deepinfl

I have that left side (rib/lung) pain every once in awhile after more than a year post op. I'm having it right now and it lasts for days. I go on liquids and that usually helps but this time it's not doing anything. As for your liver, your liver in on your right side and when it hurts usually, but not always you have referred pain on your right side. That is not to say that it can't be that, but I understand what you mean. It is most painful. Sometimes I think that when I'm lifting weights at the gym I'm moving the band around because my port sticks through the skin sometimes more than others and when I'm having a bout of that, the port is really protruding outwards. I'm just hoping it goes away before a half-marathon I'm running next week!!! D.

You know, it's funny you mentioned YOGA. I tried it and it wasn't the downward facing dog but a side stretch one and OWIE. My port area hurt for days. I tried it again and same result. I have since given up the Yoga. Maybe some of us have it positioned in a place that is affected by yoga positions. Who knows? I have the same problem with crunches. Oh well. D.

Good luck! I was banded here in Florida (I am Australian but live here) on February 18 of last year (2009). I have now lost half of my body weight (lost 59 kilos). I don't think I will ever wear a bikini because I have too much loose skin, but I go to the gym 3 times a week and getting ready to do 5 since I am getting a personal trainer for strength training for 2 days a week AND I have taken up running and have entered (and completed) 2 half-marathons and several 5K's. It's a whole new life and you are going to LOVE it!!! Best of luck to you. D.

Congratulations! You are an inspiration to us all! D.

PS..unfortunately I throw up a LOT! I do not overeat. I'm going to have to have some fluid removed from my band. Still..all the throwing up and my band has still not slipped. Hopefully it will stay that way and getting some fluid removed will stop some of the barfing...

My doctor gave me the video of my surgery. It would be very hard to make the band slip, although certainly it IS possible. These days some of the techniques have been improved and the angle they place the band has changed slightly also. This is SUPPOSED to keep it from slipping as easily. If you are supposed to be on soft foods, though..you really need to get back on them. Saying that, it is certainly understandable on Thanksgiving if you fall off and it doesn't sound like you went crazy or anything. Just be better today and now you know that a holiday can be a problem so prepare in advance for Christmas. NO food you put in your mouth is going to make you feel as good as dropping another size in jeans is going to!!!!

Get some GAS-X strips..they work really well. However, saying that, I still have gas (it wasn't really a problem before) and I was banded 2/18/08. D.

I think I would rather go to Houston.....thank you for having more than 1 in the year!! D.

That sounds really cool! The only issue I can see is that it is COLD up there that time of year!! brrrrr...don't have as much insulation these days! :thumbup: I would love to come, I will have to see if my budget will allow me. Thanks! Denise

How long do most people wait till they have plastic surgery..tummy tucks, arms, etc? If you exercise is that tightening it at all or is something that can just be fixed by the knife? I know some of it is your age, but at what point do you know it's just not going to tighten by itself?? :tt2:

Good luck on reaching your goal. That is why I had this surgery, to MAINTAIN the weight. I'm like you, have been down before and back up (and I added a few to that). The whole purpose of this one for me is to get down and stay down. BTW my Mom is on Nutrisystem, she said the food is horrible! She is losing however. I think the worst thing about my skin now (older) is everything is succumbing to gravity, it's all falling towards the earth. waa!:redface:

You are so right about speaking to a professional! Peer advice is helpful, but most of us are not professionals and only speaking from personal experience. You are also right about Aussie docs and American (or anywhere else) docs. Everywhere they treat it differently. Australian doctors have a lot more experience with the lapband than American doctors. I wish sometimes my (american) doctors would pay attention and actually look up experience "issues" that Aussie doctors have had. That would help the patients here and if issues do come up, the Aussie doctors have probably already dealt with them and have a solution. Oh well.

Good luck! You are going to feel and look AWESOME!!!!

Good luck! Well, you aren't allowed caffeine AFTER the surgery, at least for the first month. It sure makes the Protein drink go down better, but the main thing is that it stops the cramping. It was awful, really awful. Now, I'm learning to like coffee. My son went back to our home in Australia last month. Waa! Waa! I can't tell you how much I miss my home!!

Great, will look forward to hearing from you. As I mentioned, our local group allows anybody and everybody to join. If you can do that, then it's a win-win for you. Good luck!!

So, you are at goal? That's great! I'm finding the closer I get to goal the "looser" the skin is. I probably will wait at least 6 months after I stabilize, besides I figure the last 20 or so pounds may take me another 4 months or so to lose anyway, because the last bit is going S L O W!!! Thank you!

I have never been a coffee drinker. Now all of a sudden, I can't get enough of it. I add a cup of coffee to my Protein drink in the mornings. It helps the horrible cramps I was getting in my thighs every single night. Since the caffeine..no cramps. Wish I had known that sleepless nights before. I think you will find you just aren't supposed to have it for the first couple of months. Take care and good luck!!

STOP THE PEANUTS. And, don't use the dinner as an excuse to eat. Bottom line, you are in 2 weeks of liquids, that is it. You are to be on liquids..ONLY. You have to get all of this under control or you will not be successful. Your dad will understand, or take an Optifast with you and just enjoy his company. But, if you don't want to get to the surgery and wake up and find out they didn't do it, then you'd better stick with that liquid diet. Now is when you learn to stick with it. NO excuses. Good luck, it really is a wonderful thing you are doing, but you have to tell yourself that you are committed to this. Peanuts and going out to eat, etc..that's not really committed is it? Two weeks is not much, you can do it!!!

Whoa, I didn't know you were on the pre-op either. STOP THE PEANUTS. If you can't stay on the liquid diet now, then how do you know you are going to be able to control yourself afterwards. You need to make sure you don't have a fatty liver for the surgery and peanuts are fatty. My advise..STOP NOW.

Whoa..that hospital sounds yucky!! That would be a BIG consideration because you are going to see them (the staff) more than the doctor. As for the pain meds, I don't know if you will get "do it yourself" pain meds anyway, this surgery is really no big deal. But, regardless..go with your gut instinct. You make some really good points and you need to listen to what YOU are saying. Surgery is surgery and you need to go to the best place and get the best person for the job. It's your body and you will be the one to have to deal with the "cons". Afterwards is too late. Take care, you sound very intelligent and present some awfully good arguments for the OTHER person. As for the local group, we have some people here that had surgery several hours drive away and they still go to our LOCAL group. I don't think they care where you had the surgery, just that you had the surgery. So, you might be able to get in with the local group for your group sessions. I am a bad example for that, though, because I have only been to 2 sessions because I didn't really get anything out of them but a lot of people complaining about their jobs. Oh well. Take care.

You are expecting too much from a fill. The fill is not going to make you lose weight, it is only going to keep your appetite in check. My friend, Patty had surgery the same day as myself and she keeps wanting fills so that she can "lose more weight", but the fills don't do it. When she started exercising, the weight started falling off. So, yes you need the fills for appetite control, but please don't expect too much from them or you are going to be disappointed like my friend Patty. Now, if you are eating TOO much, then that is a different matter. But, a fill is not magic, it is not going to make you lose more weight. It just helps you by helping you to eat less. But, remember, ice cream, candy, etc go down very nicely even with a tight fill, so up the protein and down with the carbs and up with exercise and I think you will start seeing an improvement. Make sure you are getting enough protein. I drink liquid protein every single day after I get home from the gym, it really does help. Good luck.

Hang in there, it'll come off. You have just begun your journey. If you haven't already, but best advice is to make sure you have added exercise..GOOD exercise, the kind that makes you sweat. When I find myself not losing as much as I would like, I go on Optifast for a day, it seems to kick start the loss again. But, the main thing is that I have added a LOT of exercise and that has made the most difference. Good luck, one day you'll start losing again and it will be awesome!!:tt2:

I would cut out the peanuts till AFTER your liquid period is over..just in case. However, afterwards, I find that nuts are one of the few things that I never barf up (yes, some things I DO throw up..especially bread, potatoes..basically anything white doesn't agree with me). But, for now..you are healing and if you can't stop eating peanuts NOW when you aren't supposed to eat them then you might not be able to stop later and by that I mean, you may not be able to control your quantity. But, heal...you need to heal. There is plenty of time later!!! And, good luck to you, you made such a good decision!!:tt2:

Pick the doctor with the most experience. I went "local", since non-local was at least 2 hours away. In retrospect I wish I hadn't. He was fine, but most of the people he has done here have had some little issue that seemed like perhaps a bit of "practice". Now, of course a doctor has to get practice somewhere, but most everybody here had a slightly different experience..whether it be how the sutures were done, or whatever. I would go for experience. But, bottom line is that it has to be a doctor that YOU feel comfortable with.

I am not a runner, never have been. But, after having this surgery I am now trying to prove I CAN do what I thought previously was impossible. I'm entered in a 10K run at Disney in October and a half-marathon in Kansas City in October and the Space Coast Marathon (doing the half) in November. The big thing is the Disney Marathon in January. It would be awesome if we had a bunch of lap-banders represented!! I don't care if I'm the last person over the line as long as I FINISH!!! Anybody with me?? D.