PA2AK GIRL

I am not sure what Dr. Searles charges for a fill, as all of mine have been included in my surgery costs. I know he doesn't require fluro, as all of my fills have been in his office, but his office is at Alaska Regional hospital and they have fluro there. Hope this helps, but I would call his office and speak to his staff, they are very helpful. Karen

If you are asking about Dr Searles, in Anchorage he is wonderful! His staff are fabulous! I went to Dr. Searles office and asked for lap band surgery, I was waiting for him to try to convince me to get a gastric bypass, but he never said a single word. He asks why I wanted lap band surgery, and told me what to expect. I am a medical professional and have treated many gastric bypass patients with bad outcomes, there was no way anyone would have ever talked me into a gastric bypass, and I would have little faith medically in anyone who would have tried. I HIGHLY recommend Dr. Searles. I had no complications, and the one time I needed an urgent visit, they got me in immediately! On several visits I was a little down because the weigh loss is slow and steady but slower than I want, his staff gave me words of encouragement and even told me to call them If I just needed to talk. Can't say enough good things about Dr. Searles and his staff. I hope this helps, but if you have specific question please feel free to send them my way. Good luck!

Thank you for the words of encouragement! It is so hard not seeing the scale move quicker, I feel like I am working harder that ever and am still only loosing at a snails pace, but I also realize I didn't get to this point over night and this is a change for the rest of my life. I just have to remember I am going in the right direction. Thank you all for the continued encouragement! S So the fill went well and I finally have good restriction! I can only get liquids down today, so hopefully I have found my sweet spot for now. Now it will be GYM, GYM and GYM for me.

I have been told by others who have the band if a pill feels stuck you can drink a hot liquid and most will dissolve. I would also tend to agree that if you broke the pill into pieces it probably isn't stuck, especially since you can get applesauce and liquids down. Good luck!

I am going for my 3rd fill on wednesday, I had my surgery on 12/2/11 and have only lost 22lbs total. I too am able to eat just about anything, and I get very hungry. My last fill was 3 weeks ago, and for about 2 weeks I did feel some restriction and wasn't hungry, but this last week it feels like all my restriction is gone. bluetigereyes I am so sorry to hear about your port flipping. Hopefully after it is fixed you will get back on the losing train. Good Luck!

I had terrible heart burn for the first several weeks post-op, mainly due to all the swelling. When I laid down to go to sleep it would get so bad I would have to get up and go to the lazy boy to sleep. I think your band is to tight and you need to have some of the fluid removed before you do permeant damage.

AJ210, I was banded on 12/2 which was a friday, i had planned to only take off the day of the surgery and the following monday, I ended up taking off tuesday also. Not due to pain but lack of energy. I was exhausted just getting a shower and getting dressed for work. I worked half days the rest of the week. Everyone is different but one thing I have noticed on many other post was the lack of energy everyone felt. Week 2 I felt good as new, the only issue I had was my core was very weak and would get tired after standing and walking throughout the day. I found wearing a something like spanx helped this a lot, it gave me support in my middle. Good luck with surgery, and welcome to the other side!!

Can anyone tell me how much weight they have lost within 2 weeks post op? I was banded on 12/2 and lost 10 lbs on the pre-op diet, since surgery I have only lost 2 lbs. I am not eating much, just my protein shakes, and soups, I drink only water. I am just getting concerned that I have gone through all this to lose weight and now I am not doing that. Please help!

Isn't that the best feeling!! Knowing that finally you have this tool to help you do what you have been trying to accomplish your entire life alone!! I am one week post op and am finally feeling like myself today. I really haven't lost much since my surgery though, I think I haven't been drinking enough water, it's much harder to drink the water I normally drink. I guess cause I get full so quick. Oh well slow and steady wins the race! Good luck to all having surgery this week!

Hello all, i was banded on 12/2 and also had a hernia repair at the same time. I lost 10 lbs on the pre diet, and have lost 3 lbs since surgery. I also still have a large amount of gas, it seems to just never go away completely. I have had very little pain but have no stamina! I get wore out very quickly. I went back to my office job on wednesday, just half days, but if I get up and walk around too much i get shaky and need to sit down asap. Not sure if this is caused by the lack of calories or from the surgery? Any one else experience this? I started out on surgery day at 252, and currently at 247, my goal is 175 for now. I am 5'4" tall. What is everyone eating? I am sick of the sweet protein drinks, but don't know what else to eat. Please give me some suggestions.

Hello all, i was banded on 12/2 and also had a hernia repair at the same time. I lost 10 lbs on the pre diet, and have lost 3 lbs since surgery. I also still have a large amount of gas, it seems to just never go away completely. I have had very little pain but have no stamina! I get wore out very quickly. I went back to my office job on wednesday, just half days, but if I get up and walk around too much i get shaky and need to sit down asap. Not sure if this is caused by the lack of calories or from the surgery? Any one else experience this? I started out on surgery day at 252, and currently at 247, my goal is 175 for now. I am 5'4" tall. What is everyone eating? I am sick of the sweet protein drinks, but don't know what else to eat. Please give me some suggestions.

I am on post op day 2, I don't have mush pain except for the gas! If the gas would go away I would feel great! I am walking and moving around a lot, but I still have a belly full of gas. I have one more day of clear liquids and then I can progress to slushy. I am really looking forward to that. I hope everyone feels better soon!

WOOT! Tomorrow is my surgery! Yeah it is finally almost here, and boy did these past 2 weeks go by sooooo slowly, but tomorrow is the first day of my new life. Good luck to all others having surgery tomorrow or this week. I am sure I will be back soon looking for advice and support. Thank you all !

Hello fellow alaskans!! I am new to this site and will be banded on friday 12/2/11!! I am so excited and nervous to have the surgery over and move on to a thinner me! I have chosen Dr. Searles to do my surgery. I will also have my hiatal hernia repair with the band placement. Can anyone tell me about how much post op pain was involved and more about their post op diet. Thank you all and I am so looking forward to a new me!

Hello fellow december banders!! I am being banded on friday 12/2!! I am so excited to have this tool to help me to a healthier life ahead. The day I got my approval, a friend was with me who also has a band, she said your life is about to change. I so look forward to this change! I must admit I am more than a little nervous, only because I had a hysterectomy last year and I ended up with complications that took months to overcome, I just don't want to go through that type thing again.

Hello all, I am very new to this site and will be banded on Friday!! WOOT! In reading everyones responses about coffee with caffeine or caffeine beverages in general, I remember from all my diets that you should avoid caffeine because it is a stimulant. Thus it stimulates hunger! I drink good quality strong coffee with cream, my doctor has not said I will need to stop, but I may be in for a rude awakening on saturday morning!!