Hackettsue

I am going to have my Lapband surgery next Monday, January 19th at Fair Oaks Hospital in Virginia. On my upper GI they found a small-moderate hiatal hernia which my surgeon will repair. I was wondering if the recovery pain is any greater or if the recovery time is any longer due to the hernia repair being done along with the Lapband placement?

Another OMG for Heather. What a scary experience; glad you are ok. And yes, I have been stuck in a car in a snow storm with bumper to bumper traffic on the interstate with exists closed down and no way to get off having to pee so bad that it hurt. I know the feeling real well. I couldn't get out of the car in the middle of traffic and I didn't want to pee inside the car, so I kept holding it even though it was pure torture. Such sweet relief when I finally got to a bathroom!

I have lost around 30 lbs and have noticed that I'm able to hold my urine longer. Although I've never had a leakage problem, I have suffered from frequency and urgency which kept me going to the bathroom very often before the weight loss. This was extremely inconvenient and really limited my lifestyle. Now that the urgency has disappeared I'm able to delay voiding quite a bit longer. I can go places and not be so concerned about whether I'll have access to a bathroom.

I am only 5'1" and was 206 pounds the day I was banded 9 weeks ago. I have lost 16 pounds so far and I've had 1 fill. I'm looking forward to my second fill on April 15 so I can start feeling more restriction.

:hurray: Not drinking while eating has been by far the most difficult thing for me since being banded 5 weeks ago. I find that my mouth gets extremely dry, almost pasty dry, if I don't take a small sip once in a while during the meal. That pasty dryness is most uncomfortable and then the whole meal becomes unsatisfying to me. I haven't noticed any difference in terms of getting hungry quicker if I do take a few sips than if I don't. I haven't had a fill yet, so maybe that makes the difference. I don't plan on being filled very tight so maybe I can continue to take a sip here and there while eating without any bad effects. So far I just don't find that not doing so is realistic for me. Also, if I do sip here and there I can easily wait the 30 minutes after the meal to resume drinking fluids.

What is the typical amount (number of cc's) injected on someone's first fill? I was just wondering. I was banded on Jan. 19, 2009 and have the APS 10cc band with nothing in it so far. Also, does anyone feel some restriction after their first fill?

I was banded Jan 19th and get to start on mushies/pureed food tomorrow. My question is if I have say a soft scrambled egg, or cottage cheese, or refried beans, or ricotta cheese, do I need to put it in the blender and puree it or can I eat it as is? I am confused as to what is the difference between mushies and pureed? Thanks much for any clarifications.

:sad:My cousin's daughter's OB/GYN in the Houston, TX area died just before Thanksgiving, supposedly from an infection 3 weeks post op after lapband surgery while she was on a family vacation in Colorado. I'm assuming this is the woman you are talking about. I was just banded on January 19th and would also like to know more about what happened to her. I know her name is Dr. Leslie Parks Finley. Does anyone have any more information about her? Does anyone know where she had her surgery or who her surgeon was?

I was wondering if you must be intubated during the surgery to put in the lapband? Has anyone not been intubated for the surgery?

I sure wish my friend, Ginger Brewster, who had gastric bypass with Dr. Halmi in February 2002 and died a couple of weeks later, could have had lapband. She had lots of complications after gastric bypass that she may not have had with lapband. Her story is posted on the memorial page of Obesityhelp.com. Ginger had her surgery a little too soon; the technology wasn't as good a few years ago. Got rest her soul. :biggrin: