GeezerSue

Hmmmmm. Seems like the OzDocs have been learning a lot from the Yanks. But we are expected to honor them with the title "Doctor" preceeding their names...don't you guys still get away with "Mister?" See? It could be worse! Sue P.S.----Med school grads in general are bad enough. But surgeons think they are invincible. Which is why they are among the worst pilots in the world. Records indicate that surgeons, once committed to a course, just keep on keeping on. Even when they can SEE that they are headed right for a mountain. They simply cannot believe that they are wrong, and--it would appear--they expect the mountain to move. So they fly right into 'em. Time after time. Never fly in plane piloted by a surgeon. (Lawyers are equally bad, but for the opposite reason. They are unable to commit and keep debating with themselves. Right into the mountain.)

I would be honored.

Your psych exam was likely the MMPI (Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory) which asks you to agree or disagree with such statements as "I don't cry when I notice that chipmunks are always watching me," and "It doesn't bother me that all the igloos are melting." My friend's PCP "came to her rescue" when her surgeon wanted the (delayed) Psych Eval. He wrote, "This patient is as unburdened by emotional issues as a 375 pound 5'1" woman can be." She and the PCP chuckled, but the surgeon was delighted. Go figure.

In my experience, my wls WAS "the easy way out." So was my c-section. In both cases, the "the hard way out" was dying.

A soft-boiled egg a couple of times a week (especially the yolk, since that goes down easier than egg white) won't send your cholesterol over the edge, and won't be sweet.

The band is SOOOO subjective, SOOOOO patient-specific that you'll likely end up with sufficient DIFFERENT answers that you'l be more confused that when you started. That said... Possibility #1--People react differently to band adjustments. It may just be that two days post adjustment you were still somewhat swollen and hypersensitive. AND THEN, by irritating your already irrtated self two days post-adjustment, you caused the "overreaction" to continue. Does that make sense? Maybe if you had waited four days, you'd be better off now. Kinda like re-stubbing your stubbed toe. AND/OR Possibility #2--You, like many of us, have to "relearn" what your band wants after each adjustment. Some people need baby spoons. Some need to count chews. I think I'd avoid going for quantities to aim for and just count the Protein you DO get in. This is where it gets tricky. If, after some time and healing, you find that you are "eating around the band" (soft stuff) because all the healthy protein stuff gets stuck, it may be that you're too tight, and need some saline removed. Keep an eye out for that behavior, because several things are going on when that happens. You get dependent on all the wrong foods, and at the same time, your esophagus might be gettintg irritated and your weight loss may even stall. But that's the "bad news." Right now, I'd just assume Possibility #1 above and start eating healthy stuff and avoid the concept (even though Inamed and many doctors recommend it) of measuring and counting and other diet-related ideas. Good luck! Sue

What does "up front" mean to you? I paid $10,000 before I had surgery, so I guess that's "up front." But I did not pay until the day prior to surgery...so I didn't send any money ahead of me. Sue Oh, yeah...the adjustments (fills and unfills) are nowhere near as big a hassle as trying to find a size 32 anything while on vacation in a foreign country. And they're WAY less hassle than having an "RnY revision" for a bowel obstruction.

It was supposed to read SELF-pay. Vera is tired.

Happy New Year, and thank you for this board. Sue

I'm glad you're feeling better. Gotta add, though, that I've taken Ibuprofen--for the root canal I had two days post op and for the one I had a year later--and have none of the problems that you've had with it. So, as usual, the band is very subjective. Sue

You don't sound like a broken record, but I will. (Want to feel old? Most kids today have never seen a record!) There is no reason for you to have any weight loss the first month. If you and your doctor are following the standard procedures, all you are involved in is eating food that is soft enough that the band has time to heal in place. What makes the band work is the consumption of solid foods, (that--one month out--you probably haven't been eating) with sufficient restriction (and you haven't had a fill, yet). So your weight loss is not slow, it is fast. Many, many people lose and then regain most of the first month's weight loss. Because :guess the band doesn't start working until there is restriction and the patient is on solid foods... the band doesn't start working until there is restriction and the patient is on solid foods... the band doesn't start working until there is restriction and the patient is on solid foods... :cheeky

I asked my cardiologist why the pulmonologist was insisting that I had sleep apnea and that I needed testing, when I knew I didn't. He said, "Well, if you DON'T have sleep apnea you'll be the first woman with your BMI I've met who doesn't have it." My BMI at that time was in the high 40's. I was tested. And had really bad sleep apnea. I needed a Bi-Pap machine (like a CPAP, but one setting for exhaling and one for inhaling), set at 18 and 14, on a scale of 1-20, 20 being worst. So you KNOW it was bad, but I was sure I didn't have it. But snoring is just one symptom. And you know, if you can get used to the stupid machine, you awake rested like you haven't been in years. I think those of us who are obese should get tested, because the apnea is very tough on your heart.

Far more people die every year from germs they picked up in the hospital than from LapBand surgery. If you are morbidly obese, the LapBand is a life-saving venture. You can't even say that most hysterectomies are for life-saving purposes...and I'll bet a greater percentage of those patients die than LapBand patients. I wonder how many morbidly obese people who did not have surgery died the same day as the man who did have the surgery. Sue

Alrighty, then. I'm not sure that "a perfect fill" is one that lets us eat anything. Although I have had a (very inexperienced) doctor disagree with me, I believe that MOST banded patients have SOME foods which, when there is restriction, they cannot eat. I don't know why your restriction suddenly kicked in, but anyway... From your list, I cannot eat bread, white meat chicken or salad when I have saline in my band. EVER. Chex Mix is not possible. And you can add raisins, and any dried fruit and potatoes and rice and cakes and more to my "can't eat" list. Don't get offended, here, but the answer is not to put up with the PB'ing, the answer is to stop eating those foods. The bread is unnecessary. Try very moist, very mush dark meat chicken. It's the lettuce in the salad that is responsible for most of my issues. So I order a "cobb salad, hold the lettuce." Or find a way to just eat the veggies I can handle. Nuts are, by nature, dry and will clog me up in a heartbeat. One or two nuts. Or a teeny bit of Peanut Butter. (In a spoon, not on bread.) Really, you can live without the foods that are causing a problem...but you can't go on with the PB'ing without causing potentiallly serious damage. It's all about choices. Not easy ones btw, but choices nonetheless. In my case, I can eat everything I want to eat and not lose very much or very fast, or I can lose weight and accept that there are a few things I just can't eat.

What was the basis of the denial (if you don't mind my asking)?

So you're saying I shouldn't have had that beer? Just kidding. I rarely drink anything. But I have had a sip or two of beer. (And I drink carbonated Water all the time...but not straight out of the bottle. It has to sit a while, first.) My advice would be that slow, small sips of beer may be do-able. And chugging a beer may be a no-no. One of the things I'd REALLY like to learn is that eating (or drinking) things slower actually lets me taste them longer. You may find that you enjoy beer differently now.

Aha, a tune-up. This is a good thing. And potentially aerobic.

Where is that woman hiding?

Nancy, Since all that was posted was the abstract of the study (pre-publication, at that), I have no clue. However, my guess is that a certain percentage of excess weight had to be lost in order for one to be "successful." I am in the "unsuccessful" group, myself...at least for the time being. But I need to work on my issues and, perhaps, have a teensy bit of saline in my band, as right now there is none. I could go get more...but I think I'd better work on why I was (at least some of the time) eating around the band. Sue

Natasha, There are people with ANY KIND of bariatric surgery who lose only a few pounds the first year...or ever. The results are VERY subjective. The only problem I know of is that, here in the colonies, very few doctors have even heard of one. But since you can chunnel your way to the guy who invented them, why not? Sue

There is, I think, a Dr. Fox in Washington who has partnered with and published with Dr. Rumbaut in Monterrey, Mexico. I think it costs a little more to go TO Rumbaut for surgery VIA Fox, but then they have some kind of deal where Fox does the follow-up care. Call him and ask! I'll look for more info.

Just a darned minute! You'd give up that easily? Think it through again! You SAID you have related health problems. Many insurance companies cover people with BMI's of 35 AND related health problems. And there is always Mexico...it's NOT a "second-best" place to go. There's a handful of Mexican surgeons who together have more experience than all the US doctors put together. And there are loans and your school district probably has a Section 125 plan, so that the money can be taken out monthly over a year, and tax free at that. Sue

I've had adjustments with three doctors. Two of them popped the needle right in--no pain, no blood, no problems. The other eventually gets it done, but not without making me quite nervous. The port just isn't where he would have put it and I end up feeling a little like a pin cushion. In the end, they all get the job done, though.

Another recent study: 1: Surg Endosc. 2003 Nov 21 [Epub ahead of print]. Related Articles, Links _ Laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding: is there a learning curve? Shapiro K, Patel S, Abdo Z, Ferzli G. Department of Surgery, Staten Island University Hospital, 65 Cromwell Avenue, Staten Island, NY 10304, USA. Background: To be certified for laparoscopic placement of adjustable gastric banding, surgeons must have advanced laparoscopic experience. Despite previous exposure to other kinds of laparoscopy, there may a learning curve specific to Lap-Band placement. Methods: Sixty consecutive patients were prospectively separated into two groups: the first 30 patients operated on (group 1) and the second 30 patients operated on (group 2). Results: Both groups were similar statistically in regard to gender, age, and body mass index. Operative time for group 1 was 79 +/- 31.1 min. There were 11 (37%) complications in 10 patients. Operative time for group 2 was 59 +/- 19.9 min. There were two complications (7%). All operations were completed laparoscopically. Operative time was significantly lower in group 2 ( t-test; p = 004). Complications were also significantly lower (chi-square; p = 0.005). The number of reoperations was also reduced and approached statistical significance (chi-square; p = 0.054). Readmissions, although reduced, were not statistically significant. There were no deaths in either group. Conclusions: Despite a surgeon's history of advanced laparoscopic experience, there is a definite learning curve associated with the laparoscopically placed adjustable gastric band. PMID: 14625767 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

The actual name for a fill is an "adjustment." The inner part of the band--the part nearest the stomach--is tighter or looser depending on how much saline (or air) is in its inner-tube-kind-of-thing. (Although it's not really inner.) I'll look for a link to band basics.