Wheetsin

I'm too lazy to journal. But I do take pictures, and keep a picture progression. I dont' blog it, they're just sitting comfortably on my local drive, for my own reference or to share as I need to.

I think you'll find that most of the people out there feel this way. The mental shift to a new body can take a very, very long time. And sometimes it never fully happens. Personally, even though I see pictures of myself, I have no real concept of what I look like. I pick up "tiny" clothes and am shocked when they fit. If you lined up a row of girls in front of me, I couldn't tell you the one I'm closest on physical weight appearance to, I have no idea. ETA - if you could find the right search terms, you'd probably hit 100+ threads on this exact topic. So no worries, it's very far from being something you're alone with.

I hiccup when something slow has cleared the stoma, or when my stoma is irritated. I sometimes get them out of the blue, but I can't relate it to fills. I can most definitely relate hiccup activity to band activity, though.

I wasn't banded then, but I can guarantee you there's someone out there banded onthe same day as you who's hungry all the time. That's why weightloss between surgery and restriction should be seen as a bonus, and not an expectation -- new banders aren't getting the manual help from the band yet, and all weightloss is on their shoulders.

Hmm - good luck on insurance accepting that. For writing a letter, I would just introduct the purpose of the information in the letter, then itemize the dates and corresponding weights that are in the history, then conclude with why that should exempt you from their requirements. Then attach copies of the records you're referencing.

When I pb, it's about as far from a burp as it can get. I may burp en route to the PB, but more often there's just a feeling of needing to burp but not being able to. A PB is basically when something is stuck above or at the stoma, and cannot pass. Your esophagus will then force it up and out. For me this takes... a while, and is a painful process of building pressure, then pain indicators, then the esophageal spasms, etc. Finally a trip to the sink and normally it's over (sometimes it needs to happen more than once). Even though I don't think it's a technically accurate phrase, it's what most people use to refer to the process of food and/or saliva being forcefully ejected from the esophagus/stoma. In our FAQ section you'll find a sticky thread calling "Abbreviations and what they mean" or something like that. You'll find more/other information there. And to me, sliming is just the production of excess/thick saliva. Most people will slime before they PB, it's considered a sort of last-ditch effort to bring up the food before it's ejected. Sliming is a sign of imminent PB for me. Maybe once in a while I can reach the point of sliming and not PB, but most of the time if I'm sliming, I will go on to PB. One thing I'm a stickler for is the difference between PB and vomitting. (you will find very differing opinions here). Vomitting involves the purging of the stomach's contents, and we don't do that when we PB. PB is whatever's stuck, and whatever you've swallowed since (variations of this, but speaking generically). No acid, none of yesterday's partially digested chick strip, etc. And -- the advice someone might receive based on if they're PBing or vomitting is very different. We're not supposed to vomit, it's thought to lead to slips, and while we shouldn't PB, I don't know a single bandster more than say... 6 - 12 months in who has never done it (the act, even if the term isn't acknowledged).

The problem is - the people who soak up that type of information would never in a million years put 2 + 2 together.

I've never understood the concern for saggy skin outweighing the concern for health, longevity, etc. If you're significantly overweight, and you've been overweight for... let's say a year (even though there's no set timeline)... and you're not like 12... chances are you skin will sag. I pretty mucht hink it's BS that anything other than than a healthy lifestyle (not smoking, keeping hydrated, etc.), good genetics, age, how long/much the skin was stretched, etc. can do crap for it. People say that exercising helps shrink the skin. I think this is a misnomer. Usually it's some small amount of muscle bulk building that occupies some of the space, maybe making the skin look tighter. Do you have stretchmarks? If you have strecthmarks, you're probably going to have saggy skin. If you're one of the lucky ones that doesn't, you may get off better than the rest of us.

Fish is one of the protein sources they're likely to recommend above others. A full tilapia filet will have ~20gm, depending on the size, will be lean, will have lots of other goodies in it, etc. That's pretty unbeatable. I don't eat red meat and it never even came up with my surgeon. we do have banded vegans, and if they can do it without fish, there's no reason you can't with. best of luck.

Suggestion - call your surgeon. S/he may be able to offer some insight, and/or recommend a course of action.

There aren't really any set things you need, we've all needed slightly different things. There's a list, perhaps in our FAQ area. I don't remember where exactly, but I'm sure if you use the search function you'll be able to find it. BTW, one of the things on that list is Gas-X (allegedly it helps with the surgical gas) but this is a misnomer. Gas-X is swallowed and would only work (if it works at all) on the digestive gas, it won't do anything for gas trapped between tissues in - say - your neck. The things I was most grateful to have included a recliner - no way I could have gotten in/out of bed the first few days. My laptop and wireless phone. A dogsitter for the first few days. Extra pillows & blankets. Other than some additional basics like bottles of Water and liquid Rx, I didn't really need anything. Magic Bullet - I doubt you'd even really think about using that before you were to a point that you could go to the store and get it. If you're supposed to focus on Protein drinks immediately pre-op, you'll probably want to go with the pre-made ones, e.g. the EAS carbadvantages or something.

Siemers17, I'm not sure I understaqnd what you're saying, but you're having vaginal bleeding after your period has stopped? If it concerns you, why are you asking about that in a lap-band post-op area, instead of calling your doctor or GYN? Because you're banded doesn't mean that everything that happens to your body from here on out will be a product of your band. If this is atypical for you, concerning you in any way, or causing you any pain -- heck, even if you're just curious, you'd really be better served by calling your GYN. Best of luck.

It is good advice. People soak things up on the internet like sponges, and somehow that processing of soaking it up translates it to hard medical fact. And then the sponges squeeze themselves out to others and pretty soon you have a wildfire of misinformation that's potentially harming people. Another good rule of thumb -- if it worries you enough to ask it here, and could immediately effect your health, livelihood, etc., then -- why are you asking us? Just go call doc/surg/whatever.

You will need a complete physical (usually) to submit, and if you have any your doctor should note them then. It's entirely possible to have co-morbidities while thinking you're perfectly healthy. I didn't have any known ones at the time, but come to find out there were some things going on that could have been documented (fortunately I didn't need to have any anyway). Schedule a physical and mention any pain, no matter how insignificant you think it is, any sensations, etc.

Do you guys know how addictive this stuff is to someone who doesn't go to OH? Reading threads there is like watching the Anna Nicole show.

Ok you guys made me go and google. I used "duodenal" and "stinky" and guess what site loads -- OH. In particular, a post about anal fissures. Oh my. I'm reading through the thread that google hit, and you're right. There seems to be a lot of hostility over the band, and other procedures. Here's one person's "signature" (part of it anyway): With the DS: there is no stoma, so no stoma strictures; there are no limitations (other than volume) against drinking before, during or after meals; 80% of ingested fat is malabsorbed, allowing liberal use of eggs, butter, mayonaisse, healthy oils, marbled meats, cheese, etc., in the diet; 98.9% of type II diabetics are CURED of this devastating disease, with data showing stable cure over 10 years out; there is the best average weight loss and most durable (average 76%... Like -- it's so weird that someone would make that their signature. What I really don't get -- why would some give a flying fazooie what kind of surgery I or any of you have? You'd think we were debating religion. So this surgery was right for me, and yours was right for you. Wtf is there in that to get mad about??

Hehe, funny, I'd actually replied to that thread. I don't think it's a healthy mental state to ignore very obvious signs of band trouble because it means you lose weight. I hadn't even read the start of the thread when I posted that tho. http://www.lapbandtalk.com/774869-post18.html

I didn't know LB had maternity. I don't know if I'll need them or not. Pants -- yes. Tops I can probably just pull out the next size up from my crates and crates... except I wasn't smart enough to sort them by size. Since my obvious preggo will be during summer, I may be able to get away with something like knit/stretchy capris, a knit skirt or two, etc. During summer at work we're capri casual, or I can work from home. Women in my family tend to get really big, almost overnight, around month 6. I picked up a few maternity things from Target the other day because they were cute, summery, and I know that come summer all you'll be able to find are blazers and wool pants. Their size 18 (largest in-store) maternity pants fit me, but were way too low rise for my taste. I like mom jeans because they help hold in my stomach skin. Low rise does nothing for me. And I don't like the maternity wear that just has the big elastic band, I prefer the ones where they're regular pants with stretchy knit stomach inserts... "over the belly" I think they're called. Those seem harder to find. I saw JCP had some decent looking pants online, but in store all I could find was 14. (I'm normally an 18 in pants, 16ish in tops).

I don't normally follow threads like this. Hell, I'm not really following this one, I just popped in yesterday because something struck my funny bone. I had no idea what/who you guys were talking about until after seeing something like "I had to reply" I looked at the person's posts and saw the only recent reply that seemed to fit what was going on. There is some scary shite in the world. And too few people able to distinguish between sound advice and internet hoobaloo.

Oh ah I gotcha. Yeah, the "advice" posted is not really what I would consider sound advice. I thought you were referring more to -- now that you've read that, you're scared to get banded because you might end up too tight at some point. My approach was always - I'd rather be a little too loose, and let my willpower fill the gap, than be too tight and risk everything that can bring. I was too tight once, bit too much of a fill, and it's not a good place to be. And something's not right upstairs if you live like that and don't seek medical help for it. A friend of mine is several years out with her band, and on a good day she can get Water down. She's gone from a soze 34+ to a baggy size 0. I am not exaggerating. We keep telling her -- go to your surgeon... and she keeps saying "No, he'll want to take it out or open it up and I'll get fat again." She's having the signs that I most strongly associate with unfortunate RNYers - losing hair, teeth... nails are like straw, sallow complexion... I can't think of anyone who would convince me that's not a serious disorder.

It varies so much from person to person. For me it was about 5 or 6 days until I felt "normal" but a good 5 or 6 weeks before I felt ready to transition into normal things (which was also the timing of my first fill). I lost weight before my fill, and I took it as a bonus. I didn't worry about extra dieting before then. I was probably actually recovering for months.

To shrink the liver, making the band procedure easier to do.

Apples - relax. Sometimes we get too tight, it's a product of the experimental nature on the road to the sweet spot. I've had to seek an emergencyish unfill one, and it wasn't pretty. But you learn, and go on. Trust me, it's better to have the information of what can happen if you don't treat your band and body right, than to go in assuming it doesn't happen.

I dated a guy who was a vegan - man, I had no idea how many things we sort of take for granted that they don't touch. E.g. I tried to put Skittles in his easter basket one year. (BTW to no one in particular, eggs are considered "modern" vegetarian, fish is not). But anyway -- since you eat fish, which is very high in Protein and lean, I don't think you'll have much troubles. Nori is fairly high in protein, legumes, etc. Why not just tell your surgeon you don't eat some meats including chicken, and ask him to replace it with vegetable broth or something?

Holy crap, I'd so totally give up Mickey D's over wearing charcoal underwear. That's such a no-brainer to me.