Elisabethsew

I'm old too but a brunette! LOL. I had to replace my old laptop 3 weeks ago and went to Best Buy. They have a store full of geeks. I told two of them what I wanted the computer for (I don't play action games, etc) and ended up buying a Toshiba Satellite A205-S4577 for $850.00 on sale. Before going, I did a consumer reports search and found Dell rated high for desktops but Toshiba was tops for laptops.

Hi Paula, 40 pounds down since Nov with one fill is good progress. The band works but only if you get to a place where you will work it and not against it. I find I constantly question myself as to if I'm really hungry or if I'm eating out of boredom, to alleviate stress, as a habit, etc. Recognizing what you're doing wrong allows you to do things right. Keep on posting. Group support really does help.

Congratulations to innerme and welcome back to Marcy. You're both doing wonderfully. I can relate to the fills. My last one was only 0.25 cc and my surgeon is both conservative and requires 6 weeks between fills. I don't feel any difference with this last fill so I'm working harder to limit my calories. We'll all get to the finish line... just maybe not as quickly as we would like.

Over time there is some evaporation of the saline. My surgeon is conservative and does not give large volume fills so I worked my way up to restriction. As you lose fat around the band, you'll need more fill (saline) to maintain a full feeling after eating. Some people feel restriction from the time they are banded. Most need to get fills from time to time to help control the volume of food they eat. I am finally at the point where I can eat "normal" portions of food and have averaged about 1.5 pounds lost a week.

Your prior gallbladder surgery will NOT interfere with lap banding. Some people develop adhesions after surgery but surgeons can easily work around or through that (I'm an RN). PB is productive burp. If you have an inflated band and don't chew enough or if something gets stuck, the esophagus starts to produce a lot of mucus (slime) in response to get things moving. Sometimes the food goes down and sometimes it comes up... productive. Because the food does is not in the lower part of the stomach, it does not mix with stomach acids so it differs from "traditional" vomiting.

The same thing happens to me. Clearly, the links are not working! I hope they fix this problem soon.

I work in a hospital and you are correct, the signs and symptoms of an esophageal spasm mimic those of a heart attack. All patients who have these esophageal attacks are referred to a GI specialist to rule out a GI cause. I would advise you to follow-up with one as well and hope you're feeling better now.

Drink LOTS of water and force yourself to walk as much as possible. Also, see if your MD will allow you to take something for pain... maybe a NSAID like motrin with some mylanta to ease the inflammation.

Heparin and Lovinox are injected into the stomach. It is common to get a shot before surgery and the morning after surgery but I don't understand why it would be prescribed for 2 weeks post-op. I DO have a history of blood clots... both lungs and take coumadin. I had to stop the coumadin for 5 days before surgery and went back on it 3 days after surgery. My surgeon has done close to 2000 surgeries and does not send patients without a history of blood clots home on anticoagulants. Heparin is an anticoagulant. That's why you have bruising around the injection area. It helps to prevent clots but does not break down existing clots. Because research studies are inconclusive as to the benefits of intermittant heparin therapy, many MDs advise walking ASAP after surgery and at home and opt not to prescribe it.

When was the last time you had a physical with blood work? Your tiredness could be from a number of things... anemia, iron deficiency anemia, hypoglycemia, sleep apnea, perimenopause, etc. My advice is to see your MD to get some concrete answers and a treatment plan to help.

Diabetic ketoacidosis is a serious condition and putting your body into a state of ketosis when you have kidney issues is dangerous. Like wasabubble, I would be interested in learning what toxins were causing the illness, what were the presenting symptoms, how it was diagnosed, and what the treatment plan was.

The protein shakes will help you heal and also help with the gas. Of course, getting up and moving is the best treatment for the gas. I haven't heard of many people needing heparin injections for 10 days post-op. It's used to prevent blood clots when patients are on bedrest. Once they are up walking, it's discontinued. If you're finding it painful to continue with the injections, call your surgeon and he/she will likely stop them. I assume you're taking 5,000 units every 12 hours?

What you are describing sounds like a problem with the band rather than a gallbladder problem. I would advise you call and make an appointment to be seen ASAP. This could be a serious problem but only your surgeon can do the testing required to give you your answers and devise treatment options.

Perfectly stated!

You can tell whether or not you're adequately hydrated by the color of your urine. If it's pale yellow, you're drinking enough. It should be noted that vitamin C will turn urine a darker yellow. Water soluble vitamins are excreted in the urine so, what your body doesn't need is peed out. A,D,E & K are the fat soluble vitamins.

Congratulations on getting a date and getting it over with before the really hot weather hits. This time around you well over 100 pounds less so you should do great with the surgery.

Food is your comfort. It's the medication that relieves stress. What you've got to learn to do is recognize what factors bring on the stress and then find healthier ways of dealing with it. It's what all food addicted people need to do. Actually putting it into practice is very difficult. Are you banded?

I would advise you to do your own research on the options available to you. Attend meetings for both types of surgeries, ask lots of questions, talk to patients who are one year or more post-op and then make an infomed decision.

I doubt insurance will pay for the surgery but I do know you picked first rate surgeons if you decide to go ahead with it. Getting banded will in no way assure that you'll have no weight issues in the future and the social and emotional aspects of over eating are not addressed with the band. You will still need to diet and exercise. If you're a junk food eater (as opposed to high volume eater) keep in mind that simple carbs ease on down... banded or not. Because your surgeons have done a lot of bandings, ask what the stats are on low BMI male patients and ask if you can meet one or two.

I found 100 calorie packs of Lorna Dune and Grasshopper cookies as well as 100 calorie packs of pringles that all taste wonderful. The 60 calorie cups of jello pudding are great as is but also mimic a fudge pop if you freeze them. Smart popcorn is delicious and packed as 100 calorie portions if you're craving something salty.

Is your BF overweight? If not, have you tried to explain to him the restrictions that being morbidly obese places upon you? Why be so upset with a trip that is a year away? You could be a whole different person by then. If your BF has been loyal and understanding, maybe you just need to step back and see things from his perspective so you can talk it out with him.

Call, ask for a supervisor, and tell them you're going to switch to another company if they don't stop calling you. They will put a block on telemarketing.

Her sons are the ones who have to decide whether or not to confront this woman. If you or another in-law does it, you wil be the "bad gal" and that will add fuel to your MIL's fire. Since it seems like your husband is not willing to take action, I would advise setting limits. You can agree to see the woman once a week (either visit her or have her visit you), refuse any money exchanges, and accept 2-3 phone calls a week. Once your MIL sees that you're establishing a pattern with her, she'll either modify her nasty and selfish ways or bug another son and his wife.

I am in the same situation as you are and will need to have 2 total knee replacements once I get off as much weight as possible. Like you, I plan on having them both done at the same time. It's one surgery, one anesthesia, one hospitalization, and one recovery. As an RN, I see bilateral knee and hip replacements all the time. The recovery is longer with 2 replacements at once but it's interesting to note that those who elected to do 2 procedures instead of having both done at once, regretted not doing 2 at once. Since you've got 2 weeks of in-house rehab planned, you should be fine. Keep us posted on your recovery.

After reading what is required in Phase 1 of the book, I don't think I would survive to explore whatever is involved in Phase 2. Geez!