PSJ71

Hi all, I have been reading some of the posts. I am soooo addicted to this site. I have really been looking forward to getting the lap band, but I have been seeing posts about chest pain after surgery? I'm scared of that. On a scale from 1 to 10, what are your scores for the after pains of surgery? I have had many surgeries and soreness, muscle spasms, I am no stranger to, but I don't know if I could handle chest or shoulder pain. I really want to have this done, but now I'm scared.

Just curious as to when you had an unfill after finding out you were pregnant. I am 5 weeks pregnant and am scheduled to have an unfill on Tuesday, I'll be exactly 6 weeks. I am really nervous about having the unfill. The doctor is taking it ALL out. I had hoped he would at least leave just a little in. But, his procedure is taking it all out. Thanks!

Hi all, My husband and are trying to conceive, and I am sure I am having a wacko cycle, but I have never experienced anything like this before. I am due to start my cycle on May 5, and on April 26, I started spotting, light pink and then seems to get a little heavier, but have not needed a pad. But, I have noticed my band has been tighter than normal. I have also been having lots of heartburn. So, I was wondering if anyone experienced this prior to finding out you were pregnant. Thank you :smile:

What a wonderful post! Thank you for that. :thumbup:

You know, I have been researching this for a while since I hope to become pregnant soon. If you google something like pregnancy diet meal plan, there are some wonderful ideas for things to eat during pregnancy. On average, I read to sustain a healthy pregnancy one only needs to consume 300 more calories per day. Congrats on your pregnancy! :thumbup:

Just wanted to come on and say, I experienced a chemical pregnancy. So, I was, in fact, pregnant, but for whatever reason, it just didn't stay in there. :thumbup: I have to go and have my progesterone levels checked this month on the 21st day of my cycle. So, hopefully, this month will be better.

Congrats to you!! :thumbup:) I have almost 6 cc in my band, but I know sometimes my band gets tighter around cycle time, anyway. I've also got some heartburn going on too.

I took two of the dollar general 5 day early pregnancy tests and both of them gave me a very, very faint line. But then, when I tested earlier yesterday, it was even more faint. When I took the tests, I was 11 days past ovulation and 12 days past ovulation. I am taking another in the a.m. at 13 days past and see what happens. Strange thing, I spotted from 7 DPO to 11 DPO, and now I am not spotting. So, I don't know what's going on. I am not "technically" due to start my period until May 5th. So, I have no clue. Congrats to you on your bun in the oven :thumbup:) Paulette

I have to say thank you to Dr. Pleatman. I have already been banded, but I do wish my doctor would have been more up front with patient satisfaction with the band. I had actually wanted the sleeve, but unfortunately, my insurance wouldn't cover it, and then prior to surgery while doing an EGD, it was discovered I had an ulcer, which my doctor said if I had been going for any other surgery, bypass or sleeve, he wouldn't have been able to do it. I have to say, I have been struggling for the last 2 months or so with heartburn. I had a slight unfill about a month and a half ago, which helped with the regurgitation, but depending on what I eat I still have it from time to time. I haven't lost any weight since January and getting frustrated. (I don't have the Lap band, I have the REalize band).

You know, it has always amazed me at how people can get away with saying things like that and also being prejudiced against people who are heavy. Like one of the other posters said, if you had made a comment about her being Jamaican or if she happened to be of another race, then that would be grounds for harrassment. It really unnerves me that this type of behavior is acceptable! If a person says something sexual that makes another person uncomfortable, then they can file sexual harrassment on them. So, how come if someone makes a comment about being fat and it makes a person uncomfortable, then why can't there be repercussions there? I guess I'll never know. Don't let that idiot get you down, because she is obviously an idiot. take care, Paulette

You should be getting more calories than that, but I wanted to share something I posted on Obesityhelp. Post Date: 11/13/09 9:10 pm Hi all, Right after surgery, I came on here and complained that I hadn't been losing anything and was thinking I would be one who the band just didn't work for for whatever reason. In the beginning I did lose slow, but as I started getting my fills and doing the "dieting" and exercising that is required with this thing, I am finally seeing results and it feels GREAT!! I went in for my 5th fill on November 2. At the doctor's office I weighed 230;my scale said 227. This morning I got on my scale, 11 days after my fill, and I am down to 221.8! Wow!!! That's 6 pounds in 11 days. I am posting this because I know there are several newly banded people, who, like me, were thinking that the weight should fall off magically after having the band placed and should come off with doing only liquids and significantly reduced caloric intake. I just wanted to share with you guys who are new that give this thing some time and you will see some results. I have been diligently watching my diet (even through the hunger, and even through some slip-ups from time to time),exercising and drinking lots of fluids. Today, as of this morning, I am down 27 pounds since surgery day of 07/07/2009! Granted I thought it would be more by this time, but I can tell you I am on cloud 9! I am almost at the 30-pound mark!! I am down total of 53.2 since March (the start of my 3-month supervised diet) and that is a great feeling. I have a lot more to go, but dang it that's 53 pounds I will NEVER, EVER see again! I remember reading posts like this in the beginning and just not believing I would be one of the ones who loses weight with this thing. But, this WILL work for you. I'm not sayin' it isn't a lot of work because it is. But do what you are supposed to and you will see results. Keep your chin up and keep pluggin' away! Much love, Paulette

Hi all, I'm being banded on Tuesday. I am compiling a list of necessities to take with me for an overnight stay. So far, I have: 1. Chapstick. 2. Tooth paste/tooth brush. 3. hair brush. 4. Video camera (I am documenting my journey on Youtube). If anyone else has any suggestions, please let me know. :smile2:) Thank you, Paulette )

Cute post! :crying:) Yes, mine's name is Benny.

Amanda, Please let me first tell you to not get discouraged. I went through EXACTLY what you are going through. When I started my preop diet on June 27, 2009 I weighed 257. The day of surgery I weighed 248.8. So, I lost 9 pounds on my preop diet. I thought it would be more, but I was still happy with that. Okay, the week and a half AFTER surgery, I lost 7 pounds and didn't budge for 2 weeks. Then I lost 2 more pounds. Then NOTHING for 4 or 5 more weeks. I am just NOW starting to lose weight it seems consistently. I have had 4 fills and feel I am at an okay spot right now with my restriction. I know in a few weeks or so I will want another one. My scale's battery is dead, so I don't know if I have lost anything since last week. But as of last week, since 07/07/2009 (surgery date) I have lost 17 pounds. Don't get discouraged and if you doctor tries to humiliate you like that again, you just tell him that you arent' the only one that has gone through this. I admit when I see people who have had other surgeries and are down 60 or 70 pounds since July, I get a little jealous, but when I do see my weight IS coming down, I am happy. We will get to our goal, just please be patient. We all want to see those scales move, but for some reason I think some for some of us, the stress of the surgery might put our bodies into shock or something. If this band teaches nothing else, it will definitely teach patience. Through it all, though, I have not regretting having the surgery or my band. But just keep doing what you are doing, journal, measure, exercise and drink lots of Water. It will start to come off. Big hugs, I know what you are feeling. I have been there too. Paulette

Boy, do I know what you went through! I ended up going to my doctors in the middle part of August, a little over a month after my surgery, because of having really bad upper side pain. It would start each time I ate anything and any time I did anything strenous. It would even hurt up into my collar bone. I could get it to stop by lying on the left side. My doc did x-rays and then came into the room and asked me when I had a BM. I told him every day, but it was difficult. I was so backed up that that is what was causing the pain! He told me to take magnesium citrate. I ended up having to drink 2 bottles of that stuff. He told me to make sure to take a fiber supplement each day because from now on I would be more prone to it. And I still do have problems. It's miserable!

Hi all, I was banded on 07/07/2009. So, I am 9 weeks out from surgery. I have had 3 fills. The first one was 3 cc. No restriction. No weight loss since the week after surgery. Last week I FINALLY lost 2 pounds and so, far it seems I have lost 2 pounds for this week, but I fluctuate 3 pounds each day. My 2nd fill was .5 cc. I went last week to have my third fill under fluoro and it was another .5 cc, which brings me up to 4 cc in my Realize band. I really had hopes for this fill, as we watched the Fluid go through. I have noticed if I don't chew well, I will get things stuck, not to the point where I slim, but if I burp it will come up some. It is a bit uncomfortable. But, I could definitely eat more than 3 ounces of meat and 1/4 cup of veggies at one sitting, but I don't. I know my doctor will give me another fill if I call and set it up, but I am just not sure what exactly I am supposed to be feeling or looking for. For instance, this morning for Breakfast, (and yes, I know this is a slider food) I had cottage cheese and 2 no sugar added peach slices. Then, since I work 3rd shift I layed down after taking my son to school. I woke up at 2 p.m. I didn't have anything until 4:30, which was 3 ounces of roast beef and 1/4 cup of green Beans. I felt okay after I ate, not full and nothing to signal me being full. By 6:30 I was hungry again. I didn't eat anything, but had about 2 ounces of juice because I wanted to exercise and wanted to curb the hunger pangs. I was feeling literal hunger pangs and had my husband listen to my tummy to hear the growling. So, I know it wasn't head hunger. At 10:30, I ate a snack which was 1/2 cup low fat cottage cheese and 2 no sugar added peach slices. And I am hungry again, but trying to stretch out my food so I won't be starving by the time I take my little one to school. lol So, far today, I have had 54 grams of Protein, and 54 ounces of Water. So, would you give it a while longer, or would you call and schedule another fill? I am leaning toward making another appointment. My doc wants his patients to be at their green zone as soon as they can. I am really happy I started losing weight again, BUT, it is ONLY because of keeping myself from eating everytime I am hungry. Thank you for listening to my rant.

Yes, especially if you tell them that you have a tendency to get nervous. A lot of times they will give you Versed. My husband, who is a chicken when it comes to ANY type of medication, LOVES Versed LOL. He had unplanned hand surgery back in November, and before they took him to the OR, he was so tense and extremely nervous. The anesthesiologist came to visit with him and we told him that my hubby was extremely nervous, so he whipped out his syringe and gave it to him in his IV. I watched for about 20 or 30 seconds or so and when it hit him, my husband's face just completely relaxed and he started smiling and said, "okay, I'm ready to go." LOL So, yes, if you tell them you get nervous, they will give you something. Good luck to you!!

Hi all, I have a question for those who have had fills under fluoro. I was banded 07/07 and now have 3.5 cc in my Realize band. My doctor is aggressive with fills thankfully, but the nurse practitioner only put .5 cc in the last time, because it was a "blind" fill. So, she told me that the next one I should have done under fluoro so they can be a bit more aggressive with the fill, as they want their patients in the green zone as soon as possible. Anyway, my question is, about how many fills under fluoro did you have before you got restriction? Also, how much did they inject while they had you under fluoro? Thank you bunches! )

Hi forever, Well, I will try and answer some of your questions. I became an Aetna member December 2008, as my employer changed insurances. So, this could be a whole different ball game, not sure. Anyway, as I stated before, I had already started the process prior to getting Aetna. But, I had to basically start over again, for the exception of a lot of the testing I had already done prior, such as the stress test, lab work, chest x-ray, etc. In January, I had a sleep study done which Aetna covered, my part is 80% after deductibles are met. So, from the time I got Aetna, which was December to July 7th is when I was banded. If you have any comorbidities at all it would be in your favor with Aetna; however, I would wait until you aquire insurance before having testing done. I had to follow either a 6-month supervised diet or a 3-month supervised diet with my surgeon; I chose the 3-month. AFter I completed that and some other things, it was submitted to my insurance on June 11th. I was approved on June 17th of this year and had my surgery on 07/07/2009. If you have any other questions, please don't hesitate to ask. Good luck!

Hi just had to agree with you. I was a little nervous the morning of surgery, but, like you, the most painful and not even that painful was the IV. When I woke up from surgery I had some left collar bone pain, but after I finished waking up, that subsided. I never had to take any pain meds, even after returning home. Never even filled them. I couldn't have asked for a better recovery.

Okay, so I need some insight for those of you who have fills and are at restriction. I was banded with the Realize band on 07/07/2009. I went for my first fill on Monday, August 24, and had 3 cc placed. I just had more solid food tonight about 3 hours ago. I tried to evaluate how I was feeling while eating and noticed after finishing my portion that I "could" eat more, but I wasn't ravishening hungry. It is now 3 hours after I have eaten and I don't feel hungry. Is this the feeling I am looking for? Or am I looking to feel really full on just a few bites? This is what I had for dinner. I had less than 1/4 cup of Hamburger helper, 2 teaspoons corn and less than a 1/4 cup of salad, but I "could" have eaten more but didn't. My doctor told me that by Friday if I felt like I could polish off a whole hamburger when eating then I could schedule for another fill. So, I just don't know. Thank you :blushing:) Paulette

:thumbup: Hi Mindy, Thank you so much for responding. I went ahead and scheduled another fill for Monday. My doctor told me that if I am relying on willpower to stop, then I might need another fill. I know this is going to take some getting used to, but I know I can do it. Hopefully the next fill will give me more of a restriction. Thank you so much!

Thank you for your input, Donna. It really is hard to get in 60 grams of protein a day. I am still working out how to get all that in. I am going in Monday for another fill, so I think that will help as well. I have started logging on the Dailyplate again and my protein intake is a bit on the low side so far. So, Yes, I do need to step it up in that area.