TXAmy07

Update: I tried the tea and couldn't even get one sip down and so I was prepared to head to the ER (without a lot of hope, bc it does seem like most of the stories I've heard they weren't equipped to do anything but IV fluids).. I decided to call my surgeon's office and have him paged, and he actually agreed to meet me at the office for an unfill. He took out .5 cc's and I feel like a totally new person now! I am sticking to clear liquids at least until tomorrow even though he said creamy liquids should be okay. Thanks for the info and encouragement! That was a pretty awful experience.

I went in for a fill on Thursday and was fine on creamy liquids that night. Friday morning I was unable to do anything but Clear Liquids very slowly. I called my surgeon Friday morning and they couldn't make an appt until Monday. I am miserable (and scared). At this point I am not even able to do clear liquids and even my saliva is making me sick. The lady at my surgeons when I called on Friday said just try to keep down clear liquids and if I get too dehydrated to to the ER for IV fluids...... I really hate to do that but I don't know how I am going to last another 48 hours. I can't even sleep... Any thoughts/suggestions/guidance?

I had a fill yesterday of .8cc's, bringing me up to 8 cc's total. This was my 5th fill and was under flouro (sp?). He actually put in 1 cc but backed it down because the yummy liquid chalk wouldn't go down well. I sat in the office and drank Water, no problem. Last night I had Soup and even yogurt and things felt fine. So far today I am miserable. I have tried juice (no go), then I switched to coffee thinking that the warmth would help, and that went down okay but then when I took a drink of chocolate milk - ouch. Not good. I am very slowly sipping on Vitimin water and having a little bit of burping but it seems to be doing better. I called my surgeon's office like a good bander, and they can't see me until Monday for an unfill..... She said just drink Clear liquids until then, but she also added that it seemed odd that I was fine last night and was able to handle the soup and yogurt, and so perhaps as the day goes on things will continue to loosen up even more and MAYBE by Monday things might even be ok and I won't need to come in. So, my question is... Does this seem like it could be normal? Do I need a slight unfill? Is there a normal amount of swelling that could be happening and will go down eventually? Before this fill I did have to drink hot tea or something else warm to loosen things up but I was generally OK to eat yogurt for Breakfast by about 10 am - could it just be a more severe case of that now? Oh wow, sorry - that was like 89 questions. Anyway, thanks for any input you guys might have. :thumbup:

I haven't posted in a while because I have been stuck in band hell... the deepest, darkest place ever! I just had my 3rd fill this week, and I have 5.75 cc's (in a 10 cc band) and hopefully I wont be as hungry as I have been. Even having said that, I lost 11 lbs this past month from my 2nd to 3rd fill! I am down 29 lbs since first seeing the surgeon, and 66 since I began this whole experience with the 6-month diet ordeal. Yay!!!

I got my first fill today! 3.5 cc's total. He tried 4.5 and it was way too much, so he backed it down to 4 and it was still too much. 3.5 was perfect. He did it via x-ray, so I got to see the liquid as it got "stuck" and then when he took it down to 3.5 I saw it flow through the band. It was pretty cool, actually. I was pretty nervous, but now I know not to be! The feeling when it got "stuck" was terrible, I was shocked at that. My surgeon is letting me decide when to get the next one, but it will be no sooner than 3 to 4 weeks out. He also said it would take about 2 weeks to tell if I have restriction. So far I don't feel any different, but I'm on liquids until lunch time tomorrow. Yay, I feel so much like a grown up bander now!!! :bored:

One of the reps was at a support group I went to this past week. She didn't say much about Protein stuff, but we did sample some of their Vitamins. They were not too bad - the calcium chew thing was outstanding! I did want to mention that she talked about a pre-op Vitamin that they make that helps get your levels evened out and gets you used to taking a supplement. I am not sure how it tastes because we did not sample that one, but it might be worth looking into. Good luck!

I am with you!!!! I did a 6-month diet program before surgery, and with that plus the pre-op diet I was down about 50+ lbs... I was so excited. Nothing could stop me. Now I am a month out and on regular foods, and I'm eating well (lean meats, green vegetables, soft fruits) and I'm exercising 6 days a week at the gym... and I gained 1 lb last week? What is THAT? I don't really feel restriction - I can tell I do get full faster, and I am not eating neeeear as much as I was before I began this journey and I guess I just thought I'd keep losing like I did before surgery. It's disappointing. I go in this Thursday for my 2nd post-op and I am very nervous as to what he will say. My first fill is a week from today and I hope that helps. I just don't want to get discouraged and give up. Especially since I am not even finished paying for the surgery... Heh. I can tell I have lost inches though, and I am doing some toning at the gym along with cardio so I hope maybe I am replacing fat with muscle? I need to start taking my measurements to verify that. There is a support group meeting this week and I am going to go to that and hopefully that also helps with my mindset. Hang in there, we'll figure this out........

Wow........ that's just someone who had a bad day looking to pick on someone else I think. OK, thanks fellow Banditos for being supportive to everyone! We do have a great group!!!

OH yeah Heather, I felt like that too. Sitting at dinner with my family and friends and they were munching on chips and queso and I was sitting there waiting for my stupid SOUP and starving....... and who can I be mad at by myself, for being in this situation? Just remember, this too shall pass! I agree with Ann, go over to the May forum and read some of the posts there. :thumbup:

Oh Juniper! I am sorry to hear about your GB. I will cross my fingers for you that you do get your band at the same time. Don't be scared of being put to sleep! Hopefully you will have the same anesthesiologist that I had; she was wonderful. I have terrible veins and so she did the IV herself using a little pediactric needle and said "don't worry, I'll put in another one while you're asleep but I don't want to hurt you"... Once we got to the OR I remember her saying "I just gave you something to make you relax" and I said "sweet!!!" and that is the very last thing I remember. Sure enough, I had another larger IV in the other hand when I woke up. She seriously rocked. Keep us updated and good luck!

I started on my treadmill the week after surgery, but I just had my post-op today and was given the clearance to do everything except for ab-exercises. I just toured a new really nice gym near my house and I think I'm going to go join it! I want to work on losing and toning as well. This gym also has a swimming pool and lap pool and that makes me very happy! Wasn't there a thread with an exercise challenge? We need to get that going!

Good luck today Juniper! I just came from the office. :smile: In my doctor's case, he did use glue but I did NOT have to keep it dry. He told me I could take a shower the day after surgery, which I did. He said just not to scrub the incisions, but the Water could run over them. Now 2 weeks the glue is all off and my incisions look great!