Jean McMillan

In case your surgeon didn't explain to you why it's such a bad idea to cheat on your post-op diet, or you forgot the gist of it, I suggest that you read this article: http://www.lapbandtalk.com/page/index.html/_/healthy-living/whats-so-bad-about-cheating-on-the-post-op-r78 Also, it's time to face up to the fact that your band is not going to do all the work for you. I'm all for prayer, but it's going to take more than prayer for you to resist temptation and stick to the program.

No, I wouldn't do it. I've often said that if I had a needle and a bottle of saline, I'd be filling and unfilling myself 20 times a day. One of the reasons I was obese enough to need WLS was that I could rationalize just about any foolish eating behavior.

I didn't start getting comments about my weight loss until I'd lost 30-40 lbs. The only way I could see any difference in myself was to look at "before" and "now" photos side by side. And to be perfectly honest, I still have days when all I can see in the mirror is the fat girl. I'll catch sight of my reflection in window and think, "Who is that? She looks familiar somehow..."

You'd have to ask a dermatologist about that. I have a keloid on my shoulder from a mole that was removed (but none, thankfully, from any surgical incisions). When I asked the dermatologist what we could do about it, his answer was basically learn to live with it. He said that trying to remove keloid scar tissue generally makes it worse, not better. I don't know if there's any topical product you could try to soften it. Again, ask a dermatologist.

I'm glad there's a happy ending to this story. I think the small unfill was a good idea and if you go easy on your band (stick with liquid, soft, puree foods) for a few days, any inflammation will calm down and you'll be good to go.

Have you talked with your surgeon about this? Seems to me you just need more fill.

You're going to have to change your eating behavior whether you have bariatric surgery or not. Especially the part about wolfing down your food. That will cause big problems (and possible complications) when you're banded. You asked if you're crazy to have surgery and then answered defensively when other members gave you an honest answer. I don't want to intentionally hurt anyone's feelings, but I have to tell you that getting hurt feelings is pretty common in online groups like LBT. You just joined today, but I've been doing this for years, so take my word for it. And because I've been trashed far, far worse than you've been on this first post of yours, I'm not afraid to tell you that unless you have a medical condition that would be helped by weight loss or bariatric surgery (like diabetes), I think that bariatric surgery is a high price to pay for your vanity, even if it only cost you $1.00. That's because success after bariatric surgery has a very high cost in terms of education, lifestyle changes, aftercare, plus the time and expense of getting fills & unfills. Just my opinion, mind you.

It's more likely that you're just too tight, not that you have a band slip, but doing the barium swallow will help your surgeon decide what to do when you see him/her. I small unfill might be all you need, so try to not worry too much between now and then.

You'll get more responses if you post your question in the New Mexico group: http://www.lapbandtalk.com/forum/45-new-mexico-local-lap-band-support/ Also, I suggest that you give your thread a more specific title, like: "Looking for fill doctor in Albuquerque".

Bottom line: don't have WLS until you're ready to have WLS. Succeeding with any kind of bariatric surgery is going to require you to change your behavior, like it or not. If you're not ready to do that, I think WLS would be a mistake for you. Unless you have some co-morbidities (obesity-related medical conditions) that need to be resolved quickly, there's no need to rush into this.

I bought a new $2000 mattress a few years ago and it did absolutely nothing for my sciatic or other pain. Unless you're categorically against chiropractic care, I'd see a chiropractor next. And/or get a referral for some physical therapy so the PT can at least tell you what kinds of movements or body positions to avoid.

As the Lap-Band Queen and World's Greatest Living Expert on Everything, I hereby command that everyone participating in this thread abandon the bickering and move on to something more constructive. Pretty please, with Splenda on top?

Hey, dude - be careful when you throw the word "leak" around. While it's possible (but not likely) that the needle pierced the tubing, or that it completely missed the port, the more likely explanation is described below. Fills (especially first fills) don't necessarily yield instant restriction. A fill isn't like putting coins in a vending machine, hitting the button for restriction, and pulling out your very own bottle of restriction. Even a fill done under fluoroscopy is just a snapshot of the band and stomach. It often takes more than one fill to achieve optimal restriction, and I've had fills that took 2 weeks to kick in.

I have the feeling that Allergan hasn't updated the patient info material published here in quite some time, because according to my Allergan rep, the passage that you quoted is no longer part of their Lap-Band benefit statements.

You're very welcome!

Sounds like you have soft calorie syndrome from being too tight (or having a lot of inflammation in there from so much vomiting). As you've discovered, that can cause weight gain instead of weight loss, and you're probably hungry because soft and slider foods provide virtually no satiety. So going back to your surgeon, 'fessing up about what's been going on, and getting a small unfill is probably the best course of action. Under no circumstances should you let anyone not experienced with band fills, least of all your own child, attempt to add or remove saline from your band. Someone without experience in that is too likely to fail to access your port and can puncture your tubing. Also, band fills are done with a special needle, and I'm not telling you what it's called because that's not something your daughter needs to know unless she plans a career in bariatric care. If your surgeon yells at you, it'll probably be out of sheer frustration that you didn't come back for help earlier. The surgeons I've talked to all hate it when patients are lost to aftercare, because it's impossible for them to help a patient who never comes back for follow-up.

(1) It takes more than saline to cause a bandster to experience restriction, and (2) it also depends on the person's expectations of restriction. For example: (1) You will not experience restriction when eating soft and slider foods, even healthy ones like Protein shakes, yogurt, oatmeal, etc. (2) If you expect your band to sound an alarm when you have optimal restriction, you will probably miss your soft stops and other, more subtle signs of restriction.

My band slip was fixed by a complete unfill and 6-wk rest period. If it's a bad slip and/or the unfill doesn't help, surgery might be necessary to reposition the band. In the past 5 years, I recall encountering only 2 people who had more than one band slip, so i think that's the exception and not the rule.

Down "only 40 lbs"? That works out to 3.3 lbs/week, and the average with the band is 1-2 lbs/week. Do you have any ideas about why the barium wouldn't go down? Had you been vomiting or having any eating problems? I know it's frustrating to have a big unfill but it's not good to live with a band that's too tight. It doesn't increase weight loss, and it can cause more serious complications like band slippage, or esophageal or stomach dilation - things that would be treated with a complete unfill. As for the surgeon not being willing to re-fill you, I'd call back and ask how long is "quite a while." Is it a month? 2 months? Or what? Also, keep in mind that smart surgeons let the patient's upper GI tract rest for "a while" after an unfill because whatever prompted the unfill has probably caused a lot of irritation and swelling that won't resolve as long as the band is tight.

You'll be the first one I invite to my coronation ceremony.

Cheri, I can't give you medical advice or make up your mind for you, but I'll tell you that I took HRT for about 8 years. I don't think it affected my weight, and it did relieve the menopause symptoms. I stopped taking it because of the cancer risk, and thankfully didn't have any symptom rebound from that. I have an acquaintance who takes something called bioidentical hormones that don't pose the cancer risk. She gets them from a local compounding pharmacy and her insurance doesn't cover it, but she says they're helping her symptoms. Jean

It's hard to keep up a sustained weight loss effort for a long time. A good first step would to be schedule appointments with your surgeon and dietitian, get a band refresher course and pep talk, and maybe get a fill (depending on your current restriction).

Thanks for your praise of Bandagon, everyone! That means more to me than you can know.

Yes, it's the giant encyclopedia one. You'll get the best price by clicking on my Bandwagon ad here on LBT (at the bottom of the forum page) or by going to http://jean-onthebandwagon.blogspot.com and clicking on one of the purchase options (credit card or PayPal) on the left hand side of the page. books ordered via PayPal can be autographed to you; just specify that in the space provided when you place your order. Thanks for your interest! Jean