pennreporter

Brock, my daugter just had her lower body lift and breast reduction done by Dr. LoMonaco from Big Medicine. What a sweetie he is and, according to my daughter, just a big flirt. She also had her band done in Houston. She lives in NYC but houston has such incredible doctors. And judging by her recuperation, Dr. L has done an incredible job. She had her surgery two weeks ago tomorrow and is flying back to NYC tomorrow and returning on a shorter schedule to work on Monday. So I would think anyone that he's associated with on the show is probably a top notch surgeon. Trisha

it will be here before you know it and it really is better to be safe than sorry because should that have caused a problem with incisions it really wouldn't have been fun. Good luck! Trisha

Congrats!! Welcome to the loser's bench. Just remember to take it easy for a few days, take your pain meds if needed...you will be amazed at how little you will be eating these days. My daughter goes to Dr. Kurian in NYC, surgery tho was done in Houston. But she's lost almost a hundred pounds in 15 months. (and gained a new boy-toy..lol) So good luck on the next leg of your journey Trisha (pennreporter)

I'd find a new doctor. Speaking to him probably isn't going to change anything. If he's a jerk, he's a jerk. There are jsut way too many doctors doing this procedure now and there's even Fill Centers USA that will do fills. You don't need the stress. If it's an insurance thing and he's the only one your insurance company will pay, then I'd have a serious talk with the insurance company about changing doctors. 30 lbs is 30 lbs...and you may have lost inches also instead of lbs. I'm a big believer in having the best possible relationship you can with your doctors, and sometimes you have to shop around until you find the right one. My daughter's surgeon was in Houston, she lives in NYC and pays for her owns fills ($100). Good luck. And to quote Beyonce, "move it to the left" There's plenty of other doctors out there.

GonnaLoseIt, you've done an incredible job in keeping up with all of this. Your day is almost here also!!! Best of luck to you. You have been so great with the forum. Have a great new band-day and have a speedy and smooth recovery!!! Trisha Pennreporter

Asbruce, Dr. Spivak was my daughter's surgeon also. She loved him. Because she was self-pay, she clearly didn't have to do the six-month jumping through the hoops and he is very aggressive about not doing much of the post-op diet. His philosphy is you need to learn how to eat/live with your band as soon as possible. She also wasn't on pre-op diet. She went out and ate mexican food the day before... I don't know if you know his history with the band. He's truly one of the leading surgeons in the country and still works on FDA trials. Trisha

I'm not a drinker so it's not a big deal. My daughter who was banded last year, it has sooo not been a problem. Again, nothing carbonated but that leaves a wide variety open. She's very social so she's out a lot and drinks...but it's slow. She may nurse a drink for a couple of hours. good luck trisha

No regrets. I was a yo-yo dieter for years. Each time it came back with more weight than I started with. The last time the cholesterol shot through the roof and BP was barely controlled with meds and then the sleep apnea had gotten so bad I was only sleeping about 3 hours a night. My daughter was banded last year and lost 95 lbs and just seeing her journey made me convinced that this is what I needed to do. Now I was only banded June 1 and had one fleeting moment after surgery of "what have I done, surely I could have just kept my fat mouth shut and lost weight." But it was a fleeting moment. Almost two weeks out and still no appetite or hunger. I eat because I know I need to eat. I have no doubt this may change, but again, like the other poster said, I don't have a problem dieting. This is just giving me a tool to help it all come together. I've lost 15 lbs since weigh-in two days before surgery but the big plus is no pain in my knee that's been bothering me ever since this most recent weight gain. The band is not the end-all be-all. You still have to live with your band and still have to do portion control and watch the foods you eat but when you get full fast or you're forced to eat slow it helps tremendously. Good luck on your decision. I have absolutely no regrets at all so far. I didn't have to do so much research because my daughter had done it all. The big difference between us is we have two different types of band, so we'll be able to compare if there are any differences. Trisha

If you trust your surgeon, that's all that matters. That's great with no pre- or post-op diet. For me personally it helped to have that time to adjust eating style. Although don't know that it really would have made a difference since I have no appetite now at all. Now that I can add eggs (eggbeaters) and cottage cheese, at least I don't have to do the shakes anymore. I got to where I couldn't even stand to smell one. Another week and I can have chicken/fish...woo-hoo. trisha

Saffy, did they use staples on you instead of surgical adhesive or did you have to have an open procedure? Trisha

my doctor sent me home with a binder, a wide elastic band that I wrapped around my middle section which helped a lot the first few nights of sleeping, kind of kept abdomen skin from moving if I wanted to sleep on side. I'm sure you might be able to get one at a pharmacy or medical supply company. Also helped for the 85 mile trip home. good luck all trisha

Thanks. Had my surgery with Geisinger and they have plenty of meetings around but almost no banders as they don't do a lot of bands period. Although I guess my biggest support group is my daughter who was banded last year. So she's my go-to person so far. Thanks Trisha

just realized hale and hearty is in NYC only but there are other chains of soup restaurants. Trisha

I didn't have any weight gain but I know I've stayed away from the broths/canned soup as much as possible. Calorie wise you think you're doing good and then, bam, you've taken in a million grams of sodium. If you're close to any soup restraurants, that would be great...a hale n hearty is wonderful...still have sodium but not as much as canned, just what they put in to cook with, not the preservative. I don't have one where I live, but next time in NYC, I will buy a bunch up and freeze. good luck!! Trisha

is the support group at Lehigh Valley for banders or all gastric surgery patients, if anyone knows? Thanks Trisha

I was banded June 1 and go for first fill July 6. A little nervous about first one, only because my surgeons don't do a lot of bands, mostly bypass, and they've just switched to Realize in November. The PA who usually does the fills says that the surgeons have been doing the fills on the Realize. Knowing how conservative they are, I'm sure it won't be much of a fill, 1cc if I'm lucky. But as long as I'm losing, I don't have a problem with a slower progression. If I become too frustrated at how slowly they do the fills, I will go to my daughter's doctor :confused: Once I get past the first one, I'm sure it will all be good. Trisha (pennreporter)

spud-mama, I'm sure you're already at the hospital by now. Good luck and let us know in a few days how you're doing!! trisha

Spud-mama, there is a god...I didn't have to do the bowel thing :ihih:. I had to do an endoscopy yesterday to make sure everything was moving like it should after the surgery. The barium they make you drink, well after almost three weeks (pre and post op) of protein drinks, it really didn't taste much different. Good luck all trisha

JazzyMom, think of the positive of this, at least you don't have two weeks of it!! :ihih: do you get anything besides your Protein drinks? I could at least of soup/jello/pudding/sf pops, but it was two weeks. I had a few slips, but not many...that was mainly a little more Soup and a few days I had a small plain salad with FF dressing and then the night before I had a small handful of chips. So hang in there!! The only other positive I can say it that so much of our bad eating habits are psychological...it's not because we really need as much food as we were eating. After surgery, you won't have much of an appetite or hunger (or at least most people don't). So by doing the pre-op diet it kind of sets you up psychologically for not eating food. (coming from someone who just got elevated to eggs and couldn't wait to have an eggbeater omelette ...lol) Again, hang in there. For me the 3rd and 4th day were my toughest, but it's different for everyone. Trisha (pennreporter)

ah shucks Julie, thanks...lol. Look forward to seeing you in a couple of days online letting us know how you're doing. it took me about 3 days before I wanted to open up laptop. Slept a lot. Assuming no bumps in the road, you will be surprised how quickly recovery is. I wish all surgeons did what mine did with the expansion gas. He sucks as much of it as possible back out with a little suction tube. Had none of that to deal with. For a guy who has not done many of the bands, I was impressed. GOOD LUCK!!!! Trisha

Good luck Julie and all the rest being banded e tomorrow!! Assuming you don't have much gas pain and barring any complications, it really is a pretty easy surgery. I'm thrilled. Got to actually make an omelette today out of eggbeaters. A half a cup of that scrambled with just a smidgeon of sour cream and I was done. You will all do great. I'm older than most of you on this section of the forum. But today was the first day in two years that I walked with no pain in my knee. Total loss through journey so far is 30 lbs. I'm a low BMI bander so for me this is great. But losing just the ten pounds since surgery has almost gotten rid of knee pain. We'll all be saving you guys tomorrow a place on the loser's bench. Just take it easy on yourselves, take your pain meds (mostly for the gas) and get lots of rest. Trisha

I will definitely be contacting you a little further down the road on arm surgery. I'm a low BMI bander. So hopefully will be during the winter months. I'm a court reporter in the Poconos and work gets pretty slow during that time. Daughter is doing wonderful. She actually went out for a walk today (drains and all) for a couple of blocks, which Dr. Lomonaco recommended). Last two drains will come out tomorrow and she showered today and started cutting down pain meds. She I'm thrilled for her. Thanks so much. You've been great on your input. I will be doing as much arm exercising between now and then...can't help to at least have the underlying muscles in better shape. Trisha (pennreporter)

Banded on June 1, last week. So far everything is wonderful. My surgeon hasn't done many bands, but lots of bypasses. So I was a little nervous about that. But he did something that a lot of drs don't do. He sucks most of the expansion gas back out. So I had no gas pains at all. Had an endoscopy today to make sure everything was flowing through with no problems. I good for about a half of cup of whatever it is I'm eating/drinking. So a loss of 10 pounds in a little over a week. Only think sore is still the incision for the port. All the others, if I didn't know they were there, I wouldn't. Will get first fill on July 7, can start exercising again now (exercise bike) and now can have cottage cheese and eggs. So all is good so far. I know things are probably still swollen inside, but if this is even an 50 percent inkling of the future, absolutely no regrets. Trisha

Whoo-Hoo!! 8 days post-op and doctor and nutritionist moved me up to next food stage. So I now can cottage cheese, ricotta, eggs as protein alternatives to protein shakes. Ten lb weight loss so far, which I know is not as much as some folks on here with post-op diet, but I'll take it. I also can get back on the stationary bike and start exercising again, which is sooner than I thought. He was basically of the mind, if it hurts don't do it. So tonite is an eggbeaters omelette with a little sour cream...gonna feel like a banquet. In two weeks I will actually start getting fish and moist chicken...I'm so on a roll :thumbup: The hospital, bariatric clinic I go to is very very conservative but, hey, they're footing the bill. So I'll play. First fill will be first week of July!! Good luck to all and if you have doubts or fears, it's so worth it, even if you have a few bumps in the road at first. That will pass. Good luck to all upcoming banders Trisha pennreporter

Dr. Schulman, my daughter went ahead with her surgery with LoMonaco and so far everything seems to be going per plan. Surgery was Thursday. She was able to remove breast drains today, possibly one of the lower drains tomorrow and able to shower tomorrow. But my question is actually for myself. I've seen where there's a procedure for the arms where instead of the long incision, they do the incision under the armpit. Assuming you do both kinds, what determines who can have the one just under the armpit? Also, back to my daughter, LoMonaco doesn't want her sitting up at a straight angle right away. How long does that usually continue? She was able to see her stitches finally and feeling a little Frankenzilla-like right about now. Thanks for your input earlier. I had my banding on June 1 and the only thing possibly for me will be my arms...we'll see. Going to try to do as much exercise as I can but not sure if that will get all of it. Trisha (pennreporter)