eisermanr7

hey everybody, I was banded july, 2008. I got pregant 4 months afterward. I didn't see a doctor about my band from oct 2008 until this last monday! so basically I was wondering if over that amount of time is it normal to lose any fluid out of my band? I just got filled to 2.4 cc's (she checked before fill and I was at about 1.8 cc's) on monday, however about 2 years ago i was at 2.5 cc's... meaning I have lost about .5 cc's over the course of two years. Anybody have any ideas?

thank you everybody for all of your advice! sorry it took me so long to get back on here! but i'm sure you can understand it's been hectic lately and i've been having a few spotting episodes. so far i still have all of my fill in... i actually haven't even called my band doctor yet and told them. I figure they want to see me back in January so i'll just tell them then (plus that was when they wanted to see me next anyhow and I pay out of pocket). Everything is going well so far, able to eat fine... one thing though... since probably about 1 1/2 weeks before I found out I was preggo, my port side has been a little tender, like muscle soreness? it's very dull and it doesn't constantly ache. also, it doesn't hurt when i poke or prod at it, so i don't think it's infected or anything.... could it be my hormones??

I just found out last night that I am pregnant. It is a welcome surprise, however it is a surprise! I just got banded on July 1st & I know our docs prefer that this didn't happen until a year after being banded. I guess I just don't know what to expect now. Do I have to get completely unfilled now? or can I just keep on going?? I feel like I eat enough, I have been losing about a pound a week. I'm scared about gaining weight from being pregnant-- I promised myself that I would never go that direction again!! I'm caught in a bittersweet moment right now (although I know it'll be a wonderfully-sweet moment in the end!) If anybody has some input on this-- PLEASE help me! :thumbup:

:eek: I have been getting "stuck" a lot this week. My last fill was a lil over a month ago. I can still eat and still drink fine... most of the time! but like I said, I have gotten stuck like 5 or 6 times this week. I guess I'm just wondering if I am getting too comfy with my band and I need to slow down?? If I eat super extra slow I don't have any issues, but it also seems like I have been eating and chewing the same way I always have since I have had my band (but I guess you never really realize what your doing until it's done). I'm just freaking out that I'm messing up my band-- I definitely don't want that to happen!!! Also I was wondering if maybe I'm just a lil too tight?? but I had my last fill over a month ago and it's been fine. Should I go on liquids and mushies for a couple days??? Sorry for all of the babble, just freaked out!

I was told to get to my doctor or emergency room asap if I got a stomach virus. I actually was reading an article in the newspaper the other day and it was about a new vaccine that they are giving babies to prevent the rotarvirus (thats the one that causes the stomach flu)... I don't know if it's only for babies, but I think it would be awesome if banders could get it someday! :biggrin:

Thanks you guys for your uplifting suppport!! I think it's just what I needed!!

Well I had my 2nd fill yesterday. It was 1cc... so the doctor tells me that I'm at 3 cc's now and I'm not going to have much more room for fills. While I was there we also discussed my portion sizes, because at my 1st fill he told me I should be eating an "egg-size" portion. Well, I've really tried, but I usually can eat like 2 or 3 times that amount! He told me that I shouldn't eat until I feel full... that I should only put the alotted serving size on my plate and only eat that!! And then he said that basically if I don't change my portions that this surgery isn't going to work the way it's supposed to work! So now I'm questioning myself. Was this surgery was right for me? I was under the impression that the band was supposed to make me feel fuller? I know I have the psychological stuff to deal with .... eyes bigger than the stomach type thing, but I feel like I've made big changes as far as that goes.... I don't eat in between meals! and I don't drink with meals! And I haven't even had ONE sip of soda (of any kind!) since a few weeks before my surgery! I dunno... I guess I'll have to work harder! I've come this far! And spent this much money!!

I overate yesterday myself!!! I still feel really bad about it!! I think I definitely need another fill!! I am also still trying to get my eyes to match my stomach size!! I think if I only had so much to eat in front of me, I would realize I don't need to eat so much! hopefully i can just move on from this!! and you too! :tt2:

Now this is just what I personally did, so I would still use your own discretion... But I went back to the tanning bed 6 days after surgery. I still had bandages on top of all of my incisions (on top of the glue), so I think they probably protected me-- of course I got funny looking circle tan-lines. All of my incisions healed completely in less than 2 weeks!! I'd say by 10 days after my surgery all of my bandages and glue were off, and I don't think it did anything to my scars. I actually think that the heat helped heal everything up a little quicker for me! Like I said, that's what I did, but everybody is a lil bit different :lovechoc:

:cool2: I may just be acting paranoid, but last night I was walking into my living room out of the kitchen and we have a baby-gate up so I stepped over it like I always do and I felt kinda-like a pop and then a tingle?!?! It felt lower than where my port is, but there was like a tingle that shot up (like a nerve) it wasn't really painful, but it freaked me out. Now I'm scared that something is wrong with my port, so I have been obcessively poking around my port-site area to see if I think it has moved or not to the point I'm making myself sore!! I had my first fill last week and everything is fine, I just don't know if what I experienced last night is normal or not?? If anybody else has had this happen to them PLEASE let me know!! It'll make me feel much better!

I am feeling pretty good, I went to my first fill dr.'s appt since I've had my surgery on July 1st. Even though I felt good and I had lost some weight already, I was still unsure that everything was ok (I had some big fear that my port was gonna be misplaced or something and I wouldn't be able to get any fills). Well I got my first fill, turns out I had .5 cc in my band that I didn't even know about, the doctors told me that that was what comes in the band (my mex doctors said they don't put any in, so that must be true), so my doctor here put in 1.5 cc... so now I have a total of 2 cc's in my 4cc band!! I feel pretty good, however I still don't feel like I have enough restriction, but I am not going to get anxious about it yet!! I think I do need to watch my portions a bit closer, I am afraid that I am going to strecth out my pouch. I asked my new doctor how much I am supposed to be eating, and he said the size of an egg? :biggrin: I think sometimes I can eat the size of 2 eggs before I feel full. But sometimes I also think my eyes are just bigger than my belly. I'll just have to try harder i guess!