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babsintx3

LAP-BAND Patients
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Posts posted by babsintx3

  3. Posted

    Hi Harleygirl,

    The primary reason for an unfill is if you have a medical emergency involving NG tubes or something that involves esophagus stomach, throat, or you start to vomit profusely, then its better to have a looser band than a tighter one. Some lapband surgeons recommend this, some are against it feeling that you should not mess with restriction.

    The most important part is finding a plastic surgeon that has WLS patients that they have worked on in the past and have a track record of successful outcomes since there is a medical implant and anytime you mess in an abdominal cavity with any kind of open surgery can expose your band to bacteria even though it is a closed system. I considered the low profile port, but my insurance would not pay for it (700.oo) and the port I have is not so bad and doesnt really stick out anyway. I kinda wish my plastic surgeon would have moved it since it is now in an extremely inconvenient place and an be irritating.

    Gayle TX: I had my PS with Dr. Lavine in Fort Worth. He had some ads touting a beautiful bandster gal and had experience with bandsters. I met with 3 different plastic surgeons, but I liked him the best. He recently did a show on TLC since he has done more breast augmentation than anyone else practically in the US. He did my TT and medial thighplasty.

    Babs in TX

    334/190 ish

  4. Posted

    Hi,

    I dont want to sound ungrateful that I am banded, but I understand where you are coming from. I will be banded 4 years in June 07 and sometimes I feel like I am no better off than I was before banding at least where I am mentally regarding food obsession. Everything I eat is associated with calories, Protein, taste, fat, unsaturated fats. I can never just eat something without worrying about consequences. I did go to therapy, but for a while, I really thrived on the obsession because it kept me in check and helped me to get to goal initially. The minute I stopped weighing myself daily and stopped tracking my intake is when I started to gain and had pouch dilation from pouch packing. So I am not back to the basics again. Phewwww, it is tiring, but I think that we are lucky we have bands to help us with satiety though. This would be a lot harder if I did not have my band. When I feel this way, I try to think of all the folks that dont have a band to aid them in maintaining and losing weight.

    NOT answers, I know, but I wanted to commiserate!!! LOL

    Babs in TX

    334/190 ish

  5. Posted

    HI,

    You are worrying way too much. You cannot stretch a pouch by drinking liquids quickly. ONe large meal wont cause pouch dilation either. It takes some time to do this with chronic overeating and pouch packing. In defense of myself (diagnosed with this problem) I was not aware I was eating more than I should since I did not have signs that are commonly associated with pouch dilation such as reflux. I just started to eat a little more every day and my band was not telling me to stop, so now I measure my food. No more than 4 to 5 ounces of meat and less than a cup of veggies per meal.

    Babs in TX

    334/190 ish

  6. Posted

    Hi Simmy,

    It would help if you had more information first after the barium swallow before you make a decision. It sounds like you dont have all the facts yet. If you have an erosion, then they will take the band out and it is unlikely that anyone would recommend a second band until your stomach heals. If it is incorrect placement, you might want to consider another surgeon to be rebanded. IF you are too tight and removal of saline will help you to be able to eat solids, then maybe nothing but a little band rest would be recommended. Wait and see what the docs say. Also get a second opinion. Thats what I did and it turned out that I did not need a new band after being told by doc #1 that I did.

    Babs in TX

    334/190 ish

  7. Posted

    Hi Ashley,

    Going on liquids for pouch dilation is the recommended course of action, but your band would have to be partially unfilled otherwise the dilation cant fix itself and can cause a slip. I know, I had a pouch dilation and my band was emptied for a month and I was also on liquids for most of that time to shrink the pouch down some. So I dont see how going on liquids would help if you pouch is already dilated and the band is too tight. Almost all dilations are caused by chronic pouch packing and a too tight band.

    Babs in TX

    334/190 ish

  8. Posted

    Hi,

    My stomach makes the loudest and most annoying noise and more so since I lost weight and had plastic surgery. A lot has to do with the extra air I swallow when I eat and the fact that the digestive process is a little different than normal because of the restrictive nature of the band. food is slowing going through to the lower stomach from the upper pouch and I beleive that your stomach and digestive tracks work a lot harder and as a result, the noise. I am not eroded and recently had an endoscopy which shows everything is fine, but the noise is unbelievable. I also think it has something to do with change of diet. I eat more Beans, lentils, drink more Decaf tea etc and my stomach doesnt like these foods, but I do.

    Babs in TX

    334/190 ish

  9. Posted

    Hi ALex,

    I am living your frustration. After getting my weight down to 180 and then gaining 30 ish pounds due to pouch dilation and the struggle to lose it again, I have made a New Years resolution that I am going to go back to the gym. I am heading there today I did have a brief time with the "refill" where I had good restriction again, but it seems to have gone away and I am able to eat 8 ounces of meat in a sitting and I am hungry all the time. So either my pouch is dilated again or I need another fill which I am reluctant to do. So I am back to dieting again to keep the weight off.

    UGGGGGH!

    Babs in TX

    334/190's and stuck since September

  10. Posted

    Hi bullwinkle,

    I "flunked" my MMP and I was told the same thing. They wanted me to take 12 sessions for anger management issues which in my opinion were totally unband related. All of this was really about the shrink's office who was just pissed off that I called a half dozen times after waiting almost a month for test results. I got angry wiht her receptionist since they kept putting me off with no answers and they didnt like me pushing them.

    I had to find another surgeon since they were tied to a training hospital and I had to meet the criteria even though it wasnt a trial and my insurance was paying. I went to a second shirnk specializing in food disorders who actually interviewed me for two hours instead of taking a test, which was not a requirement for my insurance anyway. She wrote a letter saying that I wasnt insane and although she didnt support bariatric surgery, she felt I knew what i was doing and cleared me on the mental front.

    I DID on my own go to a therapist post band for almost a year to try to resolve some of my issues. Not anger management, but the other stuff that happens when you lose a lot of weight. I advise everyone who has insurance that will cover therapy to take advantage of that if you can. It didnt solve my problems but it sure helped me to "think" differently.

    Good luck!!!

    Babs in TX

    334/190 ish

    3 1/2 years and counting.... and still insane!!!

  11. Posted

    Hi,

    I quit 2 years post banding ironically. I used Welbutrin only and was completely off the cigarettes after 2 days and never touched one since. Its been 1 year and 8 months now that I am cigarette free. It is true that you have to WANT to quit. I didnt want to, but my plastic surgeon wouldnt touch me with a ten foot pole if I smoked, so in the end, I buckled down and did it.

    Babs in TX

    334/190 ish

  15. Posted

    Alex,

    Sorry about your hubby. Mine is not sick, but has been unemployed since summer, so I am having trouble to lose all the weight I gained since my PS last year. I am maintaining and right now, thats the most important thing. Dont be so hard on yourself. You are a very strong person and you can get through this. Fill time is soon......

    Babs in TX

    334/190 ish

  19. Posted

    Hi Paige,

    Once again, I find myself playing devils advocate. You make valid points but they are so laced by your negativity, no one really wants to listen. THere is no PERFECT WLS. I have bypass friends who are sick looking, anemic or DEAD in their pursuit to be a normal BMI and healthy. I have lapband friends who have had numerous complications, several erosions, several slips, some pouch dilatations etc. I do not have any DEAD lapband friends although I know that there are a very very few that succumb to complications of surgery. I like the reversability factor because I do believe that one day there will be a pill or medication available to me to put my obesity permanently in remission. Since their presently is not and I had two small children to consider, I did not want a more dangerous rerouting of my anatomy and the band was a great option for me because of my problem with satiety. I never got full. We all know that the lapband is not a perfect solution and does not cure obesity. It is simply a tool to aid in weight loss and the patient must do the work (both mentally, dietary and exercise compliance) THe same applies to all WLS. Sure there are probably better options for long term like the DS as an example, but the associated risks are significantly higher even with a great surgeon and in my case, I was not prepared to take the risk. The band is actually quite barbaric in nature as a restrictive device rather than malabsorptive.

    Despite all my problems with the band (12 fills and unfills over 3 years, endoscopies, floruoscopies, and all the post op care I have endured, I still feel I made the right decision. Statistically, I am a success, but I busted my butt. Do not think it was an easy journey. I am still considered to be overweight, but I will take my size 14/16 over a size 28-30 anyday.

    Babs in TX

    334/190 ish

  20. Posted

    HI Paige,

    My band is placed properly and is confirmed by endoscopy, flouroscopy and every other test known to man. I was too tight but I did not have reflux or any other problems asssociated with a too tight band, so the docs kept filling it. Yeah, I would like more restriction, but it seems that my ability to pouch pack means I need to keep the band a little looser than I would like, but it is helping me by taking the edge off the hunger and the overeating. The rest I will do for myself with diet and exercise.

    The band is not rocket science. IT is either too tight, too loose or just right. I had my band accidentally unfilled when I had plastic surgery last year and gained significant weight while they tried to adjust it back to the same level of restriction that I had before. I am back on track and I have lost 20 lbs of the 38 pounds I gained over a year and a half.

    It is true that I did not notice that I was slowly eating more and more, but I knew I was eating too much and didnt listen to the signals since they were not as strong as they were when I was originally banded. I lost most of my weight in the first 18 months and noticed the diminishing restriction. I kept pushing the bar just a little more everyday and pretty soon, I was eating normal portions and not getting full.

    FYI: You can also pouch pack with a RNY causing the pouch to enlarge and no longer be effective in creating satiety. You can sabotage any WLS if you really put your mind to it.

    You keep saying that you dont mean to be negative, but you are and I find it disturbing.

    Babs in TX

    334/190 ish

  21. Posted

    Matzatl,

    Chronic pouch dilation is the most likely culprit of esophageal dilation because once someone chronically overeats, the pouch fills up and the food has no where else to go but the esophagus. Essentially you would be using your esophagus as a third pouch. Esophagus, upper pouch/ lower stomach.

    Other causes of esophageal dilation could be esophageal dysmotility (which means that your esophagus is not pushing food through properly), too tight band, band placement (which is not the likely cause but it could happen).

    Most docs will do a complete unfill and let the esophagus and pouch go back to normal size. Chronic pouch packing/dilation can cause a slip, esophagus problems etc. THe best thing you can do to prevent these problems is to watch your food portions and keep them to 3-4 oz of solid Protein and a few ounces of veggies/carbs per meal.

    I speak from experience. I had my band emptied in August and refilled in mid September due to esophagus dilation and pouch dilation. I am much more aware of quantities now.

    Babs in TX

    334/190 ish

  22. Posted

    Hi,

    Port relocation is expensive and may not be covered by insurance. The low profile port costs 700.00 and then you have to have the surgeon fees to relocate the port . Dunno what that would cost, but since they have to use some form of anesthesia or twilight in office to do this, it could be very expensive. If its really a problem, you need to discuss it with your original surgeon. I have had this problem too and as you lose weight, it does seem to shift position a little and that might help.

    Babs in TX

    334/190 ish

  24. Posted

    Hi Poodles,

    I also have this phenomenon!!! My theory is that it is caused by gas and bloating in the stomach that pushes the port into the abdomen. I notice when I have this pain it almost seems like my port is really sticking out and trying to push through my skin. Thanksgiving grazing made me feel like I was gonna explode!!!

    Babs in TX

    334/190 ish

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