snowbird

My husband has been doing taxes for the last three days, so my computer use is pretty sparse.

Michelle, sounds to me like a pb episode. Mine are like regular vomiting, except what comes up is not digested and mixed with stomach acids so it's not quite as gross. Maybe you got some chicken stuck but you didn't eat enough to trigger the pb episode for a while after you ate. I would think if you were really sick from what you ate, it would have happened repeatedly. It is very hard for many to people to really vomit with a band, and can cause a lot of pain and damage, so if it wasn't particularly nasty I would guess it was a pb type episode.

Just consider it a warning to take it easy when trying new foods after your surgery.

So, are you going to hold that under your shirt and have it jump out at Dr Romero before the fill?

Holly, I was filled 2 weeks ago and have very little restriction, I'm going back this weekend to get more of a fill. If you can go back anytime and get more fill. I don't know where you went Occ or somewhere else? Occ charges only 30 for the needle the re-fill is free.....

Best of luck to you!!

Donna

4 cc isn't that much for one of the larger bands. Some surgeons actually put that much in at the time of surgery.

My husband is up to 7 cc in a 10 cc band; he had 4 cc 6 weeks out, then another 2 cc five weeks after that, and another 1 cc four weeks later. He still doesn't have that much restriction. I have a smalle 4 cc band, and have only 1.9 in it and have almost too much restriction, so as it has been said before, everyone is different. If you need another fill, let the doctors check you out and get one. The band isn't going to work for most people until they hit a good restriction level.

Getting into TJ is quick....getting out takes forever!

not always. It depends on the day of the week and the time of the year. My daughter and I went for a fill once and had a 1 hr 20 minute wait in line to get back to the US. Husband and I went down for fills in January and February midweek. We took a cab to the walkthrough customs line, then walked right up to the building. We have maybe 4 or 5 people in front of us. If you are able to walk a half mile, then I think the easiest/cheapest way across is to walk from a parking lot on the US side and take a cab to and from the border crossing. $8 to park, $5 for cab each way.

I was banded on 3/26 so I have a ways to go before solids. For some odd reason, I am doing FINE with all liquid. No cravings...yet. During my meeting with Dr. Miranda, she told me the "ouch" foods were bread, bagels, flour tortillas and sticky rice. Can an experienced bander tell me if we can have pasta, couscous, regular rice and other types of carbs without having negative outcomes? I have heard that corn tortillas/chips and toasted bread or melba toast works fine....just trying to figure out my limitations without finding out the hard way! Thanks all!!!

Basically, the problem foods are anything doughy that will turn into a glutinous mass and block the stoma. That will usually include pasta, but rice isn't so bad. You will just have to experiment and see what gives you problems. Everyone has problems with different foods, and even with the same foods at different times. The biggest problem to my mind with white carbs is their low nutritional value. As you will be eating less, you should concentrate on higher nutrient foods. That doesn't mean you can't have a bite of mashed potatoes from time to time, but they shouldn't be a staple of your diet.

I'm planning on going back to the OCC for my 1st fill the week of May 16-23ish. I will be in Oceanside that week anyway (time share there) so if anyone else needs a ride, we rent a car for transportation anyway. I'm only concerned about getting back across the border. Does anyone else know if it's the same process-except you drive and not walk?? We don't have passports but you don't need one til after June 1st.

Thanks

Amber

Are you sure you can take a rental car into Mexico?? You need to buy special insurance to drive down there. We drive to San Ysidro, then walk across the border and catch a cab to the clinic when we go.

I found I had less hunger pangs if I stayed away from sugary things. That's hard on a liquid diet. When I really wanted something more substantial in the liquid phase, I would add a bit of instant potato flakes to broth. It gave a little bit of texture and body to the broth but still was liquid. Hang in there, it isn't forever!

we own an herb store...i intend to use source of life adult liquid, tastes fruity, kind of like a mango. i usually put in a protein drink anyway, but still tastes good.

I used that while I was in the liquid phase, but eventually even that just got too yucky for me and I couldn't even stand the smell of it. I now use a multivitamin capsule which seems to go down okay.

OK.. look everybody...when I brought this up I prefaced it by saying I wasn't trying to be bi*chy nor am I trying to be petty. It is a free country type however you feel. It is a generally accepted rule in most forums to not type in caps as it is considered shouting and is difficult to read, just as it is a generally accepted rule in a library to speak in a hushed voice.

If you feel that typing in all caps sets you apart as an individual or you need to do it out of medical necessity...go for it. I'm a big girl (literally) I can always choose what to read or not read.

I don't think I am the queen of the forum, was just trying to convey to posters who may not know about caps.

SJ

jet, I wasn't trying to say I thought you thought you were queen, just that I occasionally act like the queen and I shouldn't. What this illustrates is that there is a certain etiquette connected with forums that we do well to observe, because we communicate only by the written word and don't have the advantage of facial expressions and voice tone to help interpret what we say. According to this etiquette, CAPS are used for emphasis, not general communication. For some of us, they are also harder to read. For those who find it easier to type that way, I will not dispute your right to do so, but I also do not dispute the right of those who find it uncomfortable to read and choose to skip over it. It isn't a big deal one way or the other, though.

I'M SORRY BUT MY WHOLE LIFE I HAVE BEEN WRITING IN CAPS, ITS SOMETHING THAT I PROBABLY NEVER CHANGE. IF I WERE SHOUTING IT WOULD LOOK SOMETHING LIKE THIS. LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Writing in all caps may be easier, but reading it isn't. I have to admit I don't like it. But then, the last time I checked I wasn't the queen of the forum.

I don't know if I am replying the correct way, but I thank you for your post. I do know I have to do the work, but there are so many complaints on these posts that it has sunk my mood. I am happy your procedure is over and I hope you are starting to feel better. Thanks for writing.

1fatcat :-h

The band is negative conditioning. It does not just make you not want food. It teaches you that if you overeat you will suffer. Eventually your mind adjusts to this and you do not look to food for a lot of pleasure. You can still enjoy a tasty bite of something, but let's face it, buffets are a waste of time and money.

If you were under the impression that your eating habits would stay the same, but you would now just eat a bit less, I have to say that isn't really accurate. I know that's how some bariatric centers advertise, but it just ain't so for most of us.

Yes it works, and for most of us we lose weight. I would not trade my band for the best seafood buffet in the world. Nothing tastes as good as being thin. That doesn't mean I don't look back with a sigh to some great buffets, though . . .

Dieting isn't the right word. I have to be sure I eat enough of the good foods (protein, vegetables) to be sure I am getting the nutrients my body needs. I can't eat a whole lot, so I have to be sure I'm not filling up on junk. I have days when I do eat junk; I had one day last week when I had ice cream for lunch and onion rings for dinner! Not a great idea for a steady diet, and I had one small scoop of gelato and that was it for lunch, then one-third of an onion ring order I shared with two others, and nothing else. The band made sure the volume of food was down drastically, but I have to decide what kind of food I eat. The band is my safety net that doesn't let me get too far off track, but it doesn't stop me from having ice cream. I have to do that (usually.)

should I schedule it now or is it best to wait and see how I am doing 6 weeks out?

I don't think you need to worry about scheduling it now. While most fills are done around 6 weeks after surgery, some people don't feel they need them and go months before their first fill, though this is rare. If you are going to OCC for your fill, they usually can accommodate you on very short notice. We have called the day before and then driven over from Buckeye for a fill and back the same day. In fact, I went with my husband for his last fill and was just waiting for him when they asked me if I wanted one too (I didn't).

Uh oh! I had the dry heaves 2 days after surgery and they RUSHED me back to the OC for a fluroscopy to check the band. They consider that an emergency. I think you should call them ASAP. You band could have slipped. Plus, you are probably all swollen inside now.

I don't mean to be harsh honey, really I don't, but you are supposed to stay on liquid for 3 weeks for a reason! (Shaking my finger at you).

That being said, please call the Center and go back on liquids. They had me on IV with anti-nausau, anti-inflamatory and nexium. THey may want you to get some meds in you too.

I hope you feel better soon!!! Please keep us posted.

Since everyone else is already in mommy mode I probably don't need to say this , but OATMEAL IS NOT A LIQUID!!!

I have my first consultation with the surgeon on April 23, 2008. I have been really the message in this forum and how challenging it has been for some of you during the post op liquid only diet. I am scared I won't be able to do it and my nervousness about this life changing experience is making me eat more than I did before.

Just the thought of not being able to eat is freaking me out...although in my head I am ready to do this and want it so desperately. I know the post op liquid only diet is temporary and weight loss kick start will be so worth it and I have keep that in mind, I guess.

I love the ladies who chew and spit just to taste real food, that ingenius!!

I would appreciate any support or feedback on your experiences.

Thanks, Cathy

The period after surgery but before fills is time for healing, not weight loss. While it is nice to be able to maintain the weight lost during the post op liquid diet, your real weight loss with the band begins after the first fill. I did not gain weight after I returned to solid foods and before my first fill, but I only lost a couple of pounds. That's okay, and you shouldn't worry about it. On the other hand, my feeling during that time was that I should be able to control myself for a short period of time; I did it for the pre op diet and could do it for the post op period because I knew it wasn't forever, and once I had a fill my band would be helping me.

I think there was a huge misunderstanding here. Your band can "stretch" these were the words of my doctor. He said one of the things that can do this is carbonation. Anyway, what I meant by normally, is it sounds like she was losing great before her last fill, maybe to do what she was doing, it's what worked for her. I've been banded over 3 years and researched this for 1 year before, as well as I've talked to hundreds of bandsters much more experienced then myself. I would never throw info out there that I wasn't sure was true. On a nutritional point I truly understand being an overeater, but most people who have been banded didn't get to their highest weight by eating 1200 calories a day. I'm just telling you my experience, I am not casting any stones, and mostly trying to support everyone. Nothing more, I hope this clears that up. Helena

Like I said, we may just be using terms a little differently or my misunderstanding what you were saying. What I may have been thinking of was a doctor's comment that the pouch can't stretch with a band like it does with gastric bypass, even though people keep referring to "stretching their pouch."

I wish I could look forward to eating "normally", but I just think for me I am always going to have to count calories because I lie to myself too easily. No stones cast nor accusations hurled to my knowledge.

Hi Amber!

I've been banded over 3 years, and basically I've been through it all. I think it awesome you've been so successful, but it sounds like you need an unfill. You should be able to get all food down with your band if you are following the band guidelines. If your calorie are highly restricted, under 1200 a day, then you go back to eating normally (healthy of course) it will be harder to lose. The only time extreme calorie restriction works is if it is done for an extremely long period of time, I'm talking a year or so. Your body adjusts to the low calories, but just remember you can't restrict your calories for the rest of your life. The band is to teach us to slow down , make better choices, and limit what we can eat at each sitting. I think if you are consistently weight good for you, you were doing something right before your last fill, but remember a band that is over filled can stretch, you don't want that. I think you should be very proud of yourself and consider getting an unfill so you eat normally (like a bandster) I really hope this helps, good luck always!!!! =D> Helena

I think we may have to agree to disagree on this one. Amber says she never PB's so I doubt she is in danger of a band slippage. The band doesn't stretch, but it can slip down on the stomach which causes the upper pouch to become larger, or more commonly slip up and prevent eating at all. Excessive pbing can cause this, among other things, like eating more than the upper stomach's capacity. She also says she is able to eat fruits and sliced meats, just not very much. Again, it doesn't sound to me like she is too restricted, plus she says she has become less tight in the few weeks since the fill.

I have thin, athletic friends, and I hate to say it, but they are VERY concerned with the amount of food they eat. Unfortunately, I think those of us who are chronic overeaters really are going to have to restrict our calories for the rest of our lives, because our natural inclination is always going to be to overeat. Dr. Ortiz tells his patients that we are not ever going to be able to eat "normally" because we never lose the extra fat cells in our bodies, and they are always going to be there and ready to fill up again. Maybe I will change how I look at things when I get to your level of success, but right now I know I can't lose weight on 1200 calories a day: maintain, yes, but lose, no.

I thought I would check what Dr Ortiz's book says about fills. In one place he says the amount of food consumed differs from surgeon to surgeon to as little as 1/6 the previous amounts, to 1/2. He recommends 1/3. Later he says that indications of a fill that is too tight is inability to eat any solid foods, though he also says if you are not able to eat 1/3 of your preband amounts you are too tight. He also says it's a fine line to find the exact fill level, so I guess it's no wonder that each of us may have difficulty in determining that place.

As I'm writing this I realize that I'm not really sure what you mean by eating "normally" and that may be the root of our misunderstanding.

Thanks for the replies!!!

Snowbird... What you said really made me stop and look differently at the way I was thinking. Since reading your post, I've been trying different foods and have found that chili concarne (no beans for me though...) works great when I feel that I haven't had enough.

Ironically the reason I had the last fill was because I was eating as much food as I did pre-op... I am loosening up a bit and not freaking out like before!!

Again, Thanks for your advice!!!!

Chili is one of my favorite band-friendly foods. I make a big pot of it and freeze it in small containers. For a filling snack I have a 100 calorie bag of popcorn. Lots of times when I am filled a bit tightly I can't finish the bag, but it makes me feel like I have eaten a lot without downing a lot of calories.

If you had a mom like mine, she was always telling you to finish everything on your plate and asking if you needed a sandwich when you were going out for a few hours. Even now, at 95, she keeps asking me if I feel all right and aren't I hungry all the time? This is from a little lady who weighs about 110 and eats practically nothing. So I've had to overcome this idea that I need to eat even when I don't. As someone said once, unfortunately there isn't a band to put around our brains, just our stomachs! To be successful at this, we need to retrain how we think as well as what we eat.

Hello everyone. Maybe some of you had (are having) this same problem and can offer me some advice and solace.

My older sister has known that I am planning to have lap band surgery, but she was not aware that I was having it done in Mexico. Last night on the phone I forgot I didn't tell her and mentioned it.

She got really angry, comparing it to a back alley abortion! I told her I had researched this thoroughly and that Dr. Ortiz is one of the best in the world. It didn't matter to her. I told her I would send her url's to look at and she said she doesn't want to see them. She is DEAD SET against it.

I told her I am not stupid and I wouldn't do this if I were not sure of what I was doing.

Anyway, it ended up with her hanging up on me. Thank God we don't live in the same town!

It's not like I'm a kid. I'm 50 years old, and she's 53!

I know it's my decision and I know how she feels is her problem, but it has really put me to the test as far as emotional eating is concerned. I haven't given in yet. (I'm on the pre-diet diet from Dr. Miranda) But it is really tough.

I need some support from people who have been through similar circumstances and advice about what you did!

Jena

Unfortunately, there are a lot of people in the world who have very strong opinions about things they know nothing about. You can't change their minds, because their opinions are not based on reason, but on emotions and fears. I have a few relatives that feel totally the opposite from me about religion and politics. I express my opinions to them about these things only when they loudly voice their own opinions, and I do so only because I want them to know that not everyone in the world agrees with them, not because I think anything I say will change their beliefs.

I could have had my insurance pay for my surgery in the US; it was covered. However, after researching and witnessing my daughter's experience with Dr Ortiz, I decided that he was the one I wanted for my own surgeon (my insurance covered surgery with him also). I have never, ever regretted that decision.

I read a lot about bandsters on another forum, and I can tell you that some of the worst horror stories and tales of incompetence are about US surgeons. They don't have the experience, and they are trapped in a US system of medical care that values quantity over quality. I am very grateful I didn't have my surgery with some of these doctors.

There are bad Mexican surgeons and good ones; bad US surgeons and good ones. My experience at OCC was great, and I would challenge any US surgeon to provide a better one.

If you are still having difficulty getting anything to stay down without sliming or further pbing, go to liquids for the rest of the day. You may have caused some swelling, that's all. Otherwise, chew well and be careful next time! I did it yesterday over some warmed up leftover Chinese vegies. Boy, was that not worth it!

I had GERD for years and years and took Prilosec every day and I had my surgery in December and stopped my medication in January and no more heartburn!!! Dr Ortiz thought I might have a hiatal hernia (he checked and would have repaired it while I was in surgery, but I didn't have one). This is the first time I have been off of medication for GERD in 30 years!!!

I read somewhere that almost everyone with GERD has a hiatal hernia, but I guess you are an exception! Generally speaking, the surgeon will repair the hernia during your lapband surgery. Dr O. repaired mine and my husband's.

However, my GERD returned as soon as I returned to solid foods, although it is not nearly as bad as it was before.

HELLO!!

IF YOU GO TO obesitycontrolcenter.com YOU'LL FIND OUT ALL THE INFO ON DR.ORTIZ. NOT SURE HOW MUCH OTHER PLACES ARE CHARGING, BUT WHEN I RESEARCHED LAPBANDING ABOUT A YEAR AGO, DR. O WAS ONE OF THE MORE REASONABLEY PRICED DR.'S.

ALSO, THE DOCS IN THE STATES WOULDN'T DO THE SURGERY ON ME BECAUSE I'M OBESE BUT NOT MORBIDLY OBESE. I KNOW THE DOCS HERE [iN THE STATES] CHARGE DOUBLE OR SOME TIMES TRIPLE WHAT DR.O CHARGES. HE ALSO HAS ALOT [OVER 5,000] BANDINGS TO HIS NAME!

GOOD LUCK IN YOUR SEARCH!! SINCERELY, DARLENE

The cheapest I've seen for a reputable US doctor is just under $10,000, in Colorado. Dr Ortiz at OCC is around $. You can find Mexican surgeons for less, but beware; sometimes you really DO get what you pay for.

I had insurance that paid for either US or Mexican surgery, and I went with Dr. Ortiz due to his experience and the quality of care. Very happy with my decision.

Back to the credit card question:

Credit cards are usually the safest type of money to take with you,because many of them have an easy way to report their being stolen and avoiding fraudulent charges. Just be sure you have the credit card company's phone number and the card number stored separately in case you do lose it.

Of course, if you don't want to take a credit card with you because you are afraid of how much you will spend shopping, I can't help you!

I don't know but it doesn't sound like enough food to me, You really need to call your Dr.

Well, the whole point of losing weight is that you don't WANT to eat enough to sustain your body. As long as you can get down meats and fruits, I would not say you are filled too tightly. Signs of overfill are not being able to get down any solid foods. You will also probably find that as you lose a few more pounds, your fill will loosen.

If you were losing 10 lb per month, why did you get another fill?

The body doesn't really need nearly as much food as we have fooled ourselves into thinking it does. Unless you are feeling ill and weak, and as long as you are taking in nutritious foods, you are probably getting all you need. You might want to take some good vitamins if you are concerned, and are not doing so already.

I don't think you have to worry. By the way, what you are eating is very good, even though the portions are small.

The last time I was there, I think the list price was $300 but they were running a special for $250. Does anyone know what the going price for this is in the US?

Answering myself:

I googled it and found one site that said $500 to $1000 in the States.

I think I am going to get a lot of dental work done while I am there too. When I took a loan out for this surgery, I also took one out for my dental work. So this might mean money in my pocket from the cost difference!!

The last time I was there, I think the list price was $300 but they were running a special for $250. Does anyone know what the going price for this is in the US?