donali

Thought I'd start a chat thread so people can post when they enter the room - if someone's online, but not logged in, they'll get the email that someone's in the chat room if they've subscribed to this thread. How's that for a semi-solution to not having hard and fast chat times? It's 6:16pm PST on Wednesday, 4/21/04, and I'm in the chat room. Hope to see someone there!!

Hi Big Dog - Thanks for the info. Are any of these prepared teas (i.e. in a bag or loose tea in a box), or are they all from fresh herbs purchased at a health food store? I have raspberry plants growing in my yard (against my will! - they're impossible to kill!), so I could get fresh raspberry leaves. Do they need to be dried first? The Red Clover sounds like a miracle drug for sure.

Hi MsKnow - Go to the extraordinary bandsters site in Yahoo groups - all of those people started at 50 BMI or higher, and the group has 668 members. The bypass patients may have a higher percentage of weight lost, at least initially, but they don't tell you about the regain stats. I don't know them myself - I can only tell you that my sister had the RNY, lost from about 350 to 160, and now, four years later, has regained almost ALL of her weight. Once the caloric malabsorption portion of the surgery compensates for itself (about 2 years out), people who have not changed their eating habits permanently tend to regain the weight, and they don't have too much to help them, except returning to their previous ways of dieting/bingeing/dieting/bingeing/dieting.... Bandsters who maintain the proper level of restriction do not regain their weight unless they change what they did to lose weight. All of the current studies that I am aware of have bandster loss greater than or equal to RNY loss by 2-3 years out. I know of many people on many boards who have reached their goals with the band. There is no reason why anyone could not reach their goal if that is really what they want. However, many people are not willing to reduce their intake even more, or raise their activity level anymore. We all fall into what is comfortable for us, and whatever weight that gets us to is where we'll stay unless we change something. But we need to bear in mind that whatever we change must be PERMANENT, or as soon as we revert to previous ways, that weight will come back. Only you can make the decision. I started at 48 BMI, and am now at 34 BMI. In 15 months I have lost 55% of my excess weight, if my goal is 135 at 5'6". A more reasonable goal for me is probably closer to 160 - if I set that as my goal, I have lost 65% of my weight in 15 months. Regardless, I am no where near "done"! Best of luck with your decision.

Carmen - My heart goes out to you, and I send you all my best wishes and prayers that everything turns out okay for you and your husband and family. There are support groups for your specific situation, and I hear that they can really help. The emotions you are feeling right now are all perfectly natural, and your means of coping with the unknown in the only way you know how is to be expected. However, getting information and becoming involved with others in the same situation is an additional coping mechanism that may give you more coping strategies and help focus your energies in a more nurturing way for all of you. Wishing you all the best -

Alexandra - Perhaps you're not posting about your problems because you know the answers? I know that if I KNOW the answer to the problem I have, I'm not likely to post about it, unless I'm asking HOW to accomplish the thing I know I should/shouldn't be doing. Sometimes I know the answer, and know how, but for whatever reason am not really interested in fixing the problem yet. No point in posting about that... :eek: If you DON'T know the answer, though, and sincerely need/want help but are reluctant to admit to whatever the problem is, you could always post on behalf of "your internet-less, anonymous friend." Just a few thoughts...

Hi Barb - You are on a direct course to slippage. Vomitting everyday for a month is very hard on your band placement. I recommend an unfill at once to let everything heal and settle - then refill slowly in increments. Just my best advice based on over a year of reading over four boards with members who have been banded more than four years.

Recruit more of the Spotlight people over here and hope she isn't one of them? This is my favorite board as well - I prefer the people and the format. But there's really good info on grads and smartbandsters, so I read them as well. There are a couple of annoying people over there, but for the most part I'm so saturated with reading the boards that they barely impact me anymore. lol I just scroll on by... Good luck!

Congrats, Michelle! So glad you finally have some restriction to help you on your journey. You're doing great!

Hi Kram - I went to Mexico because my insurance didn't cover it. Being a self-pay, then I had to think about costs. My surgery was only $10,000. Depending on the surgeon and the specials they may be running, you can sometimes find the surgery for as low as $6500. But, cost is not everything, of course! I still would not have gone to Mexico if I had not learned that many of the Mexican doctors have lots and lots of experience placing the band, and have been used by Inamed as proctors for the US surgeons. You can also get banded for a reasonable price in France, Germany, Sweden, and other overseas places, as you will find. I also read more and more that there are U.S. surgeons who have comparable prices to their international counterparts (although those still seem to be few and far between). Choosing a surgeon depends on a lot of factors. One of the most important (next to experience) is follow-up care. If you choose a surgeon that is far away, you want to make sure you have arranged for follow-up care close to home FIRST. It is not reasonable to think you would fly back to France for an emergency, and most docs/ERs have never heard of the band and wouldn't know what to do if you encounter a serious problem. Being in Southern California it was easy for me to choose a Mexican doc - I'm close by, and the rates were reasonable, and my doc has an excellent reputation and lots of experience.

Hi Kram - The opinions vary widely about the effects of carbonation and the band. My doc says "No!" I'm not one to necessarily follow rules, and reading other people saying they drink carbonation with no probs might lead me to do so anyway, but for me it just isn't a big enough deal to tempt fate. A teeny sip of champagne at New Years, and I was good to go. You will have to read more opinions, pro and con, and then decide yourself 1) if there is a risk and 2) if you think there is a risk, how much you are willing to tempt fate. Then there is the unknown factor - the band. Whether or not carbonation is harmful, you may be one of the people whose BANDS do not allow it - some people have great pain, and abstain because of that alone. So, you have to know going in that it may not really be YOUR choice - the band may decide for you. As far as "will this band really work for me?"... It really depends on you. I also have thrown away the dieting mentality forever. I paid a lot of money to a therapist to help me do so. I am forever grateful. However, I do mostly think about eating healthily. I would say that at least 80% of the time I eat pretty healthily, which to me means lean meats and veggies, with the occasional complex carb thrown in. It may be less than 80% - you know how we unintentionally lie to ourselves. Everytime I write that figure, I think about what I've just eaten, and sometimes it's not pretty... lol I indulge occasionally in chocolate and chips. I eat the occasional slice of pizza, the occasional potato gems... Possibly every week - not everyday. I satisfy my cravings. BUT - I have also done A LOT of mental/emotional work, so I am constantly analyzing "why" and "what" and "how much" and is there something I could do instead of eating if I'm not physically hungry. So, for someone who is NOT dieting by any stretch of the imagination, and exercising very intermittantly, if at all, and being a woman on top of that (less muscle mass to burn fat as a sedentary person), I have still managed to lose 92.5 pounds in 14.5 months. Every individual has to take stock of their own situation, and be brutally honest with themselves about what they're willing to do to become more healthy. Even if you're losing weight, if your diet consists of nothing by fried foods, batter dipped veggies, carbonated drinks, chips and candy - you are NOT going to be healthy!!! For me, I find that the weightloss is almost become a secondary goal - my higher priority is to be healthy. For some reason that makes it easier to make the healthy choices I make. Many fitness sites will recommend more small meals throughout the day, as opposed to three larger meals. It doesn't really matter how often you eat a day, but the end result of that eating. If you consume more calories than you burn, then you will not lose weight, whether you eat once a day or 30 times a day. The band helps control hunger and portion size. It does not control the quality of food that you consume - that part's up to you. It cannot make you exercise - that part's up to you, too. But knowing that muscle increases metabolism, and that you can build muscle with very little effort and time each day, hitting the gym occasionally doesn't seem that bad. Good luck to you - think about what you really want to accomplish. If it's a rich and healthy life, look at what you're doing to achieve that. If you live a healthy lifestyle you will be healthier. And generally weightloss goes along with that. But if you suddenly become a gym rat or exercise fiend, don't rely on the scale to tell you if you're doing well - look at your inches and bodyfat percentage for more accurate feedback.

Hi Lill, and welcome! Congrats on your banding. A kilo is 2.2 pounds - so you've lost 13.2 pounds. Whoo hooo! Your starting weight of 143kg was 314.6 pounds. You are well on your journey - I hope it's a pleasant and enjoyable one.

Congrats, Jeanie!! And welcome to the site!

Hi Bob - Congrats on your banding date! I was banded by Dr. Lopez 1/23/03 at the Oasis Hospital. Everything was uneventful, and Dr. Lopez is warm and caring. I enjoy his sense of humor. And Dr. Carmen is great, too - I believe she handles almost all of his fill patients now. As far as advice/recommendations, I wish I'd taken slip-on shoes. Luckily Mom was with me, so she did "5 year old duty" and put on my socks and shoes for me at the hospital. You are likely going to be very reluctant to bend over for a while. If you're going to the Oasis for surgery, and are taking someone with you, they'll be able to stay in your room, which is a great comfort. However, the food available at the Oasis dining room is specially prepared for their cancer patients, and Mom did not find much of it palatable, and I don't think there were any vending machines. So your guest may want to bring some snacky stuff, and/or be willing to walk the neighborhood a bit for stuff to eat. They'll probably be really grateful to have brought a good book, as well, as they'll do a lot of waiting for you through your pre-op appointments and the day of surgery. Read as much as you can - the post-op course is different for everyone, so the more you read, the more you'll be prepared for your own personal experiences. Best of luck!

I just tested it and it worked fine for me. You should already have Quicktime installed on your computer, and someone else said also the newest MP4? Don't know about that... Good luck!

Congrats, Robin!!! I love the ad - here's the direct link: LapBand Commercial I'm so glad Inamed is finally doing some advertising! I just sent out a long letter to a bunch of my friends telling them a little about my journey and the links to the commercial and Inamed's site. Hopefully it will help someone else one day, too. I would never tell someone they should get the band - I'd feel terrible if they were one of the few that had complications or couldn't tolerate it, but I have no problems putting the info out there for them to make their own decisions! And I'll always be a "witness" for my band. I love it!!

David - If you feel blocked and are having heartburn pain, YOU DO NOT NEED A FILL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! There is no reason to get a fill if you are losing weight. The average weightloss is 1-2 pounds a week. Fills are by individual need, not by some pre-set schedule. Seriously. Fills are to keep the band working - yours already is. Don't mess with it!

From everything I've read, reflux post-band is always due to the band being too tight. The fact that he is having problems with liquids as well says to me he is too tight. It is funny that you mention he has less problems with food - that is the first time I've heard anyone else mention that. I feel that food goes down easier for me than liquids, as well. My hypothesis is that the food, being solid, is easier for the esophagus to push down, where as liquids present less resistance, so do not accomodate the pushing down as well - they tend to spread out more. Just my guess, but if you push a glass down on a piece of steak it pushes down... but if you push down on a puddle of liquid, it disperses. Yet another non-scientific guess by yours truly... lol Anyway, he sounds too tight to me. Reflux is a MAJOR deal - don't let him ignore it. Have him get that remedied immediately, or there is only worse to come.

Hi Mandy - You are my band "twin" one year late. Yes, it is extremely common to lose any feeling of restriction once your stomach heals, and prior to your first fill. In fact, you may not feel that much restriction with your first fills, either, so do not be disappointed! Eventually you will get to the restriction that you need/want. As far as the fill procedure, most people recommend having the fill done on an empty stomach. Then generally your doc will have you do liquids for 1 day to a week after the fill, to let the stomach release any reactionary swelling from the fill. I have always had my fills done under fluoro, which I think is the best way, but many (most?) docs do them without. If you have the option, it's always nice to have at least the first fill done under fluoro, as your doc can check your band placement, etc., and it's a nice reassurance to know that all is well in there. But again, I think most people here have never had their fills done under fluoro, and they're fine, so if you can't have yours done that way, or it's too expensive, I wouldn't sweat it. My doc does not use a numbing shot, and as big a weenie as I am about needles, and pain in general, even I have to admit that it was no big deal. I really did not even feel the needle go in - just pressure from the doc pushing down on the port to hold it in place while he inserted the needle. All four times. The last time was more difficult because my port had flipped, but again, it wasn't painful. Hope this helps.

Hi Kathy - I was banded by Dr. Lopez, too. Welcome to the site, and best wishes on your journey (be it further weightloss or another baby first).

Hi Jennye - Only you can determine whether or not you need a fill. Bear in mind that the band can NOT do all the work for us. The reality is that sometimes you will be tighter, and sometimes you will be looser. What you choose to eat when you're looser will have more impact on your weightloss goals, because you can eat more of it. Track your intake on www.fitday.com and be completely honest with yourself. If your calories are falling into what you consider to be an acceptable range, than no, I don't think you need a fill. If your calories are exceeding what you consider to be an acceptable range, then before you decide if you need a fill, look at where those calories are coming from. Are you MOSTLY choosing the most nutritious foods? Are you eating good solid Protein and veggies MOST of the time? If not, going tighter only makes eating healthier ever more challenging, and less likely that you will do it. Plateaus are NORMAL. Particularly when you are exercising and building muscle. Being on a plateau does NOT mean you are doing anything wrong.

Wow - Alexandra... Big lightbulb moment for me, and my past dieting experiences. With the band, we ARE forced to keep doing what we are doing, regardless of whether we're losing weight or not, which reveals a lot about the normal weight loss journey and plateaus. You are so right that many of my attempts to lose weight prior to the band were sabotaged by plateaus - I was hungry, deprived, and/or missing my old eating habits, so when I didn't see scale results, I threw in the towel and went back to my old ways, knowing they wouldn't help me lose weight, but if I wasn't losing anyway... Now, no matter HOW long I am on a plateau, I can't go on a binge and eat a whole large deep dish pizza, or a whole bucket of fried chicken, or a box of spaghetti. My psyche is now forced to deal with the reality that this journey really DOES take time. I never felt like I had the "time" before - of course, because I didn't want to diet any longer than absolutely necessary... And that mindset in and of itself is so very telling... "I didn't want to diet any longer than absolutely necessary..." Doesn't that phrase scream out that I had no plans to really change my eating habits for life? But now my body has been changed for life, whether my mind was ready or not. I was always "ready" before, but the "for life" part always dragged on waaaay too long... lol This time, I started out emotionally ready once again, and now the band helps with the "for life" part.

Last summer I found that watermelon stuffed me without my ever getting stuck. It was my favorite food that season!

Congrats, Leo! Those darn plateaus... Of course they are more frequent and longer lasting, the closer we get to our goal. How unfair is that?!?! lol

Therapy really helped me. It was a program specifically geared to compulsive overeating, and the therapist was a licensed dietician and hypnotherapist, as well as having gone through the program herself and maintaining her loss of 40 pounds. For me the regain of my self-esteem and the revelations and tools I was helped to develop to manage my emotional eating were invaluable - probably even more important to my well-being than the band itself (which I got 7-8 months after my therapy program ended). You can read some more in depth stuff about the kinds of things I learned here: A Tool for Dealing with Emotional Hunger I probably have more self-help books/videos/tapes than most libraries/book stores, but I find it VERY difficult to effect changes alone (I'm embarassed to admit that most of these books/videos/tapes have never been opened/used - kind of like all my exercise equipment... lol). I personally needed the accountability to, commitment to, and interaction with another person who could lead me from where I was and take me to where I wanted to go with my full participation. If you decide therapy is for you, I would highly encourage you to seek someone who specializes specifically in weight related issues. Good luck!

Therapy really helped me. It was a program specifically geared to compulsive overeating, and the therapist was a licensed dietician and hypnotherapist, as well as having gone through the program herself and maintaining her loss of 40 pounds. For me the regain of my self-esteem and the revelations and tools I was helped to develop to manage my emotional eating were invaluable - probably even more important to my well-being than the band itself (which I got 7-8 months after my therapy program ended). You can read some more in depth stuff about the kinds of things I learned here: A Tool for Dealing with Emotional Hunger I probably have more self-help books/videos/tapes than most libraries/book stores, but I find it VERY difficult to effect changes alone (I'm embarassed to admit that most of these books/videos/tapes have never been opened/used - kind of like all my exercise equipment... lol). I personally needed the accountability to, commitment to, and interaction with another person who could lead me from where I was and take me to where I wanted to go with my full participation. If you decide therapy is for you, I would highly encourage you to seek someone who specializes specifically in weight related issues. Good luck!