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Heyyyyyyyy Mispristy!!! That's what I'm talking bout!! Back to work already. I'm hoping that I can do the same they want me to take a week off no can do it (without pay???) nope nodda doin it!!!! Yes, 5 more days I am so ready!! my clothes are packed for my overnight stay and the suitcase is by the door!!! Hmph!! I am not playin!!

Which band did you choose? I told my doctor that I wanted the AP Band which is the one that is more circular with the rough ridges that when it's inflated it looks like a circle still....However depending on my antamony (as they put it) will determine which one I will get one of the AP band sizes I will get. Since this is a revision to my gastric bypass that I had in 2004 he told me more than likely they will be filing my band so that it will fit around the valve to my stomach pouch.....I wish today was Friday!! Hmph!! Anywhoooooooo, I am glad that you are doing well. How are you doing with your proteins & stuff??

Hey Destined! I'm doing great I got approved after 2weeks from the time they submitted my paperwork. I have my surgery date Mon, March 1st! I'm so excited I just can't hide it I'm 'bout 2 lose some weight & I know I love it! (Borrowed from fellow bandster but I remixed it!..giggles) I know time is near but I wish it was already here!! It's okay w/the late response glad you got back 2 me I'm not nervous 'bout the surgery @ all this will be my 2nd bariatric surgery (gastric bypass 2004) did really great until the meds which caused me 2 pick up 2 much weight 2 fast only thing scares me is the fills, I seen the needle! My dr numbs the area 1st but I hate needles w/a passion!! I am a straight punk!! lol!!

I pray that your next fill is better than your 1st one Mama!! Are you getting in all your protein?? How much are you getting in, in a day? I have some really cool info on extra protein I can give you if you like. Looking forward to chatting with you soon. Keep me posted....Smooches!!

Well I had been at a plateau for a few months. So I totally revised my eating choices and hit the gym every other day for about 2 1/2hrs give or take a few mins I have a routine that I do 1hr cardio then weights, abs, arms and inner outer thighs, and back. At 1st I was just loosing inches, now Im loosing weight too.

sorry im soooooo late! but i havent been on here in the longessssst! im doing good.... im not banded i decided im getting gastric bypass maybe in july or aug im not sure yet but yea, how are you!?

Hi Irene,

so sorry I haven't responded. I didn't realize I hadn't come to the site in that long! My bad. I'm having a group together on June 7th here at the clubhouse where i live in anaheim hills. Maybe you can join us. It's a group of us that have had lapband, sleeve, or bypass. we're just a group who have now become friends. hope you can join us. i'll send you the evite.

I hope you are doing well with your band.

Wow,

you really have had great success with your lap band.

How did you do it.?? Did you exercise and stick to your nutrion plan...I am considering having the band or the gastric bypass...we are the same age and I am close to your start weight! If I can work it like you did! THanks for the posted photos they are very encouraging!

Yes they are doing lapband . I'm not sure if they do the sleeve. I do know the the Gastric bypass and they lapband s what they offer.

I will do even better,here is his website Treating severe morbid obesity through gastric bypass surgery Paul Wizman, MD, P.A. as to brand I am not sure but he uses Lap Band brand .Fees I pay $175.00 for a fill and $75.00 for an office visit he did insist I do my first fill under that x-ray thing.But now I have heard he does charge a program fee for new patients but I am not sure as I did not pay one just $235.00 for my first fill.Tell him Delores Powell referred you maybe that will help.Let me know how it goes.He also takes patients out of the county for banding so ask him about self pay I think it is $12,000 but not sure.

Best of luck stay in touch

Revision Surgery on Tuesday !!! Wish me Luck !!!!

day 1 after port revision surgery.. pretty rough day

Meet with my endocrinologist today to discuss the Lap Band VS Bypass. He suggested the Lap Band because it seems a better option for me at this point and he said he happy that I have decided to figure out a way to stop the cycle of obesity in my family. My mother is 350lbs 5'7 my father was 210lbs 6'2 and all of my maternal uncles, aunts, and cousins are obese. I am breaking the cycle and ready to make a change. We also discussed me having PCOS and the need for me to take metFORMIN da...

Hey Girl! I just read your post about an excersise buddy. Im looking for one too. I had gastric bypass March 5th. Do you have a gym membership?

Ouch! I think the port revision is more painful than the lap band surgery!!

Hello thanks for writing back

I live in Northern california. I have jumped through all the hoops just waiting for insurance to say yes. I have blue shield they said it is the easiest and fastest to reply. My doctor is here in town. He has a center of execellace which I understand is important.

Did you see my stats are we close. I am crossing my fingers for the next two weeks sugery . I am married since 92 have two childrens a daughter who is going to be 14 in sept and a son who is 11. They are all backing me. My hubby is a bit nerious about as he says going under the knife... But I need help dieting alone just doesnt work for me. My family was complety against the bypass. We had a neighbor do this she looks great weight wise but not healty not to sure eating habits have changed much.

Look forward to getting to know you and hopefully having a buddy

Sorry for the delay in response! I actually got assigned to the Palo Alto location. I was hoping to go to Fremont as traffic is better for me. I haven't seen the surgeon yet. I see the nutritionist this month. So far the facility seems to be most comfortable with the Bypass but still presented the LB as an option. I personally am opting for the LB.

Thanks for the reply and no problem on no advice and asking a question to my question...I am happy to help anyone...overall I would say this has been gradual - the pain in my back has occurred and I also wake in the night from reflux and choking on the acid that would creep up while sleeping (which is very dangerous and you should tell your doctor right away) I have been sleeping with my bed elevated now and using prilosec twice daily and has made a huge improvement. My symptoms of vomiting and having the chest pressure have been with me since I have been banded, sometimes worse than others - I have had difficulty with slowing down while eating and chewing enough and that has led to where I am today i think because honestly my band has always been tight enough since surgery 2 years ago. The doctor stated after my surgery he was able to place the smaller band and I think that is why my restriction has been fine without having fills-however the vomiting of when I eat too fast or do not chew enough has probably caused the slip/prolapse - the upper GI is what was conclusive that my band needs to be moved or replaced my surgeon is replacing - looking at upper GI that is the best option. However, what concerns me is the stomach pain you are having - I think you should go to the doctor ASAP because my surgeon told me if I should have pain between now and the scheduled revision surgery I should go to the ER and they can do the surgery right away if necessary. I don't want to scare you but don't let it go. Hope this helped you somewhat.

Hey! The support group......to be honest, no, I don't really like it so i'm sure you wouldn't like it either. I go with my coworker who just had the bypass..(we both used Dr. Mailapur). But like i said, I am the only bandster who shows up. So I feel out of place most of the time. I have only been to 3...one before surgery, and 2 since surgery. My first one after surgery, we were all giving our testimonials and almost all the bypass patients were talking about how they don't have any cravings for the bad food and no hunger and i was sitting there wanting to leave...I was in a big "blah" stage with LOTS of HUNGER and cravings and anger from missing food. Even though we are all supposed to follow the same diet plan, bypassers and banders have separate issues and we go through different things. I wish we had a band support group, but until then, i guess you and this site will be mine. Have a good weekend!!!

Sorry to take so long to respond. I have been on vacation until yesterday. The pain has subsided thank you. I have been at the same weight for the last 10 days, but I have gone two pant sizes. I am in a comfortable 16...yeah! I am on my way to the hospital to see a friend of mine that is having gastric bypass today. I hope you are well. It feels good when other people notice your weight loss. We should all throw out the scales until we get where we need to be....but I can't I am addicted. Take care-Donita

I'm back on after almost 4yrs. My success rate has been horrible because I have had 3 revisions, surgeries and not good fill success. I found a really good doctor here in Colorado Springs (we are stationed here now). My last fill was less than a month ago and I have lost 25 total since the end of July bringing me to 250. So, I am on my way once again. Only thing is now I need to retrain myself how to eat. I am constantly getting stuck and throwing food back up and sometimes I am lucky if ...

Deb - I travelled from out of state (I'm in Nome, Alaska) last year for the surgery. The experience was great...I also recovered quite well (WAY better than my gallbladder removal and about the same as my 3 c-sections-which I thought were great).

Now...fills. Everyone is different. Some people think it's cheaper to just fly to Denver and see Dr. K for fills...since that's not feasable to me I found a doctor in Anchorage (still have to fly there). I think you should at LEAST find some aftercare in your area...someone you could go to in an emergency at least. There might even be a support group locally that would really be beneficial (although we've all found that most support groups are for the bypass folks). Fills are very individual. Some people find that "sweet spot" very quickly (within a couple of fills). I've had 5 fills (I'm at 3.4cc in a 4cc band) and could actually use more, but it's one of those things where you kind of get used to the fill then need more. Needle size vary...mine uses a teeny tiny needle, most use something bigger. No one really complains of the stick so if you're needle-shy this should be the LEAST of your worries!

Fluro - some fills docs use fluro and some don't. Dr. K doesnt...he just has you drink some water and fills you 'till that gets stuck then takes just a wee bit out...to make a kinda funnel-affect. (This is what I've heard, I haven't been to him for a fill.) My doc fills me at a level I want, he's very cautious and requires me to stay in town for a few days to make sure that everything is good to go. He has some fluro people available if there seems to be a problem. Fluro, I've heard, makes it so you ge to the sweet spot earlier because they can actually observe the liquid funnelling...but then, like I said earlier, you get used to the fill and need more so....I would say don't pay extra for it unless you are pretty darn sure there's a problem.

Unfills - done the same as a fill. Someimes your stomach will swell when you get a fill (from the irritation). This has not happened to me, and I think rarely happens anyway. This can cause you to not even be able to swallow spit...then an unfill is needed. Now, my doc in Anchorage lets me "tweak" my fill for a week without an extra charge so if I feel too tight (which has never been the case) he'd take some out or if I feel like I could use a bit more (which HAS happened) then he adds more. My doc also doesn't require me to drink liquids the day of and day after a fill - some do. I think it's better not to so you can really see how the fill did for you.

I was on the fill thread for a bit, but it didn't give as much information as I'm giving you here.

The hardest part of aftercare is really that it's all up to you and how YOU feel. I, like LapDancer, am a food adict and am working on that - working on even accepting that. The band hasn't cured me of everything, but on bad days it does stop me from being super gluttonous! I'm at a state now that if I lose weight I now I won't gain it back.

Also...a friend of mine had the Band put in a few years ago. She reached goal in about 1 1/2 years and then got a complete unfill...she lost 10 more lbs. and has maintained that without filling up...just letting the band "sit there". Now, there's some hope for us!

I am SO SO SO confused!!!! From day one the doctor told me I was having a revision!! He was going to do a combination of a bypass and DS because of my BMI. So since June I thought I had a DS... (surgery was actually done by another doctor in his office)....today I found out that I had a Malabsorbtion Bypass and no DS???? So all the study and research I did on the DS was in vain!!!!! He told me that the reason I was doing the DS was that the greater percentage of weight loss and the lower percentage of likely hood to gain it back!!!! Right now I am just numb!!! I have a call into his office to find out why??? and why I wasn't told???? This may make sense as to why I still can eat!!!!

Never imagined that band vs bypass recovery would be like night and day. Its been a rough start but I'm stil moving forward. 27lbs down already!

I once weighed 350 lbs and now over the years and with gastric bypass surgery last year I have lost 167 lbs total. I'm pretty proud of myself.

So tired of these pissing contests. Band/Bypass/Sleeve who cares..Whatever works. No wonder so many leave and not come back.

Today marks 6 weeks post op from my bypass. I've lost a total of 54 pounds since the start of my journey. Feeling pretty good about this new life/adventure!