Kelliebelly

I have had reflux since I was banded, the only time I had it before that was when I was preggers. I have been on nexium and somac since 3 mths post banding. For me to be unfilled to the point of no reflux would mean almost no fill in a 10cc band. I have had 11 fills and didnt really feel any restriction until I hit 7mls. It really worries me living with reflux, but as long as I take my meds most of the time I dont know I have it. If I do forget to take it, I have absolute burning. Not sure why I posted this...

Well...I have been overweight my whole life and I wish I could have had the band when I was a teenager. It would have saved so much heartache and emotional distress growing up caused by my weight. If we say she cant be mature enough to make desicions to do with the lapband then we can say she isnt mature enough to be making correct food choices etc on her own. We all know dieting doesnt work right?? We have all been there. The band is what saved us all, we had reached the end, we had tried everything... I think to nip this in the butt now is a great thing, I also think it should be followed up with weekly visits to a therapist and dietician but I think it could work. I disagree with the lipo but as for the band I say go for it and good luck to her...hopefully it will work for her and she wont struggle through her teenage yrs being discriminated, picked on, and judge for her weight. I really hope she doesnt see all these posts all over the place judging her and her family for choices they made that they think are best for THEM.

Well...I have been overweight my whole life and I wish I could have had the band when I was a teenager. It would have saved so much heartache and emotional distress growing up caused by my weight. If we say she cant be mature enough to make desicions to do with the lapband then we can say she isnt mature enough to be making correct food choices etc on her own. We all know dieting doesnt work right?? We have all been there. The band is what saved us all, we had reached the end, we had tried everything... I think to nip this in the butt now is a great thing, I also think it should be followed up with weekly visits to a therapist and dietician but I think it could work. I disagree with the lipo but as for the band I say go for it and good luck to her...hopefully it will work for her and she wont struggle through her teenage yrs being discriminated, picked on, and judge for her weight.

I think I am the same as a couple of you. I have thought about this many times and I cannot come up with a definitive answer. The closest it comes is... I feel good when I eat...the food high. It doesnt matter how bad I feel, for those few minutes, I feel good. Nothing can replace that for me.

I wasnt getting them and it was droping. About 3 mths ago my reults came in and they were very low and I was anemic. I went onto weekly shots for 6 weeks. At the end of the 6 weeks it was fine again but each blood test I have had it has dropped a little again each time. I think by next mth or so I will be getting the shots again. I dont get mine in the butt, I get it in the uper arm...I wish I could bottle this stuff - the feeling I get in the days after is amazing. I actually have endless energy.

I really cant tell you more than anyone else has, I just wanted to reiterate that you cannot say at this stage the band is failing you. You say youre hungry all the time, well that means you dont really ahve restriction...for the band to work optimally you need optimal restriction. 10fills and 6 mths it took for me to start really losing weight with my band. I know it is hard to see now, but it will happen.

I am over 2 yrs out and have great restriction but on average of once a week I will be able to eat things that I normally cant, and feel hungry all day. I will panic and wonder if I need a fill or if it is the beginning symptoms of a slipped band and wahlah the next day I will have restriction again. I decided about a yr ago if I was going to have another fill for lack of restriction I would wait at least 2 weeks to make sure its an actual fill I need and not just my band being fickle.

The band is only a tool and we need to remember that. My cravings for sugary food never left me after banding. Most of the sugary food I like is not restricted by the band either so dont think the band will help with things like chocolate, ice cream and lollies etc. They still go down as easy as ever. It is where your will power comes in and that is something I dont have a lot of. I love my band and it has helped me come so far but I dont want to paint it all perfect and tell you that it will help you with your sugary cravings because the fact is...it just might not. Good Luck

Hey Mandy, I had my TT and breast lift without any fill taken out. You just let the anesthesiologist you have a lap band and cant be sick or vomit after surgery and they will make sure you arent. The moment I had slight nausea they gave me something and it went straight away. I was the same...I was having the TT and didnt want to put on a heap of weight recovering. Everything went fine, I would leave your fill and let them know.

Hey, I looked right into it when I got my TT and I could not find one person that could say they were/are happy with the results. My friend went ahead and got it done with her TT and she is not happy at all either. The scars tend to migrate down, there is a high rate for revisions afterwards, its a lot of pain and healing and the cuts like to pull open because they are in such an awkward spot. In my opinion, from what I have seen and who I have spoken with...it just isnt worth it. My thighs are horrid, I mean reallyyyyy bad but I wont risk going through it.

Here is a link to a slideshow of before pics http://www.slide.com/r/vQcKdd7Y6z9kt...d_embedded_url and a link for after pics with family and stuff http://www.slide.com/r/gGv4a-A9eD9oI...embedd ed_url

I have never been able to lose weight quickly. I have been banded 2 yrs and have lost 80lbs. I would still like to lose 20 lbs more but I have been on an 8mth long plateau...all my fault tho..

Since I have lost weight my bulge has become more prominant. It doesnt bother me much, only when I knock it.

Hey, I have been banded 2 yrs and just wanted to chip in and say that for me it has now become second nature. I dont even look at foods I know I cant eat. I automatically only dish out small amounts for myself and I never shovel food in like I used to. Chew chew chewing is just second nature too. The only thing I slip up on now occasionally is letting myself get really thirsy and sculling my drink...that only happens every now and then tho.

Not exactly what youre looking for, but came across it in some of my research. What is a slipped Band, and what causes it? There are two types of slippage; anterior and posterior. This refers to whether the front or back side of the stomach slips. There is something else called concentric pouch dilation, but this is not the same as slippage. Slippage or prolapse is when the stomach slides up through the Band, making the pouch bigger. If this happens the Band usually becomes too tight, and patients experience symptoms of reflux (heartburn) as well as nausea and vomiting. This is because the amount of stomach being “squeezed” by the Band is increased, thereby obstructing the Band. There are several causes. Posterior slippage was more common when the Band was placed by the “perigastric” technique. With this technique the back side of the stomach was free to slide up through the Band. These days most surgeons use the “pars flaccida” technique, which was developed to prevent posterior slippage, and has more or less eliminated the incidence of this problem. Anterior slippage is when the front of the stomach slips up through the Band. We try to prevent this by suturing the stomach below the Band to the stomach above the Band, “locking” the Band in place in the right spot. In spite of this, slippage still occurs. It can happen because we haven't placed enough stitches, or they haven't been placed in the right place. Slippage can also occur if patients eat too much and vomit frequently. How is a slipped Band diagnosed? Fortunately, this is very easy. Often the diagnosis is made based on the history alone. A patient who has been going along fine, with no problems, and then suddenly develops reflux symptoms or symptoms of a too-tight Band will most likely have a slipped Band. The diagnosis is easily confirmed with an x-ray and barium swallow examination. Endoscopy is rarely necessary. How is a slipped Band fixed? A slipped Band needs to be fixed with an operation. The Band has to be dissected out, all the sutures removed, and the position of the stomach made right. Some surgeons remove the Band and place it back through a new tunnel. Others just straighten things out and re-suture the stomach over the Band. What happens if the Band slips again? That's a tough one. One could certainly try to fix the slip again, but my personal view is that, for whatever reason, the Band is just not working for that particular patient, and ought to be removed. What is a Band erosion? This is when the Band actually erodes into the stomach. It is a more serious problem, and generally requires removal of the Band. Band erosion is thought to be related to placing too many sutures (or too tight sutures) at the time of Band implantation. Surprisingly, Band erosion is often unnoticed. Occasionally the port will become infected if bacteria track along the catheter out to the port. Other times patients will stop losing weight. Diagnosis often requires an endoscopy. What is concentric pouch dilation? This is technically not the same as slippage. In this case the pouch just seems to be enlarged. Sometimes partial emptying of the Band may help with this. What is esophageal dilation? This is when the esophagus enlarges over time, and is probably related to either too tight a Band, or possibly improper placement of the Band around the junction of the esophagus and stomach. This requires loosening or removal of the Band. What happens if my Band has to be removed because of complications or failure to lose weight? One option, of course, is to give up on weight loss surgery. Another option is to convert to another procedure such as Roux-en-Y gastric bypass. This can be done at the same time the Band is removed, and is generally done laparoscopically.

I agree on the "tightness thing" down below now. The big O has never been like this I just wanted to let puddinpie know that if you want a TT before kids they do the skin only tuck which is a pannulectomy. They wont do the muscle repair which is the most painful part and the hardest to get over. Once you have your kids you can go have a revision and have your muscles done. Lipo on the abdomen is not recommended by itself for people that have lost alot of weight unless they are getting a TT with it. Your tummy will look worse with just lipo, it will hang more too unless the skin on your abdomen has alot of elasticity and doesnt hang at all. I am 10 mths out from my TT and I still swell occasionally. I had sex about 10 days PO and started exercising 4 - 6 weeks PO.

Ill definately give it a go. Apple cider vinegar was recommended to me as a sure fire way to get rid of swelling when I had a tt, but I never tried it. I remember someone mentioning something about it ruining your teeth though when you have it pure. I cant remember exactly or if it was even that but it was something like that. Thanks for the tip, Ill give it a try next time.

Hey Jess, I hope everything goes well for you mate, and Ill be thinking of you. Big Hugs

Just updating my pics. I had my hair done last week in different coloured foils, which I think is so me.

I think you would have stopped losing because you ar enot eating enough or you may have plateaued. From your post I honestly think it would be the "I can barely eat". Your body will go into starvation mode if it doesnt get enough nutrients to survive. It will hold onto everything for dear life. As for throwing up, everytime you do this, you are risking your band. It is not a healthy way to survive, barely eating and throwing up. What I suggest is an unfill and you will be able to eat more without throwing up. You will probably then start to lose weight again too because your body will be getting the calories it needs. Please dont let this go on, you will end up losing your band. Good Luck

I have had a problem with constipation for alot of years. After getting the band I was in heaven the first few week of liquids, it made me go about 4 or 5 times a day and it was easy if you know what I mean. Once I went back onto solids the constipation came back and has been worse really because at least before I ate alot of food and could pooh something out, now I eat such smaller amounts it just seems worse. There is only one thing I have tried that really works for me but it is a colon cleanse and not a regular thing...so if you find out anything that helps let me know. Good Luck with your surgery.

I dont know if this helps but I went on Effexor about 5 yrs ago and piled on the weight consistently till I got the band. I have had my band for 18mths and I have only lost 80lbs. I am happy with that but it is so much slower than most others. I am pretty sure it is the Effexor. I have tried getting of it as my Dr said the time was right, but it is hell getting of the stuff.

I have a bit over 10 ccs in my 10cc band. My Dr assured me if need be we can go to 12 or 13ccs with no problems. A friend of mine sat on 12.5ccs for months. I dont think I will need another fill again unless I get the rest of my weight off, and maybe I may need a touch up or so later on. What I am trying to say is that even if you did have 5ccs in a 4cc band, it is nothing to panic about. Also with your band being the smaller one, small fills will get results, so maybe even .2 or so next time might push you over the edge to being too tight. It took me 10 fills to get to my sweet spot, we are all different, but most of us manage to get there...eventually.

Hey Diva, I am in Aus too, near Sydney actually. I was banded in April 2005 and have lost 40 or so kgs. Its coming off slowly, but thats ok. I am very happy with how far I have come. What part of Aus are you in? Talk soon

Good on ya!!! I truely love reading stories like that, it is so inspirational. I wish you all the very best. Hugs