bogiesmom

Margaret, You are scaring me now. I so do not want to be on liquids after a fill and not feel like I have restriction. That sucks!! I does nto sound like you got enough but if you go back they charge you more money right? What are you going to do??? Are you going to just wait 3 days and see if you get restriction with solid food?

So Margaret, Do tell! How many CC's did you get? How many CC's will your band hold total? How are you feelling right now? have you tried to eat anything yet? Are you satisfied with the amount they gave you? When are you planning to go back for another fill? How much did you pay for a cab ride back to the border? Thanks so much for the taxi info...I will need it come late December. I plan on taking the train from Union Station to San Diego and catching a cab from the station to the border then I will have to catch another cab to the OCC but I guess it is all tax deductable so no worries.

Maragret, Let us know how your first fill goes. I am axious to hear as I have been following your journey very closely. I love reading your posts. Your very insightful and a great communicator in how you effectively explain what is going on externally as well as internally.

That is the funniest thing I have heard all day & it felt good to laugh like that. Thank you. When it comes to stuff like this you need a sense of humor.

Okay...that is the dumbest thing I have heard in the last two weeks. I do not have an FSA but I thought the whole point of it was that it is YOUR MONEY. Your money that you have saved up and put into it for the use of medical out-of-pocket expenses. IMO, fight them all the way. This is another example of poor customer service by people who are not trained to do their jobs. The one hand does not know what the other hand is doing and it sounds like you need to talk to an intelligent person and get the right information. See if they are registered members of the BBB and file a case through BBB if they are. You might be suprised at how quickly your situation gets resolved. Seriously...the most frustrating thing about your experiance is that it sounds like this is another example of an A+ person trying to live in a C- world. I hate it when that happens.

Okay Angie, I guess since i have no nutritional value or serving size for this recipe I am going to have to go to the store and do some label reading before making it my own and come up with a healthy version. Thank you for the tip on the fat free cream of chicken (I so have to add that one to the shopping list).

OK I am sharing my mother's (she got it at her WW meeting in Las Vegas) coveted recipe for WW Taco Soup that is Only 2 Points per serving. If you serve it to anyone not watching their weight they cannot even tell the difference (I have tested this many times). I make it for pot lucks and picnics. It makes 3 1/2 quarts so it goes a long way. The meat is totally optional and you can substitute beef for chicken, turkey, shrimp or meatless ground (meatless ground tastes wonderful). I also use this soup as a filling for my omelets, a baked potato topper, and over lettuce it makes the best taco salad! 1 LB Extra Lean Ground Beef (92% or more fat free) 2 cups of water 1 onion chopped 1 can kidney beans 1 can whole kernel corn 1 can diced tomatoes 1 can tomato sauce 1 can chili beans 1 can fat free refried beans 1 4 oz can of diced green chilies 1 packet of taco seasoning 1 packet ranch dressing mix Sauté ground beef and onions in a pan. In a large pot combine and stir all other ingredients. DO NOT DRAIN ANYTHING AND DO NOT FORGET THE WATER. Simmer pot of ingredients on low. When the ground beef and onions are brown (drain fat if you want) add to the large pot. Continue to stir and simmer for an additional 30 minutes. This recipe makes 14 servings. 1 serving is equal to 1 cup. On WW I could technically eat 12 cups of this per day and still loose weight. Enjoy for me! I cannot have this until 12/5/09 as my procedure date is 11/13.

Sorry to be the "party pooper" here but this receipe sounds full of fat . I am suprised to read that some poeple actually add cheese and/or sour cream to this. My procedure date is 11/13/09 and I am preparing a list of items to purchase. I was under the assumption that we really had to be careful about calorie & fat intake during the liquid phase b/c it is really easy to "drink" too many calories or too much fat and therefore gain weight instead of loose it. Was my assumtion incorrect? What is the nutritional value of this receipe? How many servings does it make? Does any one have ideas or suggestions for a lite version?

Thank you Jhawkchick. I love, love, love your idea about taking notes! That definately appeals to my sense of obsesiveness and compulsity of making things into "projects." So now I am going to buy a journal/notebook and tab sections out with flags and color code every topic. I also need to start writing down questions to ask the doctors so I do not waste precious pre-op, face to face time when I have the oppertunity to ask anything and everything I want (my first question will concern the glass of wine at night). So this little "project" kills 2 birds. Aussie, I had a good laugh about the gum & soup comment That is like the girl from Charlie And The Chocolate Factory who became a blueberry. I am not sure about that but i have to admit it does seem clever of you and maybe out of desperation I will be willing to try just about anything. What about pills to control hunger? Do you do those during the first 21? If so, crushed or whole and which ones do you recommend?

Thank you Margaret, I will shop for juices, broths, flavored water and wine. I should really check out health food stores in my area as well. I heard of a seaweed product that people drink when they are fasting, there are probably similar products on the market for people who fast but need nutrition.

So what did you use for "clear" liquids? The protein powder sounds like I will have to do something with it in the kitchen and I am not really wanting to mix, stir or blend unless it is a Martini Which brings up the subject of Vodka being a clear liquid? I would think that it also serves as a great pain killer too No seriously, is a glass of white wine considered a "clear liquid"? I am thinking I could also use it as a night cap to avoid hunger pains since a glass usually makes me pass out. I guess I am just confussed about this whole clear liquids deal and I am trying to figure out what to buy when I go to the grocercy store. I am assuming clear means anything transparent but who knows?

Hi, I would like to join this group that you started since I am scheduled for banding on 11/13/09. I was wodering if anyone had suggestions on what are some good "clear liquid" products and what are some good non-clear products to buy for the first 21 days???? I would like to start forming my list now so I can shop a few days before sugery so I am not overwheld afterwords. Please think of anything and everything. I did buy some Slim Fast shakes in Vanilla & Strawberry. I HATE chocolate and it is very hard to find non-chocolate protein shakes. I do not like to cook so I realy do not want to make my own. That will be too much trouble for me since I work full time. Thanks in advance

Hi PamnLA, I had a my initial band consultation with a Dr. in Beverly Hills who noted that the possibility of infection is only slight and that if there was an instance where the Port site/port became infected a procedure could be done whereby the port is simply removed and replaced with a new one at a later date. He emphasised that the whole band doesnt need to be removed. He made the procedure sound simple and quick, moreover, not at all common. Granted, all of this was said I am presuming refering to the Lap Band AP (American Version) but I am curious to know if the same principle of just removing the Port would apply to other Lap Band Versions.

Hi, I am recently familiar with what you are going through with the financing. I tried the mysurgeryloan & the other one that the OCC recommends and applied with both on or around 10/6ish. My surgery date is 11/13/09 so I had to work fast! Long story short they turned me down flat w/o a cosigner. In retrospect I am glad they did b/c it forced me to evaluate my own finances and realize that I did have the money but I had to think outside of the box. I had 1/3 of it in my saving account, 1/3 in the form of a savings bond collecting dust in the desk and I took out the last 1/3 from a loan in my 401K. I do have a credit union that I have been a member of for the last 16 years (cheers to those who mentioned it =D> ) and I wish I would have thought to ask them since I have direct deposit. I have credit cards but I am so happy I was able to avoid them since my interest rate (but then again ANY interest rate) sucks on them. I have paid all of the procedure costs to date and my procedure is 11/13, so it can be done if you are on top of things. I was willing to move back my procedure date if I had to though in order to get my duckies lined up in a row.

I called and his receptionist said no fills for Mexico patients.

Hi Everyone, I am a newbie and I am getting my procedure done with Dr. Ortiz on November 13th as well (along with Beth's Mom). So I wonder how many procedure's Dr. Ortiz does in 1 day? I hope it is not like a wham bam thank you mam, next sort of thing. But we will see. I live in West Los Angeles between Culver City and Santa Monica and I work in Beverly Hills. I have a son who is 17 (I had him when I was very young) and a boyfriend and my baby is an 11 month english old bulldog named Bogie. Bogie is my support system on a daily basis and if I could take him with me for the procedure I would but he would get stolen so that is out of the question. I was laid off from Sony Pictures on 3/10/09 and that is the day we brought Bogie home from the breeder. He gave me the streangth, courage and self esteem I needed to find my current job that matched my pay, benefits from Sony but with more perks! Like everyone else I am self-pay but not really, Sony is paying for a third with the rest of the severance package I have, My grandma is paying for 1/4th with a savings bond she gave me and I am paying for the rest with a laon form my 401K (so I get to payback myself with interest =D> ). So it's all good. My boyfriend's mother is going with me for the procedure. My own mother wanted to go but I am not so sure about that yet. We were both cut from the same cloth and sometimes that can be problematic. I might have her meet me at the train station in San Deigo but still undecided. I just hope I can be back at work on Monday morning. Please tell me I can be back at work on Monday morning. I am a new employee so I only have something like 3.5 days of accumulated vacation days. Two days of which I am taking for this procedure (thursday/friday). Also, If anyone knows of a doctor in the Los Angeles area who will do my fills under floroscopy please, please, please share. I am going to make a bunch of calls tomorrow to find someone willing to take me. Since I only have limited vacation days I am sure you understand my need for a doctor in my area. It would be nice to see someone in BH or West LA on my lunch hour so please let me know.

Hi, I am a newbie and I have my procedure scheduled at OCC on Nov 13, 2009. This is my first post and I am not able to find the answer to my question on this forum. I read on another board that some doctors will do an initial fill during the surgery while other just do an initial install then you have to go back and get fluid added at a later date. I was under the assumtion that I would have restiction due to liquid at the time of install (surgery). Will Dr. Ortiz inject liquid during my procedure at my request? Does he normally do this? I would really hate to have to wait 6-8 week and have to drive back to the OCC for restriction. I would rather kill 2 birds with one stone before having to go back for an adjustment. Even if it is like a small amount of liquid, something is better then nothing at all.