Dody

Just as I'm waiting to get my ulcer cleared up I get notice from Dr. McAlexander's office that he is closing his office and moving due to an illness his son has. They need to be close to a certain hospital for the son's treatment. I thought perhaps I was back to square one, but they have referred my file to a Dr. Colquist who I have never met in Marysville, TN. I have talked to their office on the phone and the requirements are the same ones I've been going through thank goodness. I won't be meeting him until April 13 though, so I sure hope I like him as well. Has anyone used this dr. or know anything about him? The office tells me he is very knowledgeable in both RNY and lap banding. It's going to be difficult to switch doctors in mid-stream, but at least my records have been forwarded. I will be getting my surgery at a different hospital. I do have to stay overnight because of my sleep apnea they told me, which is fine with me. I want to make sure I'm going home holding down fluids and feeling OK. I wasn't nervous at all before, but knowing I will have a new doctor has made me just a little nervous.

Most of the skin rashes in the folds of the skin are caused by yeast infections. They can be made more comfortable by a lot of creams, but if you truly want a cure for it you need to use Lamisil. It will take care of the itching, redness, and permanently cure the problem. Just trying to be helpful. We have used it in hospitals for years.

This was just a theory that my dr. says had been being tossed around at a medical convention he went to. When they looked at the statistics on erosion and infections they found that most patients were diabetics. I just wondered if there was anyone that related to this, and apparently there are some. It's just theory........but it does make sense.

How long till you can take medication by mouth? I take 8 different medicines but then this old lady is not a kid anymore and knows it. I know what crying over pain is all about. I deal with it all the time. I'm hoping this surgery gives me a new lease on life. I thought you only couldn't take pills for a little while after surgery. Someone please answer, how long till you can actually take medicine. Aside from my Nexium (which is a capsule and you aren't supposed to dissolve it) I take pretty small pills. Help someone...can I never take my pills again? That wouldn't work for me, and I'm so looking forward to this surgery and some of the pain being gone.

Although people are descretionary about their WLS Oprah would not be I'm sure...not with her vast audience. She would make a whole show out of it. I just think she gains and loses and she has gained a little again. She has a personal trainer and chef........how can you go wrong. I really don't think she has had by-pass. She is an up front, in your face person, that would not keep it a secret. She would be doing a show on all the do's and dont's, but unlike Star Jones she wouldn't be ragging on being "fat and beautiful" at any point in her life. Oprah is too honest to pull a stunt like that, and could never keep it under wraps. Hell, they even found out overseas when she wasn't let into a store when it was closing....everything in her life gets out. Star Jones...she's a wannabee. Oprah is the real deal, although I switch the channel constantly to Ellen who is much more fun to watch. She makes me happy on my bad days with her great attitude, and I care nothing about her sexual orientation. I think she is basically just a sweet person.:focus:. I took a few more minutes and thought about what I have just said, and then I wondered. If Oprah can get by about lying about the curly wig she wears, and making excuses that her producer called her into her office about her own hair (which she was just wearing straight for awhile) perhaps she is capable of having flown someone to her private island in the Caribbean to do this surgery. I just came in to edit this, because I know that is a wig she is wearing and she won't ever own up to it. It is so vastly different from her own hair that it is obvious. Also I am old enough to remember when Oprah was the pits...right there with Maury Povich, dishing paternity results and raising cain on her show. She wasn't always what she comes across as today. I remember when she was just another Sally Jesse Raphael dishing gossip and having fights on the show. I guess you have to be older to remember the old Oprah with the Tina Turner wigs.

If it works great, and if it doesn't you are surely getting your daily supply of fiber I wish you good luck with it. I love crunch raisin bran myself and could easily eat two bowls a day........but I also love oatmeal and have heard of people eating that twice a day for a diet also. It sure can't hurt to give it a try.

I've had fibromyalgia for years and years...back when doctors thought it was just in "your head". Thank God they now realize the pain is very real. I can tell you it doesn't get any better. My heart just broke as I got older and it affected my legs........but the good news is that an antidepressant called Celexa helps a great deal with the symptoms and how you feel. I thank God for it every day. Muscle relaxers only put me to sleep. This is the first thing that has helped. Good luck to you.

I'm still trying to figure out how you get the soap out of it!!

Just think about the bacteria on this band....God forbid. I wouldn't want to buy a band on Ebay. This goes to my last post where my dr. had told me he thinks erosion could partly be caused at the time of placement by bacteria already on the band....(he says bacteria can't be seen, but he thinks American hospitals are much more on top of the sanitary aspect). That is one reason American OR's are kept so cold. I guess you can find anything anywhere if you look hard enough. I know at my seminar they passed a band all around the room..............have to wonder if that band ever ended up in someone!! UGH. That's why I changed my mind on the first surgeon's seminar that I went too....besides he was a little obnoxious and distant not to mention arrogant.

I wish I had someone to go through this with me. I think it would be a great help to have hubby/wife in the same boat and going through the same things. I would feel blessed to have someone to share it with. I will have my daughter and son-in-law with me, and hopefully they will understand the different ways I have to approach food and the stages. I would ask the dr. to schedule you both for the same day. That's just my opinion though. Best of luck to you both.

Star Jones, who used to say she was big and beautiful has changed her tune now that she had gastric bypass surgery. She now can only talk about how bad she felt about herself and her health issues. She doesn't quite come out and admit she had GB but she did. It's very obvious in the way she talks. I can't stand her anyway...annoying is not the only word I would use. She is a hypocrit sho raved about being big and loving it, and has done an about face.

You are an extremely brave woman Penni with all you have been through. I have no doubt with your resolve you are going to beat this weight thing band or no band. Your step-by-step journey has been amazing and heart-breaking for you I'm sure, but you sound so determined and you are completely aware of what is right and wrong. I think you will do fine, and maybe at some further date you can get re-banded. You go girl.

When you are not banded yet you haunt this forum for good pieces of advice, and yes even miracles, and this certainly is one in the form of the lap band. It shows me if you want something bad enough it will work for you, as long as you work with it. I have to admit I'm going to miss my soda pop, but fortunately I love cranberry juice and grape juice, both of which are much better for me. This will be a small price to pay for not being depressed over my weight gain anymore, and blaming my giving up cigarettes as an excuse for the weight. This is a wake-up call, and yes I mortgaged the house too. It's a small price to pay for a longer life. Thanks for the inspiring story.

Another miracle diet drug...people died...people sued...people gained back every pound. You can lose weight on a diet pill and you can also permanently injure your heart. I'm living proof of that. I will never take diet pills again. My dr. has encouraged me with the band because it is minimally invasive, but says absolutely no to DS and GB. He also won't operate on a smoker. I quit 5 years ago and it is the best and worse thing I ever did. Best for my health, but that is when I gained all the weight. I did all the wrong things and consoled myself with eating. It is all my fault and no one else's. I was mad at the world because I was forced to quit and I wasn't ready....I have 100 extra pounds to show for what getting mad got me Hard to believe dr's. are still touting diet pills after everything that has happened, and hard to believe drug companies are still making them.

What nursing school did you go to? I never heard that, nor do I think there is anything to back it up, although no one should sit for any great time in any position and not move around, especially on a long plane trip or car trip. You are in no more danger crossing your legs then sitting flat footed.

Peanut butter is an excellent source of protein, but to put it in a protein shake destroys the purpose, simply because of the calories. I see some delicious recipes where people have added peanut butter....and of course it tastes great, but you could eat a meal for the calories in that shake.

When the thought of chips come into your mind try to think of cow chips. It isn't pleasant but somehow in the subconscious it works wonders.

I know how important it is to drink water during dieting or for bladder infections, and I know I don't drink enough of it. I quite simply don't care for water. I come from the days when my Mom said if the day ever came she had to pay for water she would give it up. Well, the day has arrived where we have to pay for bottled water and sometimes even in restaurants. Me, I'd rather drink a diet root beer, but I also love cranberry juice. Nothing take the place of water and I have to learn to do much better. Because of my lack of committment to water I get lots of bladder infections. You would have thought it would have taught me something wouldn't you?

I thought I had heard every medical abbreviation out there, till I came to this site. They have a lingo all their own I'm not banded yet, but I know now what the language means and it makes the posts easier to read. You know we could play a game with these bandsters (just kidding) and throw out some abbreviations like COPD, TIA's, etc. and I bet only the nurses here will latch onto them. They probably would not understand us anymore then the abbreviations they have chosen and they are so perfect for the band. I sometimes think TMI is not always good (too much information). Welcome.

Forget the doctor needs his rest. You are sick and need help. It is his job to help you. Didn't I hear you say you got your band removed in the ER??? That is hard to believe. Why on earth would they remove a band (a surgical intervention) in an ER filled with bacteria (and yeh they are there). I'm a retired nurse and the easiest place in the world to get sick is in a hospital. Call your doctor. What antibiotics you got in an IV may not even be the coverage for the infection you seem to have. I won't be surprised to hear you are back in the hospital for a few days. Take care and keep us posted.

This year is different. This year at some point I will be banded and dedicated to making the band my best friend. I'm going to learn new ways of eating and have a new respect for myself. I'm putting my best foot forward and never looking back. This is a very special year for me, because it has taken a long time to get through the process. It seems like first one thing and then another stood in my way. I'm on my way to curing an ulcer and an esophageal erosion, both of which are almost gone, and by this spring or summer I intend to be a full fledged bandster, and I can't wait. I'm not scared or nervous. I'm truly looking forward to this surgery. I've had a valve replacement on my heart and some pretty serious problems, so I figure this should be a cakewalk compared to what I've been through. I'm just happy and going along for the ride, so Happy New Year to all you bandsters and all who are in the process of going through the screening process.:confused:

And I am voluptuous and rubenesque (who am I kidding I'm fat)!! You can use all the terminology you want and it comes down to one thing. FAT. You can only call it what it is. For all those fat women that are oh so happy with their bodies, they are lying like rugs. No one is happy being fat. Sorry to burst your bubble, but if you hated the word you wouldn't be here.:confused:

I talked to my surgeon about my upcoming surgery and asked him about erosions, infected ports, etc. and he told me that his colleagues and him have talked at great length about these things. The one thing they find overall is that most of the patients are diabetics. I was wondering how many here that have had major problems with ports or erosion were diabetic. Maybe there is a link there and perhaps there is absolutely none, but it would be interesting to find out.

What causes the port to become infected after months of being healed up. Is it from fills?

My dr. recommends either the lap banding or the gastric balloon. I googled it and got lots of info on it, but still decided on the lap band. I'm hoping I've made the right choice. I've heard that some people find the gastric balloon son uncomfortable that they have had it immediately removed. That's something I don't want to take a chance on. The old balloons were Water filled and could often burst on over-eating. The new ones (and there are pictures on line) appear to be made of a plastic material. Go to some of the sites "gastric balloon" and you can find pictures of them. I have no idea how well they work.