pj robinson

hi everyone, life is very busy. hope everyone's summer is going well. i challenge everyone to exercise everyday this summer if you can. remember the scale may not always reflect your efforts but the inches will start to melt away. so don't get discouraged. drink, drink, & drink a lot more. it has been 104-108 here this week in bakersfield, ca. water is very important. god bless, p.j. last measured wt loss:- 40 lbs as of 6/7/06 4 months post op

my height is 5'7'' and my ideal wt is 175 lbs but i would be happy & healthy at anything under 200 lbs. good luck & god bless, p.j. robinson

dear funnyduddies, i was on a strict liquid diet 2 wks prior to surgery. yes, i had a lot of gas pains post-op. my surgeon did tell me that he inserts approx 3 liters of gas into the abdomen during surgery for visual purposes. although they do their best to remove a lot of this gas by placing the patient basically on their head prior to completing the surgery, they are not always able to remove all of it. this being said, it is amasing to me how some people have no problems at all with any gas. i, on the other hand, felt pregnant for approx 2 weeks. i also took a few doses of m.o.m. the first wk after surgery along with a stool softner twice a day. constipation was not an option at that point. hope this is helpful. good luck with your surgery. take care & god bless, p.j. robinson. p.s. just have a lot of gas-x & tums available at all times.

dear sonriose, hopefully you will call your surgeon. you should be able to take 30 cc=1 oz of fluid per hour. were you discharged home from the hospital with any prescription for nausea i.e. zofran sublingual tablets? no, you will not always fill like this but you must be patient. everyone heals at a different speed/rate. you want to be careful not to dehydrate. hope this is helpful. gob bless, p.j. robinson

yes, i lost 14 lbs prior to surgery. i then lost 16 more lbs prior to my first fill. pre wls wt:278 lbs banded 2/7/06:264 lbs 1st fill 4/4/06:248 lbs 6/7/07 wt:238 lbs

hi bakogal, great job on the wt loss. i am very proud of you. keep up the good work. thanks for the update. god bless & take care, p.j. robinson

penni, sorry to hear about your friend. i will send up some extra prayers. god bless, p.j.

hi poodles, i have known of 2 people at the hospital where i work who were not banded on the day of their surgery because of an enlarged liver & lack of visual field. the surgeon ended up performing a liver bx instead of the band procedure. 4-6 wks later, these 2 individuals retuned for the lapband procedures. we have not had anyone, in one year of lapband procedures, at our hospital convert to an open procedure. however, the gastric bypass pt's are another entirely different story. for this reason alone, it is very very important to follow a 2-3 wk pre-op liquid diet (if at all possible). you want your liver shrunck down as much as it can be prior to surgery. hope this is helpful. god bless, p.j.

hi bug, yes, i did diet before my surgery which was on 2/7/06. i started dieting dec 28th,2005-feb 6th, 2006. i lost 14 lbs pre-op in that time. the last 2 wks were all liquids. my surgeon wanted my liver as small as possible in order to have a better visual field during surgery. because if this is not the case, there is a remote chance that the surgery could not be done. fyi. however, this has only happened 2-3x at the hospital that i work at. we have been performimg lapbands for almost a year. god bless & good luck to you, p.j.

hi janetc, can you please update my wt loss record=40 lbs i am not due for my 2nd fill until aug 1. my band only holds 4 cc, size 9.5. my first fill was 1.5 cc. thanks p.j. p.s. great job on everyone's updated wt loss post. it is awesome to see everyone working so hard.

i would have to agree with these posts. i think this normal. i was banded on 2/7/06 and i did not have my first fill until 4/4/06 (1.5 cc fill). i felt some restriction for about 3 wks but not much since then. i am not due for another fill until the first wk in july or august. i understand from the monthly support group that i attend, people do not really fill a great deal of restriction until they have their 2nd fill. i am trying to spread out my fills approx every 3-4 months. my post op care included 3 fills in the first year following surgery. good luck to you. don't give up. god bless, p.j.

my advice & what i try to do with each meal, is to 1) take a bite 2) put down my fork/spoon 3) chew, chew, chew each bite 30 times 4) wait 1 full minute in between bites. harder said than done i know but good habits to form in order to slow your eating down. just a few tips that has helped me along this journey. take care & good luck, p.j.

feb bandsters unite banded: 2/7/06 wt loss as of 5/17/06: 38 lbs first fill: 4/4/06 with 1.5 cc

:clap2: i was approved by my insurance copy in dec 05 but i did not have surgery until feb 7,2006. this was of my own choosing. i had 90 days from my approval date to get it done. i was scheduled for surgery 2 days after superbowl sunday. this was challenging to say the least but i survived.

the first time i tried popcorn, it did not seem to bother me. i chewed it forever. however, the second time was not so smooth. i think i ate it too fast & did not chew it long enough. trial by error i suppose. just go real slow. good luck, p.j.

melody & marilyn, :clap2: keep up the good work, girls. this is so awesome. take care, p.j. p.s. welcome to bandland.

thanks for the encouragement & great comments. :clap2: god bless, p.j.

hello everyone, i think this is a great website. a wealth of information. banded 2/7/06 wt 278.0 6 wks post op wt:249.0 looking forward to loosing much more:clap2:

meagan, congrads on your wt loss. this is so great. keep up the good work. take care, p.j. robinson:clap2:

hi nicole, good luck on your upcoming surgery. i was banded 2/7/06. the surgery is not that painful but the gas is a different story. my best advice to you is to walk, walk, walk. i was given liquid loritab/vicodin for pain control when i was discharged home. your surgeon my also suggest liquid tylenol as well. keep us posted. take care, p.j.

no fills as of yet. next appt with md: 3/31/06 dr irani from bakersfield, ca

p.j. robinson banded 2/7/06 pre-op wt:278 pre-op wt loss:-14 post op wt loss:-16 total wt loss:- 30 lbs:clap2:

fleur, i honestly believe this is a natural response. one i experienced myself. i am an r.n. who takes care of a lot of lapband & bypass pt's. this is a very common feeling both before & after surgery. please keep your ultimate goal in mind and you will do great. take care p.j.

good luck to you susan. i think you will be very pleased with your decision to proceed with the lapband procedure. i was banded 2/7/06 and have lost 30 lbs (pre and post wt loss) so far. just remember to walk,walk, walk after surgery. take care, p.j.

in addition, i have found that if i have something in my stomach every 2-3 hrs, i don't have near as much acid relex & production. which in turn, cuts down on the heart burn. hope this helps