marie715

I chew 3 tablets when I take them. It seems to work when protein is stuck, not when I get stuck on bread. Which would make sense because the enzymes are supposed to break down protein. Last night I had some leftover tilapia fish and after about 5 minutes of pain, I thought I was not going to get better on my own so I chewed 3 pills. Within about 3 or 4 minutes, I felt the pressure release in my chest and I felt much better. Let me know if chewing the pills helps you out. Good luck.

Fantastic! Let us know the date when you find out. Good luck!

Congratulations, Kellie! Thanks for sharing your good news with us. A success story such as yours always inspires others.

Yes, I do have the card from my surgeon. I guess I've always felt a little embarassed to use it. I am also a member of their email club. I haven't gotten any coupons in a long time from it. Occasionally we do have coupons in the Sunday paper. Thanks for your reply.

What does 'gastric obstruction' mean?

I love Sweet Tomatoes but haven't tried going there since I have been banded. How did you go about getting the kids meal price of $4.99? Thanks!

Hang in there my fellow PCOS'ers. The lap band is working for me and it sounds like your surgeon is exactly right. I haven't been able to lose weight in about 20 years. I am loosing weight at the recommended 1 to 2 pounds a week. I could a not be happier. I love my band. Best wishes to you all.

My bmi was 54 when I got banded in Sept. 2008. I have steadily lost weight. You can do it, Kathy. You have support here.

Hi, yes, you will get mixed messages from various sources. Everyone's doctor is different. For those of us without any complications, there are those people that leave a few hours after surgery, those that stay overnight and then everyone else falls somewhere in between. I was an overnighter and glad that I did stay overnight.

Go, Malissa, Go!! With that type of determination, you're going to do FANTASTIC with the band. Continued good luck to you. Let us know how everything goes, ok?

I was at the Mall of America one week after getting my 3rd (and most recent) fill. I don't know what I was thinking but I bought a chicken teriyaki and rice plate at the food court. Of course the chicken got stuck and I had no idea where the closest bathroom was. And then when I found it there was a line of ladies at least 10 people long! Talk about panic!! So I ran to Macy's and found my way to the ladies room there. I am forever grateful to Macy's because their ladies room had a separate room with a nice couch in it. Boy, did I need that to recuperate on for about an hour after the episode was over. I pretty much ruined our shopping trip! But like others have said, I still love my band. It wasn't the band's fault the chicken got stuck, it was my fault.

Hi Cindy! I am a Loyola lap band patient. September 4, 2008. Loyola is very, very conservative with the lap band surgery. We all have to have all of those tests done. Honestly, it is for our own best interests. I know how anxious you must feel to get the surgery done as soon as possible. If you do decide on Loyola, feel free to contact me and stay in touch. I hope all goes well for you. BTW - I LOVE my lap band. I have lost 58 pounds and I could not have done it without the band. I wish you lots of luck wherever you decide to have the band done.

I wish you much, much luck. You are brave. Be sure to stay in touch with all of us. I'll be thinking of you on March 30th.

I saw her quote as meaning that she considers the lap band to be as personal a topic with her as vd would be. I understand that. For me, that is not an apples and oranges comparison.

Hi, you know it sounds kind of wierd that their office said you were approved before you have even seen Dr. Sarker. Could they have possibly just meant that Loyola accepts your insurance? From what I have heard, the insurance request does not even get submitted until after all of your test results are done. Let me know what they tell you at your first appointment with Dr. Sarker. And yes, most definitely, all of the tests are an extremely good thing. By the time all of the tests are done, you will know that you are in the best possible shape to get through surgery and also for the lifestyle change that is required. Marie

Hi OGee! I am a Dr. Sarker @Loyola lap band patient. I was banded on Sept. 4, 2008. I met 3 other Dr. Sarker patients through lapbandtalk.com. BTW - Dr. Sarker is a female. As for how long it takes before surgery can be scheduled, I believe it is all dependent on your insurance requirements. All of us Dr. Sarker patients had all of the tests done - pulmonary, sleep test, psychological test, heart tests, nutrition consult (although I believe that is optional now). They put you through alot of tests to make sure that you are healthy enough for the surgery. With so many tests to schedule you can imagine that it takes several months to get them all completed. Loyola's support group is basically non-existent. The other 3 Dr. Sarker patients I know go to a monthly support group that meets at Alexian Brothers Hospital in Elk Grove Village. The group meets the 1st Saturday of every month and it costs $10.00 to attend. It is led by a psychologist. It's a good group. I can give you more information, if you'd like. People attend who have not yet been banded and many people bring their support person (spouse, signficant other, etc) with them. I'd be happy to correspond with you about my experiences with Dr. Sarker and Loyola. Good luck to you. I hope it all works out for you. Marie715

Aubrie - You are too cool! Love your attitude and I agree 100% with it. Congratulations on your very successful weight loss. Wish you continued good luck.

I went out to dinnner yesterday, had salmon but ended up sliming anyways. I was very uncomfortable leaving the restaurant. I asked my husband to stop at the local health food store so that I could buy some papaya enzyme pills. I read on lapbandtalk.com that people have been helped by it. I just wanted to report that it worked great! The directions were to swallow or chew 3 (small) pills. I chewed them. They actually tasted like papaya. Within about 3 minutes, I felt the pain ease and I was much more comfortable! I'm so excited about this. The pills were relatively inexpensive. The small bottle was $4.00 for 100 pills. Just wanted to encourage anyone else who has not tried this. I hope it helps you in the same way it helped me.

Hi Elsie, I love the name of your blog. It is very appropriate.

Oh, yes! I totally agree with this. One of the most painful experiences I had was when I drank water 'to help it go down..' GEEZ! There's a reason why one of the lap band rules is no fluids with meals. Good luck.

I am so glad to read about others who have the band that holds 4cc's. I thought I was the only one! I have had 3 fills and the most recent one was Dec. 7, 2008. At that time she said I had 'almost 3cc's'. I think I am at my sweet spot. The first 3 weeks after the fill were rough. I am hoping this restriction will last for as long as possible. I'm afraid that if I go in for a fill, I will get on the 'fill-unfill-fill' roller coaster. Good luck to all of you fellow 4cc's.

Hi Pixiegurl! I just wanted to comment on one point that you said in your post. "I am really ready to do this but a little scared, my only weakness is chocolate and man do I love it, and from what I'm reading on these posts you can't really do sweets after your banded, I'm wondering why that is?" I think when we say that you can't really do sweets after you are banded, we mean that we can't do them because they are too calorie laden. Unfortunately, most sweets, like chocolate, go down very easily and so we lap banders can get in trouble weight-loss wise, because we ARE able to eat chocolate but it will wrec havoc with our weight loss plans, just as it wrecs havoc with our weight loss plans before being banded. You may read references to people who have the gastric bypass surgery not being able to eat sweets. For them, yes, they can suffer from something called 'dumping syndrome' when they eat sweets. This is a physical thing where they actually feel ill and vomit and feel like they have the flu. Lap banders do not have this dumping syndrome. If we eat chocolate, we suffer from the additional calories not from dumping syndrome. Hope this helps to explain things. Good luck to you. Marie715

I am a Lead Business Analyst in the IT department of a very large U.S. Airline. Love my job, hate the constant uncertainty of whether or not I will be one of the unlucky ones who gets layed off.

Thanks, for your post, Jill. I am seriously considering whether or not I should get a very, very slight unfill but I'm worried about it because I've come to realize that getting a fill or unfill is so unpredicatable. Your post is another example of that. I'm so sorry to hear about the trouble you had. And add to that bad weather and a long drive to boot! My last fill was Dec. 5th. I can only eat about 1 ounce of 'protein you can cut with a knife' (my doctor's words) and that's it. I read about people eating 3 ounces of meat and some vegetables and I think there is no way I could do that now. So that is the down side of where I am at fill-wise but I love being able to go 3 to 4 hours without being ravenously hungry. I feel fine, energy-wise so I think I am going to keep plugging along and not go in for an unfill. Good luck to you. I hope you are feeling better.

I've been banded 5 months, down 48 pounds and probably will need to lose another 50 pounds. In your opinion, do you think that just about everyone who looses 100 pounds or more could use a tummy tuck? I hadn't really thought about needing one because I never thought that I would actually be able to lose that much weight! I'm 49 years old so I don't think my skin has alot of elasticity to it to rebound from being so much overweight for the past 10 years or so. Just wondering if I should start researching plastic surgery so that I'll be ready if and when I need it. Additional info - I carry all of my excess weight in my stomach area and I am very short - 4' 10".