mbanja

Jachut, you are sooo funny!!! Thanks for answering the questions!!

I took antidepressants after banding and didn't have a problem. Even when I am too tight I find that I can swallow any type of pill as long as it is not as big as a vitamin. I haven't really tried that big. I have found though the reason I can do this is because the pill stays in my small pouch and dissolves. This can cause acid reflux!! Just found it out. I had problems with pain meds and antibiotics in the form of capsules after a recent foot surgery so I went to my band doctor and found that the capsules were dissolving in my upper stoma and causing the reflux. Not fun, had to get a complete unfill and get liquid antibiotics and liquid pain pills. Just FYI if you take a triptan based migraine med like imitrex DO NOT CUT IT UP. It acutually says it on the package not to cut it up, believe it!!! It foams up when it dissolves and you will end up spitting up foam. Nasty.

Jachut, didn't I read somewhere in one of your posts that your port actually looks like a defined stomach muscle. Almost like you have very defined ab muscles. If so I think it would be good for the OP to know that information. My port is where yours is and hopefully if I get to be as skinny as you my port would look the same!! If you don't mind me asking (Jachut), where did you carry your weight? What did your belly look like before banding? Did you have rolls or did you have like a pregnant belly. I hope I am not being too intrusive, its just that I am now realizing (from this thread) that the end result will look different with different body shapes. I don't want to get my expectations up to high. I know you have kicked you but getting into shape by exercising, I just think I would be intresting to know what you "heavy" body shape was. If it is too personal and you don't want to answer I completely understand. It is just one of those bits of info that would be intresting when comparing results.

I think this question totally depends on what type of body shape you are. I never thought about it but some places may be better for some than others. If you doc is all for it and doesn't see it posing a problem I'd say go for it. For my body shape though I don't think it would work.

At the time I got my band I was not aware that you could "choose" the location of your port. Maybe my band doc didn't offer the option, either way it was never really discussed. If I could've choosen my port placement I probably would have chose near the collar bone are too. It might be freaky getting a fill up near my face though. I prefer not to look at the ginormous needle going into me, not that it bothers me all that much but I don't know if I could handle it that close to my face.

I guess comfort wise it would depend on how your fat rolls (pardon the pun). I have a muffin top and an apron but I also have a clearly defined waist line if you look in between the rolls of fat. If you have like a beer belly (sorry I dont know how else to describe it) with no defined waistline than it just might work.

Ok, Love that deffinately clears it up! If you like wearing low rise jeans, just remember the waist of those jeans will probably be sitting right smack dab on your port. I wear low rise jeans and the waistband pushes at my port sometimes and makes it sore (that is when I sit down and my muffin top which contains my port rolls over the waist band). My port is 2 inches to the left of my belly button and about an inch above it.

I deffinately agree with Pearlygirl!!!! My hubby is skinny with no padding in his pubic area, could you just imagine how uncomfortable it would feel. I don't think I'd want his pubic bones or hip bones bumping against it. Maybe we are just not understanding exactly where the port would actually be. I mean I don't have a bikini line in the first place, I got an apron, so I might just not know the area to which Love is referring to. I personally still don't think it would be comfortable anywhere down in my snatch area!!!

Ok so you are not really referring to below the bikini area you are referring to below you waist line. Am I understanding you correctly? If so you could probably go as low as 1-2 inches below your belly button but it would probably be cutting it close. And in my opinion it wouldn't be very comfortable. Low rise jeans would be sitting right on the area and it would probably be pushing on it an make it sore. If you are really that concerned about a patruding port you could always get a low profile port. But, I don't think they can do it if you have a huge amount of weight to loose because it would get lost in the fat and be very hard to get a fill. Some people who have it in the normal area just above the waistline and belly button have trouble getting fills due to too much fat being in the way, and they don't even have a low profile port. Personally, I'd much rather have a small bump that could pass as an ab muscle if I get that skinny, than being fat for the rest of my life.

I have never heard of it below the bikini line. I just can't picture where it would go. I think that it has to be done in the upper torso area so that it can get sutured into muscle (but I'm just speaking outta my head I don't really know for sure). If it were done in the bikini area after you lost weight it would probably be very uncomfortable if you wanted to have intercorse.

I hope you are documenting with your doctor the back pain and hassle you are going thru. That way when the time comes a panniculectomy could possible and most likely be covered by insurance (that is if you have it) It is better to start documenting early on that way it is on record that this has been an ongoing problem. A panniculectomy (apron skin removal) is not as good as a tummy tuck (not only remove the skin but tighten the muscles as well), but if you wanted a TT and ins would only pay for the panni you could talk to the surgeon and maybe pay the difference.

I really don't have panic attacks just really bad anxiety attacks I guess you'd call it. I was on antidepressants pre and post banding for post pardum ( I had band surgery 10months after having my baby but I was still dealing with post pardum depression.) I started having the anxiety about 4months after surgery. I would worry about everything, I couldn't keep a train of though other than worry, I was picking at my arms, face, legs, and fingers till I had bloody sores all over me. Oh yeah an I started smoking again. Like a freight train. Also, even while on the anti depressants I would have horrid mood swings (throwing things and raging) I went thru several different antidepressants (welbutrin, paxil, effexor, and zoloft) I took zoloft last and it work for a short period of time but then it all started back so my doc upped the dose since I was on the lowest (due to the fact that I also take migraine meds which conflict with some antidepressants so you have to be closely supervised when taking them) Anyways, upping the dose was a big mistake....it made everything worse. I did a little research online and did a "Do you have anxiety" test and the results were that I had a high probability of having Generalized anxiety disorder. Armed with this information I went back to my doc and we agreed to go back to the low dose of zoloft and throw some adivan in for good measure to help as needed with the anxiety attacks. Well, I don't know what all the hype is about adivan because it did do anything for me..at all! So back to the doc armed with even more research done on antidepressants and antianxiety drugs. I am now currently taking welbutrin (again) mainly because I want to stop smoking (which I have taken before to quit so I know it works in that are) and I am hoping it will work with the depression too. Also, I asked her to try me on klonopin which is an antianxiety (but has less withdrawl effects than adivan or xanax) Well, I have currently been on this medicinal regimine for about a week and a half so it really hasn't kicked in yet (as far as the welbutrin) but if I am having a bad day I can take the klonopin and it really helps calm my nerves. I remember when I was taking welburtin years before to quit smoking that it made me really sweet and nice to everybody. I am hoping it will have the same effect this time around. So long story short (sorry) If they are really becomming a bother go to you doc and tell them what you are feeling and experiencing. Write down on paper what is happening and how you are feeling when an episode occurs so that you don't leave anything out. Also it helps to have a spouse or someone who lives with you (and is seeing and experiencing these episodes with you) to either go with you or if that is not possible have them write down the events of the episode from their perspective. If medicating to get thru this rough patch is not your cup of tea, you could try relaxation techniques. I personally am to nervous and tense for it to even begin to work for me. Plus I have a 16month old running around the house all day so I really have no time to myself. Hence that is why I personally am medicating for the problem. My little girl and I are together all day and she doesn't deserve or understand when I snap and yell at her. If I didn't have her I might just try to deal with it without all the meds, but it still wouldn't be fair to my hubby (who bears the brunt of it.)

Just another point to make on artificial sweeteners, my hubby is a type 1 diabetic and changed doctors. That doc required him to go to a diabetes siminar (even though he has been diabetic since age 12 and has already had the siminar) but anyways I went with him (since we were getting married I thought it would be a good idea for me to learn everything about it so if something should happen....) In the siminar the Doctor presenting said that artificial sweeteners DO effect your blood sugar levels even though it is said that they don't. Just food for thought.

Keep in mind too, that as you loose weight estrogen (which is stored in fat) is released and if hormones are a trigger for your migraines then you will unfortunately have to deal with that. Hopefully after you reach goal and stop loosing the weight then they will subside or become less frequent.

Amsderb, I would deffinately start seeing your pcp about this to start documenting! I know it will be a pain, but more than likely after banding and after you loose a significant amount of weight the rashes will still appear and maybe even get worse if you have alot of hanging skin. Do it now that way once you have lost weight and want that extra skin gone, all the documentation will be in order and hopefully you will get a quick and easy approval for the skin removal!! Good luck! Also, I would take pictures of the rashes when they come on and maybe if you have a date setting on your camera that can add the date to the pic I'd do that too. That way it can be documented by pictures if the ins co. tries to give you problems. Never hurts to over document!!

I HATE TOPAMAX!!! Been there done that with all those side effects plus more it is a bad drug. I have experience migraines since I was 3yrs old (I am now 27) and have tried everything. Post banding I have had them less frequently and now started to notice that they are PMS (hormone) related. It is very infrequent that I get them from food triggers or barometric pressure anymore. I do not take anything as a prophlactic (sp?) I have tried so many different things that didn't work so now I just treat them when they come on. I treat mine with Imitrex 100mg tabs and during my time of the month it is not uncommon for me to used at least 4. I also was using a muscle relaxer to try and catch it before it became full blow, since usually what causes mine is tension in my neck. But the muscle relaxer doesn't really work for me anymore (I think my body is now immune to the effects...or possible I just need a stronger muscle relaxer, who knows). All in all to really answer your question; Yes, I do notice that they are less frequent after banding. I can eat all the foods that used to trigger them (Peanut Butter, pork, chocolate) and not get one. But, I am still plagued with them during my time of the month. So now my doc and I know that they are more hormonal now.

Are you taking any other medications? I tried topamax one time as a preventative for migraines and it made my blood pressure really low, at its lowest it was 70/23 and that was in the ER. Funny thing is they just pumped with one bag of iv fluids and sent me on my merry way with a blood pressure of 80/40.

Does your tongue hurt at all? Maybe feels kinda raw? If so, you might have a yeast infection in your mouth (aka thrush). That would explain the thick white coating on your tongue. It is easy to get rid of, when I get it (from antibiotics) I have my doc call me in a Diflucan pill. It is a pill (only one) for yeast infections and it starts working within 24hrs. It usually clears it completely (for me) in 24hrs. There is other options you can try, eating yogurt, or there is a special mouthwash, or you can just gargle with peroxide (yuck it foams up and is nasty I personally hate doing it). These methods take longer to work than the Diflucan pill though. If it is not thrush, and just bad breath, there is an over the counter breath aid in the toothpaste section at any store and it comes in several forms. Personally I would check with your pcp (especially if you have recently been on antibiotics) he/she may want to see you in office before they perscribe the pill, but if you had been recently they would probably call it in for you an not make you come in. The reason I would go to the pcp and not the dentist is because the dentist for some reason cannot or doesn't want to percribe the pill and most dentists don't know that this little pill exists. Hope this helps!

Great post!! And a big thankyou to Egor from my hubby. After reading this I went and bought 3 summer dresses and tried them on for hubby and he LOVED them. I feel a little self concious in them because they do not have sleeves but I figured "what the hell" they are comfortable as all get out and the only person I am out to impress is my hubby so if he likes them that is all that matters!!

Its funny I have been looking for a new hairstyle and picked up a "hair" magazine at the drugstore the other day. Amazingly it had a very informative artical intitled "Is Diet Soda Making Your hair Fall Out?" (written by Karen Marie Shelton) It was very intresting and I'd like to share an exerpt from the artical referring to artificial sweetner: "Diet beverages are often chock full of artificial sweeteners such as aspartame, splenda, sucralose (sucralose is made when chlorine is added to sugar) and saccharin, which has been believed to attack the body at the cellular levels, clog the liver and even block some kinds of medications such as antidepressants, hormons, insulin, vaccines and various other drugs. Aspartame is a dipeptide that is composed of phenylalanine and aspartic ascid linked by methyl ester bond. According to aspartame supporters, the methyl ester bond is not absorbed and is completely hydrolyzed in the intestines to yeild the two constituent amino acids and free methanol. Opponents suggest that the phenylalanine and methanol released are still dangerous. They believe that the ongoing consumption of artificially sweetened drinks may cause a metabolic acidosis and neurotoxicity. It should also be noted that it is known by supporters of natural pesticide methods that aspartame can be used as an effective insect poison and is very successful in dealing with unwanted ants......." To sum up the artical for those that want to know if it does effect your hair, the artical says it may or may not there is no real physical evidence to date that proves yah or nah. Blah Blah Blah Bottom line is you are consumming chemicals and therefore injesting toxins. It was a very intresting artical and while I do drink beverages with artificial sweeteners, I still try to get a little plain jane Water in. I am a nonfan of water like many. I do know that I went one summer just drinking tea and nothing else and I got kidney stones and had to pass them suckers cuz I didn't have any insurance to go get them blasted out, that was not fun. So that is why I do try to flush my kidneys and liver with plain water. Who knows who is right and who is wrong, if you avoid drinking anything because you hate water I think it is better to jazz it up and stay hydrated that way then not drinking at all!

I think we all go thru that! I certainly did. The only way I can describe it is RAGE. I felt like I was in a rage all the time. I just wanted to scream and throw things and hit things,etc. AND believe it or not I was on antidepressants at the time!! I just started a new birth control (my doc and I have been tinkering with different ones for a while now) and I seem to be feeling better emotionally. I have anxiety as well and tried ativan for it but it didn't help so now I just got a scrip for klonopin. I have only taken one klonopin so far but it calmed me down immediately. If you just can't handle this stage and wait for it to pass (I couldn't so don't feel bad) try talking to your doctor about a mild antidepressant or an anti-anxiety med. First though, be sure to tell your doc about ALL your symptoms (have your partner and you make a list of all the things that is happening to take to the doc), so that he/she understands and hopefully is able to perscribe something and get it right the first time instead of having to tinker around with meds. If you are just not comfortable taking meds thats ok but me I have to have something cuz I gotta little one and I don't want to take my rage out on her! Plus my hubby doesn't deserve to bear the brunt of it either. I am soo sorry you are going thru this. I hope it is over with quickly! Best of luck!

You are welcome! Sorry I didn't know much about midwives :tongue_smilie:. I didn't know they could do all of that!

Well after my first fill I had ok restriction but felt like I could still eat too much so I went for a second fill. Second fill had me so tight I couldn't get fluids down so all the second fill had to come out. Instead of taking all the fill out and letting my stomach rest, I told the doc to leave in the amount of my first fill. Well, possibly I didn't wait long enough (4weeks) between fills for the maximum amount of restriction to kick in and the 1st fill volume was super tight. Well, being a self pay I was not going to get another unfil so I have suffered for 6months being extremely tight and not being able to get adiquite amounts of hard protein in. Needless to say I have lost some weight, but not a huge amount probably based on the fact that I have not been getting enough proper nutrition and eating softer foods that would acutally go down. Anyways, so all of the sudden two weeks ago I started having problems with acid reflux....(Why it just started I don't know) so I have made an apointment to get an unfill finally. I have just became so fed up not being able to eat right and not loosing the weight like I want. Well after the appointment was set in stone and the money charged to my CC, BAM all the sudden I can eat like a normal lapbander. What gives. Well, still having acid reflux, but able to eat normal amounts again so what do I do? Go and have my unfill or see if I can beg a cancellation? Well, my decision is to go and have the unfill but not a complete unfill. I am thinking about just a .5 cc unfill. Hopefully this will loosen me up enough to let my stomach get back to normal and for me to re-relearn to eat a healthy balanced meal! I will try and keep everyone posted on how it is going. My major lesson that I have learned with this experience is to give your body a maximum amount of time between each fill to let the band do its job. 4weeks was not enough time for my 1st fill to kick in, I am thinking it probably would have taken about 6weeks for me to have felt my maximum restriction from that first fill. My point is, I don't want anyone else to experience what I have went thru and I want people to know that YES it can take several several several weeks to feel restriction from a fill. Please if there is anything you can learn from me, let it be to give your fill enough time to kick in before you decide to go for more! I hope this helps someone!

Well for anyone that is intrested in how my doc visit went, here it goes. I am so glad I went and ended up having to have all the fluid taken out of my band. Doc said my esophogus looks fine and no damage done from the reflux, THANK GOD. But we did find out what was causing it. Come to find out that a small part of my large stomach had slipped thru the band and was hanging off the side of my band, hence collecting food and not letting it go thru the band. This cause 2 things. A, in a since it has stretched my pouch allowing me to eat "normal" as I had thought and B, it has been keeping the food in my small stomach and not allowing it to flush hence causing the acid reflux. My doc said it is not a slip and it is not that I actually stretched my pouch in the sense that well all understand. It is that my larger stomach has "flopped thru my band and is hanging over it. So what I have to do is go on liquids for 2-4days and allow the little peice to slip back thru the empty band. She said I should be good to go to get a fill in about 2 weeks. Also, reguarding the acid reflux, she has told me to do a double dose of prilosec otc for 10 days and then if I feel ok I can either drop down to 1 dose of prilosec for 4 more days or cut it out completely if things feel ok. Incedently she also said that some banded people who have never before experienced acid reflux can get it after being banded (as a side effect of banding) and just have to keep medicating for it. Hope this helps someone!

You should at least try to drink some plain water. Your liver acts like a sponge to all the nasties that are in artificial sweetener and such. At least get some plain water in to flush all the trash out of your liver and kidneys. I mean you can loose wieght without it, but at what cost kidney stones and a sick liver.