vkcse03

1. How painful the 1st day home was. 2. How quick the recovery was after only 3 days. 3. How sensitive I am after each and every fills.

My last fill was 2/2009. Usually after a fill, it will take 2 months before it will loosen some. This time instead of the band being loose it got tighter. I went on my first flight since being banded (I read that flying will make the band tighter?). The day I arrived at my destination, I could only take in liquid. The next day I was fine. Once I flew back home, I stayed on liquid that day, cuz I was so tight again. The next day I started my 'monthly', which usually makes my band tighter anyway. To make a long story short...I could not eat anything and had a hard time drinking Fluid for 4DAYS! I was MISERABLE:mad: On day 5&6 I was able to finally eat Soup and salad. I went in to see doctor on day 7 and he wanted to take out 1cc. Doc thinks I may have slipped but was not sure since I was able to eat salad. Even with the soup and salad I could feel the food going down and feel like the food is on the back of my throat. Everytime I burp, the food comes back up?! We decided to take .5 instead of 1cc. Doc said if it does not get better I will have to do a barium test next time. Has this happened to anyone? You're going along fine then the band just start getting tighter for no apparent reason?

I feel your pain. I"m super sensitive to fills too. I dread them everytime. I"ve had about 4 fills and 2 unfill. I'm in pain and usually stay in bed all day the day of the fills/unfill.

I'm a female and I've loss 65lbs in 9months and feel great so I know its not psychological. My thyroid was normal prior to my Lapband surgery. Since losing all this weight my libido has been at zero. Anybody feeling the same? What did you do to restore your libido?:smile2:

Anything SPICY!! I use to eat raw Thai pepper whole w/ every meal. I do miss spicy food. One bite and my band tighten right away and I'm in pain for the rest of the day. I can no longer eat rice (i'm asian!) or bread of any kind but I can eat any type of cakes and chips made.

LULUC: Is your pain constant or does it come and go? I had my first episode last Sunday (8days ago) and then again today?! It's a buring painful sensation. It'll last for a good 2-4 hours, and I won't be able to eat or drink anything. But once the pain goes away, I can scarf down food. If it is an infection...should I not have a fever? It's $150 dollars a pop to go see my dr and I want to get some input before spending that $$. Thanks for all your help.

Hello all! I was banded on 6/2008. So far so good. I've had my bad and good days. I'm very sensitive to fills and I'm usually on my back for 2 good days after even a small fill (.5cc). Food will get stuck often (once every other day). Just recently I've experienced some buring pain around my port area after eating (without food getting stuck)?? This has never happend before?! Does anyone have any idea? Help.

I've had a similar episode. I'm very sensitive to fills also. I went in for my 2nd fill and walked out -4cc then what I went in with. It's the WORST feeling ever. For my 3rd fill, I felt fine in the office but as soon as I got home I could not even swallow my own saliva. I kept foaming and sliming all night. I got about 2hrs of sleep because of chest pressure. The next morning I called the dr's office but since it was July 4th weekend my dr was out of town and the other dr was expected to be in surgery all day. I was told to go to the ER but I knew my ins. would never pay for a non-life threaten dx. But I felt better by that afternoon and was able to take in liquids. My advise would be to have small fills (5cc). I know you want to get to that 'sweet spot' sooner rather than later but it's so not worth that awful feeling.

Don't rush. I'm 7 month post op and I've lost a total of 45lbs. Slow some months and faster other months. Now is the time for healing and not getting on the scale. You WILL have to excerise plus eat a better diet in order to lose weight. I was very disappointed in the beginning because my weight lost was so slow. I was so tight and barely ate anything but the weight just did not come off. I finally decided to start working out 5days a week, intense cardio and then finally I started losing 1lbs a wk. Be realistic and plan your workout schedule. Take time to heal and good luck.

I self pay for my surgery too. I almost gave up the idea of having the surgery done after finding out all the hoops that I had to jump through. But one day I stumble across this forum and a local hospital had an ad on the home page. I found it by accident and truly thought it was meant to be. I paid $9900 for everything ($150 for fills after the first 90 days post op). I was fortunate that I saved all my paycheck while on my last maternity leave. I was saving the $$ for a tummy tuck since I knew that carrying twins will be murder on my stomach. Since I gained so much weight after having my babies I decided to use the $$ towards the lap band instead. There are days when the food will get stuck or I'll be slimming and thinking to myself 'why did I do this to myself' but now that I'm squeezing into a size 10...it's the best thing I ever did for myself.

I'm in the same boat as all of you. I'm very sensative to fills. I swell up. I have a 14cc band, my first fill was 6cc and it felt great, no pain and I felt restriction (for 2wks anyway). My 2nd fill, dr put in 1.5cc and I thought I was going to die! I swell up so bad that I threw up, felt dizzy, nauseous, etc...dr then took out all but 4cc. I went in w/ 6cc and left w/ 4cc. I was so mad at myself but felt so much better. My 3rd fill he put in 2.5cc. I felt fine the office but as I got closer to home I started to slime. I thought I could tough it out, plus, I did not want to go back to 4cc. Well, all night I slimed and PB'd and started to cough up foam! Had 2 hrs of sleep and felt horrible. Swore never to do it to myself again. I'm currently at 7cc and I think I've reached my sweet spot, although I still get stuck on a lot of food. I have to be really careful at what I eat but the portion is small and I'm starting to loose some weight. Thanks for letting me share. My word of wisdom would be...take it slow.

Congrats! So happy for you. I've been reading your questions/updates since you had the surgery. I'm also 5 months post-op too and doing fine. I have a 14cc band and currently at 7.5cc. I think I've finally reached my sweet spot.

sounds like you are on your way! You will be in bandster hell for a month but if you use some self control you won't gain.

NFaith and IMWITHTHEBAND....CONGRATS! On making the decision to a new and healthier you!!:smile2: I did not have any problem w/ the hospital staff but you MUST as questions. The nurse kept wanting to give me the blood thinner but I told her that I did not need it and to check w/ the dr first. Dr Laker then came right in to see me and told me I did not need it. Just from my experience...Shannon has the most knowledge of the three cordinator. Weiner is more conservative about fills then Laker. I really like Laker, he takes his time and ask you questions that are important to determine how much fill you need. Good luck and PM me if you have any questions. I'll be glad to share with you.