DeLarla

Vooey's newest baby.

OMG, I must have one! I'm chair-dancing to Play that Funky Music in my office right now. The whole firm thinks I'm weird, but when I asked to get fired my attorney said, "You could never be so lucky." Not sure what that means, but I think they like weirdos. Kare, so generous! Ask Donali and Penni how much I appreciate music! Donali gave me an MP3 player with a bunch of mixed CDs that I absolutely love (hint, hint Donali) and Penni saved my entire life by giving me an IPOD! Since then, I've purchased an IPOD for my hubby. Hubby even put a DVD player in the truck so I can watch my Pink Floyd and Alanis DVDs while he's driving. I'm a big dancer, can't keep my feet still, so I'll LOVE it! Thank you Kare Bear!

Intelligent people research weight loss surgery prior to making their final decision. Is it fair to keep intelligent people in the dark and pretend everything's peaches? I don't think so. If you don't like what you read, click on another thread. I'm personally horrified that anybody pumps up weight loss surgery without first warning people about the variety of painful and expensive potential risks. Getting a Band or a Bypass comes with risks that can potentially be fatal. Hidden unaffordable expenses, infections, port replacement, erosions, hospitalization, severe reflux, dehydration, coma, death. Don't ignore the truth just because you're happy with your personal experience.

Sorry I'm late! Happy Birthday Hottie Daddy!

Well, you don't have to shove the quarters UP your butt, you just gotta get them in your pants! Like the old joke about the Polish guy who can't get a date (I can tell Polish jokes cuz I'm one.) The Polish guy asks the Italian guy how he gets so many dates, so the Irish guy tells him to put a potato in his pants. The next time the Pole saw the Irish dude, he said the women were staying even farther away from him, so the Irish guy said, "Well, you're supposed to put the potato in the FRONT!" I say wear men's underwear and sew the front flap closed and pack it with Kare's idea of silver dollars!

Terri, thank you for posting pics of your Christmas party! I love pics, ya'll know that! And right on, girl, for the raise and all the great new benefits. It's like the end of a sappy Christmas movie, which is pretty special.

You're stunning. Thanks for the update.

BEAUTIFUL! Congrads, you look so happy together

After giving it some thought, it didn't seem appropriate for me to barge in. I'm sorry I missed it, but glad you had fun here. Come back soon! I"m going to look at the pics now

All votes must be placed by Christmas. I have no idea what I'm doing, so please don't ask what the rules are: I nominate: Cutest screen name: Wheetsin

I have Uni-polar disorder? It's like manic-depressive, but I'm never depressed. I'm just full-time manic, so they call it Generalized Anxiety Disorder. "They" (all the medical professionals over my life) say that anxiety and depression go hand-in-hand, so they've tried medicating me with all the above, which have almost lead me to seizures. I carry Valium and Xanax with me in case of emergency, but I don't take them often.

Can I change my vote to Big Paul's? Whoever looks at the numbers, just use a marker across your screen and change my vote. I was a 60/60 girl before.

My doctor said there's no documented proof of pouch stretching. I asked why other doctors warn against carbonation. liquid usually goes straight through to the bottom portion, so carbonation gas would have to make its way back up to the pouch, which can be pretty uncomfy. Some people have a problem, I personally don't. My band isn't bothered by carbonation. I actually like a good healthy burp from time to time. However, if you drink carbonation and need to burp, by all means don't try to be ladylike. The the gas out! It's best to avoid carbonation though since there's nothing good about it, which is why my doc tells us to avoid it. He laughs because all his bandsters make such a big deal about giving up carbonation, but none of them are whining because they'll miss their Perrier (I gotta laugh with him.) He's right that most of us just want the sugar or the chemicals... I'm a Diet Pepsi junkie, so I miss all the fake chemicals that give me a headache!

I've had two port removals. Be patient and wait for the fill. My surgeon, Dr. Billy, has seen people get fills during port removal. They feel great during the fill, but the next day restriction hits them so hard that they can't swallow, so they're rushed back to the hospital for an unfill... but wait, how do you unfill a portless band? They have to place a new port in you, do the unfill, then remove the brand new port. Very expensive, painful, time consuming, frustrating. Not worth it. Since we're on the subject, ask your surgeon what he plans on doing with the tube while you heal. My first removal surgeon left the tube too close to the surface of my skin, so the wound never healed and stayed infected for 8 months. The 2nd port removal was done correctly with the tube tucked into my abdominal cavity (where it's been for a year since I still don't have a port.) The correct procedure is to tuck the tube away so the wound can heal. Tube near wound won't allow the wound to close/heal. Good luck.

I'm the pervert of the bunch, so I say shove a few rolls of quarters up your butt. But seriously, it's easy to gain 15 pounds without gaining 15 pounds. Heavy jewelry, a baseball cap with weights, chunky belt, ball bearings sew into the hems of your clothing... be creative. Eat a salt lick, drink 5 gallons of water, don't pee and show up soaking wet with those quarters! Good luck.

Never crush pills without first checking with a pharmacist. Like Nexium, many pills and capules are time released or can't be crushed for other reasons. Don't open capsules or crush anything unless the pharmacist looks it up for you, and don't rely on what a doctor says when it comes to pills since they don't study pharmacology the way the dude at Walgreens does! Get to know your pharmacist and he'll help you more than most docs. As far as PB-ing, you probably need to slow down and stick with small sips of warm liquids awhile longer. Some doctors say a bad PB, or too many PBs, can cause your band to slip, so avoid PBs and vomitting at all costs. I had a couple really tight days, so I made my own little IV drip by simply using a sports bottle. I just held it above my mouth and let one or two drops into my mouth. IT took a long time to finish a bottle, but at least I knew I wasn't getting dehydrated, and the small drops just absorb in the mouth and soothe the throat. I'm not a doctor, but you sound pretty normal to me - it just sounds like you're taking things too fast. Stop with the smoothies and try watered down blended warm cream Soups, one teaspoon at a time. Strain the bits of meat out. Stick to very thin liquids till you feel better. I felt like hell for almost 3 weeks. Baby yourself right now. Let your family pamper you. Use a heating pad and walk as often as possible for comfort. Have someone massage you, or go treat yourself to a spa-pedicure in a heated massage chair. Be good to yourself.

"The GB is 95% more risky than the LB." I don't know if this percentage is accurate, but I do agree that Gastric Bypass is far more dangerous - I don't think anyone could argue that.

Do yourself a favor and call your local hospitals and bariatric centers since most (from what I understand) offer some sort of seminar for weight loss surgery. I've heard of many seminars all over the coutry that discuss Bypass vs. Band. I attended one here in Las Vegas, where band surgeons are extremely limited. The seminars are free, but they don't cover everything. Call up band doctors - the good ones will be the ones willing to discuss all your issues and concerns. Take everything you read at this board with a grain of salt, because we all have different opinions, and there aren't many medical professionals around here. Now get on the phone! Good luck with your decision.

SO MANY people are discouraged with what I have to say around here, considering six of my friends have had band-removals due to erosion, plus I've been through two ports and still remain portless with no local aftercare. However, if my insurance covered the process and I had local aftercare, I'd do it again in a heartbeat. However, if you are a self-pay with limited resources, or your only option is Mexico, don't do it. The initial approximate $10,000 is nothing in comparison to what an emergency procedure might cost. Be prepared - the band is a very expensive tool for the rich and/or insured.

Jon, thanks for that post. That's exactly my problem - addiction, in many different forms. I've been to hundreds (literally) of Overeaters Anonymous meetings which used to be part of my regular life till I moved to Vegas. OA meetings in California are great places for support and help with food addictions. I was able to attend a different amazing meeting every night, but then I moved to Vegas. Vegas meetings are few and far between, and they never really got off the ground like in California; probably because Vegas has so many GA, AA, NA, CA, DA (Gamblers, Narcotics, Alcoholics, Cocaine, Debtors, etc.) So OA meetings are small and completely different here. In California, the meetings are actually focused on food addictions, but the meetings here are just sessions where people vent about their day without ever correlating the issues to food. It's a shame, I'd love a good OA meeting here. So thanks for making me NOT give up. I'm gonna keep on keeping on. Sue, you aren't the first person who I've heard about "oops, nicked ya." Not funny at all. One girl had her stomach accidentally cut during band surgery, then her surgeon fixed the cut and put the band OVER the cut! She ended up in really bad shape and had her band removed by a US surgeon. She even knew something went wrong in surgery, but the doc said everything went fine; the "oops nick" didn't even reflect in the Operating Report.

Superdaddy, we were writing at the same time, so I didn't see your post till after I posted. Thanks, that was a good tail end. I'm done now.

I'm the 1st to admit I've started many controversial threads, but this wasn't one of them. I honestly had no idea sharing views of one bypass patient would be taken with such distaste. Forgive me for not spreading rose petals or putting up rubber bumper guards. Everyone has opinions, and my opinion is food is evil and weight loss surgery sucks. I want to be normal; I want to be able to control my food intake. There's too much hypocrisy here on the subject of "taking control of food." None of us have been able to do so till they strapped our stomachs partially shut. Let's all go back to my "Why are you Fat" thread. Each of us is/was morbidly obese for different reasons. Mine happens to be obsession. I'm a slave to food, no different than my husband being a slave to the tobacco company. I do what food tells me to do when it tells me to. Sure, some days I'm stronger than food, but food keeps me awake at night and hypnotizes me to my core. So to me, food isn't only evil, it's F-ing evil. And who said me or my bypass friend hang onto what some Weight Watcher's counselor believes? It's just some hearsay, you know, LBT conversation being passed on for people to hear what was said by one WW counselor at one WW meeting. My passion fired up when I was accused of scaring people. When I say, "all of my friends are eroding" maybe that was too strong, but the fact that SIX of my personal friends have eroded and undergone band removal, that's a pretty hefty number that warrants worry and concern for my own band. And one person was left with a colostomy bag. She almost died. She was in a coma. I consider that one too many, don't you? And anyone looking for potential band related complications has the right to know. I'm still not against the band. In a perfect world, where my insurance would cover the procedure and provide me with local aftercare, I'd do it all over again in a heartbeat. For the moment I will not look any further into a bypass operation, but I'm fickle and could change my mind one day. People, read more carefully and learn that your own story of morbid obesity is unique and individual. The fact that some people have permanently changed their eating habits is remarkable and rare. If it weren't so rare, we'd have a whole board full of people at goal weight. We don't. We have countless people struggling to lose, people gaining, people making bad choices, ad infinitum. A sincere big congratulations to those of you who have permanently said goodbye to bad habits. That's a dream come true in my world, and I envy you.

What kind of complications did you encounter with the band? Port infection within a week of surgery. Port removal the same month. Wound never healed. 8 months later the tube popped out of the open, infected wound leading to port replacement and major removal of inflammatory tissued. Immediate infection of 2nd new port, leading to a 2nd port removal and even more severe removal of infected tissue, leaving golf-ball sized open wound that needed to be packed every single day till it closed naturally. Currently no port. What kind of side effects do you deal with on a regular basis? Feels tight, anxiety that something's wrong. What side effects did you have that went away with time? Got used to it. Would you do the operation again even with the problems encountered? Not in Mexico and not as a self-pay. If my insurance covered it, and if I could have it done locally, yes.

I'm going to a wedding, I'm going to a wedding! Crystal, hurry and Fed-Ex me an appropriate Vulcan outfit considering I don't know what the heck that means. I don't have anything "Spocky" except a new roll of tin foil.

JohnnyReno, I'm shocked at your sarcasm. Did you really say that I'm good at getting people worried? Holy cow, take a look around at the recent LBT erosions: Karen H., Francesca, Penni, Michelle, Karen, Diane, Donali, etc. I certainly hope I'm waking up a few people by sharing REAL information to help them make EDUCATED decisions. One of these prior bandsters now wears a lovely colostomy bag as an accessory (as of our last conversation.) That SHOULD worry people. It doesn't mean we'll all carry our human waste in plastic bags attached to ourselves or that we'll end up with 40 staples or a 7 inch open gash after band removal due to erosion, but everyone has the right to know what can and DOES happen to a percentage of bandsters who erode. I'm not pro Band vs. Pro Bypass or vice versa. My band worked for a period of time, and now it's failing me. My friend's bypass helped her lose 150 pounds, but now it's failing her. The Band and the Bypass only work during the "Honeymoon period." Once the novelty has worn off, we're all on our own. Some people might be able to hold onto their new eating habits forever, but stats show that many, many people gain back most or all of their weight with either procedure. Did I say ALL? Nope. Did I say I'm against the bypass? Nope. Read again, I said I'm fickle and for now the bypass isn't an option for me. Both procedures are risky. Neither are better. They both SUCK. The band has it's benefits and downfalls just like the bypass. The band has a lifetime of maintenance, whereas the Bypass is pretty much a done deal. The beauty of the band is that it's removable, so I'm considering having mine removed since it's not working for me. Not so easy if I have my intestines rewired. If anyone honestly "thinks" you're mind will miraculously work differently just because you had bariatric surgery, you better take a longer look in the mirror. If you think your mind is that powerful than walk away from the surgeon and lose the weight on your own by simply making that huge decision to change. Why cut when you have the abilty to make such a powerful decision? The human mind (according to high priced pedigreed psychologists) is not designed to withstand long periods of willpower. Sure, some of us get lucky, but if it was so easy, why do so many people lose the willpower and gain even 30 pounds back, let alone all the weight? We come here to research, share and gather information. I pass on my personal experiences and experiences from people I know personally. The Band has done wonders for me, but now I'm gaining weight back. The Bypass has done wonders for countless people in my personal life who have gained back all or almost all their weight. Since having WLS, I've run into about 8 miserable bypass patients who wish they'd never done it. I've met 2 that are thrilled but only after several corrective procedures and a year of being deathly ill. I was originally pre-approved for the bypass, but my good friend, a radiologist, cried and begged me not to do it. He said he sees bypass patients daily who live in misery, constantly in his lab having tests that never get resolved. So I chose the Band, and now my friends are all eroding, and one almost died. You can't say one is better than the other - WEIGHT LOSS SURGERY SUCKS. Being fat sucks. food is evil. The entire meaning of this post is that WEIGHT LOSS SURGERY is not a quick fix or a cure. It's just a tiny tool, and unless we're able, not "willing" to let go of all our food obsessions mentally, than NO weight loss procedure will ever help us. Name a smoker who quit smoking and never craved another cigarette. Huh? Sure, maybe some have quit, but ask them if they crave smoke. They'll always crave it. Food is even worse because we have to eat to survive. I take everything I read and hear with a grain of salt and was simply passing along something my bypass friend shared with me. If it's offensive, read another post. I agree that any fast weight loss will cause sagging skin. My friend went on a green bean diet and had yards of loose skin surgically removed, so I edited that part out of my original post. No need to get nasty.