julieburns

Glad you are feeling better today. GAS will come and go and show itself in many forms of pain. For me it seems to have no rhyme nor reason as to when it shows up. I do know we all have experienced it and it can be anywhere from a little annoying to almost excruciating pain. Be warned and don't get worried when it happens, it's part of the bandlife.

Yes it sound like GAS....this can be a problem at anytime after being banded. You may have none or some or have it come and go but I think we all have experienced this. Gas is the culprit of all this pain in the left side, chest, shoulder wherever areas!!

:lb9: and :lb10: Hope you all are feeling well today.

I am sorry your family had such terrible health problems. I do have to add my 2 cents again though. Smoking will kill you, one way or another that's a given. The risks of side effects of this drug are small compared to death!!

What an awesome feeling.. :lb10:

Just wondering if anyone in Portland area and surrounding as far out as anyone can come, would like to have a simple meeting at a restaurant for lunch or dinner? I have thought of this off and on for awhile and thought I'd throw it out there for discussion. My thought it to keep it simple. Pick a restaurant, pick a day, most likely a weekend day, pick a time and then get an estimated number of who's coming, reserve a space or table and waaalaaa....we meet!! So who wants to come and all input is welcome. I am thinking of doing it before thanksgiving and when it gets busy for the holidays. Something like November 8 or 9? I work every other weekend so would like it to be on a weekend I have off of course. Others???

:lb10: This is the first day of the rest of your longer life. Don't expect to get too much info from the OCC, sad but true. They sort of move you in and out like an assemble line. I never even met Dr. Ortiz until a few minutes before my surgery. He came in and sat down and did spend maybe 5 minutes with me but was distracted. The others Dr.s also spent a little more time with me before and after surgery. They do take good care of you and the nurses are great. Anything you want/need they are there for you. I'm happy for both of you!!

I had oatmeal for breakfast and it kept me full all day. Had fresh salmon for dinner and could only eat 4 or 5 bites then was full. It was sooo good to eat real food though. I too get to eat real food today after 1 week of liquids, actually there were 3-4 days I barely even had liquid. I am a little scared. I may just have thick liquid this AM and try food later when the band loosens up. My pills sort of stuck this AM and so I know to be careful. Have something you really want and enjoy it. You'll be surprised at how little you'll be able to eat. Remember if you can eat more than you think, measure out 1/3 to 1/2 cup of everything and eat no more. ENJOY!!

I have seen this word used several times now and I just want people to know the correct word is less "invasive". "Invasive" means involving the introduction of instrument or other foreign bodies into the body...the lapband is minimally "invasive" compared to the gastric bypass surgery. Sorry but I was cringing each time I read "evasive" which is an adjective meaning to avoid commitment. I don't want anyone to think I am putting them down or anything like that I just thought it was kind of funny how words get mixed up, believe me I do it all the time.

Well you know my answer about calling the OCC, you can call all you want but it's them getting back to you that's the problem..LOL!! Stormy I have read that others have gone to their chiropractors after banding and do just fine. Just let the chiro be aware of the band and where it is on your stomach so he will not put any direct pressure on it or the surrounding areas. I used to go to a chiropractor all the time and he worked wonders on me. Now I have Kaiser insurance and would have to self pay to see my good old Doc. Hope this helps.

I have no help for you unless you want to come to Salem OR, about 1 hour from Portland. You could stay with me Van buddy!! How've you been? I am sorry for the Dr.'s not taking anymore "Mexican" patients. I had heard this from Cujo when I was down in TJ for my 2nd fill. good luck on finding someone as locally as you can. If you have read any of my recent problems you should know the importance of having a fill dr. close to home, ,or at least easier to get to than TJ!!

Glad you got some response. It does make you feel better that they didn't just not respond and had a reason for this. I think it is inexcusable that no one has tried to contact me since my urgent messages and calls on Monday and Tuesday morning. Not one call from the OCC to follow up...what is wrong ??? they should at least try to call and make sure I got taken care of, since it was the OCC who overfilled me in the first place!!! They have lost alot of credibility in my eyes. There is no excuse for not answering at least 4 direct messages and calls from a patient in an urgent situation. no excuse!! They really dropped the ball, they got my money though!!

Vix I am so sorry you are going through such a rough time. I hate mean doctors more than anything. Hang in there honey. Do the best with what you have and keep the faith!! We are all here for you. Here's my ((((HUG)))))

Did we hug at the restaurant? I'll have some splainin to do to my hubby if so!!!

When I went for my 2nd fill last friday they pulled out what I had placed 2.0 cc exactly. When I went for the unfil on Tuesday, only 4 days later, They pulled out only 2.5 cc when the OCC had placed 2.8 cc. So .3 cc lost in 4 days. It's got to be air bubbles or something. I have yet to figure it out but I do read about it happening more than just rarely.

I found it to be a VERY difficult time before my first fill and even after. I think from the 3 weeks of liquids we feel deprived and then since we finally can eat we do. It all the old subconscious stuff that got us fat in the first place. This is not an easy road. I truly believe that it isn't until fill number 2, perhaps 3 (sorry to say) that lasting restriction finally comes. First fills can certainly be helpful and a big boost to help you get back on track. Glad you got an appointment sooner.

That is just awful for a so called "professional" to treat 2 patients so poorly. Bedside manner was obviously not taught at his medical school, or else he flunked!!! I have had 5 times now that I have been "poked" for a fill/unfill. Only 1 time did I even feel the needle go in and that was from dear Dr. So at the OCC. Mind you it only pinched and I believe that is almost to be expected. My last 2 "pokes" were blind and I truly did not feel anything but a tiny, tiny little "tweek" when the needle went in, almost felt nothing. check into Fill Center USA if there are any in your area. My experience with them was great. Yes they do cost $349 the first time but after that it is much less. And frankly for the education and care I received it was well worth the money. Of course each provider is different but in general I have not heard anything bad from any Fill Center, if so please excuse my memory loss, I'm a little low on nutrition right now!!

Glad you feel more informed Jessica. No worries about the anxiety, I understand that. I wish you well on your first fill. Personally I think you have made a good sound choice from what I have experienced but also from what I have read. Lisal made it even simpler than I did for sure. I do believe it's trial and error for people with all types of food. We are all different in our responses to things.

I only have a little time but I'll try to clarify First of all stop freaking out. It was explained to me that no matter if you have restriction or not the pouch is only 1/2 cup size. When you eat more than that the food backs up in the esophagus. Stomach acids are produced to start digesting these foods and it's that acid in the esophagus before the food gets passed through that causes the trouble. The acid "burns" (for lack of a better term) the esophagus and then it scars and the scar tissue builds up and the live tissue gets less and less and then there's trouble. So it was very clear to me from this provider to never eat more than 1/2 cup. My plan is to wait at least an hour and then have more if I feel hungry. She emphasized more frequent small meals throughout the day. This makes way more sense to me than only 3 meals a day and no snacks. Re:vegetables. There are certain foods that are known to be ones that are tricky for bandsters. I think this is when you have restriction though and not from the get go that you need to be very careful with these foods so they don't get stuck. This becomes more important after you get restriction though so no need to think you've blown it by eating broccoli. Any food that slide down easy for example ice cream do no harm to the band. It's the caloric content that isn't good. I will write more tomorrow if you need more clarification. I sure didn't want people to get panicky about what I said. You should always listen to your care provider and follow their guidelines but I was just wanting to share my "new" guidelines. There are many schools of thought on "the rules" so we each must pick and choose what its best for us. Now relax Jessica, all will be fine.

I live in Portland Oregon. Not sure where you are exactly but there is a Dr. in Olympia/Tacoma area. His name is Dr. Neil at the NW bariatric c enter. I believe the number is 360-426-4142. Also depending on how close you are to Salem Oregon I just found an excellent fill provider. She is part of Fill Centers USA. You have to call the fill Center USA place to make your appointment with her. She saved me during and emergent situation. Her name is Sheila Wettlaufer. The fill center # is 1-866-345-5872. They provided me an excellent experience and I would tell anyone I know to go to her. She worth the drive if it is a bit farther!!

I know of 2 sizes that Dr. O uses. The one I have says it is a 10cm size and holds 4 cc of fluid. there is a larger on that holds 10 cm and is a VG band, not sure what the size of it is in cm though. More women get the "smaller" band but it depends on your body size and internal organs size etc. at the time of surgery. Usually men get the larger VG band that holds 10 cc of fluid I think.

First fill can be very disappointing. It took me maybe 4-6 days to fell the slightest bit of restriction, that lasted maybe 2 weeks and then nothing. This is more the norm. I think people think the first fill will make a difference and from what I have read it's the exception to get good or any restriction on the first fill. give it some days though and you might be surprised.

I DID call those numbers and only could leave messages. To say we should always be able to get someone on the phone just isn't true of my experience. Just to clarify I did use the correct numbers. I left several messages on these numbers. The extension for Dr. O wouldn't even let me leave a message it just hung up on me after a long silence. This should really be looked at.

Good morning all: I wish I could reply to each post individually but that would take another page or 2. Each of you who has replied made me feel so special and cared for. I listened to what all you said and do have a few responses in general about this experience I want to clarify. First of all I am very grateful and happy I had my surgery by Dr. Ortiz and Dr. Martinez. Yes they are the premium Docs when it comes to this surgery and I would still go back or recommend them to anyone I know who wants a lapband. I understand that aftercare was not ever a part of the deal but as Cathy pointed out I did pay for the fill. I knew Dr. Ortiz was out but other Dr. were around such as Dr. Acosta who did the fill, Dr. So the next day and I'm sure Dr. Martinez was somewhere also as surgeries were being performed. I do hope there is an explanation but 4 messages later and no call even today yet is absolutely sub standard care. I really wanted some expert advice from them and was willing to get a last minute ticket and go back to TJ for care. I had the concern that if anything goes wrong with the band down the road I didn't want anyone else to have touched it so if necessary they wouldn't have that excuse to not maybe replace something or do a procedure with no cost if necessary. Now that's screwed up because of their lack of response. Oh well I really pray this is my only "bad" situation with my band and all will be good from here on out. Secondly I learned so much from this provider. I now know how terribly important many things are that I had sort of taken for granted. This experience really heightened my awareness of the possibilities of complications and I have a whole new respect for the amount of food at one time I should eat. This was not new news to me at all but in being able to have someone talk to me one on one and explain the numerous patients who eat too much regularly and then their esophagus erodes and sooner or later they have to have the band out. She said she sees it ALL the time. And yes it is because when you don't have restriction you tend to eat more than 1/3-1/2 cup at a time. Over time this will cause problems almost as a given. My warning to all is to take this recommendation seriously and at any time DO NOT eat more than 1/3 cup of food. Measure your food. Also foods like broccoli, cauliflower, asparagus and the others we all have heard about should ALWAYS be cooked until they are limp and then chewed to liquids. I know this is old news but now I really respect how important these guidelines are. I am on clear liquids for 2 days. She said the Fill Center USA ALWAYS has patients go on liquids for 2-3 days after a fill not matter what number fill it is. This is very important also. She said small more frequent fills is the gold standard and it's not just to make more money. It is to prevent situations just like these!! Do not push your fill person into giving you an "aggressive " fill. Maybe you will be ok but please hear me..."It is not worth it". I have lost 2 days of work from this experience as well as the extra expense of the unfill. I would have been so much better off to just stay local with my fills, blind or not, I truly believe this is the most important thing to consider. Having a local place in case of emergencies is the most important thing to consider in my opinion. After having 2 fills with fluoro and an unfill and then a fill blind I am a believer that fluoro DOES NOT MAKE that much of a difference. Especially for the first fill when you are not going to be overfilled or too restricted. I have never heard of a first fill being too tight. I know we all want to "see"our band at that first fill but truly unless you blew all the rules and know you havn't been compliant then in my opinion fluoro is unnecessary. Now if you have unlimited funds than go for it!! And finally I just got off the phone with the same person I spoke to yesterday from Fill Centers USA who helped me make my appointment. She called me to make sure I was ok and to ask how my experience was. She told me she will call me in 1 month to follow-up. She also told me to call her anytime and someone would always talk to me or return my call within an hour. Even if I just need encouragement or whatever. What a nice surprise. Sorry this is so long. I am feeling better today. I am drinking juice and my pills went down fine. I do feel somewhat "full" so I hope I still have restriction. Again thank you all and I love this forum because of all of you who are here!!

I would highly recommend this place to anyone. The critical thing I have learned is that you need to have aftercare (fills) close to home or be able to fork out a tone of money to fly back to TJ on a days notice if you have problems. The fluoro was certainly not helpful in this situation. Yes there are good reasons for the fluoro but when I way those with the ability to get urgent care if needed I will certainly be going locally from now on.