Kando

My surgery went very smoothly. Dr. Debruyne is one of the top lap band surgeons. The nursing aftercare was also excellent. I feel like the postsurgery aftercare/patient ed at Emirates could be improved greatly. Not that it is "dangerous" in any way, just minimal. I was grateful that I had spent so much time educating myself so that I knew what to expect. I haven't had any problems other than the normal ones like being too tight or eating too fast, etc. I have lost over 90 pounds and am still losing so very pleased all in all. You are in good hands with Dr. Chris. Kando

Saira, If 0 is not hot and 10 is the hottest, I eat up to a 7 since my banding 13 months ago. BUT I haven't eaten whole hot peppers (cooked or otherwise) because I am a little worried about what they might do to my slowed digestive system. So the spice is either from ground hot pepper in the curry or whole pepper cooked with it - and I just leave it on my plate. Eventually, I may give whole pepper a try, but not now. If I do eat whole pepper, I'll be sure there are no pepper seeds for reasons which you can understand. Although I am not Indian, I find Indian food very band-friendly but I just eat small, small amounts as a bandster. I live in the Middle East (Abu Dhabi), so the Indian food is the real thing and I assume that Indian and Pakistani food are similar. Hope this helps! Kando

I eat authentic Indian food all the time - spicy, too. No problems. I can't really eat a lot of rice so I just spoon a little bit of curry or dhal into small bowls and enjoy. Couldn't live without Indian food. So delicious.:hungry:

I also had what I thought was a heart attack three weeks ago. Went to the hospital and they did a complete heart work up. All was well. It was an esophageal spasm. I too had been too tight and had just gotten an unfill the day before it happened. It was frightening. The heart doctor said that it was a side effect of the band. I have had no repeat.

That's really great news! I am sure that things will go smoothly for you with one of the larger, softer bands. It just makes sense.:fish:

Fingers are definitely crossed. Toes, too. Let us know.

I am really sorry to hear about your slip and hope that your surgery and its outcome will be what you would like. Good wishes to you! Kando

don't grab a quick bite of something "unknown" just before class. I am a college teacher and on some days, I don't get a proper lunch break. One day I stuffed an uncertain food down between classes as I was starving. Whatever it was didn't want to go down and I had a major slime. I was also worried that I would be late to my class or might not be able to make it at all. In the end, my slime resolved itself just before my class and all was well. Lesson to me was to always carry a safe snack and to never eat anything before class that I wasn't sure would go down easily. Hope that helps! Kando

I may be mistaken, but I think that studies done on the Swedish Band show a significantly lower complications rate than the Inamed bands. Kando

Veteran Bandsters, Is sliming (which I do more often than I would like) the same as PBing, and therefore dangerous?:phanvan I know it is to be avoided and is unpleasant but I just don't know how serious it (sliming) is in the bandster scheme of things. Please explain the difference. I read it somewhere before but am still not clear.:help:

Hi, I just wanted to add my two cents: it is very possible for a sore throat to be related to a too tight band. Because the band is so tight it may cause acid reflux when you sleep and this can cause the sore throat and laryngitis. Think you might want to talk to your doc about a slight defill. Good luck.

Hi all I have posted this before but want to put it out there again because it is very good news for us lapbanders and was a very large study. http://www.medindia.net/news/view_news_main.asp?x=14068 Hope that this will encourage all!

Hi, I was banded at Emirates Hospital in September and really wish there were a support group here. I have suggested it numerous times there, but they don't seem interested. Althought I live in Abu Dhabi, I could surely drive to Dubai now and then for a get-together. But just to share info about doctors and resources by email would be a great help. Although I am doing fine post-op (except for the massive hungrys before I reach restriction), I would really appreciate having some banded buddies in the region. Desertmom, I read your journal last week and felt so bad about all the troubles that you have had with your band. I really wish that things would get better for you. TYK

Hi, I live in Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates and there are fill doctors here. Ther are also docs in Saudi and I imagine in other countries in the region as well. If you move this way (the UAE), the Emirates Hospital in Dubai does fills and I believe the American Hospital does too. Hope that helps. TYK

Here it is: http://www.medindia.net/news/view_news_main.asp?x=14068 Recent research has shown that the procedure can reduce death rates in the obese by as much as 75 per cent. Associate Professor John Dixon, from the Centre of Obesity Research and Education at Monash University said, ‘This is the first time that any form of weight loss treatment has been able to show that weight loss therapy saves lives.’ In three studies, 10,000 obese people who had the surgery were compared with another 10,000 obese patients. It was found that those who had the surgery were actually living substantially longer. In addition they were found to be less likely to die than those who were in the general community who were the same age and weight problems. 6 September 2006 I hope this will make all banders smile.

Last week, I read a recently released research study in Australia on 10,000 subjects that showed that people who had the gastric band had a reduced mortality rate of 75% when compared to matched controls that had not had the surgery. That is an enormous and wonderful outcome. I will try to find the link to the study and post it for all to say. The results were much more significant than the researchers had expected.

Hi, I live in Abu Dhabi. Chris De Brutenne comes to the Emirates Hospital in Dubai two days each month. I am having a band "installed" by him in September. Check out the website for the hospital. Hope this helps. Fellow Gulf "Liver"