momof4

Rachele, Actually, you don't have to be a patient to sign up for his online message board. All you have to do is get a Yahoo account and sign up there. That's what I did when I was looking into this surgery and was able to register when I wasn't a patient. Actually, I'm still not a patient of his. The only thing I know for sure is that my band is coming out. As far as anything else, I am leaning towards the MGB, but haven't made a final decision yet. I am still talking to people about it, but most everything I have heard has been encouraging and the bad that I've heard had nothing to do with the surgery or complications from that. Unfortunately, the band wasn't a good route for me and that has left me looking for an alternative. Tricia H

I'm 5'2" but small framed. Actually, I felt the healthiest when I weighed around 130, but even at that weight I still need to lose 60 lbs. Congratulations on your weight loss by the way! In your avatar, you look amazing!! Tricia H

Carlene, I haven't posted in a very long time and just haven't changed my signature. I have gained back 20 lbs. of the 31 I lost. And, you are right, normally doctors wouldn't do any weight loss surgery on a person with my BMI; however, I have health concerns that qualify me. The only reason my doctor would even consider doing my MGB is because I already have the band and I am having it removed. Another good thing about MGB is that the doctor bypasses only as much intestines as he thinks needs to be done. For instance, my neighbor had 6 feet of intestines bypassed, whereas her daughter had 8 feet. My guess is he would only bypass 4 feet on me (or fewer). My signatue also only had my goal weight with the band. That would still leave me overweight. I should weigh in the 110's and need to lose 70-80 lbs. to be at my ideal weight and not 32. I can understand how you would be concerned over a doctor performing surgery for a person only needing to lose 32 lbs. I hope I answered your question. Tricia H

GeezerSue, At some of the meetings I went to, I spoke with one lady who had the MGB over 6 years ago and still looks fantastic. She hasn't gained anything back. I also spoke with a lady whose mother-in-law had it 7 years ago and is still doing wonderful. In fact, she's 70 something and is still going strong and she has energy. There was a man from Michigan there whose mother, father, and a sibling had the surgery, all several years ago and they are still doing awesome. Honestly, the only negative that I heard were some people had a bad reaction to the drain the first 24 hours in the hospital. One lady's lungs started to collapse because she wasn't taking deep enough breaths, but once they took the draining tube out, everything was fine. I am not trying to push this surgery. I think everybody needs to research everything and talk to at least 20 people who have had the procedure for "personal" information. In fact, my doctor requires you to have spoken to at least ten patients as part of your pre-op ritual. As far as complications with the procedure, nobody I've talked to has had any complications from the surgery. They are all off diabetic medications, blood pressure meds, and asthma meds. I only posted this to show that in spite of your efforts, the band still isn't for everyone. My body doesn't react well to the foreign object inside me. Tricia H

Health1st, I have only been to one support group here in Vegas and that was at Mountain View Hospital (they hold a support group one night per month). At that time, there were about 35-40 people at the support group, but only 3 of us were lapband patients. Since the band produces slower results, you already feel inferior saying that you've lost your 20 lbs. when everyone else is standing up saying they've lost 55-125 lbs. Most of the meeting was listening to one woman complain about all the men who ask her out now (no joke). When someone else would change the subject and get back on track, she would once again bring up some delivery guy who told her that her husband better "watch out". It was sickening but comical. I ALMOST felt sorry for her. That's the only time I went to a support group for lapband or regular bypass. I know there are a few other doctors here who hold support groups but I don't know when. Good luck. Tricia H

I have been having problems with dizziness, vomiting (not PBing), and extreme fatigue and weakness. I even have burning in my joints (like an arthritis), but I've been going through testing since January of this year and I have nothing that my symptoms lead to. That's the good news. Six months after getting the band, I woke up, got out of bed and hit the floor. I had to crawl to the bathroom as quickly as possible and vomited for the next hour. We all know that with the band, you can't truly vomit because everything is in the lower part of the stomach, so I am pretty sure I have slipped my band. My "band doctor" doesn't even want to pursue that option though. He doesn't want to have to report any complications. I have been to internal medicine doctors, General Practitioners, neurologists, otolaryngologists and they are all baffled by my condition. My lap band doctor says that people's bodies don't reject the band, but I have spoken with another lady on here whose body went through something similar and she had her band removed and the symptoms are improved. She said the longer after her band removal, the better the symptoms get. As far as the MGB, I have been researching this all year. I have been referred to this by a general practitioner and as mentioned earlier, I have been to several seminars. The doctor I'm going to, gives out his personal cell phone number (and actually answers it), gives his e-mail address and is available 24/7. He said that he's getting more and more people with the band because the band simply requires will power and let's face it, if will power lasted forever, then we wouldn't need the band. I have spoken to 30+ patients who have had the MGB and they eat anything they want. There is no PBing, there's no stuck, there's no acid reflux, and there is NO dumping. And it's reversible!!! If you want to learn more about MGB, send me a private message and I will lead you to a web site where you can research it yourself. The doctor I'm going to is the doctor who invented the whole system and has performed 33,000 of these operations himself over the past 9+ years. Studies show that the long term results are better than regular bypass and none of his patients have gained back their weight. He has trained many doctors in this surgery and you can probably find one on his web site. Hope this helps....... Tricia H

The band is so new here in the U.S. that the "failure" rate is still not yet known. Some people do gain weight back with bypass, but it looks like more and more people are having problems getting the weight off at all with the band. I have had health problems since getting my band and for the first 8 months, I wasn't even thinking that it could be the band. Now, it looks like my body is going through some autoimmune type of condition, but I don't have any of the diseases (such as lupus, etc.). My doctor thinks it might actually be the band. I am getting the band taken out and am seriously considering getting the "mini gastric bypass". This has shown to have the same weight loss as RNY and the normal bypass, but the people with the MGB seem to be keeping the weight off beyond 7 years--unlike the others. It is completely reversible and if you aren't losing enough weight, they can bypass more intestines or if you're losing too much weight, then the doctor can bypass less intestines to slow it down. I've already been to seminars on the MGB and have researched it--including speaking to about 30 people who have had the surgery (one being my neighbor). I was self pay for the band and will be for the removal and MGB, so I want to make sure that I get my money's worth this time. I did well with the band until I started getting sick. I'm curious to see if taking it out takes care of my health problems. Tricia H

Liz, When I was cleared to start exercising and doing any activity that I wanted to do, my family went bowling. At some point during the game, I felt a pain in the area of my port (I was using a heavy bowling ball that day). As the day progressed, the pain seemed to spread into my back and shoulders also. I learned on LBT about a woman who had torn her sutures that held her port in place by reaching for something and I was afraid I had done that too. I went on disability at home and did very little and did absoutely no lifting or vacuuming, sweeping, etc. The pain lasted for a week and then slowly subsided. I actually think that I pulled a muscle in my stomach or back because once it went away, I never had it again. As for the acid problem, I had this until I was about 6-8 weeks out. If the pain gets worse or lasts longer than a few days, you should call your doctor because you might have torn some stitches or something else. I hope this helps you and good luck in your healing!! Tricia H

Nevada, Thanks for the info. After reading your post, I investigated and there is someone on Cheyenne that gives fills. It's good to know that there is some place I can go when my doc's office is too busy to care. Tricia H

Penni, I am so sorry that you going through the frustrations of life without the band and gaining weight back. My neighbor was over 300 lbs. and she wasn't fond of the gastric bypass surgery because of the amount of intestines that they remove. However, she researched for a year and found a doctor here in Vegas that performs "mini" bypass surgeries. His name is Dr. Rutledge and from what I've read and heard, there's far LESS risk involved, less recovery time and it's reversible. Here is his web site if you want to investigate further. By the way, my neighbor doesn't get any dumping or the bad side effects of the regular gastric bypass surgery and she eats anything she wants. She looks amazing. She probably weighs 155 right now (if even that). I often wish I would have spoken to her before I got my band. I know I would be more successful on losing weight than I am with this band and having Dr. Teng. Here's the website: http://clos.net/ Good luck and best wishes, Tricia H

Hi, I live in Henderson. I was banded 6/09/05 by Dr. Teng. I was doing okay in the weight loss until I started having health problems January 1, 2006 that are unrelated to the band. In the 6 months after my surgery, prior to my health problems, I only had one fill. Dr. Teng believes that people should have restriction right out of surgery (before any fills). He is very difficult to convince that you need a fill. Needless to say, without fills, you can't reach your sweet spot. Other than that, he is a caring doctor and a good surgeon. I just don't think he knows that much about the band. He's more of a gastric bypass doctor. IMHO. Tricia

Telly, Thanks for posting the fat burning vs. carb burning article. That is awesome information. I used to walk 5+ miles in less than an hour and I continued this 4-6 days a week for two years. My heart was healthy, my blood pressure and cholesterol were great, but it did nothing for my outside, physical appearance. Now I understand the reason. It was very discouraging to me. Now I know what I need to do to lose FAT!!! Thanks, Tricia H

Hey, I'm always way above my target heartrate too. It just doesn't make sense that when I work out in my fat burning range I can not only talk but I could whistle a tune. It seems soooo slow and I don't feel like I'm working out. If jogging or running helps get you in shape faster than walking, then wouldn't working above your zone help you shed the pounds faster too? I guess I'll never know because I just can't work out that low paced. Maybe I'm a little obsessive/compulsive because if I'm going to do something, then I'm going to give it my all. Tricia H

The soup sounds yummy and the diet looks reasonable. I have been unfilled for nearly 7 months now due to dizziness and vomiting but have managed to gain almost all my weight back. I seemed to have kicked the dizziness (finally) and can't get in to my doctor for a month to get a fill--which will probably be a small one. I think this will be a great jump start to help get me motivated. Thanks for posting this thread!!!! Tricia H

This is so surprising to me. I don't come here very often anymore so I missed this. Christina and I were banded around the same time and we are the same age. We have a lot in common and were "PMing" buddies for a while. We tried to encourage each other through phone calls and PMs. Please tell her Tricia in Henderson, NV sends her love and best wishes. I will also pray for her. She is such a sweet person and has a great personality. God Bless You Christina........ Tricia H

I lost 31 lbs. within 5 months after surgery. I gained a few of those back around Thanksgiving and Christmas. On January 1, 2006, I started having dizzy spells that lasted for literally weeks. I am still undergoing testing to determine the reason for the dizziness and vomiting. At the end of January of early February, I had a total unfill because I was afraid of slipping my band. It still might have happened though. I have gained all but 11 of those 31 lbs. back. I am fighting the weight gain, but unfortunately, when you're dizzy, you can't even walk let alone exercise. My band doctor won't event think of refilling me until they find out what I have. Unfortunately, food is my only comfort right now. Tricia H

Thanks Penni, I have heard of him before. I think Lisa (Delarla) went to him when she finally got her port infection taken care of. On average, how long does it take to get an appointment to see him?

Actually, with all the chaos on here about people giving fills who aren't legal to give fills, I really haven't. Besides, I have developed other health problems and have been battling this for 6 months now. I have recurring dizziness and vomiting that won't go away and medication doesn't always help it. With the forceful vomiting, I'm afraid to get a fill anyway for fear of slipping my band or something else. Although, that could still happen without a fill, my chances are greater with one (IMO). Besides, I don't think there is anyone around here besides the three doctors who give fills.

For those of you Vegas bandsters. I am a Vegas patient and you are right when it comes to experience and after care. I was banded by Dr. Teng June 9, 2005. I did my research and called around and he came most recommended. According to his office, he has done "hundreds" of lap band surgeries. After my surgery, I was having a hard time getting a fill from them. They told me that I was his only patient who didn't feel restriction straight out from surgery. I called inamed myself and they told me that only 1% of patients WILL feel restriction without a fill. Later, I found out that when his office says they've done hundreds of surgeries, they mean gastric bypass and lap band surgeries combined. I have found myself going back on weight watchers and other "diets" because I haven't gotten the proper aftercare. This just proves that just because you get the surgery done in the states that it is going to be free of complications or good care. Unfortunately, I learned that my questions weren't specific enough and enabled them to beat around the bush so to speak. I have had a setback due to health issues other than the band, but I can honestly say that I was set up to fail because without a fill, there is no restriction. Tricia H

Ditto here too!! DeLarla has welcomed and supported anybody who has had a problem. When I was new to the whole band thing, she gave me her number and we talked for a while. She gave me her insight and her knowledge on the band. She had a lot of experience and was more knowledgeable on how this thing should work than my own doctor. She's awesome!!! Good luck Lisa, we're all here to support you for all the help you've given us...... Tricia H

Congratulations on your success! I am a 6 month bandster too. I wa doing awesome but about a month ago I went and had an unfill because I wasn't able to eat anything but the things I shouldn't eat. Now, I can't even tell I have the band because they took too much out. Oh well, better to go slow than be overly aggressive and end up losing my band. I see you had an unfill too. I know it's a hard decision to make, but after reading the wonderful advice about how being too tight can be more harmful than helpful, I know I made the right choice. Good job and good luck for the next 6 months!!! Tricia H

I itch on my tummy, legs, and sometimes boobies from time to time. Usually, I just take a benadryl every night before bedtime (it makes you sleepy) for a few days and it goes away. You might be able to try a benadryl cream during the day, but I found that if I scratched, then I itched more!!! Good luck!!! Tricia

SuperDaddy That is so awesome!!! I love Jars of Clay and Chris Tomlin. I listen to Christian music all the time, especially when I am feeling stressed out. It relaxes me and reminds me that God is with me. What an amazing opportunity!!! Congratulations! Tricia H

TrishS is right. I have found that I can't eat scrambled eggs at all. It used to be in the mornings only, but now I can't even eat them in the evening. Every day is different. I can eat chicken some days and other days I can't. My band is very picky. I never know what's going to work on any given day. I just make sure I keep a lot of Protein drinks and Protein Bars available for the days I feel very restricted so I'm at least getting in some kind of Protein and calories. Good luck and try not to worry. Tricia H

I was doing okay until the past two or three weeks. I seem to be doing everything except for eating right. I'm still exercising, but I'm also eating more. Funny thing is, I don't seem to feel that "full" feeling like I used to. Have any of you noticed that? I try hard to be in tune with my band, but it's hard to stop when you don't feel full. In another three pounds, I will be half way to my goal!!! Of course, I wouldn't mind if I kept losing after my goal either!! Good job everybody!!!! Tricia H