snowbird

I had mine done 7 or 8 years ago. Went from 20/200 in my bad eye to 20/15. Now as I age I need reading glasses for close up work, but my distance vision is still good (I was nearsighted before the Lasik.)

So WillyWonka asks a question ("why would one go to Mexico?") and Wasa answers it, so she's the one with a problem? nic, she wasn't even responding to you; she was responding to the original poster who asked the question. I'm a patient of Dr Ortiz in Tijuana, and I go to him for all my fills. I don't have to fly anywhere for them, I can drive. He and his assistants are available for fills anytime ($100 with fluoro) and I feel I am in very good hands. Not saying everyone should go to Mexico, but it is an intelligent alternative. As I've said before, my insurance pays for the surgery in the US or in Mexico. I checked out going to a bariatric clinic in Washington state near where I live half the year, and found out the surgeon there was trained by my surgeon in Mexico. There was a nurse getting the band the same day as my daughter in Mexico, and he brought an OR nurse friend with him who observed his surgery. She said it was fully up to the standards of a US hospital. Oh, and Willy, are you suggesting Wasa is a rep for a surgeon??? HAHAHAHA! Sorry.

Here is a Bariatric Surgery clinic site that performs both surgeries. It has some good information. Compare Gastric Bypass Surgery to the LAP-BAND Procedure For me, I never considered gastric bypass. I did not like the idea of cutting out a significant part of my digestive system. The band is not perfect, but it works for me and is adjustible and removable. One person wrote into this forum and said her doctor recommended gb over the band because she was young and did she really want to be running for fills and possible a band replacement over the next 50 years? I feel that is unlikely, since at some point you will reach an optimum fill level, and also I expect incredible strides in obesity treatments over the next 20 years that may very well make the lap band AND gb obsolete. With the band I have left myself open to additional advancements in obesity treatments, but if half my digestive system is gone, I would guess my options would be limited. It's a personal decision that should be based on your body and your personality. A lot of people struggle with the band because it does still take some discipline. On the other hand, I have friends and relatives who had gb and they have regained their weight with it too.

My doctor said no high fiber foods like broccoli for the first 6 months, which isn't a problem for me because i really can't get them down. I do take two fiber capsules every morning and have a bowl of oatmeal with blueberries and that keeps me on a daily schedule. When I have dieted in the past I have always had problems with constipation unless I kept to the oatmeal routine. if I miss one day, I am in trouble for a week. Drinking lots of liquids helps too. Stops stuff from getting impacted.

I had my second fill January 10 and I'm still a bit too tight, but with good food choices I am going to stick with it. That means a lot of Soups, chili, oatmeal for Breakfast, and soft foods, but at least I am not hungry. I'm still thrilled with the band and weight loss rate. I figured since I had less than 100 lb to lose it would be a slow journey, but except for the month before my first fill, I have been losing pretty steadily. I started out with a goal of 150, but now I think I can get down to 140 or even 135. We will see. I don't really set hard and fast goals because then I get discouraged if I don't hit them. The one thing that amazes me is how food has lost its allure. I watch ads on TV for food and it doesn't tempt me at all any more. I think it was the pbing I did right after the second fill; most food = pain, not pleasure to my mind now. I still eat too fast, which is usually what causes me trouble. When I eat too fast I miss the signal to stop and end up in the bathroom. No pbing for the last four days, so I think I'm past the worst of it. For the first time since I was in my 20's I think I may be a "normal" size person in a short time. What a thrill!

Can't you go back to your doctor in Mexico? I see mine for fills because I live in Arizona, but it seems if you are having this much dissatisfaction with your band, it would be worth a flight back down to your doctor. Have you seen any doctor at all since your rebanding?

My doctor's rule was you could have it blended up. Anything that would pass through a straw was okay. No chunks. This was after a week of clear liquids, by the way. Ask your doctor; they all have different opinions on the post op diet.

Actually, purines from vegetable sources are not thought to cause gout, from what I have read, so it probably isn't the Beans. It is important to drink lots of Water to flush the uric acid from your system, though. My husband has had gout attacks off and on for the last 15 years. It is important to take medication immediately if a gout attack comes on; this is an EXTREMELY painful condition and it takes longer to get over it if you don't start the medication at the first sign of symptoms. Since overweight people are much more likely to have gout, your surgery should help the situation after more weight loss. Hang in there; there is treatment. One note: the first gout attack is usually in the foot, but later attacks can be in any joint. My husband has had gout in his knees also.

I wouldn't bother trying to explain anything to your mom and stepdad. Obviously they are going to do what they want with no regard for your feelings. I also wouldn't mention it again to your potential honey; your mom and sd are adults too, and you are not responsible for their actions. He knows you didn't put them up to it and have asked them not to butt into the part of your life with him, and it sounds like he doesn't hold you responsible, so chill. Parents are annoying sometimes; my mom is 95 and still says things occasionally that push my buttons. I understand your mortification, but it sounds as though your guy is cool with it, so let it go. Someday it will just be a funny story the two of you tell to friends.

Hi, toni! I'm in Arizona now, but lived in Gig Harbor for 25 years. Bandster hell is when you are healed enough to regain your appetite, but not enough to get a fill to curb it. It usually happens 3 to 5 weeks out of surgery, after you have returned to eating solids but don't have any restriction to stop you from eating too much. It is not uncommon for bandsters to gain back a few pounds during this time after the liquid diet but before the first fill. I didn't actually gain weight during it, but neither did I lose any. It's a frustrating period while you are waiting to heal enough for your first fill. I dealt with it by getting any attractive, unhealthy foods out of the house (threw away a lot of stuff, like whole jars of peanut butter) and by reminding myself this wasn't forever, it was just for a couple of weeks. Good luck, and welcome.

I can control it and get to a bathroom. I can also force it by bending over and pressing on my stomach. My doctor says don't do this because you can do some damage, but I have to admit I have done it.

lauren and marilyn, I'm at the same place you are. I got my second fill Jan. 10 and I've been having a lot of trouble with solids, but I figure if I watch what I eat I will be okay. I had relatives from the east coast here this week and did a lot of bad eating out (and puking out) but today I was home, took it easy, and while I can't eat much, I could get Soup and some chili down. Peanut Butter seems to be fine too. I've lost 6 pounds since the fill, which is nice, but I hate to think I might be doing damage with the pbing.

I was given the MMPI in addition to other tests. It is a standardized psychological test asking everything from "do you hear voices telling you to hurt people?" to general questions about religion and how you react to problems. Actually they aren't questions at all: they make a statement and you have to say from 1-4 how much you agree with them. I was also given othe questionnaires specifically about my previous attempts at dieting and again, how I handled disappointment and failure.

I've dieted successfully three times, once low calorie, once with Redux, and once low carb. The first time I kept it off through a pregnancy, but it eventually after 3 years came back with an additional 10 lb. The second time I gained it back within 6 months. The third time I kept it off 2 years, then slowly started gaining back. I was banded in October, so who knows how long this will last. But I know that my relationship with eating and with food has changed drastically with the band, and I feel more confident than I ever have in the past that this time the weight is gone for good. Check with me in 4 years!

You're certainly not the only one, but why in the world would you risk later complications and band failure??? It's not that long, just follow the program. I would guess that almost all of us FELT like we could eat anything. this isn't something you can gauge by how you feel. You don't want to make the stomach move around by digesting solid foods while it just had something stitched into the side of it! You already had a health care professional and lapband expert tell you what to do--your doctor. Why are you asking a bunch of people you don't know to validate what you are doing?? Yes, I'm being harsh on purpose. As I said to someone else, fear is good when it stops you from doing something stupid or dangerous.

I've gone down from a size 18 pants to a size 10 since July. I can't imagine you are going to be anywhere near the same size in October as you are now. I would order at least 2 sizes smaller than your present size. At the very least it will be good incentive to stick to the program. I wouldn't be surprised if that would still be too big by October. You've already lost 30 lb, so you will probably lose at least that much more. Plus, the weight loss and shrinking aren't exactly in sync, for me. I lose weight, then my body shrinks afterwards. It takes time to catch up to the weight loss.

What I am finding interesting is a difference in how sales clerks and others in public treat me now I am approaching "normal." I am finding that people are friendlier and much more likely to greet me with a smile now. What's up with that? My money is the same as it was before. When I was heavier it was always someone else in the group of friends who would be greeted first; now it is often me. People are so strange.

I wouldn't worry about the sugar in any of them unless you are diabetic. Calories would be negligible unless you are swigging this stuff three times a day!

Laura, what a good NSV. I would be so thrilled with that! I have had chronic heartburn for the past four or five years, resulting in Barrett's esophagus, and I'm on Nexium one or two a day. It let up during the liquid phase but came back again when I started solids. I am SO hoping I get to share in your NSV soon!

You're right, Fanny, it's a huge forum and I certainly don't mind people asking the same question over and over again. The forum is so big that half the time I can't find a thread even when I saw it earlier and know where it should be. There are very few of us who NEVER did anything contrary to our doctor's orders. I started solids two days early because we were on vacation celebrating our 30th anniversary, and I was having a lot of trouble . . . well, no, because I wanted to eat. I'm not talking about those people when I said people come here to validate their bad behavior. I'm talking about the ones who, over and over again on a daily basis, do things to circumvent the band, and then come on here wanting other bandsters to tell them they are doing fine, or at very least, it's not their fault that they aren't losing weight or their band slipped. There was a bandster on my doctor's forum that came on three or four times in the first two weeks after surgery explaining how she had eaten fried chicken, hamburgers, you name it, and was it okay? Well, no, it isn't okay.Then she would go on how she was so scared she was doing damage, would she be all right? She hasn't written lately, so I assume she isn't all right and knows who's responsible. By the way, looks like you are doing great 6 weeks' post-op. thanks for putting your ticker on in kg and lb so the metrically challenged among us can watch your progress. I woke up with a cold this morning, so now I know why I was so grumpy yesterday!

Sounds like you are too tight. Have you had a fill lately? That's how I am right after a fill, except the food comes up before it reaches the lower stomach. This does not sound really good; I would get a fluoro and make sure everything is where it is supposed to be. At the very least I would be talking to my doctor. Sorry, not trying to be alarmist, but I would get it checked out. At the very least it will put your fears to rest.

Thank God for good underwear!

My husband and I were banded together.(Well, not literally; we were banded on the same day, that is.) When we started the band journey he found out my weight because we looked at each other's pre-surgery paperwork where it was listed. Now I tell him what the scale says because it is a victory and celebration rather than a shame that I hide.

Grumpys aren't just a stage for me. People come on here looking for validation of their bad behavior, like our fellow bandsters telling us, "there, there, it's okay you just ate New York a week after surgery" is going to make everything all right. Listen to your doctor, make your decisions based on your head, not your appetite, and take responsibility for your actions, dammit. And no, I don't always make good decisions (see references to Indian frybread earlier), but I know I done wrong and I know it's my fault. I'm not looking for the rest of you to tell me it was just fine.