vintagehound

Wasa bubblebutt: Wow, intense story!!!!!! BrandyK: That is such a sweet story, I loved it! Losing Just Me: I keep tabs on you on bef and after pics, you look great and I am so proud of you!! Last straw: I am another lifer in the school of "been overweight most of my life." I researched Gastric Bypass and knew it was not for me. I found out about Lapband online and started researching it but not too seriously. One night, I went to my friends for a party and she pulled up some photos on her computer. One of the groups she showed was a camping trip we all took in June. There it was- the horrifying truth of the matter. I did not expect I looked like a model in my bathing suit, but I was shocked and horrified at the picture of me from behind next to the river. I came home that night and cried and cried. I scheduled surgery the next day in Tiajuana with Dr. Kuri and had surgery 3 weeks later July 21 06. I love my band and I am so glad to have it! It has been a lot slower than I thought and taken much more will power than I assumed it would. Sadly, the worst things seem to go down the easiest. I have lost 40 lbs and just got my second fill, hopefully I will be loosing some more soon!

I had surgery July 06 and still have sensitivity in the port region. If I lay on it or sit in jeans for too long it aches. I just went for a fill and asked my doc, he said it is normal to experience some sensitivity and pain in that area. It does get better though.

hi all! I just had my second fill two days ago. I am very restricted. It is hard to get water down sometimes. I know I am maybe too full, but I wanted to know if anyone has felt this way after a fill and stuck to liquids and been ok. Will it loosen on its own in a few days? At the fill, the barium went down fine. Afterwards, I ate a cup of hot soup very slowly and it went down. On the way home from Tiajuana, I fell asleep and when I woke up it was hard to swallow water. In the later afternoon yesterday I was able to get some more soup down and a protein shake later, but by the time I was going to bed, I could barely swallow water again. I have been sliming a lot. Do you think I should go all the way back to get a unfill or sit tight and hope it gets a little looser. Also my tummy is making loud noises like air is trying to get out of the hole when I drink......any experiences would be helpfull.....................

I love my band because when I hit my first plateau, I couldn't give up and gain it back!!! I coulda lost it without the band, but I never would have kept it off, the diet would have been over at the first sign of no loosing. Chico Chula: I was self pay in Mexico, and I am glad to have my band!

I went to mexico and got it done for $8000.00 It was a great experience. We went through a bankruptcy too and had no insurance. We sold a car, garage sale, ebay sales and any cash we stashed plus a little help from family and I was able to pay for it. Don't be afraid of Mexico, it is a option......If it is what you want then do all you can and make it happen, you will be be so glad! Good luck!

I travel all the time for business and carry a store with me! When we stop we go to a retaurant/ diner where I get something decent, or if fast food has to happen...... taco bell beef burrito supreme sucks right out of its tortilla. In and out you can order your burger protein style and they will make it wrapped in lettuce with no bun it is good! Fries go down great they are evil, I really have to use will power to stay away from them! I always have on me some or all of these when I leave on a trip: Luna Bars nuts fruit avacado string cheese While I am on the road sometimes these work as a meal. I used to travel with my magic bullet till I broke it and had protein shakes in the hotel, I loved it and need a new one!

I was never a burper till I got banded and my stomach makes so much noise! Not only do I have real burps now, but when it growls, it is so loud! Other people hear it...... My theory is that our banded stomach is like a bottled water or shampoo, now the air has to come up for the food to go down.

I have hypo, and PCOS and had Lapband surgery July 06 in Mexico with dr. Kuri. Everything was fine. My levels were ok though. I don't think it will be a problem and maybe some of the symptoms with improve with weight loss. The Synthroid I am on is so tiny, it goes down pretty good. Good Luck!

hi I expected something totally different than it is. I feel like it has done nothing to make me feel full or less hungry.... I do however eat so much less because I have to chew chew chew! I have actually chosen to not eat when I want to because I am too lazy to have to chew it! I get sick of chewing and eating before I feel full, it just sort of lost its appeal and as a result I ate very little compared to now. It is very much a tool, the wrong stuff still goes down great like ice cream... I just stay away from the bad stuff as much as I can! Fried food goes down ok too, so I try not to cheat and eat the easy stuff. I go for the protein and veggies first and then get tired of chewing and quit eating. It is a very bizarre experience, but I am so glad I did it!!!!!!!!!!!! Sometimes I eat chocolate.

I like the Unjury brand you can buy it online. I put the vanilla flavored one with a half a cup of milk and half a bannana, so good! I also like their chocolate flavor, I mix with half a cup of strong coffee and half a cup of milk. I feel like that is a treat in the mornings and 20g of protein.

thanks! It looks like fun!

How do I find out more about the lapband cruise in JUNE? I saw something about it on another thread........... Thanks!

Yes yes yes I get the same pain in my head and I am so glad I am not alone. I get it by my temple on one side. Yesterday I had to puke for the first time since banding cause I was stuck and the pain in my head was great. It never went away even though I got the stuck food out and it turned into a whopper of a migraine. First time I had to bring food back up though. Usually the headache goes away when the hurting food goes down......

hi again! Definately I have had the best luck loosing weight with PCOS and the band by eating a low carb diet. I try to stay inder 40 carbs a day. When I am really strict, I loose. Even when I am good, it is hard to loose. Having PCOS means that we are insulin resistant. That is why we gained it, and why eating low carb will help us loose it. Info for anyone interested about these migraine & headache triggers: MSG- Monosodium Glutimate is a food addative for flavor. It is mostly added to Chinese food and is often a ingredient in salad dressings, canned Soups, flavored potato chips, watch out if you get headaches MSG is in a lot of foods! Sodium Nitrate is a meat preservative used most often in processed meat with pork in it. It is added to keep meat pink and resist Botulism. It is found ONLY in processed meat products or foods made with meat products. Ham, bacon, sausage, pepperoni, lunchmeat, hot dogs, all have it. Not only is it one of the leading triggers for migraines, it additionally can mix with something in our digestive juices that can lead to colon cancer. People that eat processed meats are 67% more likely to get colon cancer than people that eat little to none. Even the FDA tried to ban its use in the 70's. I believe it is a terrible poison that is being eaten in huge quantities by poorer communities that are not educated about these things, and can only afford cheap foods like hot dogs for their kids. Very sad! I encourage everyone I love to not eat that stuff headaches or not! Great foods I found: Safeway soups that they make (with the exception of split pea) are generally made with no MSG or Nitrates. Their Deli has a lunchmeat called Primo Taglio, the roast beef from that brand does not have nitrates. Also, Trader Joes carries sausage and bacon with no preservatives or nitrates and soups with neither MSG or nitrates. Trader Joes has so many great low carb foods that I buy there and preservative free. Sorry to ramble on like this, obviously I feel passionate about getting this message out. Re Migraines: Mindy, only those of us that have real migraines understand the pain of it. I wish they were gone totally, I still have them sometimes. I was successfull in decreasing them almost to never with the diet changes I already mentioned in my last post on this thread. I have so much sympathy for you, I hope you can find some relief, it is so debilitating to have them!

I have PCOS too and had lapband surgery July 06. I have lost 37 lbs. I am very happy with my progress and even though I am at a plateau, I know it will not go up and soon will go down again. The hair has not decreased with weight loss, but my periods are getting regular. Three months after surgery I had to get cut open 8 inches to remove a cyst that grew after surgery from an orange to a watermellon (27cm) it went up to my ribcage! Apparently surgery can trigger cyst growth, eww. I lost a ovary too. I am happy now with the band though and glad to have had my third in a row, totally normal period. I am also looking into laser hair removal. One of my employees has PCOS and laser is working great for her on her face. Good luck to us all! Someone mentioned migraines and the pill (estrogen).... I was getting terrible migraines and eliminated Soy in my diet (natural source of Estrogen) and sodium nitrate (common meat preservative and carcinogen) and the migraines are gone! email me if you want more info, I had the kind of ocular migraines with auras. Fat stores estrogen, so us being overweight makes it most likely we are all suffering from estrogen dominance. PCOS symptoms can be agrivated by that dominance. Losing weight may help your headaches.

I did it in Mexico, everything was fine! Those docs have done a lot, my doc there has done 3000 of them or so... I have been back to TJ for a fill and it was fast and easy and under fluoroscope. Dr. Kuri was about business, it was fast. Good Luck!

We did a really significant and brave thing to ourselves and I love knowing that ya'll are out there. Who else can really understand the details of our daily experiences before and after banding.........

My doc gave us a card for the wallet that shows a pic of the band on a stomach to carry in case of medical emergency. Then any doc will know what has been done... I never thought of using it for a discount. I like having a big plate of food when I eat out. I do a lot of texture experimenting with mixing foods like protein with a bite of veggies.... It is fun to have food left on my plate now. I actually have leftovers worth keeping and sometimes they are a meal the next day for me. Also I really notice now, how much is still on my plate and how much was never on my plate before surgery.

You said it! I could have lost it without the band, but it would be back already. The first plateau is crucial!!!!! I am at a plateau now, but overall, sticking to the rules because I don't want to have a golf ball in my chest! Most of us here agree that with this tool, we were able to survive plateaus and know the scale will keep going down eventually!

hi I had Lapband surgery in July 06. I was allergic to the adhesive on the bandaids and tape after surgery too! It left raised red welts. I also had one incision site that had not closed and looked like sunglasses....both ends were open. It was a challenge, every time I took a shower the scab would come off.. Finally, after working hard to keep it clean and not covered, it healed. Then, I had another surgery in October and one spot had a little hole. I was going crazy and then finally one day a stich knot popped out and it healed shut! Gross! Anyways, the point is both events happened to me last year and all my wounds healed fine. Just make sure to keep it dry and clean. Good Luck, and some of us find out at our first fill that the port was not where we thought it was, in my case and my bandmates with the same doctor, the port was way lower than the incision. When you are all healed up and ready, your fill will be fine.

I was banded in July in mexico (TJ) by Dr Kuri. I had a great experience! For the most part, the docs down there have done more Lapband surgeries than the US docs. My doc does any thing I need later, related to the band, for free. I went for a fill there also and it went great, under fluoroscope, no cost but a 95.00 hospital fee. Surgery was $8000. Good Luck!

hi all! thanks for starting this thread! I have PCOS and got banded July 21 2006. I have lost 37 lbs since my highest weight. I am so happy to have my band! I did have a bizarre complication however. I was told after lapband surgery by my doctor that he saw a orange size cyst on my right ovary. Between July 21st and Oct 24th it grew to a watermellon! I had to have emergency surgery with a 7" long incision to get it out on the 24th. I looked pregnant! It turns out that trauma to the body including surgery can cause a cyst to grow! Mine grew and grew. Just something to keep in mind and watch for if you already have functional cysts before surgery. Besides this rather irritating event, I have done great and am on progesterone to regulate my period as I had a lining build up in my uterus and at time of cyst surgery had a D & C. I had my first real period that I can remember ever this month!!!! I am happy to share any of the info I have learned through this experience if anyone wants it. Careful of Soy products, PCOS is caused by estrogen dominance (which is because fat stores estrogen) and soy is a natural form of estrogen. Loosing weight will also cause loss of estrogen which will help allieviate symptoms of PCOS. Zoe

I am wary of any stats that aren't backed up with a reliable source.... It is such a new surgery in the states, I trust the opinion of my doctor in Mexico that has done almost 3000 surgeries as apposed to many US docs that are expressing opinions based on less than 500 surgeries. Many of them have done less than 100. It was only approved here in 2001. I do not think we have enough statistics yet to really say. There are so many factors involved with each of us being so different. Whatever he was saying was prob. not supported by a reliable source. Soda: I never hear mixed messages, everything I have read says carbonation can lead to erosion.........

Is it still considered PBing when you just slime, and no throw up? I have slimed and had the golf ball about 4 times in 2 months since my first fill, but it eventually went down every time so far. I was close once on a piece of steak and almost gave in to tossing it up. I have been afraid of steak since.

I agree, maybe too tight. Vinesqueen I love the "food lube" line, now I know what to call it! I find it helps a lot to add some lube to meat especially. Let us know if it helped any go down. I use a little cottage cheese with meat sometimes to keep it from getting so dry before I swallow it.