reevesfarm

6 months post op I was still feeling no restriction, an upper GI showed that I indeed had no restriction but that the band was properly placed.. They gave me a fill, and am at almost 10ccs in my 14 cc band. I have not felt full in 7 months, with the exception of the first week post op. When I eat anything that is not soft I hurt almost immediately and often throw up....even if I cheat and sip Water with it. I have developed an ulcer in the back of my throat and can only eat soft food very slowly to keep from hurting or getting sick. Even more bizarre my band seems to be as tight in the evening as it is in the morning- I have a brief window around 2-3pm when food is best tolerated. My biggest fear is that tomorrow morning they are going to tell me that my band looks fine. I want to know what is wrong, I want to fix it, I want this to work.

So the endoscopy showed that the band is perfect. My surgeon thinks that it may be my gallbladder...fingers crossed.

I had no complications with my surgery, none. I have only had 3 fills so far and am at 8 cc (mine holds 14). I have noticed almost no restriction after my fills and they keep telling me that it is pretty normal until I get it more full. I have lost 3 lbs. My last fill was about 2 1/2 weeks ago and still not feeling any restriction. I was eating a hamburger patty (the #1 food recommended by our nurse) Friday night and got about half way through it and felt a horrible tight pressure in the middle of my chest- very painful- then began to drive heave, followed by vomiting. Still almost no relief from the pain. A freaking tiny 4 oz patty guys....half of one. Eventually I just went to bed and felt a bit better the next day. Since then I have had recurring pain on my left side just below my rib cage. What the crap is going on- why am I not feeling the restriction others are, I tell the nurse and she keeps telling me it is normal, asks if I am eating my meat first, and then reminds me that this is just a tool. Right after surgery I could totally feel the restriction, I was dropping weight like crazy...now nothing....plus the pain. Any help would be appreciated.

It was just the patty...I have never had a reaction like that to anything...even when I slipped and ate something I should not have...it was bizarre. In addition I have started feeling mild heartburn...I did have a hiatal hernia repaired during my band and have been heartburn free since, until the last couple of weeks. I have stuck to soft foods and lots of liquids for the last 48 and I still feel a little queasy and am having periodic pain on my left side...going to call in the morning....thanks so much for your help

8 days since surgery and I feel great. Most of the gas pain is gone and I feel pretty normal. Except when I stand or walk. My port is bulging out, it helps to cup my hand around it while moving (it is like having 1/2 a golf ball under my skin). Laying or in a reclined "sit" and it is no problem. Everynow and then I will move in such a way that I have sharp pain at the port site but it goes away in a few seconds. I am more concerned about the bulging. Any thoughts?

I have done a lot better than I thought I would. The day after surgery I had a sugar free pudding cup, a single package of oatmeal and 1 soft scrambled egg and felt fine. Day two I had two eggs, a small bowl of camp stew and a slice of cheddar cheese....I seem to be tolerating food very well. My husband keeps asking if I feel it in my band- I don't. Pretty sure that is because it is all "slider" food. They said that I would know when to go back to regular food (usually day 5) and to do it. My meds are making my mouth too dry to try to eat solid food right now-in the interest of not choking to death I am going to wait another day or two when I am off pain meds to try. Could not have asked for an easier post-op....ready to start losing! ***one thing- when I stand my port site bulges - like a half a golf ball under my skin- any thoughts?

Today is day 8 of my 10 pre-op liquid diet. I am down 13lbs. I am supposed to be down 19 lbs for surgery and it is scheduled for Friday (two days from now). I was told that if I bought the Bariatric Advantage Protein powder they guaranteed that I would lose the weight needed during this 10 days. This is the first diet I have not cheated on, not a bite, not a lick, not a crumb. Something about the shakes makes me queasy so I was only doing 2 a day (300 calories)- the only other "foods" I have allowed myself have been sugar free ice pops and Jello and a few times I had a couple of bouillon cubes in hot Water. Monday, in a panic, I cut down to 1 shake a day....I am still short of the goal and my anxiety level is through the roof. I have my anesthesia appt. this morning and my final weigh in and Procedure class at noon. I am terrified that they are going to postpone my surgery. I can tough this liquid nightmare out for 2 more days but if they, just as I am seeing the light at the end of the tunnel, add a week to this I am going to come apart. I can not remember being this anxious about anything (and I have 3 teens!). I am sure that the lack of calories is not helping.... Anyone ever get postponed for this reason?

I am 5 days out too...the shoulder pain is awful. Everything I read said to sleep up-right...I found that to be much worse. If I am laying pretty flat I feel like the abdominal air is diffused a bit- I can still feel it but it isn't really built up at any one point and causing pain. A few minutes after I sit up I feel a sharp pain in my left shoulder- so sharp that my shoulder is actually sore to the touch. If I have to sit up like that I have found that raising that arm up above my head or putting pillows under my arm so that my arm is at the same height as my shoulder helps. Reclining a bit is the best relief for me. I have also gently "burped" my shoulder- gently tapping on it trying to break up the gas... Really my only real discomfort has been the gas pain in my shoulder. They also recommended Gas X dissolvable tabs for tummy gas and it works well. I take my nausea meds 15 minutes before my pain meds to help with nausea and it has worked well- the only time I have gotten queasy was when I accidentally rolled onto my stomach in my sleep. Hope you get to feeling better soon!

Turns out that I only had to lose 6lbs to have the surgery...I was down 14 by the weigh in. I understand that they want you to be super motivated but I can't imagine that the anxiety coupled with the lack of calories was healthful. When I went for surgery Friday morning I weighed in with my jacket on and was 2lbs heavier than the last weigh in. When the nurse realized that she asked me to re-weigh without the jacket hoping that I would be back down- if not she would have to call the doctor to see if he wanted to cancel my surgery. There were several things that morning that could have resulted in the postponement of surgery- glad I had made checklists and had my husband to help me- I was not exactly clear headed. The surgery went very well and I am feeling pretty dang good...thanks for your help!