AussieInOregon

Hi From Boca Raton, Florida :-h

Surgery date February 9th 2007

I am a 53 year old man that is 5'10" and just broke the 300 barrier. That was something I never wanted to see but it happened so now I have to so something about it. Yes, like the two of you I tried every diet known to man and a few known to only aliens. (hehe kidding) The one thing I hate about dieting is that my will power only goes so far and then I cheat and then cheat again and before you know it all the weight is back and then some. You know what the say about a DIET, its DIE with a T and thats what its doing to be when I yo-yo so much. I figured dieting is not for me, I need a lifestyle change something so dramatic it wakes my body up to the fact that I am not going to tolerate being FAT anymore. That Lap-Band is a tool to keep me in check.....NO MORE CHEATING.... or I will suffer the consequences. I am determined this will work and I am 100% committed to the program.

Sand Pirate

Sand Pirate, sounds like you are in the same boat as me, able to loose weight but unable to keep it off long term. I also see the lap band as a permanent reminder to eat well and not binge.

I understand that I will always have to be careful of what I eat but I am looking forward to the day when I am not thinking that much about my weight or the lap band and have a relatively normal life, thinking about all of the other hassles....work and play.

So, have you started a pre-op diet or are you going to leave it to 10 days prior to surgery. I have decided to loose as much as I can prior to surgery, just to kick start the weight loss and also so the reduction in calories is not such a shock for my system after surgery.

Cheers

Ian.

I think we have a lot of the same concerns and goals. I'm 32 and 209, which for someone who is 4'11.5" is quite a bit. My mom is going to fly down with me, which is great, because she rocks. And she's a nurse and apprehensive about this whole thing, so it will be good for her to see the clinic.

Carolyn gave me the names of two doctors here in the Bay Area that work on people who get banded in Mexico. While I plan on going to OCC for at least my first fill (and maybe more!), it is nice to know that there are people within a 30-minute drive who will do fills.

We can plan to meet for our first fill!

I am scared of the pain (I'm a bad pain person), the pb'ing and the possible side effects. But I like that it's reversible if need be and I am 100% committed to losing weight, having more energy and avoiding co-morbidities down the road. I get tired easily and short of breath when I go up stairs.

As for my diet, well, I haven't really started yet. I'm eating healthy, but I plan to really begin in January (not gain anything before that, though) and then do the 12-day protein shake and lean cuisine diet.

Great to hear you have someone to support you when you come down here!!

Looking forward to meeting you and your mother.

So far there are three of us.

AussieInOregon : Ian, Oregon

SFkitten : Mel, California

Sand Pirate : ?, Florida

Just thought I would put a topic heading that poeple will recognize as their surgery date. It would be good if we could chat a little prior to meeting up, that way we would have someone we know in the hospital.

So what type of pre-op diet are you guys on. I just started day 2 of medifast to loose weight prior to the operation. Medifast will be suitable for the post-op liquid phase but after that I will move on to 3 meals a day of solids to get the band to do its job.

Right now I am very excited about loosing weight and more importantly keeping it off. I have yo-yo dieted a lot, keeping weight off for a year then loosing focus only to see it all return plus more.

I have spent a long time researching the Lap Band on the net, as everyone has done, and I think most of my questions are answered. I understand the risks, then I weigh them about the risks of doing nothing. At present I am 43 yo, 5'8", 290 lb, so the health risk of doing nothing is very severe. I don't have diabetes or heart disease, but I do have mild sleep apnea (I want to get off the CPAP badly), and my left knee hurts sometimes (I had surgery on it when I was 16 yo). I need to loose weight before more serious health problems kick in.

So, I am 100% committed to making this work but here are my current thoughts.

1. I am not worried about the surgery, or the pain after the surgery, it will be a reminder to me of the commitment I am making.

2. I plan to return to Dr. Ortiz for all my fills, because of his competence, also I miss a few rays on a beach from time to time.

3. I do worry about getting back home and not having good medical backup for emergencies. I have Pacificare insurance, they don't cover WLS or complications that may arise from it. I visited the Lap Band doctors in Eugene, Oregon, and they said they would refuse to work on someone that was banded in Mexico.

4. I am a little apprehensive about accidently making a mistake and not chewing a piece of food and having it get stuck. If it gets stuck will I need to go in for emergency surgery. Or can I hop on a plane to San Diego, survive 2 days of having it stuck, and get it rectified?

5. Complications of slippage and erosion don't worry me a lot in the first few years as the statistics show that there is a very low rate. It is a risk but not life threatening.

5. I am concerned about the long term outcome. Will these bands fail after 5, 10, or 20 years? By failure I mean two things. The first is the band itself needing removal. The second is really my failure to keep the wieght off. Reading some of the scientific literature indicates that there is a high risk of failure as time goes on. But if it buys me 10 years of good health then I am willing to take the risk.

Enough for now.

Cheers

Ian.

Great

Maybe we will see each other there. I am looking foward to the change in my life. It will be nice to shed 100 excess pounds that I carry around with me.

Sand Pirate

G'Day Sand Pirate & SFkitten,

I am also on February 9th. Is anyone else out there scheduled for February 9th?

If you gals are coming in on the 8th then maybe we should meet that evening in the hotel to exchange how we feel and what we know prior to surgery. It would also be good to have some recognizable faces in the hospital!

Hi AussieinOregon,

I also am on a bunch of medications and was worried about whether I would have problems taking them. I had my lap band done in October and to this point I have not. The only precaution I have taken, is to cut my multivit/mineral in half because it is a huge pill. You should NEVER split a slow release tablet EVER, no matter what it is. Simply put, once you change the integrity of the pill by splitting or crushing it, you would receive the whole dose all at once. With some medications, this could be very dangerous. I am a nurse, and this is a big NO-NO. But, I recommend you talk with your pharmacist to confirm this, and if you feel you need to cut your pills, then you could go off the time released form and onto the regular tablets. Hope that helps. Good luck on your surgery. You won't be sorry. bbuck, RN

Thanks bbuck, I realize I shouldn't split the Wellbutrin SR. The tablet is 1/2" round and 1/4" thick. That is not enormous but it is the biggest tablet I have taken. Are any of your tablets a similar size? Anyone out there on Wellbutrin?

Hi Aussie Guy,

My surgery is the same date, and I also take Wellbutrin

Nice to meet you.

Mel

G'Day Mel,

I will be coming in on the 8th (my birthday ), keep in contact and lets talk when you get to Mexico.

Cheers

Ian.

The general rule Dr. Martinez told me, is that if its larger than a 200mg Ibuprofen, it should be split. However, I currently have no problem taking my Metformin, which is about 4 times as large.

Is the Welbutrin actually 1/2 inch in diameter? Or do you mean 1/2 inch long? A half inch diameter pill would be larger than any I have seen, but 1/2 inch long is within normal size. Taken with a full glass of water, it should go down okay.

G'Day Greg,

Thanks for answsering. I just got the ruler out and measured the Wellbutrin tablet again. It is exactly 1/2" in diameter, a round tablet that is 1/4" thick (maybe a little more as it has a bit of a dome on the surface). One thing I have not done yet is to ask the manufacturers if they produce smaller versions. I guess the reason for the size of the tablet is to allow for a slow release, but presumably they could mix it with something that would dissolve very slowly and make the tablet smaller.

Cheers

Ian.

G'Day all,

This is my first post, I decided to get Lap Band surgery on February 9th, 2007. This forum is great and has answered most of my questions.

I am currently taking Wellbutrin and the tablets are about 1/2" diameter. Since they are slow release they recommend that I do not break or crush them. So has anyone else dealt with this problem? Will 1/2" diameter tablet go down ok?

Many thanks

Aussie guy in Oregon.

Current Weight: 295 lbs.