TArnold123

I had my surgery done over two years ago in Houston by Dr. Speigel who has done THOUSANDS of lap-bands here in the U.S. I have to say, I am very disappointed in the end results. I can't eat anything before suppertime without drinking lots of hot liquids along with it. It has made having lunch out next to impossible and I haven't lost nearly all the weight I expected to lose. I was on the low end of the scale (comparatively speaking), I guess, to begin with and so I didn't have AS much to lose as maybe some others but still, I would think after 2+ years, it would be more than 40 lbs. I still get choked and have pb if I am not extremely careful with every single bite. It's been this way from day one and so here I sit, still overweight and miserable at every meal. Dr. Speigel has absolutely no bedside manner. I would trust him for fills but if you're looking for a doctor you can talk to, find someone else. Unhappy with the results all the way around-:wink2: Tammy

You're absolutely right about eating "easy" foods. And I do need to see a doctor about getting an un-fill...I moved to Ala. about a year and a half ago and haven't found a doctor over here. I think I'm motivated to look a little harder and make it happen, now (thank you!). Having been banded for six years, have you lost all that you expected to lose and are you totally satisfied with the end results? I really want to be. And quite honestly, I can't say I wouldn't do it again because I HAVE lost about 40 lbs. and kept it off but it sure hasn't been easy nor has it really been what I expected. I need to search out a doctor over here and have him look at me through a fluoroscopy and see just what is going on. Thanks again...

Dr. Spiegel IS in Orange, Tx but I'm not sure if he will do fills on patients who had surgery outside the U.S. You should call his office and ask that question.

Dr. Felix Speigel did my band and he does fills in Orange, TX. Most Louisiana patients I know go to him as he has done thousands of surgeries and last time I got a fill it was $100 (no fluoroscopy).

I know this is gross and maybe the answer is already somewhere on this board but I haven't been able to find it...I had my surgery in February and since my last fill, I have been having a problem with mucous when I try to eat. I am chewing really well but the first few bites usually get stuck, I have to go to the bathroom and then gag up a large wad of mucous. Nothing else comes up...no food...just mucous. And then I'm usually okay and can eat without a problem. Does anyone know what I can do to keep from having this problem? I've tried drinking before I start eating and that doesn't help. HELP!! :help:

Mine may also be considered a PB...I just don't know. It's only the "slime" that comes up...no food. And since it's like the first bite or two that I take, I don't really think that that part is overeating. Though that did happen to me once when I was at a steak house. It happened at the end of my meal and I knew I had overdone it. That's the only time that I had a problem at the END of a meal. But it makes sense that if you "get rid" of some of the food you eat (even though it's REALLY BAD for your band) that you would then have room to eat more. I am scheduled for another fill June 12 so I will ask the doctor about it then, I guess. What size band/port did you get?

That is some good information!! Kind of helps me understand what's going on at least. Yes, I really am taking tiny bites, chewing to a mush and waiting a minute or two in between. I will try doing even better at that but the weird thing is, the food IS going down...only the "slime" comes up which I don't even begin to understand how that can happen when it seems like the food would be the first thing to come up. Weird. It seems to do it worse earlier in the day and I do know that mornings can be difficult to really get anything down so I rarely eat Breakfast. I know...shame on me. liquids go down fine and shakes are okay too. I go slow with thicker liquids, though, even. Just wishing there was some "trick" to eliminate those slimeys before I sit down to the table but if they're being produced AS I EAT...then I understand that it's just something I may have to deal with. Hopefully it will settle down in time??? (sigh)

thanks yes...chewing to a thin mush and only letting small amounts go down at a time before swalling. Once I swallow, my mouth starts salivating and then comes the mucous....so gross...I cover it by excusing myself to the rest room and then it usually come right up but I don't want to have to keep doing THAT every time I sit down to eat.

Thanks, Dawner...yeah, if I don't get any good ideas from in here, I will definitely talk to my doctor when I go to see him in a couple of weeks. I didn't have the problem at first, either...it's just been since my last fill which is when I really started noticing the restriction. Hopefully it will pass or there will be something I can do to get rid of it before I start eating. It's really weird. Never know it's there until I eat and then it starts up.