TDRinCHATT

My husband wants to be banded and we're considering using someone other than my surgeron. Looking for information regarding doctors in the Chattanooga area. Anyone?

Thanks for the information!

Have you seen your surgeon since your surgery? Will you have an opportunity to see him in the future? What about fills? Who does them?

Nuke and Bama and southern THANK YOU! I needed that exact description to feel more at easy with the procedure. And, to hear from someone who has had it done by my own MD! Awesome. I actually feel some restiction without any fill. I can eat whatever I want, just less of it. I've started exercising and I'm loosing weight. I do get hungry between meals though easpecially in the evening hours before dinner. Thanks everyone for making me feel better about this upcoming fill.

I had a reoccurrance of migraine headaches after being banded. I hadn't had one in prob 10 years, so it took me by surprise. My sister and I decided that a lot of the miserable things I experienced post-op had to do with my body adjusting to the changes (food, calories, etc) and my body doing a little detoxing (cleaning house so to speak). I've been on detox diets before and they make you pretty miserable. A clear liquid diet x7 days is definitely a detox. I felt so miserable on clears that I snuck in some carnation instant breakfast by day 4 and it helped me get through it. As far as sex goes, I finally did it at 2 weeks and had no issues. But 2 weeks was the point for me that everything began to feel more "normal." My port pain stopped, incision pain stopped, etc. Good luck to ya!

I'm almost three weeks out, and can completely identify with your hunger. On day four post op, I felt like I was startving to death. I was weak and started getting migraine headaches. I snuck in the carnation instant breakfast a few days early and felt much better. Now I'm on the mushies. Thursday I go to regular diet, but in reality I've been pretty much on a regular diet already. I'm never hungry in the morning, but as the day wears on, I'm VERY hungry. The dinner I had tonight was probably not much smaller than what I would have eaten pre-band. As you can add different and more solid foods, the hunger doesn't seem as bad. Regarding the signature, cut and paste the other text box, not the the url.

Chattanooga here... just a little north of ya. Glad to have you! Good luck with your future band!:sad:

I ordered a video called Turbo Jam before I was banded. I used to be able to complete the video, but it's tough! When the scale stopped moving, I started moving! I began doing a VERY modified version and only 10 mins. Now I'm doing 30 mins and I can keep up. It's a 45 min video, so I'm taking my time getting back into the swing of things. The greatest news is that the scale started moving again. I've lost 7 pounds since I started exercising! Nothing is more motivating than seeing the numbers get lower. Now I exercise everyday, so that I can celebrate the next morning when I've lost weight.

I am new to the band, but I've had mine for 2.5 weeks. I didn't exercise at all before the band and ate horriblly. In fact, I gained about 15 pounds before surgery! I can recall feeling full and eating more! The band has changed everything for me. Now that I'm feeling better, I've started exercising everyday! (I never did that before) And, I'm making better choices. I've slipped up a few times since surgery. We all do and will, but you have to forgive yourself and keep going. My husband has heart issues and he will be banded July 3rd! He struggles with a lot of what you describe. I know that the band will change him because I've exerienced what it has done for me! I've not had a fill yet, but the band does help me to limit my portion sizes. I'm learning not to eat till I'm busting, but to eat until the hunger is satisfied. Good luck!

My port pain stopped completely yesterday! So two and a half weeks. I finally feel "normal" again.

15 pounds gone!!!!! I was at a standstill as I started adding regular foods, but I started exercising and finally the scales started moving again! My mini goal is another 5 pounds off before going back to work in two weeks!

Carrie, Glad to find someone local on here. Who did your band? I live in Hixson.

:rolleyes2:I'm a 31 y/o female, married with 2 children, 2 and 5. I was banded 14 days ago on May 29th. I've lost 12 pounds so far...from 295 to 283. I think things are going well for me now, but it would be great to have and experienced buddy to bounce questions off of. :rolleyes2:I'm located in the Chattanooga, TN area and enjoy outdoor activities, photography and baseball. I'm an RN by profession and work in Labor and Delivery. :rolleyes2:If you think you would be a good match for me let me know. I'm excited to meet a lapbander who is closer to goal and who has lots of experiences to share.

I'm an RN and work 12 hour days. I was forced to take a month off and I'm glad for it. I'm exactly two weeks out today, and I want to go back, but I know the lifting would wear me out. My first 8 days were hell with pain, thrush, cough, migraines. Looking back, I think a lot of it was just detoxing my body. But in general, you're weak until you start putting real food in your mouth. And, getting used to how to eat takes some time. I guess the answer is at least a week, but more depending on your type of job.

Hey there, Hope you get to feeling better soon. I was banded on May 29th, exactly 2 weeks ago. I had lots of port pain for about 8 days. If I sat up it would feel like it was rubbing on my ribs cage and it was painful. Now, I still have some difficulty sitting up for long period and with bending over in a sitting position (EX - bathing my kids in bath tub), but in general now I don't hurt. I'd say now it's just a soreness and more an aggrivation than anything. I was hoping to see some advice from someone further out from surgery date than I. Anyone?

I as well was told there was very little pain after surgery, so I expected to be fine. Not the case for me! I was in a terriffic amount of pain for 2 days. But after it passed, it was gone.

I was just banded May 29th, and I second what everyone has covered regarding the eating. I just wanted to add that I'm a 31y/o healthy female with no medical history. I expected to breeze through surgery and be back to normal by Monday. My experience was much different. Everyone is different, but it is surgery! There is pain involved and lots of other unmentionables (like diarrhea, gas, etc.) Recovery is easy for some, but I had some complications (thrush, cough, wheezing, migraines) that seem minor now, but felt miserable at the time. I'm 12 days post op now and feel great! I haven't had a fill yet but as I add heavier foods to my diet, I do feel a certain amount of restriction. Once I got through the first 8 days, I was fine. But, I did say "what have I done several times during the first week?" Now that I'm feeling better that's in the past!

My pysch visit wasn't anything to get excited about. He was very nice and discussed my eating habbits since childhood. We talked about why I overeat and why I make certain choices. But, at the end, he told me that he was looking stability within my life to prepare me for the changes the band would bring. He does not recommend pt's for the band if there is instability within their family lives or work situation.

I was banded last thursday by dr ponce. I've had a few bumps in the road of recovery, but in general had a great experience at Memorial for the surgery. I'm just over a week out and really starting to feel better. I can't wait to get back in the swing of things.:tongue2:

I was banded last week and had a similar experience. I had a sore thoat and a cough. At first I didn't think a lot about it, but then the cough became productive and I was short of breath. I don't have any medical problems, but I knew my surgery would be cancelled if I told my surgeon. I just used my son's inhaler preoperatively for the shortness of breath and went with it. Now that I'm post op I have had some complication with mucous, cough, wheezing and thrush. I saw my PCP yesterday and was prescribed an inhaler and some other meds. He seems to think I'll be fine. Looking back, if I had ANY medical problems I may have chosen to delay. But, I would have been significantly delaying in having surgery. It's a tough choice. My husband was mad about it and teases me now that I've experienced some complications. But I'm banded and recovering. I guess my advice would be to be ready for a longer recovery if you are now feeling 100% when you have surgery.

Hello, I was so glad to find this support network online. I was banded in Chattanooga, TN on May29, 2008 by Dr Ponce. It has been a difficult week. I was expecting little recovery and very little pain. I was told some people return to work the very next day. This has not been the case for me. I suffered terrible pains for 2 days after surgery and when I called my doctor's office the RN told me I was abusing my pain medicine and shouldn't be hurting this badly.:eek: After the pain stopped on Saturday (thank God), I've had wheezing, productive cough, weakness, feelings of hypoglycemia, and now I have thrush. I'm 31 and generally healthy. All of these complications were a big surprise to me. I expected to breeze right through recovery. Anyway, I'm writing to ask others what feelings they have with regard to hunger after the procedure. By day 3, I was starving on clears. I advanced my diet to full liquids early and that seemed to solve the problem for a few days. Now I'm on day 7 and I go back and forth between "very full" and "starving." Do the feelings get more predictable and do they regulate as time goes on? Thanks to everyone!

Glad to be a part of the May 2008 banders. I was banded in Chattanooga TN last Thursday, May 29. As of this morning, I have lost 8 pounds since surgery. I'm excited about finally starting to feel better and getting to use the band to it's full potential. I've got a long road ahead, but I am glad to finally get started! :cursing:

I paid nothing to the hopital before surg.