SoccerMomma73

Stacie...for most of my life I was a shy young lass who never spoke my mind (okay maybe I wasn't that bad but I was quiet), for my mid-life crisis I've decided to not give a rat's ass what other people think and just throw it out there...so far it has been an amusing adventure.

Dear teach-welcome to lapband life. What you're going through is normal and happens to almost all of us (EXCEPT...a lot of us have doctor who didn't move us up to a different stage). The first couple months of banded life are a bear because you have no restriction and are expecting huge changes...they ain't there yet! DO-follow your doctors orders...if he says eat regular foods, then by all means eat them, just follow the rules. Small bites, chew chew chew, no drinking, you know the drill. You will get restriction, it does take time...it's hard but be patient and follow the rules. If you're following the rules and allowing your body to heal then chances of stretching, slipping, whatever are slim to none. However...did your doc approve sodas? Just because you can drink them (for now) doesn't mean you should. Follow your docs rules, they're for your safety and for your best outcome. And yes, the first few months of banded life are a whole heck of a lot like a diet and involve a lot of willpower, but it does get better! Good luck!

Now isn't this more fun than farmville?

Okay, so I was the nerd, chubby, bandgeek all through high school and never really got to be a part of a clique before. I feel SOOOO special now!!! So, who wants to be president of the "we heart bob fan club" so we can get all postal on the haters?

OMG those are gorgeous! Good luck, I'll pray for a full recovery!

I have BCBS Health Advantage. They pay a flat $4000 and the rest was out of pocket (they were kind enough to charge as a full cash pay patient so it was a slightly reduced rate). I was approved first time around. (actually let me clarify, most health advantage plans in Arkansas do not cover bariatric surgery under any circumstances, total exclusion, however, I work for one of the largest hospital systems in the state and they have adapted their plan to pay the $4000...not a lot, but better than nothing!)

I'm sure people will yell at me for this but I say bravo! As far as I'm concerned you should still be able to go out and celebrate with your family and enjoy something you like on occasion...just not often, and hopefully not as big of a splurge as you would have pre-op. Glad you had a good time and kinda sorta behaved!

Well geez Bob, that's because you don't even have a band yet, who are you to be telling people all this stuff???? Sheesh! Actually, where'd ya post it? I haven't read a good suck it up and put on your big girl panties post from you in a while!

FIVE INCH HEELS???? Did they lapband your brain or have you always wondered what a body cast would feel like? Good luck sista! And I do SoooOOOO want to see pictures in the 5 inch heels!

Take if from your fellow bandit here who 3 days ago had to get 2 liters of IV fluids and an emergency unfill...if this isn't improving in a few hours you need help. There should be someone on call for your physician with him being out of town. If you cannot keep down small sips of water, ice chips, and/or saliva there is an obstruction, could be food, could be that you just irritated your stomach and your itty bitty stoma swelled closed. Either way, a few hours of no fluids and it's time to get assistance. If you stop peeing or start getting dizzy, light headed, etc, head to the ER, you're probably getting dehydrated. Good luck!

FYI I went into this with a goal of losing 134 pounds, looking for 75 the first year. I'm 7 months in and have lost almost 80 and still losing steadily, there's no way I won't hit the 100 pound mark and likely hit it in less than a year. As said above, you get out of this what you put into it. I have patients who have done excellent with bypass or banding. I have patient who have failed with bypass and banding....it is definitely not a cure all but it sure as heck helps make it easier! Good luck with your decision!!!

Needless to say, I am PETRIFIED of ever getting another fill. I mean, seriously, my last fill was 3 1/2 months ago, why the heck did this happen now? Karen-I e-mailed my docs nurse the week before my first fill with a question and her response was "are you jonesing for some saline sister?" So, anytime (uh hum, previously) that I felt I was loose I'd call and tell her I was jonesing for a fix. Love that girl. I scared Bob, I scared Bob!!! Do I get an award or something???? I've decided Steve is bipolar and has serious emotional issues. His counterpart Eileen is an angel and never ever gives me an second of trouble, that's what I get for making my band a man...trouble trouble trouble. I'm with Butters too, holy crap. I also think Phil is a hysterical name for a band...or Phillup...like fill 'er up? Ah, but I'm a serious geek :-P I'm supposed to start mushies tomorrow...I fear food, seriously, at this point, should be an interesting day. My co-workers have threatened to throw steak and chicken at me but since they were nice enough to IV my dehydrated butt yesterday I haven't gotten too smartass on 'em yet for it. Bob, err, Goldi, when I decided I didn't need my 4th fill, I called and rescheduled it for a month...when the time came and I still didn't need it I just cancelled it and told them I'd call when I needed one. I have this freaky weird insurance at this point so fills are kind of a little paid for? It cost me about $100 when I go which is better than a lot of people but more than I want to throw at someone just to say hi... Off to bed! Still running on fumes for now.

Hi! I feel like I have become queen of the "adventures in banding" this last week. I was banded in December, and like most people, after my first few fills I would be tighter for a few days, few weeks, etc then loosen up a bit. After my third fill in March, I got tight and stayed tight, after about 6 weeks I started getting tighter and tighter, by early June I was eating soft stuff only a tiny bit at a time and PBing easily. I was losing like crazy but had had enough and went for a slight unfill. She took out 0.8 and I was AWESOME for about 2 1/2 weeks. Then over last week started getting tighter, and tighter, and tighter...things got stuck easily, I was slowing down on liquids again. Saturday things got a little worse, by Sunday I was essentially on liquids only and having to sip. Saturday night I started refluxing in the middle of the night and coughing, all freaking night. I didn't sleep at all on Sunday or Monday. Monday was even slower and I was starting to have pressure in my chest, abdomen, shoulders, and neck...and I was just not feeling well. About 2:00 Tuesday a.m. I started puking my brains out, constantly. I couldn't keep fluids down at all. By 8:00 I was on the phone with my doc and heading to his office at noon. I got to my office and had lost 5 pounds since Friday, I could barely stand, kept feeling like I was about to black out, etc...luckily I work in a family practice office so we "home medicated" and I was lucky enough to be able to get 2 liters of Fluid while laying on the couch in my office...If I worked anywhere else in the world I would have had to go to the ER. I saw my surgeon and he took out 1.4 cc...as soon as he started pulling it out the pressure went away, it was the best feeling in the world. I'm pooped today but have gained the 5 pounds back and drinking like a wild woman and feel soooo much better... I guess that was my long way of saying "BE CAREFUL" a little tighter here and there is okay but if it seems to be escalating be very careful and get help if you need it. I'm a family practice physician assistant and have a good knowledge of the band and related issues but it's really easily to just blow it all off and think your band is just being fickle.... Good luck and be careful!

I am GOOOOD....apparently my gut is revolting (on many levels) and some nasty things are happening on the backside but other than that and being a little tired I feel good. I gained 5 pounds yesterday. I can only assume that's 5 pounds of pure fluid. I won't try eating again until tomorrow but liquids are running smooth at this point. Can I just say that this all scared the living crap out of me??? I have NEVER felt so bad in my life and oh please God don't let anything like that ever happen again. I was reading a post about hiccups earlier and it got to thanking...last week I had hiccups almost daily and they were painful, typically they're just more of an annoyance than anything. So, maybe painful hiccups are my sign that something is up? Ah who knows, live and learn. Leigha, someday I'm writing a book and calling it "The Adventures of Christie and Steve" because of you (and prilosec is your friend!) Have a great one everyone!

I would cry, a lot and then I'd stress eat and gain about 10 pounds. Now, I'm NOT telling you to gain weight to get approval. But I would have been so upset I would have gained a good 10 pounds. Don't give up!!!

I Always get water when I'm out with other people, I sip on it before the meals and maybe, occasionally has a sip or two with the meal. Initially it was a pain in the butt but now it is second nature, not a problem. Good luck!

So...I only THOUGHT the early days of banded life were bandster hell...I have now seen true hell. As last night progressed I got tighter and tighter and by bedtime could barely take sips. Bedtime came with continued GERD/regurg which around 2:00 a.m. became constant vomiting. By morning I could barely stand more than say 10 seconds without getting lightheaded and dizzy and feeling like I was going to black out. My heart was pounding, I was weak beyond words, and I'd stop peeing...never a good thing. So, obviously it was time for help. I went to work with the intent of calling my doc for an a.m. unfill. By the time I actually made it to my office I was fairly convinced I was going to die. My pulse was 157 and my blood pressure was 68 over, err, something, they had issues detecting the bottom number because it was so low. My surgeon's office said be there at noon. The doc I work with said "so you wanna have someone come take you to the ER or should I call the ambulance"....nice. In the end since I had a hot date at noon for an unfill I ended up getting 2 liters of fluid at my office which made me much less miserable but still totally exhausted. I had 1.4 cc taken out with INSTANT relief, it was amazing. When he told me to take a drink of water I got all shaky and teary eyed, I was ridiculous but I was so tired and run down...I just crashed. So, I'm home, drinking happily, with instructions to chill my butt out and rest tonight. I am whooped, totally whooped but OMG water never tasted so good. He has no idea what happened to me. Sinus drainage? Nope. Eating too quickly? Not even close. We played 120 questions with no real answer but everything seems to be okay at this point so cross your fingers! Glad that's OVER!!!

Dottie-PT PT PT...it's all about the PT. Glad to hear you're on the mend, hopefully you'll be running circles around us soon. So, after my unfill of 0.8 last month I had a couple really good weeks with an occasional bad day, followed by this last week of suckage, followed by this weekend of major suckage. I was at the lake with my parents and I do believe Steve has just gone on strike and clamped down. The last 2 nights I've woken up every 30-45 minutes with HORRIBLE reflux, cough, etc. I've never experienced anything like this before. I'm exhausted from not sleeping last night and I kept both my parents up half the night with my hacking, they were both convinced I was dying. I've been back on liquids for 24 hours now and am just starting to feel a little better, I'm nursing hot tea right now and it seems to be helping. HOWEVER, if I have another night like last night I'm calling in the a.m. and begging for help. On the up side, I've now lost 80 pounds..which is freaking amazing. I'm 14 pounds from onderland, I never dreamt I could hit that mark in under a year (this also means I'm 14 pounds from weighing the same as my 6'3 skinny dad...it will be SO very nice not to outweigh him. And, on a bizarre side note, apparently if you're band is having a fickle day and you're feeling all pressury and stuff, jumping into a lake is a bad idea. I can only assume it was the added pressure from the water but, ewwww....don't swim in that part of the lake for a few days folks! Keep your fingers crossed for a nice quiet night tonight!

I'm too chicken to do weights BUT another lady at my docs office was 6-7 pounds shy of the necessary weight and they REALLY worked with her. They do not require us to take off shoes, empty pockets, etc. She had instructions to drink constantly all morning before she came in to weight and eat a heavy meal right before getting there, and not to pee before she got weighed. She didn't do weights but gained a pound or two before her official weigh in, did all of the above mentioned things and wore heavy heavy clothes and heavy shoes....I think she was 2 pounds over what she was required to be if I remember correctly. I know drinking a lot and not using the bathroom can make my weight go up as much as 3-4 pounds a day....Good luck!

We had this post going on another thread but I found it so amusing I'm going to throw it out here as well. Pre-band I knew I'd have some saggy parts and would likely end up looking to have plastic surgery in the future. I assumed the thing that would really bug me would be the gut...it sagged before so there was no question it would sag after. Now that I'm 6 months and 75 pounds into this journey I have discovered while I don't enjoy the sagging tummy, flapping thighs, or floppy boobs, it's really the bat wing arm thing that's driving me nuts! I went swimming with my son last week and on the drive from the gym to my house (maybe 15 minutes) the chafing drove me crazy and then my arms were irritated for several days after.... So, for me, assuming I don't have the $$$ to do a total body lift, my first step, someday, will be a batwingectomy...oh I can't wait!!!! So, how about for you guys? are you picture perfect in every way since your surgery or are their parts you want tweaked? :ohmy:

I'm surprised you've had 2 cc in your six weeks post op..sounds like your doc does fills fairly quickly but small fills at a time? How big is your band? Fill #3 was the fill that kicked my butt. She added I think 1.2 cc to put me around 8.6 cc in a 14 cc band. I was tight but had to be very careful for about 6 weeks then around that time became REALLY tight...somedays I'd be sort of almost "okay" then others I'd struggle to get fluids down. I dealt with that for 6 weeks before I finally caved and got a slight unfill. She took out 0.8 leaving me with 7.8 cc (I THINK?) and OHHhhhh...the difference it made. That was about 2 1/2 weeks ago. I've still had a few stuck episodes and had 2 days where I went back to liquids for 24 hours but in general I am so very much better. Yes, I think you need another fill, they do help, but be patient and you'll get there...nothing is worse than an overfill and the agony that comes with it! Good luck!

Ah, body image, ain't it a great thing? I figure it'll take me at least 5 years to save up for all of it (if ever) so I might as well enjoy the flapping bat wings for now....what I keep thinking though (although this is a long way away) is that if I can just do it all at once (even though it'll be a fortune) in the end it will be cheaper...only 1 really crappy recovery period...only 1 round with anesthesia...etc...but OMG it's gotta hurt having stitched up thighs, belly, butt, boobs, arms....did I miss anything? AND...last week I realized my butt was starting to sag now. MY BUTT...I didn't realize butts could sag....::ohmy::

I will confess to having done this once post op when I was on liquids but no restriction blah blah blah...I was frying hamburger for tacos...and starving...and hadn't chewed anything in weeks. And yeah, it was gross but ohhhh...the taste.....and the chewing...it felt SOOOOO good to chew....but once was enough thanks :ohmy: I will agree with those above, if people are doing this as a way to avoid eating then yes, I think it's turning into an illness just as anorexia is (not as dangerous as anorexia but still definitely not "normal").

Elfie, sorry...it was all a sarcastic joke in poor taste....I've been in puke starvation mode for a month and a half...this is fabulous.

Change it all up. Eat more or eat less, exercise more or differently...I've discovered that if I stick with the same thing for too long I just sort of get stuck there...If I increase my calories for a few weeks (assuming I was geing really really good to start with) and mix up the exercise things seem to start back up.... Good luck!!!