cutieKel

hi its me jasmine,i'm doing well and have lost 12lbs so far.nice to hear from you and that you are doing well.

Hello both of you. I am glad to hear that you are both doing well. I am down 10 lbs now and I am doing great. I haven't had too much pain, just some discomfort where my port is. I am however getting really sick of liquids and yogurt.

I want to start preparing so I went to two drug stores looking for gas x strips and all they had was the chewables. Where do you find them?

I did the same and fianlly asked someone when I was being banded. The answer was WalMart and sure enough I went there when I got home and found them there. Now I have both and ended up liking the chewable better. The strips just didn't disolve quick enough for me.

I am going to use the slimfast high protein formula. Laura

I used the SlimFast Optima it tasted good and actually made me full.

hi kel, nice to hear you are doing well,i'm doing well also it's me jas.i have pain near my port to but it's getting better.my husband and kids are helping me out alot,well happy easter.jasmine

Hi Jas,

Glad to hear that you made the drive home ok and that your husband and kids are helping you out.

Whew, banded on the 13th and boy was Dr. Ortiz busy that day, I think there were a total of 6 of us.

Well I am post op of 3 days now and I am feeling pretty good. I seem to be able to tolerate any clear liquids. My friend brought me some wonton soup from PF Changs and the broth was wonderful.

I don't have any pain where my incisions are but down about an inch down from my port incision there is a bit of soreness. Is that common?

I would love to hear from the others that were banded that day, how are you doing?

Hello all ..

I had the surgery about almost 2 years ago and I'm so glad I did. I've lost 73 lbs. I recommend it for anyone who struggles with being overweight. I was never obese I just struggled to maintain a consistant weight. Now that I've had the surgery I keep a steady weight and dont yo-yo up and down. Over all I've been happy with the results.

There are a couple of side effects I've noticed and I'm wondering if any other lap banders have experienced this.. and if so can give me some direction on what to do.

I have acne after I had the surgery. I never had it before. Now I have bad break outs and I'm thinking its something that I'm missing in my diet. I take vitamins (not regularly like i should) but this has become a huge problem. Am I the only one with this problem? Can someone recommend a vitamin to take or something??

Please help!?

First of all, let me say congratulations on your weight loss. 73lbs is wonderful in two months. I have not had the surgery yet however, I do know that a common issue with people that are over weight is a hormone imbalance. Sometimes menstral cycles are even affected. It could be, that your hormones are now working and maybe that is contributing to your acne. Have you consulted your primary care physician or a dematologist?

Hey Everyone,

It's hard to believe I am an official Bandster. I am 4 days post op and have no complaints. Things are fine. The gas pains in my chest are subsiding and other than soreness at the incisions, I have no real problems. Haven't been hungry and have lost 6 lbs so far. That's encouraging. Dr. Ortiz, Dr. Martinez and their staff are so awesome! The care was unbelievable. Much better than the U.S. I have an HMO and feel like I'm just another health record number to them. Dr. Oritz and his staff were genuinely concerned about my well-being. DEFINITELY recommend them to anyone considering getting banded.

Lynn

Lynn,

Good to hear you are doing well. My surgery is on Thursday moved up from Friday. I am starting to get a bit nervous. I am glad to hear your progress. Please keep us posted. I will post as soon as I am home.

Pills same or smaller than a pencil eraser can be swallowed. Warm liquids help it go down easier. Larger pills can be crushed (I mix the crushed in applesauce and it is fine). Pills that are time release can't be taken. Gel cap pills can be broken and swallowed but its yucky. For Tylenol issues, most of us use the adult strength liquid available at most common drug stores. As far as NSAIDS, there is debate about the issue. Some doctors say that NSAIDS create or promote erosion and to never ever take them. Some say it doesn't make a difference. NSAIDS are the steroidal medications (like Aleve, Ibuprofen, anti inflamatories, etc). If you need this, check with your doctor and he can give you an injectable. I stay away from all of the NSAIDS. I take the shot if I need it. No use taking the chance with a $10k investment.

So what do you do about antibotics? Those are in capsules usually? They can usually be opened but that seems a bit odd.

I am scheduled to be banded on 4/14 and I am wondering if I will ever be able to take pills ever again? I have looked on the many discussion websites and have never seen this addressed. Take for instance antibiotics, birth control, or another prescription medication. Can anyone address this?

Thanks for the information Julia. I am scheduled to be banded on the 14th of this month and it is nice to hear from others that have done it. Please keep up updated.

Seawright,

When you go under the topic heading like Surgery Discussion there is a button to click on the top right area of the screen that states Newtopic. If you click that a new thread will be created.

I hope that helps.

Kelli

Hello Everyone,

I am in TJ at the Lucerna Hotel planning for my surgery tomorrow with Dr. Ortiz. His new facility and staff are WONDERFUL! They even put my husband at ease! That's how great it is. So clean and bright. My experience has been very good so far. Now the hotel ... leaves a little to be desired. Not a 5 star by any stretch. Maybe a 3. The exterior and lobby are a lot nicer than the rooms. But it's clean, so we can deal with it.

I've met a couple other fellow bandsters who are having their surgery done. It's good to be able to see people in person. I'll keep everyone informed, especially you future bandits!

Lynn

Good luck Lynn, I am being banded a week from tomorrow so I am looking forward to hearing about your experiences. My thoughts will be with you tomorrow.

Hey Everyone,

i was hoping to get a little feedback from those who had their surgery done with Dr. Ortiz. I was interested in hearing anyone's hotel (Lucerne) experience. I'm getting a little nervous that no one has replied. I don't know if that's a good or bad thing??! Someone please reply and tell me how your hotel experience was. I am very particular about the hotels in which I stay and hope that it's nice.

Lynn

Hi Lynn,

I have not seen the hotel but you can go online and look at the rooms @ www.hotel-lucerna.com. I have heard from a couple people that had the surgry a few weeks ago that the hotel is nice. I however am not scheduled for surgery until 4/14. However with the way that Dr. Ortiz's new surgery center looks, I can't imagine that he would put his patients in a dump. I don't think you have anything to worry about.

Good luck

Kelli

Are you getting it done by Dr. Ortiz? If so, I bet we will run into each other while recovering.

I have to tell you that since I live about 1 1/2 hours from TJ, I went down and toured the facilities. They were beautiful and everyone was so nice. Dr. Ortiz was so friendly and answered all of the questions I had.

Good luck to the others, you will be banded in just a few days!!!!!!! You will have to keep us all posted as to how it went.

I have an appointment on April 20 in TJ to be banded. I have told a couple of people about where I am going to have this done, they go off the deep end. Has anyone had any problems? Should I be more worried than what I am?

I also am leaving to go on a cruise at 7 weeks after my surgery. Do you think I should get a fill befor I go or afterward? I am not sure on what to do. I have read some post that people are still eating what ever they want after they go on "real" food. I thought after the band was in place it would start restrecting the intake of food no matter how long you waited to get a fill. Could some one please give me their view point? Thanks

Tina, I have friends that thought the same thing too when I told them I was going to Mexico to have my surgery. However, I took one of my toughest critics with me to meet Dr. Ortiz and she was so impressed. She works in the medical field so she has really high standards. Needless to say, she told me that it was one of the nicest facilites she has seen. As well, she thought that Dr. Ortiz was so nice and answered all her quesitons honestly. I feel extremely comfortable with having my surgery there. I am going to Europe for 3 weeks about 10 weeks after my surgery. I am going to try to get a fill at 6 weeks in order to give me enough time to adjust to it. However, Dr. Ortiz would be your best bet to answer that quesiton.

I am glad you are going to call Dr. Ortiz. That really isn't something that you should just live with. If there is a problem then you need to take care of it.

I know that it is quite a bit of money and there is really no easy way to pay for it. I kept waiting for a money tree to grow up in my backyard but no luck. There are a couple ways. You can refinance your house, save up, put it on a credit card or of course wait for that money tree.

Have you contacted your doctor to see if this is normal or common? I am guessing this did not happen with your first fill... How long ago did you have your fill?

I have set a surgery date with Dr. Ortiz for April 14th. Is there anyone else that is going to have theirs around the same time with Dr. Ortiz?

I have to say that I am getting so excited and wish I could go sooner but my schedule will not permit.

Go to www.fillcenterusa.com It is my understanding that Dr Ortiz and two other doctors are puting this together. It allows you to find a doctor in other states that will do the fills for MX patients. It looks like right now they have about 6 states in which there are doctors willing to do the fills. It is however my understanding that it is new and they are working on getting more physicians on it.

1-2 pounds a week is normal. So in 52 weeks (1 year) you can expect 52 lbs being reasonable. Some lose slower and some lose faster. It all depends on how much you work with your band. If you exercise and eat right, there is no reason why you shouldn't lose the weight. But it is at a much healthier pace.

Thanks, I guess the slow and steady win the race. 52lbs in a year would work for me.

I am currently looking into being banded. However, I have noticed on other suport websites that there seems to be a great number of people that have been banded for a year or more and have only lost a small amount of weight. Is this normal?

Thanks