Paula Bee

Yep.. what Jann and Julie said. You are on liquids.. you cannot stretch your pouch as they all run straight through.

When I first contacted Lori about getting the band, she sent me several attachments, including one for doctors who would possibly do fills for me in Florida. She warned me up front that it was very difficult to get a fill from someone other than the surgeon who did the surgery. I called one or two of the numbers, and both no longer did fills for patients other than their own. I went ahead, of course, with the surgery at OCC, knowing that I would have to fly from Florida to TJ or use a fill doctor that is 3 to 4 hours drive from me. (Tampa, St. Petersburg, and Brunswick or Roswell.) Up until the price of gas flew through the roof, it was cheaper to fly to TJ. Now, however, the roundtrips to TJ and back to Jacksonville are nearly $500, and it is cheaper to go to the fill centers. I loved going to TJ and having my fills there, and I always have a wonderful time; I will miss not going there. But, until the cost of flying drops, I will use the fill centers. Thank God there are great ones close to me. And, as to doctors being driven by the almighty dollar, it is really all about malpractice insurance costs. I talked at length with one of the office managers of a local bariactric doctor, and, as Jena said, the doctors could make a lot of money by doing fills on any patients, not just their own. BUT, malpractice insurance is so vicious in Florida that more and more independent doctors are giving up their private offices to go into group practice. There are reports in the paper, and I have had personal experience, with doctors leaving the state in droves because they cannot afford the insurance anymore. The manager told me that INSURANCE companies are the ones who determine which patients a doctor can fill, and the penalties for filling someone and then being sued for it are staggering. He mentioned that it could even cause drastic rises in the malpractice insurance to even DO outside fills, or could cause a firm to lose their malpractice insurance all together. There is NO way a doctor could recoup those costs unless he did more fills than possible each year. Frankly, I wouldn't do outside fills, either, under these circumstances. Anyway, Lori warned me ahead of time, so I went into it with my eyes open.

Gotta love EAS Whey Protein powder, available at Sam's, Target, etc. I stir a scoop of the chocolate in with my morning coffee and have mocha for breakfast. This works for me because I am not a breakfast eater. It is 23g of protein per scoop. It is so good that my nieces will drink "chocolate milk" made with it. Since we are supposed to be getting 2 low fat milk servings a day, I use this at least once a day in coffee or milk. I also like the South Beach Meal Replacement Bars...they have around 20 or so grams of protein, and they basically taste like rice krispie treats with a chocolate, peanut butter, whatever kind of base. I usually can only eat 1/2 of these before I start getting that "golf ball" feeling.

Hooray for your band! It did its job! Like you said, it is not something you want to repeat again... most unpleasant! Been there, done that, and have the slime on my shirt to prove it!

WOO WOO, Anita! You are looking fabulous!!

Yay, Julie! I am so glad the time is here for your first fill. I know you are so excited! It is like trying to sleep the night before Santa comes. The fill is easy, peezy.... no sweat, honestly, and was really facinating for me to watch on the screen. Watching the fluid go through the band at each swallow..... oohhh.. you're getting sleepy, very sleepy... okay.. maybe not that hypnotic.. lol.. Don't chug today.. don't run the risk of stretching anything before tomorrow. Sip, sip, sip, sip, (or as the Vicar of Nibbleswick says, "pis, pis, pis!) .... I know it is tough to get all your water in that way; I have trouble with it, too. Hugs and safe flight!

I agree.. you did great! Part of the process is body awareness and food awareness. You worked through it, and frankly did better than I probably would have. Hugs and hugs,

Bless your heart! I am so happy that it has finally come together for you and your husband. Yayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!

I was taking two nexium a day prior to my surgery, and Dr. Ortiz told me I would never need them again; and I haven't!

Hooray for You! You are ready to go...

I agree; specific written directions need to be written in a pamplet form, including all the "only meant for people still on liquids," and "you don't need to use the salad plate with protein>veggies>fruit>carbs for breakfast. Just a little banana or something...." There seem to be exceptions and lots of discrepancies with each communication. Even the section in his book by Dr. Miranda is not consistant. I love her.. she is a wealth of knowledge, but I just don't know what is what. There are days that I never get past the protein to veggies or fruit. I can drink V-8 juice for the veggies, but I get only little bits of fruit here and there. This is an area that needs to be addressed so that all of us are getting the same information. IMHO

Welcome back.. you were missed....

The time after the banding and before the first fill is supposed to be for healing, not necessarily for losing weight. There is NO saline in your band, and unless you have some lucky restriction from the band itself, you probably won't have any restriction until your first fill. Whether you lose weight during that time really will depend on your food choices and intake. I was a bit obsessive about what I ate... still didn't lose much weight during that time.

wooty woot woot woooooooooooo!

I agree that other fill dr.'s are biased against TJ patients. However, most also will not take any patient banded by any other doctor, including patients who have moved within the US, whose doctors have retired or are deceased. It is all about liability; no doc wants to take some other's problem patient and get sued for complications for a surgery they didn't even perfom. Their liability insurance would also skyrocket. I don't like the fact that I have to drive a couple of hours away to get a fill, but I do understand why. A reality of lapband life.

I use EAS powder. It comes in three flavors; chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry. It has 23 grams of protein, and I add one every day. Chocolate is my favorite; even my mom and little nieces love it.

Welcome, welcome, welcome!! This is a friendly forum, and we are so glad you are here. There are guys on the forum, they just don't pipe up much. WillT, where are you?

The fluid does stay in the tube. They are very careful to make sure that there are no air bubbles in the fill, as it will seem like you have lost some of your fill when really the air has just passed out of the tube. Air can escape; saline cannot.

There is a special that is around $290. It includes rides to and from the airport, one night in the hotel, and the fluroscopy.

You are looking FANTASTIC! WTG!

Boil the crawfish... they are delicious! (grew up in Louisiana, Sha.)

What everyone else said, and HIDE YOUR SCALES! With the band you shouldn't be a slave to the scale. It is wrong when we perceive our success by a number on the scale. Pull it out once a month and have a look.

WOOT! Waiting to hear about your experience!

Oh, Mona! I know you are discouraged! Everyone else's suggestions were excellent, especially the one about calling Dr. Miranda. In fact, I would copy and paste your post from here into an email to her. Tell her that you will be calling her. Then when you call her, she should have the reference close. Lots of hugs and reassurance, Paula

LOL.. thanks for the compliment... not sooooo wise, just sooooo experienced in this one area. Man, oh Man... your pictures are FANTASTIC. I do love the one with you in the green shirt and the one where you are standing in one leg of your old pants.