Vickums

Terri I'm a RN, too. L&D and Mother Baby -- as is my co-worker. I'll definitely let her know your experiences, and I know she was going to contact Dr. Jones about fills as well. I'm glad it went so well!

Thanks for the info. I directed her toward a couple of different places and last I saw her she had a bunch of reading material she'd printed out and was plowing through. Thanks, you guys are awesome as usual. To answer your question, though, nope I didn't get banded. I opted to have gastric bypass surgery (proximal) and it's gone very well. I have no side effects, and I don't even dump very much. There are very few foods I can't eat, I just eat smaller amounts, and I've lost 130 pounds since April of 2005. I just didn't trust the one doc here who does bands to do it and I had the other WLS doc in town do my bypass and he did a stellar job. I'm feeling good, working hard at work (L&D and mother baby nursing), and have no regrets, other than doing it sooner. I'll have to see how everyone here is doing. I wish you all the very best.

A co-worker, pal of mine is thinking about getting the band (I was originally going to get it but our choices in Alaska are limited and I didn't want to travel). She's looking at getting it in Mexico. She was looking at the website for Dr. Joya but was unsure because it seems so easy and doesn't know much about him. Obviously his website is all sunshine and roses, but... well, you know how that goes. :cool: So what do people know about him? Is he good? What about his facility? We'd appreciate any feedback you can provide. Thanks muchly!

Congratulations, Lisa. You've sure had a rough time of it, but you've been a real inspiration. I'm just awestruck by your positive attitude and strength in the face of what would make most of us crumble. Enjoy those frosting licks, Lisa. And sorry I'm late to this; unfortunately, I'm an infrequent visitor these days, but you're still in my thoughts. Keep up the fabulous work!!!

Uhhhh. Sure, okay. Whatever. I just think it's highly unethical to post such personal details about someone in a public forum. Knowing nothing else about you, Ann Marie, by doing that you've shown that you know absolutely nothing about professionalism. And why are you posting the same message under different names? This thing just gets weirder and weirder...

Hey, speaking of PMS, you might want to get this installed in your home. I know I'm sure thinking about it: http://www.imgag.com/product/preview/flash/wsShell.swf?ihost=http://www.imgag.com&brand=/product/preview/flash/wsag&cardNum=/product/full/ap/3066708/graphic1&mtype=0&&NameFirstFrom=&NameFirstTo

Vinesqueen, Wow, you sure are thorough. I've had many of the same internal discussions but wasn't able to articulate them as well as you have. I think examining one's relationship with food is important prior to surgery to minimize the nasty surprises. I'm sure there will still be things that surprise us, and there will be a mourning period as far as food goes (and its comfort). But knowing that ahead of time prevents us at least from being blindsided by it. Like you, I still am not a believer that the band (or any WLS for that matter) will help me. I've tried so many things, over and over, with little or no success. And it's not as though I eat vast quantities of food; my intake is fairly modest. It's just that in order for me to lose, I have to extremely decrease my intake (down to 900 cals a day or so), which is very painful with a normal sized stomach. It's hard for me to believe that the band (or bypass, which I'm considering because of insurance/aftercare issues) could actually work for me. But what I do know is this: what I'm doing now clearly is NOT working. I'm continuing to gain weight so obviously I must do something. And my options are pretty limited. I'm definitely with ya about any reason to visit Seattle. I left there in 1998 and have missed it terribly since. I haven't made it back since, something I hope to remedy someday. Isn't it a lovely place? Best of luck with your journey.

My daughter had some sort of bizarre flu bug last week. Within less than 24 hours she became severely dehydrated -- even though she only vomited twice and had no other symptoms except malaise, a sore throat and cough and a headache. She just couldn't bring herself to drink. I ended up coming home from the Night from Hell working as a pediatric nurse, dropped into bed for an hour, only to be awakened by my 14 year old crying in pain that her belly hurt. (She's a total stoic so this is very unlike her). She looked awful, clearly very "dry". So back to the hospital we went, with me totally bleary eyed, my husband driving because I was in such bad shape. They gave her two bags of Fluid and some phenergan and the difference was phenomenal. She came home with a scrip for more, and only had to take two over that day, then she was fine. (Now I think I'm coming down with it so I'm being very careful to drink a LOT). That phenergan stuff is magic. I highly recommend keeping it onhand. But I'm not sure if it would help with the vomiting from coughing, though. I have a lot of experience -- unfortunately -- with coughing that hard because of my Sarcoidosis. In fact, that probably happens to me a couple times a month. I think the key with that is getting the *cough* under control. And yes, true influenza doesn't usually involve the stomach. "Stomach flus" are more often some sort of intestinal virus or food poisoning, which is a whole other thing. OTOH, you can become so dehydrated from influenza that it can throw your electrolytes off to the point where you become nauseous; I think that's what happened to my daughter. It's a vicious cycle at that point because you need to drink, but can't because you're nauseous, which makes it worse. The only real way to get around that is getting fluids in SOMEHOW. IV fluids are probably the best way. I've treated a few kids who came in vomiting whose nausea went away just from the fluids; we didn't even have to use phenergan. Weird, I know, but that's the human body for ya.

Joanie, I like how you think.

Lisa, I think that's what Penni was saying, that erosion can happen from the outside in, or from the inside out, which is caused by ulceration. I'm so sorry you're in so much pain, honey. Here's hoping that Dr. Billy fixed you up good so you've seen the worst of it. And yay for less packing material. I've done my share of wound packing (unlike some here, I hate it but it's a necessary evil) and it's always a good sign when you need less gauze. So yay for Bloody Mary's excellent packing skills.

Yep, even the best surgeon isn't much help after the fact when they're thousands of miles away and you can't GET to them. Damn laws of physics! If only we lived in the Star Trek universe and we could transport ourselves magically into their office for a look see.

Deleted by author

Lisa, it's those very concerns about aftercare which have me rethinking what surgery I'll have. There is, quite literally, nobody up here who could help me if I had a problem. It's very scary. I just have to decide if bypass surgery with good aftercare (and an excellent surgeon) is more or less scary than banding with no aftercare at all. ::gulp:: Hope you're well on your way to recovery, m'dear. You back home now?

Aw, Penni, sorry I missed the thread. It sounds like it was a lot of fun; OTOH, I don't get offended, 'cept by people trying to be cruel or mean or nasty or stuff like that. But unintended sexual innuendo? Bring it on, baybee! As for the topic, I read somewhere that even asthma symptoms can be the result of acid reflux. Who'd have thought, you know? It makes me wonder sometimes how much of the coughing I do after a meal is my Sarcoidosis, and how much is potentially acid reflux. I guess I'll know after I get WLS, eh? Penni, thanks for taking such good care of our Lisa. She's lucky to have such a wonderful friend/sister as you. This place is marvelous, and you guys are the best.

Damn. A naughty thread and I MISSED it?????? :sobbing: Glad you guys had fun with it, though.