amylou823
Hmmm Whats this?
Aug 04, 2012
Hello my friends!
Okay..I pulled up some more papers on lap band and looked specifically at the manufacture Allergan, subpoena of the manufacture Allergen and statical data on erosion rates and other complications related to the band it's self.
Found some interesting stuff...
1. Allergan started out as a eye care company..they produce a lot of drugs such as lumigan, restatis and lacti-lube...I think I give at least one of these a day to a patient...
2. They also produce lattise..for thicker eye lashes..this isn't a big surprise because this happens with lumigan...it can also turn your eyes brown..it usually goes away when you stop using it ( so I have been told)...BUT they also make Botox, breast implants ( great use for all that extra saline HA! ) and the lap band.
3. the 1-800- get thin campaign in LA where 5 patients died during..was sponsored...by allergan.. But I will say Allergan later refused to provide bands to the clinic where the patients died...bad surgeon perhaps? Allergan is notorious for it's aggressive advertising campaigns...for example.... lattise was promoted by Broke Shields and Claire Danes who were pushing it all over the television....all day......every channel.......ugh.
4. I also found this article
http://archsurg.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=1107072
long story short....
151 people were asked about their bands that were placed between 1994 and 1997.
22 % had minor complications such as hernia, port infection ( i think this is major..can we say sepsis) and disconnection.
39% had major complications such as pouch dilation, band slippage/erosion/infection and or intolerance.
59.8% had another surgery related to a complication.
over all , "1 out of 3...had a complication that required more surgery."..( I Can say 50% of Americans are male if I ask two people, one female one male)
okay first things first...these patients had the operation in the 90's...over 10 years ago..techniques, products and knowledge of WLS has changed....that being said, I am not to happy with the small number of participants in this study...151 isn't very many. I respect this article and yes the findings should raise an eye to research a broader population with more modern techniques/products...
oh like this one...
http://www.sciencedirect.com.huaryu.kl.oakland.edu/science/article/pii/S0022480409007380
So the US congress sees this and goes hmmmm...lets look into this more...which is always good..ya know....because....well...they regulate...stuff...right??
onward.. I am still not to hot about the idea of plastic or it's biologically safe equivalent wrapped around my gut....What about scar tissue...necrossis....strictures???? i can't imagine having a port for the rest of my life is good......is it sewn onto the muscle wall??? if so when I get all buffed and develop my 6 pack is it going to get damaged??? sooo many questions...
Quite frankly I don't want to keep this 'thing' in for the next 70 years...
BUT
I DO NOT want to deal with the digestion issues or dumping or nutritional malice of the RNY. I don't want to drop 100 pounds in 6 months...that's just not safe...at least I don't feel comfortable about it, at what point will my body say...OMG we can't process this fat fast enough onto the muscle!?
I am so confused right now..I don't think this may be the way I want to go ..simply because I am so uncomfortable with the 'foreign object' aspect of it. so I started looking again and found something called a gastric sleeve... never gave it much attention before thinking it was 'stomach stapling' ..well I was wrong (it can happen). This does not reroute your digestive system so you still absorb the nutrients normally, and yes even digest at the same rate...it does reduce your stomach by 75% but it also removes the area of t he stomach that releases the chemical that partly tells you 'I'm empty..fill me'.
I am hoping that Dr. kole can go over t his with me. It was briefly touched on at the seminar as well.
ahh Dr. kole.. so I looked into him as well ( as everyone should but you would be amazed how many do not) glowing bedside reviews. That's wonderful but the RN in me wants infection rates, M& M cases lol. Any dirt out there???? lol. Nothing on the state license board so..that's good.
Well 2 more days and hopefully I can get some answers
Amy~
0 comments
Okay..I pulled up some more papers on lap band and looked specifically at the manufacture Allergan, subpoena of the manufacture Allergen and statical data on erosion rates and other complications related to the band it's self.
Found some interesting stuff...
1. Allergan started out as a eye care company..they produce a lot of drugs such as lumigan, restatis and lacti-lube...I think I give at least one of these a day to a patient...
2. They also produce lattise..for thicker eye lashes..this isn't a big surprise because this happens with lumigan...it can also turn your eyes brown..it usually goes away when you stop using it ( so I have been told)...BUT they also make Botox, breast implants ( great use for all that extra saline HA! ) and the lap band.
3. the 1-800- get thin campaign in LA where 5 patients died during..was sponsored...by allergan.. But I will say Allergan later refused to provide bands to the clinic where the patients died...bad surgeon perhaps? Allergan is notorious for it's aggressive advertising campaigns...for example.... lattise was promoted by Broke Shields and Claire Danes who were pushing it all over the television....all day......every channel.......ugh.
4. I also found this article
http://archsurg.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=1107072
long story short....
151 people were asked about their bands that were placed between 1994 and 1997.
22 % had minor complications such as hernia, port infection ( i think this is major..can we say sepsis) and disconnection.
39% had major complications such as pouch dilation, band slippage/erosion/infection and or intolerance.
59.8% had another surgery related to a complication.
over all , "1 out of 3...had a complication that required more surgery."..( I Can say 50% of Americans are male if I ask two people, one female one male)
okay first things first...these patients had the operation in the 90's...over 10 years ago..techniques, products and knowledge of WLS has changed....that being said, I am not to happy with the small number of participants in this study...151 isn't very many. I respect this article and yes the findings should raise an eye to research a broader population with more modern techniques/products...
oh like this one...
http://www.sciencedirect.com.huaryu.kl.oakland.edu/science/article/pii/S0022480409007380
So the US congress sees this and goes hmmmm...lets look into this more...which is always good..ya know....because....well...they regulate...stuff...right??
onward.. I am still not to hot about the idea of plastic or it's biologically safe equivalent wrapped around my gut....What about scar tissue...necrossis....strictures???? i can't imagine having a port for the rest of my life is good......is it sewn onto the muscle wall??? if so when I get all buffed and develop my 6 pack is it going to get damaged??? sooo many questions...
Quite frankly I don't want to keep this 'thing' in for the next 70 years...
BUT
I DO NOT want to deal with the digestion issues or dumping or nutritional malice of the RNY. I don't want to drop 100 pounds in 6 months...that's just not safe...at least I don't feel comfortable about it, at what point will my body say...OMG we can't process this fat fast enough onto the muscle!?
I am so confused right now..I don't think this may be the way I want to go ..simply because I am so uncomfortable with the 'foreign object' aspect of it. so I started looking again and found something called a gastric sleeve... never gave it much attention before thinking it was 'stomach stapling' ..well I was wrong (it can happen). This does not reroute your digestive system so you still absorb the nutrients normally, and yes even digest at the same rate...it does reduce your stomach by 75% but it also removes the area of t he stomach that releases the chemical that partly tells you 'I'm empty..fill me'.
I am hoping that Dr. kole can go over t his with me. It was briefly touched on at the seminar as well.
ahh Dr. kole.. so I looked into him as well ( as everyone should but you would be amazed how many do not) glowing bedside reviews. That's wonderful but the RN in me wants infection rates, M& M cases lol. Any dirt out there???? lol. Nothing on the state license board so..that's good.
Well 2 more days and hopefully I can get some answers
Amy~
More and more research
Aug 02, 2012
Did you know that there are more then one type of band??? I did not. So now I will start looking into the realize band as well. I will admit I am still terrified about erosion and slippage but statistically it's less then 3%, however...HOWEVER the long term studies do not exist because this lap band is so new..Alegan (sp) seems to be the most popular manufacturer in my area.
Time to broaden my research a bit....
Amy~
0 comments
Time to broaden my research a bit....
Amy~
35 and refusing to die
Jul 31, 2012
Hello my friends!
I am getting excited about my consult! Only a week away. I think about it first thing in the morning and last thing at night. It's motivated me to slow down and look at what I am putting in my body a bit closer and all I can say is wow....junk, crap, fat and more crap.
I WILL eat a vegetable a day from this point forward.....french fries are NOT a vegetable. Did you know that?
I received the pre appointment paperwork and the insurance must do's before next week. Lots of questions to answer, luck for me the health history is mostly no..no...no...no.
I talked to my husband about it and he is supportive. I have decided not to tell anyone else until I have a surgery date, I don't want to stat the chatter until we have a green light.
Amy~
0 comments
I am getting excited about my consult! Only a week away. I think about it first thing in the morning and last thing at night. It's motivated me to slow down and look at what I am putting in my body a bit closer and all I can say is wow....junk, crap, fat and more crap.
I WILL eat a vegetable a day from this point forward.....french fries are NOT a vegetable. Did you know that?
I received the pre appointment paperwork and the insurance must do's before next week. Lots of questions to answer, luck for me the health history is mostly no..no...no...no.
I talked to my husband about it and he is supportive. I have decided not to tell anyone else until I have a surgery date, I don't want to stat the chatter until we have a green light.
Amy~
35 and refusing to die
Jul 26, 2012
Hello all my friends!
Welcome to my blog. This is the jumbled thoughts, ideas, fears and frustrations I have experienced or have yet to encounter in my weight loss journey. Hopefully I can answer some questions another traveler may have or in the very least maintain my sanity.
On to the introductions!
By the numbers: I am 5' 9" and 275 pounds, that puts my BMI at 40% which is considered morbidly obese.I wear a 3x top, 24 pants. My bra is a 46 C. Size 11 shoe..wide..lol. I am 34...less then a month away from 35. I may have possible lived half of my life or less...due to my weight..and that terrifies me.
The personal stuff: I am happily married with 2 beautiful kids. I work as a nurse in a local hospital in the ICU. As far as I know I do not have diabetes, hypertension or high cholesterol. I do however get winded moving from the chair to the bathroom, can't see my toes, have difficulty 'cleaning' myself, develop nasty rashes under my breast and upper thighs, can't bend over without bending my knees, and worst thing for me...I can't ride at the carnival with my kids. I have noticed lately that I feel like something is sitting on my chest ..not a pain...I just can't breathe as easily as I could earlier this year.
My breaking point: It wasn't the frustration of having to buy clothes in a bigger size, yet again. It wasn't the embarrassment of exiting a ride because I didn't fit. It wasn't even the stares from friends at the beach or my own family. It was the realization I was eating myself to death.
Working in the ICU, or any nursing field, you see a lot of preventable illness. I have had patients as young as 27 who weighed over 500 pounds die. I have also taken care of 50 year old marathon running fathers that have sudden heart attacks and pass. The ones that scare me, rock me to my core are the 50 to 60ish women that can't breathe from the weight, with hearts that can't pump because of the disease and kidneys that have shut down. All the kids crying at the bedside as mom slowly lets go. I don't want to be them and I sure as hell don't want my kids to be those kids. If I am going to die I want it to be 'out of my hands' not something I did to myself....or my family.
Dieting can work...I have lost weight. But I experience this thing I call the 'pit'. I get this never ending hunger...I completely loose that 'full' feeling and eat eat eat. As of lately My habits have been completely destroyed by the pit.
Here comes the confession: My diet sucks..no mystery as to the weight gain here. Fast food breakfast washed down with diet coke, fast food dinners with more diet coke, large portions..like omg large....burger and a chicken sandwich because I can't decide.....always more diet coke. I can drink a 2 litter in half a day. cookies, brownies, cakes...gummy bears. Diet coke before bed....I can't remember when I last had a glass of water...seriously can not remember. Most people eat out 2 -3 times a week...I do it daily. Of course this is bad...horrible. But it gets worse. I work long 12 hour shifts...If I don't stop for breakfast on the way in I eat whatever I want for lunch be it cafeteria or ordering out, and I pick up a big fast food lunch on the way home....then eat dinner with the family. Yep 2 dinners. All with diet coke, XL diet cokes. I sneak food around the kids and graze all day while they are at school/daycare.
No more. I don't want to die before I'm 70 and I would like to keep myself off a ventilator as well.
I went to my family doc first. Told him I was tired, short of breath and just worn out. He ran some blood test and everything came back fine. "go on a low carb diet and get some exercise." ...seriously...that's it. I was very frustrated, I wasn't expecting him to give me a magic bullet but something besides what I already know what I have to do. So I tried....lost 10 pounds then the pit came back and swallowed me whole. That was in October of 2011.
I realized I needed more help. I looked into surgical options. First the bypass. It seemed good, and I know quite a few people that have had it and it worked well for them. I did not like how extensively things were rerouted, also the lack of nutritional absorption for the rest of your life was a big red flag. I also didn't want to drop that much weight that fast nor did I think I had that much to loose ( about 100 pounds). So I gave up the idea and kept trying..loose/gain...loose/gain.
I came across a you tube video for the lap band, did some more research and put it in the back of my mind for a while. Then I hit my breaking point and decided I was done...time to get serious. As my 35 birthday approached, I took on the mantra 35 and refusing to die!
I researched the surgeons, found out only 1 surgeon in my employers system was recognized by the lap band system...and he was new. So I looked outside and found Dr. Kole. Its a ways from my home but he has the accreditation and his office is part of the total care program. I went to the informative seminar and had some basic questions answered. I meet with him August 7. I'm excited to get this going.
Amy~
0 comments
Welcome to my blog. This is the jumbled thoughts, ideas, fears and frustrations I have experienced or have yet to encounter in my weight loss journey. Hopefully I can answer some questions another traveler may have or in the very least maintain my sanity.
On to the introductions!
By the numbers: I am 5' 9" and 275 pounds, that puts my BMI at 40% which is considered morbidly obese.I wear a 3x top, 24 pants. My bra is a 46 C. Size 11 shoe..wide..lol. I am 34...less then a month away from 35. I may have possible lived half of my life or less...due to my weight..and that terrifies me.
The personal stuff: I am happily married with 2 beautiful kids. I work as a nurse in a local hospital in the ICU. As far as I know I do not have diabetes, hypertension or high cholesterol. I do however get winded moving from the chair to the bathroom, can't see my toes, have difficulty 'cleaning' myself, develop nasty rashes under my breast and upper thighs, can't bend over without bending my knees, and worst thing for me...I can't ride at the carnival with my kids. I have noticed lately that I feel like something is sitting on my chest ..not a pain...I just can't breathe as easily as I could earlier this year.
My breaking point: It wasn't the frustration of having to buy clothes in a bigger size, yet again. It wasn't the embarrassment of exiting a ride because I didn't fit. It wasn't even the stares from friends at the beach or my own family. It was the realization I was eating myself to death.
Working in the ICU, or any nursing field, you see a lot of preventable illness. I have had patients as young as 27 who weighed over 500 pounds die. I have also taken care of 50 year old marathon running fathers that have sudden heart attacks and pass. The ones that scare me, rock me to my core are the 50 to 60ish women that can't breathe from the weight, with hearts that can't pump because of the disease and kidneys that have shut down. All the kids crying at the bedside as mom slowly lets go. I don't want to be them and I sure as hell don't want my kids to be those kids. If I am going to die I want it to be 'out of my hands' not something I did to myself....or my family.
Dieting can work...I have lost weight. But I experience this thing I call the 'pit'. I get this never ending hunger...I completely loose that 'full' feeling and eat eat eat. As of lately My habits have been completely destroyed by the pit.
Here comes the confession: My diet sucks..no mystery as to the weight gain here. Fast food breakfast washed down with diet coke, fast food dinners with more diet coke, large portions..like omg large....burger and a chicken sandwich because I can't decide.....always more diet coke. I can drink a 2 litter in half a day. cookies, brownies, cakes...gummy bears. Diet coke before bed....I can't remember when I last had a glass of water...seriously can not remember. Most people eat out 2 -3 times a week...I do it daily. Of course this is bad...horrible. But it gets worse. I work long 12 hour shifts...If I don't stop for breakfast on the way in I eat whatever I want for lunch be it cafeteria or ordering out, and I pick up a big fast food lunch on the way home....then eat dinner with the family. Yep 2 dinners. All with diet coke, XL diet cokes. I sneak food around the kids and graze all day while they are at school/daycare.
No more. I don't want to die before I'm 70 and I would like to keep myself off a ventilator as well.
I went to my family doc first. Told him I was tired, short of breath and just worn out. He ran some blood test and everything came back fine. "go on a low carb diet and get some exercise." ...seriously...that's it. I was very frustrated, I wasn't expecting him to give me a magic bullet but something besides what I already know what I have to do. So I tried....lost 10 pounds then the pit came back and swallowed me whole. That was in October of 2011.
I realized I needed more help. I looked into surgical options. First the bypass. It seemed good, and I know quite a few people that have had it and it worked well for them. I did not like how extensively things were rerouted, also the lack of nutritional absorption for the rest of your life was a big red flag. I also didn't want to drop that much weight that fast nor did I think I had that much to loose ( about 100 pounds). So I gave up the idea and kept trying..loose/gain...loose/gain.
I came across a you tube video for the lap band, did some more research and put it in the back of my mind for a while. Then I hit my breaking point and decided I was done...time to get serious. As my 35 birthday approached, I took on the mantra 35 and refusing to die!
I researched the surgeons, found out only 1 surgeon in my employers system was recognized by the lap band system...and he was new. So I looked outside and found Dr. Kole. Its a ways from my home but he has the accreditation and his office is part of the total care program. I went to the informative seminar and had some basic questions answered. I meet with him August 7. I'm excited to get this going.
Amy~
