kbinaz

Hi, I was banded in October and for me the pain was not nearly as bad as I had feared. It was more discomfort (hard to lie down, hard to find a comfortable position to sleep in etc.) For pain I was prescribed liquid pain medication (like Vicodan) and I only took it for two days then switched to regular Tylenol. Yes, you can feel the port. (I'm sure how much you can feel it depends on your size) Especially at first, it had a lot of swelling around it which for me is just going away. I can't feel the band - there are no nerve endings on the outside of your stomach. You can feel it's presence when you eat but other than that you can't tell you have it. Hope this helps!

I had surgery 10/26 and still have a bump. Part of the bump is the port itself, and the rest is swelling. I noticed the swelling until pretty recently. The port incision is the most painful and the most bumpy! If you have a lower BMI it can be pretty easy to feel your port.(mine was 39 before surgery) My greatest dream is to get skinny enough that it sticks out and shows through clothes, aren't I psycho? It would be like my badge of honor. Of course I might feel differently when it does....

Don't give up!!! I know just how you feel, and I promise you are not going to fail~ I had surgery on October 26th and lost 12 pounds in the week after surgery. Then...nothing. Nada. Zip! I have now had four fills and am just starting to feel restriction. I am now up to a grand total of 17 pounds in a little over three months...not breaking any speed records, but compared to before surgery (which would have been zero pounds lost in three months or pounds gained) not too shabby!!! I had a little 'mental health breakdown' right about where you are post-surgery and cried and said it was a big waste of money and I was going to be the one in a million who failed and I cried when I went in for my fill and the nurse practitioner said "That is exactly what every band patient says and all of them end up losing weight!!" I am going to tell you exactly what I have to tell myself every single day..."don't compare yourself to anyone on this message board, or anyone you meet or anyone you imagine!!!" You are you and you will lose weight according to your time table. You need to feel restriction and you will in time, I promise. Keep at it. The only way you are going to fail is if you throw in the towel before you've really started the fight!!! You just had major surgery a month ago!!! You are still swollen! You aren't at your sweet spot. Once the band starts really doing it's job you will do better. My doctor describes it as like an airplane..you have to get to cruising altitude and the fills are what get you there. It can take a while (fills) to get there, but once you get there you will cruise!!! I hope I have been some help~ I have been where you are, and at times still am!

Yes. After two months you can do everything you did after surgery. I work out with a personal trainer twice a week and he kicks my butt. I was really scared about crunches and situps and they have been no problem whatsoever. We started lighter with the weights than I had been before surgery but just because I hadn't worked out for two months. My doctor told me of a teenaged patient who had surgery and one year later won the state wrestling title. So bench pressing should be no problem!!

.5 ccs per fill is pretty darn conservative...that would drive me crazy! I'm frustrated enough with how long it is taking me to get to my sweet spot and my fills were 1.5,1.5,1.5 and 2 cc's!!! That's a total of 6.5 cc's and I'm still not there (but close!) At your rate you won't be where I am for over a year! Ridiculous!!! I feel really bad for you and I think you should have a serious talk with your doctor.

I was told I could take a shower the second day and it felt great! Let the warm water run over your incisions. Your doctor should have given you post-op diet instructions which you should be following. I was on soft proteins starting on day four (day of surgery is day one) Soft proteins=eggs,refried beans, chicken and turkey,cottage cheese, low sugar/lowfat yogurt,lowfat cheese. Call your doctor and ask what you should be eating. Every doctor is different but I don't think you need to be on clear liquids too long.

Oh, and when I say $15,000 I mean that is everything - none of my pre-op testing was covered by my insurance so my total is all that - the surgery was $11,500.

Going to Mexico is fine, but you really need to count the costs. My surgery -- self pay in the US- came to a little over $15,000. With that I get free fills for a year, free support from nutritionists and the knowledge that the person who did my surgery is less than 1/2 hour away in case of an emergency. Most doctors in the US are leery of seeing patients who were banded by other doctors for obvious reasons. Who will do your fills? How much will they cost? I have already had four and need more, if I were paying for them it would be really adding up. Stay on this forum and read, read,read and get yourself really educated and do your research. And mostly research how you are going to take care of fills. I don't think there is much to worry about medically with having surgery in Mexico, they are competent but I always wonder if it really saves that much money.

The band works at keeping you feeling full with very little food but it needs to be food. The more dense the food you eat, the longer you will feel full. I don't drink protein drinks at all, I eat all my calories. Shakes go right through the band so you will not feel full for long with them. If I eat chicken and vegetables, for instance, I need very little and I will feel full for a long time. Also, you don't have the band yet, so you aren't going to be able to just take in so few calories and feel well. You will do fine after surgery.

Get the fill...I've never been told anything like that by my doctor and even if you are a little tighter that would only last a few days. I don't notice any difference.

I broke my ankle and the doctor I went to didn't see the crack on the x-ray. He pronounced that I had a bad bruise. He asked "What do you do for a living?" I replied that I was a stay at home mom with five kids, the youngest two ages 2 and 4, and he said "Good, because you are going to have to sit with your foot elevated and iced and stay off your feet for several days!" Wow, ignorant jerk! I guess he wanted to make sure I didn't have an 'important' job, like him! Two weeks later I went to a different doctor and found out my ankle was broken and I was on the verge of needing surgery to repair it. My husband proceeded to call the ignorant doctor's partner and give him a piece of his mind-told him how hard stay at home moms work, etc. and the group ended up not charging us anything.

All vitamins are available in chewable and liquid forms. Go to your local health food store and ask and they will help you. Prescription meds can be trickier. Some go down no problem, some are too big. Talk to your dotor and they can either give them to you in a different form or you can crush them (yuk, I don't like that option). It is very different for everyone. Some days I can take a pill no problem and the next day take the same pill and it gets stuck. Water does help me with pills, usually (not with food that is stuck) as I guess it dissolves it. Anyway, you just have to practice and figure out what works for you.

I am three months post op and the lump is still there! Most of it is the port, some of it is some swelling that remains. Get used to it, that is your new buddy!

Please try to remember that there are people on these boards (me, for instance) who do not have much restriction yet and who do NOT lose 14-18 pounds a month. You make it sound like we aren't doing it right if we aren't. I can easily eat over 1100 calories a day. I am hungry if I don't. And I, too, work out 3 to 5 times a week. That is how it is and I can't eat 600-800 calories a day and survive at the restriction I am currently at. There are a lot of variables- starting BMI, number and size of fills. I am happy for your good losses, but when you make declarative statements like "You will lost 15-18 pounds a month" it really hurts those of us who aren't. I got the surgery because I couldn't stick to a low cal diet because of hunger. The band is supposed to allow me to cut calories and not be hungry. So far I'm not there yet and I hate feeling like I am to blame.

I have a NSV!!! I had surgery October 26th 2007 and did my measurements the day before surgery. I just redid them yesterday (3 months post op) and had gone down 6 (SIX!) inches in my abdomen!!! (around my belly button). That was amazing to me and I had to remeasure about ten times to make sure I hadn't gotten it right. I have only lost about 18 pounds, which is discouraging to me, but that brightened my day a lot!!!

Hi, I was banded october 26th and I have cheated, too~ My doctor makes us do clear liquids for three days after each fill and I have never made it the whole three days. I usually do clear liquids for one day then move to soft food for two days and I have been fine.

The very best thing about the band is, once you reach proper restriction (your 'sweet spot') you won't feel hungry between meals! That's the thing that makes it so awesome. It is easy to stick to a diet when you aren't chewing the wallboards out of starvation! I am not at my sweet spot yet, but am very close. It has taken four fills, but I can already tell this is the thing that is going to work for me. Do lots of research and read a lot and you will see that it really is a great way to go. Good luck on your journey!

Dr Blackstone did my surgery too!

Hi! I'm from Chandler- banded October 26th 2007. Have you been banded yet? Are you asking about what you will be able to eat once you are off liquids and soft foods? You can basically eat anything you want but may have trouble with certain foods. At the beginning, before you reach your proper restriction, you will probably be able to eat everything you ate before your surgery. The smart thing is to start practicing by eating like you will have to eat when you are restricted to get in practice. Once you reach your sweet spot and are restricted properly you will have to cut everything into small pieces - dime sized. You will have to chew it until it is the consistency of applesauce - that is why banded people have trouble with red meat - it kind of turns to a big blob and doesn't 'dissolve' like other foods (same with soft bread). On the other hand, you don't want to eat all mush, either. The band works best when you eat real, solid food. In order to lose maximum weight you should eat protein first every meal. My doctor recommends three bites of protein then a bite of vegetables or fruit. Your doctor might tell you something else. Starches are only a few times a week and only at the end of a meal if you have room. Once you are at your sweet spot you will get full before you really have to deal with eating bread! You are better off eating a lot of proteins and vegetables, they go down fine, and you will be healthy to boot! I hope this answers your question. Who is doing your surgery? When is it, or have you had it? Feel free to post any questions you might have, everyone here is very willing to help.

Why are doctor's so afraid of patients making decisions like this? Do they think we are completely stupid? Why would we want to be overfilled? How much fun is PB'ing and pain? Why can't they trust us to determine what our sweet spot is and when we need another fill? Geesh, they act like we are all out to get away with something. I very much feel for you, dustout.

I have had Tim Tams and love them! Have one for me as I am PMS'ing something awful and one of those cookies sounds awfully good right now...

I don't understand attitudes like that! I think patients should be able to know any information that is in their chart - it is YOUR chart and it should be YOUR information. But, if he isn't going to tell you there isn't much you can do about it and I'm sorry for you because I know how much I wanted to know - just to know! Remember, though, that it doesn't make much difference anyway. Your sweet spot isn't going to be anyone else's. I didn't find out my fill amounts until my fourth fill and if I had known the first three were as small as they were I would have pushed for slightly bigger ones. Who knows if I'd have gotten them though, there is a protocol that doctors follow for how much to give each fill and, fair or not, they usually stick to their guns on it. I'd keep asking, though, because if you want to know you should be able to know.

Congratulations! I can't wait to get there!

It would have been exciting if you had PB'd him. Something to show your friends...

hi, I have had four fills (6.5ccs in a 10cc band) It wasn't until this fourth fill that I felt I couldn't chug and I still don't have to sip like they told me I would. You are okay! You just don't have full restriction yet.