WASaBubbleButt

Of those that get it that is usually something that doesn't last forever. Being banded is hard, no doubts there. Being fat is much harder. I'm just approaching getting a taste of thin and let me tell you. My journey has been hard, exceedingly hard. The first six months was a horror due to bizarre complications. If I had it to do all over again I would do it without a 2nd thought. If a lump in my throat was the worst of it I'd be thrilled. But it wouldn't have been anything compared to what I was dealing with the first six months. During that time I wasn't so sure about all this band stuff but now that I'm getting a taste of approaching thin? I wouldn't trade it for the world. If a lump in my throat for a while was the worst of it, this journey would have been a piece of cake. You need to sit down and seriously think about how bad you want thin. That's the bottom line.

Doubtful. Those that create their own reality also go along with the reality created by others on line.

Neveragain IS hot! I've seen him in real time and I'm telling you, he's a sweetie and damned fine looking. That photo of him on his avatar does not do him justice at all. If I was just a little bit younger..... (be still my heart!)

Why didn't your doc do it in his office? For ports they can numb you up and do it that way. LOTS cheaper.

And it tastes sooooo good too! Mmmmmmmm BTW... plastics is scheduled for 12/3/07 so far. Still going to watch? Is that date doable for you?

BTW Darlen, I'd like to remind you of one other thing. YOU need a fill, we discussed this the other day. When you have proper restriction and chug LOTS of Water when you are stuck, be sure to give me a call and let me know how that works for you. I'd love to hear! HA!!! Seriously, don't do the water thing when you have good restriction. It will be like taking a hammer to that stuck piece of food and cramming it snugly in your stoma for alllllll the rest of eternity.

I think tears are normal at this point. You are about to take on a life changing opportunity and as great as the results will be, the "getting there" part can kinda suck especially in the beginning. It's hard, you are about to give up a good friend. food. There is no easy way to deal with that. Some have an easier time of it than others. But make no mistake, there are hard parts to this and you have clearly done your research and you know that. In some ways getting banded is like buying a really cool car and knowing you are going to be run over by that same car. But! It's the method to make you thin and healthy in the end. You know what? The first month I was banded I saw people naming their bands and I thought that was just weird. Plain old bizarre. But I finally named my own band the first time I discovered sliming. My band's name is "Spawn of Satan" and there are days it fits. But I can't imagine life without Spawn of Satan, as hard as it was in the beginning I'd do it all over again. To be able to walk into a room and not be the fat girl? Words can't express how that feels. To be able to be normal sized? Priceless. To buy clothes in regular stores? It's FUN! Shopping is back to being fun. Food is something I can take it or leave it. It does not control my life anymore. Sure, there are days I hate my band. But 99% of the time I love it because it gave me my life back. Yours will too. The tears are normal, you are fine. You are feeling exactly what you are supposed to be feeling, a mix of bloody everything. Congrats to you for making a great decision!

Hey! There's an idea! You could also just beg for a dilated pouch and/or esophagus at the same time cuz that's what could happen. (Neveragain knows how to take what I say, he won't be insulted, he's a sweetie)

Please tell your nutritionist that she is the most wonderful person in the whole world and I was not a female I might just love her. Many nutritionists get tired of hearing us complain about the flavors and tastes of whey and soy and having a hard time finding a product we tolerate well. So they finally just tell you to drink whatever you want. They get lazy. New Whey has some whey and lots of collagen. Other test tube products have all collagen. Whey is a byproduct of cheese, collagen is essentially boiled horse/cow skin, fur, hooves, and joint ligaments. Whey is quality, collagen is the cheap crap they make dog food from. Please, hug your nutritionist for me because she is wonderful!

I wouldn't keep it in the frig if I were you, if you are stuck you are already in spasms. COLD pineapple juice might just make you barf. I keep mine in the cupboard.

I'm down to $81.25. Still seems pricey, but I'll live with it!

Right. We have two stomachs (don't cows have more than one stomach too? HA!) It's not really the size of your stomach as it goes right through to the next one (kinda) but you have MUCH less food in your stomach and intestines and it's absorbed immediately. I have found that I get absolutely drunk immediately after one drink but it doesn't last long. I'm sober again in a very short time. I don't drink much anyway but now I'm a lightweight in a huge way.

There are two of us that I have seen post about pineapple juice. The stuff works wonders. Dole brand makes a six pack of 6oz cans. They are perfect. Unsweetened, plain old pineapple juice. Just a few sips is all it takes and that's all you WANT to take if you are stuck. If you drink too much you'll barf. meat tenderizer is disgusting and bitter and you might find that you barf just because of the bitter flavor and it seems to take a long time to work. I have tried papaya and it doesn't do a thing for me, but it does for others. Pineapple juice works because it breaks down whatever is stuck (especially meat) so it will pass. Something I discovered by accident for foaming. If you are stuck just a little and foaming non stop I found the PERFECT cure!!!! A friend of mine and I went to lunch and she has first bite syndrome, got stuck, and started foaming. The cure is simple, 1/2 teaspoon of vinegar and oil based salad dressing. Italian (not creamy) dressing... just a bit. Within minutes the foaming comes to an end. It works for her just like it does me, within minutes. Like two minutes. Foaming comes to a dead stop, being stuck stops in about 2-3 minutes. I suspect the reason it works is the vinegar stops the foaming and the oil helps what is stuck... pass. I prefer an oriental dressing myself, it's Girards chicken Salad Dressing. You can find it in the grocery store and it's in a triangle bottle. It's yummy. That or plain old Italian. Personal opinion I think we should ALL have a bottle of vinegar/oil based dressing for foaming and being stuck or if you are just stuck, stick with pineapple juice. I even plan on ordering Girards dressing in the single serving packets for two reasons. I can keep on with me at all times in public and also, it's the only way I can eat lettuce. Some people have challenges with lettuce going down. Oriental dressing makes it slide right through with NO problems. Again, I suspect it's the overwhelming amount of oil in the dressing. It slides right down.

If your doc can remove your gallbladder with the size of your liver, he can place a band. He's full of crap. He makes more money off of bypass, bottom line. If he can remove your gallbladder given your liver but not place a band, you seriously need to find a new doc. Did these folks also mention that within 18 months to 5 years the intestinal tissue that is bypassed during GB begins to regrow and you can once again absorb fat and calories? You will NEVER absorb nutrition normally again but you will absorb fat and calories again. Then you'll rediscover traditional diet and exercise all over because that is what you will be left with. Check out the revisions board on OH. It isn't people going from band to bypass, it is people who had bypass that are now getting a band. If you are unsure of the band then perhaps consider gastric sleeve, but oh my goodness, not bypass. With ANY WLS you have to relearn normal eating patterns. It's just the way it is. I really think that with bypass the reason there is such a high failure rate is because they still eat bad foods but they just don't absorb them in the beginning. Not everyone dumps with bypass so they don't learn proper eating. We HAVE to relearn proper eating, your band doesn't typically give you huge choices on carb type foods. You are forced to cut carbs and bump up Protein. I don't consider that dieting, I consider that relearning basic eating habits. I've lost over 90lbs since December and I have relearned a great number of things. I'm not obsessed with food anymore, I don't care about carbs, I don't care about sweets, if someone told me I would have to do liquids for a month I honestly, sincerely, wouldn't care anymore because food is just no longer a priority in my life. The band forces you to learn this. It's not as optional as it is with bypass. Bypass is extreme, you will never absorb nutrition normally again. You will be taking supplements for the rest of your life. You will never absorb Calcium, Iron, or B Vitamins normally again. Do you have ANY idea what that means long term? You'll have to take huge amounts of supplements for the rest of your life, get blood tests periodically to make sure you are taking enough massive amounts of these things so that you can absorb a small quantity of what you take. Some people are okay with that. I can't say that I am. Maybe you are. Each person has to do what is right for them. You have to consider your options, consider your personality, consider your compliance with medical directives, and decide what will work best for you. Good luck to you.

Most docs American and Mexican have their own companies that they use for financing. I didn't finance mine, I wrote a check so I can't speak from personal experience but I know there are a number of folks here that have done it. Hopefully this post will bump it up to the top and others can chime in with personal experience.

Well, to be really honest if your doc can't figure it out it is unlikely we will be able to give you any clue either. Sorry.

I don't know, I think most people are pretty critical of themselves. Others don't us nearly the way we see ourselves. Honestly, I tend to doubt you are as you say. :car: Oh, I believe that YOU believe that, but I'm not entirely sure you are accurate.

Yesterday I was reading another board (not LBT) and a banded gentleman was complaining about his doctor. This man is a large man, was banded about a year ago, and has lost 50lbs. He was explaining that he was annoyed with his doc for asking about his diet and exercise. The guy goes on to explain he paid $10K for surgery and he believes as much as he paid the band should be doing most of the work. He went for a fill and his doc (a TJ doc) asked about diet and exercise and he was annoyed that his doc would ask such a question. The meaning was that it doesn't matter what his diet and exercise are, the band should be doing the work and not him. He was actually upset with the doc for suggesting he should be playing more of an active role in his own weight loss. It makes me wonder what goes through the heads of some people. Does he think that the band does the exercise for him while he sleeps? What kind of exercise can a 2oz band do??? What am I missing? Dietary changes, doesn't that enter his mind? HELLOOOO? He made a big issue about how he had plenty of money and $10K was nothing so he wasn't angry that the band wasn't working properly but if he couldn't afford the $10K he might feel differently. Of course since he has all this cash laying around the house and $10K is but a drop in the bucket - why would he go to Mexico for surgery to save a few thousand? How do you even respond to such ... crap? Where do you start? Who in this day and age believes a 2oz band can do all the work for you? You can drink 4,000 calories a day but because you paid $10K for surgery it will still permit you to lose weight. Another person, she called me on day #4 after surgery and explained that she was in pain from eating chicken and chewy candy. I asked why she ate that. She explained she wanted it. I asked if she was there for the lectures explaining the post op diet. She said she was. I asked if she knew she was supposed to be on Clear liquids at that point. She knew. But she wanted it so she ate it now it hurt and she wanted to know why it hurt. She was assuming the doctor did something wrong during surgery. I asked if she did any research before getting surgery, she said no. It wasn't necessary. You see, others did research and they had surgery so the band must be a good thing. Another... I was in Mexicali for a fill several months ago and there was a patient that already heard two lectures from the docs regarding how the band works, what to do, how to eat, the surgical process, the works. She *still* thought the band would go on the outside of her body and squeeze her waist so she couldn't eat much. The girl SAW the band! It's as big around as a quarter and she saw no problem with putting that on the OUTSIDE of her stomach! Honestly, I don't know how some people survive to adulthood. Who the heck reminds them to breathe 16 times a minute?

Hey Wendell... Are you paying attention to topics on this section of the board? :car:

Denise... I couldn't agree more. It makes me crazy when I see posts that AFTER surgery they don't understand why they still crave food, they thought getting the band would make it "Easy" to stop these cravings. I have to give my doc credit, he explained ALL this to me the day before surgery, the morning before surgery, right after surgery, and twice more after that. He couldn't have told me enough times. He said the surgery was the easy part, the hard part comes down the road. He was right. I think it's a combination of docs not taking time to educate their patients and patients not educating themselves. I have to admit, the one thing I did not know about before surgery was how many ways there are to barf. I had no clue! I've never barfed in so many different ways. PB's, full barf, stomach vomit, sliming, foaming, then there is when it just drains out of your mouth with no effort. I had no clue about that. :car: But the rest, I had a solid understanding because I researched it to death. Another thing that absolutely makes me crazy is how people don't research their docs! They go on line and a few people claim they had a good experience with Dr. X and that is their research. Ask them their docs stats and they haven't a freak'en clue! How stupid is that????

Ahhhh, a recipe I can help with!!!! Rum and freshly squeezed pineapple juice Rum and freshly squeezed lemonade YUMMY!

I figure out how much each pound cost me. In the beginning when I lost 8 pounds it was "about" $1,000/pound. I'm down to......: $82.11 per pound! YEA ME!!

Dana... I like this post and I like your ideas. I might just steal a few if that is okay. :car: Hope the kid is unstuck now. HA!

Stupid people are indeed multiplying. I mean, looks at the threads we are all writing in sheer frustration of how stupid people are. I've had people eat their suppositories, put their contraceptive jelly on their toast in the morning, drink their enemas, cram a suppository up their back side not realizing the aluminum foil wrapper should be removed first.... the list is endless. People are stupid, no way around it.

Luvox is in the Prozac family. Some drugs such as this change the nerve impulses along nerves pathways. In my case it changes the nerve impulses between my stomach and brain so my brain doesn't think I have more restriction than I do. A *very* rare bandster complication. I'm the first in my doc's 1600 people. Another doc has done 3000 bands and he's had two people like me. This particular drug also deals with stress issues. You know how when you are really stressed you have major mega restriction? Not so with Luvox. I finally went to sleep about 6AM and just woke up. Will try Water in a few hours.