babsintx3

I don't believe her decision to stay with the philanderer had anything to do with the sanctity of marriage. She knew where her bread was buttered.... Babs in TX

She stands for women who choose to stand by their philandering men. LOL Babs in TX

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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!!!

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

Hi Connie, I had pouch dilation and regain. I had my band emptied in August and refilled in September. I lost almost 20 lbs since then of the over 30 I gained. Babs in TX 334/190 ish