Cleo's Mom

It came as no surprise to me today that my most recent bone density test showed that I had osteoporosis because two years ago I had osteopenia. Mostly this is due to my breast cancer meds which are anti-estrogen and hard on the bones. My weight loss hasn't helped either. Has anyone gone on Boniva, Fosomax or Actenol? And if so, are the pills hard to tolerate with the band? I don't have very tight restriction and haven't had any problems with pills. I just joined a gym and started weight bearing exercises to add to my aerobic exercising. Hope that will help. Thanks.

Most people who have insurance have it through their employer. If I am not happy with the plan my employer has, then the only option I have is to get my own plan and pay for it myself. That won't change. Employers will have the chance to switch to and offer a public plan but it won't be free to them. It might be cheaper, but it won't be free. Or they can keep their current plan, also not free. That will just me one more option to employers or individuals. Why would they continue to offer health insurance? - because no plan would be free to those who could afford it. You couldn't just opt out of your employer's (or your own) plan and just expect the government to pay for it. Like I said, the health insurance companies are not going to be able to add 47 million uninsured on the government's dime. But if you are uninsured and can't afford health insurance, the government will provide a subsidy. I like that employers would have one more choice when looking at health plans for their employees.

Since this thread has morphed into a healthcare debate I would just like to add a few things. Much of what has been written is anecdotal - I know someone who...there were these Canadian nurses who....This is what happened to me when..... Overall, those who have health insurance in this country are happy with their plan and care. And under any kind of healthcare change that is being proposed, THEY CAN KEEP THAT PLAN. PERIOD. But if they're not happy with their plan, they will have choices, just like the members of Congress do. Their health care is paid for by taxpayers and they get to choose. Let's focus on the 47 million uninsured. They have the right to healthcare insurance. The health insurance industry is salivating at the chance to insure 47 million more people if it's on the government's dime. That isn't going to happen. I watched Pres. Obama's speech on healthcare the other day. He said people without insurance or those who don't like their plan would have a choice. One of those choices would be a government plan. That plan would be provided by health insurance companies but the government would be able to negotiate costs, etc.. which is a good thing. The scare tactics used before, the swiftboating techniques - they aren't going to work anymore. Like a bureaucrat from Washington is going to come between you and your doctor. You mean much like my HMO comes between me and my doctor? Look at how many people post on the pre-op thread about being denied coverage. Or those who can't get insurance due to a pre-existing condition. That won't be allowed under the new plans. The public supports a single payer system or a goverment option. So, Harry & Louise should just retire to Florida. Everyone should see the movie "Sicko" which compares our healthcare system to other countries (not just Canada). We come up woefully short in many areas. When a boatload of New Yorkers with 9/11 caused health problems whose insurance wouldn't provide care or who were uninsured can go to Cuba and receive first rate care, that is scary. And it is unacceptable. When an uninsured farmer cuts off two fingers with a table saw and is given the price for attaching each, can only afford to have one attached. This is in the United States. Why should someone here have to live forever without a finger? Yes, these are anecdotal but my point is that the movie does an excellent job of showing the shortcomings of our healthcare industry compared to others. Our health care insurance industry is motivated by one thing only: profit. And to that end, they are in the business of (1) selling policies (2) collecting premiums and (3) denying as many claims as they can get away with. And to that end they employ as many medical "experts" and lawyers as they can to do just that. That is how they make their money. A public option takes that profit motive out of the equation. Medicare/Medicaid are not profit motivated. I am not saying they are without flaw, they aren't. The system is repeatedly abused. But their administrative costs fall far below the private plans. Having the uninsured go to the emergency room for basic medical care is driving up the cost of healthcare for the rest of us. Our healthcare premiums would actully go down if everyone were insured. Also, about 18,000 people die a year from lack of insurance. They just can't get the care they need for their chronic illnesses. That is totally unacceptable. And medical bills are the number one reason for personal bankruptcy. There has to be a better way, and there is. And that is what is being proposed. But the insurance industry has a lot of money and powerful lobbyists to stop this from happening. They will pull out all stops and anything that they perceive as coming between them and their profits.

Your approach reminds me of the Republican's behavior back then which was based on the old: No change is better than any change. Thanks for your post Cleo's Mom. I sure didn't have the energy or time to line by line take both of them on. You made some good and valid points. Thank you, BJean. I always enjoy your perspectives and posts. The conservative positions remind me of an episode of All in the Family in which Archie Bunker inadvertently joins the local KKK. At the membership meeting the grand KKK guy says he has some doubts about Archie's patriotism and Archie says: "What do you mean? I'm a true, blue American. I'm against all the right things." Being against, yeah, that's what they and Archie are all about!

My doctor gave me anti-nausea pills for just such situations. I had to ask, he didn't volunteer. Call your doctor and keep them on hand. Hope you feel better.

I weighed 196 on the day of surgery. A healthy weight BMI is 146 for me - so that is only 50 pounds. The band is promoted as helping you to lose 50% of your excess weight, which means for me that would be about 25 pounds. However, I have lost about 75 pounds from my highest weight to where I am now and that is from my own dieting, the 6 month pre-op diet, all the liquid only dieting before and after surgery and then some (about 15 pounds) from the band itself. So, I would never have lost this much weight without starting the lapband journey. Who voluntarily goes on liquids for a month? You have already answered your question by saying how much you hate being fat. If it is consuming this much of your time and thoughts, then you should go for it. Do your research, and choose an experienced bariatric surgeon in a hospital of excellence and one who provides good follow up care. Good luck.

Make sure they have done a correct height check on you. You may be shorter than you think and this will affect your BMI. No one ever measured my height before surgery and I just got it checked (by another doctor for another reason) and being 58, I shrank over an inch. So, that would be the first place to start. Over what period of time is your 6 weigh ins? 6 months? You should be able to gain 10 pounds in 6 months. If you just stopped going to the gym, your metabolism might still be high. Give it some time. There have been others who were just a little short of the weight they needed to be to qualify and there were many suggestions, the rolls of coins being one of them. Good luck.

I was given liquid roxicet for pain (never used it), plus anti-nausea pills (haven't had to use them either). I was already on nexium - so that's it from my doctor. But they also stress taking a multivitamin (mine's chewable) and calcium (again, chewable). On my own, I take extra vitamin D3 (we don't get enough), omega 3 fish oil (chewable) and some other meds for allergies and breast cancer. And Boniva (for osteoporosis) might be looming in my future (my cancer meds plus weight loss can cause bone loss). So, I doubt I'll ever be pill free! You just have to make sure all meds are tolerated by your band. Some need to be crushed, split or chewable. Good luck.

My insurance company didn't have a set number of pounds for me to lose, but my doctor wanted me to lose 20. If I had not followed the 6 month plan and lost weight, my insurance company would not have approved. My BMI was actually slightly under 35 (34.8) 2 weeks before surgery and they approved it. Had I not complied with the 6 month program and lost weight they would have assumed that I wouldn't be able to follow a post-op banding diet either and would have denied. They had a woman who didn't follow any of the rules for the 6 month diet/exercise program and they denied her. All that being said, I am not defending insurance companies because I am their biggest critic. It is my belief that they have only 3 goals: 1) sell policies 2) collect premiums 3) deny as many claims as they can

My insurance required a 6 month pre-op diet. Lost 20 lbs. Then my surgeon required a 2 week pre op and 2 week post op liquid only diet - lost 20 more lbs. So that's 40 pounds before the band even kicks in really. So, to me doing dieting before the banding helps. But on the other side with all the weight I had lost prior to banding (I had also lost 20 pounds on my own) my weight loss post banding has been slow. But I'm 75 lbs down and I am happy and I am not so tight that I can't eat most foods. And I exercise every day. Good luck.

Lapbanding doesn't cause malabsorption like the gastric bypass does, therefore, our requirements for daily protein don't change. In fact, the less we weigh, the less protein we need since protein needs are based on weight and caloric intake. Now, eating the protein first is a different matter to make sure we are able to get our daily protein with our smaller pouch and eating less. But don't confuse eating the protein first so that we get the right amount with actually needing more protein now than before banding. We don't. Plus gigim said she was getting enough protein and her weight loss hasn't been rapid, so I suspect something else for her problems.

Bandster hell is the period of time after surgery and before you get proper restriction where you are as hungry as you were before surgery and can eat as much as before, but of course you aren't allowed to eat as much as before. So, you are always hungry. Bandster hell may even kick in while you're still on the liquid only post op phase (as it did for me) when my cat's food started looking good. So, you've gone through the pain of the surgery and you are still hungry but can't eat - thus the hell.

We have the same surgery date and I have only lost about as much as you since the band, but I have lost about 70-75 lbs total (all my dieting before the band and all that pre & post op liquids only). You need to talk to your doctor and nutritionist about the hair loss. I am not convinced it is a protein thing, though. Other than in the healing phase after surgery, why would our bodies need more protein now than before? (I'm not talking about protein supposedly keeping you fuller longer, I am talking about metabolically needing it). There could be other reasons for lack of weight loss and hair loss - namely thyroid problems. Please ask to have your TSH and T4 measured and even if it's borderline, ask for low dosage sythroid (not generic). I'm only speculating on possible causes and solutions. But you need to see your doctor about this. Good luck.

You'll get many different answers as the recovery time varies greatly from person to person. I was not allowed to drive for two weeks post-op. And I would not have been up for any type of work 4 days post-op. Bending over to pick up my cat's bowl was hard enough. But you know yourself better than anyone. If someone drives you and you can sit for the presentation, you might be able to do it. Good luck.

Thanks for your concern. I went for a second opinion in April, and switched to that doctor then. He ordered a follow up UGI. I see him Tuesday. He is happy with my weight loss, I am happy with him. And he is an experienced bariatirc surgeon in a hospital of excellence. Glad you have such great care.

After getting the second opinion, I switched to that doctor back in April. He ordered a follow up UGI and it showed some improvement. I have another appt. with him on Tuesday and hope to be able to meet with one of his two dieticians then or sometime in the near future. I am happy with him. He was very pleased with how much weight I have lost (my former doctor never was) and said I have lost a years worth of weight in 6 months and many of his patients would love to have the percent weight loss I have had. WOW! I had sure never heard that before with my old doctor. And I needed to hear it. So, I am doing fine now that I took matters into my own hands and made the decision to get the follow up care that I deserve. Thanks for your concern.

I had one in after I was under anesthesia and it stayed in until the next day. That was fine with me. I sure didn't want to use a bedpan in recovery and I didn't feel like getting up later that day, either. So, I'm glad I had one.

I agree that the color or gender of a person should not be a reason to vote for or against them. At least it has not been for me.

Well, Colorado, your post makes a lot more sense to me and is a far healthier attitude than those who post something along the lines of: "I vomit 3 times a day, PB a lot, have fluid coming out my nose when I sleep, haven't had a good night's sleep in a long time, have constant heartburn and reflux, can only tolerate liquids until 5pm and then only 2 bites of soft foods after that, but I LOVE MY BAND and have lost ____(fill in the blank)."

During the campaign of Barack Obama and since his election the conservative movement and republicans have made sure to spotlight their (few) black members - i.e. Michael Steele, Joe Watkins - as if to imply that their race makes their criticisms more valid. It doesn't. Or to show that they too can be inclusive. Many on the right have criticized FDR's New Deal and Lyndon Johnson's Great Society but few of them are willing to acknowledge that social security, medicare and medicaid are successful programs that help lift many out of poverty or at least provide basic care. And isn't it intersting that the motivation behind James W. Von Brunn's violent attack and murder at the Holocaust museum was that his social security check was being reduced. For someone who hated the goverment and believed it was the cause of all the world's ills, he had no problem accepting the biggest socialist program we have. I'm always curious about what freedoms we are supposed to be losing. I am not less free than at any other point in time. But when our constitution was violated by the bush administration I was very concernced. If we've ever been in jeopardy of losing freedoms, it was during the bush's lying, secretive, abusive and failed administration. Capitalism without regulations is just greed run amok. We are living with the results of that every day in this country with the current economy. If you have a 401(k) or are invested in the stock market, you know how much wealth you have lost. We thought that our salaries, our homes and our investments would all go up. Wrong on all three. Just the salaries of the greedy CEO's apparently were failsafe. I have a new motto to counter the drill, baby, drill. It's regulate, baby, regulate. When we had two classes of people - the very rich (they were the owners of everything - the factories, ship yards, mines, etc..) and the people who provided the labor in these places (the very poor) - there was no trickle down economics. The rich had the money and they were keeping it. Do you think they supported worker's rights, a 40-hour work week, child labor laws, workplace safety or a minumum wage? Of course not. So where is this all trickle down wealth theory coming from? Oh, yeah, that's right. The almighty Ronald Reagan. Who got us into the biggest defecit to date and cut taxes for the rich and the rest could eat their crumbs. Wealth is created by the workers who make the goods or provide the services and then paid a fair wage and benefits go out to buy those goods and services. And just so we are clear - I am a white, middle aged, suburban woman (complete with white picket fence) and I voted for Barack Obama because he is a Democrat. Not because he is black or isn't white or was male or for any othe reason. I supported Hillary Clinton in the primary and then Barack Obama when he won the nomination. I support the democratic agenda and so did both of them. That's why he got my vote.

Katie - I would not have my surgery done by this surgeon. The surgical aspect is perhaps the easiest part of the journey. Your aftercare is much more important and it doesn't appear that you will get the support that you need. At the first sign of a problem - they will tell you "I told you so". Plus, you have to wonder why their lapband patients do so poorly. It doesn't speak well for them. You don't want to get into a battle with your surgeon and his staff at every post-op appt. As someone who had to change surgeons after my surgery, I wish I would have done a better job of selecting one to begin with. Go on the forum on LBT for Lapband Surgeons in the US and click on Florida, then Orlando. It lists two surgeons. Good luck. But the red flag has already been raised and you are wise to heed it.

NO, NO, NO!!! You are not alone. I, like you, believe that you should be able to live a fairly normal life with the band. And a healthy life with the band. Isn't that what the band is all about? Those who suffer with daily PBing, vomiting, reflux, heartburn and pain in order to reach some number on the scale do so at their own peril. Having a too tight band and daily reflux could result in band erosion and/or esophageal cancer. Not to mention the quality of life is compromised. I was banded in September 2008 and have only lost about 25 pounds from the day of surgery (10 of those were from that 2 week post-op liquid diet). I might be losing about a pound a month now. My total weight loss from all the dieting I have done on my own and with the lapband journey is about 75 pounds. I am fine with that. What I was not fine with was when I was overfilled and developed reflux, heartburn and pain. When I had a slight unfill, those symptoms resolved. NEVER AGAIN - even if I don't lose another ounce. I count calories, eat healthy, low fat foods, exercise every day, keep a food journal, don't drink with meals and basically follow the lapband rules. I so agree with everything you said. And I'm glad you said it. Take care and good luck.

If there are any surgeons reading this: YOU NEED TO LISTEN TO YOUR PATIENT. THEY ARE AWARE OF THEIR BODY AND KNOW WHEN SOMETHING IS WRONG. YOU MAY SAVE YOURSELF A LAWSUIT BUY JUST LISTENING FOR A FEW MIN. THERE IS NO ONE THAT IS SO IMPORTANT THAT THEY CAN'T TAKE PROPER CARE OF THEIR PATIENT. PATIENT'S ARE NOT STUPID AND WHEN YOU ARE BEING PAID TO TAKE CARE OF THEM, YOU NEED TO LISTEN. I couldn't agree more with this statement. When my former surgeon overfilled me and I developed pain, reflux and heartburn he had an answer (blame me) for every complaint. I couldn't take my pill in the morning - the Water would come back up - then don't take the pill then. I had trouble eating a salisbury steak diet frozen dinner - then don't eat that. Fluid comes up at night - then don't drink after 9 PM. You get the picture - blame the patient instead of listening to them. All this happened right after my second fill (overfill). An experienced doctor would have connected the two dots and suggested an unfill. At the time I thought I had a 10cc band and didn't think 3cc's would cause me to be overfilled. It was only after I found out that I had a 4cc band that it made sense. I can't emphasize enough to be your own advocate. Get copies of all test results. Ask questions. Keep a personal health file with all your information. Your doctor does not care as much about your health as you do. So take charge. Good luck to you.

Also ask how you will get in touch with the surgeon outside of the normal office hours. Does he have an answering service? Is he accessible? Very important!