maestrita

Oh, Esposita, this will pass, and you'll be feeling like a million dollars in no time. You are going to love it once you get past the surgery ick. It should not last more than a couple of days more. I was worried, too, and I can't tell you how great I feel now. For me, I had trouble "going" after I had surgery, and it was making me feel queezy. I had to get some exercise and take some lax medicine, and ....after that, I felt so much better. I think the anesthesia is hard on one's body. Hang in there. It gets better...and fast. :biggrin:

:biggrin: That may be, but it sure is working for me...and nothing else has in the past. It's not magic, but it sure is close. I hope you find a way to make it work for you, Friend.

Oh, I have a feeling you'll know if you try to eat too much! I could eat about a child-sized hamburger before I got my fills, but every tummy is different. Just go slowly and stop when you feel full. When you get filled, you will have to go more slowly until you find your new size. Then it will just keep becoming less and less with each fill.:biggrin:

I eat lettuce, spinach, mustard greens, celery etc. with no problem. I think this is a rather unusual situation. I am finding that I only think I have been chewing all of these years. Now that I get to see it come back up if I do it wrong, I am amazed at how big the particles are sometimes. I finally understand what people mean when they say chew, chew, chew. Then chew a little bit more. Personally, I wouldn't rule out a food unless you find that you don't tolerate it after several tries. I'm sorry it went badly for you. I hope the swelling goes down soon and you start to feel better....

I am so happy, I just have to share. I took some advice from another gal on the site and went to see Joan Richardson in Lewiston, Id. It is a bit of a drive (from Spokane), but it's not bad. I really liked her. I am so excited to find someone who can do my fills for a reasonable price and someone so knowledgeable! Can you believe she only charges $100. a fill??? A-mazing.

I fly from WA to use Dr. Kirschenbaum in Aurora (very close to you). He is wonderful. He charges just $15.00 for patients who had their ops through him. I don't know what he might charge for folks who have moved there. You're lucky to live so close to him! :wink:

That sounds like a tiny amount, but maybe you have a tiny tummy :smile: I might try to stick to cold foods for a few days to see if you are just swollen. Doc recommended that to me after I had fill/unfill/fill. It did help. I hope you feel better soon.

If you did all of this fill and unfill within two days, there will be some swelling. I would wait to see what happens. Do you mean 4 cc or .4cc? My first fill was 1.7 cc (which is a little lower from what I understand). I had swelling for almost a week, but it settled down quite a bit after that. I don't know if this helps or not...

Can nurses buy the Huber needles in BC?

Oh, My. I have been down this road. Don't try to interfere with her progress directly. You will lose a friend. The only thing you can do is try to come around the other way. Tell her a story, about some "friend" you have on the website. Tell her that this friend had such and such a horrible thing happen, and ...oh, Lord, you are so worried about this other friend....

People don't like to be made aware of their shortcomings. It hurts. Badly. It's the kind of hurt that doesn't allow you to feel like you can ever be on the same level with that person again, and it damages the trust. You probably don't want to risk that. Lead by example and demonstrate the beautiful consequences of losing weight right before her eyes. Hopefully she will choose to do the right thing once she settles in. If not, it really is her call. I know it's hard to accept, but it's her journey.

Are the ladies from Marysville surgeons? I am not comfortable going with someone who is not a doctor. It would be great if they are. I am really looking for a comprehensive after care rather than just fills. I understand that Dr. T charges thousands for after care. I wish I could afford that, but I simply can't. I met him once, and I was impressed with his knowledge of the procedure. BTW, I was not banded in Mexico. I was banded in Colorado, and I strongly wish I lived closer to my surgeon. But for the distance, I wouldn't be looking. Too bad I have to live here...

I just called to try to make an apt with Dr Spitz for the fourth time. I am about to give up and move on. I was so hopeful that I could have my care done here, but it looks like it isn't going to work out. ;(

Plain, Where I agree with your statement about the shape and dimensions of one's upper airway, I don't think your assumptions about the prognosis for patients with apneas necessarily follows. There is evidence that significant and sustained weight loss results in the complete resolution of apneas in approximately 80% of the patients tested, when the patients achieved and maintained a healthy BMI. Even with the super-morbidly obese (SMO), as defined medically, a significant reduction in RDI, somewhere near 60% fewer disturbances has been documented. Furthermore, in the SMO, a 55% improvement in blood oxygen saturation was shown, though few of the patients in that range were able to stop the CPAP treatment altogether. I don't have the articles accessible at this moment, but if I get a chance I will come back and add the references so you can take a look. If you're like me, you probably love studying about your subject.

Harold, Uvuloplasty alone does not provide resolution of apnea/hypopnea for a significant number of patients. However, it can provide some relief from snoring. Most apnea patients suffer from airway restriction further down the throat than the uvulectomy is able to correct. I am glad your surgery worked for you, and I wish it were indicated for me, as well.

In reading the responses to these posts, I am somewhat concerned about some of the folks who responded. I mean this in the most sensitive way, but... I would think that going through this much work, it would follow that folks would want to be healthy. Why go through all of the trouble for a band if being healthy isn't the end result? I don't get that...For me, this is what it's all about. When I step on a scale, see the number that qualifies me as morbidly obese, I can't avoid the realization that being so puts me at risk for disease. That's what morbid means. I don't see why it has been so hard for me to come to grips with the fact that I might not actually be at risk, but, in fact, be sick already.

Don't get me wrong, I hate my CPAP. Hate it, but I hate being dead even more.

OMG, I am so petrified. My kid has the stomach flu, and I was just banded on the 11th. I am so scared that I might get it. I did call my doc's office, and the little gal there said I should keep the anti-nausea medicine handy. I just wonder, how strong is this medicine? Will it be enough? I am just petrified that I am going to get this, and my husband doesn't understand the importance of him being the one to sanitize the areas where there's been vomit. I am staying on liquids until I am sure the danger has passed, but I am so scared....

Fiber and fruits didn't work for me, and I had a horrible experience. I would not wait if I were you. I ended up using Senna and glycerin suppositories because I was in horrible pain and needed to go right then. I should have really been more proactive, but I couldn't have anticipated it would be that bad. I thought the fiber would be enough. It was not.

I don't want to create the effect that we are dog-piling you, but I totally agree with Holabbie. It sounds like you were hoping to find some justification in something you know is unhealthy. Aside from going into surgery oxygen deprived and possibly putting yourself at serious risk, there are serious long term health risks with untreated apnea. There is a mountain of research data clearly delineating the relationship between apnea, diabetes, and heart disease. My sleep specialist explained to me that I would learn to wear the CPAP, or I would develop debilitating illnesses what could end up killing me eventually. He assured me that I would not live as long as my peers.

I, too, suspect that I had apnea before I gained the weight because of some of the symptoms I experienced, and because of some of the comments of house guests who heard me snoring. I didn't think it through, and just kind of laughed it off. Over the next few years, my weight ballooned, and I began to suffer crippling fatigue. Here's the thing. If your body is fighting to stay alive at night, you will gain weight due to increases in certain hormones. If you continue to crank out those hormones, you can suffer chronic problems with the glands that make those hormones because your body can't keep doing that forever.

Sadly, I do have those chronic problems, and I suffer from hypersomnolence as a result. I tell you this, my friend, only to help you to see where you could go, and I pray you choose not to. I know you will make the best decision for your situation, but I implore you to consider your doctor's advice once again. Good luck to you.

I am so glad to hear from you. I'm glad it is something positive, and it sounds like you are doing great!

This Namir Katkhouda may be good, but I think it is generally held that Doctor Gerald Kirshenbaum is the best.

Well, I do hope it's not the esophageal problem, and you should do your best to avoid any overeating whatsoever. That can result in some permanent health issues later on. However, I wonder, too about some of the other options. Perhaps you've adjusted to a new amount of food, and you thought life would be much more restrictive than it is ending up?? Could there be a defect in the band?? Puncture?? Slippage?? I wouldn't get too upset until you know what the trouble is for sure. My friend always says, worrying is like a rocking chair. It won't get you nowhere. Likely, the doc has means to assess the situation, but you'll probably need to be assertive about the matter. Do let us know how it turns out, and I wish you the best of luck.

Monster-truck burps?? They come growling up from your bottom tummy, to the top tummy, and up the throat?? I have those at times. If I were a little more thin-skinned, I'd probably be mortified, but really it is just super funny to me. I hope that's all it is for you, too.

I love what you said, Bandpal. It's true that we choose what to let in and even how to interpret what others are putting out there. I like to try to believe that people are mostly good in their intentions, but some have unrealized/subconscious motivations that can be harmful to us. Good food for thought...yuk, yuk...Oh, the pun was so unintended...

Oh, and Shanya, you're awesome. I have a feeling that this is going to be the best summer ever for March banders!

That is so funny. I posted on this same topic, too. My doc said and then reconfirmed at the post op apt that I am to crush all pills. He said that he rarely sees people get into medical trouble with the band, but when he does, it is from pills getting stuck. I have really been bumbling around with the crushing of the pills, and I have almost vomited from the bitter taste or the thickness of the jam. I just can't seem to get in the groove with this matter, but another fellow recommended Tomato juice. I am going to give that a try.

There's a small device that is sold at our pharmacies, that is called a pill crusher. It's like a mortar set, but it is smaller and it screws together to crush the pill. It cost me about $4 US, so a couple Euros, right? Tomato juice is very good idea. That might just be the way I try it in the morning. Good luck with the surgery! It has gone just fine for me, and I don't regret it at all.

Thanks, Shanya! It is not the pain meds, but thank you, too, crzytchr :crying: I will call the pharmacy to see if the other meds can be liquified.

Grey's does show nerves going to the stomach. Good to know.

OK, I can't seem to get the hang of this, and I am really afraid it is going to make me throw up if I have to gag down some more jelly pepper with bitter pill fragments. I keep dumping half the pill on the counter.... Does anyone have recommendations that might help...?