JustBreathe

We need a thread for this lapband doctor please. He is located in Anniston and I would LOVE to share my experience with him.

I love being pregnant, I really do. And I can't wait to see my baby boy! But, I'm not sure how much more of this nausea I can take. I had it up until 17 weeks. Then it tapered off until about 25 weeks. Since then it's been back full force. I've been on zofran & now phenergan. Nothing is working anymore, & it starts earlier & earlier & lasts all day long & all night. My OB seems to think my lapband has something to do with this. She is probably right, but it's having a HUGE toll on my emotional well being. I'm trying really hard to just make it through the next 7 weeks, but I just end up crying because I feel like crap. Does anyone have any advice at all for me?

Are any of those considered safe on a full liquid diet?

I'm due February 2011!! Had my band put on December 30, 2009. Anyone have facebook?

Did you doctor tell you any horror stories about your stomach herniating through the band or perforating or anything? My doctor has tried to scare me with all those things. I'm a little nervous about the baby kicking the port, did that every happen to anyone?

I was banded on December 30th, 2009, and became pregnant in May of 2010. My doctor was a total ass about it, but I did the lapband to try to have a healthy pregnancy. I have endured 4 losses, and I from December to May, I lost 25 pounds. I believe that is EXACTLY what I needed to sustain a healthy baby. It has worked for me finally, and I think if it can work for me, it can work for you! There will be lots of negativity & people who don't agree with it, but you have to do what is right for YOU! That's all that matters. I haven't have any problems yet and I am 17 weeks. I did have to get 3 ccs taken out which put me around 4-5 ccs or so. I just couldn't get any food down after a while. My doctor told me all kinds of horror stories like the stomach perforating through the band, herniating, etc to try to scare me, but again, he is an asshole, so I wouldn't expect anything less of him. :thumbup:

Hey all, I was banded (realize band) on December 30th, 2009. At this point in my life, almost 5 months later, I am regretting my decision to ever have the surgery. I should have known when the doctor scheduled my surgery within a week of meeting me. One week. He shouldn't have even been able to get it done that quickly. But, alas, I was naive. Anyway, I was ok after the surgery. HORRIBLE gas pain in my shoulders for about 2 months. I lost about 10-15 pounds in the first 2-3 weeks basically because I was on a liquid diet. I was slowly losing a pound or so a week. And then it just stopped. I have lost 20 pounds total, and that's it. I do not feel full. At all. I have told my doctor this and he calls it "head hunger," "eating around the band," etc, etc. He makes me feel like it is all my fault, that I am a failure and a bad patient, but I know in my heart I have done nothing wrong. I thought this surgery would help me feel full quicker, and it hasn't. I can eat exactly how much I was eating before the surgery, and if I don't, I don't feel full, and want to eat again in an hour. I absolutely hate my surgeon. He makes me feel like a liar. I get nauseated every now and then, and he won't give me anything for it. Instead told me it was my gallbladder and tried to convince me to let him take it out. No thanks. I just feel like crap. I thought the band was going to help me lose weight and it's not doing that. There is nothing that I can't eat. I can't eat and drink at the same time, or else the food comes back up, but besides that, everything else is the same. I am still hungry ALL THE TIME. I just don't get it. I have asked for xrays or tests, or SOMETHING, but my surgeon convinces me that it's ME, not the band. I am so depressed from all this, all I want to do is lie in bed and sleep all day. I don't know what to do. Someone please tell me what could be wrong with my band. Why am I not feeling full? Why can I eat bread and things like that that others cannot eat? Why do I not feel any different? I am at 7.5ccs and I think my band holds 9. Please help. :tongue2:

I wish I could help you. I feel like I am in the same sinking boat. I just don't get it. Please pm me.

Hey everyone, I am feeling really disheartened. I had my surgery on December 30, 2009. I have had 2 adjustments that put me at 7ccs. I have no restriction whatsoever. I actually feel like I am eating more now than I was before the surgery. My surgeon doesn't seem to understand and seems to think it is all in my head. He keeps telling me he has had patients that don't feel anything until 9ccs. I have the realize band and was told it holds 11ccs. I'm frustrated, irritated, and depressed. I thought this would help me in my weight loss journey, but I feel like a failure already. I have been nauseated at night, and been taking zofran. I'm not sure why I am feeling that way either, but again, my surgeon seems to think it is normal. I can't seem to find anyone on here that has been to the same surgeon as I have. His name is Dr. Clifford Black Jr. in Anniston, AL. He was not the surgeon that was recommended to me by my endocrinologist, but he was the only one my insurance would allow to do the surgery. I'm worried that maybe he hasn't been putting the saline in the band? He just pokes me once, and says it's done. He doesn't check it with an xray or anything else. I have requested an xray and been denied because I don't have severe pain. Has anyone experienced this before? Not having any restriction at 7ccs? It seems so odd to me, and I feel like I should be noticing SOME type of restriction by now! It's so aggravating!! Anyone opinions are MUCH appreciated! :tongue_smilie:

Hey all, I normally take 1500 mg of metformin every day. 500 after breakfast and 1000 after dinner. My endocrinologist told me to stop taking the metformin until I am back on solid foods. I just had my surgery on the 30th. Did anyone else experience this?

I don't understand why everyone is told to crush their pills except me. Is my doctor a complete idiot? I take some HUGE pills, and he keeps telling me it is fine to take anything and everything whole. Including the metformin size and bigger :thumbup:

I wish I had an answer for you but I don't. I am 9 days post op and still experiencing severe back pain between my shoulder blades. When I tell my dr, he thinks I am exaggerating. Hang in there, we are in this together!

I am now 8 days post op and I am gonna be completely honest with you. My dr told me full liquids but I have been STARVING. On day 5 I had some KFC mashed potatoes with lots of gravy. I have had them every day and been 100% ok. I had a few bites of KFC mac & cheese a few days ago, chewed it VERY well, and was ok with that too. Saw my dr yesterday, he said full liquids through tomorrow, then mashed veggies for 3 full days. Then I could move on to regular foods. I didn't listen to that either. This morning I had 3 scrambled eggs with shredded melted cheese, and I have NEVER felt better. I am finally not in hunger pain. It has been absolute hell. With my cream soups, I mash up saltines into powder and add that into them, and that has helped as well. I know I have been cheating a lot, but the hunger pains have been almost debilitating. I had NO energey to do anything and had enough of it. Listen to your body, take it slow, and chew, chew chew!

UGGG I just need to vent, I am STARVING!!!!!!!!!!! 4 days post op on FULL liquids and I feel like my stomach is going to eat itself!! Please tell me someone else is in the same boat as I am!! Nothing is satisfying me!!

WOW Cathy that's amazing!!!! I can only hope I have a success story like yours, that is what I have been praying for!!!

cream of wheat, yes!! Going to make that now thanks!!

Hey all, My full liquid diet consists of whatever I can get through a straw. That is what my surgeon said. I have been cheating and mushing up saltines into powder and adding them to soups to try to fight the hunger. I am REALLY tempted to puree some scrambled eggs. I just don't get it, I never get that full feeling. It's like it disappeared!

Hey everyone! I was banded on Wednesday, so today I am 3 days post op. Since the surgery, I have had a constant tightness in my chest and back, and if I walk for too long, I end up having to take a painkiller. I keep telling myself it's just gas, but my surgeon said that should have stopped by day two. If that's the case, what the heck is this horrible "tight" feeling? Another problem I am having is I don't know when I am full. I am on a full liquid diet, and it seems like I can drink and drink and drink, and never get that full feeling. I am drinking soups, yogurts, jellos etc, shouldn't that be filling me up? Ok one more question! My surgeon told me he fixed my hiatal hernia that was causing my heartburn, so does that mean that eventually I wont have to take protonix anymore? I'm still really sore, and the pain in my back is almost overwhelming. I have been sitting down for an hour now, and I can still feel it. I just wish I knew what it was. My surgeon seems like somewhat of a jerk, as he laughed at my questions after I got out of surgery. I wanted to say, "well if you had told me these things beforehand, I wouldn't have to ask you now." There are just some things that make me nervous about my surgeon 1) He says I can take all my pills (9 total) at the same time and not have to worry about anything. Some of them are horse sized and he said I don't even have to break them in half. 2) He has had me on a full liquid diet from day 1, not low fat, not sugar free, but a FULL whatever I want liquid diet. 3) I told him I was having gas pains still yesterday, and he acted like I was exaggerating, and told me they should have been gone already. Didn't want to send me home with painkillers either! 4) My stomach is still incredibly swollen. I look like I swallowed a watermelon vertically. I'm fat to begin with, but this is crazy, I don't even fit in comfy pants, LOL, I look like an obese, pregnant person who swallowed a watermelon. I would just feel a WHOLE lot better knowing that someone else has experienced these things, and if not, I'd like to know that too so I can hunt down my surgeon and make him give me some answers! Thanks is advance to you all, I really appreciate it!

Thank you so much for all the advice and support guys! I have the gas x strips, but they really haven't helped any. I wonder if the gas x pills would be better? I guess what I am feeling is gas pain, and gosh it's horrible! I have to take painkillers to make it go away. I have a horrible sinus infection on top of all this, do you all think my regular md will still give me meds for it? I hate waiting till Monday to go see her, but I have no choice :smile2:

Hey everyone, I am scheduled for surgery on Wednesday, and I just feel lost. My doctor didn't give me any post op diet info, and has not put me on a pre op diet. I called again today to make sure, and they said just don't eat or drink anything after midnight on Tuesday. My doctor did tell me that I couldn't have sugar, and that I will be on a liquid diet (not clear liquids, just liquids) for 2 weeks after the surgery. I went to the store today to get a bunch of juices and I am even more lost because they all have sugar in them! I couldn't find one juice that was sugar free. I just feel so stressed out because I keep reading about people who were out on pre op liquid diets for 2 weeks, and people who are told just CLEAR liquids for two weeks, and I can't help but worry that maybe my doctor isn't giving me the right information. I also have to go for the H Pilori test, and they just said no smoking two hours before. But last week, my doctor told me I would have to quit smoking all together?!! I'm scared, nervous, anxious, and everything else. I am binging and eating everything in sight because I am afraid that I may never be able to eat anything again. I'm a wreck and just need some support! :thumbup:

Thanks again for all the help guys. I'm just nervous, and it makes me even more nervous that I didn't get any of this informatiom from my doctor. I can't go without my pills or I get sick, so I guess I will just have to work that out. I take Metformin for severe PCOS 3 times a day, and then at night I take: Singular Protonix Effexor XR Prozac Tricor Daypro Vitamin D Avandia Prenatal Vitamins Foltabs and ambiem to sleep. Obviously, I'm hoping that if I can get healthy with this surgery I won't need to take the tricor, metformin, avandia, Vitamin D, protonix, and daypro anymore. But I'm pretty sure I can't just stop taking those meds right away, and I know that I can't stop the effexor, prozac, or singular at all because I feel horrible without them. Those are the ones I am most worried about, and the effexor xr is a HUGE pill. I just really hope my surgeon realizes that I can't just stop taking those pills, and hopefully he has looked over my medication list. For those of you with GERD, did your acid reflux clear up right away after your surgery? My surgeon is doing the hiatal hernia (spelling?) repair along with the Lap Band, and I am wondering if it will feel like an immediate fix, or if I will still have acid reflux. Really this all just happened so quickly for me, and I hope that doesn't make any one mad. I have wanted to get the lap band for a while, but never thought my insurance would approve it. Then when I finally got the ball rolling, insurance approved it within two weeks, and my surgeon called to schedule my surgery. So I only got to see him one time before I knew the surgery was going to happen so soon. I want it to happen this soon, I want to do it as quickly as possible, but I still feel a little nervous about not having all the information I feel I should have. I know I am talking in circles, I'm just flustered I guess. We will see what happens tomorrow at my pre-op, and I will let you all know. Thank you so much for all your help and support, I really, really appreciate it!

Thank you all so much for your help, I can't tell you how much I appreciate it! I did not get to meet with a nutritionist, but I am stopping by the office tomorrow following my pre op stuff at the hospital. I will ask them tomorrow if they have a nutritionist I can talk to. I'm not sure why my doctor didn't tell me any of these things, but the only reason I can think of it that he probably didn't think he could get me in this soon for the surgery. I feel like he might have had a cancellation for this Wednesday, and that is why they called me and asked me if I would like to come in. I'm still really nervous about being able to take all my meds as normal as the nurse said I would. That just seems so weird seeing how so many other people have been told to crush theirs or take them in the liquid form. I guess it's good that I will be spending the night in the hospital, so that might give me some time to try to get liquid meds if I need to. I think the only time released medicine I am on is my effexor xr, and that is a horse pill! I'm also not sure how my metformin is going to work, since I am supposed to take one after breakfast and two after dinner. I guess I will have to call my endocrinologist and see if I can get an answer about that. Can anyone reccomend a protien shake that doesn't taste like chalk? I guess I will be needing to pick that up tomorrow as well. Cathy- This is going to sound dumb, but do I buy the chicken raw or precooked? Do I do this because the canned stuff has so much sodium? Thank you SO much for all of your advice!!!!!

One more thing, I keep reading that you will have to take all your medications as liquid only, and my surgeon's nurse told me today that I could take them all normally. I told her I take 9 pills at night, and 3 metformin pills during the day, and she said that was fine. Help!!

I'm so nervous Jenn! My surgery is Wednesday also! We need to be band buddies! My doctor didn't give me any info on a post op diet, but I went out and bought a bunch of juice and whatnot today. Where did you get the protein powder from? I'm so confused. All the juices have sugar in them, and I thought we werent supposed to have any sugar?

Hey everyone, My name is Cheyenne and I am having the lap band surgery on Dec. 30th. It's actually the Realize band if that makes any difference. I am 25 and have PCOS. I have had 3 miscarriages in the past year and a half, and am ready for a new start. I know that losing weight will help me become healthier for myself, and my future babies. I am looking forward to a new start at life, and looking forward to just feeling good again! I am married and my husband is in the National Guard, currently on his second deployment. We have a dog and two cats and they are the lights of my life. I am starting grad school in the Spring for counseling. 2010 is going to be a new beginning for me, and I am looking forward to meeting others who have been in my shoes before! :smile: