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barbflorida

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Everything posted by barbflorida

  1. I can only feel my port, I've never been able to feel the band.
  2. I flew from Florida, and had a stop (no change) in San Antonio. The flight was fine for me. I had surgery on Thursday and was back at my desk in Florida on Monday. I did a lot of walking on Friday in TJ and I think that was a big help because the only real discomfort I had was gas and walking helps with that. So I'm sure you'll be fine and just think, it's the beginning of your new life.
  3. Congratulations! I was banded a year and a half ago and it was the best decision I ever made. Good luck on the new you!
  4. It's great that you are thinking about this. You need to talk to your parents and find out if insurance will cover it and if not, find out if they are willing or able to make the investment in the surgery. There are a lot of places to get information as I'm sure you've found since you found this forum. Start by talking to your parents and good luck.
  5. You are so right. So many people think this is a magic bullet, but it's a tool. We still need to make the right choices. It just made it a lot easier for me. I think partly because of the band and partly because I didn't want to throw away the money. I could have never looked at myself in the mirror if I didn't do everything I could to make the investment worthwhile.
  6. Thanks, I feel a lot better too! Dr. Ortiz is my hero!
  7. I go to a Chiropractor regularly, but made sure he was aware of the band. He doesn't feel there is any problem, but I would check with your doctor to be sure. There are one of two forms of adjustment he doesn't use because of the band.
  8. Mine is about half way between the bra line and belly button and I'm about one year post op and you can barely see it. It was never more than about a half inch long. Scarring was definitely not an issue.
  9. Finally figured out how to post before and after pics. My after was taken 9 1/2 mo. post op. http://s260.photobucket.com/albums/ii3/bar...mediafilter=all
  10. I'm so glad she's feeling better, now off to start a new life. Good luck!
  11. Ditto on what Clynn said. I just make sure I get enough protein and my liquid vitamins daily and I feel great. When you are dragging 100+ lbs. extra with you it's amazing how much more energy you have.
  12. Well, I guess and early HAPPY NEW YEAR (and new life) is in order. You will not be sorry. I was banded last November 30th. I started at 255 lbs. before my pre op diet and 9 1/2 months later I am at my goal weight of 150 lbs and am wearing a size 6. For me it was an early Christmas present and if I never get another Christmas present again, just looking at my closet full of stylish clothes and seeing who is looking back at me in the mirror is enough. the way I was going I probably wouldn't have lived to see my grandangel grow up - now I feel confident I'll dance at her wedding.
  13. I agree, I made the decision the beginning of November but I waited till after Thanksgiving, but before Christmas and I was just fine. And yes, it is the best present you could give yourself.
  14. If you are paying out of pocket, I would contact Dr. Ortiz in Mexico. He did my surgery November 30, 2006 - here I am 9-1/2 months later - 105 lbs. lighter and feel like a different person. I checked with my local doctors who had far less experience and want more the twice the money. I think you will find that most of the people on this forum went to Dr. Ortiz and I really haven't seen any negative experiences. After a year of research, I made the decision last November, was in Mexico by the end of November having surgery by one of the most experienced doctors in this field. Although I wouldn't have been comfortable without researching everything, my biggest regret is that I spent a year researching everything. I could have been where I am now a year ago. Good luck.
  15. Hi, I'm in Florida also, about 1/2 hour south of Daytona. Seems the west coast has the fill centers for now. They have 3 Tampa, St. Pete and Cross City (further north). I have to drive across the state to get to them. It stinks, but doesn't take as long as the round trip in one day to Mexico that I did for my first fill. Is the one in Lake Worth from Fill Centers?
  16. You heard right, Kathie is wonderful, but not reachable in an emergency. Read my posts in this section under "Fill Doctors in Florida, emergency service" regarding that situation under this grouping. It probably doesn't happen often, but after suffering all weekend, I still couldn't contact her on Monday. Just make sure you are looking at all sides. I was impressed with the facility where she is also, but I was a lot more impressed with the more modest facility in Tampa when she was reachable and the only answer I got from the staff in St. Pete was go to the emergency room, who will NOT unfill you.
  17. I agree, none of us are doctors, but after what I just went through with an overfill, I know how quickly you can dehydrate. I would get on the phone to her doctor immediately. If she was done in Mexico they are there on Saturday and will call you back. Dr. Romero called me twice last week trying to help, but unfortunately, he was in TJ and I was in Florida. Try to do something today, because if it's hard to find someone on a Saturday, it's twice as hard on a Sunday and like everything else, it seems the problems arise on the weekends. I know everyone is different, but I walked all over Tijuana the day after my surgery along with another patient. There was some discomfort, but the walking helped. Call someone, better safe than sorry.
  18. I was banded Nov. 30, 2006. I've reached my goal weight and my scar is less than 1/2 in long and very light and I've got that excessively light Irish skin that everything shows on. When people ask I actually show them and they can't beleive that is all there is. The 4 punctures and completely gone can't see them at all. You have nothing to worry about, scarring is so minimal you actually have to know to look for it.
  19. I'll try to answer all the questions 1. I've had 4 fills and 3 unfills - evidently I just don't need very much. The only one I had no problem with was the one done in Mexico by Dr. Romero. My second was in Tampa because St. Pete was unavailable at the time. I switched to St. Pete because it was a nicer facility. Problem there is it is basically a Chiropractic facility with a nurse practitioner and the word emergency doesn't seem to register. They simply tell you to go to the emergency room, which will not give you relief, but they can give you an IV if you are dehydrating, which is where we would have been had Dr. Rose in Tampa not gotten me in. Kathie in St. Pete is great, but if she is off, there is no reaching her. 2. The facility in Tampa in not quite as impressive on the surface, but I learned the hard way that Dr. Rose is very dedicated and is willing in an emergency to come in. She won't leave anyone suffering. Of course, emergencies always seem to happen on the weekend and I had lost her card which had the alternate number to reach her on. Even when we reached the St. Pete office there was no offer to reach Kathie or to find the number for another local provider. I am assuming the being a Chiropractic office the rest of the staff are not accustomed to emergencies like this. 3. The Tampa info is on the Fill Centers Website, but her contact info is: Dr. Sandra E. Ffrench-Rose Sandel's Primary Health Care Center 7750 Palm River Road Tampa, FL 33619 email: sffrenchrose@msn.com ph. 813-635-9611 Fax: 813-635-0277 Alt: 813-404-0472 Botton line is, I switched because of the more modern facility, better neighborhood, etc. But Dr. Rose has my undying loyalty at this point. She is caring and read me the riot act for not contacting her over the weekend (I had lost her card from my first visit with her). She told me she absolutely would have come in for me on Saturday or Sunday had I called her. I called her when I was half way to Tampa, all she said was she had patients but get in there and she would work me in. I don't think I waited more than 15 minutes (which felt like a lifetime) but getting the unfill and just the one cup of water in, I walked out and looked and felt like a different person. Also, note that I think I am not the usual reaction. I seem to tighten up 3-4 days after my fill. I was already back on food, had eaten regular meals and just suddenly shut down and nothing would go through. But I think I'm where I need to be, I'm at my goal weight so I guess I just don't need a lot of saline because I am back at 1 cc and have enough restriction to stop me if I try to go overboard eating but loose enough that I'm not shut down. Also, if you do shut down like this, remember that all the acid and whatever is just churning in your stomach - although I was able to drink right away, it was still painful and took almost a week to heal so if you find you can't get anything down call someone right away. After 3 days, besides being dehydrated - I was actually to the point where my kidneys were hurting, I'm sure my stomach looked like raw hamburger and was very sensitive. But the good news is, I'm back to 100%, don't think I need any more fills and learned that sometimes the place that appears to be the best, isn't. This was just one of those situations where everything fell wrong. The problem started on a weekend (of course), Kathie was not in on Monday and they said she was unreachable. Being on the east coast I couldn't ever reach Fill Centers until 10 a.m. our time because they aren't there until 8 a.m. mountain time. So timing on everything was bad, but again, having an emergency number means more than the facility. Dr. Rose's place is much more modest, but it is clean and she is very caring and dedicated.
  20. Just want to share an experience from this past weekend. Last Tuesday I had a fill in St. Petersburg, Kathie is great and the facility is very modern and nice. I seem to be one of the unusual people who tighten up a few days after my fill. Anyway, Friday night I tightened up to the point that I couldn't even drink water. I tried warm tea, walking anything I could think of. I even spoke to Dr. Romero on Saturday afternoon, who was very sweet and gave me the best advice he could from Mexico. I called several emergency rooms who basically said there was nothing they could do, but if I continued to dehydrate they could possibly give an IV. Anyway, Monday a.m. I was very grateful that another bandster in this area had been talking to me all weekend and she could hear the shape I was in and she was at my house at 7 a.m. to start the trek across the state because she didn't think I should be driving. When it got to be 8 a.m. when the office in St. Pete opened we called to give Kathie a heads up that there was an emergency and we were told that she was off till Wednesday and there was nothing they could do. Fortunately, since it was still too early to reach Fill Centers, I did know the name of the facility in Tampa, got the number from information, called her and she gave me directions and got me in. She also made sure when we left we had her cards on which there is an emergency number that she answers after hours and on the weekend. She told me that had I contacted her, she would have come in on the weekend and helped me out. Her facility is much more modest than the facility in St. Pete, but I think her dedication more than makes up for it. She ended a three day nightmare for me, probably just in time as I know I was very dehydrated, starting to have pain in my kidneys, etc. Anyway, to sum this up, I am so grateful for Darlene who was by my side and drove me across the state to get care because she wouldn't let me go alone and for Dr. Rose, who was so compassionate and accommodating even though she wasn't the Dr. who did the fill. I think that having a number that can be reached outside of office hours is such a plus that it puts her at the top of my list in Florida. I guess the bottom line is, doesn't matter how great the facility is, or the provider. If they aren't available for an emergency, it's a problem.
  21. You're going to do great. I'm just over 8 months since my surgery and have lost a total of 95 lbs. I feel so much better, look better and just feel 20 years younger now that I'm not carrying a 100 lb. weight with me everywhere I go.
  22. I know it seems like we all just keep repeating the same thing, but the staff at OCC have got to be the best in the world. The facility was nicer than anyplace I have been in the states and the staff was so much more caring than most of the medical personnel here. I researched for a year before deciding to have the surgery, my biggest regret - I researched for a year before having the surgery, but I couldn't have done it any other way. Right now I'm 7 1/2 months post op I'm down 77 lbs. from my pre op weight and 92 lbs. down from the weight I was at when I made the decision. My husband is thrilled - the man who always told me I look fine, just a little chubby - I kept asking him if he realized that I was not "chubby" I was morbidly obese. He was being kind, but believe me he is thrilled with the change. I drive people crazy and have loaned out my copy of Lap Band for Life to several people who are thinking about it and tell anyone who will listen how great the experience was in Tijuana. ADDITIONAL NOTE (9/11/2007): I am now almost 9 1/2 months post op - I have hit my goal weight of 150 lbs. and I am totally thrilled. I've a a few issues with fills here in Florida, but even with that I would do the whole thing again in a heartbeat. I've lost a total of 105 lbs. from my starting weight and have gone from a size 22 to a size 8 (comfortably). I haven't shopped since I hit my goal and I actually think I could wear a 6 as some of my 8's are a little loose. I feel like a new person. This was truly the best decision I ever made. CORRECTION: I BOUGHT MY FIRST PAIR OF SIZE 6 JEANS AND THEY FIT GREAT (not that 10 lbs. of s*** in a 5 lb. bag look - you know the one I mean)
  23. I've always had problems with constipation due to medication that I am on. A friend told me about Smooth Move about 6 years ago and I got it - it really does work great and tastes okay too, I use a little sweet and lo in it, but definitely works.
  24. I don't drink so can't answer the alcohol question, but like the others in TJ they did not numb, but he was great and no pain when I went to Fill Centers they used a lidocaine spray and it worked really well. They were good, but not as good as Dr. Romero so with them I will continue to use the lidocaine.
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