lisalu

Cool ultrasound picture Laura. I'm sure you are relieved. I know I felt better after my ultrasounds & hearing the baby's heartbeat. What a comforting sound! Good luck!

Laura, I had NO morning sickness either. Maybe that's why I worried so much. Just consider yourself very fortunate. I gained 10 pounds my first week or two (also, don't know why), after that I didn't gain any more weight for 2 months. I did have to have a slight unfill because I was choking at night. I've gained 45 pounds, which is irritating, but I'm not going to beat myself up about it. Now, that I'm in my 7th month. I eat a lot less & get full faster because the baby pressure makes my stomach smaller (or something like that). Anyhow, all is good ........except for the decision about whether to get a complete unfill or not.

Juno, What are the complications of having a c section with the band. I'm thinking about calling my fill doc today to have her check with the sugeon to see if I should get a complete unfill. I'm getting nervous now. That I should get the 1.6 cc taken out. None of my docs have said anything. But, sometimes you have to take charge & be responsible for your own health care decisions. I don't know what to do.

Congrats on your pregnancy FF - I was so scared about miscarriage. I told everyone I knew that I was pregnant at 5 weeks. Because if you know me, you know that I can't keep a secret. I said to my friends "What if I miscarry & then I have to tell everyone I'm not pregnant anymore", they said "so what, then you have all that support from the people who you have told". Which is true. I don't know why, but for some reason I thought I would look foolish for telling everyone I was pregnant and then misscarrying and not actually being pregnant anymore. I guess because it happened to me so late in life (39) that I had a hard time believing that I actually was pregnant. Maybe I felt that people wouldn't believe that I ever was if I had a miscarriage. Plus, I had wanted a baby for so long that I felt like anything I did would jinx it. What pressure I put on myself!!!! Well, if you could see me now at 31 weeks. I am sporting a big baby mountain. I didn't get the cute little baby bump, because I was never little. I had lost 75 pounds with the band, but had gained some back because it had loosened up. I was at 185 when I found out I was pregnant and am now at 230 something...... I was 246 when banded in May of 05. It sucks so bad putting all the weight back on again. But, I know with the band I will be able to lose it again. It will be a long, hard battle. But, it wasn't easy losing it the first time either. I am so happy for all you pregger ladies out there. It's awesome. Every bit of it. Even the fat & bloating & ankles as big as my calves. Although clothes have become my enemy. No cute little waist band elastic maternity pants for me. I need the full on front polyester panel in my pants. So sad :biggrin:. But, TOTALLY WORTH IT!

Juno, Did your doc indicate whether there would be any problems if you were not tight and just didn't get an unfill? I am 31 weeeks and am at 1/6 in a 4 cc band. No one has mentioned that I need an unfill or that there will be complications if I don't get one. Should I request an unfill? Lisalu

Hi Heidi, Congratulations! Many bandsters have had babies without getting an unfill. I'm 30 weeks pregnant and am at 1.6 in a 4.0 band. None of my docs have recommended an unfill. I'm not a doc so I have no idea how the band affects having a breathing tube. I wonder how many bandsters have had a C-section without an unfill? Anyone? Good Luck & ask your band doc! LisaLu

Hi Jill, I bought a cheap one on ebay for $38.00 from Hong Kong. I've gotten it to work occasionally. I don't panic if I can't hear the heartbeat, I just try another time. I'll try lotion next time. Thanks!

Hi Everyone, I was wondering what was up with this thread to Juno! Everyone's so quiet. I'm 15 weeks. I'm having some quad test on Tuesday for chromosome abnormalities. Funny, I always thought if I found out I was going to have a baby with downs syndrome, I might consider terminating the pregnancy. Now, that I am actually pregnant, there's no way I could ever terminate, NO MATTER WHAT. I can't wait to meet this kid! Hope you're all feeling good!!!

Hey Jodie. Thanks for the detailed recap. I think that helped me, somehow calmed my nerves about delivery, even thugh its quite a few months out (Nov). I know everyone's story is different, but somehow soothing when everything turns out great & you get a healthy baby. I bought one of the fetal doppler monitors. I can't hear the baby's heartbeat. But, I'm not going to panic. I think I just don't know how to use it. I'm going to practice with it. Kind of funny. I opened it in the kitchen, the directions said to use some kind of gel or oil on the monitor or on your belly. Well, being in the kitchen, I ended up spreading a little olive oil on my belly. When is a good month to register for baby gifts? I'm at 3 1/2 months now. But, of course, I'm so excited and I've been buying stuff like crazy off Craig's list. hey, any excuse to shop! Congrats again Jodie!! Lisalu

Deza- I don't want to know the sex of my baby either. I love surprises and you get so few great/nice ones in life. I feel bad for you. I guess there are worse things and I'm glad that you found out only 9 days prior to delivery. At least you got to go most of your pregnancy without knowing. I'm betting you'll laugh about it some day. But, yeah, that tech needs to NEVER repeat that mistake! congratulations and best of luck with the delivery!

Congrats Jodie. I want to hear all about it too. I'm starting to fear labor a bit. Though I know its intense pain for a temporary period of time, I just don't look forward to it. I'm all about using the drugs though, bring on the epidheral. Cyrena - if it were me, I'd go for the less expensive unfill. You don't have to get a complete unfill, just enough to feel better & get rid of the reflux. The same local doc can do a complete unfill when you need it. After reading this thread, pregnancy didn't affect most people's bands, no one wrote about vomiting & slippage during pregnancy. My doc told me there is no risk in the needle slipping & hurting the babe, since baby is not near my port. I think its safe for you to get a slight unfill now with the local doc & do a complete unfill later if you need it. Maybe you just need to establish an on-going relationship with the local dr. - But, then again, this is all just my opinion. You have to do whatever gives you peace of mind.

Congrats on the girl Juno! When are you due and do you have any kids already? Cyrena - pretty name by the way. I can only speak for myself in that my lapband surgeon ok'd me for a fill while I am 11 weeks pregnant because I have gained a lot of weight, being very loose since January. On the other hand, my OB says - get the fill if you want, but why risk a healthy pregnancy and malnurishing your baby. He said this "80% of Americans are obese, don't worry about the weight gain", so I'm not going to. I have the band as a tool to help me loose the weight after pregnancy. What do you want more? A small, cute pregnant body or a healthy baby? If money weren't an issue, would you follow the doc's orders & get the unfill if it were free? I don't get fills/unfills using fluro. My doc just feels for the port & sticks the needle in, then I drink water to make sure it can go down. No sweat. I will probaby get a complete unfill when I feel I need it, probably around 7 months. Read all of the posts on this thread, it might help you decide from other banders experiences. If you are truly having reflux though, you should probably get an unfill. Sometimes, I just need someone to make the call for me. Sounds like your doc and your hubby already have!

I got an Enfamil sample of fish oil yesterday. Haven't tried it yet, big, red gel tabs. Don't know that they will be any beter then what I have already tried. I ordered a Doppler fetal moniter from Ebay yesterday. My fiance works out of state during the week and can't make Dr. Appts with me. It was only $33 and I would love for him to hear the baby's heartbeat. Wonder how it went for Jodie today.

Good luck Jodie!!! I can't wait to hear all about it, or as much as you want to share anyway. I finally got to hear the baby's heartbeat today. I'm at 11 weeks and found the best OB ever. He is such a cutie too. I didn't think I'd be comfortable having a male doc seeing/touching my naked/fat body. But, he talked to me the whole time & I really didn't notice. At the end of the "inspection" he gave me a strong hand sitting up. I can see how pregnant women develop crushes on their docs. Thanks for the fish oil advice! I went to a whole foods place to get the Nordic Naturals because my doc recommended them and they didn't have them. Maybe I can order them online.

Hey GinaSue, Is this your first one? I feel so fortunate to be 39 and pregnant for the first time. I owe it all to the band. I'm due Nov. 12th. I haven't heard the heartbeat yet, but I saw it twice and my kid waved at me yesterday during the U/S as if to say "hey mom, I'm doing great in here". I've been so scared every day about carrying full term and having a healthy baby (esp. at my age), anybody else worry everyday? I know its in God's hands, so I try not to stress about it. This is just a dream come true! LisaLu:thumbup:

Good to know about the fish oil. Thanks. I'll look for the lemon pills. I'm getting dressed up to go out tonight & I'm back in my fat jeans. I feel so fat & it happened so fast. I looked at some pics of me preband though & I'm not anywhere near that. By dressed up, I mean... make up and earrings. :thumbup:

I was banded 5-5-05. I lost about 70 difficult pounds. I was around 25 pounds to goal when i found out I was pregnant in March. I'm 9 weeks along now. I don't get a fluroscopy with my fills so i don't have to worry about that. I'm just so loose that I can eat ANYTHING and I do eat EVERYTHING! I know my band pretty well, so if I get a small fill and its too tight, I'll just get an unfill, but I've got to do something. I cannot afford to gain 10 pounds a month. This is ridiculous. I love some of the things we have in common on this thread. I, too, love the fact that I can eat bread again and enjoy a subway or jimmy johns, I stick to 6 inches. :thumbup:. I also crave milk & drink a gallon or more a week. Sometimes my body fights back on the lactose, but I don't care. I'm taking the flinstones instead of pre-natal and I too, love the little folic acid pills that are so easy to swallow. I'm going to ask my doc about the progesterone though, what is it for? What do you guys think about the fish oil pills? I cannot stand burping up fish oil all day long!!!

I've been reading all your posts since I found out I was pregnant. On March 10th. YEA!!! I'm 39, this is my first one and I am so SCARED. I just really want to have a healthy, successful pregnancy. I tried to get pregnant 15 years ago when I was married & didn't work. I know now that it was the weight loss from the band that helped me get pregnant this time. I got preggers in my 2nd month of trying. Went to a fertility doc to say "I'm old, just please give me someone's eggs or do in-vitro or something". They gave me a urine test & it turned out I was already pregnant! Thanks for all the great advice on this thread. It has certainly been reassuring. I feel like I know you all. BTW - My band always gets pretty loose about 1 month after each fill, I've only been able to get 2.7 in a 4.0 band, and have been unfilled several times too. I was scheduled for a fill on the day I found out I was pregnant so I didn't get it. But, I've gained about 30 pounds in 3 months (much of it before I even found out I was pregnant). I've scheduled another small fill. I'm 9 weeks along, but have gained 8 pounds just since 3/20. I don't want to gain much more. I know I can lose it after the baby, but I don't want to be obese and pregnant. Good luck to all of you happy pregnant girls!!! I have wanted this all my life!!!

Hey Kat, I believe your advice is right on. Support works well for some people, but not everyone. I think this website is my support. When I feel like snacking on crappy foods, I can come here & type instead. I might still eat the food, but I took a break & thought about it before I did it. I wasn't directing my comments at you or anyone. I know everyone's just trying to be supportive & that's the great thing about this website. I just know that willpower & trying to make good choices doesn't work for everyone either. But, it sure doesn't hurt to try. It's just that it didn't work before & that's why I'm banded. Sometimes I'd rather hear people be honest & say "yeah, I eat chips & crackers sometimes too, because that's all that will go down". Then, at least I feel like someone is in the same boat as me and it makes me feel better. I still say the best thing about this band is that I don't get down on myself anymore. I'm learning patience. Someday I KNOW I'll be the size I want to be. For right now, I just keep trucking along.

Andi, I can totally relate. Good advice StephM, by the way. I'm sorry to disagree with all of you who say "make better choices" "don't eat chips", "eat more protein", Yeah if I could have done that in the first place I wouldn't have needed the band. I know they are all good intentioned, but sorry some of us just don't have it in us to be "good". I was banded May of 2005. Thankfully I have lost 60 pounds. 30 per year. I know others are doing much better than me and I do get frustrated. I eat chips, chocolate and drink regular pop. I just get full much faster. I know I'm not supposed to eat this stuff, but I LIKE IT and am not going to deprive myself. Luckily, I can't eat much of it anymore. Thankfully, when you get an adequate fill, you have no choice but to follow bandster rules. you can't eat & drink at the same time, you can't overeat. My weightloss is slow, but it's there. I stopped beating myself up about it long ago. I know I'll loose the weight eventually with the right fill amount. I no longer obsess about food or get up in the morning and hate myself for being fat and failing. I don't wake up anymore and say "ok, today I'm going to do better, I have to do better". I don't even think about my weight much anymore, and for that . I AM HAPPY. Even though I'm 5'4" and still 183 pounds. I DON'T CARE. I eat what I want and eventually the weight will come off. I eat much smaller amounts then I did before and I think I LOOK GOOD! That's what's important to me, how I feel about myself. Don't talk to me about exercise, eating right, and support. I had all those things pre-band and it didn't work. What works for me now is a proper fill. Also, My docs are really conservative on the fills. They make me jump through hoops to get one just like you Andi. I lie about what I eat if I have to. I know my body and I know when I need a fill (after 2 years). I'm only at 2.5 cc's and would prefer to be completely full, but don't know if that will ever happen. I know I could be more full, but the docs won't do it. Actually, my surgeon would. He overfilled me to 3.00 cc's on my second fill. But, the docs who do my fills now will only do .5 cc's at a time, and I loose about .5 in between fills everytime. So I've been stuck in the 2's Forever! Stop beating yourself up and just have confidence that with proper fills you will lose the weight. Who cares how long it takes. The important thing is that the scale is going down not up! You are a SUCCESS, not a failure! Stop obsessing and feeling miserable, it doesn't help. Get a fill and be patient. You'll know if you're overfilled. You won't be able to keep anything down and it will be painful with reflux, heartburn and choking on your spit in the middle of the night. I've experienced it all. And slowly, still was able to take the weight off, even with not so good eating habits. Congratulations to those of you who follow the rules and restrict your eating to only healthy food and find success through support. It just doesn't work for all of us. Good fills is what works for me.

Does anyone wake up in the middle of the night choking on their spit? It scares me that it won't go down in my sleep. I'm not too tight. I actually think I need another fill. I keep spit cup in my car as well & go to the bathroom at restaurants. Drinking with my meal makes a huge difference in whether I spit/pb. Do you think we will continue to spit/pb for the rest of our lives? I'm 2 yrs post op.

I had the same symptoms as you. I am almost 2 years post op. I had a tightening and couldn't keep anything down and it was about 2 months after my last fill. I had an upper G.I. done, there was no slip, but my docs are very conservative and they took fluid out. I did gain about 10 pounds, had to weight 6 - 8 weeks to get another fill, but have now taken most of the weight off. It may not be a slip, but you may want to get a slight unfill. Best of luck to you!!!

Heres a question about PB'ing which I should do a new post, but don't know how. Will I ever stop PB'ing? I'm almost 2 years post op and really tired of throwing up almost everything. Will this go on forever? I have a friend who is 3 years post op and she still PB's all the time too. My gastric bypass friends never throw up, once they are a year out, seems they can eat anything, just smaller amounts. Any ideas?

Hi Karen, I was banded in May. My stomach felt hard for a few days. It was quite uncomfortable. There's so many strange things that happen after surgery. I couldn't figure out what was normal & what wasn't. The main thing my doc was concerned about was vomiting. That's the thing that may hurt your band. So, unless you're vomiting, I wouldn't worry too much. In a week or two you should feel pretty "normal" again. Whatever your norm is anyway. Congrats on your banding! LisaLu

Porceline, The worst part is not knowing. Now that you know, what a relief. I did a couple of stupid things right after being banded and swore I caused permanent damage. I went for my follow up and my doc said "no worries". I cannot damage my band unless I vomit a lot. I still have pain occasionally where I can't sleep (3 weeks banded) I just take my liquid pain medication (really small amt) and that numbs everything in my tummy in about 30 seconds. It rocks! I can see how people get addicted to pain meds... Lisalu 5-2-05 banded date 20 lbs down