Blazn

I will help with the planning but unfortunately I probably will not be able to attend. I am graduating 2 weeks after that and will probably be having finals right around that time but I will know more next month. I will attend if at all possible. I am a very good travel agent if I may say so myself so I will start planning when we get a final word from Lori about the docs. That way if we decide to move to Vegas I won't have wasted time/effort. Evette lives in SD so she may be able to help and if we move it to Vegas Michelle may be our gal.

Well said, Trav. People, please keep in mind there are risks for ALL surgeries. Do not let this incident change your mind about banding. Although this is very unfortunate, the band did not cause the death, the bacteria did. Please keep that in mind. And yes, you do need to carefully select your surgeon based on reputation and cleanliness. I am a nurse and must add that the OCC is one of the cleanest facilities I have ever been to so you can't go wrong there!

Hey Alana, FYI Fill centers called me today and told me that next Saturday (12/13) will be Darlene's last day doing fills in Moultrie - she will only be in Roswell now. I know this is a bummer. I am 4 hours from Roswell and need one more fill but can't go next weekend!!!

Yes, I think Roswell, Ga would be your best bet. You should only be a couple of hours from there, right? Darlene is great!!! There are lots of people that use her from TN! Good luck.

Wow, that is awesome. We would love to see photos of your progress for inspiration!!!!

Yes to both of you. Protien shakes are included on the post-op diet. But not until day 6. It is strictly clear liquids until day 4 then you can add liquid yogurt. No, you do not need to bring protein shakes to TJ as you will be home by the time you are to start them. Slimfast does have protein - the optimum has more but you would have to drink like 6 of them to get enough protein in during that post-op phase and that would be too many calories. Here is a copy of Dr. Miranda's post op diet. MM has it posted on her myspace so I took it from there. She has posted it somewhere on the forum but I could not find it.

Beautiful, as always, Michelle.

Protein is especially important following Lap-Band surgery. After Lap-Band surgery the stomach will never hold more than 4 to 6 ounces per meal, so making every bite count is essential for healthy and nutritionally rounded weight loss success. Lap-Band patients are advised to consume fifty to sixty grams of protein daily to avoid protein deficiency. Protein deficiency causes hair loss, fatigue, edema, muscle weakness, and a delay in wound healing. A lack of adequate protein may also lead to depression, anxiety, irritability, apathy, and other mental health conditions, as well as cause a number of physical health issues from gallstones to colds, headaches, low blood pressure, anemia, irregular hear rates, and, in extreme cases, death. Notice, I bolded delay in wound healing. This is the key factor following lap band. For you body to heal you must have protein. With out protien boosters and shakes you can't take in too much protein on liquids alone, that is why they encourage protein shakes post-op. Hope this helps.

Dr. Ortiz likes your BMI to be at least 30 I believe, but I think someone said it could be a little less if you had been bigger before, lost a little weight, but was slowly gaining it back. As a matter of fact, it was my sister-n-law. She wants to have it done and contacted Carolyn. Her BMI is only like 27 but it used to be higher and she is slowly gaining the weight back that she lost after having my neice. Carolyn had to present her case to Dr. Ortiz and he approved it. She has not been banded yet for financial reasons but it is definately open if she wants it.

I love it! LOL. Thanks for posting. I was feeling your joy as I was reading your post. What a great and supportive hubby you have. Great job - keep it up!

OMG - bless your heart. We hear horror stories lots of times with financing, lap band bumps, etc. but nothing this bad. I am so sorry for everything you have went through. You did not mention the name of the center or surgeon that robbed you but I think you should. Who knows - there may be someone on here lurking that is planning on signing up with the same crew. Please keep us posted on your endeaver to get your money back. When you do, you will not go wrong by going with Dr. Ortiz and the OCC. There are plenty on this forum to back me up on that!

Very, very cute. We've been missing you. And I just looovveee the back dress. Very classy.

Okay, calm down. I did the same thing. All you have to do is change your pre-op weight. I see that you were 232....and now 238 - is that right? If so all you do is lose 5% of your pre-op weight - that is your weight when you start the pre-op diet. 5% of 238 is 11.6 - so that is all you have to lose. Just make sure you change your pre-op weight on your paperwork. You'll be fine. I did the same thing and what I am telling you to do is what Dr. Miranda and Lori told me to do. Do not worry - you are going to be fine.

This IS scary. Did you get it completely unfilled? If so, how long did the fill doc say before you could slowly start refilling. I am glad you are okay and glad you posted. My band has been extremely tight the last couple of days so I have been throwing up with almost every meal but it seems better today. So I will def. take your advice should something like this happens. Thanks.

Bump. 4 days left to vote.

Just bumping. Only 5 days left to vote.

Thanks for the update, Michelle. I love GL but school has me so busy I hardly have time to watch any TV at all.

Kim - you have g-r-e-a-t legs!!!!!

Bump - only 6 days left to vote!

Wow - that is amazing. What is the article going to be about? Dr. Ortiz? Lap Band in general? That is amazing. Congratulations. You'll be famous. What a great treat to show your grandkids one day! Keep us posted.

Okay let's give this poll one more week. I will try to bump it up every day if it get pushed off of the main page and then we'll close it next weekend. That way we can present Lori with a weekend and see if the docs can attend. I don't think they will just tell us what weekend will be good for them - they don't know what is going to be going on then no more than we do. So let's just do this thing and if they can come great, and if not that's okay too. I am sure we can all have fun with whoever will be there. Right?