StrawartS

I used it. It worked for about a minute, but then I had to keep increasing the dosage. And I think it worked more because I thought it did, not because it actually did. And it's semi-controlled, so you can't really increase the dosage too high. Total waste of money in my experience.

Dawg - applying logic to something that came from Inamed? Don't you think you're being a little generous? :hat:

Diane, You only made 2 mistakes during all these shenanigans: 1. Not kicking your in-laws out during the first tirade and 2. Not walking out of the restaurant during the second. I'm not sure what they're trying to accomplish by belittling you. I don't have any advice on reconciliation; in cases like this, I employ the tried and true, patented StrawartS FREEZE OUT.

CCs? Honey, I had POUNDS removed! I had a breast reduction when I was thin from a 34D to a 34B. They actually turned out a little uneven, and it's very obvious if I'm not wearing a padded bra (the light beams shine in different directions, if you know what I mean). After I gained weight, they went back up to a 38D, but I've heard that they will go back down when I lose the weight. However, the perkiness was gone after about 3 years. Even if the girls did shrink down again, I think I would need a good lift. And I agree that you should wait...you also might just need a lift instead of a reduction. Feel free to PM me for gruesome surgery details!

Hey Dr. Pleatman, I have another idea for those old bands. Last Christmas, my surgeon decorated a Christmas tree at the surgery center with them.

Jenna, why? I don't know anything about the Wish Center.

US doctors WILL operate on low BMI patients. My BMI was 30 on my surgery day, and Dr. Felix Spiegel in Houston banded me. I hear that the Wish Center in San Antonio is doing banding for about $8,500 if you are interested in the US. Please do not feel that Mexico is your only option if you are a low-BMI patient.

Here's Spivak's post-op diet from his website. Frankly, I find it much more realisitc than my surgeon's and not geared toward crazy rapid weight loss for good statistics. If I had gone by this diet, my post-op week wouldn't have been hell: POST-OP DIET INSTRUCTIONS The post-op diet is divided into 3 stages to allow a gradual adjustment. STAGE 1: liquid diet for 24-48 hours STAGE 2: Soft diet for 4 weeks STAGE 3: Regular diet of 3 meals per day STAGE 1 (FIRST FEW DAYS POST-OP) Liquids from the list below. Remember small amounts (4-6 ounces) at a time. GO SLOW WHEN YOU FEEL FULL STOP NO CARBONATED drinks LIQUID DIET coffee, tea, diluted fruit juice broth Blenderized Soup Skim milk or Lactaid milk Jell-O, Popsicle’s Yogurt Sugar Fee pudding Cottage cheese Applesauce, oatmeal, grits, cream of wheat V-8 low sodium Protein drinks, carnation instant Breakfast, pure pro powder (no slim fast) STAGE 2 (SOFT DIET FOR 4 WEEKS) Soft foods from the list below can now be added. You may drink Fluid anytime before you eat. However, no liquids with or after meals (wait 30 mins for the pouch to empty before drinking). CHEW WELL! The food must be almost liquified before swallowing. SOFT DIET Soft fruit (banana, melon) Cooked vegetables and fish eggs Anything with the consistency of baby food STAGE 3 (after the 4 weeks, REGULAR DIET OF 3 MEALS PER DAY) Gradually add regular foods and remember: Eat only at set meal times NO LIQUIDS with meals or for 30 mins afterwards Avoid cheap caloriesFats High caloric liquid Sweets, ice cream, junk food, Cookies, chips. Liquids, junk food and sweets do not relieve hunger. Only solid food, which fills the pouch and empties slowly will relieve hunger. SUMMARY: Follow three stages of diet plan to allow gradual adjustment. Eat only at set meal times Go slow Chew well

Ok, I just had to get that out there. I LOVE your avatar pic, Wheetsin! You have the loveliest smiling face, and if we ever meet, I'm going to put you in my pocket and carry you around with me all day.

Kathy, *I* was just thinking that I'd like to hang out with *you*! I just read your comment on the "people who con't to lose weight" thread, and I always think the same thing - why did someone start a thread about how to not lose weight? I should go contribute my half a pizza advice.

Spontaneous hip dislocation? How stupid do they think we are sometimes?

Ok, I've been thread-stalking this one for too long, and it just seems like too much fun. Count me in! I'm PMing my info to Kimberly.

Dody, I also get UTIs frequently. I only drank diet sodas pre-band. I can still drink them now, but because I burp less, the bottom-end gas isn't too pleasant. As far as I'm concerned, only pure Water (not the flavored kind) is the only way to keep my bladder in perfect working order. However, I have developed my own all-natural UTI cure. When I start to feel irritated, I immediately drink 32 oz. of water within 5 minutes. Once it comes out the other end, I'm all better. And Wheetsin, as far as drinking before meals, you'll probably change those rules to adjust to your own body. I personally can feel water trickle through my empty pouch, so I don't need to wait 30 minutes after drinking to start eating. I think some of those rules are just there to scare us into changing our habits, but you'll make your own adjustments in time.

Oh my goodness, it's so creepy to look at my face everywhere now!

Ok, I'll post one, but am I allowed to put up my skinny picture, too?

I nominate Mary for must fun-looking avatar!

Why are we researching you? Seriously? You're asking for free money and then getting mad when someone digs a little deeper. And when Dody offered to help, you backed out. If you feel comfortable asking a group of strangers for free money, then you should be prepared to take the backlash...social phobia or not.

I googled LapBand doctor South Africa, and I got this list of South African members on ObesityHelp.com. Maybe ask one of them? http://www.obesityhelp.com/morbidobesity/members/showpeopleincountry.php?Country=South+Africa

Ok, here's a DON'T. I was pretty young when I started asking about sex (maybe 7). The first thing my mom said was "Do not put anything in your vagina, not even a pencil!" I had no idea what she was talking about and could never figure out why the hell she would think I would ever get the idea to ram a pencil up myself. I still don't know if she was trying to tell me not to masturbate or just not to injure myself. Either way, it was weird.

Hi DT, I'm from Houston, too! 20 pounds is great, you should be very proud of yourself. You know, I actually got a respiratory infection about 2 weeks post-op, too. It was Christmas-time, and something nasty was going around. I'm glad you're doing better, and glad to have you here.

Freebit, that is the most honesty I have ever heard about the band. I am so glad that someone is validating my complaining instead of saying how much they adore their band. Letting go of food as a pleasurable experience is hard. In my culture, food is love. I'm an emotional eater, but not in the way so many people on this board describe. I eat when I'm happy and around people I love, not when I'm depressed. So I'm basically complaining about the fact that I have an easy life and am always happy...therefore always eating. Oh, woe is me. Thanks for your comments. It feels so much better to be understood.

P.S. I never had any band-related pain, other than the gas pain. I am still amazed at the body's ability to protect itself when it senses that it is being compromised. For example, I sneeze probably about 10 times a day every day. Post-banding, I didn't sneeze for a week. My mom had warned me how painful her sneezes were, and I honestly believe that my body stopped itself from sneezing. Or maybe I didn't sneeze because I wasn't exposed to natural sunlight and plants.

My post-op experience was probably the worse week of my life. Here's why: 1. Gas pain does not mean that you need to burp or fart. It's gas that has been pumped into your bodily cavity and has no way of escaping. When my mom asked me what she could do for me in recovery, my first words were "Turn back time." 2. I do not sleep after anesthesia. I am restless. After I got home from surgery around noon, I paced my house, up and down the stairs, around the living room, for the entire rest of the day. Day 2, the nausea set in and I couldn't move for fear of throwing up. See #3. 3. Prescription pain meds made me miserable. I would feel fine for 4 hours while they worked, but as soon as they wore off, I would get debilitating nausea. I didn't realize the cause of my nausea, and just kept taking the pain meds. If you take pain meds, PLEASE eat something substantial. Out of fear, I ate probably a total of 200 calories in my first 5 post-op days. On day 5, I was dry-heaving and phenergan suppositories did nothing. The only way I stopped being so sick was eating solid, regular food. Yeah, I know you're not supposed to, but I never threw up, my band didn't slip, and I'm still here. I'm not giving advice, just telling you what I had to do to stay sane. 4. I didn't sleep for an entire week post-op. I would fall asleep for an hour, and then wake up with the most awful nausea I have ever experienced. I had to prop myself up or stand up perfectly still so that I wouldn't dry heave. I hate to be Debbie Downer, but before I had surgery, I was told that I could go back to work in 2 days. My whole band experience feels like a lie, so I just want to share what happened to me. It probably won't happen to you, but information never hurts.

:clap2: Good job, freebit! You should go post this on the colonics thread.

Mary, thanks for your kind words. I think freebit's post really describes my feelings better. I don't need an unfill, I just hate that my new eating habits have to be so boring to comply with the band. The spiel I was given was that the band makes you full faster, so you can eat everything you did before, just in smaller quantities. That has not been my experience. To sum up, my complaints are: 1. Uncomfortable "full" feeling, not pleasurable like before; 2. Strict rules very similar to Atkins diet (why did I pay $15K to go on a diet??); 3. Carefully timing Water drinking and eating so as not to dehydrate OR not to wash out the pouch too soon (I usually end up drinking only about 30 oz. of water a day); 4. The fickleness of the band - one day I can eat a whole chicken breast, the next day I have excrutiating pain and PB over two bites. 5. Protein shakes in the morning - they have an awful aftertaste and make me nauseated, so I eat my lunch at 10 to make my stomach feel better...then I screw up my meal count for the rest of the day. 6. I don't think it matters how tight your fill is, once that pouch is empty, my stomach is growling again...and this is about every 3 hours for me. Ugh...I could go on, but I hate to beat a dead banded horse. The band is not the appetite suppressant I was led to believe it would be.