leatha_g

That's a great post, Nancy. To me, this is what banding is truly all about: Regaining one's self inside as well as out. Somehow, in gaining the weight, we trade our true selves off. I know that once the new year begins and I can get some of these additional surgery appointments that I've had to deal with behind me, I really do need to find myself a counselor. Although I've seen them sporadically in the past, I really do need to get to work on some of the issues which are still causing me to pick the wrong foods despite the fact that my brain knows better, among other things. I think this experience is a whole transformation which just takes time and diligence. One I'm glad to tackle and luckily, with the band, it's okay that it's a gradual process, for life! Thank you for sharing. I wish you continued success and great new experiences with this endeavor! You've done a great job in regaining Nancy!

It's interesting how this attempt to cleanse this guy's name really only serves to bring out the real truths by past patients so that any new prospects might be reminded that this could be dangerous, at the least shady territory to venture into. It's almost like clockwork - a monthly reminder to post what shoddy aftercare one can get. Otherwise, the sleeping dog would be sleeping..

Isn't that awesome news? I'm so happy for you, Greg! It's just amazing that we're able to reclaim our health with this tiny little device. Halleleujah!

I'm a slow loser too, Sultana. Mainly because of the choices I make, food-wise. As long as you are moving in the right direction, you're still so much better off. I know I have to make a renewed commitment to me and my weight loss in order to move farther along, which I want to do. I'm struggling with choices everyday. The sugar is definitely an addiction for me and I have to come to terms with that. It sucks that everyone around me can eat it everyday and I simply cannot or I pay the consequences on the scale. I think my band has done what it is going to do on it's own, I simply have to get serious about meeting it halfway. Which means I am going to have to detox from the evil sugar/refined starches and 'get what I came here for'. I still believe if I do the right thing MOST OF THE TIME, I can accomplish this feat. However, I think MY 'most of the time' means more like 90% of the time instead of 60% lol. I really do think you need to be checked on the band thing. I do not think it is viral - not reflux. It does concern me, however, that you say you have a cough and are achy. Aspiration pneumonia is very common among bandsters with nighttime aspiration/reflux. Please get some x-rays etc to rule this out. As far as food/juices working their way up. Sometimes, if our pouch is enlarged or over-restricted, the food takes long to make it's way down, so it's just sitting there, above the band in this enlarged pouch, waiting for you to lay down and then it washes backwards causing this reflux. I'll attach a photo of my film when this was happening. You can see a 'bowl' like structure above the band, protruding over the sides of the band. This stuff just hangs around until you've either been upright long enough for it to drain through OR until you lay down and it comes the other direction. Not good.

I'm really so 'over' the Lopez thing. I do take offense, however, to people's experiences with this man being unvalidated. The hole in Lisa's tummy is undeniable, it's not heresay. The fact that she's sought treatment, BEGGED for treatment to resolve this is not heresay. It's not a doctored picture. I have seen this hole with my own eyes. The fact that there are numerous reports of erosion tends to make one a bit leary and rightfully so. What are the situations which are causing this? One has to wonder. Teresa can't get her own medical records? I'm sorry, but this is wrong. Every patient has the right to own their own medical records. Penni's port problems? No answers to her phone calls? These are only 3 people. What about those who are not on this board? I don't doubt this man's experience in actually installing a lapband. It's been established that he can do that, but his lack of aftercare for his patients is not only wrong, it also puts their health at risk and that IS WRONG. If he were truly trying to make things right, he would contact these people (because we're smart enough to know that there are people monitoring this board and the others) and do whatever he could to help them get their issues straightened out instead of cowering behind all the new checks coming in the door and acting as if these issues don't exist. Lisa still has a hole in her stomach - months and months later. He could still help her. Even if he is afraid to see her, he could call up some of his acquaintances in her area and ask them to please treat her. Teresa STILL needs her records. So you get new chairs in your office. You cater to those who are bringing in the new money. You hire a new assistant. All those nicey nicey things just don't make up for the one thing you're still ignoring and that is quality patient care after the check is cashed.

Is this the same Dr. Lopez Corvala referred to here in the afore mentioned 'rumors'? And if it is, why would one so concerned about their reputation and making amends not contact said patients with such issues of rejection, infections, needing copies of their medical records? Changing your situtation is good, but making amends for those you've harmed is even better, no? We still have people on this board with open wounds who have not been contacted by this person or his staff? Is it okay to let those with complications fall through the cracks as long as you take care of those new one's with the check in their hands? Expertise in a field is great, but character of person counts a whole lot more in the long run.

Sultana, This sounds like reflux to me, but for it to come on suddenly concerns me. If you had had a recent fill, I might not be as concerned and would encourage you to get a slight unfill, but a sudden onset of severe reflux seems to warrant at least seeing your doctor and maybe asking for an Upper GI just to make sure all is well with your band. In the meantime, do not eat anything for at least 3 hrs before bedtime, be sure to wash your pouch out thoroughly with Water and yes, even water will backwash with reflux, so you may have to discontinue water pretty early too. I'm sorry, this is very unnerving, I know. It would also help to raise the head of your bed (pillows is not the way) you actually need to put something under the mattress or head of the bed to raise it several inches. Reflux like this can cause aspiration pneumonia, which you do not want and it can cause irritation to the esophagus also. More importantly, sometimes this is a sign of the band having moved up or down on your stomach or of your pouch bulging due to extreme tightness. I think I would see if I could get it on film. You may need to ask for a slight unfill as you definitely do not want this to continue. Do you have some prilosec, prevacid or gaviscon on hand that you can take in the meantime?

Yep. I love that black and white one too. It just warms my heart to see my older brothers have 'sensitive' moments. I do plan on having several printed and framed. Thank you!

Welcome William! We have quite the DFW contingency here! Hopefully, we'll all figure out a day to get together sometime soon! Hope all is going well with your new band! Please feel free to read, read, read so you'll be armed with all the knowledge you need about your band!

I do know of another lady who has severe lymphodema who has had the RNY. I do not know her results as far as her severe swelling, but here is her website. You may want to contact her to see how her weight loss is effecting her lymphedema. I can tell you that I have a history of clots in my legs and severe swelling - never called lymphedema and since I've gotten my band, I have never had the degree of swelling as before. Thank God! http://www.amylhwilliams.com/

Well. We had a wonderful day at my brother's house. Lots of food, laughter and love. Then, we have the inevitable toddlers with their fingers in the door, or Mimi getting stung by a wasp. But, all in all, it was a great day. There were 32 of us there, not counting the two brand new babies. I am so fortunate to have such a large and loving family. I'm posting a few pics I've been playing with since I got home.

Looks like you have alot of research to do. 'Fill' is what the adjustments for the lapband are called. Since the band is adjustable, there is a tiny bladder on the inside of the band which can be 'filled' to different increments according to the person's tolerance and weight loss/or lack thereof. Some people come out of surgery with some restriction, some have alot, some have none at all, especially once the swelling from surgery has subsided. Getting a fill is a very simple procedure, basically an injection of sterile saline into your band's balloon/bladder to tighten it up around the top part of your stomach. Normally it's very painless and only takes minutes. On occasion, a person's port may be tilted or even flipped, which could cause things to take longer or require a minor procedure to put it back in the right position. With the band, this is part of the continuing aftercare/follow-up/maintenance of the band that allows you to tighten it so that you can continue losing weight as long as you need to and/or maintain the loss you have already accomplished. Please feel free to read, read, read, all the forums of this messageboard and there are many others online. You need to be absolutely informed about all phases and possibilities of the lapband. This knowledge will definitely make your success with the band alot easier to achieve and any surprises won't really be surprises. Happy reading! and welcome to the board. Please head over to the 'Introductions' thread and fill us all in what brought you here and where you hope to be headed with your band! Welcome! Check this out to see some pics of the different bands Inamed uses. http://www.gisurgery.net/OverviewObesityBariatricSurgery.pdf

Congratulations! Please read, read, read so you'll know every single thing to expect, before and after. Get ready for your life to change!

They will! You've done a great job!

That crab dip was DE_LISH!

Dr. Frering is definitely the one I've heard of the most.

Glad to hear you had a positive experience!! I do hope you got copies of your records, in the event you need a doctor in the states. Will you be doing fills and follow up in Mexico or local to home?

Happy Thanksgiving to you all! Thanks so much for such delightful visions of what it is really all about. I'll be driving over to my most special brother's house. This will be my second banded Thanksgiving and I hope I do as well this year as I did the last. I recall leaving without that 'stuffed' feeling and really proud of myself that I didn't devour everything single thing available. I made myself a small plate with spoonfuls of most of the things I liked. I also had Desserts, but they were small in comparison to years before and I left feeling completely satisfied and NOT GUILTY for having eaten like there was no tomorrow. I was able to actually sit back and observe my loved ones and actually 'see' that sparkle in their eyes, enjoy their laughs and their warmth toward others. I left feeling truly thankful for so much. My own life and health returned, my totally dysfunctional, but awesome family, new generations, new traditions, renewed faith in a God who got us as far as we have come. Finally, what Thanksgiving is all about. Bounty IS more than food, and it is far more visible to one who is not in a food induced stupor.lol

Tracking on www.fitday.com really doesn't take that much time and you really don't have to do it EVERYDAY. It's especially good to do it for a few days at a time to see where your carbs, Protein and fat lie. Sorry to say, but yes, all those things you have read abotu NOT losing weight once you enter back into mushies/soft foods is VERY common. I believe I posted an article written by Robin/Coffeewench just this weekend on 'bandster purgatory' - the UNFILLED stage. It's pretty hard to get in all your protein and make very good choices during the soft foods/mushy stage. Most of the time, the items we have are things like mashed potatoes(starch, starch starch), yogurt (dairy, dairy, dairy). This is one of the reason they say that once you are on real solids to try to cut out as much 'soft' foods as possible. They are calorie/fat/carb laden - and it's not the good carbs. Once you moved into hard Proteins, in fact, one 8 oz glass of lowfat milk per day is all the liquid calories you are encouraged to get. Everything else really should be hard proteins and veggies. Liquid/soft calories are not our friend and usually, most of that initial loss the first week or so is Water. You will really begin to see the weight loss once you have gotten a fill that is noticeable to you and the band begins to do it's job of restricting your intake. That is, if you stick with hard proteins and quality carbs such as veggies.

Sorry to hear you've been so sick! Yikes.. We've missed you on the board. Have a Happy Thanksgiving!! Be well!

********I took this from Yahoo Smartbandsters. Jessie Ahroni posted it and has posted it over and over and over to new bandsters. For those who don't know, Jessie is a Nurse Practitioner who has had her band for 6 years and works daily with new and not so new bandsters doing fills and patient education. She also has a book on Adjustable Gastric Banding which can be found at www.ahroni.com ******************************************************************************************************************** Jill:you can follow Weight Watchers if you want but I did not get banded to make dieting more efficient. The gastric band is not a diet. I eat whatever I want. But not much of it. I eat when I'm hungry and stop when I'm full. I try to make wise choices about what I put in my mouth most of the time. Dieting doesn't work (you ought to be convinced of that by now). For me banding was about totally giving up diet mentality and all food and weight obsessions. I had to work on doing that but I've pretty much accomplished it most of the time.**************************

I did have some occasional waves of nausea when I was first out of surgery, but it seems to have passed once I started getting regular protein. Like Marie said, just be sure not to let yourself become dehydrated. Sometimes, it even helps to have something with a bit of sugar in it when you're nauseated. I hope you're doing better soon!

I think I pay $10 - which still seems like alot. You poor thing! That sounds terrible - but I have to admit. I did laugh at the thought of it! lol

Kathy, I hope you're beginning to feel better by now. It is normal to be a bit sore a day or so after a pretty strong pb, but if this feeling continues and you continue to be uncomfortable. You might want to have your doc do an Upper GI just to make sure everything is where it should be. Do you feel like you may be overfilled at all?

Yup and any time your doctor writes you a script for Meridia or Xenical, that's medically supervised.