Wheetsin

I understand you're impatient, but what you're describing really isn't outside of the norm. Few people can call on Monday and get a fill on Monday. My surgeon has three people who can do fills. They triple-book (last I asked, they may now quadruple) appointments, and do fills 5 days a week, and on a good day you could call Monday and get in the following Monday. I know it can be frustrating, but it is understandable. A surgeon is a surgeon. Fills are a small part of what they do, and have to come after surgeries, emergencies, etc.

The pain isn't restriction, the pain is something being stuck and your body trying to unstick it. Getting something stuck is a "side effect" of restriction. Keep in mind that if you ate the egg without chewing sufficiently, too quickly, etc. you probably won't feel that same sensation other times when you eat. But yes - what you describe sounds like it got stuck, which isn't going to happen unless you have some degree of restriction, so... congrats, I guess.

It has nothing to do with the band. An equivalent test should should be mandatory after ANY laparoscopic procedure near a vital area. Unfortunately there's usually a "nothing is wrong unless we have reason to believe something is wrong" clause, and you know where that gets you. Sorry for your loss, it's always a sharper sting when it was avoidable.

I had lap-band surgery, ate all my Protein, my hair fell out. 8/31 I had my gallbladder cut the heck out, my hair starting falling out about 2 weeks ago. When my mother was younger she had a hysterecetomy. Her hair fell out. What's the common theme here? Not protein. Body trauma. Anesthesia. Hair also works in cycles. It's dormant, it's growing, it's dying. No shampoos can stop either situation.

I have never let a specific measurement of food determine whether or not I need a fill. You see a lot of half cup that, quarter cup this, 2 oz there... whatever. That's one thing, if anything, I've learned is utterly unreliable because... if Jane can be full on 1/4 cup of food, has nothing to do with Jack or Julie or Joe. Here are things I "listen to" if I'm considering a fill: Can I eat my food without stopping, or do I need to take a few (or many) minutes between bites? Do I get a sensation of pressure when I eat, or does it go right down? Can I drink more than a sip, without discomfort, immediately after meals? Am I hungry between meals? Can I eat foods easily that used to cause me trouble? Am I eating more than I was a few weeks ago? (NOT Am I eating more than 2 oz) Etc.

I'm the Queen if excuses because I don't enjoy exercising, and I'm extraordinarily reticient to do that which I do not enjoy. But if you have a drive to exercise, you can find a way. I've been known to run up & down the stairs in our house (talk about boring, but it works). There doesn't have to be a lot of pomp & circumstance around working out, just moving can get it done. If it's terribly cold out, do laps around a room in your house, or jog around the garage. Situps, jumping jacks, etc. can all be done in very little floor space. I've gone months with no change no the scale, but lost sizes. I've gone months with no change period, only to lose 15 lbs "overnight." Our bodies do some weird things at times. A week? Pshaw, that's nothing. Keep your head up, and keep doing what you know you need to be doing, and you'll see results. If you go long without results, it's time to examine what you're doing. As I've said about myself many times... I can't really bitch about not losing much weight when I know I'm not exercising like I need to be. Maybe my food is where it needs to be, but at this point, that's only half of it.

Everyone send me lots of presents.

Many, many, many possibilities including, but not limited to: 1. "Less than I used to" doesn't mean "the right amount to lose weight." Maybe I ate 6,000 calroies pre-op. Maybe I eat 4,000 now. That's a LOT less than I used to, but still not enough that I can expect to lose weight. 2. Expecting loss every single week will eventually lead to disappointment. 3. Maybe you've lost fat, but haven't lost weight. You CAN lose fat and gain weight. Happens all the time, to just about everyone. 4. Etc., etc., etc.

Oh - hell job! I interviewed for a position, and during the interview they told me their intention would be to move the spot into a director job once it was approved, but that they were posting it as a subordinate position until the director opening was approved. Took the job, moved into the director spot 3 weeks later, and became responsible for managing 8 female managers and indirectly their 30 or so female associates. For the simple fact that I came in and was "promoted over our heads", I was instantly a target. Keep in mind this was a social service industry, which is a festering petri dish for the angry & co-dependent. These people could be beyond mean when they wanted to. It was absolutely miserable. I was... probably 23 or so, and some of these women were in their 50s, and every single one of them acted like a child. The most asinine behavior you can imagine... seriously on par with 4th grade name-calling. Best thing about it - IU was the boss, so I didn't have to deal with too much (just the stuff behind my back), and the two other people there, the Exec Dir and Pres, were men. To this day I'm still friends with the Exec Dir.

I hate working with women. This is part of why I do my best to not make friends out of co-workers. My current situation works very well for me. I'm on a virtual team. My boss and 13 out of the 14 people on my team are in other states. I sit in an office full of people that I will never work with or interact with - I really just kind of sit here and take up space. Out of the 300ish people in my office, I know maybe 20 of them. There's one other person here who is on my team and reports to the same VP, but we have different managers and very different responsibilities. We've never had a project together. She & I get along well, which is nice, because as long as we trust each other to have the other's back we can pretty much do whatever we want. At least 2 or 3 days a week I'm working from home, so there goes what little connections I have to the office. It's spoling me though. I've certainly worked jobs where I didn't care for the people I had to interact with daily, and it's no fun.

No beating yourself up, it's not hypocritical unless you're also saying, "Guys should be attracted to me right away!" And that's the thing for me. Generally speaking just the physical appearance of a fat guy is not going to attract me, but at the same time, I would never expect a guy to be attracted to me on sight, and would never be mad if someone told me they aren't attracted to fat girls.

Telecia - my husband is from Sweden. That kind of music is ALL he listens to (and he's a hardcore audiophile). Well, 98% of what he listens to.

Oh gotcha. I was just responding to the statement that there is no metal in/on the band -- which there is. I have no clue if it was anything to do with my band that set off the detector for me. All I know is that the wand picked up right on the area of my port incision, and I did not have an underwire bra on, and at the time band surgery was the only surgery I'd had (hence no other implants, screws, pins, etc. that could have done it). That would seem to indicate it's possible. But at the same time, it only happened that one time, and I've taken many flights since surgery. Titanium... fluke... who knows. <!-- google_ad_section_end --><!-- / message --><!-- sig -->

Yes, that 23.5 degree tilt of our rotational axis is definitely special!! Pagans make up all the cool stuff. Happy Yule to all of you out there.

Actually the reservoir in the port is titanium. I believe the connection point between the band and port also has a titanium element.

Arbonne as in the $$$ facial care stuff I tried about a year ago? They make protein powders?

Complication rates are very low. And keep in mind that your wife experienced a surigcal complication, not a band complication. It would seem she fell into the very unfortunate and small percentage of people who experieence coplications. Best wishes for a speedy recovery.

I fly VERY frequently and in all of my post-op flights, I have set off the metal detector once. I actually assumed it was a bobby pin in my hair, but after I removed the pins, I still set it off. So they took me aside and wanded me, and it picked up right on my port spot. It actually confused me at first because I didn't have an underwire bra on, so I couldn't figure out what would be causing it. Finally it dawned on me and I told them I had an implant. After that the lady just asked me to point to the area of the implant, wanded it, it went off again, and she let me go. I've never had it happen any other time, even when going through that same gate. Oh, she did ask me why I hadn't volunteered the information of an implant before going through the gate. I told her for one, I usually forget I have it. For two, the metal would be such a small amount, I never thought it would trigger (fillings don't trigger, staples didn't trigger, etc.). She seemed fine with that. I still don't make it a practice to announce I have an implant before going through the scanner. If it's ever an issue, I will just explain it again. I mean, they're welcomes to look at my scar or feel the port if there are any doubts.

If you know you will be moving, start looking now. Call the surgeons in your destination city and see if any of them would be willing to manage fills. There are also places like Fill Centers (never beent o one, but hear about them a lot) where all they do is provide aftercare - perhaps see if there's a place like that. You could also hit our regional forums and post to your target state, asking if anyone knows of a surgeon who would take on someone already banded.

Wasa isn't referring to your personal property taxes. Maybe this will help:

Follow the post-op diet your surgeon provided. If your surgeon did not provide one, call them and tell them to provide you with one. The band usually can't do its job until it is able to restrict, and it usually can't restrict unless it is filled. Hence, unless you have will power and the ability to mediate your eating, you're probably not going to lose much fat until you have restriction. You may well lose weight, but it's probably going to come back once you're able to rehydrate. In other words, you can't just have surgery and expect weightloss immediately after unless YOU are owning that weightloss 100%. That may come with other surgeries, but not the band. Since yu didn't research before hand, you're going to have to learn a lot in a short time. Best of luck on your journey.

Yeah, few docs want to be the filler for someone else's procedure - that can be a sticky web to get woven into. Maybe post in your local area's forum and see if anyone there knows of a doc who will take on others' patients. The ER would be hit or miss. For one, considering wait times to get in, let alone the wait of someone getting your doctor on the phone, or locating someone who has experience accessing ports, and balancing that against a ~3.5ish hour drive, you're probably looking at a quicker resolution from your surgeon. I know 2 bandsters who have had to seek unfills from ERs, and let's just say they didn't rave about the experience. I once needed an unfill from a doctor who hadn't done fills/unfills before, and it's not fun, and left me concerned about what exactly he might have done with that needle.

My surgeon is in Shawnee Mission. He impressed me, and I have been a repeat customer. His office workers - not so much, they actually managed to push a few people away from the practice. Their website is Welcome to the Bariatric Center of Kansas City, Providing surgical solutions to obesity. Dr. Malley is in the KC area. I have never been to him, met him, etc. but I know three people who were banded by him and they all rave about him AND his office staff. He is the one with the commercials on TV. Those are the only two in the area I can provide any personal or secondary information on. Try this page. I have no idea if they still do, it's been a very long time since I was there, but at one point Obesity Help - Weight Loss, Surgery, Support Groups, Forums, Surgical Procedures maintained a feedback directory of surgeons by state.

Umm... probably around 4 - 5 days. I had my surgery on a Wednesday. Slept most of that day and Thursday. Friday I was home most of the day but went to the store that evening to walk around - took it easy, walked with a cart, etc. Saturday we went about an hour out of town to visit my parents. Hubby drove, we took it easy. Sunday I felt pretty good. Monday I resumed working (I can work from home).

Nope, that's where volume comes in.