Wendell Edwards

The most difficult part for me to learn was that hunger was really an invention of my mind. Once I realized that, things got easier for me. So I drank my Protein Shakes and ignored the head-hunger, and eventually it went away. In my case, hunger is mental.

AWWW!!! ((((((((HUGS!))))))))

"We want to talk about Lap Bands, not all the other BS that goes on over there." ABSOLUTELY! No offense, but if I wanted a general topic conversation board, I would have joined one! I wanted a LAP-BAND BOARD!

Thank you! It's really NICE to be somewhere NICE!

Exactly! "Over there" I had to read through dozens of posts that were about every subject under the Sun BUT Lap-Band! That took a LOT of time! "Over here" is MUCH BETTER!

To me it's sort of incomprehensible that someone could be fit, look great and be depressed. I suppose it's POSSIBLE.... but I know that losing well in excess of 200 pounds has eliminated depression from my life entirely.

Thanks! So far, so good..... It's really nice to be able to go to specific topics here and actually see on-topic posts, that way I can choose to not go to threads that are off-topic, something that really bothered me "Over there".

Hi Kat! (Waves) Mexico has some wonderful doctors, ask around and I'm sure many will help you. The best way I know of the lose weight is to increase Protein and decrease carbs.

Well, I finally decided that enough was enough "Over there" and decided to come "Over here" instead. I really like it here, the topics are differentiated well here, no more having to plow through endless non-topic items to find a real question.

Don't ever forget, your doctor is your EMPLOYEE. And all that implies.

Hi, best description I have heard goes like this: If you put 5 tons into a one-ton truck, the suspennsion and alignment goes out. Once the weight is removed, the suspension and alignment need to be checked. ****************** Of course, that was a chiropractor saying that.

My fills were: Six weeks out: 4.0CCs (Nothing!) 12 Weeks out: 5.6CCs (Nothing!) 18 Weeks out: 7.0CCs (Nothing!) 24 weeks out: 8.4CCs (FINALLY! RESTRICTION!) 28 weeks out: 8.8CCs (Restriction AGAIN!) 32 weeks out: 9.3CCs (Restriction AGAIN!) 14 LONG months goes by before needing another fill 9.4CCs (Restriction AGAIN!)

Here's a suggestion: 1. Have them put you on the fluoroscope. 2. Have them put in the maximum fill amount of saline your band can handle. 3. Drink barium. It will pool in your stomach, very visible on the fluoroscope screen. 4. Have them SLOWLY withdraw the saline in the band until that barium BARELY TRICKLES THROUGH THE BAND. STOP THERE. 5. Drink a glass of Water before you leave to make sure it will go down. But hey, what do I know?

Many people ask: . "Should I tell my family and friends?" It's up to you. In an ideal world, everyone would love you and support your decision to have life-saving surgery. But this is the REAL WORLD, where some people just can't keep themselves from making nasty, hurtful, ignorant and insensitive comments to people. If you don't want those comments, or are not strong enough to NOT CARE what other people think, DON'T TELL THEM!

Hi Kim, I have never had a slip, but I do know that a minor slip would usually be treated with an unfill to see if the band slips back into it's normal position. Slips are diagnosed with either fluoroscope or X-Ray.

Recovery time is unique to the individual. I have known patients who went back to non-physical work in two days, and I know patients who took 6 weeks off to recover. One of the hardest things for most people to grasp is that with the Lap-Band, everyone will have a different experience.

Almost all Lap-Band patients develop a new "Full Signal" or "Soft Stop" sign. "What is a "Soft Stop" and what will my "Soft Stop sign be?" I wish I could answer that, but I can't. My experience is that it took me some time to recognize that that funny little hiccup was a stop sign. I don't even recall how long it took me to figure it out. What REALLY messes me up is when my body tricks me by substituting another sign for my hiccup. Many a PB followed when that happened, so now I look for ANYTHING different. A feeling of fullness, stuffiness, a runny nose, a hiccup or hiccups, watering eyes... ANYTHING that's different!

Well, here is some information on fluoroscopic fills: A fluoroscope, fluoro for short, is an X-Ray device with a TV set. Instead of taking a still picture like an X-Ray, the fluoroscope displays a real-time X-Ray image on a monitor while the fluoro is on. ("Hot" in X-Ray terminology) How it works for a Lap-Band fill is like this: You go into the room where the fluoroscope is. You get draped with lead barriers, just like for an X-Ray. You either sit down in a fluoroscope chair, or lay down on an X-Ray table. The thing that emits the X-Ray is positioned over your stomach. The fluoroscope is turned on to locate the port. The Huber needle is inserted through the skin, into the port. (It's a LOT easier to hit the port on the first try when the doc or tech can actually SEE the needle going in) You will be asked to swallow a small amount of Barium, a radio-opaque substance that they can see on the fluoro as it goes down your neck and into the pouch. If the stoma is open, the Barium will be seen as it trickles (For a tight stoma) or flows (For a loose stoma) past the band into the lower stomach, which is situated below the Lap-Band. If the stoma is loose, saline will be added to the Lap-Band. That is what everyone calls a "Fill". If the stoma is tight, either no saline will be added or, in the case of a much too tight stoma, some saline will be removed from the Lap-band. That is what is called an "Unfill". If the upper stomach, (The pouch) is DILATED (Stretched out) it is immediately apparent when the patient swallows Barium. If the Lap-band is "Slipped" (Band Prolapse) that will also usually show on a fluoroscope. I hope that fully explains what a fluoroscope is, and how it is used for a Lap-Band. The reasons that my Doctor, William Neal, M.D. quoted for using fluoroscope were these: 1. Easy to locate the port. 2. Increases likelihood of a one-stick fill. 3. Decreases the likelihood of puncturing the tubing. 4. Decreases the likelihood of tearing the septum, the thin membrane that goes across the port. 5. Verifies that the fill needle is in the port before saline injection. 6. Prevents saline injection into abdominal viscera. 7. Verifies the position of the port, and allows port flip to be seen easily. 8. Visually confirms lack of esophageal spasms. 9. Visually confirms lack of pouch enlargement. 10. Visually confirms an open stoma at the conclusion of the fill. 11. Allows tighter stoma because the tech can add saline until the stoma closes, then BARELY OPEN IT back up. 12. Allows checking for a slipped band, and verifies correct placement of the band with each fill. Dr. Neal believes in fluoroscope so strongly he bought one when he opened his new office in Olympia, WA last year. http://www.pacsurgical.com/ Quoting: "We have nutritional and psychological counseling resources, scales (2) to 1000 lbs., an IV Fluid hydration suite, a fluoroscopy suite for band adjustments and a large conference room for informational forums and support groups, all under one roof."

<p>I shot my scale.</p> I tell newbies to only weigh-in at the doctor's office for the first 6 months of Lap-Band. The reason I say that is to focus them on the basics of behavior modification, as opposed to their scale weight. Obsession with scale weight will not assist anyone in learning the basics of the behavior modifcations that are required for success with a Lap-Band. Then again, I know very few people who are able to resist their lifelong pattern of scale addiction. The problem is that with a Lap-Band, you will probably experience scale fluctuatins on a daily basis that have no explanation. If the scale drops suddenly, you will feel elated, but if the scale goes up or stays the same, you will experience anxiety, frustration, anger and depression. Look at any weight loss message board: you will see dozens of posts complaining about "Stalls" or "Plateaus", or wondering "Why doesn't this thing work for me?" or "How can I be eating only 800 calories a day and still not lose?". You will also see a lot of posts complaining about the time it takes for weight loss, and quite a few saying that a person is "Devastated" because they "Gained weight in the surgery!". Like I said, almost every person I know of who has had weight loss surgery obsessively weighs themselves, and that weighing causes these issues for them. It's a self-inflicted wound. (Note: The above is my opinion only. Many people weigh themselves daily and do not experience any of the negative aspects of weighing themselves..... but most people who do weigh themselves do experience the negatives, which is why I don't recommend it.)<!-- google_ad_section_end --><!-- / message --><!-- sig -->

Did your doctor tell you this? I doubt it.

Yes it is. Liquids in = liquids out

I ABSOLUTELY AGREE! Diet pills do not, and never have worked!

It depends on whether or not your doctor uses a fluoroscope to do fills.

Doctors choose where to place the port. Mine chose under the ribcage line, left chest, in line with the left nipple.

I had no pre-op diet due to hospitalization immediately prior to surgery.