LilMissDiva Irene

Hi! My Name is Irene and I am a Lap-Band patient. I've been here nearly since this website started up and have always kept an gleamful eye on this surgery. In fact I am a very frequent poster over at LBT and I'm even a Moderator over there. :-D I am a firm believer in the shared support of talk forums, for who else is going to give it to you straight other than someone who has BTDT? :biggrin2: I've struggled with my weight my whole life and I have dieted so many times it's not even funny. All through my teenage years I did some questionable things just to remain thin. I think I messed up my metabolism doing that too because once I started eating again I gained over 100 Lbs in no time flat. On Feb. 11th 2008 I under-went the Lap-Band surgery. I have a 10cc band and at first I did fantastic! Then life got in the way and I started having problems finding a good sweet spot for my band. I'm either too tight or not tight enough, I've never found that happy medium. I get night coughs and bad reflux along with severe painful eating and it's almost gotten me to really hate my band. I've tried to come to love it, but I think I've finally realized it just wasn't for me. I'm not bashing it in any way shape or form, I'm only sharing my one personal experience with it. It's taken me almost 2 years to think about trying out something else, something permanent. I've heard such wonderful things about the sleeve and I think it really should have been my first choice, but how would I have known that? My insurance BCBS doesn't cover the sleeve, so I'm going to have to take matters into my own hands and pay OOP. Above it all I've lost half my excess weight so I only have about 80-90 Lbs left to lose. I'm truly hopeful the sleeve will get me there and help with keeping the weight off too. Thank you for letting me share my story! I will be posting alot more now that I've made a final decision and I look forward to making more new friends. I do join in the chatroom too, so you may see me there as well. All the best!!

I think Red lady went home on purpose. She just seemed to have a speach too ready to go IMO. I like Yellow Sunshine. She's a real trooper and fought to make her way back to the game. She deserves props for that. I hope Cheryl wins the competition. I really like Cheryl and her son and I hope they stay a really long time. This season is another snooze fest though. Maybe it's getting too played out? Maybe one competition a year is enough. It's almost like we're getting BL stuffed down our throats.

Barbara, thanks for your input. :001_tongue: I too am having a problem finding even one person with something negative to say about the Dr. and his staff. It's almost like a Quest now.. LOL not really - but all the good things are making me look in his direction. I'm still a ways out and have some time to research him, thanks again!

Hi Daisy and thank you so much dee! Daisy, thanks for the request and the warm welcome I'd been thinking about this for awhile but just kept being convinced to "keep trying". Well, to be perfectly honest it started to feel like I had to do it all on my own. I was never able to get proper restriction because my body rejected any kind of tightness from the band. Kinda unfair really, if I could do i all on my own I wouldn't need the band or anything else. I was so discouraged I was even going to try to get my surgeon and insurance revise me to RNY. That didn't work so I'm just going to get it done on my own. I have only heard wonderful things about Dr. Aceves & his staff, and that he is world class. I looked at his website and his hospital looks amazing though I could stand to take more time to read it thoroughly. I have some time though and I do plan to do that. I remember reading your story as you went through your revision and you actually sparked my interest for Dr. Aceves. :thumbup: LOL As time gets nearer I'm sure I'll have a zillion questions! I'm glad to finally make that decision and realize sometimes if you want/need something bad enough you just have to go out on your own and do it. I'm just so blessed to know the best friends to have on the net that have gone through all the same things I have and will go through!!

Thank you Barb and Tiffy! :biggrin2: I am planning to do the surgery around October or November. I'm currently buying a house and after a few months of getting settled in I'll start concentrating 100% on selecting my surgeon and getting the ball rolling. Barbara, what has your experience with Dr. Aceves been like?

Angel thank you so much for this info. That is a really big deal!

thank you mini I see you just had your surgery a few weeks ago. So far, what do you think about Dr, Umbach? If you had to do it over again with him as a Dr. ,. would you?

How much does Dr. Umbach charge to perform VSG? thanks!

(of the) Dead

urine *sigh* It really was the first word I though of, so...

Also known as "sliming". Sometimes when food gets lodged in your throat, you produce a really thick nasty saliva and lots of it. It's supposed to help get the food unstuck.

Laughing (my patoot off...)

Hey Shortney! Welcome You know that's always been me too. It's always this or that going on and I don't wanna do this or I don't have time for that. I really don't know what to suggest other than hang in there. That's all I ever do. I am making a new commitment though for 2010 and so far so good. I'm on my way back down, but not without struggle! All the best!! HEY YOU VV'S WHERE ARE YOU?

APPLAUSE!!!!!!!!!

McCutcheon (If u know where that's from I'll give you a high 5!!)

It's always the ones that last the longest you know will be worth the read. :frown: On to another topic, this is the Rants & Raves section and any debate is perfectly acceptable. Rant away! Just be respectful - but most of you in this section have always been able to maintain tact. I will say no more.

I used to be excessively tight. I was so tight it didn't matter how slow or many times I chewed my foods. I really was only able to eat liquids, which morphed into high calorie high fat high sugar foods. I then gained weight. Then I started getting bad night coughs, acid reflux and my voice went deep and scratchy. My Dr. then immediately demanded he take some out. Even with the first slight unfill I was still too tight. He then took out quite a bit more. I was not happy about that at first, I thought I would gain weight and worse. Well the opposite happened. I am able to eat normally again and I can sustain high energy workouts and more. I am a calorie burning machine and I"m doing fabulous. However, I do know I need to get a little bit tighter. I'm scheduled for a fill on the 12th. I think it will be my last one for a good long time. So, what I'm trying to say is - do not be afraid to continue getting fills. You will know you reached your Max at the time if your meals are lasting 4-5 hours and you can get by with no more than half of what you used to eat pre-band. I am hugely against considering being too tight called the sweet spot. The sweet spot is again as mentioned above, your meals lasting 4-5 hours and greatly reducing your normal intake. All the best!!

Hi Freckles.

Please, everyone let's stay on topic. Name calling and rude behavior will not be tolerated, regardless of who it is coming from. If you are guilty of this, then it's best to discontinue at this time. If someone is giving you trouble you have the option of placing anyone on your ignore list. Continuing to fan the flames only burns the house down. Thanking you all in advance for your co-operation and mostly thank you for all your wonderful contributions to this website!

....night....

victory.....

LOL Yes I noticed that too. It's ok though, as long as it's here - especially for those users who don't like to talk and read only.

television......