SandraMinnesota

First, I would say, review your agenda, and decide what is the most important. If it is getting another fill, then start with baby steps to get it done, starting with the passport. Next, I would say, do what you know you need to do, like slowing down your intake, and monitoring bite sizes. If you can find a fill dr in the US, you may find that your health insurance pays for fills. Mine does, and I was totally shocked to find that out. I just went to the clinic, and told them to bill insurance. It was a miracle, but they paid, even though they wouldn't authorize the surgery in the first place. Go figure.

If you get a BAD CLOG, call your dr. in Mexico. You paid for post-op care as well as the surgery. They are prompt at returning calls, and they do care about your success. You should not have to live with pain. (When I called, the dr told me to drink fizzy soda pop to un-clog it, and it worked!)

Then figure out how to deal with anger issues. Joining a support group would be a good choice for that.

Do some positive self-talk. Every day as you are driving to work, tell yourself over and over "I can follow this program and make healthy food choices. I will lose weight. I will avoid junk food."

Hope some of those ideas help. I am 6 months post surg, and lost about 33# so far. I have a new addiction now--clothing purchases. Fortunately, I do it mainly at Goodwill and rummage sales.

Sandra

I have quit snoring after losing 30#. I would assume you could give up a cpap after you lose enough. But that question, like so many, is best assessed by your dr. Sandra

Okay, your band sucks. Now tell me

1. What's the inventory of your refrigerator?

2. What's the inventory of your pantry?

3. What was shown on your last receipt from the grocery store?

4. When did you last eat at McDonald's and what did you have?

5. What is on your food journal?

6. When did you last go to the gym?

7. When did you last contact your doctor with your band concerns?

Your band doesn't do the work. You work your band. Many many people would like to have a band, just like you do. This journey is all about DOING. Lots of what you have to do requires a huge amount of effort.

Both my Mexican Dr. and my fill dr. here in Kansas have said to take a big swig of a carbonated beverage. Works like a charm every time. You can suddenly feel the clog pass right through, like a roto-rooter treatment. I can identify with the pain. You are totally stopped dead in your tracks, unable to do anything until it passes.

Sandra

Good morning, ladies (and gents)!!

My surgery is two weeks from tomorrow. I am kinda concerned about making sure that I get all my protein in post-op, so I'm wondering if any of you who have already HAD the surgery use a Food Journal in order to make it easier for you to keep track of what you're eating?

I have this little journal called a 'DietMinder' and I think it looks like it's really going to help me...

Thoughts, anyone?

I use the free plan at sparkpeople.com. You tell it what you ate, it fills in everything else, including nutrients. It is free. There are lots of motivational hints and exercise plans there, too. SW

Today I hit 150#. It has been 20 years since I was that low. I have 15# to go. My jeans are size 12 now, not 18W. My self-esteem is not in the toilet. I am not depressed. I do not dread meeting people whom I have not seen in a long time. I have ENERGY. I bought new panties in a size 6 that don't have a fat roll hanging over the front.

My observation is that this journey is NOT the easy way out. You have to work at it. Anyone who thinks this band is for lazy cheaters, I'm gonna smack them upside the head with a frying pan. I work out 5 days a week. Yesterday on the stairstepper at the gym, I climbed 50 flights of stairs. I plan to get to 100 flights in the near future. I count every calorie, and stay at about 1200. My last fill was a tough one, but I hung in there and worked with it. I was sensitive to cold temperature food--it tended to make the band slam shut. So I learned to drink room temp milk. Not an easy thing to do, especially considering that I have NEVER been a milk drinker all my life: after the band I had to learn to drink milk because I didn't like taking calcium supplements. It did several beneficial things for me--1. Gave me more fluid intake 2. Got me my calcium 3. Got me my protein 4. Gave me healthy calories when my band felt restrictive. 5. Stopped the need for expensive gumdrop calcium chewies that had 50 calories for the dosage.

Well, you are lucky to have a local dr. I have to drive to Kansas, from Minneapolis. There is an OCC fill center in the south metro here, but they don't use fluroscopy. But is is worth the drive, because the Kansas dr. is great, and reasonably priced, and uses fluro. I have only had one fill, and am still (this will likely be a lifelong struggle for me) trying to get a handle on head hunger vs. real hunger.

I had my surgery in TJ Jan 12, and it has been a good experience--no pain, no problems. My neice, 10 years younger than I, had hers done in Minnesota, and really had a lot of problems with pain, like gallbladder attack type pain. She had to have an MRI, and lots of labs, and lots of bloodwork after her surgery. Me, I was running on the treadmill and did all my usual activities. We had the surgeries almost at the same time. I felt that I was very lucky to have chosen TJ for my surgery. The outcome couldn't have been better.

Her dr. also says that if she gets on a plane, she has to have an un-fill and a re-fill when she gets home. I strongly suspect that he might be beefing up his cash flow.

Expect the best. And if you have questions/problems, USE that toll-free number to call the dr. directly after your surgery. There really is good follow-through from them at all levels at the OCC.

I just had my first fill. This is a learning curve. I tend to want to overeat, but I try to keep in mind that I should have nutritious intake, and also not to sabotage my band with eating the wrong kinds of food.

Everyone is different, but for me personally whatever restriction I have after my fill is all I have. Mine don't get any tighter but I have heard many folks that theirs do just that. In terms of number of fills, again it's different for everyone but this last fill (4th) is the first time I really feel what restriction is and that is only at breakfast and lunch mostly. Although even though i'm not feeling the tightness and restriction so much, I definitely can't eat nearly as much.

In terms of snacks I really don't think that is an issue, but I try not to make a habit of them unless I really need it. I'm afraid for me personally if I utilize them too much i'll start eating around the band. So I try to eat foods that will keep me full and have a 100 cal pack or a healthy snack as needed.

Sorry, I know I wasn't a lot of help there but everyone is so different you will have to pay attention to your body and see what works for you. Good luck!

Shelby, I really owe you a big thank you. I went to the Dr. Malley as you suggested, and he was WONDERFUL. I was so thankful to have him take me as a patient. I have my next fill appt in May. Without your reference, I don't know what I would have done, as I could not find resources in Minnesota, and he is an 8 hour drive--his clinic is right next to where my daughter lives. What a coincidence.

I am hoping others on here will be brutally honest with their thoughts. So much of what is written on here is positive and that is great, it is one of the reasons I decided to have this done, but now I am feeling completely alone with regrets. I have researched the forum and have only seen a few people who have voiced how I am feeling. I am also hoping that my entry will not be deleted.

I was banded about 2 weeks ago (yes I know it wasn't long ago). I did not have the gassy feeling right after the procedure, but incredible port pain. My port and laproscopic sites seem to be higher than most people and I had lots of bruising. My port feels like it sits right on the edge of my ribs, so leaning forward can be a killer. I called several days after my surgery and Dr So said that extreme port pain is not that common but that it should get less. It has decreased somewhat, but now several times a day, I still get a heartbeat pain at the port site that makes me stop what I am doing. At 8 days post/op, I also started getting this horrible sharp shoulder pain right in my left scapula that literally takes my breath away (worse than a gallstone). It comes and goes for no apparent reason, but when it comes I immediately start sweating and have to do deep breathing to get through it. About a week after the surgery I also became extremely bloated and gassy all the time.

Let me say that I am a physical therapist and very familiar with the stages of healing. I understand scar tissue and know the physiology of what is happening to me. I completely understand the CO2 in my body and the fact that it takes a while to get out . Let me also mention that I am doing everything under the sun to help this. I am walking 3 miles a day everday, using heat, putting pressure/massage and taking tons of simethicone/gas x to no avail, anti-inflammaories etc... I am also taking 10mg vicodin at night which barely helps me but takes the edge off. Because of my desperation, it was very difficult to find reputable studies on the symptoms I am having. I found the Australian article regarding shoulder pain and it says

"Shoulder pain following LAGB surgery is common, usually affects the left shoulder, and can

in some cases last 5 weeks or more. Avoiding injury to the crura during the procedure may prevent more

prolonged pain."

So I found out that some people apparently do not have the shoulder pain immediately but one or more weeks later and they may have the shoulder pain for months/years, some continue to have port sensitivity years later and many people are just bloated and gassy for the rest of their lives.

My goodness, I cannot imagine 3 more weeks of this port pain and shoulder pain and the possibility that I will forever have bloating and be gassy.... and yes I do understand those of you who believe the bloating and gas for the rest of your lives isn't a bad trade off for weight loss.

I am not a complainer and typically think of myself as a pretty tough cookie, but these side effects are affecting my day to day function and I am mad at myself for doing this to myself. Obviously my body is more sensitive than most, but I have yet to see someone else on the current forum implying they were going crazy with the side effects after surgery and feeling depression and regret. I know that I could not have anticipated this but the only thing that is making me feel better is the thought of removing this band in a few months when the scar tissue slows down. I swear if I could do surgery on myself, I would have done it already. I know healing and everything takes time ("this too shall pass"), I tell that to my patients all the time, but if I am so unusual to have such extreme symptoms, I cannot know for sure if and when it will pass.

Anyway, I do not want to discourage anyone who is reading this. I believe the lap band has changed many peoples' lives and has been a blessing to them. My best friend also had lap band surgery 6 months ago, had little to no symptoms and is doing fantastic. Therefore, she cannot relate to my situation at all.

I am just talking about my own individual case which apparently is in no way the "norm". I am scared, I am worried, I am seriously depressed and I am on the verge of tears most of the time. I just wanted to be brutally honest on this forum in the hopes that there is someone out there who can relate so I would not feel so alone and scared.

Thanks for listening.

I am 60 years old. My neice is 50. We are both RNs. I had my surgery with Dr. Ortiz in Jan, she had her surgery here in Minnesota in Feb.--her ins paid for it. I breezed through. No pain at all, no complications, able to exercise right away, tolerated food well. She had severe abdominal pain after eating that sent her to her knees every time she ate, especially if she ate something cold. The pain was so bad that she had lots of follow up exams. They suspected a stone in the bile duct, even though she had gallbladder surgery years ago. She had an MRI, a million lab and blood tests. Everything came back negative. She missed a lot of work. This has lasted about 3 weeks, and is getting gradually better. She just got her first fill. The pain still has not resolved, but is at about 25% of what it was and is getting better still.

I guess my point is that there is sometimes a lot of unknown, with pain factors. The common thread for most all of these stories is that it always gets better tn time. I'd say, hang in there. You are at a tough time psychologically, not being able to eat real food yet. That makes a difference, too.

My plastic surgeon told me that stuff was expensive and unnecessary, because the RUBBING of the scar tissue is what caused the scar tissue to break down, not the product. Any old hand lotion should work the same, as long as you rub the scar frequently.

I just had my first fill 4 days ago, have been on solids now for 2 days. It seems that, as time goes on, I feel the restriction more and more. I am still processing the head hunger vs. real hunger thing. I feel like I cannot eat much, but quickly (less than 2 hours later) get hungry. My stomach starts to growl. I have been eating a snack when this happens, but do not want to go back to old bad habits of grazing. I am losing weight now, eating about 1400 calories daily. I would like to eat about 1200 cal daily, but hunger won't let me!

Question

Have you noticed that immediately after a fill, you can eat a little more volume, then it changes to less volume tolerance, like within hours/days after your fill?

If I have the urge to graze will that be alleviated after fill #2, scheduled for 6 weeks?

Will eating 2 snacks between meals, if they are low in calories, sabotage my overall band health?

How do you deal with head hunger?

I am not a dr. I am an RN. I can tell you that after having had surgery on Jan 12, I never had ONE bout of shoulder pain. I took one pain pill post op--that was at about the 3 day mark, and it was for some neck pain. I had that twice, at the back of the neck. Each time lasted about 5 min or less, and was relieved by a heating pad. I also had 2 instances of midsternal chest pain, each also lasted about 5 min. These 4 instances of pain were all within about 10 days post op. One of the instances of chest pain was in the middle of the night, and went away in less than 5 min.

I do think it helped that I religiously followed all post op instructions, and walked a lot. Easy road for me. Sandra

I would like to know

1. The rationale for not drinking one hour after a meal. If the food is nicely sitting in your "big" stomach, say 10 min after you ate, doesn't the water just plop on top of it there? What diff could that make?

2. The rationale for not drinking 20 min before a meal. When you drink water on an empty stomach, doesn't it just pass right through the band into the stomach? Then isn't it just sitting in there when you eat, and food goes into your stomach from your pouch? What diff could that make?

I do understand why you should not drink while eating. I get that. But no one has EVER answered #1 or #2 for me. I have a medical curiosity. And to have that answered will make me comply with a full understanding.

Sandra

Hi Everyone!!

Some of you may know that i am studying to become a licensed forensic psychologist. I have been in both ends of the weight spectrum, meaning that i have always being "normal" weight, then got pregnant and found myself morbidly obese and then now i am "skinny". As a therapist, i psychoanalyze everything meaning that the relationship that i have with other people have changed inmensely and i am always questioning the reasons why. I am happily married with two children. Before i got married i received tons of attention from man and women, however i received even more attention now which creates a lot of confusion and frustration. its frustrating to see man look at a woman like if she has no clothes. its also frustrating because man do not care that i am married. Here is where the temptations come in. I worked with many individuals that have gone through the band and have changed their lives in all aspects. many of them got divorced while others became strippers.

So my question to all you bandster out there, how has the band affected you psychologically? Please understand that i am not trying to do cyber therapy, all i am trying to see if how other people feel and how i can relate to them. Thank you for sharing your feelings and thoughts since i find myself many times without someone to talk to.

I know one thing for sure. I just wanna be looked at as a sex object for once in my life. ha ha ha. Sandra

After a fill (my first one is scheduled in March) is there a dietary restriction for a while? Are you on liquids for a day or so? If so, how do you know if the fill has the right restriction, and not too much? Sandra

I was really freaked about the thought of that needle going in my stomach, but i'm gonna tell you on a scale of 1-10 I think the pain was a 2. The actual needle stick was nothing. To me, the part that was the most uncomfortable is after they stick it through your skin and are trying to find the spot in the port. But that is more pressure than pain. It's over so quick and it's no big deal. Don't stress at all!

Shelby--I owe you a huge thank you for referring me to Dr. Malley. I booked with him right away, like you said to, and you were right, he was really booked up. But I get my first fill in March, and I am so happy you steered me his way. Sandra

I am on day 17, and so craving real food. Is a non fat yogurt cone allowed during the 3 week liquid phase? Sandra

Thanks for the reference to youtube. I watched Dr. O explain it all. Sandra (day 15 and COUNTING)

What is the reason for 21 days of liquid only? If you can have pureed soups, why not mushy foods like cottage cheese and puddings? I am having quite a problem with hunger, on day 14 now. What happens if you eat solids too soon?--not that I am going to--I am being good--just wondering.

Sandra

When I tried to add a photo to my signature, the message says too many pixels, but it also says that the size control is on, which fixes the image if it is too big. So why isn't the control fixing it? How can I load a simple photo?

Thanks in advance, Sandra

Hi Sandra!

You can have your homemade soup as long as it is strained and not "chunky".

Here is a post that helped me with the ticker thing: http://www.lapbandforum.com/index.php?showtopic=5317

Good luck!

Thanks for ticker help! It worked! And as for the soup related comments, I guess what made me worry about acceptance of my homemade soups is that those veggies are blended into the boullion, and I read about the "no blender" rule. But then, I guess canned tomato soup must be blended too. Okie dokie then, I will go by the "if you can drink it through a straw" rule. Thanks again, Sandra (who is now going to see about getting a photo on, and may be back with another question!

I have not had my surgery scheduled and wondered how long after you contacted dr you got a date? Good luck on your journey.....

I just called the toll-free number on the web site. I could have taken a sooner surgery, but my schedule did not permit. I booked in Sept. for the Jan. date. So far, things have gone very very well for me. I get hungry sometimes, but I can control it by drinking something. Every day is a nice new day! Sandra

2 questions , beginning with most important

1. Ha ha, like most bandsters, I am a good cook. I am 7 days post op, and okay to start creamy soups. I don't much like canned pea soup, but can make my own with some nice powdered flavorings (onion powder, etc) from a bag of dried peas. Is this okay to do, as long as I strain the soup? Also, you can buy creamy squash soup in a box now, and it is quite expensive, like $3.00/box for 2 small servings. I can make my own squash soup and it is made by using a blender for the squash. It can easily be strained. Any problems with making the soup, rather than buying a box of it?

2. I want to have one of the ticker counters below my posts. Though I have registered for one, I can't get it to take. I think it has something to do with pasting that html code, which I have not done. Any suggestions?

This post was accidentally put in the doctor's section, so I made a copy and put it here in the correct place--sorry for the duplicate.

Thanks in advance for your advice--Sandra

2 questions , beginning with most important

1. Ha ha, like most bandsters, I am a good cook. I am 7 days post op, and okay to start creamy soups. I don't much like canned pea soup, but can make my own with some nice powdered flavorings (onion powder, etc) from a bag of dried peas. Is this okay to do, as long as I strain the soup? Also, you can buy creamy squash soup in a box now, and it is quite expensive, like $3.00/box for 2 small servings. I can make my own squash soup and it is made by using a blender for the squash. It can easily be strained. Any problems with making the soup, rather than buying a box of it?

2. I want to have one of the ticker counters below my posts. Though I have registered for one, I can't get it to take. Any suggestions?

Thanks in advance for your advice--Sandra