palarin

Startingover, I would be amazed if ANY Doctor out there would do a Gastric Bypass on someone that is only 26 lbs. overweight!!!! There is certain criteria that you must meet in order to be a candidate for Gastric Bypass surgery. I may not be a doctor but I'm pretty sure that you DO NOT meet that criteria. It seems that you were doing just fine with the Lap Band, so why on God's green earth would you have it removed??? Maybe your plan is to go down to Mexico where they will do a Gastric Bypass on ANYONE for the right amount of money!!!! I am appalled to hear that you are trying to get a quick fix for your weight loss instead of eating healthy and exercising. After all, that is how you lost your weight to begin with, correct??? I have a disease that has taken over my entire body since 2005. I was unable to exercise due to the enourmous amount of pain that I endure each and every day 24/7. After two years or so of sitting in a wheelchair I had gained a lot of weight. I discussed things with all of my doctors and I decided to have the Lap Band put on in Dec. 2007. After having fills put in monthly until there was no more room, I was only able to lose 12 pounds. Yes, I followed the program to a "T". I continued to get more and more depressed over my weight. I spoke to my surgeon along with all of my other doctors to see what they thought about me having the Lap Band removed and converting me over to a Gastric Bypass. They all agreed that it would probably be more benefisical not only to lose weight but to also help with my high blood pressure, sleep apnea, and depression. I had my lap band removed and converted over to a GB on January 12 of this year. After almost 4 months now, I have lost 52 lbs. I still have another 68 lbs. or so to go. I had all of this done because I NEEDED to do so for the sake of my health. After all, that is the biggest reason why people have a Gastric Bypass to begin with. Can you honestly say the same thing about your situation???

:thumbdown: I had a Lap Band removed and was converted over to a Gastric Bypass in January this year. I have been able to drop 50 lbs. since then. Unlike my Lap Band in which I only lost 12 lbs. However, I went to the doctor a couple of weeks ago due to severe pain that I was having in my stomach. They did a CAT scan which showed that I have a Supraumbilical Ventral Hernia that is located right beside where they did my Gastric Bypass surgery. I did some research and found out that 10% of Gastric Bypass patients will get a hernia at some point. It's part of the risk involved with the surgery. Has anyone else had a Hernia since having Gastric Bypass surgery and if so, what type of hernia was it? Did you have any symptoms with it and did you have it repaired? Regards, Palarin

jmcambra, The thing about the Lap band is that it can take up to 3 years for you to lose the weight. It's a much slower pace and that isn't necessarily a bad thing because in the long run, you are bound to keep it off. I can understand how frustrated you must be after 2 years and only losing 50 lbs. I am very happy that I was able to have the band removed and converted over to Gastric Bypass because the band was really the wrong choice for me to begin with. I think that if you talk things over with your doctor, the two of you will come to the right decision for you. Be sure to write down all of your questions ahead of time to take with you so that you are able to get all of the answers. Note: there is risk involved with the RNY and luckily I haven't had any problems. I don't know anyone personally that has had any problems but there is always the risk which is something else that you need to discuss with your doctor. Yes, I admit that I was a little bit scared as they rolled me into surgery, but I knew deep down that it was the right thing to do. I was amazed how I was able to get up and sit in a chair later that afternoon. I felt better each and every day after surgery. The pain was minimal for me and the binder that they put on you really helps when getting up and down or out of bed. I used mine for at least the first 4-5 weeks after surgery. The big reason I used mine longer was because I had basically 2 surgeries in one. They went in Laporscopically and at the very end had to open me all the way up due to not being able to reach a couple areas to put in staples. There is long term commitment though that you must be willing to make after going through this surgery. This is a life change and if you are not willing to follow the guidelines that are set forth by your surgeon, you will fail. I must take a multi-vitamin with Iron and Calcium with citrate every day. I also must take Vitamin B-12 (1000mg) once a week. On top of that I must pay attention to all food labels and be sure that I am not taking in more than 6 grams of Fat & Sugar during each meal. I also must get in 65-70 grams of Protein each day. Hopefully you have already found a protein brand that you like but if not you will need to try some different types to see which one is for you. I get my protein in by having a Protein shake, protein liquid, or protein found in my meals. My favorite Protein powder is unjury (Chocolate Flavor) 20g of protein in each scoop. I mix this with 8 ounces of Skim Milk (8g) and it provides me with 28g of my daily protein. Unjury has many different flavors and you can also purchase individual packets to try different ones. I also purchased some of the New whey Liquid Protein (42g) bullets. They look like a large test-tube and hold 3 oz. of pure protein. I must also note that your taste buds will change some after surgery. I noticed that a packet of sugar free Kool aid was much sweeter after surgery; therefore I must mix additional Water in it to lessen the sweetness. I'm dedicated to doing the right things so I keep a journal of everything that I eat. I got a journal called Diet Minder on Amazon for $10. It was well worth it because provides you the ability to track everything that you eat along with the calories, fat, carbs, protein, Fiber, and sugar. It also provides an area for tracking 8 glasses of water, Snacks, Vitamins, and exercise. There is also a section to set goals. I'm sure that there are some people out there who have had Gastric Bypass surgery but don't bother to follow any of the rules behind it because they think that the weight will just fall off. I've seen some people go right back to their bad eating habits and eventually gain back all the weight plus some. You must be serious about this commitment and doing all of the things that your surgeon/dietician recommends. As long as you follow the guidelines and teach yourself a new and healthier way to eat, you will be successful when having the Gastric Bypass done. I hope that I have been able to provide you with the information that you were looking for. Let me know if you have any more questions.....Best of Luck, Marie

Hello, I had the Lap Band put in on 12/26/07. Unfortunately for me, it didn't work. We filled the band completely up over several months and I just couldn't loose weight with it at all. I followed a strict program to the tee but in the end, the Lap Band failed me. After that, I discussed with my surgeon about removing the band and doing a Gastric Bypass. After all of the paperwork that you go through, I finally had my revision done on January 12, 2009. She went in Laporscopically but at the very end of the surgery, she couldn't reach a couple of things so they had to open me up all the way. The surgery wasn't that bad at all, but everyone is different. Of course, my stomach was very tender and still is. I followed all of my doctor's orders to take it easy during the first 6 weeks. I am happy to report that yesterday, February 9, 2009 was my first month anniversary since the surgery and I have lost 33 lbs. so far. I am so happy that this finally worked for me. When I had the Lap Band in, I only lost 12 lbs. total and that was during the first month. It's really hard to compare yourself to others because we are all so unique in our own way. However, it's nice to get feedback from a wide range of patients out there on this bulletin board. Regards, Marie

I've been reading a lot of the threads on here regarding the amount of calories that people are eating each day. Along with the amount of Protein that they get. What I have learned so far is that everyone is different depending on their surgeon's recommendations. I was told to stay at 1,000 - 1,200 calories a day. Make sure that I am getting at least 70 grams of protein in each day AND to keep my carb intake at 25 grams or less. Now I don't know about anyone else out there but I am having a really hard time locating foods that don't have hardly any carbs in them. Just about everything that I pick up at the store shows an average of 15-20 carbs per serving. Now if I'm suppose to remain at 25 grams or less, I could potentially eat that amount in one serving of food. What am I suppose to do the rest of the day?? I drink a lot of bottled Water through-out the day in which I add sugar-free kool-aid packets to each in order to give it some flavor. There has got to be an easier way to do this or maybe I'm doing it all wrong. I also noticed people talked about eating only 1/2 cup of food at each meal. Is this normal for everyone else or does your surgeon/nutritionist have you following a different method? Any information that you could share with me would be appreciated. Regards, Marie :confused2:

Greg - I just wanted to thank you for the kind words. SpecialK - I wanted to thank you for the explanation re:KTBUGG I hadn't seen the thread for Slow Losers Unite, so I will definitely search for this thread. Thanks! I really need to connect with people that have gone through this because we must have some things in common. That is why I was so happy to locate the thread for N E 1 Banded at Mt. Carmel because from what I have read, just about everyone supports everyone else here. I'll also keep you posted if there is a future revision on my Lap Band to RNY. Thanks again for the information! Marie

AThinnerDenise, Thanks for responding to my questions. I really appreciate the information you shared with me. I'm also going to go back out and re-read the beginning of this thread. It appears that we both followed the same plan after surgery. I was put on 4 weeks of liquids, then 2 weeks of mushies and then I was back to solid food. Did your Nutritionist/Dietician provide any information regarding which foods to eat after the mushies? I'm having a hard time coming up with a variety of things because I've always been a picky eater. To top that off, I'm almost 6 months post-op and I did lose 32 lbs. 6-weeks after surgery but then my weight stayed the same for a few weeks and then it began to climb again very slowly. I'm very depressed over all of this because after 6 months, I'm only down 12 lbs. If you have any advice that you could share with me regarding food plans at this stage in the game, I sure would appreciate it. Thanks, Marie

AthinnerDenise, I understand what your saying about the weight around the belly but I don't understand what you mean by, "The sweet spot doesn't last until you are nearly at goal.? Are you saying that you only have the sweet spot for a short amount of time? Also, I noticed that you were on Atkins prior to surgery. What kind of eating plan did you follow after surgery? Thanks, Marie

Hi Everyone, I have been reading everyone's questions on here about fills and what not. I just had my 4th fill on June 5. I now have 6 cc's in a 10 cc band. My question is what type of feeling am I looking for so that I will know that I hit my "sweet-spot"? After the first 6 weeks from surgery, I lost about 32 lbs. Since then my weight goes up and down. Currently, I am only down 12 lbs. since I had my Lap Band surgery on 12/26/07. Sometimes when I'm eating, I get a really tight pressure build up in my chest as the food is going down. I guess that I'm not chewing it up enough or is it telling me not to eat that type of food? I appreciate any input you all can provide. Thank you, Marie 235/223/140 1st fill 3 cc's - 2/14/08 2nd fill 1 cc - 3/20/08 3rd fill 1 cc - 4/24/08 4th fill 1 cc - 6/5/08

Hi Greg, I noticed you had your 2nd fill on June 5, were you by chance in the office around 10:30am-11:00am? I thought that I heard the secretary say "Hi Greg" but I could be wrong. My appt. was at 10:30am. I also noticed that you are from Picktown, me too. I used to live off of Diley Rd., but when I got worse, we sold our 2-story and built a ranch so that I could get around a lot easier. Oh yeah, Congrats on your weight loss. You appear to be doing very well. Good for you! Sorry if I interuppted your conversation but i just wanted to say, "Hi". Marie

Hi KTBUGG, I hope you don't mind me asking but what kind of problems are you having with your band? It sounds like you're not losing much weight either. I had my band put in by Dr. Choban on 12/26/07. Yesterday, I went for my 4th fill and now I have a total of 6 cc's in a 10 cc band. Right after my surgery, I lost 30+ pounds. However, after that first 6-8 weeks, everything has remained still. I have been following all of the guidelines and making sure to get in enough Protein. Dr. C told me to try and stick with 800 - 1,000 calories after my 3rd fill and I actually did pretty well with it. I even took in my food journal yesterday so that she could see what I'm doing. I asked for 2 cc's but she was afraid that I would be throwing up all the time so she gave me another 1 cc. Another big challenge for me is exercise. I have a horrible disease (Systemic Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy) that prevents me from doing very much at all. Dr. C. mentioned that maybe we should have done the gastric bypass instead. Too late now! I have another online friend who has the same disease as me but hers is confined to one area where mine is systemic. Anyway, she went to someone in Cleveland and they told her that they would only do the gastric bypass on her because if they did the Lap Band, she probably wouldn't lose any weight due to the problem with her disease. I am so depressed over all of this. Like you, I feel that the past 5 months have been for nothing. Dr. C also told me that it's probably going to take 3 years for me to get my weight off using the Lap Band. I understand it doesn't work as fast as a GB does but I should be seeing a few pounds drop off each month. I even asked if she thought that maybe my band had a leak in it and she said that everything was ok. Don't get me wrong, I love Dr. Chobin and she has been very good to me. I'm just trying to understand where the band is going wrong or is it just me. Do you have a 10cc band as well or is yours different? Sorry to keep writing but when I read you post, I thought maybe we both have something in common going on with our bands. Any info you could provide would be appreciated. Thanks, Marie :confused2:

Hi Everyone, I haven't been able to check back to Seebs or any other responses regarding the lapband fills because I've been horribly sick with the flu for the past several days. :cursing: Anyway, I read where a lot of you have mentioned that Melissa was doing your fills or that you were told that she would be doing your fills. Either way, I'm really surprised by this and a little concerned. When I had my first fill, it was at the hospital and yes, Melissa did it with Dr. Choban standing right next to me. However, she didn't get it on the first stick, so Dr. Choban took over right away. I have a lot of experience with ports, you see I have a morphine pump in my stomach due to chronic pain from a disease and I have it refilled each month. It has a port just like the lapband and only my pain doc is the one who refills it. He always gets it on the first try and he doesn't use any numbing medication. I don't like needles to begin with and I would be very upset if a nurse was poking around on me trying to find the port, let alone the doctor was not even in the room. Several years ago, I had a horrible experience in preop where a nurse was trying to put an IV in me. By the time she and 3 other nurses had stuck me over 12 times up and down my arms, the surgeon came and rescued me by taking me to the operating room himself and he was able to put the IV in right away. Trust me, I don't want to go through that again and I don't think anyone else would either. Don't get me wrong, I love Dr. Choban and we all know that she is extremely busy because she is such a good doctor. I don't think she ever expected to become so popular so fast. I guess that I will discuss the fill situation with her at my next visit. Thanks for your input and feedback. Marie :tt1:

Hi Everyone and Congrats to all the Newbie’s!! I was wondering Seebs, how has Dr. Price been doing your fills for your band such as; weeks in between and amounts since you had the very first fill? I'm curious because I am a patient of Dr. Choban. When I first started this process last March 2007-(Banded 12/26/07), my PCP referred me to Dr. Price; however they told me that Dr. Price was very busy with Cancer patients and it would be hard for me to get in. So I asked some of my other physicians and right away every one of them said, "Dr. Choban's name". I am very happy with her as well. I've only had 2 fills so far and the 1st was 4cc. then the 2nd was 1cc. As we all know, Dr. Choban is very busy but I had heard that if you can go to the Eastside, which is where I live, you can probably get in with Dr. Price a lot quicker. Since my 2nd fill on 3/20, they gave me a return appt. for 9 weeks. I really don't want to wait that long, which is why I'm curious to see how much fill Dr. Price puts in at each interval. I'm not sure if he and Dr. Choban follows the same structure when it comes to the Lap Band. Thanks for the info, Marie

I am so happy for you, Special-K, Suecasb, and any others who have been waiting through the process to receive that one special phone call telling them that they are approved and here is your surgery date. How exciting everyone must be. I remember that feeling not too long ago. I had my first fill on Tuesday, Feb. 19 along with Becky (hinger) and a few others. I didn't think it was too bad either. Although I still have a small piece of my incision above my port that is not healed all the way but almost there. When they did the X-ray, the insertion point for the port was actually right below my incision line, so everything worked out. I have a morphine pump right below where my lap band port is located and it too has a port that I have refilled on a monthly basis. Dr. Choban was teasing me when she told Melissa to make sure that she gets the right port. This is one of the reasons I like Dr. Choban so much is because she is so down to earth. However, when your health takes a turn in the wrong direction, she is very dedicated to taking the best possible care of you. Those are qualities that you don't find in very many doctors. I told Dr. Choban that I had saw her on TV and asked for her autograph. She laughed and said it must be on in the morning because the only thing on her TV in the morning is the Sports Center. Hi Becky, I noticed that they gave you April 17 for the next fill as well. Kathleen told me that it is actually 8.5 weeks out even though Dr. Choban told us 6 weeks. She did mention though that Dr. Choban's schedule is really, really busy so if things changed someone would call me. Have a good weekend everyone......Marie :smile2:

Hi Everyone, I was wondering if there is anything that I need to do the day prior to a fill? I thought that I had read somewhere that you need to go back to liquids 24 hrs. prior to the fill. Dr. Choban is my doctor but I can't remember if she said anything about going back on liquids the day prior to my first fill. Anyone else out there have Dr. Choban? If so, did she give you any special instructions? I guess that I could always give her a call in the morning. Thanks for the input! Marie :confused2:

Debbie, That is so odd, I'm the exact same way. I guess that I will have to ask Dr. Choban about it next week when I get my fill. I'll let you know what she says about it. I see that you are now over 6 months into the Lap Band journey. Did you or are you following any type of diet regimen such as Weight Watchers, Atkins, etc. I'm into my 6th week now and trying to make sure that I get my 70 grams of protein each day along with staying at/under 1200 calories. Also, did you experience an increase in appetite prior to your first fill? I had heard that Dr. Choban is making sure that the first fill is nice and snug because I guess there were a lot of patients that were not able to tell a difference, so they were having a lot of problems. How many fills have you had to date? Sorry to ask all of the questions but inquiring minds want to know. Thanks, Marie

Hi Everyone, I was banded on 12/26/07 at Mount Carmel West by Dr. Choban. I saw that there are quite a few of you on here that are with Mount Carmel. I can empathize with you regarding some of the short comings that you have experienced with the Bariatric group at Mount Carmel because I too have had a few little problems with paperwork at the very beginning of my journey. I started all of this in March 2007. Unfortunately, I had Aetna as my secondary insurance and at the time, they told me that I needed to do a 3-month diet with a nutritionist and my primary doctor overseeing everything. Well I started the 3-month requirement in June and was done with everything by the beginning of September. I found out that I was approved for my lap-band surgery within a couple of days. However, my gallbladder decided to act up and I ended up in the hospital for 3 days in Mid-September after having my gallbladder out. When I woke up from surgery, I had a drain coming out of the middle of my chest. I was sent home with it for the next 10 days and after it was removed, I began having the same pain that I had before with my gallbladder in. After running a few tests, they found that an abscess had formed where my gallbladder used to be. I was admitted again for 3 days and had to have another drain inserted between my ribs. Thankfully, the second drain took care of it and I healed nicely. At that point, I asked Dr. Choban how long I would have to wait in order to have my lap band put in. She wanted me to wait 6 months but agreed to schedule me after 3 months at the end of December. I did ok with the surgery however my incision above the port finally started to heal the last week of January. I was on 3 different antibiotics in which the 3rd one (Bactrim) finally took care of it. I am scheduled for my first fill on Tuesday, February 19. The only thing that I experienced since having the lap band put in was some dry heaves during the first two weeks but after that I was fine. Now I noticed that since week 5, my appetite has increased drastically and I have gas all the time. Gas-X doesn't help at all. Did anyone else have problems with this as well? I also wanted to know if anyone started following a diet such as Atkins, Weight Watchers, Diabetic, etc...as a guide once you were back on solid foods? Thanks for your feedback, Marie :cursing:

I had my lap band done on 12/26/07. I have a total of 5 holes in which the only one that has not healed shut is the one over top of my port area. The surgeon put me on something for infection for a week, then amoxicillin for another week, and now I am on Bactrim after going to see her again yesterday. At first I had my incision covered because it would leak and ooze all over my clothes. Then my surgeon told me to wear an old t-shirt around the house so that the air can get to it. It started to heal but as soon as I make one small movement, it opens up again. I asked the surgeon if this had happened to anyone else and she said, "Only two other people". She also noted that she didn't want to have to go back in and move my port. It's currently located right above my belly button and to the right. However, I have a 2nd port for my morphine pump that is located parallel to the Lap Band port. I went to have my pump refilled yesterday as well and it wasn't very pleasant. My first fill is scheduled for Feb. 19 and the surgeon told me that if we can't get the port area to heal, I will have to cancel my fill. I've waited so long just to have the Lap Band put in. Don’t get me wrong, I love my surgeon because she is upfront with you and has an excellent bed-side manner. She took my Gallbladder out in Sept. 2007, however about 10 days later I began to run a fever and we found out that an Abscess had grown where the Gallbladder used to be. So a lot of this could be my body reacting because I have a systemic disease called RSD (Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy). I was just curious if anyone else had problems with their port incision healing. Regards, Marie

Hi Everyone, I'm quite new to your message boards. I normally post on Obesity help only because I probably didn't search for Lap Band boards in Google...:eek: I'm so very happy that I found lapbandtalk because it is full of information and I tell my friends about it all the time. After some research on other Bariatric groups in the Columbus, OH area, I decided to go with the Mid Ohio Surgical Group that is located at Mount Carmel West. These are the doctors that are in charge of Bariatrics at Mount Carmel. I was told that Dr. Patricia Choban is THE best in the Columbus area. I went and seen a couple of other surgeons at other locations before deciding, because I have a disease that has taken over all of my body. I can't express enough how knowledgeable, experienced, and comfortable Dr. Choban is. Her bed-side manner is wonderful because she tells you exactly like it is and you can tell that she genuinely cares about her patients. Even her staff (not the people at the seminar) but the ones that work directly with her in her office are fantastic not to mention the Bariatric unit at Mount Carmel West. I liked the fact that everyone on the floor was very friendly and helpful as well as the rooms are set up as private so that you can get a lot of rest. I'm happy to report that I received my Lap Band on Dec. 26, 2007 (just 4 post-op days behind me). Things are going well, however I would like to find someone that has received their Lap Band recently to chat with back and forth as we continue down the road to a better life. This way we can motivate one another and share experiences. If anyone is interested, just let me know. Regards, Marie :ranger:

Thanks for the invite. Unfortunately, I am disabled and don't drive anymore. I used to work at Campus View on Rt. 23 and we would go to lunch at Polaris sometimes. However, I will check out the forum you listed. Thanks, Marie

SarahT1982, I guess that I have some experience in this area. I just had my band put in on Dec. 26 and I get a little agitated at times too. I know that it can seem scarey but if you need to relax some before they take you into surgery, just ask the anesthesiologist for something to calm you down and they will help you to relax. I always ask for something and as soon as I am in the surgery room and put onto the table, I am out within a couple of minutes or so. The next thing I know is that someone is waking me up in recovery... I hope this helps. Regards, Marie

Hi Cynthia, Have you met with the dietician yet? That is who educated us on what we can and can't have after lap band surgery. Below are the rules for eating that I received from my Bariatric group. *Caffeine - Slowly decrease your caffeine intake to avoid withdrawal symptoms. No caffeine 3 days before surgery because you could possibly become dehydrated. *Carbonated beverages - None for 6 months after surgery. They will cause excess gas, bloating or irritation to your digestive tract. *Alcoholic Beverages - None for 6 months after surgery. It provides "empty calories" and can be used in limited amounts after 6 months. Foods that are not allowed after Lap Band Surgery, FOREVER! "Fibrous" foods such as broccoli, asparagus, celery, pineapple, and rhubarb. "Doughy" or "Sticky" foods such as white bread, buns, doughnuts, cake, etc. Toasted whole grain bread may be tolerated but do not eat within 1 week of a band adjustment. "Hard to chew" foods such as steak, coconut, chips, popcorn, dried fruits, or chewy Protein bars. These could obstruct the band. I hope this helps but there may be groups out there that do things differently. Regards, Marie :ranger:

Hi Everyone, My surgery is scheduled for December 26, 2007. I am scheduled for my pre-op testing this coming Thursday, December 6. On my list for that day, they have me down to attend a Bariatric Pre-Op Class. I wanted to see if anyone had to attend a Bariatric Pre-Op Class prior to surgery? If so, what kind of information were you given during this class. Thanks for your help, Marie

Hi Caramel, I am so happy to report that I will be a Merry Loser as well. My surgery is scheduled for Dec. 26 by the best Bariatric Surgeon in the Midwest, Dr. Patricia Choban at Mt. Carmel in Columbus, Ohio Good Luck to all you other Merry Losers! Thanks, Marie