catfish87

While I'm no expert as per my friend TMF suggest, I advocate Fluoro, and not just to find the "perfect" fill volume. It can show other things besides restriction level. My surgeon uses it for all adjustments now, and I'm thankful for that. I've never been overfilled. I agree with Shel though, sometimes my restriction seems to reach its maximum effectiveness/tightness about two weeks after the adjustment. I think my surgeon still is a bit conservative with fill level, even using fluoro. Possibly to help with longterm health of the band and to allow ME time to adjust to the restriction level. As others have said on this forum recently, including some on this thread, there is a VERY fine line between close and "perfect" adjustment for me. As a recent example of this: I made the mistake of taking some pills about 6 weeks ago, probably containing some NSAIDS, due to sinus congestion/etc. Not sure if it caused some inflammation or just irritated the band area, but I ended up being too tight and hadn't had a band adjustment in almost a year. Tried liquids/mushies for about 3 days over a weekend and it really didn't get better....so, I went in to see my dr. He did the fluoro as normal and seen I was too tight, and had some slight refluxing of the barium. He removed some, and all was better......EXCEPT, I was hungry. Therefore, I ate too much. I didn't know how much he had removed...but at my appt last week, found out it was .8cc's, and I had gained 9 pounds. YIKES! He just kind of chuckled and asked me what did I expect......I suck at dieting. He added some Fluid back and said see you in a couple months. Hopefully, I'm back at perfect adjustment for me....we will see.

Great Job everyone! @Mikee57 nice pic! I got in a nice long bike ride today in the beautiful St. Louis weather. My first longer ride of the year. Felt great. I think I'm doing a ride from St. Louis to Springield, IL ( 114 miles ) coming up the end of May, so I better get to logging some time in the saddle! Happy Sunday all. Todays ride was a little over three hours. http://connect.garmin.com/activity/493088551

5k run this morning. Here's a pic of us before the run. It was my girlfriends 1st 5k event. She took second place in her division! Now time for some Kentucky Derby!

gym weight work and a quick spin on the trainer this morning after work. TGI Friday!

Just out of curiosity, how much Liquid Protein did you drink at once? For me, if I take too much at once, it will make my stomach upset....say more than about 30 grams within a few minutes. Not sure what is on you list of approved "foods", as your ticker say's you were banded in April, but possibly some chocolate milk would give you some carbs that'll help? And of course, drink lots and lots of water. Best wishes!

Way to go my friend! Congrats on all your hard work and accomplishments. You rock!

It said "locked" when I last seen it too. Now, it doesn't show up when I click on the lapband section. I wanted to follow it....I think its useful info for ANYONE considering Mexico surgery, not just sleevers. But I'm tired and cranky I suppose....was a long midnight shift followed by a nice run this morning. Goodnight and Happy MayDay all.

5km run after work this morning. CG, you crack me up!!!!!!!!!! Hope you're having a great Mayday everyone!

Best wishes on a speedy recovery and much continued success!

Not only was the topic locked, but now its not even available to be seen. Deleted? Quite a shame IMO, when someone comes here and posts their real life story, in what I thought was a very straightforward, respectable, and informative way, that the post is no longer available. What about today or tomorrow, next week/year when some prospective WLS candidate comes here looking for suggestions or opinions about surgery in Mexico? How can they get an unbiased opinion if only positive comments are allowed? I thought this site was to be about sharing knowledge. Nevermind, I guess they can click on the ads for the best info...

. Is fluoroscopy another word for x-Ray?! Because that's what I got done to determine if I had slippage!!!! I suppose thats another term for it. They use a machine that can see a contrast Fluid (barium, I think) flowing through the esophagus and through the band area into the stomach. Pretty useful, IMO. Here's a link that describes it. http://www.hoab.org/fluoroscopy-st-louis-missouri/

A little over 8 miles walking/mushroom hunting today...I really enjoyed it! They're only around for about a few more days probably, so I'm gonna find 'em while the gettings good..... and the gettin' was GOOD today!

5k walk/jog this evening.

Maybe you could contact a local Amvets/VFW/American Legion, etc organization? Most of them have someone to help drive veterans/dependents home from the hospital and medical appts. Best of luck!

Gym session of weights and a spin on the trainer this morning after midnight shift.

@@karibensea Welcome back to the forum! I think we may have had our surgery done at the same hospital, although different doc's. I was banded in Sep 09 at St. Alexius. Not sure if your signature line is correct or not, but it says your last adjustment was in Feb of 2010.... and you have only had three adjustments since banding? It sure sounds like you're doing your part!!!!!! Exercising/eating well, etc. Do you think the band is doing ITS part? Is it possible you need an adjustment? We have a nice support group just across the river in Collinsville that meets twice a month on Thursday evenings. Possibly you'd consider joining us sometime. I've learned a lot over the years from folks and one thing I know, if my band isn't adjusted correctly for me, I overeat and won't lose. I've got a picture of a fork on my computer with the saying underneath it.... "You can't outrun your fork". Its true for me. When was your last checkup with your surgeon?

No slip....my band had come "unbuckled". It happens....VERY rarely. They could have put max fill in and it wouldn't have done anything to provide the restriction its designed to do. Fluoroscopy showed it very easily.

So you've been banded about a year. Sounds like you probably just dieted well to lose the initial 23 pounds, then gained the weight back.....with little to no help from your band.... Sounds familiar to me! Have you had a fluoroscopy check to determine all is well with your band? Thats where I'd start. I can tell you from my experience they can put a lot of saline in the band, and you may not have adequate restriction. There can be issues you wont know about until they actually SEE what's going on. It's depressing and aggrivating to think we've went through all pre-ops, testing, surgery and then what.....seems like nothings changed and it's just a diet. I too, stopped going to my surgeon for over a year....I was embarrassed I had gained weight back as well. But I eventually did go back, and my surgeon was very understanding. After all, if I was good at dieting, I would have never needed the surgery. We figured out what the issue was, corrected it, and got my band adjusted correctly for me. I'm sure your surgeon has seen similar cases where someone has gained weight. I'm glad you've schedule an appointment. Hopefully you'll find out why your band isn't doing what its designed to do. LIMIT PORTIONS and control hunger. It will do this....when properly adjusted. Best wishes!

Congrats John and welcome to the "other side". As you stated, take one day at a time and you'll do great. Best wishes for a speedy recovery and much success.

@NewCyn I agree with the importance of following up with your surgical team....EVEN and ESPECIALLY if/when things aren't going good. Your post is a good reminder and wake up call to those who get a lapband that the followup care is so important. I always pay close attention to folks who have experienced complications as you describe, and try to learn from them to avoid similar problems. I do have a couple questions though to help understand what to look for or be aware of: Did they determine how your intestines "wrapped around your port"? How would they have caught this during a routine checkup with your surgeon? What is the treatment for this complication? Thanks for any info you can provide. I wish you a speedy recovery and best wishes in the future!!!!

5 mile run this morning after work.

@readysetgo611 GREAT job!!! Sounds like mixing up your cardio worked well for you! Congrats and keep it up. You'll be running 5k's before you know it. Today was Hiking/mushroom hunting for me. Thought I'd go biking after a short trip through the woods, but ended up finding several and got in a nice 2.5 hour walk.

I'd say, BE HAPPY! ENJOY! You say you're getting in plenty of liquids. Some people talk about losing all sensation of hunger... and they seem to be doing quite well.

REO Speedwagon "Keep Pushin' " I used to be lonely till I learned about livin alone I found other things to keep my mind on And I'm gettin to know myself a little bit better Whoa , I keep pushin on Keep pushin on, yeah Goin through all the changes I made so many mistakes, oh yes I did Tryin to leave behind the heartaches And sometimes I think I was a little bit crazy, oh yeah Whoa, I keep pushin on [Chorus:] Keep pushin, keep pushin, keep pushin, keep pushin on Keep pushin, keep pushin, you know you have got to be so strong Keep pushin, keep pushin, well even if you think your strength is gone Keep pushin on [solo] Well it's comin together I finally feel like a man, oh yes I do I never thought that I'd be where I am, oh Everyday I wake a little bit higher Whoa I keep pushin on, oh yeah

How ironic! I was just thinking about you yesterday, wondering how you were doing.....guess you answered that question with a big AWESOME!!!!!! Congrats!! You really need to continue to get on here and post more of your successful accomplishments. Keep on Peddlin' my friend!