Effielin

I flew from Texas to Ireland 3 weeks after my surgery and had no problems running through airports, carrying bags, etc. I had a marvelous, wonderful time ... LInda

I had my surgery on August 8. I had some restriction after surgery until my first fill... where I lost the restriction... and I have not gotten any back. I have now had 3 fills and I can eat anything and everything. I managed to stay on track until this last week where I have totally gotten off track and I am eating cause I AM HUNGRY... When I tell my doctor (who does not have much of a bedside manner) that I have no restriction he says "unfortunately you needed a large band"... Does this mean I am not going to have success with the band? He is very reluctant to tell me details.. when I asked how many cc's my band held he said "a lot"... I know I have about 7 cc or so in the band. I am so disappointed... as if my family. My daughter was scheduled to have the band but has now switched to wanting the sleeve because she sees me as a total failure with the band.... Linda

Thank you for replying. Yes, he checked for leaks on the second fill and I was fine. You all are probably right, that I just need more fills... I guess I need to stop feeling sorry for myself cause this is not being as easy as I thought it would be... and just get back with the program. Hearing that you all have lost so much weight re-inspires me.... I WILL do this... Linda

I bought a pill splicer from Walgreens... cut my pills down to whatever size I feel comfortable swallowing... though I admit, I get alful tired of swallowing pills when one tablet becomes 4 small ones..

I had my surgery on August 8. I definitely had restriction aftewards, and had episodes of feeling "stuck" and even one episode of "sliming". I went to Ireland on vacation, so my first fill did not happen until September 18. Since then, I feel NO restriction at all, and can eat all I want. Its totally weird... Has anyone had this problem? I am thinking of calling the doctor and asking for another fill even though its only been a week.. Linda

Thanks, Sheeba, thats good to hear that someone else experienced the same sensation.. its so strange. I will have another fill in 3 weeks and I really need it.... Linda

Thanks for answering... I did call the doctor and he was worried I had a leak so he saw me right away .. No leak, thank goodness and he added another cc. Still don't feel much restriction but there does seem to be more there then there was. I have a large band which I assume holds 14 cc and I am currently at 6.6 cc fill.

I just had my first fill today.. no Lidocaine and no pain whatsoever when my doctor put the needle in.. it was a little disconcerting to see him close his eyes as he was feeling the position of my port... I was praying he would open his eyes when he started to insert the needle.. LOL.. and of course he did. I was pretty worried about how painful a fill would be but it was really no big deal. Liquids and mushy until noon tomorrow and then I can start trying to eat real food again.

I was banded on August 11, and I am headed off to Ireland tomorrow for two weeks... I feel fine and my doctor has given me his blessing for the trip. I will not get my first fill after I come back though. Linda

I was banded on August 11 also and I have lost only 5 lbs. So you are doing better then I am! I can definitely tell I have the band there if I don't chew my food good enough.. but I still seem to be able to eat as much as I please.... I will not get a fill until the middle of September as I am going to Europe on vacation for two weeks. I am trying to not get down on myself and to just remember that I need to get that first fill! Linda

Are you sure that they did a biopsy because they "found something" or was it just a routine biopsy? My doctor also did a biopsy but it was just a general biopsy of the esophagus.... he does that on all his patients. The nurses told me in the recovery room that they "did a biopsy" and I worried about it also only to find that it was totally routine. Linda

I was banded August 11... so am 10 days or so postop. I am on mushies and so far thats going okay. Had my postop appointment yesterday and the doctor said I had a Fluid collection around my port and he drained it.. that was NOT fun.. it burned and now my tummy is all tender again. Sigh. Everyone keeps asking me how much weight I have lost.. I am like "its been 10 days.. I am NOT SKINNY YET..... its already getting old and this just started???? Linda

My doctor also found that I had a large liver, though not a fatty one, when I had my surgery. In addition, I apparently have an extra renal vein (or maybe its an artery, I forget) that courses right across my stomach... so my doctor had to contend with both these things, but like with you, no amount of dieting was going to shrink my liver and thankfully the doctor decided to go ahead with my band and hernia repair. I did not have any complications thankfully. Linda

My doctor says that I can still drink carbonated drinks..i.e. my Diet Coke, if I so desire. I am hoping to NOT drink them anymore.. geez, think how much money I will save!!! My daughter had the lapband and she occasionally does drink a coke but mostly does iced tea. Linda

Do you have someone to take you home after the procedure? I think thats the one time you really do need someone else around... Linda

I will be having my surgery done on August 11 by Dr. Carcamo.

I still have a week to go but have only lost 6 lbs. However, I was going to have surgery done last year (but chickened out) and it was scheduled 3 days after my first visit with the surgeon and he just told me to "try to lose some weight in the next 3 days"... so to be honest, I think even a little bit of weight loss must help..

I had terrible jitters during the process of setting up the surgery.. now that I have my date.. August 11...I am calm.. you know, that calm you have when you are on the roller coaster and its too late to get off? LOL.... Linda

Before my surgery was scheduled I had to attend a seminar, meet with the surgeon and nutritionist and have an EGD and barium swallow. I am self pay so did not have to mess with any insurance issues. I am scheduled for August 11.

I had to laugh about trying to add some weight... I mean, usually, its the exact opposite that we want to do..

Okay, now I am really scared... my hair is long... to my butt... Its gonna break my heart if I lose it...

Just found out my date yesterday.... August 11. I will have my EGD on next Tuesday, the 28th, and then start the diet the next day. I don't have a lot of faith in my ability to stick to a liquid diet... I mean, if I was able to control myself I would not be in this mess in the first place.. but I had a lot of luck with Weight Watchers (of course I would eventually just gain it all back) so I am thinking that I will just do WW for the two weeks before.... Linda