Tamie2169

I had one small incision right where the bra line is. It still bothers me and seems to be the only incision that is taking a bit longer to heal than the others. My doctor told me that all the women complain about this one incision. He recommended to either A) dont wear a bra for a while wear a soft bra, no underwire bra or C) put a bandaid on that incision spot and wear or not wear whatever. I opted for option C and had to put a bandaid there becuase it was just pain to wear any type of bra. The bra just rubbed it all day long, be it a soft bra or the underwire kind. I wish they had moved that one incision either a half an inch either way and it wouldn't have mattered!! Oh well, good luck and hopefully yours will not bother you!!

My husbands insurance was through the local Pipefitter and Plumbers Union. I did not have any pre-evaluations, pre-approvals, or anything. As long as you had been with the Union for over 5 years they pay 100% of my surgery and everything. There was no waiting at all, just scheduling of the surgery! Lovin' my insurance

I found it interesting that you thoughts my comments were belitting! You asked for the advice and I gave it, sorry that you didn't like what I said. I really only told you exactly what my doctor told me and I don't find that belitting in the least. I think you are forgetting the big picture here and that is this is a journey, not a race! The first six weeks are NOT for losing weight and here you are complaining that you're not losing and asking for advice. Pity you won't take the time to even call your doctor back and speak to them about your issues. It doen't seem like you want advice, it looks more like you want someone to agree with you.

Shirley, Woohoo you are doing WONDERFUL I know that it must be a real treat to get into that closet and now try on all those clothes and realize they really need to be donated to the local Goodwill because you can NO longer fit into them. They are TOO big! Way to go. Keep up all that hard work. You are an inspiration to us all and I can NOT wait to have the same experience !!

Hi, I would really recommend that you follow what your dietician told you. When I went for my 2 week post op my doctor told me that I could only exercise for 30-45 mnutes, 5-6 days a week. NO more. He also told me that I was not to pick up anything over 20 pounds and recommended that I did NO weight training until after my 6 week post op appointment. I was told to only have about 1000-1200 calories a day. That to make sure that I eat the Protein first at every meal and that each meal should have at least 10 grams of protein in it. They really wanted me to eat at least 60 grams of protein a day. I was also told that the 6 weeks post op is NOT for losing weight. PERIOD. This is a time of healing and that you really shouldn't be concentrating on the scales at all. It's only after you start with your fills that you should be seeing about a 1-3 lb weight loss a week. Since you just meet you 6 week post op mark, did you go in for your first fill? As far as carbs that is different for each individual. The only reason I say this is because I am a diabetic and so my carb intake is going to be different for me due to my issues with diabetes. I try to limit my carbs per meal and per what my endocronologists tells me if my ideal amount. I do not see the dietician for this issue, but another specialist for my issues. However, the dietician at your doctors office should know how to answer this question for you. Call them and ask them and see what they say. Remember you've paid for this answers to these questions already. So what you forgot to get the answer when you were at the office. Call them back and get an answer today! If they say don't worry about it, then don't. If they gave you a number to watch for, then follow that rule. They are trying to do what is best to see you lose the weight and keep it off. They are the experts in this area, so call! Good luck

Hi, Ok so at this point you feel gassy during the day and it gets worse as the day progresses into night. I was told that was completely normal and to expect it!! The best way to combat this is to walk as much as possible. As far as the restriction, I would highly question this. My doctor did put some saline into the band when it was placed during sugery. I have a sneaky idea that your doctor did too! I was told that it's usually done because they need to see if the band is working properly. I would call your doctors office and see if they did put some saline into your band, and how much. And yes there is going to be a feel some pain when you swallow a big gulp of liquid. The band is placed around the top of your stomach and stitched in. It is healing and so there is usually some type of swelling due to your surgery. The swelling in that area can then be felt by you when you try to drink too big a swallow of anything, not just the liquids. When you start on those pureed foods, be careful that you do not swallow a big gulp of that food either. You do not want it sitting there in that area where the swelling might be and making you feel horrrible. I was told to SIP everything, NO big gulps of anything after surgery. Sip all day long. Sip only about 5 ounces of liquid an hour, nothing more. They even gave ma chart of what my day should look like sipping as the hours went by. They had me sipping liquids pretty much all day long, except for two breaks (around 1 and 9 p.m. at night where I was to not drink anything for about an hour. ) Needless to say it was a very interesting day chart to look at As for the diarrhea, look out. Was told that if it continued for more than one day to then go to the pharmacy and get something to stop it. (pretty much anything over the counter I wanted, as long as it was in liquid form.) If you are drinking a lot of milk products, they said that might cause some of the diarrhea issues too and if you are you eating/drinking a lot of milk products that you might want to cut them out for a week or so. You can make the Protein shakes with just Water, add some Fiber to them too! Clear liquid Soups like broth were good to add the protein too as well. Remember to call your doctor and see what they recommend. You paid for the to be available to answer any and all questions you are having about this process. Do NOT hesitate to bug the heck out of them, day or night. Believe me you will not be asking anything anything they haven't dealt with in the past. They know what to advise for these issue and maybe even have something you can get from them to help with any issues that arise. Good luck on your journey!

Hi, I would definitely recommend the GREEK yogurt. Most of it has at least 13 grams of protein per serving. As for the mushies phase here is exactly what my doctor recommended: this was for week 2 of the post-op materials I received from my doctors office: 1. Any type of protein powder you want (add to anything you puree in a blender) 2. Blended Vegetables ad fruit (home made or baby food) 3. Vegetable juice - V-8 or similiar 4. 100% fruit juice (remember you can add the protein powder to the juices to make them thicker and add protein for your daily intake) 5. oatmeal, Cream of Wheat, Cream of rice (these do NOT need to be blended) 6. Blended low-fat soups 7. Mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes and yams 8. Blended peas, creamed corn 9. Baby foods - stages 1 and 2 10. Scramble eggs - well mashed 11. Low - fat cottage cheese, yogurt (recommended Greek kind beause of high intake of protein) 12. Blended, water packed tuna or chicken 13. Blended, cooked lean meats - Chicken, tuckey, fihs, beef, pork, veal Anything you put in a blender add the protein powder to it. My doctors office had special made protein powder that you could buy from them. Not only did one scoop had 20+ grams of protein (it was flavorless so you can add anything to it) but it also had 6 grams of fiber as well. Fiber helps you to feel full too. I went and got some powdered fiber to add to my drinks and they help me tremendously. At this stage you need to be adding the fiber in to help with feeling full as well as the protein. Yes- was told to eat every 3 hours At this stage the doctor said you will be feeling hungry all the time. To expect to feel hunger, a tremendous amount of hunger for the first 6 weeks after surgery. It was discussed over and over before the surgery, and was in everything that the doctors office gave to me. Said that the only way to overcome some of the hunger pains was to eat small portions every 3 hours during the day. So 1/2 cup of potatoes, then 3 hours later 1/2 cup of protein shake with blended fruits etc. Plus they wanted for you to drink 64 ounces of water.....on top of the food you were consuming. I never did get all the water down, felt like I was putting something in my mouth all day long, and when you talk on the phone for your job that is just NOT possible to do for 8 hours of the day. I did try and eat about every 3-4 hours during the day. I'm just surprised that you did not get a recommendations list of foods you can or should be eating at this stage in your healing process. My doctor was very good about giving me all kinds of list to look at and follow for when I was post-op and the different weeks 1-4 after the surgery. Every week there was new foods to add or how you could now eat them. I still say you should be calling your doctors office and insist that they tell you what should be happening at this stage in your recovery. Good luck

I take Zetia and have for many years I've had no issues that you've mentioned. The only reason I take the drug is to lower my cholesterol, which it has done so perfectly. I take the medicine at night with my other meds for my diabetes. What time of day are you taking this medicine? That can and does make a difference. Needless to say, I would call back your doctor if you feel this medicine is making you feel sick in any way. If that's the side affects you're getting then a change of meds is in your future.

I agree I am confused about all the Protein myself. Some days I feel like I do NOT want to eat the protein at all. I can get full on just the vegetables and fruit and screw the protein. But other days I am hungry all day long and could eat every few minutes. I hate those days and wonder if on those days if I ate more protein the hunger pains would stop? Ever since the banding my stomach is just growling and growling and making all kinds of racket! It has changed the way I feel about being hungry too! I'm only 5 weeks from post-op and am getting ready to head into my first fill. I think I will definitely sit down and talk to my doctor about my concerns with the protein vs not protein issue.

I glad you explained how the procedure takes place. I have yet to have my first fill and am scheduled to have one in about 2 weeks, which will be about week 6 post-op for me. I am a little nervous about this, and really can't seem to fill my port at all. My question is....can you find your own port? Can you fill it when you push around on your stomach? I've pushed and pushed and feel absolutely NOTHING I was surprised with the 5 days of soft foods? I was told first 24 hours after fill is liquids only. The second day after fill, or 24-48 hours after any fill to slowly go back to mushies/soft foods and then 3rd day out back to regular foods. I'm kinda glad that I don't have to do 5 days of soft foods after a fill. I guess every doctor is different with their instructions!

I was told that horrible pain, on the left side of your neck and shoulder area is from the gas from surgery or your band hitting the nerve next to it. Either way, the only way to make it go away is to walk, walk, walk, and oh did I mention WALK. I was also told to raise your left arm above your head and rub the shoulder with your right arm. This does help and can sometime relieve the pain in that area because you are displacing the nerves that run in that area. This is straight from the doctors mouth, not mine. I did what he said, walked and if the pain came then would shoot my left arm straight in the air and walk some more. It should NOT last more than 30-45 minutes and if it does to call the doctor IMMEDIATELY. This pain should NOT be all the time or a continuing problem and should go away completely after several weeks. During those first few weeks you can have some episodes with the pain, but it should not last hours on hours! Call your doctor!! You paid for them to help you through this process! They will know what to do and give you GREAT advice on how to handle this situation.

Hi, You are mentioning all kinds of foods, but I didn't see anything about the Protein you should be eating. How much protein are you getting a day? I was told to get in 60+ every day and that it was the protein that makes you feel full. Plus, it seems that you are eating foods that are not recommended for day 6, but more like the second week after surgery. Didn't your doctor or dietician/nutritionalists give you a list of foods to eat after your surgery? And the time table to be eating them? The last thing you want is to eat too much and get pains in your shoulder/neck due to the band pressing on the nerves! I had them from trying to eat too much of the Protein shakes at one time and ended up in the emergency room! Do not go over what the doctor is recommending for you stage in the healing process. As for the diarrhea its probably because of all the milk and milk products you are consuming. I was told that if this happened to either cut out the milk products or go get some medicine from the pharmacy for diarrhea (over the counter stuff, anything you like!) But once again I would say call your doctor!! You paid for them to help you through this process. They should be available to you 24 hours a day! Do not hesitate to bug the heck out of them to get your answers and have your concerns talked about !! I called my doctor at all times of the day and night and he was extremely patient and answered all of my questions. Please call them and see what they can recommend for what is happening to you.

Hi, I had horrible gas pains for the first 3 weeks after surgery. I am now a month out and feel at 100% more like myself, but I still have gas issues. I find that I burp all day long and was told that I should get USE to it, it's normal. I did try the GAS X, but I did the ones that dissolve on your tongue. It wasn't that bad, other than the mint flavor, which I do NOT like. Walking more would be what I would tell you to do. It helps to move things around and you feel better. I see that you're doing walking about 4x a day. I was told to walk at least 10x a day, for approximately 10-20 minutes each time I was up and walking around. I will say that I couldn't manage the 10 times, but I tried even if I was only up 10 minutes instead of the 20. I tried going to the grocery store on day 5 and it was not a good experience. I hung onto the shopping cart and while I walked for about an hour, I felt horrible the entire time I was there. I don't think I actually felt anywhere near better until the end of the second week. I have a high tolerance for pain, and I wasn't in pain but more uncomfortable from H E double L. I only used the pain meds for 2 days and even then thought I really didn't need them by my husband kept pushing me to take them. They only made me groggy and sleepy and that would interfere with getting up and walking around. So my tip is get up more to walk, but make it only for 10-20 minutes every time you do. Good luck, it will get better !!

I think you have a good question. I'm still trying to figure out where my port is also. I was told it would be on the left side, above my belly button and more closer to the second incision (not the biggest one). I have felt all over both the incision sites and can't feel a darn thing. I've pushed and pushed and pushed and NOTHING. I also have felt a ridge or something solid pretty much under the larger incision, but was told that they do NOT put the port right under any incision so I'm very confused. When I go in next I'm going to ask where exactly it is. I'm very curious about this and I'd love to hear where you finally locate yours!

Wow, I've not heard that I should take an hour to eat foods. To me the food would be cold and I wouldn't want it by then. It seems to take a lot longer to eat, and I do see people looking at me like why are you still eating,,,,especially when they want to get up and go and I'm still sitting there chewing everything slowly. I find that it if takes me more than 20-25 minutes to eat something and there is still something left on my plate, then why bother continuing? I've eaten until I feel full so I'm done, period.

I was given papers from my doctor that told me that I should feel a Considerable amount of hunger until my first fill and that it's NORMAL to feel this way. The first six weeks after surgery are for healing and working on eating correctly and such. Not for losing weight or to never feel hunger. This is the time to really work on those issues and try and eat good foods for the body, eat more regularly, and sometimes eat 5 small meals a day and not just 3 meals a day. I've found this time period to be a trying time for me. I would also check with your doctor to see if they did put some liquid in your band at the time of your surgery. I've read many different items on the website saying that there probably is some Fluid in your band already. When I asked my doctor about this he did state that YES usually there is some becasue they have to make sure it is working properly and they put some liquid in it during surgery, so there is some restriction already. Plus, you can't eat a really big bite of food because it can get stuck even without any fluid in the band. I meantion this because that band is around the top of your stomach and if you try and eat a huge piece of anything (without chewing it good) it can get stuck where the band will NOT let it go through. So remember to chew very good with your foods and slow down when you eat. I also think you should really think about if you're really hungry or not. Is it real belly hunger, or head hunger. Just being around my family when they eat makes me feel hungry, but that's head hunger and NOT real belly hunger. I have to constantly remind myself to listen to my body, and not just smell the good foods around and me and think I'm hungry when I'm NOT. I find it very hard at work because everyone eats at their desk around me. I smell food all day long, and some times I think I'm hungry when I'm NOT and that is a very huge struggle for me. Sometimes I just get up and walk away for a few minutes, or start drinking lots and lots of Water at that point to fill me up so I do not want to even think about eating.

I am missing carbs, but I haven't cut them out completely yet either. I was banded about 4 weeks ago and I have eaten bread, but not the way I use to. I can't eat a sandwich at all. The bread must be so small that usually I'm just picking at it and eating such small bites of it that it can and does go down fine. I never thought I wouldn't be able to eat a sandwich again. That is a little strange to me. I have yet to try Pasta and I do miss eating some spaghetti! I wanted the band to help with my Portion Control, not to limit what I can or can't eat! Too me if it limites me what I can and can't eat then I'm just on another diet and this isn't a diet for me but a life style change and a tool to help me control how much I take in and to try and eat healthier. I haven't eaten a lot of lettice either. I have hear such horror stories with the issues of people not chewing good enough and certain foods getting stuck. I have had a stuck episode already, and I do NOT have any Fluid in my band. It was taken out in the second week due to issues I was having with pain in my shoulder and neck. I am very concerned about some of the things I hear and see on the site. I just read where this woman is only eating 300-600 calories and day and she's complaining about not losing weight. That concerned me because to me only eating that small amount a day is dangerous and NOT healthy and she's complaining about not losing anything. Well duh, if you only eat that much then you're starving yourself and yes it will take some time to lose weight if you're starving. Why get the band to starve! That is just crazy. Oops sorry, went on a rant there for a minute. I say eat some carbs, but just in moderation and realize that you don't need a lot to say you've had some and then stop and eating something healthy that you like. I don't think you should have to say NO to anything, but eat in moderation and only every once in a while and not everyday. You should be fine

I have no idea where mine is. I haven't gone in for a fill yet, and when I've felt around I do NOT feel it. I was told it was on the left side and will be above the belly button, so I am a lttle anxious to see exactly where it is. Did you guys feel it right away? I've push around and nothing, can't tell at all......of course this concerns me as well. I know that my doctors office does numb the area before doing fills, which I thought was great because I'm not into pain. haha

I think you should be talking to your nutritionalist! I have never heard that you should only be eating 300-600 calories a day, unless you're doing that insane diet where you take shots and stuff to help eleviate your hunger. I was told to eat between 1200-1300 calories a day and you should lose between 1-2 lbs a week. Losing 14 lbs in two weeks is too fast, and you're more likely to have hanging flesh on your bones when you're done. I guess if you want to have more sugery, like reconstructive surgery for all that hanging flesh, then sure keep it up. But otherwise I would get in to speak to someone about what exactly you're eating. Are you logging your foods? What exactly are you eaing for this 300-600 calories a day? I am diabetic and have seen many different nutritionalists for my issues. To lose a healtyh amount of weight I've been told, over and over again, to never drop below the 1100 calories a day for it would cause issues to your muscle mass and eat away at muscle and not the fat that I'm trying to lose. That you should ONLY lose between 1-3 lbs a week and no more! Get in and see your doctor and have this discussion. I can not believe that what you're doing is healthy in any way.

I was given a patch to put behind my ear for anti-neausea medicine. I guess people who go on boats and such use the patch, and it was a prescription that was NOT over the counter but had to be filled at the local pharmacy. It worked great, other than the severe dry mouth it caused! See if you can get some anti-neausea meds and then you could try taking the pain meds if you need them. I really only took the pain meds the first day after surgery, and then the next two nights right before I slept. Other than that I didn't take the pain meds at all. To me it wasn't pain I was feeling, but more like discomfort and such. I too had a cut on my lip. It was on the right side, on my bottom lip. I initially asked my husband if I had a fat lip because when I immediately woke up I had this bumpy, lumpy, cut on the inside of my lip. I was told it was from the tube that they put down my throat for the surgery, and that it can rub as it goes in and essentially causes the issue. It went away about day 3 or 4. I also recommend walking as much as possible. I couldn't have walked on a tread mill, I felt way too light headed for several days after surgery. I was lucky to just get up and walk around my house for about 10 minutes. My doctor told me he wanted me to get up at least 10 times a day to walk and that I should be fine in a few days. I initially took off from work about 4 days and ended up taking up 6 days off before I felt good enough to be at work all day long. I work in an office and only sit at a desk all day long, but the sitting and the position of everything was just not very comfortable at all. UGH.... Good luck and just do what your body says it's ready for. Now is the time to really start listening to it

Glad to hear you're doing well after 6 days! It will get better as you move forward. When do you get to go onto soft foods? I was allowed pureed foods for week 2 and then soft foods for week 3. Don't worry, when you start eating more regular type foods you will start to feel some hunger again

I believe it's because of the calories as well. However, I am a diabetic and sometimes the sugar free stuff has more carbs in it, which I do NOT want so I look at the labels and then go from there. My carb intake is what I'm taking to keep down, so I'll take a little more calories if the carbs are less in regular poducts and not the sugar free kind. Just a thought.

I had my first stuck episode yesterday. It felt like I could not breath and was having an anxiety attach right there at the table. The co-workers who were with me kept asking me if I was alright, which just made me feel worse. I finally just got up, left the table and went straight to the bathroom. It totally felt like the food was making its way back UP my throat and it was horrible. I knew immediately what I'd done, and I knew I had NOT chewed well enough. I put a piece of cooked vegetable in my mouth, but it had some green chilies on it and it was so hot that I just swalowled before even chewing. NOT a great idea, and knew immediately that there would be a problem with it. I tried swallowing some Water to see if it would make it go down, but it did not. I was NOT a happy camper, and will definitely make sure that I chew chew chew all my foods and watch out that if anything is hot or whatever to just spit it out rather than just swallow it! I will say that the food actually did NOT come up all the way. It just got stuck in my throat near the top and stayed there for about an hour when it finally went down, and I felt it go down all the way! I'm not sure what would've been better? To have actually had it come up all the way or what. I did have a slimming episode with it but it didn't bring the food up all the way up and out. UGH...... and I have NOT even had a fill yet, and the second week after sugery they had to take what little was in my band (that was put in it for surgery) OUT. To be honest I didn't think I'd have any issues without having my first fill yet, especially since I don't have anything in my band either. But then when I was getting ready to go to sleeep I realized that even though there is nothing in my band, there is a tad bit of restriction because the band is around the top of my stomach and if the food is bigger than that size then it would get stuck anyway. DUH, if something is too hard or too large it wouldn't go through that openeing with the band on it period. Sometimes it is so hard to just chew like that. I see people around me taking such huge bites of food and swallowing them that I need to remember that I canNOT do that now, period. Sometimes relearning something that we should've been doing since we were little is just so hard to change. But change I will and this will hopefully not happen again.

I too am diabetic. My endocronologist just told me to eat just like before the band, only less. Once the weight starts coming off, and it will, then my meds will be adjusted accordingly. I still look at carb intake, which is very little or minimal, and just eat healthy foods. Nothing really changed, other than the portions of what I eat. This is why I wanted the band, to have better portion control, NOT to have to give up foods or change what I ate! Go talk to your doctors and see what they recommend and go from there.

I agree that the way you are feeling is quite normal. I was excited, nervous, anxious all rolled into one. Then the day of surgery and it was surreal. Here I was at the hospital getting my IV and being asked questions and then the next thing I knew it was done. Wow, it was fast and over and here I am on my way to a newer, healther, slimmer me. Just take a deep breath, think about all the wonderful new clothes and experiences you are going to have and get ready for the ride of your life. You will do fine, you've done your research, so go for it. Good luck....