barbaraann

I agree that the tomato soup is great! (you might want to avoid this right after banding or a PB however since the acid can burn. I really like the canned Slimfast vanilla or chocolate. Have an entire shelf of sugar free pudding in the little cups. You might want to start weaning yourself off of the Diet Coke now. I recommend Crystal Light which I drink by the pitcher! As I'm sure your doctor told you, carbonated beverages are one of the few things you give up permanently when you get banded. The gas build-up stretches your pouch. A recent study also showed that diet sodas actually make you crave more sweets. Good luck as your big day approaches! Barbara (down 25 pounds since July 5 banding!)

I had researched for months and went to Duke for the initial workup but pulled out. They are real big on bypass but have little experience with lap-band. Dr. McMahon who did do the lapband had only done about 30 procedures over a 3 year period and had greater than 10% failure rate I was told. Dr. McMahon just left Duke and Dr. deMarie who came from Virginia is not a big fan of lapband. I checked him out with 2 other lapband docs who said he presented at an obesity conference on how lapband DIDN'T WORK! I was also concerned that the docs don't get involved with the fills at all - they are done by a nurse (and cost $450 each). I am still getting bills from my initial consult which ended up costing over $2000 including blood work and psych. evaluation. The psych person was actually concerned that as a busy mom of 3 I wouldn't be able to focus enough on dieting and might want to delay the procedure until a later year. (don't think I could wait at this weight!) While Duke is only 15 minutes from my home, I ended up looking all over and narrowed it down to NYC and TJ before settling on Dr. Ortiz in TJ. His experience in doing this procedure over 2000 times convinced me. It was worth the trip and I was banded in July and have lost 23 pounds already. He has written the book on lapband (you can order it on his site obesitycontrolcenter.com). Don't discount Mexico. I was amazed that almost all patients I met there were US nurses or wives of US doctors who were referred to Ortiz for his expertise.

I am 5 weeks out and have had PB problems at least 2 times a week. Here is what it is to me and what I have learned: You are very tight in the morning. I cannot get any food to go down without sticking no matter how many times I chew so have resorted to a high protein Slimfast for breakfast daily. This actually makes my breakfast decision easy and I poor it over crushed ice which is refreshing. The best way to describe PBing is that food gets stuck at your band site and won't go down. You get a bad chest pain until it passes. Your body will produce a ton of saliva trying to get it to pass so if the food is blocking the way this "slime" will fill your mouth and you are spitting it out into every paper towel/napkin you can find. (note - keep a roll of paper towels and plastic grocery bags in your car!) I have found that bending over the sink will either help force the food down or speed up the reverse route! Once you vomit the food up (and it's just a little bit) you feel fine. My episodes last 15-30 minutes. You CANNOT drink liquids in an effort to "wash the food down" Drinking only adds a liquid level above the stuck food and you will definitely vomit it back up. Food that's gotten stuck for me: eggs, waffle, hard lettuce (stick to soft greens or spinach), chicken, mashed potatoes. In some cases I was not conscious to chew 30+ times and swallowed a little too soon) After an episode I have liquids and soft foods for the next few hours. I am learning how to eat to avoid these problems. Lunch is usually soup and salad, tuna, humus, healthy choice dinner, etc. Afternoon snack is a sugar free pudding with whipped cream or an icecream bar. Evening dinner goes down easily so I eat whatever I make for the family. Tonight was steak with salad. I am never that hungry and because I am continuing to lose will probably put off my first fill past the 8 week mark. I was thinking that the PBing is sort of like your guardian angel telling you OK - this is not good for you or you are eating too much. It's that little voice in your head telling you to slow down. You must focus 100% on your chewing/eating to avoid PB. Twice I had episodes because I was talking while eating and swallowed my food before it was mushed. After trying so many different diets, this is a small price to pay for such great results.

Has she tried warm liquids - especially tea? I am tighter in the morning and cold water gets stuck. I have to use room temp or warm water to take my meds. I was told that warm liquids relax you more and go down easier. Also, you must start out with small sips - not the gulps we are so used to. Celestial Seasonings just came out with a great line of dessert teas and not only do they smell great they go down easily. My favorites are Vanilla Hazelnut and English Toffee. If your grocery store doesn't have them I'm sure you can buy them from the web site. Be patient but keep drinking to avoid dehydration! Sip, sip, sip!

Bike riding, walking, water exercise are all good. You can use some machines that work the arms and legs but avoid any stomach/ab exercises for the first 6 months. Your port is stitched to a muscle and that has to heal. If you do ab work you could cause damage so be patient.

I will go back to MX because here in Durham, NC fills are $400!

I was given a supply of pain killers from Dr. Ortiz but didn't feel I needed them. I was then told that they were also an anti-inflamatory and I should still take them to minimize the swelling in my belly. If you don't take pain killers make sure you are taking something for swelling. I had a lot of swelling. While I have lost over 20 pounds already I have only lost 1 inch in my waist since I am still a little bloated. You also can't do any ab exercises for the first 6th months until your port is fully healed and attached to the muscle so I will stick with bike riding, walking and water aerobics.

I have flown 6 times in the 4 weeks since being banded! The one thing I was warned is that you will be tighter at high altitude so be careful with what you eat. Also, if you are on the liquid diet - stick a Slimfast or 2 in your carry on. I was delayed over 3 hours in an airport and couldn't find anything to eat. Another tip - when boarding grab a blanket and pillow right away. Put the pillow on your lap and belt over it so that the seat belt doesn't rub against your incision. Put the blanket over your lap to "smother" any gas that may slip out! Try to get a seat with no one next to you so that you can put up the arm rest and have a little more room. (mention this to the gate agent and if there is room they will gladly change your seat to give you more space) Avoid the bulkhead seats since they are tighter with the trays in the armrest. On one airline the seatbelts were smaller and I mentioned to the flight attendant that I had just had surgery and didn't want to belt too tightly so she brought me a seat belt extender which was great. She was very discreet about this which I appreciated. I also brought 2 bottles of water on every flight. Hope this helps. Barbara

Glad to hear others have this too. I was on the sofa and bent over to pick up something off the floor and had port pain that took my breath away. Sat back taking deep breaths for almost 15 minutes. Was then tender on that side when going to bed. Bent over today to get something and it happened again. Dr. said the port may have pinched my muscle and to take Tylenol and let him know if doesn't go away. Do others have it this bad when bending over? After today I am having the kids pick up everything for me!

Just pulled out the laminated ID card that Dr. Ortiz gave me. It has my photo, name and his contact info on the front. On the back it says "this person has an INAMED adjustable gastric band implanted around the stomach to assist in weight loss. Caution should be taken when prescribing potentially unlcerogenic medications or performing any gastric or abdominal prodecures. Restauranteer: Please note this patient should be authorized to order from the kids menu, sampler or only appetizers. Band size 10cm/Maximum fill volume 4cc. Caution: Fills should be performed by authorized personnel only. It also lists his name and phone# for questions. If your doctor did not give you something like this, I would encourage you to print this out and bring it on your next fill. I keep this card next to my drivers license in case of emergency. (and hey, when the police think we are using fake ID since we no longer look like our license photo we can show them the card!)

While my insurance co did not cover this, my husband was willing to pay for me to have it done locally for the convenience. After researching MX, I went to our area hospital for evaluation and comparison (a major university hospital) and was not impressed. They had only done 40 procedures in 2 years and 4 failed (10%) and had to be removed. The Dr. who did the procedure did primarily bypass surgery yet he was the specialist. Fills were not done with Floro and were not done by a doctor. A nice nurse told me that she handled all fills and the average was 6-8 fills at $400 each. I researched Ortiz/Martinez who have now done over 2000 procedures and presented their results at multiple conferences so I made my decision purely on expertise. I wanted what I believed was the best for me. I was just banded and sitting around the pool the next day were fellow bandsters including 3 nurses and the wife of a US surgeon who all made their choice based on expertise. Barbara banded 7/5/05 Dr. Ortiz/Martinez down 19 pounds already!

I would pass on the straws! Dr. Ortiz advises never to use straws again once you are banded. You are taking in so much extra air with each sip and this will increase your gas or swell your pouch. You will have enough gas as it is. I would have the blender out. It has really saved me as I create icees with all my drinks. Also needed to blend my Soup before straining. Banded 7/5/05 Dr. Ortiz Down 19 pounds and walking, walking, walking!