TurboDriver

Not an easy way to put this, but does anyone else ever "feel" their stomach move when they change positions? For instance if you are laying down in bed and then sit up, I feel something flop in my abdomen. Anybody else get this?

First of all I'm a noob on here. Just found this sub forum on accident. It's awesome that this is here. Okay, well I haven't had the surgery yet. I've already had the consult, now I am waiting to get the upper GI, and the psych clearance. I have PPO insurance, so the only question the doc told me is whether or not I have to do the 3-month diet. I'm being proactive and doing it anyway figuring it's going to take a few months for the upper GI, and for the insurance company to figure out if they are going to approve it without the 3-month diet. Enough with the intro. So are their any car guys on here? I'm in my early thirties, but I've owned thirty cars so far. Nope, not rich, just get bored with them, sell 'em and get something different. My toy car is a stage-3 Dodge SRT-4. Haven't taken it to the track because I need a new clutch. I guess thats the problem with putting around 350 foot-pounds of torque into the stock clutch does I am making an informal agreement with myself. When I get to my goal weight, going to look into getting me a used Lotus Elise. My buddy has an Exige S, and it is phenomenal. Got to drive it for about 2 hours on a closed track (Streets of Willow) and :thumbup::drool: Best part about the deal, is that the car forces you to stay in a healthy weight. I actually had my wife snap pics of me struggling to get in and out of his car (I have a bad back as well). I figure when I get to the right weight, it will be easy enough for me to use as a daily driver. Ok well this was long enough...I'll pass the gas can...Who's next, what do you got under the hood? :car:

Hey guys and gals, hope things are going well with all of you with your battle. I'm 3 months out (Surgery on 1/18) and I've run into a wall sort of, and I have a few questions that my surgeon didn't really answer very well. Sorry for all of these, I don't personally know anyone that has had the band, so you guys are my support group 1. What is the thing I can feel that sometimes pokes out a little on my lower left (heart) side? Doc says it's part of the lap band system. I don't think it could be the port because when he does fills, he has to stick the needle in all the way...and this thing is just under the surface. Is it part of the tube, or some kind of mesh (since it's right next to the 'big' incision)? Or did he leave a pen in there? 2. Ok so, for me, I lost 25 pounds in the first two -to- three weeks. Then I hit a wall. Seemed to happen when I started eating again. In the past 8-10 weeks I've lost maybe 5 pounds. Now, I know I'm eating too much. Protein bar for breakfast, protein shake for lunch, then a pretty big meal for dinner. No calorie drinks all day. I exercise half an hour a day doing cardio on my elliptical, then every other day I also do some curls and bench presses because I'm built like a t-rex. I know that the weight lifting might add some weight, but I'm being very realistic that there is no way I'm putting the muscles on that fast. What gives? 3. When you eat, and you're properly adjusted, how soon can you tell the food goes through the band? I'm really confused about this one. I have an AP band (14cc) and I have 6cc in the band right now. My problem is, after I take a bite, a few seconds later, sometimes, I can feel it pass through the band. My surgeon told me it was because I wasn't chewing enough, and that is probably true, but isn't the food supposed to sit above the band for something like 4 hours before it goes through? Isn't that what's supposed to keep you feeling full? My thinking is (based on the doctors theory) if I chewed it really well (which I usually do) then no, I wouldn't feel it pass, but the main question is, it would still pass in the same time, if not sooner. 4. I'm concerned about how much food I can eat. How much? well let's see. Feel free to yell at me because I know I shouldn't have eaten this much, but alas, I did... One time I ate about 80% of a small pizza. Another time I ate 2 pieces of lasagna, several pieces of bread, then had a piece of apple pie and 2 scoops of ice cream. Now I know that is way too much. I think part of the problem is #3 (if not most of the problem) but the other problem is I somehow still eat fast. Here's the deal though, even when I make a very conscious effort to eat slowly, if I eat what is probably a correct amount, I am still really hungry 30 to 45 minutes later. I am on an antidepressant (Luvox) and I know that doesn't help, but even going down from 150mg to 100mg has not helped. The other odd thing is that I certainly have felt food get stuck, but I've never PB'd. The food has only come up once, and I re-swallowed it (yuck I know, but I was at a friends dinner table and didn't want to gross them out). Most of the time the stuck food sits there a little while, then goes through on its own. I'm not sure if this helps but I do hicckup pretty often. I've done some searches on here and it sounds like for some people it's normal, while others it means they are full. Sorry this is so long, really need some good wisdom on how to tackle this monster. It's so depressing to exercise so hard every day yet not loose anything.

Thanks Heather and Swan Yes, for the meal, I only have the Protein drink I did notice how many calories they have. You guys are so right about the calorie math. I really need to learn how to stop at "not hungry" I beginning to think I might need to eat more at lunch, so I'm not so hungry when it comes to dinner.

Thanks all of you for your suggestions and help. I guess I misunderstood how it works. I think there might be something there about the nerve thing because I was not hungry at all after the surgery (when it was swelled up). Someone asked about the protein drink...The reason I eat it for lunch is because I find it's an easy way to make sure I'm getting enough protein, as well as it doesn't mean I need to go out of my work for lunch (costly, but more importantly, unhealthy) and it means I don't need to prepare a meal

Just wanted to see if anyone had any thoughts on any of these problems...Especially the part about how the band is supposed to work. Isn't the food supposed to sit above the band for several hours? Thanks!

I really feel for you, I was quite scared myself. It took me the better part of a decade to finally get my surgery. I've got a real problem with anxiety, and of course had a massive panic attack right as the first nurse got me prepped for surgery (inserting the IV). That said, and even though I'm struggling on my weight loss, I'm really happy I went forward with it. I'm a computer geek as well as a car geek. I often joke with people, if you do enough computer research, you'll find whatever you want to prove. I know you've found some deaths due to the band, however I'm positive if you search, you can find people dying of getting their tonsils removed too. The point that I took with my family was this: here you have 2 choices, continue as you have (which has it's own mortality rate) or get the band (which has it's own as well). In the end, I'm confident I made the right choice. does it hurt? well maybe...The nurses were shocked when I didn't use my morphine drip after the surgery, so I suppose I hurt less than others. The thing is the pain (for me) came a while later. So yes, it does hurt, and when it hurts if you are like me, you wonder when is it going to end...but then 2 weeks later, it doesn't hurt any more and you wonder if it actually ever did the fills themselves are a bit scary, but if you don't watch the doctor, you will only feel the first needle (painkiller) and you can't feel the long scary needle at all. I hope this helps and I think you're on the right track if you ask me.

Hey guys and gals- I got a question. I just had my first fill, I now have 4cc in a 14cc band. Today is the last day on "mushies" Am I at the stage where I should feel full after something like 1/3 cup of food? Reason I ask is because it seems like I can eat about 1 cup of food, then 30-45 minutes later (Still feeling hungry) eat another cup of food. Thanks for any thoughts.

Hello Gents and Ladies I was banded on 1/18. I'm now in the blender phase. I've got a nagging question though. How do I drink? In other words, How fast can I drink or how much Fluid per swallow is normal? Is drinking 20oz of fluid in 5 minutes too fast (or too slow?) I'm having trouble getting my fluids in because I drink real slow and then "forget" to drink for a few hours. Seems like I have to sip more or less continuously all day long (e.g sip every 1-2 minutes) but I'm really not good at that. Pre-banding, I was the guy that forgot to drink for 8 hours, then got home and would drink 36-48 oz of fluid in a manner of about 15 minutes. Seriously, my friends were stunned with how fast i could drink. I know that I need to slow down now, and I'm terrified to do anything that would make the nabd unhappy especially since I'm sure it's still healing, but am I being overcautious? I haven't PB'd, thrown up, or anything yet, just burps and the occasional hiccup. Help!

I'm a guy so I'll give you my take on it. I'm not sure why type of person he is, but I love my wife, and if I saw my wife with incisions (Like I see on myself) I wouldn't have wanted to do that activity for fear I might hurt her. There are many possible reasons why he didn't want you to have surgery, but whatever the reason is, seeing the incisions probably still bothers him because it reminds him that you had the surgery against his wishes. I'm not saying he is/was right please understand that, I'm just saying that might be what he was thinking. What I would suggest doing is leaving the incisions covered with some clothing as it may make the focus on the two of you instead of the surgery. It might also make him less afraid of hurting you because the incisions won't be staring back at him (if you will). Whatever happens, I hope you two can work it out. Just remember to take it easy, I had my surgery on 1/18 and I'm still very cautious myself for fear of giving myself a hernia at the large incision site. Hope it helps, God Bless

I figured I would add my two cents in because I am a daily weigh-er I have one of those fancy 4-sensor glass scales, that are supposed to be super reliable. I've found that sometimes the scale seems to get "stuck" For example, I've lost atleast 0.2 pounds per day since my surgery. About three days ago, the scale was "stuck" on 268.2. Yesterday, (Day 4) it was on 268.2 again. Figuring the scale was probably not right, I artificially added some weight to get a vastly different number (Something like 290). After resetting the scale, it seemed to like 290.0. On the same token, some days the scale says I loose impossible amounts of weight. Sure, some of it is probably Water weight, but some of it is the scale. I guess what I'm getting at is that you can only trust your scale so much (Unless you have a balance beam scale, in which case it probably is very accurate). If you are like me and get excited to weigh yourself every day, I would try to reason with yourself. Sometimes I'll say "Yeah, five pounds less than yesterday is cool, but tomorrow I can't be mad if I "gain" 3 pounds back" Anyway, hope it helps a little bit!

I was banded 10 days ago, and I still have shoulder gas pain. I find that if I take some of the vocotin they gave me when the pain just starts, it helps much more so that waiting for the full blown pain (and then trying to manage it) The pain gets less and less every day though.

I know maybe the food forum is probably a better place to post this, but I'm post-op (Banded 1/18) so I like to stick here for a while. I am nowhere near my goal weight, and I ask this for the future (Well future, e.g. 12 months from now or more) Having said that, I'm a carb-o-holic.....or "was" I realize that carbs are not really useful, but to me they sure are tasty. What is the consensus on eating some carbs in the future? I don't mean all the time, or even with every meal, but something like once a week have a nice piece of french bread....or some Pasta...or a piece of regular pizza....or something rice-heavy a.k.a. a small portion of a chipotle burrito? I know the portion sizes will be small, and I know they are the 'bad' carbs (e.g. not whole wheat or brown rice). I know it won't help with weight loss, and I know it will hurt the Protein intake for that day... but I guess I'm curious if it is even possible (e.g. if those kinds of foods are impossible to eat because of getting stuck)? Thanks!

Ok this is going to sound gross, but I'm in the liquids phase. My doc said basically Protein drinks, clear chicken broth and cream of wheat. Tonite I was really longing for some chicken noodle Soup and then it dawned on me...Make the cream of wheat with the chicken broth!!!! It sounds gross, but if you're really bored with the two or things you are allowed to "eat" give it a whirl! Just make sure its plain cream of wheat.

I'm sorry you feel discouraged. I was banded on 1/18 so I am a few days ahead of you. We all heal differently, but I really started to feel better about 3 days ago. I'm guessing that you will as well. I had a lot of worried after being banded, most of them were about not being able to ever each "good" food again. I also have to now chew some meds I'm on, and they tastes horrible, so part of me isn't happy about that. All of that being said, I'm so excited to already be loosing weight. Try to focus on the positives, just think this summer is going to be so great loosing between 20-40 pounds (going on 1-2 lb/week). That is going to be great isn't it

I know you are an RN, so me being not in the medical field, please don't take any offense to my suggestion...Do you think you are maybe having side effects from the anastesia or from the pain killers? When I was 16, I had a groin hernia operation. When I left the hospital, I felt extremely sore, but okay. A day or two later I had almost identical symptoms (dry heaving, nausia, feeling like I was going to pass out). Eventually I went back to the ER and the doctor took me off whatever pain med it was (Wish I would have wrote it down) and told me to switch to regular tylenol. While the pain was much higher with the tylenol, the overall pain was much less because stomach contractions with a groin hernia is about a 100 on a 1-10 pain scale. Just a thought...? You are in my prayers, I really hope you start feeling better soon.

When I had mine done, the surgeon wanted a general OK by my doctor. I have asthma, so my doctor sent me to a pulmonologist. He then referred me to the sleep study place. Interesting thing... Sleep study place told me that the pulmonologist would give me the results....But....When I left the Sleep study "Tech" told me I had sleep apnea on the way out. Saw the pulmonologist, he said I didn't have it. This is just my opinion, but The sleep study places have a vested interest in you having sleep apnea since they are usually the distributor of the products, the lung doctor (should) be unbiased.

First off, this place is great, I've already had so much help from this board the last few days, it's hard to express. This post might be a little "gross/TMI" so I apologize in advance. I was banded on 1/18/11. I've been doing quite well the last few days. I've been sticking quite closely to my doctor's diet. The only things I've consumed is: - Water - flavored water - vitamin-water - poweraide - low-fat hot-chocolate - caffeine-free tea (only the first day or two) - Protein drinks - pudding - chicken broth - cream of wheat I've lost quite a bit of weight already, much more than I had expected (10 pounds in a week) however I figured most of it is water weight. Some days I only get in 30 grams of protein (one drink) but most days I get 60 grams (two drinks). I walk between one to two miles a day, for the last 4 days. I don't think I am getting enough Fluid, maybe 40-50 oz a day (not including protein drink) Ok, on to the gross stuff: My urine has looked fine most of the time, sometimes more dark yellow than others, but nothing to surprise me. My stool is the item I'm concerned about. I had extreme constipation the first two BM, I chalked it up with the barium I had to swallow post-surgery. Today, I had a BM at my normal time a little before lunch. It was much more normal, so I was quite surprised, yet happy. Just a few minutes ago, I had extremely watery diarrhea. It was quite dark in color, and it did have what looked like coffee grounds in it. Earlier today, I did feel a little faint once or twice, but I figured it was low blood sugar (I'm not diabetic, but I hadn't eaten much in the morning). Before the diarrhea, I had felt some of the stomach twisting/gurgling feeling that I feel normally (a.k.a. "pre-band") before diarrhea, but otherwise I have felt fine. I don't have any pain anywhere, with the exception of shoulder pain. I have a tendency to over-react (I have a bit of an anxiety problem) but I'm trying to tell myself I should wait it out and see if it happens again before doing anything. Is that a good idea, or do I really need to take 'evasive' action? I would think something serious would come with lot of pain, which is why I'm hesitant to do anything. Thanks for your thoughts / God Bless!

Thanks for your quick post I think you are right, they are both 150 calories per bottle. Before the band, I usually used diet drinks like the low calorie gatoraide, or vitamin water zero, or usually just drank plain water mixed with crystal lite. I got the other ones because I thought my sugar was low....maybe it was too much sugar? I'm sitting here next to the last half of the vitamin water....going to throw it out...Thanks again!

Man, I feel your pain, literally. I have horrible left shoulder pain seems like every day around 6-8pm. I am still only a few days post-op, but I really don't have any other pain. I'm praying its residual gas, but I walk 2 miles a day and it doesn't seem to help. I currently use my liquid vicotin even though I really don't like using it. Most of the time, it doesn;t stop the pain though. I've found a heating pad helps, also using something like bengay. The other thing that does seem to help is a handheld massager. I use the hitachi magic wand. Yes, it has it's followers somewhere else, but for me, I use it as intended and massage my shoulders and it does seem to help. (It also works pretty good for lower back pain as I've got some unhappy discs (around L4 - L6). I pray we all feel better soon...

Hey everyone, I was banded on 1/18 and i am doing pretty well imo. my incisions are healing well and most of the abdomen pain is gone, but i do have one question about a stabbing pain near my left shoulder. I've read about the shoulder pain, and I think i've already went through that, but this is higher, feels like the peck muscle a few inches away from the neck, and maybe an inch or so away from the shoulder socket. I feel the pain much more when i inhale deeply. is this normal? is this the co2 gas stuck up there? I walk about 2 miles a day right now, so I (think?) that's pretty good. I've already lost almost 8 pounds. anyway, second question. when drinking Fluid, is it normal to "feel" or hear the fluid going down your throat? I am only swallowing a small amount, but i can still hear/feel it and it's wierd (not bad...just wierd). I do sometimes burp. I say that because I thought that you couldn't burp. I know myu surgeon put 1-2 cc of fluid in the band because I asked. When I swallow fluid, I do my best to not swallow air, but I'm admittedly a huge chugger from the past. I used to drink 12oz of soda in a few seconds.....(Oh and i'm not drinking anything with carbonation). Sorry for the questions, I've read up alot on this stuff, but these things seem unusual. Thanks!

Thanks all of you for your help and advise. Today I took my first shower and removed the biggest bandage...I almost passed out (I'm not good ad seeing wounds) I tried the heat pad last night and it definitely helped (More so than the vicotin the surgeon has me on) I'm sorry to hear some of you that were banded around me are in so much pain. For whatever reason I am handling it much better than I thought. I have had my back go out on me twice before though, and that is a paint with which all others will be measured...wow it hurts just thinking about it. I hope and pray you guys feel better soon. Thanks for the reassurance for the "gurgling" LOL last night I took a sip and almost sung like a canary...I'm surprised the sound didn't wake up my sleeping wife!

Well you guys can add me to the list, I'm approved and am scheduled for 1/18/11. I started the process in June, but my IPA is very conservative, so I had to go through 3 months of nutrician classes, ekg, lung function test, physical, psych eval, sleep study and floroscopy. The strange thing is that I haven't been given any dietary advice, just come to the pre-op a week before surgery. I'm a research-driven person (Been thinking about doing this for 10 years) so I know it is best to loose the weight to shrink the liver. What are the "Liquid" diets some of you refer to? Maybe I will subject myself to that fun as well I've already started daily exersizing, as well as cut out all carbonated beverages (So far, much more difficult than quitting smoking was for me). Looking forward to dropping 100-120 pounds. I've done it once before without the band, so I know how great it feels, but my problem was obviously keeping it off. I'm nervous, but I am excited as well. I look at it as being nervous about it is a good thing because it means we are concerned about our health... Just got back from travel today (I have to fly frequently) Man do I look forward to being able to fit in a 17" wide seat.

Wow, so it's been something like over 6 months since I've been back on here. It's been one heck of a ride. Had to take 3 months of a physician-supervised diet, sleep study, lung function study, the 590-question psych eval, as well as the ekg or two. In the end, my insurance finally gave me the green light. My surgery is scheduled for 1/18/2011. I'm a very anal-retentive person, and I've read quite a few books on what to expect, but was curious for all of you dudes, as far as what you remember and what I can...nt look forward to. I've already ditched the soda. It's been about 4 days, and Let me tell you the withdraw is horrible...And no, it's not from Caffeine, because I already can't have that because I take Luvox. I kid with people that as soon as I was born, I started drinking soda.. I just read the thread about shaving before surgery. Glad I saw that, because I had hernia surgery when I was 16, and I NEVER want to have another person shave me again....But I saw that it looks like I will have somebody shave me after all. At least it will be up higher. I'm curious though, Any of you guys get sick (Nausea) after the surgery? When I had my hernia surgery, I got really sick (Dry heaving, etc...) because of the anesthesia. I heard they often give you anti-nausea meds to help prevent this. Did it work for those of you that normally do get sick? Anything else you guys can think of? I can't wait for me to be able to fit properly in sport seats in the car.

Hey everyone, I'm getting ready for my surgery which is scheduled for 1/18/11. My question is, how do most people handle smoked food (smoked brisket, tri-tip, chicken, turkey, etc...)? I've been eyeing a smoker for Christmas, but I don't want to buy it if I won't be able to tolerate smoked foods. Thanks!