Banded14yr

** sorry for hijacking this thread ** Donali, Thanks for the links. The Vagus nerve does sound serious. Geesh, when I read about the brain stem part I wondered if I had done some damage

aahh, thanks! Do you know anything about it? I did a search for "vegas nerve" and it brought up some rock band in Las Vegas. haha!

Nykee, Barium isn't that bad. It's kind of a milky liquid that you swallow so that the doctor can see it on the x-ray passing through the band. When you swallow barium, it's almost like it shows up illuminated on the screen, it makes it much easier for the doctor to see it.

Nykee, I guess I should clarify You can't get sick from Flouro. Flouroscopy is an x-ray method used to see barium flow through the band. It's just an x-ray, it's not a drug or anything that could make you sick. I had my first fill without using Flouro and got very sick about 20 minutes after my adjustment. At first I thought I was too tight and the doctor was going to take out 1/2 of what he just put in. After about an hour, I started feeling better so we decided to leave the fill in and see how I did over the weekend. I'm glad I did. I was a tad concerned at how sick I was and how it hit me really hard and fast. My doctor mentioned something about the Vegas Nerve. I haven't heard anything about that and haven't done any research on the issue, but my sudden illness subsided and I was fine after some time.

Brenda, Congrats on the fabulous weight loss! I don't have the Inamed band, but I have the Swedish band which is also a low pressure, larger capacity band. I have been told by two different doctors that the larger bands are harder to adjust. I, like Judy, had to go through several fills before finding the right adjustment level. I also had several fills using Flouro and what they saw on the screen as restriction wasn't what my body felt as restriction. My last fill was done without flouro and I think I'm at a good restriction level right now. I could probably be restricted a little more and will probably go back in another month for a small fill, but I'm feeling pretty good about everything right now. A friend of mine was banded by Dr. Rose and has nothing but praise for him. Good luck on your continued success!!

Babs! Stick to your guns! Way to go! I'm keeping my fingers crossed that EVERYTHING will work out for you! Keep us posted.

I had my first fill without Flouro on April 1st. It went very well. I got really sick about 20 minutes after the fill but after about an hour I was on the road to feeling "normal" again. My next fill will be done without flouro also. It's so much easier to have it done in the doc's office instead of the hospital, and in my case since I seem to becoming the "Fill Queen" I don't think flouro is all that beneficial in my case. Obviously my optimal restriction level was not obtained using flouro. I'm at a good restriction level right now, but might go back for a little more in a month or so. I think everyone's situation is different, and I feel good knowing that I've had some previous adjustments using flouro so that the docs could see that everything looked good, but now that I've had one fill without using Flouro, my next one will be without as well.

Vera, I'm so happy for you! I'm glad to see that you're doing fine and that you finally have a working band again! gypj - Congratulations on your banding as well!

I'm no longer your long lost sister!

Woo Hoo Vera!!! I'm so happy for you! You stuck to your guns, you never gave up and you got what you ultimately wanted, a new band! I hope your recovery goes well! It sounds like Dr. Sanchez is a charm! Bill thanks for the update, please tell Vera that we're thinking about her and wish her a safe trip home and an easy recovery. Tricia

Michelle, I think Dr. Ortiz is very smart. You are a great success story, you're beautiful and very photogenic, plus you look fantastic. Congratulations!

Nancy, My thoughts and prayers go out to you during this difficult time. I know that sometimes it feels like everything is crashing down on you or that you're put through more than you can handle, but keep the faith and things will start looking brighter even though it's hard to see that now. May God bless you during this time of loss and concern for your father.

Gosh Vera, I'm so sorry. I thought for sure that the problem with the leak in your tube had been repaired and you were on your way to having a working band again. Didn't you say that you were filled in Mexico after the tubing was repaired? I hope Sanchez will put the band of your choice in. I'm with you, I would demand a new band. Quit messing with the one that leaks, even though your leak is not in the band itself, you can't keep going through all of this. I know that you're very disappointed right now, but hang in there, I feel confident that everything will work out for you. Please take care and keep us updated on your trip back to Monterrey. Tricia

Shelly, Congratulations woman! What an absolutely incredible story! You two make such a nice looking couple and it's apparent that he is totally head over heals in love with you as you with him I took the time to go to Calvin's profile and read about his story. You two were a match made in heaven! We'll miss you in Nashville, if you ever come back to visit, maybe we can meet for lunch or something. Keep in touch after you get settled in Tricia

Glad to hear you're doing as well as can be expected. Take care!

Tell her a big HOWDY from me! She sounds like she's doing fantastic!! Way to go Lisa!

Congratulations Jamie! Take it easy for the next few days. I think you'll see that the pain subsides a little more with each passing day. Just don't try to do too much right now, get lots of rest, walk when you can and rely on others to help get you out of chairs and your bed for a couple of days. You're going to do fantastic, you have a great attitude. Tricia

I have seen and experienced all sorts of emotions while visiting this forum, but never have I read a post that made me instantly cry and feel so saddened. Carolyn was so excited about getting the lapband, about starting her new life. It just seems so unfair, but we can't question God as to why he took her so young. He obviously needed another very special angel in heaven. My sincere condolences go out to Phillip and their family. I know they are hurting so much right now. There are no words, hopefully time will help ease the pain. Carolyn, I miss you girl! I know that you're looking down on all of us and cheering us on!

Update.... Well I went in for another fill on the 11th. He decided to use Flouro because of where my port was located. That was fine, if he felt more comfortable using Flouro then I was obviously more comfortable. I still don't have a lot of restriction, so I will be going BACK in for yet another fill on April 1st. This will make my 4th fill since February 19th. The thing is, I KNOW what good restriction feels like. I felt I had great restriction after my second fill, but it slowly disappeared and I feel like I'm starting all over again. I think since I can tell when I drink Water how much restriction I have that I may be a little more vocal with this next fill. If I don't feel like I have enough, I might ask him to add a little more in. With my luck, I'll probably get overfilled Fills can be tricky, and getting that right amount can be even trickier <<< Is that a word? At this point I would have no problem letting my doc try to fill me without Flouro. When I lay down, it's quite obvious where my port is, he even made a comment last time that he could have filled me in his office based on feeling it on the exam table in the Flouro room. I'm hoping this next fill will do the trick.

Willpower! With that name you're bound to be successful with your new band Congratulations! Hope all is well with you. Take care!

Today is the "Happen'in" Day! Congrats on your banding. Take it easy and let us know how you're doing when you can.

Another one joins Band Nation! Congrats! Take it easy for the next few days.

I wish someone would just give Jamie a laptop with wireless connection in the recovery room so that she post here and give us an update on how she's doing! Congrats Jamie! When you feel up to it, let us know how ya doin!

That's OK There are two Dr. Rodriguez', so that's why I wanted to make sure we were talking about the same doc. I would email Dr. Rod to ask him directly why he prefers the Swedish band over the Inamed. He showed me both bands and explained the difference and why he preferred the Swedish. It made sense to me. My husband is a scientist and researched both bands to death before I was banded. He came to the conclusion that both bands have their positives and negatives. The one difference in the bands that most talk about is that the Inamed band is FDA approved and the Swedish band is still in the process of obtaining FDA approval. Alot of people believe that if you get the Inamed band that you will have better luck finding a physician in the U.S. to fill your band. What I personally found out is that it doesn't matter what band you have, a doctor usually makes his decision on filling you based on if he was the one to perform the surgery on you or not. Not one time did a doc in the U.S. that I called about aftercare ask me what kind of band I had, when they found out that I didn't have surgery with them, that was the deciding factor. But that's just my experience.

Are you talking about Dr. Arturo Rodriguez? He prefers the Swedish band but if you request the Inamed he will put that one in for you.