donali

I understand what you're saying, Alexandra. But at the same time, I know there are still a lot of docs who don't know that the band exists, and therefore cannot campaign to get insurance to cover it. I think it's a wonderful idea, Megan, to have Oprah give equal time to a less risky WLS option. I am always disappointed to see coverage after coverage of the bypass, with nary a mention of the band. And maybe giving the band a higher profile in everyday media would get someone to compile more current and meaningful stats. And maybe if more docs knew about and supported the band, more U.S. docs would offer it, at more competitive prices, and fewer people would have to get banded far from where they lived, and all banded people would have access to better aftercare. Maybe this is just a pipe dream on my part?

I could guzzle Water until my last fill. I don't think we have to worry about stretching our pouches unless you're backing stuff up into your esophagus - that's why I didn't force water down faster after fill number four - I could tell I was drinking faster than it was draining. Look at me - "our pouches".... I guess I meant "your pouches... Guzzle on, Alexandra! But stop if you feel it backing up. My humble advice/reassurance...

Yay, Janie!!! congrats congrats, all around! Welcome back, "grandma"!

Congrats, congrats, congrats!!! You're at goal, if I remember correctly? You go, girl!!! Whoo hooo!

Not being a student of human physiology, I don't know what all is under that area of skin, but it does seem as though it is easy to get the port in a position that's uncomfortable. I hate to agree that it's likely your port, and that the likely remedy is a reposition. Looking forward to hearing Dr. Billy's opinion!! (All this time I though "Billy" was the doc's first name... lol )

Thanks for the best wishes everyone! I should be released this morning (Sunday), hopefully around 9 am. The surgery was a nightmare - I was under for FIVE hours (I'm not sure if I was acutally in surgery for four or five hours, but I was out of the room for five hours). The doc said I was full of adhesions, and they all had to be cut and cleaned away. When I woke up from the anesthesia, I was in pain like you can not believe. I was crying, moaning, whimpering. Dr. Lopez said they had to give me THREE times the pain killer to bring my pain under control. Once that initial pain was taken care of, the rest hasn't been so bad. Late afternoon Saturday they took out the drain, and removed the IV bag but left in the hand catheter to give me antibiotics and pain medicine. Friday when they tried to put in my IV, the girl hunted and poked around in my hand with the needle, then gave up and tried up on my arm by the elbow. She kept fiddling with it - pushing it in, pulling it out, pushing it in. I'm lying down for all of this, but said "I'm going to faint." and did. Cheryl said it was pretty freaky, because my eyes were still open, but rolled back in my head, and my mouth was open and I was making weird noises. The nurse gave her the smelling salts to hold under my nose and went off to get help. Cheryl said then my face flushed a brilliant red, and I started thrashing my hands around. Very weird and creepy. Right now my back hurts more than my stomach from laying on it so long. I begged them to let me send an email - these machines are only for their cancer patients, but for $5.50 the gal gave me the password. I am feeling much better this morning (Sunday) - can you imagine that at the moment, my shoulder hurts worse than any other part of me? That muscle stiffness really settles in. The doc finally came by Saturday, and said that he had to use stitches instead of glue for my incisions, because the stomach is full of bacteria, and it wasn't safe to just glue the incisions shut. I'm not sure how that would make a difference - gluing as opposed to sewing, but I have big black ugly stitches across each incision that I'll have to come back in two weeks to have removed. Dr. Lopez also said that all the adhesions was an indication that my body was trying to get rid of the foreign body from the get go, so it really wasn't anything done on my part that caused the erosion - just my body's way of dealing with a foreign object. Thank God. I see it's only 6:30 here at the moment, so I will probably trundle back off to bed for another hour or so. Dr. Carmen is supposed to come by around nine and release me. They were three and a half hours late yesterday, so I take nine with a grain of salt. Hopefully she'll take us back to the Mexicoach station, though, when she leaves, as opposed to us having to wait for the hospital's driver. The night was uneventful, and I don't have much other news for you my wonderful online friends and support network. The best news so far is that I have absolutely no hunger to speak of - I could not even finish my Jello and tea that they brought for dinner last night, and I worked on it for over an hour. I'm sure that won't last, but maybe by the time I get home I will have seen those last few pounds disappear and put me at one of my two intermediate goals - century club, or onderland. God, after all this, I'm still worried about losing weight. Sigh. Thanks again to all of you for your prayers and well wishes. I'm sure the rest of my recovery will be uneventul, and I plan on catching up on messages and posts in the next couple of days. In the meantime, I hope everyone else is happy and well, and that your journeys are bringing you pleasure. Love to all - Donali

Hi Ruth - My story is long, and doesn't have a happy ending (as far as the band), but I absolutely LOVED my band, and have no regrets. The vast majority of people have no major problems with their bands. I think being banded has been the easiest, most painless way I have ever lost weight - for the first time in my life, I felt "normal" about food. There are risks, of course, and I fell into the 1-3% who experience erosion, which meant I had to have my band removed. So although that really DOES happen, it doesn't happen to very many people. You do have to be emotionally ready to change your relationship with food - the band helps you to change the relationship, but you have to let it help you, and you have to change your thinking about what food means in your life. You also have to make a conscious effort to eat more nutritiously. Again, the band somehow makes that easier for most people. Being banded was a wonderful experience, and I highly recommend it!! http://lapbandtalk.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=2256 http://lapbandtalk.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=2288 http://lapbandtalk.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=2406

Hi Tina, and welcome!!! You're doing great!

This morning I am .5 pounds away from my century mark!!! My band is giving 150% in these final days... lol There is a teeny tiny glimmer, a shimmering gossamer dream, that... dare I say it? I could even... break into ONEDERLAND by the time the band is relieved of it duties! I don't know how psychosomatic this is, but my tummy seems very tender. I'm almost afraid to eat anything, hence the sudden downward trend. Plus, I have been getting my fill of distraction from food (THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH!!!! ). I even did my 20 minute walk yesterday, instead of putting it off until "after". Stay tuned for more exciting details.... lol Hey, do you think the band has been there long enough that I will have a "ghost" band? You know, like those people who've had to lose an arm or a leg, sometimes they still feel it... I don't think my band really wants to give up, so maybe, just maybe... Should I call it Casper? Door prize for the winning name of my ghost band!!!

Thanks for all the info, Penni. I have to go back in two weeks to get the stitches out, and I'll ask for a copy of my records then. Maybe I can make Dr. Carmen do a rough translation again, like she did for the endoscopy pics. Just got back from the movies with Mom - saw the 3rd Harry Potter movie - really good! And I'm a little tired, but feel about 90%, so I'm not complaining!

Hi Lisa - I didn't respond, because I don't keep up with doctor/insurance threads. There is a Yahoo! group called Mexicanbandsters, they could probably give you a wider base of info. The most popular docs in TJ seem to be Dr. Kuri, Dr. Lopez and Dr. Ortiz. I have to agree with the comment re: Dr. Lopez's aftercare - I have yet to see improvement in that area as recently as last week. Of the three, it sounds as though Dr. Kuri is the most reachable. I have heard concerns about the facilities he uses, but not him as a surgeon or caregiver. I also think his prices tend to be a little less. Dr. Raumbaut in Monterrey is also very popular. I'm sorry I don't have any info on any of the packages offered, but do believe they all offer something. You can probably get the best deal from contacting the doctor's office itself. Sorry this is probably not much help. Good luck to you!

So glad that was resolved!!! Whoo hooo!

OOOPS! Try that again...

My unbanding incisions - look! Is that a hint of a waist?!?!?

Hi guys! Teresa, no I never had any port infection, or any other symptoms of erosion. Symptoms include port infections (after initial healing), and loss of restriction, but I believe both of those things would be deep into the erosion, once the band has actually penetrated the stomach wall. The band was removed laproscopically, thank goodness. I know adhesions can form just from any kind of injury - it's my understanding that people with endometriosis can have adhesions, even though they've never had surgery. I think of adhesions as another word for internal scar tissue. (right or wrong). I still am unclear about what exactly the condition of my stomach was after the band was removed. Dr. Lopez pointed out the discoloring of the band at the point of erosion, and I thought he said it was due to the stomach acid, but Dr. Carmen said the stomach had not been comprised (which I assume meant the erosion had not gone all the way through...). Anyway, here's a pic of the band, and the next post is a pic of my incisions.

Well, the ghost band is still fully functioning - so far, so good. But here's the pisser - who was it who said the IV Fluid contains about a bizillion calories?!?! I was CERTAIN that when I got home yesterday and weighed that I would have been at 199. Not only was I NOT in onederland - I was 206!!! This after being on nothing but liquids from Thursday night until weighing on Sunday. Liquids, and about 3 cups of Jello - THAT's IT. And to add insult to injury, today I was 207!!! WTF?!?!?! I've had about two cups of lowfat cottage cheese with some bruschetta sauce, and four cups of Soup since arriving home on Sunday. sigh... But something the band taught me is that the scale LIES, and doesn't always move in a timely fashion even when we continue to do the right thing - so I will continue to put one foot in front of the other, and never again use the scale as an excuse to fall back into my old ways of bingeing on high caloric, low nutrition foods. Posting pics to my "I'm back" post.

Hi Yana - So glad to be of help. I registered at the site, but have never caught up enough to become involved there - just read a few posts, and that was pretty much it. The people seemed very wonderful and supportive, and the board is HUGE! I feel almost like my old self already - recover from the unbanding has been 100% easier than my recovery from being banded in the first place. I'm sure being 100 pounds lighter helps a whole lot. Thanks for the well wishes - I'm not so brave as I am practical.

Congrats!!! Whoooo Hooo!

Carmen - Are you feeling any better? I hope this resolved for you!

Nanny, you are BANDED!! I hope all went well, and that your recovery is quick and uneventful! Let us know how you're doing when you're up to it!

Hi Ereka!! Welcome!

Hi Yana - I think this is what you're looking for. I don't think it is limited to the band, but there are definitely lapband patients there. http://www.wlsinfo.org.uk/newweb2/forum/ Hope this helps!

Thanks again for everyone's prayers, thoughts and concern. It's about 4:30am, and I'm awake. So where do I come??? lol I didn't get released until noon (you know what the say about "Mexican time" ). Got home around 2, and only spent about 20 minutes on the computer after I got home. I drove my sis and I home from the border with no troubles, and even stopped at the store for some cottage cheese and cough drops before finally settling on the couch. After I fed the fish in the ponds, and returned a few phone calls, that is. I walk slightly stooped over, but not too bad. The pain is higher than when I was banded, and doesn't seem to interfere as much with the use of my stomach muscles, so I have little problems sitting up from a reclining position, bending over, getting up and down, etc. Plus the overall pain seems much less than when I was banded, so that makes me happy! I didn't have the intestinal gas pain when I was banded that I'm experiencing now. When I eat or drink I feel the gas pain building up in my intestines. Luckily only lasts a minute or two before the pressure is released, but that's pretty uncomfortable. But everything seems to be in working order, and the incisions look clean. I'm on pain pills and antibiotics twice a day for 10 days. The pain pills do nothing as far as I can tell, but I'm taking them anyway just in case. As far as the stomach bacteria comment, it was my understanding from Dr. Lopez that the stomach contains bacteria in its normal state. Dr. Carmen said my stomach wasn't compromised, so I'm not sure exactly what all was done. I got the message pretty clear that Dr. Lopez spent a lot of time testing the stomach for leaks to make sure there were none when everything was closed up. So I am assuming that the stitches were just a precaution. Something I did learn that I didn't understand before - when an erosion causes a port infection, it's because the band has made it INTO the stomach, and the stomach acid eats away the balloon that surrounds the band, and then the bacteria travels up the tube to the port, which causes the infection. That's how it was explained to me, anyway, and made sense to my mind. So Penni, as far as bacteria not being a part of the normal stomach environment, I can't say. I do know that we have a lot of "flora and fauna" in our digestive systems, and I thought some of that was "good" bacteria. ???? I did a quick search looking for links between adhesions and inplant rejection, and couldn't find anything offhand that I could understand, and then I was tired of being on the computer. I may try again later using better keywords. If anyone is bored and dying to do some info searches, I'm interested in supporting info that adhesions are a sign of implant rejection. There was nobody at the Oasis being banded while I was there, so I couldn't visit any newbies. I guess that's it for now - hopefully the rest of my recovery will be uneventful! I'm planning on taking in a movie with Mom later today, as sitting upright is pretty comfortable (at least in a nightgown! ), and I'm not supposed to be lying down except to sleep. I haven't really followed that directive too much, but I lie down a lot when I'm well, so.... lol Hope everyone has a great Monday, and that you all have it off as a holiday!! Happy Fourth! :D

Holy smoke, Darcy!!! That looks awful! It almost took my mind off the fact that you weren't showing us a purple bra... I glad Vera says she had one too and it went away, 'cause I sure didn't. Did I mention, "ouch!!!"?

Sandy!!! A big whopping, triple-decker kudos to you!!! Whoo HOOO!!! Congrats!!!!