mjacot35

Hello Jersey, My Surgeon is Marc Neff, he is wonderful. Awesome bedside manner and actually listens to me and my issues and really works with me to find the solution. He is in Cherry Hill, SJ. My pre-op diet was normal then nothing after midnight the day before surgery. Post-op was liquid for at least 24-48 hours then soft food like applesauce, mashed potatoes you get the idea. Then I was making dinner for the family and putting mine in the food processor so it looked like it was already chewed(sorry to be so gross). He told me to progress as tolerated. The reason for the liquid into soft food was so that your stomach can get used to having something around it right after surgery(healing). Mine was NOT filled during surgery. I went back 4 weeks after for post-op visit then we filled it a week after that. Then 6 weeks after I went back for another fill(3 days before Christmas) and didnt have another fill for 2 years. I only lost 35-40lbs then for 2 years I was stuck at the same weight. Since my 3rd fill(march of this year) I gained 4lbs and then we found out about my port not being connected to my body anymore so we replaced it and unfilled my completely. I go back June 16th for a post-op visit and will schedule my 1st fill all over again and pray that my troubled days are behind me. I'm trying to stay positive but I'm very discouraged.

Hi I'm from Jersey too! South Jersey. I was on here alot in the begining. I was banded in Sept of 08. Have had a really bad experience with the band this far. I actually just came back to work today because for 8-10 months I have been having horrible pain. 3 CT scans and 2 US's later we saw that my port was not attached anymore and was flipping over in my belly. I also had an exploratory surgery at the same time and my tubing and intestines were wrapped around each other and scar tissued together, yeah fun stuff!! Oh well, It's fixed and time to get back to loosing. Hopefully you have a much better experience than me.

Potato skin, well done meat and french fries. Some days everything bothers me and it all gets stuck

I still get the pain and I was banded in Sept 08. It feels like a pinching, sharp pain. Only once in a while not on an everyday basis. Good Luck!!!

I was so bad with the pain that my surgeon met me at the hospital and re admitted me for 2 days. He called the band company and asked if anyone had ever reported this horrible pain, as a matter of fact they did a whole study on it. It was gas combined with the referred pain from the swelling and placement of the band on my diaphram. It only felt good when I laid on my left side with a heating pad. So that is what I did. It did finally go away but not for at least a month especially after I ate something it came back. Good luck it will go away eventually.

That was an awesome book!!! LOL You made me want to try one more fill w/my band before calling it quits. I feel the restriction but not fullness, does that make sense? I am hungry and hear my stomach growling but to restricted to eat more!

I am exercising. I'm chewing and chewing but some times something goes down not totally chewed. It's weird that I can some days go all day eating and no problem, but then there are days like yesterday that I get the first bite stuck and I'm screwed. I'm tired of hearing my kids and hubby say "its stuck already?" Like I'm making it up or its impossible because they are still eating fine. I just called a personal trainer to set up a consult because maybe I'm not doing the right things that would benefit me.

Thank you for responding. I thought the same thing another fill would be worse. I'm now doing research about the sleeve and am very scared about another surgery. My boss doesn't even know that I had the first surgery. I know that its nothing to be ashamed of but I work for dr.'s and I just dont want them to look at me in a different way. The band was supposed to be a "slow" weight loss which was perfect for me and w/ exercising, good toning along the way(not very noticable) just good job dieting. Now I havent lost anything since dec08 but am still choking on things I feel I have no other choice but the sleeve. A few family memebers had the RNY and have had weight loss sucess but alot of problems along the way and tons of sagging skin from losing so fast. My dr. told me that I would be in the hospital 2 to 3 days because of the band removal and then the sleeve. I am the office manager and dont know how much time I should take to recover. My band was very easy 1 week and back to work. That includes the ER trip the weekend before I went back because of left sided shoulder pain which my surgeon never had come across. He then told me the creator of the band did a study on people that suffered the same thing as me. I was his first for this issue. So now do you get why the sleeve freaks me out??? Just nerves I guess. I dont want to be fat anymore but at what cost to myself and family?

I am trying to decide wether I want to have the band reversed and get the sleeve. My band is making me very unhappy. My family is now at the point of annoyance at meals. I cook every night and sit down to eat w/ my family. First or second bite gets stuck and I'm off to the bathroom. Not alot of fun, then once I bring up whatever was stuck I can eat but they are all usually finished and its wrecking family time. My Dr. is a sweetheart and told me that the band is only one of many things that we can try. That I shouldn't give up the band is not for everyone!!!! The reason I went with the band is because I have never heard of any deaths related to the surgery or complications. Also that I love to cook and we are very healthy eaters I'm the only one that is over weight in my house and we all eat the same things. Plus if I were to have complications I could have it fixed. I'm so scared to have the sleeve, just a bad fear of problems arising and having no where to go and to live very unhappy. I got banded in sept 08 and have only lost 15-20lbs. All of which was by dec 08. I'm grateful that the weight came off but like all other things I've tried 20lbs gone then some how found again. Dr. told me that we can try a fill again but the stuff i can actually get down will not be able to go down. I need some help here please anyone with advise good or bad!!!!

My band only got me to lose 15-20 lbs in 8 months. I have restriction on certain foods(protein,cheese,etc) but not the foods that I shouldn't be eating like chips, crackers and cereal. My dr. said since I haven't had good luck since the begining that I might want to consider the sleeve. I'm scared to death to have stuff remove from my body that can not be put back or reversed if problems should arise. I'm always the exception to the rule. The band doesn't usually have a death rate and can be fixed if it's not for me, but the sleeve is scary. Anyone that had it change and wish they didn't?? Any advise I'm looking for good and bad.