snowbird

My husband had virtually no restriction until he hit 8.6 in a 10 cc band.

Nikkoli, I am quite skeptical about her seeing three people die from the band. It does happen, but it is extremely rare, and is usually the result of having surgery of any kind, like infection or a surgeon nicking another organ which results in internal bleeding. I would find out who their surgeon was and avoid him like the plague! At your age and weight I doubt you will have any problems at all. I have no difficulty whatsoever getting nutrition, if I make an effort to do so. In our junk food culture it is always difficult to get good nutrition unless we stay away from restaurant foods. Some people eat the wrong things before being banded and continue to do it afterwards. I can eat meat and vegetables and most foods, although the more fibrous veggies are harder, like broccoli if it's not cooked thoroughly. The band actually helps me eat healthier because it is not friendly towards low nutrition high carb foods like bread and Pasta. The band isn't like malabsorptive procedures like gastric bypass, where part of the small intestine is left out of the digestive process. The band simply restricts the amount of food you eat, and some types of foods. My favorite preband food, donuts, is now a total no-no, and I don't even want them anymore. There can be scarring around the stomach where the band is placed, and a rare complication of banding is erosion, where the band has to be removed because it works it way into the inside of the stomach. Again, this is not a big risk compared to the health risks of remaining obese, and compared to the risks of more invasive bariatric surgery. My daughter was banded at age 25 and has lost 127 lb. My husband and I were banded a year ago and have each lost 75+ lb. We are all much healthier than we were before the band. A lot of bariatric surgery is high risk because the people undergoing it are not healthy to begin with. I would ask your RN friend why the people she knew about died, and if she doesn't have specifics I would questions whether she really has pertinent information to give you.

There are two problems with drinking with food: the first is that it washes down the food too quickly so our bands don't get a chance to stop us from eating too much. The second is more serious: drinking liquids with food puts us at risk of stretching out the pouch. For that reason I try very hard not to do it. I drink a full 16 oz of liquids before breakfast and at least 8 oz before lunch and dinner, but no liquids with the meal other than a small sip at the end to clean out my mouth.

RM,I understand a Mexican patient telling about a bad experience; I understand a Mexican patient talking about a good experience. I don't understand a non-mexican patient constantly talking about what a bad idea it is to go to Mexico. It's been at least three or four threads that you have done that, which makes me start to suspect an ulterior motive.

Restless, If you haven't been to Mexico for your band, I don't think you have the inside scoop on whether it is a good option or not. Why do you inject anti-Mexico sentiment into every post you make? I'm doing just fine with my 4 cc band. My husband got a 10 cc band (in mexico) at the same time as he is a bigger person than I am, and he is doing just fine with that also. By the way, the LAGB designation is a registered name of the Inamed/Allergan band. I do not think you would see that designation for a Realize band.

LAGB is the registered name of the BioEnterics/Inamed/Allergan band. The band is 10 cm in circumference, I believe, and holds 4 cc of fill saline. Don't you have phone access to your doctor in Mexico? Mine has a US office number and also gives out his and his assisting surgeon's cell phone numbers if their patients have any questions.

The scariest part of getting banded for me, was the thought of giving up my lifetime love affair with eating. I felt like my best friend had a terminal illness. Now I realize that the benefits from the band far outweigh the ability to overeat. I still enjoy food, even more so sometimes. The surgery is minimal and recovery is fairly quick. My daughter, my husband and I were all banded by Dr Ortiz and would recommend his clinic strongly to anyone thinking about surgery in Mexico. Just be sure you have somewhere local to get your fills, and you should be fine.

Subway advertises that they will make a salad out of any 6" sandwich, and then they charge more for the salad than they do for the same sandwich. I have never figured this out. Are they charging me extra for the little plastic fork? What if I brought my own?? Unfortunately, the lowly sandwich maker probably didn't have any authority to figure out an off-menu price, so he used rudeness to compensate, I guess. Maybe you should have just eaten the bread and pb'd all over him. Now THAT would have been disgusting!

Sometimes you get what you pay for, and the cheapest isn't always the best. I would say surgery is one of those times. Dr Ortiz is usually around $8000, but for heaven's sake, call and find out. It is a US phone call and they will tell you if they have any specials going on. https://www.obesitycontrolcenter.com/cgi-bin/database/admin.pl?section=public

Okay, if you're nine months post op, my instructions were NO high calorie liquids anymore, for the very reason you said--they don't stay with you. So no more protein shakes after the first month after surgery.

You're talking pre-op, right? My doctor gives his patients several choices on the pre op diet. If you are just a week or two from surgery when you start, he requires a liquid diet. I think it's because, strange to say, it is easier to cheat a bit on a low cal diet, and people like us are great at lying to themselves about what they eat. If you can just have liquids, then you darn well KNOW that the candy bar you just ate was cheating. However, if you have three or more weeks till surgery, he recommends an Atkins induction phase diet, which is under 20 carbs a day. My husband and I knew our band date a couple months ahead, so we did this. I lost 19 lb pre op, and my DH lost 25. Our surgeon's only strict rule about the pre op diet is that you lose 5% of your body weight before surgery. How you do it isn't a big deal.

A lot of Arizona people who go to Mexico go to Mexicali for fills as it is closer. My husband and I, who are outside of Surprise, were banded almost a year ago in TJ, but we are retired and have the time to drive back there for fills. You can do it in a day--drive there, get your fill, and drive back--but it's a long day. Perfectly doable, though. And it isn't a problem at all. We love our doctor and his clinic, and wouldn't have gone anywhere else. In fact, the more I read this forum and see all the problems and ways that US surgeons seem to do things, I am ecstatic I didn't go anywhere else.

Dr Ortiz does fills with fluoro for $100. I am in San Diego right now; I'm about to drive 8 miles down the road, walk across the border and take a $5, 5 minute cab ride to Dr O's clinic. My appointment is at 2:00; I should be back here by 3:30 at the latest. I can call him or his assistant surgeon anytime; the surgeons themselves will return my call within the afternoon. They give out their cell phone numbers so you can get through to them easily. My banding experience at OCC was the best medical experience I have ever had. I've had three surgeries in the US plus had two babies; OCC made me feel much better cared for than any US hospital has. And good luck suing your doctor if anything goes wrong. I'd rather have a doctor who is going to take care of me well to begin with than have to rely on a malpractice suit to get good results. I don't advocate everyone to go to Mexico; aftercare access is important. But this is a person who can get to Dr O's clinic in a matter of minutes. I know a lot of Dr O's patients who fly back to him for every fill from much farther away, because they have such faith in the good treatment they get at his clinic. This person has easy access to his clinic. Dr Ortiz is considered a leader in the lap band field. His price includes pickup at the airport, hotel for three nights for the patient and guests, all transportation between the hotel and the clinic, and transportation back to the airport. Sounds like a wonderful deal to me.

Of course, sometimes all they do is make the first thing you puke up papaya flavored. :-)

Dr Ortiz usually runs around $8000, but go ahead and call his office and see what they say. As you live in San Diego and it is a half hour trip to his clinic, I would say you have made a great decision. His clinic is well known for good aftercare if you can get to them easily, and you can in your location. By the way, don't be sure until you check that your insurance will not cover you in Mexico. My husband and I were banded last October, and our federal retirees' Blue Cross Blue Shield paid $7900 of his $8000 fee and $7200 of mine. Insurance companies who cover bariatric surgery may well tell you that they WILL cover you in Mexico; after all, if you go to a US surgeon they will have to pay way more. And if you go to a west coast surgeon, chances are Dr Ortiz or one of his Mexican colleagues proctored your US surgeon in his lap band training. I don't know why someone would suggest traveling all the way to Colorado with no readily available aftercare, to someone who lives 15 miles from Tijuana.

I went in to the cosmetic surgeon for a consult Monday. He said I have enough tissue for a C cup, but I'm used to a DD or a DDD. I could live with a C, but I'm not sure my husband can.

Welcome. You sound like our family, a couple years ago. My daughter had her band done in October 2006, and my husband and I did it in October 2007. Daughter's boyfriend is banded, and so is his mother. We are a happy band family. It's pbing, not bping, and it stands for "productive burping" which is when you bring food back up because you have eaten too fast, too much, or the wrong type of food that can't get past the band. Your mouth and stomach produce more and more saliva and mucus to try to get the food through, but when it can't go down, everything has to come back up. Sometimes it's just a burp with baggage, but sometimes it is more like a true vomiting, although the stuff you bring up isn't as gross because it hasn't mixed with stomach acids. That's probably more info than you bargained for, but we aim to please.

Lessons it took me way too long to learn: If I already feel uncomfortable, I SHOULDN'T swallow the food in my mouth. If I couldn't eat the food a half hour ago, I probably will have even more trouble eating it now. It won't kill me to just stick to liquids for a while. While a few bandsters come on here and say they have NEVER pb'd, it happens. A lot. It's your band rapping you up side the head and saying, "I told you not to eat that!" If you can still tell what the food is that's in your mouth, you probably haven't chewed it enough. I'm still learning . . .

Hi, Fella. I'm another transplant from the Tacoma area. Are you looking for suggestions for Protein powders for shakes, or Protein Bars, or what? I don't use protein supplements regularly anymore, and haven't since completing my liquid diet phase last year. But when I do use them, I used Hi Health Ultimate Meal powder. Here is a link: Ultra Plan® Ultimate Meal with Hoodia, vanilla {14 oz} @ Hi-Health I like the vanilla, and then mix my own flavorings in. You sound like one of the pioneers of banding in the US. My husband and I are coming up on our one year anniversary, and my daughter is approaching her second year. I am interested to hear how you view protein supplements and how you feel they helped your weight loss success in the past. There are many paths to success with the band, and it is always helpful to hear how some of the experienced bandsters have done it. For me, avoiding "white carbs" has greatly helped in controlling my hunger. I'm wishing you further success in embarking on the weight loss journey again.

Lori, you took the words right out of my mouth. I would eat all the wrong things at night except there aren't any here. I know I can't even keep a jar of peanut butter in the house, because I will scoop out spoonful after spoonful and eat it. I have desserts and treats when I go out to dinner, but they are not in my fridge. Nor do I have any rice, pasta, flour, or sugar in the house. I can't bake myself a batch of cookies. If I want a snack I have Curves bars or Fiber One bars around. Don't lie to yourself and say you are buying the treats for the kids. They are bad for them too!

suzy, the Arizona group has been quiet lately on here. But there are a few of us around. When and where were you banded, and how are you doing? This thread is mostly about WLIAZ patients, but there are a number of us in the Phoenix area that have been elsewhere for surgery too.

Believe it or not, life doesn't end with high school graduation. You now have the opportunity to start a new, better phase of your life, to reinvent yourself--be a prouder, happier person. My daughter is 27 and was banded two years ago. She doesn't have anything to do with friends from high school anymore, but has a great job, just bought her first house, and has a great new boyfriend. She is a happy, well adjusted person, partially because of her band. I haven't talked to anyone from high school in 20 years, and I'm not missing them. I moved beyond that time period and have a full and happy life. My motto is always, "you can't change the past but you can direct the future." You have much more of life ahead of you than behind you. Look forward to it rather than regretting the missed opportunities.

heartfire-- I don't have any problem with brats, hot dogs, or other sausage. I don't eat bread with them, but slice them very thin and chew well. As you probably don't have any fill in your band at this point, you shouldn't have a problem. Just take it slow, take one bite at first and chew well, then wait a couple minutes to make sure you are okay. The only food I had any problem with before my first fill was shrimp--got stuck a bit, but I could still eat them.

You can't change the past, but you can affect the future. Consider it a lesson learned, and get on with your life. If we were all perfect we wouldn't need the band in the first place. If it's a small slippage you may be fine after an unfill. Increase your exercise a bit and you may not have any weight gain at all. I know I'm not answering your specific questions, but just wanted to say stop beating yourself up over what is in the past.

This certainly isn't a "con"--as everybody says, there are no cons on exercising, but more in the way of a caution. When I exercise, that little demon in my head tells me I can eat more because I just burned up some calories. Also, I do get hungrier when I exercise. This may have been what happened to you. I had a friend who was a competitive bodybuilder. She had to diet like CRAZY before a competition. The moral of this story is that you have to watch what you eat no matter how much you exercise, or you will have some fat on your body that you don't want.