StrawartS

Penni, your post reminds me of my mother - it's so great to be raised by a nurse! Those anatomy books are very helpful. One night in high school, my mother caught me sneaking through her textbooks again because my best friend was convinced that she had an STD. I think it ended up being a yeast infection.:faint:

It's so easy for us to tell you what to do when we're so far removed from the situation. I've dated that same guy, more than once! I know this is cheesy, but the book He's Just Not That Into You really spoke to me. One of my favorite parts talked about how there are those guys who are always too busy to see you. The author said, basically, if the guy really likes you, even if he's starting his new job as president of the United States at 4:00 o'clock the next morning, he will still have time to see you. Granted, I haven't found this guy yet, but I've realized that I'd rather be alone than with someone who makes me feel like crap. That being said, I've also learned that you can't make anyone do anything by constantly bitching at her, so until you're ready to make a change, the most we can do is offer support.

Bubbame, I'm sorry you're going through this. Please tell me you have your own lawyer! My dad tried to get out of child support too, but my mom's lawyer stuck it to him. He actually showed up in court, representing himself, and said that he would rather go to jail than pay child support! Ok, sorry to vent on your thread, but I hope you have a lawyer!

I would tend to agree with you, tvgrrl. I read someone else say one time that the people who are successful with their bands and out there just living life and don't need the support anymore. Who knows?

I don't know about a ticking time bomb....I don't feel any imminent threat, as I've only been banded 3 months, but I do think that I will have to have the damn thing out in a few years. I only hope I can lose my weight first. So far I've lost 4 pounds post-op. And I only have a BMI of 30, so I'm not interested in any other surgeries. I almost wish I would have some kind of complication so I could get the thing out and eat without pain again. This band has taken the pleasure out of eating and drinking.

Knowing what I know now, I would not do it again. It doesn't change your hunger levels, the feeling of fullness is neither authentic nor pleasant, food choices are severely restricted, and the pain from a PB is inexplicable. All in all, I feel like I was deceived. The diet is basically a mechanically forced form of Atkins with huge pain consequences if you don't comply. And I know in my gut that this is not for life as all surgeons claim.

Oh, Wheetsin, I am so sorry you had to go through that so soon! I totally agree with you - the vomiting is the BEST part of the PB, the pain is the worst. I assume the pain is equivalent to a swift kick in the balls. You should try comparing notes with your man. And as awful as your experience was, I almost feel worse for your husband. The poor guy meant so well. All my thoughts are with you both tonight. Feel better.

I have pain from my bras sometimes, but not because of my port location. I think it's the actual band that gets irritated, since I was able to pinpoint its location from my last fluoroscopy as being right below the sternum and above the ribcage. I assume this won't be such a problem when the girls shrink down.

Pouch dilation can be detected with a simple fluoroscopy. It will show up on the x-ray, but from what I understand, it's not too common.

Oh, I second that, Jenna. In the morning I have to drink my water slowly because I can feel it bubble and burp its way through the stoma, just like a stopped up sink.

I can drink as much water as I want, provided that my pouch is empty. I usually need to chug a bottle of water in a few minutes to keep my bladder working right, and that has not been impeded by the band. If you can't get water down, I would think you're too tight.

Wheetsin - my port is exactly where yours is. My surgeon, who has done over 3,000 bands, says that he has improved his technique over time, and this is the best location in his experience. My port doesn't stick out, but I can feel it if I put pressure on it. My port also shifts depending on what position I'm in...if I'm laying down, the port is underneath my incision, but when I'm standing up, it's above the incision line. I've been filled 3 times with no problems, so it must not have flipped or anything. P.S. I tried to get the TSA lady at the airport to feel my port to prove that I really had an implantable device and not a bomb, but she was NOT interested. So massaging my breasts is ok, but you get creeped out about my port?

There are conflicting views on whether or not carbonation is bad. Some say that it leads to pouch dilation, others say it has no effect. I personally drink diet sodas quite often, and the only problem I have had is gas (if it can't come back up by burping, it has to go out the other end!).

I don't understand PBing in public either. My mother PBs at least once a day (don't EVEN get me started - how many different ways can you say "CHEW YOUR FREAKING FOOD"), and she's never come back from the bathroom embarassed. She was the one trying to convince me to throw up in a trash can on the River Walk before I found the bathroom last weekend. I guess it depends on how sensitive you are. My mom's a nurse, so I guess she could care less if people see her throw up. She pulled over a few days ago and PBed in a park. See, now I'm getting my blood pressure up just typing about it. Anyway, I second everything Kim said. Before my first PB last week, I had the golfball every day, sometimes every meal. Now I follow the Bandster Golden Two Minute Rule: take your first bite, wait two minutes, then start eating again. I've never had a problem again since implementing this rule. It's hard to remember, especially when you're hungry, but waiting two minutes at the table is better than hugging the toilet for ten.

1. Eat only three small meals a day Nope, not possible. If I don't have a 4 PM snack, I get all shaky and cranky. I usually have Breakfast, lunch, 4 PM snack, dinner, and very small night-time snack (my piece of dark chocolate, for instance). 2. Eat slowly and chew thoroughly This is the ONLY place where I am a model bandster. See my post on my first and (so far) only PB. Soooo not worth it. 3. Stop eathing as soon as you feel full Good idea, but it's so hard to get used to the new "full" feeling you get with a band. I've been better lately, but in the beginning the only time I knew to stop eating was when I got shoulder pain. 4. Do not drink while you are eating I don't buy it. Especially at a restaurant. Obviously gulping Water doesn't work, but small sips are fine by me. But for the record, if I don't drink at all during a meal or after, I'm full for at least 5-6 hours. But that's with absolutely no Fluid intake. Uhm, hello? That's nuts. 5. Do not eat between meals Grazing all day is a thing of the past. But scheduled Snacks are a must. 6. Eat only good quality foods Absolutely! I never used to eat meat, but now I crave it. And since I know crap like chips goes right through the band, I never eat it because it feels like such a waste. 7. Avoid fibrous foods As long as I chew chew chew, I have no problems with fibrous foods. Celery, nori, asparagus, etc. My jaw starts to hurt after a while, so I'd rather not eat these foods in large quantities, but if I had the patience, they would be no problem. 8. Drink enough fluids during the day Rarely. Like I said above, if I don't drink between meals, I stay full longer. I try to guzzle a bottle of water in five minutes at least once a day to keep my bladder healthy, but all in all, I probably only get 32 oz. of water a day. 9. Drink only low-calorie liquids I can't drink sugary drinks because I feel like I'm getting a UTI almost immediately. And until I lose my teeth, I refuse to drink my meals, so no Protein shakes for me. A few times a week I'll have a diet soda. 10.Exercise at least 30 mintues a day Ha. And ha again.

Well, as my good friend would say, we are now officially in jackass territory. Again, I'm postulating, but I think the meat tenderizer would work on any food...I'm guessing they call it "meat" tenderizer because no one (besides whacked out bandsters) would ever be interested in tenderizing bread.

This is just a guess, but I am assuming that the meat tenderizer helps break up the food causing the golf ball. Anyone else?

Does anybody else have Restless Leg Syndrome? If you've never heard of it, I know it sounds nuts. But, it's totally legit. Here's how the sleeping pill, but I still struggle with the symptoms until the pill kicks in. And if I'm not very tired when I go to bed, it's worse. There's a new drug made specifically for RLS called Requip. I'm wondering if anyone has tried it. I'm probably going to ask my doctor for it, but I wanted to know how others are dealing with it. From what I understand, one of the side effects is something like falling asleep in the middle of the day. Anybody know anything?

I agree with Leatha - even with restriction, there is still plenty of room for a pill to pass. I just crush my sleeping pill now because I like how fast it works.

Hi Randy, I'm sorry Ms. Joy is still having trouble. In my experience, the closest thing to a scope would be a vaginal ultrasound, where the tech inserts a wand-like...thingie. My mom also had frequent bleeding and ended up getting a uterine ablasion, just like Vines. It was an out-patient procedure done under general anesthesia. As I understand it, the surgeon vaginally inserts a balloon and fills it with hot Water to burn the uterine lining. After the procedure, periods are very rare and very light. The other procedures that I know about are the cone biopsy and the colposcopy. The cone biopsy removes a larger piece of tissue and is a little more painful. I hope Ms. Joy gets her problem figured out. Good luck!

I haven't had any problems with gel caps getting stuck. I often take 4 advil gelcaps at one time, and have never had trouble. I'm also fairly filled and restricted, so you especially shouldn't have trouble in the beginning. Unless your unisom is timed release, crushing it shouldn't change how it affects you. I also take a pill to sleep at night due to my RLS, and I have found that crushing it makes it work in 5-10 minutes as opposed to the 30-45 pre-banding. It also does NOT wear off. If you think about the mechanics, it makes sense...by crushing the pill, you are just going the digesting for your stomach. And I've been waiting to share my crushing trick for a while - here goes! This process may seem a bit elaborate, but I needed a way to ingest crushed pills without grossing myself out every night. I crush my pill in with a mortar and pestle, then I pour about a teaspoon of one of those yogurt smoothie drinks into it and mix it up. Then I pour the mixture into a spoon, swallow quickly, and chase it with a swig of gatorade. I was really afraid of pill crushing before surgery, but this technique makes it a breeze for me.

The only thing that's wrong with Slim Fast is that it looks and tastes like liquid poo. I didn't go through surgery to drink my meals, but if you like it, there's no reason not to drink it.

I found some information regarding cleansing products such as the one linked to above on a website called quackwatch.org. Clearly, this website has a different agenda than the one promoting the cleansing product, but it's interesting to see both sides. "Some people have reported expelling large amounts of what they claim to be feces that have accumulated on the intestinal wall. However, experts believe these are simply 'casts' formed by the Fiber contained in the 'cleansing' products." http://www.quackwatch.org/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/gastro.html The article talks about colonics, too.

Additionally, the "lap" in LapBand stands for laporascopic. Which band is your surgeon using?

That's a little alarming to hear, newbander. Open surgery has much higher rates of complications like infection. Who is your doctor? Where are you? As far as I know, most lapband surgeons use open surgery as a last resort if the laporascopic procedure fails. Have you looked into other surgeons?