giddyupgrandma

I am wondering if anyone else out there in Lapband Land has atrial fibrillation. I do and it has been so much worse since my surgery on October 7th, 2008. I used to have only one episode every month or so and now it is almost every day. I take medication to control my heart rate and coumadin to prevent blood clots. I recovered rapidly from my surgery and have lost 30 lbs. I should be feeling great, but the A-Fib is making me crazy. I see a specialist on Monday (my cardiologist just doesn't seem to know what else to do.) I am 57 years old.

I had a gastric band placed on October 7th, 2008. My surgery took 25 minutes and I had a hernia repair too. I recovered quickly. I weighed 263 before pre-op diet, 254 at surgery time and now I weight about 197. I lost weight rapidly for the 1st six months, but have pretty much lost nothing since then. I am a little over 5' 9" tall and 57 years old. I have a lot of medical problems and was scared to have bypass surgery. But if I had to do it over again, I would have the Roux-N-Y (not sure if spelled correctly). My reasons are pretty simple. I still have Type 2 diabetes (A1C of 6.4) even though I am off diabetes medications. I am still taking blood pressure meds. I would like to lose another 25-30 pounds, but no matter how little I eat, I can't move the scale. My insurance only covers 50% of the cost of a band adjustment, so each time I go (I have had 6 adjustments) I pay about $240.00. I am having another adjustment this Friday (October 2nd.). So, I would suggest if you want medical conditions to improve, have the bypass.

I have lost 1/2 lb. Better than nothing!

I still can't seem to get the ticker to appear on this thread. I really tried hard!

I am taking the challenge to lose ten pounds by October 31. My bandiversary is October 7th. Can anyone explain to me how to put a picture and a weight ticker on this thread? I am not too good on the computer. My starting weight was 263 lbs. My weight on my surgery date was 256 lbs. My current weight is 197 lbs. I am 5' 10" tall.

Giddyupgrandma is up for a challenge. I don't know how to put a weight ticker on this site but my starting weight was 263 lbs., my sugery was October 2nd, 2008 and I weighed 254, as of Saturday I weigh 197lbs (I was as low as 194 but have been struggling this summer because I have physical problems that are keeping me from exercising.) I will post my weight on this thread every Saturday morning. My goal is a ten pound weight loss by October 31.

Hi Norma. I have not been to the last two support groups meeting, either. I am not disappointed with my outcome, but I was sure hoping to be at goal by one year. Now maybe it will be by two years. Remember my friend, Renee? She was having such a hard time in the beginning (she was banded December 2008) but now she has passed me up and is below her goal. She looks and feels terrific. Hopefully we will be at the October support group or I will see you at the 1 year class. Nancy

Yep, I am still here. Not posting as much now as I was in the beginning and I feel bad about that because everyone helped me so much. I am coming up on my one year anniversary (October 2nd, 2008) and am really struggling with these last 30 or so pounds. I have lost about 65 pounds to date, but have had no significant weight loss since my 6 month mark. I have had lots of fills and feel very restricted. I had been exercising regularly up until about a month ago when I began experiencing severe knee pain. I am in physical therapy for the next four weeks. Hopefully, after that, I will be able to exercise again. I am all for supporting each other as best as we can.

VEEJEE07--You didn't say why your band had to be removed. I am reading about so many complications after six months with the band it is scary. What symptoms did you have?

I saw my surgeon on May 27th and despite the heartburn, he added a small amount to my band and told me to take an anti-acid (omeprazole). I had only lost 4 1/2 lbs since my last visit about two months ago. I can eat solids again and actually feel more hungry than before my fill. Wierd. :grouphug:

I also have not been checking in to lapbandtalk very often either. My surgery was October 7, 2008. Bimbabe, I really understand what you posted. I hit six months and the weight just stopped coming off. I am stuck at 65 lbs and need to lose at least 30 more. I was overfilled and then had to have some removed and since then, I have had terrible heartburn (something I never had before surgery) and a metalic taste in my mouth. In the morning I can only drink a smoothie---nothing goes else goes down. I also seem quite bloated in my stomach area. I have an appointment with my surgeon on May 27th. I sure hope they can figure out what went wrong. I had been doing so well until right around Easter. Hang in there. There is a lady in our group who had surgery in early 2008 and lost well for about six months, then went six months without losing anything and now she is losing again. I have also considered going on the "pre-op" diet for a couple of weeks to try to get back on track. But I eat so little now and exercise five days a week, I can't imagine it would help. I do have plenty of energy and feel better now than I have felt in many years.

Anne, I agree that we are having a brutal winter. I'm just south of Chicago and we have had so much snow and ice already. I can't wait for winter to be over so I can walk outside again. I new we would pay for that wonderful fall we had here in the midwest! Glad you enjoyed your birthday--oh to be 41 again! (I'm 57.)

Anne--I have a funny bed story too. I had an itch and when I scratched it, I felt an unusual lump. I woke my husband up and in a panic, made him feel my "lump." He sighed and said, "Nancy, that is your ribs. Now can I go back to sleep?"

Hi Everyone. Don't know how I missed this October 2008 thread. I was banded on October 7th. I have a great thing to share. Today, I bought my first pair of regular size jeans since 1981. I bought ladies Lee jeans in a size 18. I cried in the fitting room! I have lost 40 lbs since my surgery plus 9 lbs pre-op for a total of 49 lbs. I am more than half way there. I have had three fills and the last one seemed to do the trick. I have a Realize band and am at 4.6 on my fills. I know some people get mad when you don't post anything important, but I am just so excited. Good luck everyone!

I had it too, for about a month after my surgery. I also attributed it to gas. I was banded October 7th, 2008. The pain took about four weeks to go away. I feel great now. Hang in there!

Wow. I thought I was alone. I saw the electrophysiologist (probably spelled wrong) on Monday. He added Rythmol SR (225mg AM and PM) and reduced my dosage of Cartia XT and Toprol XL to once a day (120mg Cartia and 25mg of Toprol). After my surgery my cardiologist had upped my dose of Toprol XL to 50 mg AM and PM and Cartia XT 120mg AM and PM. I was having some episodes of very low blood pressure, but continued to have frequent (daily) episodes of A-Fib. I also take Diovan HCT (160/12.5) in the morning. I started the Rythmol yesterday morning and still had A-Fib last night. I guess it takes a while to work and can have some serious side effects. I seem to tolerate most medications pretty well, so hopefully I will be okay with the Rythmol SR. I also take Warfarin to help prevent me from having a stroke from the A-Fib. The good news is that since my surgery, I have already reduced my diabetes medication from three per day to about three per week. I expect that soon I will not need them at all. I do think the large dose of Toprol XL that I have been on since my surgery has made me feel a little "spacey".

I had a real hard time with the mushies phase. I could not tolerate anything in a blender! I got permission from my surgeon to eat cottage cheese, canned tuna with mayo, canned chicken with mayo, seafood salad and turkey chilli with no beans. Any soft fish was also okay. If I didn't think I had enough protein, I drank a lo-cal protein shake. Also, Taco Bell pintos and cheese works well. I asked for extra cheese to up the protein. I lost weight on the mushy phase (about 2 lbs a week).

Sometimes I feel like I am the only person in the world who knows what it is like to be on coumadin. Although I am sorry that you guys have to take it, your posts really help me to put my condition in perspective. I really hated the Lovenox injections too.

Babycat--Yes, I have had two teeth pulled. I have an awful bite and crack my teeth below the gum line. Despite root canals and crowns, I had to have all four of my upper back teeth removed. Two on each side. The first two were before I was on coumadin. For the last two, I had to go off the coumadin three days before the oral surgery, but was able to go back on one day after. My oral surgeon required me to have an INR the morning of my surgery. He said anything below 1.5 was okay (I was 1.3). Hope that helps.

Speck--I agree with you. I think most of my 29 lbs of weight loss was due to will power and not the band. I have a little more restriction now, but I could still eat more than what is on the allowed diet. And my stomach is always growling like I am hungry!

I was banded on October 7th. I had my first fill October 31st (2.4) and I didn't get any restriction at all. I had another 1 put in today for a total of 3.4. I have to stay on fluids today, so I won't know until I eat tomorrow if this amount works. I have lost 29 pounds including 9 pre-op. My problem was not weight loss. I was just really hungry!

I take Coumadin for Atrial Fibrillation. I had to go off it for 5 days before my surgery on October 7th, 2008. I got Lovanox injections at the hospital and continued them at home until I could go back on Coumadin five days after my surgery. Atrial Fibrillation puts me at a higher risk for blood clots. I also had a CT scan of my lungs and a doppler scan of my legs six days after surgery just to make sure no clots were hiding anywhere. You will probably have to stay on Coumadin for a short while. I have to stay on it forever.

Yep--I have pain under my ribs on my left side. Also, some numbness in my back on the left side. I had my surgery on October 7th. My doctor says the back pain is from the abdomial nerve being cut and the rib pain is from gas. I have really bad gas and I assume it is not the gas from the surgery since it has been almost four weels. My upper abdomen is still quite bloated, so I assume when the bloating gets better the rib pain will go away.

I had my first fill on Friday (Halloween) 2.4 CCs. I don't feel much restriction. I got my Realize band on October 7th, so my fill was just three weeks and three days after my surgery. I'm still eating mushy protein,so maybe once I start real solids (after Tuesday) I will feel more restriction. I am losing weight, but I can eat more than three ounces at each meal. I have not scheduled another fill, but see the doctor on Wednesday, so maybe I will schedule one then. I had my surgery at Silver Cross Hospital in Joliet, Illinois, Dr. Brian Lahmann. I started at 262lbs, lost nine pounds on the pre-op diet and now weight 238. I am happy so far.

It took about 10 days for me to feel normal. But I am a lot older than you "young gals".