gainesvillegirl

Hi! I'm an addict named Tina. I go by "gainesvillegirl" on this site. I have 18 yrs clean in NA. Got my band placed Feb. 5, 2008. I'm loving it! I've lost 30 lbs so far; slow and steady. My weight loss goal for Sept. is to lose 10 lbs. I'm adding in some daily exercise (which I had not been doing) and hoping that will help.

Be gentle with your tummy; liquids only for at least 24 hours (small sips). If not better by then, call your doc.

After a fill, there will be swelling (come on, some hard plastic thing is squeezing your innards! Your innards don't like that!) My doc puts me on liquids only for the first 24 hrs, soft stuff (pudding, Jello, strained soups) for another 24 hrs., then I can eat as tolerated. Be gentle with your tummy after a fill, and take it slow. I had my 4th fill today, so right now I'm just taking small sips out of a bottle of Water. Later tonight I plan on having some tomato soup.

So I'm going for my 4th fill today. I maintain good restriction for about 4-6 weeks, but then it seems to dwindle. Is there a point where the restriction is maintained and you don't need to get fills anymore?

It's a bit odd, in my book. I am a psychotherapist in my "real" life. I also had to have a psych eval prior to surgery. Mine was very simple: a questionnaire with about 50 items and then a 50 minute clinical interview. You might want to try to follow the plan, though; if you don't your insurance might find that a reason to "reject" payment for your band. Just a thought.

Don't drink/eat dairy on an upset stomach! Makes you even more nauseaous. Try to drink mostly broths; the salt will keep your electrolytes in balance; try to drink Gatorade for the same reason. You may want to get some chewable pepto bismal tablets or even try tums. If you are not better in 24 hrs, call your doctor.

Sure. You will be sore after the surgery for several days. It will be good if you have a family member or friend spend a few nights with you at first. I needed help getting in/out of the bed, on/off the toilet, etc. Try not to lie down flat; a very supportive wedge or "husband" pillow to prop you up is a good idea. Go ahead and stock your fridge or freezer with the foods you are supposed to eat for the first few weeks: popsicles, Soups, puddings, Protein shakes, broth, etc. Buy some liquid tylenol, cause pills are not going to go down! If you have pets, make sure you have someone to take care of them, because for at least a few days you will more than likely feel like crap and will need someone to take care of you. But you only will feel bad for a very short time; just prepare for it and you will be able to deal with it much better.

Hi! I'm in Gainesville! Welcome! I don't really know how to get the "ticker" either; but I know someone here can help you. I've seen instructions before.

For about two weeks after my surgery I felt, not a lump in my throat, but tightness and "heaviness" in my chest; right at my sternum. Obviously I knew it was right where the lap band was sitting. People think that the band is placed low in the abdomen. It's not; it's placed really high, like only a couple of inches lower than that "notch" under your adam's apple on your throat. That's one reason why a lot of newbies say they feel something in their throat; it's the band!

I am a giant baby! Thank God my doctor only does fills under fluro, and uses lidocaine to numb the area first! If a doctor is having problems finding your port, ask if can have your fill done under under fluro. More expensive, but worth it! There is absolutely no question where the port is - - it shows up like a bullseye!

My doctor's protocol for post-fill diet: liquids only the first 24 hrs; soft, mushy stuff the next 24 hrs. So really, 48 hrs. of watching the texture of what you eat. Then it's back to whatever you can tolerate OK.

Congratulations! Welcome to the club!

for most people, you really don't notice a whole lot of restriction and weight loss until you've had between 3-5 fills. Although it is different for everyone. I just went for my 3rd fill today. There's a poll somewhere on here that asks "at what point did you actually start to lose weight and have restriction": most folks responded it was between the 3rd - 5th fills. Hang in there!

just a gal trying to be helpful - - hope you guys don't mind. my doc says you can drink before meals, just not during or for one hour after. i think the watermelon idea is great. don't have to worry about the seeds getting stuck; there are seedless watermelons. plenty of them here in florida, anyway. take care!

I don't have kids but I have cats who (pre-surgery) were quite used to jumping in the middle of my tummy! And they weigh 20 lbs. each! But since I had the surgery, I don't let them jump on my tummy anymore; I am afraid they will mess up my $15,000 investment! Honestly, the port site is only tender right after surgery. And weeks later you won't feel a thing.

Had my 2nd fill on 04/09/08. I am now at 2.8 in a 4 band. I did liquids and soft foods for 48 hrs. post-fill. Now when I eat something solid (chicken breast, very moist) it goes down slowly, which is great!, but then I get unrelenting hiccups! Has this happened to anyone else? The thought of this happening to me out in public is just too much! The hiccups don't stop until the food has done down, which may last 5-10 minutes. Any suggestions or info on this? Is all this hiccupping doing damage to my band placement? Thanks!

Hi. I was banded on 02/05/08. I did not have to do any kind of laxative pre-op; doctor just told me nothing to eat or drink after midnight the night before.

I was banded on 02/05/08. Had my psych eval about a month prior to that. It was no big deal. Had to pay for it myself because insurance would not cover ($180). I am a psychotherapist myself, so I wasn't too concerned about the whole thing. It was a 60 min. clinical interview (you know, talking!) and a 15 min. pen and paper multiple choice test. The test did ask a lot of questions that I knew were there to rule out delusional thinking, suicidal ideation, and unrealistic expectations. There were also some questions in there that I perceived to be of value for the M.D. doing the surgery, such as how much information you want about your condition, how well you follow medical advice, etc. It was not a big deal.

Hi, I was just banded in Gainesville, FL by Dr. Hipp. My surgery was done on Feb. 5th, so I am just two weeks post-op. Thank you everyone who has posted on this site, as I used it as a reference for knowing what to expect from the surgery.

I was banded on 02/05/08, got my first fill today (03/12/08). Don't know how much. My M.D. will only do them under x-ray with barium swallow. I'm a wimp when it comes to medical stuff; I'm ok, just don't let me see a needle! They had me stand up in front of the x-ray machine. First he injected a small amount of some kind of numbing stuff close to the port. After the area was numbed up, then he had me start sipping the barium and injecting the saline into the port while he monitored the closing of the band on the x-ray. When he got the pouch looking like he wanted, he stopped and told me that was it. All in all it took about 15 minutes. He told me clear liquids for the first 24 hrs., then semi-soft foods (soups, yougurt, etc.) for the next 24. I go back again the 2nd week of April.

Many doctors, including my own, will NOT do fills for patients banded outside the US. Something to do with potential lawsuits. Just FYI.

So I am now 4 weeks post-op (surgery was 02/05). I am a low-BMI bandster; paid for the surgery myself because my insurance would not. Most of my pain from the surgery is gone. It really took me about two weeks to be able to "do" for myself (getting out of bed, driving to work, etc.) I can do most things now; just still sore around my port incision. I go for my first fill on 03/12! I can tell I already have some restriction; not everything goes down easy. I had a piece of sausage two days ago that I thought was going to be the end of me! Ha! It got "stuck"- - it hurt so bad! All I could do was to wait for it to pass, which took about 10-15 min. OMG! I'm learning what I can and cannot eat!

Goodness! You just had it put in! Give yourself time to adjust! I'm sure you thought about having the surgery for a long time. I would suggest if after having the band in for as long as you thought about having the sugery, then you might want to have it taken it out. But I'm sure by then you will be very happy and adjusted to it! Give yourself a break. It's an adjustment period right now.

I had my surgery on 02/05. Haven't had any pb's yet (go for my 1st fill on 03/12), but I have had my first experience with food getting "stuck" and having to wait for it to "move" down. I was eating sausage (something hard, I know) and was in a bit of a hurry (like others have shared). I guess I didn't chew enough or it was too big of a bite, but OMG, it just sat there in the middle of my chest and HURT! I couldn't really talk it hurt so bad; I had to just quietly leave my lunch companions and go back to my office and wait it out. Eventually it moved down, but it took a good 10-15 minutes for it to clear. I have really learned a lot on this forum from the experience of others. Thanks everyone for sharing!