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me too!!! Just tastes like metal started after a 10 days of pre-op!

My doctor told me that after 10 days the chance of a leak is less than 1% and after 2 weeks it 0%. He said if I had a leak after 2 weeks, he wouldn't even treat it surgically. It's very important to follow the liquids after surgery. I had to do 10 days of clear liquids. My doctor is very conservative, which is fine with me. He also uses a drain. The purpose of a drain is to alert you to a leak even before you get symptoms. The drain stayed in for the first 10 days then was removed in the office.

My surgery starts at 7:10 am

I have had a few emotional spots and I was sleeved on Dec 19 but have coped better than expected. I find the thing that gets me is watching people take a big 'normal' bite of a food I cant eat! But it bothers me a little less each day. Even going to the super market is hard for me as you see things you want to try or cook, but you cant. Its all a learning process for us I guess. We just need to hang in there! It was music to my ears when my nutrionist told me I didnt have to force myself to drink Protein shakes!!! She said she was worried if I did I would just not eat or drink anything cos I would make myself sick. Looking at getting my protein from other food and drinks. Will try Premier Protein shakes from costco though to see if i like them.

Congrats on your maintenance, for me, I am not sure I will ever maintain because my weight gain/issues were always mental, and always will be. Although for the most part im ok with it, it keeps me on my toes and I eventually progress downward on the scale. Not to say it doesn't fluctuate up once in a while...I'm coming out of a very cold snowy winter here in the north east but have begun to tackle the ten pounds I put on during "hibernation" LOL...however, I thank my band every day because I know it would have been a lot more than 10 lbs without it.

HI there! Sounds like we have similar paths. I was banded in 2010 and lost 80+ pounds. It was the best thing I ever did for myself. I kept the weight off for more than 10 years before I started having issues with the band a couple of years ago. It was either too tight or not tight enough. Sadly, without a functioning tool, I gained quite a bit of weight. I had my Lapband removed in April 2021 with hopes to convert to the gastric sleeve a month later. Long story short, my insurance denied the conversion and it took almost a year and a couple of appeals to get the denial overturned. Fast forward to today, my gastric sleeve is approved and scheduled for 4/27. I am so looking forward to getting my tool back so that I can get back on track and live my healthiest life That is great you have lost 85 pounds! Have you been able to maintain the loss all this time? It sounds like your surgeon is removing your band and converting to bypass all in one surgery, is that right?

I think for me training myself to eat slowly, (painfully slowly, one bite per minute) has really really helped. I get very full. I was told I am supposed to stay mostly full for a full 25 minutes in order for that fullness to last 5 1/2 hours. It really works. I am 10 months out and within 5 lbs of my goal weight, 106 lbs lost.

-wow- Congratulations, I know will be in order.... You will get that 10# gone NO PROB...right? My weight drops more significantly, if I do any "lifting exercises" at all. Even with 3# to 5# weights! Sometimes/some exercises I use 8# weights! Do you do any lifting in addition to the walking? Sorry to hear about the pain after the extra long walk. Good luck and great health to you.

Thanks, Fort Bend. Most of the time, I eat Nutrisystem for Breakfast and lunch and then eat a small amount of meat with some veggies for dinner. I did have a couple of months where I didn't feel like dieting, so I just ate whatever I wanted. I still managed to lose a little bit of weight during those months, which was fantastic since pre-band I would have gained 20 or 30 lbs doing that. I just started exercising about 3 weeks ago. With this challenge of 10 lbs in 2 weeks, I've really had to up the exercise. Yuck. I just ordered a new digital camera that should be delivered in about 5-7 days, so then I can post some good pictures of my naked arms. You'll see that the flab is not very attractive.

I have UHC too and have been waiting...My plan is self funded with a trust from my work so they are like the providers....I had several very specific criterias...they told my dr office that there was NO coverage when I had given the doc's office a copy of the exclusionary policy...which I fit. At the time my only concern was if banding was an option since it said " stapling and bypass". As it turned out, I talked to someone at UHC in the "reconciliation" department ...sound Catholic to me lol .... She was very encouraging and got on a conference call with my doc's office. This was just for the initial consult!!!!! Anyway, then the luck and Lord was with me because I talked to my Benefits director,,,just to find out if banding had been covered or appealed....and was told as of 3/01/08 it would be included in the language!!!! Then, we were given the name of a claims person at UHC to send my file through so it wouldn't be held up due to the new language...that was as of 2 weeks ago...still waiting.... That's my muse!

Surgery Day... So, my mom and I got to the Tampa General Hospital around 7:05am, checked in at the Admission desk, they sent me up to Surgery Prep on the 2nd floor, checked in at the desk, and they handed me my chart and sent me back into the Surgery Prep area. I met me nurse at the nurses desk soon as I walked in, very nice lady by the way. She took me to my temporary room where I was asked to derobe and given a gown and a cup to pee in to check for pregnancy prior to surgery. So I sat in that room for all of about 30 or 45 minutes; long enough for the nurse to check my blood pressure, temperature, ask me a few questions,and they gave me a shot of Lovenox I think in my left abdomen to prevent blood clotting. Then Dr. Dicicco came in marked my belly with a pen and asked it I had any questions prior to surgery. I asked what size band I would be getting. He explained that the use the standard AP LapBand either a 10cc or 14cc depending on the amount of fat around the actual stomach. So, I wouldn't know what size band until after the surgery. He also told me he'd be sending me home with some liquid Hydrocodone for pain, but to make sure that I asked for pain meds as soon as I get into the Post Anesthesia Care Unit (PACU), because they would be the only ones who could give me IV pain meds. Then transport came and took me to the Pre Op holding area, where I sat another 30 to 45 minutes. I met the Anesthesiologist, Anesthesia Nurse, OR nurse, and I seemed like a lot of other people. My mom sat back here with me for a few moments. They rolled in another patient right next to me who was also getting the LapBand. I knew because she talked about her liquid diet and what not. I wanted to say hi to her, but I didn't want her to think I was being nosy. They started my IV in there and gave me a cap to put over my fro. Everyone was checking my name band, and I felt like a repeated my name, date of birth, and what surgery I was having about 1,000 times. Anyway, my sister came into the PreOp holding area just as I was being wheeled out of there she was able to say "hi" before they took me into the operating room. All I remember is them telling me to hold my arms out to the side, I'm not sure if I was asked to slide onto the operating table, I think I did. The Anesthesiologist said he was going to give me my "cocktail" and while I saw him injecting three different syringes into my IV they placed an oxygen mask over my face and told me to breathe. All I remember is thinking" jeeze, THREE needles to knock me out" I stared up at the ceiling and I then I was out! When I woke up, I was FREEZING! Shivering and all! My lips were dry and I just wanted to sleep. The nurse asked what my pain was and I told her an 8 and she came and gave me something my IV. I remember saying I was cold and I had warm blankets piled on me after that; even on my head, LoL! My mom and sister came in, and my mom was asking me questions. Not sure what she asked, but I do remember my sister telling her to leave me alone and to quit asking so many questions, LoL! I don't remember this but I have pictures which I'll post later. Transport came back into PACU to take me back to the Prep Surgery Unit... they put me into another room, where my sister and best friend and her boyfriend sat back there with me until I left. I had to walk up and down the hallway before I left and I had to pee as well. I was sleepy/groggy from time I got out of surgery until about 1 or so. I asked my nurse what size band I had placed and she looked through my chart and the stupid Dr didn't document what size, which I'm not too pleased about. I'll have to wait until I go to my Post Op appointment on May 2 to find out. I also asked if I could be weighed before I left, because they didn't weigh me when I checked in and I wanted to see if there was a difference from my weight a day ago (there wasn't so surgery weight is officially 284) I was discharged around 2pm. My sister drove me from the hospital, dropped off my prescription at Walgreens and took me to my parents house to wait. Soon as I walked through their door I plopped on the couch and slept from 2 to 6. Woke up just as my dad was bringing in my medicine... so I got up with some help since I was still sore. Went to the bathroom and then took a dose of my pain medicine, and then asked to be taken home. Once at home I tried to sleep in my bed and it was a complete disaster! I'm a stomach sleeper so, I just couldn't get comfortable. I stay with my 82 y/o grandmother, who kept checking in on me, she boiled water in a kettle and gave me an old fashioned heat pack for my belly. She's so sweet! So at around 2 or 3 am I had to pee which I was upset about because I didn't want to move, but I went potty and then I went and got on the couch and was able to find a comfortable position and that's all that happened surgery day... Post Op Day #1... So, PostOp day #1 was interesting to say the least! I was up after not being able to get comfortable and sleeping off and on 3 to 4 hours here and there. So, luckily my Netflix account came in handy. I've watched Seasons 1-3 of Law and Order: Special Victims Unit (my favorite!!!) for the past three days! At around 5 or 6 my granny got up and started getting ready to go to her little "desk job" (she likes to keep busy). Then my other best friend called me at around 7 on her way to work to talk about something her boyfriend did (luckily I was awake because here's where it gets good!). My granny is legally blind due to 26 years of Diabetes. She can technically see, but her distant vision is completely gone, someone has to be right up on her for her to know who they are. So the city busline provides a van/small bus service for the disabled, and she rides this bus to work and wherever else she needs to go, when I or another family member can not take her, since we all work. So, this morning, the guy knocked on the door and from the couch, I yelled for my granny letting her know that someone was at the door. I thought I heard her say "ok", mind you I was on the phone still. So after while the man knocked again, so I went to the door told him just a minute because all I had on was boxers and a sports bra... I called for my grandma again and this time I asked what she was doing back there, and she replied "just trying to live" ... I knew then something was wrong. I went back to her room and found her sitting on her vanity bench, sweating profusing, with a runny nose, and incoherent. I quickly hung up the phone with my friend, told the bus man to leave after he asked me if I was sure because this would be considered a "no call no show" and if I hadn't been so concerned with my granny I would've cussed this asshole out! Anyway, I ran back to the room dialed 911 told them that she was diabetic and I wasn't sure if she had any meds this morning or not. I kept calling her name and she would just say "hmm" and I'd ask her whats wrong and she just kept saying she didn't feel well. So while I waited for the EMTs I checked her blood sugar and her monitor read "Lo", so I knew she kept candy in her bedside night stand... I found a mini snickers bar and tried to get her to eat some... I wet a towel with cold water and wiped her down with it. And then finally the EMTs arrived. I told them what I could, and they checked her sugar again, they're monitor read "46" and so they decided to start and IV on her and give her a shot of D50, which is sugar basically. I sat back there with them while they checked her vitals and waited until she slowly came around. They asked her her name and birthday and the year and the president... and after she signed the paperwork and they were cleaning up and getting ready to leave she realized all she had on was her thigh high stockings, her blouse, and underwear and she said "OH MY GOODNESS! I don't have any clothes on!" I knew then that she was back to normal. They laughed because like I said all I had on was a sports bra and boxers and my hair was sticking up EVERYWHERE! I laughed with them and told her I was practically naked too! So, my mom and dad came over because now I needed someone to babysit the both of us for the day... My dad brought her breakfast because she needed to eat. She had taken her insulin that morning and got sidetracked looking for a paper and forgot to eat within the alotted time, so her sugar dropped. My sister left work and came waited on both of us... Then my aunt came over and sat... And then my boyfriend's sister came over. The my BFF who had come to the hospital came over to take my pictures of my abdomen and my "before/after surgery" pics... Long story short... I was not in pain for about an hour that day! I guess the adrenaline rush for worrying about my granny and making sure she was okay made me forget all about my sore abs. I mean I was bending over (not all the way to the floor) but enough to be eye level with her while she was sitting and everything and I felt nothing until about an hour later... when I took a shot of hydrocodone and fell asleep. An eventful Post Op day 1 right?! Post Op Day #2... So, I stayed on the couch again. My granny was feeling much better, she even went to the beauty salon the next morning. My sister came and sat with me. We watched "The Switch" with Jennifer Aniston... cute movie... Then my niece and cousin came over to decorate eggs with my granny and that was nice... My aunt came over again and I was in and out of sleep on the couch while they were there nothing much I can remember..... I do remember being not as sore and the first two days, and getting so agitated with that fact that I couldn't really sleep. So I got up from the couch went back into my room, took my heating pad my mom got for me on Post Op day 1 and said I'm sleeping on my bed ON my stomach! It's gonna happen! So, I started out on my side which is where most of my pain is for some reason. So I placed the heating pad between me and the bed and laid on my side.. When I woke up I was partially on my stomach/side, so I knew this technique was working. I repositioned myself and my heating pad and was able to sucessfully sleep without pain on my stomach... My grandma was sooo worried about me because I slept from about 4 that afternoon until 2am the next morning! She kept coming in and asking if I was ok, and had I been drinking my fluids... I was just soooo happy to finally sleep straight through the night! (sorta) Post Op Day #3... So I woke up at around 2 am, and checked my discharge papers and realized I could now take a bath! I'll admit my armpits were on the verge of funkiness! So, I washed my hair and took a shower. I'm not sure if it was the meds or just me being down for a few days, or maybe just the hot shower, but I felt a little lightheaded while in there. Luckily my granny keeps a shower chair in theire for her use, so I just sat down and finished up. When I got out of the shower I sat on the toilet to catch my breath and to get a cool breeze because I was still feeling kinda light headed. But I dried off, put some leave in conditioner in my hair, made sure to "pat dry" my incision sites per the instructions and finished watching Law and Order: SVU. It's Easter! So, my granny got up around 5 to go to Sunrise Service at church at 6am. So After she left, I was feeling pretty normal aside from the pain in my abdomen (like I'd done some sit ups). I was able to move around my bed normally and comfortably enough, so I got dressed, and went to Amscot for a money order (I had a bill to pay), and rode around for awhile. It was a little weird driving. My car is small and the the drivers seat is broken so it sits a little low, and I had to make myself comfortable here too. After that I came back home and decided I should walk. I took my dog from the back yard hooked up his leash and headed down the sidewalk very slowly. Picasso, my 60lb pittbull, was pulling and I forgot just how strong he was. We walked a very short distance when I saw the neighbors dogs barking and then it dawned on me that not only is my strong muscular dog pulling the hell out of me right now, but I didn't bring a stick or any type of protection in case a stray dog arrives, and I knew I wouldn't be able to run. So, we made a UTurn and headed back home... LoL... we walked all of about 5 or 10 minutes... I knew I had to work tonight (7p-7a) so I laid down around 11am. Granny came bugging me talking about I need to be up and moving around and drinking my fluids! LoL! I told her I had been up early this morning. So, around 5 we went to my parents house and THEY ate Easter dinner... Now what's funny is the last day of work before surgery my coworkers threw a going away party for another coworker and since I was on liquids I couldn't partake, but I was able to tell my best friend EVERYTHING they had and it was ALOT! But today, I wasn't even hungry, so I couldn't tell you what we had for Easter dinner other than I had broth and I sure I saw a Ham on the counter... ALSO, I know this may be TMI as well, but I think I have a yeast infection... I can't remember whether or not they gave me antibiotics, which I'm sure they did, and I know from the past that antibiotics give me yeast infections... so I'm gonna call the DR and see if there's something I can take orally or hopefully the over the counter vagisil or monistat will clear it up... I know TMI but it totally sucks! Back to Work... So I'm at work now... not feeling too much discomfort. I never really experienced gas pain. I normally associate gas pain with my stomach, but other than the pain of the incisions I don't think I had any. Thank God! I have been passing gas though, and I burped for the first time this morning! I was so happy because it felt GREAT! But the gas (from the other end) has been small and minimal, LoL, TMI! I know, but I guess I was expecting large thunderous gas, and it's really been small quiet, small little toots, and they don't smell... I'm trying to get in all my fluids... I think they said about a gallon a day, though I know that's ridiculous! I'm barely thirsty... I'm feeling almost normal other than I'm not eating and like I said, I'm still a little sore... but I doing good. I cant wait until my Post Op appointment.... not sure if I'm supposed to be getting a fill or not. I have 5 incisions all about my belly button, one right under my boob! The first and second day I was practically naked because I didn't want my heavy ass DD boob laying on my sore incison... it's not sore anymore... I'm wearing wireless bras though until it completely healed... I have what they call "steristrips" of 4 out of five of my incisions. The one under the boob had only a band aid, which I was told to remove all bandaids on post op day one... so there's nothing there, but the incisions looks good. I'm kinda confused at the places where my incisions are... one seems to be on my left side where I thought my rib was located, but I dunno... I think my port is my largest bandage/incision almost directly above my belly button but slightly to the left... I have a half dollar sized bruise between the port incision and a second incision... not sure where that came from... but duh, I sure some part of the surgery caused it... Well, this has been one of the LONGEST blogs ever, so like I said I'm doing well... will post photos as soon as my BFF emails them to me, I'm gonna try to take a picture of my stomach with my phone in the bathroom and post it tonight while I'm at work, if I can't then you guys will just have to wait! Again, I want to thanks EVERYONE for their prayers and well wishes! I'm home, ALIVE, and doing well!

I had my surgery on 2/19/08 and had only 1 day of gas pains in my shoulder and my port area was a little sore. I am already on regular food just have to measure and not overfill. Yes, I would do this again. Your health is everything. Good luck to you!

I increased my goal weight after noticing the inches falling off as fast as the pounds dropped. My initial goal weight was 140, but I realize I'd look sickly at that weight on my frame, here are my stats: June 19, 2013 Starting weight: 219.5 Height: 5'2" Tops: 18/20 Bottoms: 16 Goal Weight: 140 Goal Size: 6 First fill - July 10, 2013 9 weeks ahead of schedule on my goals. July 31, 2013 (6 weeks post-op) Current weight: 188 Tops: 14/16 (I guess...I haven't bought clothes yet) Bottoms: Junior's 13M (clothes I had from previous WL attempt) Goal Weight: 150 (increased due to massive loss of inches) Goal Size: 8

I looked all through the CTV website and it seems after so many days they archive all the segments and then you have to pay to view them. Not worth 2 cents to see it after the fact. It was all a big smoke show pushing CIBO and her pushing her book. It was probably SWLC that had that on their website since they used to charge a consultation fee that went towards your surgery price if you booked with them but now all consultations are free. The pre-op diet is also seperate because not everyone does the same thing. Some people do no Optifast and others do between 2 and 4 weeks of the stuff. Some people opt to purchase it on Ebay instead of through the clinic. Be prepared to pay lots of consultation fees once you start looking into PS. I haven't come across one yet that offers free consultations but I figure it's worth the money to find out I don't want to go to this one or that one. Their time is money and I know that nobody gives anything away for free but I just hope that I find the one I really like in the first 10 that I visit since that will be about $1000 right there that could go towards my PS work.

I totally understand, I'm in the same situation. I lost 10 lbs on liquids the month after banding, which I put back on over the next 5 weeks. Then I got my first fill and nothing was different. I've had 3 fills now and just have a little restriction; ugh, time to schedule the 4th. It seems like it takes forever to get started losing, but it will be worth it in the end!

As the great Mark Twain said, "there are lies, damn lies, and statistics." You can make statistics say anything you want about anything. If you know what you are doing, you can statistically prove that my weight affects the price of tea in China. The other thing you need to keep in mind is that scales lie. All of them lie. No two are calibrated the same way. The BMI scale is a lie too; it simply is a guideline. The BMI scale takes no consideration for body make-up. It takes no consideration of body fat percentage, your fat-free mass. A body builder who's buffed to the max, or a professional athelete could come up as Obese. A body-builder, with 19% body fat is obviously not obese, even if the BMI scale says they are. Scales lie. I was told by the woman who does the fills for my doc's clinic that I should weigh 125 pounds given my hieght, and that I should be a size 6, because statistically, that's where I should be at 5'5". But the thing is, that will only happen if I get some terrible wasting disease, like cancer. A cancer that eats my muscle mass. My FFM, my fat-free muscle mass, is currently 40%, down from 45% in May. Right now, my goal weight is in the range of 190 to 177 pounds. That might sound like a lot, but that weight range will put me in the 25-35% body fat range that is healthy for my age range. 190 pounds is a far cry from 125 pounds and I don't give a damn about socity and "norms." Staticistally speaking, I've been an outlier my entire life, why should my weight or my muscle mass be anything but out of bounds? If you want to see why this has been worth it to me, even though at 190 pounds I'll still be considered Obese, check out my list of NSVs, my non-scale victories. The link is in my signature. Good luck on your research, we all wish you the very best.

I am also currently pregnant. Due Sept 19th. I did have a complete unfill at 10 weeks due to horrible all-day sickness. I was very anxious and worried about weight gain, but after getting ahold of myself, really I'm doing all of this for my baby. I can always get filled again and jump back on the weightloss track. To be completely honest I don't really have the ability at this point to even eat as much as I did at my most filled state. The baby is taking up so much room, so I am back to eating small meals/snacks throughout the day. My surgeon wasn't worried about the calorie intake while pregnant he was more worried about calories during breastfeeding. It is your decision maybe just a slight unfill as the months go on will work for you. Good luck with the rest of your pregnancy!!!

My plan is surgery on a Tuesday, i will return to work the following Friday, so about 10 days later, That way it is only one day before another couple of days of rest. I have spoken to my team about it and because i am also at a desk they are saying we will eval post op but they dont think it is going to be a problem.

I also live in Wichita but I'm going to Kansas City for my surgery. I won't elaborate with why I say this but I wouldn't let any of the surgeons in that group touch me. Frankly, I'm not surprised this happened. I have seen his patients have a lot of complications post op. It's been worth the 8-10 trips to KC to go where I feel safe. Wishing you the best with whatever your decision is.

Hi today was my consult with the surgeon. He has suggested the DS. I am happy with his choice. I am new to this app and just wanted to share with everyone. I am excited to finally be going through with the surgery. I have debated on and off for 10 years but today feel more then ready to change my life.

I bought the book "[ame=http://www.amazon.com/Weight-Surgery-Dummies-Marina-Kurian/dp/0764584472/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1275236132&sr=8-1]Weight Loss Surgery for Dummies[/ame]" LOL and it is actually really helpful about how to make the transition into solid foods and there are recipes in it too. It has lots of good info in general. (ooh and in looking it up to link to it I just saw they also have a whole [ame=http://www.amazon.com/Weight-Loss-Surgery-Cookbook-Dummies/dp/0470640189/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1275236132&sr=8-2]recipe book[/ame] available!) I'm still quite a ways from getting on solid food myself so I can't help too much personally, but there are some great blogs of post WLS people who share recipes and examples of what they eat. My fave is The World According to Eggface - she is 3 1/2 years out though so you can't eat as much as her right away of course! Here's what I do know from all my research and from the nutrition classes at my surgeons office. High Protein, low carb. For the first 3 months you're supposed to eat 90% protein and only 10% complex carbs (fruits and veggies), no simple carbs (bread, Pasta, etc) ... after that time frame, 75% protein and 25% complex carbs. I have purchased some diabetic cookbooks - I am not diabetic but the recipes seems to be up the right alley as far as high protein low carb. Another tip that I've been getting is, the denser the protein, the longer you will stay full. Meaning, choose chicken over cottage cheese. It takes longer to digest and leave your stomach so you will feel full longer. In our nutrition class we also learned about this little protein math to do. You want your protein sources to be under 15 calories per gram. For example if a serving of something has 200 calories and 20 grams of protein, it is 10 calories per gram. Most of your protein should come from lean sources such as meats. The middle ones are things like cheese and other diary, and the higher ones (which you should have the least of) are things like bacon, nuts etc which are higher in fat. I hope this helps!!

If you ran 19 minutes today, there is absolutely no reason you cannot run 19 minutes tomorrow, then the next day, and so on...then 30 minutes and so forth..... That is how I motivated myself....I built off of previous accomplishments...do it once, can do it again, no reason I cannot.... I now run 5 miles a day in 45 minutes as a routine...I kept telling myself I did it yesterday, I can surely do it today..... .tell myself that everyday and now, it is as natural and routine as can be.....I could do more but I get bored after 45 minutes....so I stop there....but I have been increasing my speed, staying within the 45 minutes = using the speed setting as my new motivation and goals...again, I ran at 8mph yesterday, can do it today...right? And if I do it today, which I will because I know I can, no reason I can't do it tomorrow.... When I was doing the program you are doing, I always had to stop and start over from the beginning if I got interrupted....and if I could not finish the day/session, I would go back and start over at the beginning of the week and work back to the day I had a problem with. I wanted to be sure that when I finished the program, I was actually trained and in shape to do it everyday, not to say I completed it as in a competition....

I was sleeved at 8:00 am on 11/14/13. When I came out of recovery at about 10:30, they had me walking right away. Then they took my bed and replaced it with a chair. The chair wasn't comfortable, so I kept walking. I left the hospital at 11:45 that same day. (My doc performs the surgery on outpatient) I did go back to the condo and slept for a couple of hours, but then started walking every hour.

Get well soon ladies [emoji173]️ 51 year old woman VSG DATE: 10/28/17 5' 5" HW: 259 CW: 249 SW: --- GOAL: 135

Hi everyone, I was banded on 10/9/08 and have been suffering with gas since. I have tried gas-x with no relief. I have also tried some teas. In the last 3 days I have gotten a sharp pain on the side of my left shoulder. I think it is gas. It only seems to come when my stomach is feeling empty. I am eating mushies and it seems to subside after I eat, but whenever I am near the 3 hour mark, it starts. It is driving me crazy, and is very uncomfortable/painful. Any suggestions... Please help:crying: