NC Dave

-78 pounds. Walking 3 miles a day. Still no fills and no problems. Next doctor visit March 1st. Thx, dave

Surgeon visit Wednesday, January 18th. -71 pounds. BP 112/80 with no meds Still no fills. Walking 1.5 to 3 miles every day. Thx, dave

Surgeon visit this past Thursday... -61 pounds. Still no fills. Walking 3 miles a day. BP 130/80 with no meds Thx, dave

-58 pounds. No fills. Walking 2 miles a day, no problems. Increased walking to 3 miles a day starting today. dave

Do what you wanna do. If he doesn't like it or whines like a little girl about it, kick him to the curb and move on. dave

a buddy/friend. Must love cute lil English bulldogs !! Very easy going guy, stable, employed, and a lot slimmer than I was in August ! LOL E mail me at: emaildave@triad.rr.com Thx, dave

-54 pounds. No fills. Walking 2 miles a day, no problems. dave

MD visit today, now -49 lbs w/no fills. Next visit in 6 weeks. Walking approx 2+ miles a day. dave

-44 pounds. Doc didn't fill me on the 7th, he said we'd wait til the 28th because I was losing weight at the rate of 2 lbs a week. I have NO restriction but I eat healthy and sensibly. I'm now up to 2 miles a day on my walking :smile: Even tho the band itself isn't causing me to lose weight yet, it's a tool for me just knowing it's there. Thx, dave

Thank you so much for posting this. I deleted this forum from my bookmarks and rarely look at it anymore becasue I got so tired of all the whiners. The Lap Band is not a replacement for common sense and you HAVE to do your part in changing your diet and following post op instructions. Myself, I've lost 41 pounds and 18 of those pounds were pre -op because I did what I was expected to do. Was it easy, no. Did I do it anyway, YES. I now walk 1 mile per day where pre-op I never walked. This week I will increase that that to 1.5 miles a day. and in a few more weeks, 2 miles a day. You have to do your part, it's that simple. I'm now 6 weeks post op. dave

-39 pounds today. I have no restriction but I'm still eating small portions as tho I do have restriction. I'm due for my fist fill October 7th. dave

ANY smoking will slow the healing process. dave

1 cup = 8 oz and your pouch should be about 2 oz. So basically your eating 24 oz a day when you should be eating 6 oz a day. dave

First fill on Oct.7th. I also have literally no restriction but I'm eating as tho I do. Walking 1 mile a day. Have stopped taking cholesterol and triglycerides meds and replaced them with 1 can of sardines a day. dave

How much/what are you eating a day and how much exercise ? dave

-37 pounds. Feeling great, no complications whatsoever. Eating good. 3 weeks post op. dave

I was able to convert one med to liquid form and one to a chewable tablet. Two, I stopped taking all together, Lovaza & Avodart. The rest I mix with Water and take. Thx, dave

My surgery was August 25th. All went well, no problems. On discharge, I was advised to crush my medications and take with Water. I take about 6 medications. I crushed them all up and took them all at one time followed by a drink of water, exactly as I had been instructed. Within 2 days I had a blockage from the powdered medication. I was readmitted to the hospital for 5 more days. I had an NG tube for 48 hours and then they monitored me closely while I began measured intakes of Jello, water, etc. It's now 2 weeks post op and I am 100%, I feel great and I'm -33 lbs :smile: I wrote an addendum to the post op instructions for people taking medication that will be included for future band patients. The hospital called me yesterday to let me know my bill was $43,406.00 for the 5 extra days but I would not be charged since I wasn't properly informed :bored: Thx, dave Here is a copy of the addendum: Proposed addendum to post Lap Band instructions for patients taking medications. Written by: An actual lap band patient who had severe complications post op due to a blockage caused by taking too much powder medication at one time. David Busick 4045 Glenn Landing Drive Winston Salem, NC 27107 336-771-2294 Taking prescription and OTC medications after your surgery. Almost everyone takes medications in their lifetime; some on a daily basis. After lap band surgery you WILL NOT be able to swallow pills and capsules as you normally did. Your medication will now have to be crushed or your prescription changed to the liquid form if available. Pill crushers are available at any drug store for less than $10. Make a list of ALL medications you take including OTC's such as aspirin, Tylenol®, Vitamins and supplements. Call your pharmacy and find out which medications are available in liquid form or if they may be crushed. If one of your medications isn't available in liquid form and can not be crushed, consult with your family doctor and see if there is an alternative medication they can switch you to. Here are 3 examples: Toprol XL is a commonly prescribed drug for heart patients and people with high blood pressure. Toprol XL can not be crushed and is not available in a liquid form. An alternative is to switch you to Lopressor which can be crushed. Prozac is packaged as a capsule and can be opened but tastes very bitter. An alternative is to switch to liquid Prozac which is the exact same medicine but not bitter. Rather than crushing Tylenol® (acetaminophen), switch to liquid Tylenol®. How to take your medication after being crushed. Taking your medication correctly is as important as ANY part of your post lap band life. NEVER, under any circumstance should your crushed medication be taken as a dry powder followed by water, juice or any liquid. This can easily form a clog or a blockage in your band and will likely result in you being readmitted to the hospital to correct it ! Crush ONE pill at a time and place the powder in a small medicine cup. When you open a capsule, it will already be in a powder form. Add 1 to 2 teaspoons of water and stir this with something like a coffee stirrer or the end of a straw. Medicine cups can be purchased at any drug store and are better for mixing than a kitchen glass. Stir this until it becomes dissolved or until you don't see any chunks of medication. Now you can safely swallow the mixture followed by a drink of water or juice. Wait 5-10 minutes and repeat this for each medication but DO NOT take more than ONE at a time. My doctor / nutritionist / nurse has explained these instructions to me and I understand how important it is to follow these instructions on taking medication after lap band surgery. _____________________________________________ Patient Signature _____________________________________________ Caregiver Signature

I watched this guy's videos and decided to do a little checking up on him :smile: Malpractice & Sanctions Information for Dr. Robert Rutledge - General Surgery - Henderson, NV Disciplinary action in another state (10/19/05) Issued To: Dr Robert Rutledge; License # 0000-29656Nature of Complaint: The Physician has been denied licensure in the State of Nevad for failure to disclose required information. The Physician had been the subject of an investigation by the North Carolina Board but no action was ever taken on his license. The Physician did not disclose this information to the Nevada Board as he felt since no action was taken, it did not need to be reported. Action Taken: The Board has issued the Physician a Reprimand and ordered the Physician to reveal in all applications the existence of the Board inquiries. Issued By: North Carolina

I had 2 post op and another 3 post post op. dave

Thanks Ryan. I was readmitted due to complications. I will make a separate post later with more details. I was in the hospital from Sunday - Thursday. dave

My first time being put under. The whole thing was no big deal to me but I had a friend they let come into the OR while I was under and also stayed with me during the recovery room time. I'm got home around 4 pm the day after surgery and I'm doing ok, just very sore but I have Hydrocodone for that. Oh yeah, the friend that was with me the whole time, his name is Jesus :biggrin: Thx, dave

I did the barium swallow the day after surgery and it showed my band was too tight and the liquids weren't passing out of my pouch. My MD accessed my port and withdrew a good amount of air plus 1cc of saline that was in there from the manufacturer. After that procedure he said I could go home and I said "No way I'm leaving here until we do another barium swallow to make sure it's open now. He agreed that was a good idea and my second swallow test was right on. They let me watch the procedure on the monitor which gave me a better understanding of how the band works. Thx, dave

Thanks Christie :smile2: I honestly think the doctors know that people are gonna eat some solid food in the last 2 weeks. They only tell you "liquid only" so you will give it your best shot. Thx, dave