La_madam

Avon makes a great hair and nail vitamin that I started taking at the first of the year..I have noticed a signifigance difference in my hair loss.

Janie, I have had 3 fills and I am still able to drink my water without sipping it.. Come on girl go and get a fill..you got the band for it to work at the best of its ability right? Well it works best when inflated which means getting fills. There is nothing to be afraid of. You will still be able to drink water silly. I am at 2.5cc's and am still able to take my pills also without it getting stuck

jonathan if i were you i would be on my way to the Er demanding an x-ray to make sure there is no blockage. something is not right. your should be able to get down liquids by now and i agree throwing up is throwing up. have them check to see if your band has slipped. the day i had my surgery there was a lady in the hospital who had her surgery the week before me and was still there and when i asked why she told me her band had slipped before she even left the hospital. i asked how did she know and she told me she could not even keep down her own saliva anything that went into her mouth came right back up. if your wife is a nurse she has got to think that this is not normal right? call your doctor today.

very interestin about the milk. i just met with my dr. & nutritionalist and they both told me to drink 24 oz of milk a day as it helps with weight loss. i was told to take 400-500 mg of chronium picolinate for aid in weight loss and metabolism This is what I was told 24 Ounces, 24 Hours - The Milk and Weight Loss Connection A growing body of evidence suggests that drinking 24 ounces of lowfat or fat free milk each day when losing weight can help people lose more weight by burning more fat than just cutting calories alone. The mix of essential nutrients found in milk, including calcium and Protein, appear to improve the body's ability to burn fat, particularly around the middle. thanks for all the info i will definately research it all in depth

shoulder pain with a PB is very common had it happen yesterday as a matter of fact with my son and his friend in the car. i never eat while driving but my son was eating something and asked me to taste it so i did like a dummy and took too big of a bite and did not chew it preoperely and it was the worst pb i have ever ever experienced, so far i have pbed 4 times in 10 months and yesterdays was the one from hell. i got a bite stuck for a good 30 minutes and had the slime, saliva and horrible pain in my chest and shoulder. finally asked my son to dump his coke out the window so i could use his cup to pb in, it was not a pretty sight while drving , he and his friend were a little grossed out. been on liquids all day cuz i know im swollen something fierce, my esophagus had a major work out with that bite. i have heard from many and read posts from many that the shoulder pain is common more so when you have a nice tight fill and daily restriction

it is interesting about what you sat about ulcers because according to my surgeon and I quote him "Even though medication has been know to cause stomach ulcers, it has not been related to band erosions into the stomach". so many different theories, i gues we all tend to believe our own surgeon though

fullnes is something you will have to work on in your head. us obese people eat until we are full stuufed and miserable , well not any more. eating until satisfied is now the rule of thumb. got to get it out of your head about eating until you are full. you will no longer be living to eat but instead eating to live.

i sure wish the docotrs doing this surgery would stress to their patients that the first 6 weeks is not about losing weight. it is about healing. any weight you lose during the first 6 weeks is a plus. the band is made to have liquid in it to work its best. so once you get your fills you will notice a difference in your weight loss. you can not get discouraged now, you are in for a long haul. best wishes to you

rinsing out your pouch with a big glass of water before bed to make sure the pouch is completely empty will help avoid refulx at nightime

you sure can express yourself, that was great!

i had the same problem it lasted for 3-4 weeks. major swelling i did not have my fill until 3 months post op. you are of the norm

Dr. Ortiz in TJ Mexico is one of the only doctors right now in the country who does Lap Bands over a Byapss. He has done several revison surgeries of this kind www.obesitycontrolcenter.com

Hang in there Seppi I know it is hard but the good thing is you found out about some other medical problems that obviously need to be addressed, you would hate to find out later after banding and have it be a problem right? Iam a tru believer that everything happens for a reason in our lives. Soon you will have your day

I guess I am lucky then to live so close to the border becasue driving to Dr. Billy ( he is the closest US doc for me that is Inamed certified that will take patients from Mexico, I have called them all from OC to LA ) or driving to Dr. Ortiz is the same distance and I'd much rather go south then north on the 5 frwy on a weekday not to mention there is a sense of security "for me" going to my original surgeon.... I had a problem with esaophagitis ..called Dr. Ortiz on a evening at 6:30 and I met him in his office on his day off the next morning at 9:00 am , it was just him and I & he spent over an hour with me answering all of my questions and checking my band under flouro with the barium, prescribed me a medication even called the next day to see how I was and called the day after that..2 weeks later when he knew I had finished my medication he called again...he was very caring and concerned..so you can get good aftercare in Mexico...This is just my experience and like I said I guess I'm one of the lucky ones Lisa I am curious though ..didnt you also have 2 or 3 doctors here in the US who also looked at your wound who did not do a culture either? If I recall correctly , you did right? ..so why do you say none of the 3 doctors in Mexico did a culture when the Dr's here did not do one either? Just curious I agree though with Lisa & Penni that if you live out of the area and not close to the border like I do, you must arrange aftercare in your area prior to your surgery in Mexico..it is vital, especially in the event of an emergency.

Wore my very first pair of the low waisted flair bottom jeans that all the teenage girls wear. Vera gave them to me at the clothing exchange in Vegas. I finally felt comfortable enough to wear them without my gutt hangin over. WOW did I get compliments It must of really accentuated my weight loss. My boys even told me I looked hot

You can still drink alcohol but just know this you will most likely lose at a slower pace if you drink. Alcohol is just wasted liquid calories and liquid calories with the band are a NO NO , it is your choice on how you want to lose your weight. Me personally, losing weight is a hell of alot more important then any alcoholic drink..I can have fun with or with out it when Iam out with my friends. I have drank 2 times since being banded , first was in October and had maybe 4 cocktails over the course of a weekend in Vegas when I met all of the women from this site and then in December when I took all of my employees out for their Christams party, one glass of wine .Yes I feel my port from the outside.. Best of luck to you on your decision

Did your Dr. extract all of the air out of the lines before your first fill? You would know by the unbelieveable sensation you feel while he is doing this, it is almost like a squeezing of your chest and heart from the inside out as he extracts the air. Most experienced band Dr.'s do this for this exact reason. There is an excerpt about this in Dr. Ortiz's book..if all of the air is not extracted it will give you a flase read . Everytime I have been in for a fill what has been extracted is the exact ammount of what he had put in. Here is a quote from his book " Most experienced Lap Band surgeons reccomend repurging of the lap band at the ime of the first fill. Even though the band is purged of the air at the time of surgery, Lap Band surgeons usually find air in the band during the first fill. Experienced lap band specialists have found that if there is air in the system. it will leak and part of the fill will be lost. liquid DOES not leak from the band normally, but air does. Therefore, if at the first fill the band was inflated with 2cc's of saline and an additional .5 of air were in the system the total of 2.5 provided a very good restriction,but in a couple of weeks time the air leaks out and that acceptable restriction is now inadequate. If the original fill volume is not the same in the next visit, the patient should not panic. Usually it means that there was air in the system. Rarely will it be a true leak in the system that needs a repair". Hope this helps

Hi Jonathan Congratulations on your new band! There is alot of swelling , every day it gets easier, just take tiny sips as often as you can. It seems from all of the other mens post that i have read here and on other boards that what you are experiencing is more common among men. Hang in there..I'm happy for you . I wish you the best

I have the Yahoo spyware and so far so good..make sure you check the box where it says Scan for tracking cookies before you run your scan...

As hard as it is..Don't let any man sabatoge you. Yes most of us eat for emotional reasons..but there is a better way to look at it..Don't give in to temptation of food and get your butt in gear and make that man regret the day he ever broke it off with you..You show him!! You can do this , like the others said.get something to keep your hands busy even if it means coming here and posting and reading..I find this place helps when I want to eat. I come back here into my room away from the kitchen and log on to LBT, soon my mind is preoccupied from the food cravings..Hang in there

Eyes rolling in the back of my head and stomach queezy ready to fall of my chair It was the close-up that did it! I'm a whimp when it comes to that kind of stuff but like everyone else I had to take a peek. All I can say , who better to take care of you then Nurse Penni...you are in such caring and experienced hands Dr. Billy knows his stuff Hope everyday that passes is a better day for you

Yes No Pop-ups here but then again I have 3 pop up blockers loaded on this computer.

Where do you live? Maybe there is someone here who is in your area whi can tell you their experiences with their surgeon, then go from there..

Your Esophagus is most likely irritated and swollen which could be why you can not eat solids. Your esophagus went through a major works out on that day. Your stomach could also be swollen. My Dr. has me do 3 days of liquids after a fill for that reason give it a few days ..if it were me Iwould do liquids for a couple more days to be safe. I had esophagitis and trust me it is not fun! OR Alot of bandsters say they can not eat until afternoon or evening. You would be amazed at how much of a difference .5 cc's can make.It doesnt seem like alot but in a band it is ... I just went from 2cc's to 2.5cc's and it was a huge difference in my restriction level and I do not eat until way later in the day also since this last fill 2 weeks ago . In the mornings a cup of hot tea or coffee has been said to open you up a little bit to make it possible to eat. This could be all that it is if you are able to eat with no problems, no PBN or reflux or heartburn.Good Luck

I'm so glad you have Penni to take care of you. She truly is an Angel