mcondjel

I had the same problem, and it was just delightful *sarcasm*!!! But it does go away, and it is just a side effect of the surgery. The gas causes it. I thought it was never going away, but it did, and now it is a distant memory. I did have to have a minor resurgery on my port, and I tell ya, I was praying I would have not left shoulder pain, and I didn't.

I refinanced my condo

Okay, I have been reading what you are all saying.... and here are a few important things. I weight myself everyday..... some people say that is wrong, I do it because, well that is what I like to do. So, here is what I have discovered by doing that. 1. If you have a Protein shake in the morning, it is easily absorbed calories, and unnecessary for your nutrition. The bottom line is, if I have a protein shake instead of food, I will not loose tomorrow. So, try eating real food, it can be mushy if you are tight in the morning, like and egg, etc. 2. Do you exercise? This surgery is meant obviously to keep you from eating so much, but your body starts to think you are starving, if you do not exercise, your matabolism will shut down, you should not have to snack to solve this problem. 3. Because you are hurting are you eating mush and things that are high in fat and calorie content, and they slide down easily? This could be the reason you are never full! 4. Do not drink while eating. Especially before and after. There are times I take sips while eating for whatever reason. But I limit it to one or two sips if I feel I have to have it. But try not to drink before or after (30 minutes both ways) and this should really help you. The bottom line is, if you cannot eat without experiencing discomfort, you should go get an unfill. Where you are right now is very dangerous for you and the band. Be healthy! Good Luck!

You should probably seek out going to a professional (psychologist) who understands this type of mental issue, and can help you resolve why you do these things. Understanding it will give you the ability to forgoe using this as a coping mechinism. I did not have the same problem, I could care less about food if i am satisfied, so this surgery worked for me because I am satisfied, and not worried about food.

You were just banded, you just have to stick with it. Getting a fill too early is very dangerous, and doctors generally will not do it. Remember that whether or not you know it, your stomach and stoma is still swollen, and if they give you a fill right after sugery, you could end up unable to keep down anything. Also remember, when it gets hard, go for a walk. I have been banded only a short period of time, and, my port flipped over. Until I had surgery to fix it, I was starving because I had no fill. But, a lot of it is mental, so you just need to overcome it. You may feel better going to talk to someone and finding out why you have overeaten in your life.

Okay! I have to agree with this completely. What you have to understand is that if you do not exercise, you body thinks it is in starvation mode, and actually holds on to food more then if you were eating more then you are now. Make sure you eat your 4 oz, do not starve yourself, eat a well balanced diet, make sure you are taking your Multivitamin, and HIT THE GYM!!!!! Bottom line, if you need motivation in the gym, get a trainer. That is the way to kick start the situation. The band is not a miracle, it is a tool, and you have to use the tool in order for it to work. If you use it right, it works, if you don't, it doesn't get the job done. Just exercise, eat right, and you will loose the weight. :rolleyes2:)

OKAY!!!!! LET ME TELL YA.... YES IT IS WORTH IT! It is not a forced diet, you are not hungry, it is a tool. Here are a few bottom lines: 1. If you overeat, you will likely get sick. 2. If you do not chew your food, you may get sick. 3. If you eat around the lap band, you will not see the benefit. 4. If you do not plan on exercising, you will not loose (at least not very fast) 5. If you do not want to make the effort to change, the band, or any surgery for that matter, is not for you. This should be a major life changing decision. You should make this decision because you want to be healthy, eat healthy, and live a healthy life. All this does is prevent over eating. You can still choose to eat the wrong things, or eat around the band. So, when you decide whether this surgery is for you, you should consider whether or not making a life change is also for you. One of you mentioned that you do not do well on diets, this is not a diet where you are left feeling hungry. The whole point of the band is to cause restriction where you are left feeling satisfied after eating far less then you normally do. If you are feeling left unsatisfied, you need a fill. But, more importantly, the habit of overeating has to be overcome.

I had my port revision surgery on Monday. It was much easier, NO GAS PAIN, YAY! However, I am still sore around the incision area. I also have a cold, which goes great with the surgery. I was fully put to sleep, which was interesting. I can say that it does not compare to the original surgery. I have had one fill, and my doc filled me while he was in there doing the surgery, so I am very happy. Really, I am very happy with the results of the surgery, and my weight loss.

I have been to the office 4 times for fills. The first time I did not have a fill because I was not hungry, the second I had a fill (but my port was flipped over, and he was able to flip it back, with a good deal of pain involved). Then the third time I was not hungry, so no fill, then today the 4th, once again it is flipped over, and he tried to flip it back, but holy moly that hurt like hell. So now, I am scheduled for monday to have surgery again. I am very nervous, plus the cost really nervous about that, no one has really told me what I will have to pay. So, lets just add that to the bills, lol. I am scared that I will have an allergic reaction to whatever I did last time, they still do not know, around my incisions. I am also scared about going under again. I just hope everything goes well. Any help????

Okay.... I know it is crude, but I need HELP. For whatever reason I cannot produce a BM.... so I have been on laxatives. Any advice? :heh:

I love that I have my band in. Everyday gets better then the last. I have to say if I had to choose between the occasional discomfort and being obese, I would choose discomfort, not to mention the fact that as I have lost, the better most things have become. I do have constipation. I am trying some different natural ways to resolve the problem. Honestly, dieting causes constipation. So, you just have to work through it. But, I would say talk to your doctor, and just think about what is important to you. If changing your lifestyle, loosing weight, and being healthy are important, I would seriously pursue what you need to do in order to loose weight. GOOD LUCK!!! Let me know if you decide to pursue the lap-band. I am so beyond happy with my decision, I have lost 51 pounds!

I am having MAJOR problems. My incisions sites are having an allergic reaction to something. I was banded on 9/24/07 and they put steri strips on me. I was fine after the surgery. Then 2 weeks after, I had huge red circles around my incisions. The steri strips had been off for a week by then. Now, almost a week after that the itching is insane and I am about to rip my head off. Has anyone else had this problem? I have used creams and sprays, and the only thing that works is atarax which was prescribed by my doctor, only problem is that it makes me go night night and causes severe dry mouth, which is never fun. WHAT CAN I DO???? I will have to go to my doc again soon, but at this point, I dont think the steri strips are causing this reaction. HELP!:help:

Well, I have had surgery before, and never had these problems. I did not have a reaction while the steri strips were on, but about a week after they were off, I had an allergic reaction. I do not have blisters where anything was, I have huge round, red and very itchy, circles around my actual incisions. They say it is not an infection. It has now been two weeks since the steri strips came off, and I am going MAD! Plus, where I had an allergic reaction to a bandaid, there is only a reaction where the band aid was. I am just very annoyed. I need HELP!

That is a lot of food really. Especially if you concentrate on looking at what you are putting in your body. Look at each one of those slim fast shakes. Each one is supposed to be a meal. That is 5 meals, which is a lot anyway. I am on two clear liquid meals and 1 small meal for dinner. and then all Clear liquids the day before surgery. I am very lucky, I spaced mine out, and did not really have any hunger. Remember when you are only taking in liquid, you are getting no real source of nutrients into your body. So, you may want to have something with a small amount of sugar in it, and you will find it satisfies you. Generally speaking, when you have items with fake sugar in them, they actually cause hunger. This is because the brain feels that it now wants sugar even more, and was never satisfied in the first place. So you can actually end up drinking more sugar and more calories. I have had to fortune of studying nutrition and health, and so my beliefs on eating are far different then a lot of people. I am also allergic to fake sugar, and my body gets really ill, so I STAY FAR FAR away from fake sugar. Hope all of you have good eating experiences. :clap2:

I am seeking some help on the friends and family matter. I have the support of my mom and sister (only people in my family who know), and my very close friends that have known me for a long time are really really excited for me. So, I am very lucky. But, I am dating a guy, I have been seeing for a year, and he is VERY against the surgery all together. He feels I need to go on another program, get a trainer, etc. That surgery is just too extreme. My reply is that: 1. I have done those things 2. During the course of him knowing me, I was still dealing with pneumonia, and my lungs are still healing even now. 3. Generally going on some sort of weight loss program involves putting some sort of chemical into your body that is more dangerous then surgery itself. 4. This is something I have thought about a very long time, and that I want to do this for so many reasons; health, longevity of life, and many more. For me this is right. What I do not know is how to gain his support. Maybe someone can provide some insight????? Michele:faint:

It is totally the key to having a great ride! I had not ridden bikes for years, and I went for a ride on my friends bike and I was thinking "what the hell kind of torture is this?" Now I got the bike I have and I have relatively no pain, and I can ride for a fairly long time, just pacing myself, and enjoying the ride. Before this past year (bad spat of pneumonia because of my allergies and asthma) I was up to riding 20 miles. Of course now I can barely ride 3, but it is all good, I am working my way back up!!!!! Anyhow, I live on A1A by the beach, so I always have an awesome ride, so the way I always went for long rides is to just focus on how pretty it was around me. Hope you all can do the same!!!!

HEY GUYS! I know all to well the feeling of the bike seat. I was in a very bad accident a few years ago, and I have really bad low back problems, so every chair I sit in gives me problems. However, in regards to the bike seat, it is not the seat, it is the bike. If you buy a bike that is cheap, you will tend to have more problems. However, if you make an initial investment, the bike will save you a lot of pain. I have a trek that has shock absorbers on both the front and back wheel, as well as a shock absorber below the seat. That is the only way I could ride a bike. It is really important to make sure that you take care of your body, and you are not experiencing discomfort, as this may actually cause additional health problems. Try going to several bike stores trying out different bikes, and see what feels good. As I said, you can buy whatever seat you want, but unless you have a bike that helps you, you are only going to continue to experience problems. Wish you all luck!!!!