GeezerSue

The *theory* (still unproven to the best of my knowledge) is that a pre-op diet can somehow shrink the fat around the liver...and this would be/might be important because the surgeon has to maneuver around the liver to get to the stomach and place the band. (In my case,the liver "leaned" the other way, so if I had followed the diet, it would have been a big waste of effort.) Two surgeons in New Zealand were doing a study on the theory. That was a couple of years ago. I don't recall having heard results of the study. Then, many doctors who heard the theory thought they'd try that, too. So far, so tolerable. BUT THEN, there is also a crowd that says, "Well, if they won't follow the diet pre-op, then they probably won't follow it post-op, and so if they won't follow the diet I won't do the surgery." And those jerks are the ones who have NO idea what this obesity thing is all about. I'd avoid them. My surgeon's pre-op diet was "nothing after midnight" the night before surgery, and his post-op diet was about a week of clear, then progressively more un-clear liquids, followed by purees, then mushies...all of which should be finished in about three or four weeks. And then about two successful weeks on solids before the first adjustment.

I take a chewable calcium I get at Traders Joe's.

Sue

Ya know. I don't know. And I think it's hit and miss. So I bought a pill cutter and use it for any pill that's time released. Dr. Rumbaut told me to hold a capsule in my mouth until it was really, really soft, and then--just before the Gelatin dissoves--to swallow it with water.

Well, and to me--a terminal skeptic and former neighbor of a couple of M.D.'s who were morons--it makes me wonder a little about how much time they have for post-op support (which doesn't pay as well as the surgery.) And, while I'm picking on doctors, I might mention the concept of the "Psychological Fill," as promoted by one LapBand doctor. (His colleagues ratted him out to me.) I'll start a new thread. Sue

Oops, just went to their web site, and that IS what is says. Amazing. I'd have believed "over 600 lap bariatric surgeries." But the two of them, in 16 months, have done over 600 LapBands? Amazing. (Oh, I already said that, huh?) But I know that just a few months ago, one of the Mexican surgeons told me that he and another surgeon together had done close to 900 bands, over a period of about five years.

Are you sure? I only ask because I've been reading several boards for a couple of years, and I am not familiar with his name. And...that's how many bands some of the Mexican surgeons--who have been doing this for three or four times as long as it's been legal here--have done. I thought I'd heard the name of most of the high-volume surgeons. Oh, well, learn something new every day. (Where is he located?) Sue

There are apparently several layers of concern regarding drugs. Antibiotics are NOTORIOUS for chewing up the stomach. Some of them cause reflux in as many as 40% of patients...and those are the folks with a normal stomach. (I'm pretty sure my reflux actually began with a round of antibiotics and went downhill from there. I had to give up treating that condition.) Then, the NSAIDS apparently have an entirly different thing going. It's not about the size of the pill or how long it sits in the stomach. It's about how the pain-relieving mechanism in the drug cuts down on the protective lining of the stomach. I have had no problems that I know of with ibuprofen...but it could have been exacerbating what the antibiotic did. So, to your situation. Antibiotics do nothing for the flu. No one should take antibiotics for the flu. The flu is a virus and may respond to antiviral medications but will not respond to antibiotics, which only work on bacteria. And, acetaminophen is available in adult, extra-strength liquid. I know Tylenol makes a version cuz I've got some.

I want a constitutional amendment to make Donali in charge of everything.

Most of the time, I travel about three or four hours (each way) to the "close" fills. Once I flew about five hours, each way. Plus an hour on the ground to and from the airport, each way. But I'm retired.

And how many LapBand patients has he had? Certainly, not many! And has he no clue (this may be rhetorical) that his version of support is not likely to help you lose weight? Sorry about your having this doctor. Sue

With full restriction (I had to lessen it due to reflux) my uhh-ooh list includes: breads, bread-like baked goods, hidden bread (as in stuffed shrimp or crab cakes), pastas, rice, raisins and dehydrated/dried anything (like my cranberries I got in Wisconsin), uncooked grains, potatoes, bananas, and I'm sure there were other things I just can't think of right now. With my modified adjustment, I can eat very amount of most of the above. Sue

First, read this post: http://lapbandtalk.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1525 Then, common wisdom is that the post-op diet is there to allow scar tissue to form around the band exactly where the surgeon placed it. You can set in motion a chain of events which will move the band, without feeling it until it's too late (see above post). The point is not about what we can eat and not about what we feel...it's all about not screwing with the stitches. So my answer to "have I ruined anything" is "we hope not, but cut it out." Then, about "the Diet." Opinions abound. I want to eat healthy food in healthy quantities. I do not want to be on a diet ever again. If your primary issue was eating in volume two or three times per day, that problem will be solved once you get an adjustment. Then it becomes more complicated. Will you, once you really can't eat any more, keep trying to find ways to shove food in? (I have done this and watched myself, amazed.) Will you learn the difference between "I'm hungry" and "I want to eat." Will you exercise? But let's focus on the "right now" parts. Right now, you need to try to follow doctor's instructions. And, for right now, you need to forget about losing weight. And, for right now, you should enjoy the healing diet you're on; because once the healing is completed, you will need to stop eating the post-op food and move to solids. Good luck and welcome! Sue

Lupe, Mine may be the minority opinion. but here it goes. If we define the word "diet" by "eating healthier foods and making wiser food choices," then after ANY weight loss surgery, you still have to "diet." And exercise. Now, without the band, I would not have been in touch with even that reality. In the intellectual part of my brain I knew it. But it wasn't something that lived in the part of my brain that makes me...you know...brush my teeth on a regular basis. There may be a part of you that is (secretly) saying, "Well, if I just gain a little more, I can have one of those surgeries and THEN it will be easier to lose weight." And it will. For a while. But no matter the surgery, you still have to make changes. Major changes. If you can make those changes without surgery, it would be a good thing. If not, there are many of us who understand your situation. Sue

I've been hanging around lapband boards for a couple of years, and have heard only positive things about her.

Misty, Aftercare is SOOOO individual. Some people need many post-op visits, others need few. When I had my surgery, I was self-pay and my final choice was between a local surgeon ($30,000 and he had placed about 30 lapbands) and a Monterrey, MX, surgeon ($10,000 and he had placed 1400 lapbands and he HAD a lapband himself.) I knew it would take a whole lot of aftercare for me to spend that $20,000 difference. Lately, as the price has gone down, the money part of the debate has become almost moot. But, I would mention that it isn't as simple a choice as it might appear, between a local surgeon because of local follow-up and Mexico with follow-up there. Some people chose a local doctor with little experience who won't do fills, or who expects them to lose like RnY patients, or where fills after the first year cost as much as a trip to Europe, or with a staff-member they end up not getting along with, or with a very small lapband practice and end up completely frustrated and in search of a follow-up doctor anyway. I flew three plus hours from Los Angeles to Monterrey for the surgery and for a follow-up almost a year later (and because I wanted a vacation), but I've had most of my adjustments in Tijuana, which is about a two or three hour drive. But I also found that I could get adjustments along the west coast, for a cost of $200-1000, per fill, and varying transportation costs. I guess I'm saying that it might be worthwhile to find out how much aftercare you get for your money, and what you'll do if your surgeon has a personal epiphany and decides to become a monk in Iceland, or if you move out of the area. Good luck with the decision, Sue

Well, I've GOT a suggestion, but it may not be exactly what you were hoping for: Relax. This isn't like anything you've done before. At this point, your body needs to heal and your brain needs to give it time to heal. Eat whatever you can that will let your incisions heal and scar tissue to form around your band so that it stays put. You may GAIN weight and oh, well, that's the way it goes. The immediate post-op time is NOT about losing weight. (In fact, you may be eating so little that you're in starvation mode and cannot lose weight at this time.) Later, when you've healed and you start solid foods, and you have an adjustment (or two or three or five), you will have the restriction you need to work with the band. Remember that the adjustable gastric band surgery is NOT the surgery for people who need immediate, drastic results. The average patient loses about 65% of their excess weight in two years. That means that for people with your numbers, the average patient will weigh about 160 two years post-op. Half will lose a more and half will lose less. And half will lose slower and half will lose faster. I don't mean to discourage you, but to remind you that your journey hasn't even begun. You need to slow down and get ready for the journey. You might be someone who loses five pounds per week and gets to goal in three months. But most people are not. So, try not to make yourself crazy if you are NOT one of those (very few) people. Sue

Christine, Unless it's in at a weird angle, they don't need flouroscopy to find the port. BUT, the do need it to watch how the barium swallow goes through the stoma. An experienced doctor can tell (by watching the barium swallow go through) if you are too tight, too loose or just right. I've not had a fill without flouroscopy and--while I'm pretty sure I've had too much radiation from this and all the other stuff I've got going on--I think I prefer not to have a blind fill.

Left shoulder pain is routine and resolves with time. (The band is sitting on something that connects to a nerve that is connected to your left shoulder.) I have a sternal port placement, but I recall hearing that the rib cage pain is something for the first couple of weeks. Swimming, without overexerting or stretching any muscles that hook up to the muscle which had to been cut to insert the port into its place (which is what I suspect you're doing) is cool. But why not just walk back and forth across the short way, in the shallow end? Good exercise and easy on the knees. You just had surgery. Take your time. Sue

Here's the study about Lap-Band-specific experience: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov:80/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=14625767&dopt=Abstract

Now, NO. Originally, I didn't even want to be the thirtieth, so I went to Mexico. At one time, I might have considered it. And I'd certainly rather be the first, second or third (while he has the proctor at his side) than the eleventh (when he's on his own.) But the more I learn, no. BECAUSE, the longer I'm around, the more I see it's all about follow-up. What's his idea for scheduling adjustments? When, in his opinion, do you need a fill? Is he following the more experienced (and mostly foreign) doctors who provide individual follow-up, or might you end up being one of those people who will need 2.7 cc's before there is restriction, stuck with a doctor who won't do a first fill for two months and only does 0.5 cc incremental fills on the first Tuesday of each month (and your two months was up on the first Wednesday), so that you end up being eight to ten months post-op before the band starts working for you? A doctor who has done only RnY's has no basis to judge my progress. And no experience with fills, and getting into radiology for flouroscopy for one patient could be a hassle. I won't lose as fast as RnY patients, I don't have the same dietary considerations post-op, and I certainly don't want to have to jump through the same hoops, pre- or post-op. In addition, the "learning curve" on the band is 30-50 placements. And ALL of the surgeons who place the band are experienced laporoscopic surgeons, but they STILL need BAND experience* before their patients are more successful...especially if we're talking MY money. That said, where--generally speaking--do you live? Sue *when I write that kind of thing, someone usually writes that they were the first, or third patient and had no problems. But I'm talking about the documented research which shows that, on average, patients have fewer complications when the doctor has more band-placement experience.

In my case, it may be now. But she's pushin' 29, and I sure as hell don't want two almost-14-and-a-half-year-olds. WHY? She is a piggy-car person. Her father is a piggy-car person. I thought it was a recessive gene. IT IS NOT. It is dominant. And it may be incurable. (My father waxed his car and cleaned his carbuerator every couple of weeks; my father-in-law just flicked his ashes on the carpet when the ashtray was full. For years.) Her mechanic is VERY expensive, so we traded cars and took her car to our mechanic. So that's why I know that the three two-liter bottles of tonic Water and case of 8 ounce waters and stuff from the play she was in...in college...at least seven years ago, and a Readers' Digest Book (anyone remember those?) and two pairs of sandals and a coat and a beach umbrella and two pie plates and a cow-themed birdhouse, and a really cool purple vase (which now lives in my living room) and a Scrabble game and a LOT of other things, are bouncing around in her car and trunk. I sent her a text message about the vase. She called from work and asked, "What purple vase?" I'd keep cleaning, but I'm afraid I'll find Jimmy Hoffa. Sue

Rumbaut's deal was...You pay him a flat fee, which covers everything... apparently, no matter what. OR, you pay him and hospital separately and deal with any overages. I chose the former.

I'm back from mini-vacation and out-of-town guests and getting ready for some minor construction in the kitchen. ("Minor" meaning I have to empty only a couple of cabinets. I hope.) I'd pop in and comment in numerous threads (as I usually do) but I'm getting caught up on laundry and all. I'll try to choose wisely. Sue

Hey, Robin...won't my replacing Thoreau cause me a ton of stress? Do you think it's safe?