cwm812

I don't think it's just nurses...it's all the health care professions! I'm a long-time med tech, who now supports the laboratory information system at a large university hospital. I'm from central Pennsylvania. Cindy

Great advice, particularly for the lab tests. My doc couldn't find the report for my pre-op pregnancy test. There I am in my hospital gown in pre-op and they tell me this. I called the lab myself and had them fax over the report to the hospital. You are absolutely right....Check everything yourself, no one else will! Cindy

I'm with the take the pills group. I asked my doctor about this specifically and he told me not to crush anything. I've been taking many pills and large ones and I've never had a problem. What I'd really like to know, is why the docs vary so much on this one? Cindy

babyk, Believe it or not, but the exact same thing happened to me. I get headaches (and the occassional migraine), often first thing in the morning. I usually handle it with several Excedrin, but the day I was getting banded, I couldn't have anything. I was dying! I even threw up in the bathroom at the hospital just before pre-op. It all worked out ok. After surgery, the headache was gone and I didn't have another one for several weeks. Although I still get headaches, they seem to be much less frequent and not as severe. I can manage most of them with tylenol, although it helps if I have some caffeine, too. For the worst ones, I revert back to Excedrin, but I always make sure I eat something with it. Good luck with your surgery and I hope you feel better soon. Cindy

I never know why some doctors tell their patients this. I take several large pills and supplements daily and I've never had a probably with a pill. I asked my doc about this pre-op and he said, "There's no problem taking pills. In fact, I'll send you home from with hospital with some." He did and I was fine. Cindy

It's swelling, and now its gone... After my last fill, I did liquids for 48 hours and then tried mushies. The only thing I could eat was chili. I called the doc and he told me to wait a week. As you get more in your band the post-fill swelling is more of a problem. He was right, after a week, I could eat again and everything was fine. I don't know how big your fill was, but I tend to tolerate small fills much better. My stomach is very sensitive to this whole fill process. Cindy

I didn't get a fill for the first 3 months. I had restriction from the beginning and I was losing steadily. My doctor is of the opinion that you don't need a fill if you aren't hungry and you're losing weight. He even has one patient who's never been filled at all. By the end of month 3, I was hungry and eating more so I got a small fill (.5 cc). I say, if you aren't hungry and you're losing, why fill? You can always get a fill when you need one. Cindy

For me, that always happens the week before I get my period. My period is pretty erratic at this point, but the week before I can eat about anything and I'm starving. Then my period comes and I can't eat anything (well, almost anything) for the first 2 days. This always makes me lose a few lbs and it sort of balances out. I always think I need a fill during the before week, but then I wait it out and find out that I really don't. Cindy

The first 2-3 weeks, I kept a notebook where I recorded my amounts of Protein and Water, just to make sure that I was getting enough in. Since then, I count nothing. I tried it a couple of times when I was in a plateau, but I don't find it useful, and it makes me crazy. Other people on here seem to thrive on the record-keeping, but I am not that person. Cindy

You don't mention how much you wanted to lose or your BMI. Truthfully, you need to decide how important being thinner is to you. I know that I'm never going to get to a BMI of 21 or 22 simply because I am not willing to do the work it would take to get there or maintain that kind of weight. I think you need to decide if you are willing to work out more (and more careful eating) or if you are happy with your weight loss. Personally, I think it's great that you've been maintaining. It's something that scares me. I keep telling myself that it's more important to keep off the weight I've lost than to lose more. We've come so far on this journey, I don't want to go back. Cindy

I think it says that you have a very happy husband! Cindy

We love our Foreman grill, but they can be a pain to clean. I'm on my second one and this one has removeable plates. You just take them off and put them in the dishwasher. This model was a little more expensive, but so much better than the old style. Cindy

I have to agree with Amy. I'm sure that banding would work well for you, but insurance is limiting you. I never really considered the bypass or the sleeve. The whole idea of that kind of surgery just didn't sit well with me, but do your research and see what you think. There are plenty of happy sleeve and bypass patients. If it doesn't seem like the right fit for you, consider self-pay. I know it's incredibly expensive, but from my point of view, it is well worth it. Cindy

That is a wonderful NSV! My family tends to feel sorry for me because I don't eat the amounts that I used to, but I'm thrilled. I always felt like I was being held hostage by my hunger and cravings. I feel like I'm free. It's one of my favorite things about the band. Cindy

Thanks for the reply. I've been banded a long time, too, and it is surprising how you can feel things about your band. I, too, have had to have unfills this year. I'm not sure what my total fill is, but I keep getting tighter as I get closer to goal. Like you, I don't know exactly why (although I'm guessing hormones and stress), and neither does my doctor, but like you, I starting to know what to do. Cindy

I think the "sweet spot" has different meanings for different people. For me, I want to be able to eat almost anything (but in a small quantity), not get stuck and not be hungry for 3 hours or so. The way you feel now, is not what you want. Yes, you will lose weight quickly, but then you will start eating soft foods all the time and you won't lose anything. I think your idea to have a small unfill is spot on. Now....your fill was just 4 days ago. I'd give it 2-3 more days before getting the unfill. Sometimes after a fill, I'd swell up for a week. Then the swelling would go done and that fill was great. When I had less restriction the swelling only lasted about 24-48 hours, but later on it really was a week. Good luck, Cindy

i'm glad you're feeling better. Does your Dr. have any idea what happened? Cindy

I know it is possible. In Feb, I had a small unfill and again about 2 weeks ago. I can't explain it, and neither can my doctor, but he said that it does happen. During that time, I lost 20 lbs and I would have thought that I'd need a fill, but I just keep getting tighter and tighter. I had .3cc taken out last time and I'm considering going back and having some more removed. I eat healthier when I can eat solid food and not just mushies and sliders. Cindy

I'd call the band doctor and soon. I know what you mean about it not feeling like a band issue, but I think as soon as you call your pcp and he hears that you no food or Water goes through, he will send you to your band doctor. I'm really don't know if you're too tight (swollen) from the fill or if you had a slip, but if he could unfill your band immediately and if you could drink, you could get hydrated again. The dehydration is making everything worse. Your only other option for hydration is an IV, and that's going to require a trip to the hospital. You've tried all the other stuff. This sounds really awful. I hope it turns out to just be the dehydration and it's easily resolved. Let us know how you're doing. Cindy

I've got this problem, too. I even watch "Man vs. Food" on the Travel channel. My husband just teases me that I'm trying to figure out how many days it would take me to eat some of that stuff. Last night, Adam was trying to eat a 7 lb Italian dinner. My husband said that I would probably take me until Christmas to finish it. My son has a better idea...he wants to create "Band vs. Food" Here's the premise...you get a bunch of banders together and see how many bites of whatever they can get down and then they have a contest to see how fast they can get rid of the rest of the meal. I'm sure we can work out the details later, but I know I'd watch it. Gotta go...it's time for another episode of Diners, Drive-ins and Dives.... Cindy

I don't know anything about reading xrays, but I do know about having an ulcer with no symptoms. I had my pre-op EGD and my doc found a medium-sized ulcer. He wanted to know why I didn't tell him about it before. I had no idea. I guess I had an upset stomach every now and then, but nothing out of the ordinary. I was as shocked as he was. If it does turn out to be an ulcer, it isn't awful. The treatment was pills (nexium) for a month and then a repeat EGD. It was completely healed. I suspect that the ulcer was from a 4 week course of Naproxen that i took for plantar fascitis, but I'll never really know. Cindy

Congratulations! As a formerly fat parent, those desks used to scare the hell out of me at parent-teacher conferences! Cindy

The fact that the lymphs are high and not the neutrophils, usually means that it's not a bacterial infection. Lymphs tend to indicate viral, but that's just a generalization. The same thing with the C-Reactive Protein and the sed rate. Both of them mean that there is something inflammatory going on, but it's pretty minor, if you're only at the high end of normal. Many people who aren't sick are walking around with high C-reactive Proteins. The combination of results, I think, merits the trip to the hematologist. I still doubt that it will be anything at all, it all seems very non-specific. I hope you can schedule an appt. soon. I hate sitting around and waiting on these things. It just makes you crazy. Cindy

Did you any other lab results besides the white count and the urinalysis? If your doc order a differential along with the white count, you can usually tell by the kinds of cells that you have, what the possibilities are. Your white count is a little high, but it may not mean anything at all. Did you have a white count prior to your surgery? Some people just run higher than others. Don't be afraid of going to a hematologist. A hematologist will have a much clearer picture of what's going on, and more than likely you'll leave happy. The worst part of any abnormal lab result is worrying about the horrible things it could be. The good news is that you don't feel sick. That is the best possible "lab result". Cindy

I get the exact same pain and I have no idea what causes it. I do know that if I get up and move around, the pain goes away. It feels like something is poking me internally. I figure that if I can make it go away easily, it can't be anything too severe. I did mention it to my PCP (who is very knowledge about the band) and she said to let her know if it becomes a problem. She didn't think it sounded like anything to worry about. Cindy