hairdoerbren

I was banded 12/9/10 and when I was 3 weeks out my surgeon told me I could pretty much eat what I wanted...just no steaks or anything like that! One of my first meals out was sushi. I wasn't sure how it would do, and the nori was a little difficult chewing, but I took small bites and chewed really, really well, and to my surprise and delight I did just fine. Went again for sushi the other night with my daughter. No problems. HOWEVER, today I had my first fill. 3cc's in a larger band (are those 13 or 14 cc's??) I will eventually give sushi another try and see if I can still do it. The rice didn't seem to bother me, but again, I chewed till it was almost liquid mush in my mouth! Fish was my first pureed/soft food. I got cans of albacore tuna and did just fine with it. Fish has so many benefits, I can't see how you can go wrong. Enjoy your Sashimi!!

I wish we could put Dr. Sufficool in a replicator machine and make more doctors like HIM! He is one of the kindest, most caring doctors that I have ever met. He is very personable. He also is very knowledgeable and he stays on top of the latest banding techniques. He and his staff traveled last August to go to a lap band conference. I appreciate knowing that his whole staff is up on the latest information. I had no problems with surgery. He did tell me that if I had a hiatal hernia when he got "in there" then he would fix it because those that get lap bands do better if they have the hernia repaired. I did end up having one and he did fix it. I appreciated that he had my best interests in mind. The support from the staff is wonderful. I can call anytime I have questions or concerns. I highly recommend Dr. Wes Sufficool and the bariatric program at Rapid City Regional Hospital if you are considering bariatric surgery. Brenda B.

Hi Lisa! I too started itching about 2-3 days after surgery. 11 days after my surgery, I went in for my post of check. I mentioned to the doctor that I was itching like crazy and everyone in the room said...your incision is healing. So I thought OK...I'm healing. But then I got to just constantly scratching and had bumps and was constantly putting lotion on to sooth it. My mom happened to see my stomach and made me call the doctor to ask about it. The doc had me come in just to make sure it wasn't an infection. He seemed surprised at how red, raised and itchy I was and told me to take 2 Benedryl at night and then 1 during the day. Then he told me to put Cortizone cream on it a few times a day. It has helped. It is not completely gone, but it is better than it was. The doctor really had no idea why , but I was obviously allergic to something. Could have been the adhesive on the bandages they used. A friend of mine who is a hospice nurse said that I could be allergic to the dissolvable stitches and that she is running into that more and more. She said that she is allergic to those stitches and breaks out in a rash as well. SO hang in there. Keep taking Benedryl and try some 10% Cortizone cream. My surgery was 12/9 and it is 1/4/11 and I'm still itchy and slightly red, but jut not as bad. It's healing slowly but surely. Hope this helped! Brenda 324/sw302/cw297/gw165

Hello Everyone! I was banded Dec. 9th. I started my jouney at my all time high of 324 lbs. I lost a few pounds before I began my pre-surgery diet. Ended up being 302 on surgery day. I lost 9 lbs the first week. I saw my surgeon 11 days after surgery for my post op and he warned me that most people gain the first few weeks after surgery due to inflammation and swelling. I was glad he did because I was very disappointed to see that I had gained 6 lbs the day I saw him! He told me not to worry, that it was very normal and happens to everyone. I was glad he shared that with me! My surgeon progresses people a little quicker through the food stages. At day 11 he told me to eat normally...just no steak! I have lost 5 lbs of the 6 I had gained and feel my clothes getting baggy! My surgeon told me I could eat 1 cup of food! I was shocked! I don't understand how that works with having the small pouch and putting a cup of food in, but he said after the first fill is when the "magic" starts happening, and for now he just wanted m. e to concentrate on healing. I would say it took almost 2 weeks before I was feeling better, had more energy, and the pain in my chest/shoulder went away. My port site is still sore and it really gets sore if I overdo or lift too much weight. (He also repaired a hiatal hernia before he put the band on.) The last couple weeks I have had no difficulty drinking lots of water. But I do make sure I'm not drinking during meals or if I need just a sip to get something down. I'm was doing the Opurity vitamins and calcium. For me they are just too strong/sweet. I can hardly gag them down, so today I found a high potency liquid vitamin at sam's club that looked like a good one, and I'm happy to say it is much more tolerable for me. I haven't had a chance to read all the posts for the December 2010 Bandsters yet, and I look forward to reading and catching up on everyone's experiences and advice. I think this is going to be very do-able and so far I am very happy that I did it. I'm looking forward to walking this journey with all of you! HairdoerBren Surgery 12/9/10 324/302/294 Down 30#

Hello Everyone! I am so excited to finally have begun my journey! I looked into banding about 3 years ago, and vowed that someday I would do it for me, for my health. BUT I didn't see a way that I could do this unless we had insurance. Two years ago, we got the insurance, but unfortunately my then 13 year old daughter was diagnosed with brain stem cancer, so obviously and rightly so, all of our financial and emotional resources went to helping our daughter. This year, I finally took the plunge and started the process. I started in June 2010, and things proceeded slowly, but finally got approval from insurance and the timing was finally right considering my daughters condition. I had surgery Dec. 9th! I am so thrilled that I took the plunge. I had a few jitters, but kept repeating the words that I read in my approval letter from insurance..."this surgery is medically necessary." I'm SO GLAD I did it! Including the weight that I dropped on pre-op diet and this week alone, I am down 30 lbs. I never would have imagined ME losing that much weight. All I've known is gain, gain, gain. It is so fun seeing the scale go THE OTHER WAY!!! The thing I'm battling right now is I did catch a cold/virus. I've got a red,raw throat and have been coughing like crazy. My port sight is SO sore anyway, but then add the coughing to it and I just have felt rotten. I called the doc office today and they told me to stay with consistent doses of my pain med as it also has a cough suppressant in it. Thankfully that has helped considerably. I have learned a lot just reading posts and replies from people. I think this will definitely help make this journey easier! BTW...how do you get the weight trackers into your sig line?? Thanks! Hairdoerbren

I too was nervous. But I am so amazed at how much better I feel already. My blood pressure has gone down tremendously, I'm sure my BP meds will have to be lessened if not gone soon! With the weight 3 lbs I lost before I started the liquid diet, plus the weight lost on liquid diet, and the weight this first week and am down a total of 30 lbs from my all time high! To me that already seems like a miracle!!! The liquid diet isn't that bad. I did feel hungry at times, but would drink some Crystal light or have a mug of low sodium chicken or beef broth. That helped me alot! It kinda helped my stomach get used to not being stuffed all the time. I actually got to feel what it feels like to feel hunger. And I think with our new lifestyle that is an important thing we need to be able to feel. I wish you all the best. You'll be glad you did it. And one of the great things is our anatomy is not being altered. So down the road if you decide you don't want it, it can be removed! (That part kinda eased my mind a bit! Hairdoerbren