LA277

My meeting with the nutritionist was supposed to be done as a Power Pont presentation in front of several of us who were planning on having the surgery. I was the only one who showed up so she just went through it with me on her laptop. She covered what Vitamins I would have to take, different types and brands of Protein drinks and what kinds of foods I might have difficulty with post-surgery. No big deal whatsoever. The psych eval was just as low-key. I spent about 30 minutes chatting with the doc about my family history and my reasons for wanting to be banded. No tests or anything like that.

That makes three of us. Congrats to isaviolinist for being down 44 lbs already!

Hi Donna. I'm in Rancho Cucamonga.

Thanks everyone for your kind replies. I had my first fill today. The doc gave me 4cc at first and had me drink Water. There was a noticeable back-up so he reduced it to 3cc. While drinking liquids, I can feel some restriction but not enough to cause a back-up. I'm on liquids for the next 24 hours so we'll see how well it works with solid foods tomorrow. Maurine, I'll be more than happy to answer any questions that you have. In fact, here's a quick run down of my experience so far. Pre-op: After jumping through all of the hoops (upper GI, EKG, psych eval, etc.) my insurance approved me right away, even though my BMI was a little on the low side. Because I wasn't very big, Linda told me not to worry about the pre-op liquid diet. When I was only 5 days away from my surgery date, however, I went in for a last minute visit and found that I had put on some weight since my initial visit (I was eating like a pig) so she suggested that I start the liquid diet right away. I bought protien shakes at costco (Premier Nutrition) that taste great, pack a lot of Protein and are low in fat and sugar. Still, I cheated and had at least one meal of solid, low-carb food each day, in smaller portions than usual. I managed to drop 9 lbs over that 5 day period. Surgery: The surgery was no big deal. They put me under and I woke up in recovery, feeling some pain. They kept me doped up just enough to keep the pain to a minimum and, after being wheelchaired to the front door, I walked out of the hospital (Huntington Memorial) on my own. Post-op: I did the usual liquid diet for 2 weeks and during this time I never really felt hungry. I was also taking Lortab for pain. The pain wasn't from the incisions, though. They pump your abdomen full of CO2 so that they can have room to see and work in there. The CO2 dissapates up through your body and can take weeks to go away completely. The way I experienced this was stiff and sore shoulders for a few days followed by a stiff and sore neck. The constant soreness wore off after the first week or so but, every time I would eat or drink something, I would feel it again in my left shoulder and on the left side of my neck. This lasted for several weeks. I mostly just rested for the first 2 days and went to the Gaslamp District in San Diego on the third day. I spent the entire day walking around with no issues. The following day (4 days after surgery) I took the family to Disneyland for my daughters B-Day. Still no problems. The port doesn't bother me at all. When I touch that area, I can feel something hard under the skin, but there's no pain or discomfort. I started eating solid foods at about 3 weeks and found that I could eat as much of anything that I wanted as long as I chewed it completely. During my initial follow-up visit, I learned that the doc had inserted the band completely empty (I hadn't thought to ask about this before) so that my stomach would have some time to adjust to it being there. After losing 20 lbs due to the pre and post-op diets, I was hungry but determined not to gain any weight back prior to my first fill so I put myself on a low-carb diet. I'm down 34 lbs total as of today and just received my first fill. The fill: The doc gave me a shot of lidocaine (small pin prick) first so I didn't feel the larger injection whatsoever. He started off with 5cc in a syringe, injected 4cc and had me drink some water to determine how easily the water could pass through the restriction. He initially backed it off to 2cc and then settled on 3cc as being slightly restrictive. I go back in 4 weeks for my next fill. Well, that's it so far. Feel free to ask any other questions! LA

I just want to say thanks to everyone here. I spent quite a bit of time browsing LBTalk prior to my surgery and I'm glad that I did. I was banded on June 18, have the standard 10cc band but it's still empty. My first fill is tomorrow and I can't wait to start moving toward restriction. I'm down 30 lbs so far, but that's all due to will power. Nothing new for me, though. I can't count how many times I've dropped 30+ lbs before caving in and quickly putting it all back on - plus a few extra. My doc was Dr. Bengt Persson in Arcadia, CA. I haven't asked but I have a feeling he's going to be conservative when it comes to fills. I only hope that I can keep off what I've lost while I'm waiting patiently for some restrictive assistance! LA