spicegrrrl

I posted a similar reply in another thread on headaches and I feel like I'm the crazy preachy lady but if anyone out there is suffering from migraines you NEED to read this book "Heal Your Headaches" by David Buchholz. I've had migraines for over 10 years and have tried everything under the sun for them. The book advocates changing your diet (which seemed insane that it would work when I read it) and getting off any meds that would cause rebound migraine headaches. I'm pretty good about following the book's instructions and have reduced the numbers of migraines I get dramatically. I was banded 2 weeks ago and there are a lot of things that bandsters eat that will probably trigger migraines if you're susceptible. Most flavored Protein powders, artificial flavors in anything (like crystal light), MSG in most canned Soups, fake meat products, caffeine, anything with chocolate in it, even things like Peanut Butter. It can be a struggle, especially soon after banding, to avoid those migraine triggers. Anyway, the book totally changed my life and I _highly_ recommend it to anyone who wants to understand their migraines better and take control of them. Hope this helps.

I was also told by my nutritionist not to chew "too" well or take "too" long to eat. Her theory was that by over-chewing and liquefying your food, it'll pass through the band too easily and that taking too long to eat would cause the food to pass through your band, enabling you to eat more in one sitting. I guess a lot of this is trial and error, as well. I remember being surprised when I heard that I shouldn't take super-long to eat.

I was banded a couple weeks ago and haven't experienced any acid reflux but prior to the band I had _really_ bad reflux - to the point where I was downing a fistful of rolaids every day. I found that certain foods - especially tomatoes or other acidy foods/fruits made the reflux worse. Also laying down soon after eating or overeating in general. I was also told, pre-band, that the band may make my acid reflux worse and I think if a band is too tight, one may also develop symptoms. I'd recommend looking up foods that tend to trigger reflux and then try eliminating them and see if it helps. For a couple of weeks I was on a prescription antacid and it worked wonders. Good luck!

Yuck. I was on Topamax for a good part of a year and it definitely had heavy duty side effects as I was titrating up. I also didn't like the idea of taking a medication every single day. I feel like I've tried literally everything for migraines. I know how crazy this sounds (to all those who suffer from regular migraines) but I suffered from migraines for over 10 years - it got so bad that I was taking a prescription drug (relpax) every single day. Then I read this book that changed my life - "Heal Your Headache" by David Buchholz. It advocated changing your diet and stopping taking medications that would have a rebound effect (medications like Excedrin and my Relpax). I follow the diet restrictions pretty closely and only take my Relpax every once in awhile. Just following the book's advice worked wonders for me. I really feel like I have control over my headaches. I guess if your headaches are infrequent and the Excedrin works for you and you're happy with it, stick with it. But if they ever increase or you want to try to get off meds altogether, I totally recommend that book. Best of luck.

Hi Stacey! I was banded on 3/17 and the first week I was all about the veggie broth - with salt and pepper it was the best! If you don't like store-bought kinds, it's pretty easy to make your own vegetable stock. I also bought a giant jug of apple juice and if you're worried about Protein, Isopure makes these 40g of clear Protein drinks that come in glass bottles. You can get them at GNC. You've got a lot of options when you start with mushies. Refried Beans, silken tofu, hummus, eggs, cottage cheese, possibly tuna/tuna salad. Right after my surgeon made me do a swallow test with barium and then apple juice. Maybe your surgeon will let you do juice instead? It seems silly that he'd make you drink chicken broth. Anyway, best of luck to you!

Where I was banded, we were able to select whether we wanted a regular port or a low-profile port - however, the low profile port was about $1000 more (if I'm remembering correctly).

Hey there, I was banded 6 days ago and had your same problem for the first few days. The folks at my surgery center recommended Maalox for any backed up issues. I took it for the first few days post-surgery and everything seemed to work itself out by Day 3.

Well - I've ultimately decided to go with Dr. Shayani at Day One. I feel comfortable with him and I really like how experienced he is with the Lap Band System. Plus, paying out of pocket - U of C was just too, too much. I feel pretty good about my decision and will be banded in less than a week! Kinda crazy...

yeah. it's funny - i've read some not so great things about dr. galvani at day one but i've also read some excellent things about dr. shayani and he's who i'd be going to see. when i scheduled my appointment with dr. shayani, i had already been to northwestern's seminar and u of c's seminar and i explained this to them. i didn't particularly want to sit through another seminar and they didn't seem to think i had to so i avoided the seemingly not-so-great day one seminar. my meeting with dr. shayani was pretty good but so was my meeting with u of c. thanks for your thoughts.

Thanks Jack and Karri. Some good thoughts. I will be paying out of pocket so there's not particularly pressure to go to one place over another. I suppose I am leaning more towards Day One...I'll update with my decision. I appreciate your input. Spice

Hi Sonia. Thanks for the info. Couple of quick questions - how did you decide on Day One? Were you required to do pre-op dieting? How long did you stay after the surgery? I'm strongly leaning towards going there but haven't made up my mind yet. Spice

Hey there, I also have insurance with no coverage. You may want to look into Day One Health in downtown Chicago. They're 16K but you get a year of free fills, which I suppose can be pretty costly otherwise. Additionally, there's a fee of $375 to meet with the psychologist on staff before the surgery. Not great, I know, but reasonable considering U of C costs $1000 for similar pre-screening testing. Hope this helps.