Humming Bird

I guess it depends on what types of foods you are getting stuck on and if you are able to stay healthy with the types of food you can tolerate without getting stuck. During my big weightloss phase I kept my band pretty tight. I used chili as my guide. If I could eat chili, I did not consider my band too tight. Also watch for night coughing and night reflux. If you have those, you should not stay that tight. I understand your thinking about the band loosening up with some weightloss. I know mine did, but who knows how much fat you have between your band and stomach.

I find it at Walmart, but Tylenol does not work well for me. I use a double dose of Jr. Strength liquid ibuprophen sometimes.

Old thread, but since it came up again I thought I would update a bit...... In Nov. 2011 I went to a dermatoligist to have a spot on the end of my nose checked out. While I was there I asked about the sun damage treatments. He said don't waste your money on any of the creams and such because they do not work. He said if I wanted the best bang for my buck, the new laser treatments are the way to go. He gave me the number for another dermatoligist who does them well. I have not called that one yet as I did end up having a tiny spot of cancer on my nose. I spent some $$$ getting that taken care of.

I financed with HealthOne and my min. monthly payment was around $100. I made larger payments and paid it off in 18 months. Some surgeons only take care credit or a reg. credit card. Many surgeons offer deep discounts for self-pay patients.

At only 3 weeks post-op, that looks like a flipped port to me.

Onderland is a beautiful place when you get there

So glad to hear it's not erosion!

water method has worked great for me

No, lapband is weightloss surgery, not a program. It's major surgery with general anesthesia. It's a device wrapped around an internal organ. ....................not even close to being a "program"

May 2011? IMHO your Doc should have had you to the green zone by now and you should have lost at least 90 pounds in that amount of time (if you have that much to take off) If your band has a leak, it's a different story. In my experience, when the green zone is reached (I reached mine very early with 2 proper fills), the weight melts away with very little effort. It does NOT have to be that hard. I do not follow a diet and do not do any formal exercise or working out. My band is doing what it is designed to do. If you can't get what you need from this doc, go to one that understands it does not have to be that hard on the patient.

There are quite a few docs here in the US that are offering the surgery plus follow-up for under 9,000.

It could be correct, but I would still wait to get something on paper. I would guess if it is correct the ins. company will mail you something automatically.

Employers can opt out of the different types of plans that cover WLS to save money.

I have never had a fill using fluro and think it's not needed unless they are checking for a problem or something. I had a fill during surgery and then reached the green zone with 2 fills post-op. I did not pay for any of those fills as they were included in my self-pay total. The weight melted off me ....100 lbs in the first year. I've had a couple very tiny "tweek" fills since. I go in about every 10-12 months for a tiny fill to keep my sweet spot........never under fluro.

I've been at goal for over a year now......feels great.

From the info given in the OP, it sounds like Rossy's band had a leak early on. No amount of research would have solved that. I don't think it's the bandster's fault when something like that happens. It may or may not be the surgeon's fault. We were not given enough info to be sure what went on with fills and such. I think the surgeon was wrong to let it go on for so long without replacing the band. The OP was wrong to let it go so long without seeking help from someone else.

I can only speak from my own experience and it has been a fantastic one. Since I have had such great success with the band, if I had a leak at this point I would beg them to put a new band in me. I'm not sure I would have waited 6 years to switch doctors and solve the problem. I'm sorry you had a bad experience. I wish everyone could have it the way I do. Have you thought about a new band, sleeve, or other WLS ?

I agree. I'm glad I didn't find the site until I already had the band inside me. Some of the negative stuff may have freaked me out enough I would have put off getting banded and then I would still be morbidly obese today. The site is great for newbies. In my case, it has been a great place for learning details. I'm a long distance from my surgeon's office, so I didn't use them as a support team and I'm too far away to go to any of the group meetings or anything. I was not required to go to the office for "follow up" type visits. I only went in for a fill a few times. I have had to sift through many posts of things that just don't make sense and posts from bandsters who really don't understand the basics and give bad advise. IMHO many bandsters make the entire thing MUCH harder than it has to be. Overall, I love the site or I would not still be here reading and posting. It helps me keep my head in the game.

I will bet when you go back to the doc and they take out the Fluid to measure you will no longer have the 8.5cc. In a year some of the fluid does go away. It's not a leak. The fluid goes away through osmosis or something. You will find it so much easier if you go back every 10-12 months for a tiny fill to keep you in the zone.

Everyone is different. Some bandsters exercise like crazy and track everything they put in their mouth and every calorie burned. For me, I have put in very little effort. I don't track or journal anything. I don't do any type of formal exercise or "workout". I reached the green zone/ sweet spot very early and the wieght melted off and stayed off. I am more active in general because I feel better with all that extra weight gone. I try to eat healthy in general. I do not "diet". All that dieting stuff does not work for me. The many years of being a yo-yo dieter is proof enough for me to understand all that is a waste of time. I don't want to live my life obcessing over it and I have not had to.

Never borrow from the future. If you worry about what may happen tomorrow, and it doesn't happen, you have worried in vain. Even if it does happen, you have worried twice.

What do you mean you don't want to hear things like "I'd like to see my toes" or "I'd like to wear those pants again" ? LOL ..........those types of things were/are my main goal! I not only wanted to see my toes, I want to paint them without holding my breath or grunting! I did want to fit in those size 10 jeans instead of size 24! I'm wearing my size 10 jeans right now and they feel great! I wanted to be able to get up in my husband's 4X4 truck without a stepstool or major effort and grunting and being strangled by my huge boobs and belly! I wanted to wear pretty clothes instead of fat lady clothes. As someone else mentioned, my self esteem was so low about the way I looked and my lack of flexability and mobility, I felt like crying every day. What would I do to correct the problem? I would do something as drastic as weightloss surgery! I didn't care if all I could eat for the rest of my life was gruel. I would do something as drastic as spending $10,000. I was in a very desperate state. I am so happy to say I did it! I took off over 100 pounds with very little effort. I have kept the weight off! I don't have to eat only gruel! I can paint my toenails! I can wear size 10 jeans and my ass looks great in them! I can get up in the 4x4 like a normal person! I could go on and on with these types of reasons .......... (being fit or healthy was not my top personal priority. I'm fitter and healthier, but that is just frosting or gravy to me)

Are you cleared to get another fill now? It sounds like you are not in the green zone yet. Look at it as a bump in the road and a slow start, but it does sound like things will go better for you now.

I tried biotin, protein, iron, nioxin products,......everything....even rigain. Nothing helped. I had quite a bit of hairloss the first year. I think my hair did get better on it's own, but I have been taking the hair, skin and nails chews from GNC and think they might have helped my hair feel healthy, silky, and thicker again. I have been taking them for a couple months now. (1 every day)

They do make sub-lingual biotin. It just melts under your tongue. You can get it at health food stores.