medussa

I am 3 weeks out of surgery and I swear there is NO BAND in me!!!! I read all about people on liquids and mushies for weeks, PB-ing, not being able to eat much, etc... I dont have any of these problems!!! I swear I could down a burger and it wouldn't be a problem. I am on mushies and try to stick to the small amounts, but I have to tell you, it doesn't cut it. I am hungery an hour later if I eat the recommended amount. If I eat more, I can go 3hours without hunger...and I have no problem getting it down. I dont have a job that allows me to eat every hour. I am scared if I eat more I will do damage. Currently, I can eat normal portions no problem. I have endulged when I know I wont be able to eat for long hours. This has not been a problem so far. Is this common? I was told the hunger would go away. Do I have to wait for a fill for this to change drastrically? What is up? Did I just spend all this money for nothing???? I have to say that I am walking up to 5 miles a day now and this probably contributes to my hunger. I have lost 10lbs since surgery, but I attribute this to better choices and exercise. I swear I eat as much now as I did before...its just in a mushy form now. PLEASE someone tell me this is normal. I almost wish I would have a PB just so that I know there is a band in me and it is functioning.

I think in general the caffeine is a no no because of dehydration. I was told no coffee because coffee beans (even decaf) produce excess stomach acid and that causes issues with the band and irritation of the esophagus. They said no coffee for me not even decaf. Of course I had reflux going into this......

I would also like to give a big thumbs up to all of you that have had this issue and struggled losing the weight between surgery and reaching your "sweet spot". Now that takes patience and you all deserve a slap on the back. I apologize if I sounded self centered during my "woe is me" speech. I am in no way disappointed with the weight loss. I expect it to be slow and knew it would not be easy. I guess I was just trying to point out that I was losing weight because of change in lifestyle and not necessarily because I have been banded. I have to say that I am grateful for the band because even if it isn't restricted yet, it has given me the kick start I have been desperately needing. The motivation comes with the weight loss.... Normally, on a diet, if I did well for a couple days, I would reward myself with of all things...food. Today I fit into a pair of pants that I haven't worn in 4 years and I rewarded myself with a longer than usual walk. So I guess I am just trying to say that I know I have had it easier than some and don't mean to come off as a whiner. Everyone who had this proceedure and didn't lose weight before the fill are really an inspiration. You should be proud that you all maintained and fought the battle. I dont know if I could be that strong! I can garantee I would have downed that burger....and possibly fries too... Thanks again for all the encouragement. Rock on!

OK BIG SIGH OF RELIEF!!!!!!! Thanks for all your responses. I feel so much better. I have been on mushies since the first week and shaking in my boots because I didn't notice any difference! I am doing very well in the eating department. My habits have definately changed. And best of all, I really enjoy my food now. Never knew that I didn't enjoy it before...as I was too busy inhaling it. LOL I also REALLY enjoy not feeling like a stuffed turkey after every meal. I did start at a lower BMI...35. I am only 4'11 and started at 175lbs. I need to update my ticker but I am down to 157 as of today. I have to say that the surgery was a breeze for me and that was unexpected. I was pretty much back to completely normal at 3 days. I feel great. Now I feel even better that you all have deemed me "normal"!!!! THANK YOU SO MUCH! You all ROCK! I will work on my patience...as that does not come easy for me. I promise not to down that hamburger. Forget that I ever said I wished I would PB....you know what they say about being careful of what you wish for...LOL

I was banded thurs the 18th....the whole thing was a breeze. Absolutely no issues. In fact felt FANTASTIC until late last night. I have only taken in fluids so far, but last night I got a horrible feeling of being bloated, full, and nauseous. I was up all day, and continued to walk around house. I stopped drinking. I tried gas-x and pepto-bismal . I started to have pain in my right upper quadrant right under my ribs and it radiated to my right collarbone. I was able to get 2 small burps up but jeez nothing helped. Now I don't even want to drink because it sucked feeling that way. Any tricks of the trade? I swear I had nothing to eat except liquids. Like I said, I was so uncomfortable that I stopped drinking. What to do?

Cathmo- I gained wt during the surgery too. They give you a ton of IV fluids during OR and then continue it afterward. Your body will third space it for a few days...meaning that it leaks out of the blood stream and into the cells. The diuresing phase is 2-4 days post op. You will eventually pee it all off. It is just water weight.

For what it is worth...I was told to stay away from broccoli and cauliflower becacause they can cause extreme gas... I saw that you had broccoli with your meat and wanted to throw that out there

Thanks for the advice. Been walking and eating gas-x strips with no relief. I will continue to keep drinking even though I have no desire right now. Maybe more water will help. I will keep at it

I had it done at the wish center in chicago by Dr Rosen. Awesome dr!! I was self pay and Out Of Pocket cost for me was 8700$ It was really quite easy. I called and made an appointment and a week later met with the group. It was about 4 hours long. I had ekg, cxray, pulmonary function test, ultrasound all done in the office. I got to meet with nutrionist, exercise person, finance person, and surgeon. This first appointment/eval was about 1700$ but it got submitted to my insurance and paid with no questions asked. I went back to my primary to get blood work done and to have the sleep studies done. This was also submitted and paid for by my insurance. I had to wait 6 weeks and prove myself by following the pre-op diet, logging my food intake and getting exercise. I went for the second meeting after 5 weeks of practice and by then I had my surgery scheduled. I paid credit in the office for 3500$ that day for surgeon fee. I went home and called the hospital and paid credit for hospital and anesthesia fees approx 5200$. I had my surgery this past thursday. The facility was very nice. Got a private room and was extremely comfortable there!!!! I would highly recommend this center. I did do quite a bit of research prior to picking a place, and am very pleased with my decision. If you want more details, I would be happy to answer them.... My insurance company is BCBS and they do pay for surgery but require a year of supervised diet by MD...and they require all the documentation of what happened that year. I didn't know this at first so I didn't use my insurance. I was unable to wait another year to jump this hurdle. I wanted to be done, so I just paid myself.

Mine cost 8700$ at wish center. This covered dr, hospital, anesthesia. All my preop stuff was covered by insurance...2 sleep studies, ekg, cxray, ultrasound, pulmonary function test, psych eval, nutritionist, exercise physiologist. Aftercare for fills will be 175$ oop. Support meetings for 1 year were included in price as well

I would see your doctor IMMEDIATELY. If you have pneumonia you need treatment before you end up back in the hospital. Better safe than sorry! Let us know how it turns out. Good luck

MPVO- Congrats!!!! Very glad to hear you did well!

3loves- Barium swallow was no problem. I had to take 3 swallows only. It took a total of 60 seconds...they gave me water to rinse my mouth out. When I got back to room I was cleared to drink. I came prepared with sugar free throat lozenges and popped one as soon as I could drink. It is what made a real difference. Good luck on your date...I know you will be fine! I am still rocking on today. Took one short nap and now going again. No hunger, no nausea.

I AM BANDED!!!!!! Went in yesterday and want to share with everyone who is still waiting to go. First off I am a critical care nurse and I truely believe that I know TOO MUCH. Ignorance is bliss...especially if you are going thru surgery. I want to admit that for weeks I have imagined every "worst case scenerio" out there. I was scared shitless...excuse the french , but seriously, I almost talked myself out of it because I know and have seen all the bad stuff that can happen to someone as a result of a "minor" surgery. Ok now that I admitted that I was a big scardy cat, let me tell all of you about my experience. I hope I can ease someone's mind. I arrived at the hospital at 6am, went to surgery at 7:30, got to recovery and hour later and woke up at 11:00. Yes there was pain, but there was pain meds ready for me. I got sent to my room and immediately got up to bathroom and sat in a chair for the rest of the day. I continued getting morphine 4mg total. I went for my barium swallow and was back to the room by 3pm. I proceeded to take my shots of liquid and kept them down. Bathroom again, then more shots of liquid. Then I got dressed and spent the next two hours sucking ice, taking liquid pain meds, and drinking protein shots. I walked the hall a bunch of times and was finally sent home at 5pm. I had one PB in the car on the way home but it wasn't bad. I took more pain meds in the evening, sucked down a protein shake, and went to bed at 10:30pm. I woke up at 06:30 am and felt like a MILLION bucks!!!!!!! I am off the pain meds, drinking, peeing, walking, and YES..out shopping!!!! This was EASY!!!!! I am still a little sore, but I have had worse muscle pain after an intense workout. I feel totally great!!!!! No probs with anesthesia or surgery. Pain is fine. I took a shower and am up and about all day today. I am shocked!! I almost chickened out of this and am sooooo glad that I didnt. I think I feel so good because I just kept moving . The more times I use my muscles the better I feel. If you are worried about surgery PLEASE stop. I tortured myself for weeks, needlessly. Just do what they say...take as much pain meds as they will give you and get moving ASAP. This was so easy! Good luck to those who are about to get banded.

I dont know why this is happening to you three months post op, however I was warned about shoulder pain. I was just banded yesterday and prior to going to the OR the anesthesiologist told be to expect shoulder pain because during the surgery they ultimately irratate the diaphram. The pain you feel is not necessarily gas, but it is a result of something irritating the diaphram. When the diaphram is hurt, it reveals itself in chest and should pain. You dont feel the diaphram at all, just pain in the shoulder. My anesthesia guy said it sometimes can get bad and mimic the feelings of a heartattack. I would call the MD and see if there is something wrong. Maybe you pulled a muscle or something like coughing, sneezing, laughing, PB-ing irratated the diaphram.....not much help I know, just passing along what was told to me.

Careful with xenical. The more fat you eat the worse the effects! Lets just say it is THE NASTIEST thing if you take xenical after McDonalds. Plan to change clothes 5 times a day because you will have no control!

YES- ASK IT CHANGED ME ALREADY!!!! I actually had my PCP order it for me before I had gone and looked into the lapband. I have been gaining for long time even though I "diet" everyday. I have dropped 10 lbs since I started the CPAP Some of it is the pre-surgery diet, but i feel good in the morning when i wake up

Josette Wish I didn't have to know but unfortunately I do. The sleep study is done to determine if you have sleep apnea. It is a test where you go into a clinic one night and they hook you up to TONS of wires and then ask you to sleep through the night. One would think is is difficult but you actually do sleep. The thing with sleep apnea is most people that have it don't know they have it. Many obese people are at high risk for it. Sleep apnea is when you have episodes during sleep where you stop breathing. Everytime you stop breathing, your brain wakes up just enough to kick in the respiratory drive. You usually dont remember waking up, but sometimes you do remember. With sleep apnea, this can happen hundreds of times a night. In my sleep study I stopped breathing up to 70 times an hour. That means I also had my sleep disrupted that many times. Sleep is really important, and if you don't get it guess what? YOU WILL GAIN WEIGHT. It is also harder to lose weight. Even though I was getting enough sleep....or so I though....I wasn't sleeping at all!!!! I was waking up up to 70 times an hour. Back to why you should have it done... If you have sleep apnea, you need to be treated or your weight loss battle will continue. If you have sleep apnea, you will gain weight most likely and the more you gain the worse the apnea becomes.... the worse the apnea...you guessed it, the worse the weight problems....a vicious cycle . It is also important for the actual surgery. If you have sleep apnea, you will have issues waking up from anesthesia possibly. The treatment for apnea is a CPAP machine...a mask that you sleep with that exerts positive pressure into your airway. The pressure or air flow prevents your airway from collapsing and prevents the apnea. Its really not too bad. My surgeon will not allow me to go home the day of the surgery unless I have my CPAP machine because the anesthesia may worsen the apnea and could cause your brain not to kick in the respiratory drive. Meaning you could fall asleep and not breath. Kinda like SIDS. Disrupted sleep is a major issue when it comes to weight. You lead a more sedentary life, you become stressed, depressed, anxious...you have difficulty with motivation, concentration, you get grouchy, etc. It makes your body excrete more hormones that signal hunger and thus causes you to eat more. I recently went thru this and was FLOORED. I now have a CPAP and sleep like a baby. I wake up feeling GOOD for the first time in years. Although my surgery is not covered by insurance, the sleep study and CPAP machine are covered. Any more questions let me know. I will use this machine because I know it will help me with my weight loss endeavor.

Marianne God I am jealous....I just got finished saying how I cant walk up stairs without becoming winded....Rock on! Glad to hear that you are feeling so fantastic!!!! I am going to be banded tomorrow and I am starting to get anxious. Reading that makes me feel good! You know what they say...smoke em if you got em.

If you are having difficulty talking to friends and family...... I was TERRIFIED of telling anyone. I did not want the negative comments or the "you can lose weight if you really tried" comments. I put it off for months. When my sister in law's mother had GB, I came out of the closet with my sister in law. She was so supportive it shocked me. She has dealt with her mother being obese and has insight to what it means. She actually encouraged me to tell my parents. After weeks of agonizing, I called my mother and started at the begining.....my weight gain. I went on to tell her about the various health issues that have cropped up with my blood pressure, my sleep apnea, etc. I gave DETAILS. I tried to be shocking.... saying things like "I am 35 years old and I cannot walk up stairs without being winded, I cannot wash my own hair without my hands going numb..." I wanted her to know that I have been to doctor after doctor and specialist after specialist. I told her what they told me. Lose weight or die. I told her about all the weight programs I tried and how they failed. I told her that this proceedure was MEDICALLY NECESSARY if I wanted to live a normal healthy life. Then I told her that I was too young to have to take 3 blood pressure meds and sleep with a machine helping me breathe. I ended by telling her that this has been a long hard road and I am tired of failing miserabley. I asked for her support and to my ASTONISHMENT there was no hesitation from her. She supported me 100%. The entire conversation was repeated for my father and his response was "you have to do what you have to do-and you have to do this". I really cant believe that they are being so supportive. My parents are typically the devil's advocates. My point is, if you explain the REAL reason why it is so important to get the weight off, the surgery makes sense. We don't want to die young, we dont want to live life on the sidelines. I dont want to live with the MENTAL TORTURE that comes with gaining weight. I dont want to be in the ER with malignant hypertension 3-4 times a month. This is not about fitting into a size 6 or looking good. It is about feeling good...because we are healthy. The looking good and fitting into smaller sizes is an awesome bonus. The benefits of this surgery should be looked at as HEALTH benefits, not vanity benefits. I learned that my parents truely care about me and my health....not how I look. They jumped on the bandwagon because this is about my health not about my appearance. I am soooooooooo glad that I told them because I have my share of support, plus the weight from my shoulders is gone (figuratively speaking). Tell whoever it is you need to tell. You will feel so much better! On the otherhand, I did not tell my work as I did not want to divulge all my health issues. I have my close friends and family to support me, and that is plenty for me.

posted before complete...sorry

I was just watching a program called 190N and it featured a chicago chef that has won an award for a new creation/invention. It is a flavored spary you can put on food to get the "taste" without the calories/ carbs/ fat. There are a ton of different flavors from fruit to dessert to things like cheese and butter and tomatoe basil etc. They are pretty cheap at 6$ a bottle. Check it out and let me know if anyone has tried or will try them. I am not banded yet but they look promising for when I am. It means you dont have to add the gravy and sauces that I like so much!!! website: www.flavordietspray.com

I dont know but maybe it helps prevent erosion. If you take longer to heal, less likely the fill will irritate the stomache maybe? Just throwing the thought out there

3loves I am a nurse and have seen this many times. Allergies do develope late in life sometimes as a result of a "cumulative effect". This is often the case with things like latex. Every exposure causes a worsened reaction...until you have an anaphalactic reaction. I wont get into the physiolocial stuff but basically your body comes into contact with something "foreign" and starts to build up a defense. Each time you have contact with that thing, your body builds more defenses and eventually the whole army is let loose...thus the severe reaction. Penicillin is another common one. You almost never have an allergic reaction to PCN on the first use....the reaction comes on the second and third. And the more times it is used, the greater the reaction each time. As for treatment... benedryl is standard. It is an anti-histamine and blocks the reaction...which is a histamine release. Prednisone is a steriod and is used to decrease the inflammation, but more importantly it is used to block your immune response. Prednisone is the drug they give transplant recipients so that they dont reject an organ. An allergic reaction is similiar in that the body recognizes the thing you are allergic to as foreign and trys to fight it off.... you should only need the prednisone for a very short time if multiple doses are even given. As for solumedrol....it is also a steroid, same as prednisone, but is usually given IV or Injection. It is a little faster acting and a little stronger. Usually a patient is started on solumedrol and then weaned to prednisone and then weaned off all steriods. Hope that helped.

To answer the weight loss question.... I was put on a high protein diet for 6 weeks and a liquid diet 2 weeks prior to surgery. I was not asked to lose weight but I have lost 10lbs so far. I was told not many people lose significant amouts of weight prior. I am a little different in that I have only to lose 60lbs, but I am quite short. I have lost 10 to my astonishment despite my occasional "I have to eat everything now and get it out of my system before surgery" moments. It is not easy but hang in there!