WASaBubbleButt

Yeah, the thing that sucks about fills is that they don't always kick in the day of the fill. You might get tighter or you might loosen up a bit. You should know by now when your fills kick in. Is it immediate? Mine kick in on day #3. Everyone is different. You HAVE to stop barfing and if that means a slight unfill, do it. If you can't keep liquids down, you HAVE to get a slight unfill. Just don't stay too tight too long, you risk a slip or erosion.

Nope, happens to all WLS patients for the most part.

You, my friend, sound like a chronic alcoholic. You need AA. You may not want to hear it but that's what is necessary. No doc is going to band you until you get that addiction under control.

Don't don't don't do it yourself. Not unless you know sterile technique and have been trained in dealing with ports. Wrong needle (as you attempted) can damage your port and poke a hole in your tubing. Then there is the infection issue, and potentially losing your band or your life. Accessing your port is NOT like drawing blood. A whole different kind of sterile technique is needed. Go to an ER and when they don't know what to do ask them to get a chemo nurse. She'll know alllllll about ports. YOU explain the tubing, she'll know the rest.

I still have that black shirt that I love, I was writing about it in another thread. Maybe then... Going to Mexico with a friend on Saturday. Maybe I'll wear it and ask her to take a photo. HA!

Those products are designed for hospital and nursing home patients that need to gain weight. Check out the calorie and fat counts on those things. But, that's not to say you shouldn't follow your docs advice. Just be an informed patient is all I am suggesting.

Are you saying your doc filled you with a dilated pouch?? Usually that requires an unfill and liquids for 7-21 days so your pouch can go back to normal size.

You can't. Consider this, if you ate just protein, 1/4 cup three times daily that would give you 28.5gms protein daily. That doesn't include everything else necessary in your diet. Veggies?? Fruits??? GOOD carbs????

HA! Just TRY lurking. We will *find* you and haul your butt back out to posting.

Well, that was kinda my point. If you can't do one thing then do another. Speaking for myself ONLY I had no problem at one time getting my bubble butt to the kitchen for food but to move otherwise, it just didn't happen. If you can't do one thing then find another.

Yeah, why is that Lizrbit?

She sounds a great deal like my sis. Jealous. I think it takes a very selfish person to be jealous that you are losing weight while they maintain a large frame or continue gaining. I know I used to be jealous of people in my mind that were losing. It wasn't that I didn't want them to lose, I WAS indeed happy for them. I just wished I could do the same.

Respect, yes. Thank you.

Probably because they are on a fixed income. What makes you think "most" have a lot more in their bank accounts than us? Got any stats to back that up? Perhaps those that you personally know do but I'll bet if you take the average senior, they aren't exactly swimming in money with that $800 a month income. When they were saving for retirement a loaf of bread was probably $0.30. Stocks have taken a huge tumble, Medicare doesn't pay for nearly what it should, they typically have to pay for all their Rxs unless they get a $500/month secondary policy, and yeah, they've paid their dues. How much money are you saving in groceries because of your surgery? I know I save a ton. If I want to go to a buffet I don't ask for special favors because I have an eating disorder. Should anorexics ask for discounts? What about bulimia? They aren't actually going to USE their food, shouldn't they get a discount? What about mentally retarded people? What about blind people, what about everyone else in this world with their own disorder? Where do you draw the line? Who should get discounts? Since you have an eating disorder are you using less of their overhead such as air conditioning/heating? Do you use their tables, chairs, staff, dishes, and all the other parts of overhead? Food isn't their #1 cost. Did you ever ask to pay more when you ate more? Why not?

This thread hasn't been active in about 5 months. I'd suggest starting a new thread with specific questions.

Is she getting all these fills and unfills done under fluoro? Have slips, erosion, and various band complications been ruled out? Something isn't right here, it takes a LOT of calories just to maintain a 130kg body, probably 3000 calories daily. If she is only eating tea, Water, yogurt, and thin soup she can't be getting more than 1000 calories daily and you explain she has no active thyroid issues going. Something isn't right. Also, two slips... usually that is from PBing too much or pouch packing. If she is only drinking her food, what is she PBing on? She needs to see her doc.

Go see your doc and get an unfill/check-up under fluoro and find out once and for all what the problem is. It might be an overfill, might be a little swelling, might be a slip, maybe maybe maybe. Find out for sure. Good luck to you!

Sounds more like scar tissue. After surgery your port reacts to fat tissue and sometimes it melts and causes a lump. That or scarring. Usually people swear up and down that IS their port and 99% of the time it isn't the port at all. Usually it goes away in a few/several weeks. The port is sewn into the fascia, connective tissue above a muscle and below a fat pad. If you happen to carry a lot of weight in your belly you may not even be able to feel your port just yet. Call your doc, see what s/he says.

Do you really want to risk losing your band because of an overfill? Shouldn't you be maintaining by eating healthy foods vs. high cal foods? You've come so far, I'd hate to see you lose your band because you are either too tight or not eating properly. Just be careful.

How many calories?

I'm scheduled for a TT in six weeks.

For the most part it is cost and skill. Most of the popular Mexican surgeons are who trained most of the US surgeons in this procedure. It's typically half the cost with better care in Mexico. In the US most of the time this procedure is done on an outpatient basis. When you wake up they send you home. If a complication is going to happen it's usually in the first 48 hours. Thus, Mexican surgeons keep you in the hospital for 1-2 days. Regardless if you are going to a US or Mexican surgeon it is critical that you do your research. http://www.lapbandtalk.com/f11/researching-mexican-doctors-101-a-43575/

I don't agree that normal size people will gorge themselves just because they are at a buffet. That's more "fat thinking" vs. normal size person thinking. I mean let's face it, it's because of the normal size people that the creation of the doggy bag came to be. Fat people tend to take full portions of each item, thin people tend to take a few bites of everything. Bottom line for me is that they did not charge us more when we ate more, I feel it is unfair to ask them to charge us less because we eat more normal size portions. They have a set fee, eat all you want for "X" dollars. That might be a lot, it might be a little. The price is the same. If you don't want to pay it then go to a non-buffet type place. So many claim they don't want to be singled out anymore due to food issues and size issues yet they are the first one in line with that silly card in their hands wanting freebies or reduced meals. Were these same people asking to pay more when they were eating more than their fair share? I'd bet that's a no. I have a strong sense of right and wrong and reduced fees for our 'closer to normal' portions vs. fat portions seems very wrong to me. Besides, I got this surgery so people wouldn't single me out for food issues. I'll be darned if I'll start passing a card around wanting special treatment because I needed WLS to refrain from filling my face with far too much food.

Exercise. There are lots of reasons for overeating that might be out of our control but not exercising is from lazy behaviors. If someone can't run then walk. If they can't walk then chair exercises. It isn't a type of food specifically, it's a lifestyle change. A quality diet and exercise are what it takes to lose weight well.

1) They might not be able to effectively replace the band due to scar tissue and those that have eroded are more likely to erode again. Many prefer to go to the next step, a sleeve. 2) Depends on the doc's policy. 3) The hospitals don't work for free, depends on the hospital and number of complications as to what the cost will be.