RestlessMonkey

This actually depends on your insurance requirements (does it even cover lap band) and then what your surgeon may require. For example I did not need a cardio exam although I did get an ecg. Don't pick a surgeon until you find out if insurance covers it and if so, who is on your "list"....my PCP sent me to a group that my insurance didn't cover! It worked out well though; I love my doc...but start with insurance and proceed from there. I didn't even need my primary to recommend the surgery. And while Lapbandtalker gave good advice too, I don't think you can be sure this is what you want until you've researched it some, and that, to me, includes the informative seminar that your surgeon holds. I was already "into" the process when I attended that. Had I not liked him and what he had to say I would've stopped it. You can change your mind up to the time just before they roll you in to surgery. It is a big change and you have to educate yourself before you make it. At any point in the process you may decide against it. Many of us don't, but some of us do!

It is referred pain from your diaphragm. It irritates a nerve and causes the muscle to cramp. What helped me was having my husband rub it (with a pretty strong grip) so the muscle would relax. It happened with me only when I overexerted (like breathing hard from exercise). Gas X won't help it because it isn't really gas...

I think the problem with white pasta is a general lack of nutritional "bang". Our nutritionist said if we just HAD to have it (or rice, for that matter) to make sure it was well done, because as you know pasta keeps on absorbing liquids and can therefore swell. So with proper restriction you can end up with a pouch full of pasta that will just swell and that's not good. Just be careful with pasta and rice.

I think that's wise. Most LVN/LPNs I know work really HARD...it's a very physical job. Good luck!

Skin is an organ...exercise works the muscle layer underneath the skin, not the skin. It is good to be fit! It is healthy and most people prefer fit to flab! BUT some will have saggy skin anyway, and some won't even if they don't exercise a muscle. MANY things go into whether or not we have saggy skin. Our age, our genetics, our skin type, how LONG we've been fat, how FAT we were to begin with, how healthy our diet has been, etc etc. It may happen; but if so, it can be dealt with more easily than the fallout from obesity.

call and ask your surgeon. I think 10 days (and if you had surgery on the 8 and went back to work on friday the 17th...that is 9 days, just barely over a week!) isn't enough time. I was still under lifting restrictions then. It may be adhesions, or you might have given yourself a hernia or something. Check w/your doc.

Come on. You can't really think that being FAT is prettier than having some wrinkles? We all heal differently anyway. If it bothers you, have some plastic surgery done. That's better than open heart surgery because you were morbidly obese.

JWL08 the odds of the band slipping far down are VERY slim. For one thing the width of your stomach would stop it. For another, it is, at least in the case of the lap band, lightly sutured into place (which is why we aren't usually supposed to eat for a few weeks post op; to keep the stomach from moving during digestion). And wintobethin...I don't know...I know I have a large lower incision, a large upper left incision (where my PORT is, not where the band went in) and a couple of other small little incisions. AND I had 2 surgeries over the same incisions. Its possible that the surgeon used the large port area incision to put the band into the body (one is for a camera and instruments) but even so it is NOT over where my band is. My band is under my liver...and my abdominal muscle and so on. It's well protected by my body and can't be palpated from the outside. The PORT, yes. The BAND, no.

I agree that you should call your surgeon. To withhold pain medication is almost malpractice, honestly. Describe your symptoms; you shouldn't be nauseated and dry heaving either.

In this one it's covered by the liver....but I think you can see what I mean. Also, there is NO incision directly over where the band is placed, unless your doc "cut you open". Laparoscopically the incision is lower (probably just above your belly button)...that one is where the band entered your body. http://www.nlm.nih.gov/MEDLINEPLUS/ency/images/ency/fullsize/8710.jpg

Docs place ports in different areas, but the odds are this is not your band. It's around the top of your stomach and that is located between your breasts and down slightly. I'll see if I can find a good link to show you.

Ok...and Colyn92...why are you short winded? If you don't mind? swrktp...try blowing up balloons. That will help you! Make sure you keep your lungs clear...you are at increased risk for pneumonia post op (as I'm sure they've told you) so take care of yourself.

I think the big point of all of this is to do what YOUR doc tells you, not what you read here, or what your aunt edna's best friend did when SHE was banded, or whatever! LOL All docs are different, they have different styles, different experiences, and most often will choose the diet that THEY find works best on their clientele! PLUS...I believe there is a difference in how the realize and lap band are secured (not a doc). So as long as you are doing what your doc says and you have a good experienced doc who knows what s/he is doing, you will be fine! (another good case for choosing a surgeon with lots of experience).

I blended spaghetti with meat sauce, so yes, there was meat in there. It looked bad and tasted marvelous.

My doctor said "I use the lap band because it's been in the USA longest and it's what I'm familiar with. If that doesn't work for you, let me know". It worked for me.

If I may ask are you usually short winded or is it just now? And is it because you are sore? Usually, "tired" is a complaint, but not "short winded". (soon to be nurse here)

It's not restriction right now that will stop you; it is that you are healing and eating ahead of your post op diet can cause damage to your stomach where the band is healing into place. You may rip it totally loose or just set yourself up for trouble down the road. (six months or a year from now you'll have a slip and wonder "why me?" ) It's possible you're sufficiently healed to advance, maybe not though. You should probably call your surgeon Monday, tell him what you did and when, and see if you can advance, or if you need to keep with his program, and if he needs to test you for band movement. Until you are filled you won't have restriction.

Respectfully, I read posts like misslonglegs (well intentioned posts) and thought I could cheat too...because I was given a 3-week pre op diet. I thought....hmm, if others don't even HAVE a preop diet then why should I? WELL....as my signature says, even though I lost 15 pounds in that 3 weeks I did NOT shrink my liver and did NOT get the band. (LOL .... NOT!) I'd bet good money that the posters who posted they cheated meant well down to their toes, but I should have done what my doc says. If they told you shakes only, then do that. It's for a reason. You trust them to cut you open and place a semi-permanent artifical device around your stomach; trust them to tell you what to eat preop.

Please check with your docs! We're all different..but I asked if I could have some thinned refried beans (I live in S. Texas; they are a staple of life down here! LOL) and was told NO WAY! Just because it doesn't hurt you right now doesn't mean it isn't hurting you for down the road. It may be ok, it may not be. Ask your surgeon and be safe, that's all I'm saying!

Just don't cheat yourself any more...I say never go against doc's orders but if you mean 1 cookie and then 1 chip you'll probably be ok. Don't keep it up though; doc probably wants you in ketosis and the carbs alone in those products can prevent that (or almost!) It's hard but you can do it! (very important post op to NOT eat anything not on your list...because your band needs to heal and if you eat things ... even 1 chip or 1 cookie... your stomach churns) It is just a short time though in a long healthy life. just tell yourself you'll have a cookie later.

If you only want "positive"..ie permission to cheat, then that's not me. Check w/your surgeon on Monday; the point of restricting food is to allow your band to heal in place. Peristalsis causes the stomach to move so eating ANYTHING too soon can cause movement and jostle your band loose. And no, you won't feel it move, but it does. If not a problem now, you can cause improper placement and set yourself up for a slip or erosion later. Does that mean no one "cheats" and gets away with it? No. Is it smart or good to do? No. Can it hurt YOU even if someone else got away with it? Yes. Please understand we're all hungry and weak and so on; docs know this! But there's a reason you're on liquids. If you are in true agony call your surgeon on monday and see if you can advance.

Sometimes docs ask for tests to fulfill insurance requirements, and sometimes they just use their judgment (like me NOT needing a cardio clearance since my ecg was fine, although I was a 405 pound 5'5" 53 year old out of shape woman!) The preop upper GI thing isn't as common...but it is informative (swallow strength, hernias, etc). I also had to do a quick one post op before he'd let me go home.

I think you surely can (and should) ask her to keep quiet about you. However I think it is unfair to tell her she can't tell about herself. We're all different; she may need the love and support of everyone, she may not see it as "judgment and ogling" like you do. So your surgery is your business and she should keep quiet about it....and shame on her for "outing" you like she did. But by the same token, her surgery and journey are hers to tell if she wants to.

I had an ecg, blood work, upper GI, abdominal ultrasound, chest x-ray, all preop. Also a psych eval and nutrition consult. I did not have x-ray of abdomen and because ecg was normal didn't need a cardio consult...nor sleep consult because I sleep fine (no apnea). Those tests (or some configuration thereof) are fairly standard...some people even have to do a stress test. I didn't.

then call and ask again...best to know for sure! you won't be the first, or last, to forget the answer to something. Your doc would rather you ask than just chance it!