isit5yet

I second the heating pad. Actually, I used those Thermacare pads, and they are great! They give heat for 8 hrs and can be put directly on your skin, so no running to reheat a heating pad

There are two sentences that end in prepositions. Can we now let this grammar crap cease? This isn't about levels of education; it's about Shirley's request for help and wanting to vent. If the grammar is so offensive one has to belittle others, then move along to the next topic.

Good job! G-d, isn't that the toughest thing? I decided at work today that I needed to break up with office snacks.

I'd call your doctor tomorrow. I'm surprised you weren't given pain meds, and Aleve is an NSAID which I hear is a no no. Every dr is different, so I don't want to be too harsh with my judgement. I was taking my liquid Lortab three times a day for the first 5 days. Maybe I'm a wus With no spirometer, practice taking a deep breath for like 10 sections to slowly open up your lungs.

Did the hospital give you a spirometer (the thing to measure your lung capacity)? If so, use it. I know it will hurt, but use it a few times a day. It will get your lungs filled and help with healing. Also, don't try to be a hero - take your pain meds. We naturally want to say we're doing good, and try to not take the meds. We're not heroes; we're healing after surgery. One thing I found was that I was in quite a bit of pain in some areas and then over compensated for the pain and other muscles hurt. For example, my chest hurt, so I hunched over and then my back hurt as a result. The pain meds can give you some peaceful sleep and let you and your body's muscles relax and heal Stay hydrated, take some deep breaths and rest. However, you know on instinct if something is really wrong. Contact your dr if you're feeling that. Take care of yourself! --Carrie Edited to add: During the procedure, the doctor may have inserted a tube/balloon down your esophagus to test the pouch. Because of this, your esophagus may be healing. I know I had this super odd thump-in-my-throat feeling about 2-3 days after surgery. I felt like I was constantly trying to swallow, and it was difficult. Is the sensation you're feeling?

Sounds like you might need to create a new ticker and copy it over your current signature

Hey Oceangirl. I was banded on 2/17 and I still get that left side pain. I have two incisions on that side with my port by my belly button on the right. The left incisions hurt more and feel like a sharp pain in the ab muscles when I sit up or cough. Forget sneezing, I almost pass out from that pain. The doctor told me that it's the are where she places the deep tissue stitches, and then uses the dermabond (blue) on the outside. Maybe that's the same pain you're having? The deep stitches go into the upper ab area, which is pretty painful. It gets better each day; hope you feel better soon!

I love Fitday. My favorite feature is adding custom foods. I have several things I eat a lot, so I can enter the nutritional value of that specific item (rather than rely on a generic entry) and know that my logging is more accurate.

I was banded on 2/17 along with the hernia repair and am still swollen. I've lost 19 lbs and can't really see a difference in my tummy area because of the swelling. It'll go down soon I'm sure.

I totally experienced this until I started pureed food. Be sure to stay hydrated while having the diarrhea... gatorade and pedialyte popsicles will help keep you hydrated.

Metformin did very little for me, but everyone is different. I have PCOS and the Metformin basically made sure I did not wildly gain weight. It leveled off the weight but didn't help me lose. I started taking it when I started fertility treatments. Another lovely side effect of the PCOS. One thing I will warn you about Metformin... it can cause gas, nausea and diarrhea in the beginning. If you eat too much complex carbs (white processed foods and sugars), the Metformin will make sure you dump it out, and I mean DUMP it out It takes around 2 weeks to get used to the medicine. Good luck!!

Welcome to the site! I just joined and was banded on 2/17 as well. Hope you're doing well today and starting to feel better. --carrie

If anyone reads the Lap-Band documentation provided before surgery, they will see that Allergan states to expect to lose around 35% of the excess weight. The marker of success is subjective.. is it based on what someone's personal goals are, which may not line up with the expectations that should be set? For example, I know I need to lose 100lbs. Based on Allergan's data, I can expect to lose on average 35lbs - 35%. My physician's office provided their in-office data, which shows that on average their patients lose 60-65% of excess weight. So, my realistic goal would be to lose around 60-65lbs of the 100 I need to lose. If I expect to lose all 100, then I'm ignoring all of the research data and setting myself up for failure. Unfortunately, I think a lot of people do this.

The gas is a result of having a gas pumped into the abdominal cavity to make room for the laparoscopic tools during surgery. When you're closed up, the gas gets absorbed into the body and must come out one way or another - top or bottom . Until then, the gas bubbles and pressure hits a nerve in the ab area that sends a painful signal to the left shoulder. It's very weird, but that's how the body works. Maalox and GasX can help get rid of the gas.. burping and farting helps too. Sorry to be so graphic. Burping can hurt because of the tubes inserted into the trach and esophagus during surgery. After a few days, the gas dissipates. I used thermacare heat pads on my should to help dull the pain. The pain med you get after surgery helps too if only to make you sleepy and high enough not to care about the pain

I started my period two days post-op. I'm mean, really? How bad is that! I also had a hiatal hernia repaired when I was banded. At least the pain meds killed any cramps I had I haven't had my usual cravings except last night. My husband sat in front of me with a bag of chips and french onion dip. My trigger is anything salty. Give me triscuits and cheese, and I'm in heaven. I looked at him and said, "Fred, seriously?" He took his snack upstairs. I wanted to leap out of the chair, no matter the pain I'm in, and grab the chips. Of course I didn't, but that was my first challenge.

I totally 100% recommend getting some of those thermacare pads for your left shoulder. It helped so much the last few days with the gas pains. I was banded last week on 2/17. Good luck!! --Carrie

Well, I'm just so glad that Joe the Plumber will be there. Send in another clown for the goat rodeo! "The only Beck I trust has two turntables and a microphone."

During my consultation, I asked my Dr this exact question.: What should I do if I get stomach flu. I have a 22month old, and she brings home daycare plague during the winter. My dr said to call the office asap and have the band unfilled to help prevent slippage while vomiting from the flu. Great advice!!

Hi Yannabee, I was on the same pre-op diet. I'm not a fan of drinking my calories. So instead of skim milk, I had 1/2 cup of low fat cottage cheese or greek yogurt. I also added egg whites during the preop diet. If you go to GNC, the ppl there can really help find a Protein shake that is tasty. I'm using Amplify by GNC. My doc wanted me to drink under 200 cals and 20grams of protein in each shake. A lot of ppl on here like Muscle Milk Light. Hang in there. Each day will get better. The first few days I felt cranky and weak and then got used to the diet.

Brandi.. I'm in the same boat. I'd give anything to cough right now Thanks everyone for the responses! I'm just keeping on the pain meds every four hours and sipping on liquids. I just feel like my breath is taken away with the hernia fix.

Good morning (and an early morning. More on that to come) I was really scared of surgery. I've had a csection and a laparoscopy before, so with the laparoscopy I was under general anesthesia. I knew what to expect, but was still afraid of it. It's a control thing. I hate the lack of control going under and coming out. I was banded at New Hope Bariatrics by Dr Fearing in Kansas City. I went from seminar to surgery in under a month, because I was self pay. Surgery time was scheduled for noon and arrival at 9. When I got there, the nurse said I they were ahead of schedule, so I'd probably go in at 11. When I arrived I gave a urine sample to make sure I wasn't pregnant. The nurse took my temp, blood pressure, put the heart monitor leads and pulse-ox monitors on. She then did my IV, and did a FANTASTIC job. If you know you have better veins somewhere for an IV other than the top of your hands, let the nurse know. I knew this and she put the IV in my forearm with no paid or retries Also, no catheter.. woohoo! I got my lovanox shot in the arm to prevent blood clots, and then the legs massage things were put on. I hung out watching tv with my husband until the anesthesiologist came to meet with me. Then 15mins later I got verced (good stuff) to relax me and 5 mins later I was taken to surgery. The verced helped calm me down. During surgery, I had to have a hiatal hernia repaired since the dr was already in the area. Surgery was about 90mins, and I don't remember anything up. I napped back in my room for about 2 hours, and they got me up to pee and stand up. I have 5 incisions that were closed with deep tissue sutures and dermabond on the top (medical super glue). I got a prescription for Lortab liquid for pain and Zofran for nausea. Pain wise, the hernia fix hurts the most out of anything. Second to that is the left shoulder pain. Yesterday my pain never went above a 5 with the med. I've been getting up and walking around my downstairs at least once an hour and am constantly sipping on gatorade, water and protein drinks. I went to bed with no problems and slept on my back, which sucks since I'm a stomach sleeper. I wok up at 5:30 needing to pee and in a lot of pain... from the hernia fix, again. I'd say my pain when I woke up was about a 9. My diaphragm hurts the most. Don't expect that unless you have a hernia fixed. Within 10mins the pain subsided from the lortab. So now I'm relaxing, watching tv and enjoying the pain meds. I;m an open book in case anyone has any questions!! --Carrie

Hey Sam, Got banded today, and you were totally right about the New Hope staff. They took great care of me. While I got the band, the dr fixed a hernia too. So far, the left shoulder pain and diaphragm pain from the hernia fix is the worst pain I'm in. I'm slowly sipping water, gatorade and my shakes. Hopefully, I can sleep well tonight or sleep in this big comfy club chair we have. The worst part of the night is not pick up my daughter, 22 months old. When she went to bed, she kept crying for me to pick her up. Totally heartbreaking

Hey all! I'm new to the board. I live in Shawnee and am getting banded tomorrow by Dr Fearing at New Hope Bariatrics. Does anyone participate in the support group there? I'm totally spooked about surgery tomorrow, and it has more to do with the lack of control going under and coming out of surgery.

I'm on the same schedule as you. Pre-Op diet now and surgery date on 2/17. Dog food lol.

I had the same thing. I started the liquid diet last Thurs, surgery date 2/17, and for the first 2 days I pooped like 10 times per day. It might be normal to flush out all of the junk.