Astrasmom

Ok I have a question for you. I am told many people when they lose alot of weight like I did, your cycles get normal. BUT has anyones cycle become totally erratic? My not so nice friend who visited me on a regular basis before I lost the weight, which was like clock work once a month, every 28 days. NOW that I have lost a ton of weight I am getting my friggin period every week to 2 weeks. I know that the estrogen levels are off when you lose the weight but does it take forever to get back to normal? Not only am I hating it, my husband is about to kill me because it doesn't make for a good personal life. Please tell me that this will get better or should I take so estrogen vitamins from the drug store?

They say things happen for a reason. Sometimes I honestly can't understand that. Here I sit in my hospital room after thinking that losing 111lbs would change my life. And then suddenly BAM!! Something else happens totally unrelated to the lapband. For those not familiar with my case. In 2001 I had open heart surgery for an aortic Aneurysm and valve replacement. At the time I chose to have a pigs valve put in. Bad side is they only last for 10-12 years. I chose this because I didn't want to live on blood thinner for the rest of my life. Needless to say 5 days ago, the valve gave up and decided to colapse. My valve is currently bleeding pretty significantly so they are watching me until my surgeon returns on Monday. If I have any other signs of struggles they may have to do the surgery before then and I will need to choose another surgeon. I'd rather wait though because it's a very long and complicated operation and my surgeon is familiar with my case. So here I sit, being proded and poke with all types of tests to find out exactly why my valve colapsed so suddenly. So I ask for prayers to be sent my way. Hope everyone else is doing well.

Thank you everyone. Things are going well. I will probably be having open heart surgery on Wednesday. I'm stable at the moment. I had heart catheterization today and there are no blockages. Just my aortic valve is leaking. I'm trying to stay strong. Now I have to say I have an awesome lapband doctor. I was having problems the last 2 days with my band being too tight. I was freaking out because I'm in a heart and lung center. These doctors know nothing about the lapband. And I am about an hour away from where my lapband doctor is. So anyway since my lapband doctor is not affliated with this hospital I thought they were going to have to call another lapband doctor in. Well my doctor actually drove out here and removed ALL the fluid from my band. He said he wanted me to be safe during open heart surgey and after he would put the fluid back in for me. I thought that was so awesome. Anyway since I have been in the hospital I have lost 8 more pounds and I am now 2 lbs from goal. Of course I am hoping that I will not gain TOO much back beinging totally unfilled. I am watching my protion size. And my husband brought me my protein supplements to the hospital. Thanks for all of the prayers and well wishes. I will get over this bump and come out with flying colors.

Thank you everyone. Things are going well. I will probably be having open heart surgery on Wednesday. I'm stable at the moment. I had heart catheterization today and there are no blockages. Just my aortic valve is leaking. I'm trying to stay strong. Now I have to say I have an awesome lapband doctor. I was having problems the last 2 days with my band being too tight. I was freaking out because I'm in a heart and lung center. These doctors know nothing about the lapband. And I am about an hour away from where my lapband doctor is. So anyway since my lapband doctor is not affliated with this hospital I thought they were going to have to call another lapband doctor in. Well my doctor actually drove out here and removed ALL the fluid from my band. He said he wanted me to be safe during open heart surgey and after he would put the fluid back in for me. I thought that was so awesome. Anyway since I have been in the hospital I have lost 8 more pounds and I am now 2 lbs from goal. Of course I am hoping that I will not gain TOO much back beinging totally unfilled. I am watching my protion size. And my husband brought me my protein supplements to the hospital. Thanks for all of the prayers and well wishes. I will get over this bump and come out with flying colors.

Thanks everyone. It means alot.

Thanks so much. I will post updates now and then when I can. I have my laptop at the hospital. You can only watch so much TV and it gets very boring after awhile. Here's the news so far. My valve is leaking a very large amount. I am however stable. They are watching me very closely. My surgeon is out until Monday. He is the one that did my surgery last time so he knows my case and I really want him to do it again. You ask why would you wait if you are bleeding so much? Reason is because with every surgery the risk becomes more and more. This is a very risky surgery anyway. Could take 6-10 or more even hours to complete. So I want the surgeon that I trust. Here's the dilema. I have had 25 doctors in and out of my room. I have had test after test after test done. They are trying to determine if I have a bacterial infection that caused my valve to colapse. So far it's not pointing that way because I have no symptoms of being sick. Meanwhile I had a TEE (ultrasound down the throat) today. It revealed that I have some type of growth on my valve and aren't sure if it's a blood clot or if it's a crustation from bacteria. SOOOOO..I am told that I need a heart catheterization before my surgery. They need to determine if I have any other blockages also so they can fix when they are in there. And no good heart surgeon will do open heart without this catheterization. My surgeon remember is away until Monday. Ok so if the do the cath they may dislodge this entity on my valve (which could be a blood clot), which could travel to my brain and I could have a major stroke. Which of course comes with brain damage. If the DON'T do the cath and let the blockages go if I had some and just fixed my valve, I could have a massive heart attack on the table. So tomorrow they are doing a CTscan and have decided to wait until Monday when my surgeon is here for the catheterization. Needless to say I am in the hospital now for at least 2 weeks maybe longer. I am stable but I am exhausted from the stress and from all of the tests they are doing on me. And naturally very scared. But I have been through it once I can do it again. I have to put on the strong face for my family. Not to mention that hospital food doesn't cater to the lapband patients so it's been hard. I pick what I can eat. It's not to bad. However for the last 2 days I think I have eaten about 2 meals because with the tests you can't eat or drink so I have to stop eating at midnight and can't eat until dinner time the next day. So I have probably lost the remaining 8lbs I needed to lose. :thumbup: One hell of a way to lose it...geesh. Anyway thanks for your prayers. I sure could use them. As I said I will update when I can.

Unfortunately gang I won't be updating my status for awhile. On Wednesday I was admitted to the hospital. My heart valve is leaking pretty badly and I will be having ANOTHER open heart surgery on Monday. For those not familiar with my case. In 2001 I had open heart surgery for an aortic Aneurysm and valve replacement. At the time I chose to have a pigs valve put in. Bad side is they only last for 10-12 years. I chose this because I didn't want to live on blood thinner for the rest of my life. Needless to say 5 days ago, the valve gave up and decided to colapse. My valve is currently bleeding pretty significantly so they are watching me until my surgeon returns on Monday. If I have any other signs of struggles they may have to do the surgery before then and I will need to choose another surgeon. I'd rather wait though because it's a very long and complicated operation and my surgeon is familiar with my case. So here I sit, being proded and poke with all types of tests to find out exactly why my valve colapsed so suddenly. So please send your prayers my way and when I recover I will update you with my stats.

You won't bring food back up from your stomach through your band. You will only bring the food up that is stuck that hasn't passed through your pouch yet, and slime which is just saliva. If you 'slime' ALOT, yes you can cause slippage. But the every so often of stuff coming up won't hurt you. So if you are in the red zone you really need to have some Fluid taken out. Otherwise I would suggest chewing your food at least 24-30 times and taking a good 20-30 minutes to eat your meal so you don't get stuck. If you have a virus that is causing you to vomit alot, I would highly suggest calling your doctor so that he will prescribe some anti-nausea medication because excessive vomiting could cause slippage.

My doctor told me that once you get down to near goal weight or have lost alot of weight, you will need to rely more on exercise to keep the weight coming off. So I think you probably have to up your exercise routine a bit more. I have about 8lbs to go until goal and I teeter back an forth all of the time.

I only had a barium swallow the day I was discharged from the hospital. I do the water test in the doctors office after a fill, each time before I am allowed to leave the office.

I have BC/BS of NJ. I have dual insurances. Mine and my husbands so the surgery costed me nothing. I also had a Hiatal hernia repair at the same time (total cost $35,000). And my fills are all covered too. I'm with an out of network doctor that only takes in network fees. He doesn't back bill. Anyway from the seminar to the surgery it was 6 months for me. I had 6 nutrional visits, cardiac clearance, phsyc eval, pulmonary eval, gastric clearance, and a letter of dietary habits from my PCP. At first I thought the day would never get here, but now that I look back, I thank God for that 6 months because the nutrional visits alone taught me so much.

I eat chicken all of the time. In fact I live on it. Sometimes we have to learn to cook things differently. Just a bit of advice to everyone, if you have a slow cooker (Crock pot) put your chicken and whatever other meats you want to cook in there and they come out very juicy and tender. Chicken can be very dry so you might want to add a little gravy to it, or even some chicken broth, just to make it moist. Also if you are going to bake your chicken, roll it in some whole wheat flour first. It tends to keep in the moisture.

Wow thank you so much for being frank like that. More people need to be honest about things. I do hope that you are feeling better and I wish you a speedy recovery if you do need to have your band fixed. Hopefully you won't though.

Absolutely because you don't know what you are going to expect. You'll probably have these boughts of nerves all the way up to the day of your surgery. It's perfectly normal. You will be fine though. The consult is nothing at all. He will go over the surgery, talk to you about what to expect. PLEASE ask many questions. And tell you what you will need to have done before your surgery date is set. Good luck to you and congratulations on the start of your journey. Be sure to read as much as possible at this point and ask many questions. Keep us all posted.

It sounds to me that you do need a tiny un-fill. Even if you had scar tissue it still shouldn't make you regurgitate or heart burn. Do you have night coughs as well? If you aren't getting the proper nutrients in you won't lose weight either, you can actually gain weight. I would definately talk to your doctor. As for your gain, are you journaling your foods that you eat? If not you might want to start. Sometimes you will be suprised at the amount of calories and things you are eating. Also walking is great but you might have to up your exercise a little. Incorporate some weight training into the routine if you can. Maybe a bit more cardio. Hope this helps and I hope you feel better soon. Keep us posted. Good luck to you.

Sometimes after you exercise you will be tighter. Its from your muscles contracting. I find myself tighter in the morning and of course around a womans favorite time of the month.

Well if it's any help, most people who have the lapband are off their medications within the first 4-6 months. Although everyone is different there is a big chance you will get off of yours too. I have to agree with you diets suck!! That's why I think many are successful with the lapband because it's not a diet. It's a lifestyle change. It's also a tool. And it's not something that can just be put inside of you, and miracously you will start losing the weight over night. It takes ALOT of work. So even though the begining of the process is the hardest, the payoff is wonderful. So all I can say is hang in there. It will all be worth it to you. I have no regrets at all except that I didn't get it done sooner. The lapband has saved my life.

Although I wasn't over 50. I was 47 BMI which is very close. I have been VERY successful so far and I am approaching my Bandiversary on Oct. 23. I've lost 111lbs so far with only 8lbs to go. I had sleep apnea which I no longer had and I was borderline everything. I also had open heart surgery in 2001 for an aortic anuerysm with a valve replacement. At the time they put in a pigs valve which doesn't last a lifetime. Needless to say I will need another surgery in the next few years. But I just went 2 weeks ago and my cardiologist told me that my valve is working at 100% and I have probably prolonged my surgery. I do know of people who were much heavier than me which I'm sure had a BMI of well over 50 who have been very successful with the lapband also.

First off let me say 55lbs is AMAZING. You are doing wonderful. Congratulations on your success. Maybe it's time for another fill? Also it helps if you journal your foods. You may be suprised at what you are eating and how much you are eating. We all think we are making wise choices but when they are down on paper sometimes we find otherwise. Are you eating 1/2 to 1 cup of food at each meal? And are you drinking your required fluids for the day? And last are you exercising? You may have to increase your exercise routine a little. Don't be to down on yourself. You are making amazing progress. We all stall at times. Understand we didn't get 'fat' over night. It's not going to come off overnight either. Even though we want it to. Don't look at the scale so much. Measure your weightloss by the things that you can do that you weren't able to do before. Measure your weightloss by the inches that come off. Inches come off faster than pounds do. Are your clothes fitting loose? And if you are working out, understand that muscles weigh more then fat does too. And last if you are taking in the same amount of calories everyday, sometimes you have to jump start your body and trick it. You may have to eat a tiny bit of more calories for one day. When we stick to the exact amount of calories everyday your body gets used to it and will go into stall mode. You should reward yourself with something nice for the 55lbs that you have lost so far. Maybe a facial, or new clothes. Something other than a food choice. Something that will make you feel better about yourself and pull you out of the funk. Keep up the awesome work. I'm proud of you. You should be proud of yourself also.

Hi Mellani, I'm Dawn. Congratulations on the start of your journey. Let me try and answer some of your questions. Pre-op liquid diet is just what it says. Some people don't have to do it. I had to do it for 2 weeks before surgery. It's all liquids and nothing else. Plus your Protein drinks. This is to shrink your liver so that the doctor can move around better in your stomach. It along with the first 2 weeks of banded life are probably the hardest part of the entire process. As for your pills, you are supposed to have pills any bigger than the size of an M&M. If they are you will have to crush them or ask your doctor to give you the liquid form if they come in liquid. As for the restruant what most of us do is order and ask for a box right away. Put most of your food in there to take home and only leave your 1/2 to 1 cup of food on your plate. Then you won't be tempted to eat it all. Or order a Soup like I do. And yes you can order an ice tea or a glass of Water. Just don't drink and eat at the same time. If they have anything to say at the resturaunt you simply tell them that you are on a special diet and can't eat right now. You can actually order one of those cards from The Preferred Weight Loss Surgery | LAP-BAND® to show the waiter. Good luck and hope this has helped you. If you have any further questions please feel free to ask. keep us posted on your progress.

This week I am down 2 more pounds. I have 8lbs to go until goal. Holy cow I can't beleive that it's closing in this fast. Last year I would have never thought that I could ever say that again (ONLY 8LBS TO GO!!). Hope everyone has a good week next week. Good luck and keep up the great work everyone.

I gurgle when I drink fluids. Imagine your pouch as a funnel or a sink drain. It's the fluid exiting into your stomach. I try not to eat or drink anything before I go to bed. It's not very appealing to my hubby..hah. And I didn't start gurgling until about my 3-4 fill when I had good restriction. I have 6 fills now and it's pretty loud.

The Lapband is a daily learning process. It's a lifestyle change. If it was a miracle cure that also took our bad habits away with it, then the medical industry would be a very wealthy industry. Take each day one day at a time. Everyone falls off the wagon once and awhile. We are only human and contrary what some may feel, no one is perfect. This is how we learn. Just like riding a bike, stand up, dust yourself off and get back on that bike again. I think EVERYONE deserves a hand that goes through with this process. You all work very hard.