Elisabethsew

No coffee? I would die. LOL. I was given a list of foods that were poorly tolerated in a lot of people but the only forbidden choice was carbonated drinks. The only time the band would be removed would be for medical/surgical complications so I'm planning on keeping mine for as long as I can. What I have discovered is that you have to be patient with gastric banding. You have several weeks of healing and then the process begins of going for adjustments to tighten the band until you reach optimal restriction. Go to the Inamed website and do some reading there also. Welcome! Feel free to ask lots of questions as the people here are quite knowledgable and willing to help.

I'm glad you survived your ordeal. What complications did you have?

That's a pretty good theory, Alexandra. I had one cc put it and the surgeon said to make an appointment to come back on July 6 to be evaluated. I have to do 2 days of full liquids and 2 of soft and then it's back to a regular diet. I had some soup for dinner and DID feel full when I was done so I'm hoping to FEEL what restriction is once I go to the regular diet. Thank you for your response.

I had pulmonary embolisms (blood clots in the lungs) and take coumadin (a blood thinner) but had to come off the coumadin for the surgery. For the two days prior to surgery and 3 days after, I had to inject Lovenox (similar to heparin) twice a day. Once I was back to a therapeutic level on the Coumadin, I no longer needed the injections. I have not heard of anyone being sent home on heparin who does not have a clotting problem history. Once you're up walking around (for me it was a few hours after surgery) you should not require anticoagulants.

I was covered under insurance but I did look up the costs for my surgery. I stayed overnight in a heart monitored unit and the total cost of everything was $25,000. This included the surgeon fee, the hospital costs, the anesthesiologist costs, all pre-op testing, the post-op esophagram and 90 days free post-op care including fills. I was banded in New York and the surgeon has done well over 1000 surgeries.

In New York, you're employer HAS to give you the day off for Jury duty but does NOT have to pay you. If your employer does pay you, the courts do not pay you the small stipend for jury duty.

I was in the OR for a little over an hour and a half and DID have a catheter but it was inserted when I was under anesthesia. I came out of the OR at 6:30 PM and the catheter was removed at midnight (no pain at all).

I would not call that person a friend at all. For the reasons you described, I chose NOT to go public with my surgery. Only 2 other people know and both are 100% supportive. I too am trying to "find" restriction and having people around who point out how much weight you DIDN'T lose is not healthy.

As a member of the health care profession, I can tell you that MANY MDs do NOT stay current in their education. Therefore, when something "new" comes along that the patient is more knowledgable about than they are, some MDs react by downplaying the question/procedure/test. Sad, but true. Secondly, there is a medical/surgical bias towards obese people. Currently, we have a patient who underwent a RNY procedure who is in the surgical ICU with complications. One of the surgical residents commented that "weight loss surgery is nothing more than a surgical patch for a life problem... after the golden year, she'll be right back where she started." The other intern and residents all agreed. Scary that this is the future surgeon of tomorrow.

Raven, it's awful that you were treated so badly by the nurse. The next time you go in for a fill, quietly tell the receptionist that you prefer not to have nurse X in the room for the fill. You and your insurance company pay the MD for a service and that should NEVER include disrespectful attitides. As for the MD, he should know better than to flirt and tolerate/participate in unprofessional behavior. I had my first fill yesterday and don't go back to regular foods until Monday or Tuesday so I don't know if I am restricted or not... on a full fluid diet today I felt the same as always. During the fill, it was just me and the surgeon... no RN or PA.

Hi Karen, I am glad to hear all went well and that the band is OK. From what you describe, it sounds like you might be having esophageal spasms that would explain the open/closed patterns. Are you on any acid blockers like nexium, previcid, pepcid, etc? If not, you might want to give them a try. There are also antispasmotic medications such as probanthine and drugs that help motility such as reglan. I hope the MD gives you some answers. Keep us posted.

I am very surprised that at 168 pounds, any surgeon would operate on you. It's sad that you had a bad experience in Mexico but it would not be right to judge all Mexican surgeons based on your outcome. How would you be able to "tell" people what surgeon to go to when the surgeon you have no has NOT operated on you?

I was filled yesterday for the first time and the surgeon put in 1 cc so that seems about average.

Sue is correct, I lost a ton of water weight pre and post-op and then maintained my weight. I just received my first fill yesterday (1 cc in a 4 cc band) and the surgeon specifically told me that it might take 1-2 weeks before the restriction kicks in. You've only been filled a week and have experienced PBs so it sounds like you should sit tight for another few weeks.

Hi Karen, I had no adverse effects from the esophagram. For people who require a lot of barium (several cups), constipation can be a problem and it is advised to drink, drink, drink.

An IUD will work for birth control but will be LESS effective than the pill in controlling your bleeding. I would definitely get a second opinion if your GYN is telling you an IUD will have any positive effect on bleeding.

For my esophagram, the radiologist positioned me standing in front of a screen and handed me about 4 oz of barium. I sipped it slowly as he watched it travel through to my stomach and that was it... about 10 minutes and was out of there.

H. Pylori is NOT painful and does NOT require a lot of meds. If it's left untreated, it could lead to ulcer formation. All you need is an antibiotic and that's it. Because you can transmit H. Pylori, your husband should also be checked out.

My MD advises 1200 calories a day but that's over 3 meals and 2 snacks a day. The snacks are 100-150 calories each. Of course, fast food, processed food, etc., is all discouraged.

I did not have to have a colonoscopy for my band surgery but I did have to have one to when the MDs were looking to find a cause for my iron deficiency anemia. The prep the day before is not pleasant (to say the least) but the actual procedure was PAINLESS. You're put to sleep via an IV sedative and wake up less than 30-40 minutes later when it's over. I went shopping after mine. Screening for colon cancer begins at age 50 but for people with other medical conditions or a family history of cancer, it's much sooner. DO NOT PUT OFF HAVING CANCER SCREENINGS!!!

I was wondering if anyone has achieved a maximum fill? I have been reading about people who go for fill #3, #4, etc., but have not heard from anyone who is maximally filled . Also, for those who have "found" their ideal fill amount :clap2: , how long did you remain in that "zone" before the optimal restriction level began to wear off? Thank you in advance for your input. :biggrin1:

I got my first fill and am still here to tell about it. LOL. I think I was more nervous about the fill than I was the surgery but it was nothing. The surgeon numbed the area with a local anesthetic and then put the needle in with a 3 way stop-cock attached. He pulled back as hard as he could to get as much air out and then put in 1 cc of saline (I have a 4 cc band). He then aspirated back the saline into the syringe and several bubbles of air came back. He got rid of the air from the syringe and then instilled the saline and took the needle out. I felt no pain at all. Afterwards, I had to drink 5 oz of water and then I was done. The surgeon put me back on full fluids for 2 days followed by 2 days of a soft diet. I go back to a regular diet on day 5 so I really don't know if I have any restriction or not and I'm not "testing the waters" by advancing the diet sooner than recommended. The stories of PB's, etc. that I read about from others have me scared to death. I weighed the same today (exactly 8 weeks post-op) as I did when I went for my 2 week post-op appointment and that was disappointing but at least it was not a gain. I have to go back to the surgeon on 7/6 and hope to feel restriction with this first fill and kick the weight loss into gear. Thanks so much to all of you for sharing your experiences with me. It made losing my band virginity painless.

Welcome home and congratulations on your new son.

I'm going for my first fill today at noon!!! I'll let you know if I feel anything different after it's done. As it stands now, I have not felt ANY restriction sonce 5 days post-op so I feel your pain.

Hi Sassy, I'll definitely let you know how it went. I am counting down the hours... 12 noon tomorrow and my port loses its virginity. LOL. It's been a long wait (8 full weeks).