nursey

I too worried about the scars as I had not had any surgeries or markings on my abdomen. I have found a wonderful product that I used when I had my breast reduction surgery. It is called scar guard. It is silicone based and you put it on like nail polish. It will dry and form a covering. You do this twice a day after the scar has closed and you are not putting it on a fresh scar that has closed all the way. It works like a dream. My scars are not even pink anymore and I had my surgery March 24.

There is a way to cheat the band and if you are doing this then you won't lose the weight. The food has to be the right choices. Ice cream and high calorie milkshakes, fruity carb loaded beverages are not going to get the weight off. Also the biggest problem for me that I have found is that I am used to drinking with my meals. If you drink with your meals you are bypassing the band. You can drink right up to the minute that you start to eat and then you may not drink again until 1 hour after your last bite. this will make all the difference in the world. I won't even attempt any kind of sandwich with a bun or bread because it is too dry and it makes me full with three bites and I feel like it is stuck. It is a horrible feeling. We went out to dinner last night at a Japanese steak house. I ordered my ice tea like normal and then a meal. Usually whenever we go to a Japanese restataurant like this, I always order extra rice because I love it so much. Well, I didin't order extra this time and I never even got through 8 bites of rice before I felt it was just not worth it. Also steak is tricky as I have to chew forever and I only ate one bite of that. You must learn to eat without drinking. That is the key that I have found. Good luck.

I have had surgery in TJ also. The doctor and staff was outstanding. I stayed in a brand new hospital for 2 nights. In the US you are an outpatient surgery and go home the same day. The pain was not a real issue. The teaching from the nutrionist and the psychologist was outstanding. That was worth the hospital stay if nothing else. I too was hesitant about going south of the border but in all reality they are more experienced than the US doctors and have been doing it longer. The physician that I went to represents INAMED. He goes all over the world teaching others how to do the lap band. INAMED makes the lap band and fully endorses him. Do your homework but you will be so happy of the results that it will be way worth the money. I am a nurse so from a medical perspective I can highly recommend this surgery in TJ.

I was banded in TJ on march 25th. I weighed 217 pounds. I am 16 days out and have lost 21 pounds. I still have some irritation at the site where the port is. The biggest complaint is that I have not been able to drink as much as I did before. I was one of those people that carried around a soda or something else 24/7. My first experience that I realized that I indeed did have the band placed was about 5 days ago. I was making dinner for my family. I was getting real tired of soup. I took one broccoli floret and chewed it up forever. Then... I took a drink because I felt like panicky and like I couldn't breathe. That is that golf ball feeling that I have heard others talk about. I immediatel threw up and that was enough to scare me until now. I have had a few bites of food here and there. I ate out last night with my husband for the first time and I ordered refried beans and a cheese enchilada. I ate probably 5 bites of beans and 2 bites of the enchilada. The cheese just wouldn't chew up properly. The biggest problem that I am having is gas. I get a horrible stomach ache after I eat and then I have gas soo bad. I will try to go to the bathroom but all that comes out is gas. I have never had so much gas in my life and my stomach makes so much noise. Everyone can hear it. I am a nurse and my patients are always commenting that I had better go eat because my stomach is so loud. Has anyone experienced this. Any suggestions on how to get rid of the gas? Is this normal or am I going to be a farter for the rest of my life?