silverwhitemoon

Thanks for asking....I"m doing ok. I haven't lost a lot of weight because my new doc hasn't put in a very big fill. I have lost some, though - about 10 pounds. He's going slowly and I haven't returned to get another fill in a while because he makes me wait for two hours after my appt time before seeing me and then I get a lecture for about 20 minutes - no, I'm not exaggerating - about how I'm addicted to carbs and I must eat less than 30 grams of carbs a day if I ever hope to lose weight. It's a long story - but the man is absolutely OBSESSED with living la vida low-carb and thinks carbs are of the devil -and- that I am his willing servant if I ever let even one gram of the wretched stuff touch my lips. (Whatever, dude. Not all carbs are the same. It's not like I got fat eating apples, kwim? And they are full of carbs. It's the carb/fat combo you got to look out for - it's not the apples, it's the apple pie) I'm wating for a day off to go see him again. I can't work all day with petulant teenagers all day and then go sit in his waiting room for two hours and then listen to a lecture that I've heard at least a dozen times before. Nope. Can't. I'm wating for christmas break to go for another fill. Then, maybe I'll see better weight loss.

And, here's another question: It's been 19 days since my surgery and I'm still feeling a dull ache in my stomach. I don't feel it most of the time, but sometimes late in the day, or if my stomach is empty, or if I bend over or lean over the washer, tub or sink, for example. Or, if I press on my belly right over the stomach area - it's sore. Not sharp pains - just tender and sore. Is that normal? And, if so, when - if ever - does that go away? -Anne

This recipe requires a trip to the Indian or middle eastern food market but it's one of my favorite dishes. Luckily, lentils are on my doc's low carb foods list so I will still be making this. Don't let all the ingredients fool you - it's very easy to make. 2 cups red lentils (masoor daal) 1 large onion, diced 1 tablespoon vegetable oil 2 tablespoons curry paste 1 tablespoon curry powder 1 teaspoon ground turmeric 1 teaspoon ground cumin 1 teaspoon chili powder 1 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon white sugar (or splenda) 1 teaspoon minced garlic 1 teaspoon ginger root, minced (or 1/8 tsp dried ginger) 1 (14.25 ounce) can tomato puree (or chopped tomatoes w/liquid) Directions Wash the lentils in cold Water until the water runs clear (this is very important or the lentils will get "scummy"), put the lentils in a pot with water to cover and simmer covered until lentils tender (add more water if necessary).- boil for about 2 minutes then turn down heat to low and simmer for about 20-25 minutes, uncovered While the lentils are cooking: In a large skillet or saucepan, caramelize the onions in vegetable oil. While the onions are cooking, combine the curry paste, curry powder, turmeric, cumin, chili powder, salt, sugar, garlic, and ginger in a mixing bowl. Mix well. When the onions are cooked, add the curry mixture to the onions and cook over a high heat stirring constantly for 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in the tomato puree and reduce heat, allow the curry base to simmer until the lentils are ready. When the lentils are tender drain them briefly (they should have absorbed most of the water but you don't want the curry to be too sloppy). Mix the curry base into the lentils and serve immediately. This is a pretty forgiving recipe. I've added vegetables (zucchini and califlower) and meat (chicken) to it and taken things away (onions) it still turns out great.

Thanks for the response. Oh, I definitely won't do that again! I've been taking it easy since then, eating very little and drinking only tea, coffee and water. -Anne

That's great! I hope I'm that successful 3 and a half months from now! [ Anne

ok....please no one yell at me for this, but two weeks after plication surgery I went out with a friend and over two hours, had two beers. It's a liquid, I thought. Afterwards I had gas and bloating and then intermittent pains in my stomach for about two hours. After that, I was fine and had no more pain. That was Friday night. Then, yesterday afternoon and evening I've had a dull ache in my stomach area and back - behind the stomach. I'm afraid that the gas from Friday night may have caused this. It's not pain I'm having - just a dull ache - don't even need Tylenol for it, it's just uncomfortable. Could I have popped a stitch? If the gas did cause a problem, how would I know? -Anne

I had surgery on Thursday. It went well. The doctor took off the band, repaired the hiatal hernia, put a new band back on and did the plication. I was in a lot of pain right afterwards and now I'm still uncomfortable and the gas is pretty bad. The surgery took longer than expected because the hernia was worse than he had thought. He knew that it was a "massive" hernia based on what he saw on the xray - but - my stomach had gone completely through the hernia and was in my chest!! It took him a while to bring it back to the right place and repair the hernia. Still, he was able to do it laproscopically. I'm so glad I didn't wait any longer than I did to get this fixed. So, now I'll just rest and recover. -Anne

He's Dr. Cywes in Jacksonville, FL

Why have you been sometimes unhappy with your plication? -Anne

I'm new to this site. Here's my story. It's rather long so I'll try to keep it short. In June of '07 I was banded - self-pay. I lost about 50 pounds, putting me about 60 pounds shy of my goal weight. Then, at the end of '08 I got pregnant, got unfilled and had a baby in '09. Later, when I finished nursing him after about six months, I went back in to get a fill. The doc couldn't find my port. He said it had flipped and scheduled me for a port revision. Well, the port hadn't flipped at all, it had shifted. IF he had he done a xray to find it , I could have avoided surgery and not had to pay two thousand dollars. So, then after that, I went back, had it filled and then had the worst reflux/heartburn ever - doc said it was too tight - took out a little - no luck - then got nausea and vomiting. The doc looked at it on fluoroscope -said it's a small slip and unfilled me and told me to come back in a month to look at it again. Went back later and no change- so Doc says it has to come out and that it can't be filled. The funny thing is he just recently hired a doctor who specializes in revisions so he would be glad to take out my band and give me some other kind of surgery. Of course, it would cost several thousand dollars more. Since I was having no problems at all with my unfilled band, I decided to wait until the summer (I'm a teacher.), when I would have more time to deal with this. After the mistake with the "port revision" I was skeptical and went for a second opinion to see if I could keep my band. So, I scheduled an appt with a different doc and about a week before my appt with him, I started having tight restricition and reflux, even though my band is unfilled and I haven't had any problems for about a year. He told me that I have a "massive" hiatal hernia and that it needs to be fixed. So, tomorrow the doctor will be removing the band, fixing the hernia, giving me a plication and putting the band back on. He said the plication would greatly reduce the chance of any slips and he'd be able to do it laproscopically. And, it's all covered by insurance because it's a hernia repair. I'm excited by the chance to start losing weight again. I've been unfilled for so long it will be nice to have restriction again. I'm also interested to see if I can eat and then just get full without the burping and food getting stuck or having to cough it up. But - I am worried about the lack of long-term studies on this surgery. I'm worried that if I have gastro problems later I will have a hard time finding a doctor that will want to deal with my folded up stomach and the scar tissue? I'm worried about the pain from this procedure. Is there any pain during or after eating after healing - say - after about 4 weeks? I'm also worried about constricting my stomach too much, possible blocking blood flow - first with the stitches and then with the band. The doc seems very excited about this, though - the plication with the band. He was the one who suggested the plication - not me - I was just happy that I was going to get to keep my band. He assured me that it is safe - and reversible, if necessary. I don't care if it's reversible or not - I just want permanent weight loss - with no complications. How is it possible that this is reversible?!? I can see being able to reverse it soon after the surgery - but once the scar tissue forms, it has to be very difficult - if not impossible to reverse. -Anne