terrasmom

Welcome! It took me about two weeks to feel like myself again after surgery. The answer is, don't push it at all!! Never push it with the lap band! Take it very easy and follow the instructions they give you exactly. I ate solids too soon and it really hurt, so be careful and soon this part will be a dim memory. Congratulations!

You can have an occasional drink if you must but you will find the alcohol hits you harder than before you were banded. Just a word of caution; it is entirely possible to have the lap band and gain weight or not succeede with it. It will stop you with the quantity of food you give yourself (and you will not like how that feels!) but if you make poor choices, like ice cream, alcohol, milk shakes, puddings, etc. etc. the band cannot help you there. Those liquids go right through it and give you all the calories and none of the full feeling or nutrition at all. The weight loss is still something you will be doing for yourself, band or no band you will have to work it. The band gives you a bit of help, but the effort and the choices are all up to you.

You need to quit looking for your port! Leave it alone. No messaging, no finding, it does not matter if you can feel it or not feel it. Your doctor knows where he put it and he will be able to find it effortlessly.

You know it does sound like your particular band is just not working! Having the band tighter is no fun however; the procedure is not bad but the restriction of it is problamatic and no fun. The only way it really helps is that I feel full with very little food and you are missing out on that lovely benefit. My doctor told me an 800 calories a day diet is the way to go for quick weight loss. If notice that if I increase my calories much over that amount the weight loss stops, band or no band. So there is still some serious dieting involved with the band, but because I have a band I can eat very little and feel full during it. Best of luck to you dear!

I think we got it at Kroger. The cost is what it is. It has to do with the process of getting into usable form but it's well worth it!

Yes I have some time ago. Very sweet tasting.

I don't think you are alone with it, but it may be totally unrelated to your lap band and other people are not recognizing the symptoms you are having. Perhaps your regular MD might be worth a visit in addition to the call to your lap band people. I'd get professional help and not sit and wonder what it is that's happening! Good luck!

Oh, sorry, I misunderstood you. Yes I agree, it would not cause an infection on its own, but being in a public pool - ewwww!!! I love to swim laps but not with anything still healing up I wouldn't. Anyway probably some topical healing cream will fix it right up!

I think all that chlorine does is kill the numerous germs from the kids and adults in the pool you frequent; it also hurts your eyes and makes them burn, etc. etc. I do not know of any healing properties to it. In any case redness is a sign of skin irritation and of course it can also mean infection. It's probably just irritated her skin badly to be exposed to swimming that soon. My doctor did say avoid the pool and chlorine specifically so I'd go check it out with yours.

I know what you mean, I am hooked on diet coke myself! Try it and see how you do. Small sips after a few minutes to let some of the carbonation leave it might work better. If you can drink it without the pain of trapped carbonation, hey more power to you!! If you can stand to drink it flat, hey problem solved. Otherwise small sips help it go down and you can burp it up afterwards. Probably best done alone at home! Good luck!

You get something stuck from not chewing it well enough, and sometimes from eating it too fast. You must slow down, pay attention and chew it to oblivion. You are told not to drink liquids when you eat so that the food will go down and fill up your small, new stomach area. Then you will feel full. If you drink fluids, this dilutes the process and the food leaves the small pouch quickly and you get hungry again soon. If you eat and drink nothing for 1 1/2 to 2 hours afterwards, you'll be full for several hours more. I think Hot drinks help stuff get unstuck. Every time you throw up you run the chance of damaging your lap band, causing it to slip or breaking a suture. Definately not the way to go though if you get something big stuck, I totally understand wanting to get it off of therem it hurts! Chewing small bites to a total pulp is what works. Good luck!!

We will just have to agree to disagee on this one. I think your sleeve is way too new a procedure, too untried and has many possible complications you are not listing. For me it came down to this. My physician, Dr. Spiegel, can do all the surgeries, but he focuses only on the lap band, which he considers to be the safest and most effective surgery available. He no longer performs the other surgeries at all because he does not think they are nearly as good or effective for people. I'm with him. I agree with you in that it's good there is something that can work well for everyone out there. As far as why would I ever get a band removed -- well initially when I thought of getting the lap band done I thought you would get it, loose the weight, then have it taken out. Dr. Spiegel told me differently, and now I understand, but the idea that I can go in and get it taken out and my body is still intact inside is a comfort to me I guess. I like that. To each their own! Most importantly is we are all letting go of obesity, and that is the most important thing of all!

Before the lap band surgery I was really focusing on just getting that approved and then having the courage to get it done. I certainly would not have wanted my doctor to further tell me a lot of information beforehand about needing more surgeries in the future from saggy skin! You are doing your upmost to loose the weight first and foremost and save your life. The plastic surgery is not a given, it's an option that you may or may not do later. Plastic surgeons should tread very carefully around bariatric patients to avoid looking like they are taking advantage of a difficult situation -- We had a plastic surgeon come to the lap band support group and talk to some of us for about 30 minutes; that was helpful and he had slides and those were great too. Truth is I will seek out a plastic surgeon if I need one later and I will not need anyone to help me do that. It's hard to present those facts to a group just having lost weight through another surgery without looking like you are taking advantage of them. The last thing I want my doctor talking about pre-operation is how much more I'll have to have my skin cut off/moved around after I am done.

Focus on counting the calories you are taking in and increasing your exercise. 800 to 1000 calories a day usually brings about fast weight loss (800 especially) which is not hard with the band. Call your doctor about the pains and see what his nurse thinks might help you now. Gas X and Maalox plus lots of walking worked best for me.

Six weeks out you will be on regular foods. Until then follow your instructions very carefully. Buy yourelf a foam wedge and sleep on it on your back after surgery, it really helps. You can get them at doctor supply stores/places that sell medical supplies. Plan to spend time recuperating, but six weeks later you should be well into your new life! Good luck!

Thanks, loved these!!

I showered every day post surgery with antibiotic soap and never had a single issue. However the chlorine in a swimming pool you have now exposed yourself to is another matter entirely. Call the doctor and see what they recommend you do. Three weeks is not long enuf to wait after major surgery to go swimming. It's not life threatening, but really do call the doctor or talk to his nurse. Don't ever leave anything red and itching after surgery without asking your doctor about it! Best of luck to you!

Don't be so hard on yourself, honey. Everyone slips sometimes and overall you are doing a GREAT job!! It's really part of learning to eat and live totally differently. And look how much you learned too - it wasn't even that good! It did not help like it did before you got banded! All very great signs! Plus you've lost a TON of weight too. I'd say you are doing terrific and you had a slip. Oh well, that's part of life! So call it a learning experience, dust yourself off and begin again tomorrow. It's really OK. You are forgiven!! Now forgive yourself and do something to help someone else for pennance and move on! OK? OK!!

If it was me I'd call my doctors office just to reassure myself.

There is a lot of discord about the skin thing out there. The surgeons that want you to purchase new sculpted looks tend to tell you to come for more surgery for extra skin, but they are selling you a product make no mistake. I don't have any intention of getting plastic surgery later! One thing at a time. Just focus on the weight loss first, the rest will become obvious as you go along. No one will know what it will be for you until you do. Good luck!

Oh I am doing fantastic out here too! Best thing I ever did, hands down. Congrats to you and be careful with that wine!!

Just take it step by step, day by day. It's great on this side of the fence!! Of course the lap band is just a tool; you must change what you eat and how much you eat radically. Exercise, all that stuff. But it's a fabulous little tool! Good luck!!

Wow, thanks! I'll try it!!

I am glad to hear someone benefitted from Mylanta strips -- for me it was only the Gas X stuff that did any good. In about 10 days that will go away entirely. Congrats!!!!

I am not saying I sat around in any pain whatsoever. It was just that I had never had surgery before so I was a little caught off guard by being as sore as I was, which sounds stupid but it's true. I was tender and I ached as I tried to get up from a horizontal position where the incision sites were. That was it though and I am a most serious pain weenie! I did not lay around and hurt from surgery. You are just sore and must baby yourself a bit. My doctor presribed pain medicine and I had it waiting and some nausea medication waiting here at home for me "just in case", but I never needed one drop of either one. I would stay overnight in the hospital if you can just for comforts sake. Walk as soon as you are able to lessen the gasses allowed to stay inside the body. It's not terrible pain or no one would be doing it and you can see from the website none of us regret a moment of it! Focus on your goals and get excited! Your new life is starting!!