Clynn

Looked like it to me. First post with a link to another site in the signature line and little to no content in the post. It's a fairly common, albeit inefficient, tactic. I deleted it but if the poster was legitimate and would like to be reinstated, they can get in touch with me and I'll review the forum policies with them.

I gotten the same thing twice before. A slight unfill was enough to make everything all better, and was able to tell the difference immediately upon drinking water. Many fill places have some sort of policy where you can come back and get more taken out for free within a week or two. On a side note, the first time I was refluxing at night happened when I was programming a Tetris game for school. I refluxed, woke up choking, then went right back to sleep and proceeded to dream I was playing Tetris with my stomach juice to make it all fit together down there without coming back up. Sadly, it didn't work

They get it from the pharmacy they share an office with. These are not a couple of carpet baggers importing banned substances from the black markets of foreign countries. Those women have done a lot for many bandsters in the region, not the least of all me, and have been very active in the local lap-band community traveling all over the state and participating in many bandster support group meetings. I say not least of all me as one of them will become my mother-in-law next year, and she introduced me to my future husband. Whether or not anyone choses to take their route is entirely up to them. As with any weight loss method, you should educate yourself as much as possible on the risks vs the rewards and talk to your physician.

Don't worry about losing weight until your first fill. Your body has just gone through some trauma (surgery) and is trying to heal. It's holding onto every calorie it can, and this will continue for some time after you go back on solids. Right now just worry about healing up and being healthy.

Just the post-op diet, though mushy foods are generally discouraged as the band doesn't have as much of an effect on them as solids but your results may vary.

Not sure the details of your situation but port surgery is usually not as dramatic as placing the band. Port replacements can be done with a local anesthetic. Still sucks you have to go through it but I hope it helps ease your anxiety a bit. Good luck.

Yeay Michelle!

Since this is his forum, you'll probably find 1 or 2 people Any questions in particular you'd like answered?

What does he charge?

You say you've had four fills but how much are you filled? What size band do you have? Where are you going to get fills? Sometimes a particular doctor is more conservative than necessary for a variety of possible reasons. You may want to switch fill doctors and get another opinion.

Kitty's husband died recently but no, none of the owners or employees have died. Try fillmgtnw@yahoo.com. The website's been updated with a new address.

Perhaps, but my point was that getting a doctor on your side goes a long way. The worst the insurance company can do say is no.

You should plan on not being able to lift heavy things for 6 weeks. Lifting too early can cause a slip and even if it doesn't, will delay your healing process and make things unduly difficult for you. As for clothes I wouldn't wear tight jeans but I was wearing my normal clothes once I was released.

Lots of people do it and you're certainly not alone. Take the OCC number and address with you for reference if needed. As you cross the border on foot you'll be approached by cab drivers seeing if you need a ride. Don't take Yellow Cab. The Yellow Cab driver I got couldn't find the OCC so he told me we had arrived and then dumped me in Tijuana. Luckily I had the OCC's number and was able to call them for a ride. Take the City cabs, they know where things are. They don't hang out at the border but are driving around a little further in so you may have to flag one down. No worries though, you'll be fine.

My parents were able to get their insurance company to reimburse them for most of their surgery at OCC, but they are retired government employees and have very good insurance. However it does indicate the tide is turning on insurance covering these things. No idea if insurance will cover your fills or how that will work out, but if you can go to your primary care physician and get a note from them stating you need fills you'll have a better chance. I used to have a health savings account where I had an amount of my choosing taken out of my paycheck before taxes, and then that money was used to reimburse my fills. Even though it was my money I still needed a note from my doctor that fills were medically necessary due to morbid obesity (he actually wrote this very large and underlined it to get the message across) before they were willing to send me a check. Alternatively you can do what I've done for the last year and date the son of a fill doctor, but this is not a viable option for all people.

No problem at all. We get people from all over with a variety of backgrounds and experiences. Welcome aboard!

One more thing. They're still looking for people to give testimonials on their home page. If you've had a positive experience and want to share go ahead and email or PM me or just post it here.

First I've heard cancer is associated with Lap-band and I've been around the block a few times, so I'm going to have to call bullshit on that. What type of doctor did he go to? Did they say what type of cancer? Medicine is a wide-ranging field and if you ask a doctor about something outside of their realm of expertise you can get some pretty crazy answers sometimes. Some doctors are just dead set against weight loss surgery in general. I used to have a doctor who once told me in the same breath I needed to lose 150 pounds and to not get any surgery. Bye bye and have a nice day. Thanks for the help there doc. Needless to say I don't go to her anymore. The general physician I started seeing a short time later was thrilled I got the surgery and have been able to make it work for me. This is a subject where it does matter who you talk to. I've heard that continued acid reflux can cause esophageal cancer but I've heard as many people say their acid reflux problems were solved by the band as opposed to continuing or being new. Most people who have reflux problems appear after being banded are too tight and once their band is loosened it goes away. Oh, and one more thing: No way bypass is safer than LB, the death rate is much higher during surgery and if you run into problems later on down the road, you're screwed because they can't put your intestines back in. They CAN however take the band out. My fiance had his band taken out in January due to a slip. After weeks of not being able to eat solids within 48 hours of the surgery he was back to normal and enjoying solid food again.

Some KFC's aren't accepting them (boo on them). El Pollo Loco has stated that they will honor the coupons even on Mother's Day. I know my mom will be thrilled by me taking her out for fast food on Sunday.

I know there are many people here who use Fill Management NW in Marysville, WA (formerly Arlington, WA). Just thought I'd let people know that they now offer an IV service for people whose bands are so tight they have become dehydrated. Cost is $100.

If you're not feeling better after two or three days it's time for an unfill. As I said before (and I don't think I can stress this enough) if you can't get liquids down or if the light-headedness continues you need an unfill immediately. If a restaurant serves soup you may be able to ask for a bowl of broth, especially if you mention you recently had stomach surgery or are with a group of other hearty eaters. If you're uncomfortable talking about the surgery then telling people you're getting over the stomach flu should work equally well. After all, they don't want you getting sick in their restaurant.

You may have just irritated things. Try going on liquids for a couple of days and see if that calms things down. If at anytime you can't get liquids down then that's an emergent situation and you should get an unfill asap. If after a couple of days you're still having problems then it's time for an unfill. Get one sooner rather than later and you'll save yourself a lot of misery and possible damage to your band. Also, make sure you're getting enough liquids and protein. Lacking either of these can make you seriously ill and disoriented.

If you need a fill, go get a fill. If you don't need a fill, then life is good and don't worry about it. Most people do need fills eventual y, especially if they need to lose a great deal of weight. The stomach also has fat around it, and as someone loses weight, the fat around the stomach goes away making the band looser. To say the goal is to never need a fill is perhaps an optimistic approach. At the very least, most people find it helpful when they reach the 6-8 week mark to go back to OCC for a follow up visit. They'll do the flouro and check that the band is in the proper place. If you need a fill at the time they can give it to you and if not, they can send you on your way secure in the knowledge that everything's ok.

Hopefully, a little perspective. Most of these numbers are from the CDC's website except where otherwise cited. Total population of US = 304,059,724 (US Census) # of Americans who are killed by "normal" influenza each year = 63,001 # of Americans who die of Heart Disease = 652,091 # of Americans who die of Chronic lower respiratory diseases = 130,933 # of Americans who die of "normal" flu and Pneumonia = 63,001 # of American who die of Diabetes = 75,119 # of Americans who die of accidents = 117,809 # of Americans who have confirmed Swine Flu (as of 11 am 4-29-09) = 91 # of Americans who have died from Swine Flu = 1 Total population of Mexico City = 8,836,045 (Wikipedia) # of Mexico citizens who have confirmed Swine Flu = 26 # of Mexico citizens who have died = 7 All in all 9 countries have reported a collected total of 148 cases of Swine Flu. If we adjust and say that normal flu happens evenly throughout the year (which it doesn't, it tends to occur during certain months or flu season), then roughly 2,100 Americans die from normal flu each month. You're far more likely to die from normal flu at the grocery store than Swine flu. I suspect one of the reasons it's hitting hard in Mexico City is due to the poor air quality. Mexico City is a very large and densely populated city surrounded by geographical features which encourage air stagnation and is rather known for air pollution, and flu is a disease which attacks the respiratory system.

The post office may have a list of places you can go in and have your passport information processed. For me it was the local City Hall. You can also go to the US Department of State website if you're looking for a US passport, or start http://travel.state.gov/passport/get/first/first_830.html I got my passport the traditional way and it seems like it came much sooner than the 6 weeks, though it will depend on the amount of passports they are trying to process at that time. My fiance got his passport in an afternoon but you have to be willing to take the time and expense for the expedited route. On another note, Cleo, there's a name and face I haven't seen for awhile. How've you been?