PamRN

D'OH!! I'm sorry I missed the updated all is well post... I'm glad you're ok!

I agree, it does sound like an infection. Please be careful using the over the counter antibacterial/neosporin creams on a wound. Some of these tell you specifically not to use them on deep cuts as they can damage underlying tissue and in fact worsen your wound infection. DO see your doctor, call for a check up appointment for some questions regarding the condition of your incisions. If you have drainage, wash with good old soap and Water, then cover the cleaned wounds with clean white gauze and bandage tape. The gauze will draw in the drainage so the doctor will be able to see the amount and the color. If your drainage is clear or clearish with a tan or red tinge it's probably ok. If your drainage is opaque (milky, not clear) or green, it probably is not. If the area is inflamed, hot to the touch, increasingly painful, and you have a fever, get yourself to an ER. You should talk to Penni (also a nurse), or Delarla both of these girls had infections and had to fight to get them dealt with. DO NOT wait, you could end up losing your port, or your entire band. Good Luck and keep us posted.

I read a somewhere that those numbers we so hated to see on the way up the scale would be such welcome friends on the way back down. Those words are so true.

I had those same fears and doubts. I find the difference is; a diet I could give up on. I could quit. This band wont let me do that this time. I am most restricted in the mornings I can get down a cup of coffee most mornings, but some mornings I can only get half. I can't eat a meal until I've been up for a few hours, my first meal is generally small, part of a yogurt, or a couple of slices of bacon. I don't eat more because I can't, by lunch I can usually eat ok, but still can't over eat, I can do anything liquid, Soup or soft, fish or chicken, even pizza, but only one or 2 slices at the max, by dinner I'm starting to tighten up again, so dinner has to be light. I can't over eat, I can choose milkshakes, chocolate and other junk food during my hours of relaxed restriction, which can sabotage me just the same, but even then I can't eat too much. Even Ice cream can cause too full discomfort. The band will stop me when I might normally not have stopped myself. I agree with Teresa, that there have been times, usually when out to dinner, or some special occasion, when I would really have liked to have little or no restriction, and my band decides to be very tight, but I understand that it's such a small price to pay for the huge positive changes I'm earning. Because the band won't have it any other way, I'm learning how to make band friendly, and body healthy choices, and my body is shrinking to thank me for it.

That's cute, I love the bags!

I've tried and don't care for the splenda either. I can taste it and don't like that sucrose flavor. I guess I'm just one of those people who are very sensitive to certain flavors. I know of lots of folks who swear by the splenda. My guess on the coke/erosion issue would be that the carbonation would swell the pouch and stomach, causing the band to rub and lead to erosion. I definitely felt the carbonation.

The ticker tape is the little count down icon that some of the members use in their signature at the end of their posts.

I've also read that taking children's vitamins is better because molecularly they are structured to be better absorbed by childrens tiny digestive systems, so as adults we absorb those much more readily than we do adult vitamins. Children's chewables also takes into consideration the pickiness of child eaters, and loads up on those nutrients we can't get into our kids because they won't touch fish, liver, or lentils, etc... I take the flintstone complete version. I have also recently tried the viactiv, and they are pretty good tasting, very chewy candy like, no vitamin taste what so ever.

I haven't heard from them yet, I'll try again, maybe I typo'd my email address.

I'm there too, gotta have my iced tea! Now if only I could get my family to drink it without sugar... As for sugar free stuff, I'm not a fan of anything with artificial sweeteners, I get an after taste that turns me off. I do like the crystal lite ruby red grapefruit drink though, surprisingly enough. It doesn't really taste like gf juice, it's kind of kool-aid like, but the flavor cuts the "diet" sweetener after taste for me.

yes that does sound too tight blossom. It's been 5 days today, any relief yet? From what I've read the fills generally kick in stronger a week or 2 AFTER the fill. If you're this tight now, you could be risking aspiration, if you get so tight you can't swallow anything, including your saliva. If you aspirate you're going to end up with a nasty pneumonia, and in the hospital. If you aren't getting better by now, definitely consider removing a cc or 2.

I received a gift calendar, and it has a daily anecdote. My favorite is the lord's prayer for nurses. Lord please grant me the patience to lovingly care for my demanding patients, because lord if I pray for strength, I'll beat some of them to death!

I emailed them a request for further information, and added my questions into the comment section. If they don't tell me whether they can service me before I pay, I'll assume they can't. I won't pay anyone to tell me they can't help me.

I've been told that it doesn't leave any permanent discoloration. But I'm not experienced in that field, and don't know of anyone personally that has had it done. I'd think since it's a surface 'burn', it might possibly be sunburn like, temporarily, then heal. I'll try and find out more about this one.

I'd reckon a bonk for each month he's had to "endure", times each woman on here who's ever had a baby... Better get a good helmet Greg! Thank you all for the compliments, Dylan is growing like a weed already, he smiles and ah-goo's and has doubled in size already. I'll repost a new pic soon. I'd have posted sooner, but for some reason I don't get the notifications in email anymore when someone answers a thread I'm subscribed to. I found a whole list today in my user cp

Thanks, I checked out the site, and sent them an email request. I'd like to know if they'll see pts from mexico, and if they'll fill bands other than the inamed.

about a month after banding, I drank some soda at work. It didn't taste as good as I thought it would. I got about half way through it, and it began to feel uncomfortable. For about an hour after drinking it my insides were so noisy my coworkers could hear me. I stopped at less than half a can, so it didn't really get painful, but it was enough to help me know it's not for me anymore. I was a pepsi junkie prebanding, now I don't even miss it. I know if I absolutely had to I could have a drink or two, but I have gone for so long with out it that I'm not even tempted.

I have the varying levels of restriction too, and I haven't even had any more fill since the band was placed. It's been nearly 5 months for me, and at any given time my band will restrict to the point that penni is describing. After a few days, it will relax for a few days, then next thing I know, here it goes again. I find that any time I get sick, or start menses I get tighter. I guess it's a good thing, it keeps me in line with my diet. When it's relaxed, I'm less careful about what I'm eating, when it's tighter I pay more attention to getting in what I need most. I'm sure the barometer changes could cause it too. My band does seem to be just as fickle as the weather!

My husband teases me about all the noises I make now too. I gurgle even when I'm not eating and drinking. When I'm leaning over a patient it's a little embarrasing, but other wise no big deal.

Betty 54 Paula 43 Kelly 65 Becky 77 Carol 102 Alex 110 Nana 49 Rich 20 Larae 22 Maureen 73 Marie 56 Wyld Blu 73 Penni 54 Vera 60 Darcy 59 Kelly 39 michelle 135 mary 65.4 greg 77 Sharon 35 Tricia 60 Darcey 23 cindy 88 Melissa 39 Michelle 80 Jonathan 27 Lisa 70 Lauren 23 Babs in TX 150 Bright 82 Jamie 5 Megan 60 Katie 29 Bobby H. 46 Estela 23 Angela 37.5 Terri 43 Teresa 86 Kristie 187 Pat 26.5 Carmen 98 Rica 60 Deniseg 35 Sue 101 Nancy 71 Nancy Smiles 67 PamRN 41 Total:2926.4

Julie, I am also a 7p-7a nurse. I take lean dinners, Soups, and the new flavored tuna's to work with me, the starkist herb and garlic is my favorite. I'm normally not a tuna eater, but this stuff is pretty good. It's low in fat, high in Protein and I eat it right out of the pouch. Some of the girls at work are now eating it too, they like it with crackers, but I can't eat those, they stick after a couple. Beef Jerky is good, though high in salt. I have a pedometer that I use at work from time to time. In my 12+ hour shift I log between 6000 and 8000 steps. On extra busy nights it can be more. The trouble I have at work is finding decent things to eat from take out, because my girls are always ordering in and there aren't many choices at 2am when we finally get a chance to start breaks.... If I only I could always just say NO! Instead I give in, buy something I hope is close to healthy and edible, eat a fourth of it, then toss the rest out while thinking what a waste of money...

Leo is right. I also have the french midband. I was shown 3 bands pre-surgery, the inamed lapband, the johnson & johnson swedish band, and the french midband. I chose the french for myself after doing much research, and finding it to have fewer slippage/erosion problems percentage wise in the studies I found. USA aftercare is a problem though to consider with the midband. Inamed is most accepted in the US because it's the only one FDA approved here. Do your own research, and decide for yourself what you need. Most reputable surgeons will give you a choice, but no pressure to pick one over the other. After surgery you should be given the box that your band came in, and all the accompanying paperwork with the band reference numbers on it. Good Luck!

I was seriously considering RNY to the point of making a consult appointment with the surgeon. While doing research on it in the interim, I found out more about the RNY, as well as more clarity regarding the band. Several places degraded the band with statements like; "it's like tying a rope around a growing tree, eventually the stomach grows over it". That was one of the dumbest comments I heard. After telling them they were talking to a nurse, I politely suggested that I'd be more comfortable with a more knowledgeable facility. As I searched, I found information suggesting current statistics for the RNY complication death rate is wrong, and that its suggested 1 death in 100 is more like 1 in 50. Seemed like pretty scary & high odds to me. With my sweet tooth I realized that the 2 year window of weight loss would close and I'd probably go right back to where I started. I hated the idea of intestinal rerouting, dumping syndrome, and the cost, even with insurance, my out of pocket fees cost more than getting banded. The more I read of banding, the more comfortable it felt. I knew in just a couple of days after joining here and reading the stories of those who'd tread before me that I could do this, and though I too feared I'd be the one it wouldn't work for, it does work for me. I don't have a single regret about getting banded, except one, like so many of us will tell you, I wish I'd done it sooner. Biased? You bet I am. I'm a Medical/Surgical hospital nurse, I see people with all kinds of issues, including colostomies, colon resections, intestinal cancers, and even people who have had RNY. Abdominal issue patients are generally the sickest/weakest of all the patients I see. The shape of those RNY folks is all over the spectrum. Some truly successful, some truly failed. All of those failed are seriously depressed. I can understand. For them there will be no fill adjustments to restrict more, no additional RNY surgery. Some of them can be banded though. I tell them my story if they want to know. Those who hear it wish they'd known more about the band to begin with. RNY can be helpful, but you have to be able to do what you obviously (along with the rest of us) have not been able to do on your own, moderate and change your diet. Much of the same can be said for the band, except there's no permanent anatomy rearrangement, just a physical tool that can be adjusted (and readjusted) for the life of your band, and complete reversability. Good Luck in your Journey, I hope whatever you decide in the end, that it is a success.

I still have trouble drinking all the water I should. I'm still tight from my initial fill at surgery, and if I drink too much at a time it overfills me. That's uncomfortable. I find that if I drink from a straw it prevents too big a drink at one time, which is helpful. I drink clear water alone, in tea, in crystal light, in coffee, soup, and any other way I can think of too add it, but don't rely soley on clear water for my intake, I'd never make it. I do try to get in at least a few cups of plain water though, it just feels better. good luck and hang in there.

Lisa, I'm glad it wasn't rejection, and I'm sending you my most sincere wishes for a quick recovery. Thank god and Penni for Dr. Billy. He sounds like my kind of doc! Maybe you girls can convince him to set up a website. That way those of us too far away can take at peek at his... uh... 'credentials'