leatha_g

We'll be thinking of you, Pam and waiting here at home to hear how everything goes for you!! Have a safe trip!

This is a good plan as long as there is no emergency. :mad: It sure worries me when people have no local care in the event of an emergency. Things can and do happen with the bands. An hour sometimes can make the difference in saving your band or not.

Welcome Fran!! Glad to hear your surgery went well! Please feel free to browse all the sections as there is much knowledge throughout these pages!

I've never had it after banding, so I can't tell you about that, but I would like you to know that I'll be thinking of you and I sure hope everything goes well and the results are favorable. I think in every banded journey some of this may come. We carry in us a mighty delicate and sophisticated apparatus. There are so many things that come into play and even then, we can get through it and still have all of our parts intact. How fortunate for us! Good luck tomorrow and please do let us know how it goes!

Welcome Melissa! I think you'll find this to be a great forum. Supportive without being over-bearing or restricted. Everyone is an equal here. That's nice. :mad:

Exactly. But there is nothing wrong with continued personal growth even if you are satisified with yourself. Many people go to therapy etc just to make what is good even better. I don't think we ever get to that point of 'knowing it all' or being so totally in-tune with everything that we no longer need additional input. Well, some do, but they're delusional. lol.

Tellie, Has your doc done an Upper GI? How can he say this is not band related without looking at your band? This sounds exactly like what I had when they said i had slippage. :mad: Ugh.. i Hate when they just make these arbitrary decisions without investigating. ANYTIME you have significant reflux at night, to the point of aspirating this should be investigated. Get thee to your doc and demand an Upper GI, PLEASE!!!

You sound like me a few years ago. I was like a sponge with the self help etc and believe it or not, it did help. Of course, we are like an onion, one layer at a time. Progress.. not perfection.. :mad:

They're losing muscle mass. :mad:

Yikes!! I'd hate to think someone here sent that email. :eek: I'm really sorry to hear all this. What an ass. Anyway, what matters is you are alive and well. I was getting worried. And it's okay that you've gained and it's none of your doctors business if you post on message boards and support means sometimes we whine. lol. To hell with them and the horse they rode in on! I'd go to my doctor's office just to see them squirm. But, don't let it stop you. You've done so well. Maybe you need to see if there is another doctor who will see you? Whatever it takes! Dr. Veninga in Carrollton sees patients banded elsewhere. Congratulations on the new job! I hope it works out better for you. Sometimes we just have to stop letting people walk on us. I'm proud of you for standing up for yourself. I understand the pay thing. I was working in hospital purchasing out in west Texas for less than you when I decided to take the job I have now. Big step. :mad: I had what could have been a lifetime job at not so great pay, but I had to take a big risk and some trade offs or I would have been there forever. Sometimes, I miss the familiarity and the people there, but I know what I did was better for me in the long run. Thank you for at least stopping by to let us know you are okay. I'm real sorry about all the chaos. I'm even more sorry that someone felt the need to email you privately with such nastiness. That truly sucks. Just let us know how you are doing. Good luck with the doctor situation. Let me know if there is anything I can do to help! I'll even share a lunch with you if you need to come to DFW.

I've been wondering where you were as well, Rica. Good to see you posting. Is everything going okay for you?

way to go lisa!! you'll get there. i'm like you. i struggle everyday, but it's working, in spite of me. lol. :mad:

click on 'user cp' at the top right of your page. your user prefs are there as well as the option to add a signature and avatar photo. if you don't know how to add the photo, some of us can help you resize one if you'll send one that has a pretty close-up face shot. good luck!

rotro. here we go! :mad:

Has anyone heard ANYTHING from Terry since she left for vacation? I'm not normally such a mother hen, but I am really concerned and I miss her. :mad::think Anyway. I'm a resourceful person, so I went to the White Pages and found her daughter, Sarah's, phone number and called. I had to leave a message, but hopefully she'll let us know if everything is okay. Just one more advantage to living in smalltown America. You can be found, if someone really cares.

LOL. Funny how the mind takes us down some routes, huh? Well. I work in hospitals and they do, in fact, clean the scopes. lol. Due to healthcare regulations, there are lots of checks and re-checks to make sure this is done, also. Don't worry. Hopefully, this will be a simple reassurance that all is well. If you get any sort of other news, then you'll just do the next best thing, right? We're all crossing our fingers here that all is well. :mad:

Welcome Madam. I believe we've exchanged a few discussions at OH. I think you'll find this forum a bit more experienced, down to earth and whole lot easier to get around in. Everyone here is very helpful and not so tied up in 'who knows best', but in how we all as a group can succeed by sharing. I like that. Please feel free to browse all the sections as there is an abundance of help and information already here. Again, welcome!

lol, ohboy. i can't wait for that.. lol

The same way you will. lol. We didn't care too much the first few days, then we started healing and feeling better and our tummies woke up! Then we freaked out cause we thought we had this surgery to lose weight and we were hungry just like before!:mad: Then someone who had gone before us reminded us that the surgery only installs the band and that we gotta heal inside before we start tweaking the restriction on the band and that the reason for fluids/soft foods was so that our tummy didn't have to churn and grind solids while it was trying to heal and 'seat' itself into the newly forming scar tissue which keeps in place and helps prevent slippage down the road. This is only the beginning. Any weight loss between now and the time you actually get restriction is purely bonus. Any restriction you have coming out of surgery is also a bonus, so enjoy it. If not, the interim is trying, but do-able and well worth the inconvenience. This is when you begin practicing: Protein, protein, protein, Water, water, water, exercise, exercise, exercise... the weight loss WILL come.

I have seen some guidelines that say do not chew gum. I have and I reckon most others have too. I could see how if you were pretty tightly restricted, it could definitely present a problem.

Ugh. I know I posted to this earlier? What is up with this thing?? :mad: Penni, you look mahvelous dahlin!! Very dramatic change indeed! Congrats! You must be feelin great!

Cindy, I too have been banded twice and got to have my gallbladder removed exactly 6 weeks after my second banding. I've lost 67lbs which is half of what some have lost who have been banded less time than me. I understand your frustration. I informed my doc yesterday that I had no patience for tubing leaks or port problems after all I've been through, so he better get it right if he's not using flouro. lol. Don't give up. Maybe everything is okay if you can feel restriction now. But keep posting and reading for the support you need. You can lose it all again if you just meet the band halfway. Don't give up! You've come too far now. Good luck! Leatha

I quit smoking 8 months before I got my band. I have heard of some docs who say they won't band a person who is still smoking. I've also heard of docs that at least require them to stop smoking for some period before the surgery due to healing issues. Smokers simply don't heal as quickly as non-smokers. There is also a larger risk of complications with anesthesia and post op breathing problems, which is another reason they require someone to at least stop before surgery. Being an ex-smoker, I understand the addiction, so I'm sure not going to knock anyone for doing it. I even miss it sometimes, but once you've had blood clots in your legs and lungs, there not any good way to rationalize it any longer. :mad: lol. I would think it would be easier to tackle long before or after banding as trying to break TWO addictions at once is pretty nerve-wracking. The only thing I could think was that if I truly wanted to improve my health. I had to start with the most obvious: my smoking and my weight. To answer your question. Except for surgery risks and long term risks of smoking - there is no reason a person who smokes could not have a band and I know of quite a few who do.

I agree that many think this is the be all end all only to find out this involves work and thinking. Firstly, this really is not a diet. This is meant to be a lifestyle change. It is a governor on our intake, there to remind us that we have issues with making good food choices. Diets are temporary. So is weight loss if you just lose it dieting most of the time. This is forever and yep, from one day to the next the weight can come right back on if you keep making the same wrong choices. :mad: Darn... The coolest part, though... even though you may keep making those choices, the band doesn't leave. It just keeps on reminding you or shutting you down, even if you don't stop yourself.

LMAOROFL.. oh lordy. I'm having the same issues Lisa. I usually click 'view new posts'. If I do it once, fine. If i go back and try again, it doesn't always show me ALL the posts I have not read yet. :mad: I'm finding it very frustrating.