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roblynn

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Everything posted by roblynn

  1. [some places won't give you a fill until you are released from your doctor after a C-section. Typically 6 weeks.
  2. [There was an article in the local paper today about Vit D. For those 49 and under: 200 per day: Pregnant or nursing: 200u 50-70 400 per day: 71 and older-600 per day with the upper limet of 2000 IU per day. They are saying some researchers are recommending 600 IU a day with 10,000 IU as an upper limit. The skin makes vitamin D when exposed to the sun, but not everyone spends the recommended 5 minutes a day outside and many more wear sunscreen. I fall into the no sun/sunscreen catagory. My sister had melanoma and we are similar in skin fairness. So for me, I take 5,000 IU per day per my NP.
  3. Being too tight is not a good thing, expecially in this hot weather. If you are eating less than 1000 calories a day because you just can't eat real food, you need an unfill. When you don't get enough protein and nutrition, your body takes what it needs from your muscles...not good. Bandsters need to eat breakfast, lunch and dinner with a small snack. If you have ever watched The Biggest Loser (I'm addicted) you know that those people are on 1200 calories per day. When they drop lower, they lose less weight. Our mentality is EAT LESS, LOSE MORE....it really doesn't work that way. You have to eat to turn up your metabolism. When you don't eat something for breakfast, your metabolism stays low. If you don't eat till mid afternoon, your body just can't adjust to that. YOU HAVE TO EAT IN ORDER TO LOSE! Just eat healthy. If you can't eat the chicken, meat, veggies, salad, you tend to slip back into the ice cream, chips and other bad for you foods. I know several people who have had slight unfills and started losing again because there body had the extra fuel to burn. If you are too tight and your hair is falling out, you really need and unfill to increase your protein. Robin
  4. Fill Management NW has moved to Marysville and does have fluoro since December. You can look it up on www.northwestfills.com I love them in Arlington, but they don't use fluoroscopy. That is the downside for me. THe upside is that they are easily available, extremely nice and helpful, available for emergencies at any time, and have never had even the slightest problem with finding the port. I am not at all worried going to them. And they are very reasonably priced, which I really appreciate. Becki
  5. When a person "muffin tops" they may have no symptoms except being able to eat more and more. If you have been banded for a few years, it is best that you have your band checked under fluoro. A diagnosis of GERD or reflux can usually get your PCP to order one. However, realize that most "non=Bariatric" doctors may not recognize a problem. If they are able, ask them to email the study to Dr. Ortiz. Some places can give you a CD of the exam. You can then either send it or download it to Dr. Ortiz. If the muffin top isn't too bad, taking out your fill can usually drop it back down into place. Usually you are unfilled for a month, rechecked and then start with slow fills. Your pouch is like a balloon. Once it is stretched out of shape, it is easier to do it again. There is a place on line you can find called "5 days pouch test". This is a pretty good site to get you back on track. Eating your Bandster Portion and nothing else is the only way to prevent muffin top. Don't test your band. Saying "I can eat a whole burger" or "Sub sandwich" is just setting yourself up for problems. Stay away from the whites...bread, pasta, potatoes and rice especially. Testing your band with non bandster foods is only hurting you. Robin
  6. You might be looser now because the swelling and irritation from being too tight may have receeded. I would wait a week or two before going back for another fill and then only get a small one. Sometimes when you are too tight and get fill removed, you can't get back to that same level. Sometimes you get restriction on less fill. Robin
  7. can you get down to Marysville, Washington? Fill Management can do your unfill for you.
  8. Does anybody else ever wonder how our ancestors survived? They worked hard, ate tons of fat and died at an early age. I think lifestyles have changed dramaticaly over the last few generations. At 55, I look and act totally different from my mother at about the same age.
  9. My Vit D level was 9. I was really low. I take 5000units once a day. You need Vitamin D to help with Vit C and Calcium absorbtion. Low levels can cause fatigue. I also have Rheumatoid Arthritis, Epstein Barr, Fibromyalgia and Type 2 Diabetes. I go to a NP who gives me once a month IV of several vitamins to keep my energy level up. I do weekly IV when I bottom out from the Epstein Barr. If you use sunscreen when you sunbathe you won't absorb the Vit D. Sunbathing and tanning beds (which you shouldn't do anyway since skin cancer in women under 30 has risen by 75%) really don't help as much as you would think. Lapband and bypass patients should add Vit D caps to your daily regiment just because women typically have lower levels of Vit D. Dark Green veggies that contain high Vit D like spinach and brocoli are sometimes hard for us to eat. Robin
  10. When the lapband was first introduced in the US, the problem percentage was around .001% Since the Super Size Me Americans have climbed onto the band wagon, the percentage of probems has risen to over 4%. Still very low when you think about the problems people have with the bypass. One of the biggest problems is Muffin Topping or Mushrooming your pouch. Simply explained, you have a relatively tight fill but eat more than you should, stretching your pouch. If viewed on a fluoroscopy screen, instead of a nice "tube" that the barrium flows right through, the pouch looks like a ball that has been deflated, hanging over your band on each side. The barrium sits in there, making it very obvious, that the pouch has stretched. There are no symptoms really of Muffin Top, other than you have a large fill and can still eat a lot of food and the hunger never abates. If found on a fluoroscopy, the treatment is to take out all or most of the fill for at least a month, hoping that your extra stretched pouch drops back down through the band. If it looks good after a month, then you can start your fills again. If it doesn't, you will need to follow up with your surgeon for possible re possitioning or replacement. Flouroscopy is recommended for fills by most surgeons, to catch any problem before it gets out of hand. You should definitely get a fluoro if you are nearly to max in your band and still eat too much. You should also have fluoroscopy at least once a year to check it, especially if you are 3 or more years out, they tend to have more problems than newly banded patients.
  11. I know several people in there 60's and 70's who are getting the band. There is no age limit for people who want to live longer! Aren't they saying 50 is the new 40, etc? I think we are healthier at this age (I am 54) than our parents were at this age. We eat better, less fats in our diets, exercise more and generally live an easier life than those before us. We don't have to work from sun up to sun down to scratch out a living. We are having smaller families instead of the 12 in my family. (They saved the best for last, me! LOL There is no reason anyone should be turned away from surgery if they are healthy enough to withstand surgery. Just my opinion. Robin
  12. [ I'll let you know what happens. Due to the fat loading I fully expect to gain a bit today and tomorrow. Oh and one of the first questions I asked was if it would interfere with my birth control pills. The answer was no it would not. Or were you just told that because someone wants a grandbaby.......hmmmmmmmmmmm (just kidding) The low dose should have no effect on any of your medications, including birth control pills.
  13. When they band you, they band right over the fat that is surrounding your stomach. As the fat melts, your band loosens a bit, That's when you need a fill. The band is only a tool. You have to follow the usage directions to let it work. The opening of your stoma (the band into your lower stomach) starts out the size of a dime. As you get fills, it goes down to the size of a baby asprin, forming a small pouch on top. When you fill it with real protein and veggies, it stretches just a bit, sending off a receptor that goes to your brain, telling you that you are full. You can overeat your pouch, stretching it too much, making it into a "muffin top". This is not good. You should have most of the fluid taken out and have the band checked by flouro. Let it set for a month, then slowly start refilling it. You should have fluoro at least once a year or if you are close to your fill level to check for stretching. I think you are right on course with your band.
  14. When I noticed this post, I thought it said "Lap Band Quilt" I thought, great, make a quilt out of the clothes you have grown out of! LOL I was sure I had some like minded quilters to talk with! Need my glasses for sure!
  15. I tried HCG through my Naturpath doctor. I lost 5 pound a week for 3 weeks. I was NEVER hungry. The diet that goes with it is pretty much a bandster diet. Produce and Protein. Lean meats, low sugar veggies, berries, apples, lots of salads, just aroung 500 calories. Nothing scary about that. The dosage of HCG is only 120ml. When you are pregnant, the HCG level goes up to 10,000un. You are getting 20units (in an insulin syringe) once daily. The only side effects is some nausea (like when you are first pregnant) and some slight fatigue. But that disappears. There is a doctor in Tacoma that is using this plan. Many NA doctors are beinging to use this on there patients with good result. They don't get their HCG on line or from another country. They order it by persciption from the local pharmacy. GEEZ. It might not work for all people. WHAT DOES! There are people the lapband doesn't work for too.
  16. Just letting everyone who uses Fill Management NW that Kitty's husband passed away on Tuesday. Our thanks to everyone for your support and understanding during the last few months. We will be back in the office next Tuesday. Robin Martin
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