sophrosyne

What about trying shashimi? It's like sushi, but without the rice.

Is it worth it? With the long-term complications, like erosion and gastro-esophageal problems, is it worth it? I was all set to get a band, until I was reading about the long-term problems on the board. They seem pretty common for those who have been banded 2+ years. And I just got off Prilosec. Don't want to spend the rest of my life back on it. Is it worth it? I'm having second thoughts. Has anyone just gotten banded for under 2 years and then had the band removed once the weight goal was attained?. I'm at 41 BMI, about 100 lbs to lose, so it's not as if my life depends on it - yet. Am I better off doing it and getting it removed? Not doing it at all? I'm so confused!

More and more HMOs are covering the surgery. I too have a 41 BMI and about 100 lbs. to lose. I'm going to try replacing a meal a day with a Protein Shake, and see how that works out. If I can do it at all, without a band, I'll give it a shot. What I was reading on the board today kinda shook me.

Why stop at three? Harrison Ford George Clooney Brad Pitt Michael Greyeyes Angeline Jolie

A woman at work went to Dr. Paya and she loves him. She's lost 89 lbs. since last January, and has had no problems with her band. She said that the pre-op liquid diet was 3 days when she did it, but she's heard it's down to 1 day now. And she was back on mushies within a couple weeks post-op. She loves her band. I'm going to call my HMO PCP and try to start the process this week.

There's another thread on here that's very informative about fills. It says, basically, that as you lose weight, your stomach shrinks. And as it shrinks, you need another fill to keep the band tight.

Thanks. Yeah, I was diagnosed with GERD many years ago (stomach valve wouldn't close). After my c-section, it went away. It's been 11 months since my c-section, and I'm just starting to get back to normal. (They took out most of my organs and removed a tumor as well as the baby, before stuffing the organs back in). Is it too soon to have another operation or should it be okay?

Thanks. That was really helpful!

I had heard that banding can cure GERDS, but then I noticed a bunch of posts about stomach erosion, reflux, etc. How does the band affect GERD? Does the band help mask stomack symptoms until they get so bad, you have stomach erosion? Can they do an endo before they insert the band, to make sure everything's okay? I had a c-section last year, and have dealt with a lot of the same side effects I've been hearing about the banding - gas, no poop, gurgling tummy, not being able to swallow food, etc. All of which have lessened over time. And, as a bonus, the GERD seems to have vanished post-op. And I don't want it back. Except now my tummy's gurgling.

How do they do fills, what does it feel like, does it hurt?

What's up with the pre-op diets? The dr. that does banding out here only has you do a liquid pre-op diet for - it used to be 3 days, now it's 1 day. Why do some drs. insist on weeks of liquid dieting pre-op? Heck, if I could stay on a liquid diet for weeks at a time, I wouldn't need the banding!

I was just wondering about clothes. I'm in the process of getting a referral for the banding. Please include me in the group. I'm currently wearing 20-22, but I also have bags of 18 and I'm looking forward to getting to the point where all of them will be too big and I can ship them to someone else.

I just got an HMO that pays for gastric surgery. So I'm thinking about getting the lap-band, and I'm considering Dr. Mark Paya. Any recommendations / opinions? Also, I was googling lap-bands and I ran across a place in San Fran that said that, due to their patient's experiences, they can't in good conscience, recommend this surgery anymore. What's that about? Are there obsolete type of banding surgeries? Is there a specific type of band I should be looking for?