Corliss

When the first band was placed, my surgeon supposedly repaired the hiatal hernia which he found, I had a difficult recovery, but did really well after the gastric edema resolved. I lost over 200 lbs. I started having problems about 14 months out from the time the first band was placed, I eventually had all my fluid removed and I got better and worse and better and worse. Eventually it got so bad I could keep nothing down. :redface: I had the first band removed in Sept. 2008, hoping that I could keep the wt off without revision. The doctor who removed the first band did not find a hiatal hernia but the scar tissue was keeping my stomach inplace more than likely. My band was not out of position but my stomach had prolapsed above it. Then when I had the second band placed and the surgeon went inside, he had to pull my stomach down out of the Hiatal Hernia in order to visualize it. He then repaired the hiatal hernia which was huge. I asked him how the surgeon removing the band could have missed it and he told me that they were very difficult to visualize unless the stomach was passed into them and that they are usually seen on the upper gi, but mine had not shown up. He said that it was probably nor neglect or carelessness that it was not found by the surgeon removing the band, but just something that was very easy to miss. I have had no problems with reflux since this banding but as I said in my earlier post, I am not quiet at the right point for loosing. I need just a bit more fill.:wink2: I will definately not have another band if I have problems with this one, but so far so good. I didn't want to have my stomach cut out if I didn't have to. Enough cutting for me already. I am fortunate not to have the problems Katy has but I do understand what she is talking about as my daughter has had similiar issues. Corliss

Katy, One of the reasons you have gained wt is because your body was in such a malnourished state. How is your prealbumin (protein precursors) now? My daughter who had complications for Gastric Bypass has had many abdominal with protruding intestinal hernias. Her prealbumin stays very low due to the malabsorptive issues which she has which are beyond the norm for even gastric bypass patients. She has had many, many abdominal hernia repairs. It sounds as if your safest bet would be to avoid another banding or even sleeve because of you issues. I wonder if you have malabsorption issues? You did not say, but have you had intestines shortened from gastric bypass or any other proceedure? Take care of yourself. Being overweight is not as bad as some things. Stay healthy and exercise as much as you can and the wt gain should stablize since you do obviously have malabsorptive issues. I don't know who on this thread has had revision to sleeve but I think there is a thread for people who have had gastric sleeve or are interested. If you want to learn more i would check that thread out. Also Obesity Help has a thread for folks who are revised to gastric sleeve. But like I said, you would probably be better off without another surgery. It sounds like this is a good surgeon. Take care, corliss

Katy, I fully understand the wt gain. I lost my first band in Sept. 08 ad by Dec. 2008 i had gained 65 lbs. I leveled off and actually lost a bit but I was up and down, up and down. I had another band put on in June of 2009 and haven't lost any since then. I have had two fills. I can eat most anything. This bnd is doing fine, but I am not useing it the way I should. I need another slight filla nd I think I will start loosing. If anything happens that I can't keep this band, my plan is to have a revision to a gastric sleeve. I don't have any problems with abdominal hernias but have had two hiatal hernia repairs and I wonder if the band may have cause the second one, or did the hiatla hernia cause the first band to fail??? I will probably never know the answer to that question. My Mexican surgeon strongly advised a gastric sleeve this past time, but since I had such good luck with the band for such a long time, he agreed ot do another band. I chose the Realize band because the slip rates are slightly less than for the Allergan Lapband. If I loose with it great, but my main goal was to stop gaining. Corliss

Hey Nurse, how long did it take you to get the right fill amount? I have had 2 fills for a total of 5 ml in my 10 ml realize and have only lost five lbs which was immediately after banding. I hope hope hope that my tummy tightens up a bit, as I had my last fill a week ago today and started solids yesterday with minimal restriction. I can and do eat too much to loose Today I started back low carbing as this seems to be the only way I can loose without restriction. I had good restriction for a long time with my first band before it went bad, (long story posted on several other threads) so i know what good restriction is like. I was glad to see someone else who started out slow but is making it work for them. Thanks, Corliss

The less you have to lose the slower you are going to lose, and you said yourself that you just got your fill right in June, okay, so now you will pick up a bit. Just think at this rate, you will be at goal in another year, or at least within 3 lbs of it! I have to remind myself of this too, lol! I need to loose 45 and it sure is major hard compared to loosing when I had over 200 to lose. Good luck to you, Corliss

Barney, Chewing is neccessary to keep from getting stuck. Yes, it will allow it to go through the band, but when your fill is just right, it will slow it down enough that you get the satiated feeling after eating a small amount. I have not lost any since getting re-banded (long story found on other threads) except the initial 5 lbs. I just got my second fill, but the key to loosing for those of us who haven't quiet arrived at the sweet spot with our fills is to measure our food. :angry:Eat no more than a cup of food starting with protein 3-4 times a day. Keep your carbs low, avoid sugar, bread and pasta. Also potatoes and other soft foods should be last on the list. I am at 215 now and need to keep my calories less than 1200 and carbs less than 60 to loose. When I was 350 I lost like crazy on 1800 to 2000 cals per day. The band doesnt do it all for us, it just helps. I am so looking forward to getting to my sweet spot, but I am having to work harder at it right now to just maintain and I have not been willing enough to actually loose. :smile2: I started solid foods yesterday and realize that my restriction is not adequate as I am able to eat far too much, so I will have to measure and work harder to follow the rules of band eating another month, while I give my body a chance to see whether or not it will tighten up and not actually need more fill or if I have to go back for another. There is a really wise bandster on Yahoo groups who says frequently, "Just because you can, don't mean you should!" :smile2: I have to remind myself of that often. Good luck to you, Corliss

Hey Slim, I hope all is well. I will miss hearing from you regularly. Corliss

Oh yeah!

I love saurkraute but never could eat it with my first band even when it was functional. I ate it a good bit sans band and twice with my new one before i got a fill, but would be afraid to eat it unless i cooked it in a pressure cooker cause it is rather tough and stringy. I think it would be a set up for a pb. I hate it too cause it is low cal and very tasty with some pork ribs or roast, yummmmm! Corliss

If you are being very careful and still having some fairly frequent pb, more than once a week, you might want to have just a fraction of a mL removed. I am on my second band and am coming up on restriction real slowly. My plan is to stop just short of the point you describe. If I get there, I am gonna get him to take me down just a hair. It can make all the difference. I can't risk loosing another band. Good luck to ya. I need to drop another 50 myself, all of which I gained before rebanding. Corliss :thumbdown:

I went for my second fill yesterday. My insurance won't pay since it is not a bariatric service provided at Erlanger. That stinks but Memorial worked a deal with me for cash pay and it beats the heck out of flying back to Mexico for a fill. I need to get in touch with the MD office and see what I can work out with them. Maybe if i need another one of if this one is a tad to tight he says he should be able to do it without fluoro and that should be a good thing. I think maybe I am at a good place. Just ate some jello and felt restriction for a bit. UMMMM wonderful feeling! I am so ready for some serious wt loss. I didn't loose anything to amount to anything since rebanding, but honestly I have not worked real hard at it. I went through some serious depression post rebanding and prior to rebanding and just lost my momentum. I now have 5 ml in my 10 ml realize model and am sooo hoping for good but not over tight restriction. My fill doc doesn't allow even softs for 5 days so it will be a while before i can test drive it. I am hungry as a bear with a band can get today. I had made the unfortunate committment to make my killer chili for a benefit at work today, lol! I mean sheer torture cause I do love my own chili and I cook by taste. It has taken all my willpower to spit out the mouthful i took to test it. My dog loves it! (Gross I know.) We better raise a lot of money is all I have to say! I had so hoped to be down to goal(170) by Christmas but with only a 5 lb loss so far it ain't happening. I am resetting my goal to be in ONDERLAND by Christmas instead. I like to win. Wish me luck. Corliss

I am so ready for some serious wt loss. I didn't loose anything to amount to anything since rebanding, but honestly I have not worked real hard at it. I went through some serious depression post rebanding and prior to rebanding and just lost my momentum. I now have 5 ml in my 10 ml realize model and am sooo hoping for good but not over tight restriction. My fill doc doesn't allow even softs for 5 days so it will be a while before i can test drive it, lol! I am hungry as a bear with a band can get today but have had made the unfortunate committment to make my killer chili for a benefit at work today, lol! I mean sheer torture cause I do love my own chili and I cook by taste. It has taken all my willpower to spit out the mouthful i took to test it. My dog loves it! (Gross I know.) We better raise a lot of money is all I have to say, lol! I had so hoped to be down to goal(170) by Christmas but with only a 5 lb loss so far it ain't happening. I am resetting my goal to be in ONDERLAND by Christmas instead. I like to win. Wish me luck. We are going to get new family portraits made this Saturday. If they are good I will post some. I am staying a bit too busy. I am back to work full time and am teaching a psych clinical for nursing students. I love it and need the money. It's all good. Corliss

Hey Wildchild, try not to be ashamed. If we didn't have food issues we wouldn't need a band anyhow. I know I have not lost over 5 lbs and I have had my new band for 3 months and that was all right at the very early stages. I am very greatful however as I have not gained. After I had my first band removed I gained like crazy(stomach prolapse due to hiatal hernia.) So just standing still has been well worth the cost of rebanding. I started the original band journey at 373 and got as low as 160 only to gain back up to 235 and lost down to 219 before rebanding! I went for my second fill today and am hoping to get down to some serious wt loss now. If i can get below 200 I will be sooooo thrilled. Just be gentle with yourself and walk forward, go get that fill girl! Corliss

I sympathize about the need for a fill. I need one so bad that I went ahead and scheduled my second one for this coming Tuesday. He can only do fills on Tuesdays and everyone has to be at memorial @ 11:45 though we usually don't get filled right away. I had to wait two hours for my first one. I hope this one is all it will take, I have a little bit of restriction, and I don't want to have a lot, but I truely need more. Carrie, congrats on the B. Way to go! Corliss:thumbup:

From the Fabulous Fans of Fervent and Frequent Flatulance, LOL! Corliss:tt1:

Works great for gastric gas, but the walking and heating pad is best for the shoulder pain. It is referred pain from your diaphragm being pushed on. If your tummy is gassy it hurts worse as it is pushing on the diaphragm too, so that is why gas-x and release seems to work. corliss

Probably a good idea to change your behavior but i dont think you have to worry about a slip from drinking water. Even if you drink way too fast, it would go through unless you are wayyyyy too tight in which case something besides water would cause the slip. You feel the gurgling when you are basically fairly tight, but not neccesarily too tight. If you were too tight for it to go through fast as you drink it, it would come up. :mad2: Relax, no need to panic. Corliss

Dang Punkster! You are already ahead of the numbers. You have lost what almost two lbs a week average. I am feeling sorta slow about my loss after I had been to goal before loosing my band. I am now 219 which is no loss at all since rebanding, but I know beyond a shadow of a doubt, the most important thing for me is to keep my band and not to gain anymore. I really want to get back to goal but even if I don't, if I just continue to maintain, I will be far better off than I will be if I loose another band to a slip. Banding is a long way from a perfect science. It sounds to me as if you are doing incredible and you are getting excellent care. You sure have no reason to feel like a failure. Corliss

I didn't realize they had NICUs anywhere but TCT. Yes I am working on NP, that was my whole reason for becoming a nurse but now am sort of at a stand still. I am just not sure I want to go on with it. My family would all love for me to just stop going to school. I am just not sure that physically I can hold out to do the heavy duty floor work till retirement, and wonder if I should not continue on even if I no longer have the burning desire. Corliss

I guess TC Thompson is the only game in town for you or in the neonatologists office. That is pretty highly specialized. How long did you work in neonatal? Of course you could probably move pretty easily into Peds ICU or PACU. I am struggling with whether or not to continue on with my masters in nursing. I have a lot of miles on me with only two years nursing experience and just didn't have the motivation last semester that took me through AS and BSN programs. I took this year off school but found myself doing clinical lab assistant work part time and that is all good, lol! Might stay in the program but change my major, who knows? In the meantime, I am pretty much stuck on IMCU at Erlanger. Some nights I love it and some nights I want to run with my tail tucked between my legs back to Social Work, which I did for almost 30 years. I got into nursing because I wanted to become a nurse practioner, but just made it to grad school and "BAM!" no interest. I think a lot of it may be because of the problem I had loosing my band then gaining wt. It really caused me some depression. Lots of nurses on this board but so many of us have weight issues. We see the worst effects of the disease daily in my unit at least. I hoped to use that to help me control my eating, but I don't know that it does. Good luck on your job search. Corliss

Hi Carrie, Where are you in school? I finished in Aug. 2007. It is a rough ride, but worth it. I got my first lap band just after finishing my first summer. I went to a summers only program where we went four months each summer for three years. It was like taking a shower with a fire hose, lol! Hang it there and if I can help, give support, pointers, advice, let me know. Corliss:thumbup:

Congrats Dee, great journey ahead of you! Let us know how things go. Corliss

So many people prefer not to be bothered with evidence to the contrary of what they believe and hold dear. Like any diet the Atkins will not work if you don't do it. There are loads of people on my Low Carb lists through Yahoo that are maintaining for years after loosing 50 plus pounds with Atkins without a lap band. I personally am not one who can maintain, but lets see, I didn't maintain with weight watchers, nutri system or diet pills either. I even gained wt on the mediteranian diet as much as I loved it! I have the band to minimize the damage that I do when I am not making good choices whether they be bandster reccomendations, OA food plan, Low Carb food plan or Weight Watchers. I find that the Atkins way of eating which is very similiar to the OA grey sheet to be really effective for wt loss. I think all of us who are in need of a band, just muddle through this the best that we can, but many would like to see ourselves as successful dieters and hold our own diets as better than someone elses, where the truth is the band is the key! Very few here would be successful in keeping it off if not for our tool. I know of only one person on all the boards I am on who has successfully kept her wt. off after band removal, without some revision to another surgery. She is the exception. I personally have experienced a band loss and I am in touch with dozens of others who have and we all experienced wt gain with that one happy exception. Atkins can do wonders for dropping a significant amount quickly and I am all for using it if it works for you. If not, why whine and get nasty about it....if you don't want to do it then for goodness sake, don't do it, but stop the yaya! Corliss

Ain't it Amazin'???? LOL! Corliss:lol: