xavier

Good luck, I wish there was some info on what to say to get a fill from a doc! I felt bad for you as soon as I saw the title "gain' its everyone's worst fear and yet it has happened or will happen to all of us. And hopefully in a year we'll all be laughing about it. Since you lost and gained the same three I see it more as breaking eve than a net gain but I will really be rooting for you when you go in and try to get a fill...don't end up in a back alley trying to get a black market fill, ok?

Did your doctor say anything about HOW or WHY this occurred?...I am very interested...thanks, Cali

Seems like if the dress is tight you'll be fine, if its unzippable, you're taking a chance! This whole process is so unpredictable, I'd hate to see you get disappointed. I would expect maybe 8 pounds in a month!? Good luck...

You have gone from a character actor to a leading man! Congrats...I always enjoy your blog.

I buy the GNC brand which is unflavored and I usually mix it into soup. I really like it, theres no taste but it does thicken up the soup a bit. I have heard that GNC also has some 'bullets' and so does walmart which are like little shots you can drink so you dont have to deal with the volume of a bowl of soup or whatever. GNC is a healthfood store out here (California)but I dont know if its everwhere.

I cant imagine any health professional bringing up the Biggest Loser seriously! I am guessing that the vast majority of those contestants have gained their weight back. I tried to find out but there's no long term follow up on them on their website...I wonder why! That show is a joke...the one guy admitted to "peeing blood" to make the weight to win by dehydrating himself to the point of kidney damage!!! How sad.

I would say live on the soup (with protein powder added) for another week and see if you loosen up...if not, time for an unfill. Sorry youre having a hard time! Good Luck.

Congrats...next time you are in the grocery store take a look at the gallon bottles of water...each one weighs 8 pounds, five of them used to be on you! Or just think of one of those 5 gallon bottles for the water cooler! WOW!!! I truly believe that we will never gain this back and that that is really what the band does! If you cant snarf down a delicious italian meal that you're not hungry for, it would be pretty difficult to gain 40 pounds!

Any time its a Bob Dylan original, please use it. If he loves music he should know that's where it all started and that he is an influence to EVERYTHING your son listens to!! Forever young is a must! What happened to Schools Out by Alice Cooper?! Wow! That's really quits a task!! Good luck...PD

Dear Lynnkat, Well I'm no expert on the ticker but here goes. First go to the website which I think you can do just by clicking on someones ticker. Sign up, make your ticker and save it. Then there is a box of weird symbols, its like a whole paragraph if I remember right and you highlight the whole thing and click copy. Then you come back here and go to user CP in the upper left and go down to edit signature and you will 'paste' that thing in there. You can also add whatever else in there you like and save it. For the Mayo Banditos thing I just cut and pasted it from someone else. Every time you edit your ticker after signing in it will just automatically change all your tickers in all your posts....if this doesnt work, let me know I think I can figure it out or at least show you someone who can! Good luck! Cali

Gonnagetbanded, Congrats that all went well and glad you liked your doc and the hosp. I almost went to him (I think its awesome that he is banded himself!!!) but even though I was self pay and could go anywhere, I picked my doc partly because he is on my provider list in case I needed anything billable thru insurance later, like a complication or revision. So I went to Dr. Oliak in Orange and he's great!Turns out I also had a hernia repair at the same time which they did bill my insurance for...havent heard if they paid it or not but its only like $500 compared to 16K for the lap band!! Good luck to you!

PLEASE tell your doc about this experience. There are tons of dieticians who would kill for a great and very lucrative job like that and that guy sounds like a real douche! You do not need to be degraded by him (15K stomach!!) and your doc doesnt want you to be. This is a HUGE money industry so everyone wants you to be happy and you have likely tortured yourself enough about weight without some jerk talking like that!! You will be doing the practice and many subsequent patients a favor. Good luck, this is the best thing I could have ever done and yes I was self pay so I guess it is a 15K stomach but that's none of his biz!!

Have you tried putting that in as a search term? You might find people who have gone there that way...good luck!

What you have described is called learned helplessness and yes, it does affect people. You make a good point. Theres an example of a rat or mouse in a cage and the floor just keeps being randomly electrified. The little guy does everything he can think of to get out but of course he cant. Later he just lays on the shock-floor and when the cage door is opened he doesnt even get up to get out! It explains, in part why battered women stay with an abuser. Lets get up, get out!! Personally, I'm for crushing the elephant owner to death!!Wait in this example I think thats the fat me...so be it!!

Mine have healed great but I think I'm lucky in terms of the placement...all are well above the belt and well below the bra. The row of four including the port is just more than half way from bra to belt and closer to the belt. Then there is a small high one but its not in underwire zone at all. My port is about 2 or 3 inches left of center and about three inches above my waist but I still feel it if I bump something! I was leaning over the deck rail to paint the back side and the next day it was sore and pretty bruised. I am a little worried about being belly down on the surfboard but the doc said he has lots of people who surf...we live in the central coast so the water isnt warm like in LA so maybe the wetsuit will provide some padding...I hope to look less like a fat seal when I try the suit on again!!! No, I prob wont be posting a picture!

I had that too and its no fun but I think it will resolve. I was taking tiny sips of water and seemed to be swallowing air because every sip produced a feeling and sound of tiny bubbles coming up. I coulnt seem to drink in a way that would stop it but it did resolve and get a bit easier every day. So I am guessing you already have a lot of restriction maybe entirely due to swelling but maybe also due to the size of your band and whats in it if anything. I am now a month post op and I have had perfect restriction (excluding those few days of what you are describing) ever since. I also have almost zero appetite or head hunger...I love it. Even my self pay was way well worth it...good luck!

Two weeks goes pretty fast! I found the preop diet pretty miserable for two days (hungry and headache) but after that it was a piece of cake...I was pretty motivated and really wanted to lose some weight I probably wouldn't gain back, and shrink my liver to be a good patient!Well, the countdown begins for you....

I call that voice in my head Stan. He's not a nice guy and he's the same one with the snides when I am looking in the mirror. Sometimes you just have to say, "Shut up Stan" (No offense to anyone real or fictional named Stan.) PS I dont really think the fill causes much swelling so I am crossing my fingers that you'll be yakking a half banana in no time...JK!

Could you tell if the needle was wiggly?! I have my fingers crossed that youll notice a difference soon! d