Cleo's Mom

The question is no longer "Are you pro-life or pro-choice". The relevant question is "Do you want to criminalize abortion?" If you answer yes, then you have to be willing to: -put women who get abortions & the doctors who perform them in jail. -pay increased taxes for more jails, childcare for these children, welfare for their single moms, healthcare for these children and much more. -support all forms of birth control, including the morning after pill (which is not an abortefacient). -be willing to "man up" and adopt these children who you force women to have even when they are multiracial, crack babies or disabled or again pay more taxes for these children to become part of "the system". Until you are willing to do those things (among others) a "pro-life" stance is not honest and you bring nothing to the table in this debate.

This is an update on my earlier posts. I have started taking xenical again since my banding in Sept. 08. My philopsophy is that it is just another tool, like the band. I know how and when to take it and how my body reacts to it. I've been on it almost 8 years and since it only blocks 1/3 of your fat calories and only works in your intestines - it does not block the absorption of fat soluble vitamins (like A). I believe it has helped me but I don't eat much fat in my diet. I have been eating healthy foods almost all the time (everyone has a few slips). Good luck.

Here's the link to the Munchkin dish. It has 3 sections and is $8.99. Munchkin, Warming Dish w/ Suction Base - BabyAge.com

With Patrick Swayze in the news with PC it brings it more to the public's attention - and did you hear of Randy Pausch? He was a young man (40's) with this wonderful wife and kids who got PC and did a last lecture for his college students that became a world wide sensation on the internet. He was on Oprah. He was amazing. He died in July. When these kind of people get media attention, so does their cancer. Like Lance Armstrong. But until some celebrity or some politician gets EC you won't hear about it. It's more common in Japan and that is where much of the research comes from. Who is Alex and how do I email for an assist. I feel so dumb.

Nancy - how do you put another poster reply in the gray area. I am so hopelessly computer illiterate. My kids participation in that research was completely anonymous - they even talked about the insurance issue and reassured us that no identifying info is given out. Also the research isn't specific for individuals - it's more general. I probably should do a follow up call. My husband and I were fighting our cancers at the same time although I was done with surgery and radiation and was on meds when he was diagnosed but it was only 11 months after my diagnosis. I was all over the internet at the time and was emailed by a man in Wisconsin who had seen my posts and had EC. We became friends. He was a smoker. He was an eternal optimist, though. Then he died 8 months before my husband. I now write to his oldest daughter - who emailed me about his death which was sudden. My husband's was slow and in the end the cancer went to his brain. Esophageal cancer is like pancreatic cancer in that it is deadly, it doesn't matter if you catch it early, and there is no effective treatment. I just hope all of those who have developed reflux after banding take it seriously. Good luck in getting your husband to a doctor. Demand an endoscopy and not an upper GI. You need to see the esophagus and take a biopsy. Just taking a PPI is not enough. Good luck.

I am not going to waste anymore time replying to you. I have better things to do. You can continue with your replies to me but I am done.

I got a baby dish online from Munchkin. I have to use boiling water in it to get it warm enough to keep food warm. And I eat with a baby spoon and shrimp fork. My questions is - when do I get to eat like an adult again? LOL!

I am certainly no expert on fills having only had two but those who have had many fills and unfills will tell you that even though you only had .5 put in, you might be too tight. How long was your last fill? If it was over two weeks ago and you still have the problem, talk to your surgeon. It might be common but it is not normal. And maybe post this problem as a new thread. You'll probably get more answers. Or go to the reflux poll - lots of replies on that one. It might get lost on this one. Good luck.

Nancy - Barrett's esophagus is a precancerous condition of the esophagus. It results from food and acid splashing into the esophagus. The esophagus is not made to have these things there and cells start to change. The pictures of his endoscopy would show a pink esophagus with large patches of red (Barrett's) and they would biopsy every year. They will tell you that only a small % of Barrett's turns into cancer. Doesn't matter if you're one of them. Because it's a death sentence. It is more common in men and more deadly for some reason. And more common in smokers and drinkers. My husband was neither. My husband died at 56, his dad died at 58 of cancer of the stomach/intestinal area (he was a heavy smoker) and his grandfather died in his 40's of some type of stomach problem (we don't know for sure if it was cancer - it was so long ago). So 3 generations of men died early of cancer - something not lost on my son. Both he and my daughter participated in a study at the Cleveland Clinic. They had to send blood and I gave permission for a sample of my husband's tumor to be sent to them. They were looking for genes for esophageal cancer. This is why I am so concerned about my reflux. I know it's nothing to mess around with. I got breast cancer 7 years ago. I have never been a smoker but blamed my weight gain as an adult for it. Yes, smoking and coffee are bad for reflux as well as chocolate, mint and alcohol. Hope your husband gets checked and good luck.

Wasa: I will give you the benefit of the doubt with your original reply to me. Okay? You were trying to help in your own way. But after reading your long post about the band and how much you hate it and how you wish no one would contemplate it - I wish you would have just responded with that. I TOTALLY agree with that post. It is full of the dirty little (and big) secrets the doctors don't tell you about the band. They never want to think the band itself could be the problem. You are so right to be angry about it. So, I may have misunderstood your original post. But your second post about pity - well I wasn't asking for pity when referencing my husband's death. That is a sore spot with me and I become defensive. And justifyably so.. So, why don't we call it a truce and just say that I will work with the band and get the proper tests and wish you continued good luck with your sleeve and your journey with all of this.

Thanks, Mindy for your response. My anger over Wasa's response was saying I was asking for pity - I can only assume that she means because I posted the info about my husband's death. No one -and I mean no one- gets to question me about my response to my husband's death or my discussing it. And my second objection was to her saying that if I eat 4 bites I am overeating and I have my answer. My objections to this resulted from my reading her 3 page rant about how much she hates the band. She chronicles all her problems. Had she replied with something like that to me I would have accepted that. I agree with everything she says about her band in that post. I think more people comtemplating the band should read it. Doctors sure don't tell you those things. But I never said I PB'ed just that some foods cause me some pain. But I will talk to my doctor about first bite syndrome. I do take nexium. I have spaced my food out over the day more and that seems to be helping (but not with the reflux). You seem to be doing very well and have had a lot of fills and unfills with trial and error. Thanks for your suggestions and help. I appreciate it. And I will write another post to WASA. Okay? Good luck to you and thanks again.

I wasn't asking for anyone's pity and you can get off your freaking high horse. There were some posters who wanted to know the results of my doctor visit - thus the thread title. If you weren't one of them you should have moved on to another thread. And you said "If you can't help yourself and your eat more than 3 bites, you have your answer, you are overeating". That's total crap! I've done a lot to make my band successful and even before the band to lose weight. 65 pounds is 65% of my excess weight. But I will not tolerate reflux. And what if eating 3 bites every hour caused me not to have reflux at night? - that is an insane way to eat to avoid something. And proves nothing. I am a highly motivated and compliant person. I have survived cancer and buried a husband. I have dealt with a lot and I will have the tests needed to diagnose what is going on in this case. I have received and used many of the friendly and helpful suggestions on these boards. I don't need the kind of "advice" you have to offer. Keep it to yourself.

Hi Nancy - I think Maureen O'Hara has a home here and over there. She was born there. Both my son and daughter have stomach problems - my son has a hiatal hernia and my daughter has mild gastritis or something similar - he (same gastro doctor) said it was like sandpaper scraping the walls of the stomach. Because of the family history, he is on protonix and gets endo's from time to time. They are both normal weight. Yes, you should have your husband see a gastro doctor and get that checked. The wait and see approach that they used with my husband resulted in his death. Had they removed the Barrett's part of his esophagus when he first got it he would still be alive. I'm not sure insurance would have paid for it or if there would have been a surgeon who would have done it because they just did a wait and see. Wait for what? They caught my husband's cancer so early it was almost missed. Didn't matter. They removed his esophagus, it was not in his lymph nodes and the prognosis was good - for 11 month until they found it in his liver. It is the fastest rising cancer by percent. And like I said, there is no effective treatment. In my husband's case, they removed his esophagus and crossed their fingers. I think there are more aggressive procedures for Barrett's these days. But even after he went on prevacid and didn't feel the heartburn, food still came up at night (he lacked a muscle at the base of his esophagus - for which a surgery didn't fix) and he was still damaging his esophagus. From the time he started on these meds and slept practically sitting up, the damage was already done. It's tough to get men to go to the doctors but my husband lived on Rolaids from the time I met him until they came out with all those PPI's. Good luck to you and him.

After reading your 3 page post about how much you hated your band and how you could never suggest it to others and how much it sucks and details of all the problems it caused you - I don't know how you could say I would be overeating after 3 bites. I would think that someone who hated their band and had reflux would not blame the patient. If I have to eat only 3 bites every hour to control reflux - that is not reasonable. However, I am very glad you found something that works for you and that you are pain free and successful. I wish you continued success. Good luck.

Nancy - I am so sorry you had to go through all that pain for so long. What an idiot that nurse was. She should be written up if not fired. I am glad you are feeling better and have had follow up tests. My son is on protonix. I know it works well. It's funny that you mentioned "The Quiet Man" - yes, I've seen it with John Wayne and Maureen O'Hara. In 1996 we all went to Ireland for two weeks and got to see where Maureen O'Hara has her home there. While there we took hundreds of pictures - one with my husband in one of those tweed Irish snap caps and standing against the rugged Irish landscape. I had his obituary custom framed and I chose that picture to go in the frame because I always called it his "Quiet Man" picture. It's on the wall by my computer and I look at it everyday.

Hi Nancy - I am in southwestern PA and I spoke too soon. We got more snow today - but not on the roads, just grass, etc.. Did you lose weight with the band? Did you have upper GI's or endoscopies to diagnose the reflux? So you got the chest pains even after all the fill was removed? Something must have been wrong with the band. And you're right - it wasn't for you. Has the reflux gone away now that the band has been removed? I wish you lots of luck with whatever you decide to do in the future and I'm sure you'll research it heavily before you make your decision. Slainte and Happy St. Paddy's Day.

Thanks Nancy. My beloved husband was everyone's favorite Irishman and he loved St. Patrick's Day. We do a fundraiser for his memorial scholarship right before St. Patrick's Day every year. What part of the country are you in that you still have a lot of snow? Ours has been melted for a couple of weeks. I didn't know you had your band removed. How long did you have it before it was removed? What was the reason? Whose idea was it to remove it? And was the band what you thought it would be? Do you feel much better now? Are you contemplating any other WLS? Sorry for all the questions. Just curious. Thanks for writing.

Yes, after seeing the poll on reflux I saw that 80% of those who answered the poll said they got reflux after banding. That's a lot. I was banded in Sept. 08. I have been on nexium for many years before this banding and that was because a long time ago I had heartburn but hadn't had any symptoms for probably 10 years. Until last week. I don't think it's a coincidence that I got the reflux after the second fill or shoulder pain after the banding. I had an endoscopy in June 08 (before the surgery) and everything looked good. I know from reading some of your other posts that you have some trouble with your band or aren't happy with it. I'm not that crazy about mine at this point in time. It has never reduced my hunger and that is why I got it. And I wanted to lose weight to help my chronic back problems. I have lost 65 pounds (5 from the band) and my back has not improved. Were the red marks they found with you in your esophagus? If so, keep an eye on them. Did they do a biopsy? They usually do. If so, did you get a copy of the report? I always get a copy of everything. I just asked my banding surgeon for a copy of the operative report. My philosophy is - if the doctor sees it, I see it. BTW - I like your Irish Snoopy - I have my Irish decorations up at home. Goodbye winter - hello spring! Thanks for your reply.

I don't get pain with every meal or every food. And I can't be tying myself to food all day like that. I do have a life and other things to do. I don't think that plan is realistic for most people. I don't want to keep reheating food or throwing it away. And more importantly I don't want to do something so time intensive to solve this reflux. I didn't have it before the second fill so it is band related. Also I don't believe that four bites constitutes overeating. The band for me is not what it was advertised or presented to be. I have lost 65 pounds with about 5 due to the band. If eating this way works for you, that's great. But if the band got you to goal why couldn't it keep you there? Why did you need a sleeve? Thank you for your input.

Thanks. My surgeon is a general surgeon who had only done 22 bandings before mine. He sees patients only on Tuesdays and in another doctor's (a pain specialist) so there are no charts or anything on the wall. Other than the nutrtional guidelines, nothing is given. When I asked him what to do when stuck. he said don't get stuck. I cannot get in touch with him outside of office hours unless I go to the ER. He's not like many of the bariatric doctors who many of the posters have. Having said all that, I don't want to give up on the band. I got it for one reason. It was advertised as controlling hunger. It hasn't for me. And I will not accept a "blame the victim" response. I am doing what I was told to do. I have lost a few pounds since my second fill because it hurts to eat. I told him that's a helluva way to lose weight - because it hurts to eat. So, he just wants me to stop when it hurts. I would love not to be obsessed about my next meal and be satisfied with 1000 calories. But I don't think the way to get there is to eliminate whole food groups. We'll see what the endoscopy shows. Thanks for your help. Take care.

Reflux and GERD is nothing to dismiss lightly. I know. My husband died 3 years ago at age 56 from esophageal cancer. It is deadly. You do not survive it. And this was from a lifetime of reflux and GERD. He did not smoke or drink. They knew he was high risk because he developed Barrett's esophagus (a precancerous state) so it was caught very early(from yearly endoscopies). Didn't matter. There is no effective treatment or cure. You die. Period. So, even if you are not having heartburn with your reflux you may still be damaging your esophagus. No foods or liquids are meant to be in the esophagus. If when lying down at night you get reflux, your esophagus is getting damaged. It wouldn't be a bad idea to get endoscopies from time to time and if you develop Barrett's - take measures then.

Update for those who don't know my story: Banded 9/08 - 2 fills - developed reflux after second fill - also pain when eating some foods. Have had a sore throat since then.He didn't want to do an unfill because he said the second fill should not cause liquid to come up in my throat at 5:30 AM -that all food/liquid should be in the stomach,not the pouch. So he is ordering an endoscopy. He knows I don't want to mess with esophageal problems. My beloved husband died 3 years ago from esophageal cancer after a lifetime of heartburn/reflux. Esophageal cancer is deadly. You don't survive it. He said if I want to be successful I have to learn that food can't be that important and to just eat the protein food and I might not get to veggies or fruit. And as soon as I feel pain (often after a few bites) to stop. I said I am still hungry - and he said I shouldn't be since that means the pouch is full. Well, that pain lasts from 5-10 minutes which means the pouch is no longer full so why shouldn't I be hungry then? Basically he just wants me to keep eating less and less until I lose another 30 pounds (I am 181 and have lost 65 pounds - most of it from pre and post band dieting - maybe 5 from the band). I told him I am not willing to eat less or do more than I am now. I feel I have been so compliant with everything, done everything that was asked of me, now I am done. The band is either going to work for me or it isn't. It has never, ever reduced my hunger. And I know the difference between hunger, thirst and satiety. And I don't think it's healthy to eliminate whole food groups.:thumbup: I also posted this in the post surgery forum.

Thanks, Jachut, for clearing that up. We say having a meltdown or going nuclear. I think I did both with my visit two weeks ago when everything came to a head - my cancer, my husband's death from cancer and this band not working like I thought it would. I don't think he likes seeing me coming - his other patients are probably giddy with their big weight losses and make him feel like a king. Thanks again.

Thanks, guys, for your input. After this endoscopy I am going to make a decision about seeing another doctor for a second opinion. I don't think it is healthy to eliminate entire food groups. He said I could get those nutrients in my multi-vitamin. I do think it is important to eat a variety of foods for nutrition as well as to not get bored. I already eat pretty much the same things over and over. But I do like salads and I eat the sugar free canned fruit (applesauce, peaches and mandarin oranges) - these were things on the list I was given. Now they might now fit in because I have pain when I eat - so just eliminate them? I don't eat any fresh fruits (except 1/2 banana) or fresh veggies (for fear of getting stuck) - I got stuck last week on baked fish and salad. I love salads so that is a deal breaker for me. All of you have provided me with such great insights that I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart. I feel like I am battling this alone but all of you help me with that. BTY - Jachut - what is "done my nana" - I never heard that one.

For HeatherO and the poster who gave me that great list what being too restricted causes and the bulleted list of reflux symptoms (thank you): He didn't want to do an unfill because he said the second fill should not cause liquid to come up in my throat at 5:30 AM -that all food/liquid should be in the stomach,not the pouch. So he is ordering an endoscopy. He knows I don't want to mess with esophageal problems. My beloved husband died 3 years ago from esophageal cancer after a lifetime of heartburn/reflux. Esophageal cancer is deadly. You don't survive it. He said if I want to be successful I have to learn that food can't be that important and to just eat the protein food and I might not get to veggies or fruit. And as soon as I feel pain (often after a few bites) to stop. I said I am still hungry - and he said I shouldn't be since that means the pouch is full. Well, that pain lasts from 5-10 minutes which means the pouch is no longer full so why shouldn't I be hungry then? Basically he just wants me to keep eating less and less until I lose another 30 pounds (I am 181 and have lost 65 pounds - most of it from pre and post band dieting - maybe 5 from the band). I told him I am not willing to eat less or do more than I am now. I feel I have been so compliant with everything, done everything that was asked of me, now I am done. The band is either going to work for me or it isn't. It has never, ever reduced my hunger. And I know the difference between hunger, thirst and satiety.:thumbup: