DeLarla

Yep, that sounds like me. Did they figure anything out? I had a little more of the same type of fever & sweats last night. I wonder if it has something to do with pain medication, or shock from the pain. I was in horrible pain last night, like my girl parts are gonna explode (low and left.) Today the pain finally migrated to under my belly button, so I wonder if that's an eggy trying to get through all the drugs and swelling since my cycle starts on or around the 5th.

OUCH, what brought that on? (Ducking under table.) Maybe you should e-mail that to all of us so we can send it to five friends, and they can send it to five friends, and so on, and so on. Maybe one day everyone will get it.

I don't think you're so off base by saying it's brain damage. Well, maybe not damage, but my eating has nothing to do with the way my stomach feels, or the way foods taste or smell. It's all in my head. I've even been treated for Obsessive Compulsive Disorder in the past, because thoughts go through my head faster than I can keep up with them, and when the sky gets dark, the thoughts are all instructing me to get food. At night, even after I'm full, the "voices" start. They aren't really voices, but very strong and powerful suggestions/thoughts that convince me I need to get another snack. I respond logically, but the voices always seem to win. The other night I was fighting the urges with all my might, and I was telling myself that whatever I ate would only last less than five minutes, and then more thoughts would control me. But still, the thoughts won, so I ate junk food all night. That was last week before my surgery. I haven't eaten much for 2 days because I'm using the heck out of the tightness and swelling in my belly. I just tossed out 1/2 of my already-Band-sized lunch, which is so hard for me to do. I recognized the addiction 20 years ago. I spent most of my life going to Overeater's Anonymous meetings at night, which really help me. But the meeting choices are pretty slim in Vegas (it's all about gambling and drinking addictions here.) Darcy, I studied Penni when I stayed with her. She and I weigh exactly the same (she's a pound less.) But we both have totally different eating habits. I hoard huge amounts of food, she nibbles little girl portions often. I think there are a lot of different reasons that people are overweight, so maybe this thread will attract all the junkies, like me. Donali, I'm not as smart as you guys, so I don't even know how to read that chart. What am I looking for? *** drools***

Brandi, this was the greatest post! To think the Band kept you from gaining weight, I mean 11 pounds ain't nothin' when you're talking pregnancy. And you're already losing again, that's about as fabulous as you look right after giving birth! Congrads to you and Mr. Baby. What a nice post

We were just talking about the Johnson & Johnson Band the other day. It's going to be a big problem as more people get it, since it's so hard to find someone to service it. Good luck to you.

Shaz, I used to think there was something wrong with my Band cuz I never PB'd. Then one day it hit hard. It's a very painful and frightening experience, so after your fill, make sure to eat slow and don't swallow big chunks!

I always laugh when this thread comes back! I already "lost it" with Erin once, but she keeps coming back for more abuse. Yesterday she came to tell me the corner buffet added a delicious new soup in case I needed to know. Like I could eat a buffet PLUS soup for lunch? WOOF. I should throw her a bone next time she approaches.

Pati, Dr. Kuri did my first port removal surgery. During the surgery he filled my band, but he never handed me anything. I wish I would have known about this along time ago, considering I've had so many surgeries.

Maurice, I don't see you around enough. You're doing incredibly well. Keep up the good work and speak up more!

Pati, I'm grateful to all my Banded nurse friends here on LBT. Several nurses doubted Dr. Lopez's rejection theory from the start. I was placed on a universal antibiotic, but the wound was never going to close because the tube was so close to the skin. And I did ask the urgent care doctors to do a culture. I practically begged, but they refused. They said the antibiotic would disrupt the results, but even more they wouldn't be able to fix the port or tubing even if they knew what was wrong, so they just kept telling me to go back to Mexico. My original doctor referred me to several local Band surgeons for emergency aftercare. I should have called them before getting the Band, but I didn't see any reason to doubt Inamed's top surgeon. Never occured to me that I'd be refused considering my doctor trained the local guy. The whole thing certainly is exhausting. I hope my experience can save at least one person from having to go through what I've been through. If you count the procedures I've had with local anesthetics, I've had six surgeries on the same wound since May. I'd say that earns me the right to post my brains out with warnings. I never thought to ask for my OR report or surgical records - Gagirl, you should start a new thread cause those records would have come in handy several times if I'd have thought of it. Thanks for that info.

I wasn't smiling. That was gas.

Most of you know I spent the weekend in the hospital having another port-removal surgery. While I was there, Dr. Billy got hardcore with me & Penni about sucessful weight loss. When he mentioned the need for us to count calories, I rolled my eyes at him and told him I refused to ever count calories again. Yes, I lost half my weight, but Billy seems to think I have the capability to lose all my excess weight (I guess I never dared dream that before.) He's one of those evil doctors that requires morbidly obese patients to lose 40 pounds prior to giving them a bypass or Band. I used to think that was really messed up, cuz if we could lose weight that way, we wouldn't need a Band. But he was firm in explaining that the Band isn't going to save us till we save ourselves. We have to be willing to WORK at losing weight. We have to accept the fact that we are not normal, that we don't have normal metabolisms, and that we will always have to make wise food decisions. We cannot compare ourselves to anyone else. I'll use Penni as an example since we just spent the weekend together: Penni and I weigh exactly the same but she's 14/16 and I'm size 20. I eat large meals a few times a day, she eats small stuff every couple hours. She has 1.8 cc, I have 1.7 cc. We are obese, which means we can never, ever expect to eat like a normal person. Most normies don't have to think about eating, we will always have to think, and plan, and be accountable - if we want to lose weight. All that said, and after all Dr. Billy has done for me, I have agreed to complete the homework he assigned. Most people eat about the same their entire adult lives, so I have to write down 50 foods I eat on a regular basis. He said I probably won't be able to get to 50. I am to start with one food at a time and learn it intimately. For example, I love quesadillas so today I might work with cheese. I'll have a quesadilla using one slice, or two slices. Once I have the calories figured out including a little sour cream, then I'll add that to my list. Next I'll learn a stick of string cheese. Then I'll learn 2 tablespoons of shredded cheese, then cubes of cheese. Heck, maybe I'll work on cheese all week. When I've completely learned cheese, I'll never have to learn cheese again. I'll simply know that a grilled cheese has "this many" calories, a quesadilla this many, shredded for a salad this many. Then I'll have completed one food on my list. Next I move on to tuna since it's one of my staples. I like tuna salad with crackers, or on a salad with thousand island and pickles. When I'm done with the whole list, I'll have the stuff so memorized that "counting calories" isn't this horrible chore that makes me scream and pull my hair out. I am NOT happy about having to do this. I resisted for a long time. But Dr. Billy is right - if I want the Band to work, I gotta work the Band. He does not believe the Band is the answer. Diets have failed us in the past, but the Band was designed to restrict our hunger so that limited calories will keep us full and happy for life. I won't call this a diet. We can't call this a diet. This is limiting our caloric intake to cure ourselves of obesity. We will always eat less than normies unless we build more muscle mass to increase our metabolisms. It's in my hands now. If I want to break the plateau, I have to consume 1200 calories a day - and I have to like it (hurl.) BUT... if I stop eating when I'm full, that's all my Band will LET me eat! It's all so simple. I hate it, but it's all so simple.

I guess it could be worse considering a cannon blew through my gut the previous day! We are so colorful - Penni, you even match the picture on the wall!

I must have been really woozy, cuz stuff Billy said is still coming back at me. I told him I used an on-line program similar to Fitday, but he said that's not good enough. He wants me to use a regular notebook. Got it on my desk now. It still boils down to one thing: THIS SUCKS!

Alex, as far as ingredients, for example: Make a can of tuna salad. Count the calories in the tuna, count the calories in the mayo, count the calories in the bread. If you make 2 sandwitches, divide the calories in half. Then you'll always know what a tuna sandwhich is. We can never be 100%, but his lesson was to get to know tuna on many levels. In your best Forest Gump, "plain tuna, tuna boat, spicy tuna roll, tuna casserollllll, etc." And Donali, did you actually doubt me? I interupted him plenty of times to discuss the sheer obession and compulsion. That's the "WORK" part that we gotta do. Breaking bad habits, working it. For example, I told him my recent binges were nervous eating over all my recent band problems, but he shot me down. Ouch, but he was right, cause what kind of excuse is that considering I've been obese my whole life? On another post, Bright talks about the food calling her like nails screeching down a chaulkboard. Billy said we gotta get rid of the chaulkboard. So I told him I would try to break my nightime eating by having cucumbers and carrots marinated in vingar instead of goodies. Easier than it sounds, but what it all boiled down to is that I won't lose any more weight unless I account for what I eat. Can I do this? I don't know. He seems to think I can. Like I said, I hate what he said, but I have to try. Deep sigh. And he said I should be having 1200 calories a day until I lose weight, and from there we'll reassess what my body needs. He also said nobody will actually eat 1200 calories (we'll eat more.) And one thing I was glad about is that we don't have to count veggies, they're a freebie.

Okay, let's try this again, but please think "food" this time. Sometimes it's hard for me to swallow (I have to gulp several times to get food down.) And I choke on liquids. Also, I wake up almost every day with a sore, scratchy, irritated throat. So I'm always thinking I'm getting a cold. I don't have acid reflux, no heartburn, nothing burns, etc. However, while I was in the hospital, I got the answers I needed. I actually DO have acid reflux, which is what's causing my throat irritation. I always thought acid reflux would mean painful burning in my chest and/or belly, like heartburn. I should have been born Mexican, cuz I eat hot sauce and jalepenos on everything, even tuna. Spicy or greasy foods don't bother me at all, but then I wake up with the scratchy throat. So I've been diagnosed with acid reflux and prescribed 6 months of Pepcid. And THAT is what Penni was trying to get at.

Another OOPS, I responded before seeing Penni's post. I meant WHAT PENNI SAID! Remember, I was on lots of pain meds so the brain wasn't too observant or absorbent that day!

OOPS, I have to clarify what I wrote earlier. Billy doesn't make all his patients lose 40 pounds before surgery. He was talking about one specific patient that weighed 500 pounds or so, and the guy figured the bypass would fix him. Billy probably read a lot into the guy's personality, and the guy probably displayed signs that he wasn't willing to do any work other than lying on the operating table.

OMG to the screeching nails comment! That's EXACTLY how food talks to me!

I was going to reply to this, but it might end up being the biggest thread hijack ever! I'm gonna go post my homework on another thread so I don't walk on Penni-Pooh's toes cuz I love her.

Okay, I retract the big-poofy hair statement! Michelle, exactly what YOU said!

As far as strong anal odors, I'm not talking about "most bypass patients." I'm talking about the small percentage that get this problem. I know of three. I asked one how the odor escapes the butt, since we are usually in control of letting go of our own gas. But she said "it's not like that, the odor just comes out." This isn't just the smell of a few bad farts, it's a constant putrid odor. I asked my new doc about this horrible odor last weekend. I was too loopy from surgery/meds so I don't remember the complete explanation, but he did say that the severe odor problem comes from one particular type of bypass surgery (there are lots of different types.) He also said his receptionist can always tell these patients from their smell (and there's a wide counter inbetween the receptionist and where the patient stands, so it's gotta be pretty pungent.) To answer questions regarding rejection, my current US surgeon says that I am not rejecting the band. There's no known written literature about rejecting plastic (tube) in the body. I was not rejecting the port. I just posted a whole new thread of my latest surgery that explains why my wound stayed open so long, which will give you better information.

Michelle, nobody in the US did cultures because nobody here was willing (or able) to treat a Banded patient. The 2 Urgent Care docs lanced and drained the wound and prescribed antibiotics but told me to go back to Mexico for care. The local surgeon was hesitant to do anything other than clean the wound since he's not a Band doc. And the local Band doc simply sent me for an Upper GI so I could show the results to Billy and was too scared to do anything else (he simply doesn't touch Mexican patients.) Michelle, you gotta admit that you're one of the exceptions when it comes to Americans banded in Mexico on LBT. You practically live in Mexico, and Ortiz does take very good care of you. He offered to take care of me, as well, but I had a lot of options to weigh, one being Ortiz & Lopez used to be partners, and now they seem to be at odds with each other. I didn't want to put Ortiz in any position where he would be stepping on Lopez's feet, so to say. I haven't seen many complaints about Ortiz, but still, when you're having an emergency, getting to Mexico (for most of us) is really inconvenient. I knew that when I had my orginal surgery, but I never expected 8 entire months of emergencies! And it's all because surgeons in Mexico aren't required to offer the same standard of care as in the US. On top of the tube not being tucked in my abdomen (where it belonged) and having it draped under an inflamed wound, my American doc found 6-7 sutures floating around in me. He didn't even know what they were from, but he knew they weren't necessary so he removed them. After all these months, 3 trips to Mexico, all my irritation, the infection, gallons of leakage, a wound that refused to close, etc., you'd think somebody might have taken them out just for sport. Why would ANYONE leave them just floating around? I am not telling people to avoid Mexico. I think it's a great option, but only if you have someone close by in case of emergencies. For me, Billy is about the same distance as Mexico, but I have family and friends an hour away from Billy's office. So instead of flying to San Diego, taking a taxi to the boarder, walking across the boarder, taking a taxi to the doctor, ect., all I gotta do is fly to California, where my friends argue with my family about who gets to pick me up and who I'll stay with. The whole point to this post is to be proactive and make sure you'll have convenient and safe aftercare. I'm not the only one that's been in such a horrible position. There are way, way, way too many of us. And this is only one board, so there are many others that we don't know about. Plus the poor souls who don't own a computer or aren't aware of these boards.

Hmmm... explains my ghost-asthma. Some docs say I have slight asthma, others say I'm nuts. It's all kinda related, like trying to cough a lil liquid out of my lungs. Yes, Alex, I am SUPPOSED to stop eating several hours before bed. I'm also supposed to eat Band portions. I have to do my homework today (see Penni's homework thread.) Today is the day I try to get back on track. This means 3 meals and one veggie snack at 7:00 p.m. I had a hiatal hernia prior to Banding with lots of acid/digestion/coughing problems. But docs marvel at my ability to eat the kinda salsa that makes my head sweat but doesn't burn my belly or give me heartburn. I'm all bass-ackwards.

Paula, mi post es su post. I'm glad to see this one back, hi everyone! Avoid vomitting at all costs. Excessive vomitting can cause the Band to slip. I asked my surgeon, "but what if I get the stomach flu?" He said occasional vomitting shouldn't hurt, but any type of long term, or really violent vomitting needs to be avoided. If you get the stomach flu or have a bad vomitting spell, it's best to get your Band checked to be on the safe side. Slippage isn't fatal, but if your Band slips, you'll need surgery to have it repaired.