Blazn

Gosh, I really hate to hear this. I am scheduled for my first fill on May 3rd. Dr. Martinez told me I should only need 1 or 2 fills. I have heard of people receiving more but I really wanted to be one of those that only had to have one. Who knows maybe I will be. But I am so sorry to hear this you guys. Please keep us posted on your restriction and progress. Don't give up though. You have come to far to get discouraged now! Just think "we are on the short rows now" - you might have to be a southerner to understand that phrase - LOL.

Hey GaGirl77, I am pretty sure most people are not intubated. I am sure there are exceptions. They usually just use sedation. I know I was not intubated. I did wear an oxygen mask throughout the surgery -well at least I had it on when they told me I was through. Anyway, that was one of the questions I asked Lori myself and she said that they do not intubate.

I know there are a couple of 3/17 bandsters out there that have posted but there were 9 of us that day. Just wondering if the rest of you guys were in the forum anywhere. Keep us posted if so!

hey gal - are you going to schedule a fill soon?

Hey - Misty here, banded on 3/17 also, I have my first fill scheduled for May 3rd at Fill Center in Roswell, GA. Had to weigh the option of going back to TJ versus the fill center and chose the fill center. Just can't handle too many of those 12 round trip flights. Hope you are doing well. Keep in touch.

Sorry - no replys - must bump up my question! Thanks!

Hey all, hope you all are having a wonderful day. I am scheduled for my first fill on May 3rd. I see many of you have posted your fills on your signatures but I would like to know more. To you lap band veterans, how many fills have you had? .....and what made you decide to get another.....a decrease in restriction?....plateau in weight loss? ....or other reasons? I am just curious. Thanks!!

Hey, I too, walked into the OR, but they wheeled my bed from my room into the OR after the surgery and asked me to slide onto my bed. I do remember that. The rest is a blur though!

Great experience! You're too funny! I hope you have fun shopping today, we did! Keep us posted on your recovery.

I started protein shakes last night and kept it down. Thank God!

My question is..How much of one can you drink? I mixed mine with 8 ozs of fat free milk and I only think I drank about 3-4oz and I was really full. Is that pretty normal?

Firstly - I am so glad you are filling better.

And - Yes that is normal. My first two weeks I got really, really full after drinking or eating (like jello). I am now 3 weeks post op and I can tell my swelling has gone down. I get hungry faster and do not get as full as quickly. I am still loosing weight but very slowly. Like 1.5lb. a week (which I know is still good) but I lost 8lbs in the first week. But I am scheduled for my first fill on May 3rd so I can't wait!!!

Yes do no worry about that. When I first filled out my paperwork I weighed 220 but by the time I went on my pre-op I weighed 224. They will tell you to just change your weight on your paperwork because they are going to ask you for it when you go to TJ so make sure you take it with you. As far as the pre-op weight loss goes - just try your best. I only lost 6 of the 11 lbs I was supposed to lose and they did not have to resechedule surgery or anything. Lori says that they do it all the time though so don't take the pre-op diet lightly. Really try. But don't sweat the weight gain. You can just change it on your paperwork.

hello to all of you great people :-h

I was wondering if anyone has experience with the Roswell GA Fill Center and their prices ?

Well, I know my date is April 28 and I'm not even banded yet, but I just wanted to start shopping around a little bit

Any information is very much appreciated >

Ute

Hey, I actually have an appointment in Roswell on May 3rd. When I made the appt via the fill centers 800 number the receptionist said that Darlene (I think that is her name) is a nurse practitioner and is very, very good. She said Darlene is actually banded herself and is the one who trains most of the new fill center providers. She said I would love her so I am very excited. Yes I believe the first visit will be $549 ($349 for the fill center and $200 for flouro.) After that it will be $165 for the fill center and $120 for flouro, I believe. I would also love to go back to TJ for my fills but I just can't handle that 12 hour flight when I can drive a couple of hours and it be over.

I would have to say my road to the band was a series of events too. Yes size was an issue but more importantly was my health. I have polycystic ovarian syndrome and have been off birth control 3 years without getting pregnant. Then one day I realized - wow even if I do get pregnant I will probably be a gestational diabetic and gain 70 lbs on top of my 224. How unhealthy to bring a child into this world. So many women who are obese and have gestational diabetes never recover and become total diabetics. So when I heard about people going to Mexico for lap band and that I could actually afford it I said well that's it. I am now back on birth control so that I can lose my weight before getting pregnant. I have 1 year left of NP school and hopefully by then I will have most of my weight off and can work on having a family.

For me it was seeing this year's Christmas Pictures... Here's a highlight me at a size 20:

This was me at my highest, between 249-247 I just about cried when I saw these. I had been thinking about the lapband and started researching.

On Jan 1st I started a pre-op diet from a DR I found online and was ready to pay $16,000 then I saw the Oprah show in early Feb where they mentioned OCC and took it as a sign that Dr. Ortiz was the right doctor for me!!

Here I am 3 months later and already down almost 40lbs... Now a size 16

Way to go. You look great!

Just wondering....is everyone else feeling hardness where their port is?

I've had a tough time with my band and I am considering having it removed. I'm almost 2 years post op and I feel like there is a baseball under my skin.

IF you have your band removed....does anyone know if this will go away?

I think it's scar tissue. I wonder if that can be eliminated or will it just stay there forever?

Yes, I am newly banded and the area around my port is a little tough. It is about the size of an egg. Before I was banded I felt a friends port and hers was the same exact way and she was about a year and a half post op.

Hey, I did (and sometimes still do) have severe left shoulder pain after being banded on 3/17. If I eat/drink too much or too fast it still hurts very bad. I am a nurse and in nurse practitioner school and am very interested in research studies so I googled shoulder pain after lap band and found a study about patients having left shoulder pain after lap band. The usual shoulder pain associated with gas is usually the right shoulder as the gas pushes on the diaphragm which pinches the phrenic nerve. I asked my ob-gyn about this and he said that the phrenic nerve is usually associated with the right side and that most lap op (not including lap band) patients complain of pain in the right shoulder. Anyway - no I did not receive oxygen before surgery but I did afterward. My pain is relieved 1. after my stomach empties a little 2. if I lean forward or 3. taking a deep breath in and holding it (which I can't do for very long ). FYI the link to the study is http://www.core.monash.org/assets/document...ers/2005-52.pdf I found on another forum that some patients are like 2yrs post op and still have left shoulder pain if they eat too much or too fast or after a fill. Anyway, my pain is so bearable! I am still so glad I have my band and so were all of the patients that complained of shoulder pain two years out. Anyway good luck on your survey.

Wow! Way to go! I also took a pre op pic but it was in my bra and undies! Can't post that - I wish I would have though to take a pic in a dress or something like you did! Way to go!

SO GLAD TO SEE U JOINED THE FORUM, DID U EVER FIND NADINE?

LYDIA

No I did not - Maybe she will show up on here! I thought about emailing Lori and seeing if she could give out her email or email her for us and give her our emails. How are you doing?

Hello all!

For those of you who have already been banded - I hope you all are doing well. For those who have not - ease your weary minds. I am a registered nurse and am almost finished with nurse practitioner's school so when I heard about going to Mexico for surgery I said "They tell you not to drink the water in Mexico and you mean to tell me that people actually go down there to have surgery. You must think I am crazy." Well I wanted the surgery so bad I decided to explore the suggestion. Let me tell you.....I did my research. My husband like to have freaked out when I first told him but after showing him all I had found about having lap band down there - I convinced him this was the thing to do.

Although I had done my research, I was, of course, still a little scared and still had some reservations but that's ok. You would not be normal if you weren't a little scared about having surgery - no matter the location. So, I called Lori, scheduled surgery for the date I wanted, and tried to start my pre-op diet. Not enough will power there so it got down to the last week and I was forced to drink those awful protein shakes. I only lost 6 of the 11 pounds that I was supposed to lose - but no problems there. Most of my excess weight is in my hips and thighs....are there any women out there that can relate to that? My waist is small compared to the rest so I guess that is why we did not have to postpone surgery - thank God.

Anyway - I live in South Georgia - so I flew from Jacksonville, FL to Dallas, TX to San Diego. As promised the driver was there waiting for me with my name on a sign. He helped my husband and me with luggage and we were on our way. Let me start by saying - the part of Tijuana that the OCC and the Lucerna is in is absolutely beautiful. I felt like I was still in CA. Palms lined the streets - people drive like crazy - but it was beautiful. The Lucerna was immaculate. The employees there were so helpful. We settled in and decided to go shopping a bit in case I did not feel like it after the surgery. That night, although I did not lose all the weight I should've, I decided to have a real supper....we ate at the Lucerna, and I had a filet mignon and my husband and I shared a piece of cheesecake. It was delicious.

So we were picked up Monday morning by Ms. Ortiz as expected and we were off to the OCC. It was just as beautiful and clean as the pics on the site. I saw so many doctors that day. First a dentist - you gotta have teeth - because you gotta chew your food. Then a critical care MD - who done an EKG and PFT. Then they started my IV, drew blood, and the recovery MD introduced himself. Then Dr. Miranda - nutritionist, explained post op diet. Then I was taken to my beautiful room. We had flat screen TVs and a rock/water fountain and could call home at no cost. Then Dr. Martinez came in and explained everything to me. Soon after the anesthesiologists came in and talked to me. And lastly Dr. Ortiz came in (had my husband not been there I might have run off with him - LOL). I was the first to have surgery that day and was back in my room before I knew it. Probably 45 minutes after surgery the staff had me up walking. I broke out in a cold sweat while walking - I guess from the anesthesia because there was little pain. After our spouses went back to the hotel later that afternoon I just relaxed and watched TV. After the anesthesia completely wore off I got up and walked on my own. So little pain. I actually done so well I was able to come back to the hotel that night - at my request.

The next day my husband and I went shopping again. Of course, I only had liquids and they went down fine. The only pain I have really had is left shoulder pain. The day we came back we were picked up by the OCC driver and taken to the border. Since the line was so long and it was going to take a couple of hours to get through we went to another border. At this border we got out of the van and walked across the border. Do not freak out about this. It was so simple and fast. All we did was show the border patrols our license and birth cert. and ran our luggage through a screen just like at the airport. Then we got back in the van on the other side of the building. No trouble at all and it only took 30 minutes versus 2 hours.

So I am 2 weeks post op now. I still have some left arm pain after eating/drinking. I found a study that says this is very common in lap band patients. But I would not change a thing in the world. I am so glad I had the surgery. Luckily there is a fill center only an hour from me so I will go there in about 3-4 weeks for my first fill. I will keep you posted on my progress.

PS - After talking my husband into going he still would ask "I can't believe you talked me into thisâ€.....by then end of the trip even he was saying how everything was "TOP NOTCH"!!!!!!!

Do not worry too much!! Everything will be fine! Good luck!