snowbird

And believe, me lapband is NOT the easy way out. It is a drastic solution to a lifelong problem.

Okay, usually I encourage people to get the band when they are on the fence. However, you do not have a history of obesity, and I think you should read over the information on this website and on another one called Lapbandtalk (lapbandtalk.com) to really look at what life with a band is like. For me it was a last chance to lose excess weight that I had had, literally, since I was five years old. Being thinner is very nice and I would not want to give up my band. However, I never get to enjoy eating anymore. I can only eat about a quarter of what I was eating pre-band, and by the end of that small meal I often feel pain and some nausea. I have to realistically look at the slight possibility of band slippage and erosion in the future, which may mean additional surgery. Surgery is cutting into your body even with the less invasive laparascopy. It is not something to undergo lightly, and there can be surgical complications, such as stomach perforation and infection, apart from the more frequently discussed band complications. Plus, the things you listed that you are afraid of are real possibilities. Have you really tried dieting? There is a reason US insurance companies want a history of dieting and failure with it before approving coverage for a band. The band is not a quick easy fix for a few pounds gained. I'm not a big fan of things like Optifast or Jenny Craig, for the simple reason that it isn't a normal way of eating that you can maintain for the rest of your life. However, you had a quick weight gain from pregnancy. If you can lose weight with something like optifast and go back to the way you used to eat before you were pregnant and keep your excess weight off, then I would think that is a good weight loss method for you. It hasn't even been a year since you had the baby. If you have any thoughts that you could be successful in losing that baby weight any other way besides surgery, I would go with those thoughts.

This is not a question you should be asking on a forum; this is a question you should be asking either your PCP or your lapband surgeon's office. Your PCP may be able to answer it if he or she is knowledgeable about the band, but I would probably call the surgeon's office.

I flew home and I was fine. However, I don't think that driving is a great idea so soon after anaesthesia. I was a bit flaky for several days afterwards and had a lot of trouble concentrating and just zoned out a few times. Don't you have any other options? Where do you live?

Kimmie, truly there isn't a typical answer. I have had two fills in the four months since by surgery, and I probably could have done without the second one. My husband, banded the same day, has had three and probably needs another one. The variables are how you react to the fill, the amount of restriction that you are comfortable with physically and mentally, the size of your band, the amount of fat around your stomach and the rate you lose it when you lose weight . . . the list could probably go on longer. I have heard of some people who have never had a fill and are a couple of years out from surgery. I have heard of people who have had 8 fills in the first 4 months. I don't know what you mean by "do I need to go with the first Dr." I live close enough to Tijuana so i can drive there for fills. I like it that they do all the fills with fluoroscopy so they can check the band placement at the same time. My daughter goes to a clinic where they don't do fluoroscopy, and she feels fine with that.

How much protein does your doctor say you should be eating? I looked up what I should be eating, and it is about 60 grams per day, or 8 oz of meat or fish.

Dr Romero suggested Mylanta instead of Tums. It is much more soothing and works instantly to relieve the burning feeling. I can get down the mint flavored, but not the Classic Original which is absolutely disgusting. PB is productive burping, when food cannot pass through the stoma and must come back up. This happens when you eat too fast, you eat too much, you eat food that cannot pass through the stoma (like doughy bread) or because you have too much restriction. It is sort of 'mini-vomiting" as the food has not mixed with stomach acids yet, so it isn't as yukky as vomiting.

My port scar is less than an inch long, horizontal, with no puffiness or stitch marks, since Dr O uses glue rather than stitches. The four other instrument scars are about 1/4 inch long and barely noticeable.

Maggie, when I read over your experience at OCC I don't see that you had an "unfortunate" experience at all, so I find it curious that people are reacting that way. You had to wait. Uhhh, I don't think I have ever had a medical treatment experience where I DIDN'T have to wait. I think people are picking up on your dissatisfaction, which in itself is unfortunate, because the patients yet to be banded are nervous and pick out the parts you didn't like and start obsessing over them. I have had to accompany my mother to the ER several times over the last year and believe me, the waits we have to endure at OCC are nothing to what you would have to experience at any US hospital. OCC has everything down very well, and take you through the banding experience with ease. I think you either have had little experience with hospital procedures or just like to emphasize the negative. Sounds to me like you had a successful, problem free experience at OCC and should be happy with it.

Keep in mind that surgery in the US is often, if not usually, day surgery without an overnight stay. Also, you were sleeping off the anaesthesia right after surgery. Do you not think that maybe someone did check on you, and you didn't even know it? I don't remember 90 per cent of what happened to me the day of surgery.

Ruth, you sound like about the same size and shape I was when I started this, although I am quite a bit older. Don't be scared! Do you have a friend or family member to go with you? Dr Ortiz's cost of surgery includes a hotel room for your friend or relative to use before, during and after you are at the clinic. It is nice to have someone to talk to, although not essential because you will meet other patients traveling to and from the clinic that are just as nervous as you are. I thought of going to Tijuana as a mini-vacation, a chance to see a place I was unfamiliar with and to experience something new. The surgery is not bad and the hotel is really nice. Is your son going to go with you?

He usually schedules a couple of weeks out, as he has medical history forms he wants you to fill out and also wants his patients to diet pre op and lose 5% of your body weight prior to surgery. However, if he has an opening I have heard of patients being schedule just a day or two later. Call his office and find out; they are usually pretty flexible.

Sometimes I have been asked what I am bringing back across the border, and sometimes not. I have a brother in law who is a retired Customs agent, so I was giving the party line on what is allowed. I sure wouldn't want them to discover it in my purse if I didn't tell them about it. You do hear about celebrities who are arrested when entering the US with medications for which they have no prescription.

I don't have any stats on this, but generally the surgery helps GERD. The surgeon will correct a hiatal hernia during band surgery if he finds one, and that is the main cause of GERD from what I have read. I was on Nexium twice a day prior to surgery, and even then I would wake up several times during the night and need some Tums or Mylanta. Now I still take Nexium, but I'm back to one a day, and usually don't wake up during the night with GERD problems. In some cases, people who never had reflux develop it after band surgery. This is often due to band slippage, or being filled too tightly. I have even heard of some people regurgitating through their noses at night after a too tight fill.

That part, unfortunately, will get worse before it gets better. At least you know that there is an end date to your liquid diet and you will be able to resume eating solids in the not too distant future.

Nicole, Were you banded by Dr Ortiz? Have you had fluoroscopy with your fills? I would want a doctor to examine my band placement and give professional advice. My husband and I have actually driven to San Ysidro and back to Surprise in a day for fills. The office is open on Saturdays if you can't get away during the week. It would be worth it to me to get checked out.

Smitty, just start looking through all the past posts on this forum. Most of the participants have been banded or are about to be banded. It isn't an easy road; being banded means being committed to changing your relationship with food, and that can be a big social change as well. You might also check out a website called lapbandtalk.com which has tons of info on banding. Dr. Ortiz also offers a book about the process that you can order on his site, the parent site to this one. Click on the words Obesity Control Center in the upper left hand corner of this page, underneath the "Obesity Control Center" logo. There is also a "Lap Band for Teens" thread on the main forum page so you can get some insight into people around your age. Good luck.

That's a personal thing for you. I would prefer a private room, but could live with sharing one. I don't even remember most of my stay at the clinic, so at this point it wouldn't have made any difference to me one way or the other!

I'm no expert, but the question isn't what drugs you can buy in mexican pharmacies; it is what is legal to bring into the US without a prescription. I believe that if a drug requires a prescription in the US, you must have a prescription for it to legally bring it into the US. Unless, of course, you aren't planning on truthfully answering the customs officer's questions regarding what you bought in Mexico!

Don't be ready to jump on pain pills with a bit of gas pain. Sometimes the pain meds can cause more complications such as vomiting, which can really mess up your band. I'm not trying to hold myself out as a big brave girl, but I only took one pain pill after the surgery meds wore off. If you don't really need it, just continue walking around and moving gently to help with the gas pains. Some people claim Gas-X helps, but I didn't really think it helped me. It is natural to be a bit sore; after all, you just had surgery and the port and band are stitched into your body.

Check out this link for a great description of how your band works. http://www.lapbandtalk.com/f13/how-lap-ban...-refills-41738/

I have oatmeal almost every morning, with some finely diced walnuts, sometimes a few frozen blueberries, and a sprinkly of cinnamon. I use sugar free pancake syrup for sweetener, and it is yummy! If I am in a hurry, I have a South Beach breakfast bar. I'm pretty tight so I have to eat it slowly, but it fills me up pretty well and doesn't have a ton of sugar. i can't do bananas; they get uncomfortably stuck no matter how I smush them up in my mouth. Good luck! It's so easy to lose sight of goals and slip back into old bad habits, or sometimes even into new bad habits. My motto is always, "you can't change yesterday but you can change tomorrow."

Tina, My insurance would cover BMI of 35 or above if you had another health problem stemming from obesity, such as high blood pressure or diabetes. My BMI was 35 and I was banded by Dr. Ortiz. My insurance reimbursed me over $7100 of the surgery cost. For some reason, my husband was reimbursed $7900 of the charge--same insurance. Keep in mind that this forum is Dr. Ortiz's, set up on his website, so most (though not all) of the people here were banded by him. He is a competent and experienced surgeon, and banded my daughter, my husband, and myself. I recommend him highly. However, if you are banded in mexico you need to be sure you either have access to fills in the US or are able to get back to Tijuana for fills with Dr. Ortiz's clinic. My husband and I live in Phoenix, so we can drive to Tijuana and back in a day. My daughter lives in Washington state, so she gets her fills locally up there.

Okay, first of all, you are losing at a rate of over 10 lb per month. That is excellent. I don't know as I would really want to lose faster than that. You know why you are not losing more. Since you are eating so much less, you need to make the calories you are eating count. By that I mean your body needs proper nourishment, not M&M's. If you are filled properly and eat meat and vegetables, you will not be able to eat too much. You can, however, continue to eat badly. If you absolutely need the sweets (and I do, I know) try to stick to sugarfree chocolates. Russell Stover has some really good ones. I also like Reese's sugar free peanut butter cups. For me, they satisfy the chocolate craving, but don't make me want to eat the whole bag like the sugared ones do. Plus they have undesirable side effects that stop you from eating too much. You may find that your problems are solved after your second fill. I found I was tight enough that I didn't enjoy eating enough anymore after the second fill, so it wasn't a big deal to give up most of the treats. You aren't alone, and you aren't evil, but you do have to help your band do what it is designed to do. Like Clynn said.

Maggie, Clynn's my daughter. She gets her fills in Port Orchard. They have a support group there that she attends occasionally. she has also had Dr Neal in Olympia do her fills. She works full time and goes to school, so I just didn't want you to think she was ignoring you!