NaNa

Reflux and coughing at night = BAD Means either a little saline removed or all of the saline removed or band removed/fixed, depending on the severity. Could be a dilated pouch, dilated esophagus, Hiatal hernia, slipped band, or just too tight. Good luck

Here is a link of information for those who are researching the band, their surgeons, what causes complications, how to avoid them. Fluid -- you should never get a lap band that is too tight with little or no saline, there are two sizes AP small and AP large. How to know you are in the Green Zone and when you are too tight Also here is a link for those who are researching BAND-FRIENDLY surgeons that offer great aftercare, Allergan highly recommends a Band friendly surgeon. Or you should make sure your surgeon has done MANY lap bands and has a very low revision rate. Also most importantly -- WHY IT'S IMPORTANT TO GO TO A LAP-BAND® SPECIALIST Not all weight loss centers are the same. It's important that your patients go to a LAP-BAND® System Specialist for your LAP-BAND® surgery. Use the LAP-BAND® specialist locator to find a qualified specialist for your patient. http://www.lapband.com/HCP/product-description/

I think this is a very important document for anyone who has a band or who is interested getting one read very carefully.... Ideally, what I've told people here, if their bands are "fitted" properly, they should have wiggle room on an empty band, meaning, they should NOT have tight restriction on an empty band. For most people when they get their bands emptied they should not feel any restriction, it will be the same as removing the band. Some people have post op edema and swelling which can mimic restriction and this can last up to a few months post op, but after about 1-4 months, that person should need a fill, the lap band is made FOR ADDING SALINE...if some never need a fill, and has tight restriction with no saline...something is wrong. But -- some people who get the band plus Plication, this is totally different and should not be treated as the same as a regular banded stomach, their stomachs are smaller with the Plication and it may take years before they need any fills, if they ever need fill.s Per Allergan: The LAP-BAND AP® System is available in two sizes, Standard and Large. The physician should choose the appropriate size depending upon the patient’s individual anatomy. Most patients with correctly fitted bands report minimal, if any, restriction following resolution post-operative edema until saline is added to the band, regardless of band size.

You are actually SHOCKING ME MORE each time you respond to a post, and you SAY you are a nurse. I am happy I've never been at a hospital where you work ....lol...use COMMON sense here...WHY would Allergan PRE FILL A BAND? Use your brain please. Allergan DOES NOT pre fill lap band...that IS NOT THEIR JOB... Right before surgery, they fill the band up with saline and check for any defects, and leaks...to ensure they are not installing a faulty band inside of a patient..and once they've tested the band they leave a little primer Fluid inside the band...AND NOT enough saline to qualify for a REAL FILL.... Some patients have a lot of swelling, it can take 1-3 months before all the swelling completely go away, and if the band is not too small for that person's anatomy, then after about 3-4 months that person will be ready for a REAL FILL... Also many patients have a fat pad around their stomachs and after losing weight, their bands will loosen up even further....those who's band is too tight for their anatomy....their bands will barely budge and will still be too tight regardless of how much they lose.... Here are some step by step instructions how the band filled up with saline, to test for defects: during band installation -- the AP band is blown up to the max with 15cc of saline and typically about 5cc is left in the band...I had 5cc of saline in my lap band post surgery... Now You learned something today...and hopefully you can add that to your RN resume.... http://www.lapband.c...band AP_dfu.pdf For the Scrub Tech/rN: 1. After the Circulator opens outer LAP-BAND AP® System package, pick up inner sterile container by the tab and put on back table in a secure location. 2. Peel outer wrapping at the yellow indicator on the bottom side of the Tyvek® and remove LAP-BAND AP® System and priming needle. 3. Connect priming needle to the LAP-BAND AP® System tubing end. 4. Fill a 20 cc syringe with at least 15 cc of saline and connect syringe to the priming needle. Flush the band and inflatable shell area several times, each time drawing out air bubbles. A residual amount of saline will stay in the LAP-BAND AP® System. 5. View the inflatable portion of the band for leaks or uneven inflation. 6. Inject about 5 cc saline and disconnect the syringe. The

Wow!! Beautiful dress for a beautiful bride to be!!

Congrats!! You look great, you've come a long way baby!

Honestly, if I purchased an elliptical, I am sure I would not use it daily, treadmill, you can walk at your own pace and eventually increase as you lose weight and start running...so I would go with a treadmill any day...it helped shed a lot of weight for me.

I agree with a lot of people here, I remember someone had mentioned this to a stranger, and turns out that "stranger" who was morbidly obese HAD ALREADY HAD THE BYPASS, years ago and had regained weight so you never know what is going on with someone, and you never know what your future will hold with your lap band. Also every obese person DO NOT WANT WLS, some people are not candidates for medical reasons, some people can't afford it, don't have insurance, etc. Also, OBESE PEOPLE KNOW THEY ARE FAT, no one has to tell them that, food can be a horrible addiction like drugs, and when people tell them to lose weight, sometimes the opposite can happen and they turn to food, from being hurt. Also there are MANY obese people that lose weight successfully without weight loss surgery and keep it off, and yes it can be done. I've known many that have successfully lost weight the good ole fashion way and have kept it off for many years, they changed their lifestyle joined weight watchers and exercise daily. So you can't get cocky just because you have a tool that is making it difficult for you to eat and judge others or look down on other obese people because they have not decided to do what you are doing. I agree with most here, never mention it UNLESS they ask, "hey how are you losing your weight? Then perhaps they will get inspired by your weight loss with your band, and then they can decide if the lap band is a viable option for them. Edited to Add: Also most people have a "breaking point" when they've had enough and want to do something drastic...perhaps these friends just not have reached that breaking point. A lot of people get weight loss surgery for the wrong reasons, for vanity, spouse leaves them, etc....perhaps their health is not at a critical point yet.

Yea, I loved that man, he gave me my life back, I can't complain -- he saved my life too, when I had a life threatening obtrator hernia in my uterus a few years back, and I had to have emergency surgery -- which caused a bowel obstruction. I got married, moved out of state and had to find another surgeon -- which was easier than I thought, I guess Dr MO is highly respected, among Bariatric surgeons and I had no problem finding a new surgeon that would take me. I think I was his 15th band patient, so we both learned together in the early days...

Hazel...I totally AGREE, one can't expect to eat 3-4 oz of food FOREVER, it's just not doable nor is it healthy long term. Remember these posters that are DISAGREEING...are only 1-2 years post op and their metabolisms has not REALLY regulated at this point, so anyone who gets their bands emptied in the 1-2 year can easily "diet" and exercise to keep their weight off. A damaged metabolism really don't happen until a few years later, but again everyone is different and have different body makeups. However...like I said BEFORE...everyone that I've known -- and I've followed thousands lap banders over 8 years have regained weight when they got their bands emptied...some were able to keep weight off after band removal for a year...but MOST gained their weight back if they did not have a band or "restriction" longer than 1-2 years. Here is cited material on Weight gain, and Pouch dilatation with both RNY and the lap band after a few years post op. http://jcem.endojour...91/11/4223.full Mechanisms for Weight Regain One possible mechanism for weight regain seen after 1 yr is increase in energy intake. Sjostromet al. (11) reported daily intakes of about 2900, 1500, 1700, 1800, 1900, and 2000 kcal/d, respectively, at baseline and 6 months, 12 months, 2 yr, 3 yr, and 4–10 yr after surgery. The role of energy intake in weight regain may be greater than that observed because subjects tend to overadhere to their dietary recommendations on the day that the diet is assessed (25). Late pouch dilatation has been reported in patients who undergo laparoscopic Gastric Band surgery (28) and is the leading indication for conversion of GB to a RYGB (29) but is seen less frequently after RYGB surgery (30). Revision surgery to correct these changes leads to improved weight loss (28, 29). However, these complications have been described in only a handful of patients, implying that other factors may be involved in modulating weight regain after bariatric surgery. Regular physical activity is an important factor in weight loss maintenance (31). According to one survey in RYGB patients with a mean follow-up of 7 yr, successful patients (those who maintained at least 74% of their initial weight loss) exercised regularly (no details given) (32). In the prospective study by Sjostrom et al. (11), the approximate proportion of bariatric surgery patients who reported being active at work changed from 70% at baseline to 90% at yr 1 and 80% at yr 10. The proportion of patients who were active during leisure time was 55, 90, and 80%, respectively. The difference in the proportion active at work and during leisure time between the surgery patients and controls was narrower at 10 yr than at 1 yr. This may explain some of the observed weight regain seen in the surgery patients. Also physical activity may be overreported and thus needs to be assessed objectively. Whether increased physical activity in bariatric surgery patients is effective in weight loss maintenance remains to be proven by randomized trials.

Excellent advice! Actually soda use to be a very controversial topic when I got banded 8 years ago, and sadly all those who drank soda regularly ...bands slipped before they even reached 3 years post op.. The thing what many surgeons say is that carbonation will expand the pouch...blow it up like a ballon...hence causing pouch dilation.... Also I've heard so many horror stories with the band and carbonation...I am numb to anything at this point... I remember a girl on OH website reported that her band was too tight, she did not have money to see her surgeon (I guess she owed him money) so she had vomited so much, she had irritated things, and she could hardly get liquids down...SO..you know what her other banded friend told her to do? She told her to drink sodas...cokes...and this stretched out her pouch and she was finally able to get some solids down -- instead of getting her surgeon to remove a little saline the sodas stretched out her pouch...but I am SURE her band has slipped by now...this was few years ago...

Yep...I was on Prevacid because with my first band due to swelling and increased acid... Also it is a bit of a SHOCK to have tight restriction right out of surgery and many people do not know how to eat on a very restricted band, it takes months to get used to this, and many people will panic and throw up and that is the last thing you need to do.. My advise GO VERY SLOW...stick with soup and very soft mushies and let it take you 30 minutes to get down only a few ounces if necessary, the goal here is to NOT VOMIT.

You may want to stay in contact with your surgeron, it should never be painful for you to eat. Most people are more swollen than others, some people have no restriction and many people are more swollen than others. With my first band, I did not get my first fill until about 4 months post op, because I had a lot of swelling which mimicked "restriction" and if that is the case, you need to keep your meals very moist and stick to mushy foods and don't progress your diet. (I lost 40 pounds very quickly in two months, because I was tight right out of surgery). The warning signs to look for is dehydration, if you can keep liquids down and soft mushies, you should be ok, but if you can't that may be a problem. Also if you have vomited that will cause more swelling and makes things a bit more difficult to get any soft foods down. Stay in contact with your surgeon, if you can't get fluids down you can easily get dehydrated...also what I found helped me was to sip room temp, Water and crystal lite, you have to learn to keep a water bottle in your hand to constantly sip. Cold water will further tighten up the band, and could make you vomit and you don't want that right now. Also make sure that you take pea size teaspoons of food and wait until it goes down before taking another bite of anything, you have to go very slow with eating. Edited to add: you should not be vomiting, it is critical that you avoid any vomiting before your band heals and can set in place, you need to contact your surgeon ASAP.

Sorry that looks awful...but sorry again...MOST lap banders do not look like this after lap band surgery. I've heard some bad things over the years about "True Results" on other forums, I have no clue about it, but it's been in a heated debate on other forums about Band surgeons being incompetent to very poor aftercare. Ideally when you have band surgery, the surgeon put sterilized steri strips on the incisions and if the surgery is done in a very sterilized clean environment many people do not get infections any more...and patients SHOULD NOT REMOVE the steri strips...they should allow them to fall off..and not really touch them and shower only and keep Water from hitting the incisions....and pat the area clean dry or use a blow dryer and keep the stomach area VERY CLEAN and dry....

Many people find that the lap band will screw up the metabolism, due to very small amounts being eating. This is why 95 percent of lap banders have complained that if they get the band emptied either from a complication, or surgery, they gain weight RAPIDLY....I know, I've experienced it. This is why it's advised to always get some exercise in with the band even it's just walking to keep the metabolism healthy...a lot of men lift weights. Also if could be a medical condition that you have personally, but the band sure can screw up the metabolism after years of hardly eating enough calories. This is why a lot of long term lap banders will loosen their bands after getting to goal to keep the band healthy AND...eat to increase their calories and eat more healthy foods to try to stabilize their metabolism and eat like a thin person, but keep the band tight enough to not eat like an obese person.

If it's two months of nothing, there has to be a reason for it, get honest with yourself, it's either NON compliance OR....your band is not restricted enough, the band does not work by itself, you have to WORK IT and stay on top of your fills to get to the green zone, and try to stay in it... Also, early out I walked daily, I find that will help move weight quicker than sitting in a gym, you have to sweat, if you are only lifting weights, that will build muscle and will PROBABLY STALL YOUR WEIGHT OR EVEN GAIN, muscle weighs more than fat..... Also most women that I've seen that lose weight quickly use treadmills, those step climbers, and bikes, or dancing or aerobics, but for ME, nothing beats, good old fashion walking (it pulled off about 10 pounds per month with a restricted band)-- about 1 mile or more per day and it's FREE. Also everyone's metabolism works differently, men probably will lose quicker if they go and lift weights...which increases their metabolism.. A lot of weight loss patients are advised to stay away from trainers because bariatric patients are different and have different needs, or have a trainer that is familiar with bariatric patient needs. If you are too tight that backfires too, with being forced to eat liquids or a complication down the road, and some people will panic and resort to eating anything that slide down, and if you don't have healthy liquids many resort to high calories soft foods like -- junk, and don't lose a pound with the band. Learn how to eat with the band, there are books out there, learn your soft stops, of either a hiccup, burp, sneeze, runny nose or even a sigh, these are your signals to stop eating, the bands job is not to stop you, but help you stop and ideally you should stop at about 1 cup of food per sitting, measure out your food, if you eat more than 4 oz in 1 sitting and still not satisfied and hungry after about 1 hour....you've not gotten to your green zone yet. Also as you lose weight, (you lose the fat pad around your stomach) many people have to constantly get fills to chase the green zone, it's always a liquid process, meaning if you've been in the green zone, does not mean you will always stay there. Hopefully, I've given you enough information to get you going, regardless of where you are with your band. Good luck

Buy bottles of Water, and put them in the fridge, cool them, and add crystal lite, they taste as good and only has 5 calories. I have not drank soda in about 10 years. Also quit drinking soda because it was bad on my skin, not necessarily because it is bad for lap banders.

Congrats on your hotness!! Keep working that band!!

I totally agree, If I eat an entire bag of Reese Cups....(they slide down real easy with a tight band)...and only eat two teaspoons of yogurt....should I get angry because the scales are not moving and say the lap band is a piece of crap? And oh...I love this one...I can't eat any "healthy foods" I vomit up all my food...All I can eat is junk, and I have not lost any weight. DUH...If you plan on keeping your band too tight...deal with it ...and learn how to be creative....protein shakes will go down, pureed broccoli and spinach, and low cal Soup...yogurt...you can still lose weight on a too tight band...LOL Heck you can even throw some chicken in a Magic Bullet and puree that....the stuff I hear on these weight loss boards are unbelievable!

GuyMontag, You said: My favorite line is, I keep drinking with meals...it's sooooooooo hard to stop...WHO ELSE DOES THIS??? PLEASE SAY LOTS OF YOU DO IT TOO SO I CAN JUSTIFY MY STUPID BEHAVIOR PLEASE. You almost made me spit out my crystal lite ...laughing so hard....did I ever say I want to be like you when I grow up...

This is the very reason I tell newbies to RESEARCH your surgeon. They WORK FOR YOU. You pay them for excellent services and your surgeons's office has failed you BIG TIME. Also, you have some fault in this too, you kept a too tight lap band and did not go back for followup, this is the reason there is a high failure rate too, but again, your surgeon's office is failing you too, because regardless whether you did not go back when you were suppose to, your surgeons office should see you immediately, insurance or not. Your band is too tight, you need to go in, it may cost you more in the long run to remove it, it's best to pay a little out of pocket cash now, to have a huge bill to get your band removed eventually. Your problems are the reasons why the lap band has a VERY HIGH FAILURE RATE, and probably why Allergan the manufacturer wants to dump it, and let someone else deal with all this nonsense behind HORRIBLE BAND SURGEONS, that offer HORRIBLE AFTERCARE, if any at all. The lap band will not work properly without a lap band-friendly surgeon (I guess you've figured that out by now the hard way). The lap band can be a VERY DANGEROUS TOOL, if there is little to aftercare, ESPECIALLY IF YOUR BAND IS ON THE TIGHT SIDE. There is NOTHING NON INVASIVE about a lap band when it's too tight and you have no aftercare, this is very dangerous. I would HIGHLY recommend that you find another surgeon, before your band slips or damage you esophagus, because it's too tight. Please find one before you have an urgent complication and then some surgeons will not take you on, if you have any urgent band issues, it's best to find a new surgeon before something bad happens. Ideally a GOOD Band surgeon will SEE YOU IMMEDIATELY if you tell them you think you are too tight and need some saline removed, or if you are having some other issues that needs to be diagnosed with diagnostic testing. A BAD band surgeon, will only see you on a scheduled appointment regardless if you need a fill nor unfill, and this is honestly unacceptable and his or her licenced should be taken, when you need saline removed, you cannot wait, band damage happens quickly and time is of essence if your band gets too tight and you have painful eating and vomiting. I wish you much success on getting a new surgeon, you need to get your medical records, a new surgeon should take you on.

Amen ..sister...and let that be the last word...

If that is the case, you should not have a problem, I am sure your surgeon will see you especially in these circumstances, and probably talk to them and if they tell you, you have a balance maybe you can work out some payment plan with them. Again I hope things work out.

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I am so to hear you are going through these problems, however I have to be honest it will be tough to get another lap band surgeon who will be willing to remove someone else band, especially if there are complications involved due to liability issues and many surgeons just don't like to deal with other surgeons problems. But I am sure there have to be some surgeon that will remove your band, if things get really bad and if you have insurance and if you go to the ER they must assign a lap band surgeon to remove your band. Also you can contact some medical associations and tell them your problem and they may be able to locate and find a lap band surgeon that is willing to removed your band. Some people go to Mexico to get their bands removed, if you are cash pay it's far less expensive, I believe the cash pay in the US will cost anywhere between $15,000 to over $80,000 depending on complications, where you live and what has to be done. If you owe your current surgeon money, I guess that would be a toss up if they will help you, some surgeons will still help you out if you call and explain the situation, but some surgeons have their "nursing staff" to do the dirty work and say you have to pay outstanding bills before they can help you. And no, not ANY surgeon can remove a lap band, it actually takes more skill in removing the band than installing because sometimes they have to carefully and methodically "dig it out" and there is scare tissue/adhesion's involved and sometimes the port is very deep, so no -- any general surgeon cannot remove a lap band, IT MUST be a lap band surgeon. Bariatric surgery is a specialized skill and no one but a lap band surgeon can remove your band. I hope things work our for you.