donali

Hi Marsha - Some doctors don't suture them down (I think that's mostly the European sector), but I have no idea how many of them report that their port flipped. In my case, I tore one of the sutures stretching for something. My doc only uses two sutures out of the possible four. I can't say for the others - most people do not report why, or why they "think" their port flipped. In my case it was very painful, so I knew right away what caused it.

Sheryl - I'm glad I'm not the only fainter on the board!!! lol I fainted at my last fill (fills 1-3 no problem, but fill 4 my port had flipped, so Dr Carmen had to manually manipulate it back upside right which took several minutes and totally creeped me out! :eek: ). I fainted dead away from a standing position with the fill needle hanging out of my port. I suffered a mild concussion from that one. lol But I got my fill!!!!! I know you know this, but I'm going to say it anyway - the number amount of your fill does not give any indication of how tight that is on any given person. Some people never need a fill at all - their band is tight enough empty! So you can only judge how tight you are by how you're doing with food. I'm glad you got a burger patty down, and yes, eating too fast, not chewing well enough, and taking too big of bites will not work well with good restriction. These are definitely hard habits to break. I rarely have problems with eating too fast anymore (bite after bite), but I LOVE having my mouth full when eating, so my bites, though smaller than before, and taken at a much slower rate, are still pretty big. The problem that causes is although I chew things very well, my tongue sometimes starts the swallowing process earlier than I intend (because my mouth is too full), and some less chewed pieces accidently get down, OR only really well chewed food gets down, but the swallows are not spaced far enough apart, so too much gets sent down in too short a period of time. I AM working on this... One thing that really helped me with the eating too fast problem was to not let myself get too hungry. I suggest that you throw away the concept of "mealtimes", and eat a real meal when you are hungry, not a "snack" because it "isn't mealtime". If you are regulated to eating at certain times because of a job or social commitment, be sure to have a little something nutritious when hunger strikes to hold you until you can eat the meal, so you won't be so hungry when you finally do get to eat. We have been so brainwashed about things - what is acceptable, and what is not. It would be funny, if it weren't so damaging. For example, prior to banding, if I had just eaten a large meal, and was still hungry, I did not feel it was "okay" to have another entree - because "I just ate." But it would be acceptable for me to have a big dessert, which probably had twice as many calories as an entree. Wouldn't it have been more nutritious for me to have had another entree (which is what I really wanted) than to have a piece of 7 layer chocolate cake with ice cream (which I ordered because I considered it more socially acceptable)? I think we have to be on guard against these non-sensical social mores, and do what's right for us. Of course, these things are so ingrained that they are hard to see. Keep practicing the new bandster habits, and best of luck to you. I will also remind everyone that vomiting is the number one cause of band slippage, and it is to be avoided at all costs. Frequent vomiting is NOT normal, and is very damaging to the band and the esophagus. I offer this just for comparison's sake: at one year 2 months, I have vomited no more than ten times, and those times were not spread throughout those 14 months - they were concentrated in two seperate one week periods.

Hi Sheryl - It sounds to me like your main problem is that the more nutritious foods you are choosing are "not going down and staying down." It is no surprise that you are turning to less nutritious items to satisfy your hunger and biological need to eat. If you are unable to eat nutritious foods and get them to go down and stay there, my first response would be that YOU ARE TOO TIGHT. No one likes to hear that, I know. We still believe in the core of our being that we need to be punished for eating. So we go tighter and tighter until we honestly can't eat much of anything that's good for us, so we turn to the things that we CAN eat, which unfortunately tend to be less nutritious. Since it is unlikely you are willing to get an unfill ( ), I would recommend that before you resort to your less nutritious choices, mix yourself a tall glass of high quality Protein Drink, perhaps blended with a banana, blended with lots of crushed ice. I find that I can barely get through one of those (about 32 oz - one of those extremely large plastic drink cups). The freezing temperature of the drink makes me tighter, the banana + artificial sweetener satisfies my sweet tooth, and psychologically I feel like I've done something healthy for myself by getting in a huge dose of Protein. I also mix in my Vitamins with it, so I feel doubly healthy. For chewing satisfaction I've been looking to sugar-free gum and beef jerkey. Also make sure that deep down somewhere there isn't the thought that "One day I will never be able to eat this candy again." Please don't ever say that to yourself - IT'S NOT TRUE!! And not necessary. I think your subconscious can agree that you don't really want to live exclusively on these less nutritious choices without feeling you have to give them up completely. Good luck! Consider a slight unfill. Then go suck down an icy protein drink and see if you feel stuffed and satisfied afterwards.

I had my surgery done by Dr Lopez in Tijuana. He stitches the port down, but only uses 2 of the four holes to stitch. My surgery was done 1/23/03, and in late June/early July I was reaching as hard as I could for something in the back seat of the car, and tore one of the port sutures out. OOOOWWWW is an understatement. After a couple weeks of heavy-duty liquid Tylenol dosing, this discomfort was bearable. It was obvious that the port had flipped, as it stuck out more than before. When I went for my last fill in October it was confirmed that the port was flipped, but Dr. Carmen was able to manually manipulate it back upside right and gave me a fill. Unfortunately it did not stay in the correct position, and flipped again. The discomfort became too unbearable, so I had Dr Lopez repair it in early November. I was put under full anesthesia (although I had been told it would be done with a local), and he did it at an outpatient plastic surgery office to cut down on cost. The procedure cost me $1821 (I am self-pay). Yes, it was expensive, but I can't put a price on the relief from pain!! I'd rather have the pain in my wallet than in my body. As far as equipment problems go, port problems are the most common. Flipping is common, and can often be managed by manual manipulation. However, if the port won't stay upright, and it causes pain, it needs to be surgically corrected. I personally know of several people who have had to have the port surgically corrected. I do not consider port problems to be "rare", but the vast majority of people do not have to go through this. Good luck -

Hi Jean - Your internal healing is pretty much the same as your external healing - you just can't see it. It takes time, and patience. Scar tissue can form anywhere there has been an injury - internally or externally. In the case of the band seating itself, the scar tissue formed by the superficial stitching of the lower part of the stomach to the part of the stomach above the band helps keep the band in place. The function of food in this is most concerning prior to everything healing. The stomach is a muscle that flexes to move food through to the upper intestine. Once food gets to the intestines, they take over the flexing to keep moving food down into the colon, and so on. Since the stomach has stitches in it and needs to heal, the goal is to minimize this flexing action as much as possible so the healing is clean and complete. Imagine a deep cut on your knee that needs stitches. If you continually flex your knee before it is healed, you will pull the cut open each time, delaying healing and possibly producing an uneven match between the cut sides. The same with the stomach. However, once it is healed, the stomach is perfectly capable of performing its duties as before. Once you get restriction, the food you eat sits inside the top part of the stomach, waiting for passage. If you continue to force food inside the pouch faster than it passes you put pressure on the band site and the food also backs up putting pressure on the bottom of your esophogus, usually resulting in pain. If this is a continual practice, the bottom of the esophogus becomes irritated, and the muscles that hold the esophogus closed when not in use can become weakened, allowing food from the stoma back up into the esophagus, creating reflux and resulting in possible esophagitis and/or dilatation. Some people say that continual pouch packing can result in slippage. I hope this answers some of your questions!

Hi Chris - I DEFNITELY don't diet. However, that being said, it's important to make a distinction between eating whatever you want (which I do) and eating ONLY non-nutritious foods. To some people, eating whatever they want, just less of it, means they eat nothing but high fat, high sugar, high-glycemic index foods. That is not going to support your health, and most people do not lose weight on an eating plan like that. So when I say I eat whatever I want, I mean that most of the time I choose high quality Proteins, veggies, and then starches as room allows. But if I'm really dying to have something else less nutritious, I have it. Or if there is something readily available that I like, I have it if I want. But I do not subsist on these foods, and I always have in the back of my mind "protein first, then veggies, then...." I don't always eat that way, but the mantra is always there, and most of the time I follow it. Hope this helps.

Hi Marc - Did you know that the malabsorptive part of the surgery is only temporary, in regards to calories, but PERMANENT in regards to nutrients? That's right - eventually the body learns how to compensate for the calorie malabsorption, but the nutrient malabsorption never gets better. My sister had the gastric bypass about four years ago. She lost tons of weight very quickly, and looked great. She got down to a size 18. Now, she has regained almost ALL of her weight. She never learned how to change her eating habits. She's desperately trying to diet again, and her life and her weight is just like it was prior to the RNY, except that her insides have been cut and resectioned, and she faces the risk of having an emergency resurgery sometime in the future (as all RNY patients do). In my year and 2 months of banding I have lost about the same amount of weight that she did in her first six months. However, as long as I keep my band and this restriction the weight I've lost will NEVER NEVER NEVER come back - because as long as I keep doing what I am doing (which is nothing really special, as I'm not dieting, and just hit and miss on exercise), then my weight will stay off. FOREVER. So good for your doctors for recommending what I consider to be the better WLS for you. If you do a lot of research on both procedures I would be surprised if you did not end up agreeing.

Hi Marc - Glad you decided to follow your doctor's orders for the post-op diet. No sense in risking the life of your band by messing around wth the healing phase, which will be over before you know it. Once you have the green light to go on to solid foods, you are right that chewing less well will keep your pouch full longer. HOWEVER.... FIRST you need to learn how well you have to chew to keep from getting stuck. If you start eating your old way right away, but are very restricted, you have a bad shock in store! Most of us have experienced the pain and suffering of swallowing something we wished we had chewed just a little more... Also, eventually you will be amazed at how much people do NOT chew their foods! We think we do, but once we get banded we find out what "really chewing your food" means. It is possible that once you are on solid foods you won't feel as though you have any restriction at all. But, you may be one of those guys that NEVER needs a fill. You won't be able to tell until you are on solids. And if you can manage your satiety WITHOUT a fill, there is no point in getting one. Fills are only to help you manage your satiety. So in part 2 of your question, you're kind of putting the cart before the horse - until you find out how much natural restriciton you have, the fill "schedule" is a moot worry. Good luck!!

Wow - lots of birthdays today!!! Happy birthday, everyone! (and those past, as well!)

I haven't had a chance to try this yet, although the last couple of days I haven't been particularly hungry anyway, so I can't comment yet if this works for me. Last night my bigger meal was dinner (almost my only meal!), and a late night kingsized Butterfinger snack (I know, don't ask - what was I thinking?!?! lol), and this morning I am pretty tight and not hungry yet. I'm interested to hear if this makes a difference for anyone else?

No one can say for sure how you will feel. Some people bounce back like nothing happened, some feel like they've been hit by a truck for a couple of weeks. I had my gallbladder out in 1992 by lap - it was a piece of cake. I walked the mall 2 days later, and sang a wedding 4 days later, and took my PADI certdive just a week after surgery. Taking that into account, I assumed the lapband would be the same. Well, I was 11 years older, but about the same weight. I did go back to my desk job 4th day after surgery and missed no work, but it wasn't lots of fun, and I couldn't have stood for hours each day. You may have no probs, but then again... If you can't "play it by ear", you may want to be on the safe side and take no standing appointments that first week. But again, there are no guarantees, one way or another... Good luck!

I have read there are irritating ingredients in Pepto that bandsters should avoid - I believe Maylox was recommended instead. Sorry I don't recall the specifics, but it was probably discussed on one of the two following Yahoo groups: smartbandsters, or graduatebandsters. Hope you're feeling better soon!

From all I've read on other boards, liquids are not affected by pressure changes, so flying/diving should have no effect on the band. There is air in your Water bottles, and air is affected by pressure changes, hence any difference you may notice. Some people swear that they feel more/less restricted at different altitudes. It could be edema from traveling, stress, or some other coincidental factor. Or perhaps there is a little air still in their bands. However, the bands are supposed to be flushed with saline and "airless" at the time of installation. FWIW...

Hi Babs - Well, you've already said that not weighing regularly is NOT an option for you, so I can't tell you to throw your scale off a tall building. And as "anti-scale" as I am, I still weigh regularly myself for the same reasons you state - some sort of accountability. You already know that the plateaus are regular, short lasting, and have no effect on your average weightloss per month, but you freak out on plateaus in spite of your own well documented trends that it is indeed only temporary. The trick for me (undoubtedly you've read my very detailed post about my plateau's, their length, and my monthly weightloss average - lol) was to change my attitude about the plateau itself. Since everyone has them, they're obviously "needed" by the body. So I freak out less over plateaus because I tell myself: 1. My body is resting and compacting, doing all the secret body stuff it needs to do to adjust to its new size before it gets smaller. 2. I have an opportunity for my mind to adjust to my body at this size. 3. However long my body needs to readjust itself before it can release more weight is the right amount of time. If my plateaus seem ridiculously long, I evaluate my lifestyle and reaffirm some truths (for me): 1. My journey is about health, not weightloss. If I continue to do healthy things, my body will achieve a normal weight. 2. Am I doing what I need to do to achieve health? Am I drinking enough Water, eating enough Protein, exercising enough? Is there room for improvement? Am I willing to make some small changes that may aid/speed my health? If I am not emotionally ready to make more positive changes, then I don't, and I accept that emotionally I am not ready to be more healthy, but I also make a mental note of what steps I could take, once I AM ready to make more changes. 3. Above all, I am gentle, loving, and accepting of myself and where I am. I have abused myself physically and emotionally all my life, and I am no longer going to treat myself that way. I am willing to look at myself honestly, accept where I may be lacking in effort, and congratulate myself for how far I've come and validate my journey. I remind myself that there is no "deadline", and that this is for life. This things do not keep me from stepping on the scale and hoping that the number drops, but it does keep me from freaking out when it doesn't, week, after week. Hope something in this helps! You're doing great! Don't let those negative tapes about fear of failure kick in and sabotage your good feelings about yourself!

lol - Sue. Then the world really would be amuck!

Congratulations! You look absolutely mahvelous!

I have occasionally felt pressure in my back from over eating, but it has happened sometime after I finish, not during my meal. My sense of restriction is closer to the golfball feeling. I don't eat until I get the golfball feeling, but I can tell when there is no more room for even one more bite - I can tell that things are starting to back up. As far as your cue to stop eating, your back discomfort may be yours. If you stop when you feel that, and aren't hungry again for 3 to 4 hours, then that may be your signal. If you stop then but are hungry in 20 minutes, then it probably is not your signal. Good luck!

Hi Stacy - I stock up on the Healthy Choice frozen entrees, although I must say these last ones just haven't tasted that good to me - don't know if it's my taste that has changed, or what. Anyway, today I had the chicken grill with barbeque sauce. I ate all the chicken (barely - it was pretty dry), and all the broccoli/red peppers/corn. Didn't touch any of the potatos, and could really have stopped at least two pieces of chicken sooner than I did. I am single and live alone, and I also hate the muss and fuss of making elaborate meals just for myself. I go through cycles of doing the Healthy Choice frozen dinners, grilling a package of chicken breasts/porkchops/hamburgers for the week, or occasionally a bean-type Soup from the crock pot. I am seriously deficient in veggies, fruit is virtually non-existent. Sigh. So I think the frozen entrees can be a big help, although if you read the ingredients it sounds as though the meat is doctored with things besides meat (even though it looks like whole pieces of grilled chicken/beef), which I was surprised at, and maybe that's why I'm less enamoured of the taste. I do find that grilling a bunch of meat all at once, and then freezing individual portions is a lot easier and less time consuming than cooking everyday, and it's cheaper than frozen dinners. Good luck!

Congrats to both you!! You're doing so great! Whoo hoo!

Carmen - I am so sorry you're feeling so terrible. Hopefully this will pass quickly, and you will feel like your old self again. Sending good thoughts your way -

Hi Misty - The difference between dieting and the band is that dieting is "temporary", and the band is "forever" (God willing). When someone goes on the Atkins diet, it is almost always with the intention to lose weight to a certain goal so "I can eat like a normal person." At least, that was the goal of every diet I was on - to lose the weight, and then be able to eat like a "normal" person. Unfortunately, my idea of how a "normal" person eats was that they can eat anything, anytime they wanted. So, as soon as I started doing that again, all the weight would come back on. Plus, with dieting, it is all about deprivation, denying ourselves, building up cravings, finally giving in to the cravings, feeling horrible about ourselves, totally falling off the wagon and bingeing on all the things we weren't allowed to have on the diet, feeling even worse as the pounds start to creep back on, bingeing some more, resolving to start over, a few last suppers, more self-recrimination, and then the beginning of a new diet. The cycle continues... With the band, #1 our hunger is put into check, so our drive to consume obscene quantities of food is turned waaay down. And #2, our ABILITY to consume obscene quantities of food is eliminated. It just is no longer possible. So, we no longer need to diet. So, what to eat when we're not dieting? This is where everything we have learned about nutrition comes into play, and where we have to really stop concentrating on what we eat in regards to weightloss, but how are we best going to support our HEALTH. This has nothing to do with dieting. So, if you were going to design a HEALTHY, NUTRITIOUS way of eating for someone you loved, how would you have them eat to prolong their lives, have good energy, and avoid disease? Would you have them eat nothing but cake and candy? Not a lot of nutrition in that. How about nothing but rice, potatos, and Pasta? Again - not a lot of nutrition. For the best nutrition, the best building blocks for our body, Protein, vegetables and fruit is what we need to be healthy and have a long life. It just so happens that eating that way is also good for weightloss, but that's NOT the best reason to do it! It's because we will be healthier. So, if we eat protein first, then vegies, then fruit, and occasionally have less nutritious stuff, we're meeting our nutrition goals, AND eating like a "normal" person, where we have things that are less nutritious without the bingeing or guilt. We have all been focused so long on losing weight that we have lost sight of the real reason we are changing our lives - to be HEALTHIER - not just thinner. If we become HEALTHIER, the weightloss follows. Being banded helps us choose a healthier way of eating by controlling our hunger and satiety response to food.

Linda, you're doing great! I didn't really have good restriction until fill 3, and I am on fill 4 now which I got in October. Don't be discouraged - if you can only lose weight by eating 1 1/2 cups of food three times a day, getting a slightly tighter fill will chase the hungries away. Give yourself credit for what you have accomplished, and know you have control over your journey.

As far as I know, you are our only bypass patient member - but you are more than welcome. You will find, though, that the post operative course for the lap band is much different than for the bypass, so all of our talks about "fills" and restriction will likely mean very little to you. However, we are a very friendly group, and undoubtedly we will all be more than thrilled to support you in your weight loss journey! You'll lose a lot faster than we will, most likely, but the issues you'll experience adjusting to the slimmer you will be the same as ours.

Hi Renata - Sorry you're having so much pain, and good Lord! Hit by a car last night?!?! You must be okay, or you wouldn't be posting (I hope!). You are only two weeks out - I think it is a little early to swim, but the general concensus seems to be that as soon as all the incisions are completely, totally, 100% healed it's okay. I would double-check with your doc first if you have any doubts. You sure as heck don't want any incision infections, and soaking around in Water will soften the incisions, so if there is the least little possibility of them opening up, they will. The port pain seems to be the worse, and as far as I know, exercise is not going to make port pain go away. I would use a heating pad on it, and take it easy. Use the heating pad on your shoulder, too. You don't want to rush your fills, you want to make sure the band is healed in place. That is the very most important thing - these first 6 weeks are about HEALING. I do believe the protocol is the first fill no sooner than 6 weeks, so no, I would not ask your doc to do it sooner. Good luck!

Hi Dan - Congrats on your wonderful weightloss! You may be one of the lucky few who never needs a fill, or doesn't need one for a long long time. There are people like that, just not very many. If you're losing, you sure as heck don't need one!