AlienBandit

What bands does your doctor have? There are tons of different kinds and generations of bands.

The lapband alone has 5 different bands. Most people who say they have the lapband I believe have the lapband ap series ( 3rd generation) it is a 10cc band or 14cc band

The lapband, realize, swedish, and midband ( and others) all have different looks, ports and ways of being done. Some are stitched to you, others are not. Some have baffles ( bubbles around the band) others are just one bubble, some are 365 degree fill others are not.

Here is some more info

http://alienbanditinkorea.wordpress.com/2010/08/15/bands-very-important-please-read/

some bands to google are listed on that link.

Most doctors in the US use realize, lapband AP and some maybe use midband now

Replace the drinks with Water. Switch it up some like one drink of alcohol and then 2 waters.

I live in Korea and people tend to go nuts here too a night out can be a finally roll outta the bar at 7 am ( they close when you leave).

At first it was hard getting back into hanging with my crazy drinking friends, but after a while they got used to my drinking and I got used to switching it up some.

If your friends are pushy with getting you to drink then start just leaving your glasses at the bar without finishing them. At dinner have some wine but don't finish it. Once they are drunk they probably won't notice the changes.

I get heart burn and pains sometimes if I am drinking Water especially if it is cold. Before going gyming I take room temp Water with me and I am usually ok. Sometimes I add some crystal light that for some reason makes it easier to go down.

Heart burn is def a sign you need an unfill but like you I dont have any problems with the band. Last week the problems were bad with the pain but this week after having mostly liquids and no spicy food for a few days everything is at peace again.

Erosion when the band goes through your stomach can happen. That is what most people mean when they talk about erosion.

I saw tons of photos of this and my doc and I talked about it.

Actually 4 months post op I was having a check up for another possible complication and my doctor found erosion instead. It was very small just 3mm in size and I had the band removed so my stomach could heal and then I got a new band a few months later.

My doc was afraid I would starve or something with the mushies phase because I am a vegetarian, so on my mushies phase he said I could eat potato chips sometimes if needed but I must chew well and eat very slowly.

I think I only did it once or twice during that time. It didn't seem to make sense.

Actually chips are somewhat of a slider for me even now, potato and tortilla chips.

If you're getting a small fill and have little restriction already another fill would be no big deal.

However if you're getting a big fill or close to your sweet spot and you have to do 2 days liquids after the fill, I def wouldn't get it.

Usually after my fills when I first got banded, I felt no restriction so eating was not a big deal. Now even .2cc I have to be on liquids for 2 days after a fill.

As for flying before a fill, it is the same thing. If you have really good restriction you might have some trouble eating in the air but not a lot of restriction is no problem.

Usually when I fly it means 12-18 hours in the air. Even when I have a good fill I can usually eat most of the food ( I request the low calories low carb meal so they usually give me eggs or fish or something mushy to eat, so it isnt a big problem food wise. )

if you have an infection, inflammation or swelling in your stomach it could be pushing on your tubing thus pushing more of the fill that was in your tubing into your band thus causing more restriction.

Where exactly is the swelling/ Your belly button area, actual stomach area ( right below your rib cage on your right), etc?

Its good you are seeing a doctor. If there is some sort of infection hopefully an unfill ( so your not irritating your stomach) and some meds will help.

I know when I go for surgery like Lipo on my stomach it makes my band tighter.

Just an idea.

If I figit and move and tense my muscle when I get a fill I get mega bruising that usually takes amost 2 weeks to go away.

I remember when I used to get Vitamin shots in my stomach the same thing would happen. Just try to relax. Even if you can't feel the needle you might tense up anticipating it causing the bruising.

I lived off of chili, things with cream cheese ( mix alfredo spinach onion and pepper melt sme cheese on top eat with some shreded chicken so good!), Soup and mashed potatoes ( mix with sun dried Tomato, basil, and some feta yummmss!)

Good luck and dont stress about bm right now cuz your body is going nuts

I have wanted the lapband since i was 16. I couldnt afford it in Canada ( was +$20,000 when I looked into it and my parents would never agree).

After years of wasting thousands of dollars, I finally got in at the age of 24 (for a much affordable price I could pay on my own, actually my parents have no idea).

It was the best decision ever! If I could have gotten as a teen I would have!

After my first fill I felt like i had just had the flu. My stomach hurt and i had no desire to eat the first day.

This is totally normal

As for your doctor, I would consider going somewhere else. It doesnt sound like he wants to help you.

However you should consider asking him more questions and maybe he will answer.

My doctor sees many patients and speaks two languages so sometimes he forgets he needs to give more info to his foreign patients because he has someone who speaks Korean educating his Korean patients.

I receive great care from him, but I do lots of research and ask lots of questions. Others feel he is a little cold to them because he doesnt tell them lots of things but he is willing to give lots of info if you ask what should I do now etc.

You don't want to over do it on the ways to help go to the bathroom.

Your body just got a huge shock and is still adjusting. If you over do it on the benefiber etc I think it could make it worse and once you are successful could cause a whole lot of flood gates kind of problem. You are not eating many things right now that would make you go to the bathroom. Just try to stay hydrated and eat more food that could help you go to the bathroom rather then more benefiber etc.

I dont have a recliner. I always slept in my own bed but used some pillows. It was difficult at first but after a while you figure out how to get up and down etc.

Hope you get to sleep in your own bed soon!

My BMI was 33 when I got banded. I lost 60 ish lbs so far and have another 10 before I get to where I really want to be.

I was self pay though so less hassle getting approved. Since your BMI is low, your liver probably isnt fatty. I didnt have to do a pre op diet and my doctor said my liver was ok.

In the first 4 months I lost about 40lbs I think

I had some Lipo before my Tummy Tuck and like everyone says it won't get rid of the skin. Lipo is kind of like a fast way to lose some weight/fat but with the skin still there, it won't help much with the trying to get a nice body.

I would do some lipo with a tummy tuck together in a surgery.

My first band was 11cc and my doc did not give me a fill during surgery.

My second band same doc, different band 10cc he put 4cc in during surgery. He said the same was too loose and i didnt have that much fat around my stomach.

Getting a fill during surgery is kind of like helping you avoid bandster hell.

Good luck

I knew of someone who was having almost the same problems as you.

She got her band and started on her fills when within a few months of being banded, she started getting stuck on everything. It only got worse and worse.

After a few unfills she had nothing in her band and she was still miserable. Sometimes she would go to the hospital to be hooked up to an IV for liquids because she couldn't even drink most days.

After tons of tests ( endoscope, upper GI, xrays etc) the doctor couldn't see anything wrong with her band. She was on meds and swollen from all the pbing vomiting etc.

Finally she got so fed up and asked for the band to be removed. When the doc took it out they found she had an infection around the band on the outside of her stomach hence why they wouldnt see it when they looked inside her stomach. It was a very long surgery as her stomach was in terrible shape ( had to slowly remove the band in parts and so on). She ended up in the hospital for about a week and even had to have a drain through her nose.

In the end she was ok but couldnt get the band again after that.

I dont mean to scare you but maybe the problem is the same as infection around the band or maybe your body is just rejecting it?

Frozen yogurt seems a better option then ice cream! As a treat once and a while is good

When I did a weight loss program some years ago ( Dr Berstein diet), they wouldn't start the B12 Vitamin shots until I had a pap smear and gave them the results.

I have no idea why they wanted it, but they said they just wanted to make sure I was in good health.

When I went for my band, my doctor never asked for me to have a pap. I did however have a bad pap a few months later and finally 1.5 years later I ended up finding out I had dysplasia and just had LEEP done in May.

I have had more surgery since then and am scheduling a boob job soon and my doc (band/plastics) knows about my paps and such ( as he wanted me to switch doctors to his hospital so I wouldn't be going all over the country for things) and it doesn't seem to interfere with anything else......

I think since you had LEEP already you should be fine. I don't understand why you wouldnt be allowed to have the surgery even if you had dysplasia.

Dating is hard enough, dating when banded makes me so much more nervous. Now I even have had a Tummy Tuck (and lipo) and it is like I dont know where to begin without sending the guy running for the hills.

To top that off, I am scheduled for a boob job in a month. I am dating this new guy who has only been around a few weeks. I have not mentioned I lost a lot of weight but he does notice my eating habits. So far I have been able to pass them off as I am hung over from last night ( we dont get to see each other much and hang with friends and have drinks on weekends) or I just had a snack etc and he hasn't questioned it.

Hiding all my scars hasnt been too hard, but finding the right time to tell him is hard to decide.

If he is still around come new boobie time, I guess I will have to spill the Beans but honestly, each person is different, each story is different, each situation is different.

Once I was on a date with a guy who went on about fat people and I just went off on him. I had no problem telling him I was banded because when he asked why I cared because I was skinny, I was proud to talk about my band ( and knew I would never see him again)

If the topic comes up of losing weight and you feel it is right, then tell them. Me personally, I want a person to get to know me before they know I am banded ( if I just met them) and then they can decide how they feel about it. However if I started to date a friend or someone I had known for a long time, I wouldn't heistate to tell them I am banded ( though generally it is a secret)

I am looking into implants and I am thinking silicone (gummy bear gel). I think it feels more natural and if there is a leak it won't deflate right away. Yes you will have to replace it sooner or later but it has more of a slower leak.

I am already uneven. I don't want to be normal then wake up one morning missing a boob.

I had my surgery on a Saturday and I went back to work on Monday. I am a teacher so it was good to be moving around and walking. Only one co worker knew i had surgery and my students had no idea.

In Korea its hard to get time off even though we have sick days. Most foreigners have surgery on the weekend and go back to work right away.

I see soooooo many topics about breast implants but not everyone goes into the details I am looking for.

I am considering this since my boobs have changed a lot and are now very uneven and it just makes me depressed ( my nipple rings, pierced at two separate times are not even in sync)

Anyways now that I have looked into it there are so many things to consider so I am wondering for people whom have had implants what did you have done?

Silicone or saline?

Under the muscle or over the muscle?

What cc are your implants?

What incision did your doctor use? (underarm, crease etc)

What did you wish you did differently? (ie lift as well, no lift, bigger, smaller etc)

Thanks for always being so helpful gang

I eat popcorn like it is going out of style. I pop it myself on the stove and add some flavour with the powder popcorn shaker things.

Sometimes I have popcorn for dinner. I try to convince my body it is a Protein but it doesn't listen. I could eat a bath tub full and still not be full. It is definitely a slider for me!

It takes a while to get to the sweet spot where you get full faster and don't eat a lot.

I remember about a month after getting banded I could almost eat an entire burger king meal before getting full, nothing got stuck and I was barely losing.

Once you get fills things will change. This is not a magic wand