hiddnstar

That happened to me, too, and it haunted me. Ive found that whatever surgery someone is going to have ( be WLS or gall bladder or tonslis, etc), there will always be someone who brings up some hellish story to tell about what happened to a friend of theirs in the very same situation as YOU! Maybe they are at a loss as to how to be supportive and that's what they come up with. I'd rather people just say something like, "Good for you! Go for it!" or to simply be curious about the procedure and what it's like. ~hiddn

My feet was the first place I lost weight! I lost a lot in my face, my breasts, and my waste. Of course my hips and thighs will be the last to give it up. Just recently I've noticed a little melting away in those spots, too! ~hiddn

HI! I just wrote to you about being scared the night before, not realizing time has flown and you're already done! Congratulations! You saw it thru, that's great! I'm sorry about you being in such pain the first night. Are you home? It helped me to take my pain meds, write down the time I can take the next dose, then write down the time I actually take the next dose. Set a timer. This way you stay ahead of the pain. I, too, had a little bleeding at the incision sites and it wasn't a problem. My surgeon wanted me to take a walk 5 times every day. This helped a LOT, even though I didn't want to do it. I started out with just a very short stroll...and moved up to walking for 10 minutes each time. This will help keep your stamina up and will also help dissipate the gas they use during surgery. Each day will be better -- just hang in there! And look thru catalogs for the clothes you're going to buy for yourself 6 months from now! ~hiddn

Remember you're intervening on your own behalf and you'll be so glad you followed thru when you see the weight falling off and when you start feeling great! It's a courageous and responsible thing you're doing. When I had my band installed, they put my legs in squeezers (which I loved!) that are a precaution against blood clots and keep the blood flowing. I, too, had the experience of talking to the nurse one moment and the next moment I was waking up in the recovery room all done! To be honest, having the band put in was an odd experience. It's hard to describe the part about having something inside like that. You'll be able to feel your port under the skin with your hand. It's not bad, just "odd". You'll be an official Bandster. It's funny how we all come up with "What if's" in situations like this. But we don't tend to think about driving to work tomorrow and "what if I get in an accident?". Your surgery is a big deal and all the hospital staff are geared up, educated, and experienced for just this kind of thing! So relax as much as you can. Let people take care of you! Im glad you posted so we could all respond. Take good care. ~hiddn

HI! I'm sorry you've gone thru the wringer with all that has happened. I'm sure you've learned quite a bit during the last few years plus you've lost weight and are in an entirely different space going into this. I had my band out in September and am continuing to lose weight (much to my surprise). I bet you find yourself doing just fine without the band. The Lap Band is a great tool while it's working. But if it needs to come out, it's such a relief that that is possible. My band came out easily. The op report noted a few adhesions they dealt with. My recovery was easier than when I had the band placed, so I hope your experience is as easy as mine was. Good for you for knowing you can rely on what you've learned these past years with the Band -- trust yourself and continue your journey! I love feeling good again! And you will too You're almost there! ~hiddn

yams with a little butter and salt ~hiddn

Hi For me, I had PBed just 2 times during my 2 1/2 years with a Lap Band. Once 3 months after the band was installed and once about 2 years after. I know people who PB several times a day. My surgeon lumped PBing and throwing up into the same thing (which I don't agree with! They are very different to me) - so when he waved his finger at me as I left the hospital and said, "No throwing up!", he probably meant "don't eat in a way that the food will come back up". I was never told my band slipped, so I can't talk to that question. My understanding of the enzymes some people take when they are stuck is that the enzymes start digesting whatever is stuck, so it eventually (and sometimes quickly) goes on down. My surgeon told me to do this if I ever got stuck: Sit up, pray, and call him on his cell if it wasn't resolved in 45 minutes. I never had to do that, but I knew people who did. He would meet them in his office and remove the Fluid from their band. Voila - no more stuck. But getting stuck not something you want to do. He considered it an emergency. Take every precaution to never get stuck. That may mean eating very slowly and cutting food into tiny bites, chewing about a million times before swallowing, and of course choosing healthy foods your body does well with. I added the word, "healthy", because my body seemed to do just fine with cookie dough, Cookies, payday bars, chips, chocolate, etc. salad and raw veggies, on the other hand, were out of the question. I hope others will respond because it's really good info to share. My band needed to come out because my body could not handle it. So mine was not wholly a complication with the band as most people mean when they write on here. But it is considered a "failed band" just the same. I hope what I said was helpful, anyway ~hiddn

Welcome home! Im glad it went well for you! ~hiddn

No, I have not heard of Omni. What is it based on? It's been working for me to eat low carbs and adequate protein. I have about 45 to go, as well! Congratulations on your weight loss! ~hiddn

Hi Having a good blender is a good idea. Try out different protein powders and drinks so you know which one you like best. I out away my large dinner dishes and use only salad and dessert plates. I bought 1/2 cup glass jars with lids to put my meals in (for work). Have good walking sneakers. Go thru your cupboards and refrig and clean out items you intend to not eat. Have a good book to read. My sister gave me the gift of a month of NetFlix 5 cds at a time. If you don't have a timer, you might want to get one. I used one to tell me when it's time to go for a 10 minute walk outside. (set it at 90 minutes). One thing I did was I wrote an email to my friends saying I the surgery went fine and I am now home, resting. Then I waited until I got home to send it. That way everyone knew things were good and I got to just rest instead of trying to write to everyone when I got home from surgery. Having a small pillow to put between you and the seat belt for the ride home is helpful. A roll of paper towels works well, too. I had my surgery during the summer and just wore loose dresses after surgery, moo-moo type dresses. I didn't want anything pressing on me. My advice is to focus on where you are in the process; don't get ahead of yourself. If you're on clear liquids, focus there -- don't long for full liquids! I decided to buy all organic since I would be eating less. That's the only way I could afford it! One mistake I made was discovering that I could, too, eat sugar. But once on that slippery slope, it was hard to get off. So just don't do it I hope this helps. ~hiddn ps: there are two kinds of gas you will be dealing with. Intestinal and the gas they pump in to balloon your skin out to do the procedure. Gas X strips helped me with intestinal gas. Walking often helped with the other. Try doing 5 10-minute walks a day (every 90 minutes during day light). It helped me to log them.

Yay! You did it! I loved my Lap Band. It was my invisible friend It will be exciting to see your extra weight falling off. Most people say to stay off the scales while you heal -- but I couldn't help myself. Just remember your body is going thru a huge adjustment and there may be swelling (which will look like you've GAINED weight)...so if you peek at the scale or just happen to find yourself stepping on it, dont put much stock in what it says. Plus my home scale always weighs me about 3 pounds less than the doctors! When you go in for your follow up visits, you might try to get an early morning visit when you weigh less. I did that and it helped my morale Sounds like you're doing fine. Be sure to get some walking in, if even for just 5 minutes. You need to keep up your stamina; it is hard to get back, once lost. My surgeon wrote orders for me to walk 5 times a day! With less daylight now, you'd have to plan it out--maybe every 90 minutes. You end up having walked almost an hour a day that way. It will help keep everything moving; helps with gas and also lessens constipation. So walk even if you don't want to. You won't regret it. Congratulations!! ~hiddn

HI I had my band removed in Sept 2013. Im finding eating very low carb and eating mostly meat and vegetables is working for me. I use my crock pot a lot; I eat stew, scrambled eggs, chicken, salad. I find that fat is also important. It helps with feeling satisfied. But you still have to be careful to not over do it. You might find recipes you like at http://www.health-bent.com/ I have their cook book, but they have a lot of recipes on their site. One I love is avocado stuffed sweet peppers topped with bacon. They are crunchy, filling, satisfying. You seriously need to find what you like to eat and figure out how you can eat some version of it that will not make you gain weight. For interesting info on how the body works (how and why it stores calories as fat) look up the ketogenic diet. It is a diet given to children who have seizures. http://www.epilepsyfoundation.org/aboutepilepsy/treatment/ketogenicdiet/ My surgeon recommends a mix of Mediterranean Diet and Ketogenic Diet. You can see some You Tube videos from Dr. Robert Woodbury from Healthy Steps, here: There are 14 short videos so far. I hope this helps! We're all different in terms of what works. If you try something and it doesn't work, try something else! And never give up! ~hiddn

HI! You're finally there! It's an exciting time as you start something new. Be proud that you stepped up and intervened on your own behalf. Remember as you go thru the first weeks of healing and getting used to be being banded, lots of us have gone thru what you're going thru. It will be really exciting to see the weight drop off! I found the first 2 weeks after banding to be the hardest because I was still on clear liquids. But there were many rewards waiting to be had after that! It's sort of like waiting for Christmas as a little kid. I hope you'll write and let us know how your surgery goes! Remember to take a small pillow with you to put between you and the seat belt on the way home. A roll of paper towels works well, too. See you on the banded side! ~hiddn

Hi! I, too, had my lap band removed (on sept 16th 2013, after 3 years banded) and my recovery has been smooth with only the usual tender wound sites and some discomfort from having surgery. I could relate to your entire post! I had my band removed by a different surgeon than the one who put it in. The original one lost my trust long ago thru lack of serious follow up and not listening to me as I described the complications I was experiencing. According to him, none of it was related to the band! Needless to say, my new surgeon disagreed and said it absolutely needed to come out. From posts, here, it seems a lot of lap band surgeons are very protective and defensive of their lap band career (I couldnt think of another word to describe it). Again and again my surgeon would claim that my symptoms were not because of the lap band. I went to several specialists and spent a lot of money trying to get someone to help me. Finally a general surgeon who specializes in weight loss utilizing diet, exercise, metabolism, and surgery (if wanted and needed) agreed to consult with me. He did a barium swallow with several different views to see how the band was actually functioning (my original surgeon only checked to see if the band was placed correctly). We concluded together that since the band was malfunctioning and I had a lot of discomfort, the band should come out. Are you going to follow a certain diet? I am eating mostly Protein and vegetables (Im using my crock pot a lot). I've lost 8 pounds so far. Most important is that I feel good for the first time since I had the lap band put IN. Since I had lost quite a bit of weight with the band, I find it a lot easier to exercise and to walk! So Im in a much better position to be successful in losing the rest of the excess weight. You sound very motivated to continue losing weight and best of all, you sound like YOU are in control and empowered --which is what will see you through. A cook book I bought recently is really helping me - you might like it. Primal Cravings. You can see a lot of their recipes on this site: http://www.health-bent.com/ I love your positive attitude! Never give up ~hiddn

The more I think about this, the madder I get. This woman, Cheryl, is making a lot of assumptions and then handing out her own "solution" based on those assumptions. Halloween is a FUN, social holiday and dressing up is more than half the fun! An example: Kids with diabetes can dress up and go trick or treating just for the fun of doing that with their friends, with the full knowledge that they won't be eating what they collect. Maybe they'll use it to bribe an older sibling? or to temporarily be everybody's best friend sharing their bounty! Kids who are overweight usually already have a stigma and are often treated differently from kids who are slender. Wearing a costume for Halloween can be an opportunity to level the playing field for an evening. To be someone you're not! To have a short escape from being viewed differently by others. Cheryl seems to have a mean streak that she may not even be aware of. And she promotes her own acting out as a caring thing to do. Wow. She is completely out of touch. Right now, I'd gladly sacrifice a dozen eggs, shaving cream, and a roll of TP and make a visit to her house in the night. When all is said and done, it is horribly sad that someone would even come up with the idea of handing out a note about obesity to a heavy child (or their parents) and to basically point her nasty finger at a child who is joining in the fun of the holiday. Maybe someone could dress up as a snapping turtle and snap that finger right off her hand! Since Cheryl's plan was apparently on the news, maybe enough people will write in about the sheer cruelty of it that she will change her mind. ~hiddn~

This woman apparently has no idea how devastatingly hurtful she is about to be. I hope she decides to simply keep her light off. Handing out notes will only do damage to everyone involved. Can you imagine being the "skinny" kid going trick or treating with your "fat" friend...and you get candy, but she/he gets a note?? Once again creating divisiveness instead of compassion. This woman will be bringing hell right to her doorstep if she proceeds. She needs to keep her opinion (as she calls it) in her own home and off our children!

Thank you for posting our experience. I am so sorry all this happened to you. It is devastating to have done everything you're supposed to do and things are going well -- and then suddenly the rug is pulled out from under you and you crash. I hope you can rebound as quickly as possible and get back to feeling good. I feel fortunate that my band removal went smoothly. I had had band issues since it was installed, but especially the last 2 years. I wish there was something I could say that would make a difference -- I can only say thank you for posting for the benefit of others doing band research as they make their decision. I hope you are able to resolve the financial part in a way that is not too stressful on you and your family. I, too, have heard/read there are a higher percentage of problems with the Lap Band than previously thought. Still, there are a LOT of people who have great success with this WLS with no problems. I wish I had known about weight loss based on metabolism treatment before I had the band implanted. Thank you again for posting your experience. Best wishes for you. ~hiddn~

I like the Ninja. They have different sizes. I have the large one, but a smaller one would have been perfect. ~hiddn

Before I went for surgery, I wrote out an email saying I was home from surgery, all is well, and Im resting. I addressed it to several people (using BCC), and saved it to send when I got home. That way I didn't have to spend a lot of time contacting a whole bunch of people who were wanting to know how it went, right after having surgery when I just wanted to rest. My friends appreciated getting a quick update and I got to just rest! ~hiddn

I don't know about normal; I can only say it was not that way for me. I know sometimes people's throat can be tender after any kind of surgery because of the intubation. Maybe your throat is just extra sensitive right now because of that. Hopefully someone with knowledge about this kind of thing will answer here. Im glad you're listening to your body and responding accordingly. Hang in there. You may want to call your surgeon's office to ask about it just to be on the safe side. You DONT want to throw up. That much, I know! ~hiddn

HI! I think you will do fine. My surgeon said we wont know for 6 months if the scar tissue will be a problem. I had adhesions, but they know how to deal with those as they go. It sounds like you know how to deal with surgery and your body bounces back fairly easily. It will wonderful when the symptoms you've had, created by the band, disappear! I didnt realize I had learned so much from being banded until I had it taken out! For one thing, I love small servings of food, now! take good care, ~hiddn

Hi Marilyn! I had mine removed in September. I spent the night afterward mostly because I live an hour away from my surgeon and we both wanted to be sure everything was ok. The procedure took about an hour and he also did an upper GI (I've forgotten what it's called) to have a real good look around. I was awake all night and sore, but not in pain. What surprized me was the next day they took my IV out and I asked about pain meds. They told me they had not given me any pain meds!! I'd been having IV anti-inflammatory and anti-naseua meds, but no pain meds! So that will give you an idea of the ease. I had adhesions to my liver and to something else, I forget what. The operation report said the band came out easily. (You can request your Op Report afterward. It's interesting reading) In the hospital I had clear liquids. I was told when I go home, stick with liquids for another day and then I could have soft foods for 1 to 2 weeks. I could decide on my own when to move to regular food after a week. I chose to wait 2 weeks before returning to regular food. The most helpful order my surgeon gave me was that I was to walk 5 times a day!! I structured my whole day around that. I was up every 90 minutes to 2 hours to walk; I set my timer. I just walked for 10 minutes. I kept expanding my route and as I got better I could go further in the same 10 minutes. It was helpful that this was a doctor's order and I was really ridgid with it. Doing 5 walks a day was quite an accomplishment! It will help you with stamina. Plus it just keeps things moving. I had very little trouble with gas from the laproscopic part or gas from my innards being messed with. I stayed off work 3 weeks minus 1 day. The first day i went back to work, I worked 1/2 a day. I saw my surgeon the day before I went back to work. Everything was good. One of the steri-strips over an incision had already dropped off. My surgeon checked the incision where the port had been, removed the steri-strips and put 2 bandaides on it. The incision for the port was the largest and it has just now stopped oozing. (I had surgery Sept 16th and today is Oct 22nd). I remove the bandaides on that side and apply Neosporin every morning after my shower. So don't be alarmed if that incision takes it's time to heal. I was very tired during recovery. Sore some, too. I took percosett for a few days for the pain. But I feel so very much better without the band!! They symptoms I had went away immediately. I woke up from surgery and no symptoms! Before having my band out, I did a lot of research on weight loss plans so that I could continue to lose weight. I found the cook book Primal Cravings which has recipes that fit the way I eat. I am gluten free, dairy free(except grass fed butter), and sugar free. I bought the book and use it a lot. Everyone I've shown it to has been very impressed with it. My surgeon told me my body is still programmed to store fat and sugar, so to be careful what I eat. He said the band is only good to stop one from binging. The best diet for me is low carb because my body will always store carbohydrates. The recipes in the Primal Cravings cookbook (and the free ones on their website) are low carb and delicious. One quick recipe: Cut some of those small sweet colorful peppers in half and clean out the seeds. Stuff each half with avocado and top with half a slice of crisp bacon! It's a great snack! Crispy, cool, filling, and satisfying with the bacon. I hope this helps. I have to finish up writing quickly here as a guess is arriving. Please feel free to contact me if you have more questions or want clarity! You'll do fine and feel much better afterward. ~hiddn

HI! You're making an exciting decision! After you have healed from the band placement, you will pretty much need to experiment and keep track of the foods you eat. It's very important that you chew and chew and chew. It not only helps the food go down, but it starts digesting the food while it's still in your mouth. I have found that I could just about anything. But I have also heard different people have different difficulties. For instance, some people can only eat bread if it is toasted. Otherwise it gets stuck. Some people have a really tough time with meat. I had trouble digesting salad for a while. So just go slow and maybe even write down what doesn't feel so good. You may just have to wait a while to be able to eat it OR you may not be able to eat that certain food. I found I had trouble swallowing medication. I can cut tabs in half and do ok. No capsules for me. Not big pills, either. So ask your doctor about that part. One of my own issues is that I want to finish whatever Im eating. So its really important for me to just put a tiny bit of food on my small plate or in my small bowl. That way I can finish it and not be stuffed to the gills and uncomfortable. Sounds like you have a good head on your shoulders with all the preparation. I hope everything goes smoothly whatever you decide! ~hiddn

I had an abnormal ekg for both implanting the Lap Band and removing the Lap Band. It did not impact my surgery or recovery as far as I know. Just ask your doctor what the "borderline abnormal" issue is. It's always good to be aware and have complete info. I read there are some causes of an abnormal ekg that are totally benign, no symptoms, etc. Don't panic and don't take it as a "sign" of anything It's simply a bordeline abnormal ekg -- and go from there. ~hiddn

I have also heard animals are getting sick from the GM wheat and corn, especially cows. It is getting harder and harder for farmers and growers to keep their crops pure; winds blow across the invisible boundary lines of land and turn natural crops into GM crops. It's a sad situation. ~hiddn