Elisabethsew

It's good to know I am not the only who lived to tell about their gym experience. Satan was about 6' 4" and maybe 24 years old. Every muscle in his body was well defined and he often told me that he needed to take in over 3000 calories a day JUST to maintain his weight because his body fat percentage was so low. When I went back for the second appointment with him, I explained that I was old, fat, and had no delusions that I was going to leave the gym looking like Barbie in my lifetime. My goal was to INTRODUCE exercise into my life and tone any muscles that might be hiding under the fat. When Satan set those machines on a level that was too difficult, I simply laid or sat there and refused to move. He might have been physically fit but I knew he would not be able to physically pick me up and make me move. He might have been the gym expert but I was nearly double his age and had a lot more tricks up my sleeve. LOL

It's surprising that three of us have all gone through EPS. The ablation was painful but it sure beats having to deal with the arrhythmias. I hear you on the AICD. I am hoping to avoid that for a long time.

I feel your pain. I am a registered nurse and make rounds to 19 different areas in the hospital. That's 19 places where visitors have "thanked" the health care team with cakes, donuts, cookie platters, bagels and creme cheese, cupcakes, etc. Unlike you, I have not told anyone at work that I was banded so I try my best to stay away from the crap food. I bring a "survival kit" to work with me consisting of 100 calorie snacks, low carb cup-a-soups, fresh fruit and a cup of dry cereal in a sandwich bag. Since I never know what I'm going to crave, having a selection on hand keeps me from binging on the junk foods.

No tatoo for me but that's just a personal preference. Do what makes you happy at goal... you will have certainly earned it.

With a 15 second pause during an EPS study, I am surprised that they did not opt to at least put in a pacemaker. I had EPS and was ablated for a re-entry fast rhythm. Eventually I will need an AICD but thankfully, so far, so good. What's interesting is that in my case, I only began to have heart problems AFTER I lost 230 pounds. I put back 130 of that but did keep 100 pounds off for 4 years. Now I hope the band helps me get back down to a healthy weight. I'm glad that your weight loss has helped the heart flare-ups and I certainly hope you've see the last of them.

What you both seem to be experiencing sounds a lot like esophageal spasm. It's associated with horrible pain and an inability to swallow without pain. A GI specialist should be able to give you more answers and maybe even prescribe an anti-spasmotic drug.

Have you ever had electrophysiologic studies (EPS) done? It sounds like you have a conduction problem that might require an automatic internal cardiac defibrillator (AICD) in addition to a pacemaker. Thank God you're OK now.

I think everyone has had a productive burp or a wet burp at least once in their lifetime but as it relates to being banded, that's something totally different. I don't think people who write about having the experience of a PB are proud that they have accomplished it all. Rather, it's more of an understanding of the consequences of either not chewing enough or eating beyond the pouch's food capacity. I think your response was a little "strong" given that fact that one of the most often questions asked on this forum concerns the topic of complications when the band is too tight or when one pushes the band beyond it's limits.

Melody, your weight loss is amazing. Congratulations!

Congratulations, Julie! I have only lost 47 pounds so far but you're right, those pounds lost have made a big difference in how much easier it is for me to get around. Thank you for sharing a very inspiring personal take on the band. I needed that.

Congratulations on the job and happy birthday. Roy Rogers is basically ALL fried food so I would advise NOT eating it at all. Bring your own food and that should keep you and the band happy. Good luck on the job!

I'm an RN and we actually do use "coughing" as a therapeutic treatment. However, the patients we use it on are attached to a continuous cardiac monitor. If we see something called ventricular tachycardia on the monitor AND the patient is still alert and oriented, we tell the patient to cough forcefully or bear down as if you're having a bowel movement. This VAGAL stimulation can sometimes "break" the life-threatening arrhythmia. If you're feeling faint, crossing your ankles and pressing them together hard, pressing your knees against each other hard, or lowering you head to the level of your lap all signal baroreceptors in you body to raise your blood pressure. It sad and dangerous that effective medical therapies get misinterpreted and turned around to the point of actually causing harm. Thank you for alerting us to this.

I have a bizarre heart condition and was placed in a Johns Hopkins study group. The helpful compound in red wine is called Resveratrol and it's now available over the counter. They put me on this 2 years ago and my last heart MRI shows no further progression of the disease. Now, I am not one to abandon traditional medicine (I'm an RN) but I am willing to try proven alternatives. If you can't tolerate red wine, you might want to give Resveratrol a try. One word of caution, it's not recommended if you take a statin drug (lipitor, crestor, etc.)

Because of aftercare issues, I decided not to go to Mexico and had my surgery in the States. I was originally denied by insurance but fought the decision and won. All my post-op care was covered free for 90 days and fills cost me just the insurance co-pay. Do your homework before you make a decision. Check with your insurance to see if they will cover the surgery and check out what MDs in your area charge for self-pay patients.

Go for the surgery, schedule a fill for when you come back, and have a wonderful time on vacation. At 6 weeks post-op, you're healed and should not have any restrictions. Welcome!

I will keep Ryan and his family in my prayers.

You're doing wonderfully, Liz. Congratulations! It took me until fill #3 to get restriction so I now KNOW I have a band and have been doing well. It looks like the March group is really on a losing trend. You'll be a goal in no time at all.

There is a thread called "Erosion, Our Own Statistics" where you will see that very few people have serious band complications. Some people are underfilled and some are overfilled. Both result in problems but few are serious and can be easily remedied with a band adjustment.

Can you plan meals ahead for a few days so that these high fat/high calorie dinners become a thing of the past? Stock the house up with healthy foods that you both enjoy. Join a gym together or establish an exercise program. If you take the focus OFF your husband's weight and make it seem like YOU need HIS help to be successful, chances are he'll be up to the challenge.

How much can they blow the balloon up before it pops? Is it easier to stay afloat when swimming with the balloon blown up? Does your stomach bloat out when they blow the balloon up?

I definitely needed the laugh I got from reading this thread. Thank you all!

It's amazing how some people can have a PB long after they have eaten. Mine always happens the same way, I am eating and either don't chew enough or develop a spasm and the awful pain in my chest begins. It never gets better and seems to grow from a golf ball to a tennis ball. I walk to the bathroom and up comes the food. While not the same as vomiting from the flu, what I bring up is definitely not foam or slime but the food I was eating. Since having the last fill and finally feeling restriction, I now know why it's so important to chew thoroughly and eat to the point of satisfaction... NOT fullness.

ahhhhhhhhh... I think that's the difference. Carbohydrates begin digestion in the mouth. Twenty to forty minutes later, significant digestion is occuring so that's likely where the foam is coming from. For me, the PB comes MINUTES after the pain and that pain happens while I am eating.

1. What does your BMI have to be to be a candidate. Check with your insurance carrier. Most require a BMI of 40 or a BMI of >35 with 2 co-morbidities (sleep apnea, diabetes, heart disease, etc). 2. What is a "fill" I am assuming that they blow up the band or something like that The band is surgically put in and left unfilled for most patients to allow for optimal healing. Four to eight weeks post-op, you go for a first fill if you don't feel any restriction. The area is numbed and saline is injected into the port which inflates the band to decrease the opening into your stomach. 3 Are the vast majority of you happy you did it and would you do it all over again if you had a choice?? I can only speak for myself and yes, I am happy I did it and would do it again. You have to be patient in the beginning months because it can take several fills to feel restriction. For me, it was 3 fills. 4 how hard is the recovery?? I have 2 little ones and cannot be down long. I am a registered nurse and 46 years old so I took 9 days off from work (vacation time). After post-op day #5 , I felt human and only had some soreness at the port site. I took pain meds the first day and then only needed tylenol for a few days after that. 5 Any canucks out there specifically in the Vancouver area that would know about local doctors? Sorry, I'm a New Yorker but there are plenty of Canadians here. Good luck to you and welcome!

I make good old Campbells concentrated tomato soup and add 1/2 can of water and 1/2 can of skim milk. Pre-banding, I LOVED tons of ritz crackers in it but now I'm satisfied to have it plain... very filling and so good. The soups to go are a lot higher in calories and much more expensive.