aubrie

My doctor has me half sit and push (like having a baby) when I get a fill. It's amazing. It pops right up to the surface and he's hit it right the first time every time. Don't worry. You don't HAVE to have flouroscopy to hit the port if your doc knows what he's doing. Your post almost made me cry. what a nightmare. Gosh, If only you could have taken photos of the equipment with your cell phone and sent them to the local health department!!! That would have shut him down in a hurry!!

It boggles the mind that so many ignorant people will post nonsense on a blog. Their arrogance and stupidity made me sick. It's their repulsive attitudes towards overweight people that force many of us to such extremes to find employment, love, friendship, decent clothes, and quality of life. In the big scheme of things, who is REALLY the one that's "disabled"?

Tan = THINNER!!

I'm 8 months out and have this problem a lot. It seems to come in two week cycles. Over the course of 2 weeks, a hard plug developes. It gets bad until I painfully pass the hard plug. Then I'm fine and do well, but the cycle starts all over again. Every once in a while I have had to resort to Milk of Magnesia. (About 4 times). It sucks. I didn't have this problem before banding either. I have found a few things that seem to help and I didn't want to take stool softeners or laxatives either. A few sections of grapefruit a day seem to help. this was a recommendation from my doctor. I'm to peel the pithy skin off each section though. It does help a bit. Prune juice before bed time helps a little. I eat tons of veggies and high fiber foods, even more now, so it can't be lack of fiber.

My DH tells me I was conscious and awake when wheeled back to my room. But I have no recollection of recovery, the ride back to my room, or the transfer into my own bed. I woke up in my room about 4 hours later and couldn't figure out how I got there. It was a little disconcerting, and strange, but I was O U T......

The fuzzy navel is AWESOME. I keep it in my desk at work just in case I can't eat for some reason. It has a great protein level and comes in a cute little carrying case.

Lot's of things can tighten a band. It's not the same for everyone, but the things that can affect it are: 1. Flying at high altitudes 2. stress 3. constipation 4. menstruation 5. hiccups 6. stomach spasms or esophogeal spasms 7. getting a fill 8. stomach flu and excessive vomiting 9. scuba diving and change in pressure I'm sure there's more, but these are the ones I've heard about.

I can swallow the petites much better. You just have to take more of them to get the same dose, so I take them morning AND evening. My surgeon ONLY recommends calcium citrate, and I couldn't find that in a chewable.

For me, being stuck and GAS are two entirely different types of pain. Being stuck is like a flaming golf ball sitting right behind my sternum. It's intense and I slime. the pain I have from gas is different. It's a progessively dull ache. It builds. I burp a little and my stomach gets bloated. My doctor told me that some people are more prone to swallow air while eating and even talking. That seems to be me. Excess air in the pouch hurts. sometimes I can force burps to get some relief, but if it's a gassy food that I've eaten, it just keeps coming. That's when I turn to my new miracle drug. CHEWABLE GAS-EX. It's saved my butt 5 or 6 times now. won't go anywhere without it. I even keep it in my desk at work. TOTAL relief in less than 10 minutes. Ahhhhhhhhhhh........

3 month plateau here..... I'm so disgusted I want to cry. I exercise, make excellent food choices. The scale won't budge. I even had a fill and even that hasn't helped.

The body is a truly fickle wierd thing. I can weigh in the morning when I get up, have a decent BM and weight MORE. WTF??? How is that even possible? I can weigh in the morning, and be like 195. I take a sip of orange juice to get my meds down, pee and then weigh like 198. How is that possible?????? I give up even trying to figure it out. It's like an alien occupies my body immediately after I wake up. I know it sounds immpossible, but it happens all the time, so it's not coincidence. I've been on a plateau for 3 solid months now, and am so disgusted I just want to scream anyway. I feel like the Gods are LAUGHING at me......

I too have this. I've asked my doctor about it twice now. He examines me, and can't find a thing wrong. My band hasn't slipped. I have one of the bigger bands, and I'm wondering if I just have a narrow or small rib cage, and occasionally it's not literally bumping into my ribs. I've noticed if I slouch when I sit, it becomes more uncomfortable. Some days are worse than others. My port gets sore if I work my abs to aggressively as well. I guess this is just something we have to learn to live with?????

I'm 8 months out. I've lost about 58 pounds and all of that was in the first 5 months. I have not lost a single ounce in three months. I've had a fill, and do have restriction. matter of fact I have even PBd in the last 3 weeks about 3 times. NEVER prior to that. I'm doing everything the same. So I have to change it up? will adding weights help? I'm pretty limited on the cardio because of arthritis. Water aerobics is the only thing that doesn't hurt me. I'm getting very discouraged.

Just a word here. My best friend had her band done by Dr. Spiegel. He botched it so bad, so almost died. She had to have the whole thing redone and is seeing another surgeon now. She also said she felt like a cow in a cattle processing plant on her day of surgery with Speigel. (Her words) She said there were so many patients waiting for surgery that day they were literally lined up in the hallways. She said it was impersonal and a little offesnsive. She wished she had trusted her gut instinct right then and there and left. would have saved her months of pain and anguish. When she started having problems, and calling Speigels office, she was basically ignored. By the time she found another surgeon who would take her case, she was critical. Just food for thought.

My husband accidentally punched me in the stomach while shopping for clothes. He outstretched his arms, not realizing I was coming closer to see what he had picked out. WHAM. Right in the gut. I saw stars. It took my breath away. I was sore for a day or two, but nothing more. He was more upset than I was. I fell this past weekend. I flipped over a wheelbarrow. Not pretty. I fell pretty hard and am pretty bruised up. I didn't hit my stomach, but the straining of the muscles made my port area sore. I did have a tummy ache the next day. I couldn't eat much. It very well could have been a little swelling.

I know many doctors are replacing some of their patients with a troubling band with AP bands. My best friend has an old 4 cc band and is having constant trouble. We go to the same doctor. He plans on switching hers out with the AP band he prefers. Hers was put in by another doctor and he botched the job ROYALLY. She's already had corrective surgery once. She's more than ready to switch it out. Many have no problems with the old bands. It's pretty up to the individual, but you're doing the right thing by researching.

Kami, I just spent the afternoon poking around on some of the websites you suggested. I found the cocnonut oil thing fascinating. Especially the U.S. government effort at a smear campaign to discourage the use of it, so U.S. oil producers would reap the financial benefits. Disgusting. Now I understand why I had the impression I had about the oil, and was only aware of the water.... I sure could use some help with rough red skin on my face and sore arthritic joints!!! This is going to be a great thread!!

Kami, ditto on the undiagnosed thyroid FOR YEARS. I finally found an internist who said my symptoms were so classic, he put me on synthroid anyway. In two weeks I felt like a totally new human being. My deep depression virtually disappeared. My hair stopped falling out, I quit hemorragging during sex, my skin improved, I was sleeping better. It was like a miracle. Apparently me and my sister both have a rogue enzyme in our bodies that produce a false negative on our TSH and T3 & 4 levels. I'm proud to say that they band and my weight loss have allowed me to lower my dose a bit. I feel great. As for the natural stuff, I ran a health food store for a couple years. I too did massive research on all the products we carried. It's been a few years, but there were many things I discovered that I now swear by. As for the coconut products, it's funny.... I read that the coconut milk/oil was not so healthy, because the fat is hard to process, and high in calorie, but the coconut WATER was like a miracle drug. I drink coconut WATER all the time. the brand I drink has aloe in it as well. I had to cut back as it had some sugar in it, but I love the taste of it. the nutriets in it are exactly the same as the human body. I've read that in emergencies, you can even use the water as an IV drip for rehydration. Mind you...I said emergencies. But it's good to know that it's that pure. Coconut is just good all the way around. My favorite cookie is a coconut macaroon. Have to watch those now though....I like Echinacea and Golden Seal during cold and flu season. Garlic oil for ear aches and intestinal viruses, castor oil packs for deep injuries and sore joints, tea tree oil for athletes foot, dandruff and itchy ear fungus, Peppermint tea for nausea, etc. so I do try to stay as natural as possible. I'm always looking for new things. This thread or site will be WONDERFUL. Thanks for thinking to start it!!!!!

Here in Texas we have Dillard's. Dillard's will fit you for a bra. They are wonderful. I don't trust anyone else. They are helping keep my bras fitting as I lose and are cheering me on. I started out in a 42DD, down to a 40DD and two weeks ago was refitted with a 38D. It's so wonderful not to look sloppy in my clothes. Before I gained a lot of weight, I was a classic 34 B. I may never be that again, as I am older now, but I'd like to get close. I've been overweight for 17 years!

My husband and I just got back from vacation. He took a lot of pictures of me. When we got them back, I was stunned. We actually had a few blown up and framed. I haven't allowed pictures of me on the walls or in an album in over 15 years!!! For once, I wasn't embarrassed....

My arms upset me more than anything. I can cover my belly, but my arms? It's hot in south Texas and sleevelss is the norm. I'm also lopsided. My arms don't match. My right arm is a full 4 centimeters bigger than my left and it's noticable. How embarassing. I'm sagging in my thighs. It's just loose skin. So yucky. I'm hoping to tone it up a bit, but know it won't disappear completely.

Try boiling and eat peel and eat instead of grilled. The meat of shrimp tends to be a little more fibrous than other meats and doesn't break down as well in the chewing process. I've found I do better with boiled. Grilled drys it out and makes them even more chewy. Also, try pulsing them in a food processor after being cooked, mix with mayo and other goodies and make a shrimp salad. Plus, DON'T overcook shrimp. Overcooking makes them rubbery. Three minutes on a rolling boil is all they need!!!

How does it account for preparation?

low fat cottage cheese vanilla slim fast for my coffee, chocolate for emergencies 1% milk fish, shrimp, crab, chicken, lamb, steak, etc. FRESH veggies (especially brocolli, asparagus, all kinds of squash, green beans and spinach) FRESH fruit: especially grapefruit, strawberries, cherries, melon, avocados, apricots and nectarines.) I love bananas and apples but they are harder to get down. deli chicken and turkey whole grain pasta brown or wild rice sweet potato unsweetened applesauce in all the yummy new flavors flavored tuna in sigle serve containers trisquit crackers Quaker high protein weight control instant oatmeal swiss cheese almonds

I got a medical loan through Capital One. I chose them because I already had a Capital One card and had a history with them. I was approved in less than 10 minutes, but my credit is pretty good.