Wheetsin

I used to try and hold it if someone was in, or would hold it long enough to hit another bathroom (at work we have a few stories so there's always another bathroom to check). I used to PB a lot more than I do now so it's not so much of an issue. My last few have been at home. I just yak regardless of who's there now, and if it's a situation where I'm being conscious of the noises it will make, I will try to flush right as I feel it happening. *shrug* We're desensitized I guess. Most people just think I'm puking and run out anyway.

When you guys see inflammatory posts, even here, please report them to us. Otherwise, it's 100% a matter of whether or not one of us happens on the message.

At Uno's once I'm pretty sure the waitstaff thought I was bulemic. Obviously they don't know much about bulemia. But I ate a few bites, then hhurredly asked our waitress where the restroom was. Someone came in right as I yakked. You'd think they leave, but they didn't. When I came out of the stall, it was our waitress and she was just kind of propped on the wall like she was hanging out. After I got back to the table I overheard her talking to some of the other waitstaff and I couldn't hear a lot, but I did hear "purge". Ah, the little girl knew nothing.

There is no better or worse between the two outside of each person's individual circumstances and lifestyle. Please don't think we're trying to argue which is better/worse. However, this is a BAND board, not a generic WLS board, so a lot of the responses you'll get are likely to be pro-band. I know many people who have had RNY, and it was right for them at the time. Some now regret it, some do not. I can say that the concern he mentioned about needing fills -- I'm surprised he didn't mention the RNY recovery time. Even laparoscopically, this is often about 6 weeks. With the band, it's often within one week. Just looking at it from logical numbers, fill appoinments (in over 2 years I've had a total of 5, one was for an unfill) take about 10 minutes at the most. So that's less than an hour I've dedicated to follow-up. Oh, plus the post-op visit to have my staples removed. Even after 2+ years, that's still a TON of saved time over an additional 5 weeks of recovery. The sweets - that's a very valid point. If you're an ice cream junkie, there's a risk you will not lose weight with the band. Unlike RNY, the band itself does nothing to prevent you from eating crap food. Even people who are overfilled and can only eat a few things often find it's ice cream, Cookies, shakes, etc. that go down the best. If someone isn't able to commit to the lifestyle & behavioral changes that come with needing to be responsible for their eating decisions, then the band may not be the best option. They call the band the "thinking person's WLS" for this reason -- we're still accountable. With some of the other procedures, including RNY, this isn't so much the case. You can expect some degree of hand-out weightloss, even if it comes at the cost of great pain. Best of luck inyour decision. :biggrin:

The best way to find low carb, high Protein foods is to shop the perimeter of your grocery store and avoid all the middle aisles. SPeaking for the average layout, of course. The perimeter of the store is where they keep the meats, dairies, and more "natural" foods. The inner aisles are where they keep the frankenfoods, carby products, etc. One of my favorite carb conscious (and one of my band favorites too) things to eat is turkey pepperoni and cream cheese. Lay the pepperoni on papertowels and microwave until it's cooked crunchy. You'll see it darken, and notice that the grease has stopped coming up. Don't let it cook until it's black tho. At home this is about 3 minutes for 25 pieces. Then blot them dry, removing as much grease as you can. They'll be super crunchy like potato chips. I use them to scoop some "garden vegetable" cream cheese -- very very good. They also make good scoops for cottage cheese. I lived on the induction (super strict) phase of Atkins for over a year, so if you need any more help, just ask away.

Before I can say yes, seek a fill, let me ask... How much do you have left to lose? E.g. if you're close to goal, then you can't necessarily expect to lose much weight, even over the course of a few months. How are you eating? If you aren't losing weight, and are eating crap, then a fill probably isn't the answer. There is a threshold of overfill that the bands can handle. I'm not sure what it is. First, if you're doing everything right, still have significant weight to lose, etc. you should have the current fill level checked. Maybe your last fill took your to 4cc, but you're not there any longer. They can check this during a regular fill appt.

Bloodwork would show an infection if you had one. The port incision is usually the one that hurts the most and for the longest time. About 3 weeks post-op (similar timeframe as you are), I would have stabbing pains at my port, especially if I twisted my body... e.g. getting into a car. It went off and on for about 2 - 4 weeks, then stopped. I'm over 2 years out now, and I'll still get tweaks if I move just right (or wrong!). If your labs were clear, don't worry, just consider it part of the healing process. Your muscles were messed with, that's gonna cause some discomfort.

As long as the person doing the fill can access the port, it should work, provided all connections are intact. Are you sure you're feeling your band? Even if it's slipped on the esophagus, it shouldn't be anywhere that you can feel it. VERY often people will mistake their xyphoid process for the band -- swear they can feel the band close to the skin. Scar tissue is also felt in lieu of the band. The band shouldn't have lost its fill because you got sick. There's nothing in the act of vomitting that would force fill out of the band (e.g. the port self-heals after puncture, the band isn't really "squeezable" - it's quite hard, etc.)

Duh, they're called butterfly needles.

Oh, good idea on requesting the thinner needle. Recently I've had blood taken with a fairly large needle, and on the same day had it done with a teeny tiny little thing that looked like a butterfly with a thin tubing tail(blanking on the name). Neither hurt, but I felt the butterfly a lot less. If we can get the name of it, see if they could use that. The needle was *tiny*.

BTW, from the time that I was banded until now I've had I don't know how many labs taken, a second surgery, boosters come due, 6 medical injections, and 5 additional IVs (without numbing), had to get a steroid series in my back, and am pregnant. Let me tell you - the whole desensitization idea really works. :biggrin:

I was scared of needles stemming back to a very bad needle incident when I was a child. Never to the point of fainting, and never a true phobia, but I would get very nervous and had to turn my head. It wasn't the pain, or the blood (doesn't bother me at all), it was just the anxiety around the needle itself. In fact, once I was going out of the country for a few weeks and needed to get malaria & typhoid fever vaccinations. I could get a shot for the typhoid fever free and have it be over with, or pay $200 and have a pill regimen to follow. I did the $200 option. I was VERY nervous about the IV. And VERY glad to find out that my surgery center injected a bit of lidocaine prior to placing the IV. I've since had an IV without the numbing and let me tell you - much different experience. :biggrin: You know fills are done with needles, yes? Just tell the phlebotomist about your fear. They see it all the time. They can tell you exactly what's happening, or tell you nothing if that's how you prefer it. If you can, take a friend or SO so you have a hand to squeeze. Not because there's any pain, but it helps direct some of the tension.

The girl who didn't contribute finally responded (after the final project was sumitted) saying that we had been posting too many versions & comments back and forth (online class), and she didn't know how to join in. IMO this tried to spin it so it was our fault for not specifically giving her a fixed way to contribute (even though I had asked her if she could handle X and X part, asked her to review X, etc. -- and she never even responded.) I'm thinking -- umm, just jump in? If you really care about helping/inputting, that's what you're going to do, right? Here, we don't wait for someone to post "So and so, please insert your opinion here", we just jump in. That's a sad excuse.

Posts in the RnR don't need to have anything to with lapbands. This is our OFF TOPIC area, as indicated in the description for the forum. Some people do care about his view. I may disagree with it, but I'm glad we live in a country where he can have it. Please don't proffer yourself as representing everyone. You voiced your view, so you must assume someone cares. Perhaps he did the same. Please refrain from witty comments such as "shut up." This is our debate area, and even if we vehemently disagree with someone, we do it respectfully, not childishly. BTW, personal attacks are not tolerated here. Attack the idea until you're blue in the face, but don't attack the person. Thanks and continue to enjoy the thread. :biggrin:

The clothing is a good point. I'm just under 6' and it's hell trying to find heels in my size (11). Not that I'd wear hoochie platforms like those. I can't imagine anyone her height finding stuff that isn't custom, especially if this weren't fake. And dresses... not that I could fit a dress like that on anything other than my calf, but if I could, it would come down as far as.... my belt, maybe. Long legs/height is hard to deal with. I often envy shorter people in some ways. I always seem to have an easier time finding "short" or "petite" than I do "talls".

No bday gift! But he sure as shit better give me something for mother's day. :biggrin:

Thanks Diane. That was this Dr. I'm north of the river and he was with one of the Northland practices. (That's the same reason I'm seeking an OB north of the river). So far I'm not thrilled with the OB's office. I'm not seeing the responsiveness I'd like to see. I went to the ER with some cramping & bleeding (old blood, but lots of it) - US showed a uterine pregnancy, fetal pole & heartbeat, and a small subchorionic hematoma. So the ER doc told me to follow up with bloodwork to see the HCG doubling since the subchorionic bleeding isn't horrible news, nor is it great news. I called OB for that the next day and they said there was no reason they needed to check the HCG if there was a heartbeat (even tho I told them the ER doc said to do it as follow-up, to make sure things are still progressing well in the next few days, and I told them the bleeding hadn't stopped yet). It was one of those "You dummy" tones of voices when she told me this. They did not want to see me before my scheduled appt this Wed, and did not want me to bring in my ER/radiology/lab reports... which seemed really odd. I personally disgaree sbout monitoring the HCG, I think that as long as I'm expelling any blood, new or old, it's a good peace of mind measure, if nothing else, but also a good measure before my next US. Two ER docs have agreed with me, as did my family doctor whom I called today and wants me to come in for the bloodwork this afternoon. This OB place has come highly recommended. I will have to wait and see what sense I get of them during my appt Wed. I may end up needing a perinatologist anyway, which they don't have on staff, as I've been classified "high risk for miscarriage" with the subchorionic bleeding. We'll see.

Gloucester - look at her left leg, starting at the ankle. Move up to where you see the shadow of something behind them. There's a very rough "break" in the shadow that doesn't line up with any of the cracks on the sidewalk that would cause a break similar to that. You can see what might be "natural crack breaks" directly below that, but that wouldn't carry up to where this break occurs. The sidewalk would angle (perspective) as it went back, so if you were seeing a break due to a sidewalk crack, it would be a lot closer to her legf, if not behind it. Plus, starting at that break, you'll notice there's a fairly visible "line" going up from exactly where the break occurs. Between her leg and the line it's a much brighter background, even when there should be dark background. This is a "giveaway" of something being superimposed. The manipulator will often blur/lighten/darken the cut out area to try and help it blend in with the background. Is this evidence you'd want to take to court? Of course not. But I've been dealing with things like photo manipulation since 1993, and my eye says fake on this one. Compare her leg to the other girl's leg. See how the other girl's leg has a dark background when there should be one? And another thing - the other girl has a brighter area around her calf (possibly just reflection), but it follows the countour of her leg - the tall girl's does not, it goes straight despite her leg curving.

Then Snopes needs a graphic artist on board, because there are parts of her that don't even match/align with parts of the background. But doesn't matter, it's fake either way.

Oh also -- there's a good chance you have comorbidites, even if you don't know it. It's increasingly rare that obese people have no signs of - at a minimum - wear and tear on the body. I was fine on all blood levels, good BP, no prior medical issues, no prescription meds, etc. Then about 2 months ago I sought treatment for something that I thought was the result of an auto accident I was in. Come to find out, it's early onset osteoarthritis, and I had it before my band surgery. It went away for a while, then just recently came back up. The literature I've read about it indicates something like 90%+ of obese people have some indications of it. So when you have your physical, make sure you mention everything you can think of. This doesn't hurt, it's more just a non-pain sensation... and comes and goes, and I really never paid attention to it until after my accident.

Some people can take pills. I personally can't. But I hear from people who can take all kinds of pills. Perhaps start off by asking your family doc (or whomever orders the rx) if there's a liquid or chewable alternative, and get your rx switched. If you don't have any alternatives other than to take the full pill, then make sure your surgeon knows this. It may impact the amount of fill you're able to have. My surgeon (actually it may have been the dietician, I don't remember) told me I would be able to take anything up to the size of an M&M, but that's sooo not the case.

nancy brought up a good point that I should have thought to include. If you're taking a dry fiber supplement, you MUST increase your water intake. If you don't get sufficient water, and add extra dry bulk to your body, bad things can result.

Oh yes. Try posting your pics directly into your message (so they show instantly, no need to click) and realizing that your picture takes up more room than the screen has, so everyone sees your picture and just your nose is the size of a racketball. Happens all the time. :biggrin: Congrats on your courage!

Don't you know that's available? All you need to do is watch TV at about 3 in the morning, and you'll have a large selection to choose from.

For me it's a series of things I have to look at comprehensively: Does it take larger portions to get rid of the hunger? Am I needing to snack to stay satiated? Can I eat foods that I couldn't eat before? Can I drink more than a tiny sip during a meal without pain? Do I get a sensation of restriction at the start of, or shortly into, my meal? Do I feel tight in the morning? Etc.