TheGh0st

Sadly our backyard is completely covered in concrete. (Very small area, previous owner paved and put in basketball hoop) Sorry all, things have been pretty hectic around here, I haven't had much time online with everything going on at home and work. I also didn't have any new information until just this Thursday. My appointment with the Neurosurgeon was just over 3 weeks ago now. When I left the appointment they wanted me to see a special Neuro-opthamologist and a Endocronologist that specializes in Pituitary Disorders. I was told the Neurosurgeon's nurse was going to set the opthomologist's appointment but that the endocronologists would call me with an appointment time. They said I wasn't able to call directly to make the appointments myself but that they would put it in as a rush. Even at a rush they said it would take nearly a week before I'd hear from the endocronologist. Well...I waited and waited but no word. Finally after calling the neurosurgeon's nurse 3 time in 3 weeks, they were able to get me an appointment. I guess they had made an error when they first put in the referral request and didn't mark it rush so the endocronologist's office had it in a pile of patients they were planning on getting in sometime in the next 3 months instead of rush. Even now my appointment isn't until June 19th. But to be honest. Unless some new information comes to light I am really wanting to postpone any surgery until next year for several reasons. Mainly because I really want to get my breast reduction surgery done for both asthetic reasons as well as the back problems it causes. I was also told by several nurses that my lung function should improve substantially after the reduction surgery. Which could help with the recovery from the brain surgery. Every past surgery I've had there have always been minor complications afterwards with my blood oxygen levels. I know it sounds like a bit of an excuse to go with the plastics but the "girls" annoy me much more than this tumor at the moment. The only thing this tumor is doing to me right now is causing my TOM to be every 90 days, what a hardship (She says eyes rolling!) The other benefit to waiting until next year for the surgery would be to give me more time to research and make sure I'm really comfortable with this neurosurgeon performing the operation. She's does this surgery a couple times a week but has only been doing it for 3 years so it wouldn't hurt for her to get another year of experience under her belt. Sorry if I've rambled, I hope this post makes sense. But, I don't have time to review and edit what I've written and I wanted to give you all an update.

Absolutely FABULOUS!!! I am so happy for your BBK

Alex, I was wondering if you could merge the monthly forums for bandsters out a couple years. I love the monthly support groups for those that have been banded for the first 12-18 months but by the time you get to 2+ years so many have disappeard that the monthly groups get quite lonely. I'd rather there was just one forum category for all of 2005 where we could start a thread for all of us that were banded in 05 and are still around. And another forum for those from 2004 and earlier. - 2008 - jan - feb - mar - etc. - 2007 - jan - feb - mar - etc - 2006 - open to posting non-monthly threads (depending on how active this area still is) - 2005 - open to posting non-monthly threads - 2004 and older This isn't to say those in the 2006 or older forum groups couldn't start a thread titled with a month just that we weren't confined to going to our specific month.

Hey there Sweetie I am so sorry this had to happen to you. I'm glad you're back on track for 6 weeks from now. Keep us all posted. It's sad to say but you may just have become the poster child for LBT as to why other pre-bandsters should pay more attention to their pre-op diet. Let me clarify that comment. I am NOT suggesting you didn't follow your docs diet. From what you told us he just didn't have you on it long enough. What I'm referring to are the pre-bandsters that are out there posting legitimate questions about wether or not it is OK for them to "Cheat" on their doc's pre-op diet since they have heard of others that had less restrictive diets or those who had no problems in surgery after cheating. I have no idea what the stats are but in my book even if only 1 out of 1000 patients get closed up without a band because of thier liver. I'd rather do everything within my power not to be that 1.

I am not a doctor or in the medical field but my band doc who is a proctor for Allergan disagrees. He does not believe the pounch can be streched by pop or mashed potatoes for that matter. His stance is that you will burp or pb as the case may be long before anything stays in your stomach long enough to strech the pouch out. Now if you don't pb the mash potatoes and just sit there with them in your esophogus (sp?) can cause problems. But again take my advice for what you paid for it. The best advice is to always follow doc's advice and it never hurts to follow the most strict advice you hear. Taking the old "its better to be safe than sorry" stance. - Personally, I have drank the occasional soda as well as mash potatoes. But, am I advocating you follow my example? No. And as to wether or not my doing so has caused any damage yet I can't say. The only reason I'm even telling you I ate them is so that you don't think I'm just some perfect bandster that is talking from some high pedestal.

I've also had issues with the comparisons between the surgeries but my problems have been with people assuming that the LB carries the same surgical risks as well as the post surgery health risks. They start asking about issues such as dumping or malnutrition and say things like they would never take such a drastic & dangerous irreversable step. I try to treat it like an opportunity to educate but sometimes it is hard not to get annoyed.

OK Where are the wedding photo's? :wink2:

Since you posted your freebie I thought I'd add mine Springhillnurseries.com is offering $20 of an order of $20 or more. In otherwords you can buy $20 bucks of stuff for just the cost of freight. Not bad!

Tina, I just found your thread and my heart is breaking for you as well. I realize there is nothing I can say or do to make things more bearable but it doesn't stop me from wishing I could. My prayers are with you and your boys.

Thanks, and will do. Just no new news at the moment. Same old hurry up and wait routine. My next appt isn't until thursday the 22nd and even then its only to run more tests that I won't even know the results of until who knows when after that.

I was leaving a message with the husband of a neighbour lady last night and without going into a long story the fact I'd had the lapband came up in the conversation. He responded that had met another lady in the neighbourhood that had the lapband even though you would never guess had once had a weight problem. I was curious as to who it might be so he started describing her. Can you guess who it was??? . . . . . . . . :thumbup:ME:thumbup: It may sound strange but the fact he thought he was talking about someone else really blew me away as there was no way I could spin it as he was just "being nice". I know I've lost most of my weight and I realize I'm already several sizes smaller than my original goal but it is so hard not to continue to assume everyone doesn't still see the "chubby" short girl I see every time I look in a mirror.

May be a bit late in coming but I'd like to add an "Amen Sistah" to Wasa et al re there comments on it being difficult for us to accept any compliments regarding our looks no matter how sincerely intented. That said I have to admit I was so PISSED at my father's wife the other night when I was speaking to her about some recognition I had been getting recently regarding my success with the lapband she had to comment that she & my father were so proud of me, as she had never thought I'd be able to stick to it. WTF!!! :biggrin: OMG was I furious!!! This woman never even met me until a few months before I had the surgery nearly 3 years ago and in all that time I've barely seen or spoke to her more than a dozen times so who did she think she was to come to that conclusion much less have the audacity to tell me like it was some kind of compliment that I'd surpassed her low expectations of me. Boy I wanted to bitch slap that b..but I bit my toungue for the sake of my father.

Overall he's a good guy. But he had lost a lot of brownie points on this issue when he decided to start up an old argument over whether or not he thought I was "Saved" the night before the appointment. Definitely pushed my buttons with that one. Then he had the audacity to ask if we were going to "Cuddle" later that night. I was like Hmm.. let me think about it for a moment. Nope, don't think so dear. I'm afraid questioning whether or not I'm going to hell just before asking for some action has to beat the old "Honey, are you awake?" line hands down for worst pre-foreplay conversation. As far as I was concerned he was lucky he wasn't sleeping on the couch.

Oh, I have to tell you an amusing story from the appointment. My DH has been so worried he was not eating or sleeping well in the days running up to the appointment. When we got there he kept complaining he was hot. I'm always cold now so I didn't pay him much attention. Next thing I know in the middle of the doctor outlining the problems and risks with both surgery and waiting while pointing to various parts of a plastic cutaway brain she was holding my DH nearly passed out. He had to lie down on the examining table and the nurse ran to get him some pop and a candy bar while the intern stood there with a fan over him. Poor DH felt so silly, he kept trying to get up but everyone was telling him to lay back down. I think I was the only one in the room trying to hold back a laughing fit. But lord help me at least it shows he cares.

Well Thursday's appointment was a mixed bag. I found out that it is not a functioning tumor producing prolactin itself but instead a non-functioning tumor that is just pressing on the pituitary stalk which is blocking the hypothalamus from sending the pituitary gland the signal to stop producing prolactin. They call this a stalk effect. What does this mean? Well, it seems to mean that drug therapy would not work as it works best on tumors that are actually producing the prolactin. They also said that even though I am experiencing some apparent loss of vision in my left eye that the tumor is only very close to the optic nerve but not yet pressing on it. Meaning they think I have some other yet to be diagnosed issue causing the vision changes. So where do I stand? More tests, more specialists and a big decision to make with little assistance from the doctor. She says that as far as the tumor goes, I don't need to be rushing in to have it removed in the next few weeks but that considering my age and its current size I will eventually need it out sometime in my lifetime. I can either choose to do so now and accept the risks that come along with surgery, or I can take a watchfull waiting approach with regular 6-month MRI appointments and wait until it grows large enough to start causing more serious problems. Taking on the inherent risks associated with that approach. I guess I'm leaning towards having the surgery sooner rather than later and waiting a few months rather than years. I just wish I could figure out how to convince my family it was a good idea to have my breast reduction surgery first. I already lost the argument with the doctor over having them both around the same time and just taking off work once to recover from both.

Jennifer - Sorry I can't help you but maybe my bumping this thread will get someone else to respond.

Hey Everyone! Our May meeting is coming up this Monday, May 12th from 6:45-8:45 pm. We meet at the Antioch Library in Merriam, KS. Directions are below. Come join us as we discuss various issues that arise in our banding journeys. There is always time for questions and answers for those looking into surgery or waiting for their surgery date. So, we hope to see you this coming Monday evening! Jen Runyan Banded 1/11/01 Directions to the library: I-35 to Shawnee Mission Parkway Go East to Antioch and the library is on the NW corner of the intersection directly across from an IHOP restaurant

Just thought I'd pop in and say hi again. I've been struggling with weight gain since an unfill in Sept 07 as well. I've had several re-fills but still can't seem to relose those pounds. I know it is mostly head issues at this point but sometimes I worry I may also have a bit of a slipped band. If I could only commit to following the bandster rules again for a couple weeks to see if I still have problems I'd go back in and start asking for some tests to confirm or rule out a slip.

How about fashion consultants. Like the what not to wear folk? I've found it hard to learn what clothes are now appropriate for my new bodyshape and would love some fashion advice.

I am looking to have a breast reduction as soon as I can manage to get enough time off. But there is the question, How much time will I really need? I have a very light duty desk job and a history of going back to work much sooner than the doctors say it will take. My Surgery History: Gallbladder: Docs said 1-month, I missed only 2 days work. C-Section: Docs said 6 weeks, I was back part-time after one week, full time after 2 weeks Lap Band: Docs said 2-4 weeks, I took a week off to get past some of the early diet restrictions but could easily have gone back to work in a couple days. Tummy Tuck: Docs said 6 weeks, Part time after one week full time after 3 weeks. I'd like to have the surgery on Wednesday May 21nd and be back to work by the following Teusday or Wednesday. With Memorial Day in their I'd only end up missing 3-4 days of work. I'm not asking if this time table is sane just if it sounds even possible keeping in mind my past experiences. What do you think?

Thankyou for your quick response Dr. S.

Yes, Thankyou Dr S. I was going to suggest something similar from my own experience but I am no expert, just a patient. But what is your opinion on my time off work considering I just have a sit down job and usually have the attitude if I can sit in front of a TV recovering why not get paid to sit in front of my computer?

The neurosurgeon wanted me to see an opthamologist before my consult next Thursday as well as a bunch of new blood tests. So I went in yesterday morning and I swear they drew nearly a pint of blood out of me just for testing. She kept pulling out more and more vials, of different sizes and shapes. When I asked if she was looking for something special she said "No dear the doc has requested all of these." Even with fills I'm not thrilled with needles so I just bit my knuckle and tried to focus on that instead of the needle. Then I saw the opthamologist yesterday afternoon. He confirmed that there is a small amount of vision loss in one corner of my left eye. It is in the area near your nose just below the eye. They make you stare at a light in the middle of a white box then press a button each time you see a flash somewhere else in the box out of the corner of your eye. Apparently I missed flashes in that area just out of the one eye with the tumor pressing on the optic nerve. Don't think I'll hear anything new now until Thursday. I'd had an appointment on Monday with a different doc but after researching him a bit online and through other contacts I decided to cancel his appointment. Thanks again for everyone's concerns. I'll let you know what she says on Thursday. Just keep sending those good vibes my way. I have a trip to Vegas the end of June I really don't want to have to cancel so I'm hoping this can either be removed quickly enough to recover before then or postponed until I return.

Yes I have to say this is one of those time that the "d" in DH actually stands for Darling :cool2:

Congrats - Just found thread and hope all is going well. In regards to the ticker if the tutorial doesn't help. This is what I do. 1 - go to tickerfactory.com to create ticker 2 - once ticker is created forget all that code "Stuff". Instead just highlight the picture of the ticker on the screen (Note: you might have to play around a bit with the position of the mouse to get it to highlight the picture correctly) 3 - Right click and copy the picture of the ticker and then paste it into your signature line on the LBT control panel. PM me if you need any help.