Alexandra

I'm sorry to have missed this important thread. Chantal, I've been thinking about you recently and wondering how you were. I'm so glad you checked in again--that shows you're already NOT giving up! It's true, you can't give up. Even if you want to. But you can give up on being angry with yourself and feeling like a failure. You've come a long way and there are lots of pounds out there that you HAVEN'T gained that you might have otherwise had you not been banded. There are other ways to battle boredom, frustration, and depression. They're out there. One place to start is right here with a like-minded set of people who know exactly what you're going through. Please come and share how you're feeling--we care a lot. Sue, I'll buy a bottle of that Donali.

Carolyn, please do let us know how you're doing, and definitely get this taken care of! Did the doctor say where there was a baloon of air trapped? How could it be "trapped"? Good luck, sweet lady, and please keep checking in with us!

Hi Gina! I'm another Jersey girl, and a neighbor to Ms. Lake Hiawatha over there. Hi Jennifer! Welcome, welcome, welcome. There can never be too many Joisey babes. :D

Patty, what a wonderful post! How great it is to hear a success story like yours...CONGRATULATIONS!! YAY, BAND!!! :D :D I also have one of those sliding-block scales at home, and I STILL sometimes automatically slide the big one up to 300. Then when I slide it down to 250 I get chills. The day is coming when it only goes to 200. THAT will be something HUGE.

Hi Diane, Welcome, and best of luck with your insurance carrier. Our fingers are crossed!! Changing your style of eating is a challenge, but don't forget you have an ever-present source of positive reinforcement to help you do it. With proper restriction, you'll quickly discover that you simply MUST chew well and eat slowly or you'll never get anything to eat. So it's not something you'll have to be trying constantly to "remember" to do all by yourself. Your band will help you. As far as sweets go, you could ask the exact same question of any weight-loss plan. Can you eat them? Of course. Are they a smart part of your daily meal plan? Probably not, if you want to maximize your weight loss. But this will be entirely up to you. In any event, when your band is properly adjusted you won't physically be able to eat them in the same quantity you currently can. I'm in awe of you with 5 boys. Wow!! The increased energy you'll get with weight loss is something I know you can use!! :D

Hi Kiley, Congratulations on your banding! I had surgery on a Wednesday and was back at work the following Monday. I have a desk job and was able to do it, but was pretty wiped out at the end of the day. However, I'm glad I went back. If I'd had to lie around the house after I'd got my strength back, I'd just have been depressed that I couldn't eat. A liquid diet was much easier for me to live with when it was just a matter of drinking at my desk. Having to stay out of the kitchen all day long at home would have been very hard.

Hi Ladies, At a meeting last night the nurse practitioner from my surgeon's office told us that something like 80% of RNY patients do NOT get the dumping syndrome. I've heard other statistics elsewhere but it's definitely no more than 50%. So an aversion to sugar is by no means automatic with the RNY. The band operates differently and never creates dumping syndrome. Nothing about our digestive processes has been changed. Sure, we can eat sweet and calorie-dense stuff, but for me the simple fact of not being hungry makes that stuff so much easier to avoid, at least in the quantities I used to indulge. Sure I still indulge once in a while. Normal people can have ice cream every so often, and all I have ever wanted to be is NORMAL. I don't want to stay on a diet the rest of my life, and I already know I can't force myself to keep portion sizes correct. Yes, it's possible to eat around the band but honestly, I think you'd really have to try hard and be creative to manage it. Keeping to the "rules" is simple, and when you eat the protein first there just isn't a whole lot of room for anything else. It's heaven, I tell ya, heaven.

I just read this amazing thread, and just want to WELCOME you, Ryan, to LBT. It's wonderful to have you here, and I ain't just whistlin' Dixie. My husband is a chef, too, and reached the same conclusion you did about the hours. During one of our very early conversations when we met, he told me of his years working at restaurants and country clubs. But at age 32 he'd quit and took a job at a delicatessen, because he realized he was missing his life while working evenings, weekends, and holidays. My reaction was "wow, you're going to make someone a wonderful husband someday." Little did I realize then that that someone would be me. People like him, and you, restore my faith in the human race.

LOL!! Oh, man, that would be so mean!! But tempting, I know.

Sue, I completely agree with this and thank you for creating the opportunity to highlight it. My point was that as long as this is understood, things can proceed accordingly. No one should ever think that these people are disinterested patients' advocates. When I said "protect me from my own ignorance" the last three words are the crucial point. A smart consumer would want to speak with more than one of these U.S. liaisons, learning about different doctors so the comparisons can be made. Just because they're on the payroll doesn't mean everything they say is untrue, far from it. Hiring an independent translator is also a hit-or-miss proposition. How does one find a translator familiar with the Lapband? The Yellow Pages? Actually, the answer to that question is probably "yes." Still, I'd be comfortable with someone whose agenda is clear to me, and who is presumably going to be available to me through the whole process. I'm not arguing with you. There certainly are good reasons to go directly to the source. I'm just saying that it doesn't necessarily follow that a paid liaison is not worth the money. Understanding that the liaisons are salespeople is the important thing. And of course, if they fall down on the job there is every reason to be angry and disappointed.

See ya in Bandlandia, baby!! :D

Cathy!! Hi!! Thanks for the tip, and I'm so glad you're here! There aren't enough Jersey folks for my taste. Guess what? This morning the scale smiled on me!! I'm in a good mood today. How pathetic is that?

Well, I decided to do something I never in a million years thought I would do. I'm about to make an appointment with a personal trainer. (Just typing that makes me want to laugh, or cry, or something.) I've been going to the Y about three times a week for the last several months, where I do a minimum of 20 minutes on the treadmill plus a Cybex circuit. Exercise is good, and there's no question that I am able to do more now (30 minutes at a pace of 3.7) than I could when I started (20 minutes at a pace of 3). Recently I upped the weights on the weight machines and was surprised at how high I could put them. But I can't help thinking I could be doing better, more effectively, faster, and having more fun, somehow. I admit to being very frustrated now with the weight loss being as slow as it is. Most of the time I'm fine with it, but dang, I'm doing (almost) everything right and still the scale doesn't move. So I'm going to engage a high-priced personal trainer just to see what advice I can get out of a session or two. Wish me luck! :cool:

To get back to the topic at hand, IMO band coordinators for Mexican doctors probably serve a purpose for the patients as well. As with everything, it's buyer beware and I'm glad everyone feels comfortable sharing their experiences. (But can we please tone down the personal comments? Thanks.) For the 30 seconds I considered Mexican surgery, I was comforted by the fact that there was an American I could contact for information. I knew perfectly well that the person was on the doctor's payroll--how could it be otherwise?--but I don't speak a word of Spanish and this is too important a step to take to add the possibility of a communication gap to it. Frankly, I'd never pick up the phone and contact a foreign doctor just like that--how the hell would I know what I was getting into? However naively, I figured that an English-speaking American acting as liaison would protect me from my own ignorance. It clearly doesn't seem to make much practical difference, but I have heard lots of stories about people being very grateful that they had such a person. Maybe that comfort just on its own is worth $2000? People have very different needs and no one can say they are wrong.

I think you've already brought it up, in that he knows your story and is seeing your success. I'm sure the thought has crossed his mind that if it's working for you it might work for him. But perhaps he has some obstacle you're not aware of, whether psychological or financial or physical or whatever. You're being a good friend just by being willing to talk about and share your own experience. Be available and keep mentioning it, and he might very well ask you someday.

Kimberly, that's wonderful!!! You're on your way, lady. Congratulations!!! :cool: :D

Cindy, welcome! Congratulations on your banding, and I hope you stick around to share your successes (and frustrations) with us. Nice to meet you!! :cool: :D

Thanks for the visuals, Penni. :cool: It looks nice and clean, though, and healing well. Good on you!

It occurs to me to ask anyone here who might have worked with a trainer: do you think it makes a difference whether the person is male or female? The form I filled out asked me if I cared, and I thought about it a minute and decided I didn't care. I'm much more concerned that the person take the right tone with me, that the approach be encouraging and informative rather than all rah-rah cheerleadery and falsely optimistic. But now I'm wondering, maybe I should have thought it through more. All my life I've had an easier time working as colleagues with men, but when it comes to my medical professionals I've always preferred they be female--I guess I just figure they understand my body better. So which is this? It probably doesn't matter because it will all come down to personality and approach. But I'm interested to see if any of you have a preference, and if so, why.

What is it about a new car? There's nothing like it to perk us up, is there? But I got talked out of it by my ever-sensible husband...our two cars are running fine and one of them is paid off. The other is more than halfway there, and getting it detailed would make it seem like new for a mere fraction of the price. Sigh...he's so sensible. Nancy, if I get a trainer who is negative, I'm throwin' her back!! The last thing I need is to hear someone bitch about his or her life while I'm down on mine. :cool:

Maureen, I'm so sorry you're having all this stress! You'll get your answers soon; until then, try to relax. I agree that the radiologist doesn't know what he's talking about. I've seen my own band on fluoroscope, and there is no identifiable "pouch" when the stomach is empty. In his inexperience he may have been expecting to see a stomach cinched in the middle like an hourglass, and that's just not what it looks like. It would be very surprising if you had any erosion this early in the game, I think. More likely--but still UNlikely in the grand scheme of things--is slippage. But from what you've said it sounds like that may be what's going on. OK, here's the lesson, everyone. DON'T VOMIT. And don't keep it to yourself if you are vomiting or PBing "a lot." Maureen, I hope and pray you don't have any damage to your band or esophagus. Please let us know the results of your scope!

Well I'm glad no one is laughing! I never thought before of trying this only partly because I've always been so big. Mostly I just thought of it as a big waste of money--an extravagance for rich people. Anne, you've got it all figured out! I never thought of dating a trainer!! With so little time to spare I figured it's important that I make the most out of my hour. I also want to really get the scoop on what my BMR is, if at all possible. According to FitDay I'm running a calorie deficit of over 1200 calories a day, most days, and that should translate to 2 lbs down a week. Hmmmm.... I'm also hoping it will do something for my mood. I've been feeling very blue lately--like most of the time for the last two months--and it was either this or buy a new car. That always cheers me up. :cool: Mid-life crisis? Pre-menopausal hormone fluctuations? Boring life? I don't know, but it's time to try something new.

DeLarla, I'm curious about something. Have you had this much trouble healing from things in the past? Is this related to your sarcoidosis? My heart aches thinking about you STILL with an open incision. :cool: Why won't it get better?

Fingers crossed here as well! Trying to send "be sensible" vibes from here to whoever the insurance decider is. Good luck!!!

OK, it's Monday again. This morning I was 260, again.