2muchfun

I had mine put in when I was 63 and I'll be 66 next week. So, I'd say no, you're not too old. If you plan on living for another 3 years or more, why live in pain and discomfort when you can drop 50%-100% of that extra weight?

Owwww! For our information, did they tell you why or how this happened? Other than the immediate pain, were there other symptoms? Did the slip occur immediately or over time? Not trying to place blame, just so we might know more in the event someone else comes to the forum with similar symptoms? This is about as bad as it can get.imo tmf BTW-What a beautiful family you have!

Now there's big advantage of the sleeve over the band. Of course, there can be setbacks or issues with the sleeve but it's rare(I'm told) and with the band, it's required. Many banders have failed due to lousy and incompetent aftercare. oops, sorry, off topic

"Equally amazing is that HALF of the US surgeons were proctored to do the Band from a Mecixan surgeon" Where did you hear/see this? I find it hard to believe? Overall, I believe most Mexican surgeons are competent and reliable. But it's easy to just take names/numbers and pump out patient after patient when they have no obligation to follow-up with same patients. To the OP: You may have to go outside Charleston to find a surgeon or fill clinic. The fees they're charging are obviously high and should be in the range of $250 or less. If you have to pay $250 or more, you should be getting fills under fluoroscopy so that the clinic isn't dragging out the process to make a (big)buck. Good luck.

I don't measure my portions. But, I've been doing this long enough to know how much to put on my plate. Any more than that and it's a leftover. Unless, it's really tasty, then I have to insert some self control. I've been in maintenance now for about 1.5 years and I know that if I want to lose that last 35 lbs I'll have to reduce those portion sizes. So, once the weather here turns a solid bike riding weather, the portion sizes and/or Snacks will downsize/cease till I lose those 35 lbs. I can go about 4 hours without feeling hunger. I allow myself an apple mid morning and another small snack around 3ish.

Hooray for you. Not one of us is walking in your shoes(and OMG, with that schedule, no way) so you gotta do what's best for you. Fill ? Did you get a fill this time or did I miss that?

Maybe she's been taking trips out here(Denver, CO) to the "Weed Barn"?

Sounds like my first marriage

If you have a Protein shake for breakfast or lunch, is it hard to get them down? Just trying to see if maybe you're too tight or maybe you aren't chewing your food enough? Or, what food is getting stuck? eggs, ham, breads?

Re-educating yourself to slow down, eat small and chew big is one of the hardest things for bandster's to do. I was in the green zone 7 months post op but thought I too was too tight so I had a small unfill. Mistake. I just needed to learn to eat like we were told to eat from our nutritionist. It took me 10 months to figure out how to eat right and I still get stuck at least once a week. Not nearly as bad. Most times I feel the pressure and back off for 3-5 minutes to let the food pass.

You might want to repost this to the band to sleeve forum on the sleeve side of this forum? Many banders who have had revisions revise to the sleeve. You'll find some angry band haters over there but most are quite reasonable. Maybe someone else with your issue?

My daughter has fainted for inoculations or blood draws with similar symptoms. Needles scare the hell out of her.

Did you appeal the Medicare denial? I've never heard of that provision before but it surely doesn't surprise me. Concerns me though since I'm on Medicare too.

Trust your doctor. He's seen the inside of your body and knows the trauma caused by your surgery. Could be a fragile repair using mesh or something that may take 30 days to heal. 6 wks does sound like a long time so hit him up again in 3-4 weeks?

You're the nurse? Why would the lapband cause head bleeds? Neuros don't pull punches in my experience. I can see your bariatric doc fudging a little since your symptoms are unusual? Do you have high blood pressure or other medical issues that can cause bleeding? Do you take blood thinners or Nsaids? So, even Obamacare won't remove the band? Did you have to change insurance January 1st and what kind of insurance do you have? tmf

Tightness relates to how small the stoma is around your stomach and is measured by how difficult it is to pass food through the stoma/band. It isn't something you feel from outside your body or even feel within your body. You're most likely feeling some inflammation from throwing up in your abs or your pouch? The bottom part of your stomach violently gyrates to expel anything in your stomach it doesn't want there. The stoma is so small that this can cause the band to disengage from your stomach and slide up your esophagus. Or, it can cause the lower stomach to crawl up through the band. Both are considers slips. Hope it's just ab strains? You should call your doctor.

Hiccups are usually a sign of satiety. I get them when I've had enough food or have eaten slightly too much. It's a result of food pressing against the valgus nerve in your pouch. If you're a little swollen from a stuck episode or recent fill, this can happen. Take it easy on solid foods till the inflammation goes down and it should go away. Of course, if it gets worse or doesn't change, a call to your doctor is in order.

When I see posts like yours, and unfortunately your post is common, I'd like to come to your house and watch what you eat, how you eat, how much you chew and how much you're eating. It sounds like you're band is too tight but then some other comments contradict this notion? "Bread, Pasta, rice & chicken are real work to eat, but it seems I work extra hard to be able to eat these" These are typically difficult for most banders. Chicken is for me and some breads too. GERD can be exacerbated by having a band too tight. Seems like a small unfill could resolve several problems. First, have you seen your bariatric doctor or nutritionist? This is paramount to talk to both. Be prepared to be brutally honest with each. Anything less and you won't find success. Do you feel the satiety signals that many of us feel? After a cup or so of food do you, hiccup, yawn, sigh, burp or feel like your meal is no longer appealing? These are subtle signs that you have eaten enough and can walk away from the table? Unfortunately, it seems that about 34% of banders never feel or see these signals and continue to eat past them. It sounds like you're feeling something as you aren't gaining weight right? A small unfill can dim those signals so it's a gamble to unfill but imo, it's necessary. But, I'm just another grunt on a weight loss forum and your physician and nutritionist are pros. Talk to them. My knees are shot too and 1/4 mile is about my limit so cycling is my exercise outlet and it works very well. tmf

I remember you. You used to post often but sort of disappeared last fall? Anyway, I too lost quickly and got within 25 lbs of my goal and I was getting attaboys left and right, old clothes and new clothes fit again, then Holidays 2012 came around and I gained 10 lbs. Been there ever since. Not gaining, not losing and no one to blame but me. I don't eat a lot of bad food but that early drive to lose a lot seems to have gone buh bye. I live in Denver and my sole source of exercising has been biking. I'm eagerly awaiting the weather to turn to Spring/Summer so I can hit the bike trails(32 degrees and snowing now). I usually put about 60-80 miles a week on my bike. That's about 5-8 hours of hard riding. My weight loss is highly dependent on my exercise participation. Find what made you hungry(pun intended) to lose those lbs and go for it. tmf

The silver lining here is that you've got a lapband and if you find the JC is tiresome or ineffective, you can fall back to the original lapband healthy food diet plan. No harm, no foul. Circumstances change in our lives and you may find yourself with more time to work at a solution. Till then, JC is the solution and we all wish you the best. Let us know how it goes one way or the other? tmf

That small mound is most likely your port and won't go anywhere. There may be some additional swelling near the incision site but the hard mound, here to stay.

I felt nothing with my first 2 fills but managed to maintain my 12 lb post op weight loss. My 3rd fill brought on my first real feeling of restriction and satiety. Until your band is adjusted properly it's just another diet.

I read these kind of posts often and then I think, "and we're supposed to be the ones with (food/eating) mental problems"? It just amazes me how mental, friends and relatives can become over something so simple as a little surgical procedure? tmf

Unlikely it's a punctured tube. 1 CC is a lot of saline to remove. My doctor gave me .25 CC injections for my last 2 fills to get to the green zone. I could have eaten 3 slices before too. But, just because you can doesn't mean you should. You may have to pay very close attention to those satiety signals till you get a few fills to take you back to the green zone.

Loss of comfort foods held me back for about a year. I couldn't imagine giving up my chicken friend steaks and mashed potatotes/gravy, ribs etc. But, I did. It's truly amazing how little I care about McDonalds, Fried foods, taco bell and Nachos Grande now. When I first started, one of the lapbander members posted this: "I'm so stinkin' thrilled with my weight loss i dont even care about what i cant eat!" Pink Dahlia It is so true. And so what if you can't eat an entire slice of pie, you can still eat some if you want. Just not nearly the amount you ate before. And, you won't care. You do now, but you've got to be stronger than a food craving? You will be!