LAP-BAND Surgery Forums

This is making me laugh while I type, what it's driving me crazy: what does LOL stand for? Thanks

Geeeeeeeeeeeeeez! What the heck was I thinking??? I ate...........dare I say it??? a whole entire godiva chocolate ice cream you know the kind in the small containers. Yep, and now I feel like yuuuuuuuuck why did I do that? I sat down to watch my favorite show and thought you know it has been quite a while since I have had some ice cream so I got up and decided to have just a few bites...well the rest is history I ate the entire container! It has been four months since my surgery I have lost a total of 33 lbs but now I feel like I really screwed up has anyone else done something dumb like this?? Geeeeeeeeeeeeeeeez talk about a trigger food I didnt even know I liked i…

Hi everyone and thank you so much for the well wishes.. I am getting better, but it is along road.. Some days are better than others.. My husband raised the bed 9 inches.. now we just have to keep from sliding off.. lol.. I was talking with a nurse and she stated that bagged lettuce is a very big culprit of this disease.. they say it's washed 3x's and how do we know that it isn't dirty water.. She also said to be careful with buffets, etc.. Geez, it just makes you wonder.. I thought to myself.. I WASH MY HANDS, I WASH MY FOOD.. but you just never know.. so now i am paranoid.. I'm not sure I even want to eat out anymore, but i'm sure that will pass once this dang infecti…

Hi all. I'm still considering the band, and doing my research. I noticed on the board that many of you use the following PB to refer to something. I just don't fully understand what PB is :nervous Could someone explain? Thanks a bunch! ~ Kari ~

Hey all! I'm not feeling so hot today. I think I might be catching a cold. It's that time of year and my students seem to be getting sick left and right as well. So I'm pretty sure I got it from one of them. I bought these Airborne pills, and took them out for the first time this morning. You put them in Water and it fizzed like an Alka Selzer pill. Can bandsters have that? It seemed like carbonation? Any input?

Hi All As some of you know I got my surgery date about two weeks ago For Oct. 28th and I can’t wait my problem is I haven’t got much more Info ie. Whet test I need and even the info I need to take to my pcp. I am using the BELIGHTER referral group which I know some of you have problems with. I didn’t know about these problems until after I got in touch with them. I haven’t herd from them in over two weeks and need to know something. Has any of you had the same experience with these referral groups and how did you deal with it. Has anyone gone directly threw Dr. Rumbaut’s office and if yes how would I contact them. I have ben so bisy the last week I haven’t had …

Hello all you lovely people: Just wanted to give you a heads up. I am frantically making travel plans and now gotta go pack my freshly unpacked suitcase for yet another trip. My mom sent me an email this morning and said her father-in-law just passed away. This would be my step father's father. I was so scared of this man growing up. He was 95 years old and meaner than dirt. But she is so weak from her health related issues that she can't deal with the funeral arrangments so I am on a plane bright and early in the morning. She has this condition called AVM (arterio-venous malformation) on her large colon. When she has a colonoscopy it looks like a birthmark. …

Hi, I know it 's been awhile.. but since July life has been abit off for me.. I had a terrible bout with supposedly bronchitis.. I went to 3 different doctors along with my own and not one ever took an x-ray and they just put me on antibiotics for weeks at a time. I was running a fever of 102.. couldn't believe it.. the month goes by and i am feeling like CRAP.. then i start throwing up dried blood.. Scared the crap out of me.. I started thinking i blew my band out from all the throwing up. I called my band dr. and he said get to emergency right away. i called my regular dr. and she said the same thing.. I go into the hospital and I have pneumonia. Thank you very much, b…

He is from Monterey Mx.

I don't know if i am allowed to post this here,let me know if i am wrong.I see this doctor and i love it so far.He has weekly motivation letters and achived ones.I thought some of you might like to read this: BISHOP, MD, HEALTHY WEIGHT MANAGEMENT ALTERNATIVES 1081 Carling Avenue, Suite 210 Ottawa, ON K1Y 4G2 Tel: 613-761-8015 Email: food intake, physical activity, and weight throughout treatment. Armed with this information, you try to reduce hidden sources of fat and sugar from your diet and decrease energy intake by approximately 500 to 1000 kcal/day. Record-keeping is increased over time to include information about times, places, and feelings associated with eat…

I am getting my first fill next month. Will I be on a liquid diet afterwards or regular diet?

Hello all. I posted my first introductory message on the Introduction board. I do have a question though, and I'm sure someone here can answer this for me. After the surgery - you have to go for a "fill". Well - do you get the "fills" from a local doctor - or the doctor that did your surgery? I thought I read in a post somewhere that someone had to travel to get a "fill". Also - how often do you have to go for a "fill" or to have some removed? Please help clear this up for me. Thanks so much! ~ Kari ~

I had surgery on June 28th, with my first fill I felt no restriction. So I had a second fill 3 weeks later. On yesterday evening after the fill I was able to eat and keep down a small piece of salmon and about a quarter of a bake potato. This morning I was unable to keep down an egg. How do I know if I'm too "full" or perhaps I need to adjust to the new way of eating? I read somewhere that you may feel more fullness in the morning? Butta

It is all happening too fast! Saw MY Dr. on monday, he unfilled me and changed yet again the meds for my reflux. He is going to spain tomorrow, for 3 weeks. Talked him into x rays. Well, today i had them, and my band has moved, a lot, eventhough the barium went through, very slowly, there is a huge amount of stomach above the band. The radiologist made an appointment with another doctor in the clinic, since mine is not going to be in town. She saw me, talked to yet another collegue, and I am scheduled for surgery on tuesday, to fix this. **I** knew the reflux was caused by the band moving, but I was so desperate to believe my Dr. that that wasn't the case. ACK! Now…

I am 8 weeks (give or take) post op- no fill yet- how much should I be eating? I'm not eating nearly as much as I was pre-op, but more than I think I should! Am I stretching out my pouch? How can I know? I was losing weight but have actually gained a couple of pounds back. Is this normal? Am I overreacting? HELP!!

This is my son. He is sooo goofy. I can't remember the last time I got a good pic of him with a normal smile! He is always acting like a clown.

Hey Moderators, can somebody delete my old thread with my pictures on it. My sister was able to combine this side-by-side shot, so I'm re-posting my "before and now" picture.

Hi All- I just had my first fill Monday and things are going great. I'm finally feeling banded. What a difference it makes. I learned at my appointment I have the new band that holds 10cc, does that sound correct to your guys. Anyway, my Dr. injected a 3cc fill and noted I may require another in 4 weeks to optain obtain maximum restriction. I feel restricted but can still eat with no problem. I have not experienced PB or any of the other symptoms I've read about. The other issue that is different, is he instructed me to not use the scale to weigh food but rather use a salad plate and eat until I notice the first sign of fullness. This is so different than…

Hey all, I read about Dr. Billy on this board, and while he's not super close to me, he's closer than driving to TJ for fills. The only thing that's stopping me at this point is that I don't know how much it costs, and I can't get a call back from the 'billing dept'. I've left several messages so far . So, if anyone is self pay and knows how much this is, it would be really appreciated. Thanks!

Before my band.

Hi there, I'm a newbie. I'm going to have my banding done in Acuna, MX by Dr. Jose Rodriguez. I live between San Antonio and Austin. I have decided, due to health reasons, to go ahead and go to MX. I just don't want to wait 6 mos.-year for insurance and appeals. And then they may not cover anyway. I've researched Dr. Rod extensively and I think he is the guy for me!! I have a few more ends to wrap up before I actually make the appt., but hope to get it done within a few months. One of the things I was impressed with about going to Dr. Rod in Acuna is the fact that he has a gal in SA that he banded and she was so impressed with him and the way the band changed her …

Well as my husband says... Welcome to Maryland, have you paid taxes yet? hehehhe Can't say I am much of a support person as I haven't been banded yet. (next Friday is the big day) But hello to any fellow Marylanders anyway! PS... I should have mentioned that I am in the Frederick area, and I commute to Reston, VA to see Dr. Pinnar.

A fellow I know is/was scheduled for surgery tomorrow with my doctor. He is getting the lapband. Dr. Cudjoe's assistant called yesterday and told him he might have to postpone his surgery date while he loses more weight. She told him that Dr. Cudjoe had to stop a procedure on a man of about our same build because he couldn't place the band through all of the fat. Now it's just hearsay, and I'm sure much was lost in the exchange from the man's wife to him to me, but does this sound a little goofy to anyone else? I mean losing weight to have weight loss surgery sounds kind of counter productive. It's like telling a person with a hernia that the surgery can't be …

Hello Everyone, I'm another 'newbie' bandster. I had my surgery last Tuesday, Sept. 14. Someone at our doctor's support group meeting told me about this website and I thought I'd check it out today. Right away, I saw you all address a problem I had yesterday---I swallowed some gum by mistake! So, already, I'm learning from you guys! You all sound like a great bunch of people and I hope to talk to you soon. Fran (aka 'Bunhead')

I've had my band now for almost two months. Life is definately looking up! No more depression,I've had more energy than I know what to do with, can pull just about anything out of my wardrobe and wear it-comfortably, Getting complement evrywhere I go on the weight loss, and the list goes on and on....... The only thing that could be better is for my husband to be experiencing this with me. Instead hes feeling left out or left behind or something. I think hes depressed. Hes scared I'm gonna get skinny and leave him. He says all the time that his biggest fear is that he will lose his family. He waited till he was 33 years old to start a family and now that he has one he…

Welp. I went for another fill this past week since my gallbladder surgery. Dr had put in 1.3cc during the surgery which I really never could tell was there. So, on my 2 week post-op visit he went ahead and raised that to 2ccs. Things are different than with my first band, or so it seems. I don't really feel 'restriction' as far as tightness in my throat so much as I can tell when it seems that my pouch is full and if I took another bite I'd either have to spit it out or it would just have no place to go. I really didn't have this sensation much with the first band. With it, I would get pain with one bite too many or I would suddenly get the shoulder pain or sneezing or…

OK not to be out done by Lisa here but I just had to post these today.

I was just told today by my doc that I should have an endoscopy since I went for a check up after having a fill 2 weeks ago and being filled to 3 cc's. I told him I don't really feel any different since the last fill and I told him I was able to eat a whole tomato sandwich in about 15 min. He said I shouldn't be able to do that. He said it would be as a precaution just to make sure there was no erosion and that if everything was OK, then I would get another fill. Naturally I'm going crazy, especally after what Donali went through. Can anyone tell me what sort of prep I will need to do for this test. The doc said it only takes about 15 min. Thanks

I don't know why I haven't posted about this yet, so here goes. I had leftover tofu with szechuan sauce for lunch on Thursday; I ate about half a small serving. Everything seemed to be settling fine, but as I went back to my desk I realized I was a little uncomfortable. Golf-ball time; thought I might have had just one or two bites too many. But tofu is soft, right, so I didn't think anything of it. Then over the next hour it got steadily worse. I tried to drink water but it was becoming clear to me that something--maybe a pea?--was stuck and nothing was going down. After another hour I was really miserable and went to the bathroom to try to get whatever was stuck ba…

Hi all, Well after drinking pure liquids since Monday 23rd (11 days) I finaly slipped today and had ice-cream. God I feel gulity, but I went to the movies with my husband and I couldn't resist. I has 2 small scoops and my god was is lovely....... :straight

Hi I'm new to the board. My wife and I are going the first week of OCT to Monterrey Mexico for the Lap Band. Just wondering Where we can get follow-up care In west surbs of chicago. We are cash pay our Insurance is a joke. Pray for us we have lost over 100lbs on low carb, stopped lossing a year ago and have 100 each more to loss. We planned on have gastric by-pass but could not afford it. The lap band in mexico is our only affordable hope and thats still alot for two. Frank

Well I haven't posted her in a long time. Not since my 2nd surgery in april to fix my band after it had slipped and was causing horrible acid reflux. After the surgery I was really scared to get a fill. Seeing as how all of my problems came when I was overfilled. I decided to try the atkins diet with my husband since I had no fill and could eat just about anything. I did okay losing 12 pounds in 3 weeks but then I quit and started going back to my old eating habits. The sad thing is because of the atkins diet I gained weight faster than I thought possible. In 2 months time I gained 50 pounds back :mad: Im so discouraged and upset. Then I finally decided I have had enough…

Hi, folks. I was talking to a friend about the Lap Band the other day. She wanted to know if you had to quit smoking, before you get one. I told her I had no idea, that I would ask you all when I had the chance (she doesn't have internet access right now, or she would have joined here and asked herself). I looked around the site and I haven't seen any topics about it, if it's been discussed previously, I apologize. Thanks! AudreyZ

I'm curious as to whether anyone else has come to the realization yet that WLS is in no way the easy or fool proof way to be skinny? I had the Lap Band done June 26, 2003. To date I've lost 115 pounds. Had a tummy tuck and with not being able to work out for 3 months gained 10 pounds back. I have gone to support groups and it seems to me that alot of people who are not mentally prepared for the commitment to diet are gaining the weight back. Both Gastric and Lap Band. WLS almost seems like a fad to me now and the success rates are dropping in my opinion because people aren't prepared to change their eating habits for the rest of their lives, which I think is what it ta…

OK, I know this is the biggest of all no-no's and I certainly didn't mean to do it. I was chewing gum and talking and I inhaled and. . . (no jokes, please). Anyway, I called my doctor's office immediately to ask for advice and guess what? The office closed at one. I called the answering service and the lady said Dr. Spivak will not respond to calls unless it involves bleeding or throwing up. I asked whether a nurse could be paged and she said no. I don't have a lot of restriction right now - very little, in fact. I don't know whether I should try to drink Water - or not. What should I do? I can feel the gum in my throat (because I have not tried to swallow it)…

You might want to check out this site for some information. labpbandinternational.com Betty

Hello all, well I just got back from my cruise where I gained 3 lbs not to bad I have now lost that back and I am down about 15lbs since my surgery 8/5/04. Here is my question I went 2 days ago for my frist fill. I got 1.5cc The doc told me Clear liquids the frist day and then liquids for 1 week. Is this normal? I was really hungrey yesterday all day. I had some yogurt some watery mashed potato's and protien shake, I never felt full. I am of course wondweing if I got enough of a fill. I thought that 2 bites of anything would probably fill me up. I guess I am wondering what to expect over the next couple of days, and how I will know if I am filled enough. Any advi…

I was banded on Aug. 27th, and after two weeks of liquid, and two weeks of mush, I wasn't too hungry and had lost 18 pounds since surgery. Now it seems as though I can eat anything, and am hungry more frequently. I'm easily able to eat 8-10 oz. of food should I desire (and I slipped up and did). Will my first fill help to reduce the craving? I hope so, otherwise it's still the same old dieting thing...

I show that I have 1 unread message in my "folder". Can anyone tell me how to access that folder? And, while we're at it, can I set my signature or do I have to type it in each time?

I have my first fill on Sept. 8th. I am a little nervous, but I know I need it. I am able to finish a whole plate and just starting to feel full. I have lost 11 lbs since surgery, but it was all eithin the fist two weeks. I am hoping that this fill really gets the ball rolling for me, because as of now, I am feeling as though I may have gone through all of this for 11 lbs.

I typically have two meals a day is this normal? I usually am not hungry in the morning so I have about two cups of coffee then get hungry (not ravenous like before...just a bit) so I concentrate on having my minimum of 60 grams of protein a day so it could be eggs, pnut butter, cheese...getting really bored with the food routine any suggestions? Thanks@

Hi Everyone, I made it! I made it!!! I just cant believe it. Got on the ole scale this morning and blinked in utter amazement. The scale fluttered at 198.5 and settled on 199.0. I almost popped a gasket. Called my hubby in and got on and off the scale at least a half dozen times. Is it broken? My hubby gets on and says, NO, unfortunately for me, but great for you! I went from a BMI of 53.9 to 32.3 in 14 1/2 months and from a tight 28 to a 12/14 on top and 16 loose in the booty! I am really really happy. Thanks for all of your support! I look forward to meeting some of you folks in Vegas! Maybe I should drop another 4 or five lbs so I can party my butt off and not worry …

Hi, Surgery was on 9/1/04 and am waiting for first fill @ 6 weeks. Whenever I try to eat anything past full liquids I get a strong cramp/ache/burn in upper stomach. Is this normal? It HURTS. What is it? Has anyone else out there had this? I've only lost one pound since surgery. Any thoughts?

I'm trying not to be a baby here, but I am feeling very frustrated! I had a fill 2 weeks ago and I'm wanting to see more results than I have been. I was banded on 7/26/04 and I've lost 22 pounds so far. I also have a large sized band so my first fill was 5cc. I really thought that I was going to have more restriction than I am having so far. I had to travel to Hong Kong to get my fill and it's not easy for me to just go and have an ajustment fill! I also live in China where all our scales are in Kilos so I have to wait until I lose 2.2 pounds to see the scales move at all. I have been working out some, but I'd like to get to the gym more often. It seems that others…

My own mother did not recognise me in the grocery store yesterday. I stopped at the meat counter and she went the other direction.When she came back she couldn't see me even though i was standing right in front of her!!! Chantal

I just wanted to thank all of you girls/guys for the educational and humerous conversations. This site really helps you cope and move in a positive direction. I work in a very fast paced office with little time for the internet and wish I could spend more time here! I had my first fill on Friday the 10th, I was banded 6-17-04 and I am down about 42 pounds. I lost six pounds in six weeks on my last weigh in and I really got myself down. I know how ridiculous that sounds but I am very impatient about weight loss. This is why I always failed before. I love the band because it does not let me give up. Even when I am feeling down it is there reminding me why I did this. …

Okay. I've had my fourth fill for a couple of weeks now. Sometimes I can eat solid foods...sometimes I can't which is really aggrevating. Especially when i'm hungry and try to eat and then I can't. For example today for lunch. I got some chili. Had one bite of a piece of the meat and a bean and then pb'd for over an hour. I just don't get it. I'm not pms'ing so i'm not bloated. I wonder if stress affects the band? Or maybe the band just does what it wants to do. I'm glad i have it, but I would like to eat when i'm hungry. Know what i mean, guys?

Went for a Fill today with lovely Dr. McKeen. First of all it's been since January 04 since I've had a fill and at that experience he wasn't able to remove any saline from the previous fill done in Nov. 03. So we decided to try it standing up, not a problem accessing my port, it's fairly surfaced under the skin. He ties to remove some saline, No Go. Nothing comes out. Pulls the needle out and tries again noda, nothing, zip. So I lye down, he accesses the port nothing will come out. OK put some in and try to get it out, like I give the orders. Nothing and we try again each time removing the needle even using new needles. He gives me 1 more cc and tries to get that…

I'm looking into lap band surgery. Can anyone explain what a "fill" is? Thanks

Did anyone see the Medical show on last night with the surgeons talking to the medical students from Washington? It was very interesting, and they showed an actual RYN surgery. They didn't recommend the Lap Band at all, they said they had to remove 20-30 percent of Lap Bands. They recommend RYN. After listening to this for a long time, I heard the reference to the first 100 patients that went through the Lap Band. They based all the information that they studied on that first 100. They also said people don't lose much weight with the Lap Band. I told my husband (who was now having doubts about my surgery) that this had to be an old study. At the very end, so…