msnenequeenie14

It sounds like everyone had a great removal experience, I feel even more worried now because its the exact opposite for me. I had my band removed on 09/12/11 and today is 09/21/11 and I am still is severe pain, I am still totally swollen, I have twice as many incisions to get it out than I had to get it in, including two large sloppy incisions that are on my left side that have 14 staples in them combined. That area on my left side became so painful and swollen after surgery that I had to go to the emergency room, there they said "OH my! Well, its bleeding under the skin" they proceeded to do NOTHING about it even as they marked it each time they came into the room to keep record of how much larger it was getting while I was sitting in the ER. Even the slightest cough or exertion feels like something is coming through my left abdominal wall. I was totally blown off by my surgeon who asked me "Hey, what you wan do? You want to stay here in hospital or go home?" Isn't this something the Surgeon/doctor should decide???? God I wish that I had never gotten this ridiculous thing. Now I am all torn apart and in pain and nobody seems to care or try to help.

Hello, If you are still looking for people to write about the Lap Band, I am available, I am a writer myself. My lap band story id not all happiness and butterflies. This has been the absolute worst most painful experience of my entire life. I would love to share my story and how I am dealing with it. Jenean

Hello everyone! I was banded at Mercy Hospital in Chicago 6/30/08. I have been walking at least one mile or more per day for exercise and doing my best not to over eat and to eat healthier. I have only lost 25.5 lbs so far and to say the least, I am struggling and disappointed. I am for the most part starving myself trying to lose more weight, nothing is coming off. I have never had a fill so my band has no restriction and I can eat whatever I want. This is not what I want, which is why I got the Lap Band. I went to my first post -op appointment and when it was over they said call us in 5 weeks to get an appointment for my first fill and that was it. I have been calling and calling and they never call back, finally yesterday (09/17/08) someone called me back from Mercy Hospital and said they got my messages but not sure why nobody bothered to call back. I asked them for an appointment for a fill, and they cant even see me until mid October, they want me to come in at 630 am and the doctor still might not be able to get to me. Can anybody tell me, can I just go to another doctor for fills? Can anyone reccomend a better more professional office? How much do fills cost? I want so badly for this Lap Band to work for me but it is like the cards are stacked against me or something. *SIGH*:biggrin:

Hey Tobler, Congrats on being banded and on your way! You will be happy to know, it does get better and worse adn better again! And just an FYI, the hiccups and burping is a GOOD sign! During surgery they fill your abdomen with air so its easier to navigate, all that burping and hiccups is just the air trying to absorbp and escape! Good Luck!!

Its a diet that the docs have you go on, anywhere from two weeks to three days before surgery, they usually tell you about it, but do be afraid to ask. My docs requirement was a two week liquid diet and lose 10 lbs before my surgery date.

What can you eat? I learned that even when you have restriction, when you lose weight, you also lose some fat from around your stomach which causes you to lose restriction, meaning that you may have seven, but if you have lost, you may still need a fill... So what can you eat? Doc said if you can eat a whole anything, like a meal or a Burger you are not fully restricted adn need a fill...

Hey! My nutritionist is also staffed by the hospital not the actual surgeon and she works with several bariatric doctors. When I go in to see the doctor the Nutritionist receives a list of everyone that is coming in that day and she comes over to the clinic side and sits with us in the waiting area and talks with us and then when we go into meet with thte doctor she comes in and has a quick one on one with us. No additional co pay at all. I am sorry that is happening to you, it has to be stressful.

Hey! I'm 5'8", 32 years old, mom of 2 and started out my lapband journey at 339 lbs. Congrats for seriously looking into getting yourself healthy, its a hard thing to do alone. I also had to think long and hard about if I want a foreign object in me for life. But its pretty much the same thing as if you had hip replacement, or a pace maker put in, or any kind of orthopedic repair done to your bones after a break. I Broke my ankle back in 2004 and it was much harder to heal because I am overweight. But they put all kinds of pins in me and I had no second guesses about those at all and I can truly say my ankle still hurts more than this lap band ever did...So it's really just a personal choice, so far from what the band is and can do for me, I am willing to accept it. As far as activities, every seminar I went to (and I went to many, many seminars all over the Chicagoland area) and my own Doctor and nurses staff advised that you can do every activity as normal, the band does not limit you. I'm not an athlete by any means but I was apprehensive about getting it because I was worried it would interfere with my sex life. I was assured that there would be no problems and so far I "exercise" with my husband everyday and no issues at all. I went to my last appointment and everything is working fine and still in place! Hope that helps a little~

Whats the driving restriction for exactly? I drove home from the hospital.

This is probably a silly question, but how exactly can you tell if something is stuck?

Hey Starting Over! I was also banded in June 2008 (06/30/08) I have only lost 30 lbs so far and I have been on a roller coaster of emotions and good and bad eating habits right along with you! I didn't get my first fill until 10/14/08. Before that date I was able to eat anything at all, no restriction, nothing stopping me but that voice in the back of my head asking me "Now why are you eating all of that? You got the Lap Band to lose weight and you won't ever do it if you keep eating like that" I have had my first fill and I dont have the sweet spot yet, but I do have some restriction, not total restriction, but I find myself wanting to go into next summer without having to dread being Hot(Temperature) & Fat(Overweight), I want to be Hot(Sexy) and Phat(pretty Hot and Temptng). So I decided to use what restriction I have the best way I can and put forth all my effort into making better food choices. Now as far as the exercise goes, you have to start somewhere right? So why not just get up and walk around the block, just once, then the next day do it twice, and so on and so on. You will build up your stamina and feel motivated to do even more exercise! Did you also talk with your doc about what was causing you to throw up? Don't give up and don't give in! Were all right here with you and for you!

Ok here's the update! I went to my appointment bright and early on 10/14/08. I DID finally get my first fill!!!! Sadly there were some others there who had the same experience as me trying to get an appointment for a fill and having to wait 3 months or more. I finally asked Dr. Lufti What band do I have for sure (The Realize 10cc) I asked him did he put anything in it on the date of surgery, he said he did but wouldn't specify how much. I asked him how much he was putting in on 10/14/08 he would only say 2-3cc, to which I asked, which one. He never would give me specifics... I have decided I am going to keep on questioning Dr. Lufti everytime I see him until I get all the complete answers I need and want and feel satisfies and educated about this process I have chosen. I am feeling so much better about the band. I do have some restriction now finally, I do not think I am at that "sweet spot" everyone talks about, but I notice a marked reduction in the amout of food I can eat. I feel full/satisfied with a much smaller amount of food and I notice myself not being hungry for long periods of time. It's true that this may all be in my mind because I am so excited and happy to finally have a fill! One thing I have been experiencing which is new to me is a little bit of a nauseated feeling, or a feeling like my food is kind of about to rise back up, I think this is that PB thing I have been reading about, because I notice that if I change my body position a few times I then usually burp and I feel better. I am making sure to chew my food really well and eat slowly. I have rededicated my self to making the absolute best food choices! Also, When I was at Mercy Hospital on 10/14/08 I REFUSED to leave until the set me an appointment for my next fill, I did not accept "we are a little too busy to do it right now" nor did I accept "Just call us in a couple days and set it". I will be going back for my second fill 12/16/08. Right before christmes, which I consider a blessing because we all know what can happen at Christmas! Thank you everyone for the encouraging words and support and all the helpful information! You are all my Lap Band Buddies and I'm looking forward to reading your input on this update! ~*~SMOOCHES~*~

I don't think there is anything wrong with doing it at all. My husband and I have done it before, just make sure you are both doing it for the right reasons and the same reasons. My husband and I are very much in love but we are also best friends and that helps a lot. I didn't have that problem of him paying too much attention to her becasue I wanted us both to enjoy it so I didn't keep score. I did notice that he was very attentive towards me and made sure I was totally comfortable 100%. And just a side bar, the first one we had lasted 11 hours, and a few times he took me into another room without her and made love to me then we rejoined me. That sent my confidence and comfort through the roof! Really talk with your wife and make sure she wants to do it for the enkoyment and freakiness of it and not to see how you might react and interact with another woman! ENJOY!

It sounds like you maybe first want to start with a total attitude adjustment and start believing in yourself and not believing in the band, believe in what it can help you do. If you have no restriction, that means that you can just eat anything without feeling full, not that you are not losing weight. Also, you mentioned how you get Chicken nuggets, that also might be a huge problem. If you are still eating at McDonalds, why would you eat something thats fried, why not get the Grilled chicken breast sandwich and don't eat the bread, or get the grilled chicken salad. If you are eating only 800-1200 calories per day but eating really bad stuff like chicken nuggets, thats going to hinder your progress. You didn't say that your gaining weight, just not losing right now? So maybe do some more strenuous exercise. Once your body gets used to doing something everyday, it almost isint exercise anymore, you have to constantly adjust and step your game up. Rule number one is DON'T EVER DEFEAT YOURSELF. You can do it and you can loose weight, but if you told your self from the start it wouldn't work for you, you went into the situation with the wrong attitude. The band is something to help you lose the weight, its not a magic cure. Take a long hard look and ask yourself are you eating 1200 of the right calories or 1200 garbage calories. Are you exercising and exerting effort and using energy or are you doing lifes regular activities and calling it exercise. I also walk a mile each day, but I make sure to walk fast and get those knees up and bend those arms and keep them in motion. I have also added those little strap on weights around my ankles. Take a long hard honest look and let us know what you come up with?

When I went to my consult with the nutritionist, she told me that it is more common than not for people to gain once they know they are for sure having the surgery, I was 229 when I started the whole lap band journey, and was 339 when I went to my last appointment before surgery...needless to say, the pre op diet will take care of that 4 you even if you only do it for a few days! just sit back and really think about why your gaining. For me, I was having a whole bunch of "last meals" I just wanted to eat everything I didn't think I would ever be able to eat again. Don't take it too hard, this won't be your last gain and loss in your lap band journey, keep your head up and keep moving forward!!

Hi Andrea! I had some of your same feelings as well. After the post op diet, I quickly discovered that I had nothing stopping me from pretty much eating the way that I used to before I got the band. I was trying unsuccessfully for more than 6 weeks just to get a call back from my doctors office to get an appointment for a fill. I lost 14 lbs in the week following the surgery. after that I was yo-yoing up and down with my weight. Some days I would just eat all I could just because I could then starve myself for the next few days to take back off the extra pounds. I finally got my first fill 10/14/08 and I actually have some restriction and I am so excited to see what happens next. Its not total restriction, but it is a difference from before the fill. I am looking forward to my next fill. When I was at my appointment on 10/14/08 my doctor asked me why I hadn't lost any additional weight. I told him I had just been trying so hard to maintain what I had lost and not gain any, I was too embarrassed to tell him about all the yo-yoing. He said you have only gone down .5 lbs since your last appointment almost three months ago. I said well I need a fill. He said how much weight did you lose pre-op. I said I lost the whole 10 lbs you told me to lose. He said EXACTLY and you did that without having a band at all, its all about the choices you make. So after my fill I decided that it IS all about the choices I make and my CHOICE is to change my eating habits for good and lose this weight! Don't feel like your failing, just feel like your human just like the rest of us and you had some set backs! Don't give up!

Hey Lori! Im so sorry to hear your frustration. I had some similar issues. I was banded 6/30/08 and had the most awful time getting my doc to even call me back to make an appointment for a fill. I finally got an appointment for a fill, it was 10/14/08. Up until that date I was really back and forth feeling frustrated and discouraged and then optimistic and hopeful. I DID finally get my first fill on 10/14/08 and I have to say I couldn't be happier. I actually have some restriction, I couldn't eat much of anything at all. I took the opportunity to ask as many questions of my doc as I could while I had him there. I actually tried to switch docs when I couldn't get an appointment for so long, that was unsuccessful. I also refused to leave the office without them setting my next appointment. If you really feel you have to give up I wish you so much luck and many blessings, if you decide to give it one more try, I wish you all the success in the world!

Hey Sabbee! I would love to be your friend! I agree with you 100%! You can tell people that you were banded but they really don't understand anything about it at all. Most people don't really understand what it means to struggle with weight and food issues for your whole life! I was banded 06/30/08 and I lost 29lbs so far. I am so anxious to meet the new me!

I am so glad I read this thread. I have been going back and forth with my anxiety. First I was anxious because I have no restriction and I can pretty much eat anything, but when I do and I get that old familiar stuffed feeling, I feel terrible about myself and life in general and I can't wait for the fullness to go away. I feel hungry often, this scared me to death at first, now I actually really like it. I realized that I have been overweight and over eating all my life, so before getting banded it has probably been more than 15 years since I actually felt a hunger pain in my body. Sure I would say I was hungry, just as an excuse to eat, but I really couldn't even recognize what hunger was once I got banded and started feeling it again. I am long over due for my first fill, and I desperately want one now becasue I don't want the knowledge lurking in the back of my mind that I can actually eat whatever I want, PLEASE TAKE THAT ABILITY AWAY FROM ME, but I actually like being hungry, to me it kind of signals I didn't over eat yet. So far, since being banded I have gotten all the way up to 29 lbs lost, but, with no restriction, one bad weekend put back on almost 10 lbs. I have been trying to set mini goals for myself, but they are so hard to achieve. I figure if they were easy, then I wouldn't have needed the band in the first place. Anyway, I have an appointment for a possible first fill on 10/14/08 and I am nervous and anxious, but really looking forward to knowing what the restriction actually feels like, I am longing to know what not having the ability to over eat (because I have the desire) feels like!!! BANDED 06/30/08 Starting Weight 339 Current Weight 310 Goal Weight 155

Maguirre67 did we see each other in the hospital? were you sitting in one of the wheel chairs down in that hall way waiting for the barium swallow to happen for you? I was sitting down there for a long time, mine just wouldn't go through for a long time???? Just curious to see if we met? I hope we can be lap band buddies, the more I try to be encouraged, the more I feel discouraged creeping back in...

Nope, still waiting for that fill. I finally got that call back, don't know if I mentioned that, and they told me to show up at the clinic at 630 am on October 14 and its a possibility the doctor will have time to see me, but not promised or confirmed. This really does burn me up. I am really struggling and I really want the band to work for me. I have contacted all the doctors people suggested and they all told me they wont take on a patient that has already been banded by someone else. I am pretty shocked at this! I made it all the way to 29lbs lost, but I had the worst most stressful week last week and I have gained some back, I know its because I ate too much, I just really want to get started with some restriction! Wish me luck!

Brandie, I had my surgery 6/30/08, on a Monday, came home from the hospital 7/1/08, rested 7/2/08 and was back at work on 7/3/08. I work for a Police Department as a Police/Fire Dispatcher, so I have to do a lot of sitting and standing and walking and turning my body in various directions. I did experience some pain, but it wasn't unbearable. I actually walked to and from work for the first few days to try to help my body with all that air they pump into your abdomen. Good Luck with you surgery!!!

I think I really do understand how you feel. I was really really believing that I made the wrong decision getting banded. I thought I wanted the band so bad and I did everything perfect to get it, then after I got it, I was in pain and confused. Discouraged and I experienced something that I realized I had not felt in so long I couldn't remember. HUNGER. I have been overweight and overeating for so long that I couldn't even remember what being hungey actually felt like. I have spent the last 20 years just eating and eating and eating, eating because its morning, night, afternoon, because I'm happy, sad, or because I passed someplace that I just have to stop in and get something. I used to eat a meal while I was cooking a meal and convince myself that I was still hungry...Once I got the lap band, I was experiencing a lot of different emothins and my natural reaction to emotion is to EAT. Except, I couldn't and still can't eat the terrible way I have been eating for so long. I actually got HUNGRY. I was so scared and nervous and depressed and just a whole host of other things...But I have been coming to LBT everyday and reading about the experience of others and getting encouragement and tips and I realize that I am actually Happy and pleased that I do feel hungry, its a sign that I am not overeating anymore(being hungry feels so much better than that, I am so stuffed I want to throw up or die right now feeling) I can no longer stuff everything down my throught and then feel terrible about myself because I did that. I have not had a fill yet and I have only lost 26 lbs so far, but I feel great! I feel like I can do anything. I feel like if I stick with this lap band and use it as the tool it is meant to be I will finally be FREE! :smile::smile::tongue::frown::tongue2::tt1::thumbup::thumbup::laugh::w00t::tt2::cool2::thumbup:

My Port is on my left side also about midway down my stomach. It was the longest scar with the most staples in it. It really feels like a flat hard thing under my skin, almost feels like its embedded in the muscle or whatever. I have 4 scars from my surgery, basically if you were looking directly at my stomach, the scars would be located North (under the bra line) South, (just above the belly button, little to the left) East, (where the port is) and West (the smallest scar). I know the largest one onthe east side is where the post is and I am assuming where the put the band in, I know just below my bra, the north scar is where they repaired the Hepatic hernia. I think that the west scar is where they inserted the laproscopic cameras for the surgery and I believe the south scar is where they inserted the tools they use to retract your other organs out of the way...

I think I really do understand how you feel. I was really really believing that I made the wrong decision getting banded. I thought I wanted the band so bad and I did everything perfect to get it, then after I got it, I was in pain and confused. Discouraged and I experienced something that I realized I had not felt in so long I couldn't remember. HUNGER. I have been overweight and overeating for so long that I couldn't even remember what being hungey actually felt like. I have spent the last 20 years just eating and eating and eating, eating because its morning, night, afternoon, because I'm happy, sad, or because I passed someplace that I just have to stop in and get something. I used to eat a meal while I was cooking a meal and convince myself that I was still hungry...Once I got the lap band, I was experiencing a lot of different emothins and my natural reaction to emotion is to EAT. Except, I couldn't and still can't eat the terrible way I have been eating for so long. I actually got HUNGRY. I was so scared and nervous and depressed and just a whole host of other things...But I have been coming to LBT everyday and reading about the experience of others and getting encouragement and tips and I realize that I am actually Happy and pleased that I do feel hungry, its a sign that I am not overeating anymore(being hungry feels so much better than that, I am so stuffed I want to throw up or die right now feeling) I can no longer stuff everything down my throught and then feel terrible about myself because I did that. I have not had a fill yet and I have only lost 26 lbs so far, but I feel great! I feel like I can do anything. I feel like if I stick with this lap band and use it as the tool it is meant to be I will finally be FREE! :cursing::mad::crying::w00t::cursing::tt2::thumbup::cursing::cursing::cursing::laugh::cursing: