Brendan

Heya guys, fist poster here, so I hope I'm posting to the right place... Got a quick question for ya all... I was banded Feb 27 of this year and have had no major issues whatsoever... A little pain around the port if you press around it, nothing worth commenting about, really... My question is, although my implant has not been filled, shouldn't I feel something.. I mean, anything? I can drink fluids normally, and don't seem to feel like there's a 'filling' anywhere.. Might have felt something when eating yogurt, but maybe not... My guess is I could take a pretty big gulp if I wanted to... Haven't tried to 'slam' a drink down to test it, I'd never do something that reckless, but my guess is I would likely be able to accomplish it... I've lost about 5 pounds so far, but most of that is due to the liquid diet and the loss of appetite that comes with a liquid diet *blech*. None of the docs in my area have any experience with the band, and the hospital I went to is so busy it takes a couple days to get anyone and most of the staff is I think more concerned with pushing their careers then answering questions, so here I sit in limbo waiting for someone to call me back while my mind draws up the worst scenereo possible.. If any of you folks can share your experiences with me and maybe give me a little advice, I'd be very greatful.. I really don't want to go under the knife again, but If the band slipped, I'd rather know now and be prepared for it then to worry about it while the local docs poo poo my concern and be disappointed later when I find out I should have asked questions / acted sooner. Thanks in advance for taking the time... Sincerely, Brendan.

You would definately do yourself a great service to wait until your infection clears up.. I'd still go through all your pre-op appointments and requirements (these can take a long time anyways) but make sure the infection is completely gone before getting an operation or any preop requirements like an ekg done until you're sure the infection is gone. Let your doctor know your situation, and explain your intentions to get all the pre-op stuff done first, but to that you will wait until the infection is completely gone... If you get to a point where you have to stop in the pre-op process because you have to wait for the infection to clear, then sadly you will want to do that.. Getting what you can get done lets them get the insurance paperwork going, and lets you do the things you need to do (pre-op diet, etc) in order to be ready for the operation... My insurance policy approved me for an operation from feb-july, and I assume most will give you at least some window to work in. If its going to be close, you can often file for an extension.. If you blow the date, its a bummer, but you're at least you're safe and still alive.. I cannot see a scenereo where one couldn't resubmit to insurance due to your situation.. I suppose anything's possible, but I just can't see it. Staph is crazy stuff and not to be messed with. My dad is a doc, so one would think he'd have known better, but he had athletes foot, which he ignored for a long time. He got staph through the sores in his feet and it took him a month to get well enough to practice again.. Its evil stuff, no doubt. His fever got so high I twice had to carry him into the tub and ice him down.. Beware! Good luck to you, and hope this helps

My operation started at 9:30 AM, I was in recovery by 1:30 PM, and was discharged by 7:30 PM the same day... For safety, I stayed in a hotel room 6 blocks from the hospital... Not a bad idea if where you are getting your band is some distance away (in my case, 900 miles). They require you to walk as soon as possible, which was fine for me, I was ready to oblige them... Hospitals are pretty boring places to be. They left an IV in, but it wasn't connected to anything. I never needed it after the surgery. When in bed I put on a cuff for blood pressure, and had to plug in a cord that led to an O2 clip on my finger, but that was it.. I had a rhaspy voice from the tube, and an inflamed prostate from the urinary tube (tell them you want the doctor, not a student to put it in), but both were out by the time I was awake... Overall it wasn't that bad, aside from the pain when peeing for three days after... I drank cranberry juice and that helped put down the swelling.

Thanks so much for all of your responses, it makes me feel a little better that I'm not the only one... What a great forum!