Wheetsin

If you can't keep your own saliva down, seek an unfill. I was there for about 6 hours and couldn't take it any longer. You don't want to go the whole weekend this way, especially since many places are closed Mon. See if you can get some out.

Moving to the lounge. This topic is not surgery-related. :eek:

How does drinking barium show a leak in the band? I need someone to help me understand this. I've read it many times, but it doesn't make sense to me. Barium shows on xray and can help your organ & organ boundaries be visible (soft tissues dont play well with xray), hence a pouch that is hard to see is clearly visible when full of barium, and barium going through the stoma can be seen. That part I understand completely. But to me, if barium were to be used to detect a band leak, it would have to be injected into the band (obviously talking hypothetically) and they could then observe where the barium exits the band. How does seeing organ structures, or mass inside my esophagus/stomach help a doctor find the point where saline is exiting the band?

Some people (based largely on self-report or observed reaction, but also backed up with brain activity scans) can focus away from the pain so that while the source of the pain is still there, they are not effected by it or are able to trivialize it (think of some of the meditationists who are able to do amazing things with little/no pain as well as little/no bleeding). Think of how easily the brain can create the perception of pain. I won't get into the "is it a real diagnosis or not" debate that you see with things like fibromyalgia, but lots and lots of medical conditions are being cured with mindstate treatments, which makes you at least consider how physical they were to begin with. And LOTS of physical conditions are caused by mental abnormalities, and can likewise be fixed. When I was a kid, I would imagine myself shrinking down until I was the size of a tiny bug, kind of like in Innerspace. Then I would imagine myself going down my own throat, into my stomach, and pulling out a laser gun and shooting myself in the stomach with it, and no kidding - I would begin to have a very small burning sensation in my stomach. I could do something similar to alleviate small pains, but not major ones. Really it's no different from controlling any other body output. Most people can fluctuate their body temperatures about 3 degrees just by thinking of either a very hot or very cold climate.

My husband is the same way. He sees everyone as a potential friend, and treats everyone just like he would his best friend. Sometimes he's too easy-going for his own good. Just as I'm sometimes too reserved for mine. He truly is my yang. :thumbup:

If someone has a physical or mental handicap to the effect that they are filthy, it's usually no surprise that they are handicapped and I think most people would understand the situation, even if they could not recognize it. This is not just a roaming generalization. Of course there are exceptions, but this is based on a lot of work & education in the field. If someone does something to offend me, I neither have respect for them nor treat them with respect. And having to smell someone is one of the worst offenses I can think of. With me, like I said - you don't just get my respect because you're alive. It may not take much, but it isn't a handout. People start around a "C" with me, maybe a "D" by default, and can work their way up or down from there. If you've been around for our peronality typing discussions, this is no surprise and fits my type perfectly.

Moved to the lounge for you. :thumbup:

Call your insuranse company and ask them if it would be covered.

Moved this to the lounge for you. :thumbup:

Now that your PB episode is over, it's really important to be careful and gradual when you resume eating/drinking. I would suggest that you stick to thin liquids (broths, Water, juices, etc.) for a day - maybe two if it feels off. If you are having any troubles with those liquids, limit your intake to hot liquids such as hot cider, hot tea, etc. This will give your esophageal area time to heal. Right now you're more prone to getting stuck again because of the swelling from your prolonged PB encounter - swollen area - same rsult as tighter band even though the band isn't filled any more. Over the course of a few days, work your way back up to regular foods. So - once you're confident with the liquids, go for thick liquids - drinkable yogurts, creamy Soups, etc. From there back to mushies, then soft solids, etc. You don't have to take a full day for each stage, maybe just a meal to make sure you're tolerating it. Soon you'll be an old pro. :thumbup:

It's not judgmental to be disgusted by having to smell someone's odors. I don't necessarily agree (or do it). If someone is just being a gross slob, I will not respect them very much. I don't respect people just because they're alive. It doesn't take a whole lot, but such an obvious lack of decency -- doesn't gain my favor.

Moved out of Introductions for you, you'll get more visibility here. :thumbup:

Knowing how men can be, sounds harmless to me. As has been a topic of discussion today -- men really just don't think the same way we do. Notice how your first reaction was to want to insult him because you felt insulted? Guys don't react the same way. First thing - As I was eating some lasagna he says "You aren't suppose to eat that much. Are you?" :smile: I would think this could come from him not understanding what your eating guidelines are, or not knowing what your portion was. Harmless, IMO. 2nd thing - Wow! Nothing to drink? You use to drink 15 glasses of soda during dinner. :thumbup: Believe it or not, I could see this being meant as encouragement and compliment. A sort of "Wow, you're really making progress is changing your behaviors!" Maybe I speak Guy better than I thought! Besides wanting to say "Um, You aren't Stone Cold Steve yourself, Chubs." I was wondering if I've became wayyyy too sensitive with this surgery... Well, you definitely reacted definsively/critically. I'd say your surgery is definitely a deeply emotional experience for you, but not necessarily "too sensitive". How are you and your peeps (significant others) handling the new lifestyle? I'mf ine with it, I've adjusted well. My husband sometimes forgets - understandable, I don't make a daily thing of it. He personally adjusted fine. He really tries to support me in his own akward way, which is sweet but... good thing I'm not the type that needs much support. Where's the support coming from? Hmm - not sure I can explain this since I think we have different approaches. I don't really need a lot of support outside of what I can provide myself. I appreciate it when my husband makes a decision with my band in mind (although sometimes it annoys me), but if he neglects to consider my band, it's not a big deal. I don't need a lot of "atta boys" or compliments. I just need to see myself making an amount of progress I'm satisfied with, or look introspectively to see what I need to change. From there I either change it, or consciously acknowledge to accept the consequences. Lastly - Good luck gals :crying:- We've worked really hard to get to this point... :smile:

I'm thinking - a camera is only good if you're giving me a sex toy, and then we can... nevermind. I wish I could do massages. I have a group of girlfriends who do a monthly massage club thing at one of the spas here, and they keep bugging me to go but I don't like people touching my fat. But I may have scored anyway. He just emailed me that he wants to up the visits from our housekeeper. That's a win-win, right? Twice the visits from her is half the work for me, somehow in math land...

For me it wasn't particularly violent, but instead of just bending over the sink like I normally do, I actually had my head hanging down. (I was tired/exhausted/ready to be over it already). That extra angle was all it needed.

Thanks so much for the responses. I just got back from the bathroom again. OK...here's the situation...it did have thick saliva looking stuff and some chewed food. However...it also did taste and smell like normal vomit. Then it was more than a "PB" because a PB happens at the esophagus. Kind of, but you get the idea. :mad: I would imagine it could happen that you have to PB, and - especially if you have astrong gag reflex - the PBing could incdice some vomitting, much like sticking your finger down your throat would. I'm very confused. I dry heaved again before it came out. I have also heard of some PBs coming from people's noses. This all came out of my mouth. Long story short -- all of your tubing in the area is connected, it is kind of like a tree trunk with several connected braches, so anything (regardless of PB/vomit) that comes up the trunk has the potential to get to one of the branches, e.g. your nose. It's no different from when you're congested and the mucus can make its way down (yumm). I have had PBs (once) come out of my nose. It was weird. Kind of like spitting out of my nose. But didn't hurt the way vomit can, and didn't burn (no acid). I don't feel any discomfort right now, (aside from the normal chest pressure from throwing up) but then again I just got back to my desk (oh what fun...I'm at work right now). If I did PB, I don't understand. I ate the same thing that I ate yesterday for breakfast. What could have caused it? You will learn -- "this aint' got nothing to do with nothing." You could eat something 5 minutes ago, be fine, eat it now and have to PB. Look at how many variables are involved: Degree to which food was chewed Quantity swallowed at once Random fluctuations of your body effecting the tightness of the band What might already be in your pouch Whether or not Saturn is aligned with Mercury And so on Being able to eat something one day and not the next, or even for breakfast but not for lunch, is "life with the band." Oh well...I certainly hope it was a PB and it's all over. I absolutely HATE this. Also...I have read where some folks PB at a table at a restaurant. I can tell you one thing...there is no way in this world that I would EVER do that in public, if I could help it at all. Yeah, that's what I don't get. PBs really hurt me. I have a very high pain tolerance, and the pain leading up to my PBs can double me over. Plus all the sliming... I'm sure they're reporting their truth, but for me, something like that would be impossible (so far). Let me ask this...with a PB, can you hold it back? Like...if you feel it coming, can you delay it? Yes - I can. This is another way it's different from vomitting. I've been at a restaurant, tried to PB there, couldn't get anything out (sometimes I just dry heave, which causes more pain). The girls I was with needed to go, so I went, and it was either hold it or yak there in her car. So I held it. It hurt, a lot, and it was kind of like when you really have to pee -- you don't want to hit any bumps... but I held it the entire drive (~15 minutes). The only time I've not been able to hold it if needed was when I was virtually closed shut. At that point, I couldn't pass my own saliva to swallowing made me have to PB. Even though I didn't actively swallow, saliva is still running down, and I couldn't do much else with it. I felt that I could delay this a bit until I got into the bathroom and everyone cleared out of there. Sorry for so many questions...this is new to me. Thanks! No problem, hope this is helpful to you.

Lechon Asada (Cuban pork roast dish): Pork roast, shoulder or some other pork "chunk" meat. Mojo Criollo (a marinade, I buy the Goya brand). Adobo (a seasoning kind of, I buy the Goya brand). Some kind of vegetable, I usually do sliced onion. Just chuck in the meat and add about 1/2 bottle of the marinade (it's wine bottle size, which I think 750ml, so about 365ml) and the veggies and cook on low until the meat falls apart. When I've had this on my trips to Florida it has always been served with fried plantains, so I usually make those as a side dish.

BTW, at the time of my surgery my BMI was... over 50. 52, 54, 56. One of those. I have no comorbidities, and I was approved and did not have to do anything else. So there's nothing in your husband's condition that would automatically exclude him generically, but you will have to talk with your insuranec company to really know anything.

General qualifications are BMI 40+, or BMI 35+ with 2+ comorbidities. In addition to those basic medical requirements, most insurance policies have their own additional requirements such as competion of a medically supervised diet, additional testing (stress tests, sleep studies, etc.) Surgeon's don't really deny too many people unless they think it's a significant health risk to do the procedure. Insurance is where the denials come from. Your best bet would be to call your insurance company and ask them if it's covered, and/or what the requirements are. From there, if you're cool with what they require, you begin the search for a covered surgeon.

I know two women who were FDA trials (not pre, just regular) which was - I believe - 2001.

I didn't mean to be so secretive about "the thing" - it's not secretive at all. I just keep thinking of it as that. (I *wish* it was a sex toy!!) It's this camera. Which -- back long ago photography was a hobby of mine, and maybe once a year I get a chance to do it. For anything other than hobby time I prefer the little ones that I can throw in my purse or pocket, not something with big lenses I have to wear around my neck like a tourist. So it's a sweet thought, but totally impractical and totally wrong time, and of dubious intent. He, on the other hand, has all the free time in the world and is quite fond of photographing things like our ceiling fan. His computer monitor. The grill. The tchotchkes on his desk. The dirty laundry on the floor. I think the idea of him truly having no clue is spot-on. One year for our anniversary he bought me a gift certificate to Target. And for xmas I got a blender. A few years I've gotten nothing because he didn't know what to get me. He is a sweet man, he's just not creative or romantic. If he had to plan a romantic evening we'd end up at a restaurant because that's all he'd be able to think to do. (We are total opposites here, so I just need to learn to keep my hopes low!) And thank you for all the birthday wishes. My coworkers have really spoiled me today, so it's not a total loss. :mad:

Moving this to the lounge since our surgical forums are specific to the lap-band. You may get better responses here re: VSG.

A hair shy of 2 years out and even at my worst (which has to be hunched over a public toilet spewing out what looks like shampoo lather... or maybe it was having to have a virtual stranger co-worker pull off the interstate 20 times, en route to an emergency unfill, so I could yak gallons of egg white out her car door...or...) I have truly and with all serious never once regretted my band. I've never even wondered if I regret it. My only regret -- not capitalizing more on the first 6 months.

And my husband is being an idiot. Why? Because he's a man! For like a year now he was wanted to buy me something (we'll call it "the thing") that I don't really want. Well - it's one of those "would be nice to have" kinds of things that I would want if I had the time to use it, but I simply don't, and won't until I'm done with my graduate program (end of this year). And it's not a cheap thing, so in the meantime it would just be sitting there collecting dust. He has used every single holiday, any type of occasion, etc. to try and justify buying me "the thing". For some reason he really wants me to have it. That is probably a combination of trying to encourage my interests and support me, and him wanting it too. He tried to buy it for me for xmas, he tried to buy it for me because I got an "A" in a class, he tried to buy it for me because I was having a bad week, etc. My husband asked me what I want for my bday and I told him, and I think it went in one ear and out the other because he has been hinting that I'm getting "the thing". Two days ago he was hinting about it and I said, "I don't want it right now, I won't have the time to use it" and he says "Well I'll use it..." Men! And - my husband really isn't a clever guy. He's exceptionally intelligent, don't get me wrong, but he is not witty/crafty in the way it takes to deceive someone, so I doubt he's focusing his efforts on "the thing" to try and lead me away from what he's really getting me. He's really not even the type to think about doing something like that, let alone be able to pull it off. And my husband does not have a romantic bone in his body. The most romantic thing he has done was plan a dinner for our 10th anniversary, it was a "package" deal that he made some adjustments to so kudos on the adjustments, but -- really? And I truly think that he got the "bragging rights" from that more than pleasure at having done a good job. His friends knew about it way before I did - "Oh yeah, he's been talking about it non-stop... about how good of a job he did." Here's an example of my husband's "romance." Because of the happenstance of my birthday, we're somehow limited to flowers, candy and jewelry as potential gifts. Well, I don't like getting flowers. I'm way too practical for that. They're expensive, roses in particular are (IMO) not that pretty, I don't care for their scent, and they all just die (yet somehow they're supposed to be a symbol of our LOVE?), so don't waste your money. And I'm not a big candy eater, especially now, and have never been a fan of chocolate. So he usually goes with jewelry, which is ok, but I'm not a big jewelry person. I always wear the same things - same hoops, same studs, same rings. My husband's idea of a "romatic" gift is to drive me to the jewelry store (always the stupid chain store at the mall, to boot) and say "pick something." Umm... what? What am I going to pick? I already have what I want, and even if I did want something else, I would want you to be at least a little bit involved, but this crap -- is no different than me just going somewhere and getting it on my own. Now, because he has been (I'm sure) planning on buying me "the thing" and I've hopefully made it abundantly clear that I don't want it right now, I will probably either: 1) be guilt-tripped into letting him buy it for me 2) give up and tell him I want it because that's easier than dealing with man pout 2) get nothing because he's not the type to have a plan B Getting nothing wouldn't bother me, except for the fact that it would be because he's a dill head.

BTW, I know this doesn't apply to everyone, but there are a few things I can do to help me figure out if I'm going to have to PB again, or if I'm just having residual "stuck" misery that will eventually subside. One of them is take a deep breath. When I take a deep breath, if it hurts in the area of my band, I pretty much know I will need to PB again. If it doesn't, chances are I do not. Another is swallow something very small, like an enzyme tablet (never does me any good, but it's something small that I can swallow). If I have to sort of force my body to swallow, I probably have to PB again. If I can easily swallow it, typically I do not. Remedies - these do not work for me, but a lot of people find relief with one or more of them. pineapple juice (tiny sips), meat tenderizer (dissolved in warm or hot water), papaya enzyme tablets (well-chewed), taking a deep breath and holding it repeatedly, etc. The one thing that on occasion works for me is to hunch over something, such as my kitchen island, and arch my back. Not always, but more than once, after doing this for a minute or two I will get my signal that the stick has cleared.