Elisabethsew

Go for it! I think it's a great idea and many dogs are left alone for 8-10 hours a day. As long as you walk it before you go to work and make sure it has a sheltered area outside and water, etc., it will be fine.

For those of us in our 40's, you tend NOT to bounce back from the surgery as quickly as the younger people do. I am an RN and work 12 hour shifts and also attend post-graduate school full-time. I needed 8 days off from work to recover to the point where I was able to work. It took about 2.5 weeks to get my pre-surgery energy level back. You'll be back to work quickly... just don't push the recovery too fast.

YUCK. That not shaving is absolutely gross and I have no idea how European men find it attractive... can they ignore THAT? Hmmmmmm...

Because the stoma pouch is created ABOVE the stomach, the feeling of fullness occurs higher up than pre-banding. Until you get an adequate level of restriction, you either don't feel the "new" full sensation or it's minimal. On my 3rd fill I felt "proper" restriction. The feeling of being full is like a vase that you fill with water. Once the vase is full and you attempt to put more water in, the water has no where to go and spills out. It's the same with the band. Once the maximum amount of food goes in, the "extra" will likely come right back up... NOT pleasant.

Your weight loss is great. Granted, you might not have the fast rate of loss that some others have but you really have accomplished a lot. Don't sell yourself short and thank you for presenting a different point of view.

Have you discussed this with your MD? Maybe an esophagram would give you some answers?

Some of the best advice I ever got was, "Learn to forgive yourself and move forward." You can't repeat or change history but you certainly can make an impact in the future. Consider your band date as the "rebirth" of you and make you're mark on the world.

I only had to drink barium one time post-op and that was right before I left the hospital to make sure all was OK with the band. Thankfully, the amount was only about an ounce or two so it wasn't too bad. Some MDs do fills under flouroscopy with barium. Check with yours and you'll get your answer. Good luck with the upcoming surgery.

I have a cyst on my right kidney and it was found when they did the sonogram the day before they took my gallbladder out. Cysts are graded as 1,II, III, or IV. Grade one are benign. Grade II (the one I have) is also benign and the treatment is usually a yearly sonogram unless you become symptomatic. Grade III are usually treated surgically as they are considered pre-cancerous and grade IV are cancerous. The nephrologist told me that MANY people have renal cysts and don't even know it. I hope all goes well with your visit.

I hope you get some relief soon. Unfortunately, the motility problem usually is a signal that the band might have to be removed. Let's hope that your case is no so severe and more conventional treatment will work.

Why would you want to create problems when none exist? This post hurt a lot of people and I would vote to let it die rather than bump it up?

Let us know how it goes for the second fill. Hopefully, they'll get you to a proper level of restriction.

8 pounds down and 2 to go to make the 8/5 goal. Everyone is doing wonderfully!

I think it's good that more research is being done on ALL weight loss surgery and offered the professional article as an FYI purpose. My surgeon explained to me that just a few years ago, many MDs would not perform lapbanding on obese patients who were empty carbohydrate eaters. Now, that has changed and surgeons offer options in WLS based on eating patterns. Of course, the final decision rests with the patient. Hopefully, more studies will be done evaluating long term surgery results of the various WLS options currently available.

Since I'm in the medical profession and work in the same health care system that I had my surgery in, I often spend some chatting with the PA's in my surgeon's office. They said that the biggest problem they encounter with patients is that "more than you think are not truthful with us." It seems they have a lot of patients who WANT to be overfilled in an effort to lose the weight faster. Despite lectures that they can damage their esophagus, GAIN weight by DRINKING their calories, etc., quite a few of the patients simply don't care and refuse to have an unfill. Obviously, the staff documents this noncompliance with medical advice but they can't tie a patient down and force them to have an unfill. When I read the article I posted, I wondered if these people are the very ones who contribute to the complication statistics. Hmmmmmmmmmmm...

I have never heard of getting a second fill one day after the first. Some people take 1-2 weeks before a fill "kicks in" so you might want to be a little conservative about having a total of 7 cc's added to your band in 2 days. I'm at 6.5 cc's after 3 fills and that seems to be just right for me. Bands can be overfilled if the MD justifies it with Inamed. I believe your band holds 10 cc's.

When I purchased my house, the very next thing I did was to go out and buy 3 air conditioners and I don't regret it one bit. I'm on balanced budget billing with the electric company so I pay about the same each month. This allows me to spread the cost out over the year. Where do you live that nobody has A/C? I'm on Long Island in New York.

I primarily sleep on my left side and that's where my port is. The hardest part, for me, about the banding was NOT being able to sleep on my side. After about 2 weeks I could sleep on my right side but it took a good 4-5 weeks before I could get on my left side. The weird thing is, I STILL sometimes feel pain when I turn on my left side.

I was 306.2 this AM so I'm approaching the border. LOL. The last fill really gave me proper restriction and I'm on vacation this week from work so I'm staying away from food and doing tons of projects in and outside of the house.

I don't think there's consensus on this issue and doubt there ever will be. As an RN, I do know it's dangerous to crush time released, sustained release, enteric coated and extended release medications and that's why I felt I needed to contribute to this thread. Everyone needs to discuss how to take their medications with their MD. Someone posted here that you can NEVER take NSAIDS (motrin, etc.) if you are banded. That's not true. I have severe arthritis and the surgeon simply added Nexium once a day so I could take Aleve twice a day with meals. After 3 fills, I have had no problems with getting medications down and take pills 3 times a day. So, it seems the best advice is the advice of one's individual surgeon. I mean no disrespect when I disagree with someone else's post but as an RN, I feel I have a responsibility to interject when someone gives concrete advice that is not true as in the case of crushing ALL medications. All or nothing rules rarely exist.

I've had 3 fills and have no problems taking my medications. As a general rule of thumb, some surgeons say to crush any pill that's bigger than a dime. It's best to go with what YOUR MD advises.

Congratulations on taking the first step and admitting you're in need of help. Now take the next step and GET the help you need. You're a beautiful person who deserves to live a happy, healthy, drug-free life and needing help to get to that place is nothing to be ashamed about.

ANY drug that says SR (sustained release) or ER (extended release) or time released should NEVER be crushed. Different MD's will advise patients to either crush or swallow their pills. Bottom line? Do what your MD tells you to do and follow the directions on the medication. Also, anything enteric coated is NOT to be crushed as it is meant to dissolve in the small intestine and NOT the stomach.

I find it amazing that my breasts remain huge no matter how much weight I lose. My highest was 440 pounds and I'm the same cup size now as I was then. Glamorisse support bra seems to be the only one that does it for me and no, it's not sexy. Seems there would be a good market in making large cup sizes with sex appeal.

You also can't take grapefruit juice is you're taking a statin such as Lipitor. Many drugs interfere with one another. You can't take iron with calcium is a common one.