Kayford

Only you can make the decision but why don't you just get a total unfill and see what happens. See how you handle stress and you should be able to eat about anything with it unfilled. Just be 100% sure you can deal with life with your lapband (tool) removed.

I just hated to read that you have a slip. You have been such an inspiration and so active on this website. Hopefully they can repair it. Do keep us updated and I will be thinking about you Monday. I will start a prayer chain right here right now.

You are so smart to get that unfill. I was banded in TJ with Dr. Ortiz but get my fills in KC with Dr. Malley. He told me that some patients will be throwing up for months and not sharing it with the surgeon. These folks tend to be the one's that get a slip. I was self pay and I sure don't think I can handle a slip. I can't handle it emotionally or financially. WE are now trying to creep up on my sweet spot if there even is such a thing. I have actually gained since my last fill. I had an unfill prior and it took me down to zero restriction so we added .15 being conservative and now I am still loose from 11 a.m. and waaaaay loose at dinner. I know I should have more willpower in the evening and I have missed my "tool" but I still think it is better to be safe. I get a fill Monday and let's hope it is the MAGIC fill. Does anybody out there have the perfect fill that they call the "Sweet Spot"? If so tell me how much you can eat and can you eat all 3 meals? Thanks everybody!

Better safe that sorry is how I live each day. I am not losing right now but I imagine I will when I get my next fill. It is frustrating but life with the band. Hang in there.

The only thing I noticed after my first fill was that I could not eat Breakfast and dry meat would stick. Then it all changedf with my 2nd fill. I was too tight and could not get saliva down. I has to get some saline removed. Now I know that I "react" to my fill each time. For the first week after the fill--- things get tight--- and then they seem to calm down and I am not nearly as tight. I am loose right now and waiting to get in for a new fill. You might be like me and can eat more in the evening. That is my loosest time of the day. Let us know how it goes.

It is amazing to actually see how the stomach slips above the band. They explain it to you but a picture is worth a 1000 words. I have a history of lots of fills and unfills. I am waaay loose right now. We are trying to creep up on my sweet spot. I hope we get there but I have listened to you preach.......too tight is not good and now we can see where it gets you. A slip would be devastating to any bandster. We self pay are especially freaked about slips. Thanks for the pics.

I am not sure where you are getting you information but you have been "misinformed" about Dr. Malley. He will even ask you how you are doing with NOT DRINKING with a meal? If you stop losing he will try to figure out what is up. I have the senario of really tight and can't eat Breakfast and then loser in the p.m. He even tries to work with me on what will work best. Right now we are creeping up on the perfect fill. I do know he left a prior practice as he did not go along with some things they wanted to do.....................like charge us more for "fills". He even has patients that drive up from Dallas since he does not overcharge. He uses fluoro on me each time and does not charge me extra. I think he is a wonderful bariatric doc!!! I think if you do some checking on the prior practice,,,,,their office management changed. I think there were some politics with staff and not really with the Physicians. Dr. Malley rocks.

I was a cash paying patient and also a medical professional and I went to Dr. Ortiz in Tijuana. His co-ordinator talked to me often and answered any questions I had over the phone. How much is this doc charging? When I had my done it was about $8500. You need to feel confident about your doc. Have you called his office and told them you have lots of questions? Good Luck.

I don't think you have slipped. The nurse at my doc's office says you will KNOW if you have a slip as you won't be able to tolerate any food. You will also have some intense pain. Let us know! Hang in there.

Forgot to mention. If I eat out with my family they watch me and make me anxious and then I for sure pb on something. I always find the bathroom location as soon as I enter the restraunt. Does anyone else have this issue?

When I am tight and try to eat any type of meat it results in a PB. Then I find myself eating safer things but they are still high in calories. I just wish I could eat the meat. I miss it more than the bread and Pasta. If I add gravy sometimes I can get meat to go but that adds calories too. I am loose right now and chicken from the crock pot stuck so I just put it in Soup and it went. But we should be able to eat whole foods. I get very frustrated.

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I have dated lots of guys that are somewhat overweight and that does not bother me as long as they are healthy. I think it would be fine to date a bandster myself. Just think---you could eat the same things and never have bread on the table!!! I think you do have to be happy with yourself to be happy in a relationship. I lost weight on phen/fen 10 years ago and boy was I happy then. Time has passed and I will admit that I am a little set in my ways and a professional so I can make it on my own but it would be nice to share everything with that "special someone". I also feel the big guy upstairs is in control of our lapband journey and our love lives. What do you all think? Kay

I have noticed them checking out my butt. It is kinda fun. It took my family a long time to say anything and now they say you are lookin' good. Kay in St Jo Mo

My last date was with a guy that picked me up in a BUG truck. He was an exterminator. Nice guy just not on my same intellectual level. I got home from the date and caught my girlfriends heading out to a club and said "pick me up". It seems like we get set in our ways and then what there is to pick from is either damaged or a loser. They say there is someone for each of us. Well where the hell are they?

Oh goodie. WE got a M-A-N to respond !! So tell us something Harlito, are you looking for that special woman? At 36 you might be a little young for me. I am however, one cool chic for 47 y.o. I must admit I am a lot of fun. I have never done the internet dating thing as I figured I might end up "pickled" in some barrel in KC by some guy as nutty as John E Robinson. I trust a fellow bandster to be a upstanding guy. Tell us more about yourself. Like your name Harlito. Give us the background on yourself. Kay

Thanks for staying in touch with all of us. Sometimes life just doesn't seem fair and you have handled it gracefully. Kay in St Jo Mo

I would just like to thank Dr. C. for answering us so promptly. You rock Dr. C !!! Also I would like to mention that before the band I would get pyelonephritis (kidney infections) all the time due to my diabetes and I was really ill with them. My lapband surgery was not nearly as hard on me as one episode with my kidney infection. Since my band I have had ZERO episodes. Sherri I would talk with a urologist and see what he thinks about your stones and why you are getting them, since Dr. C does not feel they are NOT band related. Hang in there and keep us updated. Dr. C., I don't think I have told you that I am a Registered Radiation Therapist. Self pay too, as the hospital I work for does not pay for any "bariatric" procedures. I told them to use all my info if they want to as a trial. Kay in St Jo Mo

Hi there, I found some Sylvester Stallone high Protein pudding at GNC and it works great for all of you that can't eat Breakfast or lunch like me. 20 grams of protein 1 g carb 2 g fat. It really helps and makes you feel like you had something which is more than tea, coffee, or Soup does. It is a little expensive at $1.75 a can but heck a Starbucks is $4 and does not have the same nutritional value. They had choc, banana, and vanilla. I liked the choc the best. A bypasser turned me on to it. Yummm Kay in St Jo Mo:hungry:

Heh there! I am single and have about 1/2 my weight off. It has been a little slower than I expected but I am hangin' in there. I am 47 and live in the midwest. I know there are banded men but most in my support group are married. I think when you get to be my age the good men are all gone. Where are you guys?

I did not get a fill until 8 weeks post op per Dr. Ortiz's recommendation. I actually gained and you might also. You will be tight after your 2nd fill for sure so don't freak out now. You may not even be very tight after the first fill. Maybe up your Protein while you can get it down easily. Example for dinner do some chicken and a salad or green beans. Don't get upset as we all ate things that were full of calories during the post op phase. Chicken just won't go at all now so I wished I had enjoyed it more back then. Just enjoy life and you will lose soon. Try to curb what you eat but don't get too stressed until you get your fills. Kay in St Jo Mo

DR. C, What causes a port to flip? I have heard the line can also kink. Some of us just worry too much and especially those of us who are self pay. My port always feels the same to me if I push on it. If it flips does it make the plug area you stick with the needle difficult to get into? Would you be able to tell by manual exam when you get ready to do a fill that it is flipped? Would you "suspect" that is has flipped and then turn on the fluoro? Kay in St Jo Mo A DR C FAN FOR SURE!

I totally understand how all this can get you down. I am a slow loser, can't eat Breakfast or much lunch and then I can usually get dinner down but have tons of issues with meat. MEAT is what I need to get down and it seems lots of things go that are not so healthy. I am almost a year out and just went to my first support group. It was wonderful as there was a gal who has not lost much and wished she had not told her friends about it. She lives in a small nearby town and they all ask about the weight loss. There were men who had done excellent and could eat 3 small meals a day. None of us seem to be exactly the same. I have had like 5 fills and 5 partial unfills. I have had to be on an IV from leaving it too tight and trying to be strong. So it has not been as peachy as they tell you at seminar. IF I HAD TO DO IT ALL OVER I STILL WOULD AS I HAVE LOST. One of my lap band sisters who was banded in TJ with me has not lost well and they can't figure out why. It will be one year real soon and she is 7 down. She tries to look at it that without the band she would be 20 up or so..............but it is still hard to deal with it. We were both self pays. Out of the 4 banded last Nov. One has lost 40, I am getting close to 50 and one had hers unfilled completely and the last one is just not sure what to do since she is only down 7 in a year. Hang in there. Better safe than sorry. Maybe you should have it unfilled and enjoy life a little and try to eat healthy. Maybe you can get healed up as REFLUX is not a good thing to suffer with. DR C will tell you better loose that too tight. Too tight creates slips, etc. We are all thinking of you and you are not a whimp. You are terribly stressed with all the physical issues and that is why you feel "mental" about it all. Kay in St Jo Mo

Can you handle food better in the evenings? I swell over the smallest thing. The last swelling was from chicken hanging up. You would think we would learn to quit trying to eat some of the things that hang up. I would suggest switch to liquids until evening and then try something soft to start with and then test a little. Some of our stomachs are just super sensitive. Let us know how it goes. If you are in real pain please call the doc. My doc says you will know when you have a slip and will seek care for the reflux type pain. I just have a feeling that you do not have a slip but rather have an inflammed stomach lining with associated swelling. Kay in Saint Jo Mo.

I wish I had done a little more research. I have lost slower than I thought I would but I am getting there. I AM NEVER ABLE TO EAT BREAKFAST. That doesn't bother me during the work week but it does bum me out on Sundays. I wish I had expected this. I figured 3 small meals a day and I swell after each fill so that has not happened. I would still do it all over again and I am glad I did it. I am self pay and that can be worrysome also.