hijabigirl1973

I was banded last week on the 26th and now that the swelling has gone down I can feel my port as well. Doc told me that would happen and it's completely normal.

You were banded just a day before I was and you must be healing alot faster. I still can barely get pureed foods to go down. The first day I couldn't even get water down without getting stuck. When you say the 4th are you saying the 4th of March or April? I go back to see my doc for my first fill on April 4th so if it's then it makes sense, if it's March well I highly doubt you'll get a fill. Just be patient, right now is healing time anyway much more than it is losing weight time. Once you start getting restriction I'm sure you'll feel much better about having surgery. Good luck!

Thank you thank you for your input! I'll be revising the list I already have to incorporate your ideas as well and will be reposting soon.

Ok I've searched and searched to see if there is sometime of support "list" out there for friends and families of WLS patients and have found nothing. So if you're family is anything like mine they literally need to be directed how to support me going through this. My hubby is really bad about bringing me home my favorite candy bar thinking he's doing a wonderful thing. So can ya'll add somethings on here to make a list of ways you need support? Do's and don'ts for friends and family? Once i have a full list I'll type it up and add it here as well for those who might like to use it. Thanks in advance.

Ok here are some of my personal "items" to list. While I do realize this mainly is a personal list alot of us do feel the same way about many things. I've learned in the past that unless family and friends don't know how to support you they could actually do more harm to your spirit and mind, not intentionally of course. I figured by putting a list together than they will know exactly what type of support you need and it will be easier for everyone around you. First and foremost do not think that the band is the easy way out, I still have to work hard to get the success out of the band. It is not an easy way out, it's a tool that I can use to bring myself to a healthy point in my life. Don't be afraid to ask me questions about the surgery itself or the entire process of being banded. It's nice to know you are interested in what I am going through. Please do not bring me junk food, candy, soda. Sure I love those things but that's why I am fat in the first place. Please at least act proud of me even if you aren't, I need that positive support. Please at least act like you believe in me, I've been told so many times I'm a failure that I tend to think that way unless told otherwise. If you think you see a difference in my body or attitude please tell me that you notice. Please don't ask me about my weight or how much I have lost, when I feel I can tell you don't worry I will. Please understand that this is going to be hard for me as I am going to have many changes going on with my mind and body, allow me to be grouchy and it be ok, if I cry it's ok too, don't take all of my moodiness personal. Don't try to be my diet coach, if I make a mistake that's my fault and I will learn from it.

thank you ya'll!! i'm sure that as things happen i will figure them out but just wanting some experiences from others so hopefully i can actually prevent them from happening.

I'm going to be banded on the 26th with the realize band and am so pumped. When I went to the preop nutrition classes they handed out packages from realize about the realizemysuccess with our dr's id # so I just logged in for the first time and it's awesome. My dr's bariatric coordinator actually went to NY for classes on how to use realizemysuccess, the other cool thing is the dr's office can see your progress and will get alerts if you have logged in without tracking a weight loss. it allows them to be able to track your progress and know more about how to help you if you need it. i can't wait to get my patient id though so i can access all features!!

Glad to hear you are doing well! Thank you for sharing your experience, it is calming me down a bit as I have surgery on the 26th.

I'm so glad to hear you are both doing well and the pain is limited! Welcome home and congrats!!

westcoastfatguy, extremely well said!

Feb 26 here as well. Will start my pre op diet next week!

Welcome home! Can't wait to hear how you are doing.......

so glad to hear you are doing well! thank you so much for the encouragement!

Pizzaman thanks for posting the link to where those of us that missed it can watch. Gometros Dr. Phil isn't even a doctor, his license was pulled in 1989 due to ethical issues and he never was granted a license again b/c he didn't do what the boards told him to do. As for weight issues he settled a class action lawsuit for "weight loss" products that he used to market.

Oh and btw Derick thanks for this thread, it opened a door for me to get a very good point out there.

I have to laugh at articles like this b/c it makes it seem like we are sitting around thinking about things to complain about and to change when in all reality we really don't care. But b/c I also felt you were leaving a huge part of the real article out I had to read for myself and I love how you left key parts of this article out like the officials were also worried about stereotyping builders. "Officials also attacked the story - called The Three Little Cowboy Builders - for stereotyping the building trade." "But its authors were also told that it portrays the building industry in a bad light. Judges said "retelling a story" was acceptable, but it "should not alienate parts of the workforce", adding that builders should be "positive" role models for young children. "Is it true that all builders are cowboys, builders get their work blown down, and builders are like pigs?" the judges asked." If you read the below quote from the original article you will see how Muslims feel about issues like this, I have to wonder why you left this out.... "Muslims criticised Becta's response and insisted that a computer program based on the Three Little Pigs should be welcomed in state schools. Tahir Alam, the head of education at the Muslim Council of Britain, said: "We are not offended by that at all." Also if you are going to quote something from an article why do you feel the need to add YOUR own bits and pieces to try to get YOUR point across. Here is my example...." The digital book The 3 Little Cowboy Builders retells the classic children's tale. It was rejected at a Government-sponsored awards event because judges had "concerns about the Asian [i.e., Muslim] community," and "the use of pigs raises cultural issues." The true quote from the article reads like this "The digital remake of the children's classic was criticised by Becta, the education technology agency, because "the use of pigs raises cultural issues". The reason I am posting all of this is b/c things like this get twisted and make it look like Muslims are complaining about things like this, it makes it appear that we want the entire world to bend over backwards for us and change traditions and stories to make us feel better when in fact we really don't give a damn. Unfortunately others will read what the OP posted and believe it is in fact the truth when it's not even close. I am sick of having to defend myself and other Muslims for the stupidity and ignorance of those out there that don't have the brains to research things for themselves to get the truth but until this kind of crap ends I will continue to do just that. If you look at how easy it was for the OP to bend this story then maybe you can see how easy it is for lies to start and spread about any group of ppl. Read the comments of that article and you will see that many ppl couldn't even get the entire point of the article, instead they start bitching and complaining about Muslims wanting to change things or they should go back to their countries. Anyway after reading the entire article I can totally see why Becta had to reject this, it's no different then all the PC crap of the past. Do I think it's right? Hell no but sadly this is the way things are going now, everyone is scared to offend everyone. I say get over it, if you don't like something don't go there, don't read it, whatever. Here is the link to the article in case anyone wants to actually read it for themselves instead of taking what the OP said to be the truth.....Three little pigs 'could offend builders, Muslims' - Telegraph

Hi all! My name is Stephanie, I'm in Urbana IL. I am married to a wonderful man, have a 14 yr old daughter, 2 furry kids (cats) and 5 feathered kids (birds). I have been overweight as long as I can remember. Right now I'm at my highest weight of 256 and my goal is to get down to 140, oh yes and I'm 5'2. I'll be banded on the 26th of Feb by Dr Joyce and Dr Lehman in Joliet IL. I want to wish all of us the best of luck and health on this journey. I also hope to get to know each and every one of you.

Can someone add me as well? I would but don't want to mess it all up..... hijabigirl1973......Stephanie.......26 February 2008

I'm assuming since you were just banded a couple of weeks ago you haven't had a fill? Right now is time for you to heal and not as much about losing the weight. Just be patient and when you start getting your fills things will get better.

That's a good question! Well I'm not too familiar with things in Bangladesh at all but I know that sooner or later we will be traveling to Jordan so my plan of action is to research to see if there are any good band doctors there and contact them before I get over there and to meet with them once I do get there. Do you know if there are any band doctors at all there? If not what about neighboring countries?

Glad to see ya made it over there safely. Be safe and take care!

It's possible it could be your gallbladder or even something else. I would tell your doctor that he/she needs to do some checking b/c any type of unknown pain needs to be looked at. Sometimes dr's need a little reminding that we know our bodies better than anyone. Good luck and definately get it checked out.

Well I think docs are different when it comes to when they will give you your first fill. I asked my doc and he said he starts them at 4 wks as long as everything is going ok. I've heard others at 6-8 wks so I'm not sure. I'm not banded yet so I'm just going by what the doc and his office has told me.

I asked my doc's office this question and yes Medicare's starting to pay for the fills. I believe the coordinator told me they would pay for fills starting 3 months out from surgery but they were still experimenting with billing codes to see if they could get them paid sooner than that.

Happy New Year Everyone