what you did and showed up the next day. I got lucky that it was not a day off for the staff. Dr. Martinez and Dr. Romero were both in and I spoke to them and told them exactly what I had eaten and how fast the night before. I was given an additional 1.1cc fill. That has made the difference in my restriction and I am so happy I went back in for I guess what you would call a fill #2 24 hr update. I stayed at the Lucerna Hotel and actually skipped the cab ride back and enjoyed a walk to the hotel. I felt pretty tight and still do from time to time but am real happy with the results to date.

ok, ok, 40 waist 501s yea thats more realistic your right. Enjoy Phils and let us know how things go!

Great talking with you Greg! Kevin

PS Greg will you ask Dr. Romero a question? It relates to your comments and my curiousity - When you lose 50 lbs. lets say and you have a VG does that decease restriction in itself because you are possibly losing fat that is between the band and your stomach lining? I could be way off but I understood that there was a fat layer for us VGers and it would make sense if you lose it you may have less restriction or did I get wrong info. If you remember would appreciate it first hand. Thanks and good luck!

I just want to say that you 2 gentlemen look great!

Greg, did you mean 75? not 7.5 right.

I have the smaller band and as you read in my emergency I don't get this band thing sometime either.

I am very, very happy that I found someplace local. As happy as I am with the staff in TJ, I don't have to leave my family for 2 days and I really think that being on a plane, for me, right after my fill had some effect on me.

Keep shrinking Hotties!!!!

Michele

Michele,

I read your post and am so glad you are well. That sounds like a terrifying experience to go through and i'm so happy that it actually helped you find a fill source close to your home. So out of alot of bad came a little good at least.

Greg we may both need a "shrink" if that kind of talk starts - hehe.

Michele so happy you are feeling so much better! Kevin

Hi i

as i said i have had my first fill on monday, and i am so hungry, i had a sandwich yesturday, i know i shouldnt have but i was starvin.

Do you think i have been filled enough, and how do you know when to go for another fill.

How do i know if this thing is gonna work for me.#

garagegirl

G-Girl,

RESTRICTION. That is the word that makes the whole surgery worthwhile. It is the answer to your two questions. When you feel it you will know if you will need another fill or not. How did it feel when the sandwich went down? Was it slow going and did you feel fullness at all? or did it slip down your throat with no liquids? If it went slow and you felt some fullness that is restriction in action if it slipped down then you may not have enough restriction but that is for you and the Dr. to talk about.

If you are starving you need nutrition. Follow Dr. Miranda

It is good to know I am not alone! However, through extreme willpower, I know you have managed to maintain weight loss. Kudos to you and your determination! I, on the other hand, have mostly been waiting for the band to start it's work. While I have lost about 7.5lbs since surgery, I was looking forward to more aggressive results by now. But, at least I am still going the right direction.

Restriction is critical for me. I agree, bumping it up a bit is what I need. I guess I will see how aggressive Dr. Romero is willing to be. As long as I can get protein shakes down, I am not concerned about an over-fill.

The VG band is so tempermental!

Greg,

I have hit a plateau since about Christmas. My body may be paying me back for my so called willpower. Restriction is also very critical to me at this juncture as I need to get some momentum like you in the right direction "Down"!

Two factors that have slowed me down are my backing off drinking enough water and restriction has affected this but my habits have also. My stress level since the holidays has increased as I was doing the job interview circuit and have just started a new position. So I believe If I can bring down my stress by yes that word that has haunted me all my life "exercise" and get in some adequate H2O consumption I may have a chance to break this plateau.

If I may say be concerned about an overfill. If you are unable to get liquids down you could be in deep trouble including protein drinks or even water and that can happen. Slow and easy is the way to go with no visits to the emergency room. It will come for both of us. We live in such a should have happened to me yesterday society that it can be very discouraging to those of us with the VG who have to take it a day at a time. It will happen and when it does we will feel awesome and healthy. We are so lucky to have the band. I talk to many who don't and would love to have lost the weight you have since your surgery but they have put it on over the holidays and feel real bad about it.

Hey man we got the whale by the tail let's just hold on for the ride down to our new lives in 36 waist 501s!

Kevin

Two major frustrations:

1. Why was I told to return for an additional fill if the doctor was not going to be in the office? Not a big deal, but inconvenient. I am glad he is going out of his way to fit me in tomorrow, and I know errors can happen.

2. Why do I go from severe restriction early in the day, to being able to eat whatever I want in the afternoon? I have heard of morning band tightness, but going from one extreme to the other in a few hours is puzzling.

Any input/support is appreciated. I know the VG band requires patience, but how do you find the 'sweet spot' when in the morning fluids are restricted, and in the evening, anything will go down.

Greg, I also have the VG with a total of 6.8cc of fill. On your first question you got me there. Dr. Romero may have just made a mistake and thought the next day he was on schedule. Couldn't tell ya. On the restriction flux... I have it to. There will be times I can drink a full glass of water straight down and others when I have to take it a small gulp at a time. No ryme or reason. All in all I just do what the band tells me at the time and try to take it in stride. I am pretty close to the sweet spot. If anything I'd kick it up one more notch maybe by .2cc or .4cc. Doubt this helps much other than to let you know your not the only VG'er with a flexable band action. So maybe someone can reply that has the lowdown on this so we all can benefit. Thanks for posting the question! Kevin

Hi! I am grateful for this forum ! I am to be banded April 9th, and this

forum has been a great source of good, funny, (sometimes scary!) info!

Is it true that I cannot have coffee for 3 months ? I'm willing to give up

food, but coffee ?? Thats just brutal. Just looking for some verification.

Thanks again - this is a huge decision for me - one I have agonized with,

but at the end of the day, I'm so excited! I can't wait!! Thanks again--

Lisa,

From personal experience I was not smart before my first fill and drank some Starbucks about 4 hours before the fill. When Dr. Romero executed the fill my restriction was much stronger than expected in fact I was having a hard time sipping water. After a few hours the caffeine wore off and my restriction was less than expected. So you can bet on my second fill I stayed away from the Starbucks and was able to take a much larger fill which has stayed with me as opposed to dropping off within hours and even more during the following days. Just one Starbucks Addict who learned his lesson the hard way.

Can't address the 3 month rule as thats a new one on me. Best wishes on a successful procedure! Kevin

TODAY THERES SO MUCH ON THE BOARD, I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHERE T BEGIN

You should have been here earlier. Took a good 30 minutes to alter accounts and delete overnite garbage dumpers.

Gosh, Kevin, I had no idea what you have been going through. Thanks for all your time and effort. I'm sorry that happened to you. Best of Everything to you in your new job. Like you, I love to give as well, and couldn't agree more with you in regards to the Ortiz Team. A rare group of individuals indeed!!! - Love them All! Teri

Teri, Thank you for the kudos on my new job. I am with you..... when you find certain individuals with qualities that inspire as well as facilitate people like myself to be better human beings I get a gut feeling that they are rare indeed and if I can contribute even in a small way to their cause I feel compelled to offer whatever I can. Lori was the first to inspire me in this manner as I was scared and excited at the prospect of banding and she had the talent to address all my concerns and educate me herself or get the answers for me in a professioinal and timely manner. Dr. Ortiz is obviously a great surgeon but he has to be an inspiring leader and people manager too. This is obvious by the way his staff treat each patient with care, understanding and how to put to best use their academic expertise to meet each ones needs.

How many surgeons and their staff truly love working with each other and are so accessable to clientelle for help even after the bill is paid in full. Not many and when they are the top in their field its even more amazing.

Spam is really a non-issue in comparison to the lives this man and his team save everyday. My only thought is not to ever let spam distract from the good this board and its members do for each other or it truly has accomplished it's fateful task.

I did get the post and I won't post the reasons why here... but right now I'm not adding another moderator to the forum. Its more involved that just letting someone delete posts it means having someone representing OCC, knowing what's OK to say and what's not. I appreciate the problems that spammers cause. Kevin hasn't been able to be around as much as he was because he started a new job (CONGRATS Kevin!)

I try to keep up as well as I can... even if we had 10 people deleting posts.... they would still slip through. I'll be on the lookout for another moderator - someone I know Dr. O would approve of - someone that is a patient of OCC and is banded and that has some time to devote to the board - which is a lot to ask considering its a volunteer position!

Reporting them to me helps out a lot - that way I know immediately instead of stumbling across them when I sign on.

Thanks for helping me watch our board

Hello Fellow Bandsters!

I wanted to jump in and pass on some information that may assist in putting a face on addressing spam on the OCC board. Thank you Lori, I've started a new job and have had less time to check the board for spam during each 24 hour period.

Dr. Ortiz & all the OCC team have my deepest appreciation for using their expertise to make me a better and healthier person. Volunteering to give back just a little is very satisfying. Being able to stamp out the majority of spam using the software of the board itself in an automated fashion I know is Lori's ultimate goal. It would be awesome to never have to spend endless hours undoing these internet taggers work and being able to use the board as intended.

Yesterday I happened to be on the board to delete these ugly posts at the same time a spammer was spreading his garbage. He immediately identified me as deleting his posts and placing restrictions on his account. There were close to 20 messages that I deleted. My I.P. address was attacked and a Trojan was placed on my system to disengage my ability to access my network. It took me 3 hours to reverse the breach. These spammers are sophisticated enough to know how to rid themselves of those that compromise them and have tools at the ready to basically kill your system if they really want to. Yes I have ultra high security in place of the commercial variety on my network. It still is not enough to stop them as just opening a single port for access to a network can cause a vulnerability even using highly restrictive rules on your protocols. The first time it happened in early December, 2006. I lost some data but the hassle was formatting my drive and restoring my system to its previous state with additional security. My system has been attacked 4 times successfully and many other times when they were unable to breach it. I will be further addressing security issues on my own network but will not divulge how here for obvious reasons.

It is a real good feeling to help rid the board of the spam but I believe Lori's work with the webmaster has already decreased the threat significantly.

If you see spam and report it you have my thanks as Lori indicated it makes these rogue posts much easier to address in a timely manner. Kevin

Hi, Question for anyone who can answer this. I had my surgery on jan 3rd by Dr Ortiz. Everythinghas gone great until today I started having pain at the port site. It's tender to touch but not red or warm like an infection. Is pain like this normal for awhile.

Julie

Fellow bandsters,

I can only contribute from my experience and my port only hurt when I bent over to the floor on my left side during the first week after install. If pain is the issue always and not during certain specific movements I would consulate an MD. Soreness was normal for me for about 3 weeks or less. What you think will keep you well is what you should aspire to. Just be safe. Each individual has their own experience with port pain. Do what will make you feel everything is OK in you body. We all are in different places when we have the surgery and you just need to make yourself feel all is right... afterall its your body. Kevin

I would love it if people leaving the clinic got more information about the forum - I try to let all my patients know about it when I schedule them and its on everyone of my emails... maybe I should make it more prominent!

Our webmaster is working on updating the forum again... we need a better server. And hopefully, if he can get that done, we can have a chatroom right here... but for now I've set it up on AOL... go get your free AOL account and then email me here with your AOL name... then I'll email the chatroom link to your aol email. We can schedule bandster nights... so we can do real time chat. I'm excited!! We'll have to develop a secret bandster handshake.. so we'll know who belongs and boot the others hahahaha

Littleroo,

Please address this to Lori directly by PM. I have a very busy schedule and address spam when I can but this is not something I have any say in. It's the staff of OCC I delete spam for because they have given me more than I can ever do for them. Lori is awesome and she can help you with your concerns. The chatroom is a good direction to go in my opinion. Spam is short term but the banding lifestyle is forever. Ignore spam when it appears until it can be deleted. Littleroo you give so much to those visiting the board which is awesome. I wish I had the time to contribute like you do. Your offer of help is appreciated to get rid of spam but this is a subject I have no say in and you need to PM Lori with your offer. Personally I want to thank you for all you do to make this a quality board! Kevin

UGH!

Michele,

You think you get tired of it. I know Lori and the webmaster are sick of it too. As a volunteer I delete 10 and 20 spam posts a day whenever I can get a chance in my schedule. Not seen many posts from me lately? Well thats the reason why. There are ways to fix this problem but in reading up on the software that runs this board there has been a real upsurge in hacks that go around the time tested security procedures. That is why tickers and photos have been disabled as they are some of the easiest ways to introduce rogue code into the board. It is sad but hopefully things will get better with new releases of software for board.

I was at OCC on Monday and Tuesday getting a fill and due to my weight loss a friend decided to have surgery so I stayed for support. I went and used the terminals next to the clinic nurses station. The board had jammed up with spam again so I deleted what was present at the time and disabled the accounts of repeat offenders (which are few). A thought came to me that every patient of Dr. Ortiz should have a card with a login and password and instructions on how to access the board. This would hopefully get more patients intereted in participation and you could limit one forum to just those issued these logins and passwords and be assured the person you are talking to is a genuine patient. Havn't mentioned this to Lori yet but she may see it here. It would be so easy to put in the take home packet.

Thank you Michele for bringing up this important subject! Kevin

Kim Welcome,

I am Kevin and I live in Loma Linda (It's about half way between L.A. and Palm Springs).

Best of luck on your new band. CalKev

Here is a copy of an email I sent to Carolyn. Does anyone else have this problem?

Call Dr. Miranda 1-866-376-7849 at OCC and I am sure she will have a solution for you. She is in today and not real busy so would be a good time to catch her. In fact I am writnng from OCC right now as a friend of mine is having surgery today and i just had my second fill. Everyone is so helpful, kind and professional. Best Wishes, Kevin / CalKev

Anyone else extremely nervous???

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Hi:

I am scheduled to be banded one week from tomorrow (the 16th). The hospital called today and asked a lot of questions so I guess reality has finally sunk in!! Everyone seems like this was no big deal and I am super nervous. Not so much about the surgery itself but about not beaing able to EVER eat soem of my favorite foods again (pizza, a glass of red wine, even a french frie or two now and again) - I don't want to be able to ea these types of food to abandon but never to even be able to taste them again? Obviously food has been an important 9and bad) friend of mine for years (r I wouldn't need to be banded ) so I am looking forward to the help that the band will hopefully provide in the form as another tool toward my goal of being healthy and happy but I have to admit the whole food abstinence thing is throwing me for a loop.

I am sure once the results start happening I will be estatic but..did anyone else feel this way?

Thanks,

Rachel

Rachel... in a word "Yes". I will be at the clinic on the 16th and look forward to meeting you. I have a fill on the 15th but a friend is having surgery on the 15th and I will be there for her release from clinic on the 16th. You will feel great.... think past the procedure to the healthy and happy future. Dreams can come true! Kevin