Toddy

Please be more descriptive. What exactly is uncomfortable? I never had any trouble sleeping, but have read here that several people have slept in a recliner for a short time after surgery.

There are several very successful people on this site that have had lapband with plication. I had lapband surgery and had a slip and had plication added when my surgeon fixed the slip. I think the "after the fact" plication is not as helpful as I expected since I feel absolutely no different than I did when I had lapband alone. The one thing I do like about the plication is it greatly reduces the possibility of future slips.

You want to stay away from milkshakes, unless you're talking about a Protein shake. Milkshakes (and ice cream) go down really easy and you can usually eat as much as you want of that kind of thing and you can actually pack ON the pounds!!! I stay away from the kid's menu because it's usually crap like mac and cheese, hot dogs, burgers, pb&j. When I go to a buffet I have a card that I show to only pay the child's price, otherwise I'd never pay full price for a buffet. The best option I've found for eating out is ordering from the a la carte menu. I do a lot of Soups and veggies. I will eat meat as long as I'm pretty sure it won't be dry! Even then, I do bring home a lot of doggy bags!

My doctor is supportive like that, too! I always feel sorry for people that are afraid to go to the doctor because he'll get on to them for a little (or even a big) gain ;-( Congrats on making goal, that's awsome!!!

I agree that you should be exercising and eating the right amounts. If you're not in the green zone, where your physical hunger is controlled, why would she not do a fill? Sounds like you know that the band doesn't do the work for you, but if properly filled, it is an excellent tool.

For years the link between cigarette smoking and lung cancer was considered a conspiracy theory, too. Unfortunately when something being banned will have a potentially huge financial impact, it usually takes many, many years for a definite conclusion to be reached and accepted.

I've never been one to buy into the conspiracy theorists' condemnation of this or that. However, I can't think of any other explanation of why my "lupus like" rash that I had lived with every summer since 2004, just all of a sudden stopped when I stopped consuming aspertame. It's made a believe out of me!

Wow! I just recently learned about the connection of aspertame to lupus and MS. In 2004 I started getting a terrible rash on my forearms and cheeks every time I'd be in the sun. I went to a dermatologist and they did a biopsy. It came back as lupus like. I went to the rhumatologist and he said I didn't have lupus "yet". I was so terrified of getting "a diagnosis" that I didn't even ask what the "yet" meant, left his office and never went back. Fast forward to January 2012. As part of my pre-op diet I cut out Diet Pepsi completely, after having a 5 to 6 can a day habit for years. 2013 I move to the coast and have been in the sun more than ever before and have had NO RASH whatsoever!!! Don't recall having the rash at all in 2012 either, but just made the connection recently when I heard about the aspertame/lupus and/or MS connection... Scary, scary stuff. Hope you get to the bottom of this and I hope and pray that more people get the word about how dangerous this stuff can be!!!

Can't help with self pays costs in Georgia. In middle TN it's around $16,000. HOWEVER, if you decide to do lapband as a self-pay patient, you need to be prepared to self-pay all of the maintenance and after care required to maintain the band. My surgeon allows 90 days of follow-up and fills with the cost of surgery. I can guarantee you, you will probably need more. I'm close to two years out and have been in my surgeons office more times than I care to guess at. Yes, I did have some complications, but even without the complications I would still probably be in there at least monthly because I have a finicky band that will spontaneously get too tight or too loose. I'm not saying this to be discouraging, I just think everybody should go into this with eyes wide open!! The band without adjustments is pretty much useless for most people.

That's one good thing about the band is you can start over!! Get a fill and get in the green zone!! Good luck to you all!

Huh??????

You need to take much smaller bites and chew better, and wait between bites. I'm on the tight side of the green zone and I have to wait at least a full minute between bites. One classic symptom of being too tight, for me, anyway, is acid reflux.

I agree, tracking your intake can really be eye-opening!!! Also, could you need a fill?

Most common symptom and a blanket statement that with a slip you can't keep anything down are two different things. I'm speaking from my experience of having a slip serious enough that it required a second surgery, but I was able to keep food down and didn't even have GERD.

Not necessarily. Everyone is different and symptoms of slips can differ from person to person. I am coming up on my one year anniversary of surgery to correct a slip. I requested an upper GI just for my own peace of mind and my surgeon ordered it. I'm very pleased that everything is just the way it should be and now I have that peace of mind!!

I would postpone my doctor's appointment for about a week and let things inside settle down so he will do a fill.

Good luck! And maybe you need a fill to help things along???

Weigh every day if you want to, but have one set day of the week and one set time on that day to actually record your weight... that really helped me see that I was losing even though it seemed like every day the scale was staying the same.

I think you hit the nail on the head with this post!! I went back and read the "rude thread" and can't believe how sensitive some people can be. Wonder how she'd feel if we all said that pain was perfectly normal, don't be such a crybaby, and then she ended up seriously ill or dead from a horrible infection?????? DUH!!!

How many calories are you taking in daily? It's never happened to me personally but I have seen someone else whose weight loss stalled from too few calories.

That's one of the things I like about the band... if you fall off the wagon, it is possible to climb back on. You are an inspiration!

My band slipped and I had to have surgery again. My surgeon also offered plication initially, which I didn't go for. Second time around I wanted plication also. However, until seeing the condition of things on the inside, my surgoen couldn't say what I was going to end up with out of three options: Band restitched, band removed, or band restitched and plication added. I was fortunate that he was able to restitch the band and add plication. Although, to be perfectly honest, I can't tell that the plication has helped me with any additional weight loss, but it does greatly reduce the possibility of future slips.

Yep, my surgeon does the upper GI to determine if there is a problem that requires an unfill. If the band has slipped or something, I would be afraid that unfilling it before the upper GI would "mask" the problem.

The pain in your shoulder is gas, and the only thing that really helps is walking, a heating pad, and pain meds. Incision pain is quite normal. You're only a day out, hang in there because it does get better.

Hi all, My daughter's insurance company doesn't cover WLS. I'm just wondering what the range of cost for the sleeve is if you're self-pay. If you know the average for all-in, surgeon, hospital, anesthesiologist that would be great. I know it will vary widely, but we're just trying to get an idea of what to expect. She's not interested in traveling out of country. Thanks!