HeatherO

Hello Violets, I didn't post to this thread for a little while and, by golly, I was several gazillion pages behind, believe it or not. I started graduate school again and time is such a rare commodity. I am happy to report that I have gotten my eating a lot more in line post the insanities of holiday excesses. I am not perfect, but not embarrassing either. I can live with that for now. My OB doctor yelled at me for not gaining any weight. I can tell you that this is the very first time in my entire life that a doctor has yelled at me for weight going down instead of up. However, that means that eventhough I have lost weight instead of gained . . . I still have a perfect record of a doctor being unhappy with my "weight change" just about every doctor's appointment in my adult life, lol. You are sure right about Eastwood, but he sure can act. I don't think anyone could have played this role better. It is nice to know I am not the only person who "sneaks" stuff into the movie theatre, lol.

Most surgeons wont accept a BMI of 32 even with a co-morbidity like diabetes in the US even if you are self pay. It never hurts to call around though and double check. Perhaps the Lapband or Realize websites might give you more direction on who might accept you.

It is possible that they used an adhesive for the instruments . . . or perhaps it is even the durabond itself is causing the issue. When it is a perfect square like that, it is usually allergy from whatever was touching it. It sounds more like an allergy than staph. A call to the doctor is important and they might suggest a topical ointment. I would definitely suggest allowing it to get as much "air time" as possible. Once you are healed up a little better, perhaps a clean undershirt that you can throw out later if there is any staining might be good, especially at night. I am also allergic to bandages. I tried regular at first, then non latex, then sensitive skin, then fabric bandages and every kind broke me out, although regular were the worst by far. The only thing that worked for a bandage later was the type that have cloth in the middle and something that looks like an adhesive saran wrap. These are more pricey but you can find them at CVS and probably other drug stores. This worked best by far. I used these primarily on my port incision once I realized I couldn't cover it with anything else. There is a product called new-skin that you paint on cuts like nail polish that doesn't break me out - but definitely do not use it unless you talk to your doctor first (and maybe you want to try it somewhere else first to see if you have an allergy). I used this on my smaller incisions and it worked beautifully with no irritation. I did not use it on the primary port incision. This product will sting a little when you use it the first time (kind of like peroxide on an open cut kind of sting).

TOM could be a culprit . . . but that usually only lasts for a little while and then you will start dropping again. Water retention is certainly possible so make sure that you are getting more than your required daily amount. Too few calories have affected me this way as well. I had to up my calories to around 1,000 to keep losing after a certain point. Your body can go into starvation mode and slow down your metabolism so that you hold on to every calorie. Last but not least, most of us do not llose at a steady decline. It is usually starts and stops interspersed with plateaus. Your body needs time to adjust. Almost everyone stops losing 3-4 weeks after banding for a little while so that their body can adjust to surgery and changes in food. Good luck.

I am interested in the answer to this as well since I am a self-pay patient.

Best of luck to you Carole. I drive 2 hours for fills but if I have an emergency at a strange time I have to go to the home office 4 hours away. I can live with it but the one time I did have an emergency - I can tell you that it was the longest drive of my life. I have read again and again that the band is not much good without appropriate aftercare. I also don't think living on 600-800 is reasonable for the long term. I agree with Kat in that there is no reason to remove it if it is not causing you any grief . . . and better options for aftercare are opening up everyday. Demand is growing and people will move in to accomodate the demand. Good luck.

I love my band as well and I am pretty much at goal. It took me less than a year to move from morbid obesity to a normal BMI. However, I was active in exercise and was not so much into sweets or junk food - I was just a chronic overeater. The band was the perfect choice for me . . . but I didn't know that for sure until I did it. I have since become pregnant post banding - had a large unfill and have kept the weight off without gaining. For pregnancy the band was also the perfect option. I agree with the poster that says that you may not get a good representation of all the banded people out there with this thread. Those who have success over the long term tend to "fall off" the boards as normal everyday life takes over. Those who fail will not stick to the boards for very long either. Most active posters are newbies with less than a year under their belts, moderators and the occasional people who like to stay in touch with the forum. Best of luck with your choice :0)

I guess as a long-time bandster (relatively, lol, it feels like a lifetime), I am finding that I really need the off topic posts to keep it interesting. If it was all just banding, banding, banding I would have moved on to a different site. There are only so many bandster hell, help I am not losing, fill experiences, how soon can you go back to work, I have eaten such and so during post op . . . am I dying? kinds of posts that I can answer without becoming bored. All I can say is . . . thanks to all of you that keep my day interesting by posting about animals, prostitutes and the turd flotation factor . . . lifes too short not to mix it up a bit. We are all a little more complex than just our obesity, our bands or our weight . . . at least I hope so.

That was priceless . . . ROFL!!!

I had that a bit as well when I got back into exercise. It didn't seem bad as you were doing it . . . but you definitely pay the price later.

It seems excessive, especially if they didn't tell you upfront. I agree about trying to resolve it with them as soon as possible. $450 isn't fair.

That happens sometimes. I remember getting a fill once and I was fine in the office even if the Water was going down slow. But when I started drinking on the way home I realized that I had a problem. Later I had to go back for an unfill. Drinking the water was semi OK in the office but slow going but I could never progress beyond liquids afterwards.

My first pregnancy was my first experience with weight problems. I weighed 125-127 when I got pregnant and had never weighed more than that. I remember I was up 67 pounds on the day of delivery (I had a morning OB checkup and I remember my doctor was very upset with me so the number sticks in my head ). I went from the 120's to the 190's so fast that I had angry, glaringly red stretch marks on my belly, thighs and arms. I looked like a road map. I remember some of the main dietary culprits of that weight gain was huge quantities of strawberry flavored milk, and lots of Mexican including taquitos and quacamole several times a week. I was living in southern California and my diet was primarily Mexican during that pregnancy. By the way, I made a point not to have even one glass of strawberry milk or a single taquito (shredded spicy beef wrapped in a corn tortilla deep fried in oil with salsa, sour cream and guacamole on the side) during this pregnancy out of fear of repeating the past, lol. After that pregnancy, my new lowest weight was 156 and I went ever upwards from that point on until banding. I know I have the potential to gain a lot of weight during pregnancy. I think being banded must be impacting me in that I am eating lots of things but just not huge quantities. I think this will just be an entirely different pregnancy for me than the first, especially since I am much older and hopefully a little wiser this time around, lol.

I had surgery on Friday and went back to work the following Tuesday. It was no big deal other than be a little tired and grumpy the first day back to work.

I agree completely. It is really not any of her business as to the specific reason and both gallbladder and hiatal hernia are good explanations for abdominal surgery. Also, since the hiatal hernia affects your stomach it can also be an explanation for a "soft" diet. After a month or two pass and she starts noticing weight loss, you can tell her the truth in that you are eating less, cutting out the carbs and getting exercise. The band doesn't have to have anything to do with it.

I have had it too. I just supplement a protein drink or two and know that I will be on a more liquid to mushy diet during this time. I also drink something hot before eating. You kind of get used to this after a while.

My doctor does want another ultrasound in 4 weeks but she said it was because they had difficulty getting good pictures of the brain eventhough everything looked normal from what they could see. Baby size is on target so far, with the gestational age expectations she is right on track. She seemed healthy and active and the tests all came back positive with no cause for concern. I started showing a little early but since the initial expansion my stomach is not getting much bigger. At around 8 weeks out I started wearing size 10's again because they were more comfortable around the waist . . . I am still wearing them and they are not tight at all, only comfortable. I can definitely feel my uterus which is like a hard cantalope under the skin, but I think I am just one of those people who is carrying more internally than externally for now. I have 4 cc's in my band right now. This doesn't feel restrictive to me but I am not obsessively hungry. I can eat anything without getting sick but I am not driven to eat a ton of food like I would have been prebanding.

I agree that it depends on your fill and restriction level. At any rate, it gets a lot easier after you have been banded for some time. After six months to a year, you pretty much know what you can tolerate and what you can't. I tell people I am dieting in a lower carb fashion and don't make mention about banding. Usually that provides better choices . . . but not always. I just accept that unless I am really close to someone, dinner at their house is a bit of a crap shoot. However, most dinners will have at least one thing I can eat.

Sometimes the band is fickle and restriction comes and goes when you wouldn't expect it. I wouldn't worry about it until you go back in for your next fill. You did lose a lot of weight in a short amount of time . . . if you had much fat around your stomach it would have been impacted as well. Perhaps the band is the same but your stomach is not quite as big now. If you are really concerned you can request a fill under fluoro.

I am sorry to hear that . . . what a bummer. If you can't switch back then gong 70 miles away isn't the best option in the world but at least it is an option to consider. I wish you the best of luck.

I agree that it could be sugar substitutes if you are eating a lot more than you typically would. Caffeine can also be a culprit if you were used to a certain level and then cut it out. I have an awful migraine from cutting out the caffeine on the day of surgery . . . and there was not a darn thing I could do about it.

Although it seems obvious to me now that you mention it, I wasn't really thinking that I was at an energy deficit. Of course I would have to be to lose weight. I could probably start adding in a supplement like a once a day nutrition shake and just watch the weight gain. Perhaps I could just knock out the shake or cut back if I gain more than 2 pounds in a week. I just realized that with my pregnancy half finished, even if I gain a pound a week from this point forward I am still well within the appropriate range. I might have just become a little too uptight about weight loss after being so dedicated for such a long time. I guess I am a little nervous about losing my momentum.

I agree about calling your doctor or maybe clipping it in a sterile fashion. It is probably best left alone as is - pulling or squeezing it isn't good for healing. Your regular doctor should definitely be able to help with this. It is really a minor issue.

I had a little port pain after doing abdominals 4 weeks after surgery. My doctor just told me to take it easy another week or two and then I should be fine. I have no problems now. At 7 weeks out you should be just fine as long as you are using appropriate lifting technique and are not overdoing it. Just listen to your body. Start easy and if you are not sore the next day or so then you know you can pick up a little more. If you are careful and listen to how you feel, it is not likely that you will injure yourself.

Almost no one experiences much restriction without any fills. It is not all that much different than being unbanded. Unless you get some fills in place, your band is sitting idle. The sooner you get in a for a fill the better. Without a fill your band isn't failing you, it just isnt really in use. If you can't get fills through your surgeon for whatever reason, start calling around or use a fill center to get in and start filling your band.