Alli in StL

It doesn't look like you're very slow to me. 73 pounds since June of this year? That's fantastic!

Hi, ladies. I'm also in the St. Louis area. I was banded a little over a year ago. I would love to chat with any of you that have questions or just want to talk to someone else that "gets it". Where are you having (or had) your surgery? My hospital has a support group, but I'm so uncomfortable around new people, I haven't been. Isn't that horrible? Do any of you know of a good one around here? It'd be awesome if I could find one during the day. I think it would help tremendously to get myself to one.

I would think that if you're already having problems with the office and you haven't even been approved yet, you should be looking for a different doctor.

Kara, I think you'll really love Dr. Minkin. He has such great bedside manner and is so supportive. This last year of being banded has not been easy on me. Even though I haven't lost as much weight as I'd hoped, he's been wonderful. He's been very encouraging and not at all judgmental. If you need anybody locally to talk to, feel free to message me. Alli

Weighing in at 269.8 this week. Woohoo! Down 5.8 from last week, and have surpassed my goal for the challenge.

Allison checking in. Jan 1 - 280 Jan 8 - 277.6 Jan 15 - 275.6, -2 more pounds, for a total of 4.4!

Weight on Jan 8 - 277.6, so down 2.4!

Name, real or screen~ Allison Age~ 32 Goal weight for January 29th~ 272 Weight on January 1st~ 280 Dietary goal for January~ Drink the recommended amount of water every day. Exercise goal for January~ 30 minutes 3x week Personal goal for January~ Journal every day Date banded~ 9/8/11 Total weight loss since banding/pre op diet~ 25lb What is your goal weight for the coming year~ 200lb

I also use Dr. Minkin. I adore him. I agree that he's extremely patient and had a great bedside manner. I'm so glad I chose him to help me on this journey!

I currently have 4.5cc in a 10cc band. I had 3cc put in at surgery and then had to have a complete unfill because I was so swollen after surgery, I couldn't keep anything down. When I was ready to have a fill again, he put 3cc back in and I could tell a small difference, but not much. A couple weeks ago, I went back and he put in 1.5 more and I can definitely tell a difference now. I go back in about a month, but at this point, I don't think I'll get another fill. It does take a while, but it's worth it. Sure, I haven't lost weight as fast as I might have liked. I can tell you, though, that if I hadn't had the surgery, instead of having lost what I have, I would have weighed more. I have no doubt about it.

I think it's harder on the body. It's harder to heal when you have another surgery so close. That being said, if it presents a real danger to you, I don't think your surgeon will do it.

I had the same problem when I was banded in September. In my case, I was too tight because of swelling and had to go in for an unfill. I was on the verge of needing to be hospitalized due to dehydration. Dont be like me and assume that it's just part of the journey. If you can't keep anything down, call your dr.

I'm at the start of my journey. I want to start exercising, but what's the best cardio for bad knees? I know swimming is good, but it's not an option for me at this time. Thanks!

Hi!

My doc released me to go back to work last week. I was surprised, though, that he didn't list any restrictions for my return. I'm not allowed to work out with weights until at least 6 weeks post op, but he thinks it's ok for me to go back with no restrictions? I work 10 hour shifts and spend my nights bending, twisting, and lifting 55lb boxes. Thankfully, I work with great people and instead of making me work by my lonesome, someone came in to help out. I still managed to hurt myself by lifting something that did not weigh that much at all and had to take the next two nights off work. So I'm curious about others that have jobs that require heavy lifting or other physical demands. Were you ok going back or did you also have to take it really slow? On a side note, I was supposed to have an appointment this Wednesday for a fill, but had to reschedule because I just can't afford it. (Especially with being out another 2 days last week.) Unfortunately, the next opening available isn't until Nov 2. I'll get by. It will just give me extra time to heal before having to deal with a fill.

I also have Short Term Disability, but they'll only pay me as long as the dr says I can't work. I did tell him what I do and gave him a copy of my job description. I think he just didn't think about it when he was filling out my paperwork. I am feeling better this week and am making sure to take it easy and not do too much.

I was so weak and tired also, which surprised me since I'd never felt like that after other surgeries I've had. I think it's because after surgery, we're on liquids and not getting the calories that we were getting before. It takes the body a bit to recover from that. I know some people can go to work 3 days after surgery, but I am not one of them. It's just taking me a little longer to recover, but that's ok. You'll feel better soon. Listen to your body and sleep when you need to and know that it will take a few days after going back to work to get back in the groove.

I have Cigna. All my stuff was submitted on a Monday and I was approved the next day. I did have to do a 6 month supervised diet before submitting to insurance.

Yep, me too. I actually had to make sure to list aspartame as an allergy when I got banded so they wouldn't give me any sugar free items. Aspartame is the worst for me; it causes a migraine with vomiting within minutes of ingesting even a small amount. They all give me headaches though.

I experienced this also. I thought was getting enough fluids, but I wasn't. Once I got fluid taken out of my band (I was too tight), I was able to get more fluids and felt better. Also, moving to full fluids helped tremendously. Do you normally take blood pressure medicine? If so, you'll want to monitor it. If your pressure is too low, that can cause you to feel lightheaded also.

So I went to the dr today. We talked about what I was experiencing, and he confirmed that it sounded like I was really swollen and the band was too tight. He took out all the fluid, which was about 3cc, and I feel tons better! He said that it's a rare occurrence in his office to have a band too tight right out of surgery, but that's me.....an overachiever. It hurt so bad to have him press on my stomach to locate the port. So now my stomach feels like I just got out of surgery and is all swollen again! I'm excited to see how quickly I progress in my recovery now that I feel better on the inside. I finally get to start full liquids tomorrow and am hating my band a little less than I did yesterday. -Alli

I just have to get it out to people that understand. My poor husband is trying to be understanding, but he hasn't gone through it, so just doesn't get it, ya know? I am 6 days post op and right now, I just want the band out. It sucks. This whole Clear liquids thing is the worst thing ever. I'm so light headed, even though I'm following all the rules. The drs office told me to stop my blood pressure meds, sip on Protein shakes all day and it should get me through the next couple days. I'm just so tired of all the same stuff......water, broth, diluted juice, Protein Shakes. I can't have the sugar free stuff that I read everyone talking about. At this point, I don't care about restriction, I don't care about fills, I just want to be done with it. I want to lay down in my bed comfortably. I want to hug my kids without hurting. Why did I do this? -Alli