onenuttynurse

From Montana, but now live in Vancouver Washington

I live in Washington and use my card all the time. I recently had my fluid taken out of the band due to severe reflux issues, but I still use to card to order off the kiddie or senior menu to help me stay on track with my eating. I have never been turned down, and most of the restraurants are very aware of weight loss surgeries....

I have had pretty good success with my band for the last 1.5 years. I am heading to my 2 year anniversary..I have lost 65 lbs which is pretty much within 10 lbs of goal for me. Three weeks ago developed terrible reflux, and after going back 2 times, have had the fluid now taken out of my band, so now I am wide open. The odd thing is, I am eating the same, and not going overboard. I am gratefull that I have adopted a healthy exercise program and 95% of the time, eat healthy. So here I sit...Able to eat the old foods, but to leary to actually do it.......I will start to be slowly refilled again in a couple of months...IN The meantime, I better watch my Ps and Qs...now i know why it is so important to adopt a good exercise program and healthy way of eating...FOR TIMES LIKE THIS WHEN THE FLUID IS GONE....WOOOZER.....

Yes. I will slowly start being refilled, but it could be over a month closer to two months. Band is fine, but something triggered the reflux. Still having swelling even though the band is empty...My weight is actually down, so i am happy for that....Even though I can eat what I want know...I JUST DONT DO IT... for that fear exactly...I get about 60 plus gms of Protein a day.....do alot of fish, and I am a lover of tofu...raw or cooked...I'll eat it anyways its served....... Have a great day and keep on banding.....

Even though the process is very simple which requires a huber needle, saline, alcohol wipe, gloves and a bandaid, getting the port in the right position is the tricky part. I could save my self alot of money due to being a RN for 20 years. This isn't rocket science and if done properly you are no more prone to sepsis doing at home, then they are in the office. The difficult part is not HITTING THE TUBING AND CAUSING A LEAK....Even though it is a siimple process, I respect my band way too much to go out on a limb, but the thought is out there....My fills are cheap, costing me $40.00 and I needed very few, so i guess I got off lucky....Remember, is cutting costs worth the risk of piercing your port? Have a fabulous day! Crista

Been banded almost a year and half. Sure I have had a few problems with vomitting, trying to learn this band like everyone else. Got my first fill in a long time about 5 days ago. It felt tight, but no big deal, liquids going down well. Tried to eat a little piece of meat this morning, chewing like I do, and BAM..stuck with a pretty violent emesis(vomit) to follow. Went to bed, woke up, and WOW..I am pretty swollen with some pretty fiece esophogus pain from vomitting..Little acid burning from vomitting I am sure...SO...Liquids are going down, but its S-L-O-W- GOING WITH SOME GURGLING....but they are doing down with consistant sipping of liquids...Can take my pills still, but liqids are the only thing that i can get down...SOLUTION>>>>>>I am going to stay on lots of liquids for 2 days or so, and see if the swelling goes down and this is just from having a fill..OR ..I thought I would wait about 4 or 5 days to see if it calms down and if not, Then I will go in....i AM NOT SOMEONE WHO RUNS TO THE DR. OR CALLS THEM FOR EVERYTHING...Nurses are their worst enemies...any thoughts fellow memebers........Thanks...onenuttynurse...

I would do anything to be able to eat a 6 inch subway sandwich, or bread of any sort...Lucky ducks...I try to eat toast or bread and Bam...stuck city....However The Dr. said that just because I cant eat it now, doesn't mean it wont change...I am figuring being out 1.5 years now...Its not going to change....Still hopefull...LOL.......

Yes...I believe the eating before going to bed is the culprit..I would totally agree with that...Try eating 2 hours before going to bed. Most of the time I can drink water and go to bed,,no problem..however...If I have eaten to soon before going to bed, I can tell and feel like i have to prop myself up with pillows to fall asleep to let that food pass......

I am thinking of having some smart lipo under local anesthetic done to my arms. Really dont want to have the skin removed, but the consulting plastic said smart lip would definately help.....anybody have this done for arms and what was your experience? did you have good results.....Do you remember the cost? thanks....

I have worked night shift for 20 years, and I have it down pretty well....I have a snack in the morning, but not a big one that will hinder my sleeping. Then when I get up at 2 pm, I eat again, then I eat again around 10 pm...with a snack inbetween to tide me over...After that...thats it until the morning...I have lost 65 lbs doing this and its still coming off....I think i have it down to a pretty fine art, but it took some tweeking and getting used to... onenuttynurse

I have been banded one year and 3 months and bread is a absolute NO NO NO for me, but you know what? After awhile, you will forget about it, and I now could care a less whether i ever eat bread again, and I was a fan of french bread, toast, home made bread...So take a deep breath...Believe me, if bread causes you to get stuck, it will look less appealing everytime you look at it.... Good luck and stay strong..... onenuttynurse

If you could sent them to my email so I could see them that would be great......If you are willing to do that, its onenuttynurse@msn.com

I am having mixed feelings. I have loose skin on my arms, and not sure smart lipo will take care of this. Two weeks ago i was 100 percent sure, however now, I am being told by several plastic surgeon assistant that it will not tighten up my skin and my best option is to keep working out on my arms with tricep exercises...What are you thoughts on this? What are you hoping it does for you?

Be very cautious doing that. I thought the same thing until I checked it, and it was sky high even though i have lost 65 lbs and exercise daily and am in the best shape of my life with running and spinning...I thought it would be fine, but its not...I am 43 and back now on bp meds...Dr. says it may just be something that is with me forever. As a cardiac nurse, i know the consequences if you don't take your meds..stroke, heart attack, etc...Just be carefull and monitor it...Continued success to you...

I love Montana..Taking a vacation there soon "to go back home". I moved to Vancouver about 6 years ago, but lived in Montana as well for 38 years.....I love going home....... Worked at the hosptial in GreatFalls for many years, but am from a little town in Eastern Montana.....I love going to Kalispell.....Gods country there.......

Speaking for myself only, I am a fan of splenda, and I drink it in my ice tea and have managed to carve off 65#, but not without hard work. Now if i could figure out how to change the damn ticker tape, I would be fine..Its hard when I keep forgetting the password........

Skin tightening cream......Save your hard earned money. If there was a cream like this out there, I would have found it already........all the cream in the world isn't going to help loose skin...

Really sounds like you are extremely swollen. Did you eat something or choke on something in the last day or so. I choked on a piece of turkey one time, and couldn't swallow nothing for about 36 hours. Called the Dr. and they told me it was from choking and vomitting so hard on that turkey....If you can sip h20,,,you are fine, especially if you have no pain. However, it doesn't cost you a thing to call and talk to the Dr. nurse for insight..........

PTC is basically intracranial hypertension and has the same symptoms.The difference is the severer compression of the optic nerve which is what happened to me. I have optic shunts which i chose after having weekly taps........If PTC is left untreated, it can actually case a midline shift of your brain...its all bad from that point on...........then you are fighting for you life....Good luck...It is extremly important to control the symptoms...onenuttynusre

I am very familiar with this as I have delt with this since 1995 with very good luck until 1 month ago when i had another flare up...onenuttynurse

Its crazy alright...If we could do all the work 100% on our own...We wouldn't need the damn band..lol...Thats funny....I wish you nothing but success with the band...In closing it took me one year to get good restriction..I didn't have a ton to lose, so the weight loss has been slow but steady and I am okay with that........

Unfortunately..I too love watermelon, but can no longer eat it...It just makes me feel miserable in my gut, so I have stopped eating it...Good Luck

I agree with waiting a week or so. My restriction never kicks in until one week...sometimes I am so tight, that i gurgle with every sip of Water, however after a week , things loosen up. I think i am very close to my sweetspot, so I think i am going to stick where I am for a couple months or so.....I lost 8 lbs this last month, so i think i am right on target...and that was after plateauing for 4 months....... Good luck to all of you and keep up the good work... Onenuttynurse

I really need to remind myself to eat since my last fill. If not, I can go all day long. Whenever I go out of town, my good friend is kind enough to remind me that "we need to take a break and eat" because sometimes I just plain forget.....when I do eat, my Protein is fish, chicken, and turkey, however my MAIN protein staple is tofu which i eat several times a week . I do drink Protein shakes....My family is awesome at helping me count my gms of protein as they are all health concious. Good Luck Everyone... Onenuttynurse