Elisabethsew

NUSA DUA, Indonesia (Reuters) - New research indicates that an extract from the Korean pine nut could be effective in treating obesity by suppressing the appetite, an expert on obesity said on Friday. "We have a lot of new drugs that are in the pipeline and this is very encouraging," said Denise E. Bruner, an obesity expert from the United States. She said U.S. research showed that pinolenic acid extracted from Korean pine nut could dampen the appetite. "They looked at a group of women who had pine nut versus a group who didn't and they saw there's weight loss and they felt full longer," Bruner told Reuters on the sidelines of an anti-ageing conference in the resort island of Bali. The levels of two hormones that act as appetite suppressors, cholecystokinin and glucagons-like peptide, increased by 65 percent and 25 percent respectively in the subjects, she said. She also said she was encouraged by a new obesity drug produced by French company Sanofi Aventis, called Accomplia, also known as Rimonabant, that has been approved recently in the United Kingdom. "It blocks receptors in the brain that stimulate eating, so you don't feel hunger. This is a good agent," she said. Bruner said experts were also working to develop a vaccine against a virus called Adenovirus-36 which has been associated with weight gain. She said the social cost of obesity was staggering, with the United States spending $117 billion annually in health care in this area. "This is not to mention the loss of work and loss of productivity," she said.

I hope you will be alright and thanks for the reply. Do you know of anyone else who takes flintstones your my first. Also do you know anyone who has our kind of band and how are they doing. What do you think of your band? Seems to working for you considering the weight I see you have lost. I have only lost about 26 pounds since surgery and that was on June 7th. I'll be just fine. Iron is absorbed from the GI tract. Since I don't absorb it, they bypass the GI tract by giving the iron right into the blood stream. Quite a few people here use the flintstones Vitamins. I think some others have posted that they use Centrum children's chewables. As far as youw weight loss goes, you're doing great. The average is 1-2 pounds a week and you're averaging better than that. Congratulations! All of the bands in the U.S. are made by Inamed. Vanguard refers to the perforations in the Inamed band whereas non-Vanguard models have a smooth lining. Regardless of the size, all of the Inamed bands do the same thing, restrict the opening into the main stomach via balloon inflation or fills. The size the surgeon elects to use is dependent upon your anatomy.

Yup, a couple who once posted here decided to start their own forum. I wish them and those who choose to leave all the best.

I only post from one computer and have no problems.

after the first post-op visit, you see PA's for fills. I go every six weeks for a weigh-in and that's when they ask questions, I ask questions and the decision is made as to whether or not I need a fill and how much.

I eat out but stay away from foods that have given me trouble. For example, shrimp can be tough for me to handle but scallops I do fine with. I ignore the bread and butter, skip dessert and stick to the main course. By the way, only 2 people know I am banded and nobody has noticed my change in eating patterns when I dine out so don't worry.

I just read that article. It's about time the fashion industry used "real" women as models for the clothes they expect to sell. Now, if we can only get them to change their views on a size 12 model being labeled "plus size."

As everyone knows, we ARE the stronger sex... in MANY ways. LOL

I have the exact same band and my doctor gives fills every month. I have now been restricted to 4.75 and am certain I have restriction, but I do think I need another fill. I had surgery on June 7th and have had 3 fills for far? He also instructed to take tums for calium and flintstones for Vitamins. May I ask what your doc told you to do? Hi Carol, I take an over the counter Calcium supplement and flintstones vitamins. However, I have something call Iron deficiency anemia that was discovered in 2001. Who knows how long I really had it. Anyway, I don't absorb iron from foods so it's finally gotten to the point where just yesterday, I started intravenous iron replacement treatments. I'm going once a week for 8 weeks and then will have my iron levels checked 2 weeks after the treatments are completed to see if I need more. In addition to the calcium and flintstones, I also take folic acid, a baby aspirin (enteric coated so it dissolves in the small intestine and not the stomach) and a B complex Vitamin.

Mine would not do a first fill until 8 weeks post-op.

I have the 11 cc Inamed Vanguard Band. The surgeon told me that he has no idea what size band he will use until he is able to actually see the size of the esophagus and stomach. As per his discussion, there is no way to predict from the size of the person what size band will be needed. I am only 5' 2" with small features and a small bone structure yet, I needed the largest band. Many surgeons believe that less aggressive fills spaced 4-8 weeks apart go a long way in preventing long-term complications. Because I had some restriction, when I went to the surgeon on Thursday, I was given a small fill and directed to come back in 6 weeks. This will continue until I get optimal restriction. After that, he wants patients back every 12 weeks for accountability. Of course, patients can come back more frequently if they desire to or need more stringent accountability.

I went today for a very small fill (0.3 cc's). I was hoping for at least 0.5 cc's but they want to go slowly and fine tune the band every 6 weeks. I'll see how this one goes. I look forward to hearing how everyone else is doing.

Call in the AM and tell your MD you need to be seen ASAP. Don't wait.

I think it's going to be Melanie but I'm not sure. I saw Geiss for #1 and a young man (PA) for #2 and then Melanie for #3. My appt is 8:15 AM so I guess whomever opens their eyes and drives to work first. LOL.

I think if you are determined to have a surgery and are willing to "shop around" you can eventually find a surgeon to operate. Sad but true. I'm glad that your Mom explored her possibilities and has decided to go with the less invasive of weight loss surgeries. I also have a high BMI and a heart condition and did fine with the surgery.

She's been here before!

Welcome and best wishes for a smooth recovery.

Ahhhhhhhhhhh... to be 18 again! You'll have MANY different relationships with men and some men you love now you'll hate later and vice versa. It's all part of growing up. Live each day to it's fullest. Balance your study time with your "friends" time and also some alone time. College years are wonderful so ENJOY!!!

You always here that more babies are born on a full moon night. We tested this theory at the hospital where I work and found no statistical difference on full moon nights from any other night. It is speculated that people notice the moon when it is full and associate occurrances with it.

Aug 28 (HealthCentersOnline) - Surgeons from Duke University Medical Center have devised a scoring system that can help predict which gastric bypass surgery candidates have the greatest risk of dying following the procedure. food they are physically able to eat at one time. In addition, the digestive tract is altered so that food bypasses part of the stomach and part of the small intestine, resulting in fewer calories being absorbed by the body. Gastric bypass surgery is generally a safe procedure. However, it poses the same risk of adverse side effects and death as any other type of surgery. At present, there is no way of determining which patients are most likely to die following the procedure. To devise the scoring system, the surgeons retrospectively analyzed the outcomes of 2,075 gastric bypass surgeries at Virginia Commonwealth University between 1995 and 2004. They found that 1.5 percent (31) of the patients died within 90 days of the procedure. After assessing the factors surrounding these deaths, the surgeons identified five patient characteristics that increase the risk of death following gastric bypass surgery. These include: Body mass index (BMI) exceeding 50. BMI is a measure of a person's height and weight. It can be calculated by dividing a person's weight in kilograms by their height in meters squared. A BMI of 18.5 to 25 indicates a normal body weight. Gender. Men are more prone to conditions such as diabetes, high blood pressure and metabolic disorder, all of which are associated with increased surgical risk. High blood pressure. Patients with this condition also tend to have additional risk factors for adverse surgical outcomes, such as chronic inflammation of the blood vessels or heart disease. Pulmonary embolus risk. Patients who have already experienced a pulmonary embolism (blood clot that can block blood flow to the lungs) or are at risk for developing one also have an increased surgical risk. Age. Patients over age 45 have the greatest risk of death following bariatric surgery. The scoring system assigns one point to each of these five patient characteristics. Therefore, patients with zero points generally fare the best and those with five points typically have the greatest risk. If the findings are validated by additional studies, the scoring system will aid surgeons and patients in determining the best and safest course of treatment for obesity. "Many people see gastric bypass surgery as an option to use only when all other approaches to weight loss have failed. However, our system shows that this strategy may need to be reconsidered. If patients put off surgery while they attempt other therapies that ultimately don't work, over time they risk moving into a higher-risk category as they gain more weight, get older or develop hypertension. In these cases, delays can make surgery even riskier," Dr. Eric DeMaria, of Duke University, said in a recent press release. DeMaria shared the results of the study at the 2006 annual meeting of the American Society for Bariatric Surgery in San Francisco. Copyright 2000-2006 HealthCentersOnline, Inc. Publish Date: August 28, 2006

Hi All, Work's been crazy and I needed a break from the drama of the forum the past few weeks so I haven't posted in a few days. I'm going for a check-up and probable small fill on Thursday AM so I'll report back after that. You're all doing wonderfully.

Welcome and good luck with the banding preliminaries.

Fluroscopy means having a fill under x-ray. The MD will give you a fill and then have you drink some barium and watch on the x-ray as the barium goes down. From what I have read, most surgeons don't routinely use fluroscopy (mine included). You will experience this "test" after you are banded to make sure all is OK before you're permitted to drink anything.

Best of luck for a positive outcome... let us know how everything goes when you get back.

I hope you're feeling better with the fill totally removed and this works to solve the problem. Best wishes for the health of both you and your husband.