riley4183

Wow Minxz, who's your surgeon? I found that mine was totally pro-lapband, at least for my situation. They do say that they have better results with the band if your BMI at time of surgery is 42 or less. I lost 43 lbs. and got my BMI below 40 before surgery, so maybe that's why he was so great about it, he thought it was a good choice for me. Of course I also chose him because he does so many lap bands! At my pre-op class, Liz said that she does have a group pf lap-band superstars who are losing at the same rate as the RNYers. I have one friend in my support group who had RNY right before I had lapband, we weighed exactly the same on my surgery day, and I am totally keeping up with her - in fact I am 8 or 9 lbs lower than her. That will even out and she will eventually pass me, but frankly I don't want to lose more than 2-3 lbs. a week! My arms flab is starting already, LOL . . . :sneaky:

YAY Nicole! Isn't the lab there great?? I gave them very high marks! I gave everything very high marks except for the x-ray dept. for the barium swallow. Tell them to put it in a cup for you to sip! Those guys had no idea about lap-band limitations. And Dr. Baggs got the best marks of all! So glad you & Christine have him I saw my PCP today, he is very very very pleased, he could not believe that my High BP is totally gone, he checked it himself twice and finally pronounced me cured! I take NO meds now, ZERO. I actuaolly stopped taking the beta blocker 2 weeks ago, but it wasn't official until today. Getting off those meds has been a goal for a long time, who knew it would come so soon after surgery!!! Not happy with the scale today - or for the last 2 days - but my monthly visitor showed up yesterday & that may have something to do with it. Still not hungry!!! Best to all! Riley

Thanks for the poem, Lapbandgirl! I shared it with my support group, and it's PERFECT :thumbup:

Yay Christine! You will LOVE Dr. Baggs, he is great at that AP band placement to prevent hunger while not backing stuff up into the esophogus. Also puts some saline in there at surgery so it's easier to get through the first 6 weeks. Yay!

From Kaiser! Liz hands them out in the pre-op class :-)

Be sure to use your Relaxation CD! It really really works! By the time I was in pre-op, I just lay there and smiled - I was SO happy that it was finally here - was not even nervous! Weirded out yeah, but not nervous :-) The ONLY thing that I would do different is to not go back to work 6 days after surgery. . . 10 days was much better. And I thought that I was getting faint from not eating, but in fact it was because I was still on Atenolol for my Blood Pressure, and I didn't need it any more! It resolved SO fast. I was getting down to like 70/49 with a pulse of 41 after excercise!!! TOO LOW!! My pulse was not supposed to be going under 55! Now that I have been off those meds for 5 days I don't get weak any more :-)

Folks, I have to tell you - things get so much easier with a band! I must have the most perfectly-placed band in the WORLD because I have NO issues with swallowing or anything getting stuck, I am FULL eating 1/4 cup, and I stay full for 5 hours at a time!!! NOT HUNGRY!!! I actually put off eating so that I can have fluids. I am OFF ALL MEDICATION as of 5 days ago - my blood pressure fixed itself. I have eaten too much at a time - twice - and it is a stuffed-full feeling that it unpleasant enough that I'm not doing it again. I'm 15 days out now and just started on Stage 3. No issues! NONE!! I'm just melting!!! :-) Riley

Argh! My nutritionist just called, and I DON'T get to go to purees this weekend! I don't get to go until Tuesday the 10th! Oh my gosh how am I ever going to get the energy I need to do the 2 hikes I have planned this weekend?!?!?! I am a Kaiser patient and we are not "allowed" to do protein shakes, but I'm going to have to do SOMEthing to be able to excercise like I want and need to!! Does anyone else have a big lump where their port is?? I feel like he sewed a baseball in there. . . . . . Riley

Argh! Robin just called to move me from State 2 to Stage 3, and I don't get to start until TUESDAY the 10th! Arghhh!

Just had to come on this morning & change my ticker!!!! 50 pounds lost in 4 months 6 days!!!! Lovin it . . . . .

Well hi everybody, I was banded Feb. 23rd so I guess this is my group! I'm an avid walker, I was walking 8 miles a day right before surgery and had gotten back up to 4 miles last Thursday, but developed an infection in my port incision so was back to the hospital and feeling puny again for a while. I went back to work yesterday and did 10,000 steps today so I feel like I'm getting back on track. Still awfully weak for lack of food! I am still on liquids, this weekend I get to go to pureed foods for most of March, and THEN soft foods & mushies. Outside of the infection, I have had zero problems and very little pain, just no energy at ALL. Hoping that will return soon. Nice to meet 'yall! Riley

Thanks Tina! Yeah I'm almost at 50 lbs - actually if I waited and posted this tomorrow morning, I would be - but 42 of that was pre-surgery! I couldn't eat carbs either, not so much because I'd gain but because I'd get so hungry! Carbs were a trap for me. Still not eating them! And yeah, the band is GREAT for feeling full! I can home after work today, starving, and had my 1/4 cup of soup (chicken tomato) and walked down to the store, but it felt like I was waddling, I was SO STUFFED!!! The sensations are all very different - I feel hungry right now, but I don't feel like I could actually eat anything. It's so weird! That's when I rely on chicken boullion and diet jello! It is hard to not eat a little bit more often, and it's really hard to not drink for at least an hour after eating - but you really do stay full longer if you wait before you drink (or eat jello or popsicles)! We had a clothing exchange at my support group meeting Tuesday night, it sure did feel GREAT to hear myself keep saying "oh darn, it's too big"!!! LOVING THIS BAND!! And so far I am losing at the same pace as a groupmember who had RNY - happy dance!!! I know it will slow down when I start on mushies/soft foods, but that's not for weeks yet so I'm just goin' with this thing! What a ride!! :cursing: Riley

Hey Reggie, I gained 8 lbs. during surgery and the day after! Liz tells us at the pre-op class to NOT get on the scale until a week after surgery, but of course I had to do it as soon as I got home - I gained 4 lbs, during and 4 lbs. the next day! Of course I admitted it to her when she called, she laughed and said everyone does it, I'm just admitting it (!) The average "gain" (which is just your healing body trying to hold on to fluids so you don't dehydrate!) is 7-15 lbs. I did NOT lose it by a week after surgery; I didn't lose it until the last 2 days, but now I am 11 days out and have lost 7 lbs. since my weigh-in on surgery day. Happy dance! Nicole, I love your suggested script! They are really SO nice down there once you are in the system and proving yourself. I like to try and make them laugh; when they answer I say something like, "and how are you today? Are you thriving?" They have great humor genes.

Welcome Stephanie! You lucked out getting Kaiser Richmond, we have excellent care there and I think it's the fastest facility, too. We all really like it! I'm so glad you found us. And I agree with Christine, the more you go down there & the farther you get in the process, the better & more exciting it gets and the people get nicer too! Don't be put off by the attitude you may see at orientation; that is to weed out the folks who are not serious. Liz, the Case Manager, is an absolute sweetheart when you get to your pre-surgery goal weight! Congratulations! Riley

Good morning everyone! I feel GOOD. Went back to work Monday, am I sick or what? The binder post-op diet section has when the different stages start and end. Liz advanced me from Stage 1 to Stage 2 (full liquids) with a phone call on the 3rd day after surgery; Robin is supposed to call me this Friday to go to Stage 3 (puree), which will be almost 2 weeks out; then I am on Stage 3 through most of March when Robin will call again to advance me to Stage 4 (soft foods), and that's going to last a while too. In fact I will have had a fill (April 10) before I get to eat a regular diet (Stage 5). I am not finding Stage 2 difficult at all; I honestly get full with very very little - and yet I feel no actual restriction or backing up or anything like that. I did get really really weak from not eating on Tuesday, and went home and had 1/4 cup of the tomato/red pepper soup from Trader Joe's and felt much better within minutes. That has added sugar though so it's not normally a choice I would make, but I could tell that my body needed a few carbs to perform essential functions or I was going down! Generally though I am avoiding the carbs. The weight I gained at surgery finally went away, and took some more with it! Stepped on the scale this morning and was the lowest I have been in 10 years. Happy dance!!! Riley

Feeling better, I am at work this morning but Rr. Baggs called me at 8 and told me I could only stay for an hour . . . . the antibiotics make me feel like puking (I haven't), really lousy but only 1 more week of that. They smell exactly like my cat box . . . . TMI??? I had to quit taking the pain meds because they were giving me hallucinations! So Jr. Tylenol chews for me - grape flavored, YUCK! I am on full liquids but try to make it protein, so soup soup soup. If it's thick (like spilit pea) I can only eat 1/4 cup or a little less; if its thin I can drink 1/2 cup. Clear liquids are no problem, I get in 50-60 ounces easily. Still rely on my sugar-free jello a lot to take away the hungry feeling. I am avoiding cream of wheat, etc. because carbs just make me hungrier. I won't get to go on to Stage 3 (pureed foods) until this weekend. So I am eating well under 500 cals per day, but I still am 4 lbs heavier than when I went into surgery!!!:party:

Yes you can do it for SURE, Nicole! You are a losing superstar!!!

A word to the wise post-surgery ladies . . . . stay away from that darned Food Channel! I was watching it while waiting for the Vegas NASCAR race to start (where all of my friends are without me!), and my favorite, Paula Dean was on doing long-lost dishes, and she just had to make my fave, biscuits & gravy. Well my stomach got to grumbling and my belly got to rumblin and I convinced myself that I could cook up SOMEthing Stage 2 to see me through . . . and i invented a recipe and went to the store and cooked up something that I will call "Cream of Jimmie Dean" which SOUNDS like it should be allowed on Stage 2! Can't be any worse than canned cream soups, and I pureed the cooked sausage (which was reduced-fat) and it went down just fine at first, and definately satisfied the throbbing head hunger that the TV had brought on. But then it sat like a big sausage brick above my band for hours!! Whew I'm happy to be back on diet jello and chicken broth. Darn that Food Channel! I know better!:party:

I was worried that they would cancel my surgery all the way up until I walked into the OR and they were all waiting for me! It was just surreal and I could not believe that it was happening so quickly, and so easily. I have 2 support groups that I attend weekly - a Tuesday night check-in and a Saturday AM activity group - and another huge one that I attend monthly. There is one gal in all 3 groups that is 11 YEARS out, boy does she have stories! She had bypass back when it was new, she had to stay in the hospital for a month and have drain tubes in her, and she has had 2 bowel obstructions that required surgery since. Boy has BS come a long way! Still, she swears she would do it again in a second. Her husband is awaiting his surgery at Kaiser Richmond, his appt. with Liz is April 11th and he has had a horrible time because his apnea is so severe. Anyway, I can't stress enough how important a support group is. I get to share my triumphs and my breakdowns with people who totally understand and totally care. I rely on them for everything, we cook and clean for one another and drive one another's kids around to school and activities and etc. It is EVERYthing to my success. So you girls keep meeting and keep searching for other groups that you click with, there is tons of support out there and it WORKS. Having my sugar-free chocolate soy decaf latte, like I did every morning before surgery. No problems! I was hungry when I woke up this morning, but so far the latte seems to be taking care of it. I have an insatiable urge to just lick a grilled hamburger patty! Pretty weird huh? Now THATS a new craving . . . . Riley

I don't think that it happens very often - if it did, it would be in the binder - but Dr. Baggs had definitely seen it before. When he called me the day after surgery and I mentioned that it felt like he'd sewn a baseball in there, he specifically asked if the skin was red and warm to the touch. It wasn't at that point, but I'm glad he asked because of course when that happened later I knew to call. Here's to communicating with your surgeon! How it happens - we will never know for sure, but I think I am predisposed to this kind of thing because I am allergic to iodine. The team was aware of this and did not use iodine or betadine or anything, but there are so many things in an ER that have it or some derivative of it on or in them - from instruments to sterile drapes - that it is impossible to avoid any contact whatsoever. And sometimes it just happens. Web MD has a good article on it. And I only needed the 1 round of IV antibiotics and 10 days of oral, and I never got a fever, so it was caught early and I did not have to stay in the hospital. In retrospect, no big deal - but it sure scared me at the time!! Glad it's over. I started eating my jello and I forgot to finish. Sometimes I feel hungry, but it is different and it generally goes away. When I eat (full liquids), I really do have to stop and re-assess after 4 baby spoons. sometimes I can eat 4 more and them wait and eat 4 more (that's the most), but sometimes I am uncomfortable after the 1st 4 baby spoons. Stopping after 4 bites is very very new to me, but it is keeping me from getting sick. I am still hanging on to 5 lbs. of the 7-15 that you gain in surgery, boo hoo! I am going to stop the narcotic pain meds when I get some liquid tylenol tomorrow, and hopefully that will help wash out that swelling and I'll like my scale again. Goodnight all! Thank you again for your thoughts and prayers. Mine was a freak thing, and you will all do great! Riley

Hey all, Well here I was sailing through post-op, happy as a clam, walking every day etc. when the area around my port incision became red and warm to the touch . . . just healing, right? But the area grew and by yesterday early afternoon it was about 3" x 4", Liz called twice the second time after she had talked to Dr. Baggs, and he said get down there NOW. So I spent last night at Kaiser Richmond in the ER hallway with IV antibiotics, and it is a darned good thing I went in because I could have lost the band if the skin infection (cellulitis) had spread. So I am home again now, on awful liquid antibiotics that make me sick but the redness and heat is gone . . we will not know for sure if the port has been infected and needs to be replaced for a couple of weeks, but Dr. Baggs is very positive that it won't, and assures me that it will be fine even if we do have to replace it! The moral here is that if your skin turns red and gets warm around an incision, get to Kaiser RICHMOND (NOT local) right away. Dr. Baggs said that if someone not familiar with a port site at my local Kaiser had introduced anything into the site to drain it - which apparently they often do - I would have lost my band. SCARY!!! I ate 4 baby spoons of split pea soup today, and was STUFFED for 4 hours! Like after thanksgiving stuffed. This is great! I am sorta feeling like I might be hungry enough to eat again now, but a diet jello will fill me up. I kid you not girls Riley

Hey all, thanks for all of your thoughts & prayers! I didn't mean to worry anyone; I managed to post the surgery day story and then I could not get back on this website to post again! Let's hope this one makes it. I am doing great; only the port hurts and my body sure does make weird new noises!!! And lots of hiccups. Strange . . . . I am taking my pain meds so I'm not out driving around yet, but I walked to the store yesterday. I get dizzy easy from the meds, and tired . . .the more I do the more I hurt the more I need the meds . . but that's OK! Here's the big news girls: I have had a total of < 2 minutes hunger since Monday. I am cleared to go from Stage 1 to Stage 2 today, and I don't even care - I'm not hungry! I sure hope that lasts! Take care all! Riley

Happy band-day to me, happy band-day to me! I really DO feel good! Also just had my second dose of the pain goo, I wish I had had some before I left the hospital because the ride home SUCKED! It was barely after noon when we left for Pete's sake! Of course I started nagging them to get me up and get me out of there the minute I got into recovery at 9:30, so they fast-tracked me out of the hospital, too.KAISER RICHMOND ROCKS!!! Here's the story: left at 5, no traffic yea! so we were there by a tad after 6 - due at 6:30. Checked me in (3 minutes), paid my $10 and settled in to wait. About 15 minutes later they came and talked to me and my son and friend Mary Jo, they said my surgery was scheduled for 8 and if they wanted to go somewhere they should be back by 10 because that's about when I would be going to recovery and Dr. Baggs would come out with surgery pics. My son Daniel wanted to see those pics bad! They asked me if I was ready, I said oh hellsyeah and off we went. Wait I need a prologue! I had a great nights sleep the night before, went to bed at 9:30 with my visualizations CD playing all night and woke up at 4:28, 2 minutes before my alarm went off. Perfect! So I was rested. STARVING, but rested. Also I was freaked about naseau and they had given me something to take the night before AND the morning off, I think that helped. My nurse, Icy, had me take off everything and put on slipper socks and a HUGE gown, weighed me in (13# below pre-surgery goal) and congratulated me on my weight loss past and future! Then she took me to the lounge for my spa treatment, which consisted of many nice warm blankets and cool fluids (in my hand, but still!), and of course my relaxation CD in my ear buds. I had gone out and spent $30 on noise-blocking ones, and they totally worked.I kept catching myself smiling, it was very nice. Oh and some of you called me at that point . . .why i didn't turn my phone of I don't know, because you called 3 times in recovery too . . . I told Icy you guys love me, you will understand if I don't answer! I normally have a real bad time with IVs, nasuea and fainting, but she numbed me first and I had my CD and it was fine. Heparin shot I barely even felt. Dr. Baggs came in & greeted me, he's even cuter in his little scrubs with a pink drawstring! He asked if he could have some folks from UCSF observe in the OR and I said sure.He asked me what was on the ipod (Zune), when i told him he wrote it in my chart and asked me how much I had been using it and told me we would be using it in surgery. He is a very positive guy! Then I said Oh doc, I have a CPAP here now that we didn't know I was going to need the last time that we met, and he said that's fine, you won't need it until you get home. That was it! I totally freaked about the last-minute apnea thing for nothing. Then the anesthesiologist came in and said she would be back in 3 minutes to walk me into surgery, and boy she was! So we walk into the stage, they were all waiting and smiling and said I was the star . . .awh shucks. . . . of course them they "undid" me and positioned me on the table, they asked me all the questions again and when I recited my MR number Dr. Baggs told everyone that i was a show-off . . . gee he got to know me fast, huh? I got my earbuds in and turned up before they could get my arms out on the t's, I breathed some oxygen for a while as they chatted w/the observers, when I opened my eyes again my table had sides and I was in recovery! I was AWAKE and it was 9:30 and I wanted to walk! Right away! The pressure from the gas was BAD and I wanted it out of me! They sat me up and massaged by shoulders and gave me warm blankets and tried to convince me to go back to sleep, but I was not having it so Dr. Baggs came in and said fine, let's get her up and down to x-ray! I got to sit on the side and it felt SO GOOD to sit upright, then they let me stand and shuffle over to the recliner. That wasn't enough for me so I asked if I could go to the bathroom, they wheeled me past everyone waiting, and out to my friend& son who Icy had called and told to wait by the door! They had just gotten back from eating and had missed Dr. Baggs & his photos cause he went out there at (15 and no one was there :-( but it was good to see them so soon! So they took me to the potty, I did my thing and a few laps while I was in there (big bathroom) and back to the recliner. Well I was tired after all that excercise so I got back on the bed and laid on my good side and it felt fine so I rested. . . but then my BP and heart rate got too low, so another doc came in and gave me a shot to speed my heart up, and folks, you know me! You don't want to give me ANYthing to speed me up! There was no way i could sit still after than so they gave up and got me dressed (bottom half) to take down to x-ray. The barium swallow was the worst thing about the whole procedure, they make you drink like a half a cup of this crap, THROUGH A STRAW!, and you just can't!! I whined and cried like a baby and they finally said maybe that's good enough, Dr. Baggs will have to tell us and he's in surgery, they took me back up just as he was getting out of his surgery and he said fine! Now drink these little cups of Water and you can go home! By the way you had a hernia, so we took care of that too (MAN was he fast!) and one of your scars was bigger than it would have been. So I drank, and I left! The ride home was hell - bumps, sways, could NOT get comfortable. They had not given me any drugs because I has some naseua and they were really agressively chasing that away, with some kind of meds. I made MaryJo stop by her on the way home so I could pee and take meds, by the time I got home I was one happy camper! I just had dinner (SF popsicle and 1/2 a SF Jello, and most of the gas pain is gone. my throat hurts and my port stings, but THAT is IT! PIECE OF CAKE!! Next morning now, I slept well - again with the pain meds, and with my visualization CD on the "healing" affirmations now. Decaf is a little weird to drink, but water goes down just fine. HUNGRY! But only the port hurts today :-):w00t: Riley

Nicole, I get the "you don't need it" every day too, and I wish it was true! We discuss this in my 14 week class, and come up with comebacks to try . . like "yes I'm a GREAT dieter, in fact I have lost over 500 lbs! Unfortunately I have gained back 600, which is horrible for my health and contributed to (hypertension, diabetes, etc.) so I'm going to do it for my health. That OK with you?" one of my faves that the class came up with, when someone tries to get you to eat birthday cake or a cookie or whatever, "oh you can have a bite don't be silly," that sort of thing, you just exclaim loudly and gleefully, preferable while touching the person on the arm, "oh I've had that, it comes right back up!!!" I am finding my inner b&tch! :-) Riley

I've heard that only about 10% of some orientation classes make it through the process . . . . clearly those of us with GREAT SUPPORT make it faster! Thank you ladies!!