ta337

Thank ya'll so much. I hope that I can help someone else and prevent unnecessary suffering!

I live in Eunice and went to Dr. Lavin in Covington. www.whyweight.com It cost $12,900 for everything, and he is highly recommended. One of the four in the US who teach other surgeons how to do it. I would recommend going to him. I now get my fills done in Baton Rouge which isn't so band, and the 1st years worth of fills are free of charge. Good luck.

I went to Wal-Mart and got 1000mg Biotin by Spring Valley and find it small enough to tolerate. They had 5000mg Biotin, but I couldn't see in the bottle; I was afraid they'd liken horse pills. Does anybody know how big they are?

Common Sense, what brand name is your biotin in the small capsules. I'm interested.

Mystery solved!!! This is an important read for all bandsters, IMO. I got an unfill two months ago and all of my mysterious symptoms are totally gone. My blood pressure is back to normal, rather than having 2 or so fever/chill episodes a week, I haven't ANY. My surgeon's guess is that I was respirating food thus causing infection. As much as I hate to admit it, I was too tight and was incredibly ill for 10 months as a result. I would definitely have the surgery again, but would warn others to be very cognizant of the signs of being overfilled. Had I been, I would have saved myself so much suffering and money. I would also urge others to change their eating habits and eat healthy. I was so tight and there were so few things that would "stay down," that I was desperate for anything and the quality of what I was consuming declined drastically. Since the unfill, I think I gained like 8 pounds which I'm really not begrudging at all, but I am scared to death to gain any more. I am considering counseling for an eating disorder because I don't think my views of food and eating are anywhere near normal. I look and feel better, yet I am depressed about the additional eight pounds. I was starving for so long, I don't want to get in the mode of making up for lost time, so to speak. I need to learn moderation on my own part. I'm just so scared.

I did take your advice and get a little un-fill. I'm not sure how many calories I was taking in, but it probably wasn't enough, honestly. I did meet with my bariatric surgeon who ordered a CT scan and suggested I see a doc of infectious disease which I'm doing. I was still losing weight but by the hardest. It is like I wasn't ingesting enough to get enough energy to move around more than was absolutely necessary, so the weight was coming off slowly. I'm now in the normal range, so I don't have that much more to loose, actually. I mean, I certainly could, but I was in no rush to loose any more. No, I was NOT getting enough rest. I'm a long time insomniac and I was waking up several times during the night to spit up spit. It was a miserable existance and is a sure sign of being too tight but, remember, the symptoms were exacerbated since I've been sick. I can't eat with it is my TOM or I have a cold, so it is the same set of circumstances. The unfill is helping for now, though.

Laura, I've backed off the power drinks as per your suggestion. I did go to my lap band surgeon. We decided that I was too tight. I'm not sure how much liquid he removed but I can eat A LOT more. That's OK because I'm finally sleeping better at night and feel better. I'll just watch what I eat until I get things under control. Dr. Lavin ordered a CT scan of my abdomen and chest, so I'm doing that this Friday. He said that, because I was spitting up during the night, that it is possible that I did aspirate some food and that might have caused infection in the lungs. I did have night cough and some indigestion discomfort. I'm not sure what cat scans show, but I hope that it'll show where the infection is coming from. Would gall stones show up? Since I wrote the original post, I've had a few fevers, so we're averaging two per week right now. He also suggested I go to see a physician of infectious disease which sounds scary, but he explained that it is like an internal medicine doctor with three more years of training. I'm doing that Tuesday. Maybe the ID doctor will order a complete G.I. I'm honestly hoping that the CT scan will show the problem, allowing me to cancel with this ID doctor. You don't need a shotgun to kill a horsefly, so I don't want to put myself through unnecessary tests... I'm praying for a clear cut answer.

I have been anemic in the past, but am not right now. As far as aspartame is concerned, I've cut it out due to the side affects listed. I figure that it can't hurt. Also, thanks for referring to the diagnose me site. I completed the lenghty test and got like 80 pages of results I'm still sorting through. , Anita

I'll pray that your son's issues are resolved as well.

I think the closest teaching hospital would be 3 or so hours away at the medical school in New Orleans or Shreveport. That is good advice and I will look into if nothing shows up with my surgeons' visit this week. Thanks!

I'm so glad you're better. I'm sorry that I gave you some bad advice. I'm thinking that maybe I need an unfill, too. I just don't know why I can eat so much some days and not at all on others. Anyway, I'm glad you're better and I'm sorry if I inadvertantly misled you.

Great question. I've actually given this a lot of thought. Yes, I have gotten a fever when I was a little more stressed than usual, but I've also been awakened in the wee hours of the morning when nothing particularly stressful was going on. Likewise, I've been stress and have evaded the mysterious fever. I just don't think it is stress related. The "old" people used to say that, when you get mouth ulcers or little pimple like things on your tongue or a poison ivy like rash around your mouth, that there is something wrong in your "gut." I have noticed more of the former two things. I did get that weird rash and a friend of mine says that, when she gets it, she takes acidopholous and it goes away. I drank that dan-active smoothing drink with active antioxidants and got good resuts. I think there is some sort of infection internally, personally. Thank you so much for giving it so much thought. I do get stressed, admittantly, but I have so much support and I'm a happy newlywed... change is stressful, but the fevers aren't linked to high stress times. :confused2:

:thumbdown: You're right, Longhorn. My apologies!

and I think this is the case for more bandsters than it is the exception to the rule. I think it is very misleading to tell someone that there is no food hat bandsters can't tolerate. Most bandsters would have to give up something, I would imagine, even though that something may vary from person to person. Hmmm... I was told that some foods would always be a "no no" including bread, rice, and Pasta because it swells in the stomach. I was also told to avoid peanuts because it could get stuck. Being from south Louisiana, we eat rice with almost every meal. Sure, I can eat rice sometimes, but I haven't eaten more than a half of a tablespoon of cooked rice at one time in two years. I can eat rice, but it swells so much that I can't eat anything else for a long time. I suppose my doctor thinks I should concentrate on getting enough Protein. Likewise, I ate peanut successfully on several occastions. I was at a party and literally ate 2, one of which got stuck. I spent the entire night wretching trying to get it up. I was so scared that I would slip or that it would NEVER come out. Finally, it did. Everyone is different. I can guarantee that, if I were loose enough to be able to tolerate rice and some other foods, would not have enough restriction to loose weight.

As suggested by the ER physician, I'm drinking Poweraid like there is no tomorrow. I love water and used to drink way more of it but, since the band, I've been drinking way more milk. I crave milk like crazy and it gives me a nice full feeling. Anyway, the website on Vaso-vagal syncope was wonderful. I'm no doctor but I definitely think I may have a touch of it. The fevers cause dehydration surprisingly fast which may trigger this symptomology... thanks. I feel more comfortable bringing it up to the surgeon now that I'm more informed. THANKS!!!