WASaBubbleButt

You know what? I learned something really odd during my sleeve post op diet. I was a bit too thin and trying not to lose on my post op diet. Sugar is not my trigger food, never has been. Anything with flour is my trigger food. So I was consuming large amounts of sugar trying to at least maintain if not gain a few pounds. Nothing happened. I started eating my trigger foods... anything with flour. I was consuming fewer calories than I was with sugar and gaining weight, which was my goal. But why didn't I gain with sugar and I did with flour? Weird. Dee: WLS doesn't get us thin, it helps us create a life style change that is needed. Diabetics can't have sugar, some folks can't have chocolate if they are allergic to it, some can't tolerate dairy, we can't have white carbs. We all have issues with food, some for different reasons than others. If you don't adopt a total lifestyle change you won't lose or keep it off.

Thanks. I'm fine now, great as a matter of fact. My weight bounces around but usually the low 120s. It's quite a challenge to not lose with a sleeve but I knew that going into this. So it all works. I'm a whole lot healthier now without a band, it just wasn't for me. My biggest mistake was trying to MAKE the band work and make it last. I should have done a revision a long time ago.

Not sure about this... I was on liquids for four months right before my revision to a sleeve. It was band intolerance, nothing anyone did wrong including me and my doc. By about the 3rd month of liquids and an unfilled band I was at my wits end. By the time I was done with the sleeve post op diet I jokingly told my friends I was so skinny I looked like a crack whore. I truly was at my wits end. I tried not to post much about it here because I knew I was not my usual self and life would be better but my friends got an ear full ... often. I would scream, yell, cry, swear, complain, but mostly vent. I think about this person and understand much of what they are saying and I guess I just relate to the sheer frustration. You want to point a finger and blame someone but there is nobody to blame. You want a fix that doesn't make you fear the "fix" will make all your problems permanent. When the band works it's great. When it doesn't work it interferes with every single aspect of your life. You can't go out in public for fear that you'll barf on your own spit, I was so weak from a horrible diet of liquids and weight loss that I couldn't even go shopping because I couldn't walk that far. Going out to lunch or dinner with friends... that's totally out. Anything involving food... forget it. I was talking to Green today on the phone. She was just cured of throat cancer. She was on mega doses of chemo and radiation. She was talking about how much weight she lost and how sitting in a hard chair was painful. Running a bar of soap over your body when you are thin and taking a shower... it hurts because your bones stick out such as your rib cage. She was thin due to chemo/radiation, I was thin due to the band. We were comparing stories about what it feels like to have your bones stick out. We totally related to one another. I relate to the fear and frustration. I think it's one of those things you have to experience. In a case like this I am not going to assume since they don't post much they are a big fat liar. I'm not going to do it. I didn't relate many of the details I was experiencing during my own worst of the worst band issues for various reasons. Mostly I didn't want to scare the newbies with my extreme. I'm not typical, it's common to lose a band but not typical. I'll tell you one thing, if someone would have accused me of lying about my band issues when I was going through the worst of it, I would have come out fighting from every which way. I try to give everyone the benefit of the doubt unless they are a lying, deceitful, lowly, snake like, worst of the worst, greedy patient coordinator. Then I come out in attack mode. But another banded person? Nope, I'm not going to assume the worst unless I have very good reason to do so. What if I was wrong? What if you are wrong? I learned a long time ago that if you have band problems the newbies get scared and try to disprove your issues or blame you for the issues. Old timers are much more realistic and less fearful. But newbies never want to HAVE a newbie band and see someone lose theirs. They fear they will be next. They are the folks that are not realistic about what can potentially happen. I have no clue if you are a newbie or old timer, I didn't look. I'm not inferring you are doing this. I have no idea.

If I were to have surgery in AZ it would probably be with Berger in Flagstaff. But Mexicali, MX is a much cheaper option if you are self pay. $7K.

Due to price wars in MX the going rate for a band is $7K. For $7K you can get a really good surgeon and hospital. Did you see my sig link? DO YOUR RESEARCH!

Just for the sake of comparison... I had my band done in Mexico. I have the cell phone of my surgeon and his two asst. surgeons as well as the coordinator and office manager. He provides aftercare for life at no charge however the hospital does charge for the use of fluoro ($80). I have a lifetime access to the psych and NUT. Total cost: $7K. That includes surgery, two nights in the hospital, aftercare, etc. Support groups, we made our own local support group. People with many different doctors, some local some Mexican. I think you were being scammed, good for you for not putting up with it!

I don't eat low carb anymore, I haven't in a long time. I eat no white carbs. Broccoli did not get us fat. Flour, sugar, rice, potatoes, Pasta got us fat. If you want to get fat, eat white carbs. If you want to lose, stop eating white carbs. There is absolutely no food value in flour and sugar, it is bad for you. The surgery just gives you a tool so you CAN do it. It doesn't absorb the bad stuff. Every fat person has a carb issue. It's just the way it works. The more you eat the more you crave. Stop eating your trigger foods completely and the cravings die down. You can't expect to have surgery and then eat carbs and lose. It doesn't work that way. There are a lot of head issues that go with WLS and if you don't work through the head issues nothing works well. If you do lose you won't likely keep it off until the head stuff is done. I think it's just the nature of the beast.

I guess I disagree. I think everything should be posted, the good and bad. When you have spent a bloody fortune getting surgery and then you barf non stop you get resentful. I want to see the opinions of absolutely everyone. To expect someone to not post because they didn't post during their problem stage isn't really fair, the person may not have known this forum existed then. We don't know. There are lots of different personality types posting on boards and this one is no exception. On another board someone posted asking if people had it to do over again would they get a band. I responded that no, I probably would not get a band if I knew then what I know now. She asked which procedure I would get and why. My response was limited to the long term risks and complications with the band, sleeve, and bypass. I did not diss the band, I didn't not make negative claims, none of that. I merely listed the long term complications of all three major procedures. Another poster (a newbie) chimed in and told me I shouldn't be negative about the band on the band board. If newbies are coming for information ... she flat out told me that I should only post the positives of banding. If I wanted to write the negatives I should go to any forum but the band forum. WTH? How does this make sense? How is anyone to make an informed decision if they only hear one side of the story? I didn't write anything negative about the band, I wrote the long term risks and complications for bands, sleeves, and bypass. That is negative about the band? I want people sharing their stories, successes, failures, frustrations, anger, whatever they have... I want to hear their stories. Isn't that the only fair way to give newbies information so they can base their own decision? I didn't know about LBT when I was first banded, I only knew about OH. Two years ago OH was MUCH different from now and anyone having band problems was all but chased away after being told it was their own fault for not following some magic set of rules. Turns out there are issues with the band that are not the patient's fault. But for some it's like a religion and they go out and recruit for their surgery type the way hard core fundies recruit for their religion. That's not right. I don't care which procedure someone has as long as they are informed, healthy, and it's working. Makes no difference to me if it is a band, sleeve, bypass, gastric ball, MGB, DS, or the others. If I had heard some of the negatives about the band I might not have opted for that procedure, I'm not sure. No single surgery type is a one size fits all, a band is best for some, a sleeve for others. Newbies need all the info so they can make the right choice for them.

Sorry you are having so many problems. It's spooky revising to another procedure but sooo worth it if the original surgery isn't doing the trick. Good luck to you!

Oh my goodness, bariatriceating.com is probably one of the most expensive places on the internet to buy anything. Some good places are: Bodybuilding.com - The Future Of Bodybuilding! Huge Bodybuilding Site. AllStarHealth.com - Vitamins and Nutritional supplements at Discounted Prices My favorite is: Netrition.com - The Internet's Premier Nutrition Superstore! Bariatriceating.com did a real job on the boards with a sleeved person (Obesityhelp.com) and they were just horrible. A nurse that works for them came on slamming a poster thinking she was their customer. Needless to say, we all started protesting them. I never bought from them anyway just because they are soooo expensive.

I went to Mexico for my band and then when I wanted a revision my doc is the only one I trusted for a revision since those surgeries are a lot more difficult to do and carry more risk. I'm completely sold on MX! I did go back to MX for my aftercare with a band because I'm driving distance but with my sleeve I have no aftercare or maintenance so it's a non issue now. But I could have had my aftercare with a band done locally.

Alex, I do understand what you are saying. But there is a history here and not forgotten easily. I think you understand the situation I am referring to and quite frankly I am following your rules. There's nothing in your rules that says I have to like or respect all of your mods. You are the one that brought this to open forum so you really can't blame me for expressing my feelings on the matter.

Ohhhh, I know what thread you are talking about. Some people don't want help, they want validation that it's not their fault they are fat and too lazy to exercise. They want someone to agree with them that they can't exercise and move their bum. That validation happened in that thread but not by anyone losing well or at goal. ;o)

Sorry you had that happen to you. When I was in the weight loss phase I had the same thing happen to me a few times. You just have to realize that the people that write those things are the very same people too lazy to get off their dead arses and exercise a bit. You know, food issues are not completely within our control, refusing to exercise - that's just lazy. Surgery doesn't fix lazy. I just remember that *I* am the one at goal, THEY are the folks slamming those that have it in them to get it done. You know, it will happen after goal too. There is a person that posts in this section, likely reading this post. She is the one that told me I didn't have a right to (self pay) a revision surgery because I was at goal. She told me that I should have my band removed, gain weight, THEN revise to a sleeve. I had just explained that I was eating frosting and ice cream to maintain my weight and she told me I was anorexic with body image issues. I guess because I didn't want to balloon up to her size before switching procedures. I've already lost weight, I have already done what is necessary. I'm not doing it again so she can feel better about herself and I think that is what it comes down to. People see you and realize it can be done but it takes work and they don't want to do the work, they think they paid a lot of money for surgery and the surgery should do it all for them. Life doesn't work that way.

Sometimes having surgery in the US isn't always good, but it's sure to be expensive. ;o) There are very good doctors in every country. I think one advantage to leaving the country for surgery is that people tend to do a little more research on their doctor when he's outside of the country. In the US *IF* people do any research at all it is typically a matter of asking a few people if they "liked" their doctor. That's their research. Many assume they are safe if they have surgery in the US and that simply isn't true. We have our share of really horrific doctors that no medical board seems to act on. One great place to start researching a physician in ANY country is here: Welcome to the American College of Surgeons

Respect is earned, Alex. So is disrespect. I probably wouldn't take it to PM with her but I would with you if it came to it.

Dummy spit? Tanty? LOL!!!! Ohhhh Jacqui, I love to listen to you type! ;o)

I think that is probably pretty normal. I almost backed out three days before surgery. I came very close to saying, "Nahhh... I don't think so!" ;o) It'll be fine, you'll see.

And WASa! ;o)

The kewl people get sleeved. Heh....

Congrats!!!!!!!!! You'll get it, you'll see! Hawaiian Punch... drinking the s/f stuff as I type~

Susan... While I realize you like to play mod at every bloody freak'en opportunity, we are adults and we read it well the first time.