susieq321

I was in the same position you were prior to banding and Dr Joffe told me as long as my chest was clear not to worry. I had a bit of a cough and a sniffle but on the morning of surgery my lungs were clear so I was all good. Phone your clinic and ask them about it. Better safe than sorry.

I have no problem with disagreement, I can speak for what I know. I never said anything about noxious gas or discharge etc from any other surgery. I wouldn't try and scare people from another surgery. I just know what worked for me, I know what I have seen with the people I know, personally. All our experiences in this world are shaped by what we know. My knowledge is enhanced by my surgeon knowledge and discussions I have had with him. In his experience he has found patients who revise to RNY from the band do not do well. (He doesn't do DS he finds it too risky a surgery) And he does do the sleeve so far those patients he revises from a band to a sleeve seem to be doing well from what he told me, . I actually just reccomended a sleeve to a patient whose body is reacting badly to the band. My comment was specifically to revised RNY patients, nothing else. The ones I know are still morbidly obese, are are still no where near any of their goals and are struggling with a variety of areas. I actually believe that anyone can lose weight, hell just about everyone on this board has lost weight and gained it back over time hence we resorted to WLS. The band is nice for weight loss but it is amazing for long term maintenance. It helps you maintain, if you have a good fill level letting you eat reasonable healthy amounts, if something changes you can de-fill or go tighter. I do honestly believe that with all the complications I had with my band if that had been another other surgery I would be dead right about 3 years ago. At least with the band a slip is fixable, with other surgeries a complication may result in complications that are not as easily fixable. And no the band won't magically change your brain, neither will any other surgery. Dealing with why you eat, how you eat, what you eat, when you eat and where you eat is tough work no matter what surgery you get. No matter what choice you make it is hard work that can take a lifetime to master for some.

I have been in the surgeons office and heard if it slips again it has to come out and then to hear it is coming out for 6 months.... you are absolutely right eating like a banded person when your band is out isn't always easy. But by exercising some self restraint you can keep most of the weight off while you are waiting for another surgery. The band isn't for everyone, I fully agree with that. But I still think unless you have a reaction to the band it is the safest option that exists for perm. WLS options. I still think that there are people out there whose behavior is the reason they have issues with the band. But I also think the majority of band issues are the band itself or the surgerical placement. I think there are a lot of people out there who opt to leave the band expecting other WLS just to be that much easier to lose the weight and maintain... and from what I have seen from the people I know that just isn't true. All the people I know who switched from the band to the RNY are still morbidly obese, the second surgery didn't help them lose more.. they weren't ready to change their patterns and behavior. Now the opposite of that seems to be true of the people I know who have added the band to the RNY surgery. They seem to be losing well and getting to their goals. I think if mentally you are ready to work with the band, the odds are you aren't going to be mentally ready to work with any surgery. If your band comes out for medical reasons and your surgeon suggests something else, or you just can't face being banded again by all means get something else... hell I know I would be getting an alternate surgery if my band came out and couldn't go back in. I don't think I would opt for the DS or RNY since they seem to drastic to me. Right now it would be the sleeve but I would need to do some serious investigation before I agreed to that surgery. It is individual, I just hope the people who are on here after lapband removal are just not on here to say how unhappy they are but on boards that support them and give them the information that they need to cope with the alternate surgery they opted for. Personally I would have just left the band boards behind if my band was out and not going back and joined things that supported my choices rather than a board that obiviously will be proband.

Dorianna, Fills are something I get rarely... once in a while, I have somewehre around 5 cc's and that is a good fill for me to maintain my weight loss overall. I got a fill last summer and then I got three de-fills over the next several months. Really I could go for a tiny tiny defill but I am loath to mess with something that is working well. One of the strongest things I can say is work with a fill as long as you can.. once you have a good fill level for you, you will know it and it will help you lose and eat a good portion of food. Glad to hear you are keeping the food down and the trip to the falls was fun.

Yasmina... a belly dancer that is tres cool and fantastic exercise. And eventually you guyfriend will have to face up to the surgery and it will no longer stress him out. Keep up the good work.

Mary, No WLS will take away the crazy about the food sometimes it helps change it a bit but doesn't take it away that is a battle we all have to face on our own sometimes it is easy sometimes it is hard, good luck with whatever you decide

It gets better and worse.. worse for the next several weeks and after that you learn that prior to dessert you are honestly full... or you can share and have a bite or two if you feel the need. Good to know you ate well and no one knows, who you don't want to know...

I can honestly say I don't miss stuffing myself, I look at the portions people around me eat and sometimes it just kinda turns my stomach thinking of the calories and the amount. I never really missed the food, or experienced the sadness. Once I realized I could eat everything I wanted, the sense of loss left me. It took a few months but before the first year had passed I knew I wasn't missing anything other than quanity of foods. My friends loving going out with me, since we order an app and an entree but I eat just a enough that they are getting the majority usually the two things feed both of us and leave my friends with left overs or full enough they are worried about dessert. I agree with Mandi though I do love going out with friends and knowing I am there because I just really want to see them not because I am craving the food we are eating.

Thanks, the band is amazing as are my surgeons at TLBC. I think anyone can get here, it is work but it is also life altering in so many worth while ways.

Doriana, I am just curious does the nurse at TLBC ask you any questions prior to giving you a fill? I have been banded long enough that I don't get asked questions just how much I want out or in. But for a new bandster I would hope the nurse would ask you some questions to help judge how much fill you might need. Something like when was the last time you lost? How much can you eat? What types of food are you eating are you moving/exercising those sorts of things? Just curious since I see Yau or Joffe and they just ask how much.

Red meat is tricky for some people.. I can do ground red meat no problems ever. For other cuts of red meat I need to have it cooked medium rare at the most.

I love food, I love to cook.. and I can eat anything including bread still. The only thing I seriously miss and only once in a while is being able to chug a full big glass of cold milk or Water.. I can go about two or three glulgs and then I have to stop. I think I have learned to enjoy some foods more with the band. I eat slower, I savour the food I eat and I eat better food. I don't bother with drive throughs since I don't like them I would rather sit and have something with some nutritional value to it. And when I say I have anything I mean anything, Prime Rib, Buffalo steak, fondue, chicken in any manner, fajitas, sushi, Pasta, fish etc. I still drink wine and booze. I eat much smaller portions and I take my time, but I still eat it all.

Yoda, I read this the other day and it made me remember much younger days and spilling a coke in the phone I was operating... it wasn't just a phone but it was the switchboard... about 5 mins later as I was panicing that no one would get calls at the investment firm I was working at... a bell dude walked in and made it all so much better. I avoid keeping drinks and food near the laptop cause I know I am just that much of a klutz.

Yasmina, Talk to the clinic I know they have given other bandsters or pre-bandsters the option of having a high Protein diet. I hate yogurt and cottage cheese... so if I had to do it all over again I would be in big trouble. But I know several bandsters have done the pre-op on grilled chicken, plain fish that sort of thing. Good luck

I honestly believe anyone can do it... it is work and it is dedication and a changing of habits but anyone can do it and the more determined you are the better off you are. Take your inspiration where you find it and do it in your own way and you have done a perfect job!!!

Sue, Actually I know several people who have had complications only one is similar and as convoluted as mine but add in erosion to boot.. and again made it to goal and has been there since a few months after her second lapband was re-inserted. The one DS person at the dinner I was at never made goal. Mind you one person is not what you judge a whole WLS procedure by, the DS is rare to see in Canada, there aren't any docs in the country doing it anymore as far as I know. My surgeon is one of the few trained to do it and he finds it to be too drastic a surgery and prefers the band, the sleeve or the RNY in that order. Keep in mind part of my bias comes from being successful with the band, knowing literally 100's of other success stories over the years from my personal experience, and most of them are not on the net. In my province you will wait up to 7 years if you want an open RNY, the VBG is no longer an options so self paying for the band or the lesser known sleeve (again only two surgeons I know of doing the sleeve) are about your only options if you want surgery in a reasonable amount of time. The post was for is the lapband healthy... absolutely it is healthy, I have had my Vitamins checked with my yearly physical since my first year of having it... all my levels are perfect, my blood sugar has dropped, my knees feel so much better. Overall I am what I got the band to be a much healthier person who will hopefully carry that through the rest of my life.

I am a rare person.. I have gone through just about every complication you can have with a band except erosion and I still lost all my weight.. and made it to goal and have maintained there for basically 3 years now. My history is as follows Banded Jan 7 02 (Innamed 9.25 rigid band) Port flip and disconnect Feb 02 Repair March 7 02 Band Slip August 02 Defill Sept 02 Refilled Dec 02 Band Slip Jan 03 Slip Repair Jan 7 03 Band Slip March 03 During SARS and couldn't get a defill Defilled in April 03 Band Slip in may 04 Band removal May 04 Band insertion oct 6 04, Swedish band I know problems.. I know how discouraging they can be. I also now know that different bands react and function very differently in the body. I think there would be less issues with bandsters not reacting well to the band if the surgeons all offered all the varieties of bands giving the surgeon more options to choose from for the patients body. You would think that all the bands are designed basically the same way and would function the same way in your body. But I can honestly say my swedish band is like night and day from my innamed band. What I can and can't eat is very different, with the innamed band I couldn't touch bread or steak.. with the Swedish band there is nothing I can't eat in moderation. And no for those out there who think vomiting is normal it isn't you shouldn't be vomiting your way to weight loss to do so is dangerous to the band and you are more likely to slip if you vomit excessively and forcefully. And I call anything I swallow that comes back up vomit.. I do not beleive in the terms PB, Slime etc it is all vomit to me. I vomit once in a while but rarely and it is usually because I am eating too quickly or not paying attention to what my stomach is saying... after 5 years I vomit on occasion but it is rare. I still believe the band is the best option when worked with by the patient and the doctor in a consistent, dedicated and effective manner. I can say I was at a party last month of WLS patients all of us were several years out and there was many types of WLS represented including the VBG, DS, RNY and two bandsters. The bandsters were the only people who ever had reached their goal and were able to maintain the weight loss. Everyone else had never reached goal and had gained weight which I found interesting. With that said there are people whose bodies don't react well with the band and can't keep it in their bodies. I still think other WLS options are needed and if I ever lost my band and couldn't have one back in knowing what I know now I would opt to have another WLS option right now the sleeve as per discussions with my surgeon I have had seems the best and least invasive option. I know there is some concern about pouch stretching like with the RNY, but from what my surgeon has seen with the length of the sleeve it doesn't stretch in the same way as the RNY pouch does. Just my thoughts on the subject as someone who has been there..

lol... so do a lot of friends... I just really really like wine... I actually kinda stopped buying and started drinking some because when I find something I like I just buy a case or two and then wait and drink it with friends... but now I am thinking it is getting a little insane.

lynda, for your thighs it depends on what you need done.. a body lift would never work with my thighs I need the full thigh lift.. I still have some mass on my thighs and a ton of sagging skin. So I need the full cut down the inside of my thigh and across the groin line to get the results that will make me happy. I will see my same surgeon who did my TT and Breast Lift, for my thigh lifts. We had a lovely talk about the two methods of cutting for a thigh lift and how the results would look with my shape of thigh, skin removal etc. And he explained to me where just the groin cut would fail and be pulled lower and he would need to operate a second time to make me happy... (I am fussy and he knows it) There is some pain with PS.. don't think there isn't but it is managable. I am lucky I have a high toleralence for pain, so I don't need a ton of painkillers after surgery. I would say if you are doing it give yourself a few extra weeks to manage major pain.

I have 200 + plus bottles of wine in my basement.. so yes I drink wine. I find that with less weight I get loopy much faster. Soda and carbonated beverages. I drink some fountain soda.. it tends to have a lot less carbonation. I didn't touch pop for about 2-3 years, I tried it once when I was filled and it physically hurt so then I stopped drinking it quickly. If you can cut out the soda you are better off.. most people I know have issues with soda once they are filled to any tightness. Keep in mind one stat I saw on TV recently was showing a medium fountain drink with 26 tablespoons of sugar!!! I know there is diet soda but that is just as bad for so many other reasons. If you can stop drinking sodas you are much better off. I know people who have reached goal and never stopped drinking soda but most of us have stopped drinking it at least through the weight loss phase. Remember the more you have to lose the faster you lose and never ever compare yourself to anyone else. You are unique and you will lose it all in your own unique way.

Thank you for the compliments. I have the swedish band with a fairly loose fill and I honestly believe after 5 years the best thing in the world about the band is not how it helps you lose weight... but how it helps you maintain the weight loss with such ease... it really helps you. I can say I was at a christmas gathering with a bunch of WLS patients and every WLS you can imagine was there the RNY, the VBG, the DS, stomach stapling these were all long timers 4+ years out for all of us. There were two bandsters and we were the only two who ever reached goal and maintained our weight at goal. The rest of the surgeries had regained and in some cases substantial amounts of weight. I go for fills on occasion I have been to see Dr Yau for one fill last year... and I think three de-fills. (My band likes to self tighten if I am stressed) I am at about 5 cc's roughly maybe a little less maybe a little more. Be prepared to have a relationship with your surgeon and their staff for a long time that is unlike any other doctor patient relationship. I can't speak for Dr Coburn I can speak for Joffe and Yau.. they are amazing kind surgeons with great staff, who in the first two years tend to see you as often as you need a fill. I have heard similar things about Dr Coburn also. But in truth once you learn to work with the band and make a consistent effort with eating and exercising losing the weight follows. Then once you reach goal maintaining is simple, I tend not to think about my weight or what I eat other than to think am I getting in enough Protein, liquids etc.

Mostly for breakfast I have a large glass or two of skim milk, sometimes I throw oatmeal in there but most mornings I am too tight for anything but liquids and I am not a huge fan of the drink something hot to eat more theory. lunch really varies if I am working at home or in the office.. when I am at home I am very very bad because I forget to eat. So I tend to have salads, cheese and crackers with some meat, eggs, fruit and veges etc. dinner again is just a normal meal tonight is brisket, last night was a fondue with veges, fruit and Protein. I can still eat bread no matter how tight I get, I don't eat a lot of it but it doesn't pose a problem for me. I also tend to try and have types of food, I focus on a protein first, then veges, then carbs. I also need to mix textures of food it seems to work better with my stomach and band. So if I am having beef, I need to have the veges with it just the beef sitting in my stomach alone doesn't work nearly as well.

My understanding of the AP is this is innamed's latest and greatest contribution to the lapband community. I know J&J just brought out a new version of the swedish band too. The nice thing about the latest and greatest band is they have taken all the flaws and complications and weight loss challenges into the design of the band. So you are getting what they have deisgned to be the best. I wouldn't worry about having a new design of band, I know for me that would give me a little encouragement. It is kinda like buying a new car, do you want the one with all the features or the baseline model... I like all the bells and whistles, so knowing I have the latest technology and design would give me some peace of mind.

Actually I need to change my ticker tape ( I am lazy)... I am pretty much at goal.. I am generally a size 8-10 on the bottom and 6-8 on the top. Thank you for the compliments. It is very doable for anyone, just keep on your track and do what you need to do to get there. I think sites like this are awesome for helping people out with information and support. There are people here who know where you are and where you are going. Sometimes it is harder to relate this to your friends and family if they aren't banded sometimes.

I would take it slowly... I like to mix my textures of food. So if I am eating salad I like to have greens, with different veges and some Protein like fish or chicken. It seems to sit better in my stomach when I mix the textures but you won't have to worry about that for a while. The other thing I can say is I travelled during my post-op and don't worry about strange restaurant orders. I ordered a lot of french onion Soup minus the choose, bread and make it mostly broth. I checked out a lot of menu's on the net (only really works with chains) I am not sure what the standard food of egypt are but I would think you can get several variations of dips, vegetarion dishes etc. I would personally avoid rice as it is hard to chew enough at first and tends not to sit great with most people. Remember you won't be filled so any restriction you have will just be natural restriction and you may find that you can transition without problems. Be very slow to go things like beef or solid meat. Try stews if you have to because meats softens with the cooking. Good luck and keep asking your questions.