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So Wasa.....I would like for you to tell me exactly what it is that Dr. Gonzalez is doing to cause all these erosions. From the information that I have read, it is due to the way we as patients follow the rules. Below is a list of potential things that could cause erosion. I would like everybody to read this because I am not seeing where the doctor is causing the erosions. WE are the ones that are responsible for following the directions. The doctor CANNOT follow us around to make sure we are doing the things that will keep erosion and slippage and other possible complications from happening. You have been slamming Dr. Gonzalez's complication rate.....but what you don't seem to get, is that if somebody has an erosion.....it is not necessarily due to anything that the doctor may have done. If you find somewhere that it says....erosions are completely the doctors fault. Please post.....I would love to see that, but until then....I think this erosion rate discussion is over. Quit trying to discredit the man. He is a good doctor and has a wonderful staff. For some reason, you cannot accept that and you have to just keep stirring the pot! EROSION Erosion can become a problem for a patient if the patient Doesn’t follow the simple guidelines set forth by the doctor. HERE ARE SOME EXAMPLES You should not consume alcohol, if you consume any alcohol you may cause damage to the stomach at the neck of the band (an ulcer). If you eat spicy food or certain types of medication you may also cause harm to the stomach. If you DON’T protect your stomach while you have gastritis (like eating Tums or any other antacid), this can and usually does cause the acid in your stomach to erode to the band.

I quit all of my vices within three weeks time. On day 1 of my pre-op diet I quite Diet Pepsi, Caffeine and sugar I had my last cigarette the night before surgery and of course since then have kicked my addiction to food/emotional eating. About a month or two post-op I went through a couple of weeks of being a ball of nerves and desperately looking for an outlet. Admittedly alcohol came to mind a couple times but I made it through without picking up any new bad habits. I guess my only regret it taking on all of that at once but I figure what doesn't kill you only makes you stronger! I am very proud of myself now.

A copy of my favorite all time post on this website:::::: HowtoTellWhenYouArePerfectlyAdjusted: You are losing 1-2 pounds per week. If you are not losing 1-2 pounds per week: A. You may need an eating adjustment 1. Are you eating 60 grams of Protein a day? 2. Are you eating 25 grams of Fiber? 3. Are you avoiding all liquid calories? a. Soup can be sign of soft calorie syndrome b. Alcohol contains a lot of calories 7 calories per gram.(It's also a stomach irritant). c. fruit juice is just sugar Water 4. Are you making healthy food choices from a wide variety of foods? a. Are you avoiding soft foods b. You can't just eat what's easy c. cheese is glorified fat 5. Are you drinking 6-8 glasses of water a day between meals? 6. Are you eating too much junk? a. chips, chocolate, nuts, ice cream, Cookies and other highly processed junk foods are too calorically dense to be regular parts of a healthy diet. But don't avoid them completely to the point where you feel deprived. b. Stay out of fast food places 7. Are you getting in two servings of Calcium daily? 8. Do you always eat the protein first? 9. Then the vegetables or fruits a. Five servings a day b. Potatoes are NOT a vegetable 10. Is your portion size appropriate? a. meat or fish (3 ounces the size of a deck of cards) b. Vegetables (½ cup the size of your fist) c. Starch (If you eat the protein and the vegetables first you don't need much - Avoid: rice, potatoes, pasta) 11. You might try avoiding artificial sweeteners a. Some people think that artificial sweeteners stimulate the appetite b. They are HUNDREDS of times sweeter than sugar c. They teach you to like things too sweet d. There is no evidence that people who use them are any thinner than people who don’t 12. Avoid most diet foods a. Real food usually tastes better b. Real food is more satisfying than low calorie substitutes c. When you are only eating a tiny bit the caloric savings is not that great (Use a teaspoon of real butter instead of a tablespoon of diet margarine. d. The body has no way to break down artificial fats). a. They may go into permanent storage b. Some people think liposuction is the only way to remove hydrolyzed fats from the body B. You may need a behavior adjustment 1. Are you eating only when you are hungry? a. If you're not sure drink 8 ounces of water and wait 2. Are you eating three meals a day? a. With maybe 1 or 2 small Snacks 3. Are you sitting down to eat? 4. Are you eating consciously? a. No distractions, turn off the TV, put the book or newspaper away, pay attention to your food and your companions 5. Are you eating slowly? a. Put the fork down between bites b. Take 20 to 30 minutes to finish a meal c. Taking longer might cause the pouch to begin emptying 6. Are you taking small bites? a. Tiny spoon, chopsticks, cocktail fork 7. Are you chewing well? 8. Are you drinking with your meals or too soon after your meals? a. Practice water loading between meals b. You won't be thirsty if you are well hydrated before the meal 9. Are you stopping at the first sign of fullness? a. Sometimes it's a whisper: not hungry, had enough b. Hard stop versus soft stop 10. Do not eat between meals. Stop grazing. 11. Do not eat when you are not hungry C. You may need an activity adjustment 1. Are you getting in 30 minutes of physical activity at least 3 times a week? a. Over and above what you would do in the usual course of your day b. Could you make it 4 or 5 times a week? c. Could you make it 45 or 60 minutes? 2. Are you taking advantage of opportunities to increase your physical activity? a. Taking the stairs instead of the elevators or escalators b. Walking on the escalators instead of riding c. Parking your car further away from the entrance d. Getting out of the car instead of using the drive through e. Getting off the bus one stop before your destination f. Washing you car by hand instead of the car wash g. Playing with your kids D. You may need an attitude adjustment 1. Are you committed to your weight loss journey? 2. Are you totally honest with yourself about how much you are eating and exercising? a. Log your food and activity on ww.fitday.com for 3 days 3. Are you using food inappropriately to deal with emotional issues? a. Have you identified what the emotions are that drive your eating? b. Can you think of more appropriate ways to deal with those emotions? c. Are you willing to seek help from a qualified counselor? 4. Are you attending and participating in support group meetings? 5. Have you drummed up some support from your family and friends? 6. Have you dealt with saboteurs realistically? 7. Do you have realistic expectations about the weight loss journey? 8. Are you still obsessing about food, weight, dieting, eating? a. Obsessive compulsive thoughts (Obsess about something else) b. Perfectionism (All or none, black and white thinking) c. Patience with the pace of healthy weight loss 9. Are you acknowledging your successes with non-food rewards? 10. Have you learned how to take a compliment? 11. Are you giving up diet mentality? a. Stop weighing yourself several times a day or every day b. Stop dieting c. Stop depriving yourself d. Stop defining food as good and bad e. Stop rewarding and punishing yourself with food 12. How do you feel about all the changes taking place? E. You may need a band adjustment 1. You feel like you are making healthy food choices in appropriate portion sizes but getting hungry between meals? 2. You can still eat white bread, fibrous vegetables and large portions. 3. You are having to struggle to lose 4. You are gaining weight in spite of eating right, exercising and having a good mind set. F. You may need your band loosened 1. There are times when you can’t get fluids down 2. You are vomiting too much a. How much is too much? 3. Do you have frequent reflux or heartburn at night? a. Do not lie flat or bend over soon after eating b. Do not eat late at night or just before bedtime c. Rinse your pouch with a glass or water an hour before bedtime d. Certain foods or drinks are more likely to cause reflux: (1) Rich, spicy, fatty and fried foods (2) Chocolate (3) Caffeine (4) Alcohol (5) Some fruits and vegetables (6) Oranges, lemons, tomatoes, peppers (7) Peppermint (8) Baking soda toothpaste (9) Carbonated drinks e. Eat slowly and do not eat big meals f. If you smoke, quit smoking g. Reduce stress h. Exercise promotes digestion i. Raise the head of your bed j. Wear loose fitting clothing around your waist k. Stress increases reflux l. Take estrogen containing medications in the morning m. Avoid aspirin, Aleve and ibuprofen at bedtime (Tylenol is OK) n. Take an antacid (Pepcid complete) before retiring o. Try other over-the-counter heartburn medications p. See your health care provider<!-- / message --><!-- sig -->

It's a non-issue, even though most people start to agonize before their first fill. You'll go in and one of the nurses (I assume you'll go to Spivak's office) will sit you in the chair and lean you back. She'll check to see where the port is sitting, and then she will give your tummy an alcohol wipe and insert a needle. Just a little sting initially, and then it goes into the port (that isn't something you feel). As it is your first fill, they may just put some in and not flouroscope you at the same time....or they might. If they do, they'll have you get up (she may tape the needle down or sometimes I just fest my arm against it for support) and walk across the hall to the flouro room. You'll stand in front of the machine (this is really cool to watch) and she'll give you a little dixie cup of barium (chalky liquid). You will swallow a little and you'll all watch the screen and see how quickly it shoots down the "pipe" and past the band. When you start to get restriction, you will see the barium hesitate slightly before going through the band area. That's what they ultimately want....they want it to stop for a "nano-second" and then go through. Then she'll have you drink water and ask you to gulp it down and see how that feels. You will get pretty good quickly as sensing when stuff goes through, hesitates, gets plugged, etc. Watching the screen, she will take the syringe and adjust in or out the amount of saline or omnipaque in your band until she is comfortable with the reaction as liquids go down. That's it. You're done. Eat mushies for about two days until you get the swing of what works and what doesn't and then off you go.

That's a crappy thing to do and I hope I don't feel that way after losing more weight. If you ate yourself up to a weight high enough to qualify for WLS you have no right to judge, even if you were able to get help. Obesity is an illness. Compulsive overeating is a an illness just like alcoholism. Surgery is a treatment, and we were lucky enough to be able to have it.

I never thought I'd let myself get to goal (120) and then regain. But like so many others before me I know what I have to do to get back on track. As of now I am 170. 2 years out last month. January last year I was 125lbs and loving life. It has been an incredibly rough year, but I can't let that be an excuse. I'm no expert, but that's pretty significant regain I had the surgery for my health and now I'm getting back to where I was at the beginning at an astonishing rate. My food choices are terrible, I put alcohol and soda back in my "diet" and I went back to snacking. Ugh! Anyone else in a similar boat? What has helped you besides getting back to the basics? Is there anything in particular that has helped you the most with losing the regain? Any support and encouragement is welcome--I've been pretty down on myself lately. But I know I can get back to at least a healthy weight. This time I'll probably aim for 130-135. I came back here since this community was so incredibly supportive to me early post op. And for that I thank you all!

You dont want to mess with the sleeve if you already have had reflux issues. I converted to bypass 2 1/2 months ago and although I wasnt very happy the first 6 weeks I have come around and its not so bad. I do dump on cereal or heavy carbs so I just dont eat that stuff especially in the mornings !!! I can drink alcohol and I dont dump on that. It really varies person to person. I know a woman who has never dumped with the bypass and she said she wish she did !! It is a good deterrent for sure.

My general rule of thumb these days is this: just because you can do something (according to your surgeon) doesn't mean you should. Though more often than not I think surgeons go way over the top alarmist about food, caffeine, alcohol, etc. For me, at one month post op I was not eating much carbs - only cooked veggies and some fruit. I am more than 2 months out now and I can tolerate protein-infused oatmeal okay but rice, Pasta and bread feel like bombs going off in my stomach. I avoid as much as possible.

Has anyone else gained weight?! YES! I called it my "Farewell to Food Tour" (I didn't make that up, I read it somewhere) and I personally think it is quite a natural response to what's coming. I've read some places that some docs get upset if you do that, but mine didn't. In my case, food has been an addiction. So like a typical addict, when faced with the prospect of "rehab," I embraced my habit because it was about to end. Having had experience with drug and alcohol addicts, I know that they "drink themselves in" to rehab, so it makes perfect sense. The bottom line is I was banded Mondayl. It's Friday. I stopped being hungry sometime Monday evening and am on my way to a new life. Having the band already seems to be giving me the advantage of not feeling driven by hunger, which gives me the edge I need to conquer emotional eating. I hope you're not beating yourself up about eating. That was really the point of my answer!

L.A. You do need to get back on that antidepressant asap. Do you have a family Dr or someone you know well. See him/her and get a new prescription. I was a psychiatric nurse for many years and have seen the havoc depression can cause in people, relationships and families. If you need it, there is no reason you can't take it with the band. I bet 75% of overweight people are also depressed. Same with other addictions. People try to self medicate with food, alcohol, drugs etc. Please take care of yourself.

Take it very easy on the food. . And take the alcohol totally in moderation. .. 6 week s is early. Try half a glass of wine or half a shot of spirit absolutely drowned in non fizzy mixer. As long as its not fizzy or acidic you should be able to enjoy :0)

LOL! I have this crazy picture in my head right now.. so your trying to one-up me eh... Ill let you win this time.. My bday is in march too, yours is 21 days before me, you suck!! We'll have to go to vegas next summer and they wont know what happened!! newly skinny girls hit vegas by balls.. They went wild on alcohol and streaked across the strip..hahaha:thumbup: oh and of course THUNDER, DOWNUNDER!!

Tried out the Detour Lean Muscle Bar today. It is not bad in terms of taste, nutritional stats and satiety. The flavor I got is cookie dough caramel. This may be on the sweet side for some, but it does not seem to bother me. Calories: 190 Fat: 6g Carbs: 17 g (1 fiber, w sugar and 13 sugar alcohols) Sodium : 230 mg Protein: 16 g Vitamins: claim is 21 Vitamins and minerals. A little high on sodium, but still manageable. I still like the nu go slim bars better over all.

My date is March 30th which is 10 days away. I started this journey on Feb 1st but I am self pay. I had to do an upper GI and talk with a dietician over the phone. I am struggling with no alcohol, no cigs and mostly liquids. My doc said to have 2-3 Protein shakes and one light meal per day. The hardest part for me is the mental part. I get mad at myself for allowing myself to get this big and have to resort to removing most of my stomach. I have been grouchy some too. food funerals before my pre-op diet started last Wednesday. I keep going back and forth in my mind but when I see a photo of me or catch myself in the mirror, there is no question about doing the surgery. Again, the psychological part is the hardest and I don't find that much online about it. Anyone else having these feelings?

Bloom, congratulations!! yes, I am the test case for bad behavior, or at least the only one who foolishly admits to it. It is not bad, but once you get that slight feeling of fullness, stop, and put down that fork. The next bite will cause you considerable discomfort! I have been able to eat in restaurants and socialize with friends, because I do not want to make a fool of myself and eat slowly and heed all warnings from my band. I was going to try a glass of wine, but did not do so. Will probably test the waters for alcohol over Labor day weekend as I will be camping with friends and not driving. I am not a big drinker anyway, but I do miss having one or two. Your head still wants to overeat, but it will cause instant pain. So I am hoping that the head will learn not to make the body hurt. As far as post surgical pain, I had virtually none. My "innards" have never felt pain, and minimal from the surgical spots. If I flop on my port during the night it hurts, but as the swelling goes down it seems to happen less. I have my nieces convinced that it is an alien ready to hatch. OK, hope I do not offend anyone, but because of the port do you have to always be on top for sex, LOL?

Thank you! Yea, sadly they won’t lol My calorie intake eating as I would say like a beast protein after protein yesterday was about 600. Thankfully, I realized where I was gaining all the weight gain, it was from alcohol, I could drink a bottle of wine like it’s no ones business as I cleaned my home. So I quit the fun drinking and now am just focusing on fueling my body with what it needs

I was prescribed Lovenox as part of my post-op treatment protocol. As others have mentioned, the needles are really small, 27 ga. normally. I don't even feel them. Regardless, the benefit far outweighs the minor discomfort. My pharmacy did not have any alcohol prep pads when I picked up my script (my Dr. sent me the script 2 weeks before surgery so I would be prepared when I got home). I went to Amazon and found them at a reasonable price and got a small box. Just remember to let the alcohol evaporate for a few seconds prior to injecting, to minimize discomfort from the alcohol.

Stevia is plant based not made in a lab like Splenda is. I have not looked at the Desani drops, most liquid inhancers have sugar alcohol. I will have to look at them.

those who eat well are also foodies - unless you are strictly bound to meat & potatoes or cafeteria eating I like anything sweet - so as not to taste the alcohol is my deal!

Hi everyone, I'm having a hard time finding a chewable/liquid/ez-melt calcium/D3 vitamin that's (1) vegetarian or vegan and (2) with no added sugar OR sugar alcohol (fructose is OK). I haven't considered vitamin patches - but I have an allergy to adhesive (tape, bandaids), so that complicates things! I figured I'd ask here in case someone has any good calcium products they can recommend. THANK YOU IN ADVANCE! xxx

Anyone aware of any good Protein bars? I checked over 20 at my local grocery store and all of them had a ton of sugar or sugar alcohols! HW 283. SW265. SD 3/22/13! CW 244.

Hi everyone! Thanks for all the good advice so far. I have my surgery scheduled on August 23. I have a few questions now that it's almost "go time". 1. The breathing tube/catheter..... Is this done while your asleep? Placed and removed? I hope so. How bad was it? 2. Alcohol- I'm a social drinker, and I have a few trips comming up this fall after my band with a drinking crowd. Does alcohol affect you differently with a band? Lower tolerence? Vomiting? I'm not going to blow it out, but do hope I can have a few drinks with friends. Any clues would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!

Hi Speck, I have mixed feelings about it. I think the lapband is more difficult to lose weight. I've lost 30 lbs since June but compared to some who have lost 30+ lbs it makes me upset. Keep in mind that the doctor only wants 1-2 lbs a week which would put me right on target at 1 lb a week. Some of the time I think gastric bypass may have been better for me. The main reason is because if I'm going to have the band for life why not go all the way. I think the reason I didn't go that was was fear and lack of knowledge. I don't know too much about what you can eat. I heard that you can no longer have alcohol or sugar as it will hurt you. Don't know if that is true. In the long run I'm sure I will be happy with my band but like I said I can't imagine being 70 years old and never have had to replace it, therefore gastric bypass might be better. Good luck in your decision.

Well I am so proud I finally took the plunge! Everybody hang in there and we can do it! I just need some help on foods to eat! I have diabetes, high blood pressure and other health issues! Hard to find things to eat that are sugar free but yet are filled with sugar alcohol! Any suggestions! My doctor said always think fat free, sugar free and low calorie! HELP! SUGGESTIONS!

I already have short hair that is thin. I have it almost like Myley Cyrus. http://www.ibtimes.com/why-was-miley-cyrus-hospitalized-singer-might-have-self-medicated-drugs-alcohol-after-1572796 My top is a bit longer so it doesn't really form bangs The sides and back are clipped. The top is longer and flipped to one side. Currently the long side comes to the bottom of my ear. It is symetrical in that I can flip it to either side. In the summer the short hair is my dark brown/almost black natural color and the long hair is bleached pretty blonde. In the winter the long part is caramel with red highlights.