NWMarc

Hi Becky, You may be a little more restricted in the mornings. I think this is the same for women as men. Sometimes drinking something warm like herbal tea and help loosen it up a bit. If you're slimming all the time then you are too tight. It's not a good thing to get things stuck. First, it hurts and is very unpleasant. Next, it's bad for the band or your stomach and the band. NWMarc

"we have put 4cc's in and never drawn it out to see how much is still in" Wow, I have never heard of not taking it all out to see how much is there. Every time I get a fill they take what ever is in there out first and then put the amount they want back in. Of course, I've never had a blind fill. " My firsts thought would be to evaluate where you want to be with your band and then get your fill level adjusted accordingly... (for me.. if I COULD EAT Pizza...... I would, I can't so I don't)" That's exactly the fill level I need. Even with the floroscopy I don't think I got enough fill. If I get an adjustment with in two weeks it's still $150.

So, I have had my band about a year and a half. I'm the King of not doing things right. Since being banded I've only had one carbonated drink and that was almost by accident. I think the carbonated drink is more of "you'll be sorry if you do" because of the gas. One of the maiin ways I haven't been having success is drinking right before, or during, or just after eating. This is probably the major no-no on my part. I do other bad things but that is probably the worst. However, not having enough fill is like the little snow ball at the top of the hill. I think that gets things going down the wrong path. I got a 10cc band a year ago in April. Lost some weight before surgery and some after. Got my first fill right on time. 3.6cc. Things seemed OK and I may have lost a little more. But then eating more became easier and easier. Eventually I went back and there was only .6cc in the band. They put in 2.2 more. I went a long time with that. Just had an Endoscopy a couple of weeks ago and the Dr. said he there was ANY restriction on my band. When in for another fill (This gets expensive at $375 a pop) and they said there was still over 2cc in. The bottom line. In the future I'm going to error on the side of A LITTLE more fill than not. This will help you police yourself on what and how much to eat. The other mind set is. Don't think about that you can eat, think about what you should eat. For me it generally takes getting something stuck. Like Rice. I got a big ball of it stuck one time and now I RARELY if ever eat rice.

Yes, that was great! I was sitting at an adjacent table to that young lady. What courage! You could just see how much being banded has meant to her and how much it will mean to her in the future. The other thing at the bash that was meaningful for me was the panel discussion. I'm pre-band and the thought of erosion was very heavy on my mind. It was great that they started with the topic of erosion. I still hate the thought of it but it's not going to stop me from moving forward. I attended the bash to get additional information but had mostly decided I was going to be banded in India. After seeing the great Dr.s on the panel I knew the approximately $2K I would save going to India wasn't worth it. I gave a deposit to be banded by Dr. Ortiz that day and scheduled me date yesterday for late April. Can't wait.

I guess my biggest fear is erosion. Since there is no clear cause and you can do everything right and still erode it's the number one fear for me. I've learned that most people erode within two years. There was a rumor that taking aspirin or any NSAID would promote erosion. However, I have since learned this is no evidence to support that. When I get my band in late April, I want to keep it for life.

I am pre-band and am looking very closely at getting banded in early May. Almost everything I have been seeing about risks and recovery is possitive in my mind. I'm still deciding on paying big bucks out of pocket for a local doc or less money for either Mexico or India. However, I have a major concern. I've noticed some VERY mixed results in looking at signature blocks. Some people are lossing at way more than 2 lbs per week and some are lossing less than 1 a week over a long period of time. Therefore it's raised several questions. I know there are two major brands of bands. Has one been found be more effective? How much does the placement by the Dr. determine the effectiveness of the band? I know that the band is a tool that I have to "USE" and that it can be made ineffective by my choices. Basically, is ineffectiveness solely do to bad choices? If not, what other factors should I be aware of. Thanks

Hi PamPN, (OK. No jokes here. Although I did have a bunch about "french" band going through my head.) I'm glad you are being successful. I'm not surprissed by nonexistent aftercare in the US. It seems even with the FDA approved band that getting aftercare from a Dr. other than the one who "installed" the band can be more painfull than getting the fill itself. Not impossible, just not easy. I'm considering Mexico and India but I believe both practices use the FDA approved band. Thank you,

Hi Vinesqueen, This is exactly what I wanted to know(not specifically from you). There are other factors that need to be known. Issues such as yours and thyroid problems can affect the overall effectiveness. And the patient needs to know about them. I haven't seen anyone write; "I got the XYZ band and now I've found out that hardly anyone is being effective with that band." or "Dr. Whoever did my band and now I'm finding that he/she puts them too low and very few of his/her patients are being successful." Thank you.

Hello all, I'm a prime candidate for lap band surgery. BMI>44 with at least 2 co-morbidities. I will be paying for the surgery out of pocket. I don't want to spend more money than I need to but I also don't want to through myself under some hack. However, 60 minutes did a story last Sept. about medical procedures in Thailand and India. The procedure in India is significantly less than half of cost of the most popular provider in the NW U.S.A. (even with airfair and hotel). The Apollo hospital in India is Joint Commission International certified so I think their proccesses and procedures have to be good. My main concern is getting the all important fills and aftercare. Has anyone been banded in another country? Is finding good aftercare a problem? Thank you, NWMarc

I currently do not have insurance and don't want to wait until I do. Aftercare is the issue. At an info session for a lap band practice the Dr. basically said that they wouldn't take any band patients who had their band done in another country because of liability issues. Which didn't make any sense to me since they didn't do the band surgery.