wssmith

I am a healthcare provider and am scared as hell about the rate of MRSE infections in our Nation’s hospitals. I see so many post-surgical patients with Staph and it’s really frightening what they go through. I am very healthy now, besides being overweight. I was wondering what the rate of postoperative infections where in this group?

It was my cardiologist that asked me to try a two-month diet with exercise and cholesterol lowering medication before considering WLS. He put me on the South Beach diet and Tricor. It has been almost two weeks and I’ve lost 12 pounds. This is not unusual for me; I’ve always been able to lose weight. My problem is keeping it off. Anyway, I do feel better and am hoping that because the SBD is really not that restricting, I’ll be able to make it work long term. <?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p></o:p> Good luck.

It has been my experience that anything removed from the body in surgery, the ER, etc. is normally sent to the pathology lab for at least a gross examination. I know this is true for bullets, knifes, and such. I’m not sure about medical appliances though. I do not remember ever getting an old pacemaker for example.

I went to my cardiologist today for him to check off on my Lapband surgery. He is about 6’2” and weighs no more than 150lbs and probably works 16 to 18 hours a day. Needless to say he saw no need for me to have WLS. He said that at my current weight of 250lbs, I am not that overweight and he could control my hyperlipidemia with meds. He wants me to go on the South Beach Diet and take Tricor for two months before I consider any kind of WLS. He said he feels that WLS is only for people who weigh 350lbs and over. I’m kind of bummed out about it. He did not refuse to sign my clearance, he just said as my cardiologist he would prefer that I not have the surgery without trying at least one more time to loose weight on my own. So, since I have already been going back and forth about this, I guess I will give it one more try on my own.

You can lose many battles without losing the war. One failed day will not negate all you have accomplished. Get yourself together and say, ok; today was an aberration and I know what I did was harmful. Will it happen again? Who knows? The important thing is that you don’t throw all of your hard work away because of just one bad day.

You are exactly right, it is so easy for someone who has never been overweight, or someone who has lost weight (and kept it off) by dieting to just say, give it one more try. Everything my doctor said is correct. He said for me to exercise at least three times a week for at least 30 min. He said to cut out all sugars and most all refined carbs, reduce my calorie intake below my BMR, and I would lose weight. I told him that I felt I was about 70lbs overweight. He basically said that if I could lose 30 pounds I would be doing all right. A funny anecdote to this is that as I was leaving the cardiologist’s office, I received word from my hospital’s weight loss center that my insurance had approved the surgery.

Howdy all from Texas. B/CS area

Does, or has anyone takes/taken diet pills after banding to help facilitate weight loss?

My BMI is around 37. I did not start gaining weight until after I was injured and left the Army after Desert Storm. Since then I have gained over 70 pounds and have high cholesterol and triglycerides. With the co-morbidities my surgeon did not even question my lower than 40 BMI. He did his exam, answered my questions, and asked me when I wanted to have it done. I do not have a date yet, but it should be soon. Good Luck.

I would like to thank everyone for their kind words of support and advice, this site has really been helpful. I went to my consult today with Doctor John A. Mason in Bryan, Texas. He performs both types of WLS and told me he recommends both surgeries depending upon the patient and their individual situation. He was honest and said that he likes the bypass because he gets paid more, and that for some of his MO patients it is the best choice. He also said he likes the band because of the lower instances of complications, vitamin deficiencies, etc. He said the weight loss is faster with the bypass, but both methods equal out at about two years. He did reiterate something I have gleaned from this forum. The band will only be successful if it is accompanied by a lifestyle change in eating habits. If he feels his patient will not follow the dieting guidelines for the band, he said he then recommends the bypass in that malabsorption will help counteract some of the “stuffing” of the bypass pouch. In my case with my general health, he thinks I will do fine on the band. As do I. I should have a date in a couple of weeks he said. Thanks.

I went to the required community seminar this past Sunday. The surgeon whom I have an appointment with the 7<SUP>th</SUP> was not there, but there were two others from another group. Needless to say I am now very confused. This particular group of surgeons is not performing the lab-band, and did not recommend it over the bypass. They quoted data showing an only 50% excess weight loss in banded patients compared to an 80% excess weight loss with the bypass. They kept emphasizing that with the band you have an appliance in your body for life, and that if you opt for the band first, it is very difficult medically, to then have the bypass. They also explained that they felt more confident with the bypass because patients reported being more satiated than with the band. This they felt gave their MO patients better odds at keeping the weight off. <?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p></o:p> I’ve been researching the band and know the weight loss is slower which I am ok with. I also like the fact that the recovery is faster with the band, back at work in a week compared to two weeks with the bypass. However, the idea of the appliance slipping is a little disconcerting. I have two coworkers who have had the bypass and they seem to be doing fine, lost a lot of weight etc. There is a woman in my hometown that had the band about 6 weeks ago. She told my wife she has not had any problems at all and is already eating Mexican food again. She says she has lost 14 pounds so far. <o:p></o:p> So I am confused. I like the idea of the less complicated reversible band. But if it is harder to lose and keep the weight off with the band, then maybe it is worth having the bypass. Any thoughts?

I’m on a diet now in preparation/hopes of either the band or bypass, and as usual I am loosing weight. As in the past, I know that if I keep dieting I can loose 25; maybe even 30 pounds, but I have always gain it back. I’m 42, 5’7” and weigh 238 pounds. My total cholesterol is over 250 and my fasting triglycerides are over 500. I’m smart enough to know that I can either have some sort of WLS now, or heart bypass surgery later. It just feels like such a failure, at least to me being a man, to have to resort to surgery to not be fat. I know in the seminar they said that 80% of all WLS patients are female. I know there are a lot of fat men out there; I wonder why more don’t opt for help? My wife is very skeptical about “me” having WLS, but would be in complete empathy with her friends if I had to have a triple bypass or had a heart attack. That’s what men have. They either live healthy or die.

I have my first consult with the surgeon next Tuesday. I was just wondering how long has it been from the time you started the process until your surgery date?

I realize age and general health play a large part, but my doctor’s nurse assured me that without complications, I could have the surgery on Thursday and be back at work Monday. That’s my plan anyway. I was surprised to read in some of the posts that it took some patients weeks to recover from the procedure. We’ve had cardiac patients up and walking the next day after major surgery at some of the hospitals where I’ve worked. I just do not see how laparoscopic surgery could be that debilitating. At least I hope it is not.

Like a lot of overweight people I do not have a problem losing the weight, I just cannot seem to keep it off. Especially as I get older. Just about any diet works for me as long as I exercise and keep lifting weights. It’s when I go back to my regular ways of eating that I gain back the weight. The good news is that as long as I am still lifting weights I do not seem to ever gain back as much fat as I have lost. I’ll lose 30 or more pounds and gain back 24. But I’ve also gained some muscle. I hope the Lap Band will help with this yo yo effect.

Exercise is a self-esteem booster, even if you are the only one who knows you are doing it. Just start. Walk out the door and walk. No one says we have to do this by ourselves. That is what the Band is supposed to be for. Self-sabotage is nothing more than self-hatred, or if that is too strong then a really, really, strong self-dislikness. Now I’m not talking about a pathological need for food because of some type of psychosis. I’m talking about that “I could have had a V8” feeling. Even if you can’t stop the binging and smoking all at once, try to make yourself exercise as if your life depended on it. It will make you feel better about yourself.

I’m not commenting as a Lap Band recipient. But I will give you a piece of proven advice. Get off the stair climber and start doing resistant exercises. Now I’m being a little facetious when I say get off the stair climber, it is just that as you have lost bodyweight, some of that weight has been lean muscle. This affects your metabolism. As a woman you are at a disadvantage from the beginning because of a lower amount of muscle mass. Add a 30-minute total body workout three days a week and it will boost your metabolism. Use cans of soup to start with and then progress to 3lb dumbbells. Just do a web search for full body dumbbell workouts, and you will get lots of examples.

Thanks. If the band can help me with portion size then I think it will work for me. I don’t think I’m a pathological eater, and I enjoy exercising. But I was wondering Jack, as a man did your calorie restriction cause you to lose muscle?

I’m scheduled for my first in-person consult March the 7<SUP>th</SUP>. I’ve already been told through my phone consult that I am a candidate and my insurance will cover the procedure. My BMI is 38 and I have hyperlipidemia and knee pain. <?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p></o:p> Although I am overweight (5’7” 245) I am active, I lift weights and work on my small ranch in Texas. My question is, especially to the men who have had the procedure, is how does a 800 to 1000 per day calorie restriction affect your energy levels and ability to retain and build muscle? I want to lose fat for health reasons and for appearance, but I do not want to loose muscle as well.