rcher

I was banded on 4/28/09 by Dr. Harrison at Lehigh Valley Hospital. I had absolutely no pain after surgery, or gas as many others had. No pain meds since surgery. I am 19 days out 16.5 lbs down and my incisions are healed with minor scarring which is diminishing everyday. I have my first fill coming on 6/11/09 and I am eating just about anything I want after chewing,chewing,chewing,(just not in any great portions). I find myself getting full fast and just stop and save what is left for another meal. Dr. Harrison is great IMHO. He takes time to explain everything to you and is always there if you have questions. Thanks for changing my life!

Jodi, I haven't been here in awhile but congratulations on your new beginning! It has been a year and 3 weeks since my banding and I would do it all over again in a heartbeat. I'm like 2 1/2lbs short of 100 lbs loss from my heaviest. I've gone from a 50-52" waist to a 42" waist(can't wait to hit 38 again). I had my last fill(as Dr. Harrison put it) 3 weeks ago. I'm 8 cc's in a a 13 cc band. Food does get stuck every now and then but you just have to wait for it to go down and then your alright. The secret is to chew, chew, chew, and only take very little at a time. I am off all my diabetes meds and my sugar is fine every time I check it. If you have any questions just pm me and I'll get back to you asap. I've had a co-worker get banded by Dr. Harrison last month and she is doing great also. This is truly a life saving surgery. All for now, stay in touch and the new you is about to happen!

Doodlebug , Not to worry! My Dr. says 1 lb a week is a good loss. The best way to lose is slowly. Also slowly gives your skin a chance to tighten up instead of sag from rapid weight loss. I was banded april 27th and and have lost 40lbs since then but I have lost 70 lbs from my heaviest. I have a 13 cc band with 7 cc in after two fills. I do have good restriction. I do feel the chest tightness if I eat too much, but that normally doesn't happen, for I am one of the "lucky" people that has a wrning sign of "runny nose" before being full. My doctor told me he has never had to put more than 9 cc in the size band I have, so I guess I am almost maxed out. I have an appt. on Sept 10 for a fill. He told me if I have good restriuction I might be at my"sweet spot"already and probably won't need the next fill. I really am satisfied to lose 1 lb a week. Thats 52 lbs a year which will put me right where I want to be. Hope my experience helps. Please e-mail me if you have any questions. :thumbup:

No lettuce for me also. Blocks me up right away. Only other food I have blockage with so far is bacon. Chew, Chew, Chew and still blocks me up. Oh well I guess we will for go the BLT's.:cool2:

The way I know if something isn't going down comes in one of two ways:- 1. I get the hiccups and they last untill the item either goes down or comes back up:eek:. The other and which I like the best is my nose starts running(Surgeon says this is not the norm, but occurs in a small ammount of patients). I have only gotten to the point of bringing the item back up once after my first fill. I have had only one fill since 4/28 and am loosing about 5 lbs/ month now and that's fine with me. The best weight loss is slow weight loss.:smile: If you have'nt had a fill yet you probably do not have much restriction. So my guess is to call your DR. and tell him/her what you are feeling. They know best and can probably give you quick relief from your discomfort. Hope this helped. rcher54

Kath17268, I was banded on 4/27 and had my first fill on thursday 6/11. I was filled by my surgeon(small application of numbing solution before the stick). No problems with the fill but he did a little prodding to find the port which had tilted slightly. I believe he said I got 3.5 cc's. I do feel the restriction now and can't have more than that "fist full" at any sitting. I'm down 37 lbs now since surgery and about 54 lbs from highest. My indication I'm at my eating limit is nose running and or hiccups. I would do this all over again in a minute!

Hi ya'll, Haven't checked in in awhile:ohmy:. 2 weeks today post-op and 15 lbs down from surgery day,28lbs from program start and 60 lbs from highest wt. Since banding I'm down about 1 lb. a day:biggrin:. I would do this all over again in a heartbeat. I haven't had any pain at all throuhout the whole procedure and no gas at all.:mad2: I'm out walking with my dog every day and plan on going back to the gym as soon as this swine flew thing has passed:eek:.Right now my goal is to lose 100 lbs from here on out to reach my goal. Had two incisions and three holes. Incisions are healed as is one of the holes. The other two only have very small scabs on them which I'll probably lose in the next few days. Had my post-op Drs. visit and he said everything was textbook and I should do very well with the band. First fill scheduled for June 11. I have been following along here in the shadows and it is good to here that most everyone is doing fine:thumbup:. Guess that's all for now,I'll check back in after my first fill.

kmmr, Have to tell you that scrambled egg, was more like a runny, half cooked, scrambled egg(wanted to make sure it wasn't going to get stuck!):thumbdown:. It sure tasted good however:thumbup:.

:thumbup:Banded 9am 4/28. No pain meds in hospital or since.. Had scrambled eggs this am/no problem. Everything went well as per Dr. First post-op check 5/7, Hope I'll be cleared to start a more aggressive mushie diet. Lost 8lbs in 4 days so far.:wink: Hope I can keep up the pace,but I know it will slow down soon.

:thumbup:Banded yesterday and no problems at all so far! No pain at all except just a little tender at the port area. Got the gas-x just in case,but really don't need it as of yet. Only 1 more day of bunny bandsters left.:biggrin:

Well it's almost 4am and time to leave for the hospital. I have to be there by 5am. I'll check back in on Wednesday and let you all know how things went. Later, rcher!

Tomorrow 4/28 for me also!:tt2::thumbup: First time under general anesthesia. Looking forward to the "NEW ME". Say a prayer for me. Thankyou, rcher

MSan914&everyone, I just got approval from insurance and set to go for pre-admisson testing this thursday 4/16. :smile: Really feeling excited now . I started 2 week liquid diet today and will be banded on 4/28:smile:. I am really looking forward to my journey to a new me.

Hey Jimbo_WV! Welcome aboard. We are getting banded the same day. I shot many archery tounaments down there in WV. Love that state> Flatwoods area and Snowshoe Mtn. Keep in touch. rcher

:w00t: Allright! Called BC today and approval letter is on the way! Really feeling good about this now. Only 22 days till the beginning of a new me.:eek: Hey MSan914 and chiffani keep your posts up, after we are all banded. I guess I'll have to work on some kind of ticker now that everything is finalized. Can't wait to join all the rest of the banded bunnies!:wink:

Reveiw board approval on 3/19/09 and submitted to BC. No answer yet? Anyone know how long it usually takes to get approval. Surgery date set for 4/28.:welldoneclap:

Yeah! Looking at the updated list I see I now have someone getting banded the same day. Keep in touch MSAN914 :thumbup:

Well yesterday I was still running a "3" legged race, but today I'm just "2" heavy. Can't wait to be in "1"derland! And I haven't even had my surgery yet. With all the ups and downs in my life, I know this is the right choice for me. One month to go before surgery and I am going to try my best to be 15-20 lbs lighter by then. It will make it so much easier for the surgeon.

Well everything "good to go" now, only waiting for BC approval! Surgery date set for 4/28. Welcome to all the new posters.

OK got it! My final evaluation is this Thursday, then its wait and see for insurance approval.

OK, Learning more and liking it better! Just found out that there is no liquid diet required for pre-surgery for me. Have to follow an "atkins" type diet for two weeks prior and nothing to eat or drink 12 hrs. prior to surgery.

Hi hopeful, I haven't posted here in a long time, but now I have my surgery date April 28th. Have my last meeting March 10. It seems like the time has gone by so slow up untill now. I know it will probably fly by now that I know my date to a "new me". I can't express how great I feel knowing that I will now control the thing which has had control over me.:wink:

Today is the first visit for bariatric evaluation. What should I expect?

Thanks for the info MacMadame, I just returned from the visit and it was basically like you described except I didn't see a surgeon. Saw a Bariatrician instead. Was told I'm a good candidate for the surgery. :wink2:

Can anyone give me a list of their requirements for the lapband surgery? I already have started the weight management program with LVH but I need the requirement list fom Capital BC and can't seem to be able to get it even after contacting them.