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I never get posts anymore or emails.........I think it all stopped. I am having a hard time even posting tonight at all...

So does Dr. Im give slow fills if someone swells or no fills?? Did he mention that part..................

Pam was the doc happy with your weight loss???

Hey Pam. I bet I qualify with the esophagus swelling up thing? Just guessing!! But goes along with what Robin said about the esphogus spasms and me not being able to breath that well. Hmmm.............yea I agree I couldn't just get all my fluid out than back in at once. I would swell for sure.......... I like that they haven't phased out the band that makes me feel a bit better. Now I wonder how they decide who does good with band and who does best with sleeve and again who should get RNY? I think I will ask that next time............. Dr. Baggs emailed me when I cancelled my last appointment and said he wants to see me again. I just didn't have the time off or want to make the drive last month when I didn't want a fill. But I am game it would be cool if had some time to talk like Dr. Im today...........I have done my research it would be nice to have an informed opipion about things too. Anyone know about estrogen dominance?? I am reading alot about it. I suspect that might be why I swell so much with fills and with TOM. I am not sure if it is true or not. A Dr. Oz and Jillian Michael thing..............another idea to research I guess!!

REASON I LIKE MY BAND TODAY: I have not been able to keep much down the last two days...........TOM and I figure I must have gained. Cause I am barely able to keep more than 1/4 cup down. I get in the scale up 4 pounds........hopefully TOM. But I love that the band kicks in.........I sorta know now if I have a can't eat day to weigh in. If I am tight the scale has gone up. I didn't have this before the band wouldn't kick in since the last fill it does..............I love that it does now and it gives me a safety net!! I am not losing only maintaining!! But still :-) I am hope after TOM I will go back down 4-5 pounds and get back to where I was. But yea I need a little fill to kick in the weight loss again........except for the last two days I can eat more and more everyday. I can eat 1/2 cup easy. salad I can eat endlessly. I know, I know............. I kinda have been liking being able to eat more than a month ago. But it is time to get to tigher restriction again.............to easy to take advantage of more and more going down!!

Hey All..........so with the revisions are you with Richmond Kaiser? I sorta figured the band has to be broken to get a revision. I am still hoping to talk to my doc. I have had problems with my fills and unfills and have ended up in ER three times now. I consider it a problem!! But not sure they do.............I am gonna try for another fill in August if I get to tight this time I am done with fills!! THey wanted me to get a fill in July and I said no way!! LOL. But I am not losing without fills so if the band is gonna work I have to get another fill. I figure if I end up in ER again than maybe they will give me a revision!! LOL. I mean if I can lose with the band great. But if not I hope they consider a revision. My band isn't broken I don't think but my body swells really bad with every fill.............two ER visit with the last fill. One for an unfill and another because I couldn't breathe well after. And a visit to the pulmonlogist who said I don't have asthma that it was either the band............or my fear of the band being to tight that caused me to not be able to breathe. The dietition did tell me I had a year of problems with the band.............she said you have been through alot the last year. Yep. So maybe that means something?? I still have to do food logs..........I am hope if I cooperate that eventually they will see that maybe it is not me being oboxious it is my band. I have considered now doing anything though, no more surgeries and just forgetting it. I don't want to get the sleeve have a complication and than be sorry..............the times I have been in ER getting unfills I get mad at myself for messing with any surgery. also the first week of barely getting it liquids sounds alot like the band being to tight!! UGG. Not sure I would survive that part with out not being able to breath again....... But I would love to get more infor on Kaiser and revisions. Any more information please post and if I get information I will post for sure!! :-)

Work is offering me time and a half to be on call on Saturday. I am very tempted to do it being a single mom I need the money..............it would mean I could be called in at anytime during the day. I am still deciding.......but on call also means I can go about my day as normal if I don't get a call............but in CPS.......I will probably get something!! If I do come I will have my girl with me and will plan to do both the meeting and the lunch :-) Plan on me too..... Pam I think this could be a good thing. I will be interested to see how it goes. I think Dr. Im could be right you paying so much you don't want the band to mess that up!! LOL. Sounds funny. YOu can always add some. I am glad he was nice about it. Same with Dr. Baggs when I talked to him about anything he is totally understands how hard this is..............I always get the idea that he wants me to be successful and lose weight and he is not so worried about the rules and details. He always shakes my hand and says congratulations when the scale goes down!! LOL. Makes me feel good...............I just really like him. The time I met Dr. Im I was in the ER and he was really nice to me as well I really liked him!! Let me know how it goes? Can you tell a difference??

yea that makes sense cause the scarring could still leave a tighter area in the stomach.............like they said sometimes band can't be reverted becuase of scarring. But I think that isn't the norm........

Ash I agree about scarring with the band.............I know sometime people can't revise to sleeve cause of the scar tissue..........I don't think you can have the band without some scarring............ I think having a stomach thrown away has a weird feel for some of us..................in RNY they leave it in there, don't use it but I guess people think they can use it again if they ever needed to...............just a weird visual image!!

Yea I agree research is the best.........be aware that Dr. Baggs sometimes doesn't respond to emails if it is something he feels needs to be done in person. I emailed him about the revision stuff and the band being phased out and it was a "need to talk in person issue." But please share his reasons if he responds. I am interested as the reasoning............ I talked to someone who had the sleeve and got the absecesses. He has to have a colostrumy bag for a year because he is messed up inside............he said it is embarrassing. He also has been in and out of the hospital for almost a month after his surgery. But he told me he just got unlucky. But I always want to know the good and the bad with every surgery so I research both ways. He said his biggest problem before surgery was his weight.............now he has that darn bag hanging outta him........just made me think and dig a little deeper with the research. I want it all good and bad................so I research it both ways. Did the same thing with the band!! That said some days I wouldn't mind a bit of malabsorption!! LOL. I know RNY is not a good choice for me but the people in my office look so good.........gotta be jealous of the malabsorption some days!! Geez the things we will consider to loss weight!!! LOL...............

I have a good friend that had RNY in August of 09. He lost 100 pounds...............But he has been in and out of the ER and hospital the last three weeks. Doctors told him he almost died on the ER table and if he had waited another hour he would have been gone. He had his gall bladder burst. He turned a weird yellow color...........week in the hospital in terrible pain. Than home...........the next week in ER again in terrible pain........they don't know what it is and he has been in the hospital for a week in terrible pain but they can't find anything wrong.......... He is very skinny and looks great but that is really scaring me right now............his mother, wife and brother all had RNY and they have had no problems. I have three people in my office that did RNY and they are all three years out and doing fine..................so it is the luck of the draw. But I tend to get the short stick health wise so the way I decide that is to think worst case scenario and than hope for alot better............... I am the only bandster at work I know..............LOL. I am the only bandster I know except for the people I have meet online the last year....................

Research everything!! after researching I knew I didn't want the RNY I was scared of that one. So the LAP-BAND® was my choice. If there was sleeve I would have considered it. Not sure if I would have chosen it cause like Pam I don't like the stomach thrown away part!! Also doing alot of research and the sleeve has some issues too..............and I would worry about being to tight permenently. I think with the sleeve things go good most of the time but if you have complications they can be big ones. absesses and leakage.............after researching I see it does happen. I say research, research, research................ I like that the band can be loosen and tighten up. I like knowing if I get to tight or needed to eat more I can have the band adjusted. But I like that the sleeve requires less doctors visit and no fills and unfills which can be frustrating and expensive. I for some reason swell really band with all my fills and unfills and that makes bandster life hard. The good with the sleeve is that after surgery and the swelling goes down I wouldn't have to worry about all the swelling. pros and cons........................gotta weigh them and decide. What I don't like is the slow weight lose...........even though I know it is better for my body. I also don't like that bad foods go down easier than healthy foods and that you can be to tight and still get sliders down. It takes alot of willpower with the band. But they say that with the sleeve too after the first few months. I don't know anyone over a year out with the sleeve yet. I think I would want to watch the sleeve people for awhile and see how it goes long term before I decided to convert I read that with sleeve and with band the honeymoon is six months and the hunger returns even with the sleeve. That the stomach somehow adjusts and the gherlin comes back. I would want to get some long term results to see if that is true. I would also want to see what happens with the band here and in Europe. If they phase it out that makes a point but if they continue to use it that also makes a point. So research there is pros and cons to both. Email Dr. Baggs and ask him his reasons for recommending sleeve over band.................I would like to know and it would help you understand and decide. I asked him alot of questions and even detailed questions before I decided. I was even asking him questions in the ER about his procedure methods and if he was using the pars flacida method!! LOL!! which made him laugh. I told him I watched the surgery online and he wanted to know where I found that........YOUTUBE~~LOL!! He told me later "you were totally prepared for this and made an informed (or overinformed) decision. My approach to all decision is research, research, research.......................if I do decide to convert to sleeve it will be after tons of debating, lost more research and several months down the road. I am still working my band and seeing how things go. I would love to her Dr. Baggs imput and will next time I go in. I expect he will say stick with my band but what he thought would be important to me as well. I trust him. Would I consider sleeve now? I am still researching and thinking about my answer. I have heard some horror stories and many success stories. But same thing with the band. I researched it a year before I decided. I knew RNY was out for my since my family is medical and said it has to many long term effects.

Hey Pam wondering how things went with Dr. Im?? Regardless of what anyone says you have still lost almost 20 pounds. YOu must be in onederland now??

I am a social worker with the county and always appreciate foster parents. You foster with Sacramento county?? If so I might have to keep you in mind for placement of "my kids" .............although I work Emergnency response and don't remove kids as much one would think. We are suppose to try and keep them in the home or with family before we take the cases to court.............I am pretty good at finding family or working with families and getting them to cooperate so I don't have to remove the kids. Knock on wood now I will probably have to remove today for saying I don't do it often..............thanks from all us social workers who depend heavily on the foster families to keep kids safe!!

Pam I think you'll be fine with Robin. Your dropping weight and having success and that is what is important. Pat I agree on the jump starting the weight loss. I need that too. I psychologically need to get below 200. I am doing the pre op for awhile and measuring everything again. Ounces and cups!! LOL. I found out I can easily eat a cup 1/2 protien and 1/2 veggies. We are suppose to only eat 1/4 is what I was told so I am way off.............I guess I do need my next fill. I didn't realize I was eating so much. I was paying attention to calories not ounces and cups. I hope this new focus works......... Happy Weekend all!! Hot one here in Sacramento!!

I had to wait almost 6 weeks after orientation to get a call for my surgeon appointment. And that was a cancellation..............so I got lucky. They were totally backlogged when I was referred to them and I was told the wait was up to six months for surgery. Luckily I only had to lose 12 pounds (I lost 25 ) and was able to have surgery in four months. I could have had surgery in 3 months but I went to Africa for a month and put my surgery off for that. But this quick apppointments after orienation is a huge plus and a blessing. This sounds like a positive to me!!

I was suppose to get a fill tomorrow but cancelled after PB'ing twice yesterday. But turns out maybe I do need a fill after talking to Robin this afternoon. Of course I had already cancelled......... But the goal is to only eat 1/4 a cup and to be able to last for 4-6 hours. I am eating a 1/2 cup at least and going 3-4 hours before getting hungry. And I haven't lost anything for three weeks and that is another sign I need a fill I guess. The PB's could be because of not chewing my food enough and not an indication I don't need a fill. I was told not to err on the side of being to cautious and to afraid of being tight and that I probably should have gone for a fill this month. Who knew?? Maybe I should have just gone but this week at work is so crazy and I am so behind I feel relieved not to have to take 1/2 day off to make the trip. So Tamra...........LOL. You might want to rethink not getting a fill this month!! After measuring my food today I realize that I can eat a cup of food. Not more than 1/2 cup of protiens. But apparent your at your sweet spot when you can only eat 1/4 of protien and feel full. The PB's aren't a sign you don't need a fill...........it is more fullness vs. hungry. Kaiser did admit however that my band journey has been rather bumpy and now I am probably being over cautious with my fills and trying to hard to do it on my own when a fill would help.

I took a month off. If I could have had six weeks I would have taken that too............I received full pay and have a really stressful job so I needed to time off to heal and relax. The first two weeks were essential the rest I was worn out but probably could have survived work. I do alot of traveling and lifting kids so I just didn't see going back to early since sitting in the car and driving made my port rub on the seatbelt and hurt. One of the positives ofthe surgery was looking forward to my month off. I said I was getting hernia surgery which I thought I was but turned out I didn't need it :-) I see Dr. Baggs on Thursday but gonna call Robin in the morning and figure out if I really need a fill or not. I leaning towards cancelling and trying again in a couple of weeks. I am still down 15 pounds, totally stuck and was hoping for another 5 before I get a fill. Nothing fun about being to tight I HATE PBing!!

Andrew first time I went to Richmond for orientation it took forever due to an accident on the bridge from Vacaville to Pinole.................It took 2 hours plus which is the longest it every took me. Also the morning traffic starts to get bad once you approach the Vallejo area...............It took me an hour+ to get from Vallejo to RIchmond and I barely made the cut off. Kaiser doesnt play around if your even a minute late your out and have to come back the next month for orientation. I always figure I could get starbucks if I ended up with extra time. BUT DON'T DON'T walk into orientation with an contraband food items unless you want to be embarrassed..............yep that include skinny vanilla lattes...........and vitamine water. Don't ask me how I know that!! Best of luck!!

I remember complaining about my hair loss to Dr. Baggs!!! LOL. He just gave me a look like "really, really?" ...........and than it occured to me that he is bald!! LOL. He is too funny....................never even occured to me that he would not be totally sympathetic!! LOL.

I lost lots of hair last summer. Same thing coming out in the shower in handfuls........that was when I was in the honeymoon phase after surgery where I was loosing fast. As the weight loss slows your hair grows back in thick. I didn't even notice until I ran into Heather and Pam a couple of weeks ago and they said my hair was thick again!! LOL. I forgot about it but it was a big deal for me last summer and embarrassing................ But it comes back and it seems thicker!! Its all good.

Yea Mo..............I agree there is full and there is band full............which is satisfied. Hard to explain unless your a bandster but I hear ya. Heres to no more PB's!!

Donna!!!! I see you down there!! How ya doing, sure miss seeing you around :-)

Well I am having a hard time keeping my protien down after dinner tonight so I am SURE I don't want a fill :-) I am gonna rule in favor of no fill although I plan to go in for the appointment anyway. I just want an x ray of my band I may talk to Robin first and see if I could get that done in Sacramento. I will feel better if I can see for myself that hasn't slipped or dialated. Fickle band!! Restriction comes and goes but than again I think my protien consumptions comes and goes too!! LOL. Maybe it is actually fickle Tina..............:-)

Your stomach can swell especially if you PB alot. You should go on liquids for a couple of days and let the swelling go down..................been there done that!! Yep you can swell your stomach and that can make the band tighter. Just be gentle to your stomach for a few days and swelling should go down. The band can also get tight if you gain weight!! Be careful and gentle with your band and it should be fine.