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That is really bad news. Hope everything gets sorted out.

Although most Dr's don't like to treat each others patients in a situation like yours where you are moving country I don't think they have much choice. I am flying today from Melbourne , Aus to Jhb, South Africa. The trip is really long and horrible so I am hoping that my band won't cause problems. I have actually done the trip before approx 6 months after I got my band. I asked my Dr about the possibility of problems during the flight. I was told that if my band was empty or close to empty it could cause problems as the air in it could expand. She also said that so long as I had saline in the band it should be fine as saline cannot expand. So theoretically it is better to travel with a filled rather than an unfilled band. I was also told to be careful what I chose to eat and if I did get swelling not to worry too much as it should resolve once the plane was landed. If your Dr believes an unfill is better you should do what your Dr says but from what i have been told the opposite is true.Obviously having the anxiety disorder adds an extra element to the situation. You are lucky that it is a much shorter flight. Good luck with your move. I hope it all goes really well.

I just did a google search and this was the first site that came up .http://www.obesitysurgerycentre.com/ I would think that if you emailed them they would be able to offer you assistance. I am also sure that you have the time to research further prior to your move. With the internet finding info can be really easy. I am sure there is no need to get your band unfilled. The UK is quite advanced - it's not like your moving to deepest darkest africa !

Not quite sure why the tone of this post seems to be attacking me. I was merely pointing out that when you have a band if you are somewhere remote it can cause problems. I am glad that you have done your homework - being well informed about the process makes a huge difference. It is good that your dad has the funds to get you help should you have a problem , the actual logistics and time taken to get to help are probably more of an issue than the money. As you live in Australia it is likely that your Dr will be conservative and fill your band slowly. That is the usual protocol here and that way you are less likely to have a problem than if you were being filled aggressively.In your position I would make sure that I was patient with the process even though at first it may seem slow and like it will take you forever to get to a reasonable fill level. Do not ask the Dr to put in a bigger fill so that you don't have to see him as often as that might backfire. Also it might be a good idea to arrange to stay in SA for a day or so after each adjustment rather than flying straight back home so that you can make sure that the fill is comfortable and that you are not too tight. Good luck with your surgery . Soon it will all be over and you will be on the road to losing weight and looking fab. I still can't believe that I have had my band for 2 years already.

Correct You don't remove a pacemaker, prosthetic knee, hip, heart valve etc etc. They are put in to do a job that the body cannot do itself. If something goes wrong with one of them they are replaced not removed. The same is true of the band - it is there to do a job that the body does not do well itself. i.e control hunger. If something goes wrong with it then normally they would replace it or revise it to another surgery as without it the person is not "cured" and the illness (obesity) is likely to recur.

That is a very rare very unusual allergy. Saline is basically the same composition as the tears your body makes naturally. Are you sure the pain is related to your fill - that could just be coincidence. Have you been checked for problems of the bowel? It could be severe constipation, a mass or something else. Your Dr should be running tests to try to determine the cause. Next time it happens make ote of the time, place, what you were doing beforehand, what you ate etc. These things could help to identify the problem.

The very fact that people are complaining on this forum means that they DO have access to the internet! I do think there is a lot of misinformation out there. People should do their own research before deciding to go ahead. So although the "whining "is bad it may also be good. If they read these posts prior to surgery then hopefully they will realise that the band is not a magic wand and that it requires effort on their part. What does concern me is that people often present the sleeve as the perfect , no fuss, no effort WLS. What they need to do is remember everything has its good points and its bad points. If they visit the sleeve board as well they will discover that it is not all a bed of roses over there. That people with sleeves also have issues, that they still need to exercise, make healthy choices etc. The bottom line is that there is no miracle cure that enables you to sit on your butt and eat what you want when you want and lose weight. People have to take responsibility for their health and their weight loss journey. If they are not ready to do that then they are not ready for surgery and will probably end up being one of those people that is unhappy.

Gotta be careful. Here in Aus our PM is trying to introduce a carbon tax(actually it's really a CO2 tax) - imagine how much we would have to pay. There was also a proposal that they kill all our feral camels as all the gas they produce is increasing global warming!

There is a definite difference between thinking you can do it without the band and knowing that you can do it without the band. After a long period of time many of us become complacent and think the band does nothing - we do not realise how well it really is helping to control our hunger.To have the band out thinking it was doing nothing only to find out it was in fact doing a great deal would be a very sad outcome. One very successful bandster on this board is Jachut. I seem to recall reading that she thought her band was not doing a lot and that she had everything under control. She has had to have all the Fluid removed from her band for a number of surgeries and other medical treatment and now posts that the band was in fact making a huge difference. I suggest that those who are contemplating having their bands removed as they feel they no longer need them look up some of her posts and read them - they are very interesting.

One question. As you are in such a remote area how easily will you be able to get back and forth to see your Dr to get adjustments? It could be an issue if you get stuck/are too tight etc and need to see a Dr urgently. Have you discussed with your Dr how you would handle this type of situation? If not I would contact him/her and have the discussion prior to going ahead with surgery. Whilst the band is an excellent weight loss tool it is not thought to be the best solution for someone that cannot easily access their specialist. In these instances the sleeve is often recommended instead.

I did read on a nutrition website newsletter that I get that the food bounces three or four times before going through which sounds the same as what Prof o Brien explained to your DH. Interesting that I did not get a more educated answer from Allergan when they called me after I put the same question to them. I don't think that most people thought the food was sitting in"the pouch " for hours but did believe that the process was fairly slow. Which was one of the reasons given for not drinking for 30 - 60 minutes after a meal. It would be interesting to know how long this process does take and what effect if any drinking soon after eating has.

Try making your own soups. Then you can get the flavours you want. I stocked up the freezer with homemade soups before my op and they were great.

I also avoided photo's as much as possible, I am a scrapper and very few photo's with me in would find their way into my scrapbooks. However. Now that I have lost weight I love having my photo taken. I think I am making up for all those wasted photo ops. It feels really good to look at yourself in a pic and think wow I look pretty good.

I would be very wary of getting it taken out unless it is really necessary. It is quite possible that without it you may regain some or even all of your weight. Also why put your body through surgery unless you have to. A BMI is 23 is perfectly healthy. It is not even close to being underweight. Maybe you just need to make better food choices to help allevaiate the tiredness. However tiredness often results from the busy lives we lead and often has nothing to do with what we eat. The diarrohea I would get checked out - is the Dr sure this is band related? It is very unusual if it is as most bandsters tend to border on the constipated end of the scale. I would make sure that all possibilities were checked out first before having the band removed. The last thing you want is to go through surgery and then discover that you still have the same issues.

If it was only nausea or dizziness I would say it could be low blood sugar but the fact that you are also experiencing chills and feeling generally off colour would seem to point to some kind of infection. It could be viral, bacterial, hopefully just a bug that will be gone within a few days. I would suggest keeping your fluids up, using paracetomol for pain and if it gets worse or doesn't go away then go and see a Dr.

Yes also far gassier than previously and I am 2 years out. Worst part is that initially i would burp lot but now it prefers to come out the other end!

You might want to pop over to the plication support site. There are not a lot of people on there as it is still a relatively new surgery. What I found worrying was that out of such a small group there were a number that were already having/had serious issues.

The reason diet drinks and other diet products are so bad is not because of the carbonation it is because of the artificial sweeteners and other chemicals. At least sugar is a natural product although we all know it is bad in excess(as is anything). Strangely no Dr's have recommended avoiding diet products. Most US bandsters seem to drink Crystal Light and that also has artificial sweeteners in. So in effect the only difference between that and diet coke, diet fanta etc is the lack of bubbles. There are lots of other products that we routinely eat/drink that will strip rust or dissolve a tooth. e.g Vinegar,bicarb, orange juice.................... Makes it really hard to figure out what is good and what is bad doesn't it?

Watching this now and what a load of Cr@P! This woman is obviously too tight. Programs and people like this give banding a bad rep. Of course she should be eating solids and if she was only eating 5 teaspoons of yogurt then she would probably be constantly hungry and would be eating sliders far more often than 3 times per day. I hate shows like this.

I would love to know how it is possible for a hole in the stomach to only be found doing a swallow test? If this was a sleeve or a bypass yes as there could be problems at the staple line but with a band? Surely the only way that a hole could occur is from surgeon error and the surgeon would know whilst he/she was still in the operating theatre that they had stuffed up. They would not need to wait until a swallow test to find out.

Eww - that is so gross. To say you are looking hot is fine , but the rest!!!!!!!!

Good luck hope it helps. But a couple of things to think about. Tummy growling does not always mean hunger - mine does it all the time since i have been banded. If you cannot go for 2 hours without feeling lightheaded then I would be concerned that something else could be wrong. If you are eating properly with good food choices you should not feel like this so quickly. Maybe you need to have some tests to see if you are diabetic, anaemic, or have some other kind of Vitamin or mineral deficiency.

It does look a bit angry. If it is hard to get to see your Dr would a pharmacist look at it for you? I don't know if they do that in the US but they do here. Always best to get peace of mind.

I know 2 people that have bought them and they both think they are wonderful. You can wear 2 at the same time for additional support. If you do want to buy them do it on ebay instead of the official site as you can get them much cheaper.

Now that makes sense.,all that carbonation would be really bad for you .I can't even imagine drinking all that - not even in my ffp days, the occasional glass yes but 2 litres plus per day never! Give me a nice cup of tea rather. Good job that isn't banned post band as I really would be in trouble.