leatha_g

I fly almost weekly and there have definitely been times when my band surprised me by tightening up. Interesting thing to look at sometime.. take a water bottle and watch it contract...

yes, they can. and you shouldn't try - you will have just had major surgery and your reflexes are not such that it is safe for YOU or those around you. please, take the taxi or ask a friend or relative to help you get home.. this doesn't even take into consideration the fact that you'll be on drugs such as morphine, demerol, vicodon etc...

Just from the experience of the population on this board. I tend to believe ultimately, the device may have to be removed, repaired or replaced eventually and possibly more than once.

Sounds like restriction to me. Your sensation of being 'full' is going to be way higher than before you were banded. Even with some liquids, if you have good restriction you'll notice they sort of 'sit' above the band for awhile. Go slow.. listen to your body. If you get this sensation, go do something else..

Yep, that's usually the most troublesome one. It will be tender for awhile. This too shall pass.

Here's hoping your surgery is a smooth one! Good luck and keep us posted!

Maybe you should contact Inamed and see what they have to offer regarding a possibly faulty band? Just a thought...

It always worries me when I hear people say they're PBing so regularly. Tolerating this on an ongoing basis is enough to CAUSE slippage alone. The band is sure not there to make you vomit regularly.. please, please, please, please please, if this is happening to you on a regular basis, assess the situation. Am I eating too fast? Am I not chewing well enough? Am I drinking liquids while I'm eating? Am I eating foods like bread, Pasta, extremely fibrous foods, foods that settle in the pouch (scrambled eggs, potatoes). Productive burping/vomiting/hurling/ blowing chunks CAUSE slippage... YIKES!!

I think it's MORE perfected than when some of us were first banded, but I certainly DO NOT think it is perfect yet. As stated by all docs, there is a percentage of complications with all lapand placements. There are alot of folks on this board. Only a concentrated few post regularly. Many more are out there living without reporting because there is not that much to report. It's a very very personal decision. Can you lose the weight yourself? If you get banded and can maintain the band until you've lost half or more of your excess weight and regained your health, are you better off than if you had not been banded and continued to gain? Are you willing to go the bypass route and risk far worse up front complications or malabsorption/supplement issues for the rest of your life? Even the bypass is better now than years ago, BUT... ??

(((((((((PAULA))))))), I'm right there with ya girl... It gets tougher this far out doesn't it?

definitely ask for a flouro to check your band placement.. reflux of water several hours later is a pretty good indication it is sitting above the band far too long... this could be pouch dilitation problems, slippage.. or hopefully some other explanation, but i'd ask to verify ASAP. Good luck to you!

Spivak's diet list does say 24-48 hrs liquids, then SOFT foods for 4 weeks.. Don't beat yourself up too much.. it's an innocent mistake, so, step away from the pop tarts and focus on your cottage cheese, yogurt, refried Beans w cheese and V8 to thin it.. 3 days out is way early to be vomiting.. be nice to yourself and your new friend, the band.. Good luck! http://www.lap-surgery.net/lapband/alldiet_set.htm

in banding, those hiccups definitely are a sign of your diaphragm letting you know either slow down or you are full. i notice a difference in the intensity of the hiccup.. often it's ONE BIG hiccup.. or a short burst of very intense hiccups. they aren't necessarily correlated to PBing, unless you continue to eat too quickly or continue to eat at all if they're signaling you to stop. you'll learn to 'listen' to your signs.. and most anyone here can tell you the hiccups are definitely a sign...

One of the things I was told about my clinical depression is that my problems with getting a real, restful sleep in order to replenish my serotonin nightly was a large part of my problem. The chemicals in my brain were being depleted from the constant cogs turning in my head when I laid down at night and the seeming 'one eye open' light sleeping pattern that I had gotten into with small children. Of course, there were other things on my mind which seemed to switch ON when I laid down and got quiet at night. Over time, this really affected how amazingly 'tired' I felt when I woke up in the morning. It was as if I was 'working' all night long. Either I was sleeping exremely lightly, waking up and looking at the clock hour after hour or dreaming so actively that I totally wore myself out every night. The best thing I have ever done was to take the type of anti-depressant that is taken just before bedtime and which helps with the actual sleep pattern. Today, when I go to bed at night, there is no constant dreaming, there are no cogs turning that I can't switch off. I simply lie down, read a chapter in my book, turn my light out and I actually sleep. There is no hangover, groggy feeling as the drug doesn't give me any sort of euphoric or sleepy type feeling. It simply allows me to SLEEP when it's time to sleep. I took Pamelor for years and have recently changed to Trazadone which I'm very impressed with.

Awesome!! You go girl!! You've done so great!

Many many more good hints.. read, read, read all you can on this forum. There is much experience shared here, all free for the taking! Early on, the rule of thumb is no more than 1 cup, Protein first, then veggies, anything else IF you still have room. Try not to eat too long at a sitting. 20 minutes and go do something else. Good luck!

Yep.. hiccups, one BIG hiccup, sudden runny nose, sudden bout of sneezing.. all signs of your band saying WHOA!! one more bite and you may be sorry..

I take Cymbalta, however, I'm trying to bring myself off of IT..lol. It's a good drug. I've been taking it for about a year. I've also been taking anti-depressants since 1988 and quite frankly, I'm really just tired of taking them. I also take Trazadone at night before bed, so I have asked to try to come off the Cymbalta and maybe just take the Trazadone for awhile. Coming off of any of the anti-depressants isn't easy. I generally start feeling really flu-like after about the 2nd day. Shaky, feverish, headachy - basic drug withdrawals. So I'm doing every other day right now and hopefully can move to every 2nd day next month, we'll see. My Dr has advised me to use 1/2 Xanax to help get through the strange feelings, but I really want to take LESS drugs instead of more. I sincerely hope I can manage without the Cymbalta. Thankfully, I've spent the past 20 yrs on learning tools to help with things like perspective and self-talk. Hopefully, that and exercise will help me maintain.

Welcome from McKinney!! Research, research, research!! Get yourself a stock of protein shakes, soups, broths, popsicles and get yourself started exercising.. men do wonderful and you'll be so glad you went for it!

i do water aerobics on tues/thurs evenings.. any other time, i'm pretty much open.. Pappadeauxs sounds great.. Uncle Julios... never been, but I've heard its great. Saturday, Sunday.. just tell me where and when..

3 years in May. I HAVE done it again, because of slippage and I WOULD do it again - provided my insurance would pay and my health would allow it. Yes, ma'am..

Thank God I lived through all that! It's miserable and I sure don't envy you. I was taken off of hormones cold turkey and honestly, I think it's the sickest I've ever been in my life! It took me a good year to get over it, but I'm glad I know longer have to rely on them. Good luck to you!

another wonderful byproduct of these types of hormone replacement is also blood clots.. ask me, I know..

You're right. That's outrageous and very opportunistic. Shame on them..