GeezerSue

~~~~~ What she said. Only he's even better than that. Sue

You will love him. I think everybody does. I've been there twice; once for surgery and one for a fill. Questions? Ask away! Sue

Alex, I, too, am unaware of any band-related reason that you should not take the drug. But you might also want to do a Google search. Rxlist.com reports that 4% of patients experienced manic episodes using Luvox. There is an older story (1999) which reports that Eric Harris, one of the Columbine shooters, was on the drug at the time he went ballistic. Perhaps there is more current info showing that there is no relation. (Remember, some also wanted to blame a drug--was it Accutane?--for that Florida teen who flew a plane into an office building. It was later established that there was no relationship between the two facts.) Good luck, whatever you decide. And, more and more research is showing that as our weight is reduced, so is our depression. (Like THAT was a surprise!) Sue

Hi, Ginger! Let me address a few of these issues one at a time: My surgery was on 10-8 I'm doing really well on the weight loss. I'm down 18 almost 19 pounds That is splendid and I hope it "sticks" (as you Indiana folks--I'm married to a Hoosier--say about snow.) But just a warning: It doesn't always. I regained a good deal of the weight I lost the first few weeks post-op, waiting for that first fill. But remember, this time is for healing, any lost pounds are a bonus. I do feel full after a few bites. Like tonight I got a frozen yoguet for a treat and I'm not even half done and feel full. Same with 2T of mash pot and 1tea of apple sauce. So does that mean I might not need a fill right away? It could, but don't count on it. It more likely means that the mucosal lining of your stomach is still a little swollen--making the passageway from top to bottom sections of your stomach smaller. That is, in fact, a major reason why you have dietary restrictions right now...because of the swelling. Also, because they want the tissue around the band to heal around the band. I did not think to ask that before. I'm having a hard time dealing with to much milk products now. So I'm not getting in the 75 grams of Protein a day. Then I tried soy and I don't think that my body likes it either.. So as long as I don't drink more than a cup or 2 of the milk I'm okay. What other foods can I eat to give me protien?? There are also lactose free milk and ice cream. When I got this stage I tried (turned out it smelled way better than it tasted) some baby food...the junior stuff, i think. I also pureed some Soups. I found something called "Salmon Chowder" that sounds way more gross than it tastes, and pureed it. Split pea Soup and lentil soup were good and high in protein. I think each ethnic backgroud has its own bean soup. Mine uses pinto beans! Lots of protein in beans! Focus on being kind to your tummy! Your journey has begun, congratulations. Sue

Janet, It would seem like: a) you have no restriction and may be long overdue for an adjustment; or, :cool: you are overrestricted and are eating all soft foods to compensate for a band that is too tight; or, c) you are "eating around the band" living on high calorie liquids or foods that melt before they get to the band. Give us a little more information and perhaps we can help. Have you had any adjustments? What do you eat? Are you only ten pounds down, or have you lost thirty and regained twenty? Ashanti, There is NO surgery which can guarantee you that three years post-op you will weigh one ounce less than you do right now. These surgeries are tools and if used correctly, they mostly work. But, we have to pick the right tool and use it wisely. The first band patient I ever met lost only ten pounds her first year post-op. Why? She lived off of Soups and chilis. She changed to solid foods and lost about sixty pounds the next year. Good luck! Sue

Nicole, Her surgery was probably laporoscopic (Lap) and included a silastic ring (what she is incorrectly calling her "Band.") But the name LapBand is a trademarked name referring to the only adjustable gastric bands currently approved for use in the US, which she does not have. Some of the RnY patients also have a silastic ring (a "plastic band") used to (I think) reinforce the area where the esophagus transitions into their now smaller stomachs. Those rings have nothing to do with adjustable gastric bands. Sue Edited to add this quote: Silastic Ring Gastric Bypass: Vertical banded gastric bypass (Fobi) The use of rings to control the stoma size, proven with Vertical Banded Gastroplasty, has led to their adoption by some surgeons as an addition to gastric bypass procedures, again to control the stoma size and prevent late stretching of the opening and, hopefully, improve the long term weight maintenance results. Both silastic rings and Marlex bands have been used. Usually the recommendation is for the ring circumference to be considerably larger than that used in primary obesity procedures, so that the limiting effect only comes into play after some degree of stretching of the pouch has occurred. ~~~~~ And: Interestingly enough, there are bypass patients who will swear they "had to choose" RnY because they were "allergic" to the band OR who chose RnY because they couldn't tolerate the notion of a "foreign object" inside their bodies...and then ended up with the RnY with the silastic ring. (I'm mentioning this so that even "lurkers" who are in the process of researching the different types of surgery will have another question to ask their surgeon.)

You don't need an agency (if it's going to cost you any money.) Have you corresponded with Janean (from Spotlight)? She had surgery in Germany and still lives there. Sue

What Alexandra said. Until your first adjustment--or until about six weeks post-op--your life should not be about losing weight. You can keep track, if you want, but it will probably make you crazy, because you will likely be hungry. Also, this time is NOT about what you can eat, because you have no idea what you can or cannot eat without damaging your stomach. And, BY THE WAY, you can damage your stomach or band without feeling any pain. My experience is that most post-op hunger/exhaustion is related to insufficient protein intake. The rest is all in our heads, and therein lies the real battleground. Sue

For many of us, the pre-op diet was "nothing by mouth after midnight." (Just what you wanted to hear, right?)

They are afraid of causing esophageal damage (because Inamed has warned them) and getting sued. Call Don Mills at Inamed. Don't even mention the doctor's name...just the state or which (for example) tri-state area you're in. Complain. Tell him that you and others are unhappy with the training the doctors are getting and you wonder if Johnson and Johnson is doing a better job (they are in clinical trials with their band.) Politely raise hell about the fact that they are promoting the band's adjustability while simultaneously neglecting to insist that the doctor's commit to providing those adjustments. Not a good situation. Maybe we should even begin a petition to Inamed, asking them to do their part to get the US doctors to fully service the damned thing. Sue

Linda, Some, but not all, banded people have a problem with certain foods post-op, regardless of restriction. The foods which are most often mentioned are doughy breads, pastas and rice, dried fruits (including raisins), and drier meats and poultry. I have problems with most of those, even when I have no restriction. They "clog up" my stoma. My brain thinks that something is stuck and starts pumping out saliva, to help it all wash through. When that doesn't work, it starts with what I lovingly refer to as 60-weight saliva, really gooey, viscous stuff...mostly by the quart. When that happens, I have to hit a restroom--sometimes for quite a while--and spit. Usually, the plug will works its way through and the saliva stops as soon as that happens. HOWEVER, when the saliva is swallowed, you know, there is only so much room between your mouth and the clog...eventually, you will feel the urge to regurgitate. That's when the banded "vomit" saliva. It's weird. And pretty gross. But has nothing to do with vomiting as when you are sick. So, you need to learn what clogs you up. It may be that you won't be eating any bicuits. I can have a teeny bite, if it is slathered with butter. But crumbling it up into little pieces, as you did, only makes it worse for me, because it is better at absorbing all the liquids in there and turns into concrete. AND, you need to learn what you can't eat before you go fo a fill, for two reasons. First, there are some doctors who won't do a fill if they get the idea that you are sufficiently restricted...which they will, if you tell them you are plugged up and vomiting. And, if you DO get a fill, this will happen more often, which will irritate your esophagus...and you don't want that to happen. Good luck. Sue

Let me paraphrase what I think the "FDA Lab Rat" expressed elsewhere in an earlier post. (I hope I get it right.) Everyone who has any variety of WLS has to learn new habits and new behaviors. With the bypass surgeries, patients lose the weight and if they learn the new behaviors, the weight will stay off. If they don't learn the new behaviors, the weight comes back. With the band, it's learn-as-you-go. Band patients have a small intital weight loss, but then the rest comes off as we learn. Band patients who don't adopt new behaviors never lose any substantial weight. So, two or three years out, here's what's left: 1) Bypass patients who lost it all within months and kept it off; and, 2) Band patients who took two years or so to lose it all, and are at about the same place as the bypass patients; and, 3) Bypass patients who lost a lot of weight, but regained all or most of it; and, 4) Band patients who lost little or no weight. Two different roads, each splits, leading to only two final destinations, "the loser's circle" and morbid obesity. IMHO, learning new behaviors is the essential issue. I didn't need a speedy weight loss and then the devastation of "failing" yet again. I need to learn as I go. It is only human to compare, and when I read that Jane Doe, RnY patient, has lost as much in six weeks as it has taken me a year to lose, of course it seems a good thing to accomplish the same thing in less time. Then I read about the toll it often takes on Jane's body...the gall bladder, the impacted colon, the malabsorption of essential nutrients, the dumping (which is a bad thing being promoted as a good thing), the "revision surgery" (which means "we screwed up and you need another surgery,") and the rest. I don't need those problems. And besides, maybe I'm a slow learner who really does need a couple of years to incoprporate everything I'm learning into my daily life. I hope that didn't further confuse anyone. Sue

postingnut... Let's talk for a minute about your "fills." Some doctors--mostly outside the U.S.--fill rather aggressively and the patients tend to lose rather quickly, with substantial restriction. Then, at the other end of the spectrum, are the U.S. doctors who--for reasons known only to themselves--have developed a "fill schedule." They seem to think that everybody needs 0.5cc of saline a month or six weeks post op, and then they need to bring it up to 1.0 at eight or ten weeks post op, etc. The techinique of not getting to the individual patient's proper level of adjustment was a major reason (IMHO) that, in clinical trials, the U.S. doctors had such horrible results compared to the rest of the planet. They doctors think that titrating everyone up on a standard "fill schedule" will keep the patient from suffering damage. But, of course, that's silly...because let's say a patient's "sweet spot" is at 1.7 cc's. Post-op, and through months of fills, right up to 1.5 cc's the restriction is insufficient. Then the patient goes in for the next fill and 2.0 is too much. So time and money were spent, months of frustration were felt by the patient and nothing was avoided, because the when the patient goes home with anything over 1.7 cc's the problems the doctor was trying to avoid are there anyway. So, what kind of fill are you getting? Are your adjustments done under flouroscopy? Are you upright or flat on your back when you try to swallow the barium? Have you logged into fitday and kept track of your meals so that you have something to print out and take with you? Don't stop looking for the answer, Sue

I think they would handle any problems related to the band the way they would handle any problems related to any other implanted medical device. The problem that necessitated the device may no longer exist, but the device is there and whatever issues result need to be coded correctly. I'm thinking of subdermal ports as needed for extended chemo. If after chemo, a patient's no-longer-needed port becomes infected, the insurance company can't just deny treatment based on the fact that s/he no longer needs chemo...right? I think the only iffy-factor would be for bands placed out of country before they were legal here. And Wayne's band was placed very early on. He was self-pay and went through Inamed to the doctors of his choosing...some of the most experienced doctors in North America. They were not stateside and that's why I got the impression he was a cash patient, with the doctors of his choice...not involving insurance in the U.S.

I just read your "I'm back!" post. Apparently, you are one of those whose mucosal lining swells when it is messed with. That would explain why nothing went through at first, you were really, really swollen. And that's why your brain thinks you need a gallon of 60-weight saliva heading down there, like Mighty Mouse, to save the day. I don't know about your doctor, but mine would have you drinking liquids--mostly clear--all day long. in small amounts per swallow. Like a shot glass, with ice chips and iced Water. And, this is a warning for you that, when you move to pureed and mushy foods, to do so only after you've given this episode of edema time to heal itself, and then, add those more solid foods very slowly. Do you live anywhere near a Jamba juice? They have many protein-rich, high calorie drinks which will save you from feeling starved after a week or so of this. Good luck! Sue

JC...relax! Here's what's happening... One of the ways the body "helps" us is that it springs into action to "save" us when food plugs up our stomachs. In fact, the first thing it does is "lube it," with plenty of gunky saliva. It seems the brain hasn't read the LapBand owners manual; it doesn't know you have an intentionally smaller stoma. It thinks you have something stuck. It's just trying to help it pass. And, if lubing it up doesn't help, guess what. You then feel a wave of nausea. It's just the body trying to deal with what it thinks is stuck food. You will learn, your brain will learn...that the stomach and its band are now in charge. Sue

Seanmamma... You wrote: "Yes, I am fully aware that wls is not a magic bullet and that it still takes PLENTY of effort and dedication. " I didn't think you were under the impression that wls is a magic bullet. I'm just mentioning the math. Statistically speaking, if you take two patients who need to lose 100 pounds and one of them does, the other will lose 40. WHY the second patient loses only forty pounds could be debated forever, probably. I'll bet that almost no one who is 100 pound overweight wants to undergo surgery for forty pounds; and as as self-pay, I can tell you that $250/lb. does not sound like a bargain to me. I'm just a post-op who is mentioning the odds to a pre-op. Good luck...

Sometimes, it's semantics... They say you lack "significant comorbidities." They need to define "significant comorbidities." It is likely you have one or more and just haven't yet had them diagnosed. For example, you say you snore. Nice info, but not a "significant comorbidity." HOWEVER, obesity-related sleep apnea may be a "significant comorbidity" as defined in their regulations. So, 1) find out how they define "significant comorbidity;" and, 2) find out if you have neglected to have one of those problems diagnosed and presented to them? ALSO, do not assume that you will lose 100 pounds in less than 50 months with the band! The average wls surgery patient DOES NOT lose 100% of his/her excess weight. The average patient loses about 65-70% of the excess weight, in about two years! So, two years post-op, the average wls patient with 100 pounds to lose will have lost about 70 pounds. Half the patients will lose more than that, and half will lose less. We often are so anxious to do something that we forget the average and that half of patients lose less than the average. Besides, you need to do the bike or treadmill or some exercise anyway. Sue

I WOULDN'T go for the fish, because the stuffing might--probably does--contain bread, and bread has messed me up since day one. And the chicken would be too dry for me. I would go for the prime rib. With a little real (not creamed) horseradish, please. Which is another way of saying, "If you were looking for easy answers and consistency, the band was probably not your best choice!":rolleyes:

Do you live near a Jamba juice? They sell very high calorie beverages. A P'nut Butter Mood--while not juice--is liquid and contains 800 calories in 24 ounces. Their website is www.jambajuice.com Sue

Cool site. I'm the same old Geezer as 'NotherGeezer, but most people think that says NorthernGeezer, so i'm giving up on that. But I'm still pretty old (55 at surgery, 56 now) for a wls patient, so I'll remain a Geezer. My surgery was 15 October 2002 in Monterrey, Mexico, with Roberto Rumbaut Diaz. He is one of--I think--two or perhaps three banded wls doctors. My progress WAS at about 2# per week, then I was unfilled by a doctor in Tijuana who "refilled" my band with a minimal amount of saline and nothing happened...for weeks and weeks and weeks. I was recently in Monterrey for a fill with Dr. Rumbaut and it appears that things will be improving. I don't post my weight because I think BMI is the only relevant measure...so I was (at the highest) around 52, I was about 48 when banded and am currently around 39...no longer morbidly obese. Thanks for the nice board. Sue