Elisabethsew

You will need a cardiology consult before you have surgery. He/she will likely order a stress test and also do an echocardiogram. This consult will be sent to your surgeon and appropriate medications (if necessary) will be ordered prior to the actual surgery. I was on coumadin and had to stop the coumadin and administer Lovenox injections 3 days pre-op and 5 days post-op. Most surgeons now administer a prophylactic antibiotic as you're going into surgery so you should do fine.

It's way too early in the political race for the White House for me to have formed an opinion. I vote my conscious and so far, I'm still researching, listening, and forming opinions.

OUCH! I want HER boobs (and body) minus the lobster PINCH!

It's soooooooooo easy to sneak food and I assume your daughter either goes to school or has a job or both. She must go out socially with friends and I don't think you're with her at these times. She's also old enough to buy her own food and stash it. Have you considered bringing your daughter to a registered dietician? If you accompany your daughter to the surgeon's office, let her go in alone. She might be more willing to be open and honest if you're not there. It can be very hard for a daughter to compete with her mother in losing weight so maybe some therapy might also help.

Tell your boss that cake makes you soooooooooooo tired that you can't eat it during working hours. No boss wants an unproductive employee. You can also bring in a fruit salad to share when the announce the next party. Many people are pre-diabetic/diabetic and others don't care for sweet cakes and would welcome the healthy addition.

You might find more responses to this post if you select a different place to display it. Belching is very common after a fill and it subsides once the swelling from the fill goes down... a few days. Try to eat smaller meals... even if it's 5 small meals a day. Some people use Beano to help with the belching and gas. It's wise to stick to fluids and a soft diet for the first 1-3 days post-fill.

All I had to do was fill out a diet history and that's what we discussed for about 30 minutes. Just about EVERYONE passes and it's a requirement by most surgeons as this surgery is elective. Hmmmm... I suppose if plastic surgery were covered by insurance, they might want one too. LOL.

I was prepared for the fact that the surgeon stands between your legs. In the patient handbook that his office gives you prior to surgery, the positioning was described as nearly everything else one could expect pre, intra, and post-op.

The rice cakes sound delicious. It's temping to get on the scale often but I find I have to limit it to 1-2 times a week and also to days I am off. I work 12 hour night shifts as an RN and am often on my feet for 14 hours. When I do 3 shifts in 3 days, I find I hold water and show a gain. After a day off a a good night's sleep, I weigh-in. Since my work days vary, I weigh 2 different days of the week.

What are some of your favorite snacks? I'm always looking for new things but I'll share some of mine and would love to hear what other people finds "fills the void." Mine include: - 60 calorie jello pudding (I put it in the freezer and it tastes like ice- cream and tastes longer to eat) - 100 calorie individual microwave popcorn packets (Orville Reddinbocker) - apple slices with 6 almonds - 100 calorie cheese ball packets - 100 calorie sunchips - 100 calorie pretzels - cup-a-soup - an orange (it takes a while to peel and you have to eat it slowly) - goat cheese spread on 1/2 (50 cal) of a low calorie English muffin - peanut butter spread on 1/2 (50 cal) of a low calorie English muffin (toasting allows you to "melt" the PB or cheese assuring you don't take in too many of those cals).

An endoscopy won't diagnose a gallbladder problem because it doesn't see into the abdominal cavity. You need an ultrasound or a HIDA scan so you'll know tomorrow. Based on your weight loss, sex, age, and symptoms, it's a good bet that the gallbladder is the problem. I developed HORRIBLE pain in the left chest. It was under the breast and went right through to my back. It felt like a heart attack. I was uncomfortable standing, sitting, bending... no relief from the pain and yes, the nausea is terrible. I feel for you because I know what you're going through. By the way, in the medical field we refer to the 4 F's with gallbladder problems, Female, Forty, Fertile, Fat (with/without significant weight loss). You're no longer fat but your very significant weight loss places you in the "at risk" category. Keep us posted on your progress.

Any MD who sees yellow fluid coming from a port and says it's OK is a nut. Without a culture and sensitivity, there is no way an MD can know if there is an infection present or not. I definitely agree with the choice to see a new surgeon and replacing your band seems like the best medical decision.

Perhaps more "insight" will be revealed on the broadcast this evening. I'm open to hearing what this man claims.

Scallops work well for me. Shrimp I can't handle at all and I have to be careful with lobster. I live on flounder, salmon, and tilapia.

I remember waking up as they moved me from the OR table to the stretcher as the anesthesiologist was calling my name and told me everything went well. Right after that, I had pain and asked for pain meds and they gave me something IV. I was also very nauseus (normal for me after anesthesia) but I warned them pre-op that me and anesthesia don't mix well. They gave me Zofran IV that did nothing and then Phenergen IV and THAT knocked out the nausea and me! LOL.

MRSA is nothing to fool around with and I would definitely try the alternate drug and apply for funding. Here in the U.S., MRSA is usually treated with antibiotics for 6 weeks. Has the surgeon discussed the option of replacing the band? Has he cultured the port fluid to see if the infection has spread?

The best advice is to get the number off the back of your insurance card and call and ask. Most seem to want a monthly weigh-in with medical documentation.

Welcome, Ohio. I am an RN and only 2 people know I have been banded. It's been a good decision for me to keep it private. Don't worry about the weight gain. If you lose too much on the supervised diet, they will deny the claim for surgery. Collector, you're entitled to copies of ALL of your medical records.

There is no absolute rule as to how many fills a person will need. Many MDs say that once you find the right level of restriction, you're set for about 6 months. I will need one to two more fills before that happens for me while others only need one or two fills and they're set. My surgeon gives "free" fills for 6 months post-op.

First of all, welcome! You asked: Does anyone regret getting banded? The answer to that is YES. However, if you read through the posts and use the search option, you'll find it's a VERY small percentage of people. Remember, the band IS able to be removed and requires no surgical cutting of the normal digestive tract. What is PBing? I really don't care for this term but it means "productive burb." When people don't chew enough, overeat, eat too fast, or eat a food that is not tolerated by them, the body tries to "get rid" of that food. PB is the heavy mucous (some call it slime) that coats the esophagus and results in an emptying of the pouch that is caused by the band. This emptying is proceeded by "bringing up slime." Do most people have problems? Some do, most don't. The band requires learning and living by rules. When you first get the band, it's usually deflated to allow for healing. At 4-8 weeks post-op, you start getting fluid (usually saline) injected into the port that had tubing that connects to the band. The saline causes the internal diameter of the band to decrease so food passes through more slowly. If you try to eat too fast, over eat, etc., you can vomit. You soon LEARN to eat smaller portions, chew well, not drink with meals, etc. SOME people allow themselves to be overfilled thinking this will result in a faster weight loss. It doesn't. What it can do is damage the esophagus. Other, less common problems, can be found on the Inamed website as well as here on this board. Can you live a normal life after? YES!!! Most of us here are doing just that. The majority of people I know (and all my family members) don't even know I had the band. You eat normal portions of food, exercise, lose weight, and enjoy life. The band is only a surgical intervention to help you control your caloric intake. I have a brother who was banded who was an insulin dependent diabetic. In less than a year (men lose faster) he lost well over 100 pounds, reached his goal weight and was off insulin in 6 weeks post-op. I myself have what you called a "Delicate GI system" and have to take coumadin (blood thinner) everyday. I also take a NSAID (naprosen) twice a day for severe arthritis. Because of this, I take an acid blocker once a day. NSAIDS are discouraged because there is a danger that the pills might break down in the pouch rather than the stomach. My surgeon has me take the pills with 8 full ounces of water and not lie down for 30 minutes afterwards... no problems! There is a wealth of info. here so read and ask whatever questions come up. Make sure you ask a lot of questions of the surgeon as well.

The way I see it, the "bride" is not willing to compromise. You and her Dad both agreed to pay for a dress and both agreed that she did not have to be part of the wedding party but could have a special role in a special dress. THAT is not unreasonable. Since you are not demanding that the younger grandaughter be in the actual wedding party, the "bride" needs to be reasonable and come to some sort of "let's meet in the middle" resolution. As for your older grandaughter, she needs to imagine how she would feel if she were the only one left out.

It takes all kinds! Geeeeez!

I don't think you were slam dunking anyone but I do feel that some people were addressed rather unfairly. When new people join a board and don't "know" existing members, it's best to give them the benefit of the doubt. For example, Carlene has to be one of the fairest and most supportive people on this board. She tried to offer a PERSONAL opinion and was met with less than polite responses. Like the lady she is, she opted to leave the thread rather than become involved in a cat fight. Religious and political threads ignite passionate responses. There's a fine line between rant and rave and slam and dunk. My point was only to remind people of that fact... all people; myself included.

Name..........................Starting…...…..Current….…..Goal…....To Go Juliegeraci......................238............. ...... 238.................228.............10 Lapbandit.......................231............... .....226………….199.............27 Waterlily.........................300............. .......287.................264.............23 Roiansmom.....................299.....................299.................270.............29 Libra...............................248........... .........242.................228.............14 JulieNYC........................212............... .....205.................185.............20 Elisabethsew...................282................ ....276........... ......264.............12 PeaCeJ...........................338.............. ......338.................318..............20 RidinMyHDDream......... 297.....................289 .................281...............8 Babygirl1234..................260................. ....253.................240..............13 Leecelove70...................228................. ....228.................200..............28 Josette............................351........... ..........351.................335..............16

Congratulations Babygrl and Julie NYC. I'm Julie will be sailing over to wonderland in a few short weeks. Everyone is doing great.