untfluter

Good luck!! Let us know how it goes. Feel free to email me if you would like. I have been banded almost 7 months.. I am happy to answer any questions... I realize I am not an expert by any stretch of the imagination, but I have been banded and successful so far.... you can email me at untfluter@comcast.net

well, since it sounds like you are going in for your fill like an hour after your breakfast meeting... if that is the case, I would not have anything other then maybe a protein shake. Even grits, while a slider food, could still be sitting in your pouch.... and if there is food in your pouch when you get a fill, then you won't get a true reading on the fill amount... If you have a several hours after your breakfast meeting before you go in for your fill, then you should be ok to have some grits. If anyone asks why you are not eating (and they don't know about your surgery), just tell them that you are having blood work after the meeting that requires you to fast.... they will not know any different... if they know about your surgery and ask, just tell them you have an appt w/your surgeon for a fill and your stomach must be empty....

First, it's important to remember that every surgeon has their own way of doing things. I usually have my fills late in the afternoon, so obviously, I can't go all day not eating... so they tell me to eat light, mushies and liquids... when I would go in the morning, then I have to go in having not eaten yet. My surgeon says liquids for 24 hrs after the fill. Other surgeons say clear liquids for a few days, then regular liquids for a few days and then mushies for a few days... your best bet is to call your surgeon today and ask what they want or don't want you to have before you come in that day for your fill. Also, ask them how long they want you to be on liquids after your fill. You really can't go by what everyone else does, you need to follow YOUR surgeons instructions... they have their reasons for doing things the way they do... good luck!!

My surgeon had me do an upper GI to see if I did have a Hiatal hernia so that he would know when he went in if he had to fix it or not. He said the band won't work w/a Hiatal Hernia unless it is fixed. I had a very minor one, he wasn't able to get to it to fix it but he was able to place the band and I have done well so far. I would see about a second opinion if you ask me.. there is no reason why he shouldn't be able to place the band after fixing it... that doesn't make sense to me.. good luck!!

I started out losing more then the 1-2lb a week average but it eventually evened out and now I do average the 1-2 lbs a week.. you are only 3 wks out... until you get your first fill, you won't have much restriction...remember, the first 6wks or so after your surgery is to allow your stomach to heal... good luck and let us know how you are doing!

YEAH!!! Slide in under the wire... good for you!!

What a great post... I too am blessed w/my surgeon... I was banded May 19th by Dr. Wizman in Florida. I had a fill last week, just 1/2 CC and when they had me drink the water, it went down fine... but once I got home... and esp the next morning... I knew I was WAAYYY too tight as I could hardly even get water down... long story short, my surgeon met me that night at 8:45pm to take some out some fluid.... I am going to send them a basket of some kind at his office to thank them for just being wonderful people... the surgeon is awesome and caring and his staff is great too... I also think I am gonna have a new years eve party for my friends who have been SOOO supportive of me as I started this journey..I am truly blessed to have so many wonderful people in my life!!:ohmy:

If you had your gall bladder out in the last year, that could VERY well be causing the diarreah... just FYI.. I had my Gall bladder out about 5 yrs ago and I had big issues... some people just develop these bowel issues after having it removed according to my gastroenterologist because the Gall Bladder isn't there to filter the bile anymore, so the bile can affect your bowels...

Do you still have your Gall Bladder?? That could be a culprit as well...sounds similar to the pain I had before mine finally came out.....of course, like Nicole, I'm not a doctor... I would call your surgeon if it continues...

Yes Mimi.. I am very lucky to have found the surgeon I did. He truly cares about his patients.. you aren't treated like you are at a cattle call. We call have his personal cell phone number and can call him anytime we need to in an emergency.... I am truly blessed....

I wanted to tell everyone how wonderful my surgeon is. I tried to post this under the surgeons but it didn't give me an option to start a new thread. I was banded on May19th of this year by Dr. Paul Wizman in Margate, FL (Ft. Lauderdale area). Yesterday I went for a fill. He put in 1/2 CC. When I got home, I tried to drink my protein shake but it wasn't going down well. I thought maybe it's just too thick right now...so I had some broth.. fast forward to this morning, and I made my protein shake, but this time no ice, no peanut butter, no blender... just milk and the powder... I got in the car, took two drinks of it... immediately felt stuck.. on a protein shake! I actually had to pull over on the turnpike and throw up... I have NEVER had to do that since I was banded... so when I got to work, I made a big cup of hot tea, thinking that it would help loosen the band... well, it didn't go down great... gurgling w/EVERY sip... so I called and spoke w/his nurse, told her I thought I was too tight.. she asked what's going on... I told her... she told me to stick to light liquids and she would get back to me. She just called and told me that after the support group meetings tonight, that they are gonna meet me over at the office at like 8:45pm and he is gonna take out a little bit...now.. he is in the OR all day and then 3 HRS of support group meetings... and he's STILL gonna take care of me after... I LOVE MY SURGEON!! He's just a great man and surgeon!!

Parrotthead is SOOO right about not comparing your 7 CC w/how much she has in her band. I got a fill yesterday.. 1/2 CC, which put me at 3.5 CC in a 10CC band. This was my 4th fill. I was banded on May 19th. I had good restriction after my 3rd fill, so much so that when I went in last month, he didn't give me a fill. So.... I got a 1/2 CC fill yesterday... I am TOO tight.. actually had to pull over on the side of the florida turnpike this morning to throw up after having 2 drinks of my protein shake so I made a big cup of hot tea at work and even that wasn't going down well... I felt it in my chest and I was gurgling like crazy... SOOOO... I talk to his nurse and after being in the OR all day and then 3 hrs of support group meetings tonight, him and his nurse are meeting me at their office about 8:45 tonight to take out a little... I have lost about 60 lbs so far including my pre-op diet, 48 lbs of which is post op... so everyone is different in how much it takes to get restriction... just give it a few days... your stomach has to heal again after the fill... good luck!!

You sound like me!! My family was nervous but the day came and I was ready to rock and roll. They nurse took my BP once I was taken back and it was normal, for me.. which is a little high but not bad due to my HBP meds... if I was nervous, I would have expected my BP to be high... the nurse was laughing at me because I kept asking when they were gonna take me to the OR and that I was ready to rock and roll... she said that most patients come in and they are nervous.. I wasn't nervous in the least...and I think that's because I KNEW this was the right decision for me...good luck tomorrow and let us know how it goes!!

I am on FB... everyone I know knows I had the surgery.. I have a photo album on there of before/after pics.. LOL I would love to be FB friends if you are interested... just let me know...

I go for my 4th fill tomorrow..after my 2nd fill, I made the mistake of eating sushi too soon and wound up being too tight due to some being stuck in my band... so I had 1/2 CC taken out... after my 3rd fill, I had good restriction... that fill took me to like 3 1/2 CC in a 10CC band... I had such good restriction, but not at my sweet spot... that when I went in Oct for my 4th fill, he didn't do one... but now I am definately ready for my next fill. I still have decent restriction.. but I am now able to eat more then I should be able to a lot of the time... so for me.. I got pretty decent restriction at 3 1/2 CC, but it does loosen up as we go along until we hit our sweet spot...

Not only is November our 6 month bandiversary.. TODAY is my 6 month bandiversary.. I was banded on May 19th... a Tuesday.. LOL I go tomorrow for my 4th fill. I will post tomorrow evening my total weight loss. I am so glad I did this and I love my band!!

I am the same way.. I weight myself every morning and even at night... I do that so that I know if I am still on track. It helps me adjust my eating from day to day if I have gone up from the day before... but I don't count my home scale as my official weight, for that I go by my surgeon's scale, but theirs is close to mine, within about a lb or so... but to my advantage... LOL

I had my surgery on a Tuesday... came home from hospital on Wednesday.. took that whole week, Monday was a holiday, my office was closed and worked from home on Tues/Wed and was back in the office on Thursday... but I feel like I could have definately gone back on that Tuesday, one week after my surgery... remember, everyone responds differently to the surgery and how fast they heal and start to feel better...

Gaylancsu, you sound just like me... LOL I have also told everyone and anyone... I have had nothing but amazing support. The ONE negative I got was from a guy I had gone out w/like twice, who by the way, dropped off the face of the earth, well, he emails me one day... and I tell him about my surgery... I get from him "I wouldn't do that, it has shown to have bad results (WTF??) and whatever happened to doing it the old fashined way" I told him off and never heard from him again... good riddance to bad rubbish...but I put it all over facebook as well. I have reconnected w/people I haven't seen in anywhere from 25-28 yrs on Facebook and EVERYONE of them have been supportive... I too have friends who have never made me feel fat and are sooooo supportive of me and what I have accomplished so far... they even brag about me to other people... and now one of my other friends is going to the seminar for my surgeon this month... my family, behind me 150%..... I figured everyone knew I was fat, it was no big secret.... and I felt I had so much to be proud of for taking control of my life when I made the decision to have LBS.... as a matter of fact, I just had dinner w/a bunch of my friends for my birthday a week ago and a few days later one of them called me to tell me about how everyone was talking about how happy I looked!! good luck!!

with the issues you were having, your stomach pouch is probably very swollen... you need to be on liquids and mushies for at LEAST a week to allow the inflammation to go down... good luck and i'm glad the slight unfill helped.

I wanted to let you know that first, what you are going thru is completely normal. For a lot of people, it takes several fills before they feel restriction...and it also isn't uncommon for it to loosen a week or two after you have gotten a fill. Don't get discouraged... second... I too was taking Metformin along w/Actos for my diabetes prior to surgery. After surgery, my surgeon's nurse, who is a certified diabetes educator, had me stop my Actos and cut my Metformin in half. My fasting blood sugars are generally in the mid 90's to low 100... my A1C did go up from 6.3 prior to surgery to 6.5 after surgery.. BUT... I wasn't taking one of my meds and cut the other in half.. I was perfectly fine w/that and so was my PCP.... feel free to email me if you have any questions.. untfluter@comcast.net Good luck!!

I think this is great advice..BUT.... just because her surgeon allowed her to have mashed potatoes, doesn't mean that yours will. PLEASE make sure to follow YOUR surgeon's instructions... if he tells you liquids only for 2 wks, then stick to that.. I KNOW it will be hard... I am going in for a fill the week before thanksgiving...so I know I will be very tight...so I won't be able to eat much and I am cooking for the family this year.... congrats on your band surgery date but please make sure to follow whatever instructions YOUR surgeon gives you... EVERY surgeon is different and they each have their reasons for how they do the post op diet for the first 2-4 weeks.... good luck and let us know how it goes!!

I had a BMI of over 60 the day of my surgery. I was banded on May 19th... including my pre-op liquid diet, which was 2 wks before my surgery, I have lost 60 lbs... so don't let those people get to you... I know of people who weighed MORE then me and was banded and were very successful. Good luck and congrats for making this decision for your health and your life...

I had a similiar situation about 2 wks after my surgery... I never had the lump, but part of my incision on my belly button opened up and was draining BAD... it was a Friday night.. I called and spoke to the surgeon on call and he said as long as it wasn't red and inflammed and wasn't running a fever and the discharge didn't have an odor, to just continue to dress it and allow it to finish draining, that it wasn't unusual for Fluid to build up... just as a precaution, I went to see my primary the next morning, yes my primary has Saturday hours... LOL she took a culture and gave me an anitibiotic... I already had an appt w/my surgeon on Tuesday, just a few days away to see if my suture's where ready to come out... by the time I went to see him, the culture was back as Staph... my surgeon put me on Levaquin... I took a week course, went for another culture and did one more round of Levaquin and all was good... but my surgeon was talking about that he might need to go in and take out the port so that the band didn't get infected... I was self pay... while he wouldn't charge me, the $10k for the hospital, I didn't have... thankfully he was willing to take my suggestion of getting a repeat culture after the first round of antiobiotics and to do a second round... and all was right in the world... What antibiotic did they give you??