Caimenmom

dn6993, Hi. I just wanted to comment that alot of bandsters have the same issues with eating that you described and there bands are fine. It is very common for food to go down different at different times of the day, and at different times in a womens hormonal cycle. for me I cant eat solids until noon. Breakfast is a protein shake or cottage cheese with fruit. By the end of the day I can eat steak if i want. Also right before my monthly I have a harder time with dense proteins and course veggies like corn and broccoli.

First off if you want to smoke, you will smoke. No amount of hearing negative effects will stop a person who is not ready to quit. As far as the healing goes, smoking decreases blood circulation and the bloods ability to carry oxygen. Your blood is carried in arteries and veins that branch off into smaller and smaller capillaries. The smaller cappillaries are what feed the skin. These small capillaries are what are damaged most by the chemicals in tobacco. Smoking will increse the time it takes your surgical wounds to heal, increase scarring, and increase your risk of infection. I hope you can avoid cigarrettes for at least six weeks, but if you cant then you cant. Just please take care of yourself and limit your smoking like you said you already do. PS I am an ex smoker and use the electronic nicotine inhaler for my nicotine. I have used it for two years. I dont care to hear anyones opinion on that if anyone reading this has one.

I wouldn't say I have nightmares, but I did have very vivid dreams for about three mounths after I had the band placed. I still have vivid dreams sometimes but they normally occur after fills and are about food. An example would be that I totally binged and gained like 30 pounds in one sitting. I would wake up feeling like i was drowning in saliva from my mouth watering.

I am so glad to hear everyone is making progress. I think I will donate some of mine as well. Some of the pieces I am actually saving to make a quilt. I spent so much of my life using the clothes to cover my fatness, it will be nice to use them to insulate my hotness. Or, just to keep warm in the winter what with all my excess blubber gone and all. Best of luck to all.

First let me say congrats on getting banded. I was banded a little over 5 months ago and I can still remember the pain you are referring. I also had a hiatal hernia repaired at the time of band placement. It honestly took about a month for the pain in my left shoulder to be completely gone. It got better everyday though. The first week I honestly thought I had made the worst mistake of my life. After 2-3 weeks I only had the pain when I ate too fast or got too full. The pain comes from irritation of the sciatic nerve in the abdomen caused by your diaphram that was repaired. The radiating pain from shoulder down your arm is the same pain you get if your having a heart attack, because the same nerve is irritated in the abdomen. You may also experience pain in the left jaw. Hang in their Chicky. I have lost 60 pounds since being banded 5 months ago and am over half way to goal.

This is a personal choice. I personally would not tell until I felt totally confortable with a guy. It's really not anyones business what you do to improve yourself, this goes for any cosmetic procedure as well. Everyones comfort level is different. I would tell him BEFORE we became intimate just in case he has a problem with the scars or something else. I personally feel if I'm sharing my body with someone they better accept it, but that's not always the case. I wish you the best of luck and congratulations on your loss.

It is my yo-yo experience that a person will lose or gain one size for every10 pounds, so to go from a 20 to an 18 you would need to lose 20 pounds. I have lost 60 pounds and went from a 24 to a 18. This rule applies until you get below size 12 or 14 then it takes less weight loss to move sizes. I noticed that your weight loss has been significant but your size loss has not. This could be that larger sizes takes more weight to move sizes just like smaller sizes takes less or you are losing more muscle than you need to because muscle weighs more than fat. I hope the first is the case. Do you exercise regularly (3-5) days a week for 45-60 minutes? You have to ensure the weight loss is fat and not muscle. Congrats on your loss and keep up the good work. I should also say that I am 6 foot tall so the above experience may not apply to everyone.

Im not sure how long you have had ur band, but if not too long it could be irritation of your diaphram. I get shoulder pain sometimes when i take my fishoil, which is a horse pill. Ive had my band 4 months. I also had a hiatal hernia repaired at the same time. The diaphram will get irritated and stimulates the sciatic nerve in your abdomen. This is the same nerve that is irritated if u are having a heart attack. It causes arm, shoulder, and jaw pain. It should pass. In th future you can ask for antibiotics and other large pills to be prescribed in liquid form, the pharmacist can mix it.

I don't know any doctors in that area, but i do know it can be difficult to find a doctor to take a patient from another doctor. I recommend fill center USA. I had my band done in Mexico and have a doctor from fill center 2 hours from my home. U can google fillcenterusa and see if there is a location close to where u move. A fill costs around $170. Hope this helps and good luck on your search.

I just thought i would post my two cents so that we would have 4 cents. I had my band 4 months ago in Tijuana Mexico. The bottom line was i am self pay and it cost me $6,000. The cheapest i found in my state of Arkansas was $14,500. I could have went to Texas and get one for around $10,000. Aftercare in Texas was not included and the drive would have been 6 hours. I get my aftercare in Oklahoma ,a 3 hour drive, and a fill visit costs $160. Even if I do have 10 fills until goal thats only around $2,000 dollars with gas to travel to Oklahoma. Thats only $8000 for band, fills, and gas for travel. Compared to the $14,500 for surgery and 1 year of aftercare in Arkansas. I Think it all depends on the level of risk a person is comfortable with. I knew if I had complications I would have a hard time finding help. So far I have not had any problems. Ive had one fill, done under fluoro and have lost 40 pounds. I have 60 more to goal.

I just had my first fill 10 days ago. I am 14 weeks post-op. It is different for everyone. I chose to wait for my first fill because i wanted to make sure i mastered the food rules such as chewing alot, not drinking with my meals, etc. To me it is not a race with fill date rules and weight loss expectations. It took me 30 years to get this big so i can take my time and make it work for me on my schedule.

This happens to me too. It is my signal that i ate too much too fast. When this happens to me i gag myself (i know that sounds bad). I just gag myself until i spit up the last bite or two that i took and they stop. Sometimes ill get them a while after i eat and i think thats if somethings gets stuck passing through the stoma. I bend over and for whatever reason that helps the stuck food pass. I had a hiatal hernia repair at the same time as my band that may have something the do with the hiccups since the diaphram is involved with both the hernia and the hiccups. I recommend slowing done your eating and stopping eating as soon as u first feel pressure or that first hiccup. One more bite will set them painfully off.

I am 3 and a half months post op and still remember that first week hunger. One thing i did was scramble up an egg and mix it with my chicken broth. It was like egg drop soup. it makes the egg very soft and fluffy. That really helped with the hunger. I also recommend can campbells chicken broth, its way better than the paper box varieties. I also went to protein shakes and bolthouse farms fruit smoothies around day five so good luck and it will be worth it. PS no popcorn the kernals can easily irritate your stomach.

Hello. I can sense the desperation in your post. First of all take a deep breath. Feel better? OK. I am a self pay LAP-BAND® patient. I had surgery in Mexico and I use fill center USA. You can google them. They may have a center close to you. I dont know if or how they bill insurance. They charge around $350 for a first visit and around $160 for each subsequent fill. They have centers all over the country and you can use a center anywhere you travel without paying a fee besides fill fee. I have great luck with them. i live in Arkansas so I dont know about Texas fill centers. I also know people who use their family physicians for fills. A friend of mine uses a radiologist in Paris, Texas to do her fills. Radiologists administer chemo through ports in a similiar way as a fill so call Radiology centers in your area too. Dont give up hope. I know you will need fills in the future to properly maintain your band, so good luck with your search. I am sorry your doctor did this to you, but always look on the bright side.