Katlynn

I haven't been on here in a long while but I wanted to pop in and tell you all that if you all the sudden don't feel any restriction please please please be a strong advocate for yourself. The weight loss has been very slow going for me. In fact I have only lost 10 pounds since my surgery date of September 30th. I lost a bunch of weight before that on my own. Anyway, even though things were slow I could still feel restriction up until January. I went in for a fill January and the moment I left I could tell something was different. I always had great restriction immediately after a fill but not only did I not get more restriction, the restriction I had was gone. I was all the sudden STARVING! In fact I called my doctors office and spoke with a nurse 2 days later and asked if it was possible he missed the port when he did the fill...she assured me he didn't miss and said my tummy was just used to fills now and wasn't getting swollen after a fill. OK I believed her. So I went back in 2 weeks later and had another fill. I had lost a pound so I think I wasn't taken seriously when I told them something was wrong. I was told that I didn't have as much to lose as a lot of people so I needed to put things into perspective. Was given another fill which now totaled 6 ccs. Again, I could tell that something was wrong. No restriction...nothing. I was eating like I did pre-surgery. Nothing stuck. Went back in 2 more weeks and was adamant that my band be checked for a leak. Tried to make it lighthearted and offered to go and get a cheeseburger from McDonalds and scarf it down without chewing right in front of them if they didn't believe me. Doctor agreed to pull my Fluid out to show me I didn't have a leak. You guessed it....instead of 6ccs I only had 1.3 ccs in my band. So he apologized and checked my bandfor a leak using a Fluoroscopy. Unbelievably the Fluoroscopy showed no leak. He then put 5 ccs saline back in my band so we could see if the leak repaired itself. 2 more weeks later I go in and it's still leaking. I was then filled with 6 ccs of omnipaque (which is thicker than the Saline). It has been 4 days and luckily I still feel restriction. Hopefully the Omnipaque will continue to stay in otherwise I will have to have surgery to replace whatever part is leaking. It is my belief that at my fill in the begining of January the tubing was nicked causing the leak. In fact that is exactly what the nurse told me she suspects is happened. So please if any of you guys have any issues with having less restriction inform your doctor immediately and insist your fluid be checked. I have wasted 2 months now trying to be nice and taking everyone's word that it was fine when I knew deep within myself that something was not right.

I had my first fill yesterday! The nurse put in 3 cc's in my AP Standard 10cc band. I'm still on liquids but I don't think I have any restriction. I'm hungry but not giving in! I go back in 2 weeks for another fill. BTW, I'm sorry I haven't been around more to support everyone. Unbelievably I found out I was pregnant but have since miscarried. Apparently I conceived the night before my LAP-BAND® surgery. I was shocked beyond belief as my one and only child was a result of IVF! So, when the LAP-BAND® doctors tell you to be careful if you don't want any more children,they aren't kidding! All we can think is that the weight I lost on the pre-op diet somehow allowed me to conceive, when all those years of trying failed.

The nurse called this morning and confirmed what I thought was happening. My beta has decreased and she said I was miscarrying. They are having me come back in next Wednesday to make sure the beta number has gone all the way down. What a roller coaster ride, and one that I didn't expect to be back on! I am sad, and while I wasn't trying to get pregnant, I view every baby as a miracle and am sorry I couldn't have met this little one. Thank you all so much for your thoughts and prayers!

Thank you all so much for your support. I went in this morning for a BETA and they will repeat it on Wednesday. With those numbers we should have some idea. I'm sure it will be followed up with an ultrasound. My biggest concern right now is ectopic. I guess once you have an ectopic you tend to fear it will happen again. If this is a healthy pregnancy, then my husband and I will welcome the baby with loving open arms. It's just so hard to wrap my head around this right now. After all those years of trying and then struggling through IVF...to just get pregnant naturally seems so impossible to me. And then the shock of conceiving the night before surgery...I just have no words! Thank you again for your support and I will keep you updated!

I had my Lap-Band surgery on September 30th of this year. Everything went great. They performed a urine pregnancy test on me the morning of surgery - obviously it was negative or they wouldn't have performed the surgery. My husband and I have not had sex since the lap-band surgery (18 days) due to the risk of becoming pregnant. My husband is scheduled for a vasectomy. This morning I realized my period was late so I went and got a HPT. OMG it was positive. I will be calling my OBGYN tomorrow morning to get in ASAP to make sure everything is ok. I have previously had an ovarian ectopic and major fertility issues. To conceive our daughter we had IVF, she just turned 1 years old. I must have conceived the night before my band surgery and it must have been too early for the urine test they did to show that I was pregnant. Right now, I am freaking out. I don't know whether to be happy or scared... or both.

I had referred pain immediately after surgery but it went away after a 3-4 days. I'm sorry you are still experiencing it!

I would love to have a Buddy/Mentor to talk to that has some thing in common with me. My BMI was 33 the day of my surgery. I also have PCOS and IR. I've lost 5 pounds in the 12 days since surgery. My doctor says I will probably lose slower than most bandsters so I figure I will need some help to keep my eye on the prize!

I lost 7 pounds on the 2 week pre-op diet. It was 2 protein shakes a day and a lean meal for dinner.

It's nice to read that I have a lot in common with most of you! My BMI on the day of my surgery was 33 -- that's 197 lbs and 5'4. Yes, I have weighed more than that, and yes I have weighed less than that before....but for many years now I have been stuck in the 190's. I also have PCOS so losing weight was hard and basically required starvation as well as working out 5 days a week with a personal trainer. I've done that before and got down to 125. Looked great, but had zero energy. Of course all the pounds lost came back quickly once I started eating again. I've read a lot of people with lower BMI's will say that people have told them "you're not that big" or "you don't need WLS". My experience has been different. People (parents, friends and in-laws) have all had a talk with me about my weight. My husband has been the only person who has never ever said anything negative to me about my weight. Truthfully, while I know I needed to lose weight, and I want to lose weight -- when people would have an issue with my weight or want to discuss it with me, I would think to myself, "geez, I'm not that big that you need to have some sort of 'intervention' here". My heaviest weight ever was 243, when I was pregnant with my daughter in 2008. So here I am, I've lost 50 lbs in the year since having my daughter. Saw my MIL last Friday...she didn't even notice I was 50 lbs lighter. Nope, not one word. It seems some people only like to comment when it's a negative comment. I was banded on Sept. 30th and my doctor told me that I would lose less each week/month than someone with a higher BMI. He said for me not to get upset at a lower number lost, it's more about percentages. Since banding (with no fill yet) I've lost 5 pounds in less than 2 weeks. A big hello to everyone and I hope this lower BMI section gets more active!

Adding my name to the list as well.... Soco 9/01/09 Amandakrangel 9/1/09 Coloradomom (Gen) 9/1/09 ms_Hart37 9/1/09 mosean6278 09/01/09 ivy76 9/02/09 Jmtmb (JoLynne ) 9/4/09 JLDChester(Jamie)9/4/09 Cortney75 (Cortney) 9/4/09 tzn (Karena) 9/8/09 Jules 09/09/09 Soldiersgem(ginna) 9/9/09 pr8453(Pam) 9/9/09 bradybrat 09/09/09 Nawlinzlady (Dee) 9/15/09 Anni80 (annie) 9/15/09 smallerj (jes) 9/16/09 Hardygostlin (Jody) 9/17/09 Loveslady(Tawonda) 9/17/09 Gatorgirl1024 (Shelley) 9/17/09 MishiB (Michelle) 9/17/09 Sharie3 9/21/09 leigna 09/24/09 Chickychoo (Jill) 09/28/09 Soexcited 9/30/09 Katlynn (Kat) 9/30/09

Awesome! Thank you!

This is kind of embarrassing but yesterday I was able to wear a pair of regular pants instead of still wearing my MATERNITY pants that I had been in for the past 2 years!

You are absolutely right Hmarko. I had all of these same thoughts rush through my head yesterday while I was deciding what to do. What it boiled down to for me was that the band is of no use while on liquids so I better get moving to mushy's and then solids. Thanks for taking the time to respond to me!