pjd3253

My band is empty because I am only 14 days post-op - I believe that the Realize Band is either 9 or 10 cc's. I was curious because I watched a YouTube video recently showing a lady getting a fill and they kept poking her over and over until I couldn't watch it anymore to find the port hole. I didn't see any x-ray being done - is it only done the first time you go in for a fill to make sure the band is in the right place? My port area is still poking out - I am really embarrassed about it because it sticks out under my shirts and looks like I have something hidden under there. I am trusting the people who have written me about it that it will go down and it is just fluid around the port but it really is sticking out. I have a feeling down the road I may have to have it put further down if possible. Thanks for your reply.

Thanks for this - I was just thinking today about how I can eat more at some meals than at others and when I can eat more I get worried something is wrong with my band - the main thing I have noticed after my surgery 14 days ago is that I get full so much faster which is great - I had Cream of Wheat for lunch and was sliming really bad but then sometimes I can eat it and don't have that problem - it may be the little bit of milk I put in it to thin it out more - maybe dairy is the culprit but it is pretty gross when it happens. Thanks for any more info you can give me.

What I am noticing is that I can eat pretty much whatever I want (low fat foods) but nothing gets stuck going down and I can swallow my large vitamin pills - I do get full way faster than I used to - I eat less than half of what I used to at each meal but is it because my band is the Realize Band and is a larger band therefore there is more room for food to go to the bigger stomach? I am so confused about this. I have only felt like something is stuck in my esophagus a couple of times and that was right after surgery. I have not had a fill yet - not until early August so am looking forward to it so I can eat less than I can now.

Tomorrow I will be 14 days post-op - my stomach is sticking out like I am pregnant -very distended and swollen - is this still fluid from the surgery or am I not drinking enough water? I feel so awful - my shirts are so tight across my stomach even more than before. I realize only 14 days have gone by but I thought I would be looker thinner not heavier by now. Any suggestions you can give me would be much appreciated. I am very down right now.

When I got home from the surgery center 14 days ago I could definitely feel restriction - could only sip broths, etc. Now after 14 days I can swallow my big vitamins, eat low-fat food I want as long as I chew properly - I mean for protein I have been eating boiled eggs a lot but do not feel that restriction I really liked feeling right after surgery - I have convinced myself that my band has slipped or pouch expanded or whatever even though the doctor says usually if it has slipped you can't swallow anything at all. Does anyone know why the band felt tighter right after surgery and not now - is there swelling involved right after that may not be there now? I also get the hiccups constantly but was told that is normal also. Thanks!

The funny thing is that I almost didn't get my band because I told my husband if I could have the willpower to drink only liquids for 4-5 weeks then I would be half-way to my goal weight - so why would I be losing slower with the band than without. I got the band for the willpower that I don't have but I must admit I am very disappointed with the weight loss - I am 14 days post-op, still swollen, stomach distended, port swollen and feel much heavier than before the surgery. Weird.

Thanks - I am going to go drink some Citracel - maybe that will help. did have some severe stomach gas pains tonight that I haven't had before today so that may be part of the problem. I think I thought I would be way further along on my weight loss and I look like I have gained 10 lbs not lost. I am eating liquids and mushy foods and nothing bad - living on Cream of Wheat so it doesn't make sense that I wouldn't have lost something by now but I guess I have so much fluid retention due to the surgery. It is very depressing.

Thank you Thank you - I was very down and depressed today thinking I was the only one because I have posted for a week or so and got no similar responses. This makes me feel better.

I am having a bad day - depression over my goose egg and feeling so bloated and swollen still - clothes are tighter on me than before the surgery - is this just surgery fluid? Also, you said you had the same issue with your port sticking up - can you feel your port like I can - feels like it is right under the skin - I can almost feel the edges of it with my finger -the left side of my stomach looks deformed with this big bulge like an egg is stuck under my skin - I had no idea it would be like this - was told over and over I would not be able to see or feel it then when I went for my post-op doc visit he said everyone is built differently, yada yada - if I had known it would look like this I would never have done it would have done the sleeve instead. Hope you are right and it goes down - I have really been in a funk because of it - instead of being excited about my band I am depressed. Thanks for your reply

I am 13 days post-op and my port site is still sticking up like a goose egg - I can literally feel it under the skin - I do not know if it is flipped - will find out in 4 weeks but it was very sore last night had to take Tylenol to sleep and I have to wear a Spanx top to hold it in so people don't think I have a growth sticking out under my shirts - very depressed about it - hope it goes down.

I had read about sliming but didn't experience it until today - I experienced it while I was drinking a blueberry smoothie made with yogurt - does anyone know if it was the smoothie that did it or is there a particular kind of drink or food that causes it - I am 12 days post-op and this is the first experience with it I have had. Thanks!

Yes I know it sounds bad but after losing so much weight over the years on Atkins and NutriSystem, etc. and gaining it back and all of my weight is in my stomach - I look like I am 8 months pregnant - I have never seen anyone hold weight in one place like this - I even went and had a CT Scan to make sure I didn't have a tumor because it looks so unnatural but it is just subdermal fat that cannot be lipo'd and is hard to lose especially with my hormone replacement medications. My husband is getting the band too soon - he has about 80 to lose so we are doing it together. Thanks!

No offense taken - you are right - my doctor said sleeve was good for people that wanted to lose weight faster due to other health issues or usually for people who had 100 lbs to lose - I actually wanted the sleeve but he said I was not a candidate - I have 45-50 lbs to lose but do not have any other morbidities - I think he might have worried that I would be unhappy long-time with the sleeve since it is irreversible - my husband told me to do the band like the doctor said and later if I want to have it removed and get the sleeve I can - I will give the band a chance but I thought I would be down 10 lbs by now and I think I have gained weight from surgery and withholding fluid - thanks!

I have no trouble with rice but I was also told wouldn't be able to swallow all of my supplements and vitamins and I have no trouble with those either unless they are really big horse pills.

I was able to begin Phase II immediately following surgery - I am only 12 days post-op and even though I have no trouble eating solid foods (I have tried) was told yesterday to continue mushy foods for another week - every person is different every doctor is different - I think it mainly has to do with how much weight a person has to lose but also he said that the band has to heal around the stomach pouch and they are worried if someone tries to eat chunks of food it can twist the band around and slip causing real problems.

The sleeve is done laparoscopicallly which is nice unlike the bypass - my husband is debating whether to go with sleeve or band based on how my experience with the band goes - I am too early on to give him too much of a recommendation.

Thanks - I have a friend who didn't lose any weight for 6 months even with fills - then she said one day it just started working - I hope it doesn't take that long for me - I am excited about losing faster than that - it is weird though - some meals I get full fast and some meals I don't - I am only 12 days post-op so just getting used to everything.

Must have been the yogurt in the smoothie -won't do that again - Thanks

My doctor told me yesterday he thought it would go away but it is still pretty sore and sticks up - he said I didn't have much "room" between my first layer of fat and my muscle or whatever and so it may stick out more on me than on others - it is very distressing - it is very obvious

I was banded on June 27th and my port site is very tender and sore and still slightly swollen and sticks out - I think this tenderness lasts for a few weeks because the port has to "settle" in your muscle and fluid that has accumulated around it has to be absorbed by the body - I take a couple of Alleve before bed time and sleep on my right side -

I don't know how much weight you want to lose but if it isn't 75-100 lbs I would not do the sleeve because it is irreversible and I was told by my doctor that it is for people who have a lot of weight to lose very fast due to other health issues they are facing. The band is obviously a foreign object in your body whereas a sleeve is just where your stomach is made smaller forever shaped like a banana and they hunger hormones that are in your stomach now will be taken away with the part of the stomach they remove.

Isn't it strange that with a smaller stomach pouch you would be able to eat that much - I know what you mean - I am only 12 days post-op and I think I could eat pretty much all day if I just take little breaks in between - frustrating when you try to be good but are starving.

No it is pretty new

No, the sleeve is where they shear off a portion of your stomach laparoscopically so your stomach is shaped sort of like a "sleeve" or a banana shape - they remove the part of your stomach that has the hormones that tells your brain you are hungry. There are no malabsorption problems so not the same nutrient issues you have with gastric bypass.

Okay I am a size 16 so guess a 38. Thanks!