RestlessMonkey

You just need to do research; perhaps get some books on gastric banding from your library or book store. Lap band and gastric bypass are very different surgeries. Good luck on your research!

Yes it's normal. If you think about it, it will make sense. The band is sitting around your stomach, much in the same way you can loosely hold a belt (if it's big enough! :cursing:) around your waist. Until you tighten and fasten the belt, it's just there. Same is true of the band. It took me 5 fills (over 5 months) to finally feel any restriction. You have to just give it time.

It varies. I had almost none. In recovery they were going to give me 2 mg of morphine and i just took one...rejected the pain pump. rejected the "Q ball" (or whatever it is) for pain I took the prescription pain med twice, on day 2. That's it. No big deal for me

Plus who said you can't eat bread? You're in diet mode. You need to move beyond that. My doc says to goal is to be able to eat anything, to make healthy choices most times, to not snack, and to eat 3 small meals a day. and you lose. YAY. Bread (and pasta and rice) are all part of that.

I've lost about that much in 7 months and know I'm not a failure; now that I have restriction (love my doc but he is VERY conservative) the weight is coming off. I don't calorie count or weigh or yada yada either...I do make good choices (usually) I do eat protein first, I do have to chew well and avoid liquids during meals, I struggle mightily to NOT SNACK. and TAH DAH I am losing 2-3 pounds a week now. Yay. You have to get the right balance of restriction, good choices, etc. OH and I exercise too at least 3 days a week. It makes a big difference.

I drink a shake. I can go up to 6 hours without food anyway. Eat before your shift, have a shake during, a meal later.

How many hours do you work in a day? I have an 8 hour "shift" at school (nursing student) and I just take a protein shake (same brand my doc told me to get for preop) It does the trick. I'm so busy I'm not hungry. If you are really that busy (and I know it gets that way) you won't be hungry either. The way you think about food will change. Unless you go 12+ hours or more (in which case, block off some time to eat.) you'll be fine! OH and I can't snack or have anything to drink either (big no no at the nurses' station) and I do ok. Occasionally when I'm getting water for a patient I'll chug down a glass, and yes liquids go down fine. It's actually easier than preband, for me.

I don't know if any of you read this, but per an (online) article I saw in the New York Times, our govt is sending national guard to border towns because of violence in Mexico. I guess he (Pres. Obama) mentioned it in his speech tonight (which i did not see; I was in school). Anyway...take care crossing the border. Unless we have federal troops in downtown Boston or Oklahoma City, what's happening to our Southern Neighbor is a whole different type of violence. Please be prudent and remember the drug dealers causing this ruckus won't think "OH that's a van of american tourists....don't mess with them". I don't know exactly WHAT drug dealers think, but I doubt it would be that.

I think you need to discuss this with your surgeon. Depending on how many days you are post op, a BIG issue would be the threat of blood clots. That's always a danger for anyone flying, and it is magnified in post op patients. When you have an obese post op patient, the threat ratchets up even more. If you MUST fly I'm sure your surgeon can give you drugs or directions to make it safer for you....and your surgery date may be far enough from your flight date to make it a non-issue. As to the band itself; while I've read about some who have issues, you will probably be ok, especially if the flight is on a commercial (pressurized) airliner. Ask your surgeon about that, too.

If you can't eat anything but what you listed, of course you are TOO tight and need an unfill. Call your surgeon and discuss it tomorrow! The point of the band is to eat healthy (aka good variety) and what you've described is not healthy.

How much restriction do you have? That's the deciding factor, IMHO...although to be fair to yourself, if you had an accident in December and don't have much restriction and have "only" gained 3 pounds in the 3 months (while dealing with the physical, emotional and financial impact of the accident) I think you're doing darn well. This is something only you can decide. It's important that you get adequate (healthy) nutrition while you heal. Are you up for adding restricition onto your plate, so to speak? IE Following your surgeons rules no liquid while eating chew the dickens out of food tiny bites etc? If you already have good restriction, a fill won't help. If you don't...well, you're in for a surprise. It might be too much to deal with. Only you know that for sure!

My only problem with the papaya enzyme (or the meat tenderizer/water mix, in fact) is this: If it works to dissolve meat, chicken, or pork, it will also work on my esophagus. No thanks. I just try to not get stuck and when it happens, wait it out. No fingers down my throat for me (it never has worked for me) and liquid...OMG I thinbk that would strangle me. The one time I forgot and got a swallow of water to help something go down, the water plopped out like I was a fountain or something. SOMETIMES my husband whamming me in the back between the shoulder blades helps whatever move on through, but not always.

Are you nauseated? You need to tell your surgeon about this NOW! :huh2: He'll give you something to stop it, most likely; if it's especially violent it can be hard on the band.

I slept on my left (port LOL) side the night of my surgery, and on my stomach the night after my surgery. No problems. BUT I was motivated to do so; I feel it helps prevent adhesions etc. And my personality is such that the sooner I get 'back to normal" the better I feel.

mine doesn't use it and doesn't seem to need it, at least with me anyway. The man is a wizard.

Ok mine was REALLY not that bad. I just couldn't get comfortable. It felt like a cramp (like the ones you get in your calf?) but in my "innards"...just under my right breast. It STARTED with a cramp (like that) in my back! The first one only lasted an hour or two. Over one year I had 2 more "attacks" and the last one lasted 12 hours! (and it is a cramp, actually; your gall bladder spasms trying to squirt bile out and it can't because of blockage of some sort. instead of relaxing it contracts and stays contracted. It isn't fun) I know most people say it was the worst pain in their lives so I thought mine couldn't be my gall bladder, but it was. and you can't really "prevent it"...once it starts to act up even watching your diet etc is dicey. They say its best to just get it removed (I was reluctant to give up a functioning organ! LOL) I never missed mine...no issues post op etc.

I agree with Plain (as usual, sigh! ) LOL anyway soap won't infect you, germs infect you. But while you are healing most surgeons tell you to NOT scrub or wash your surgical sites. I was told to just let water wash over them. Your doc can guide you!

I cheated on my first diet and lost 15 pounds anyway but didn't get the band. I learned to follow the rules REALLY WELL from that. So maybe, maybe not. Get with the program. Think of how horrid you'd feel if you "came to" in recovery and were told "You didn't get the band, dear, your liver was too thick". It is horrid. It is not worth it to "cheat". When they say cheating only hurts you, well, they are 100% right. And realize that almost NO ONE thrives on those austere diets. If we could go without food easily we probably wouldn't be here. So no one "breezes through" and loves those shakes etc. But the successful ones can suck it up and stick to it for a while, because we have to! You aren't alone, but you can do this!

I'm not sorry at all. I've lost more slowly than I thought (and I thought it would be slow) but it is coming off and I'm very pleased. My only regret is that I didn't have this option 25 years ago.

You're safest to ask your surgeon. Mine made a point of telling us no BC pills preop and for a while post op, but all surgeons are different. Find out from yours what's best for you!

If you are salt sensitive it doesn't take a diet high in sodium. Per my PCP I have to keep my salt UNDER 2000 mg a day (and that is not easy. Just read how much salt is in the things you eat each day). It may take more than "a bit of weight loss" to impact your edema! Just hang in there!

For me, as I've gotten more restriction, this is easier and easier to do. If I am eating, now, and forget and drink I almost ALWAYS get stuck and it's a nightmare. It is much easier to pass it up and wait per instructions. hang in there!

Good luck! There ARE of course people who have crossed the border, gotten banded, and had good experiences. And those people are intelligent people who thought it through and made the best choice for them. I don't mean to imply it's a hot bed of hell and disease! BUT I would not do it. Plus it's harder to get aftercare (the fills are what make the band work) if you get it done away from home, as I said. If you can get it done near you, that's probably best, as long as you find a good surgeon etc!

Check with your doctor! -- your primary!

Protein is protein. If liquid protein weren't used like "protein" then the supplements we drink would be useless. If in doubt call your doc; but I think yes you got too much and shouldn't consistently get that much unless you aren't worrried about developing other long term problems. (that was a big complaint about Atkins, as I recall)