shanmnband

Wow! I can't believe how fast the time has gone! It's true...- it almost being our bandanniversary- how amazing! It's been an interesting year for sure. What always intrigues me when I read everyones posts- is how different the band works for everyone. While some have little restriction and need several fills- others have too much with one fill etc, etc.. I feel like this year has been life changing for me. Right after the surgery I was full of regrets. I thought the recovery time was much too long and it seemed that due to all the physical, financial and emotional challenges, maybe the surgery was a mistake. That all changed about two months post. I began to fill better and I continued to lose weight even without a fill of any kind. Finally at the end of January I received my first fill- it's the only one I have ever needed so far. It hit a perfect restriction for me right off the bat and continues to feel just right. I have learned to live with the band and have loved the changes it has made for me. I would truly say now THE BAND WAS THE RIGHT CHOICE- YEA :clap2: I hope everyones journey was positive in the end too but would also love to hear more of the Oct. 2005 bandsters stories. I started at 245- today the scale said 180! Yipee! All the best Oct. bandsters!

Glad to have you. You'll find that you're in good company with this site. It's so informative and supportive. I wanted to say "hi I'm back" to all my band buddies in MN. I haven't been posting much lately but have been checking in once in awhile. I finally got my first fill last week. I received 2cc's. I'm down 5 pounds more which was so nice to see since I was holding steady at 30 pounds since post op (surgery Oct. 11/2005) and was getting so anxious about wanting to lose more. The fill has been interesting..... trying to figure out if maybe I'm over filled since a couple of days I hardly could get anything down including liquids but a couple of other days I managed more- even solids. Does this sound similiar to others experience? How long did it take others to really know what to expect from the fill, or will it continue to always be different each day? Thanks for the help bandsters! Welcome to all the newbies. Now that I got my fill I feel like now I'm finally back into the game. It's nice to be moving ahead. shanmnband

Hi Kduckster, Congratulations on coming this far. After you attend the first informational meeting things really seem to move fast. I suppose it all depends on the person though and if they are advocating for themselves to get through the process. The entire process for me? April 15th or so-meeting with my doctor who suggested me looking into it- Oct 11 surgery. It took me about a month to get to the informational meeting. A week to get my papers in. The nurse called me in the following week to set up my appointment with her. The next month entailed that meeting with her, my four hour assessment (Physical therapist, psych., nutrition, medical exam), and my follow up appointment with the psych (1 hour). After those appointments I waited about 2 weeks to get approval from the insurance (which the nurses mostly take care of). Closer to the surgery I had an hour appointment with nutrition and 7 days prior a pre surgical physical by my own doc clearing me for surgery. All and all I would assume this is about an average time (5 months or so) some aspects of my process could of went quicker/some slower i.e. some people have to wait longer for insurance approval. Hope this helps. Feel free to write anytime with questions. I'm four days out now and the pain is diminished considerably-still not moving super quick or anything. Gas seems to be the biggest pain. Still no appetite really at all. Take care! Shan:)

So sorry to hear about your Dad. You will get extra prayers here in MN!

Oct. 11th is here and gone- that means I did it! I'm home and recovering from having the band put in. The first day seemed to go by with a lot of emotions but I managed each step with a lot of prayer and support from my husband and sister. I was surprised to find the pain didn't seem too bad at all. Unfortunately I didn't fair as well the next day since I had a student nurse who wasn't being supervised well enough and who wasn't a good communicator (wasn't understanding English or speaking it too well) and even though I was telling just about everyone I could see I needed my pain medicine she was the one they were leaving it up to to give it to me. It was extremely frustrating. I ended up going 8 hours without any pain meds and today has been much more painful. I have been playing catch up all day. My throat is pretty sore also-I must of asked four people to get me something warm to drink before I actually got something-this also contributed to me playing catch up with my throat. Well, once my sister got there she did a lot of advocating (she also works at my hospital) and needless to say my care had a nonsurprising turn to having very concerned staff commendating me. Advice for the early days: prayer, have a support person to advocate for you if able, bring soothing music and easy reading, keep on top of the pain meds and don't lapse on the four hour schedule if your feeling pain, sip sip sip- warm liquid really helps for the dryness, walking when able, pillow for the ride home. I'm doing better now- not as much pain for sure! Good luck up and coming October bandsters! Best wishes on all of our recoveries early October bandies. Shan

Hey Ho Mn Bandsters! I did it too! I'm officially banded! I got home a few hours ago from being banded at Methodist Hospital, St. Louis Park. I'm feeling pretty good! I just got up from a long nap which really helped. I just couldn't really sleep at the hospital- might of been due to them coming in every other hour to poke me-ha. The surgery went real well per the doc-he said I was his easiest and fastest band patient yet. Thanks for everyones thoughts and prayers! It's nice to finally officially join bandland! Shan

I'm home, and am now an official bandster! I had my surgery yesterday (Oct. 11) in St. Louis Park, MN with Dr. Thomas Jones. Overall it was a good experience. I could use some sleep catch up though and plan on doing that next! I'm a bit sore and feel a little light headed. The doctor said that I was his easiest banding yet. I asked him what he meant by that and he commented that I was easy since I was "open and clear"- easy to manuever". I know...what? Just glad I'm safe and sound. Just proud to join you all and wanted to let you know of one of the newest bandsters. I'm ready to keep losing- already lost 17 lbs from the last two weeks- hope to never see that top weight ever again! By for now! Shan

SuperDaddy, I really appreciated all of your kind and informative words! They are very helpful! I will keep all of your advice in mind. Thank you for your prayers on the 11th- that is the greatest gift! I wish you continued success- congratulations on all of your accomplishments so far! Thank you again! Shan

thanks so much! That was very informative!

Wow- it's neat we are have so much a like- I would say FUN- but it's still surgery I suppose. It will be great to keep in touch with each other and see how we're both doing. I'm on a liquid diet right now- since last Saturday (10 days total). It's mostly carnation instant breakfast and sugar free drinks (not soda though). It's strange......but it's actually not even that bad for some reason.. Crazy to think I haven't had a bite of food in six days and it all seems fine to me- feel fine also. I guess it's becuase I'm having one of the busiest weeks ever and haven't had much time to really dwell on it. What do they have you on? Good luck to you and everyone this month!

I'll be banded Oct. 11th! It can't come soon enough! Good luck to everyone this month!

I would like to say the same thanks! I'm feeling much better about my surgery on Oct. 11th now! Thank you all for the advice! Jladybird- our surgeries are so close! We should try to keep each other informed. Please e-mail me- maybe we could help each other along the way. Where are you having it done? Everyone else-have some more of the "inside" advice that you think would be useful to us having the surgery real soon? Hope everyone has a great Sunday!