diva

Thank you all! BTW by "propaganda" I mean: I have been reading and looking into the lap-band for about 3 years. Mostly in trade periodicals, medical databases, news and informational sources. (I gave weight watchers one last shot) Until I found this particular forum I only dimly read about instances of food backing up (never called "PB") or saliva overflow. This information is glossed over especially by the manuf. Obviously I knew there had to be some sort of physical payback just by looking at a diagram of the surgery, but LBT is the best source of the truth I've found. Anybody else want to "weigh" in the subject? :-)

That makes me so ticked off! I have a reply all ready for morons who mean well or as I like to call them MMW's. Here is the reply" Thank you for your interest however I don't think my weight is any of your business". If the MMW persists "Again, thank you, I am trying to lose weight but you might try to learn manners". Then ignore them. And for the ones who don't mean well? A whole other story!

Hi all, I am totally confused. One of the reasons I got off my butt and started my band journey was due to being denied long term nursing home/assisted living insurance-since I am morbidly obese. I do not have insurance through my present job. I am under my husbands insurance which is Blue Cross/Blue Shield. They will pay for the band surgery no problem. However, we pay through the nose for my coverage through his insurance (they have only 2 choices, individual or family-we don't have kids so we pay for the family which is too much). Now after everything settles down I need to find another job for myself where I can get my own insurance through my new company. Am I getting it right that I may be denied insurance at a new company??? holy crap

I wish everyone lots of luck and love with depression. I am on Wellbutrin (zoloft sucked). Supposedly Wellbutrin can act as an appetite depressant. And in the beginning it did do just that. And it works on my depression pretty well too. But then of course, I ate through any appetite suppressing attributes the first weeks of being on Wellbutrin gave me. LOL! My question is how the heck do you take the Wellbutrin pill anyhow? Do they even make a liquid???? Mine is the 300 which is time released-ain't no smashing that baby into tiny teeny depression seeking missiles. So what do you do??? And also Lipitor? how do you take it??? Back to the subject of depression-I really feel in my heart that once I am no longer morbidly obese, I may feel better. Everyone-feel better and better every day!

I'm happily married. It is my second marriage. This one is a keeper! BTW Eileen aka NJChick-I just love what you did with your hair in your wedding picture! I take it you are the one being held? LOL!!!!!

Yowza, I totally freaked when I read the thread title. Congrats!!!! (When I got divorced I told everyone I had just lost 195 lbs!!)

Hi all, Just a quick poll of the banded for enquiring minds. :hungry: Could be fun, could be informative. Ok you are banded, you're losing weight, doing the best you can have you eaten or can you eat (in the proper amounts of course) without pb-ing: Pasta with sauce? Lasagna? Mac n cheese? Grits? oatmeal? Cucumbers? Bananas? Grilled cheese sandwich? Oysters as in fresh? Sushi? Rice? Shrimp as in cocktail? Celery? French fries? Fake crab meat? Corn on the cob? Chili with Beans? Enchilada? Have you ever slipped up and had champagne? What happened? What could happen? Thank you for answering!

Thats it-gotta go to work-thank you everyone (Wheetsin!) for taking the time to answer this silliness with the not so hidden agenda! Check you out after work. I really love this group.

After I finished my love to Big Paul, I see Janet answered too. Oh Thank you so much Janet- I wonder why banders seem to be able to eat beans (like refried or in chili) but not corn? I actually can live without both but it seems like the fiber/hull outside of the bean is real similiar to corn. Just food musing. Thanks again JanetC!!!

Oh Big Paul I love you! I should be banded by July. I am also Italian, I know if I can't tolerate it I will obviously have to give up pasta. But it is so much a part of all my holidays, my family. I keep reading that some people can and some people can't. I had originally thought it was absolutely never, ever ever. But from reading I see that it might be possible. In addition to coming out of surgery alive, I hope I can still have a small bit of pasta in my life!!!! Whooo Hooo Thanks Big Guy

Hi all, In my research I haven't come across any real info on the long term effects of the band to the anatomy of the stomach. Somewhere on this board I think a doctor had posted about (to completely paraphrase) "even though the band is reversable it doesn't mean there isn't a lasting effect of scarring to the stomach". I understand the band is meant to stay in for a lifetime and that if we just take it out (without a medical necessity (sp)) because we reached our goal weight that we will probably gain it all back again. And i know that there are risks for every surgery. And I know that the risks are worth it in regard to the risk of being morbidly obese. But I just wonder for information's sake: What exactly does the band to the stomach in the long term when the band is working correctly, without slippage and without erosion? Has there been any studies at all? Is there a lot of scarring? Would that effect the stomach? Would it make a person more open to other internal problems? Do you ever worry that there is something that may harm you in the long run? Thank you all

Hello all, I keep reading about "feeling tight". Stupid question-do you always feel the band? All the time? I don't mean when you get a fill or when you come out of surgery but just on a normal day. Thank you for answering. ps My "New Patient Orientation" is next Monday!

La Madam, What is your doctor's response to your stomach problems? Does he feel it is from the erosion itself or the length of time you had the band in? Has anyone else said they had similiar problems? Don't get me wrong-I am going to do this. I need it to keep living. I just want to know beyond the immediate future what I may or may not be taking on. If indeed that kind of info is out there through either research or experience from people who share...like La Madam

Thanks everyone, especially snowhard! That was a really good explanation. La Madam-what do you mean about your stomach never being the same? How long has it been since it was eroded and it came out? What did the doc say about the effects? The band is relatively new, I just want to understand it the best I can.

Glad you liked it! I hesitated to send it but from what i read on LBT, we lose weight but not our sense of humor. hee hee hee Seriously, you got me through a "self doubt freak out what do i think I am doing planning to get banded have i lost my ever loving mind so what if my butt gets so big it can't fit through doors I am still cute I just won't live as long " phase. Thank you again!!!!!!! You so look so fabulous!!!!! - Getting my size 26 petite (an oxymoron if ever I heard one) jeans off and going to bed.

To Diane from Diva There once was a girl named Diane, her pics gave me a kick in the can. I was starting to freak, till she showed us her cheeks. Now I feel better about Getting the band!

Diane, I practically cried when I saw your pics. This banding is very scary. Your pics were just what I needed to get me thinking positive. And your hints are wonderful. I feel that I am bugging people here with crazy questions. But I truly believe that information makes us stronger. You look beautiful. Congratulations and thank you for sharing yourself with us.

Yowza! I wanna surgery just like DonnaB's!!!!

Bea, I'm so glad it is working out for you but you needed it for diabetes and acid reflux. The acid reflux is confusing to me-I thought getting banded causes acid reflux which needs to be controlled by eating or sometimes med (otc or prescribed). Also, I think this is a great question about how you feel after you wake up. I've posted about this but I am scared of "going under". The variety of answers is really interesting. I also didn't realize that some people stay overnight and some go home that night. Thank you all for posting-Off to work

Hi, Question from me who is learning, learning, learning. What is a low profile port? Also, I noticed some people talking about how the port is in the way of their wired bras? This confused me since I actually got to feel someone's port and it was down above her belt line but way below the bra area. I am not trying to hijack the thread, it seems kinda in line with the original question. But if you feel I am out of line, I understand. Anway... I am guessing low profile is a port that is not easy to see or feel? And this would make placement a large part of it? Thanks so much

Try Olivio-it has extra light olive oil-I've even used to make grilled cheese. It is great on mashed potatoes and veggies. Anybody have any troubles with grits??? I've seen cream of wheat mentioned as ok.

Hi all, You know its funny, I re-read all the responses including my own, then I realized that one of the real reasons I even thought about the band was due to a stranger! I was running a craft fair over the holidays. There was this really nice craftswoman wearing kind of baggy clothes (nice but baggy) and just looking so happy. We had served lunch to the craftspeople. She mentioned she would love a cookie but was being careful. Bottom line, we started talking about cookies and diets, and she just told me she had the band! Now granted we were alone and it was obvious I am fat. But she wanted to share. I told her I had heard about the band (Annie Wilson of Heart) but was too nervous about wls esp gastric bypass. She ended up letting me feel her port and answering some questions. If it wasn't for this kind informative stranger, I would not have been so diligent about pursuing the band by further research. I still have her card, I need to call her. She had her teen daughter with her who was really proud of her mom's progress (50 pounds lost-still losing-hence baggy clothes). I wonder if she is on this board. Anyway-it is still a personal issue to tell or not tell. I doubt if I hadn't been fat and talking about diets she would have shared so easily. I get the feeling that I would be willing to share with someone overweight who seemed interested but not with the people I mentioned in my previous post. I guess we all walk in the same (wide :-)) shoes when we are fat and we understand or empathize with each other a little better than with people who are thin or normal weight? Its the judgement I can't deal with. ("the easy way out, you are weak willed, you just need will power, get some self control, just say no, just eat less")Some people never will get it, but sometimes when a person is in need like the woman saw I was in need...hmm

Hi, The last time I had anesthesia was when I had my tonsils out at age 5. That would be 46 years ago. My husband has had surgery. He has nightmares about going under (his third surgery). He says it felt like dying. That it felt like his brain shut down before his sight and that he felt like he was falling backwards. He says if he hadn't gone out he would have vomited. When he has had surgery twice before. When he was 5 for tonsils. He says he recalls distinctly hearing a horrid loud buzzing and seeing what he describes as almost a test pattern (like when old time tv would go off the air late at night). The next time he went under was about 9 years ago. He told the doc his fears. They were able to give him something before wheeling him in so that he doesn't remember what happened after we said goodbye. He doesn't know if he was out or was given something to give him amnesia-like symptoms. I am a control freak and have bad claustrophobia. I am more scared of going under than of anything else. Has anyone out there experienced anything out of the ordinary or wierd or bad when going under? Thank you all in advance! Love, Diva whose avatar shows the future.

Only my husband will know. I tried discussing it with my Mom and she totally freaked out. She keeps thinking of gastric bypass no matter how I try to explain it. She recently heard or saw something about a gastric bypass patient who went blind (?!) so she is focused on the negative. I won't tell my brother because he is the type who will say I went the easy route. Now he knows i have been fat since high school (I am 51 now!). But he will throw it up to me. He loves me but he is very competitive. My dearest friends will simply be supportive about "another diet" which is what I will need the most, they never give up on me. I guess what I most concerned about is the "easy way out" syndrome. All those kind of narrow minded fools have to do is to read this board. "Easy" is not the word I would use to describe this. I think the decision to tell or not to tell is highly personal. I may change my mind when the surgery date comes closer but for now... Love, Diva whose avatar shows the future!

Hi, Made the decision. This board has been so much help, I can't thank you all enough, no kidding. What a bunch of super people you all are THANK YOU ALL!!! I give you all a big hand :clap2: Anyway... Going to Tufts NEMC in Bah-ston. I believe my BCBS New England will cover it. So I'm on my way (just call me shania! lol!)-first appt on the 27th with the psychologist and nutritionist and the plumber, the baker and the candlestick maker. Then 6 weeks of group stuff. At first it kinda ticked me off. I made the decision so I want it n-o-w! but I see their point. It's a life changing decision so I guess they want to make certain you are certain. I checked out every hospital in the Boston area. Finally I had to decide between a lot of experience (1,00 bands) and geographically desirable 75 bands). And yes I do realize how extremely lucky I am, living in an area that actually has choices to choose from to get the band. Again, thank you all Love, Diva