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I am 19 days post op and last night i started having left flank pain that kinda radiates up to my left shoulder... anyone have anything like this ?

Ok, I just need to let off some steam. :frusty: My past two weeks have been pretty crappy. It's 17 days from the end of the school year and the kids are going crazy. I teach in an inner city school, so some of the issues get really bad because they are used to solving their problems with yelling and fights. :boxing: :confused: I've pretty much come out of the band closet with most of my co-workers. If they ask questions, I answer. Because of this, two of them are looking into the band and one other is seriously considering it. This has been pretty much the only highlight of these two weeks. One person, our retired nurse's assistant, gave me her opinion of how much weight I should lose. :omg: HUH?!? She asked me what size did I want to be and I answered her a 10-12. She then proceeded to tell me that because I've been heavy for so long that I couldn't possibly get down to that size and besides, I would just look anorexic. :confused: Excuse me????? My mother is that size and I'm the spitting image of my mother, so I know that size will be great for me. I had a UIL contest with two teams of students and we've been practicing for 3 months. The Friday before the Monday contest, one team member gets suspended and one flakes out on me. The rest of the team performed crappy in the contest. I have no idea what they've been doing at home, but obviously nothing. :huggie: Since the contest was yesterday and we started giving a standardized test today, we naturally had a faculty meeting that discussed important information,which I missed. Seems that our principal has taken a new job:pout: (which is great for her) but we all really like her. She's one of the reasons I've stayed at this school for six years even though it's quite a long commute for me. :phanvan Nobody likes our Asst. Principal and the word is that she has thrown his name into the pool to go to a middle school. Pray that happens. If he stays at this school, I might have to quit my job and find some other way to support myself. :pray: And to top it all off, I've been having slight port pain since the weekend and my period should start any minute. Of course since I'm not getting my first fill for another two weeks I'm naturally getting HUNGRY. :hungry: In the past my favorite way to calm my nerves when this much crap was going on was to eat, but I'm not doing that this time, so that's a good thing. Most of the stuff going on, I'm used to, because we never really know what's going to happen at the end of a school year, but when you throw pain and other peoples opinions into the mix, it has driven me NUTS. I did tell my mother what the person said about looking anorexic if I dropped below a size 14, and she just laughed. There's not a snowballs chance in hell that I would look that way. I just hate that some people feel they need to tell me things like that. Ok, I feel much better now. Rant off. Time to go take a shower and let the hot Water do it's thing. Might even get the urge to curl my hair for work tomorrow. :grouphug: Thanks for listening! Audra

My pain was not located specifically at the port necessarily. My erosion wasn't at the port either. Mine was my actual band that had eroded my stomach. This caused a major infection. The pain was the infection. To be honest I couldn't really distinguish other than to say it hurt very much in my abdomen and it came in fast. I ended up having my band removed via an emergency surgery the day after I went to the ER. Just FYI in case it's useful, I was banded in Sept 2010. My start weight was 330. Lost 130lbs in approx 10 months. I remained stable until erosion (Sept 2012) and for another three years after that. Following a significant life change I've regained around 60lbs in the last 12-16 months. I'm currently at day 5 of my pre-op for a VSG I'm having on Aug 25. Everyone's experience is different but for me the band worked very well. Without it I succeeded for a while but eventually had issues keeping things in line. I'm confident the sleeve will help me succeed once again. I hope this contextual information can be helpful. Any questions or anything just let me know. All the best AS

I have never heard of the Switch. I had the lap band for over a year, and recently converted to the Sleeve 10 days ago. I was VERY disappointed with the lap band. I did great with the band for the first 6 months. I had lost about 40 lbs, then I had something get stuck and it was downhill from there. I was constantly seeing the doctor as things always got stuck. It seems with the band, once you had an issue, it was downhill from there. I gained weight. Spent lots of money going to the doctor to have Fluid let out, then even more money to get fluid back in once my stomach "rested". My advice.....don't do the band. I know it works for a lot of people.....but the sleeve has been great for me thus far. The band was a nightmare.

@eyewonder - I'm such a big baby when it comes to pain. So I know if I can do it then no one should have a problem. Natalie - I have 4.4cc in a 10cc band. Congratulations on the weight loss! 16 lbs since surgery is great. My dr office gave me a performance sheet while I was in there and it described how much excess weight I had and until now I hadn't realized! I have like 87 lbs of excess weight. 87 LBS!!!! I couldnt believe that. So that has inspired me to get my butt in gear. That's larger than my 10 yr old! I'll have to lose the size of my 10 yr old plus some, that's just crazy. It's nice when people talk to you without talking down to you, that's what I love about my dr's office. They take such a wonderful approach to it, and of course the support of everyone here. I also have a little bruising by my port from the shot but I bruise easy. A little soreness from the bruise but overall feeling great. I would do this all over again!

I'm scheduled for surgery on Wed also. I feel your pain. I'm hungry now but I'm just trying to be strong because I know it's for the best. I'm tired of Protein shakes already.Hang in there! It will be worth it in the long run. Maybe we can keep in contact since we are starting this journey on the same day. Best of luck! Sent from my HP 10 G2 Tablet using the BariatricPal App

:cursing:So after my first date of 9/21/2009 being cancelled, my new surgery date is 10/7/2009. I'm ready, I've decided to continue with the pre-op diet until surgery day. :biggrin:

Just got home today and feel so overwhelmed. My doctor doesn't want me to take gas x strips and I feel completely swollen and full of air. I've been walking a lot but when I try to sleep I get pain in my stomach area. I felt like I was so prepared before surgery and now I feel lost and scared to make the wrong choices. Any advice?

Oct. 2008 4cc band placed (243lbs), after 5 small fills a total of 1.5cc in my band I had very little restriction. Having 2 kids it was hard to keep going for more fills so I tried to just keep eating healthy. After losing a slow 30 pounds then gaining about 10 of it back, I found out I was pregnant with my sweet baby girl in May (now 223lbs)! I didn't have too much restriction I could eat any food with no problems (example steak was an ease) so I'm guessing that's why I was able to go through pregnancy without an unfill. I was teeny bit more restricted while pregnant but not enough to really notice, I still think it really helped. Luckily, I didn't have morning sickness. I didn't have any problems with the band whatsoever. I started thinking that I might have problems toward the end of my pregnancy once my baby was bigger and I had gained more weight. But, even at the late stages it went really smooth and able to go through my whole pregnancy without an unfill. No, problems! I gained 36 pounds while pregnant ( now 259lbs), omg, I quickly dropped back to 223lbs and stayed there for about 5 months and started gaining again after gaining about 5lbs (now 228lbs) in July of 2010 I finally went for another fill...my first fill after pregnancy which was my choice to wait .5 was added (2cc now in my 4cc band), I was starving! Didn't make it back to the doctor till Sept. of 2010 another .5 was added (2.5cc now in my 4cc band), I was still starving and not eating the healthiest gained 11 lbs. So, December 22 I weighed a total 239 pounds almost to the point of where I started! I went back to my doctor who is great, she will fill the band till she feels pressure, makes me sit up and drink Water, will add or subtract till it's just right. Another .5cc was added to the band for a total of 3cc in my 4cc band. It feels so great, I finally feel what restriction feels like! I don't really have to chew chew chew and can eat regularly I could probably still eat steak but haven't tried it yet lol but the hunger is gone..so I'm definitely at my sweet spot and loving it. I've lost 2.5 lbs and never been so happy because I know that after a little over 2 years I'm finally on my way. I'm eating right and trying to walk/jog 1 to 1.5 miles a day and feeling great. I love my band and I will eventually get to where I need to be in my own time.

Halfway to goal, and only 10 more pounds until I am in a normal weight range for my height!

Hi Bay Area folks... I found a group in the Meetup site. There is a planned meeting with a local psychologist Oct 10 - here are the details. I am thinking of going and give it a try. http://www.meetup.com/SF-WLS-Group/

Hey everyone, I had surgery on 10/30/08, and am hating the liquid diet, and especially the Protein shakes. Any suggestions?

Most surgeons don't want to do the sleeve for people with significant GERD. If you have it, it get's worse. If you don't have it, you have a 10% chance of having it after surgery. Bypass seems to be the surgery of choice for GERD sufferers. Sent from my iPad using the BariatricPal App

Hi all. I was sleeved on 11/10. So far so good. I've been eating my purred food and handling it quite well. But afterwards I get these very painful hiccups. Has anyone experienced this? Its the kind of hiccup that sits in your chest. I hate it! I, Hoping to find a way to kick the hiccups. Any advice is welcomed! ????

I am starting a new job 10 days after surgery, any suggestions?

Hi, Ryan!!! My name is Patty, and I live outside of Boston. I, too have been overweight since I was a kid, and have lost hundreds of pounds over the years. I got banded on July 1, and have lost about 70 lbs (about 50 pre op since may). It is by far the best decision I have made for myself in years. I wish I did it 10 years ago when I was thinking about it! So listen, you've got a great advantage!! Your youth!!!! seriously, the pounds come off easier, and with the band, they'll stay off.....plus your doing it early before doing too much damage to your heart and body. I applaud you on a great decision to take control of your life at such a young age!!!! The other thing about you being so young, is that you likely wont have many issues with excess skin, etc, as your body will rebound well, and work with your weight loss...if you were 40, yeah, not so much.....just remember when you're feeling up to it to put some exercise in your life...you will need strength training, along with cardio, and I bet your skin will look fantastic!!! Dont sweat the surgery...I didnt have any serious pain except some gas pain in my shoulder, and I was up walking that afternoon.....some pain in my port, but thats mostly due to my kids. I have 3 yr old triplets and my youngest has cerebral palsy, so I have no choice but to do some lifting.... so listen to your doctor and follow your pre op and post of diet. I use the EAS shakes (you can find them at Wal mart pretty cheap) and I use Protein powder as well (look for about 25 grams per scoop and as low carb as you can get...I get that from wal mart too) The eas shakes are really high in protein compared to the instant Breakfast and slim fast, and you dont need the carbs anyway... would love to keep in touch....give me a shout if you have any questions!! take care!!!

Great pictures, Chris. They brought back memories of my Alaska cruise many years ago. How did you like the cruising aspect? I don't remember if this was your first cruise. We choose cruising as our way of travel. I have 3 scheduled, Sep, Oct and Nov. I didn't do well on my last cruise - pb'd a lot and gained 10 pounds. How did you find the eating? I don't want to gain on my upcoming cruises. I can't afford to gain that much weight after all this work.

Pretty sure I have. I went off over the holidays and gained about 10 pounds. I had stopped logging, so went back to eating as I had and started logging and weighing again. I was eating the same things I had before in (I think) same amounts. Lost the weight gain. Then have only maintained since then. I didn't realize how long this had been going on because I had a bad thyroid (cancer) for a long time before my surgery and had experienced long, long stalls because of that. I guess I was used to it, so it didn't register this shouldn't still happen. Then, like I said, I screwed up over the Holidays. But, yes, basically since about July I have been at the same weight (other than the 10-pound gain and subsequent loss). It's possible my portions were larger before the holidays I guess, but I really don't think so. I get all my protein from real food and don't do shakes or bars because I'm cheap. I eat veggies and the occasional fruit (no more than 1 oz.) with Greek yogurt for breakfast. I don't eat bread or rice or potatoes or sugary stuff. Two mistakes I pinpointed was drinking Fairlife milk with my decaf in an effort to get in more protein (I forgot about the calories involved) and eating too much cheese when we didn't have other protein in the house. I have cut out cheese because that's so high in calories and I don't think it was helping me. Also stopped the milk. Right now I'm trying to decide between upping calories, staying this low or trying to reset my sleeve. So, it's possible I was consuming more calories than I thought even though I wasn't "eating" a lot. But in my tracking of food I have noted I just can't seem to lose if I go over the 800 mark.

Hi all! Monday marked 3 weeks since my band removal and conversion from banded plication to sleeve. I am still working on getting all of my Protein in. Luckily, I purchased a lot of sample packs of Protein drinks before surgery so I haven't gotten bored with any particular brand or flavor. I also bought several different brands so that's helped me too. Since this is my 3rd WLS, I felt I was prepared for what life would be like immediately post-op and it was pretty much what I expected. I'm still sore from where the band and stomach were removed. I also had a large hernia repair in the same area, so my left side is still tender. My incisions look great and I'm almost completely healed externally. I try to not lift heavy items but still tote groceries and laundry baskets full of clothes around! I'm off from work for another 6 weeks due to summer break (I'm a teacher) so hopefully, I'll have my eating and drinking patterns established by then. What I've learned so far to help me: 1. Drink 4-8 ounces of Water upon waking (I learned this from VSGTanya on Youtube) 2. Drink a Protein shake soon after waking (Right now I'm only drinking about 4-5 ounces) 3. Eat protein every 2-3 hours 4. Try to get some form of exercise or activity everyday (I use exercise t.v. and videos at night) I also look for opportunities to exercise. For example, I took my kiddos to the park and I walked around the playground while they played. 5. Use MFP or another food tracking method for accountability 6. Go to therapy (This has been helpful to me and it's something I never did while banded) 7. If you can, find a support group that you like and go! 8. Enlist help from family and friends (Only my DH and 1 good friend know I had the sleeve. A few friends know I had my band removed. This has been a bit difficult for me but I feel that's the best decision for me, right now) 9. Measure food, especially in the beginning. I don't have a food scale yet but I put everything in cups or dishes that have measurements on them. 10. So far, I seem to lose better with a bit higher calories (around 500-600), a bit higher carbs (around 40-50) and more exercise. When I was "eating" lower calories (around 300-400) I would plateau, even if I exercised. This, so far, seems to be what my body likes - that may change later. 11. Recovery was easier than I thought but the mental part is WAY more difficult!! 12. Enjoy the journey. This is my journey and while I think it's important to learn from others and listen to my doctors, I don't intend to follow someone else's idea of what my journey should be. This is probably the first time in my life that I've felt like that!! Although I've only been sleeved for 3 weeks, I've had WLS for 12 years so hopefully, some of those years weren't all wasted and I learned from them! Thanks for reading. Sorry for rambling!

Day 1 - Was not nervous at all before surgery. Once they came to wheel me back I don't remember much after that. When they woke me up to remove the breathing tube I felt all clogged and couldn't breathe. Ended up having to have a breathing treatment. The surgical pain wasnt all that bad with all the drugs but the gas pain in the shoulders was pretty bad. Felt like somebody was standing on my shoulders and someone else was standing on my stomach. Once they wheeled me back to my final room for waking up and vitals, it all started to hit me what had happened. My nurse brought me some apple juice and I was apple to sip that down. That seemed like the best tasting thing I've ever had. Juice went down without any problems. When it was time for me leave and they brought me the wheelchair I had some sharp pain getting out of the bed but getting dressed wasnt too bad. The car ride home wasnt bad at all. I arrived at the hospital at 9:30 and was home at 4:30. Slept most the car ride home but bumps in the road would make my stomach bounce and that would momentarily wake me up. Got home and went straight to bed. My wife went and got my meds while I was sleeping. When she got back I awoke and took one Lortab pill and a Gasx pill. The gas pain in the shoulders and in the abdomen seemed to the dominant form of pain. After sipping some more water I started to have some PB's that made things start to feel much better. I ended up falling back asleep and found that laying down not flat but not on my side felt the best. A few times I even laid flat in my back with my legs up like I was frog felt really good to relieve the tension on my stitches. I was up and out of bed around 8 for about two hours. Did some walking, drank some broth, had a few small bites of yogurt and had two Popsicles. No issues with any of that at all. Took another pain pill at 10 and went back to bed. This time lying down was a bit more painful from being up so long but finally found a comfortable position and drifted off. Woke up at 4 to go the bathroom and take another pill. Crawled back into bed and went right back to sleep. Getting out of bed is the most painful. Everything else isn't too bad at all.

A noble achievement finally!!!!!! I really wanted to lose at least 70lbs to convince my little brain that it has all been worth it. Today makes it official! I'm compiling a list of things I learned on this continuous journey and I will post it for the newbies any baby tummies that are just coming along. I appreciated all the support I received here and think it might be helpful to really let people know how different each journey is. 70 lbs down...15 more to first goal. Height: 5'8 Frame: petite bone structure My stats: Pre Surgery Wt: 236 ...very stable....sometimes jumped to 244, but 99% of the time I stayed at 235lbs. BMI: 35 A1c: 10.9 Size 18/20 Smile size: extra small Today Stats: Wt: 165lbs BMI: 25 A1c: 5.2 Size 9/10 Smile size: EXTRA LARGE :-) Sheldon & Felipe the Sleeve

I had the sleeve on 10/10, it was one of the best decisions that I have ever made. The bypass was not really a choice for me as I tend to be anemic and the bypass would only make that worse. The lap band needs way too many adjustments for my busy lifestyle (work full-time, school at night and have 2 small children) Plus I was back to work in a week and was able to take care of my family again in just a few days! Good luck in whichever you choose!

This is so exciting reading the updates of the surgery you ladies have just had. Nothing but good vibes! I'm going to be paying for surgery in New Zealand around August but am suddenly considering having it done in Mexico to save myself 10 grand! Especially reading about the lack of complications etc. While it's an investment I don't want to feel ripped off! I live and work in Russia at the moment. There's definitely no english support groups here so I am thrilled to have found this forum.

I have a short list that I've been working on: 1.fit in swing at the park and swing race with the kids 2. go down the slide at the park and not get stuck in the tunnel like winnie the pooh 3. run 1 mile non stop then 2 miles, etc til I get to 5miles then I give myself a gold star of achievement 4. get some skin taken off and my boobs put back where they used to be maybe implants if they deflate too much 5. ride on a motorcycle(any volunteers? My hubby hates them) 6. plan a trip to Ireland to see where my family came from(we're from Northern Ireland from Tyrone County if anyone else shares the dream) 7. take a full length pic from head to toe-maybe do a full nude pic for my hubby(tastefully of course) 8. ride a bike and not just a big fat tricycle because I can't balance all of this awesome on 2 wheels 9. go to theme park and ride all the rides that won't give me a seizure 10. buy a bikini and wear it like a boss...at least in the comfort of my own backyard. 11. go on airplane ride and buy ONE seat and need only ONE seat 12. go hang gliding off of Lookout Mountain in Colorado 13. climb all the 14ers in Colorado 14. learn to swim 15. buy a single digit size piece of clothing and have it fit-I've been in plus sizes since I was in 3rd grade so this one is a super huge deal to me. and that's what I have so far, but if I think hard enough I can find more but it's a start!

Yup 2.5months out and my hair is all around my house. It falls out like crazy and i already have thin hair[emoji19] my surgeon said it will stop at about 10 months Sent from my SM-G930P using BariatricPal mobile app