DELETE THIS ACCOUNT!

That sounds about right. The analogy my surgeon gave was the size of a finger nail, so pretty close to a pencil eraser in size.

Oh my gosh, I'm so incredibly sorry!! ((hugs)) May I ask what happened??? What went wrong?

It's definitely not band related. It sounds like you need a complete immune system work up to figure out why yours is so weak.

Good!! I'm probably just being paranoid because of my own experience, but I just don't want to see you (or anyone else) go through what I did. I'll keep watching this thread for your updates

Yes, a Doppler is just another name for an ultrasound. That's how they finally found them. I had them so bad my legs were solid blood clots from my knees all the way up into my abdomen.

Btw, 67% of blood clots happen after abdominal surgery. Mine happened after a tummy tuck/hernia repair surgery.

Not bugging at all I started with achy legs and eventually they started swelling. By the time they finally figured out I had blood clots, I was retaining over 40 pounds of Fluid all in my legs. They hurt so bad I couldn't even walk to the bathroom without crying. In my case, I had blood clots in both legs, which is uncommon. Normally you see it one leg so everyone assumed it was something else when I had these symptoms bilaterally (both legs)

I'm so relieved you're at the ER. Not to sound pushy, but demand they do a Doppler of your legs, too. Mine was missed for over 2 weeks because no one bothered to do a Doppler until it was almost too late. Let us know what happens!

I was told by my NUT that your body can't process more than 30g of protein per meal. Anything above 30g is essentially "wasted". So if you're eating say 3 40g protein shakes a day, you're not getting 120g of protein you're only getting 90g because your body can't absorb/use the extra.

No it's not normal. It's imperative you go to the ER right now because if you do have post operative blood clots you need treatment immediately. Btw, I spent 8 days in the ICU with life threatening blood clots just 3 months ago. Believe me, it's nothing to mess with and always best to be safe. Best wishes.

Hunger is normal and happens, especially on liquids. But it's imperative you stick to your doctor's post op diet regardless of hunger. Your body needs time to heal.

I tried Bali and Platex but no luck. Once I get some time I'm getting a professional fittings.

Call your doctor. You should've been given all this information in your post op instructions.

The only thing I don't bother eating is dry meat. It's the only thing I regularly get stuck on. This is particularly true of any leftover meat. But as long as the meat is moist- chicken, beef, pork, etc. I'm fine with it.

There is no right or wrong answer. Some eat as little as 800 a day whereas others eat as much as 1600 a day. It all depends on your metabolic needs. Talk to your nutritionist and let them help you establish the right calorie range for you.

Call your doctor. Being too tight is never worth it and it's very unsafe.

No, it's not normal at all, in fact most people have the exact opposite reaction and feel much better. Has your doctor done a barium swallow? Checked you for a slip?

Studies have shown that food is supposed to pass through the pouch in about a minute. This is why they say to take small bites and wait a minute between them, to allow food to pass through between bites. Food piling up on top the band and not passing in the first minute or so is dangerous. It can not only stretch your pouch but lead to band erosion. You do not want the stomach acid necessary for food digestion sitting on your band. This is also why many surgeons are changing their rules about drinking while eating. I can't find it at the moment because I'm not on my lap top, but you can even find one of the studies proving this here on these forums. I believe Alex (board owner/founder) posted it about a year or so ago.

Milk is not a clear liquid, so unless your surgeon specifically says you can have milk, no you can't have it.

The first 4-6 weeks should be concentrated on healing not losing. Plus, you should never ever compare yourself to anyone else. This is your journey and comparing your loss to others is only setting yourself up for unnecessary disappointment. Stick to band size portions, track your calories, and exercise and the weight will come off.

Actually, that's not true at all. In fact Lap Bands are made to be "forever". Of course there's always a risk of complications but the chances are small. Statistically speaking, you only have a 5% chance of serious complications if you are compliant with your doctor and the band rules. That means you have a 95% chance of success. You may hear of more complications but you aren't hearing is the most of those are caused because of the patients' mistakes and behavior, not the band. Here's a study that shows very good long term results: http://www.futurity.org/weight-stays-off-long-after-lap-band-surgery/

Whenever your doctor says you can. It's entirely up to him and his post op diet.

I couldn't rationally justify hacking out 75-80% of stomach or permanently re-routing my healthy intestines without trying something far less drastic first. God forbid I ever got stomach cancer or some other disease that effected my digestive system- I'd have been screwed. I figured I could always get the Lap Band removed if something went wrong but you can't get back that huge chunk of your stomach. Plus, I didn't want to deal with malabsorbtion and dumping, either. For me, Lap Band was the best choice.