maestrita

Oh, I am filled oh, too, tight. I went in last Monday for the fill, and I thought I would be fine when I left. The next day, I felt very tight, but I thought it was the usual swelling that you get after a fill, and that I'd be fine. I am NOT fine. I have not slept in a week because of the reflux. I am waking up to choking on spit up, and I am miserable. I feel like I can't even function. I tried to call my provider, but she was gone for the holiday, and for the next day, and the answering service wouldn't even take a message or let me talk with the on-call person. She told me to go to ER if I needed help by Monday. Honestly, if it were the slightest bit more offensive, I would go to ER. I just can't afford to pay 1000.00 for an ER visit if it can be avoided. I am just trying to hang on until tomorrow when I can make the drive and get an unfill. Until then, I am so tired but I am afraid to go to sleep because it will just be hellish. My whole body hurts from sleeping sitting up, which just barely helps. I just feel like I can't make it through tomorrow.

My Podiatrist studied under a plastic surgeon before I knew him, and a technique he used on my foot surgery left the end of the stitch sticking out. He warned me ahead of time, and he explained that not putting that knot under the skin made for a fine, almost invisible transition between the scar and the surrounding skin. He was right. My scars are beautiful on my feet, and I couldn't be happier. They are only visible in just the right lighting. Maybe your stitch is something similar to that approach. In any case, I hope it is helpful to hear that it doesn't need to be anchored down to be effective. Take care.

My doc encouraged me to take the pain medication and to get out and get walking immediately. On the third day, my family took me to an aquarium with his permission. It really did help to get the gas out of there. Maybe you should keep taking the meds for a couple of days so that you can feel comfortable enough to walk some. Hope you feel better soon.

PB-ing and "Stuck" are two different regions of hell. If you are stuck, lean way over the toilet and cough like you mean it. If there is no Fluid in there, you might take a sip or two. Not a gulp, a sip. Oh, and remember to stand straight upward between the times you lean over. Then lean and cough again. The trick is to get your diaphragm to help you get that out of there. Luckily stuck doesn't happen too terribly often after the first little while. You might find that you are done with bread if this happens a couple of times. Since you got stuck real good, you might try some cold things for a day or so until the swelling does down. Hope you feel better soon.

I have pretty regular Hair loss since being banded, but it is not outwardly noticeable. My biggest complaint is that it gets on my clothes and all over the bathroom floor. My Doc assures me that it is temporary. Biotin did not seem to have an effect on the rate of hair loss. I will try the Vit D3 next. I am nine months out, and I can see new growth at about the same rate as I lose it. I should point out that I've experienced hair loss at other times in my life. After my kids were born, with certain medications (esp. BC)...Thank goodness I was born with a mane!

?? Irritation from intubation while you were under ??

Some of the folks who posted here mentioned the pressure from gas after the surgery. The only thing that helped me with that was moving around. The third day after the surgery, my family had me well-medicated and took me to see the aquarium (hey, I don't live in that state, so I didn't worry about acting silly). They checked it out with my surgeon before going, and he thought it was a fantastic idea. I am glad I went because I was able to get things moving along, and I got rid of the gas. After that, I went right to sleep. You know, if he'd not recommended taking the pain medicine and getting moving, I don't know that I would have tried it. When you are achy, it seems a little counter-intuitive. Hope this helps some.

Thanks, Crzytchr. It's good to hear from another tchr.

I am going to try that. I will go for an unfill if I need to, but I want to try this out first to see if it helps.

Thanks Stephanie, I already take Prilosec as a preventive measure against the arthritis medication I have to sometimes take. I don't have any reflux during the day. It just kind of happens at night. It seems more mechanical than chemical, if that makes sense. I will try adding the Pepcid to see if there is a reduction in symptoms. It was pretty bad when I first went to bed last night, but it went away toward the morning hours. Maybe I will also try not eating or drinking anything whatsoever after 6 pm to see if I can get my stomach all the way empty before I go to bed. I don't know if that will work because I don't think I'd had much that late anyway. Still, I will try to be diligent with it for a few days to see if that helps.

It's annoying because you'd think that narrowing the opening to where the acid comes from, you'd have less trouble!

Still welcome any feedback from others.

I am uncertain what to do, and I really would like some feedback if there is anyone who has had a similar situation. I was banded in March of this year with a 10cc band. I have just gotten a fill to 5.5 cc, and I am having some trouble. When I was at 4.5, I was not losing weight, and I could eat nearly as much as I wanted. I knew that I did not have enough restriction to keep losing, and I actually went up a couple of pounds. I have only lost about 25-30lbs since last March. I did, though, have this problem occasionally where I would wake up at night with a little reflux in my mouth. Sorry, I realize it's gross..., but it didn't happen all the time.

On Monday, I got the 1cc fill, and I've had the reflux for the last two nights. This only happens at night, though. No heartburn, no other trouble... Will this go away or do I need to get unfilled? It sucks to consider that because my fill doc is a 2 hour drive, and it costs 150.00 bucks (which is very cheap in my area). I just don't know if I am going to be better off unless I remove the whole 1cc, and then I won't be losing any weight.

I should state that I don't get stuck, I don't barp, and I don't get slime. My only problem is this reflux I get when I lay down. I want my band to work, but I would also like to be able to sleep laying down.

I wonder if it will get better as I lose, and the band is not so tight. I wonder if I will learn to adjust my eating habits such that I can curtail this one problem...eat earlier, eat less, eat something different?? I fear that I will be one of those poor folks who says that the band won't work for them. If I could just get this one problem resolved, I would be so happy! What to do?

Well, It's been some time since I've been on, and I've been doing very well...mostly. I wanted to check in with folks about this little issue I've been having and to see if anyone has any useful advice. I am at 4cc, and I am about ready to go for another fill. The only thing that has me hesitant is that I have started having reflux at night. It happens a couple of times a week. It's like if I don't eat dinner by 5pm, I wake up to some kind of nastiness. Let me tell you; it's unpleasant. I worry that getting another fill might make it worse, but I don't think I will lose any more at this point (I've been here for a few months). I really don't know what to do with this situation. Will I likely change my behavior and learn to make sure that I just never eat too late and be cured, or will the problem become worse? Do you think the fill level encourages the reflux, or might it be a function of the terrible stomach acid I've always had? I'm really looking for feedback from someone who's had this specific problem. Thanks.

Gently suggest what you wish, but I am not angry. You were mistaken, and I hope that I've helped to straighten out your misunderstanding. You seem to think that speaking up for oneself needs to involve anger, and I don't think that needs to be the case. I guess I think I don't need to add unnecessary drama to simple communications. I'm not even sure who you think I would be angry with... a doctor I saw years ago...? an unknown person on a website....?

In any case, this conversation has gone beyond the scope of the intended purpose of the message boards, and I don't feel that it is appropriate to continue. Toward that end, I am now going to use the ignore function. Good luck to you.

You need to get a grip. I don't feel threatened by you. You made a statement on a public forum in which you misrepresented what I said during an earlier conversation. I have not trashed anyone, nor have I demonized anyone. To represent what I said in that manner is not only highly dramatic, it is dishonest. I am not angry, but I do feel a need to correct your misunderstanding that I chose to go elsewhere to save a few dollars. I understand that you are trying to rally up some business for Moise, which is fine, but I won't let it go unaddressed that you've misrepresented what I said here. You may want to review the conversation that took place earlier if you don't clearly remember it. I'd like to point out that I was ASKED why I chose not to see Moise.

I expect excellence from health care providers. For the amount they are compensated, they don't get a second chance with me. Moreover, I will only recommend someone with whom I've had an excellent experience. I don't expect to be misrepresented because I was unable to recommend her in this instance.

Prolapse is what people are referring to when they say that a band slipped. It just means that tissue has come through an orifice of some sort, in this case the band, and is situated in an unintended/abnormal way. Hope that helps :w00t:

It is not two hours to Lewiston, it is just under an hour, and I suggested that I didn't care to see Dr. Moise because I didn't care for the treatment she provided before. Driving to Lewiston is not an attempt to save money. It costs the same amount! The nerve... It is about the quality of care.

Sue, I don't know if you're being unreasonable or not. I have no way of knowing about your medical situation. 7 lbs in 4 weeks is quite steady weight loss. I wouldn't have gone in if I were losing at that rate, but that's my comfort level. I am losing a little hair at a much slower rate, and I wouldn't want to push my luck.

It is not a popular opinion, but I believe that my doctors are far more educated than I am. If I ever have cause to believe otherwise, I move on with my business. I am not paying that much money to someone who can't give me sound advice that is at least better informed than I am on the matter of human physiology. I have gotten into a little hot Water for saying this on the message board before, but I do believe that it is far more involved than shopping for shoes.

I can't say in your case, but it sounds like you feel that there is a miss-match between the two of you. If you decide that it is not working out with your doc, I recommend Dr. K without hesitation. You can Google Lapband Rockies to find his information. I hope you find a resolution that makes you feel like your concerns were heard. Take care.

Freckles, I am referring to the guidelines that are sent out about 4 weeks after banding. There are two little booklets. I know that the same ideas are posted on the lapband site, as well, though I couldn't tell you exactly where. I know they are the most simple guidelines, but like to do a little self check about once a month. Let me poke around on that web page when I get a chance. Perhaps I can find it.

Ben, your port site can be a little tender for awhile. That is pretty normal. Mine was for about 6 weeks or so, and now if I work out too hard, I can feel a little bit of a bruised sort of feeling in that area. It might just be tender from coughing. Hope it feels perfect in no time!

Am I reading your stats right? It looks like you were just banded a month ago, and you've lost more than 30 lbs! I would think that any faster, and you'd be sickly. I wish I were down that much! Way to go!

I didn't know that, Bill. I'm glad you mentioned it. It totally makes sense, too.

BMooney, I would actually have far more trouble with the grilled chicken than I would the salad. Chicken can be dry, and I can't take more than a bite or two without eating much of anything else. Just a thought...

Funny, Bill! I couldn't do it, though. I am a school teacher. I didn't want to scare the kids. I just wanted them to GO AWAY. The whole thing was so weird it was just funny.

For me, I think the answer is to not press my luck. I need to get used to the idea that I can only eat x amount of food. I can't have something just because I crave it. I can't get away with anything if I want this to work long term. I think the answer may be a bit different for each person because we've all gotten to this point via different roads. The key to band maintenance might be that a person has to figure out his or her triggers/pitfalls and learn to control them. Having said that, there are some who have followed the rules to a T and still had troubles. I certainly don't want to discredit their experiences. My plan includes re-reading the recommendations that Allergan gives you and trying to make sure I am practicing them again with each fill. A self check of sorts...

IM me tomorrow, and I will give you some names of folks on the east side and on the west side of the state if you are in either of those locations. I hope you're not discouraged. 37 lbs is nothing to shake a stick at! That's two Thanksgiving turkeys you've lost. Way to go! Hopefully we can get you hooked up with a local doc and help you get moving along again. :tongue2:

OK. This is so bizarre, you couldn't make it up. :thumbup: It was like watching one of those "almost funny because it's so disturbing" excuses for a sitcom that seem to be the only thing left on TV lately...

Today I went to a little cafe at this park that has a walking tour of several different flower gardens, and I really should have planned the trip better, but I'm kinda new so.... They didn't have a lot of good choices, and I ended up with a half of a turkey on 9 grain. I was looking for something healthy, and kind of trying to weigh that against whether or not I can get it down. Only I kind of know that I am still a little too tight to be doing breads right now, but what the hey? I think I'll go slow and give it a try. Long story short, I am in the bathroom because my plan didn't work so well. At this park, there are no stall doors. I really don't care because I am not all that bashful, but this kid comes up and tries to strike up a conversation with me. She's like 7 or 8 yrs old, and she probably should know not to talk to strangers. She comes up and asks what I am doing. I said I was sick. Barp. Then she asks why am I sick. I told her I just didn't feel good, but I would be OK. :cursing: Barp. Then she asks-- are you throwing up? I said--kind of. Barp. Then she calls over another little friend to watch me barf and explains to her that I am sick, but I'll be OK. The friend asks me if I have the flu. I said, I don't know. Barp. I'd REALLY like to be alone, though. :thumbup:

Jeesh. I wanted to find their mothers and explain that sometimes, teaching your children not to talk to strangers is for the benefit of the stranger! :tongue2:

Oh, I love salads. I eat them almost every day. I eat bib lettuce, romaine, spinach, kale.... I saw that thread, too, and I really don't know what could be bad about salads unless, like with everything else, a person didn't chew-chew. It is also probably, just like everything else, different for each person. I say give it a try! :tongue2: