Unforgettable

I don't think I was gasy or burpy afterwards, but perhaps your stomach is swollen from the irritation which is causing it to do weird things. Just a guess. As far as having a bowel movement - did you have a barium swallow? If so, barium can cause constipation. Make sure you are keeping yourself hydrated. If you didn't have a barium swallow where you had to drink the white chalky stuff, then it probably isn't related to your fill. As always, check with your doctor especially if these problems don't go away.

Hey Agnes! I have an 11-cc realize band-c and have my first fill on August 10. I had an empty band, and they filled me with 4cc. I have pretty decent restriction, and think I'm just another fill away from my sweet spot. Good luck!

Some people do not get hungry, whether it be because they were filled during surgery or they were swollen still. I had pretty good restriction, I could last 3-3.5 hours between meals up until my first fill. I wouldn't let myself go longer than 4 hours without eating. Now that I've had my first fill I can go 4-5 hours. So everyone is different. More than likely you will experience bandster hell, where you have no restriction until your first fill and you're working off will power alone. Good luck!

Hey Sonia, Just so you know, they probably won't actually be sticking the needle in your scab. Your port should be off the the side of the incision, not right under. Mine is up and to the right. I had the same concern as well, and was relieved when they didn't even touch my incision.

I started this journey with my 6 month supervised back in September. My experience has been amazing, I honestly have had no complaints! Dr C is awesome, his NPs are great and his staff is so knowledgeable and helpful. I love that most of the office is banded.

Don't get depressed! A lot of docs don't even fill the band during surgery, so you're still ahead of the times :sad:

Hey Jess! You are able to make all of these changes under your 'user cp.' Click on USER CP at the top of the page on the far left, underneath the before and after polaroids. Once that page loads, you can 'edit signature' or 'edit avatar' as well as other options on the left hand side. No need to join a group per se, although there are groups that you can join on here. But you can continue to post as you have been with no problems.

Your body is still in healing mode. Another reason may be because you went from liquids for so long with significantly lower caloric intake, and now you are eating mushies. It's normal, you've lost a great amount of weight so far and the good thing is you haven't gained. You said you've stuck to everything perfectly, continue to do that and exercise according to your doctors guideline, and give your body some time to heal. Good luck!

hahaha samanthazz thanks for the smile, I know exactly what you mean

The purpose of the pre-op diet is to shrink the size of your liver. If your liver is discovered to be too big when opened up for surgery, many doctors won't perform the procedure because there is a risk of puncturing the liver and other complications. The diet is aimed at shrinking the liver to hopefully avoid that situation from happening.

I think it depends on what type of work you do. I'm a nurse and my job requires heavy lifting, lots of running around, not to mention working 12 hour shifts. I opted to take 2 weeks off but was actually given 3 weeks by work. After 2 weeks I could have gone back but the 3rd week definitely helped. My first week back was extremely hard. Even though I didn't lift the patients, I was on my feet the entire 12 hours, running around, and my stomach and incisions were extremely sore by the end of it. Listen to your body. Even if you haven't had surgery, you probably know how your pain tolerance is. Also think about the type of work you do. You probably won't need 3 weeks, but I think it's better to take off too many days than it is to take off not enough days

The barium swallow is not a big deal. You take a swallow of barium while either standing up or laying down and they take pictures using xray. I've had quite a few, the worst part being sometimes the barium is chalky nasty tasting, but I've also had some where it didn't taste half bad. I've never had an endoscopy myself, but I've prepped enough patients for them. They are a more indepth than a barium swallow. You are given drugs to make you loopy so you'll hopefully forget what's going on, but not to where you need a breathing tube or anything. They pass a tube/scope through your mouth into your stomach, it has a camera type of thing at the end so that the doc can see what's going on down there. Sometimes they take samples and sometimes they don't. A lot of times when people 'wake up' after the procedure, they don't remember it ever having started. I'd say the worst part about an endoscopy is having to have an IV started. Good luck! Just remember this is all part of the process to get to your ultimate goal

I had my first true NSV yesterday. I made a small road trip out of town to visit an old friend. I was trying to figure out what to wear, and decided to break open my under-the-bed storage bin with my "skinny" clothes on the small chance that something might fit. I was able to fit into one of my most favorite outfits ever, and it fit me perfectly. I haven't been able to wear this outfit since I graduated college in 2006. I was so happy!!

Glad to hear everyone's fill wasn't too bad and hopefully you guys get some restriction! My doc makes us do the rest of the fill day with liquids, the next day puree, the day after that softs then regular diet. So if I have a fill on Monday, I'm not supposed to eat regular diet until Thursday. I kinda smooshed puree and soft together.

hkitty, I'm the same way! It must be that we know we aren't supposed to have it:confused:

I've heard THREEdom, TWOterville and ONEderland.

Ok had my first fill on 8/10 and I'm feeling it! 7/10 - 230 (Start of preop diet) 7/13 - 224 (Surgery day) 7/21 - 217.8 (First follow-up) 8/10 - 212 (First fill) 8/17 - 208 % of weight loss since pre-op diet 9.5% % of weight loss since surgery 7.1% % of weight loss since last weigh-in 1.9% 8 pounds away from ONEderland!!!

Each doctor has their own guidelines, but mine recommends at least 60-80gms a day for women, I think 80-100 for men

Since my BMI was on the "lower" side, I only had to do a 3 day pre-op diet which consisted of medifast liquid products only. It was personally hell for me, can't imagine doing it for longer than that. If you want to do the full liquids before, more power to you. Just remember this is a marathon, not a race, and you WILL eventually get to goal. Good luck!

I love goals and rewards!! lol I have tons of them, really just excuses to buy and do things I want My first goal of reaching ONEderland, which I'm about 7-9 pounds away from, I'll be getting a breast cancer ribbon tattoo in honor of my mom on my wrist which I've been wanting for a while. her battle through breast cancer along with other family medical problems really opened my eyes to the path that I was on. When I'm halfway to goal, I want to get myself a tiffany's bracelet that I've been wanting but could never justify. When I reach goal, I'm taking a long vacation to somewhere tropical...can't decide between bahamas, aruba, or jamaica. I can't wait for this one!! Other things along the way or at goal, I want to buy myself a sweet expensive pair of designer jeans because, well, why not? Would love to do a pinup photo shoot. Skydive. The list just goes on and on

Barbara, It's natural to feel unsure when you're making such a life changing decision. Do not go through with any surgery unless you feel good about it. These concerns about the lifespan of the band, etc are legitimate - ask your doctor about them. I would speak with your doctor about the 2 surgeries and work out your pros/cons with each of them. Ask about how each would effect your hypothyroidism, if at all. As one poster had mentioned, the sleeve is also a WLS option. Have you researched the 2 surgeries very thoroughly? Each surgery should help you lose weight, but they really cater to different types of eaters. Are large portions your problem? Sugary foods? Think about what type of eater you are. I ate pretty healthy stuff, just had problems controlling my portions, and that's one of the reasons why I chose lap band. I also had concerns about the band lasting a lifetime but decided that I would cross that bridge when it came, and right now I needed to focus on getting healthy. Even though this is a lap band forum, you'll actually find lots of people who are in support of the RIGHT weight loss surgery, not just lap band. There are also people who started with the band and converted to RNY. Search this forum, soak up all the knowledge you can, speak with your doctor and think things over in your mind until you feel good about it.

Count me in! I also like the idea of a living with the band challenge versus pounds

Hopeful what type of foods are you eating? I've had only one fill - I'm not at my sweet spot but I feel like I'm only another fill away. I can eat 1/2 cup of greek yogurt with 1tbsp pb in the morning and it will last me for about 4 hours. I try to eat meals only, and snack on a high protein snack only when necessary. I can't imagine being so tight that I PB after each meal or can only eat a few bites of food.

Welcome Rissa! You've come to a great site...lots of helpful information and nearly unlimited resources!

Hello! I have never been pregnant, but I will say that my doctor strongly recommended that I wait at least 18 months after being banded before getting pregnant.