snowbird

Dr Ortiz doesn't require clear liquids pre op; he and his nutritionist just want you to lose 5% of your body weight prior to the surgery. They give you several options for doing that based on how much lead time you have. Since I made my appointment over 2 months before the surgery date, I just went on an Atkins diet and lost 19 lb, which was good for me. My husband and I had a nice Mexican dinner the night before surgery at the Lucerna, with the doctor's blessing.

Piece of cake.

I just had my first fill a week ago, without a local. It did not hurt as much as a shot or a blood draw. I barely felt anything.

We went to dinner at a friend's house the other day and of course she served barbecued chicken breasts. I had visions of running from the table making disgusting sounds, but I sliced it very very thin (as thin as I could possibly slice it) and didn't have problems. Chicken is so stringy that no matter how much you chew it, it never seems enough. However, with the paper thin slices I could eat it without embarassing results.

It's a lot more likely that you will die early from obesity than you will during surgery. And even if your obesity does not cause an early death, it will most likely cause a loss of mobility, health, and enjoyment of life. Since I couldn't lose weight and keep it off without the band, I felt that I had no choice but to choose better health and a longer life by having the surgery. The surgery is fairly minor, all things considered.

It's common to stop losing or even gain a couple pounds when you go back of full foods before your first fill. Don't worry about it; your band really isn't doing much for you until you get your first fill. Things should change after the fill.

Mine's about an inch, plus four 1/4 inch scars from the instrument incisions.

No need to lie; just say that you recently had surgery and cannot lift. Believe me, you do not want to strain your abdominal muscles and risk band slippage or tearing your stitches. I helped my husband move something heavy even 6 weeks after surgery, and I could definitely feel the strain in my stomach. Not worth the risk.

Mona, My husband has had sleep apnea for 20 years, although he would never admit it. I started sleeping in the guest room because he would snore and gasp for breath so loudly that I was awake all night, plus I was sleepless imagining what it was doing to him. He was banded 7 weeks ago, and I happened to wake up in the middle of the night and suddenly realized I couldn't hear anything from him. He has lost enough weight with his pre-op diet and since surgery that he doesn't snore anymore.We are both very happy.

First of all babygrrl, I would go up to the party planner and ask her CALMLY point blank if there was a reason she didn't invite you. Put her on the spot and and watch her squirm. Women tend to do nasty things in a group to avoid personal responsibility, so hit them up one by one. Then I would go to the birthday girl and tell her you wish her happy birthday, and would have liked to have been invited so you could do so at the party. Never raise your voice, just calmly show them up for the bitches they are.

Look under the Arizona forum in the US Support section. Here's the link: http://www.lapbandtalk.com/f24/lap-band-mexico-fills-arizona-43557/

What did your doctor use to close your incision? My doctor used glue, and I had a reaction to it. I developed swelling, itching and redness that spread two inches on all sides of the incision, and at first thought I had an infection. But I had had bad reactions before from patch medications, so I put warm wet washcloths on it and it went away quickly in one evening. If you are experiencing pain, Fluid seeping from the wound, or a fever, call your doctor as you could have an infection. I'm no nurse, so you may want to call the doctor anyway.

karenjoy, My husband and I live outside of Surprise and we were banded by Dr Ortiz in Tijuana. We drive over to Tijuana for our fills, so you can also check with us if you are needing a fill to see if we are headed that way. Actually we are in San Diego right now and were both filled yesterday, so if you are looking for a fill in the near future, you can scratch us. For future fills, however, drop me a PM.

I voted that I didn't care how overweight my guy is. However, I was reminded of a Drew Carey episode where his girlfriend left him because being with him made HER eat more and get fat. I have to admit that, if I were looking for a new guy, that would be an issue. I don't know if I would want to be around a guy all the time whose eating was out of control, because it would encourage me to overeat.

The fluoroscopy makes it interesting, especially for the first fill. I could see the band, the port, and the fluid going down through. My doctor said he fills between .5 and 1.8 for the first fill in my size band, so I am praying I have enough restriction for at least the next couple of months. By the way, I was amazed at how easy it was for him to do the fill, as well as how pain free it was for me.

Couple of questions: do all of you have the 10cc band? Secondly, were your first fills done with fluoroscopy? I had my first fill today and the doctor put in 1.7 cc. with a 4 cc band. He used fluoroscopy and the two of us watched first the barium and then Water go down. He didn't really ask me about it, because we could both see what was happening. My husband has a 10 cc band, and he got 4 cc in his first fill today. He is feeling a lot of restriction just with a sip of water.

Speaking out of no real knowledge whatsoever: I had my first fill today, and I asked the fill doctor how the port was sewed in. He showed me a port and it reminded me of a snap that you would sew onto clothing: a round device with holes around the edges. He said my doctor always sewed the ports through two holes on each side, while some doctors only sewed them through two holes on one side. I would definitely think that would cause a port to flip!

Ummmm, that was "plus" not "pus."

And just how many times has Oprah herself lost a bunch of weight, and gained it back? Pus, I don't have her personal trainers and dieticians working for me! I have lost close to 70 lb a couple of time, and kept it off for two or three years, and eventually gained it all back and more. I know I can't maintain the weight loss, and that's why I got the band. I just pray that with its help I can keep the weight off this time. My life depends on it.

Unless you have children to take care of, I would say do it together. My husband and I did, and it has been good to compare experiences. Plus, it is a whole lot easier when you are on the same phase of pre and post op diet together. Also, we keep each other in line food-wise ("Are you REALLY going to eat ALL THAT???") I'm very glad we did it together. We are going in for our first fills Thursday.

I dieted years ago with redux and lost a lot of hair. Then I dieted again with Atkins and lost a lost of weight, but my hair ended up actually a lot thicker. This leads me to believe that it's the lack of protein that causes hair loss, so I'm going to try to work very hard to keep my protein up. When you are eating only a quarter or a half cup of food at a meal, that's going to be really hard.

You don't need much. I don't even remember the rest of the day after my surgery, as I just slept most of the time. They had me up and walking and then I spent the night in the clinic, but I don't remember any of it due to the anaesthetic.

Gummie, sounds like your husband has a little passive-aggressive thing going with his weight. Do you think he might be trying to punish you for losing weight? Some guys do get insecure when their wives do something to make themselves more attractive, so instead of trying to make himself more attractive he does the opposite. Then he can blame you if anything happens to your marriage, because you couldn't put up with his weight gain even though he stayed with you when you were heavy. I'm just doing some totally untrained and probably misguided psychoanalysis on him, and could be way off base. Anyway, I don't think you can really do anything to stop him other than go on with your life, avoid any enabling behavior, and don't let him see he is getting to you. He may straighten out if he sees you are happier and healthier without the extra weight, but still not about to leave him. You can't talk him into doing anything about his weight; he needs to decide himself that he would be better off without it. By the way, you don't need to be 100 lb overweight for a lap band that I know of. Is that your doctor's rule or your insurance's guideline?

The problem with being on your feet so much so soon isn't just the aftereffects of surgery; it's the effect of being on a liquid diet and your body isn't getting enough nourishment for the first week after surgery. My doctor required a clear liquid diet for one week, then a "full liquid" diet for two weeks after that. I would have times especially in the first week when I was weak and had to rest. You are a lot younger and may be fine, or your doctor may have you on a less stringent diet. And yes, pb is "that regurgitation thing." It stands for productive burping.

I'm not hesitant to tell people about my surgery for a couple of reasons. One, I have friends who could benefit from a lap band, and while I would never try to talk them into it, I feel that as my friends they should have the opportunity to know someone who has done it and can talk about the process. Secondly, I am a self-confirmed know-it-all and have a snarky little part of me that likes to tell people they don't know what they are talking about. I don't mind getting into discussions about the whole bariatric surgery/Mexican surgery thing. I have had some people tell me I am not "big" enough for surgery too. I just take that as an intended compliment or a slightly nervous response because they don't know what to say, so they are trying say something nice. I could be wrong, but I would rather look at it that way than to take offense.