donali

You may have to be willing to go to TJ. My doc does all fills under fluoroscopy, unless you request not. It's about $100 for the fluoro, and I'm not sure about the doc's fee - probably in the $50-$100 range. I believe they would be willing to fill a non-patient of theirs, although I would not swear to it. Email me off list for the office number if you're interested. There are also other Mexican docs there that may be willing to fill you, but I don't have numbers for them (I'm not pushing my doc's office, I just have their info.) If your doc stuck you 20 times, it's possible that he punctured your tubing and you have a leak, which would be an explanation for your lack of restriction at 2.0 cc. However, if they're able to draw that amount of Fluid back out, perhaps you have a similar problem to Shelly, and the fluid is hiding in some pocket in the port. Or maybe you just need a lot more fluid than others. I believe most people would feel a difference at 2.0, but not all, I suppose. Anyway, best of luck, and good for you to be pursuing an answer.

DeLarla - Your bandster friend gives good advice - this too, will pass. I was banded on a Thursday, went back to my desk job on Monday, sore but alive. Made the grave mistake of going to choir practice that Thursday night (it was JUST laproscopic surgery, no big deal. Right?!?! lol). Friday I was miserable, left work at noon, and thought I was going to die the rest of the weekend. Painful burps, nausea. I was certain something dreadful had gone wrong. I crashed on the couch and didn't move until Sunday night, when I forced myself to go to the store to replenish my liquids. Thought I was going to puke about 5 times, but didn't. Those few days were my very lowest moment. It just kept getting better after that. Hang in there, pamper yourself, don't try to do too much!! You'll be feeling better soon. :cool:

If you do better with very thinly sliced meats, you can have the deli at your local grocery store "shave" roast beef, chicken, turkey and ham for you from the whole meats in the case. The slices are super super thin - in many cases not even bonafide slices. I really like getting this shaved meat, and it seems to be a lot more and last a lot longer when it's so thin.

Surely they don't have time to ask questions before you have them doubled-over with laughter... :cool:

Did I sound critical or judgmental? :cool: I realize that docs are waaaay overworked, and my brain is waaaay too tiny to hold all the information that they must know as second nature, but I would like to think that there are some really bright guys and gals out there who would read these boards before they start learning the procedure, so they could: 1) recommend that their patients join for extra support 2) understand the procedure from the patient's point of view 3) be made aware of the problems patients face from the PATIENT's point of view, and think about how they as our weightloss partner could help minimize those frustrations/problems. Again, I can barely keep up with the few boards I read, so I realize this would be asking a lot, but really it could give them such a better overview of this procedure. And I should have mentioned in my previous post that I'm really glad you're aware of who wields the knife in this situation... :cool:

lol. My friend used to call being single "Having your 'pootin' privileges." Meaning, let 'er rip!! She took great joy in exercising her "pootin" privileges, particularly around me. I can only hope that at least once she had the same results as you did... :cool:

I have to add, IF YOU ARE ALREADY HAVING PROBLEMS EATING NUTRITIONAL food, YOU DO NOT NEED A FILL!!!!!! Yes, I am YELLING!! If you cannot handle nutritional food at your current fill level, why on Earth does anyone think being even TIGHTER is going to make it better??? The band can only do part of the job - choosing nutritious foods is up to us. But we HAVE to be able to EAT the nutritious foods we choose! Once we start choosing less nutritious stuff because it goes down and stays down, we are TOO TIGHT. Period. You are already too restricted, Cathy - I absolutely would NOT recommend going any tighter until you can eat healthily at your current fill. JMHO.

Hi Cathy - It is a dilemma when the good stuff gets stuck, and the less nutritious stuff goes down. Normally I would tell you to get a slight unfill, but you've already done that. You may still be too tight, or if the unfill was recent your stomach may still be swollen, and I would recommend liquids only for a few days to let everything relax. I offer the following suggestions to get the most out of where you are right now - this is advice I would give to someone with a slightly too tight fill who wants to "work with it" instead of getting a slight unfill, which is usually my number one recommendation. 1. Drink hot liquids right before your meal. Hot liquids tend to loosen things up, and make it a little easier to eat. 2. Have two EXTREMELY small bites, and then wait 5-10 minutes, and then resume eating. Sometimes the pain people feel at the beginning of eating real food is esophageal spasms, and using this technique often helps with that. 3. Stay hydrated to help eliminate possible edema in the stomach tissues. Some sites recommed .5 oz of Water per pound of body weight per day. 4. Stay away from icy drinks right before your meal, as they tend to tighten things up. 5. When you are super restricted, drinking with meals generally creates a backup instead of helping things flush through the pouch, so definitely DON'T drink with meals to avoid this problem. Bandsters in general should NOT drink with meals in order to maximize their weightloss, as drinking with meals either washes the food through faster leaving you able to eat more and feeling hungry sooner, or it backs stuff up on you when you're tight. 6. Choose good, nutritious foods, but make sure they are very, very moist. Most people have good luck with steamed fish and dark meat chicken with some sort of sauce. Avoid the more challenging vegetables like broccoli, asparagus, celery - they're very fibrous and tend to get stuck. Try steamed cauliflower, squash, mashed turnips (YUM! Better than mashed potatos!). Also you may have some luck with melons - I particularly enjoy watermelon - it doesn't get stuck, and fills me up. I hope some of these tips help. Good luck, and keep us posted!

Some guys are SOOOOO dumb. And you're having SURGERY with this guy?!?!? Hopefully he's better educated as a PS than in general. He doesn't sound like he has a very scientific mind if he's willing to make proclamations based on one second-hand experience. I bet he'd like that, if you pointed that out to him... lol

Whoo hooo!!! You're back!! Catch up on your healing so we can start laughing again... :cool:

Duodenal Switch Here's an info site: http://www.duodenalswitch.com/ Here's a link to a site of a gal who had this done: http://munstermom.tripod.com/WLS.htm

Hi Ginny - Now that the swelling around your band is going down due to healing, you will most likely feel less and less full until you get your first fill. Many people with an empty band can eat almost as they did before, so don't panic!! Adjusting the band is at the heart of this treatment.

Laura - That's terrible news - I am so sorry. Is a second opinion out of the question? I never had a motility test... Wishing you all the best, and keep us posted.

Hi Christine - Here's the deal... If you are not hungry, and are losing weight, then whatever you are eating is the right amount. Heavier people can eat more and lose weight than more slender people, generally speaking. Weight loss tends to be faster at the beginning of your journey than at the end for this reason - the discrepancy between the amount of calories you need to maintain your body weight and the amount of calories you are actually consuming become closer and closer to the same number as you get closer to your goal, so it is harder to create a caloric deficit. And thanks to the mysteries of metabolism, some people can eat more than others and lose weight - you really cannot judge by what others are eating - you have to find out what works best for you. What you list sounds like a lot less volume than what I eat. Today I've had: a total of about 8 tablespoons of half-and-half in 4 giant mugs of hot tea 24 oz of Water Breakfast: 1 cup cottage cheese with 8 tablespoons of bruschetta sauce Lunch: 4-6 oz of steak (not sure how much, really) 1.5-2 cups cottage cheese with 16 tablespoons of bruschetta sauce 24 oz water dinner will be: about 1 cup diced grilled chicken with Mandarin sauce 1/2 cup of fried rice 1/2 cup of chow mein noodles 64 oz water According to www.fitday.com , that's about 1493 calories. Also according to www.fitday.com , my basal metabolism burns 1664 calories just being alive. I should be in a deficit. I am losing, but very slowly and in fits and starts with lots of ups and downs. Today is an example of my normal eating patterns. Lots of times there are high calorie Snacks added in there, which accounts for the "fits and starts with lots of ups and downs." It would be relatively easy to lose faster than I am by substituting a solid Protein for the cottage cheese, cutting out the fried rice and noodles, adding in some real vegetables (gasp!) and doing moderate exercise a minimum of 30 minutes a day. However, at this point in my journey, apparently this is where my head is. The closer I get to goal, the slower I will lose weight making as few concessions as I do. It will become harder and harder for me to lose weight just coasting along - I will either need to eat less, exercise more, or both. So back to your question - are you losing weight? If so, then you are NOT eating too much.

No truer statement has ever been spoken. Unfortunately, it is virtually impossible to tell with any certainty which category a person falls into until AFTER they have had surgery. Some patients who were thought would do poorly have excelled, and some who seemed to be excellent candidates have not done well at all. Fortunately, in the LapBand's case, the majority of people do well. I am not as familiar with the long-term stats of the bypass as far as "majority" goes - I just know from personal association that once the body adjusts and begins to compensate for the caloric malabsorption of the RnY that some patients regain back some (and sometimes all) of their weight. Certainly that is not true of ALL RnYers. I have yet to hear of a bandster who has maintained restriction regaining their weight. However, I'm not sure I have heard of any bandster who has lost their band or had to have their fill removed for a long period of time being able to maintain their weightloss on their own. There must be some who have done it, but almost all of the posts I read from people in this situation have regained significant amounts of weight, and these people do not start losing again until they are rebanded/refilled. The kind of help we need in our weightloss journey is PERMANENT help - that is why "diets" and pills do not work in the long run - they are not designed to be permanent solutions, and most people do not start a diet or pills with the idea of doing it for the rest of their lives. Being banded is a way to help us eat less for the rest of our lives - a daunting task for us to do on our own, when we are constantly hungry, but achievable with good restriction and dedication on our part. The band is not the answer for everyone - but it is the least invasive, most reversable "permanent" option available today. That is why I chose the band. I have no problems with people choosing the RnY as long as they have factual information on all of their options. Everyone has to do what's right for them. There are no guarantees with either surgery - but both offer hope, which for many of us was in short supply prior to our surgical journeys.

Hi Denise - I have read many posts regarding this subject, as some docs give the same advice you do, and many people who were "sugar eaters" insisted on being banded anyway and are doing great. I would have to say based on all that I have read that it is a myth that sugar-eaters do worse with the band. I am sure there are some sugar-eaters who do not do well, but there are certainly as many "volume" eaters who do just as poorly. Some people are unwilling to make the necessary changes. For most people, the band affects the switch for appetite. Many sugar-eaters find that their drive to eat lots of sweets is just as effectively dimmed as the volume eaters drive to eat huge quantities of food. Recommending the RnY over the LapBand because of dumping syndrome is also a disservice, as many RnYers do NOT have dumping syndrome, and for those that do, it often resolves itself after the 18-24 month window of RnY weightloss. Sorry to disagree, but I feel this is misinformation.

You may want to join/ask on the PacificNorthwest bandster group on Yahoo. I'm sure they'll have lots of info for you. http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/PNW_Bandsters/

Congrats! Welcome to bandland!

I'm in San Diego. Dr. Lopez was a great choice for me, as he's nearby (about an hour) and his office is very accommodating. I have had all my follow-up care with him, and he is a warm and caring doctor. The Oasis is where I had my surgery as well. My room was big and had a guest bed. It wasn't a 5-star hotel, there were a couple things that seemed a little run down, but that's just cosmetic. Every thing was clean, and I felt very comfortable. My Mom went with me, which was a great comfort. Take slip-on shoes, and learn the Spanish word for "ice" as you'll want some after surgery. Most of the nurses speak English, at least some, but I had some troubles getting ice for some reason. All the staff were wonderful, including the pulmonologist and anesthesiologist. Dr. Lopez has changed assisting surgeons since my surgery 1/23/03, I believe - my assisting surgeons were Dr. Martinez and Dr. Ortiz, who are now in practice together. Everyone was really great. If you have someone traveling with you, make sure they bring a good book or some other entertainment, and maybe even some snacky stuff. The food at the Oasis is a special diet (the Oasis is mainly a cancer hospital, I believe, and the food is geared to their needs) - most of it was not palatable to Mom. There are places to eat around the hospital if your companion is willing to walk around some. Mom did go to a big grocery store, but I think she was hungry for a real meal, and wouldn't look for a restaurant. I was pretty uncomfortable after my surgery, but was anxious to leave the hospital. I wasn't very good about taking my walks that everyone recommends - I hit the diningroom at least twice, but my room was absolutely as close to there as you could get, so it wasn't much of a walk. But it was enough for me! I had my surgery on a Thursday, left the hospital Friday and Mom drove me home. I went back to my desk job on Monday, and except for leaving a few hours early that first Friday, made it through my recovery uneventfully. I held my stomach a lot when I walked, and it was about 3 weeks before I could get in and out of the car without some pain. I lived the first two weeks on the couch - it seemed more comfortable than the bed - easier to move around on. Have two weeks of liquids ready and in the house in case you're not up to grocery shopping the first two weeks. Many people bounce right back - I was medium, I guess. A little more pain than I'd expected, but I met most of my commitments. I'm down 96.5 pounds in 16 months without struggle. I don't diet, my exercise level is deplorable - I am working on the exercise part. I have had 4 fills in the first year - the last was early October, and I am at 2.6cc. In June I tore my port sutures reaching really hard for something, and my port flipped. I had repair surgery for that in early November as an outpatient. Other than that, my journey has been unremarkable, except of course for the miracle of losing 96.5 pounds without fighting for it every inch of the way. I still have 70 or so to go to reach 135, and would be thrilled (at least for a little while!) to reach 185. I've no doubts that I will easily make 185 by August of this year. Anything less will definitely be gravy.

Thought I'd start a chat thread so people can post when they enter the room - if someone's online, but not logged in, they'll get the email that someone's in the chat room if they've subscribed to this thread. How's that for a semi-solution to not having hard and fast chat times? It's 6:16pm PST on Wednesday, 4/21/04, and I'm in the chat room. Hope to see someone there!!

I'm in the chat room, Tuesday 5/4/04, 6:11pm PST.

lol... How about a football helmut with a locking grid plate, and a locking chin strap that you didn't have a key for? You could paint cool things all over the helmut, like tattoos only painless. It would be like a chastity belt for your mouth... Or, you could strap 50 pound weights to each wrist - if you could lift your hand to your mouth you deserve to be able to eat whatever was in it... :cool: Oh, I am just cracking myself up now... lol :cool:

Are there any chocolates left? I must be gearing up to be non-menstrual (that's peri-menopause for "I'd be having a period soon, if I were going to have a period...." Sorry guys!) 'cause I'm hungry, and I just ate. Anyway, about those chocolates.... :cool:

On a more relaxed day, I can eat a "spicy chicken" sandwich - that's very moist chicken in a chili sauce with tomatoes and mozarella grilled between two thick slabs of jalapeno bread (specialty over-sized sandwich bread). Sometimes I skip the crusts. Sometimes I can only eat half. I've had maybe four since I've been banded over a year ago. I can eat most of a Big Mac (don't tell anyone!!! :cool: ) I've had three since I was banded over a year ago. If I'm careful and eat slowly and chew thoroughly and drink with meals (a BIG no-no!!!) I can have bread with my meals. Toast is easier. I can't fathom eating a hot dog bun, or regular hamburgers with buns (don't know why the Big Mac went down - I guess I was motivated... lol Or maybe it was the child-sized chocolate shake.. :sick Look, I was on vacation!! lol) Potatoes, fries - they seize me up. Mashed potatos and hash browns seem to be less of a problem. All in all, though, I rarely have these things. Really. Why do I feel as though I just submitted to "True Confessions"? lol I still feel as though I'm as tight as I want to be, although the last two weeks have seemed a little less restrictive, and I've been able to drink my ice Water more freely. But just when I think the band isn't there anymore, I do something stupid and get stuck. So, it's still there!

Darcy!!!! You are SO right! I SEE it!! Bacon, pancake, eggs, skillet... What's that smell?!?!?! I hear Homer Simpson's voice in its trance-like state... "Ummmm.... Bacon....." :cool: