All I was dealing with in December was night cough and a retail job that didn't allow me any time off for a 5-6 hour round trip drive to see my surgeon or for Oh-Poor-Me posts here on OH.

Lisa O. is fine. Like me, she's just about had it with OH.

Any statements I made in Bandwagon or on OH about patient non-compliance were based on input from a number of bariatric surgeons. I didn't dream that up myself.

Lisa appears to be having band complications as well:

Post Date 2/29/12 1:27 pm
Topic: RE: burning in esophagus

You are worth the expense!  I had the same symptoms 3 years post op.  I have developed a sensitivity to all sorts of foods, not just the obvious like caffeine, chocolate, spicy foods and acidic food choices.  I had an upper GI, and endoscopy to rule out gastritis/ulcers, etc.  I do have mild gastritis and am treating it with Prilosec or Omeprozole 20mg daily.  It makes a huge difference so please start that regime a.s.a.p and then consult your physician.  I have slight esophogeal dilation which is fairly common, but can get worse over time if you over fill your pouch, pb often and don't chew well enough.  The irritation (burning) can come from food sitting above your pouch for too long.  I also have somewhat slow motility so I keep my band fairly loose so my esophagus can push the food through without too much trouble.  Some esophagus are stronger than others, but motility issues can be a side effect of a too tight band as well.

Avoid the foods that bother you most and don't eat just before bed.  For me, that knocked out any reflux I was suffering.  I hate to rely on Prilosec and prefer to adjust the behaviors to hopefully aleveate trouble down the road.  I had become very slack in my good bandster habits after time passed so now I'm working on being compliant again.

Take care of yourself!

Lisa O.

I hate that it's happened to her as well. She seems like such a sweet person.

 The band works for some people.  I am one of those. Jean's book has
helped me quite a bit over this journey. I don't understand what makes you think the book is invalid now.  just because her band failed means everything she wrote is wrong?  

i am disgusted by how some can gloat over another's pain. I am not surprised that  Jean was reluctant to share her band problem  because of this exact kind of treatment.  she CAN'T get another band. you would rather her just live without another tool?  

Please...someone....show me where her book is wrong now.   

i am waiting.

Jo ,

this is the exact reason why alot of people dont even bother posting on these boards anymore.  Even people that have no band problems stay clear of these boards.  Can you blame them ? 

I dont even post my accomplishments no more on these boards ,  I hardly ever post on here anymore because of the trash on here .

 yes. I agree.  too bad it only takes a few rotten apples to stink up the whole place.

~Please...someone....show me where her book is wrong now.  ~

Well let's start from the very beginning. How about here :

"Bandwagon: Strategies for Success With the Adjustable Gastric Band"

Lol. There was no success. She is getting rid of her band after she went on and on about how wonderful bands are for those that are "complicant"!

And how about this :

"Read BANDWAGON to learn how to live happily ever after
with your band."

Doesn't seem that SHE is living happily ever after with HER band! And yet she continues to say this to try to sell her book.

~I don't understand what makes you think the book is invalid now.  just because her band failed means everything she wrote is wrong? ~

Btw her band did not fail. That is what she told all of us here. So if that's the case..........then SHE must have failed.

Jo I know you don't like me pointing out what jean is doing, but she has done a lot worse to me! However that never seems to be an issue with anyone on here!

It always blows me away how dishonest people can be when they start having band issues. It doesn't help anyone else in any way, shape or form to NOT discuss complications, band failures or potential problems, in my opinion.

The people who have problems and then post everywhere but the forum where they supposedly have friends baffle me. Don't they want their support board friends to avoid the same horrible pain and suffering? I know I do. But I've seen any number of people say that if they had problems, they'd vamoose and never post here again. That's not true support. It's not honest and it's kind of deplorable, actually.

I see all the posts about how we're 'all in this together'... but apparently, if you have band problems, you're on your own? No one wants to hear about them, no one wants to admit to it... as if it's some sort of "weakness?" More bands fail than not... and when people don't talk about it, the only people benefitting are the manufacturers and the advertisers and the surgeons who unethically don't divulge important, vital information.

~Nicci

 From what I remember , the first I heard of jean having any issues was when Maria ggleefully posted a post fromof hers on the VSG board.  at the time, jean wasn't sure what the problem really was and was reluctant to scare any newbies until she had the facts.  After being "outed"' she responded honestly about what happened.  sure, she would like to get a new band but she can't. so, to preserve the weight loss she achieved with the band, she is getting a sleeve to maintain it.  I would have done the same damn thing.    but now that she is getting a sleeve, she has to stop selling her successful book on banding?    

And where does she blame the bandster.?  it's no where in the 534 pages of her book.  I've gone back years through old posts but I'm failing to find those blaming the bandster posts.  

For the record ( and it may get me in ho****er to say it), I believe the band has not been so useless for Maria as she claims and jean just had the balls to call her out on one of her red typed rants ( not that it has changed Maria's position but  Maria looks pretty damn good  for a useless band)  IMO, Maria is so angry about what the band did not do for her, that she fails to see how it has helped her.   

the band is not a magic wand but nor is it the spawn of the devil.  for some of us, it was the only choice we had and i am damn grateful for a book that helped me through it.  

Strange how bandsters with failed bands are always accused of expecting a "magic wand"..............but no one that has had issues with any other WLS gets accused of this?!

Jo,

I lost a lot of weight with the band, but I would gladly exchange the weight I have lost ( and kept off ) for my quality of life back.

For me, this is no longer an issue of successful weight loss, it's become an issue of how the band is an unsafe product and is ruining the quality of life for so many people. If you are not already a member of my Failed Bands Group,I invite you and everyone here to join and read about how many people have been injured by their bands.
www.obesityhelp.com/group/failed_lap_bands/tab,0/page,1/#my_ groups_main:1 

I don't think people who are considering the band really understand the ramifications of what can happen to you when you put a hard piece of plastic around an organ which is comprised of soft tissue and has to rigorously churn to digest food. It is a recipe for disaster.

People need to understand that there is no such thing as " Getting Stuck or First Bite Syndrome " it is absolutely 100% not something that any bandster should accept as normal.

 " Getting Stuck or First Bite Syndrome " is a very serious esophageal disorder and anyone who continues to perpetuate this dangerous and life altering propaganda is doing a huge disservice to not only those that are in the research phase of their WLS journey, but to those that still haven't accepted the truth of what " Getting Stuck and/or First Bite Syndrome " is really doing to their bodies.

Achalasia,Esophageal Spasm,Nutcracker Esophagus, & Esophageal manometry...

Unfortunately and commonly referred to as: 
" Getting Stuck or First Bite Syndrome "

What is esophageal spasm?

Esophageal spasms are irregular, uncoordinated, and sometimes powerful contractions of the esophagus, the tube that carries food from the mouth to the stomach. Normally, contractions of the esophagus are coordinated, moving the food through the esophagus and into the stomach.

There are two main types of esophageal spasm:

• Diffuse esophageal spasm. This type of spasm is an irregular, uncoordinated squeezing of the muscles of the esophagus. This can prevent food from reaching the stomach, leaving it stuck in the esophagus.
• THIS IS IMPORTANT TO UNDERSTAND because many banded people think that their food is stuck due to not chewing well or they think they ate too fast.
•  
• Nutcracker esophagus. This type of spasm squeezes the esophagus in a coordinated way, the same way food is moved down the esophagus normally. But the squeezing is very strong. These contractions move food through the esophagus but can cause severe pain.
• Again, this is often explained away by band surgeons and banded patients as eating to fast and/or not chewing well enough.

You can have both types of esophageal spasm.

Check out this link and then see if your surgeon or PCP can order you this test.There is a lot of really useful links here.

What is achalasia?

www.medicinenet.com/achalasia/article.htm#tocb

Esophageal manometry

Another test, esophageal manometry, can demonstrate specifically the abnormalities of muscle function that are characteristic of achalasia, that is, the failure of the muscle of the esophageal body to contract with swallowing and the failure of the lower esophageal sphincter to relax. For manometry, a thin tube that measures the pressure generated by the contracting esophageal muscle is passed through the nose, down the back of the throat and into the esophagus. In a patient with achalasia, no peristaltic waves are seen in the lower half of the esophagus after swallows, and the pressure within the contracted lower esophageal sphincter does not fall with the swallow. In patients with vigorous achalasia, a strong simultaneous contraction of the muscle may be seen in the lower esophageal body. An advantage of manometry is that it can diagnose achalasia early in its course at a time at which the video-esophagram may be normal.

Lastly Jo,

I know your reply to Maria is more about the method of her delivery however, I have seen Jean and her close friends attack Maria in the past, and while I am willing to let bygones be bygones with Jean,it's because I never really cared what Jean or others thought about me, because I considered myself to be far more of a vicious poster then Jean ever was to me, which I assume is why she and others eventually blocked me.

I own my past behavior to most that I have offended, and I am willing to apologize to many others...but there are some whose words have stung more then others or I have seen what viciousness they are capable of, and for that...they will never receive an apology from me, nor do I believe they deserve one.

Maria's posting style is not my own, but I've seen the GOOD she has done by help spreading the truth about the band. There was a time, I only posted from a place of anger, and that too can be attributed to the angst and suffering that is and was a direct result of the band.

Lisa

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