DeLarla

I noticed Alex still doesn't have an avatar. Tick tock, tick tock.

Can anyone explain what's up with me? I'm calling my surgeon in a few hours. The poor guy was up till 3:00 a.m. doing my surgery and was constantly in surgery the entire time I was there. I don't want to call him at 6:00 a.m. unless it's an emergency. I always get flu-like symptoms after major surgery that start from having the tube down my throat. I always wake up from anesthesia crying because I can't catch my breath since my chest hurts. I had my band removed 4 days ago. Today I'm getting up and down with minimal pain, and I was even able to sleep on my side last night, but I can't get rid of the fever. I'm fine as long as I take the liquid Vicodin (has Tylenol) but once the meds start wearing off the fever returns and I get the chills, that start inside my bruised belly. Last night I had to go potty at 2:00 a.m. and forgot a robe, and the chills came on so bad that they were like mini convulsions. I took the liquid medicine and was able to fall back asleep, but I'm awake now and I'm afraid I'll start shaking again if I don't take the meds. Also, everything I drink comes right out the back door. I'm having constant diareah. I'm coughing up green phlegm and also blowing it out my sinuses, so I hope it's just bronchial related, but shouldn't I be on antibitics? Thanks for any advice or info you might have.

Good thread! Back to being good for all of us. I didn't enjoy too many holiday goodies this year since I learned I had erosion. Once you know your band is eroded, you get kind of queazy and are afraid to risk overeating. I guess my erosion saved any gain. But here I am, almost recovered from band removal and on my first day of counting calories. I get 1200 a day, which scares the pants off me. That's about how much falls on the floor while cooking! 1200 isn't much, but I have to make it work. I don't ever want to see 315 pounds again. That wasn't living.

I got Kare's CD and will use it as soon as I'm recovered from band removal. Weight ~ 243 January 3, 2006 Goal ~ To stick with 1200 calories a day and exercise every day. NSV ~ To wear this really cute size 18 outfit that I bought during a dream.

I never passed out, but I felt absolutely horrible for 2 weeks. I never thought it would get better but it did. Take it really easy and let your family pamper you. Walk as often as possible without pushing yourself. As for the pains, a Kingsize heating pad was my best friend. It was the only thing that brought my shoulders and back relief. Hang in there.

Welcome, and good luck on your jouney.

All I know is what I've read here in the past 1.5 years. I've never heard a single complaint about him or his facility - only the opposite. Good luck making your decision.

Thanks everyone Francesca, I tried calling you but got a wrong number. Most of you know that Francesca and I were banded at the same time, in the same hopsital. She had Ortiz, I had Lopez (they used to be partners but work separately now.) Now here we both are, unbanded. Today's the first day I'm starting to feel somewhat human again. That was a hell-of-a rough ride. I honestly don't think I could ever face another WLS again. Today's the first time food sounds/looks/smells good. I'm finding myself fighting the urge to eat since I'm not hungry, just and old habit. I have the best restriction in the whole world (probably due to swelling.) I was only able to eat 1/4 can of blended Soup and 2 oz cottage cheese befoer feeling too full, but the best part is that I don't get any horrible band PB feelings or misery, just wonderful fullness with no agony. If only it would last! So I'm up and about, and I plan to go back to work Thursday, maybe even tomorrow. I tore apart the sick bed and washed all the blankets and cleaned house a little, so it looks like I'll be back on my feet really soon. Thanks everyone for standing by my side through all this. I'm not one to lie or sugar coat, but the band removal experience was probably the worst thing I've ever been through. Then again, I'm the weirdo because everyone else seemed to come out okay. Francesca, I GOTTA get into that cute green skirt & sweater you gave me. I just gotta! Billy said I can have 1200 calories a day, so today I'm trying to count. Good luck to all of us for a lighter 2006.

I wasn't discharged the next day, so I didn't vote. I didn't get a barium though.

I think you can do it!!!!!

I'll be the nag who makes you all get regular endoscopies!

Like you can get rid of me? Kel, that was so nice of you

Welcome to Weirdoville! Even my own band surgeon calls me a weirdo. I hate to sound selfish, but it's nice that I'm finally not alone. Happy New Year, and good luck from the newest bandless bandster

If your food is still getting stuck, having the tube repaired can't fix anything. Food usually gets stuck from eating too fast, too big of a bite, or too much. A properly working tube won't make you stop eating chips and ice cream, either. You sound like you have two separate issues. You might need to have the tube fixed, but it sounds like you are associating that problem with poor food choices??? I apologize if I'm wrong, but I'm kinda cranky so I'm being hardcore this morning

I'm sorry, am I the only one that's going to yell at you for eating chocolate when you're hungry? Please tell me it's at least chocolate pudding that contains some Protein??? With that said, I agree with Sue and will probably get pelted for giving band-removal advice. But at this point, you don't sound like you're doing well with the band. I haven't heard of your exact problem, but I had a variety of esophageal problems associated with my band that weren't getting any better. If you can't even get liquids down, that's a huge problem. Maybe you should spend some time on the phone getting 2nd and 3rd medical opinions from band doctors. Good luck, I hope you feel better soon.

Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr! Go get'em.

It took me all this time to figure out your question, duh. No, your situation isn't a complication in my opinion. Maybe we need a poll though. I'm gonna call you later.

In America, we have a saying, "The squeaky wheel gets the oil." So start squeaking and sqwaking like a loud bird till someone hears you. Can you call your old surgeon and ask his advice? Will he take your calls? Call the maker of your band and ask for a list of doctors. I agree that you need an unfill for starters, then good band maitenance. I had a lot of phlegm that caused me to cough, and I had a contant sore throat from the acid reflux. As far as not losing weight, you might want to count up the calories for one day in the liquids and "sloppies" you eat. Sorry, but I have to laugh because in the US we call them mushies, and I think sloppy is a cute word for mushy food But you might be surprised how many calories are in liquids and mushy stuff. Fruit juices are very concentrated and fattening. If you drink juice, you can dilute it with Water and save some calories. Good luck, I hope you find a doctor soon.

Do they taste okay? If so, I'm jealous. I tried saving money by asking a friend to pick me up some powder at Sam's Club. The truckload-size-jug is bigger than my kitchen. Cans are so much better!

No matter what, there's no way Chris is gonna let me out of this house tonight. Not that I'm feeling well enough to go out, but missing New Year's Eve is like missing the birth of a child in some cultures (DeLarlaLand, for example.) So, tonight at midnight, would all my friends please raise their glasses twice and take a swig for me? Heck, go ahead and kiss a hot guy/girl/both? if you gotta. Let me know how it went, and have a safe and HAPPY NEW YEAR!

If you've been banded more than a year and haven't had your band looked at from the inside, it's time. Some of us had perfect Upper GI (barrium swallow) results even though we were eroded. My Upper GI results a few weeks ago came back normal, but I'm about 50% eroded according to the pictures taken with the endo camera yesterday. Getting a band means a lifetime of band maintenance. Even though the surgeons say erosion isn't emergent, I haven't seen a surgeon tell anyone to go on vacation with their eroded band or anything like that. I was warned to take it very easy from now till band removal. I'm to chew extra well and stick with mushies and liquids. A perforation at this point could send me to the Emergency Room, and that's the WRONG place to have band removal surgery. Having an experienced band surgeon for the removal is a must.

After Dr. Billy's lecture on caloric intake, Chris actually listened. He's got "great respect for the only man that knows how to shut his wife up." So out of respect for Billy, Chris (completely clueless when it comes to nutrition, calories, fat grams, sugar, etc.) has decided to see if he can stay within my required 1200 calories today. He asked me to put a chart up, and has been bugging me for calorie counts. If anyone knows how many calories a cup of spaghetti meat sauce contains, I'd really appreciate it. So he just came running to me because he forgot to tell me he drank a Sprite. He can't even figure out how to read the "Chinese" nutrition label, so I explained one serving had 100 calories. When I told him his large bottle contained two servings that equal 200 calories, he got all pissed off and stormed out of the room mumbling, "If I knew it had 200 F-ing calories, I certainly wouldn't have drinkin' the crap." He's killing me!

The nurses said they see too many complications from all types of weightloss surgery. I'm just repeatin' what I heard. Billy called & said my fever is normal and time plus movement (exercise) will get me better. I ran some errands and walked to earn movies in bed with my fur babies.

Just don't drink, that would make it worse. Are you having a PB? A "productive burp" is when a particle gets stuck or trapped. It's very uncomfortable, and a good amount of thick slime starts coming up. Normally, one PB purges the stuck item out, then you're supposed to take it easy on your band for a couple days be eating soft foods. A PB is different than a vomit though. Are you throwing up, like from below your belly?

"Erosion causes port site infection." Yet this statement is acceptible? I know several women who didn't have port site infections that were eroded. Why is my statement being corrected yet this "opinion" isn't?