Clynn

By throat do you mean the are just behind your tongue or further down in your esophagus? Since it's been six months since your last fill the problem may not have anything to do with your band. Give your doctor a call and see what they think.

The nurses from Arlington also make the trek down to Pt Orchard every other month. There is a support group which meets there monthly and they will do fills and then stay on the for the meeting. The next time they'll be down is on the 20th.

Each doctor is different and has a different post -op diet based on what they think is the most appropriate. They should give you detailed instructions in writing which you can refer back to as necessary. The best advice I can give you is follow them to the letter.

To me it has been 99% perfect and wonderful. Because of that I tend to heap on the praise and have to remind myself that not everyone will have the same experience. If you're looking for more information there is Dr Ortiz's website and there's Inamed's website. You can get in contact with bariatric surgeons in your area and they can refer you to support groups. I highly recommend support groups btw. There are also many books on the subject. I gave Dr Ortiz's book, Lap Band for Life off of Amazon.com as a Christmas present this year. I only had time to read the first few chapters before I had to wrap it but it was informative without relying on medical jargon. Of course you can always stop by and ask us questions. Good luck

Now you've heard two completely different experiences. The moral here is that there are no guarantees either way. Educate yourself as much as you can about the risks and the rewards because in the end, nobody can decide for yourself but you.

1) How ofter you need to go in depends on what type of band you get. If you get the larger VG band, people seem to need to go in every month or two. It's harder to get to and keep your sweet spot, but the benefit seems to be that each fill is less drastic to your system. More room for error so to speak. I have the smaller band and need to go in about every three or four months. I have my fifth fill scheduled for later this month, but I'm thinking it will be smaller compared to my previous fills. Your surgeon will determine what kind of band will fit your anatomy better during surgery. 2) Sometimes there is a bump in the skin over the port. The bump sometimes will go away as you lose weight. However, if you still have a lump after losing weight, I've heard people say Dr Ortiz offered to re-seat it free of charge. For me it is not noticeable but I can feel it when I press my fingers in the area. 3) Different foods will work for you at different times, depending on your habits and the level of restriction at the time. If you are not too tight, eat slowly, and chew thoroughly you will be able to eat most foods. Some foods, however, will always cause problems. For me it is bread and pasta. I suppose if I took very small bites and chewed chewed chewed about 100 times each bite I could eat it, but what's the point? Those foods are just filler anyway and don't really have anything to offer as far as nutrition or flavor. Steak, on the other hand, is wonderful and I enjoy eating it now more than I ever did. 4) I absolutely needed the lap-band and still do. I moved in December and found a trunk I hadn't opened in years. Inside was a t-shirt I had from middle school and . . . IT FIT, probably better than when it was new. Before I was banded every day was a new diet and a new reminder of how much of a failure I was. No matter how much I lost the pounds came back with friends after about six months. Even by the age of 25 I was having health problems. I was heading for diabetes and had already been on Lipitor for bad cholesterol. Today I feel like a completely new person and that I finally have the tools available to me to manage my body and take care of it properly. But the reason I KNOW I needed the lap-band instead of just diet and exercise to accomplish this is demonstrated when I go out to eat with other people. I can eat about half of a kid's meal, while those around me chow down on plates heaped high with food. The kicker is that they're not gaining weight, and I'm not losing it right now (see answer #1). How can the answer to the amount of weight I had to lose be simply diet and exercise if I'm as active as they are and taking in a fraction of the calories?

I have to agree with Donna. I think Cassie did a great job helping to get the word out about this. As for vicious forum posts, it's pretty pointless to get into it with those who feel the need to be cruel to people they've never met and are in situations they'll never be in. We love you Jenn & Cassie no matter what horrible people say!

Have you asked your surgeon this question since he is the one who surmised it?

Dr Ortiz only uses Inamed bands, which is the name brand. You get a card with the serial number and the size of the band when you are discharged from the clinic.

Pack comfy clothes and thing to keep you occupied like books and such. You'll be given a hospital gown at the clinic to wear but when you're back at the hotel anything tight or restrictive may become uncomfortable. The only thing I was given to take home was paperwork, and I don't think TSA is yet at the point where they will confiscate that.

Good advice for ANY loan, especially in this economic climate!

Didn't she describe weight loss surgery as the easy way out? Hopefully she'll be fair in her portrayal but I'm going to reserve my judgment until I see the show.

53 lbs in a year is not bad at all. I've lost 40 this last year and am happy even though I've got about 50 more pounds to loose ideally. What weight does your doctor think you should be aiming for? He would know best given your bone structure what weight you should be at. STOP comparing yourself to other people as it will drive you crazy. You are you, and your situation is different from everyone else's, therefore your weight loss will be different. Feeling your port after eating is also common, as is it being a little sore. The ports are just sitting under the skin. Some people's ports even show up as a bump in their stomach. Eating, especially largish meals takes up space and I would imagine puts pressure on your band. A little soreness occasionally is probably fine but any sharp or prolonged pains would be worrisome. Once again, talking to your doctor would be helpful. Overall, just relax. You are doing great, don't diminish this wonderful thing you've done.

One of the goals of the pre-op diet is to shrink your liver for the surgery. When you loose weight you loose fat on the inside around the organs as well as what is visible on the outside. The liver being smaller makes it easier for the doctor to work around in there and makes for fewer possible complications.

Thank you for your kind words. Sidenote: my band's name is Selene. Is it weird I named it? Anyway, back to your question. You are asked to diet before surgery in order to shrink the liver and make it easier for the doctor to work around in there. Dr Miranda prescribes a liquid diet two weeks before surgery. However, I did Atkins for two months before surgery and lost 25 pounds. Because of this I was able to do a much less severe pre-op diet and I feel it also got me in the habit of eating healthier for post-surgery.

If you are getting banded by Dr Ortiz then you will need to get in touch with their nutritionist prior to starting your pre-op diet. She will lay out a diet plan designed for you and your needs, answer any questions you may have, and address any difficulties you run into. She would be the best person to ask your coffee question to.

Perhaps we have different interpretations of the phrase, "something wrong." In an emergency situation doctors are compelled to assist no matter where the patient has been and what they've been doing unless it puts the doctor in a life threatening situation. My contention is that when it's not a life threatening situation for the patient but they still need immediate care, they may run into a situation where doctors turn them away. My mother has a friend who was banded in Mexico (NOT by Dr Ortiz). This doctor did not use the Inamed band and it broke. She had difficulty finding a doctor in the states who was willing to take it out. I don't know if she eventually found someone in the US or had to go back down to Mexico as the conversation I had with my mom was more about the challenges patients who go to Mexico may have to face.

I would be worried about dehydration to. If you ever can't get liquids down then it's time for an unfill because it doesn't take long to get sick from dehydration. Sip Sip Sip liquids as much as possible and drink things like Gatorade which will give your body electrolytes as well as broths and think yogurts to get you some protein. Don't worry about calories or carbs right now as you're just trying to get better. Keep on the liquids for a bit longer since if you did scrape something it will take longer to heal than if you simply irritated something. If you're not starting to feel better in the next few days it might be time to make another phone call to your doctor and get their opinion. Be very descriptive on what's going on so you don't have another miscommunication. The fact of the matter is that you may simply be tighter than is good for you right now and the only thing for it is a small unfill.

I've heard several people complain that they've had difficulty finding a doctor who will treat them because they were banded in Mexico. It's not so much as doctors in an emergency situation as it is doctors who do follow up care like fills and band checkups that are turning away Mexican bandsters. There are those who simply do not want to deal with bandsters who were banded outside the US. My guess is that it has to do with insurance and malpractice. If a band is placed improperly and it leads to complications down the line it is easy for whoever is doing the follow up care at the time to catch the blame. More of a quality control issue since they can't bring the American legal system to bear for international bands. Just my guess as I said. Since fills are (mostly) non-critical medical care the laws and ethics are looser than if it were an emergency and it's more up to the individual doctor's discretion on whether or not they want to take on a particular patient. Anyone who was considering getting banded outside the US I would advise to find a fill doctor in their area who is willing to take them on as a patient beforehand. You don't want to get a nasty shock down the line and end up having to travel farther than you had originally expected for your follow up care.

If you were banded by Dr Ortiz you can always get in touch with Dr Miranda. She can have a look at your food diary and make suggestions. If you weren't banded by Dr Ortiz then ask your doctor for a referral to an nutritionist. However, like suefromca said, you're on a plateau and it does happen. Your body is not a machine and sometime it just needs a break.

Welcome to banded life. Over time you'll learn to recognize the signs your body gives you that it's going to happen before it gets to that point.

You can irritate your stomach which will cause swelling and thus making the band seem tighter. Pb'ing only increases the irritation and keeps the swelling up. Go on liquids for a few days and see if that takes care of it. If not, you may need to get some saline taken out so your stomach can heal and go back to normal. I'd call the doctor at that point and get his advice.

When I first told my primary care physician about Dr Ortiz's clinic his words were, "I cannot medically recommend this." Then he started researching Dr Ortiz and by the time my appointment came about I think he was ready to drive me to the airport himself. I go to him monthly for vitamin shots (not band related) and he's always asking me how things are going. I think he now recommends Dr Ortiz to his other patients considering weight loss surgery. I think it's just a matter of knowing what you're getting into. When my mom first suggested Mexico all I could picture was Dr Nick Riviera from The Simpsons and the urban legend where people wake up in bathtubs full of ice with their kidney removed. Once I'd educated myself and been down there I wouldn't want to go anywhere else.

How can a band with 10cc capacity hold 14 cc's? Perhaps you should question your doctor further and find out what he means by strong stomach. I am also reminded of a story told to me about a fill doctor here in the states who said he was putting in much much less than he told his patient in order to get them to come back and pay for fills more often. If the same doctor has done all your fills I would defiantly suggest a second opinion.

Give it some time, stop drinking with your meals, and try to eat more fiberous foods which will not move past the band as easily. Some people do have to rely partly on willpower for awhile. If after a couple of weeks you can still eat anything then you may need another fill, especially if you have the VG band. PB mean productive burping, and it happens when something gets stuck above the band and has nowhere else to go but back up. It's not really throwing up since the food never really makes it into the stomach.