tigk29

Hey all, I had my surgery a week ago on August 23rd. I have noticed over the past few days that I have had bad hunger pains, I feel a bit dizzy and my vision is slightly blurry even with my reading glasses on. Does anyone know if this a side effect of the surgery and Heparin shots I am taking? Has anyone else had these?

What was your post-op regimen? I thought I was lucky to be able to drink every hour on the hour. Then have water and Crystal light in between.

I was banded two days before you and my new best friend right now is ice! I used to drink sooooo much water at work and when I had to practice the sipping thing before surgery it drove me crazy and I was soooo thirsty. I still am, so I found out that sucking on ice chips helps immensely! Since I am also on the liquid diet for two weeks I trick my brain into think I at actually eating something because I can crunch on the ice.

Shireen= I cant wait for my steri strips! I don't know if I would be able to drink only 3 times a day. That to me seems like torture! I am hungry doing what I am doing now. They told me my regimen was similar to Gastric Bypass patients because of the fact that they never did Lap Band before. I wonder if they are going to ask me certain questions when I go for my 2 week appointment to see how the regimen was for me and if they need to tweek it for future Lap Band -patients. leatha_g= I have to give myself the Heparin shots for 2 weeks. I don't have a problem finding someone to give me my shot at 2 in the afternoon, but finding someone at 6am and 10pm is a little harder. My mom would love to help me but if she thinks about needles her blood pressure rises enough for her to be admitted to a hospital! I dont have a history of blood clots, but like you said I think they are just taking an added preventative.

I had the laporscopic done. I have 5 incisions.

My surgery was at 7:00 am at Town N Country Hospital. My surgeon was Dr Dietrick and I went through The Wish Center. I was the first person to have the Lap Band surgery through that location so that's why I was told Dr Grossman would be there to oversee the procedure since he has done so many.. I am also on a liquid diet for two weeks. I can only have milk, protein shake or broth in 1 oz cups, and each cup has to last 10 min. I drink every hour on the hour from 8 am to 10 p.m.. Some hours I can have up to 3 oz of fluid but most hours it is only 2 oz. When I get done with the required fluid I can have water, crystal light, decaf tea and fruit 20. Yeah my pain seems to be going away slowly. Everyday I can do something a little bit easier than the day before. I think right now it's just muscle soreness on my left side from when they stitched the port to the muscle. Other than that I am itchy and I know that is a sign of healing. I took my bandages off today and the staples look good, but it still grosses me out. I weighed myself at home and if my beginning weight was correct I have lost 17 pounds since last Monday. I will know the real amount at my second appointment on 9/7 and they will also take the staples out. Then I will also be on puree diet. I am starving too on the liquid diet. It wasn't so bad in the beginning, but as my body begins to heal and gets out of shock it is hungry! I would love to keep in contact with you to compare how were doing since we had it done on the same day and you are in Florida. Keep up the good work and we will both be happier and healthy soon enough!

Shireen ~ What time were you banded on Aug 23rd? I was told that Dr Grossbard was going to over see my banding because it was the first time the center I go to was going to have it done. Since we had it done on the same day, I would love to know how you are feeling? Still in pain? Hungry? What kind of regimen do they have you on? I spoke with my doc and they said to remove the patch today and see how I feel. They told me that it just may be too powerful for me.

They want me to take Heparin so I don't get blood clots, even though I am up and walking every hour. I also have a manual breathing machine that needs to be done every hour along with drinking 2-3 ounces of liquids every hour on the hour. I was surprised when I was told to do these things because reading these boards I never heard of anyone else doing them. They did tell me that every surgeon or center is different so I will just do what the doc says!

My doctor told me that I could have a glass of wine. Too bad I am not a fan of wine!

I am having problems with the Heparin because I hate the fact that I need to give myself the shots. Sometimes they don't hurt and other times they sting so bad. I just have a phobia about needles. I also hate feeling nauseous. After surgery I was in pain and when I got home from the hospital I was also sick because the air conditioning unit was right next to my bed. It just seemed as if everything was piling up on me at once. Now knowing the patch may be causing the dizziness and blurred vision I feel better. I also took some pain med this morning so I feel real good at the moment. Now if I could just get the hunger pains out of the way I would be set. I would love to go to bed early once they start, but because I need to get a shot of Heparin every eight hours I'm usually up till 10:00. I wouldn't be able to go back to sleep if I were to wake myself.

Yeah, I am drinking all of my liquids every hour on the hour. I did make a call to the center where I had the surgery performed and they told me that it may be the patch I am wearing for nausea that is causing these symptoms. I looked the patch up the internet and it seemed as if it was the cause because they listed dizziness and blurred vision as side effects. So hopefully that's all it is. Now I just need to decide if I want to be dizzy and blurry or take the patch off and be nauseous! Gee what a choice! I have to give myself the shot of Heparin for two weeks. So far one week down and one to go! I HATE NEEDLES!

I was told not to drink 20 min before my meal, during my meal and 20 min after my meal because the liquid fills up your pouch quickly and you are not able to get the right amount of nutrients your body needs. Also you will fill fuller longer on food then liquids in your pouch.

Does anyone have a problem getting there heart rate up? Was anyone told they needed to have a certain target heart rate when they exercise? One of my goals I need to meet before surgery is to exercise 6 days a week and have my target heart rate between 24 & 28 for 10 seconds. Currently I go to Curves and if anyone is a member you know that every so many min they ask you to take your heart rate. My goal for Curves is between 22 & 27 which I have no problem meeting. When I met with my exercise therapist she told me that Curves just did an estimation and her calculations of 24 to 28 were the actual numbers I needed to be in-between. I am having the hardest time reaching that goal no matter what I do. The closest I can come is 24. Any suggestions?

How many times a day were you told to exercise before and after surgery? I was told that I needed to do 6 days a week before surgery and I was curious if that applied after surgery as well. The reason I ask is because I know they want my body conditioned for surgery, but they also told me that I cant go to my gym for 8 weeks after surgery, so what do am I suppose to do during that time? Normally I go to the gym 4 times a week anyway, but with work and everything else that I have to do I don't have much time. I know the more you work out the better/faster you will see results but is it really necessary to go 6 times a week? Does anyone go less and still see good results?

I am in the process of having the lap band procedure done and I had a question. Once or twice a month I like to go out with my friends and have a beer or two. I know the beer has cabination in it so I was wondering if a fruit juice with a liquor would be okay to have (Malibu rum and pineapple, screwdriver)? I am aware that the liquor has high sugar in it, but if I do it in moderations will it be okay. Has anybody tried this?

I am 29 years old and have been overweight my entire life. I have been on every diet imaginable and did good with loosing the weight just to gain back everything I lost plus more. I am scheduled for lap band surgery on August 23rd. Right now I am going through the dieting, exercising, chewing the food, sipping the water and quit smoking phase. At first I was very excited about everything, but when I have time by myself I sit and wonder if I can do this the rest of my life. I am so scared that I am not chewing the food enough, sipping the water slow enough, what if the band deteriorates and I don’t have the money to get it removed, what if my stomach stretches and I spent all of this money for nothing, what if the band slips? As I sit here following the diet plan they gave me and I see my weight go down before I even have the surgery I wonder to myself why this is so hard? Why do I need to spend the money on surgery if I am doing good now? I know because this is new I am doing good and after a while I will become bored and probley go back to my usual ways, but with the band I don’t have that option and I will need to do this forever and it scares me to death. I guess my question is am I the only one out there feeling this? Is this normal? How should I deal with these problems? Any words of wisdom would really be helpful.

Thank you for the support! Donali ~ did they tell you how or what caused your band erosion? Do you know what % of people this happens to? It seems like both of you have had great success in losing weight with the band and I wish nothing but the best for you. I hope I am as lucky!

I had to sit through the a seminar as well, and then when I went for my first consultation, I was there for 6 hours meeting with the surgeon, therapist, exercise therapist, and several others. Because the Wish Center is in partnership with the Hospital that does the surgery, the whole procedure is within a price range I can afford. My insurance wont pay for anything even though the docs are in network. I attended several different seminars with different doctors and the Wish Center was my favorite. I felt very comfortable asking tons of questions and the staff was very friendly. As far as the alcohol goes the last thing I want to do is get really drunk and puke, Yuck! I just didn't know what people were told about having drinks in moderation.

The surgeons there have been doing strickly Gastric Bypass for years. When I went to a seminar in May, they said before they introduced lap band at this location they needed to work the bugs out. I have an online seminar next Wed with the surgeon so I am going to ask lots of questions. As far as I know my surgeon hasnt done any lap bands. Were you or do you know of anyone one who was a smoker and needed to stop smoking for good before the surgery was preformed?

I just received a call from the Wish Center where I will have my surgery and they scheduled me for surgery on August 23rd. That is a whole month sooner than I thought! I am scared to death since I will be one of the first people in ths center to have the lap band. What do they practice on before me? I need a shot of Yager!

Thanks to everyone for the information. I have gone back and forth so many times on wanting the band done and one of my main reasons for not wanting it is I wouldn't be able to live my life as I used to. I chose to have the band done because first of all it was cheaper since I have to pay out of pocket (don't get me started on the insurance company) and the other was I heard you can pretty much eat and drink the same things as you do now but in much smaller portions and in moderation. Well I went to my first consultation on Wed and what they told me actually scared me. I know this will be a lifestyle change, but the do's and don'ts they told me I wasn't sure if I could handle. I know docs can be over cautious sometimes, but since I don't know of anyone who has experienced this surgery I wasn't sure what to think. I mean quitting smoking will be the hardest thing for me then I have to sip Water and eat 6 meals, and take Vitamins etc. It was just so over whelming.

Do they effect you sooner because your stomach is smaller? I dont want to drink a glass of wine or a margarita and then all of a sudden it hits me and I am drunk after 1 drink.