Penni60

Awww Kelly I am sooooooooooo sorry to hear of your slip. If I were in your shoes, I would get it fixed and worry about whether or not it will happen in the future later. If it happens again then just have the dang thing taken out. You are such a trooper and I know this is a hard decision. Look on the bright side, it isn't eroded. HUGS

I think this should be seen as a generalized statement with regards to a suspected outcome. I think each case should be seen individually. If my mom were banded and she went in for surgery of ANY kind she would need to have the band deflated. She has horrible reactions to any kind of pain med or anesthesia. She has violent episodes of nausea and vomiting. It is treated with Zofran or Reglan but it doesn't stop or control all of her problems. So just consider how you react to the anesthesia and pain meds then determine after speaking with your own doctor how best to handle deflating or not deflating the band.

Careful what you ask for. I know this is long but I just copied it from my post when I had my band removed in Dec last year. It was hard day for me finding out Tuesday and then jumping immediately from the gamut of emotions to thinking about surgery all in the same day. I left our house Tuesday morning at 5:30am headed to Ventura for the Endoscopy so Dr. Billy could check out the band. None of us thought I had eroded. Even Dr. Billy was surprised. I did hear him say, "I don't know how she knew but she did." I had not been "feeling" right for the last month. But I couldn't put my finger on it. Then a Michelle was diagnosed with Erosion and that got me scared. I immediately called Billy's office and asked for the Endo. They got it scheduled right away. OK so after the Endo is done, he takes the tube out of my throat and I say, "Did I just hear you say I am eroded?" He said yes. I then just shut down. I cry immediately and never heard another word for a few minutes. I then had to have a silent talk with myself and get it together. I had a decision to make and quick. Billy told me that the band was eroded but it was not a life-threatening situation. He did say we can take it off that night. He said we can work you into the schedule and take it off. He also told me that I could wait till after the holidays if I wanted. I told him to go ahead and schedule the surgery. I did not want to wait hoping there would not be any complications later. He was also leaving town on the 15th and I would have to go to Tahoe and have the procedure done there if I developed complications and wanted him to do it. Mind you all these thoughts and emotions I was experiencing while I was still on the table after the ENDO procedure. I hadn't even left the room yet. When Billy left the room to check on something for me I just broke down and bawled my eyes out. I was facing losing the ONE thing that had worked for me in my weight loss battle. I was scared, mad, angry, frustrated, hurt, disappointed, discouraged, deflated, why me, why now, every negative emotion you can think of I think I experienced it while I was on that ENDO table. Billy came back into the room and said for me to stop by his office before I left to make sure I knew what I was making a decision about. He was concerned that since I was under the influence of the ENDO sedation that I might not be making an informed choice. Believe me when he said I was eroded I was very alert and aware of what my decision would be. It had to come out. And it had to come out that night. So, John and I stopped by Billy's office and he told us to go home if we wanted and to call him at 4p so he could tell us what the plan of action was. So John and I headed home. On the way home, we briefly discussed the options and I wanted the band removed that day. I barely was home long enough to send out a few emails and make a couple of calls to let people know what was going on. At 4p on Tuesday I called Billy. He said to go to Admitting and he would have paperwork ready for me. Initially the surgery was set up for 7p but I was a work in remember so I didn't get into surgery till 9p. I got back to my room at around 2am on Wednesday. Don't know how long the surgery was, but Billy said it typically takes 2 hours. That would make sense. Two hours in surgery and at least an hour to an hour and a half in recovery. I don't remember much about that night. Wednesday after I woke up, I was sore and had to go for an upper GI to rule out any perforation before they would let me drink anything. The UPPER GI was all clear, so I started on a clear liquid diet that day. I was able to get up and go to the bathroom and to walk some. Thursday, Billy came in and took out my drain and sent me home. THANK GOD!! I am now recuperating and getting stronger every day. It has been a struggle and I am adjusting to the notion that I don't have this tool anymore. I can't really feel different yet because I am still on Clear liquids. I can start on mushie foods after tomorrow, Saturday. IT will be a hard battle, but with the knowledge I have learned thus far with the band I will use knowing I don't have the band. SIGH!! It has been a long time since I could eat large quantities of food. Just tonight I was eating some Soup and was concerned when I went to regular food how the band was going to react. Weird like some phantom is hovering over me still. I would compare it to when someone loses an arm or leg. The arm or leg can still be felt but logically you know it isn't there. Billy used 3 of my old scars and used a 4th scar from my tubal ligation from years ago. I am really not in alot of pain but every now and then I feel a tug or a burn and I am reminded that yes I did just have the band removed. So I take a half of a pill and that quiets the pain. With my history of depression it would be so easy to slip into a dark hole but I can't and won't allow myself to even look inside that hole. If I start to fall I am afraid I won't come back out. I have fought too hard to get to the point I am now. I won't let myself regress. My parting words: When you don't "feel" right, check it out. When you know something is off but you can't put a name to it, check it out. Be Proactive in your how health care, check it out. Don't let someone else tell you "it isn't necessary", check it out. I say all this with all the love and compassion I can muster cause I don't want any of you to look back and wish you had and didn't. I am mentally accepting of the outcome. I am physically healing and taking it slow. I can have another band in 6 months. I will go see Dr. Billy in a month for a check up. He said we will discuss my options at that time. He also said he would support me in whatever decision I made whether it be surgery or not. What a great and caring Doc. I have said on here that I might consider the DS operation. I now know that I will NOT have any other surgery. I am through with surgeries for now. I am gonna fight the good battle with nutrition and exercise. Shoot you might see me on the next "Biggest Loser". LOL!!! Still waiting to hear on my submission. At this point I am sure I did NOT get chosen. But life goes on.

You are more than welcome. Meditation is a great stress reliever as well.

I had my band for 18 months. When I had it I was happy and at a place where I could work with it. At the end of having the band I was NOT happy and wondering why I had it done in the first place. The band was doing it's job but I was fighting the head demons. Then I found out I had eroded and all of a sudden I wanted my band. I learned the lessons too late that fighting the head demons will be a life long issue whether banded or not. Would I have the surgery again? Maybe! I am doing Nutrisystem right now and that seems to be working and it is alot less expensive than another surgery. So I will just struggle along with the diet for now. I have found that I did miss eating certain foods while banded. I must admit that it is nice to be able to go into a restaurant and eat anything on the menu I want without worrying if I will PB. It also makes me more accountable with the PORTIONS I eat now as opposed to when I was banded. I actually have to do the work of the band now.

I had a surgical menopause at the age of 27. This simply means that I had a complete hysterectomy at that age which threw me into early menopause. I took Premarin for years till I did a research paper on it when I started Nursing school and the side effects scared the shit out of me. So I stopped taking everything. I have NOT taken any HRT for over 15 years now. I take extra calcium to help prevent Osteoporosis along with Actinel. I don't smoke. There is a history of Breast Cancer in our family so I get regular mammograms (this Friday as a matter of fact). UGH!!! I also am working diligently to get a better diet started without all the preservatives in todays meals. I also try to get in my water to help flush my system and hydrate my cells. I have NOT had hot flashes in years. The Estroven helped when I did have them. But there are Herbs that can help as well.

I found if I got too technical with the explanations I lost them entirely. If I made a game out of it then they seemed to be more interested. I also reinforced that NO ONE was supposed to touch them anywhere on their body without their permission. If someone made them feel uncomfortable to leave the room or situation and find a trusted adult or someone to talk to about it. I left the lines of communication open for any discussion regarding this type of situation. I was thankful I had because about 3 months after this talk my oldest was molested coming home from school one day by a class mate. She was able to tell the Police in detail description what happened and what the boy did to her. She was groped and fondled and felt scared so she ran to my Aunt's house which was on her way home from school then my Aunt called me and I ran to get her. So along with the puberty talk comes the responsibility of discussing inappropriate touching as well. SIGH!! Too many demented people in this world.

OK First, have YOU spoken to him about your issues? How can you guys work on anything if you don't communicate? Second, how long have you been in this relationship? You didnt mention that or if you did I didn't notice. No relationship will be perfect so let that go out the window. Even in the best of couples there are issues that need working on. And it won't be good all the time. Learn to listen to your heart and know when something isn't good for you. THat will go a long way to finding your true soul mate. Also, the items you have listed are something to be worried about but I bet if you talk to him about them one of two things will happen. Either he will say "What, I don't do that?" and then that opens a dialogue for you guys. Or he will get pissed off and ignore the situation. Either way you have an answer to your question. He can't fix it if he doesn't know it is broken.

My PCP and my Cardiologist at the time both told me to not get the surgery and they would NOT recommend it. Well when I went to my PCP for a follow up about three months post banding he wanted to know all the details about the band. He was fascinated. So I ended up giving him a tutorial on it. He said he was wrong about the band and could see the merits of such a surgery. SOmetimes they just don't have the correct data to understand how it will actually work.

AFter raising my three girls and my son I can offer this sage advice. Grin and bear it. LOL!!! I was taking my Nursing classes during a time when the girls were beginning to go through Puberty. My son was barely 3. When they began to show an interest I flipped to the Reproductive Section of my Anatomy book. I showed the girls the pictures and then showed where on their bodies the same place was. CLOTHED of course. LOL!!! All of my children have either helped me bathe or change Bradley's diapers so they know the anatomy of a male. I explained the differences between the sexes using both slang and technical terms. This way they know what someone is saying to them. It is never an easy talk to have with your children but you can make it fun and less stressful. You should start by asking what they know as Lisa suggested. Then you can fill in the blanks. If they want to learn more then you are armed. This is a time to teach your child how to be honest and secure in your own skin. I will be praying you have strength. I was scared to death. LOL!!!!! But it got easier as we talked and they asked questions.

The initial purpose of this thread is to enlighten people to what they are putting into their bodies and how it is developed in relation to what it can do to their bodies. I do not want this thread to become a venue for political, spiritual, ethical, etc beliefs to be bantered back and forth. Everyone is entitled to their own opinions. You can chose to agree or disagree with each other but I respectfully ask that everyone NOT turn this thread into a shouting match. If it does begin to head down that road I will close it and delete this thread altogether. This is an INFORMATIVE thread.

Today's plan accomplishment: I will follow my Nutrisystem meal plans. (On track so far. SIGH!!) I will exercise for a minimum of 20 min a day 4 days a week. (10 min on Ab Lounger; OUCH; 10 min at top speed on the Recumbent Bike; OUCH; 10 min using the weight bench working on flabby arms, shoulders, and back; OUCHIE OWIE!! ) It all feels good though. I will lose at least 1 lb a week. ( Will see come Friday how this is going ) I will drink at least 64 ounces of Water a day. (easy peasy) Positive reinforcement mantras: I cannot continue to eat unhealthy and expect to lose weight. I cannot continue to not exercise and expect to lose weight. I cannot continue to buy pills, buy exercise equip, etc then not use them and expect to lose weight. I cannot continue to feel sorry for myself because I do not have the band anymore.

Sorry for not answering sooner. Ambien is addictive due to it's narcotic nature. So yes it would be a concern to take it for long periods. I tried weaning myself off and it was not a pretty site. I don't mean to imply I went into withdrawals but it was just hard to sleep more so than it was before Ambien. I was all jittery at night without Ambien. I have tried Melatonin and it just doesn't work for me. I have tried Valerian Root too - No Luck. I have tried drinking Chamomile tea. I have tried Chamomile Baths - NO LUCK. So I resorted to the Ambien. Lunesta does give me a slight hangover effect if I don't get the whole 8 hours sleep. But it disappears as soon as I am up and moving around. Ambien never gave me that kind of effect. I am taking the 2mg pills of Lunesta right now. I also am a light sleeper. With both Ambien and Lunesta I wake up easily and go back to sleep faster when I do wake up. I am hoping that when I get in a more regular routine of exercise and eating right I will be more tired at night and sleep better. I did notice that when I was walking every day and more active I slept better without any medication. Weird but you gotta move to sleep. LOL!!!

Today's plan accomplishment: I will follow my Nutrisystem meal plans. (On track so far. SIGH!!) I will exercise for a minimum of 20 min a day 4 days a week. (None so far but the day is still young.) I will lose at least 1 lb a week. ( Will see come Friday how this is going ) I will drink at least 64 ounces of Water a day. (easy peasy - got it in) Positive reinforcement mantras: I cannot continue to eat unhealthy and expect to lose weight. I cannot continue to not exercise and expect to lose weight. I cannot continue to buy pills, buy exercise equip, etc then not use them and expect to lose weight. I cannot continue to feel sorry for myself because I do not have the band anymore.

I didn't have to sign any contract. It is month to month. You can cancel shipments at any time. If you do an autoship every month it gives you a percentage off the cost of the meals. After three months I think it goes up on the percentage. I think it is well worth the money.

Drug companies own many farms, mostly in Canada, where they impregnate mares, tether them in a stalls, collect their urine, and use the urine to manufacture Premarin and Prempro HRT (Hormone Replacement Therapy) for women. The foals that are born - are considered a byproduct of the drug manufacturing process. These foals are killed and the mares are then re-impregnated, to live their lives in these stalls. Amazingly, Holly, the young girl in this article is an advocate working to save these foals, and just received one of her own! The 10 year NIH study (National Institute of Health - Women's Health Initiative) proved - HRT is NOT healthy for women. These, and other manufactured hormones are not identical human replacements - they are foreign substances that increase a woman's chances of cervical and breast cancer. A friend of mine recently worked at a compounding pharmacy in Nashville - one who compounds BHRT (Bio Identical Hormone Replacement) from plants. She told me that it works wonderfully - naturally. There are over 500 medical journal articles about BHRT and it's positive results in treating women's hormone imbalances, and health related issues due to hormone imbalances. Click here: Chapel Hill News | Pets

The meals don't require any refrigeration at all. They can stay in the box it arrives in till you are ready to eat them. I know I am most likely eating some preservatives in the meals but I think it outweighs the alternative. I grab a box of Steak and Green peppers for dinner pop it in the microwave and voila' in 2 minutes I have a hot tasty meal. I supplement it with a nice salad of greens, 8 walnuts, some blueberries, Feta cheese, cauliflower, and have some Pear Vinegrette dressing. Total calories are under 500 for all of that. Protein is usually around 30 to 40g for the one meal. Very tasty. I am one that my taste buds get bored really easily. So I have several different tastes in one meal. The salad is full of different flavors. I try to get in 4 Fresh Fruits and 4 Veggies a day. For Breakfast, I have blueberries in the morning with my Nutrisystem Cereal or pancakes or oatmeal. For Lunch, I have a Fuji Apple or a D'Anjou Pear with a Nutrisystem Soup or Sloppy Joe or Tuna Salad or chicken salad. For a snack (which I don't always have), I have a Half banana and Kraft Cracker size cheese. Three of the slices are about 100 calories and 8 g of PRotein. For Dinner, I have a Nutrisystem Cheese pizza, Beef Tacos, Chicken and Mashed Potatoes, or any of the other tasty meals and a salad mentioned above with usually some carrots and Light Ranch dressing for dipping. If I get hungry before bedtime (which I rarely do I have my allowed Dessert from Nutrisystem). Or I drink a 16 oz bottle of Water. The meals are great and I think even being banded the foods would be easy to get down. Of course you need to take your Vitamins as well.

I have always been one to try anything but pills first. I did the Chamomile tea, the warm baths, the meditation, etc. But nothing lasted for long and it was just too frustrating lying awake at night. So the Ambien worked for awhile and the Lunesta works WONDERFULLY now. I am still a big advocate for natural sleep aids but if they don't seem to work then go for the medicinal aids.

Ativan is in the same family of drugs as Valium. It is used alot with Chemo treatments to help alleviate nausea. IT is used for anti-anxiety as well. It can be addictive. Some people it can have the opposite effect. Instead of a calming, quieting effect it can over excite them. My sister was in one of her Manic stages and was given 4 mg of Ativan (for me that would have put me in a coma). It didn't even phase her. She was UP all night long. So was I.

If you have never experienced INSOMNIA then you can't even begin to imagine the frustration of not being able to sleep. You are physically tired but just can't shut off your mind and relax. Or you get sleepy and lie down thinking at last I will now fall asleep only to be wide awake when you do lie down. GRRRRRRRRRRR!! Tossing and turning all night long. Hoping you don't wake up your sweetie. Then getting mad at them for sleeping because you can't sleep. Then feeling guilty for being mad that they are asleep. LOL!!! So then you get up and go watch some TV or read a book hoping that will make you sleepy and the next thing you know the sun is up and you have been awake ALL NIGHT LONG!! If you go to sleep now then you WON'T sleep that night. LOL!! Vicious cycle. I have been this way most of my life. About three years ago I started taking Ambien. It was a lifesaver. I had some of the best nights sleep with that medication. Over the last year my system has become immune to the Ambien. So I was taking it and a benadryl to sleep. Then that didn't work. I was starting back on that track of being awake all night again. So, I called my doctor and asked about LUNESTA. He agreed that it might work better for me. I said what if I build up an immunity to it like I did with Ambien? He said we can alternate the two drugs and see if that will work. So, I took my first does of LUNESTA last night. OH MY GOD!!! I thought I had been sleeping a restful sleep with Ambien. I now know what it means to wake up refreshed and rejuveniated. It works fast, like within 15 min of taking it. I did wake up to use the bathroom and immediately fell fast asleep within minutes. I never did that before. Even taking the Ambien if I woke up I would have trouble getting back to sleep. The LUNESTA can give you a hang over effect if you don't get at least 8 hours of sleep. But I can deal with that by just making sure I take it so I can get those 8 hours. I highly recommend it if someone is suffering from INSOMNIA.

Today's plan accomplishment: I will follow my Nutrisystem meal plans. (On back on track so far. SIGH!!) I will exercise for a minimum of 20 min a day 4 days a week. (None so far but the day is still young.) I will lose at least 1 lb a week. ( YUP 3 lbs gone!) I will drink at least 64 ounces of Water a day. (easy peasy - got it in) Positive reinforcement mantras: I cannot continue to eat unhealthy and expect to lose weight. I cannot continue to not exercise and expect to lose weight. I cannot continue to buy pills, buy exercise equip, etc then not use them and expect to lose weight. I cannot continue to feel sorry for myself because I do not have the band anymore. Susan: Nutrisystem caught my interest because it sends you pre packaged meals and they are portioned controlled. You get Breakfast, lunch, dinner and even a dessert. You supplement it with Fresh Fruit and Veggies. The food is yummy. I have only found one or two items that I can't stand. You really dont' have to count calories but I like to just to see what I am eating in one day. I typically stay around 1200 to 1400 calories. The meals cost $250 a month. They are delivered around the 4th of the month. It is great actually. I am staying on track after the slip up. I am allowing myself at least one a week. No more than that though or I go off track too far. If I was perfect I would be skinny, RIGHT? LOL!!

I had my band removed due to Erosion.

Has anyone else but me noticed ALL the birthdays today? The only one I know for sure is Teresa (hagarteresa). :happybday2: :happybday:

Cynthia I see your starting weight was 296 so was mine. I don't eat after 8p and if I get an urge I just drink a bottle of water and that quenches the urge. I had a trainer coming to my house once a week and that helped tremendously but she has since retired due to an injury unrelated to being a trainer. I am a member of Bally's so I guess I could just go there and make use of their trainers. Lots of luck and perserverance.

Did I miss something?