Scorpyian1

hey! congratulations to you! Follow all your instructions and make sure you have a good rapport with your doctor -- so important. And go with your gut feeling. I'm so happy I came back to the forum, it has helped strenghthen me and feel motivated to find out about my health and to spend less and less time feeling like I failed my band! :wub:

I had my surgery done at St. Luke's Roosevelt in Manhattan, NY with Dr. Julio Teixeira.

Thanks -- I'm right on top of it. On June 16th I have an appt. with someone referred to me by a dearly loved Dr. I actually should have gone with him in the first place! Yeah..On 10/16/08 (my surgery date) I pretty much figured he was an AH.

Thank you so much for all your replies. Each of you has said something that I'd been thinking. I have a friend (we have the same dr.) who has lost 100lbs and has not yet had ONE fill -- these are the patients that he showcases, so yes, I do feel like the successful patients get all the attention and benefit of the doubt. As for the band having slipped? I'm not even sure anymore. After the port was fixed and then I found out about the prolapse, I was thinking that it was improperly placed initially. He's REALLY not going to tell me that - besides, have you tried to get a dr. to say, "prolapse?" it's like the camel through the eye of the needle -- it ain't happenin'! I really got the idea that he just wants me gone....I should have left after the post-op comment! As I mentioned, at my last appt. he showed me the radiologists report stating that there was no prolapse -- just reflux. From my research, it could be b/c he put in too many cc's at first. Ironically, I feel like I'm having more issues now that it is unfilled, so I'm looking forward to my appt. with the new surgeon. I'm hoping it doesn't have to be replaced or repositioned. I'm so sick of surgery with this thing. I have gone back to square one and am measuring everything, drinking when I'm supposed to, exercising (which I love, ironically). I guess I might have gotten away away from doing what I was supposed to do at some point b/c of feeling like I had no restriciton and my dr. was not being supportive or helpful. (btw, My first fill was 3 or 4 months out.) So, I'm trying now to make sure that I cross all my T's -- I want to give him no reason, but if we look at it...if I lose weight, it will only confirm for him, that I'm at fault and if I don' t lose weight, it's b/c I'm the failure. Where's the wiggle room for me? This is a big sign that I need to get away from him, pronto -- I used to look forward to my appts. Now I just dread going, but they are necessary evils for me at this point, and I should NOT feel this way! Know what's really funny? After all this trouble, does he REALLY think I'd consider the GB with him? I told his PA that I didn't consider it b/c it was more risk than I was willing to take and that with all the problems, we don't know that the band won't work with me. How quick to move to the GB!

I"m sorry. I know how you feel. The only thing that "sort" of helps me is knowing that each of us has his/her own journey and what works for some/many may not work for us. Not always comforting, but it helps me realize that my path is my own and I have to find my way to my goal.

Well. I had an interesting week. My surgeon, who is supposed to be a pioneer/genius of Bariatric Surgery, pioneering the one-incision technique, called me a band failure and is recommending the gastric bypass. Long story short: The night of my surgery I was feeling a little odd and asked to see the dr. He shows up and says to me: What? Complaining already? two months later he gives me a 5cc fill in a 14cc band. I feel as if I have no restriction. I lose about 3lbs and then stay. He's not going to fill me b/c I "should have enough restriction." He tells me at the next visit that he can't access my port...it has flipped, but I'm subjected to two radiology visits before it's decided that I need to have another surgery to fix it. Now it's fixed, but I can't get a fill. We wait another month, then I go back to radiology and am told I have a prolapse. I'm unfilled and am told to have liquids for 1 months. Hooray. I go back after two weeks - I'm unfilled and throwing up! Never did when the band was filled. So, I go back...guess what? REFLUX. No evidence of prolapse. so now he's looking at me and says it's my fault. That it is "rare" for the band to cause reflux. I didn't have reflux at all before the band. We discussed my options and it was "decided" that he was not going to fill me until I could show him I could lose weight on my own. (um...Hello? we might not have been acquainted at all if I could have managed to do that AND keep it off!...) So now I feel like I"m being punished. I"m 42 and my dr. is talking to me like I'm a disobedient and willful child.:smile: So, now I am unfilled and being extremely careful with my diet. I haven't gotten on a scale b/c I just really don't want to see "no change." I feel like I'm barely eating. I don't want to even think about food. I'm living on nectar, and foods that I know are not going to sustain me in the long haul -- I'm terrified of the gastric bypass, I have a young son and am not willing to risk the possibility of death to be thinner, so for me, this is my last shot. I do have an appt. with another Dr. later this month. Even though Genius-Boy is a great doctor (for everyone else) I think our rapport ended once he added me to his roster of patients. I have lost confidence in him and he,in saying, "you are the very definition of band failure" obviously has lost confidence in me. I guess I need to speak with people who have had similar experiences 7 months out, or problems with reflux and the band, but managed to get on track and lose weight. I'm pretty discouraged.

Go to the Vitamin Shoppe and try nectar -- they have several delicious flavors and you can mix them with Water or milk. We were told to use skim plus milk b/c it has 4 more grams of Protein than regular milk. My personal favorite is Caribbean Cooler -- it's a pineapple, coconut, banana flavor. I also tried Kiwi strawberry and the Fuzzy Navel, but I wound up back at Caribbean Cooler. You have to try several to find what you can tolerate, b/c you may be supplementing with a Protein shake, or just not feel like eating, yet need to feed your body as you move on to solids. You can also try Vitalady.com -- there, you can buy samples to see what you like. Also, go to unjury.com -- they have a chicken Soup that is to die for! I mixed it with Chcken broth and it was like HEAVEN! Hope that helps you :thumbup:) PS: don't worry about having big tubs of stuff you aren't using--shake it off...and move on! ) Trust me, if you are dreading your drink now...when it's all you'll be able to have post op, you WILL be miserable. I've got two tubs of stuff I can't stand...Trial and Error--it costs $$$ but you will be happy when you find something you like.

Yes...don't put ANY kind of oil on the wound until it scabs over...then you can start putting on the emollient.

Congratulations! Follow your doctor's orders and you will do great!:thumbup:

No problem! If your other scars healed well, this one will too! Congrats on the tummy tuck!

Thanks everyone, for replying! yes, the 20lbs has been since I was banded, Brownskin-- isn't that Amazing? :biggrin: No need to apologize for the graphics, either...the hunger is subsiding now that I'm on mushies. I find that I am full on a LOT less. I actually stop eating before I feel pain or anything b/c I'm so afriad of doing something wrong to jeapordize my band/health. I've got lots of sugar free jello (mmmmm) and ice pops. Those two things are helping me to not feel deprived. As for keeping busy, I think I'm up to going back to the gym. With just the 20lb loss, I have gotten rid of my knee and ankle pain which really was the motivating factor for me having the WLS in the first place. I love this band!:thumbup:

I was banded on 10/16/08, and am really suffering in bandster hell -- I want to eat, but am trying REALLY hard not to go off my plan. I was just andvanced to mushies yesterday, so I"m a little nervous. But! Today, I weighed myself: I'm down over 20lbs! This is amazing to me after not being able to lose and gain more than 5lbs for years. Thanks for letting me have my excited rant!

It depends on how well you heal. There will be slight scarring around the edge, but it fades with time. How quickly that happens depends on what sort of healer you are. I had a tummy tuck in early June and the scar is invisible. My LB surgeon just went in to place the LB through my belly button on 10/16, and that is almost unnoticeable. What works for me is to keep the area hydrated. I use mostly shea butter body buffers and vitamin e oil, or vitamin e oil containing product like baby oil. I've also had a breast reduction and breast surgery and even my surgeons are amazed at the lack of scarring. I hope this helps.

Yeah, right?!

I'm so sorry about your difficulties, Johnnyreno, and thank God your wife is alive. Life is precious! I thank you for posting the information about Betancourt et. al. Even though it might scare people who have had their procedures at one of the clinics, the valid links you have provided, should give anyone pause. It isn't a comfortable feeling to second guess onesself, especially when you have already had a procedure at the offending medical facility, but isn't it better to err on the side of too much information so that you can at least seek additional medical care to find out if you are okay and your procedure went well?