babsintx3

Hi, I have been coming here since the beginning of this board. I am 2 years and 7 months post op and when I offer advice here or support, sometimes I feel slighted because some folks dont really want advice. They want to debate the basics of banding. So I dont post very often and I mostly lurk. But I also believe as Alexandra so eloquently pointed out that people go through cycles where they need the support and then disappear for a while to get on with their lives. I know that has been the case for me. Babs in TX 334/180ish -150 ish Banded since 6/23/03

Hi, Started at a BMI of 53.9 and a weight of 334. I now weight in the 180's and I am thrilled with the band!!! Babs in TX 334/180ish -150 ish 6/23/03

Hi, Why is Leatha leaving? Did I miss something???? What happened? Could someone send me a PM to let me know??? I have been here for at least a year and a half and there are always gonna be some trouble makeers occasionally. What is unacceptable behavior??? Babs in TX 334/180 ish Banded 6/23/03

Hi Michele, I am no doctor but I have been banded 2.7 years so I have heard quite a bit over time and I think that it could be any of the following; 1) You had a slow slow leak and you really did not have as much in your band as you thought you did 2) When you had your complete unfill and subsequent refill, you no longer need as much as you did before. Many banded folks report after an unfill and a refill that they need far less than they needed before to feel restriction. I beleive it has something to do with "flushing the system". Most people dont realize how little 2.5 cc really is. Any slight differential could affect your level of restriction 3) Your band or pouch size was slightly enlarged prior to your unfill, had a chance to slip back or shrink a little and now the restriction you are feeling is much greater than before. The less likely option is a problem like a slippage or erosion since you havent had any earlier problems prior to the unfill and preganancy. However, anything is possible. Try a partial unfill and see how that goes. If you still have problems, then I would go back to Ren and see what she has to say. Babs in TX 334/180ish

Hi Gin, Most folks dont have good restriction til they have had a few fills. I did not have good restriction til about 7 weeks post op (2nd fill), but I was very compliant, super obese and lost about 27 pounds my first month of banding. You will have restriction. Be diligent about the fills til you get the restriction yiou are looking for. Babs in TX 334/180ish -150 ish

Hi Kim, I confused you with another Kim. Ignore my previous message!!! LOL Babs in TX

Hi Everybody, I am really confused and slightly concerned. FOr those who dont know me, I have been banded more than 2 and a half years ago. I have had somewhere in the neighborhood of 8-9 fills, most done with flouroscopy and some blind. I have had almost no problems with my band, lost a lot of weight, only had one day bout of reflux which was resolved with an partial unfill. So things have been great. I had plastic surgery last Aug 2005 and my plastic surgeon removed all of my fill by accident. At the time he did this, I supposedly had 2.4 CC in my band. I only asked him to remove .25 and somehow he took it all. I did not know this until oNe month post PS, I went to my original lapband surgeon for a RE-fill. He tried to withdraw saline only to discover there was nothing in my band. My original surgeon decided he would only give me 1.00CC of saline. Well, 1.00CC of saline is like giving me nothing since I had no restriction with this amount. I went to his office one week later in pursuit of more restriction and he refused telling me to come back in 3 months and he would reconsider. Considering I had already gained 9 lbs with the unfill, I was not happy with that decision and found a new fill doctor in Dallas to do my fills. I went for a fill in September with another doc. He bumped me up to 2.20 and told me to come back if I needed more. Since then I have not lost any weight, gained even more weight and I went to see him yesterday to get more. During the visit, he pointed out to me with flouroscopy that my band is not in the ideal position and has slipped a little. He said the last flouro he did in Sept 2005 showed the same thing as well. Its no reason for big concern as long as I had restriction. He said future options if this fill he gave me didnt work was to: 1) Remove all the fill and see if the slip would resolve itself. 2) Reposition operation He said the slight slip was not really my fault. It wasnt from pouch packing, since the pouch is not dilatated, just slightly larger because of the position of the band. He kept assuring me that it was a chronic issue and probably had been like this for a long time because I had lost oodles of weight, my stomach was now smaller than before and bandsters that are far along tend to have these minor slippages. He made it clear that my band is not eroded or damaged in anyway. He also said nothing needed to be done as long as I had restriction from the fills. He gave me .30 more. I now supposedly have 2.5 in my band. The problem I have is that I dont have anyone else that I know in my neck of the woods who has been banded as long as I have. There are a few bandsters and other than some anedotal information about pouch size and slippage with long term bandsters, I really dont have any other information to know if what he says holds any Water. If he saw a minor slippage the last time I was there, why didnt he say anything? He said not to worry about it, but hey what else can I do? Anybody have any suggestions? Think I should get another opinion? Or should I just see if everything works properly with the new founded restriction I should be seeing? I was pretty wide open on the flouroscopy, so I am confused about what to do..... Babs in TX 334/180ish

Hi Again, Kim: Its so great to see you here. I was really worried about you for a while. Havent been to your site in a while. Whats been going on with you? Its funny you say that you have more restriction or only have restriction in the morning. The amazing thing is that I dont have more restriction in the morning than I do at any other time of the day. I am also not hungry most mornings and I have never been a big Breakfast person anyway. Megan: For every question we try to answer for ourselves, a new one just pops up! LOL I am still confused about my situation but resigned not to make an issue of my enlarged pouch or crooked band unless there really is a problem or I dont have restriction. Right now, I have restriction, but I also still have a cold/flu, so I dont know if the added restriction is a result of the most recent fill or just congestion. So far, so good, so I am not gonna do anything about it one way or the other! Babs in TX 334/180ish -150 ish

Hi Again: Jack: You crack me up!! Yes, I am on a mission (lost in space_) and may never return..... Do you think they have lapband surgeons on Jupiter? Yes, we are pioneers if we are more than a few years out cause none of the doc seem to know what they are talking about (strictly my opinion). Most of them seem to be speculating since there really isnt much data . Yvonne - my original port location was left of my bellybutton and now it is almost above my bellybutton now that they have moved skin. Yup, I really wish I had gone with the low profile port. My port is now in an irritating place. I wish the doc would have honored my wishes and gone sternal. I dont mind having the bigger port, but dislike the location since it is more likely to be seen and when people hug me, I feel like they can feel my port if they squeeze me hard enough. If you can afford to get the little port and get it put in a nice place, that would be the ideal situation. I personally did not have an additional 700 buckaroos to have it done. Leatha: YOur doc should be concerned with the achalasia issues. I had the same problems and it seems like I cant get that full feeling and it has affected my ability to continue losing and I have also gained a little bit. THe good news is this fill is definitely working. I ate one and a half ribs and two tablespoons of rice, a little bit of greenbean and I could not eat more . I really had to work hard to eat it. Same thing at lunch. I ate three nachos which was a third of my meal and I could eat no more. ITs nice having the food police back. Hopefully now, I wont have reflux. I hear the gurgling and I am trying to stay away from eating late at night..... Babs in TX 334/180ish

Hi Yvonne, I asked my plastic surgeon to remove .25 from the 2.5 I had in my band. I started to develop reflux a few weeks prior to plastics. I dont know how or why he took out all of it. It was an accident though because while I was knocked out he did the unfill and it was noted in my file that he used blue crystalline (sort of like food coloring) just so he could be accurate about the partial unfill. People think that 2.50 CC is a lot of saline, but this is such a small amount it could be quite easy for a surgeon to accidently remove it all especially someone who doesnt do this on a regular basis. FYI: My plastic surgeon was very familiar with the lapband, I was not his first patient . He did not replace my port with low profile. Apparrently a new one would have cost me 700 dollars (supposedly that would be his cost from INamed) and I did not have the $. Its possible with the total unfill that my band slipped slightly, but I think it was like this before the PS. I guess I will never know. Whatever you do, dont get an unfill if you can avoid it. I regret asking for one, but I didnt want to have problems postoperatively where I couldnt eat . You really need the nutrients and the extra food to help with the healing process. Babs in TX

Hi Nickie, Your problem is the biggest challenge of almost all bandsters since we are all more open at night and our bands dont behave in the evening! Whats the deal with that? LOL . I have this problem too and it doesnt get better unless food is no longer the priority in the evening. Its not hunger really. ITs boredom and the food is there afterall and tastes good! I formed an addiction to Peanut Butter during the time I was recovering from plastic surgery because it was the easiest thing to reach for in the cupboard that I didnt have to make anything. I could just get a spoon and stick it in the jar. Heres my strategy to get through the evening hours: I drink two cups of tea with Splenda and some FF cream Dont keep too much crap in the house (I have two children and this is hard to do sometimes!!) Have lots of evening Snacks that you can indulge in that are not too bad either sugar or caloric wise. SOme examples: 60 calorie fat free pudding SF Jello ready made string cheese 100 calorie popcorn bags A piece of 35 calorie bread toasted with SF jam 100 calorie cookie or graham cracker bag SF chocolate bar Sometime I will even have two of these off the list. If all else fails, go to sleep!! LOL Babs in TX 334/180ish

Leighann, The leaner the beef, the harder it is to eat because it is dryer unless lubed to death. I can eat chili, but usually substitute beef for lean turkey which for some reason is easier for me to eat. I really dont miss hamburgers, although when I was unfilled last year, I hit Fuddruckers and had a 5 oz burger loaded and it was so gooood... I used to be Wimpie before banding.... I 'll gladly pay you tomorrow for a hamburger today......LOL Babs in TX 334/180ish

Hi New Sho, I dont appreciate you criticizing my post to Jonathan. I ask him because I care and as a long time bandster, it is really frustrating for me to see people have a bad experience with the band because of what appears to be a combination of the wrong band, less than adequate post op care especially for someone who spent so much of their money already in pursuit of what we all want here which is to lose weight and keep it off. He has suffered a lot and I suffer for him too. Dont mean to highjack Jonathans thread, but I have been banded for a long time and see many people come here and make decisions because insurance wont pay, they had a bad experience, a bad doctor, bad post op care or some other issue. I am sure Jonathan has thought about this carefully and is quite capable to make up his own mind. It was just a question, not meant to hurt his feelings at all. Babs in TX 334/180ish -150 ish

Hi Loopy, Ditto to what everyone has said. I truly cant eat as much as I did before banding. And I do make healthier food choices because I really enjoy eating a piece of tilapia more than I like a hamburger. As a matter of fact, I hated fish before banding ate mostly fatty beef and pork and now actually eat more turkey and chicken, and fish more than anything else. Why? Because with good restriction coupled with food modification coupled with extensive therapy (I am not joking about this) I am able to make some smarter choices. Will this be the same for you? I dont know. A lot really does depend on you and the choices you make overall. When I was banded, I reached the bottom of the barrel, truly looked at myself in the mirror and realized I would be dead in less than 10 years being morbidly obese and not being able to climb up a flight of stairs huffing and puffing. By the way, I do eat cheesecake, an occasional cookie, some chocolate, tortilla chips, popcorn etc but now its a serving size not the whole package. And I always make sure I get my Protein first before I eat the empty calories. And I try to fit it in within a 1300-1500 calorie a day program. DO I have crappy food days? Hell Yeah. And do I still fight the food demons... Every day... Babs in TX 334/180ish

So Leatha, YOu've lost that loving feeling... heh? LOL All joking aside,I completely understand what you are saying. When I try to explain that I am able to eat and always have been able to eat more than the average bandster, the docs just think it is a lack of compliance issue. That is not the case. I dont get the full feeling that quickly and only once in the middle of my journey I actually had true restriction. Although I did not have reflux, my TMJ was acting up from the tension in my jaws from chewing everything to death, Water was gurgling down like a true clogged pipe and I wasnt really happy with that feeling either. But it did keep me from eating! It may actually be the reason why the band does not work for some people and why there is so much difficulty for some to find the right level of restriction. Sure they can strangle hold someone to prevent them from eating and this will cause reflux or some other problem, but if bandster doesnt feel some kind of full feeling, how can they maintain the smaller quantities? A lot depends on esophageal motility issues or lack of , possible achalasia issues, which invitably will lead to pouch packing if you are not aware that the 12 oz steak you ate was too much by just eyeballing it ! LOL) I think that there are lots of components here that come into play and that is why long term compliance and understanding what you need to do to maintain your weight are so important. I know I eat more than before. An example would be if I go to Chilis and get lettuce wraps, I can eat more than 1/2 -3/4 whereas before even half seemed like an insurmountable task 1 1/2 years ago. In many respects this is similar to a RNY patient who has stretched their pouch. It happens very slowly over time and I am sure that most folks are not even aware that they are eating that extra ounce or two. THats why making smart choices further out is so important and far more important than the first year of banding. It no longer is about getting another fill. SOme bandsters think if weight loss stops or the trend is gaining that another fill will solve the problem. YOu can only go so tight before you are too tight and can no longer eat the solid Protein which is important for weight loss. Of course, it would be nice to hear from some of the docs on this issue..... Any of them out there want to respond??? Babs in TX 334/180 ish

Hi Geezer, I dont think I am eroded. Call it gut instinct, but everything looks pretty much the same everytime I go. I am not going to get an endoscopy but if the problem with getting some restriction seems to be unattainable, then I will seek a second opinion. I DO have some restriction, just not as much as I used to. As Jack says so eloquently its easy to get off track which is definitely part of my problem. The other part is that I am used to the restriction and the third component is that my pouch is slightly larger than before. The problem is if I go to three different lapband surgeons, they will all have a different opinion about what to do. So short term, I will see what happens and then go for another fill if thats an option. Jack: I have not given up, just taken a reprieve from the process. I know I am back on the band wagon to some extent. As soon as I feel better, I am going to start my exercise regime again. Babs in TX

Shelly, How the heck are ya? Here it is 3:00 am and I am so loaded up on antihistimines that I cant sleep. I have a really really bad cold/flu. I just had my fill too on Thursday and so far I have not had any really solid food because I am feeling sick with lots of congestion and dont really feel like eating much. My fill doc was mad at me cause its been 5 months since my last fill and with flouro, I looked to be pretty wide open too. He added .30 to my 2.20, so I should have something like 2.50. My other post talks about the fact that he thinks my band has slipped a little bit because of the massive weight loss and looks to be chronic. Thinks I will need lots more fill or a total unfill or reposition surgery as last resort. Said it had nothing to do with overeating. I am also frustrated cause I gained some weight, about 15 pounds or so, but considering I quit smoking and stopped my regular exercise, this would explain a lot.!! Oh yeah, and the lack of restriction. Dont be discouraged. I love the wedding dress. It is beautiful and I am waiting on the wedding invite....... Where is it????? Babs in TX 334/180ish

Hi Jonathan, Sorry you have had such a bad experience with your band. Seems like there must be a way to reposition the slippage before you go all out and have a RNY? I understand that you have every right to be totally frustrated and want to give up , but a reposition surgery wouldnt be covered by insurance? IF not go for some other form of WLS. I would if my band no longer worked or I couldnt get my insurance to cover the reposition if thats what I had to do. Good luck whatever your decision. Babs in TX 334/180ish

Hi, I feel compelled to answer this thread because it was one that I wanted to start myself. I was one of the euphoric bandsters that lost 120 pounds my first year of banding, another 34 the second year, went to the gym 3-4 times a week, hired a personal trainer, etc... I was the most committed person to the process of being eternally thinner. NOt skinny, not fashion model thin, just overweight size 14 normal. Once I got there, it got really really hard. I quit smoking, gained 10 friends and couldnt lose them. Then I had plastic surgery, had all my fill removed and I am struggling with a total of 15 pounds extra or more from my lowest weight. I have not had good restriction for more than a year. I am not gaining as of recent, but losing and getting back to where I was feels like an impossibility!! ITs really hard to keep up the pace and the diligence I put into my banding experience the first few years. IT cost me a lot of time, therapy and ongoing work to get to a just overweight BMI. ITs hard to keep up this pace and have all of this overwhelm you, keep you up at night etc. I am in denial, refuse to get on the scale out of fear, but I do use my clothing as a gauge of where I am and I am still heavier than my lowest weight. Still in the same clothes, but they are much tighter on me than before. So I say this with certainty. YOu can regain with the band even with the best intentions. THere isnt a day that goes by that I dont wake up and plan my day regarding food, get angry with myself if I eat too much etc. Its hard work and it gets much harder as you get closer to goal to keep it off. Babs in TX 334/180ish

Hi, I have now had this fill since yesterday afternoon. I only ate Soup today, coffee in the morning, but finally had a piece of fish tonight. I dont know yet if I have more restriction. Some gurgling, but to me, its hard to tell until I attempt to eat something more solid. I have the flu and really dont feel like eating anyway and had less than 1000 calories today and a grand total of about 800 yesterday. It doesnt feel much tighter than before, but then again, until I attempt to eat a rib or something, its hard to tell. Leatha: NO problems with any reflux symptoms Michelle: I will trust my instincts and see what happens. My instincts say the the added restriction will help even if its only mental. If its not enough, then I will go back and get some more. IT just seems strange that I would need more than the 2.5 I have. Usually when a band is refilled you need less and here I am at almost the maximum I have ever had in my band and still feeling like I could be tighter. I have the feeling if I went with my flouroscopy to more than one doc, they would all say the same thing which is my pouch is slightly bigger than it should be and thus the reason why I dont feel as much restriction with less fill. I think long term some big losers seem to have this problem. I do know of one other girl who lost 165 pounds and had her band keep slipping. Some of it has to be behavior modification too I realize. I cannot depend on the band to do the work for me all the time, but it would be nice to have good restriction again where I eat half a plate of food and get full. Babs in TX 334/180 ish

Hi, Please give yourself an enema. You will feel so much better. They work!! I had to give myself one after plastic surgery. I was in huge pain and could not go at all. It worked immediately. Babs in TX 334/180ish

Kittykat, It seems like you do not have proper restriction. Sometimes it takes many fills to get it just right. Like teh GOldilocks story!!! LOL. It sounds like you were overfilled and then underfilled etc... I would try going back for a little more. With the right restriction, I could somtimes go all day and not be hungry. Now I am also hungry all the time because I need some more in my band. I had some removed when I had plastic surgery and cant seem to get to the right level. It takes some work to get there. P.S. You are eating way too much Protein and that in itself is totally unhealthy for you. Babs in TX 334/180iish -150 ish

Hi New Sho, I am 2 years and 7 months post op and very active in the DFW lapband community. I have a friend here in Dallas /Fort Worth who was also part of the clinical trials in LA 6 years ago. Her original doc offered her no post op support whatsover. She started at 340 lbs at 5 ft 2 inches and she lost 210 lbs and weighed 130 ish despite the fact she was truly on her own the first several years of her journey. She had several problems with slippages (mostly due to earlier surgical techniques) and recently got a new band. She did gain some weight back (20-30 pounds) of the over 200 she lost and now she is back on the bandwagon. If you dont know her, her name is Cynthia Jones and she can be found on dfwbandsters@yahoogroups.com. She has been working with several band docs providing post op care for bandsters via her company Bandlandia. I beleive she recently sold the company, but continues to operate it If you want to email me privately, I would be happy to give you her number because she would be able to help you with finding a surgeon who would take good care of you to help you reach your final destination. We have more than 20 really good banding docs here in the Dallas/Fort Worth area. Dont let one arse of a doc change your mind about the band. You can lose all your weight , but its gonna take some work regardless of fill level to lose the last 15-20 lbs. P.S. I no longer go to my original surgeon for fills. I go to a doc who does my fills and isnt as conservative as my original surgeon is. I had plastic surgery and my original surgeon refused to give me my fill back and decided it was best for me to have only 1.00 cc in my band instead of the 2.4 I had before my surgery. Keep in mind that this stance he took was ridiculous since all my fills were not done by him and were done at the hospital with flouro and I had only one small problem with reflux that lasted a day and I had him give me a partial unfill to 2.25 from 2.6 to relax things in there for a while. He actually scheduled me to come back 3 months later to get a "little" more. I had already gained 10 pounds post operatively when he made this decision, telling me to go home, comply and be a good girl and not eat pancakes. That was truly an insult to my intelligence. I called his office one week later and insisted on another appointment. I came back and he claimed I was harrassing his staff and he did not want to see me again for 3 months. There is much more to this story regarding the fact that there was concerns I had about a leak after my PS because I did not know that my plastic surgeon had accidentally taken all of my fill out during surgery and I did not have anything in my band when I went for the fill. Also my original surgeon is no longer in network, and I got tired of his approach to treat all his patients exactly the same in regards to fills. Dont feel bad, take action kick some butt and take no prisoners. If I had gone thorugh what you have gone through I would be strangling someone by now. Sounds like you have been through quite an ordeal. It can only get better based on what you are telling us. Hang in there!! Babs in TX 334/180ish -150 ish

Hi , Banded life is pretty normal after almost 2 years and 7 months of practice. I rarely ever have any issues at all, an occasional golfball to remind me I am eating too fast or too much, but generally speaking, my portions are smaller, I almost never finish a plate of food and I can eat everything including bread, steak and chicken in limited quantities. The sensation of fullness is different for everyone. I eat about 6-8 oz of food and it seems that when I reach this point, I am satisfied, I start to get the tightness in my chest or food seems to uncomfortable to eat anymore and then I stop. I usually try to stop before this feeling, but sometimes its hard to do because I like what I am eating. I notice if I sit too long, I am prone to overeat, so I try to get up and do something else after about 15 minutes at the table. If I eat too long, I get that really full feeling, stuffed and I hate that feeling so I dont indulge past 6-8 oz of food. I DO notice what folks eat now and find that portions are really big and I still have guilt about throwing food away. Regarding eating out in restaurants, I do go to buffets and all kinds of restaurants, enjoy them immensely, stick to the meat, fish and Protein, salad bar and veggies and eat a small dessert . Having the band is not a death sentence. I probably eat more than most bandsters do, but I have done well with a looser band until as of late. I need a fill and I am scheduled to go in and get one next week to get myself on track. Dont worry. YOu will feel so much more in control of your eating with the band. Babs in TX 334/180ish -150 ish

Sunta, I wouldnt have my surgery with this guy. I would find someone you feel more comfortable with. He is obvioiusly not being truthful here.... Babs in TX 334/180 ish -150 ish