RestlessMonkey

DuckyH not everyone has bad gas pains; I didn't! I slept on my side the 1st night (night of my surgery....although I did use a pillow to brace my torso!) and night 2 I slept on my tummy(as is usual for me). I used 2 doses of "heavy duty" pain medication and otherwise did fine with tylenol. I felt great, no nausea, no issues. I hope you both have an easy surgery and recovery like I did! :thumbup: Honestly the head cold I got on 9/16 caused me more misery and distress than getting the band has done! :smile2:

I've been able to lose, but never able to keep weight off and build on that. I am fairly optimistic that, while I will have to do the "work" in picking healthy foods etc, the band will help me keep weight off. Glad to meet another Positive thinker! I'm sure your wife and son are so proud and happy that you took this step for you and for the future!

I too plan to move in 2-3 years. I figured by then I'd be pretty "normalized" fill wise etc; and if I have an emergency, whomever WILL treat me. But I'd like to know what other people say; I guessed if necessary I could always come back for a visit and use my Dr. Cavazos when adjustments are needed.

Respectfully, DH has been an RN for 25 years, and I'm in nursing school. BRAT diet does work although it's best for diarrhea...and you don't have to ingest all 4 at same time, or ingest all 4. Applesauce is bland but is an easy source of energy. Banana has natural type paregoric and can slow the bowels down. Toast can absorb stomach acid and calm it down. You can pick and choose from the menu. But it's best to stop all water for a few hours to let your nausea abate. :thumbup:

While you're waiting, quit drinking for a few hours. Once the nausea subsides, try a LITTLE bit of Water...like a few swallows, less than an ounce. If you can keep that down about 20-30 min and the nausea doesn't come back, drink a little more. If you can, get some gatorade (sugar free if you want) it will help keep your fluids and electrolytes in balance. Don't eat until you are nausea free and can keep liquids down well, then do a bland diet (for kids they say BRAT diet...bananas, rice, applesauce, toast) don't know about the rice and toast for you, depending on restriction, but some applesauce or so on until you're feeling better. I think your band will probably be fine but you need to break the drink/vomit/drink/vomit cycle. Unless you got a fill in the last week or 2?

well I guess just quit looking when they draw your blood or start an IV! LOL It is odd that you fainted, though. You'll be fine, I'm sure, as long as your doctor is aware and on top of things! Good luck! :thumbup:

I had diarrhea. Because I didn't take the drug w/morphine (opiates can constipate you) I had diarrhea and was told it was the anesthesia. It lasted about a week. It wasn't bad, just troublesome. The shoulder? MOVE! WALK WALK WALK! the more you walk, the more it dissipates. When mine hurt terribly, I'd rub it or have my husband rub it and it quit in about 1-2 minutes. You can use a heating pad if you want (i hate heating pads but lots love 'em LOL) just don't use it over your surgical sites until you check w/your docs office; some use internal sutures that dissolve over time and if you get the area too hot it CAN prematurely dissolve them. Just hang in there; it gets better. Walking really does help your body break the gas down and reabsorb it. Some swear by Gas x but it never touched my shoulder pain, but walking and rubbing it when it got TOO much did the trick.

They should've taken your blood pressure and are you diabetic? Have you felt woozy before when they have drawn your blood in the past? Just realize that post op liquids means nothing that you chew (even eggbeaters, unless you're drinking it yuk) LOL because when you chew and digest your stomach churns and it can rip the sutures holding your band n place. So it is REALLY important. My doc has his patients on one week clear (No Protein shakes nothing but Water, broth, and sugar free popsicles and SF Jello that is chewed. have you ever chewed just plain old jello LOL?) the second week we were allowed to add Protein Shakes into the mix. If you've never fainted before, don't have blood pressure issues, and don't have diabetes, I guess it was a fluke but it sounds to me like they should've checked you out more. You know better than me, though! :thumbup:

I was told just fluids for 24 hours post fill. If you were told the same, it's possible the pudding was too much too soon. Didn't you have to drink in your doc's office? If so, did it go down and stay down ok? If it did, you may just be agitated from the pudding. BUT you can't go too long w/out water; we dehydrate pretty quickly.

I was "borderline" but not on any medication for diabetes, and I've felt fine. I agree w/Slim-n-tn; call your endocrinologist. See, for me borderline, I had no drugs, didn't check my own blood sugar, etc. I was hungry until I got on mushies; is that maybe what your husband is experiencing? What symptoms? If you guys know it's low blood sugar, then please call his endocrinologist right away!

You do know post op you pretty much HAVE to be on liquids for a while to allow your stomach to heal where the band is placed? It's good you and your surgeon have a plan of attack now so that you can heal well without fainting again! Good luck!

Not me. What did they do when you fainted in the office? And what "cheating" did your doctor approve? I was hungry but I handled it.

A better plan would be to ask your wife to hide the crackers from you.

NO experience here w/Dr Rose; you may want to look in the "Doctors and Hospitals" forum, or enter the name in the search bar at the top right. Good luck!

No experience; you may want to look under the "Doctors and Hospitals" forum, or enter his name in the search bar at the top right! :thumbup:

Ok is your surgery on MONDAY? (10/13) or thursday (10/16)? Apparently you really are excited! Welcome and good luck! :thumbup:

Welcome! I'm 53 and was banded 8/29. While I'd be glad to answer your questions, this link has pages of "surgery day stories" that should answer most of your questions. If not, you may PM (private message!) me or post here and I'll help if I can! Good luck! http://www.lapbandtalk.com/f178/surgery-day-stories-64287/

lynnlynn you might want to start another thread for this.... but I suggest asking your surgeon.

What did your surgeon recommend? I'd use his guidelines; everyone is different.

I went up 14 pounds. It was just fluid retention It goes away. Chill! :thumbup:

I started a lot higher than some of you (most of you? all of you? LOL) but just couldn't do bypass. I picked my goal because it's what I weighed in my early 30's; I felt good, fit into most "normal sized" clothing, and so on. My PCP told me if I got under 200 pounds he would cry happy tears of joy and could keep me healthy for years to come! So my main motivator for this isn't to look hot like many of you younger ladies (and maybe some of the gents) but to be able to be more active, mobile, and fit in the world. I hope to prevent development of DM II ('i'm borderline) to keep from developing hypertension (I"m borderline) to prevent non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (borderline) ... to quit being "borderline" ! Once I get under 200 (2 years? maybe?) I'll reassess!

Skin is an organ, you know. Exercise tightens muscle which lies UNDER the skin, but can't tighten skin. Whether you will have oodles of skin depends on many different factors: How heavy you were, how fast you gained, how long you were very heavy, how stretched WAS your skin, your genetics, your skin type, your age, and so on. The best you can do is exercise per your surgeon's advice, eat as healthy as you can, take your Vitamins, drink Water, and wait to see how things "settle". Just remember saggy skin is better than fat! If you have to have plastic surgery in some areas (or if you want it, I should say) that's better than, say open heart surgery. So hope for the best, expect you may have some saggy skin, and realize it beats the alternative.

And you know fills don't make us lose weight. Eating less and exercising make the weight go. Fills just make the "eating less" easier.

Water and fat are two different things, of course. But I think you're getting too much water. Shoot for 64 ounces and see how you do. And don't drink with your meals, or before or after, per your surgeon's directions. Water shouldn't make you retain water unless you have an issue with your heart or kidneys. SALT can make you retain water and more water will flush it. But rather than tinker with all that (it can get obsessive)....what diet are you on and when are you "allowed" to drink?

Hi Becky! Good point! Plus, lots of surgeons/fill centers use fluoroscopy... it helps hit the port right away and you can see how much fill is in there (which you could measure anyway) but not sure how it will help with "sweet spot" because everyone is very different. Depending on how well we chew and how strong our swallow reflex there would be some variance. So I'd think you can't go just on "stoma size" which is optimum all a fluoro will tell them. They can't know psychologically how well the patient will tolerate BAM being that restricted etc. Can you tell I'm a student in a medical field? I'd love to know the answers to all this!