chubster808

I had LB surgery with Dr. Weber 12/13/06. Down from 404 lbs to 235. I have been at this weight for some time now. I see Dr. Weber next month for a fill. I can eat pretty much anything right now (truth be told, I am enjoying it!). Keep up the good work!

Still no problems with me with coffee/caffeine and I was banded december of 2006. I drink several cups each morning. I totally avoid any carbonation though.

My morning coffee helps clear me out in the a.m. if you know what I mean. Natures broom. I'm not giving it up and I am down 155 pounds since banding.

Thanks for the info everyone. I am definately going to try and be more careful but I work in a hospital and so I am exposed to all those nasty germs. I will be washing my hands all the more now. Everything seems to be ok. I still have restriction and nothing feels out of whack. Guess I was just being paranoid. I also plan to ask my surgeon for some of that anti-nausea medication. It sounds great when in need! I just bought some over the counter stuff but I would prefer the prescription strength.

Just curious if any of you fellow bandsters have experienced the stomach flu, A.K.A., Norwalk virus or norovirus disease or Gastroenteritis?? I had it this past weekend and I was pretty miserable with not only the diarrhea but also nausea. I had about 5 dry heaves of vomiting but nothing came up. I was scared that I might hurt the band with the dry heaving and all. After I heaved and I couldn't bring anything up, it went back to coming out the other end. I hear that with this problem, your stomach and intestines can swell up. I did feel more tight than usual. Anyways, hope it didn’t hurt the band and glad I keep Pepto Bismal handy. Please tell me that your badn was ok if you experienced this. thanks.

I used to be addicted to diet coke but now I drink coffee for my caffeine kick (plus it keeps me regular if you know what I mean). Doc is fine with it so long as it is black or with spenda or the like. I think the Gastic Bypass people are more likely to be dehydrated than us. My program stressed no caffeine for those patients but for lap band, not so much. I had no problem getting adequate fluids in immediately post surgery. In fact, they had to tell me not to drink so much in the hospital. Gastric Bypass people have told me that they can only sip small amounts.

Hi Wishes: I used to have that horrible pain but my doctor now uses a local anathestic to numb the area before he does the fill. Now I dont feel anything related to the port fill other than the minor stick from the anathestic. The doc says that he finds this beneficial in that the patient isnt squirming all over the place. Maybe ask your doc about using an anathestic to numb you up.

It's been the same struggle for me especially throughout this holiday season. I hope to get back on track now with that behind me and the new year to start new.

Glad you made it through and thanks for sharing your story.

So true faithmd. Hehe.

I started out with a BMI of 51 in the Extremely Obese category. Well I am happy to report that I am now considered merely obese with a BMI of 34, I will be happy to make it to the overweight category and if ever to the "normal weight" category.

I eat low fat and use spenda instead of sugar. Hell if Im giving up my salt.

you should NOT get drunk really fast. This is the lap band not gastric bypass therefore, your body processes the alcohol in the same way as without the band. Bypass people get drunk fast because their intestines have been altered. I used to love my beer before surgery but havent touched it since I have been properly filled. Dont want the carbonation to stretch out the pouch. I havent bothered to try something new like wine.

Yes, I believe that the flu can make the band tighter. I, too, could only eat the amounts that you are eating immediatley following my last fill. Maybe even a little less than you. But, I lost weight and within about 4-5 days, I could eat more. I am back up to about 1 cup of food which is nice but now the weight loss has slowed. Some say that there is a post fill swelling, which seems plausible to me. Maybe once the swelling went down, I could eat more too.

I have taken it before though not related to the band. it has to be scored. It is basically looking for psychopathology. If you tried to make yourself look good, it will pick up on that. But basically, if you answered truthfully, it shouldnt be an issue. Good luck.

They shouldnt have to remove the whole band, just the port if it is indeed infected. Sounds pretty early on for an infection. If infected, it would appear to have been from the surgical process as opposed to mine which was the result of a fill. Good luck to you.

Maybe your band is over filled and you need a slight unfill. I would talk to your doctor. You should definatly be able to eat with the band!!

I am doing fine with my new port. No new problems (knock on wood). I ahve lost quite a dramatic amount of weight which I am happy about. But it was hellish going through those 2 extra surgeries on being on antibiotics for what seemed like forever. But the end result of weight loss makes me happy. Good luck to those of you dealing with infection issues.

I have 9.5 ml in a VG band and finally have the resritcion that the band promises. I can only eat 1/4 cup of food at a time and even that is a chore. Restriction will come. Getting to 9.5 ml was an 11 month process for me. I, too, could eat voluminous amounts of food with the band and with fills. Everyone has a different sweet spot.

I cant tolerate it but this suggested concoction of mixed peanut butter with silky tofu and a little honey sounds yummy. Gonna try that.

This is not acceptable. This also happened to me with up to 10 sticks per fill by an incompetent PA who is no longer with my particular bariatric program. Ultimately, my port became infected and had to be removed. I blame the PA and his fill practice. Now I only let the surgeon do my fills and he has agreed to do so. He numbs the area with a local anathesia so I feel nothing. He gets it every time with one stick. I also request that he swab the area with both betodine and alcohol. Maybe I am kinda paranoid about infection but hey, I had to endure 2 additional surgeries due to the infection. I dont want to scare you but you need to raise the issue with that nurse so that you can avoid any potential infections.

Um that sounds horrendous!! I have had 3 surgeries so far and was under general anathesia for 2 of them. I didnt wake up during either procedure. But when they removed my infected port, I was put under regional anathesia and I woke up a couple times during that because I could feel pain. I went right back under after they shot some more drugs in me. But I cant imagine they would have you on regional anathesia for the initial banding. Scary.

THanks bandster. I have heard this before. Im going to ask my doc tomorrow if I should be on the diuretic pill but from what you are saying it seems like it would be better to be on it since it helps you to rid water from the body. Its just that I feel sometimes that it is tight because it just seems really dry almost like it is foaming or something. Hard to explain.

There are different size bands. If you have had the surgery, ask your doc what size your band is. According to my surgeon, they make the size decsion when they have you on the operating table based on the size of your stomach. PB is produtive burp which is what bandsters call it. I call it plain and simple vomitting.

I actually scheduled an appointment with my fill doc for tomorrow to discuss this. I am thinking that a slight unfil may be in order?? Maybe .25 or .5 ml. Im at 9.5 so bringing me down to 9.0 may be more tolerable. My band got tight even before with less in the band even my last fill when I was 8.5 ml. But I could still eat a cups worth of food. Now it is just 1 or 2 tablespoons and thats it? I dont know if my 6 foot 3 inch large frame can make it on that? Maybe I am just being a crybaby but........