Alexandra

How very interesting!! Thanks for sharing your story and all the details. Much appreciated!

Hi Quakergirl!! Nice to hear from you and I'm so glad to hear you're doing well! Wow, medical school, huh? No wonder you don't have time to check in with us. You're busy learning how to save lives!! :biggrin1:

Congratulations!! Don't buy too many--you won't be in those sizes for long! :biggrin1:

Congratulations, Patti!! Now take it easy and let your body heal. You've had surgery and even if you feel great you need to REST! Glad to hear things went well. :biggrin1:

I agree with Robyn. YOUR sweet spot is that level of restriction that makes YOU comfortable. You don't want to end every meal with pain, or with your band making you stop before you want to. Meals are over when you've had enough and are no longer hungry, and you are satisfied for three or four hours until the next one. A snack of something small--an ounce of cheese, a few nuts--is truly enough to tide you over until it's mealtime. (I find OFTEN that a snack like this between lunch and dinner actually ruins my dinner.) Don't overthink it. Let your current level of restriction dictate your behaviour until it becomes second nature, see how your weight loss progresses and how your hunger is managed. There's always time for an adjustment down the road.

Lisa, most doctors will give you something to alleviate nausea if you have the flu. I've had a couple of episodes of "old fashioned" vomit since being banded, and anything that has gotten through the stoma going down comes up through the stoma just fine. (Blech.) Vomiting is not a good idea, though, and should be avoided if possible. I've never heard of that surgery that your friend had, but you're right, it does sound almost like banding. Did it help cure her reflux?

Congratulations, Shari! :biggrin1:

The effect of the band loosening throughout the day may be a result of gravity redistributing the fluid in our bodies. There's not much you can do about it, but don't make the problem worse by overdoing it in the evening. Some think that a larger evening meal has the effect of irritating your system overnight, creating greater restriction in the morning. This is a vicious cycle, so try to minimize your evening intake and sleep on an empty pouch.

Kelli, while Jacqui's experience may be the best that can happen before a fill, I think most bandsters would agree that what she describes DOES happen to us eventually, when we have good restriction. The lessening of hunger is definitely an effect of being banded--whether it happens out of the gate or after a fill or two, it DOES happen. Be aware that some of the people you see here talking about diets are no longer banded, having had them removed. Whether you choose to "diet" or not after you are banded is up to you. Personally, I don't know why anyone would want to inflict that on themselves if it didn't work for them before; I can't live like that. Proper restriction has the effect of lessening hunger, and therefore lessening interest in food. This may take TIME and that's a hard thing sometimes. Having surgery is such a big step and we expect immediate changes and results. That's not necessarily the way it happens. But it DOES happen with time and proper adjustment and band care, and if you let the band dictate your intake the weight will come off simply because you are eating less.

Actually, erosions do just "happen," even to the most experienced doctors in the U.S. and elsewhere. Obviously there may be situations where it's connected to a specific cause, but there are some where the cause is not evident. My surgeon's office has been doing bands since 2001 and has done several hundred so far; they've had two erosions (that they know of) and can't precisely "explain" either one.

It's not being banded necessarily that changes the way drinking affects us, it's the generally lower amount of food we are taking in. With less food it takes MUCH less alcohol to have an effect, and I know I feel it after just a few sips of wine. So be careful! Another negative effect of drinking is the loss of inhibition. I know that is one of the good things, normally, :rofl: but post-banding it means drinking makes it much easier to eat more or faster than you should. Even if you don't PB, the next day you can really feel like you did yourself some damage--not to mention the number of extra calories in both the alcohol and the excess food. So be aware of the pitfalls, but there's no physiological reason not to drink after banding.

Welcome, and congratulations on your banding! By now you're on solid food, right? Do you have any restriction or do you feel like you didn't have surgery at all? Are you itching for a fill yet? :rofl: Nice to meet you and we look forward to sharing your journey!!

I follow the bandster recommendations of Protein first, then veggies, then ice cream. :rofl: Really, I just eat the protein first and everything else falls into place.

I've had reflux on occasion post-banding, which was very unpleasant since I wasn't a sufferer before. It's always been easily fixed, with unfills or behavioral changes. It seems clear to me that lying down with any food or drink still in my pouch is a recipe for reflux, so I just avoid doing it. :rofl:

I think this is really important and bears repeating. I've been a big water drinker all my life so it's never been a big worry of mine post-banding. But at times of high restriction it's just been easier not to drink enough, and there's no question that is a vicious cycle because you just aren't thirsty. Water retention >> more restriction >> less water >> less thirst >> water retention...you see where I'm going with this. Lesson One: KEEP DRINKING!! I need to post that little message somewhere I will see it, every day.

It really is a blanket rule because of copyright issues. Most sites have copyright notices saying that copying of any text on their sites elsewhere without permission is illegal, so it's really NEVER a good idea to do it. And when when it comes to personal communications even if it doesn't violate any copyright rules it's just plain not nice. Paraphrasing--saying what happened without direct quoting--is fine.

Ddflinn, thanks for telling us what Dr. Billy said. I hope you recover very soon! Sounds like it was a weird situation with a particular stitch making infection more likely. Did Dr. Billy say your behavior had something to do with it? Or would it have happened anywhere just because of the placement of that stitch? Did Dr. Billy suggest that now you may have a higher future erosion risk due to your port infection? What did he say your future options are--can you get a new port at some point? Thanks for letting us know what happened!!

Just repeating myself that posting communications from other sites is not considered good board etiquette, melati. We get that you were just trying to be helpful; copying it all here isn't really helpful, though.

Melati, in general cross-posting from other sites is not considered good manners. Stacy might not appreciate your posting her words here. Please refrain from doing so in future. That said, it's fine for you to point others here just so they can read more bandsters' experiences. More information is always better.

Kathy, I'm so glad you got the medical attention you needed!! Did they loosen your band a little? That would seem to be a logical step to take to ease in healing. Feel better, and take it easy!!

What did he mean by your esophagus is "a mess"? That's not a medical diagnosis. Did you suffer from reflux before banding? If you have it all the time, that's something different than the typical nighttime reflux many bandsters get. The big question is whether your esophagus is working. It's supposed to be moving food down it toward the stomach. If it's not performing that action, that's a serious problem and might mean your band has to be removed. Get more medical help. If what they gave you isn't working, try something else. This is a very unusual situation--many people with reflux report that banding helps resolve it, and bandsters who HAVE reflux usually don't have anywhere near such a serious case. I have had it in the past and it's readily manageable with behavior and OTC meds.

Ah. Well, with a BMI that low you are indeed going to have to come up with additional reasons why you need bariatric surgery. Do you also suffer from any of the common co-morbidities, such as diabetes, high blood pressure, sleep apnea, or bone/joint pain? Your weight must be having a negative effect on your health, so play up all the problems it's causing you when you speak with the doctor. Particularly if you're looking for insurance to cover the cost, it's crucial that you prove medical necessity for the procedure. Convince your doctor, and then let him try to convince the insurance carrier. Good luck!!

Hi, athykay!! I'm sorry for all your health issues. I too have been suffering from bronchitis, but I never assumed that it could be band-related. I don't think it is--my respiratory system can get messed up all by its lonesome when I pick up bugs from my kids. With my recent bout I had several episodes of coughing that were bad enough to make me vomit (TMI, sorry) but nothing has happened that makes me think my band is anything but fine. Coughing up blood is not the same thing as vomiting up blood--sounds to me like your lungs are what's irritated, not your stomach. Bronchitis is not likely to be band-related, I wouldn't think. Why would you? And vertigo? Dizziness? Dehydration perhaps, but only in the sense that you're not drinking enough. I'm just saying that it's totally possible to be sick without it being related to the band. Everyone always jumps to the conclusion that every little ache and twinge is due to the band, but it's just not necessarily the case. An endoscopy is only indicated if you're having BAND-related symptoms, such as an inability to eat, constant or unmanageable reflux, or other stomach issues.

Hi, and welcome to LBT! You are in the right place to get answers to your questions. If you ask me, the first step is to figure out if you are medically eligible for the surgery, and then find out if your insurance will cover it. --Are you medically eligible? If your BMI is over 40, or if it's over 35 and you have debilitating conditions as well such as sleep apnea, diabetes, etc., you probably are. If you've spent more than 5 years as a morbidly obese person and failed at attempts to control your weight in the past, you probably are. --Will your insurance cover it? Pull out your insurance documents and read them over. Many have a standard exclusion for treatments of obesity, unless medically necessary or unless there is a diagnosis of morbid obesity. If you are medically eligible and this is what your documents say, you're in good shape. --Go to your PCP for a physical. Even if your insurance plan doesn't require referrals, you will need your primary-care doctor's support as you go through the process. So go to the doctor, get that diagnosis of morbid obesity in your chart, and then ask him or her for the name of a bariatric surgeon in your health plan. --Go visit the surgeon. He or she will have a pile of documents and instructions for you even before you are officially a patient. Only that office can tell you affirmatively if you're a good candidate for surgery, and only that office can answer your question about the time. That depends on a lot of factors, some of which are beyond your control. You'll get answers to LOTS of your questions as you go through the above steps, and of course we're here to answer more as they occur to you.

Laraestokes, glad to hear things went well!! Heal up quickly, and come back and let us know how you're doing. :biggrin1: