cleo6666

Hello from South Carolina. I was banded in July of 2006 and I am having a tough time too! I'm not loosing and I have horrible eating habits. You can't find a smoothie place around here to save your life. I need a fill, but boy are fill centers USA expensive. It's cheaper for me to fly to Seattle for $250 and get a fill there. UGH! No one said this would be easy. I look forward to reading about your success. Good luck. Michele >

OMG!!!! I just read this post. My burping is out of control. Let's exchange notes and please let me know what they told you. Especially if they tell you "you are swallowing too much air!" :-?

The never ending saga of Michele continues.... I am so bloated today I look pregnant. Does anyone on the forum have abnormal gas? Like LOTS of it. It is really interrupting my work and it's making me so uncomfortable. I went to the walk in clinic again Saturday and am waiting for yet another referral to another gasterologist. Help. Gassy Girl

Hi WA Bandters!!! Greetings from SWELTERING HOT South Carolinia. I should be a size 1 after all this sweat and humidity....but dang the ice cream. It's just so nice and COLD. I have truly plat-O-ed. Wishing things went a little faster than a lathargic snail, but it's ok. I went to a family reunion/wedding on July 7th and recieved more compliments than I ever have in my life. I look better now than ever and I am still happy with my band choice. It's still a struggle for me. I still get the pukers a lot. I burp like crazy. I have digestion issues like nuts! But I'm a trooper. Live and let band. Your friend always.... Michele

That link is fantastic....quick and easy! And the photos are so clear! Thanks for sharing. Michele in SC

Here's a tip though....don't ever try to eat a piece of pretzel before you go into the movies and sit down to chomp on your popcorn. I did that once (had a small bite of my son's delicious butter covered warm soft pretzel from Auntie Annies) at the mall and then went to a movie and started my ritual of enjoying those wonderful pieces of popped corn................... I got up and had to run to the bathroom! Good news is I knew where the bathroom was so that I could get there quickly. Bad news is that I didn't get there fast enough. Now that was embarrassing!!!!!

I had a good talk with BSN this weekend. My food journal is started...again. My water intake is up...again. My thinking is positive....still! Thanks for the support and please keep posting. I'd really like to hear from my fellow banders. I'm lonely out here on the east coast. Hanging in there in sunny SC....Michele

Without getting into detail about my experience, I'd like to hear from anyone who's had their band removed. Unlike most of you, my body isn't reacting like I'd planned. It's been a tough road and I have to look at some hard decisions. I'd love any support I can get! Thank You. > Michele

Isn't it hot today! Yowzzza! I went to a health food store today and bought something to help me digest food, some charcoal to help with my gas and 2 "raw" protein bars. So far, my burping has gone down, but not much. I really need to get to a doctor here soon. Do you burp much? Enjoy NC. I'm about 15-20 miles south. No lapbands here????? :-) M

I just moved to SC and would like to talk to other banders. Any one near Charlotte or Clover? :-h Michele

I'm curious why you are asking for one of these? M

Hello WA Bandsters from Tonganoxie, KS. I'm heading today for the last leg of my trip to my new home in Lake Wylie, SC I hope to meet some bandsters as fun as ya'all there! Best of luck as "loosers"!!! Micheley :-h

I'm moving to North Carolina! Any bansters in that neck of the woods? I'll need a fill doctor and some new friends. Boy will I miss Seattle! ~M (

I have been diagnosed! I know what is wrong with my and why I have horrible trots and disgusting burps! I have had really bad gas. Burping, tooting, loose stool, bloating. Those were my symptoms. I think I've talked to a few of you on the site about it. Thanks for your tips and ideas. I have ENDOLIMAX NANO. AKA.....parastites. I more than likely picked them up in Mexico. But it might not have been in Jaunuary, it could have been on my trip in Sept or July. These little buggers can stay in your for weeks, months, and years. Holy crap! (pun intended) So I am on a mega dose of antibiotics for 10 days at three doses a day. Then I go in and have my stool sample check again. Oh joy. Can you say disgusting?????? OH and get this....I CAN NOT drink any alcohol for 13 days! (10 days of the pills plus and additional 72 hours.) If I drink, the combination of the antibiotics and any alcohol with make me "toxic". I will get horribly sick and possibly get alcohol poisioning. WOW! What a good reason to give up the juice! So it's day one, pill one of my recovery. I'm so glad it's not my band. And now I can fill without fear. Hooray! Moral of the story.....listen to your body and don't be afraid to talk to your doctors, even about the "crappy" topics.!

Chrissy....I'll see you Friday at 10am!

Hi Cydyc, Not sure where you live in OR, but for after care there is a great fill place in Olympia, Wa. I suggest going to TJ for your first fill. Just wanted to let you know if that is ever an issue. Good luck on the diet. Remember...it's only temporary. A bander friend in WA....Michele

Who do I need to talk to at the OCC about medical problems I am having with my band? Who have you had good communication/experience with? Thanks! Michele

I am struggling with my gas issues right now. I don't even know if they will let me fill this soon. I'm so frustrated! I hate having NO restriction! UGH!

They took my fill out the first time because I couldn't keep "anything" down. I was filled to 1.9 and it just didn't work. So all my fill was taken out, then I got 1.2 put in. Then....I had .8 removed because I was still puking up everything! My xray of the gas was very interesting. I hope there is something I can do to combat it! :-)

I wondering if any other banders are having a horrible time with gas. My neverending saga of fills and unfills continues..... Saturday I went to the walk in clinic her in Mill Creek to talk to them about the overwhelming amount of burping I've been doing. (I started this OCC post recently) The doctor listened to my insides and said "Things are moving really fast in there". He ordered an xray and it showed an overwhelming amount of gas inside me. It looks like clouds and some areas are darker than others. He ordered a stool sample to see if I picked up something in Mexico. That was fun. (NOT!) I hopefully will have the results today. If it's not a bug or a virus, I wonder if it's a complication with the band. Maybe my body is rejecting it. I don't think it's what or how I'm eating. I truly think it's how my body is made and how it's reacting to having this foreign object in it. Don't get me wrong...I love my band and I don't regret getting it. Is anyone else experiencing this. Please share because it's really frustrating not knowing what is wrong with me. Hopefully I will have some answers this week. The cool part about it was that I got to see a fantastic xray of my band and port. Much more graphic than flouroscopy. Wow! I'm hoping to get a copy of it to frame. It's really amazing!!!

My experiance in Arlington has been top notch A++++++. I've gotten a fill and an unfill. Those ladies are great! I might go with you on the 2nd "IF" I can figure out about my gas issue! UGH!

I'm not sure where you live, but have you looked into a local shop that sells smoothie drinks? In WA we have Jamba Juice and Emerald City Smoothies. I perfer the ones that are from a health food store because they have less sugar. You can always have add-ins like protein, flax oil, vitamins, etc.

Well the burps have gotten worse sooooooooooooooooooooo.....I went today for another unfill. I didn't have it all the way unfilled, but I think I now have only .4cc They wanted to know if I wanted all of it out but I said "NO! I want something in there for my money!" After discussion about my burping and my digestive disturbances, the doctor asked me if I had traveled out of the country anytime recently. "Well yes", I replied. "I was in TJ for my fill on Jan 19" "Did you eat anything while you were there?" asked the doctor. "Why yes", I replied. "I had a smoothie at Costco when we left the clinic". The doctor then tell me that maybe I picked up a bug :-? from the smoothie and I need to go get that checked at the doctor. I need an "O & P" which means.....stool sample! UGH! I feel really gross right now. Bugs? What the heck? Well I won't know until tomorrow. So the saga continues But the good news is that the burping has gone down tremendously! I don't just burp automatically. I have to force it to make it happen and the good news about that is that I don't feel like I need to. YEAH! =D> I am now, once again, with little to no fill. Hide the chocolates! ~M

I recommend heading to a doctor as well. If you have medical, all you are really out is a co-pay. Going in to the physician or the ER will ease your mind. I don't recommend any excersizing for a little while. Take care. M >

I work in Crime Prevention for a living, and I am a huge fan of "PREVENTION". Also known as being prepared. Have phone numbers, addresses, rides, etc. Where do you live? Find out before hand if there is a fill center near you, or at least where the closest one it. Have the number handy in the event you need it. I encourage you to tell your primary care provider about your band. When I went to the hospital emergency room, I told them right away. I was afraid they would look at me or treat me differently. Almost like I was the first every emergency patient with "the band from Mexico"! Well, they didn't. They treated me great and treated me like I would expect to be treated anywhere. My expectation of myself is to be upfront and honest with any care provider with my band. It is also a good idea to keep track of what medications you are on and how much the dose it. I find swallowing pills interesting because I don't know how they go down now that I am banded. Sometimes they feel like they get stuck. But they stay in, so that is important. Being banded is different than anything I've ever done in my life. Everyday it's new, exciting, confusing, frustrating, and my best friend. What a ride. Burpping in the Creek....M