Shegill

You know, Serena, I think the best thing to do would be to schedule regular endoscopies with your surgeon. I know that having mine done when I was having the trouble with my zoloft was a real relief--just knowing the doctor was seeing the situation up close, not guessing anything based on a host of changing symptoms. Your insurance may dictate how often you can have the scope but I've never heard of anyone's surgeon refusing to do one on a patient who was actively worried or experiencing symptoms. As for the NSAIDS, I wish I were more knowledgeable on this topic. Like most banders, I avoid them 99% of the time. But I do so largely because my stomach is VERY sensitive post-banding in a way that I would never have anticipated (I used to have an Iron gut--nothing bothered me. Now I'm like princess and the pea. Or princess and the Advil.). You should probably ask your NSAID question on the main board, because lots of folks here will respond. I remember reading something that spoke specifically to your "silent damage" concern--something about NSAIDS thinning the stomach lining in a way that can invite erosion--I don't mean to scare you, especially because I truly don't remember all of what I read. But others here will know. The fact that you have to take your prescription NSAID every day might be a problem over time..--certainly discuss this and your concerns with your doctor or his staff if you haven't already Good luck!

Oh, I forgot to add that I tried the liquid zoloft and I vomited so violently from the single dose I took that I actually thought I might be in danger of losing the band. I've never--in 3.5 years of frequent puking (I'm one of the less lucky ones in that department--v. loosely filled and still pb-ing sugar free ice cream on bad days)--experienced vomiting like that. I decided at that time (my doctor had not heard of anyone with stomach problems relating to antidepressants) that I had developed (after 8 years of taking it) an allergy to zoloft, post-band. What you ladies are describing doesn't sound like an allergy, though. Still, I'd be reluctant to go back to that pain.

Wow. I wish this thread had existed 3 years ago when I was going through my zoloft hell. I spent the first YEAR throwing up almost daily and concocting hundreds of different ways to get my pills down without throwing up/pain/general misery. My most successful method was chewing up the pills (big mistake, I guess) and taking them with a small amount of granola and milk. Ultimately it was a failure, and I ended up having an endoscopy--I had several ulcerations. I stopped taking the zoloft (I was also taking wellbutrin, which I was able to continue to take and still do) and my stomach issues cleared up. Now if I can only find a way to stop PBing all the time....this band is a real mixed bag. I've been fantasizing a lot lately about the sleeve. Oh, and I do miss my zoloft. Wellbutrin's great, but the combo really was good for me.

You are the third man I've read about who had a difficult time post-surgically in ways that seemed specificaly related to excessive swelling. It sound like a freaking nightmare! Two guys over at spotlighthealth.com (http://spotlighthealth.com/common/forum/topics.aspx?m=1&sb=25) had very similar sounding problems--difficulty swallowing and breathing in the month after banding. You might want to post over there and see if they'll respond. One was JimmyC and I think the other was Dan the Man. In both of those case, the swelling eventually resolved but it took much longer than the 3 or 4 days that is more common with most of us women. I wonder if it has something to do with the size of male anatomy, or the differing ways mens' bodies retain Water. In any case, don't hesitate to go to the ER again if you can't swallow saliva, or if you think you may be becoming dehydrated again. It's a huge pain, I know, but you really have to watch it. Again, if the problem is excess swelling, it will resolve eventually. So sorry to hear of your horrible time! Sheila

I take wellbutrin and I do not take the extended release ones so that I can crush them. I have a super sensitive stomach (post-band) and can't have pills sitting in it. I don't personally have too many problems with the wellbutrin (except a rise in body temp--I'm often hot-flashy hot) and I think it helps my depression. I also used to take zoloft along with the wellbutrin but -- and I'm the only lapbander I know for whom this has been the case -- my post-surgical stomach could not handle the zoloft. I developed what I can only describe as an allergy to the medication, with much stomach acid and vomiting daily and finally had to wean off it (very slowly--you have to be super careful getting off these drugs for a bunch of reasons but not least because of seizures--this is especially true for wellbutrin which is used for some as an anti-seizure medication). Anyway, I'm pretty sure that the constant irritation from the zoloft is responsible for the problem with ulcerated stomach lining that I now have. So be careful that the wellbutin isn't too hard on your stomach. Try to take it with a little food (cereal or something) already in your stomach. Breaks the bandster rules, drinking Water with food in your stomach, but so be it. I also took topomax pre-banding for about 6 months. Pay attention to your mental focus once you start. My psychiatrist warned me about a common side effect called 'cognitive blunting' (essentially your IQ plummets about 30 points, you forget words, can't focus, etc.). I dismissed her warning but sure enough after a few months I got really really stupid and had to go off the medication. In my case, I was on it specifically as a weight loss aid (with my shrink's consent; we both knew my obesity was exacerbating my depression). I was trying to lose some weight before my wedding and neither Nutrisystem nor weight watchers was cutting it. I lost no weight, got stupid, got off the drug, and ended up a very fat (though happy) bride. But the drugs help. They saved my life, many times over, no question. I wouldn’t take them lightly and if you decide to stop taking them, ASK YOUR DOCTOR HOW TO TAPER OFF. He or she will explain how to do it, a little less each day, etc. Good luck. Sheila

These are the best I've found--they really work. http://www.spanx.com/pls/enetrixp/!stmenu_template.main you can get them at QVC (www.qvc.com) and also on ebay (www.ebay.com) for an even better price. Just make sure you get the right size (esp. on ebay). The chart they provide is very accurate. Hope this helps--I have a 'problem' gut and have had good luck with these. Sheila

Hey, everyone, I posted earlier this week about some trouble I'd been having with my band, and the fact that my surgeon decided to perform an endoscopy to check on slippage or erosion. I am so grateful to report that the test showed neither of these conditions. (Sound of me dropping to the floor with relief.) The doctor found a red inflamed area which he biopsied to check for bacterial infection. In the meantime he is treating it as an ulcer and has given me ulcer medication to take each day. I don't know much about ulcers--have to do some trusty internet research--but I suppose an ulcer could cause vomiting? I just wanted to thank all who responded to my post. Alexandra, Paula, Marie, and Vinesqueen--your kind words were so appreciated. Hearing from you helped me so much. Right now I'm just feeling so grateful and exhausted with relief (and possibly with leftover sedative). I just wanted to let everyone know that, for the moment anyway, disaster seems to have been averted. Much love, Sheila

Hi, guys. I posted this on the spotlight board as well, as I wanted to get feedback from both of my favorite boards. After some months of increased problems that I believed were related to being (really very slightly) too tight, I decided to go in for an unfill. My surgeon's office has been unresponsive in the past and I let that delay my making an appointment for a couple months, but I also was grappling with the fact that some days things seemed okay and other days I was producing a huge amount of mucus and having trouble keeping things down. Since I have chronic allergies and sinus troubles, I honestly believed that was the underlying cause of the excess mucus and too-frequent pb-ing. Well, to my horror the doctor was totally alarmed and scheduled me for an endoscopy next Wednesday (April 6). "I want to check for a slip or erosion," he told me, as my mouth fell open. A slip—-as disagreeable as the prospect of another surgery certainly is--I can handle. But erosion? Erosion? F*ck. F*ckity f*ck f*ck. My husband keeps saying: "Don't project, it won't get you anywhere. We'll deal with whatever happens when we know." But I feel like I'm watching the slow-motion crumbling of what suddenly seems like a house of cards, the house of cards that was my hope for a non-obese future. I never had a super-easy time with the band (again, I think because of my allergies, as well as increased stomach sensitivity and the resulting havoc this played with my antidepressant medication). I did what I could--I made adjustments to my medication (turns out I wasn't faking that depression and don't really do so well without the medicine) and I got off entirely one (Zoloft) that my newly banded stomach just totally refused to tolerate. But, regardless of these difficulties, I had my band! I was losing weight. I was (astonishingly) no longer gaining weight. I felt better, looked better, moved better, had more energy, was less depressed--all the things we all want. Yes, eating could be something of a crap shoot, but I tried really hard to be careful. I think I tolerated the pb-ing and phlegm factory more readily than I should have, because I was so freaking relieved to be going in the right direction finally. Also, and I'm being totally straight here, I think chronic obesity has inured me to, programmed me to tolerate, a certain level of discomfort and secrecy around my bodily functions anyway. At 270, there were a lot of ways my body was betraying me--discomfort and exhaustion, painful mobility, IBS, despair and shame--some of the reasons I broke down and considered WLS to begin with. So, I was used to an uncooperative body and while I didn't like it, I liked it better than hopelessness of pre-banded living. Ever since my meeting with the surgeon, all I can think about it waking up from the endoscopy and having him tell me he's removing the band. I've had three full-blown nightmares of just this scenario. If that happens, I don't know what I'll do. I'm 200 now. I suppose it's possible that I can keep going on my own, lose more weight, try to keep it off. But I've weighed much less than 200 in the past (after whatever fill-in-the-blank diet) and slowly but surely I've always crept up again. I'm not being defeatist--I think I'm being realistic. It's not that regain is written in stone, I know. If it's a slip, I'll be re-banded, no question. If not, if it's erosion, I don't know. Does excess mucus signal erosion? Do eroded people ever get rebanded? If not, would I convert to bypass or DS? Is that what people do? If you had to convert to one of the more invasive types of surgery, which of those two would you have? From what I've read, I think I'd be inclined to have the DS. Fewer surgeons perform it, but the risk of regain seems (perhaps only anecdotally?) to be lower. Though fear of regain wasn't my primary reason for choosing the band, it was definitely one of them. The bypass regain figures scare the bejesus out of me, knowing and loving so many bypass people. I do know, of course, that regain is in no way a given for bypassers—it's just that after going through the risk and pain of a bypass, regain is just heartbreaking. Not, by the way, that bandsters are immune from regain, I know that. Oh my God, I'm babbling. Forgive me—I should be shot with a tranquilizer dart. I'm so happy to have been able to have the band, and I chose it for all the good reasons that have been over and over documented on this board, but if I had to chose between a more invasive surgery or heading back up toward 300, I think I'd probably have the surgery. It's only since I've lost these 70 pounds that I understand what a psychological prison I was in for all those years, feeling so badly about myself and believing that I was irrevocably trapped there. I just can't go back. I've been so fall-on-my-knees grateful to have this band and to know what life is like as a normally-hungry person. But, facing this uncertainty, I'm just beginning to grasp how truly liberating and miraculous this experience has been. I just pray that everyone who longs for a band finds a way to get one, and I pray as well that my time as a bandster isn't about to end. Thanks for listening, and best to you all, Sheila 2/02/04 270/200/170ish

Thank you, Alexandra. As always, a generous and sensible response, even to a possible overreaction on my part. You are very kind. I try to be like you--not panic and go into a tailspin prematurely--and sometimes I succeed. I'll try now. The handful of Hershey's Kisses I'm clutching in my sweaty paw will undoubtedly help! Best to you, Sheila

Kim. I think it's great that you posted, because your message is so important and new (and even not so new) bandsters need to hear it. No matter how many people achieve instant restriction after surgery, there are just as many of us who do not. And I think that no matter how much we read about the multiple fills and the patience that will be required before many of us begin to feel any different, or begin to lose any weight, we all hope so badly that we will be in the 'lucky' group that a long period of no weight loss makes us feel like big old failures. I know that was true for me. I had my surgery in February 2004 and it was easily July and my 3rd fill before any significant weight loss began to happen. When I finally got to the 'sweet spot' the weight really started to come off, but not before I aged about 10 years from stress and worry and despair. I was ready to throw myself in front of a train. I'm amazed I lived through it. It is such a hard time, the months after surgery. After all the hard work of deciding on the surgery, finding a surgeon, fighting for insurance or deciding to self-pay, all the special dietng and testing and pre-op liquids and then not to lose any weight? It seems like God's worst practical joke. I wish there were a way to tell people: here is this great surgery but the thing is, you have to wait at least 6 months before you'll see any results. Then, if you are one of the lucky ones, you'll feel as though you've won the lottery, and if you're not, then you won't suffer unduly from the long gap between surgery and restriction. Anyway, Kim, I'm so glad you are finally feeling on track and losing. Thanks again for your important post. Sheila Banded: 2/2/04 270/199/170 (or 160, but that would be, like, skinny!) Edited to add: This is a brilliant post on the spotlight health board from the famous and beloved Robin (Coffeewench) concerning the dreaded pre-fill stage. The only amendation I would make to it is that this pre-restriction stage can last for 2 or 3 fills: http://www.spotlighthealth.com/common/Forum/posts.aspx?m=1&sb=25&tp=41802

Kimberly, There was recently a similar post on the spotlight health board and I thought I'd transfer some of the information, in case you decide you want to do some online shopping for your party. Here are some online stores that carry plus-size clothing: http://www.drapers.com http://www.alight.com http://www.silhouettes.com http://www.artandartifact.com Here's a site that lists a bunch of plus size online stores: http://www.sizewise.com/links/womens.html Hope this helps. Remember to send us pictures of the outfit you choose! Sheila ps: I just realized that I'm assuming you're still in woman's sizes. If I am mistaken, I'm sorry. But not sorry for you, because that would mean you could just go to J. Crew or banana Republic and buy one of those adorable flippy-skirted party dresses that make me crazy with envy. If this is the case, please put one on layaway for my future.

I'm totally lost on that site. Could someone *please* just link to the post in question? Thanks! Sheila

Zoe, like Marie I haven't tried VAX-D for sciatica, so unfortunately I can be no help with that. I wanted to tell you two things, as both my sister and I have suffered from fairly debilitating sciatica at different times. Mine seemed terrible to me, although I am likely a big wimp. I took an anti-spasmotic medication that helped enormously--methocarbamol 500 mg, and you take one or two every 8 hours. For a while I had to take it every day, my back was so bad, but it never seemed to bother my stomach and it REALLY helped. (I did chew the tablets as I do all my pills and took it with hot tea). But the thing that really helped me on a long term basis was yoga (if you knew of my horror of exercise, you'd know how shocked I am to even be writing this). I took a gentle yoga class once a week and my back improved so so much! You have to be sort of careful with the positions and make sure to tell your teacher about your back, but I can't stress enough the difference this little thing made in my back life. Also, the yoga environment seems to me really condusive to larger people exercising comfortably---very little of that competitive energy one often encounters in the more traditional gyms. My sister was more immobilized than I and she recently had an epidural on her back. She has disc degeneration. Apparently the procedure numbs some of the nerves and can be really helpful--it certainly was for my sister, thank God. She went from being in constant pain to being very occasionally uncomfortable. Just some options to consider. I hope your back improves soon. Sheila

Gail, Just to add to what Darcy (Nightingale) said above, I have a friend (who happens to be a doctor) who suffered from terrible acid reflux and gastritus and had to have surgery. I was interested to hear that his surgery involved placing a band around the bottom of his esophogus, so that the stomach acid could not travel back up and continue to irritate the esophogus. He said it affected his ability to eat solid foods for a long while---he could eat them, but had to do so in moderation, and slowly and carefully. Incidently, he's a slender fellow, who had no need of surgical control of his food intake. So, as Darcy says, your story about surgery for reflux and the consequent changes to your eating habits makes perfect sense, in terms of the surgery you told everyone you had. Incidently, while I shared my banding experience with a few close friends and with family, I was extremely discrete about it to those I am not truly close with, such as work associates. I told everyone I was having endometrial surgery---I figured that was vague and unpleasant enough so that people wouldn't pry, and they didn't. If you think you're too tight, absolutely get a slight unfill. But I, who am not too tight (I think I'm pretty much just right in restriction) also find steak really difficult to eat and to keep down. It's just one of those foods (like bread and pasta) that I do my best to avoid. Contingency plans, such as Protein bars or shakes carried to events where you're not sure what's on the menu, aren't a bad idea, and they needn't conflict with your reflex surgery story at all. Just say you have to be on a careful, strict diet--doctor's orders! Best of luck, Sheila

Candy, I so totally relate to what you and your sister are experiencing--it is a nearly identical story to my own. My doctor has a really protracted fill schedule---something I totally disagree with and have found to be completely infantalizing and maddening. I understand the reasoning that some unprepared bandsters might need to be gradually increased, fill-wise, so that they don't panic at the first signs of restriction. That said, the rest of us who are prepared to handle -- indeed, impatient to experience -- substantive restriction are left to founder in our own frustration and doubt and despair while we are forced to wait and wait and wait. I just this Friday had my second fill, and I actually--praise God!--feel a difference. I know I need to be a bit tighter even than I currently am, but the relief I feel just knowing that the band *can* work is absolutely overwhelming. I was filled with 2 cc on my first fill, and 2.6 on my second, and I am *just* feeling the difference--so I think we prove what everyone on this good board says---everyone needs a different fill, and noone can really know what that will be in advance. I was banded on 2/3/04 and have lost virtually no weight so far--maybe 8 or 10 pounds. I have been miserably careful, eating 1200-1500 calories per day, 80 oz Water, high Protein, low fat, almost no carb, etc. Until this fill on Friday, I have felt every miserable passing minute as a huge DIET, nothing more, and a failed one at that! All I could think of was how I'd murdered my metabolism so completely that I actually wouldn't be able to lose weight---like, physically wouldn't be able, and that I should have opted for a malabsorbtive (like the Bypass or the DS) procedure after all. But even in these last days (I am afraid to even type this, lest I jinx it), the terrible hunger is gone. I don't feel the panic between meals. I don't even have that much desire to snack--so far, anyway. The emotional eating is a different story--it will take more than the band to get it in check, and I am in a therapeutic post-op group to try to deal with the underlying causes for the emotional eating habits. Even a week ago I would have said that my band was a failure. I was so so afraid that, despite what EVERYONE said, all the smart things about fills and patience, etc., that mine was just a disaster. I never wanted a Bypass, went through a lengthy process to change insurance companies in ordser to even qualify for the band instead, but I felt like I was going to be damned into getting one after all. And now, suddenly, I have some hope. I'd still like to see the numbers start to budge on the scale, but I feel undeniably different. So do whatever you can not to give up hope. Just keep bugging those bastards for your fill!!! Chin up, Sheila

Jennye, I'm so so sorry to hear of your mom's troubles. The really good thing is that your mom is so young and her strength will undoubtedly be a great help to her recovery. She's exactly where she needs to be; they can do so much now medically to get stroke patients under control, and keep them (blood pressure, etc.) under control, and as Bright says, rehabilitaion, should it come to that, can do absolute wonders. I saw this with my dad and my grandmother---both were helped beyond belief after horrible illnesses by physical therapy. So try to keep the faith, and do let us know of her progress. Warmly, Sheila

Are you eating anything with artificial sweeteners? I sort of leaned on sugar-free and no-sugar-added products in the first month or so after banding, trying to sate my sweet cravings. I never dreamed a human could suffer from such gut-rending, painful and odiferous gas. Folks on various boards suggested many things, but I'd read that certain popular sweeteners (Maltitol is the worst, for me) can cause bad gas and other problems in the general vicinity. I cut them out and was cured. The other night I got cocky (and was craving chocolate) so I ate half a medium-sized sugar free chocolate bar. Within 90 minutes I was right back in the -- forgive me--saddle again, clutching my stomach for dear life and begging my poor husband for forgiveness. Hope this helps---that kind of gas is NO FUN. Sheila

Just put the cottage cheese into a blender or food processor. I'm 4 days out (banded 2/3) and I'm beginning to get kind of hungry myself. Do you think some soft-serve low fat frozen yogurt would be ok, or am I kidding myself and it's just a slippery slope? Thanks, Sheila

Hi, friends, I was banded on Tuesday and it's become very obvious that my threshhold for pain and discomfort is...well...low. So, not to discourage any pre-ops---remember, my threshhold for pain is apparently LOW---but did anyone out there feel really horrible immediately post-op? I'm having a heard time moving from side to side (like, pulling myself out of bed) and getting up and down from my chairs. I'm terrified I'm going to dislodge my band, or rip my stitches. I'm sorry to be SUCH a baby--I did not know this about myself--I thought I was a real soldier! Also, anyone experience major mood swings post-op? I'm assuming it has something to do with the anesthesia, but I've been kind of engulfed in feelings of doom and dread. I was only in the hospital one day. If I had it to do over, and could, I would have arranged to stay 2 nights. I miss my morphine pump. Thanks in advance, and please forgive my whining. Sheila

Dear Tellie, Thank you so so much for your response. I can't tell you how reassuring it was to read. This: "I questioned my motives and thought I had screwed up and that this device inside my body was going to ruin my life!!!" Well, that exactly sums up how I've been feeling. I said yesterday to my mother: "I know I'm going to feel this way forever--I've completely ruined my life." I've been really feeling badly---guilty---about letting myself get to the point, fat-wise, where surgery felt like (was, really) the only option for me. I had experienced some of that guilt when I was first researching and deciding on the band, but it resurfaced with a vengeance immediately post-op. From just these few days of discomfort and melancholy, I would NEVER discourage anyone from getting the band (whose benefits, remember, I have not even begun to experience yet). But I would just say be prepared for the fact that this is MAJOR surgery, with the attendant post-op challenges and bumps. Probably everyone considering the band completely understands this and I am the only moron who skipped into the whole thing with a light, light heart, thrilled that my insurance had approved me, fantasizing about being able to ride a bike again, paging lustfully through the J. Crew catalog. But it's now day 4 (had the surgery Tuesday morning, 2/3) and I can definitely see significant improvements. So I'm relieved as hell and, again, appreciate your kind and helpful words. Love, Sheila

Hello to all, and thanks for this forum. My name is Sheila and I'm 41, newly married, live in CT. I'm waiting for insurance approval for my band surgery. I've been approved for the Bypass, but am going through tons of hoops in order to get the ok on the Band instead. I've been in this process since July and am a little heartsick at the moment, having hit so many brick walls, but am still hopeful that all will work out. The Lapband folks I've observed on this and other boards seem to me a rare combination: sensitive and compassionate (due partly to the remembered or ongoing pain of obesity), and thoughtful and intelligent, having chosen a WLS that requires those qualities to succeed. I feel like I've found my population, not to be self-flattering. It's nice to be able to chat with others who can relate without judgement to the experiences and impulses I have had and continue to have. I'm in that state--perhaps others can relate--of wanting this surgery (and the control it can confer under the right restriction) so bad I can taste it (forgive the pun), and worrying that I'll just never get to the other side. I feel so left behind, while my compatriots are leaping ahead making their own miracles happen. I'm deeply happy for those banded and doing well, I'm sorry for those having troubles, but I'm also jealous that I'm still on the outside looking in. Anyway, sorry to be so talky, and thanks for being here. Sheila

Thanks for your responses, and your warm welcome. It's nice to know that others understand the particular brand of impatience that arrives hand in hand with the discovery of the band. I keep telling myself that this patience I'm cultivating will stand me in good stead while waiting for my first (and second, and third) fill. Truth is, I've spent so much time researching and thinking about the band, I feel like I could perform the procedure on myself! And this is from someone who's never taken, let alone passed, a college science class. Thanks again, Sheila (MD in my own mind, but definitely no place else)