HeatherO

Some doctors are biased towards a particular surgery whether it be bypass, band or another option. Since you have less than 100 pounds to lose, I don't see any reasons why banding would not be a good option. Some of it has to do with the reasons why you are obese in the first place. Do you overeat at every meal . . . then either option is good and lapband works great because you will no longer have that option. Do you eat a lot of sweets and tend to graze all day long, then maybe the bypass is a better option with the dumping syndrome. If I were in your shoes, I would start listing out pros and cons for each surgery based on your lifestyle. Once you have gathered your thoughts, take this information to the doctor and have a heart-to-heart discussion on which options suits you best and why. If the doctor still strongly feels that there is only one option but it does not sound like the reasoning is anything more than bias towards the bypass route . . . you can always see a different surgeon.

I did Curves for a year or two prior to banding and went regularly. It was perfect for many women new to exercising or looking for something lower impact. It is easy to get started, people are always there to help and I saw every body shape/type or BMI range there. If you are shy about exercising in front of other people or don't feel confident because you carry extra weight, it is a great start. That being said, I outgrew curves and got bored with it. I found that I could no longer get much of a workout there no matter how fast I used the machines. I cancelled my membership and started at my local YMCA when they had a beginning of the year discounted membership drive over 2 years ago. I found that once I got used to exercising and my fitness level improved, I needed something more vigourous and I like the options to do step aerobics, zumba classes, weight training, spinning classes, swimming, etc. Even with that, I can't recommend a better way to get started with exercise if it is new to you or if you are shy about it than by starting with Curves. I highly recommend it.

I had a couple of dissolvable stitches and mostly glue. The scars are almost non-existent with only the port scar showing a little bit more than the others. Really it looks quite good and healed up phenomenally. Old ghosts of stretch marks from 15 years ago look worse than the scars. I think glue works great.

Very interesting post, thanks for sharing. I felt similarly in the early months after banding. I lost my method for de-stressing with food but eventually found workable substitutes. Exercise always makes me feel better after I get started. Going for a walk, taking a bath or reading a good book also help. It gets so much easier after a little time when banding and what you are eating doesn't take so much focus and life moves on.

Going 3 small and 1 large incisions won't be too bad. I had it done with 4 small and 1 large and other than the large incision, there was almost no pain at all for the small ones. Small bandaids covered them and it was no big deal. As far as filled or regular I can only guess that it might be the difference in whether it is inserted with Fluid or not. I know that the Realize band, which I have, is typically put in empty but the Allergan Lapband usually has a small fill already inside. Perhaps they are talking about two different brands of band but I am not sure.

Judy, I was wondering what pasties are but didn't want to ask on FB and sound foolish, lol. They sound yummy minus the pork. Terry, The sopapilla recipe sounds to die for, very simple, and I have a potluck on Sunday. I think I might give it a try since I can have a taste and not have the whole thing sitting at my house calling my name. Laura, I would love to see those pictures. I was just present for my sisters c-section and was able to see everything but because it was a catholic hospital, we werent allowed to take pictures. The nurse actually took the few pictures in the room. That is just nuts to me.

I agree with what everyone else has said. Definitely days of liquids might be the only hope for saving your band if you don't already have a slip. The damage may already be done at this point and you need to be checked by your band doctor. Keep in mind, not all doctors are very familiar with the band. Emergency room doctors in some hospitals may never have been previously exposed and may be giving some bad advice without knowing any better. That is why most band doctors say to call their office first and foremost no matter what time rather than going directly to the emergency room. At this point, I would think that your band doctor would want to have you in for flouroscopy or an endoscopy to check out your stomach and the band. Especially if you are still vomiting (even if it is less) and are still having trouble with liquids. I really hope everything is OK with your band and that you are feeling better very soon. I am very sorry you had to go through all this.

I agree on getting counseling if possible in her situation. However, it is good that she has a concerned friend that she can share her thoughts and feelings with. The more you can be there for her, the better. Especially if this depression lasts more than a week or two. I don't think banding in itself makes it more or less likely to have an eating disorder. However, those that have gotten to the point of needing the band or other WLS already tended to have a somewhat unhealthy relationship with food in the first place. It is very common for people to deal with a lot of extra stress by either eating too much or not eating depending on their personal preference.

Part of it, and I think it is the most difficult part, is just moving away from the habit of eating. It is hard to readjust your mind to the changes. Gum helps but some of us are told not to use gum. I bought some very low calorie sugar free hard candies and used tic tacs as well during the early days. I only had to do this in the beginning. I have since replaced this habit with sipping on Water all day which is a plus-plus kind of behavior since it helps with weight loss and keeps my mouth busy when I need it to be, lol.

It sounds to me like it could be either stuck food or trapped gas from the description. I have gotten stuck before and still been sore the next day. When I am still sore, I just stick to warm liquids until I feel better again. You will probably be just fine by tomorrow if you don't eat anything very substantial today. If you continue to eat as usual after still being uncomfortable from yesterday, it seems to extend the time it takes to get to feeling normal again. I know you mentioned no haters on the pizza, but I just wanted to mention that I have been there, done that, and now know I am overly sensitive to pizza crust. Pizza crust, if it is not thin, can make me horribly uncomfortable for a very long time. It also builds up in that I can feel OK while I am eating it, but then 5 minutes later I am getting tight until I am horribly uncomfortable. Now I avoid it more out of fear to repeat previous mistakes. If you are going to eat pizza in the future, you might want to make sure it is thin crust or just eat the toppings.

I wouldn't think it would be as much of an issue if the surgeon is aware and has some anti-nausea medication that can be utilized immediately if needed. Also, your stomach is empty at the time of surgery as long as you follow your pre-surgical eating guidelines. If your stomach is empty, you wouldn't have anything of substance trying to push its way back up through the small band opening. Another way to tell if this will be an issue is your past history. Did you have any issues with vomiting post banding or any other surgery? If so you may want to take extra precautionary measures. If it wasn't an issue you should be OK.

That site works really well, thanks for sharing. I guess it also goes to show why it gets so hard to lose as you get close to goal. After BMR goes down substantially with weight loss, you would have to cut out a large amount of additional calories just to maintain the initial rate of weight loss. It also really helps to show how big of an impact exercise makes when it comes to calories burned.

I agree, advil works, especially the liqui-gels which disolve and go down fast with a bit of water. Nothing else will touch my back pain near as well as when I have liquid advil. I know you are not supposed to have it as a banded person. I have been given the OK to use it on a very occasional basis by my doctor, although not now while pregnant. I usually follow it with a glass of milk just in case.

EJMDiva, it sounds like you are doing great :0). It is so much more fun when DH can be involved as well. My DH said it became so much more real when he could actually see and feel the baby. Cherry Blue, it sounds like you are doing good as well. Sorry about the car, that is a bit of a bummer. Our due dates must be just about the same, I am due June 9th. I am definitely getting leg or foot cramps as well. I also find that if I lay in any position, I get stiff and achy and it is getting hard to move around in bed. When I get up to go to the loo, I feel like I am walking like an old woman at night, nothing wants to move. Do you feel this way too? It seems like most of us banded people posting here are having boys although I am having a girl. Calvin is an adorable name, it makes me think of the comic book strip Calvin and Hobbes that I used to read as a child. I have attached a belly pic from last Sunday. I didn't look pregnant forever and am just starting to get a real belly with only six weeks to go :0). I am still wearing some of my size 10 pants which amazes me. I have been lucky in that I have not really needed much for maternity clothes. I have a belly band that gets me by in a pinch.

I'm sorry you are having such a rough go of it. I didn't have much of a problem until mid-pregnancy where sometimes after I would eat it seems like my stomach just wanted to reject the contents. For me I had to start eating carbs again like potatoes, crackers, rice and bread in small quantities with food. There is just something about these foods that make my stomach relax. I also had to start with a carb sometimes . . . maybe a couple of bites of mashed potatoes. This is completely against banding rules for me but I just couldn't stick to primarily proteins & veggies because they were just too much for me and it seemed like vomiting was a greater risk.

I tried to upload 2 pics but it is the first time so we will see how it goes. One is me with my sister's teeny tiny itty bitty baby James Edward immediately after the c-section. The other is me on Sunday where I actually look somewhat pregnant. It has hardly been worth posting belly pic's before because I just looked chunky more than preggers, lol.

Terry, Poor Hero, I hope he feels better soon . . . and I know from experience that dogs getting sick will not prevent future trash excursions, lol. Kat, You are so lucky. Please send Rick up my way for a day . . . I could use a helping hand, lol. Pamela, Sus sounds like such a doll . . . I could also use some help reorganizing. Tracy, It really concerns me with some of the pictures that go online with teenagers nowadays. I am happy that her father called her on it and I hope she takes them down quickly. I think too many of our children do not understand how to respect themselves and too much importance is placed on fitting in with peers in unhealthy ways . . . not to mention the number of online predators out there that eat that stuff up. My father was super conservative with me as a child, and although I hated it then, I really appreciate it now. I actually have a different teenage myspace problem in that my teenage son doesn't really want to befriend me, lol. His site is mundane and reasonable, nothing bad, but I guess I am not cool enough to be "seen" as his friend. I can see his site so I am not concerned about content. I never realized I was so uncool . . . I think it took a teenager to let me know how out of touch and weird I am, lol. I am hoping that by the time the baby is old enough to consider me uncool, my son will find me interesting again. Hello to all the other Vi's!!!

By the way, I forgot to mention that I haven't gotten any email from LBT in days either. My thread subscriptions are still in place so I don't know whats up.

Morning Vi's, My sister and her baby are doing great. She left the hospital yesterday and the baby will be in for a couple of weeks just because he is a preemie. He has a touch of jaundice but that is normal for a preemie and he is responding well to treatment. His name is James Edward which is a combination of father/grandfather's names. It was such a lovely weekend, but all too busy for me. I had to finish my economics final on Saturday and work so that day was shot. Sunday was busy, hectic and did not go very smoothly. I had an event to go to in the morning and a dinner party at my house at night. I went to the event in the morning with a friend, went to get back in my car and realized I had a flat tire . . . waited only 2.5 hours for AAA while stressing that I hadddd to get home to finish a spot of cleaning, trip to the store and a ton of food preparations for the dinner party. I didn't get home until a little before 5 and the first guests showed up at 5:30. Whats worse, the weather was so beautiful, we decided to take the table/chairs/umbrella out of the garage in a hurry. My dh took the heavy stuff and I was trying to get some chairs out from behind a few things in the garage and I tripped backwards and fell hard. There was no weight to the chairs but my center of gravity must be totally off and since I had my hands full I couldn't stop myself from landing on my rear and elbow. I am still sore and achy today and got a couple of nice bruises. What is weird is that I can't remember ever falling so awkwardly like this for no good reason, it must be related to pregnancy affecting the way I am carrying myself and making me ultra clumsy. Terry, Haydee and Tracy, I loved the pics from lunch . . . I am soo jealous. Hero looks adorable all ready for his shower. My dogs loved their baths, especially when I was cleaning my chihuahua's ears and massaging a little soap on the tips, he would just lift his head and close his eyes and you just knew he was in heaven, lol. Laura, my one chihuahua had occasional seizures, maybe 1 time a year on average out of the blue. I freaked out and took him to the vet the first two times . . . nothing was wrong and there was nothing they could do since it was so sporadic and I was worried he was dying or something. After that, I didn't worry about it and he just had his usual yearly checkup. When it would happen, he would get stiff as a board and fall over (sometimes it seems like he was a little tired or mopey beforehand). It would last for a couple of minutes and then he would be tired afterwards and normal after an hour or two. It was no big deal. Happy Monday to everyone else :0)

I agree with calling the doctor. I have been active in this forum forever and this is the first I have read about green pee being a symptom. It could be something they need to know about and doesn't sound normal. As far as looking pregnant and being bloated, I think most of us have a touch of that right after banding. I remember my husband looking at me after about a week out and he was joking . . . I thought you were supposed to be getting smaller??? It is normal to have some swelling.

It sounds like the normal gas sensations to me as well. I am sorry you have had such a rough start of it. I hope you are home soon and the pneumonia is gone quickly. Good luck.

My real weight loss did not "kick in" fully until I started exercising. I didn't in the beginning but the exercise changed my loss from small with lenghty plateaus in between to a steady weekly loss for the most part. This was with about 5 hours of exercise a week on average. For my body, I am sure that the band and eating habits probably got me 60% to goal . . . but I never could have closed the gap for the last 40% without exercising.

I had problems as well in the morning and oatmeal would definitely make me uncomfortable. However, after a time I just either drank a low-carb slimfast from the fridge . . . or like on the weekends, I would drink something hot, wait a while, take a test bite, wait 5 minutes and then I could eat a little. The test bite was needed for me because I have first bite syndrome where the first bite might stick unless I give it a few minutes to settle. The process of allowing it to settle seems to open me up a little more.

My first fills were big as well . . . and to me it was a blessing because I got to my sweet spot on my second fill. I was able to lose almost all of my weight on that second fill by having good hunger control. As long as you tolerate the fills OK and you are not pb'ing or experiencing problems like reflux, it is better to hit your sweet spot early on as opposed to doing .5-1 cc's at a time and not getting to your sweet spot until more than 6 months out post banding. Also remember that the Realize bands are not usually pre-billed but other varieties do have a little fill once they are fitted in place. In this case, you would need a little bigger fill to get you in line with the other band varieties.

I dont get that scrutiny so much because I have not told coworkers and only my husband and brother know about it. It seems perfectly normal to have an occasional indulgence as long as you stay on task the majority of the time. However, only you know if this is something that may cause you to backslide into behaviors that become habitual and may cost you the attainment of your eventual goals. Some people can do this without harm, others start to have problems. I think it is all dependent on how you look at it yourself as to whether it is good or bad. I think guilt causes more harm than good. For me, I would allow myself something off plan once a week, guilt free. It didnt keep my from goal . . . but if I started doing this every day I know I would never have made it to goal.