quakergirl

On another messageboard someone once posted that his wife had to have some of her stomach removed due to necrosis - but in that case it only got that bad because she had ignored the warning signs of trouble (vomiting, pain). As long as you follow up with your surgeon and get help if something doesn't seem right, the lap-band is really quite safe. The risks are far worse with staying obese, OR getting the gastric bypass.

Donali, I am soooo sorry you're facing this disappointing situation, but you seem to have a good approach to making the best of it. Only thing I might suggest would be to consider keeping some records of how much you're eating on Fitday or something like that so you don't lose perspective of how much you should be eating. I am sure you've learned enough from having the band for the time that you did to be able to maintain your good habits. Good luck.

Aww, my condolences on losing your dogs. But I do agree that you're looking good. I hope you take some more photos in smaller clothes soon.

Congratulations! Wow, I didn't realize your "chase my kids" tag line was based on such a serious incident. I am glad that everything turned out okay.

WOOHOO! You look great. I started out a little bigger than you so your progress is especially interesting to me. Congrats on how well you've done.

Yes, it sounds like reflux, which is often due to being too tight. You might want to talk to your doctor about this. In the meantime, I'd suggest waiting longer between your last food/drink and bedtime. It might also help to prop your head up with some more pillows. Good luck. I hope this problem resolves soon!

I had Dr. Bhesania in Port Huron. He's one of the most experienced lap-band docs in our state and I'm quite pleased with him. In my case, he didn't require an endoscopy, but I don't know if that's the case for all his patients. All I had done was bloodwork and an EKG.

I am really glad to hear you're going to be able to do this. Good luck to you. :cool: I've heard from people who had tummy tucks that generally even if they had more weight gain/loss after the tuck that their tummy still looked better than it did before the plastic surgery...so I think it's probably well worth it even if you need touch up work later. A tummy tuck is the one plastic surgery procedure I would dearly love to have. I haven't had any kids (or any other abdominal procedures) but my panniculus is about a "grade 2" also. Everyone thought my skin would snap back from the weight loss because I'm relatively young (I'm 21) but I have a lot of stretch marks on my tummy and I think it was just stretched beyond the point of return at my highest weight. It's bad enough that I had a lady I was helping at work ask me if I was pregnant! Agh! (By the way, for those who don't already realize it, it's NEVER a good idea to ask a woman if she's pregnant unless you already know the answer - both of us felt bad after I had to tell her, no, I'm not pregnant :cool: ) I would LOVE to be able to get a tummy tuck right now but haven't really pursued it because I thought that the surgeons would surely decline to do it until I'm at goal. It gives me hope that you have found surgeons who are willing to do it.

msknow, as someone who was banded with a BMI of almost 60, I say good for you for standing up for what you wanted. The band is not just about how much weight you lose, but also about quality of life. Maybe I would be thinner faster if I had gotten the bypass - but, then again, with the bypass I might have died or might be having nutritional deficiencies. I don't know how much weight I'll ultimately lose, but the band has definitely let me lose enough weight ot improve my quality of life, and that's really what's important. Good luck to you. :mad:

I'm now about 11 months out, and I've lost 104 pounds! From a high of 372 (medically considered "super morbidly obese"), I am now at 268 (close to no longer being "morbidly obese"). I feel great - more optimistic about life in general than pre-op. My hormones were all out of whack when I was heavier. I had just about every PCOS symptom you can think of - but thankfully that seems to have improved as I've lost weight. I just started a job where I have to be on my feet most of the time (very time consuming, so that's why I don't post much lately), yet I feel fine at the end of the day. I think my feet would be killing me if I were walking around that much 100 pounds ago. I am glad for the activity though - I think moving around more is just what I need to keep losing weight. I'm not quite as self-conscious as I used to be. I am still fat, but no longer the biggest person in the room everywhere I go. It feels nice to be able to find clothes that fit at "normal" stores (not just the "fat" stores). It feels nice to "fit in". However, my empathy for fellow fat people has only grown as I have gotten smaller. It was hard to see at my highest weight, but NOW I see that we who are fat really aren't inferior to smaller people. I am not sure yet where my ultimate goal will be. Even if I don't lose any more weight, losing 100 pounds has made the surgery very worthwhile. However, I do believe I'll keep losing - so we'll see what happens! Based on my experiences, here's what I'd say to new bandsters (no big surprises here, but worth repeating) : -Take full advantage of resources like this messageboard! The long-term bandsters on these kinds of sites know more than the average doctor does about this surgery. -You do need to get more exercise, but it doesn't have to be at a gym. My focus is on little things like walking a little farther each day, or going up and down the stairs more often. I'm also going to start swimming once the weather warms up. Swimming is probably the least painful exercise for those of us who are bigger. -Don't be discouraged if you're not losing as fast as someone else is. Focus on small victories and "mini goals", and soon they'll add up. Remember, no surgery is guaranteed to make you look like a super model, but with the band, you'll almost surely end up feeling better than you were pre-op. -PERSONALLY, I don't feel that it's necessary to count carbs or calories with the band. I just focus on eating filling and nutritious food. I eat plenty of rice, noodles, and Gardenburger products even though they have carbs. Maybe I would have lost faster if I had restricted carbs or whatever, but I know I wouldn't be able to stick with low-carbing forever. My priority is with having a lifestyle I can sustain for life so I know the weight won't pile back on when I get tired of the regimen. Bottom line: The band has been the easiest and most pleasant way I've ever lost weight, and the ONLY way I've ever been able to lose 100+ pounds! Good luck to everyone else out there!

In addition to the higher risk of death and malnutrition, the RNY also has a lesser-known problem that might cause the surgery to be almost totally ineffective: Enlarged stoma. That's when the opening they make between your stomach and intestines is too large and the food just slides right through the stomach pouch without making you feel full. The patient with an enlarged stoma feels hungry constantly, and it's a struggle to lose weight. That is not a risk with the lap-band, since our stoma is adjustable. In fact, with the lap-band, just about any problem you might have is pretty easy to fix, so I think as time goes on you'll be happier with your choice. Just be patient.

Congrats! Good luck.

Sorry to hear your family is having this problem. All I can suggest is to wash your hands religiously since that is the best defense against these illnesses. I've heard that it's usually not a problem if you only vomit once or twice. It's usually only after prolonged, violent vomiting that people have trouble. Good luck.

Way to go! Isn't it great that the band lets us work on following the rules at our own pace? The "window of opportunity" is a lot longer with this surgery than with the others.

Congrats! I'm glad that you're doing so well despite the delay in getting fills.

Victoria, best wishes on your upcoming surgery. I hope that everything goes well for you

Aw, I'm sorry to hear that this happened to you. I don't know what the stats are for foreign vs. US docs, but I'm sure it happens at least occasionally with any doctor. How many bands has your surgeon done? Hope that you can get this fix soon and then go on to success from here on out!

For me, it sometimes helps to get up and walk around when something seems stuck. Changing positions seems to help move things through the pouch faster. I've heard that drinking warm Water BEFORE you eat can help loosen the band a little (and cold water may tighten it). If your problem is with meat, it might help to lubricate it with low-fat salad dressing or some other low cal condiment. Hope that this stops being a problem for you soon. It's not fun to have stuckages, but I find they're not as common as time goes by. Eating small bites slowly comes naturally after a while.

Sorry to hear that you had the port problems. However, 40 pounds is indeed an awesome weight loss! I hope that it's smooth sailing for you from here on out.

I just showed some online friends who had seen a "before" pic my "during" pic (taken a couple days ago). I am way too shy to post them here yet (still very sensitive about my appearance). Someday I hope to find the confidence to post them here too. One friend said, "Oh, you look so pretty. You really look thinner". The other guy...who tends to be rather blunt...reacted with, "You don't look much different, do you?" Of course, the less-flattering comment is the one that sticks with me. Ouch. But I'm going to try to remember this as a source of motivation. Hopefully this will help me stay on track so I lose at least another 80 pounds. THEN he'll see the difference.

Congrats! Yes, surgery is always a little scary, but I think lap-band surgery is probably safer than staying obese. I hope everything goes smoothly for you!

I have no personal experience with this (yet?), but I've read that an isolated episode of vomiting probably won't be enough to dislodge the band once it has healed in place. Slippages are most often caused by repeated, violent vomiting. So, if I were you, I probably wouldn't be too concerned unless I vomitted more than once. I'd suggest calling your surgeon to double-check on what he wants you to do. If the Reglan isn't helping, maybe he can call in a prescription for a stronger anti-nausea med for you? Hope you feel better soon.

I had no idea this was going on! This is an outrage. I can't believe that some doctors do this to their patients. What a cruel abuse of power. I hope you will send a copy of this to Inamed so they will be aware that some doctors are misusing their device.

I agree that Dr. Boutt's comment was surprisingly insensitive. Your weight loss pre-fill shouldn't be an issue. I'm *very* surprised he hasn't seen a patient before who didn't lose pre-fill, because it doesn't seem unusual going by these websites. Then there are people like me: I did lose weight during the first two weeks post-op, but was rapidly regaining it by the time I got my first fill! I'm a Bhesania patient and he didn't give me any trouble about the regain at my first fill appt. Perhaps Dr. Bhesania has learned not to do that kind of thing because he has seen more patients than Boutt. When I started this process a year ago, Bhesania had done 300+ bands and Boutt had done less than 100 if I recall correctly. Maybe you can help Boutt see that his attitude isn't helping things. They definitely do have a busy practice. It's not unusual for the waiting room to overflow into the hall because so many people are waiting to see the docs. However, I have never felt like Dr. Bhesania didn't have enough time for me when it was needed. I think they're good surgeons overall. Hopefully from now on things will go more smoothly for you.

Although I didn't go to Deol myself, if you read this thread you'll see some comments from Deol patients: http://lapbandtalk.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=318&highlight=deol Best of luck with your journey.