claraluz

My only advice would be, no matter how good you feel in the first few days or week after surgery, don't overdo it. You may not have any pain, but your body is still healing and you should be nice to it and go easy on yourself. Nancy

Well, he was still surprised, he was just surprised early. Doesn't it feel good? Nancy

Sorry you're sick, Marie. Feel better soon. I gained two pounds this week. How? How did that happen? I've been a good girl, I promise. But I am now fitting into a smaller size, so that's a good thing. Nancy

I can't say for sure, but depending on when everybody decides they want to do it, I might be able to swing it. I'd love to meet everyone! Nancy

You might eventually end up thanking your doctor for talking to you about your weight every time you saw her. My insurance company wouldn't pay for the band without 5 years of documentation of a weight problem by my physician. (By the way, I've since learned that this requirement can often be challenged). Nancy

I don't know what kind of "bad press" you are talking about, but I would be interested in knowing. Here in the States, the band gets almost no press at all. I had lunch today with a friend who had the bypass four months ago. In four months she's lost more than I had at four months, but not that much. Our eating guidelines are exactly the same. I don't think she is far enough out yet to have begun struggling again with the old food demons, but I sure have so I know all too well now that the band really is only a tool. If magic were available, I sure would opt for magic, but since it's not all I can say is that even though I still have to have willpower with the band and have to exercise and all that, at least I know my efforts won't be wasted! Without the band, I just kept regaining the weight over and over. And I did investigate bypass and the cost would have been exactly the same. Nancy

Oh, Vera, that's such a nice photo! You are all beautiful. Nancy

You do have willpower and you do have discipline. You've proven that. But diets alone don't work. You've proven that, too. You could do well with the band. Even if you give in occasionally to your sweet tooth, the band will help you because you won't be able to eat that much. I originally opted for the bypass because I had only read the original study of banding in the U.S. which showed a high rate of complications. At the time I didn't realize that every sugeon in the study was inexperienced because the band had not even been approved for use in the U.S. yet. I went through all the studies to get the bypass, paid the surgeon, arranged my time off from work, etc., but four days out from surgery I chickened out. The risk of death or serious complications with the bypass was more than I could accept. That's when I began to look at the band again and I'm glad I did. There can be complications with the band, but they are almost never life-threatening. They usually just mean that you lose your band. The surgery is very safe as surgeries go. You are doing the right thing by doing research. Continue with your research and you will come to the right decision for you. Nancy

There's been a lot of discussion on this board about what causes this. Some say a lack of Protein, some say that's not it. Some think it's a Vitamin deficiency. It's happened to me too, and I'm 16 months out from surgery. My hair is much thinner now than when I started. I don't know what causes it. I'm about ready for Rogaine. Nancy

I made the mistake of waking up in the middle of the night and eating two dried apricots. I woke up this morning in pain and PBd slime. Now I have been burping continuously for over an hour. A truly amazing amount of air that was trapped. Maybe not enough for a bomb, but possibly enough to power a generator. Nancy

Violet, I know this is off-topic, but do people tell you all the time that you look exactly like Linda Rondstadt? Nancy

Congratulations! I'm excited for you, too! Nancy

I do get a pain right there sometimes, but it only happens when my pouch and/or my stomach is full. Nancy

In the beginning, I kept losing Fluid in my band. I would get a fill, but when I went back, there was less in the band than they had put in. I personally wonder if it was because for my first fill they poked me many times and I wonder if they poked a hole in the tubing. But I've heard that it is natural for the band to lose some fluid. Now when I get fills they put in a thicker fluid than saline and that has done the trick. I always forget the name of the fluid they put in. I think your surgeon is wise to be conservative about fills. My surgeon told me that when the band is filled beyone 2.25 cc, the complication rate goes up. And if the fluroscopy shows that you have good restriction, it's hard to argue with that. I would talk to your doctor or surgeon about the "dead esophagus" problem. And actually, I think it would be worth it to schedule an appointment just to talk to the surgeon about the whole situation. The truth is that you have done well with the band and have lost much more than the average bandster does. I know you want to lose the rest, but if your experience is like mine, you may find that you have to work harder for it now than you did in the beginning. I'm sorry you are having these problems. Nancy

Debbie, you will get to the point that you don't physically feel the band in you - except when you eat. Right now you're still healing and that is why you feel it. Darcy - so sorry you had to go through this. Unfortunately, I've gone through it many times. I guess I'm a bad bandster. But at least now you know that the band doesn't mess around. When the band speaks we had best listen! I hope you are feeling better now. Nancy

The fact that you are asking this question indicates that you have insight into your eating disorder as well as insight into what the band can and cannot do. Good for you! I think you are on the right track. I've been banded for 16 months. In the beginning the weight just fell off and I don't remember being very conscious about what I ate. I didn't follow many of the band "rules." Now it is different and if I want to lose the other half of my excess weight, I will have to work for it and that is what I am doing. I am watching my diet, exercising - all those good things. But to answer your question: If you eat as you are supposed to - meaning Protein first, then veggies - you won't be able to eat very much. First you will get some mild feelings, usually in your throat, that tell you it is time to stop. If you continue eating, you will feel pain and the food may even come back up. This is called a "productive burp" or a PB. If you choose to eat foods that go through the band very easily such as chips, ice cream, etc. nothing will really stop you from overeating. We call this "eating around the band" because you are choosing not to let the band help you. I got into eating around the band for months and I didn't lose any weight, but I didn't gain weight either, so I guess the band was keeping me from eating as much as I would have before. Overeating with the band is not quite as fun or as soothing as overeating without the band. When I "got the spirit" again, I started losing weight again. Losing weight helps motivate me to continue losing weight and so I do all the right things that I need to do to lose more. As Marie said, I feel so much better now and I am so much healthier that I want to maintain these gains and that motivates me not to overeat. I also began psychotherapy when I got banded and I continued for a year. I think it helped me to learn how to cope with feelings without overeating and that is a very important skill for us. The short answer is if you really want to overeat with the band, you can, but you won't be able to eat quite as much, it won't be as fun, and it may lead to pain and a PB. Losing weight is fun, it's exciting, and it's motivating. I, too, was depressed prior to getting banded, but I've learned that there really was hope for me. I just couldn't see it. I hope you feel better soon and I can't help but hope that you get the band. Nancy

Great job, Teresa! Your progress is amazing! Nancy

I never heard that the reason for no carbonation was that it might erode the band and I agree with your dietician that that would be impossible. I have heard that all of that fizzing can stretch the pouch, but I'm not even sure about that. What I do know for sure is that with the band, a lot of gas gets trapped in your stomach and can be painful. In my case this is followed by the most amazingly loud burps that seem to go on and on. See the ever popular "burping and farting" thread for more about this. I couldn't imagine drinking anything with fizz in it because I think this would just exacerbate the problem. I used to love diet coke and I drank at least one or two a day, but I haven't had any since banding. I don't miss it. I drink crystal light or tea and I'm satisfied. Nancy

Congratulations. Your new and better life has begun! Nancy

If your insurance policies specifically exclude LapBand surgery, you may not be able to get them to cover you. But if they somehow don't think you meet the criteria, I would recommend going to the ObesityLaw.com. They help people like us fight insurance companies. If the insurance road has not worked out for you, please remember that if you get a loan to cover the surgery, a good percentage of the cost can be claimed as a medical expense deduction on your taxes. How much you get back depends on your income. The less your income, the more you get back. I got about half of the cost back. I can relate to the desperation you are feeling. I think we all can. I've felt hopeless before, too, but I've learned that even when I couldn't feel it, there was hope and the things I thought could never improve are better now. Please don't give up. Nancy Nancy

Lisa, does she have a problem with weight herself? Because sometimes I think overweight people subconsciously don't want us to succeed at weight loss. And even if she's not overweight, it would seem that consciously or unconsciously she is threatened by your weight loss. I think that you would only have to tell most people one time not to tempt you and they would respect that. Nancy

I've heard a lot about this book, but what is it? A book that Dr. Ortiz wrote about the LapBand? Does anyone know more about it? Nancy

I see you live in Houston (or at least will be here for surgery). I didn't take my pills in their regular form for the first month because I was supposed to be on liquids only and I took that very literally. But now I take all my pills. Some I cut in half first (after checking with the pharmacist to make sure it's OK). But an option for the first month is to go to a compounding pharmacy. The one I used is Greenpark pharmacy, but you might want to ask your pharmacist if he knows of others in your area. I took my newly filled prescriptions (pills) to them and they made it into a liquid. Some of them tasted awful, but at least it worked. And I think they can do it with any medicine.It cost $30.00 per prescription. Nancy

Congratulations. I'm glad it went so smoothly for you. Nancy

Hi, Betty. I'm glad your fill was easy. I hope it is just exactly the right amount. Nancy