ElfiePoo

All surgeons are different. Mine did 3 days of each postop phase and I was back on solid foods by 2 weeks. I'd call his office and see if you can advance to the next step. .

It's 3 a.m. and I am *not* sleeping. I'm sooo looking forward to getting this fill out on Tuesday, hoping that it will alleviate this pain somewhat. I don't have any expectations of it going away completely since I've had it since the surgery, but any relief will be welcome. On the plus side, and I know it's not my official weigh date (Monday), but I'm down 6.5 pounds since last Friday. No, my ticker isn't right. I'm just too lazy to go fix it right now. Nothing new to update. I'm going to the birthday party for a one year old today (Saturday). I must've been crazy when I said yes to the invite since my youngest is 18 so it's not like I'm in that 'kiddie crowd' and I'm trying to figure out how a double whiskey will fit into my calorie requirements for the day since I might need it before or after the event. Where is everyone?!

ROFL...I thought I was the only one who called bypass 'slice and dice'. While interviewing surgeons, the only one who didn't push bypass and sleeve was the one I finally chose to do my band. All the rest kept pushing the bypass and when they talked about how it was more 'successful', I just pulled out my little paper with the statistics that showed how success was measured and told them that I didn't think a surgery was successful if the person was still obese as many bypass patients remain. .

Depends. If you're hungry and he's refusing to fill unless you lose weight, I'd find another doctor because he is *NOT* using the band in the way it was meant. He's using it as a carrot/stick reward/punishment...which makes him an idiot. If you read the Lap band literature it says that hunger is a sign that you need a fill. The whole purpose of the band is to control that hunger. Until it does, you need to get fills. First I'd call around and find out if you can find another doctor to do your fills. Then I'd make an appointment for a sit down talk and take the literature with that part highlighted to your current doctor. Tell him you want to set up fills at one month intervals *minimum* if you need the due to hunger. If he says 'no', I'd dump him and go to the new doctor...and I'd go on the internet and find the sites where you can give feedback about your doctor. That's actually how I found mine and what helped me make my final determination. But then that's just what I'd do. .

As far as I can tell, there is little difference anymore between the Lap and the Realize other than perhaps the amount of fill they each take. I have the Realize. My surgeon said he used to do Lap, but liked the low profile port so switched to the Realize. However, it's my understanding that the Lap now has a low profile port as well. I had mine done at Barix in Ann Arbor MI. .

ROFLMAO!! .

Keep in mind that when these doctors are talking about success rates, 'success' is determined by patients losing 50% of their weight...and they only track for a short period of time. By those guidelines, bypass is far more successful, because patients will lose about 60% of their excess weight just from the malabsorption aspect of the surgery...and they'll lose it quickly. However, you read the statistics 2-3 years out, you'll find that it sort of all evens out and there's little difference between any of the WLS surgeries in terms of 'true success'. There are many bypass patients who never lose any more than that and some will actually gain their weight back. Some do just fine after surgery, but there are also people who have one medical problem after another as a result of the malabsorption...and you never know which one you're going to be until it's too late and you're stuck with whatever it is because it's not reversible. I've had my band for 15 months now and am having it taken out due to constant phrenic nerve pain in my shoulder. I'm still debating whether I'll have the revision to a sleeve. I'm not worried about any 'leaks'...the success rate without postop complications is very very good. I just haven't wrapped my head around the idea of cutting out most of my stomach...but that's just me. If I could get my head around that, knowing what I now know about the band...I'd do the vertical sleeve without any qualms.

Excedrin migraine is the only thing that works for me. I just bite it into tiny pieces and swallow with a mouthful of Water. Yeah...nasty, but it works. .

3 months seems a bit long. I had my first fill at 4 weeks and then a fill every 2-4 weeks, depending on whether or not I was still hungry. I'd call and ask them to schedule you sooner since the fills are what help get rid of the hunger. .

Every doctor is different. Mine said 3 oz of Protein, 1/2 cup vegies, 1/4 c. start (optional). I limit my carbs severely because I'm trying to control my diabetes with diet alone, so I'll usually have just the protein and vegies and if still hungry, will just have another 1/2 cup of vegies. At my sweet spot I'm eating about 900 calories per day. .

Answering to a couple posts... I hadn't even thought of talking to a neurologist, but might be worth a shot before getting rid of the band. Especially since the damned thing has finally started working! In the past week and a half I've been eating between 800-1000 calories a day because all desire to eat vanished after my band tightened from the last fill. The plan right now is not to just go in and yank the band (although he thinks that will be what happens), but to see where/how/why it's rubbing against the diaphragm and possibly fix it. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

Hi Vickey, Since you're so far past surgery, sounds like it may be phrenic nerve pain. When anything rubs against the diaphragm, it sends a radiating pain up the phrenic nerve. Some people get it when they overeat or just after eating, probably because they're shifting the angle of where their band is placed. I get mine when I'm lying down or if I can't sit straight up. Sitting in a car or plane seat is miserable for me because the curve of the seat puts me at the wrong angle even when it's straight up. Some people say their pain goes away as they lose weight. I know of at least one woman who is 5 years post surgery and down to her appropriate weight and she still has the pain but said she'll keep the pain if the alternative is removing the band and gaining back her weight. I had my surgery 15 months ago and it's been pretty bad all along but lately it's getting worse again. Plus I'm losing range of motion in my left arm because I've been limited in how I can lift it due to the pain. So I've made the decision to get my band out. I haven't decided yet whether or not I'm going to get a revision to the sleeve. That's a bit more drastic than I ever wanted to do so I need to think on it more. I just know though that I can't deal with this pain anymore and still have a life. I haven't found anything that really works consistently but sometimes putting a heating pad, pain patch or even some camphor type muscle rub alleviates it. Not always, but sometimes. .

Sounds like 'life with a band'. The band does tighten and loose on its own...sort of. The nurse who does my fills said it's due to the gastric juices affecting the inside of our banding area which causes the 'stomach' to expand and contract slightly causing the band to be tighter or looser. The days when you're not hungry and have more stuck issues are probably the days when your band is about right on. Just take small bites, chew well and avoid the 'problem' foods. The days when you're hungry all day...you're just going to have to white knuckle it...but knowing that it's temporary. Personally, if I had more hungry days, I'd go for just a teensy fill and drink Protein Shakes on the too tight days...but that's just me. .

Whether or not they can fire you without a reason varies by state. I live in an 'at will' state meaning they don't have to have a reason for firing you *BUT* they will have to give a reason when you go file for unemployment because, while they can let you go for no reason, they'll still have to pay unemployment benefits unless you were fired for a 'just cause'. .

Thanks. I've been doing a lot of research on the sleeve and haven't completely ruled it out. I'm just glad my insurance is making it an option. My surgeon hadn't ever heard of the phrenic nerve pain either. He's done thousands of these surgeries and said I'm the first to complain. I love him but it makes me wonder how much these guys keep up on the advances in what they're doing since I was able to discover what the pain was just by doing a search on the internet! .

You are correct...the staples hold the cut side of the stomach together, just like sutures, until it heals itself. They remove the unused part of the stomach (which also removes the ability to produce ghrelin, the hunger hormone) leaving you with a banana shaped 'stomach' that still allows you to digest food in the way your body was intended to do. It's my understanding that the body figures out how to start producing that ghrelin again after about a year, but they figure by then, your weight loss is significant enough to (1) reduce medical problems (diabetes, etc.); and (2) this weight loss will motivate you to continue. What you will always have is restriction as long as you don't overeat and stretch your new stomach out...which you can do. .

If you're not sure, then don't. There is a lot of work involved in having the band and it does take commitment for it to work. The band does not cut down on food intake for everyone. What it does is remove the hunger so that *you* can choose not to overeat...but if you still choose to, if you're like many of us, you can still overeat. I used to make handmade soap and sell it at craft shows. I had a sign on my booth that said, "Yes...but will you?" that got a laugh (and sales) out of people because they knew exactly what I was referring to. People would go by my booth and say "$3 for a bar of soap...I can make that." Sure they can...but will they...or did they? Nope. It's the same here. You're saying you can do this without WLS, but really...will you...or have you done so far? If you can, then more power to you. If you can and haven't...why not? On the same side of the coin...if it's because you don't want to make the commitment involved in dieting...don't get the band because you'll need the same commitment there. It only works if you work it. . .

The band is less invasive than the sleeve...but to be honest, that's about all the good I can say for it at this point after my experience. With the sleeve, you start losing right away and drop a considerable amount of weight your first year because it does restrict how much you eat right from the start. With the band, it takes time to get to the right spot where it actually gets rid of the hunger and, for many of us, it never restricts how *much* we can eat. Also, the band seems to tighten and loosen on a daily basis making it a rollercoaster of joy (not) in knowing what foods are going to be a problem. Today I might be able to eat an egg...tomorrow, maybe not. I had the band put in 15 months ago. I'm getting ready to go back into surgery to get it taken out because since the day of surgery I've had persistent phrenic nerve pain (shoulder pain) from the band rubbing on my diaphragm. I plan on living without the band for a bit but if the hunger comes back and I can't control it, I'll go in for the sleeve revision.

Denise, When do you leave on your cruise? .

I detest exercising (planned, regimented, do it for a purpose) and would rather find *activities* that I enjoy and will continue to do over time. If it's exercise, I'm bored to tears within 5 minutes. If it's a fun activity, I'm always surprised at how swiftly the time goes by. Right now I'm doing Tae Bo and/or playing on the Wii Fit for about an hour a day. If I miss a day, I don't worry about it because I'm doing it for fun. If I start thinking of it as something I *have* to do, it will quickly become 'exercise'. When I get bored with that, I'll move on to something else...or not. If I'm lucky, this will hold me until spring when it's time to garden. It may not be 'cardio', but it is activity (bending, stretching, lefting, pulling, digging...). I believe there's a balance to be had in life. I don't plan on going from a compulsive overeater to a compulsive exerciser. .

I was told not to lift more than 5 lbs for two weeks postop. At my 2 week appointment, he cleared me for 10 lb. I would check with your surgeon and go by his recommendation. .

I never feel anything right away, but about 2 weeks later...like clockwork...my band tightens. .

I'm so sorry you had to have your band removed and dealing with the hunger again. Since having my band put in I've dealt with constant pain in my left shoulder (phrenic nerve pain) and after 15 months, I just can't deal with it anymore. They're taking my band out within the next few weeks (I hope) and, while my insurance will cover the revision to a sleeve since the band is being removed due to complications, I'm not sure I want to do that. Like you, though, without the band I don't know if I'll be able to deal with the hunger. .

Yes I've taken it but mine wasn't carbonated. Also, according to the diabetes clinic that I had mine done at, you have to eat a diet high in carbs for 3 days before the test. . .

Deb, You farm tropical fish? Does that mean he goes out and catches them...or raises them? Sounds fascinating although I have as much luck with fish as I do plants. Put a black hooded robe on me, hand me a scythe and just call me 'Death'. I do love tropical fish though...especially the saltwater varieties! .