Headhunter

Hi,
Great topic!
SElaine, thanks for putting this one up.
I still have my band, but it is coming out on May 7. I have discussed the reasons elsewhere, and I won't go into it again, suffice to say that it's history.
Maybe I can offer a few words of encouragement to those that are facing a bandless existence.
First of all, DON'T MOURN the loss of your band. Celebrate the fact that you had it while you did, it served it's purpose, and you BENEFITTED from it's presence. You are a different person now than when it it was placed. A lesser person (in the way we want :crying:) and a greater person for having lived the experience.
If you mourn the loss of your band (and I can understand the fact that it really is mourning), you may become somewhat depressed, and we know what THAT can lead to. So celebrate your relationship with the band, and let it go. You HAVE the ability to do this yourself. I promise you that. You have come SO FAR on this journey and the reward is just around the corner. You just need a different strategy.
My band became totally non-functional a while back. I had lost only a few pounds before it went "belly-up" (no pun intended, but a damn fine pun anyway :cry_smile:). I proceeded to get over the loss, and subsequently lost around 90 pounds. You can too.
Look at the fine example of sophrosyne as she outlined above. She is moving forward. You can too. Please remember that you did not become obese because you were born without the Lap Band. Obesity is a complex issue, but more than anything, really, it's a mind game. I'm not suggesting that it's all in your head, but it's a big part of it.
If there's any interest here, I'll come back and talk more about how I was able to function without a functioning Lap Band.
Don't give up, guys. This is another beginning for you, and you need to begin looking at it that way. Even though this is an Installed-band oriented board, I know that there are TONS of GOOD people here that will be your support group, if you want them; I know I will!
Don't give up; the best is yet to Come! :biggrin:

I'm not sure why so many people say that they don't have any experience in this area....the Government performs this on every one of us each April 15th. :thumbup:

Hi,
Great topic!
SElaine, thanks for putting this one up.
I still have my band, but it is coming out on May 7. I have discussed the reasons elsewhere, and I won't go into it again, suffice to say that it's history.
Maybe I can offer a few words of encouragement to those that are facing a bandless existence.
First of all, DON'T MOURN the loss of your band. Celebrate the fact that you had it while you did, it served it's purpose, and you BENEFITTED from it's presence. You are a different person now than when it it was placed. A lesser person (in the way we want :crying:) and a greater person for having lived the experience.
If you mourn the loss of your band (and I can understand the fact that it really is mourning), you may become somewhat depressed, and we know what THAT can lead to. So celebrate your relationship with the band, and let it go. You HAVE the ability to do this yourself. I promise you that. You have come SO FAR on this journey and the reward is just around the corner. You just need a different strategy.
My band became totally non-functional a while back. I had lost only a few pounds before it went "belly-up" (no pun intended, but a damn fine pun anyway :cry_smile:). I proceeded to get over the loss, and subsequently lost around 90 pounds. You can too.
Look at the fine example of sophrosyne as she outlined above. She is moving forward. You can too. Please remember that you did not become obese because you were born without the Lap Band. Obesity is a complex issue, but more than anything, really, it's a mind game. I'm not suggesting that it's all in your head, but it's a big part of it.
If there's any interest here, I'll come back and talk more about how I was able to function without a functioning Lap Band.
Don't give up, guys. This is another beginning for you, and you need to begin looking at it that way. Even though this is an Installed-band oriented board, I know that there are TONS of GOOD people here that will be your support group, if you want them; I know I will!
Don't give up; the best is yet to Come! :biggrin:

A GREAT post. Absolutely, I agree TOTALLY.
Something very similar happened to me, at least in the serious potential. It almost cost me my life SEVERAL times, so I can relate to every word of your experience.
People, problems with the band can KILL YOU. There have been many comments lately about all of the "negative" posts on this forum....but there is a REASON for the negative posts: People are having problems, very serious problems.
On occasion, I see someone here who is experiencing some unusual pain, and they come HERE, to this forum, to ask what the problem might be, when they SHOULD be turning OFF thier computer and high-tailing it into their Surgeons office.
Michelle731, I don't give a Rats A** what your surgeon is or isn't doing these days in terms of seeing patients. INSIST on seeing HIM. I had to threaten my surgeon with a lawsuit to get him to see me, but he did. He was NOT nice about it, but he changed his tune and realized that my insistence on seeing him probably saved him from a malpractice/death lawuit.
So get on the phone, and tell him if he doesn't see you RIGHT AWAY, the next call you make will be to your lawyer. I've had to play this game before, and Doctors have to realize that they can't simply sew you up, walk away, and hand off the problems to some intern. Nope. Won't happen. THEY put it in you, and THEY are going to treat you when there is a problem.
Kslexi, I'm glad you're ok, and thank you for sharing your experience. I'm not opposed to the Lap Band, but there is a growing community of people who are having problems (sometimes life-threatening) with the Band, and they need to be supported in their efforts to get proper treatment from the Surgeon that PUT THE THING IN!

HH

I am not a patient of Dr Cunneen’s, so I cannot speak to any experience with him specifically, though I have met him, and he was present in the operating Room when I had my Lap band installed.
However, having said that, I WILL tell you that my experience with that Medical Group, and Cedars-Sinai in general was absolutely horrific. The “surgeon” who installed my Lap Band was Theodore Khalili, who is now the Chief of the Cedars Bariatric group. Just THAT fact alone is enough to make me advise people to STAY AWAY from Cedars, and particularly Khalili. He did an AWFUL job on me, and when the problems surfaced, he ran like jackrabbit. No support whatsoever until I threatened a lawsuit, and then he acted like a three-year old whose toys had been taken away.
In addition, Dr Cunneen was present during the surgery to oversee Khalili’s work….and the surgeon who REMOVED my lap band stated that the band had been installed INCORRECTLY. So, I would have to question Cunneens skill if he oversaw a procedure that was performed incorrectly.
HH

Thank you so much for the good wishes, Shirely!
It's tomorrow morning, and I am getting a bit nervous. The surgeon told me that it is unlikely that he will be able to do the whole thing laproscopically, and he will most likely have to "open me up". So, I'm not happy about that, But I do think I have one of the best surgeons in the country for this kind of thing. It was an interesting series of events that led me to him, so I think this was one of those "meant to be" things.
I'm all nicely "wired up" with a new laptop and Wireless Broadband, so I may be able to post something within a day or two after the surgery.
Actually, this was huge excuse for me to go out and buy whole bunch of new tech goodies so I can stay connected with my business while i am out. One of the bad parts is that the Hospital this is being done at is about 40 miles from where I live, so I won't be getting too many visitors. But, that's ok....I'm bringing plenty of DVD's and audiobooks, and I have a bunch of James Bond movies on my Hard drive! :thumbup:

Different people respond in different ways to the surgery. In my case, after my surgery I was up and around right away. I went to large trade show within a week after I got out of the hospital, and I did just fine. But, other people have taken a lot longer to heal....It's very individual.
Besides, the "one day at a time" is a great way to live your life anyway!
Give it time, you'll do just fine. :smile2:

No, I am still here.
I have not posted anything here for a while because every single thing I say here is blasted. As I am sure THIS comment will be. Particulalry by shortgal. I did indeed tell her that she was ignorant, because she WAS ignorant. If you had seen the thread that she tried to hijack, and seen our exchanges, it would be clear WHY she was ignorant. I was not nice to her in the PMs. But she was not deserving of politeness. She has gone out of her way to create problems.
I have only sent TWO unpleasant PMs, and they both deserved it. EVERY bit of it.
I am communicating with people now via PM, simply because I'm tired of being blasted for everything i say. Not questioned, but blasted.
For a while it looked like this thread was taking a better turn, with members talking about cancer and other imporant issues, and i was happy about that. It looked like if I stayed away, then the venom would disappear. Apparently that is not the case. Some of you are being trolls in your own right.
So I, here and now, officially apologize to the membership of this forum for coming in here firing both guns the way I did. It was wrong, and i'm sorry for that. I do not usually do things that way. My enthusiasm for telling my story and perhaps being able to help someone in some way got the better of me. I have stated this in PMs to many people. And i state it here now, again. If I had to do this over again, i would do it quite differently. But I do not have that opportunity now, do I?
It has been commented that I appear somewhat "holier than thou" in my writing. I am very aware that my particluar style of writing can be a little terse. It is just who I am on paper (or screen..). It is not who I am inside.
I have not yet decided whether i will stay here; some of you will be very happy if i leave. Others, who I have corresponded with privatley, have made some very wise suggestions about how to resolve all of this. I do not know what i will do. I only know that this has impacted me on a very deep and personal level.
There are several "bottom lines" here. One is that This has been MY REAL experience, with no embellishment or enhancement. It does happen to some people, and those of you who it DOES happen to (even if it is only a fraction of a percent) could benefit from my mistakes in handling it before and after the surgery. I do not know how anyone could deny that fact, even if my motives were NOT pure. And, they ARE pure.
So, I offer my apologies to all of you, and I will continue to correspond with those who wish to, and there are a lot.
I do wish everyone the best in your particular journey. And I thank those who who have wished me good will as well.
I'll now go back to my PMs, and you can choose whether or not you want to use your time on this earth pursuing this. Many of you have been given a new life by the lap band. I would recommend that you go out and enjoy it. It is short, as I have come to understand.
best wishes to all.