GeezerSue

I had one of those digital roller coasters, too. It was a cheap "Thinner." Now I have a cheap Homedics scale that never varies. http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/product.asp?order_num=-1&SKU=13695610 (Don't forget your 20% off coupon.)

I get the inner debate. I was able to do that for almost two years before my revision surgery. In my case, I didn't want to be treating a problem that could be eliminated, and I figured old-dog-new-tricks wasn't my forte. We each have to do what we think is best for our health...physical and mental. Good luck.

Economic Left/Right: -4.50 Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: -4.00

Did those books get there, Penni?

I thought I just responded to this, but I'll try again. At the time of the original post, I was still recovering from surgery, so I guess I wasn't very vigilant. Hmmm. And I would have guessed Bob Jones University. Sue :::just Indian enough to have collected on a ratified but ignored treaty. And one other thing for any less visible racists out there...in case you, too, don't like Mexicans (almost all of whom have Indian blood unless they are simply Spanish immigrants to Mexico, which would make them...you know...SPANIARDS)...Rumbaut is not a native Mexican. He was born in Venezuela of Cuban parents and he went to junior high in Ohio. Then again...the name "Ohio" comes from an from an Iroquoian word meaning “great river.” Damned indians, they're just everywhere.:::

I got the band for all of the reasons mentioned above, but had it removed after three years. It was damaging my esophagus and it caused its own "eating disorder." Since I'm used to catching flack about giving bad news, I'll mention this as well. My insurance, Blue Cross of California, no longer covers the LapBand for people with BMI's of over 50. (Or maybe it's 50 and above, one or the other.) Their justification is that research shows that, with higher BMI patients, the AVERAGE weight loss with the band leaves the patient in an improved condition, but STILL Morbidly Obese. (Not with everyone, but with enough that they can deny the coverage based on the research involved.) That wouldn't seem to make sense given that, a few years out, band and RnY results are pretty similar. All I can figure is that--for the patients who are MO two years out--the banded people never got out of morbid obesity and the RnY people lost enough to no longer be MO and then regained. So, they "blame" the band for not causing a big enough weight loss, while they "blame" the RnY patient for the regain. Honesty with yourself is key. If you already know that you are a sweets junkie, who will for sure find a way to "eat around the band," then it probably is not a good choice for you. If, instead, you are someone who just overeats at three HUGE meals a day but doesn't snack and doesn't forage all evening (like I do) and is not particularly addicted to stuff that will melt and slide right through the band, then it might be just what you need. Good luck figuring it all out. And just because your appointment is Monday does not mean you have to decide by Monday.

I hate rushed decisions...don't you? If the band is causing multiple trips to the ER, I'd have it out. I had mine out for esophageal damage. I'm delighted. BUT, I had the band out and a revision to DS (duodenal switch) at the same time. And I imagine my insurance paid for the revision because I was MO all over again. A good reason you might not want to do what I did is that you are so young. My "possible future problems" is a threat about what might happen in the next 20-25 years. Yours would be worrying about the next 60+ years. Anyway, I have this strange notion that an insurance company will let you have a revision from one procedure to another if there are complications secondary to the first procedure. But, once the band is out and you are only 30 pounds overweight, I don't know how they would handle it. (I suspect that one would have to become MO again to qualiify for any other procedure.) Psychologists say that "the best predictor of future behavior is past behavior." To me, the concept applies in other areas...such as my compulsive eating AND how well the band has worked for me. Doesn't mean I CANNOT change, just means I probably won't. Doesn't mean the band WOULD NOT finally just sit there and not cause problems, just means it probably wouldn't. I'm not flying solo, so I have nothing to offer on that topic. But moving onto another wls has given me a new life. Good luck to you. Sue

The only reason I had TWO weight loss surgeries is because almost none of that nonsense works and the few things that DO work are unsafe and work only for the short term. Snake Oil Salesmen...manipulating desperate people. They should be shot. I DO take supplements, but the supplements I take are Vitamins and Calcium. But they are the same supplements I've taken forever...just in differing quantities and configurations. And I've added Protein, but not every day.

1--Yes, the BM's stink more, but I don't recall having rave reviews about my pre-op BM's, either LOL. The first two DS people I met in 3D are married (as am I) and have husbands who chase them around (as do I), so it can't be all THAT bad. One woman is the "professional wife" of a very successful businessman and they host A LOT of business-related events. She is still a very popular hostess and is also involved in DS-related events that many people attend. The other has a business of her own and spends a lot of time in the presence of others in a situation that depends on referrals. She gets those referrals. HOWEVER, to prevent smelly stools, we limit carbs. And, there is a product called Devrom, which is used by ostomy patients, to "deodorize" their stools. I have it here but haven't used it yet. The problem for me is that I have very limited olfactory ability...generally speaking I LITERALLY "can't smell shit." So I worry about stinky poop all the time. 2--Sharing a bathroom might be a problem, at least at first. But mostly because immediately post-op, there are a lot of BM's and less warning time than usual. (You get used to that, AND the warning time increases over time.) But our immediate post-op mantra is "never trust a fart." One time, my sister went right into the bathroom after I had used it and came back out to report that the body I had hidden in there was now ripe. But she has used it since then and I always ask and she says there have been no repeat incidents. I worry about it all the time...but I can't smell it. So I use a lot of stuff...at home I have absorbent deodorant crystals and an oil reed diffuser thingy and I use fragrance-free Oust each time and, because there is no window, there is a bathroom exhaust fan. When we remodel the bathroom ...at the end of the month...ARG...we will upgrade the fan, but mostly because the old one is so noisy and I use it all the time, "just in case." I have a small can of Ozium in my purse when we go out AND a small container of disposable baby wipes. I think I've used the Ozium three or four times, just in case...and the baby wipes a couple of times, just to feel clean. 3--My dietary restrisctions are: a) no booze first year post-op...not because of the surgery itself, but because my surgeon feels that the very rapid weight loss puts enough strain on the liver and alcohol adds to that burden. Some doctors say to drink "in moderation." One DS girlfriend laughs and asks why her doctor would think that, at 334 pounds, she had any concept of "moderation." (She's the one who stopped at In'n'Out Burgers on the way home from surgery!!) :cool: excess carbs will likely cause smelly poop. Banded, even one or two bites of sourdough bread at my favorite restaurant would send me to the restroom hurling. Now I can easily enjoy that bite or two. But if I want to eat two big slabs of the stuff, I have to ask myself if I'm willing to pay the price of having two or three extra BM's the next morning. It's a judgement call. But it's my decision. c) Other than those warnings, NOTHING IS FORBIDDEN. I can drink beverages before, during and after meals. 4--I do not feel "full to capacity" like with the band. I feel "full to capacity" and satisfied...like Thanksgiving before any wls. I just get full on less food. LOL. This was a question I kept asking while deciding. But since I didn't know any band-to-DS-revision people, nobody really understood the question or had anything to compare it to. It feels like you never had any surgery at all. You just have way more food to go in the doggy-bag. 5--WHAT KIND OF chicken AND BREAD? If it's white meat chicken, it's likely too dry. Banded, I had to change to thighs and drumsticks--dark meat only. And, the only bread I could eat without getting plugged up was the crispy crust of the sourdough served at my local favorite restaurant and that had to be slathered with butter...which kind of defeated the purpose of the band. But what I'm saying is that those foods may be on your permanent no-no list if they make you uncomfortable. 6--You already have the band, give it your best. A lot of people do very well with the band. With what you've been through already, you just have to really, honestly give it your best effort. But if you develop any complications or if you cannot comply with the program, there are other options.

Your disability status will hinge on whether you are physically recovered from surgery enough to return to work. It may be time to find a different work environment. Whether you're one week post-op or fifteen, that environment is not going to help you with your journey.

Amy, From your photos, it would appear that you have the level of "overhang," (for lack of a better term) that is usually covered by insurance. Have you confirmed that it's something you actually have to pay for? (Given choices, I'd be tempted to save the cash for the post-weight-loss-tweaking which would be a purely cosmetic procedure which insurance would not generally cover.) Just a thought... http://www.geocities.com/HotSprings/6698/pann.html

Amy, I didn't read all the responses, but I'm answering with what I know. I had a panniculectomy (with rectus muscle repair...so it was essentially an abdominoplasty or "tummy tuck.") I had it done while MO. And I have (as usual) good news/bad news to report. BTW, Dr. Fobi of the Fobi pouch did my friend's RnY and he often does a panniculectomy at the time of the RnY...which means that all of those patients are MO. First, the bad news. I had it done at a teaching hospital. AFTER the surgery, when I was readmitted for a resistant infection, is when I heard the supervising surgeon explain to the baby surgeons that the complication rate for an abdominoplasty on a morbidly obese patient is 100%. He said that with the MO patient, there can be little complications or big complications, but there are going to be complications. That said, my complication was resolved with very aggressive antibiotic therapy. The good news: I'd do it again in a heartbeat. The other good news: I've already had a small revision done and as I lose more with the DS, I can see that it will need to be tweaked in the future. No biggie. The BIG surgery is over. AND, if you read the small print in MY insurance policy it says that it covers reconstructive surgery when a malformation is caused by accident or disease or surgery. Well, a panniculectomy on an MO person is, first of all, NOT a cosmetic procedure. It is purely to repair function. So, when I submitted to insurance, my PS and I made sure we emphasized that we were repairing the "oops's" caused by the NON-COSMETIC procedure of panniculectomy. They paid. I hope all goes well for you and I really am glad I had it done back when. If I had waited to "get to goal" I'd STILL be waiting. Instead, it's been gone for a couple of years.

I had a family member who was the director of UNESCO for Latin America and the Caribbean. I checked out my hospital. REALLY checked out my hospital. (I'm not familiar with South Coast Medical.)

Some interesting questions/comments...especially since I DID have surgery in Monterrey and I also grew up two blocks from East L.A. (where I'd rather not have surgery, but where USC University Hospital and USC Medical Center happen to be located, so there IS a small chance I'd go there.) LOL!! And I've NOT had surgery in Beverly Hills--really, there are no hospitals of any size or reputation in Beverly Hills--but my "Beverly Hills-adjacent" (that means Cedars-Sinai) plastic surgeon did my boobs at St. John's in Santa Monica...Elizabeth Taylor's and Star Jones' favorite. Anyway...I had a choice and I had the money. (Don't anymore...spent it all...but anyway...) I went to Monterrey. At that time, there were few US doctors who did the band and of those even fewer with sufficient experience to do MY band. IN FACT, Inamed is doing such a good job of converting surgeons to LapBand Surgeons that there are MANY, MANY MORE surgeons who now lack the experience to do MY band surgery. I went to the hospital where any US President would be sent if he became ill in the area and to a surgeon who had already placed 1400 bands...not to Joe Bloe's Day Surgery and Bicycle Repair on THIS side of the border to see a US doctor who was about to do his fifth band. There are too many people who think that ANYTHING this side of the border is automatically superior to anything in any other country. They are wrong. Back in the 1960's, if you had a heart transplant anywhere other than South Africa, you were not only an idiot...you were dead. I didn't know about the Tijuana LapBand surgery problems being picked up at the border, but that's why I went to a real, full-service, state-of-the-art teaching hospital in the third largest city in Mexico. You just never know when you might need a hospital to have that kind of capability. Editing to add---> gadgetlady...when Quebbeman did bands at Hoag, I might have gone there...but Huntington Beach Hospital? You'd pick THAT ahead of a major hospital in Monterrey? To each his own, but there is just NO comparison...at all. Editing AGAIN to add a link to info on what Yale has to say about one of the hospitals in Monterrey: San Jose Hospital, Tecnologico de Monterrey Hospital San José Tec de Monterrey is a private non-profit hospital that has been offering health services since 1969. During the past 36 years it has been a leader in several medical procedures (such as multi-organ transplants), always supported by its Medical Staff, and now it is considered as one of the best high tech specialty hospitals in Latin America. The hospital works cooperatively with the Medicine School of Tec de Monterrey to promote medical talent through programs for residents. http://www.yale.edu/career/students/intern/mexico_companies.html#hosp

Or, lacking correct spelling, something resembling a complete sentence would be a move in the right direction. This "coagulation" of words is lacking a subject, which--in grammar circles--generally indicates the lack of a complete thought. I'm just sayin', Sister Mary Angela would not have expected ANY of us to diagram* THIS. diagram*--an archaic skill...see: http://www.lifestreamcenter.net/DrB/Lessons/TS/diagram.htm

It would depend on the pills. Small pills can be taken normally. Some pills/capsules--extended release and the like--cannot be broken or chewed. You have to go to a non-extended release form if you can't handle the pill. Capsules can be held on the tongue to soften, and then swallowed just as the the Gelatin is about to dissolve. Some pills come in a dissolve-on-the-tongue form...like Claritin Redi-Tabs. And changing to liquid is not the solution to everything. With NSAID's, especially, it isn't the size of the pill or how long it sits in your stomach that causes the problems. It's the chemistry of the NSAID that makes the pain go away, that also reduces the mucous lining of the stomach, making it more susceptable to irritation and ulceration.

No, it means that you have not (yet) documented that you have already tried "two years of medical management" of your obesity/morbid obesity.

Because it's again time...

Okay, AND...a lot of you are taking Calcium Carbonate which is not used as effectively as calcium citrate. And, depending on your age, you may need to supplement the Calcium AND Vitamin D, even if there is some in your multis. Pre-DS, I took two Trader Joe's Childrens' Chewables and supplemented the Calcium and D. Now I take a Multivitamins (in DS'er dosages) and special Vitamins that are made for DS'ers who need a special way to get in Vitamins A, D, E and K. And I take about 1600 mg of Calcium Citrate over and above what's in the multi's. MAY I ADD HERE THAT MY BEST FRIEND IS MOSLTY HOUSEBOUND AND OFTEN IN HORRIBLE PAIN DUE TO OSTEOPOROSIS (NOT WLS-RELATED) AND, EVEN THOUGH I'M NOT AS ETHNICALLY PREDISPOSED TO OSTEOPOROSIS AS SHE IS, IT HAS ME SCARED. LADIES--ESPECIALLY LADIES WITH NORTHERN EUROPEAN ANCESTORS--TAKE ENOUGH OF THE RIGHT CALCIUM AND SAVE YOURSELVES A TON OF HEARTACHE. And, I have found Protica's Profect to be the least objectionable (because it's less than three ounces)--except that it isn't cheap--way to get extra Protein in: http://tinyurl.com/lyccw (Disclosure: I'm now an "affiliate" for the protein product because I'm buying it for two households. Even if no one else buys any, I save a couple of dollars.) I first became interested because my 82-year-old mother thinks that half of a Healthy Choice Sirloin Tips and Portobellos meal is "enough" food...and wonders why she is losing weight and getting sick.

When I had no problems with the band, I had no problems "hosting" the band. Once I had problems, my perspective changed and by the time I went for a revision, I was WAY ready to have it out. So now, I have dental fillings, crowns, root canals (these things happen as we age) and about six jillion gastric staples and who KNOWS what the plastic surgeons have left in there? But I think the "I don't want a foreign obect in my body" line is just silly. My husband didn't want a foreign obect in HIS body either, but once he had his heart attack he was DELIGHTED to get that stent implanted.

I've got a 24-pack right here! They cost a fortune...but. I got them because I'm trying to get SOME protein into a mother who thinks a Healthy Choice Beef Tips and Portobello Mushroom meal (280 calories) should be split between lunch and dinner. I UNDERSTAND that she is not going to live forever, really I do. I just want her to be as healthy as she can be and then surprise all of us by "waking up dead" some morning. She's been on a waiting list for a very nice Assisted Living place, but--good news/bad news--everyone there is HAPPY there and no one there is dying there...SO...there are no openings. My sister visited here and took her a Protica Profect this morning. I'll take another tomorrow.

I'm sorry, Elizabeth. I just "read over" the part that said your band was out (or, I FORGOT it between the time I read and and when i responded.) Dennis Smith in Atlanta has a good reputation, too. He won't do revisions of other doctors' work, but since your band is out...that probably would not apply. I DO know that my surgeon says that revisions are the most difficult for him, but NOT because of the physical part...because they are sure they will "fail" again. I don't know if I'll get to goal. Hell, I don't even know what my goal weight IS. But as far as losing weight out the starting gate...this is EXPONENTIALLY easier than thae band.

Weighing in...80 pounds down, at that. Insurance. Well...I don't know. I SUSPECT that if the band is causing any problems, then the removal of the band would be covered. Frankly, though, I think it's a pretty extreme surgery for 50-60 pounds...even though we both know that some people (yours truly) are capable of regaining all the lost weight. You will not "fail" at losing weight with the RnY or DS. Beyond that, I can't speak for the RnY. Your DS challenges would be to take the supplements as though your life depended on it...because it does. And, generally speaking, getting those last 25-40 pounds off and then keeping them off is a challenge from what I observe. My more experienced DS buddies tell me that what is different is that they walk into WW's needing to lose 10 or 15 pounds, not 150 or 200. There's a visible end in sight for those who use that plan. They achieve their goal, they go on with their lives, they gain 10 or 15 again next year...and go back to WW. "Like," they say, "NORMAL people." I can't verify this story, but it's what I've been told. But, I'm 59 and don't have the same concerns about long term complications as someone yonger might have. Visit the OH /DS message board--available through here--for info on the self-pay out-of-country surgeons: http://obesityhelp.com/forums/DS/ And encouragement? Well...when our daughter was in high school I realized that while we had always told her that school wasn't over until she graduated with a Bachelor's degree...neither of her parents had actually done that. So I went back to school and got the degree, so that I "had the right" to keep saying that. So, I'm going to tell you what I feel I have the right to say: Give it your best. But do NOT start beating yourself up if your best, with this approach, does not take you where you want to go. Sue

As an atheist, I always feel somewhat 'invited out' of these discussions, but here I go... 1--what Alexandra said about marketing; and, 2--when a minister points out a family that has material wealth as a family others might want to emulate...it tells me a lot about what is really important to the minister.

I was 55 when I was banded in Mexico and lived through it. I have 3-D friends who were banded in the US, and France and Germany and friends who had RnY in the US and had the DS in the US...years ago...and still haven't had a sleep study done. While a sleep study is a good idea for any morbidly obese person, I'd vote for manometry as a pre-op test for someone considering adjustable gastric banding...especially an older person. While none of my over-50 friends died from being banded without a sleep study, a few are suffering from the late complication of dysmotility, which seems to be more common in older patients. They are, several years out, having to have revision surgeries and THAT is also more dangerous. The danger is not in the geography...