GeezerSue

Anyone, who has any (or no) bariatric surgery CAN lose all of his or her excess weight. But there is NO DATA supporting the concept that any surgery will cause us to lose ALL of our excess weight. The best outlook appears to be the DS at about 75-80%, then the RnY and the AGB at about 65%. We can all STRIVE to lose all of our excess weight, but to EXPECT to do so would leave an awful lot of people very, very disappointed.

It seems that the New Zealand doctors DID finally publish the results of a study regarding pre-op diets!!! I wish to point out that the Optifast diet is a different diet than the one they were pushing at the time we corresponded and that they still think of it as a "test of compliance," to predict how well we will comply with instructions AFTER band placement. But it seems that--according to this study--if you live on Optifast for a couple of weeks your liver (and everything else?) will be somewhat smaller. http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/fd/os/2004/00000014/00000009/art00005;jsessionid=4nin938vafmfw.victoria

Okay...I wasn't going to mention this, but guitarman is right. Three years ago, I read that the New Zealand LapBand doctors had their patients undergoing a liquid diet to "shrink the liver." BTW, it was not as strict as what's being done now. Little by little, doctors started adopting this procedure. I wrote to the NZ doctors to ask about the diet. They were doing a study at the time, to "prove" their theory. But part of their answer was that if patients were not ready for the diet, they didn't have the necessary self-control for the surgery. (Asses.) Well, I still can't find the results in the literature...and I know surgeons who never have had such a protocol and have records as good or better than those Kiwi docs, so...IMHO.. The shrink-your-liver diet is a bariatric surgeons' urban legend. Not only is the proof that this accomplishes much more than giving patients the runs not easily located...but funny how none of the other surgeons I've mentioned this to have even heard of it. Relax. Oh yeah, post-op, I asked my surgeon about it. He said, "Your liver goes 'this-a-way' instead of 'that-a-way,' so it wouldn't have mattered." Oh, well.

Not a good place to research bypass surgeries....HOWEVER, my second choice has always been the DS (actually, the biliopancreatic diversion with duodenal switch.) I many STILL go that route. The band works for about 80% of the band patients. I'm in a category...partially because I'm insane, but also because I'm older...that may put me in the 20%. When my band is tight enough that the weight loss is "happening" at a reasonable rate, I have reflux. When we loosen the band, I stand still. I'm not happy with either, so I'm still considering the DS. It's a bypass surgery, but quite different from the RnY and my insurance covers either...and not LapBand. Research them ALL before you decide. Good luck.

I think that when we think in terms of "cheating," it means that, in some way, it's a kind of game we're playing and the REAL issue is if we can do what we're used to doing without getting caught. Which isn't what this is about. (And when I use the word "we," I am including myself.) Just a point of view...

Alex...the complications in the US, if any, should be reported to the FDA, because the band is an implanted medical device just like a pacemaker. I don't know where the doctors in other countries are supposed to report complications with devices. (Hi...I've been really, really busy...but thought I might know something about this. Probably, I was wrong.)

It not the wisdom teeth, so much as the dry sockets. I'm sorry for your pain. I remember this experience from forty years ago.

A nurse at my doctor's office says her husband is no longer addicted to alcohol. He's now addicted to AA meetings. A friend of mine divorced her huband because he opted to replace his drinking with hallelujah-religion. These guys are both just as obsessive and just as out of control--and obnoxious--with their replacement addiction as they were with the original one.

His name is Roberto Rumbaut Diaz and he is one of the surgeons who did the pre-FDA trial work on the band. He has done THOUSANDS of band placements, he is a band patient, and he's one of the guys who taught the current mentors how to do the band. He is one of the pioneers. And, he works out of a hospital that is a teaching hospital...where your nurse will have only two or three other patients...where you have your own room, bathroom and shower, and a guest bed for a family member.

Congratulations, Rhonda, on your good experience. But let me add that there ARE reasons to be concerned about being banded far from home...see Lisa's post about HER experiences. And, not to concern you, but most of those who have had problems with the band did not experience those problems right away. I don't mean to rain on your parade, but just to show both sides of the issue.

I drink sparkling water all day every day. I just pour it, let it sit, stir a little to get rid of some bubbles, and sip slowly.

Did your physician not give you the information that until you have a fill you may not lose any weight? This would be important information... Anyway, read around here...especially the basics, and you may learn about all of the details that will save you from becoming concerned unnecessarily.

I crossed off the names of those who required me to waste my time being TOLD what I had already READ. I'd call and ask how many bands this doctor has placed. If it isn't at least 50, I'd keep looking.

If you are worried about pain, call your doctor or go to an emergency room. You shouldn't worry about calling him.

The LEFT shoulder pain is from where the band is placed relative to a major nerve in the body. It settles down after a while...but it can still feel irritated years later, if you overeat or get "a plug," or irritate the area near the stoma.

I did the math on Trader Joe's Children's Chewables! I take two of them, plus two Viactiv-type chewable calcium thingys.

Ren and Fielding in NY seem to have very pleased patients.

One of the most experienced band doctors in the country--and one of the less expensive--is Jaime Ponce in Dalton, Ga.

If they are Extended Release, they cannot be cut or crushed or chewed, because that screws up the graduated release. There is a problem with '"doubling" 250 mg Augmentin Rx's. Augmentin contains Amoxicillan and Clavulanate Potassium. IF I REMEMBER THIS CORRECTLY...the a 500 mg augmentin contains 500 mg of Amoxicillan and 125 mg of Clavulanate Potassium. The 250 mg Augmentin contains half as much Amoxicillan but the same amount of Clavulanate Potassium. So when you take two of the 250's, you get twice as much of the Clavulanate Potassium, which is there to keep the Amoxicillan working...but that may be too much...and I think that part makes us really, really tired. Anyway, I couldn't find anything that said that a regular Augmentin shouldn't be cut in half. If anyone does, PLEASE LET ME KNOW. I'm taking them right now to get rid of the not-quite-gone infection from my breast reduction.

Penni, these tablets are 2 cm long by almost 1 cm wide. BIG pills!

Two points... I am taking regular old 500 mg. Augmentin right now, and I'm cutting them in half. Mine came with no such warning, and I looked up the PI Sheet (patient information) and did a search for the words "crush" and "chew," and they were not in the document. Any chance that label was applied in error? Also, there is a chewable Augmentin.

Well...we can TRY to justify it because we're all too special to follow the rules...or we can call it what it is, insurance fraud.

American and Aeromexico have flights MIA to MTY through DFW for under $300 RT.

Teresa, That's pretty much how our daughter's accident went. The car in front of her stopped. She stopped. The car behind her slammed into her. I'm not trying to drum up trouble where it doesn't exist, but our kid really did have a PTSD thing going for quite a while after that accident. She was always looking over her shoulder. She wouldn't go places with her friends with small sports cars. She was really reliving that accident. She's didn't "try to collect" for PTSD, and she's over it now, but it was real...and caused by someone who just wasn't paying attention. I'm glad that you are okay...but don't sell your suffering short. There IS value to peace of mind.

Our daughter was in an accident a few years ago and berated her parents for even suggesting she should have legal representation...until she was running a fever for unrelated reasons. And every place that had been hurt in the accident felt like someone was beating her with a sledge hammer. And she was in more pain than she had been after the accident. And then she was glad she had an attorney.