ValleyGirl

Kristi, if you are on facebook, I have tons of photos from our trip posted at http://www.facebook.com/SabrinaStorey. Just add me as a friend to see them. You're going to rock that bikini in Hawaii!!! I'll bet your husband can't wait to see you in it. Warning, wearing so little is very distracting for them, haha. My 6-year old even said even said "dad, why are you always looking at mom's boobs?"!!! Better mine than someone elses I guess!

Had my re-fill today!!! I now have 2.1 cc's. We'll see if that is the magic number. The doc wasn't worried about my gain at all. He keeps telling me not to get too skinny and that I look great and am at a healthy weight now! I saw my mom today as well and she is always brutally honest and said she couldn't tell I'd gained a pound. All my pre-trip clothes still fit too so I don't know how it's possible that I've gained 14 pounds but that is what the scale says and I always weigh on the same one. The body (just like the band) is a mysterious thing. Sabrina:)

I have just returned from almost three weeks in Maui. I left Boxing Day at the lowest weight I have been in my adult life (166 pounds). I decided to get another complete unfill en route to the airport because for the two previous days (Christmas Eve and Christmas day) I couln't eat solids and was starting to have trouble with just water. The same thing had happened a few months ago and OCC advised a complete unfill for three weeks at that time. Although I gained 9 pounds with the first unfill, I figured I would do it again to ensure I wasn't far from home, dehydrated, in danger, and as a result ruining our family vacation. Besides, that nine pounds came off in no time. As an experiment, I decided I would try to eat like a "normal" person while on holiday...three meals per day, no snacking, plenty of water. I was good for the most part; my biggest downfall being the Mai-Tais and Pina Coladas my husband kept making me after the kids went to bed so I would, (in his words) "loosen up and live a little". We had more fun together than we have in years, but boy am I paying for it now. Get ready for this...............in 18 days, I gained 14 pounds!!! I swear on my mother's grave that I was eating "normal" (not lap-band normal), but not going crazy at all. We had a condo so we cooked our own meals, and I even asked that he didn't keep any junk in the condo to tempt me. I'm guessing I was eating about 2000 calories per day. Of course, I normally only eat about 800 per day but 14 freakin pounds?! REALLY???? Back to get filled up tomorrow. Here we go again! Sabrina:) PS- Pic below was probably about ten pounds ago!

I know we are all different, but I am unfilled right now (this is the second time in a year I've had to go for an unfill) and for me I can eat just like I did before being banded. I have absolutely no restriction- bread, pasta, it all goes down. Which is why I'm going to get filled again this weekend!!! I don't want to scare you, but the last person on here that was unfilled yet still couldn't get much of anything down (Nicole K?) had to have her band removed. Please get yourself checked out soon. Sabrina:)

Angie, I think it got irritated because I got pills stuck and the swelling may have gone down after a couple days of liquids, but I was worried, "what if it doesn't loosen up or gets worse because I'm flying?". It's REALLY scary when even water won't go down without great difficulty. Fortunately, the band is adjustable- as soon as the fluid was taken out, I was back to normal. I feel like I don't even have a band at all. Crazy. Happy New Year everyone! Sabrina:)

Good news is I am on vacation in Hawaii. The bad news is I had to get a complete unfill the day I left. From Christmas Eve until boxing Day, I could hardly swallow my spit again:( Since I have been down that road before, I got my doc to take ALL of the fluid out. I was freaking that I would be so far from home, totally dehydrated, and in a potentially dangerous situation. Perhaps a slight unfill would have been enough but I wasn't willing to take my chances and ruin my vacation. That said, I'm enjoying myself eating things I normally can't (pineapple, tried a pig cooked in the ground at a luau, and I'm going to have sushi today for the first time in a year). I expect I will gain a few pounds but my mom (normal weight) reminded me that "normal" people DO gain weight on holidays and then get back on track when they get home. So, I will get a small fill again when I get home and try not to dwell too much on the weight stuff while on vacation. I'll report the damage on the 12th. Happy New Year. Sabrina:)

A year ago today I was just finishing my 21-day liquid diet. I lost about 20 pounds on it and felt like a million bucks over the holidays. This year, I feel like TWO million! Who knew I'd be down another 70? Not me. I was so sure this band wouldn't work for me. It has, and it still is! Thanks to DR. ORtiz and all of YOU for giving me the best gift of all- getting myself back! If you are just starting out, think about what you will look like and how you will feel a year from now. Excited?! Sabrina:)

I am scared to death of having the surgery (it's MAJOR surgery) so I'm going to work out from Jan-July and see if I am noticing enough improvement that it won't be needed but that is doubtful so probably at the end of the summer. If I go to TJ, I'll use Dr. Campos but I'd still like to consult with Dr. Nyte in Washington and another Mexican surgeon in Monterey that I"ve heard good things about. Sabrina:)

Guess who just gave me a Christmas card with $4000 inside towards plastic surgery??? It's a Christmas Miracle!!!

Four fills locally, followed by unfill locally, followed by first "refill" locally and now my sixth fill I just did at OCC when I had my one-year check-up. I don't think you need to go there for fills but it's good to have a check-up under flouro once a year. Sabrina:)

I missed last weeks weigh-in because I was at OCC for a fill. But I've gone from 169 to 166 as of this morning!!! Six pounds to goal! Sabrina:)

Me too!

Okay, well coffee is going through again. I think those capsules may have been stuck but I've managed to push them through! I've never tried swallowing the caspules...I usualy just break pills in half. Do they give anyone else grief? Sabrina:)

I have a really sore throat/swollen glands so I took two cold fx capsules last night before bed. I'm not sure if they are still sitting in my pouch or if it's the fact that I am sick, but I can't even get my coffee down this morning. It's like my band has slammed shut. Just in time for the 4 busiest days of the year for me. Ugh!

Sounds like a bug. I've never heard of bowel issues from the band. You can always call the toll-free number for OCC and you will be able to speak to whatever doc is on call right away. Just breathe, and let us know how you feel in the morning. Sabrina:)

I doubut there is anybody on this board that hates (or maybe I'm just scared of it?) exercise more than me. As soon as I get back from Hawaii on Jan 10th I am going to GO HARD for six months...January until July! I'll probably even invest in a personal trainer to get me started. The six month window should allow me to #1) form the habbit of exercising and #2) give me a better idea of whether I should go through with the plastic surgery I am considering. Good luck to everyone! Sabrina:)

I just found this thread on athother wls website and it's such a good read, really covers what we're talking about, particularly your mom's comment about having kids. http://www.obesityhelp.com/forums/plasticsurgery/4082379/Feel-like-Im-being-superficial-amp-vain/

PS- to give you an idea of his mentality around this, he asked how I would feel if he came home one day and told me he wanted to buy a porsche! I couldn't really argue with that. There are many things I'd rather spend our money on than a Porsche! Sabrina:)

Now that I've had my consults, I'm starting to chicken out about ps. The reality is that I wouldn't do it until #1- I exercised HARD for six months straight and #2- I paid off my current debt. So, by this summer at the earliest, and no later than my 40th birthday in October 2011. It's no secret my husband thinks I am being vain and doesn't want me spending our "family money" on this. Now I'm starting to have doubts too. Nobody but him sees me naked and I've never worn a bikini in my life, so is the pain and the family feud REALLY worth it???? Of course, I'd love to know what it feels like to be "normal" for the first time in my adult life, but at what cost? It's going to be a big battle at home and I wonder if this one is worth the fight. I got banded without his blessing and it's proven to be worth it. Will the PS be worth it? Would love your input. Sabrina:)

Done.

This past Wednesday, I had consults with Dr. Quiroz at Cosmed, and Dr. Jamie Campos (who used to work for Cosmed but has his own practice now) and my first impressions were this. Quiroz- confident and Campos- CLEAN. I got the feeling Quiroz was probably really good at what he does but the office wasn't as clean as I would have liked- it really looked like the carpets need to be vacuumed and that just bothered me. If I'm having major surgery, I want the place to be sanitized from top to bottom. Campos is younger and a bit socially-awkward (think super smart kids in high school) but his place was neat as a pin (like OCC) and his prices were slightly more competitive. They both agreed I would need the extended tummy-tuck (scar that goes all the way around) and both agrred a breast lift too but Quiroz said no implants and Campos felt he'd get better results with implants....Quiroz said a leg-lift wouldn't be necessary after the extended tt `cause that alone would lift my legs but Campos thought there would still be too much inner-thigh skin and he'd like to lift that too. Not sure what I'm going to do. I was VERY happy with the prices but don't have the money right now even if it was a dollar to get it all done! I'm hoping to do it by my 40th bday in 2011. Sabrina:)

I was away Wednesday but weighed when I returned and I'm still stuck at 169- no loss in a few weeks so this Wednesday I should see a drop (fingers crossed)- always do every three or four weeks. Plus, I just had afill so we'll see... Sabrina:)

I was surprised because I'd never heard this before, but when I had my fill at OCC this week, Dr. SO said now that I'm more than a year out, I can drink up to 5 minutes before eating and ony have to wait half an hour after to drink again. It's going to be a lot easier to get in more water this way. By the way, my check-up was perfect! The port, band, pouch, it was all perfect! He was very impressed with my results saying that most people lose 50-60% of their excess weight in the first year (if you have 100 to lose, expect 50 or 60) and that my loss was above-average and I should be proud. I don't hear this from anyone outside this forum (hubby is still bitter about the whole thing) so it made me feel really good. He also kept saying how the band has now done it's job and the rest would be up to me...that I'd need to be more responsible for my choices the rest of my life and not depend on the band so much anymore. That really stuck and I feel like I"m being more accountable these past few days. I also had two plastic surgey consults and will post more on that in the ps forum. Sabrina:)

I had to go through head-office but I got the "free" shuttle they promised for the $56 per night rate...well, I'll be catching it at 9am. You need to know to ask for the medical rate when booking (don't know how you would know- they should tell you)but it's just over $80 with transportation to any clinic in TJ and $56 per night without transportation. It's noisy here (right on a highway) but very clean, spacious rooms and includes your breakfast and free internet. I'll report more later. Sabrina:)