Wheetsin

The psychologist will talk to you in order to help you figure out the causes behind your obesity, and most likely give you suggestions about other ways to manage these causes. Expect lots of questions, and go ahead and give truthful answers - trust me, s/he will probably know if you don't. Mine didn't take nearly that long - that is a long time. Perhaps yourpsychologist employs methods like formal testing, which require more time than a standard session.

You should have taken the needle away and stabbed him in the face with it. Did he try to palpitate to find your port at all? Usually all my surgeon needs to do is push around to find the port, then he marks the center with a pen mark, then puts the needle where the mark is. Once he had some trouble finding it so he had me do a partial sit up, felt around, had to maneuver the needle a little, but nothing that caused pain.

my case no role, really. I had to submit a physical with my paperwork, so I went to her for that, and while there asked if she would submit something supporting, just in case my insurance company wanted it (which they didn't)... so she just gave me a copy of her medical dictation and told me to let her know if I needed anything more extensive. I have a kind of customized PPO, so I didn't need a referall, recommendation, etc. If my surgeon could have done the physical, my doctor would have been completely out of the loop, so to speak. I'm glad I brought it up to her though. She was excited & told me I would be the perfect candidate for it. Ends up she has about 6 or 7 other LB patients. She had lots of advice to offer around the skin issue, and ways of getting PS covered through my insurance, counseling me re: ideal weight, etc. Plus she did a lot of things proactively, like give me a prescription for liquid anti-nausea medication, offer to give me a 2nd rx for hydrocodone if my original ran out and I was still in need, make sure I knew I could stop by and weigh any time I wanted, etc. She's actually been a wonderful source of support & information.

The band begins to erode into the organ - kind of wears through it. I, too, when I first heard the term assumed it meant the band itself erodes.

Robyn - sent you your pictures lastnight. POST THEM already. I can't do whatever meeting was Tue night, a co-worker from Chicago is coming to town until Thu and I've promised to play tour guide for him. I'm trying to talk him into going w/ me to see "Menopause, the Musical" but he's not showing much interest... yet... but his wife is in her upper 40s so I consider it an education process.

I know one person, who was part of the original FDA trials, who has experienced something kind of like this. I don't know the exact details/composition specifics, but essentially the integrity of her band failed and, long story short, her band shrunk to where even unfilled, she was unable to pass her own saliva. Her sister was banded on the same day, same surgeon, etc. and to date has no problems.

Colonoscopy = bowel prep = butt & tummy hell.

"Everything is about sex, except for sex, which is about aggression."

Yup yup. Still not seeing "lapband causes death" over "infection causes death".

Diane - sciatic or lateral femoral cutaneous nerves, maybe? I get a "pinch" in my sciatic occasionally - hurts like a bitch, sharp pain, esp. when I move or put pressure on my leg. Doesn't last days though. Try ibuprofen, see if that helps. Do particular movements hurt worse than others? Eg if you lay flat on your back and lift your leg up, or lift your leg up and flex your foot down, etc?

BTW, if you wouldn't mind sharing, please post the diet you followed to lose over 150 lbs in 5 weeks. Sounds very dangerous, but I'm interested to see what the allowed foods are.

According to the info they've provided, that's a surgery-related death, not a lap-band related death. But following the dates doesn't add up at all. He had his second surgery July 13th. Died Friday of "unnatural death" including excessive bleeding and spleen issues, kidney failure, and blood poisoning. I see no link between his band surgery and death. Interested to read all the missing parts of the story. I don't see how the band itself would lead to his death symptoms.

Mucus w/ BM is not a cause for alarm, mucus w/ BM and blood in acute cases is most frequently linked to bowel or lining irritation (e.g. 'roids, or a tear in the lining), or bacterial infection (e.g. dysentery). Lots of other causes but most will exhibit longer term symptoms. Don't be surprised if your doc questions your BM patterns, whether or not you typically have to push hard, etc. Disclaimer - it has been over 10 years since I last studied medicine, so do not take this as qualified information. Hope all is well...

Ketosis breath. I lived with it for a year. IMO I wouldn't chew gum, to much chance for blockage if you accidentally swallow (and most of us probably have at least once). :scared: Living with it for a year, here's what I would suggest. If you prefer natural remedies, chew on parsley, or tea tree oil infused toothpicks (most health food stores carry them). If you prefer mints, especially being banded, go with the Listerine strips or the liquid ice - can't remember who makes them, but they're tiny liquid filled Gelatin balls. Very strong. Of course, there are also a variety of sprays.

I don't RPG but the person at work who sits across from me does, and so does someone else she knows in the building. UGH. Talk about overhearing some really weird conversations...

Piropo's! They're awesome. Argentinian food. VERY yummy! They're putting another one in across from my office building and I can't wait - they have the best empanadas. If he hasn't yet, suggest that he make reservations. They can be kind of tough to get into during the weekend, esp. when the weather is nice. :eek:

Find a thread here called "Questions to ask your doctor" or something like that. It will be a great starting point.

The last time I felt comfortable... human... was in a sz 20, and a 20 for me is about 230 - 245. I really liked my body when I was in a 16/18, which I figure will be about 180 - 190. 180 is my "dream" weight, but I'll be thrilled at anything under 200, hence the 199 posted below. Really if I never get below 210 I'll still be thrilled, but I'm not telling my band that!

I was a little impatient, but also glad for the time. It's more than psych eval - you should (if it's part of your program) see a nutritionist, perhaps have multiple psych evals depending on the psych, pre admissions, etc. That's one thing I'm glad I did - I submitted my paperwork before * was certain I wanted to do this. That way, when I decided to go for it, I had the approval ready for me. Still had to wait a while tho. :eek:

Robyn, what level of fill are you at now? I noticed a big change in restriction today, too. I was WIDE open. Normally I can feel - not pressure - but definitely the food, and today, not a thing. I'm guessing that maybe it has to do woth the weather change, the storms lastnight, and the relatively loooow humidity we had today, after sooooo long of high temperatures & high humidity. Just a guess tho... DH is calling me but will check back in tomorrow. Hugs & hopes that all is well - I'm sure it is!

I know a few people who simply cannot tolerate chicken. In fact when I go in for fills, when determining how much fill to give me, my surgeon has a list of questions and at the top is, "Can you eat chicken?" Maybe rotisserie vs. grilled. Or boiled? Are you chewing to goo?

I have greatly, greatly diminished hunger. Actually post-op my appetite never returned. I started getting a little concerned 2, 3, 4 weeks post op when I'm hearing from everyone else how ravenous they were, and I was a combination of never hungry + full very fast. I've only been truly hungry a few times since my operation 5 months ago.

I'm 2.5 in a 4 and have restriction in terms of getting full faster, but still don't feel that there's some mechanical device that keeps me from overeating. I.e. noneo f my PBs have been from eating too much. I'm fairly sure that the tighter we get, the less fill it takes to feel a major difference. So if you're at 3 in a 4, you'll probably feel .10cc like you feel 2cc if you're empty. :eek:

Productive burp. There's a pretty good list of terms/initialisms/acronyms floating around somewhere in one of the forums.

Hi SeamsSew, read the very last paragraph I posted: