leatha_g

http://www.drbenavides.com/

http://www.drbenavides.com/ http://www.lap-band.com/lapband2/locator.jsp here is a surgeon locator to help you find local docs.

I have seen Dr Maese, but I'd sure ask IF he's no longer referring to Dr B, who is he referring to?? He is primarily a cardiologist and does band fills, he is not a band surgeon. There are several docs in the area, Dr B, Dr Cribbins, Dr Hamn, Dr Veninga in Carrollton, Dr Adam Smith, Dr Jayasaleen, Dr Provost and many others.. I'd be interested to hear who Dr Maese is working with now.

You'll need some assistance to put the baby in the crib the first few days, for sure. Also, Dr Maese really only does fills, unless something has changed. He is the nephew of one of the Mexican doctors and probably has more experience at doing fills than any other fill Dr in the US since he's been doing them for years before the band was approved in the states. Last I heard, he refers you to Dr. Benevides to do the actual surgery. Dr. B practices at Surgery Center of Richardson, which is NOT contracted with any insurance but does take 'out of network' benefits. Problem is, some insurances say that if there IS a contracted facility in the area, they will not pay 'out of network' benefits. Be sure to ask about this with your provider.

:think I would just like to say how very sorry I am to hear of the terrorist attacks in London. After having been so close to the Sept 11th event myself, I truly know the shock and the trauma involved with such a horrible event and my heart sincerely goes out to our UK friends and those involved in this horrible tragedy.

hiccups are my sign that I'm done eating. when the pouch is full the diaphragm is agitated, hence the hiccups. listen to your body, it's telling you you are full.

I've heard many good things about this doctor. I think he is practicing what he thinks is 'toughlove' on you, in hopes that he'll see you succeed. It is true that many people THINK that because they have trouble forcing breads/meats down they turn to easier foods which basically go around the band. Not good. The whole idea is to restrict our intake and practice/learn better eating behaviors, ie hard proteins vs soft/higher calorie/carb loaded foods (which got us here in the first place). It's better to start out working with that instead of heading in the other direction. I don't think you have to starve yourself or even deprive yourself all that much, just think of it as practicing the 'bandster' way of eating MOST of the time. If you focus on the hard proteins, the rest will take care of itself. I think this all comes down to that 'head' thing - us thinking we NEED those other foods (me included). When really, it's quite a relief to just eat a chicken breast and some veggies. Now, if I could just find a 2x4 big enough to make that stick... sigh... You can do it. Great thing is, the band doesn't go away. Everyday you can start over. You're weight loss is actually right on target for the time you've been banded, don't let him get you down, just go back next time and prove that you're doing all the right things.

You might want to remind him that YOU paid for this surgery and you intend to get what you came for, which is restriction via a restrictive surgery. It is common knowledge that MOST people do not have restriction right off the bat and you aren't interested in wasting the first year finding that out. Mine wanted to try it without a fill either, but I reminded him I was billed a year's wages for my surgery and I intended to get what I came for and in a timely manner. Sometimes, they forget who's employing who...

I second that emotion.

The surgery itself if relatively short. I think I was in the OR approximately 45 minutes to an hour. Recovery a little longer. Each case is individual,however.

try some hot chai tea with carb countdown milk or 2% milk. the oregon brand is awesome!carb countdown works great with it and has more protein in it. just keep drinking!

They'll have phenergran on hand for nausea, post op. But you'll want to make sure they know you have a lapband and any vomiting could be detrimental to your band before surgery. Nowadays, the anesthesia meds don't make you as nauseous, but some people do still tend to be sick, regardless. Good luck to you!

Yes, but does it surprise you just a tad that they aren't aware of this BEFORE being banded? I mean, if you just read this board alone it's a constant topic. If a person has really been researching/reading experiences before choosing to be banded you'd think they'd have at least been prepared for this 'prefill' phenomena. One wonders why the doctors don't instill this information into a prospective patients thinking before surgery too.... hmm... Some even gain a few lbs before the fills kick in. Post surgery is meant for healing time, not weight loss. Any weight loss prefill is pretty much a bonus. Then again, that old saying - just because you CAN doesn't mean you SHOULD can be applied here too. It is frustrating. So many of us think because we had surgery one day, we're going to wake up be 20lbs lighter immediately. It just doesn't work that way. But it still surprises me when people say they've researched and researched, but they haven't heard this... This too shall pass...I promise you, IF you eat your Protein first, then veggies, drink your Water and begin exercise, YOU WILL lose weight. If you have no restriction and you continue to eat as you ate pre-band or drink high calorie liquids during the mush/liquid stages, you probably will not lose much until you actually restrict your intake. We've all been there! You'll do fine!!

10-14 days the steri strips should fall off or the incisions healed over. Do not go as long as you have ANY openings whatsoever in the incision itself.

UHC covered my banding surgery as well. In Texas..

Yep. I've noticed mine tightening during/after flight also.

Actually, it sounds like you have the restriction we came for... I only wished I had that kind of restriction. I DO NOT, however, wished I PB'd everyday.. that is not something that should be happening. It can still happen, though, due to bites that are too big/not chewing until they're mush, not necessarily a fault of the band. Sounds like you might be venturing into the 'soft foods' syndrome, however, with the ice cream, Cookies, sweets thing. This will definitely slow down the weight loss. If you were fitted with the vanguard/larger band, you may have had to have numerous fills to get to where you are. I would think if you would forego the soup first and concentrate on the bites of Protein first, THEN veggies, THEN whatever you have room for and begin to taper off the soft foods/sweets you'll see the weight loss pick up. Are you exercising too? Drinking your Water? I know how easy to get into the sweets/carbs thing too. I've been fighting that demon for nearly this whole past year. It's just easier, darnit!! BUT, ice cream, cookies, sweets and chips are exactly what got me wearing this band in the first place. Keep your chin up! You've been gifted with good restriction! It's that 'head' thing that keeps us thinking we NEED to eat more....

EAS is good, Atkins is good, Lean Body is really good too and has lots of protein. Alpine Punch is expensive but pretty good and high in protein.

you need more calories, momof4.. try to bump it up to 1000 - 1500 per day.

He didn't wait. He went in to reposition, the band broke, so he replaced it right then and there. Mine was really found during a fill on flouroscopy (that is, IF the guy who did the fill would have known what he was looking at.) He actually put a fill on top of the slippage which is a big no-no. I had no real signs UNTIL that fill. Then suddenly, I couldn't swallow without pain. I slimed on Protein shake. I began waking up aspirating in the night. Nothing was going down, just sitting in the pouch waiting for me to lie down so it could come backwards. I called to ask if we could take some out and he told me it would be another fee since he used the services of an imaging center. I decided I needed someone who was more experienced at looking at bands and called for help. Immediately, he - the more experienced doc said the film showed Slippage - not pouch dilation which is what the fill guy said (even though he filled it - which is definitely a no-no even for dilation). He said my esophagus was perfect - no stretching whatsoever, that this film clearly showed slippage and we had to unfill immediately and be repaired. That was on June 14th. July 16th, I had my repair/rebanding surgery because the unfill did not completely allow the slippage to return to normal. In all this, I wound up seeing a fill doctor (opportunist), then Dr Maese - one of the mex Docs nephews who's done more fills than most anyone in the country, Dr Benevidez, who confirmed the slippage but wound up unable to help me due to his surgery center not being contracted with my insurance, then finally, Dr Veninga did the repair/rebanding once my PCP was able to locate him and verify that he would see me since I had my original surgery elsewhere. Moral to this story - Just because someone knows how to do fills (or thinks they do) does not make them an authority on bands or what they are looking at EVEN if they do flouroscopy. Beware who you allow to touch your band in the name of dollars and convenience!!!

Me too, Babs. I got down to 174, but 180 seems to be a set point right now. I too weight daily, for myself. It reminds me how quickly I can move up. It scares me when I see it moving too fast - water or not. It reminds me that what I put in my mouth truly is reflected on the scale and almost immediately in my case. If I never make it back to 174, that's okay, but I seriously do not want to creep back up to the 190's or above. I just can't go back there, but it would be real easy for me to do if I wasn't watching that scale and reminding myself everyday how very easy it is..

My PCP's office was able to locate a band doctor for me while I was on the HMO for Cigna. This is something they are contracted to do. It took them nearly a whole day's work to do it, but they did find someone who could maintain my band. Saved me LOTS of time and trouble. Depending on the staff there, you should just be able to call the 'referral' contacts and tell them your situation and that you need their help in getting an appointment with a local band surgeon in the network to follow your band needs. Hope this helps!

I'm okay with good ole tap water, but I do buy bottled to carry away from the house. I mix alot of Crystal Light - with that, I just use tap water. I reckon it was good enough for my ancestors, it's good enough for me.

yup. with restriction, you definitely have to chew, chew, chew and sometimes a few bites is all you can handle.. that's the whole idea.. welcome to restriction! concentrate on protein first, veggies next and anything else IF you still have room...

And there is a difference in the actual esophagus and the pouch.. someone get a map! The band can and does slip up and down, creating a larger pouch than was originally there. This does not have to be purely from overreating, as stated. Wretching one too many times, too hard, hiccuping, many things could cause it... No one really knows for certain. Some of our anatomies just may work differently. ?? As for the docs stitching the stomach around the band.. yes, most of them do that these days, but it's still no sure-fire fix. My operative record stated clearly that my band was stitched also, but somehow it tore away and still slipped. They took the saline out of mine immediately when they saw the 'slip' and the stomach did go back down, but not completely, so they had to go in and TRY to maneuver it back into place. In doing that, the band broke, so they had to replace it instead. I've also heard of those who's bands went back into place and all was well... It's a crapshoot as to each individual case.