RestlessMonkey

If you still can't drink by tomorrow morning, call your doc, ok? It MAY be swelling from the surgery, or s/he MAY have filled you some and it's too tight (that happens a lot). The point right now is to heal and you do NOT need to suffer with the band to lose, ok? Well, the post op healing diet is vile but other than that! LOL Dehydration is a big concern. Just do what you can, and call tomorrow if it isn't much easier to get your required fluids in.

Ok didn't mean to insult. It's been all over my docs office and they even handed out little cards with the info on it; he even went over it in the seminar. I guess we're just "forward" down here in San Antonio!

I'm glad you called her! You probably saved yourself a trip to the ER tonight! :frown: Good for you! Glad you're feeling better now.

If you can, take some benadryl. It should help. If it doesn't go away call your doc on Monday. The odds of you being allergic to the band (made of an inert plastic) are REALLY REALLY slim.

You probably should call your doc. If you are sleeping a lot and get winded after a short walk (and didn't before the surgery) you MAY have something a bit more serious than just adjusting to liquids only. I didn't even get protein my first week and didn't feel like you do (and yes I know we're all different...but your symptoms 1 week post op sound a little severe). Call your doc to be on the safe side, ok?

Of course, Susan is correct. If you can't keep fluids down, you're probably too tight, and you can become dehydrated pretty easily. And some do swell after a fill but 4ccs is a pretty aggressive fill and you may need a little removed. If you still can't keep liquids down, call your doctor. :frown:

Yes we call it stuck but it isn't exactly.

You probably won't know. Your surgeon will run tests. But symptoms that I've read on here include either suddenly losing all restriction (and it doesn't come back) or conversely suddenly being unable to even swallow your own spit. But as you can see these are vague symptoms and can indicate other things too (a fill kicking in, a leak in your port or tubing, etc). Also often (but not always) present are pain with each bite of food, nausea, etc. GERD (persistent acid reflux) can also be a symptom..of a slip, or other issues! THere is no set list of symptoms that positively indicates a slip. From what I've read, the MAJOR cause is being too tight and overeating. And the percentage of slips is relatively low, about 5% or so, i think. So take home from this is: do follow the diet given you by your doc, don't consistently overeat/pack your pouch, and if you have a sudden change or pain tell your surgeon.

Hmmm Dilaudid is a narcotic too... Holli if I were you I'd just make sure I had some liquid tylenol on hand. That really did it for me. Just be cautious taking the dilaudid if you had such a severe reaction to hydrocodone (your doc knows what he's doing, I'm just passing along a tip!) Remember too if you take it it can constipate you (as can all opioid narcotics) so keep an eye on that too.

I'm almost 1 year post op. Not as long as some, longer than others. But I can say at this point, with all my heart, that my ONLY ONLY regret was that they didn't have this surgery when I was 30.

I didn't need a referral; not everyone does.

The burping isn't from the operative gas. They pump gas into you to spread things out a bit and make surgery easier. That gas dissipates over a week or so (if you don't have a good surgeon who removes most of it for you). The other...got news for you. It will be around a while. That's one reason they say early on to not use straws (you swallow air, and that means burps etc) Buy Gas X...and try to get used to it. I've just NOW gotten to where I don't sit around and burp for an hour or two after meals. I STILL burp if I eat a little too much. It isn't wonderful, but it's do-able.

Welcome and good luck. Just remember you aren't your sister! You may have less pain, you may have more. You may not have a sore throat from the breathing tube, and so on! It's good to know you two can support each other but don't hold each other up as rulers, ok? You'll each have your own journey! Good luck!

A bariatric surgeon will NOT tell you to go "diet and exercise". Your first step is to see if your insurance covers Lap Band, and if it does, select an in-network surgeon/surgical center. You may not even need a primary referral; again that depends on your insurance. Good luck!

The major difference is stomach bile/acid, and when you VOMIT your stomach spasms. A PB...no bile, and usually just the esophagus is spasming (as you know, it's a one-way conveyor belt and doesn't like it when things STOP...it wants food to move on through) I know some will tell you they PB all the time but depending on how far out you are post op and how often and how violently you PB it can cause issues. The occasional PB shouldn't cause a slip, but if you are so tight that you PB often, tell your doc.

This isn't that uncommon. Don't tug it, don't put new skin on it, and call your doc on Monday. He may just have you clip it, he may want to see it...at that time, ask him if it's ok to use the new skin

I can't imagine that it would be an issue. Why does she think it would preclude her surgery?

Beats me. I've never heard of that, some title with BCBS I'd guess. Call and ask them what it means!

I had a GREAT surgery, got to go home that night (my doc usually keeps his patients overnight but after I begged he let me go!) the hospital was great, the nurses were all WONDERFUL, no trapped gas after (thanks to Dr. Cavazos who, I'm sure, removed most of it, as all of them CAN do but few actually DO!) It was great. And it cured my sciatica, no kidding.

I'd say "right away" but last night I ate, felt fine, starting burping a lot and 2 hours after dinner, hurt like the devil! And then PB'd. So I guess it depends. Ticks me off though; you'd think that by now I would recognize the signs better, and I usually do, but the one last night snuck up on me.

I was indecisive for years, from 2003 until I FINALLY got my band in 2008. I had gone back and forth about it but since Ins didn't pay for it, it was easy for me to not get it. I tried EVERYTHING to lose. I even tried hypnosis, I went to a behavioral therapist for a year. I did WW about a million times. I tried nutrisystems. I tried all liquid diets. I did Richard Simmons Deal a Meal. I tried Atkins, I read about South Beach but figured it wouldn't work for me. I tried it all. I am very smart and not muc refuses to yield to me once I make up my mind but I could NOT lose weight and keep it off. I finally realized that if I kept doing what I'd been doing, I'd keep getting the same results. For me, lap band was the answer.

A hiatal hernia is different...they are the type most surgeons will repair during surgery (literally your stomach is being pushed up into your chest through your diaphragm...GERD is a symptom of this type of hernia. They are fairly common in people who overeat). A VENTRAL hernia is more around the belly button, often happens after surgery when the omentum is cut (like my gall bladder surgery in 2003). Once I've lost weight, the omentum will be more likely to heal intact...a hiatal hernia would respond more to a person who quits overeating. I have to quit overeating for a long time! :frown:

I have a large ventral hernia (not the same as a hiatal hernia!) and my surgeon told me at my banding weight (372) that it would just pop back out if they repaired it then. He said once I've lost a good chunk of weight, I'll have a better outcome. You don't say how much you weigh though; so yours may be repairable now?

Just remember while you're newly post op with the band, just because you can doesn't mean you should. :frown:

Right now...because I want to lose, I am (w/my doc's blessing and oversight) doing a modified version of the preop diet he had me on. I have 2-3 Protein shakes a day and then some meat, poultry, fish, whatever and veggies for dinner. Some days I have lunch too...just depends. I lose like 10-15 pounds in a week, then hold for a week or two, then drop 10-15 and so on. Odd, huh? My doc is adamant no Snacks (works for me) and the shakes are a meal, not a "filler"...but it isn't good to do this without your doc's approval. I don't get many cals most days. Of course, too, I'm 54 and post menopausal. That makes a diff, unfortunately! Last night I had fried chicken and some peas. :frown: I know fried chicken isn't a great choice for weight loss but I didn't even eat an entire thigh, so I guess it's ok! You certainly CAN diet right now while you're waiting for that wonderful thing called restriction...lots do. I didn't. When I calorie count, or weigh, or measure, i get obsessive. (tell me I can't and of course I immediately HAVE to. LOL) but it works for some. I honestly feel better and have more energy when I eat a more low carb diet (peas are a little carb-ish but they were awfully good, not to mention the coating on the chicken!). Some people, though, don't function well that way. What has worked for you in the past? Why not try that now? Restriction will happen....and until then if you don't want to just wait, you can revisit an old "diet" that worked for you before.