gypsarella

I know you're nervous, Bluemoon, and want to just hear great things. But I am one (like 2muchfun) who wanted to know EVERYTHING and then form my own conclusions. It's my opinion that these forums are to network with real people who have had the experience so people who are considering it or who are newly banded get the truth of what their journey may be like. Otherwise, it would be just the same as a paid advertisement, just fairy dust and moonbeams....sign here. As far as the gas pain in my shoulder, yeah, I had it for the first week. Even now if I "stuff" my band I get that same pain back. Not pleasant and I "get" the point of control all over again. After the first year if you continue to stretch your pouch to a certain size, you won't get that full feeling and you'll just be eating more. The way you have to fix it is go on a 5 day pouch shrinking diet which is back to liquids and mush to gt it back in shape. After the first few years food rarely "comes up" anymore. I still feel uncomfortable if I am eating too much. For instance: Before the band I could easily eat two burgers as well as fries. Right after banding, I ate the patty and 1/2 a salad and did not miss the bread. That lasted a year or so. Then I was able to eat 1/2 of the burger and take the rest home. A few years later, I added some fries. Now I will eat a whole burger, feel very uncomfortable, and give my fries away at the table. Yesterday while out to lunch with my son and husband, I ate maybe 6 fries, felt full, and sliced off 1/6 of my philly cheese steak sandwich and had to wrap the rest up. I am thrilled. I didn't WANT it! Many times my husband has brought home giant steak sandwiches (thinly sliced) and he eats the whole thing and I eat a quarter. But I learned early just because I didn't finish mine it does not mean it's up for grabs. It's still mine....for another day. I label it with my name. The same goes for Chinese food. I never want to feel I have to "eat my share" because it's so good and it'll be all gone. We each eat what we want that night. Then I divide the leftovers evenly and mark our names. Mine can last for days. So even though I have relaxed on the type of food I eat, I'm now trained to eat much less than I used to. My one problem was with myself. I insisted on being filled a little too tightly and where I got fills she did not have a Fluoroscopy machine. She just has us drink Water to be sure we can get it down. I was constantly getting food stuck. It caused pain and my esophagus swelled up. I had to have all the fill removed by her several times and allow things to heal for a month. I learned, but after maybe 6 times of this, I now have scar tissue on my esophagus. So even though I had, say, 2.4 cc and could eat carefully with that, I finally settled on 2cc for my best fill. I go back every year or so to check, and guess what? It doesn't evaporate like I've heard some say. She always withdraws it and compares it to my file, then gives me a fresh fill. You should also remember that we are all going to react to foods differently. I can eat iceberg lettuce, but not the less crispy kind. I can eat pork, chicken, ground beef, but no more steak. I don't know why. It's just too chewy and not worth the trouble. I really don't miss it. I avoid (but not cut out entirely) potatoes, rice and Pasta because they go down too easily and would take up all my space. I do break a rule and I'm just being totally honest here. I love Diet Coke. I never stopped drinking it. I do moderate it and only drink one to two cans a day. some say the carbonation can corrode the band. I haven't had that problem, but I expected to, except it doesn't sit in the pouch. It's my vice. I'm posting anything and everything I can think of from all I've gone through. If you have any questions, feel free to ask anything. I'm also a nurse. I may not be the perfect banded person, but I'm human and adjusted to a banded life well without really missing stuff I can no longer eat.

I was banded in 2001 by Dr. Kuri in Tijuana. I have a 4cc band and never had a slip or problem. I had so many health problems which were going to get worse if the weight stayed, so Dr. Kuri went ahead even though my BMI was 35.2. In those days you would not be considered for any WLS unless you were 100 pounds overweight. In any case, the band was not legal in the USA yet. Back then we had to find our own way across the border and to his office, and his patients got a slightly lower rate in the nearby hotel but it was not included in the price. I went alone because nobody was supportive in my family, not even my husband. I got a cash advance from our credit card and to this day it was the best thing I've ever done. I received my first fill 8 weeks after the surgery. For the first year I traveled back and forth to Tijuana and had fills with him, but after several surgeries on my hips, started to get fills from a nurse practitioner locally who was trained by him. She charged $100, but no plane fare or travel. A few times I've gotten too tight and had trouble with swelling when food got stuck, but had some fill removed and after a few days, everything was fine. A year after I was banded, I went for a tummy tuck and liposuction with a doctor Dr. Kuri recommended in Tijuana. I was thrilled with the results. It's been almost 12 years now, and I've kept off almost all of the weight. Keep in mind that I'm now 60 years old, and have a very bad back and two hip replacements, so exercise was not an option. The first year I lost 78 pounds. I kept within 5 pounds of that for about 5 years, then inched up the scale to a total gain of 20 pounds. I go up and down 5 pounds, which at my age, I'm very happy with. Especially because I eat what I want. I wear size 12 jeans. No matter what health crisis I go through, or how depressed I am over it, I always mutter "At least I look good" to myself. It's a wonderful journey that I wish I had gone on a decade before I did. But now at 60, people are amazed and think I look in my 30's.