SeaBreeze

Hi All, I had a band removed and gastric bypass performed on Dec. 16th. During surgery the spleen was nicked and had to be removed. So instead of the 5 little cuts, I have 4 little cuts and one REALLY big one. The staples came out today (don't ask) and I am healing nicely. I was wondering if anyone else has a similar story and what your healing progress is like. How much exercise can you do? How much are you eating, etc.? Cheers

Just into my third week and have stalled a bit as well. Lost 15lb before surgery and 15 after but have been flatlining for the last 4 days. I'm happy for what I've lost but can sure see that my body needs a break to deal with the changes before hopping on the slide again!

Thanks Pinkgirl, and I hope you are feeling better soon. At 2.5 weeks after surgery I still feel twinges and general 'stomach aches' but nothing I would medicate. I was in the hospital for 5 days and they managed my pain by giving me meds if my pain hit a level 3 (on a 1-10 scale). They used paracet or oxycodone iv's the first 3 days. After that it was non-Iv (don't ask :-/ ) paracet. Overall I was fairly comfortable through the process and found the more I walked the better off I was. I continued with paracet for almost a week and a half though usually just at night to sleep. I'm now walking about twice a day for around 15 minutes...but I still get really tired. Not sure if I should push more at this stage or lay off when I get tired...

Hiccups are the worst! I've been on IV but not today. Had protein yesterday and today and trying for 1.5 liters water today. Walking and sipping. The walking helps. The drain sounds scary to me, but I'm sure it will help. Best of luck!

My spleen was scarred by the lap band and was nicked. Couldn't stop the bleeding so they had to take the spleen too. So got a bigger scar and annual vaccinations with my bypass. Talk about freebies. Still in hospital. May leave tomorrow or the next day. Sip, sip, sip!

Bit of a complication, but on the mend.

Congrats! I'm December 16th too. Getting ready to start the pre-op diet Monday and am more nervous about not losing enough than the surgery. They/re very relaxed about the pre-op stuff here in Norway. Good luck!

Hi All, Well I'm back on the boards again and have an appointment for Bypass in December. I started this journey in 2006 with a LapBand in TJ,Mx. I moved to Tucson, AZ later that year and found that no medical center would accept me as a regular patient. I found a doc that was doing a private practice in weight loss who agreed to work with me, however it seemed I could never make it past 8 weeks without major swelling that called for a re-adjustment...and starting over with an unfill. After a few years of this I just couldn't afford the 300$ weekly visits as I went back to university, so I unfilled it in 2010 and there it sat. Now I am through university and am living in Norway. I made the decision to have bypass and the date is coming up fast! What I'd like to know is, what are the 'normal' preparations people experience in the States? I'm wondering if it is different here. So far I have had a one-day seminar (in Norwegian, with an interpreter trying to keep up) on the procedure, what to expect, specifics on medical staff involved and a guest speaker with personal experience. As I don't speak Norwegian (my fault, but there it is), I missed quite a lot. I have an appointment with a nutritionist next week to 'prescribe' my pre-op diet and the surgery is mid December. Am I missing anything??

Good News! I'm back from TJ and the band is fine...no slippage. The Doc said that the fills and unfills I had done caused my stomach to move a tiny bit so that the band was around a thicker part of my stomach. So the 1.75cc fill was actually tighter than 2cc's was before.! Thanks for all the support.

Can fills and unfills cause band slippage? I'm concerned that I may have slippage and can't get to my surgeon for a few days yet. My symptoms are not as severe as most I've read, though. I'd be interested in hearing more about symptoms, corrections and recovery times. The history (if you're interested): I was filled to 2cc's for 4 months with only a little restriction and went to a local NP for a fill. He's assistant to a local bariatric surgeon and sounded like he knew what he was doing. He gave me a 1cc fill. It was WAY too tight, so we unfilled the next day to 2.5cc. I could eat that evening, but the next AM I could hardly get Water down. I thought maybe it was swelling and waited a few days. Dehydration sent me back, and the NP completely unfilled me and prescribed Prednesone for the swelling. A week later we put back 2.1cc's. Again, I could eat thick liquids that day and drink anything. The next AM, same story. Again, waited a couple of days for swelling to go down, but no go. Back again for an unfill down to 1.75cc's. Kept to liquids for almost 3 days, then tried thick liquids (cream Soup, yogurt) and vomiting occurred (though not retching). Now, in the morning I have trouble getting even liquids down sometimes. Other times I can eat yogurt. At times (though rarely, and usually in the evening) I can eat softer foods and even crackers, but most of the time I can't eat anything.... That's where I'm at. I can't get to my surgeon until next week.

I had a fill yesterday and, while Water or Gatorade goes down just fine, anything thicker (tomato Soup or Slimfast) comes back up withing 15 minutes. Has anyone had a reaction to a fill like this? I had my first fill (2cc, which is half way) in October and finally found a doc in my area to do another fill. He put in 1cc, which turned out to be way too much; I couldn't swllow my own saliva!. He then unfilled .5cc, which allowed me to get liquid down just fine. I ate soft foods that same evening and all seemed well, but that night I woke up in the middle of the night and was thirsty. So I grabbed a bottle of water and chugged, completely forgetting, because I was half asleep, that I had a band, and ended up vomiting the water back up. The next day I couldn't get anything down again. I waited to see if it was just some residual swelling, but after 2 days with nothing to eat and hardly any liquid, I went back to the fill doc. He completely unfilled me and gave me steroids to get the swelling down, and in a week I was back to square one. Yesterday, I had a fill of 2.1 cc's. Water, as I said, goes down just fine. Last night I took a few sips of tomato soup and, while it went through the band just fine, when it hit my stomache below the band, it came back up...not a violent wretching, but like a soft PB, but with all the other reactions of vomiting (momentary chills, watering eyes, etc). I didn't try anything else last night, went to bed, and this morning drank a bottle of water. Again, no problems with the water. So I tried a few sips of Slimfast...back to the vomiting. So has anyone had a similar experience? Should I be very concerned about the vomiting?

Wow, aloe... didn't know about that. I'll check it out. I have NO IDEA what it was, but it seems to be gone now. Had Slimfast, then tomato Soup....YEAH! Thanks

You may have a point. I've had lots of PB's in the past, and this felt nothing like them. But maybe it's a different kind of PB?! It does feel like my stomach though (it is both Water and soup coming up). However, this may be a moot point. I've been sipping Slimfast for about 15 min now and so far, so good. Maybe It's just a crazy coincidental flu bug! Who knows... We'll see how the rest of the day goes. Thanks Again

It's from the stomach, though fortunately there's no acid. That's the confusing part. I take a few sips, it goes through fine; no golf-ball-in-the-chest feeling, then 10 minutes later, that un-well feeling and...you get the idea.

I thought swelling might be the issue. I know what too-tight feels like, and can actually feel both the Water and thicker fluids going through the band with only minor restriction. The problem is when it reaches the lower stomache (now I sound like a cow!) and gets rejected. I'll give it the rest of the day, just drinking water, then see if I can keep down thicker stuff tonight. Thanks for the support. It helps!

I thought swelling might be the issue. I know what too-tight feels like, and can actually feel both the Water and thicker fluids going through the band with only minor restriction. The problem is when it reaches the lower stomache (now I sound like a cow!) and gets rejected. I'll give it the rest of the day, just drinking water, then see if I can keep down thicker stuff tonight. Thanks for the support. It helps!

Hang in there Jamie, Every surgeon has different instructions, and every case is unique...but I can tell you that I had no hunger for the first week after surgery. I sucked ice cubes for the first day, then started with Gatoraide and then progressed to juice and Water (mostly water). By the end of the second day I was ready for broth, but only 1/2 cup at a time. I was instructed to get down at least 1 cup juice (apple or cran) and 1 cup Gatoraide for the next 7 days, and as much water as I could handle. I didn't get tomato Soup until day 10...and boy, was I ready for that! So hang in there, the pain will go away; most of it is the gas and the port... Just watch out for the common post-op depression. That took me by surprise; but once I understood why I had it, it seemed to vanish. Keep your eye on the prize }{ !!!

Hi Terry, I have to ask you, since you had surgery the day after I did...This is embarassing but...did I meet you as you were going in? (I'm Traci, btw; short-long blond hair - trailed by I.V. stand and tall dark DH...) I realized that the aftereffects of the anesthesia wiped out whole chunks of my memory. It's very strange to look at e-mails I've obviously typed but have NO recollection of whatsoever! Anyway, congrats...sounds like you're doing great! I've been in jeans for awhile, but seatbelts are now my Nemesis.

...how can I keep soid foods from impeding my urrent progress... This is obviously a fill-i-the-blank game...<answer: 'solid' foods and 'current' progress> Sorry

7 Days 'Til Solid Food... Any suggetions on a first meal?? I'm not obsessing or anything.... No, really! Just trying to plan ahead. The liquid diet has been fine. No huge problems with head hunger. Tomato soup is my life-saver..half a cup at a time, of course. But I'm not sure what to start out with that won't shock my system and will provide protein, etc. (NOT a fish fan..unless they're still swimming <grin>) Also worried about calories; how can I keep soid foods from impeding my urrent progress...I've been losing 1/2 lb. a day so far. The last 3 days the scale hasn't budged. Now I know I have a slow metabolism; but shouldn't 4-500 lbs a day see more results? I am getting my 30g of protein w/Isopure...so I hope my body isn't going into starvation mode,,,storing fat and all. I know, I know...get off the scale on on the treadmill (lol) I AM obsessing. Anyway; suggestions for first meals would be great!

I don't mean to be irritatingly cheerful but... I'm on post-band day 3 and feelin' fine. Yesterday DH and I walked to the mall a few blocks from the Lucerna and shopped for a couple of hours. I did take a bit of liquid tylenol when I got back, but it was just for minor discomfort. Today we just got back from SeaWorld. Did tons of walking, and no tylenol today. Of course I have some soreness in the stomach area, but it's mild and mainly stiffens when I sit too long. As for the migrating gas bubbles, a long soak in a hot tub with a good book seems to help, but doesn't it always?! Oh, and whoever asked earlier; I was banded by Dr. Ortiz....he's the best!

Up and About-Post Op day 1 Smoooothe procedure!! Had all bloodwork, EKG, etc. yesterday on the way from the airport to hotel. Met a couple of peopled walking around post-op. Slept well and the very nice Lucerna hotel, then into surgery. More sleeping, then magically appeared in a new room. Slept some more, then took a couple of turns around the clinic. Chatted, walked, slept again, and back to the hotel the next am. Some abdominal discomfort...like too many crunches...and some lost gas bubbles wandering about...other that that, ready to go to the mall. Which is what I'm going to do now! More later...taking questions all.

Well, heeere we go...leaving tomorrow am for TJ for banding. Made it through the pre-diet with flying colors. Packing now and trying to keep too busy to be nervous.

Hi Terry, Welcome to the August Banders! I am being banded the 9th, so will see you in a week.