donali

In my mind, slippage and dilation are two different issues. In usual terms, slippage means that the bottom part of the stomach has come up through the band. Another less common form of slippage is when the band itself moves down further on the stomach, which does make for a larger pouch. Dilation is more generally used to describe a band that is in the correct position, still, but that the pouch itself has been stretched enough to accommodate more food. I could be wrong, but that's how I understand those terms. Anyone else have better info?

I vote drink right up until the eating commences, unless you know the liquid doesn't drain right through. If the liquid is a little slow to drain out (sometimes you can tell, really ), then as soon as the liquid has drained out you're good to eat. For most people, that's right away. To me, it has always seemed more important not to drink with meals, and to wait at LEAST 1/2 hour afterwards to drink. I try to wait an hour. Kelly, I have no knives... Oh, wait!!! I think I still have some in my back from that other board.... Just a minute... lol The bottom line really is what works for you. If you are dissatisfied with your weightloss, and you drink with your meals, changing that aspect may improve your results. But if that is something that is non-negotiable, then there are other things that can be tweaked. This is one of those things that is just a "tip" that MAY help some people be more successful - how to stay full longer on less food. That's the only reason drinking with meals is not recommended. Oh, also, if you are very tight, drinking with meals may result in stuff coming back up.

Hi Carmen, and welcome! Please remember that the projected weightloss AVERAGE is 1-2 pounds a week - you are falling right between those two numbers, so you are right on track! I know it is never fast enough, but we need to be careful that we give credit where credit is due, and to manage our expectations to be in line with reality so we don't sabotage ourselves. An AVERAGE of 1 pound a week would be 12 pounds in 3 months, and you've lost 18!!! That's GREAT!! The power of averaging really helps to put plateaus into perspective. Remember - in the end, it's really about being more healthy. If we practice healthy lifestyles, a healthy weight will follow.

YES!!!! That would definitely be dreamy! Thanks for the reading... Terry, I don't mind... The thing is, I really have/had no symptoms. I had what felt like a gallbladder attack on Thursday, 6/3. I had been meaning to go in for my annual band check-up, and had just kept putting it off because everything was wonderful, no problems, happy as a clam. Since I DON'T have a gallbladder anymore (removed in 1992), I decided I better check out the band so I could say with authority to my PCP that my band wasn't the problem. So.... The gallbladder-like attack could have been due to the erosion, but not necessarily. I just take it as a sign from a guardian angel to get me to finally have my routine band check-up. I may have been passing a stone in my bile duct. Who knows? If the pain comes back after the band is removed, then I'll know for sure it wasn't the band. Didn't feel like the band, but the pain was in the band area. I am hopeful that I will either be able to keep the weight off on my own, or find another tool offered by medicine/science to help me.

LOL :D I can't wait!!!!!

Ahhh. I think my BF had that done, and it didn't work for him. Or is there something else similar where they just shock the heart that is supposed to restore normal rhythm? I think he used the word "shocked" as opposed to "burn pathways".

It's more complicated because of two things: 1. Undoing the suturing of the stomach around the band which helped hold the band in place, which should have formed some scar tissue 2. Fixing the stomach wall affected by the erosion. If there's an actual hole, they have to sew that shut. Not sure what they do if the wall is still intact, but super thin like it appears in my photos. I'll have to ask the doc. I DID think about having Gross Darcy do it, but she'll be recovering from her band procedure on the 30th, and I don't want to over-tax her... WE'RE THINKING OF YOU DARCY!!!!!

Alexandra, it is my understanding that all bandsters should have an annual endoscopy. I rarely hear of anyone having one, though, unless they were having problems, so maybe they're not routine? Anyway, as far as how mine was done, I lay down on the table, they used a fine needle and put an IV in my hand (I never saw what they attached to the needle - there was no bag/bag stand). One moment I was talking to the doc, and the next I was being helped to sit up. I had vague, unpleasant recollections of something big and uncomfortable in my throat, like a bad, hazy dream. It wasn't bad at all. I like that knock you out stuff - that's weird. I honestly don't remember feeling sleepy, nothing - one moment I was "there", the next I was waking up! I don't think it took very long, either, but I had to wait so long, and then I was a little spacey after, I didn't have a good sense of the time elapsed.

OMG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! OMG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Why the h3ll didn't I get to see THAT show?!?!?! Do you have it on tape? huh? Do you? I gotta see it... Really. $$$$$$

lol But then we'd have to put up with the Yahoo! format, and who wants to do that when we can have this type of format instead?

Thanks for the suggestion, Teresa. I feel like I responded to that somewhere... Could have been a personal email to someone else. Sorry. My insurance is Kaiser, and they outsource all their bariatric surgery to Pacific Bariatrics, and Pacific Bariatrics does not do bands. I really am not comfortable in having a surgeon unfamiliar with the band take it out - it's a more complicated procedure than putting it in, so I really want someone familiar with the process doing it. If I were in great pain and suffering, and it was a genuine health emergency, of course I would have the closest surgeon with a knife go in and see what they could do. But since it's not an emergency, and my life is not in danger (I don't think! ), I feel safer and more comforrable letting the guy who put it in take it out. Just one of the drawbacks of being self-pay - you have to accept these possibilities.

Hi Leatha - What exactly is ablation?

Hi Magnolia - Unless your restriction is too tight, it is unlikely that the band is causing your sore throat, unless you got something stuck.

Magnolia - This is something the docs don't seem to agree on. Some say if you can tolerate it fine, some say let it go flat, some say no, never! Carbonation was one of those things I gave up, just to be sure. There are many people who continue to drink it and have had no problems. As you get tighter, the choice may be taken out of your hands - you may not be able to physically tolerate it. I did read somewhere that the carbonation in beer was lower than soft drinks. I would follow your doc's recommendations. As for what's already been done, sounds like all you have to worry about at this time is the empty calories.

I'm with Teresa on the cooler time frame. If the big meeting was on a Saturday in Vegas I could definitely make it with enough advance notice. Drive/fly in Friday night, drive/fly home Sunday. I also agree with Babs - not as big/fancy as a bash. Just more like a huge party. A huge slumber party. Just one big mooshy "feel the love" party... But there has to be a LOT of laughing. Tons of laughing.

One of the reasons I never post on the other boards is because of the reactions to various posts, particularly the ones of people that had real problems. There is some good advice, so I stayed a member so I could learn about stuff from a broader bandster base. Because I had such a rare complication, I felt it ethically correct to post to all the boards I am a member of, even though they really have no idea who I am, since I never participate over there. To be fair, as far as they are concerned, some total stranger came in, dumped a big problem (which may or may not even be true), and then started challenging valued members of the board who dole out 85% of the advice. Just as some of you rushed to my side and defended me to the "death", so to speak ( ), the members of that board were defending their beloved advice givers. It is unfortunate for some of the more tender souls over there that the atmosphere is not more nurturing, but boards tend to develop their own personalities, and newcomers are attracted or repulsed by the atmosphere, and the board tends to grow in the direction of personalities that it appeals to. I'm glad that this board has developed such a warm, kind and caring atmosphere. I like to hear it straight, but I don't care to hear it mean. Thanks to all who were concerned for my feelings - I am not damaged emotionally in any way, so please do not feel badly on my behalf. I have no further need to post updates to any of my other memberships. A few of them I never even read, but delete the digests as they appear. And to be honest, I can't help but feel hesitant about continuing to dole out my advice - I would really, really, really hate it if this erosion was somehow my fault, and others had problems because of my advice. I do think I am tainted in that regard, since the cause of my erosion can neither be proved nor disproved. I can't even give out advice on how to avoid erosion for sure - I wish I knew. One thing the Inamed guy was able to tell me today, though, was that most of the erosions that are reported are asymptomatic, and are discovered through a routine endoscopy. So I can advise everyone to make sure you have your annual endoscopy, as you may not have any signs or symptoms that your band has eroded until it has gotten very bad. Apparently the band is much easier to remove if it has not totally eroded into the stomach. Thanks again for all of your support and caring. Just 3 more days of banded life for me... STILL have not hit my century mark! But I'm having a second menstrual cycle this month, maybe that's why. I tell you, I have the WORST menopause ever... lol

Leatha - I am so sorry to hear about your slippage. Hopefully it's one that can be resolved with an unfill? Wishing you luck in finding a surgeon convenient to you for your follow-up care. I called Inamed today to report my erosion. The man was very nice, and took all my info, but really had no info to give in return regarding erosion rates, except to say that nowadays it's "very rare". He had no info on re-erosion rates on rebanding, but said that some docs won't do it because of possible adhesions and scar tissue from the previous banding.

DeLarla - Love the chuckle... No, I haven't heard greated stats of erosion for Lopez patients, but it's hard to get good stats of any kind. Sigh. I know of three erosions from him - me, a friend who had nothing but problems from the get go, and a gal on another board whom I've never met. I have no idea what that means in his ratio. I still need to call Inamed to make sure the erosion gets reported - I don't know if they keep stats on individual surgeons, or if they'd share that info even if they had it. I hope it's not true, since he bands a lot of people.

Hi Barb - I'm self-pay, so getting rebanded even six months down the road (earliest I could have it re-done) is probably not going to work into my finances. Plus, most of the info I have read states that the likelihood of re-eroding is much higher than the first time around. At this time I'm planning on relying on Meridia if the hunger gets to an unmanageable level. I'm sure as time goes by, other options will present themselves. If I did get rebanded, I think I would try the mid-band because it does seem to have a lower erosion rate. But, like I said, I'm still paying off the $17,000 the initial banding, port-revision, and unbanding has cost. No more self-pay for a while!!!

Hi Carmen - Is it possible that the feeling is a precursor to a throat infection? Are your sinuses draining? It doesn't sound like you did or ate anything that would cause this. Just in case it is a band caused "lump", I would recommend doing hot liquids for a day - tea with lemon to help clear out any mucous that might be causing the problem. Hopefully you'll feel more like yourself tomorrow. If it is a throat infection/sinus related, it might feel more like that as time goes on. Otherwise, if it's a band thing, you should feel better after 24 hours on liquids. Keep us posted, k?

Vegas sounds good. Is there anyplace in the middle of nowhere that would be an equal driving distance for both coasts? How far would that be?

I want a group meeting of lapbandtalkers! Why do we all have to be so far away from each other???

Babs, you're so swell. And I loved your "end the madness" post... You're ALL right!! Back to your corners!! I go there for the same reason you do - to read Jessie. I need to get a copy of her book, just to see what it says. Megan - You have absolutely the right mindset when it comes to your bites of cake. I'm sorry you're frustrated - please don't get down on yourself. This is a lifelong journey, and it includes cake. Teresa - thanks for the vote of confidence. I can't leave here - I have to cheer you all on, and get help for myself to keep this weight off. Maybe even lose some more... *raises hopeful eyes upwards* ***hugs***

Oh, yeah, I'm just a bundle of surprises... lol Teresa - so sorry about your Corgi's foot, and loved your cockatoo story! You use the past tense, though... ? Nancy - 72 is definitely TOO MANY!!! lol You did the right thing... I inherited two cockatiels from a friend who decided that the THOUGHT of owning a pair of cockatiels was better than the REALITY of owning a pair of cockatiels. lol Since I was kind of the instigator, he gave them to me when he couldn't take it anymore. So when I moved to NY, they went with me. I also had a green parakeet. My roomie thought the parakeet was cool, and when she discovered they came in so many different colors she decided we needed two of each. So we had two albinos, two lutinos, two blues and two greens. We built a giant cage that sat on top of her dresser. There was birdseed EVERYwhere!! In the underwear drawer, in the sock drawer, 5 inches deep behind the dresser, feathers galore... lol When I moved to Texas she made me take all the birds with me. I gave them away piecemeal after I got my son, Max the black Pomeranian. He scented in the house, so in a way was messier than the birds, but he was much more loveable. :D

Congrats!! What a beauty!!