Elisabethsew

If you thought it out and investigated all options and have decided the band is not for you, then you know best what's right for you. Good luck to you with the surgery and in your weight loss efforts.

Waterlily, I'm sorry to hear of your mother's serious illness and I will keep you and her in my prayers. Everyone is progressing nicely. Since my last fill, I actually know I have the band for the first time and am loving the pounds FINALLY leaving my body. Name....................Current Weight......Valentine's Goal......To Go Juliegeraci................241.5....................10..........................3.5 Lapbandit.................240..................... .20..........................13 Libra....................... 257.......................20...................... ...12 Indianlight................ 277...................... 20...................... ..18 JulieNYC.................. 221.......................215.................... ....6 Elisabethsew............ 284 (-10)...............282.........................2

Hi Indianlight, I know exactly what you're going through and I'm here in the United States. My surgeon does not give a first fill for 8 weeks post-op and then you wait an average of 6-8 weeks for subsequent ones. Unfortunately, I have an 11 cc Vanguard band and the fills would last a day or not at all in terms of feeling restriction. I had a different person do my last fill and she evaluated my weight loss and listened to what I said and gave me a full cc to place me at just over 8 cc's in the 11cc band. THAT finally gave me restriction and now I know what people mean when they post about "knowing they have the band." I think another 1/2 cc will put me right where I need to be but I don't go back until 2/14. Hang in there, you'll get to the "place" you need to be. Name....................Current Weight......Valentine's Goal......To Go Juliegeraci................242.5.....................10..........................4.5 Lapbandit.................240..................... .20..........................13 Libra....................... 257.......................20...................... ...12 Indianlight................ 277...................... 20...................... ..18 JulieNYC.................. 221.......................215.................... ....6 Elisabethsew............ 287 (-7).................282.........................5

I don't believe there is ANY connection with BMI to fill amounts and numbers. I have an 11 CC VG band and JUST got lasting restriction with the last fill I received about 2 weeks ago. All the others lasted a day or so and then it was back to, "I have a band?" My BMI was 60+ and you can see I've gotten regular fills to finally get to the "right" level of restriction.

The first sign that I know that I've eaten enough is my nose starts to run. It's not subtle, if I take another bite or two, I develop back pain and, occasionally, some chest pain... the golfball feeling. The bottom line? LISTEN to your body and pay attention to the sign it sends.

Name....................Current Weight......Valentine's Goal......To Go Juliegeraci................243.5.................. .....10..........................5.5 Lapbandit.................240..................... ..20..........................13 Libra....................... 257.......................20...................... . ...12 Indianlight................ 279.......................20...................... ...20 JulieNYC.................. 222........................215.................... .....7 Elisabethsew............ 289 (-5)................. 282..........................7 Onward and downward. You're all doing great.

Most MDs go by experience and the answers the patient gives to specific questions to determine how much of a fill to give. Since some people don't feel a fill "kick-in" for up to 2 weeks, many MDs wait 4 weeks inbetween fills. There is no set schedule.

I am an RN who is certified to access mediports as well as lapband ports. However, there is no way I would ever fill or unfill myself. It's not within the scope of my practice to do this solo and, if I ever had complications, I don't want the finger pointing to me. I also have a large VG 11 cc band and it took until the last fill (8.1 cc) before I noticed restriction that lasted more than a day. While the procedure may be an easy one, it is not wise for ANYONE to PRACTICE medicine on themself or a family member.

Joy and Rosie interviewed two women who lost over 350 pounds combined through diet and exercise. When the second woman was interviewed, Joy asked her why she didn't take the easy way out and have surgery mentioning gastric bypass or the lapband. Clearly, she has no experience with these surgeries or the work required to get the weight off and keep it off.

My last fill seems to be working and the scale is moving downward. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that this restriction lasts. Name....................Current Weight......Valentine's Goal......To Go Juliegeraci................248.................... ...10..........................10 Lapbandit.................247..................... ..20..........................20 Libra....................... 265................... ....20..........................20 Indianlight................ 279.................... ...20..........................20 JulieNYC.................. 227..................... ...215.........................12 Elisabethsew............ 290 (-4).................. 282.........................8 __________________

If you can eat that volume of food at one setting with no discomfort, it's time for a fill. There is no such thing as a "normal" schedule for fills. I have the VG 11 cc band and JUST got restriction from the fill I had on 1/4 (hoping it lasts). Some people achieve restriction from one fill whereas others need several before the band is "working" with us.

I had another fill today and am hoping that this one brings restriction. I'm on fluids for today and will start solids tomorrow so time will tell if this adjustment did the trick. Count me in for the Valentine's challenge. Name....................Current Weight......Valentine's Goal......To Go Juliegeraci................248.................... ...10..........................10 Lapbandit.................247..................... ..20..........................20 Libra.......................265................... .....20..........................20 Indianlight................279.................... ...20..........................20 JulieNYC..................231..................... ....215.........................16 Elisabethsew............294..........................282.........................12

There is a big difference between gallstones and an acute infectious process. I found the gallbladder surgery (2001) to be much easier than the lapband surgery. If I were given the choice (I'm an RN) I would have both surgeries at the same time. You go under anesthesia once, you don't need 2 hsopitalizations and the risk of developing surgical adhesions is lessened. Why wait?

My Space accounts require the user to be 18 so anyone who has an account who is under that age lied to get the account. That's an issue in itself. If you feel that this girl is being verbally abused by her stepfather, you should take action to protect the child by contacting the school or the appropriate governmental agency. If your this upset, trust your instincts and do something about them.

Shrimp with cocktail sauce; low cal onion dip (mix 16 oz yogurt with a packet of Lipton's Onion Soup Mix) and serve with celery and carrot sticks for those wanting healthy and chips for others; cheese and crackers. All are no cook and easy appetizers. Main courses for all those people should be cassarole type. Boil a pound of macaroni and mix it with a jar of tomato sauce. Brown up a pound of chop meat. Put half the macaroni in a large pan (get the toss away aluminum ones), layer the macaroni with 16 oz ricotta cheese, sprinkle sauce over it, layer on the chop meat and top that with sauce, layer on 8 oz shredded mozzarella cheese and add sauce on top of that. Put the other half of the macaroni on top and top with 8 oz mozzarella cheese. It's 2 jars of sauce, one pound of chop meat, one pound of mozzarella cheese, 16 oz ricotta cheese and one pound of macaroni... tastes like lasagna and it gets raves.

In one of the posts I read, Julie from NYC mentioned that she went for three fills in three weeks to get to a good level of restriction quickly. My surgeon takes a different approach and works patients up to a proper level of restriction. Having been banded for 5 months and not feeling ANY restriction at all until fill #3, I wondered what other peoples' experiences were with getting to an acceptable level of restriction. At this point in my post operative course, I would have liked the process to move along at a faster rate as I think I still need a small fill to get to where I will be at MY optimal level. Please share your thoughts. Thank you,

I am also a health care professional and you can report this MD to the State Department of Health, the licensing board of your state, the hospitals where the MD has admitting authorization and the center for disease control (CDC). You could also write a letter to this MD (anonymous if you prefer) stating the facts and what action you plan to take if he continues to reuse needles. Mention the State Dept. of Health, the licensing board and the CDC and I bet he ceases all illegal and unprofessional/unethical practices STAT.

Dr. Thomas E. Levy, MD, JD, wrote Curing the Incurable: Vitamin C, Infectious Diseases, and Toxins and is a board certified cardiologist. For cancer patients, he advises 6,000 to 9,000 mg of Vitamin C a day. Also, there is a prescribed drug call marinol that is a derived from marijuana that helps many patients.

Hair is dead cells so there's really nothing that bring "life" to what is already dead. Flaxseed oil is healthy and of course you can take it post banding. You should also take a multi-vitamin and a B-Complex. You'll likley have to schedule an appt. with a dietician pre-op so take that opportunity to ask him/her questions. Also, if you can bring a copy of your bloodwork results to the appt., it will greatly assist in planning your meals post-op.

Since you have no fill in your band, you CAN almost the same as you did before the surgery. However, that doesn't mean you SHOULD. Call your MD's office tomorrow in the AM and tell them that you need to be see for a fill ASAP. If they say no, tell them you are at your wit's end and are contemplating taking diet pills so you NEED an appt. Since you can't undo what is already done, get back on the healthy eating trend and set a goal to lose that 6 pounds. Once you begin to feel restriction, things will look better. Hang in there.

In January, I suffered PE's to both lungs and it's not something I would ever want to go through again. PE's affect more women than men and predisposing factors include obesity, smoking, an unknown hypercoagulability (tendency to clot faster/more than normal), birth control pills and any other hormonal device that contains estrogen, prolonged dehydration, immobility, etc. I had my surgery after the PE's and had to come off the coumadin (blood thinner) to do so. Thankfully, all went well. The chances of PE's being a problem for a quick surgery like lapband are quite low and others have discussed precautions that are taken. You'll do great.

Shop around for another MD to do your fills. I have an 11 cc band with 6.6 cc's in it and I'm just minimally restricted with an appt. schedule in 2 weeks for a fill. YOU are NOT a failure, that nurse is and she should not be dispensing incorrect advice or information. Request to see the MD.

Congratulations on getting though the day... now it's over and you survived. Since I worked this holiday, I had the perfect excuse NOT to indulge in any feasts.

LOL, precious! That L-tryptophan in turkey is a natural sleeping remedy! Happy Thanksgiving.

WOW, you've really had a terrible time and yes, you should write a book. What is the fill capacity of your band? I have an 11 cc capacity and am at 6.6 cc's without good restriction and will be going for another fill in 3 weeks. I have not heard of anyone else having the awful problems you endured and hope your tests allow you to keep the band AND get more fills.