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According to who? I swallow pills whole all the time and have never been told that I shouldn't. It all depends on the size of the pill, the shape, type of coating etc. It's a case of knowing your body, your band and your limitations. Therefore I don't see how you can expect your pharmacist to know this especially as it is not true.There is something called patient responsibility. The patient should inform the pharmacist of problems, contra indications etc. They can't be expected to know everything. How many people including high profile stars have died because they omitted to tell their Dr/Pharmacist about all the other medications that they were taking? And the lapband is reversible. It can be removed. yes it is generally only done if there is a problem but it can be done. that is the reason that it is many peoples WLS of choice!

There is no logic to that whatsover. A tall person could be 100lb overweight and have a lower BMI than a short person. At least BMI is a relatively consistent measurement . I don't profess to understand the US healthcare system and I'm not even going to try!

Fattycakes your BMI is 41.8 - I can't see any reason why you wouldn't qualify.

My GP refused to refer me so I went to see the surgeon off my own bat! My GP told me that I wasn't fat enough and that Lap Banding is too dangerous as there are lots of complicatons. How about the complications from being FAT! I am so glad that I had the "guts" to see the surgeon without the referral. I am now banded, normal weight, no longer have high BP and am very happy. If complications arise in the future I will deal with them.

It is possible now that you have lost so much weight that you need the port repositioned. As far as I know this is a relatively minor procedure. I know its scary but I am sure everything will be fine.

Most of us can lose weight with just diet and exercise, the problem is though that diets leave us hungry so we give up. With the band it stops the constant hunger and makes you feel fuller on much smaller amounts so it is much easier to stick to the diet and keep losing. To be scared of the process is normal. i think we have all been there. Personally I found the surgery really easy. I had virtually no pain afterwards and was soon back to my normal activities.Fills are also relatively painless. Its no worse than a vaccination or having blood taken. If you have an experienced fill Dr then its a quick jab and its soon over. I am sure that you will be fine - good luck.

I have no problem with fluids. Immediately after surgery you have to drink a bit slower but as far as I am aware that's it.

It seems the saying is very true. "JEALOUSY MAKES YOU NASTY"

I quite often take a drink. Most of the time I don't take food. Eating while you watch is just a habit - it may be a hard one to break but it can be done. Pick the time of the movie so that you are not hungry. I quite often go to the 10.30 am show with a friend and then we have lunch afterwards.

How about a hot milky drink an hour or so before you go to bed?

I can't believe that anyone could think that. It just shows how warped our thinking has become and how easily we accept being hugely overweight. According to my calculations this is almost 95kg which for most women is really overweight. Also without knowing the posters height it is impossible to say if this is overweight or not. If he/she is 5' tall then this gives her a BMI of 40.6 Morbidly obese. If the OP is 5'6" then the BMI is 33.6 which is still OBESE. The normal BMI range for women is 19.1 - 25.8. So to fall within this range at this weight the OP would have to be approx 6'4" tall - and this is still at the very top of the normal range!

I have never been told I can't have caffeine. I don't drink coffee but I do drink tea which still has some in though not as much. My Dr allows carbonation so long as it doesn't cause me any discomfort. I have never been big on carbonated drinks but I have one occasionally - with no problems. I have never had to sip water that slowly. To me it has been an easier way out. The first part of the process is hard - preop diet, liquid diet,mushy diet etc but it was a lot easier than a normal diet as it was always finite. there was an end in sight. Since then it has been relatively easy. My band makes me eat less and stops me being hungry all the time . But there are parts of being banded which are hard. I have always been a fast eater and slowing down sufficiently has been hard.Getting something stuck and the resulting pain and discomfort is also no joyride. But it is so worth it. To sum up it is far easier to lose weight than with any diet I have ever done before - but it comes with its own set of "disadvantages". I am more than happy to accept the package that lapbanding is. For some reason many people think we should suffer and struggle and always take the hard way out. Why????? But are those people any different to the ones that think that unless you have a BMI of over 40 you are not fat enough to have lapband surgery? And there are lots that believe that!

It sounds as though you are too tight. Go back and just get a small amount out - it should make the world of difference. I doubt you have a slip at this stage but having a too tight band is one of the major causes of slippage so it is best to do something about it before it gets to that stage.

Try to eat slowly especially if I am hungry.

I've never had fluoro and so far haven't had any problems. The fill person has always got my port on the first attempt except for once as well.

Not drinking with meals is something you get used to a lot quicker than you expect.Just make sure you have had a drink before you eat. They generally recommend 30 min before but there doesn't seem to be a scientific basis to this. I often have a drink 5 min before I eat. That hour will go a lot quicker than you expect. I went back to work just under a week later. But everyone's recovery is different and it also depends on the type of job you do. Good luck with your journey.

I agree with you 100%. You are obese - that should be a good enough reason to be able to get banded. We all know whether we have a BMI of 31 or 41 that the situation is not going to improve. We are all at a stage where our weight is beyond our control and we cannot successfully lose it and keep it off. Why should you have to weight until your BMI is in the 40s and you have additional health problems.It is always better to sort a problem out earlier rather than later. As pointed out earlier in this thread I had a similar starting BMI. I looked and felt disgusting. My weight was all around my stomach which is the unhealthiest place of all to carry it and I looked about 10 months pregnant. I am now 10 months postop, I have a BMI well within the normal range and I no longer have high BP. I say if you are able to get the surgery done then go for it. I have no regrets and would do it again in a flash.:thumbup:

I believe that there are a lot of excellent Dr's in Mexico - just make sure you research lots before hand. Also I thought that there was a company called Fill Centres USA that will do fills regardless of where you had your surgery. I could be wrong as I live in Australia but that is the impression that I have got from reading the boards. If there is one close to you then that could be an option.

No. I just wish I had it done sooner. I am loving being banded.

Spartan you sound familiar. Have you been here before?

Often when we are told that it is our body rejecting the band there is really another explanation . Possibly something that has gone wrong at the time of surgery but obviously that is not something any Dr will admit to so they will tell you that your body is rejecting the band. Although apparently band rejection is possible it is also very very rare. The materials that the band are made from have an extremely low risk of rejection. Sorry that you had to go through this. Hope everything gets better soon.

You're not the only one who can't resist chocolate. I eventually resorted to putting a bag of cadbury's mini eggs in the freezer today as I had been back and fore dipping into them about 6 times! Wish the stuff didn't go down so easily!

You Dr has a weird regime. Making you wait so long for a fill and then putting so much in at one time. Most Dr's require mushies for a couple of days after a fill and getting back to solids slowly. I think you may have tried to eat solid food too quickly and chicken salad is commonly a food that causes problems anyway. Try going back to liquids then mushies and if you are still having problems with those then go back to see your Dr. You may be fine - you may be overfilled. 3cc in one go especially when you already have 5cc is a lot.

I had the traditional surgery - 4 incisions and 3 of my scars have disappeared completely and the 4th , largest one is hardly visible. So although the single incision surgery sounds great I don't think there is that much of an advantage.

I didn't say it didn't exist just that I had never heard of it. LOL. Just looked it up and the signs and symptoms are very similar to the other types.Just found some info from a reliable source - the australian meningitis centre which is quite interesting. The Meningitis Centre - Fungal Meningitis Keep us updated. Hoping that you are OK and that it isn't something serious.Have you been checked for things such as fibromyalgia as this also causes all over muscle pain?