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sdbeachmom and MyTurn, I pm'd you on where to place the ticker

Yup, the "y'all" gave you away, BII!!

Congradulations on the date!

I don't know what's on the list. My doc had me on clear liquids for a couple of weeks post surg, and to tell the truth, I had zero appetite for 2 wks or so. Make sure you have various flavors of broth, and different "crystal light" powders to mix up for when you get of all the water. And do force yourself to sip lots of water. You'll be a new man very soon.

Hi AppleBottom! The MSRA infection rates will vary from hospital to hospital. Since you work in a hospital, you probably know that MRSA has colonized on the skin of lots of people that don't even know they have it (as a hospital employee, you could be colonized right now), which is why handwashing is sooooo important. The only hospital staff that should even have cause to touch your incisions are the OR staff (and they'll be sterile). That makes it important for you to make sure your own hands are clean before you mess with the incisions. I know it's easy for me to say, but MRSA would be a pretty minor worry. There's lots worse bugs floating around in a hospital.

Your impression is not true. There are a lot of ways to cheat around the band, if the patient really wants to. Unfortunately, it seems that some doctors are doing their patients a dis-service by not thoroughly explaining that the band works, but "you get out what you put in". Ice cream is pretty easy to get past the band, but the pizza makes me think that the might have caused a slippage by eating the wrong kinds / heavier amounts of food. Only the doc can test and say for sure, though.

The needle is not that big. The port is sutuchered to the ab muscles in the ribcage area (at least that's where mine is) just under the skin, so the syringe doesn't have to go as deep as you think. It's NBD, really...

pbpunisher, let us all know how this plays out. I am indignant your PCP would write you off so easily...

I took a semester of Kajukenbo in college, it was pretty cool. I didn't know you were in Dallas. I've been dying to take Krav Maga, but nobody in a 50 mile radius of here teaches Krav

So, since insurance will pay....who requires your GP's approval? The bariatric surgeon? Stunned is putting it lightly!

WTF?!? Sounds like this doc is about as anti-WLS as one could get. Wellbutrin? How will a mild anti-depressant help you lose weight better than WLS, exactly. Do you absolutely have to have your PCP's approval, or can you "doctor shop" to find somebody that will support and respect your decision?

I see what you're saying, NukeChik, but being vulgar is all in the perception of the woman being complimented. I work with some women that could take a pseudo-vulgar compliment (made in a joking manner) and I work with some that will take offense at the mildest compliment. No big deal in personal life, but at work......better safe than sorry.

Awesome story, pfahren. Welcome! I'm sure you will be an inspiration to some of the newly banded (uh, like me, I guess....LOL)

Hi Quinny. Do you have a primary care doctor that you see regularly? That doctor will better be able to tell you if you have any of the "risk factors" (the medical profession calls them "co-morbidities") that you're talking about. Just putting on 5 lbs to get to a BMI of 40....I guess that'd work if you want to wait 2 years for your band. I'd bet that your doc could find at least one co-morbidity and get you started much sooner, though.

GuineaAddict, this may be a stupid question for you, but.......you do know that the port is under the skin and you can't see it, right? Just making sure. GBG, They use a syringe. It's vitually painless (I've had 2 fills so far).

Welcome, Dani. Sounds like you would be an excellent candidate for the band, based on what you wrote so far! A seminar is a very good start for you. Good luck!!

Wow- this is a great post. Very well put!

Hi Noahsmom. There's a reason why few people say the band "put a stop to all my overeating"........Because it won't put a stop to all of somebody's overeating. The band basically makes you feel more full with less food. Now, once a person feels "not hungry", can they keep on eating? Absolutely. The band doesn't totally stop that from happening (actually, nothing can. The only thing that could do something like that is to hire a companion that follows you around 24/7 and physically slaps the food out of your hand). The band helps re-train your brain to realize when it's time to stop eating. The band is super for people like me (very fat and likely as out-of control as you). My problem was that I would eat enormous quantities of food (I worked out with weights, and my metabolism was high....I was always hungry. Then, as I got older, I gradually stopped lifting weights, but stayed in the habit of eating huge meals. Then I got in the bad habit of eating fast food. Before I knew it, I was morbidly obese). The band helps my physical appetite, and it will help yours, and it will help Abby Normal. But you and Abby (and I) still have to fight against "head hunger". I am sooooooo pro band. But I believe that people need to go into the surgery knowing exactly how the band works, and what the limitations are. Good luck!

cool. I'm glad there are people on here that are more up-to-date than me. A long time ago, just the body artifact (breathing hard, rapid heartbeat) from a stress test would have produced a crappy-quality echo. Of course, that was several generations of tech prior to what there is now!

Oh, sorry BII....I was directing that at 80's chick. She said in the OP that her doc ran some bloodwork and recommended hospitalization. Then (I think) she wrote they ran another battery of tests the next day, as well.

Hey Jpet. Jack from these boards has posted some very wise words on fullness. You'll have to do a search (try searching "satiety") to get his exact words. Basically, he says that trying to get that "full" feeling is what made us all fat in the first place (most of us have a defective "full signal" in the brain). Jack says with the band, we should instead focus on trying to feel "not hungry", or "satisfied" instead of "full". If you really think about it, it makes a lot of sense (er, it did to me anyway).

Hey Abby, you might want to go to the section here "lap band social groups" and click on "lapband strugglers". I think there are some folks there that might have some things in common with you. That would be a great place to ask questions like the one you asked here.

I think you may be combining two different tests, KristyLynn. A stress test is the "exercise" test done on a treadmill (although it can be done by injecting chemicals, too, if the patients cannot tolerate the treadmill). It's an EKG done while the heart is beating very fast and strong. An echo(cardiogram) is a sonogram (like you get when pregnant) of the heart. It's painless, although a little messy, since they use "gel" to boost the signal. It's done to check the pumping capacity of the heart, the valves....stuff like that. I've never heard of a combination of the two.....but it's been awhile since I messed around with any of that stuff, so I guess maybe it's possible.

Hey BII, you know I have an opinion on everything...... My opinion is this: Have you read down the list of known carcinogens? It is sooooo insanely long that it would almost be easier to read a list of things that didn't cause cancer. So, unless you are at an increased risk (compromised immune system, recovering from a previous cancer, etc) it's probably ok to go with regular candles.

Actually, I think Peter mentioned that they are thinking that cause of death was sepsis due to a step infection. That would have shown up pretty clearly on your bloodwork. Now if your lab values showed that you had a big infection, and then the doc wanted to send you home.....then you'd have a reason to sue!!