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I have completed 2 weigh in at my doctors office. I have schedule my sleep study, and my blood draw. How did surgery go? Any complications? A week out for you. Not long eh? On all liquids? Back to work? Mind if I ask how intense you feel te pain is?

Unfortunately, if you can't swallow anything, the only thing that is going to help is an unfill. It's important you do this immediately, too. Dehydration is very dangerous and bands that are too tight can lead to very serious complications. Good luck.

Yesterday was my day! I'm in Mexico and was sleeved by Dr. Rodriguez at the Star Medica facility. I booked through belightweight, Ishi and Joanne were my coordinators. The entire experience and staff has been exceptional, better than I could have ever imagined. Think, southwest airlines vs delta in terms of service. all smiles, always have English speakers on staff and my Spanish is even getting better. Almost no gas pain, or any pain for that matter. From what they told me, there Wes no complications and all went as expected. Met with Dr. Rod yesterday, and the other two doctors assisting a few hours before. Perfect English so there was no concern of miscommunications. I have felt extremely comfortable. Leak test is later today. Fingers crossed. Internet access has been spotty, up and down but surprisingly, my At&t service works most of the time so phone calls and email are working without an international plan. I'm soooooo pumped up for this opportunity.

Questions......it was a 3 page questionnaire, and basically anyone whose done their research should know.....like VSG is permanent.......honestly, that was one of the questions.......they want to make sure the patient has a clear understanding of what is going to happen pre-op, immediately after and long term as well as the 5 stages of post-op diet.....not to mention complications.....

:ohmy: I'm at the earliest steps of enrolling in a program that encompasses the lap band surgery. (pre/post behavioral, nutrition, exercise programs...all of which are accessible for life) (they even have cooking classes) My surgeon performs lap band and gastric bypass's exclusively and his practice is based right out of the clinic. I am one step away from signing my name on the dotted line. the only reason i have stopped??? My neurologist has concerns about the possibilities of internal complications/injury if i were to have a seizure and fall. I have been falling for many, many years and though I'm not conscious when I go down, I'm pretty sure that my face usually breaks the fall, and I am "well endowed" so I have my own airbag system. (:smile2:) I'm genuinely not as concerned about this type of complication but, I so genuinely respect my neurologist. If there is anyone out there who has had complications due to any types of falls or better yet.... if there's anyone out there with Epilepsy that has had the lap band implanted. :confused: I'll take all of the positive and negative feed back that I can get. (accept for my punctuation:rolleyes:)

So I was sleeved on Jan 9th with no complications,except a little burning feeling in one of,my incision scars. But my question is how do I know when my stomach is full. Not getting any signs and scared I am gonna over eat. I am getting my proteins, vitamins and water in and am only down 8lbs since the 9th. Been on a 8 labs weight loss for almost a week. Is this normal, because I am feeling frustrated. Amy helpful hints would be much appreciated, thanks so much!

My first suggestion would be to google gastric bypass versus lap-band. I just did and there are a ton of articles comparing the two without having to rehash here. Then I would suggest scanning both kinds of forums like this and read about real life stories of people who have both. The down and dirty difference is: Gastric bypass gives faster results but the complication rate is higher and there is more of a chance of nutritional deficiencies. Lap band is slower weight loss but much less in the way of complications and you are able to get your nutrients better. Hope this helps and good luck with whichever method you decide on.

My surgeon is super conservative and had me on a complicated regimen of several different supplements spaced out several times a day. It was exhausting! Plus, I hated the calcium tabs. AND, all the pills were making my stomach too full for food. Wednesday, at my 3 month post op check up, he changed everything and life is so much easier! I now take 2 BARILIFE Multivitamins, 3 times a day. You swallow them and they dissolve in your belly quickly. The coating smells like vanilla but has no flavor. Done! (I also choose to take Biotin and Lutein).

I a, going to be having surgery in the next month with this husband/wife team and was curious of anyone had any complications or any bad experiences with them?

I too am doing the revision from band to sleeve due to complications with the band and honestly i think it depends on the office and MD ur working with and their schedules also. i have BCBS and i started the whole process on 10/03/13 & I literally had everything i needed on my list done and my last test (EGD) on 11/07/13. I just spoke to the patient navigator today & we made an appt for me for the surgical consult on 11/21 which i will then get my date of surgery & she PROMISED me my surgery would be done by 12/31/13! Im SO excited but also SO nervous...i dont like the fact that they make u go through ALL of the pretesting and everything else and THEN AFTER u get ur date is when they go for the approval...but from what she told me, she thinks i'll get approved very quickly with this insurance! Im keeping my fingers crossed Good luck on ur journey and hope the process is also quick for u

Sami, it's normal to be worried. The percentage of complications is so small. The percentage of complications due to obesity are great. I for one actually freak out in the pre-op suite, right before they wheel me in. My heart races i become nauseous ans sweaty. I have learned to ask for a valium from the anesthesiologist to keep from running away.

you can also go to Yahoo Groups Extraordinary Bandsters. There are plenty of people at your current weight and above who have done wonderfully with the band. Having children with the band is far more healthy and safe than with the RNY. The band can be unfilled to allow you the nutrition needed, the RNY cannot be undone and your malabsorption just continues, baby or no baby. The people on the ObesityHelp RNY or general forum will definitely bash the band. If you are going to go there, you should definitely see what the Lapband forum says as well. This is all about what lengths you are willing to go to. If you don't mind resecting your colon, living on supplements and still not getting all you need to maintain your health, possible staple line breaks or extensive stay in ICU with leaks or bleeding complications, then RNY may be a choice. If you want something safer, yet slower and more reliable past the 'window of opportunity' with minor, fixable complications then the band may be what you are looking for. It's all a very personal choice. While you are on OH, you might seek out the Memorial page. See if the ratio of RNY vs Lapband impresses you at all.

Ok, my story is very long and I won't go into all the details or this will be too long. I was banded July 1, 2003. That October I moved to Pennsylvania. I had major complications after surgery and my original Dr. thought I had a hole because I could not get the proper restriction. The did x-ray's but could not see a hole. I moved bac to PA like I said and started seeing a Dr. here. Who discovered I did in fact have a hole but that it was a slow leak and that is why they could not see it before. My Dr. believes the hole was there from day #1. My husband and I were going to try to get pregnant so I told him I would hold off for awhile. Well, now my question is does my surgeon who put in my band have any responsibility to fix this? Do you think I need to talk to an attorney? Please give me any advise you may have. I have lots of other issues with my suregery as well. Please feel free to email me at Robben1@msn.com Thanks Robin

There's nothing better than seeing a new bandster flying through this with no complications! Congrads to you and good luck on this wild ride!

If one doctor offers a lower "self-pay rate" than another doctor, does that mean that if you DO use insurance, and insurance only covers partially, then the cheaper self-pay doctor will have more leftover that you have to pay? I guess what my question is is this; Do surgeon's charge the same if you are doing self pay or using your insurance? I am just amazed how complicated they make this whole process.

That's really good to hear... And congrats on the weight loss!! I know how good you must feel I am leaning toward the plication as well. From everything I read, it's seems to minimize complications with the band; slipping, erosion, fills, etc. And I'm so glad to hear that you were back to work within a week. I did very well when I had my hysterectomy, so I expect the recovery on this will also go smoothly. Have you had any fills? If so, how many.....how often? Thanks for your input.

If your surgeon did a leak test and you were fine and you are not having any complications ie: fever, cramping, bloating etc. you dont need to worry AT ALL...

You may find that surgery is the only thing that will really help you be able to get down and stay down at a reasonable weight, given your starting weight. Are you wondering whether LapBand is the right choice vs. RNY or some other type of WLS, or more whether surgery vs. no surgery? It's a very personal choice. I like that the band is, in general, safer. If you have complications and/or hate it, you can have it removed. Best wishes on making your decision.

I'm going through this right now. I posted on another forum and have copied and edited it a bit below and hope I can help anyone in preventing this. As far as your question, yes you can get the pouch back to normal but you and you only can make that happen. It's difficult, but, it can be done. If the pouch is really stretched badly they will un-fill you and place you on liquids for a period of time. My doctor told me 6 weeks of liquids. Holy smokes!!! Here is my post from another thread: Under floroscopy my doctor told me that my pouch was bigger than it should be. She told me that I would get a warning this time, but if next checkup showed the same, she will un-fill me and I will go on liquids for 6 weeks. For now I have been instructed to measure my portions. I did get a slight fill, so, I'm thinking that I'm not that bad yet. I keep a loose band because my allergies and drainage cause the dreaded lapband cement on the pouch that is only dissolved by drinking lots of hot liquids and is very unpleasant, thus I have to be a bit more careful with my portions. I have decent restriction and my portions have been at least 1 cup of food and sometimes 1.5 cups, however, I got into the habit of not chewing well and eating too fast. I rarely got stuck because of my loose band. In my opinion, not chewing well and eating too fast is what caused the dialation. I was also doing way too much exercise and was feeling more hunger and I would eat way to fast and not chew well with the hunger I felt at times. Someone asked about symptoms. First of all my weight loss stopped for months. My weight would go up and down by 6 lbs. and went on like this for at least 8 months. I tried increasing calories, longer work outs etc. etc. and nothing! My biggest symptom was more hunger in between meals and was getting hungry every 2-3 hours. The most obvious symptom that I should have never ignored was feeling satisfied (full) and would get that uncomfortable feeling of "no more" at meal time then all of sudden I would feel a thump in my pouch, due to food going thru quickly, then I could eat another meal if I chose to and honestly sometimes I would. I thought this was because I needed a fill, however, this was not the case and Doc said that a enlarged pouch of course holds more food and will push everything down quickly. Since being warned I have gone on liquids 2 times consisting of 4 days of Protein drinks and 1 can of Soup a day. In addition, I have modified my drinking and wait 1/2 hour before a meal and 1/2 hour after a meal. I now feel a huge amount of restriction and can only handle the 1/2 cup of food at mealtime. So, yes you can reverse the stretched pouch. I will continue to do the liquid thing at least every other week for a while just to be on the safe side. Since doing this I have lost 10 lbs. Lesson learned? If something doesn't feel right get it checked. I knew something was wrong, but, I was embarrassed to see the doctor because I had not reached goal. I think the biggest disappointment is first myself and second, being banded is high maintenance, but, we are the culprit to our own complications in most cases. I still love my band though! Hope this helps anyone who may be experiencing some of my symptoms and have ignored them. jake

From the local church sign: Families are like Fudge Mostly Sweet Witha few Nuts We all have members of our family that have no clue what the band is and therefore share their stupid comments, but you just have to ignore them and remember why you did this--For yourself. I have a cousin that just had gastric bypass and the comparisions are driving me crazy. They want me to lose weight as fast as she is losing, there is no comparison, I am losing slower, but I love my kids too much to risk my life that way. I am happy that she came out of it okay, but she is fresh out of it and might develop complications and the amount of medications and Vitamins she has to take on a daily basis is ridiculous. I am so happy that I have the band, and to all those that think I took the easy way out, I tell them they can kiss my big fat wide ass!! I wish this was easy, oh how I wish it was.

My surgeon said they repaired a small hernia when they did my sleeve. I'm 9 days out and I haven't used pain meds since day 3. Everyone is different and maybe your hernia was more complicated to repair.

Hello all! I want to share for those of you on the fence, waiting for your approvals and those that are just plain scared. Don't psyche yourselves up so much that you're worked up into a frenzy of anxiety. It's a waste of time. Also, don't be like me who three years ago while I was on here I kept reading this one girls total horror story and she was relentless with her writings and postings to the point that I stopped my surgery and regret that till this day. Glad that that girl was deleted and so were all her postings. Some may have complications but it's a very small minuscule amount. But three years later I was sick Diabetic on insulin w fibromyalgia and sleep apnea, anxiety and depression. So, I shouldn't have waited so long out of fear. Nonsense is what that was. Don't let anyone steer you away from a life saving and life changing surgery. Day one and two after surgery was a breeze for me and I felt very zero pain and was able to walk and get up same day of surgery. I was drinking with no problem. And making my rounds on the unit floor. All to prevent any blood clots or embolism. Walking worked. I even had zero gas pain and zero shoulder pain. My surgeon is amazing and possibly a magician. He even tested the pouch for leaks while I was under so I didn't need the barium or MRI which I am afraid of cause of claustrophobia. He checked and no leaks thank God. When you get home and anesthesia and pain meds wear off you will feel some discomfort and the pain of OMG what did I do to my poor body? That feeling lasts two days or so. You keep taking your pain meds and follow the rules from your surgery center and days do get much better. One mistake I made was not take my pain Med at night because I felt good and the pain usually sets in mid sleep and wakes you. So do take your pain meds as directed until you're a week out. Any and all other obstacles you may encounter will get addressed here and by your team. You're never ever alone. Reach out when you feel the need to. Plenty on here are wisdom filled and are veterans. Do enjoy the journey, the ups, the downs, the scars and all the good too. It's all developing into a new healthier and clear minded you, a beautiful you. A you that has been in the making and the one that needs extra care and extra love. Be kind to yourselves and don't let that negative thinking that got us into emotionally stress eating come back. Arm yourself with the new tools and techniques you learn to live with your new pouch. Take care of it and it will take care of you. Don't have an all or nothing thinking this isn't about that. You kinda gotta roll with the punches and you'll come out like a champ. Sure I may be crying tomorrow from God knows what but today I'm not and I'm happy, you will be too! Good luck and cheers to the new you! Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

Each doctor can perform the sleeve differently. With different sizes and capacities for the outcome. And with the varying out come of the "size" or capacity of sleeves out there you will also see varying post op diets. It is best to follow what your doctor has prescribed for the best outcome for your sleeve. It is ok to stay in a lower stage but to rush the other stages has the possibility of leading to a complication.

I forgot to mention that a weeping wound happens with any type of surgery. My friend had a major breast reduction and leaked for 8 weeks. I leaked for 8 months. First, the original port got infected so they removed it. Then I got a new port, but they put the port in the same old infected wound, so that 2nd port got infected, too. I had the 2nd one removed in January. I need a new port, but $$$ is an issue since I'm still paying off all these complications.

I hope everyone who is released from the hospital is given appropriate discharge instructions, however it seems like some may have disregarded these important instructions. With anything, we need to be informed and take action, when necessary. So with that said, I would like to remind those recent surgical patients that when you leave the hospital, call your doctor if any of the following occurs: **Signs of infection, including fever and chills **Redness, swelling, increasing pain, excessive bleeding, or discharge from the incision sites **Pain that you cannot control with the medicines you have been given **Blood in the stool **Pain, burning, urgency, or frequency of urination, or persistent bleeding in the urine **Persistent nausea and/or vomiting **Pain and/or swelling in your feet, calves, or legs **Cough, shortness of breath, or chest pain **Any other concerning symptoms In case of an emergency, CALL 911 Be smart! This could save your life or prevent you from having major complications.