GeezerSue

Thanks. I'd love to take credit for being wise enough to make this work or something, but that ain't it. I just eat tons of Protein and poop too much when I screw up and the surgery does the rest. WHAT WILL HAPPEN THREE YEARS FROM NOW may be different...but all I can do it give it a good try and trust that I have finally found an answer for me.

No!! The one bad thing that I have experienced...besides the hellacious recovery period with my esophagus going ballistic...is poop. If I OD on carbs today, I'll poop four times tomorrow morning. It's my choice, and sometimes I say "what the hell?" but I usually make fairly reasonable decisions...which I did NOT do with the band. AND, the poop sure stinks. There IS a resolution for that...a tablet called Devrom that ostomy patients use so their little bags don't stink. But most of the time, I'm here alone and I have impaired sense of smell and I just use my Ozium or Oust and there is no problem. (Well, except for the time my sister popped in unannounced, wandered off to MY bathroom instead of my husband's and came out asking where the body was hidden.) I'm back to my pre-band, regular stomach sensations, except that it takes less food for me to get to a feeling of really being full or satisfied. I just never had that while banded. Oh...and the NEXT visit to the Indian Retaurant we went to last night should probably NOT include even the "medium spicy" version. I think I ought to stick with "mild."

I have...believe it or not...a "stalker." A former coworker. And he doesn't respond appropriately when I say, "No...I don't want to see you and I don't care that you want to see me." He called and called and bugged and bugged for DECADES, and--until I hear he is dead, I'm not posting my photo where he can find it. (We're both old...it's okay to talk about dead.) Maybe I'll post a headless one some day!!!

Deal is...your brain has not read the LapBand owner's manual. It perceives the food stopped at the stoma as a "blockage," and the FIRST thing that happens is that it sends GALLONS of viscous, slimy mucous down to "clear" the blockage. Of course, the blockage is what makes the band work. Sometimes, the brain says, "Well...it didn't go DOWN..." and you get to see it all again. The brain is doing what it has always done...it just needs to learn that some of the groundrules have changed. It takes time.

Hey! I found the LONG way to say it!!!

Hey! I found the LONG way to say it!!!

A comment on the "Freedom of Speech" concept. The first amendment guarantees that our GOVERNMENT will make no laws which keep us from expressing ourselves...kinda. I used to be in OUR Army, and there is surely no freedom of speech in that setting. And, in most workplace settings, it's just not okay to go off willy-nilly and express yourself if you plan to stay employed. Have any of you had kids who tried "to exercise their rights to free speech" in a classroom? Doesn't wash. I once asked a "customer," in my workplace, which was a major metropolitan men's jail, to take a seat and he refused, citing his right to stand there and exercise his freedom of expression. I had to tell him that he could continue to talk all he wanted, but after the deputies cuffed him and booked him, it would probably be his CELLMATES who would asking him to stop talking and sit down. And he was just someone trying to bail out a relative...not an inmate. So, how much we get to mouth off depends on where we are. In a park...orate away! In front of the White House, you can still try. On a strike march, probably. But NOT in most places of business or someone else's lviing room or in any setting where restrictions have been placed and we have agreed to them when we signed on. THIS is someone else's living room. (Not mine...not the moderators'. But the guy who owns the living room has asked the moderators to help him and they do.) And I know that they do this because I get MY share of PM's, just like anyone else who wiggles a toe across the line. And...I'm REALLY, REALLY not inviting anyone out of here...because it's not MY living room, for one thing...but it's not all that hard to set up a bulletin board and TRY for a free-for-all freedom of speech place...but they get pretty nasty, pretty fast, and anyone with a brain leaves in a hurry.

A comment on the "Freedom of Speech" concept. The first amendment guarantees that our GOVERNMENT will make no laws which keep us from expressing ourselves...kinda. I used to be in OUR Army, and there is surely no freedom of speech in that setting. And, in most workplace settings, it's just not okay to go off willy-nilly and express yourself if you plan to stay employed. Have any of you had kids who tried "to exercise their rights to free speech" in a classroom? Doesn't wash. I once asked a "customer," in my workplace, which was a major metropolitan men's jail, to take a seat and he refused, citing his right to stand there and exercise his freedom of expression. I had to tell him that he could continue to talk all he wanted, but after the deputies cuffed him and booked him, it would probably be his CELLMATES who would asking him to stop talking and sit down. And he was just someone trying to bail out a relative...not an inmate. So, how much we get to mouth off depends on where we are. In a park...orate away! In front of the White House, you can still try. On a strike march, probably. But NOT in most places of business or someone else's lviing room or in any setting where restrictions have been placed and we have agreed to them when we signed on. THIS is someone else's living room. (Not mine...not the moderators'. But the guy who owns the living room has asked the moderators to help him and they do.) And I know that they do this because I get MY share of PM's, just like anyone else who wiggles a toe across the line. And...I'm REALLY, REALLY not inviting anyone out of here...because it's not MY living room, for one thing...but it's not all that hard to set up a bulletin board and TRY for a free-for-all freedom of speech place...but they get pretty nasty, pretty fast, and anyone with a brain leaves in a hurry.

Oh!!! I didn't get PAID!!! Our kid was a theater major in college and worked in some big box office films and had/has friends in the industry...so I was "drafted." "Mom? X's boyfriend is making his film, and it's costing him SOOOO much money and can we film some of it HERE? Oh...and would you be in the mood to do a bit part? No biggie." Yeah, right.

I'm an over-made-up, morbidly obese, mostly grey-haired, smoking, nail-filing phone sex operator in an independent film that was actually shown at a couple of indy festivals in L.A. I've never seen it. I think I'd be horrified now. (But with the recent weight loss, maybe I could tell people it was not really me, just my sister. I mean, even my doctor says I'm "a whole new person." Would that work?)

http://www.talkaboutsleep.com/sleep-disorders/archives/parasomnias_nocturnal.htm

3loves, I had my first fill at about 5.5 weeks, I believe. (And, of course, I had complications but I don't think those were related issues, because things mostly went well for the first year.) HOWEVER, I was NEVER able to handle anything more than a 1.5 cc fill (in a 4.0 cc band) fill. That simply closed off the stoma and nothing went through. The "how much fill question" is kinda like...how much shoelace should be left over when you're done tying the knot on your cross trainers? Just enough to make the shoes be as tight as they should be. The amount of the fill is just not important. The amount of RESTRICTION is the issue, and there are only three kinds of restriction--and shoelaces--too tight, too loose and just right.

An Italian study said that aggressive "fills" were related to more complications...and an Austrian study says that they are not a problem and are a more efficient way to run a wls practice. I'm not sure if Croatia has published anything lately.

The book I recommended took a whole chapter to say this! And they made the point that the self-contempt that some people have relating to their over- or under- eating issues is a reliable and familiar feeling and, for many, feels safer than dealing with scary NEW feelings. But you sure know a smart nurse!

It won't solve any HUGE problems...but if you have one it CAN work like this... You sign up to have money withheld from your pay--tax free. You are billed for the procedure. You submit the bill to your Section 125 account and they reimburse you the entire amount even when it hasn't yet been withheld!!! (That varies from employer to employer. Check it out.) You pay the provider. If you are in a 20% tax bracket, you can end up having only $4000 withheld to provide you with $5000 in your "bank." good luck

You did not have brain surgery. For most people, wls is NOT an instant cure. There are some good books...one may appeal to you. I've found part of "It's Not About Food" to be helpful...I'm sure that others have their own favorite tools. I can share two things I learned. First...stop judging yourself. Stop with the loaded words...no calling yourself names. If you ate and then went back for a moccachino frappe quadruple whammy, you can say "I drank that coffee drink." You cannot say, "I'm a pig." Then, you can OBSERVE...without committing to immediate change. Be a scientist and your own experiment. Just watch and SEE what it is that you are doing when you opt for the choices that aren't taking you where you want to go. (Don't commit to a major change before observing for a while.) You may find a connection between your stimuli and your reaction that will help you with a change.

Worst possible news first? There is a teensy, tiny, itsy-bitsy, beyond way-small chance that she MAY have put the needle into the tubing instead of into the mesh, thus causing a leak in the tubing, which would have to be replaced under a local and that's about it. If I were a betting woman (and sometimes I am) I would NOT go anywhere near that option!!! Breathe. That was about the worst thing possible, given what you've described. And I once went with a woman who had her entire port replaced and she drove home the whole four hours...so it's REALLY not a big deal even if it is bad news...which is just isn't going to be. BTW, my friend's port replacement took WAY less time than my last dental crown...WAY less. She MAY HAVE inserted the needle, removed the saline to see how much was there, dumped it, added more saline and just missed the port access on the refill. Or some series of actions close to that. I would SO give you a sip of my Bailey's that I can't drink until November....but you're not here.

P-38!!! I had you on my keychain once!!! How did you escape? We were in Germany, together, too. Do you remember any of this? Sue

They could change. And there is no telling on the variables. Who knows how many of the reoperations were because early bands were placed prior to the pars flaccida technique, or who has lost so much weight that she's getting an older, higher-profile port changed to a lower profile port? I know that one of those people had a really bad surgeon (who doesn't do the band anymore) and he nicked her diaphragm and she's had NOTHING but trouble. One of the people in the middle group mentioned that she has mild erosion, so she knows she's doing SOMETHING...she just doesn't know what. And I'm pretty sure that a couple of those "I'll have my band forever" people are old-timers. They are doing very well, at a normal BMI and happy...and while they say that they MAY, at some later date need SOMETHING changed out (because very little lasts forever) they do NOT want to contemplate life without the band.

Full moon, maybe? Great minds? Whatever. Someone at another site a couple of us here visit posted the same kind of poll just today. (Of course, variables--as discussed elsewhere--were not covered, so we don't know who did the surgeries, when they were done, which band was used, etc.) Here's what they've gathered so far... HTH

MY band surgeon is cuter than YOUR band surgeon...oh...wait...same guy. Never mind.

Waht 3loves said...I even bought the JNJ stock waiting for the FDA approval...and gave up waiting. It's still pending? Bummer. Jim, I think it's a VHS vs BetaMax thing. I think that the last wisdom I recall on that debate was that BetaMax held at least minimal technical superiority (which is why it's still used in the film industry) but what good would that do if you culdn't find a movie to play in it? So, Inamed is all over the place and you won't find yourself in a large city with no experienced band doctor and you won't have to explain the difference in the solutions...but--again, if memory holds--the SAGB is softer and less likely to be involved in erosion issues...or so they say. I think it's a personal preferences thing. Enjoy Monterrey!

Hi, Erynn...Welcome! Funny thing about the scars from surgery. My port was placed at the sternum...right where the bottom band of my bra sits. Well, the bra is still there, but the scar has moved south. Way south. It is now about FIVE INCHES below my bra...headed toward my navel. If you have a lot of weight to lose, more scar tissue than you might imagine may well end up being removed in plastic surgery!!

Maybe? The data that is fed into the program consists of "facts." The resultant stats are subject to manipulation. The decisions we make based on stats are subject to all sorts of influences. I think they all have a place in the "figuring".

Lisa, Your picture is in the dictionary, next to the word "survivor." Keep it up.