leatha_g

Welcome Shontel!! Keep reading!! Good luck with your journey ahead!

Thanks everyone. I sincerely appreciate the love. It's why I've been here since the 'doors' were open. ((((Darcy))) (((Becky))) I've missed you guys terribly. Thank you so much for bringing your presence here. I really hope you're both doing well. Everyone is right. There is no reason for me to leave. It was a silly thought. I have remedied the situation.

Ecclesiastes 3 A Time for Everything 1 There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven: 2 a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot, 3 a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build, 4 a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance, 5 a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them, a time to embrace and a time to refrain, 6 a time to search and a time to give up, a time to keep and a time to throw away, 7 a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak, 8 a time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace. And, a time to move on... I have been on this board since it's first days in 2003. I have stayed on this board because it is the one I felt most at home on. We've had some great times. We've also cried together, lost members to tragedy, loved one another unconditionally, had some great laughs and helped one another with our lapband journeys in the process. I know I've spent numerous hours here encouraging people and trying to share my experience, strength and hope as so many others have. I have also leaned on many to gather that strength, but it seems the time has come that tenure and experience in the process that this board was created for has past or there are new, more knowledgable people with new ideas and ways of conveying that. To those I've met in person. I am honored and I enjoyed every minute of it. To those I never met, I mostly wished I had. If there is one thing I've learned in my long battle with SELF, it's that living with and surrounding myself with unacceptable behavior is pretty much what got me where I was in the first place. Dysfunction doesn't just have to be in your family of origin but it can also infest the company you keep. Strong personalities who want to be the leaders trample over those who might be more thoughtful and often times more accurate. People who need attention SHOUT to be heard and all too often feel the need to force themselves on everyone within distance rather than taking a long look at why they need all this attention and seeing that it's really not a very attractive or even acceptable behavior. We all have the power to change our behaviors, be it with our food addictions or our immaturity. I'm hoping to continue my weight loss. I'm so very thankful to God that I was allowed the opportunity to have this band and a second chance at life, but even if that fails, I know that as a person, I have grown from this experience and hopefully become a better person in the process. I wish you all a peace in your heart that you can count on in all things and a faith that you can cling to in all times, good or bad.

It's a big step, this surgery. It's life-changing. It's very normal to be scared and emotional before surrgery, but look how many have gone before you? Yes, everyone takes risks, but the risk is very minimal, compared to other surgeries or even complications of extended obesity. If you believe in a Higher Power, be thankful that you have this opportunity when so many others do not. The actual surgery is not all that terribly painful. There are a few days of discomfort, but none of it is unbearable or you wouldn't see that many folks on this board and so many others. Godspeed and good luck to you!

I would encourage you to continue your research. Yes, it can be information overload, but YOU need to know every single thing you can know to make your band journey as UNsurprising as possible. It never ceases to amaze me when people said they did their research, but come on before their 6 week initial healing period and go on about how they can eat anything they want or how they're not losing..as if they were supposed to wake up restricted the next day and they should lose 30 lbs the first month. Somehow, they missed something very important... This is your journey, you need to know every single thing beforehand that COULD happen...

My doc actually prescribed VicuTuss as my pain reliever after surgery. Basically, that's vicodon with codeine. I would think it would be totally okay. Hope you get to feeling better soon. Now is not a great time to have a serious cough. :confused:

warm apple juice helps too. :confused:, suck on some 'diet' candy with malitol??

I think you need to ask for a barium swallow to check the positioning of your band. A VG band normally can allow for large fills for quite awhile. Something doesn't seem just right here. I hope it all turns out well for you!

My problems are that I get filled and filled and filled and I have NEVER had the over 'stop' signs that I had before. In the period of the last 18 months, I've been filled several times, slimed maybe twice. never Pb'd, never had the golf ball feeling. Mostly, I think my esophagus is not responding correctly. I do not feel the food is moving through properly, but it may be lax enough that it allows me to eat anyway. I feel the food may be sitting above the band for longer than it should. I have had Barium swallows, recently had an EGD. Dr's records say 'minimal diliatation, but I don't think the esophageal motility was really looked at. I've referred to this LACK of sensation now for the past 18 months and I really don't think the doc has made the connection. He's given me the story that some bandsters only lost 50% of their excess weight and I've done that. He gives me stories about how some athlete's say the way they maintain their weight is to STOP eating when they are still a 'little' hungry and this is probably what I'll have to do for the rest of my life. DUH.. December, it was established that my fill was too much, but because of the lack of sensation, I wound up with pretty severe esophagitis, to the point of being in pain when swallowing. So we did an unfill, now we've filled again and unfortunately, I'm beginning to feel that same 'swollen' feeling in my throat, but still no 'stop' signs if I eat. My weight loss has pretty much come to a stop. I bounce back and forth within 2-5 lbs constantly, but if I didn't weigh daily, I'm sure it would be worse than that. Again, it's up to me and my HEAD, which never agrees.. :confused:

Mostly, the reason for liquids and 'mushy' is that you don't want your stomach in there churning and grinding on regular foods. The reason being that you are in a period of healing and the band needs to 'anchor' itself in scar tissue. The more churning and grinding for digestion, the less anchoring can take place and guess what? slippage and 'rubbing' of the band against the tummy can cause problems later down the road. The liquids/mushy stage has very little to do with 'tolerance' of said foods. There is a technical reason for it. Hope this helps you to make choices in the near future! Good luck!

Sorry, I didn't read all the answers to this question, so forgive me If I'm redundant. Just so you know, I'm not so sure this about proving you can lose weight. It may very well be about proving you can't lose weight on your own. My sister in law was just banded, after her year of 'supervised' weight loss documentation for BCBS. She didn't lose an ounce. Maybe even gain additional weight in the interim. Mostly, I think it's more a tactic to see if you'll give up and try to 'just do it on your own'. Maybe, it's a year to think about whether you really, seriously want something as drastic as a life altering weight loss surgery? Something to think about... any other thoughts?

I eat carbs all the time. That's why I still need to lose 30-50lbs after over 2 yrs being banded. :confused: lol. If I had been more serious about the rules, I would most probably have lost much more by now. I reckon it depends on how serious you are about reaching a goal. As much as I'd LIKE to weigh 150/130/120 SOMEDAY, I reckon I like my carbs better?? Make sense? These are guidelines put in place by the bandmaker, first because these foods got us where we are today (and keep us there), secondly, because these foods tend to 'settle' in the band or swell due to the gluten they contain. Hence, they often take up what little space you have for the Protein that you need in order not to lose the muscle mass your body needs. Again, it's all about the choices that we make and the reasons that we make them.

I had never had an unfill before my slippage, but I do believe it definitely had to do with an overfill. :confused: Things have never ever been the same since rebanding. :cake:

ask your pharmacit/doctor to prepare you some silvadene. there are also some burn gel packs that would be useful. my goodness.. i feel for you.

Lou, Believe me, you are not alone. I've had my band for nearly 3 yrs and today is harder for me than all the days of my first year. BUT, I have my band which reminds me EVERYDAY that I am still working on this journey. If I didn't have this band, I would have yet again regained all that I had lost and more by now. Remember, this is a life change. There is NO race to reach a certain point by a certain time, even though the tickers seem to make some of us feel as if there is a race or a finish line. It is simply not so. The only thing that keeps me sane is knowing that I am heading in the right direction MOST of the time. Yes, my head quarrells with my great need for emotional feeding constantly, but without the band it wouldn't be a quarell. I would have given in and probably died by now from the complications of obesity.

I did have the very same thing sometime in my first year of banding. It was very disconcerting, but it did go away and honestly, I still don't know what it was.. It felt very much like something physically was up in my throat. I would discuss this with my doc. (or I should I have).

Frosted mini-wheats are your friend..

Babs, I can tell you that after my slippage and subsequent new band etc. I have NEVER had the same overt symptoms of 'stop' since. This, I think sets the stage for pouch dilitation because there are just no stop signs and if you're hungry, you just tend to eat more than you would with the signs. I think it has to do with esophageal motility for me. I know there is restriction somewhere, lower down perhaps, or the esophagus is more pliable and less responsive, but something isn't the same. I continue to tell this to my doctor, but he just doesn't hear it.

YES! I hate it! We used to be able to welcome each new person. Listen to their questions, their stories, but I can't even keep up with the new posts, let alone the one's I've already missed.

'If the people who don't want to read about other people's sexual experiences/problems/etc when they pertain to the band'.. You know, I used to be a very avid poster on this board. I have nearly 3 yrs experience with the band and have been considered (as consistently told by others) to be relatively knowledgeable, wise and empathetic toward others - banded people specifically, on this board. But, for the life of me, I have yet to understand why 'I' or anyone else would need to know about pieces and parts that someone has stuck in THEIR pieces and parts? Some things I believe just should be private out of self-respect. Forgive me for my ignorance, my social ineptness, my lack of sexual band knowledge, but can you please tell me how this could be band related? I, as much as anyone, have a sexual side. They don't call me 'lethalwoman' for nuthin, but sheesh. And I beg to differ, this place has gone from several hundred to FIVE THOUSAND AND COUNTING, I do not sort my posts by forum section. I click on New Posts or Today's Posts and no, all the time, the section does not say whether it is blatant private sex issues or not. On a lapband board, some of us see the word 'stuck' and think something got stuck in our esophagus. Please understand I am not picking on this particular thread as there are many that could be pointed out, I just have another life so that I don't have time to peruse through and specify. I seriously agree that if we want to have a raunchy gab-fest we should find an appropriate venue, such as a living room, chat-room, private message conference, etc. Consider this. If you were physically in a room of 5000 people, speaking about your lapband journey, would you seriously give all those strangers your juicy(literal) details about your sexual positions, faux paux's, etc or would you most probably use a bit more decorum?

Tough thing to do. I commend you. You may be impressing one of the most valuable lessons on this person he can ever learn. So many times, we mollycottle people to make it easier on them, only to see that years later, they're still manipulating they're way around and not taking responsibility for themselves. I have a sister who is a heroin addict. She started out with pot (as so many of us did). This weekend we spend trying to decide what to do with her children (whom we've allowed exceptions for her behavior over and over and over for). They need a home. There is absolutely NOTHING wrong with standing up for what is right and lawful. Tell him you love him and it breaks your heart, but you love him ENOUGH to impress upon him that this lifestye has its consequences and this is only a minor one.

Interesting. I'd just be very alert to any new symptoms, such as nighttime reflux/aspiration. Otherwise, if you feel restriction and everything else seems okay. Can you get copies of your flouro and have your previous compared by your original physician?

:clap2: :clap2: :clap2: :clap2: THIS is what it's all about!! YOU GO GIRL!!

Vera, My heart breaks for you and your family at this time. What a devestating loss! God be with you, your sister and all those whose hearts are broken at this time. May He be your comfort in this tragic time. (((((((((((((((((VERA)))))))))))))))))

Frank Veninga in Carrollton. Great guy, great staff!