hagerteresa

Oops, she named her Emily Dawn

I am inn-sitting this week at the bed and breakfast and they have lame old dial up so I've been kind of limited on my internet time. I'll email Tracey tomorrow (she's actually a member of LBT but more of a lurker) and ask her about posting the babies pics. Tracey is the sweetest person in the world and I just adore her. She already had 3 children but now 4 AND she runs a daycare at home. Anyone who can do that has the patients of a saint. We met after I got my band and we realized we had the same surgeon. She had a heck of a time finding a good fill doc but after yours truly referred her to my wonderful Dr. Eubanks she is much happier with her fills. She has lost 115 lbs (before the babies birth) not sure what it is now. Like me, she started on the heavier side (somewhere close to my origonal weight) so she has a while for goal yet but she is looking great. I swear she looks younger and younger every time I see her. She's my starbuck buddy. Every couple of weeks we email each other and say "Hey, wanna meet!" Anyway I'm getting chatty. I'll email her and put those pics on if she agrees.

I asked my chemistry teacher about splenda recently and he said he actually had done some research on it and found it to be not bad. He said even the research groups that are the most intense about keeping dangerous foods off our grocery store shelves think its okay. It is derived from real sugar but they remove 3 particular atoms and replace it with Cl atoms if I remember correctly. Don't totally quote me on that. I am a coffee snob too but only get my drinks from the corner stands. I use the sugar free syrups and have gotten to like them a lot. Its odd that it causes such sypmtoms of pain and IBS type symptoms.

I just had a very good local friend who has the band and she just gave birth this last week to the most beautiful little girl. I was so proud of mom and baby. The only problems my friend had was the occassional gallbladder irritation but they couldn't surgically do anything about it until after the baby was born. I don't think she has had any recent gall bladder problems so who knows if she'll need to get that taken care of. She did not gain anything during her pregnancy but actually lost a couple of pounds. I am waiting to hear how much she really lost now that the baby and placenta are out of her. She also had to have a C-section and that went perfectly normal. Her doctors were all aware of her band and she stayed nutricianally sound the whole pregnancy. Her baby weighed 7 lbs 11 oz. I'll ask her if I can post pics of the baby because she is the most beautiful thing I have ever seen. Best wishes, Teresa

Thanks Paula for posting that food schedule. You took the words right out of my mouth. Really folks the first 6 weeks are for healing ONLY! You may or may not lose weight during this time. The important part is allowing enough time to heal before stressing the banded area with solid food. Eating solids 3 days out is unwise from everything I have ever read. Like most people I was STARVING the first 2 weeks but it got a lot better once I got on thicker mushies and eventually solids. I can't believe there are doctors out there that only care about getting the procedure done but don't do squat in regards to after care instructions. Jodie, I have never heard of that specific reason for erosion but have heard over eating can cause pouch stretching... So far erosion seems like the great mystery to me because I have known perfectly studious band patients who eat perfectly and still have had erosion. There doesn't seem to be any real scientific evidence regarding its occurence that I have found. Please girls, let your new tools heal so they can have a long life with you. Best wishes, Teresa

Hello, I called my insurance twice before being banded about this exact question. I was a self pay and went to Mexico but MY insurance company said they would pay for any complications both times I talked to them. I am pretty sure they would have to anyway but definitely call and check with your own company. My port is kind of twisted and requires flouro used every time I need a fill. My insurance company even said they would cover the flouro cost because it is a complication from not being able to get a fill without it. Best of luck, Teresa

You go BABS! Off to the gym!!! I won't beat you up at all and I'm glad you've realized your mistakes. I have to do that to myself fairly often too. Keeps us on our toes. Best wishes! Teresa

LOL! That cracked me up about the food police thing. Your right, my family has tried that a few times and they get met with a very insulted look. Considering they are all still gaining weight from eating and drinking whatever they want, I figure at least I'm on the downward trend. If I want to splurge once in awhile they can deal with it. I can't think of a time since being banded where a splurge has ever caused a weight gain. I typically will plateau for several weeks at a time but it stays pretty stable. I don't know how many times I have gone in to weigh thinking I've gained 10 pounds to actually find I've either stayed the same or lost a few pounds. One of the nicest things you could do is rub your partner's back when she gets a stuck feeling. I get a huge cramp when I get stuck and that really feels good. Teresa

Immediately after surgery you will want clear juices, broth, popsicles, and possibly jello. Your doctor should give you clear instructions for what is allowed. I basically had one week of clear liquids, 1 week of non-clear thicker liquids, 1 week of light mushies, another week of thicker mushies and then just started gradually adding normal food back in. You will find a lot of information regarding these stages in the "food" thread or do a search of the entire site. When you go into surgery pack as little as possible, take slip on shoes or slippers and loose fitting clothes. I was very nervous too and that is totally normal. Where are you having surgery done at? I had mine in Mexico so that kind of added a bit more anxiety to it even though I had a good experience overall. Best wishes to you, Teresa

Try your best to eat slowly with your spouse. I just got back from dinner with my family and felt like I was in a shark feeding frenzy the whole time. My mom tries to be nice and eats a bit slower but the men were out of control. If I try to keep up I'll just get into trouble by not chewing well enough. Another difficult habit that is now second nature is not drinking with or after meals for about an hour. Bread also tends to be a more difficult food for bandsters. I can manage a 1/2 piece of toast once in awhile but sandwiches are pretty much a total thing of history. A lot of times I'll put sandwich toppings on crackers which works out much easier. My mom often forgets about the bread thing and I swear her first response to hunger complaints is a piece of bread. I always have to remind her I don't do bread. My husband works swing shift so often I eat dinner alone during the week which ussually works out fine. Another thing... if I wait till I'm starving before I eat I tend to forget to chew well enough. I really have to make sure to fit all my meals in. About the worst thing that happens when something isn't chewed well enough is what we call a PB (productive burp). If a piece of food can't fit thru the band it has to come back up. Its not really like vomiting but more like a spit up. I get a lot of back cramps when this occurs. I have heard others complain of the cramps too. They go away as soon as the offending object is gone. The goal is to avoid pb episodes as much as possible. I'll have several great days where nothing seems to be a problem and then suddenly I'll have a few days when everything seems to be difficult. The band isn't supposed to increase/decrease in tightness but us bandsters have decided that mood, stress, time of the month, etc does seem to affect the tightness of the band. Mornings also seem to be tighter than the rest of the day for most people. Best wishes and glad to see your support. Teresa

Hi Happy, I'm glad things were a bit better today. The first week is by far the most difficult. I was starving during the liquids stage too. Once I got on thick mushies and solids it got a lot better in that regard. The pain went away within a week or so. My port bugged me for a while longer but nothing more than being annoying. Now I am just a couple of weeks short of my one year bandiversary and am completely happy with my progress. The worst problem now is trying to get everyone else to eat at a snail's pace when we go out to dinner. My mom, stepfather and husband all went with me to applebees this evening for houer duervs. I felt like I was in the middle of a shark frenzy. I feel like I have to try to keep up and that just gets me in trouble. My mom is a bit better than the men, but it does get frustrating. Fortunately that is about my most annoying problem these days. Best wishes to you and hope you have a fast recovery. Teresa

Joyce, I absolutely had a fill doctor lined up in my area who would take me even though I was having my surgery done elsewhere. That is one of the single biggest mistakes people make when going out of country is not having the proper aftercare lined up. If you live close to the border I suppose its fine for those individuals but I live in Oregon and had no plans on going back to Mexico for aftercare. Alatina, Congrats on you banding date coming up. It is possible for you to reach your goal by x-mas but don't be horribly disappointed if it doesn't happen too. Every person has a different experience regarding the speed of weight loss and the need for fills. I evidently set my goal to lose 100 lbs by the end of year one (I forgot about doing this but both my father in law and my mom happened to remind me of it this last week). Now I'm just 2 weeks shy of year one done with and I'm at an 89.6 lb loss. Seriously, I am perfectly fine with that. I still do have two weeks but I'll be happy just to officially get past the 90 lb loss mark. Good luck on your surgery, Teresa

I have avoided the dentist for the last year because my life long favorite dentist retired and I hated the person I tried after he retired. I'm finally trying a new dentist and am getting a cleaning and pics tomorrow. Has anyone else had to get an antibiotic before going to the dentist because of the band? I asked my family practitioner and he wanted me to take one. I recall they wanted me to take them because of my pins in my once broken ankle too. Has anyone else been told they need one before going to the dentist?

The first time I was told I would need an antibiotic was a couple of years ago because I had pins put in my once broken ankle (the break had occurred 3 years prior to that appt). I don't have any other artificial joints or anything. I never bothered to do the antibiotics that time but this recent appt I decided to be cautious and listen to my doc. It wasn't really a regimine but only 1 pill one hour before the appt. Every office must be a bit different. Thanks for teh info though Christine

I had a good friend who got the bypass and she had terrible results. She's lost a lot of weight but she has also gotten weaker and even more crippled than pre-surgery. I kind of feel bad because before I had even heard of the band, we were talking about wls and I insisted I would have it hell or high water if my insurance would cover it (which it wouldn't). Her insurance would cover it though and she had it done partially due to my emphatic desire to be thinner. She was heavier than I was and a lot older but it definitely didn't turn out to be a postive experience for her. Her surgeon was a complete jerk too. He actually made fun of her when she went back to him about constantly getting sick. When she had had the surgery (which was something like 8 hours long) that night somehow she ripped all of her internal stitches so they had to go back and reopen her and fix all that which was another 6-8 hours. Poor thing... I've lost touch with her in the last year but she definitely regretted her decision. I know another girl who had the duodenal switch and she seemed pretty happy with it.

My husband's dad actually paid for my surgery! I think my husband was a bit skeptical at first especially since I wanted to go to Mexico for it but the more I researched the more confident he became. Obviously my father in law felt pretty confident about it too though we were all as nervous as heck when it actually came to me going down there and getting it done. Best wishes, Teresa

How cool Megan!!! I dream of owning my own horse but working around a farm would be just as fun! I grew up with horses and plan on purchasing one when I get my first teaching job. That has been my goal since I started college. Definitely take advantage of the opportunity and you'll get a lot of excercise too! Best wishes, Teresa

They haven't done any of the testing? Many of us have had to have psch evaluations, see a nutricianalist, blood tests, heart tests, etc. before getting our band. I only had 2 weeks from the time I scheduled my appt till the surgery date but I was going out of country to get mine. If you plan on only getting it with approval from the insurance I would tell the office such and postpone the procedure until you do get approval... Hopefully others that had insurance cover it will pop on with some answers. I know there are others on here that have used that office too. Best wishes, Teresa

Joe, Some insurances cover it and some don't. Unfortunately mine did not and I was forced to borrow the money and go to Mexico. A lot of people on this forum have gone to Mexico and have had good experiences including myself. Definitely try your insurance but don't count your chickens until they're hatched. I think the banding should be even cheaper. My surgeon told me it is only typically a 20-30 minute procedure. Considering the bypass is often a 7-10 hour procedure I don't know why the banding is so costly in the U.S. It is between $6,000-10,000 in Mexico.

Hi Joe, I too grew up heavy and was teased terribly all thru the school years. Graduating was the best thing to ever happen to me (after the band of course). Life changes after graduation. I moved out of the small town I grew up in, got a job, met new people etc. Adults (or college students) seem to be past most of the most blatant hurtful name calling. I was just reflecting on all of this yesterday... I won't go back to a high school reunion until I'm skinny and they have to ask who I am. By the time I got my band I was 30 years old, barely 5'4" and weighed 362 lbs. Yikes!!! I didn't have any problems yet from my weight besides the tiredness and feeling cumbersome and thank God, I think I have avoided those problems now. I'm just shy of one year of having my band and I'm down almost 90 lbs, my blood pressure has dropped like a rock (it was never dangerously high but now its much lower) and I feel more energy daily. Nothing is better than fitting into smaller clothes and doing things you wouldn't have considered doing before (like climbing onto things, jogging, etc). I too have broken my fair share of objects in my life because of my weight. I will never forget as a joke a bunch of prissy girls invited me to a birthday party and insisted I get on a particular bed. Ends up they knew the bed was weak and of course it collapsed. Of course that got spread around the whole school. I think I was in 6th grade at that time. A few years ago I got these lovely antique chairs to go with my dining table and didn't consider the thinness of the legs and of course that collapsed under my great weight. I also always cringed whenever I had to fly because I never knew if I would even fit in the air plane seats much less need an extender. Those days are over. I'm not anywhere close to goal yet but already feeling a great relief from the pressure my body was under. Best wishes, Teresa

Hi Jorjet, Sorry it was so tough yesterday. Glad its immproving though. I have 5 incision scars- one in between my breasts and then two lower on both the left and the right. My port scar is 2-3 inches below my left breast. I can't imagine even considering wearing a bra for a while. If you feel like the medication isn't going down but kind of sitting in the pouch than you should probably sip it but I don't recall having any problems swallowing liquid medicine and I just slugged mine down. A heating pad might help any aches and pains too. Best wishes, Teresa

Hey Pink, I think it was the port he couldn't find. I'm sure he knows where the band is. My first fill experience wasn't that grand either but are much better when flouro is used. Haven't heard of them using ultra sounds before though I've thought about the possibility in the past. Glad it went a little better, Teresa

Hi Jorjet, We're thinking about you! Let us know how everything goes when you get home and tell us more about yourself. Are you having a U.S. surgeon do your surgery? Anyhow best wishes, Teresa

Whenever I get anything stuck, one of my first symptoms is an annoying pain right in between my shoulder blades. I'm not sure why, but that has always occurred since I got my band almost a year ago. It only lasts until the offending object goes down or comes back up.

Wow, I'm glad this thread got bumped too. It was interesting reading. I didn't even know it was an old thread until I got to Christina's post. LOL. Wonder how Larry and his friend are doing now... Thanks for bumping this. Teresa