leatha_g

bumping simply means someone posts something on it so that it brings it back to the top for others to see. sticky's can only be made sticky by moderators, i believe. i don't know a darn thing about 'rep power' . I reckon 'Hot' means it has lots of posts???

Yep. It's a hard habit to break. You're not alone at all. In some cases, I don't even allow a drink near me when I'm eating, because it's just such a habit to grab it and start gulping.

Depends on your skin, your age, how much you have to lose, how slow or fast you lose it. Unfortunately, anyone with 100lbs or more to lose will most probably have some excess skin. Sorry, fact of life. Our skin is just not meant to stretch out like that and recover well. If you have stretch marks now, it's a safe bet that won't spring back like a 16 yr old. What's better? A little excess skin and your re-gained health or being obese?? Hmm...

Seems like it took me about 3 months, start to finish.

Definitely sounds like restriction to me. Not everyone gets this right out of surgery with no fill. Congratulations! This is what you were banded for. Try putting your fork down between bites. Chew, chew, chew, listen to your body. If you feel pain and find yourself salivating or feeling sort of nauseated, it's because you have either taken too big a bite or not chewed well enough and there is something trying to make it's way through your stoma (small opening where the band is the tightest). It's a natural reaction for your body to begin attacking that offending piece and trying to lubricate it enough to move it on through or reject it completely sending it back upward and out. We call this 'sliming' or 'PB'ing (productive burping). If you get to the point of having it come up, then you need to be done with your meal and you really should limit your foods to liquids the rest of the day due to esophageal irritation. Take your time, slow down, chew better than you've ever chewed, choose foods that you can turn into puree by chewing, ie, hard proteins, not too fibrous foods and small, small portions, bites the size of a pencil eraser or less. Listen to your body between bites, this will all become second nature after awhile. You'll be fine.

Brenda, I'm so glad to hear you were able to come home with a new band! Please let me know if there is anything I can help to answer. It's a downer to have to start over and unfortunately, a much slower process than the original beginning, but I sure understand your relief in getting to keep your band. To me, the liquids phase was not nearly as hard the second time around. I wish you a very speedy recovery!

that's a long time to be on liquids. however, it might be as beneficial to begin the protein, then veggies and chew chew chew diet. then, maybe do liquids 1-2 weeks before?

beef jerky is good.

What sort of diet protocol did your doc's office give you? One week out usually means liquids, either clear or full, depending on the doc. Anything solid at this point can cause damage to your fresh surgery.b Please check with your doctor's office to see what their normal routine is. Also, you may read the patient handbook. Follow the link: http://www.inamed.com/products/obesity/us/patient/lapband/information.html#booklet

Also, Dewayne. Have you contacted the manufacturer of the band? Did you get an Inamed one? If so, I'd contact don.mills@inamed.com ASAP.

Very well said, Megan. I totally agree and yes, I have had these same thoughts and issues also, T. I think we see in others that which we hate within ourselves. Don't you?

It's actually against the law in the US to reveal a patient's name or information to any other party. I'm not sure about Mexico, but I would think patient confidentiality would be pretty universal. Not to mention.. why would I confirm this had happened to a prospective patient if I were truly capable of allowing it to happen??

Mine has. You could always find out the ICD9 Code for fills and call them to verify.

Yum, Chicken fried steak. I had one bite of it last night in St Louis. You're right, there's no place like Texas for chicken fried steak.

YAY!!!! I hope everything goes wonderfully for you!

Try logging what you are eating into www.fitday.com and see how many calories you are actually eating. Remember this thing only meets you halfway. Are you exercising? Are you drinking your Water?? Don't be discouraged, this band works if you work it. Get your fill if you feel you can still eat too much. Leatha

This is truly bad commentary for any doctor. I am really glad that you have posted your experience, however. There are so many, so desperate to have this surgery that sometimes they will do just about anything. Often, price is the big factor and in the end it is the worst reason for choosing a doctor. Especially those 'all-inclusive' specials some of them offer. I truly do hope your telling your story helps someone else to avoid this same danger and such inhumane treatment of such. I am truly sorry there is anyone who has an MD behind his name who could leave it at that and still sleep at night.. Shame, shame...

Hope you did well!!!!

Well, good luck with that! lol.. Actually, you'll have 5 incisions. 4 are small enough you won't notice them much at all. One, the port one will be a bit larger - maybe 1.5 - 2 inches long?? It is where they do the most work and yes, it will be a bit tender to very sore, depending on how gentle (or not) your surgeon is and how much he has to tug and pull once he's in there. A sneeze or very hard coughing is definitely an eye-opener after surgery. A 'cough' pillow/tummy splint is your best friend for these things. (I folded a flat sheet into a compact square and taped it and it served me even better than fluffy pillows. You need the stability, not softness. ) I had a vena cava filter implanted into my mid-abdomen at the same time of my band surgery. OMG, when I sneezed, I thought I had ripped my innards from stem to stern. :eek:

Here's hoping all went well!! Please let us know how you are doing once you feel up to it!

Some symptoms are the inability to keep anything down - even your own saliva. Some symptoms are nighttime reflux - waking up with Fluid backflowing into your esophagus and mouth. Basically, waking up vomiting. It's terrible and just gets worse. Severe vomiting is definitely not a good sign at all. No one should ever just 'live' with reflux at night. All these things should be looked into by a doc. In some instances, pouch dilation is considered slippage also, where the band actually slips too far down on the anatomy and a larger pouch bulges above the band. You may have no symptoms at all with this. You may only see it on a flouro checkup. Another good reason to keep a close eye on this thing pretty regularly.

Great news! Thanks Penni - you are such a good angel.

Good luck with your surgery, Rachel!! Please let us know how it goes!

you can also go to Yahoo Groups Extraordinary Bandsters. There are plenty of people at your current weight and above who have done wonderfully with the band. Having children with the band is far more healthy and safe than with the RNY. The band can be unfilled to allow you the nutrition needed, the RNY cannot be undone and your malabsorption just continues, baby or no baby. The people on the ObesityHelp RNY or general forum will definitely bash the band. If you are going to go there, you should definitely see what the Lapband forum says as well. This is all about what lengths you are willing to go to. If you don't mind resecting your colon, living on supplements and still not getting all you need to maintain your health, possible staple line breaks or extensive stay in ICU with leaks or bleeding complications, then RNY may be a choice. If you want something safer, yet slower and more reliable past the 'window of opportunity' with minor, fixable complications then the band may be what you are looking for. It's all a very personal choice. While you are on OH, you might seek out the Memorial page. See if the ratio of RNY vs Lapband impresses you at all.

Yup, if I start hiccuping or just have that ONE hiccup, that is truly a sign for me.