enterprise01

I posted this in the January Bandsters thread and thought I should post it here, too, for all of Dr. Spivak's newer patients: I had my first fill today at the SurgiCenter on S. Main. Joy did the fill but Dr. Spivak supervised. It seems that my large incision is infected. Guess that's why it still hurts. My boyfriend has been changing the bandage for me, so I had not looked at it until today. My port is directly below the large incision. The skin around that whole area is still kind of numb from surgery, so I didn't need any lidocaine for the fill. Dr. Spivak found the port by palpitating the area, and Joy inserted the needle. They put 1.5 ccs in and then had me stand up for the fluoroscope. The barium swallow was tolerable (very, very chalky). While you're standing there under the fluoro, you can see the barium going down. They thought I had enough restriction, so they removed the needle, put a bandaid over the area, and sent me out into the hallway to drink a bottle of Water. They said that I needed to drink at least half the bottle before I could leave. If I was unable to get the water down, they would remove some of the saline. Fortunately, I had no problem and drank the whole bottle in a couple of minutes. They also require that you stay on soft foods for 48 hours after a fill. The whole procedure takes about 10 minutes. For those of you who are Spivak patients, make sure you take your parking ticket inside with you and they will validate it for you. And now I'm off to eat my Nutrisystem lunch. Let's hope I feel something.

I had my first fill today at the SurgiCenter on S. Main. Joy did the fill but Dr. Spivak supervised. It seems that my large incision is infected. Guess that's why it still hurts. My boyfriend has been changing the bandage for me, so I had not looked at it until today. My port is directly below the large incision. The skin around that whole area is still kind of numb from surgery, so I didn't need any lidocaine for the fill. Dr. Spivak found the port by palpitating the area, and Joy inserted the needle. They put 1.5 ccs in and then had me stand up for the fluoroscope. The barium swallow was tolerable (very, very chalky). While you're standing there under the fluoro, you can see the barium going down. They thought I had enough restriction, so they removed the needle, put a bandaid over the area, and sent me out into the hallway to drink a bottle of water. They said that I needed to drink at least half the bottle before I could leave. If I was unable to get the water down, they would remove some of the saline. Fortunately, I had no problem and drank the whole bottle in a couple of minutes. They also require that you stay on soft foods for 48 hours after a fill. The whole procedure takes about 10 minutes. For those of you who are Spivak patients, make sure you take your parking ticket inside with you and they will validate it for you. And now I'm off to eat my Nutrisystem lunch. Let's hope I feel something.

Trust me, it's no better being short. I'm 5 feet tall and have never been able to wear something off the rack. Not only is everything too long, but it's out of porportion, too. I love the new hip hugging jeans because they actually come up to my waist instead of up under my boobs. Although, because they are meant to be around the hips, I have to take the waistband in about 8 inches. Sleeves are always 6 inches too long and sweaters bunch up in the back because they are too long and yet not wide enough to fit over my big butt. Even petite sizes are not petitie enough -- they're really made for women who are about 5'4". And Jacqui, I've seen your before and after pics. You look fabulous and even when you were heavier, you were very pretty. Femininity has nothing to do with size. Look at RuPaul. He's more of a woman than I'll ever be! I think it's all about self-confidence and attitude.

Yet another peeve. I'm full of them today. The packaging on CDs and DVDs. Whoever developed that packaging strategy deserves a special place in hell. I just got the Andy Williams 16 Biggest Hits CD. (Yes, I'm now officially older than my own mother.) It took me 20 minutes to get it open. That adhesive strip at the top would not budge.

I didn't want to single anyone out, but it's pretty obvious, isn't it?

Another peeve is people who post messages that are completely off topic in the thread. Go find a thread that pertains to your question/comment or start your own thread.

Hey, Mary, I did not have a barium swallow before I left the hospital. I wonder why some patients have it and others don't. Considering how nauseous you were, I'm surprised you didn't spew the barium all over the place. That gives me hope that I'll be able to handle it. I'll give you all the details tomorrow.

Here's a post from Mark (marjon9) about papaya enzyme tablets:

Yes, I've seen that on other threads. I've also read that pineapple juice has the same enzymes in it as the meat tenderizer and it works just as well. So you might want to try the juice before you try the meat tenderizer. Good luck.

That's the excuse I've been using. It works great with the men. If you mention any part of the female reproductive system, they end the conversation and vacate the area immediately.

I'm so sorry you're having to deal with that. Do you work in the US? If so, I'd tell her that if she doesn't stop, you're going to report her to HR for creating a hostile work environment. Repeatedly calling you a "cheater" is a form of harassment. This woman is obviously ignorant and malicious. I bet she's making other workers miserable, too. You should try asking her if smokers who are trying to quit are cheaters when they resort to Zyban and Nicorette gum. The lap-band is a tool, just like Zyban and Nicorette gum are for smokers. But trying to educate a bitch like that is probably impossible. She doesn't want to be informed; she just wants to be a bully.

Speaking of public restrooms, how about toilet paper that is so cheap that it tears as soon as you try to pull on it? Then you end up with dozens of little scraps of paper and nothing substantial enough to wipe with. And it's really bad when they have the type of dispenser that prevents you from sticking your hand in and spinning the roll to get more paper to roll out. Aaarrrrggghhh!!!!!

Why have you lost your hair? Have you talked to a doctor about it? Your condition may be treatable. I've had a great deal of success with Rogaine, so you may want to consider that before going the wig route.

I posted this on another thread last week: Intercourse has not been a problem, but having an orgasm causes contractions of my abdominal muscles, which in turn causes pain. I'm 3 weeks post-op and orgasms still hurt. But so far it seems that that problem is unique to me. I haven't heard any other bandsters complain about that issue. I'm now 4 weeks post-op and still have that problem. And I still haven't heard any other bandsters complain about pain during orgasm. I'm wondering if this is ever going to get better. And I agree with Wheetsin on the missionary position. Very uncomfortable so far.

Here's another good article on artificial sweetners. http://www.womentowomen.com/nutritionandweightloss/splenda.asp

I'm also waiting for the hunger to go away. My first fill is tomorrow. I've noticed that since being banded my hunger pains are different than they were before. It used to be that a growling stomach was just uncomfortable and annoying. Now, when my stomach growls, it is physically painful. And the pain seems to radiate all the up into my esophagus, making it feel like chest pain. Anyone else have this? Will it go away eventually?

I just want to learn how not to hate it. I'm fine with weight lifting, but the cardio stuff is absolute torture. Never have found any activity that I'd didn't abhor.

Thanks, Laurend. The article that was referenced in the footnotes of that article is also worth reading: http://www.webmd.com/content/article/89/100381.htm

No, I didn't have an upper GI.

Terry, I'm scheduled for a fill tomorrow and the part that scares me is the barium swallow. How bad was it? I tend to vomit if I try to swallow something that tastes horrible (like Alka Seltzer and Pepto Bismol). What do you think my chances are of being able to tolerate the barium? Sorry about your computer problems. Getting a backup hard drive is a good idea.

I second that. I'm getting the same thing from co-workers. Everyday at least 5 people ask me how much I've lost. I really regret telling people at work. I don't think there's anything wrong with telling people that you decided to lose some weight so you're on a new diet. As phlyinphebee said, it's still the truth.

Ask your doctor about Advil or Motrin if you really want to take it. Tylenol does not work at all for me, so my doctor told me I could take Motrin as long as it was in liquid form. He also prescribed Darvocet (in crushed form) for me, and that contains ibuprofen, too. As a general rule, all doctors say no aspirin or ibuprofen after lap-band surgery, but there are always exceptions to the rule. When in doubt, discuss it with your doctor.

I took 4 days off work and should have taken more. I felt absolutely awful for the first 2-3 weeks. Tomorrow will be 4 weeks post-op and I'm still not at 100%. Just don't push yourself. When you feel tired, sit and rest for a while or take a nap if you can. If you have pain, take some pain meds. Wear comfortable clothes that won't touch your incisions. Do whatever your body tells you you need to do. Everyone heals at their own pace, so don't feel bad when you see that others are doing better than you. I promise you that there are also some people doing worse than you.

I'm with you, katieo. I had this surgery so I could live a more normal life. Thin people eat moderate amounts of food and then stop. Thin people exercise moderately for 20-30 minutes 3-5 times a week. Thin people weigh themselves annually when they visit the doctor. That's the life I want! I'm tired of my weight being the focus of my life. My ultimate goal is not to count calories for the rest of my life. (I've been doing that for the past 25 years and it's only made me fatter.) I also will not have Protein drinks -- I'll get my protein through regular foods like fish, beef, and chicken, just like normal people do. And if I do not like the taste of them, I will not buy low-fat or non-fat mayo, cheese, Cookies, salad dressing, Soups, etc. Instead, I will eat regular foods in smaller portions, just like normal people do.

I don't see how that's possible unless you forget to add liquid to it and eat it just as a dry powder. But he's the doctor, not me. All the Protein drinks I've tried have been horrible, especially the Slimfast Low-Carb drinks. Avoid those. I did try the Special K Protein Water this weekend and really liked it, but it doesn't have nearly as much protein as a "meal replacement" Protein Drink. It has 5 grams of protein and 50 calories for a 16 oz. bottle. I'm going to buy a bunch of the lemon flavored ones and drink one a day as a snack in the afternoon when I'm feeling really hungry.