Alexandra

This is a WONDERFUL thread. Loopylou, I'm going to take your list and print it out for quick and frequent reference. Thanks!!

Tizag, thank you again for all your information. It must be wonderful to be pain-free and able to eat after so long!

Gram, the fill in the band is supposed to stay there and not evaporate or disappear. Once you're at a point where you don't want any more adjustments, nothing else needs to be done.

Best wishes for smooth sailing!!

My surgeons have often said it's not always a good thing to rely too much on information gleaned from the internet. What you're seeing here is NOT a representative sample. The experiences you read about here can give you an insight into what you might expect IF you have problems--which is of course a good thing--but you cannot extrapolate from this board the likelihood that you will have any problems. Talk to your surgeon. Ask him about his patient population and their incidence of complications. If you are not confident that the information you get from him is reliable, then change surgeons. Your concerns about Mexico and access to care are valid. I would not have considered surgery outside of the U.S. because I know how important the aftercare is. With two children there is no way I could be flying off to Mexico for adjustments or exams, so I waited almost a year to get things in order so that I could have surgery locally. If you can locate a competent aftercare physician convenient to you, then all the other answers will fall into place. Aftercare is Job 1.

That is a wonderful and generous post, Tizag. May I ask what country you were banded in? And I'm wondering if your doctor gave you any indication how long you may have had an infection in your esophagus? My best wishes to you for complete and total healing. Sounds like your esophagus has had a very rough time of it. Please do come and post any time you want. Former bandsters have as much or more to contribute than current bandsters!

I have the picture, but I'd have to scan it in at work. I'll see if I can do it. It really is a lovely photo.

Congratulations, Princess DS!! Thanks for letting us know you're alive and well (and kicking!). We're thinking about you--heal fast!

Kare, I agree with you in general terms but just have never been able to contemplate for my own life what would make me want to end it. But I definitely believe people should have the right to end their lives if they so desire. I think we're judgmental about it for purely selfish reasons, because suicide is often the death that leaves the most pain behind for loved ones.

My grandmother was burned out of her home of 60+ years back in summer 1991, and lost almost everything she owned as well as her dog (who didn't die, but who had to be given away). She and my mother lived in an apartment for almost a year while the house was rebuilt, and in the spring of the following year when they moved back into the house friends and family threw a housewarming party. My grandmother had always owned a dog, and until a few years before the fire those dogs had been a succession of Great Danes. The last dog, for some reason, was a smaller mutt and she had never really connected with him--she hadn't really been all that sorry to lose him. But the theme of the housewarming party was making the house back into Grandma's HOME, and for that, I felt a Great Dane was necessary. I looked all over the place and found a Dane rescue shelter about 50 miles away, and enlisted the help of a family friend to take me there on the day of the party. We get back, and Grandma is there in the livingroom surrounded by friends and family, but wondering where I am (my presence had been expected, and she's thinking I blew her off). When I walked in with this enormous and gorgeous brindle Dane, with a huge lace ribbon collar around his neck, my grandmother's face just welled up with emotional tears. The picture I have of her holding and kissing his face is displayed in the room in which it took place, what is now my own livingroom. So it wasn't a Christmas gift, but it was far and away the best gift I ever gave. Grandma and her Dane had several more happy years together, and he indeed made her burned-out, rebuilt house back into her home.

I have had insomnia all my life. Benadryl (which is diphenhydramine, the same ingredient in Unisom) does put me out, but the hangover is AWFUL. For years I swore by valerian root, but since being banded I can't take the capsules at night. So I switched to melatonin and LOVE it. Trader Joe's has a chewable melatonin that works to relax me gently, closes my eyes after about 20 minutes of reading, and I'm out for the night. And there is absolutely no hangover effect, even I have to wake up in the middle of the night. Seriously, melatonin is what you want. It's a generic product available at any store with a large selection of natural Vitamins and supplements.

For myself the answer is no, never, not once, ever. But I can't vote "no, this is ridiculous" because I don't think it IS ridiculous. For me personally, I never felt ongoing depression or even felt much negativity in my life due to my obesity, but I can COMPLETELY understand how one could.

So glad you're home and mending! (Mended?) You are awesome, Michelle.

It is surprising what one person can handle and another one can't. I have very little trouble with chicken or turkey, as long as it's moist. I love sushi to the max, but I steer far away from the seaweed now.

Everything she said.

Lovely and completely in the spirit of the season.

That is essentially it, but there are more reasons than those listed that might make someone a poor candidate for bypass. Use your imagination and don't be afraid to bring in family history and mental state when talking about why RNY isn't for you. (By mental state, I mean that the difference in speed of weight loss between the two surgeries might be a strong selling point for banding for some people. The two experiences are very different, and will have a different impact on the patient.)

Wow, 13 is young indeed. And I agree that you are very brave to be doing this. Please come back and ask ANY and EVERY question that pops to mind--this is a huge step and it's impossible to be too prepared.

Babs, I have been there, done that. What you describe sounds like my episode a year ago June with seaweed salad. HORRIBLE. Please be very good to yourself the next few days--you might feel a little bruised or tender, unsurprisingly. My worst bugaboo is beef. Even cooked to nothing in a stew one tiny piece can get lodged and create irritation for days, even if I don't have any PB or stuckage I can feel. Which really sucks, because my DH's favorite wintertime meal is beef stew.

Holy cow, Jane! Congratulations!! :D Do NOT sweat the weight gain, you know better than that. Babies are the only really good reason to gain weight. Yay, I'm so happy for you!! :banana

I've also been told by some of the most experienced band surgeons in the U.S. that it is designed to be a permanent implant. Of course there may be reasons for removal, but would anyone suggest removing an artificial hip joint when the patient learns to walk again? The presence of the band is what will help me maintain my weight loss for the next 40 years, so I am NEVER going to have it removed unless I must.

I've wondered about this too, Anwyn. Are bowel obstructions related to low fiber intake (that is, to constipation)? Or is there some other element necessary for an obstruction to happen? If the former, I'd think we'd see it a lot MORE often than we do among bandsters--it would probably be cited as a fairly common risk. Whatever the answer, it's obviously important to keep things moving and fiber helps immensely in that regard. I use Benefiber when necessary, which it was often during my more-restricted phases. Now that I can eat cereal I like Trader Joe's Organic Raisin Bran Clusters (YUM!!) which packs a good fiber punch. Atkins Advantage Protein bars also have the most fiber of any Protein Bar I've ever seen--10 grams in most varieties.

Awesome!! (waving my lighter in the air and swaying)

I have definitely noticed that. Yep yep yep (as Petri would say).

Nothing scares me anymore. And there are some REALLY GOOD band docs in New Jersey!!