leatha_g

Unfortunately, I have a co-worker like this too. She would never admit to sabotage, but everything is about food. Where are we going to eat, we HAVE to try the desserts. It's just a little or it's just for today, you can diet tomorrow.. The hardest part is that I know that this is MY battle, not hers. What she does really has little to do with me, except that I have no willpower, otherwise I wouldn't have needed this surgery. To be tied to these people at the hip (because we only get one car) and to have sit through these lavish dinners in high dollar restaurants and have to 'white knuckle' it through these dinners while watching them order wines and desserts is getting the best of me. This past week I fell right into the fantastic buffet at the casino we went to. I did good with the entrees. Stuck right to protein, portions were fine, but that darn dessert buffet won the battle in the end. I'm very disgusted with myself, once again...

Hi Melissa, Sorry to hear of your disappointment. It's not uncommon at all for the hospitals to 'overcharge' the insurance company for fills due to managed care contracts and how much they actually get paid in the end. However, you're right to be disappointed in your Dr's office not at least giving you some warning as to the fact that he doesn't do fills or how much the expense might be. Shame on them... Is your Dr new in the banding business? Normally, flouro used for fills is a very pleasant experience and normally you get pretty good restriction due to the ability of actually being able to 'see' what they're doing. I believe mine billed about $750 for the use of the hospital flouro equipment and the 'procedure'. Then, they only get paid a fraction of that due to contracts. However, it does sound as if you got someone rather inexperienced to do it. Hopefully, this will get better for you. I have much preferred my radiologist/flouro fills to the Dr doing them in his office.

I do drink V8 too. It's also a good way to get the veggies that we (I) often miss due to focusing on protein.

Makes one wonder how some of us came out of it alive, literally. Or how we were able to pull ourselves together and become respectable citizens. It also seems to be a very common thread in compulisive eating. Sometimes, those of us who were abused or lived in dysfunctional families either turn to alcohol, drugs or become overeaters. Some of us go through a procession of several of those things. My father was an abusive, brooding alcoholic, his father before him was too. Most of his brothers and sisters were alcoholics or staunch Christians. My mother's family had the same affliction. Both sides had histories of depression, anger issues, abuse, neglect. It just gets passed down and all around. Studies have shown that daughters of alcoholics often become overeaters, sons are more likely to take the alcoholic role. In my case, I went through the partying stage, stayed thin, then stopped and went the way of overeating and depression. My sister turned out being the one unable to handle drinking, then moved on to much worse things. She's now a recovering( knock on wood) heroin addict. I can definitely relate to the 'who took my sister' statement. The person she was is definitely not the person we got back after the damage or during the nightmare. Thank God she's alive, there is still hope. My father and mother were both married numerous times. Seems she had the pattern of marrying alcoholics and he moved on to other caretakers/enablers. None of them successful. Not a great legacy to try to follow, for sure. I have 2 half brothers from my father's first marriage. The oldest died in 98 at 45, having fallen out the side of a van door while he and a bunch of partying friends were out driving and doing drugs/drinking. The other is still a barroom brawling son of a gun and probably doesn't have a great future ahead of him either. I also have a sister from this marriage who lives in Wisconsin with her 7 (SEVEN) kids and is a dope smokin old hippie who thinks she's still in the 70's. lol I met her for the first time when I was 26, the next time we saw each other was at our oldest brother's funeral. Her daughter was the spitting image of me. Pretty eery.. Then, I have a wonderful older brother who was my mother's first. We don't share the same father, but he's a keeper. Then there were 3 of us from the same father. Thankfully, we saw enough that we tried desperately to break some chains. My baby sister is working on perfecting some things, but she sure made some bad choices along the way. Our family runs the gamut. There are those who worked hard, believed in responsibility and instilled a sense of 'rightness' in us. Thank goodness. Then there were those who just could not escape the alcohol and barroom brawls, prisons, yep, we even had a couple of murders on the outskirts. One cousins husband strangled her to death during a fight, then cut her head and hands off thinking he could dispose of her fingerprints. Then the fool drove her torso back to her home county and dumped her over a guard rail, I guess thinking the coyotes might get rid of the evidence? Instead a rancher passed by as he was disposing of the garbage bags and returned to check out what he seen as suspicious. Luckily, he got the license plates and that guy wasn't so smart after all. I hear he's living in Florida now, after spending 6 yrs in prison. Amazing... Character building indeed...

I've switched from trying to get protein for breakfast, to Raisin Bran cereal. Also, more beans for fiber AND Benefiber chewables or something. I am definitely having an issue with the fiber thing.

Yep. I bet you have some paperwork somewhere that lays out your diet for the next few weeks. So glad all is well and you are home and resting. Be sure to walk, walk, walk, drink, drink, drink and walk some more. Let us know how it's going for you!

Who said you can't take pills? I take 4 every night with my dinner. In some situations, if you become too restricted, you may have a problem with pills, but generally speaking, you should be able to take most per normal. I would be a bit afraid of very large pills, such as herbal supplements, etc. But, if you have no problem with the ones you take, you should not have to change your prescriptions. Again, on some occasions, you can become too restricted to swallow some capsules or tablets, so you may have to resort to crushing or breaking in half or opening the capsule, but this is not a requirement if you're not having any problems. Most importantly, you DO NOT want something like these medications sitting for long periods in your upper pouch due to irritation/possible erosion of the stomach lining. Immediately following your initial surgery - you may have to temporarily make some changes to your regimen, due to swelling of the esophagus and upper stomach.

Ya'll are so sweet. I'm in St Louis, but I know I have some at home waiting for me too! Tomorrow I'll get to see. Thank you Becky!!

Hmm.. sounds some of your folks may be kin to some of my folks... my story is so outrageous I could make millions on a book. Problem with that is that they'd say it was all fiction....

I have heard that there may be clinics put in place across the country like this. Are these in place already then?

I have systemic lupus and have met others banded who have it also. The band is not liquid silicone like that in breast plants. There should be no 'leakage', which is what caused those syndromes in past patients. This is not to say that something Can't happen, but so far, I'm a helluva lot better off WITH the band and lupus, than WITHOUT.

I have had several clots in both legs and one in my lung. I can tell you that there was never any red 'spot'. lol. There was definitely a red 'area' below where my 'superficial' clots was. The real dangerous clot in the major artery NEVER had any red spot, but it sure did swell to where I couldn't bend it enough to put my own shoe on. If you had a clot in one leg, you would notice severe 'unilateral' swelling - which means one-sided, not both. But, please, please, please let me warn you of sitting for hours on end at your computer/desk etc. You need to move far more often than every so many hours. You need to move at least every 20 minutes or so. Do not be sitting on your legs bent up under you. Do not be sitting straight up bent at the groin for hours on end. DO put your feet up if you are going to be lying on the couch. DO flex your feet as often as you think about it, if you are not going to be walking. Most likely, that initial recovery period is the most dangerous, but it is not by any means the 'only' time you can develop a clot. Those airplane rides back from Mexico? Probably your most vulnerable period. Flying + recent surgery?? Wow.... I've heard of some docs prescribing Lovenox for the first few days. Seems like even a chewable baby aspirin would be a helpful precaution, however, we're not hearing many/if any reports of blood clots after gastric banding at all. That's a good thing!

Thanks for the update, Penni. I hope your mom will continue to do well. I understand about the sister too . I have one I have to 'turn over' to God often. I understand the worry about your mom. I'm sure you can breathe a bit easier now. Merry Christmas!

You are not crazy, but I am wondering how much research you did before you were banded. The reason why? Because it is way common to see this reaction on most ALL message boards. Somehow, in all that everyone has learned, they miss all the posts about people suddenly beginning to heal and finding that they have no restriction and are HUNGRY. Hmm..... . Yes. It's very normal. The first 6 weeks is strictly for healing. Very very few docs put any saline in the band until at least 6 weeks post-op. In the meantime, the swelling goes down, the hunger returns and people ask 'is this normal?' or 'am I going to be the only one this doesn't work for?'. Hmm..... sound familiar? Any weight loss in the pre-fill stage is purely bonus. This time and all the liquid/mushy diet is meant solely for healing. So that your band can settle or anchor itself in scar tissue without having to churn or grind to digest hard foods. Now, once you get your first fill; even this may not give you lots of restriction. Sometimes, it' takes up to 3 or 4 fills to find that spot which allows you to lose the most weight. Also, the band is placed high up on the top end of the stomach, righ below your esophagus, so yes, your restriction is not really gonna be felt in your tummy at all, you may feel 'full' up into your esophagus. This is perfectly normal. You will never again feel that 'Thanksgiving' 'Tummy' full UNLESS you are eating soft foods 'around' the band. Everything will be much higher from here on out. Relax. Take a few deep breaths. Read some of the new post op posts and replies so that you'll know everything possible about what to expect. You're doing fine! Also, if I remember correctly, you have a very low BMI. If I am right about that, you can almost certainly NOT count on losing massive weight at a quick pace. Lower BMI's just will not have that kind of results with any weight loss. Be patient, walk, walk, walk, Water, water, water and Protein, protein, protein. All is well.

As long as you get up and walk, walk, walk and you have no prior clotting issues, you should be fine. This is not to say that some could NOT happen, it's just to say that it's not as likely with this surgery IF you do your part in helping to prevent them.

your port incision will be the one that hurts the most.

Babs, I'm really sorry things seem so tough all at once. Could your son go to a school closer to home? I'm with Zoe, some folks simply don't have the chemicals in their brains to fight the depression. If you were a diabetic, would you have a problem with insulin? All I know is if it were not for anti-depressants, I may not be alive today. I'm certain that if I were alive, I certainly would not be where I am today. The stigma attached to them is totally unwarranted. There is great strength in admitting and addressing our weakness. I really hope things turn around for you soon! Leatha

Good luck to you!! Please let us know how you are doing when you feel up to it!

YAY Pat!!! You sound like you're doing well! Welcome Home!!

Good post, Steve. I eat out quite alot and let me just tell you that I am not always 'good'. It's hard when those around you are having appetizers, then full course meals, THEN Desserts. I have gotten to where I do simply order an appetizer like crabcakes as my entree. Problem with this is that I lack vegetables alot. I'm trying to focus on bringing them back into my diet however, even it means drinking a V8 per day. I have some standby's, like the crabcakes, salmon cakes, etc that I order most all the time. Or sometimes, I'll share an entree with someone, just taking a bit of their meat, such as chicken marsala. It's been 18 months and I've just learned to try to focus on the visiting and enjoying of the people I'm with instead of gorging myself with food the whole time. I've also had to try to learn to keep my eyes on my own plate as watching others gorge can become rather disgusting after awhile. I also remember that if that were me, I'd certainly not appreciate someone telling me it was the wrong thing to do, so best I just focus on my own plate. lol. French Onion Soup is another decent thing to order. It has more Protein in it than we would think and it's definitely filling. Or, if you can still have salads, there are many great ones these days. Just remember some of the dressings UN-do any good that we've done weight-wise. Either way, you're right, it can be tough, but I have learned I'll be okay just playing with my food long enough to finish the meal and enjoy the reason I'm there. Good luck!

Penni, you're lookin marvelous! I love the new haircut too! Way to go!

The only sign that I have heard of from bandsters who've had erosion is simply not being able to get ANY restriction. This does NOT mean that new bandsters who have not yet reached a level of restriction have erosion, this means if a person has had restriction in the past and suddenly is unable to get any restriction whatsoever - normally they go for fills, get no restriction, go for another fill, get no restriction, so on and so on. There is no acute pain, no acute signs from what I can tell - only the inability to get restriction. This is because the band has migrated inside the stomach wall, so no matter how full you fill it, it is not constricting the outer stomach any longer. I am sure Donali or someone else who has first hand experience might be able to tell you something different, but this is what I have been told to date. Hope this helps..

I take 4 pills every night NOW. However, I have been restricted so tight that I was unable to swallow water, much less pills, so I had to ask the pharmacist for a liquid alternative. The taste was utterly horrid. Otherwise, if you can't swallow them, you can crush them and hide them in yogurt or pudding etc. However, if you have capsules, you need to make sure they are not time released and it's okay to open them. Otherwise, your pharmacist may be able to suggest an alternative.

I don't have that issue anymore, thank goodness, but it's true that your restriction will become much tighter. Do you think it might behoove you to put it off a week or so?

My left/mid abdomen port was rather uncomfortable for quite a long time when I was first banded. Especially if I tried to wear jeans or any type of clothing with a true waistband. Sitting for long hours made it hurt as well. Abdominal exercises were pretty much out of the picture then too. As I have lost weight, it has migrated more toward the center and is much more comfortable now. I really think the biggest part of the first year it was a headache, but it does get better, I promise!