March Bandsters: MASTER THREAD

[Elsie 0]

Hello March bandsters,

Hope all is well???

I had my band in on March 26th so far I have lost 8 lbs. I just wanted to ask if anyone is having sharp pains around the port area. I have them sometimes when I sit and really bad when I drive. I just started driving yesterday just a quick trip to the grocery store and this morning taking my kids to school. The pain was so bad it feels like a knife stabbing me.

LynnM.:confused2:

Hi Lynn

I had this too. I thought I was doing ok and then port pain got a quite a bit worse for a few days and then a bit better every day since. I think those pains are normal. I would get a twinge every so often when I would bend down. Pain completely gone now.

Well done to all March bandsters. I dont post a lot but I am trying to keep up with the thread.

As far as telling people about the band, I told my parents and sister and not one other person (except other people from this board who I have met in person). Family are supportive but I have been fat forever and have learned to slip into the background so I hate attention of any kind, good or bad. I know if I told anyone in work that it would spread like wildfire. Some would be happy for me I'm sure but I know there would be negativity. I just dont want to deal with that.

I am currently in Bandster Hell, I am 4 weeks out tomorrow and starting on solids. I found liquids easier than mushies, for the last few days I have been craving food and no amount of mushies are satisfying me. However, all going well I will get my first fill on Thurs. Once I went to mushies, the scale stopped moving, after a week I dropped 2lbs and was delighted but this morning I was back up those 2lbs. I wanted to cry. :smile:

But I know a lot of people go thru this during mushies so I'll try to remain focused on the big picture.

Happy April to all Marchies.

Elsie

[LynnM 2]

Lynn-

I have had the same pain also today...I think the pain is coming from the port area...boy it doubled me over the 3 times it has happened...I drove the kids to school, then home to take pain meds and go back to bed!!

__________________

Elsie,

I called the Drs office and they said I probably moved the wrong way and the port pulled but that it was fine.

boy it sure doesn't feel fine. Hope all is going well for you.

Keep us informed.

LynnM.:smile::smile2:

[Firework 4]

Hi everyone. I went into the doctor's office today because of my persistant nausea and vomiting. I am 6 days post op and it hadn't let up. As it turns out, my band is a bit too tight, kind of like I am overfilled without the ability to get an unfil. My doc said that during the surgery, they measured me for which allergan band to use, the regular one or the larger one, and the smaller one was better, but did look a little tight. He said as my stomach fat dissolves, it will loosen up and feel better, hopefully within this next week. In the meantime, he gave me some great nausea medicine and some steroids to help with inflammation. I hope this passes quickly!

Teri- I am glad you get extra time off work. I say take as much as you can.

Good luck to everyone as we continue our journey!

[mrodr41 0]

So it has been awhile since I was last on here. I had the surgery last Weds stayed the night there and was up all night not because the wonderful nurses woke me up but because I had to pee like every hour on the hour and once I got up to pee thay wanted me to walk for awhile. so I finally got to sleep at 8 in the morning got up around 9:30 when the doc came in and was discharged around noon. I don't think the pain was that bad the 2nd day, but on the 1st day I kept asking myself what were you thinking? why did you do this to yourself?,etc...

I am thankful that I never really had bad gas pain that I read about a lot on this site. I am on full liquids for 3 weeks which I am thankful for because if anyone even mentions chicken broth it makes me want to GAG!!!!

[mrodr41 0]

The only thing that is bothering me is the constant itching on my stomach/ It is driving me crazy!!! I go back to the doctor on the 7th next Monday and I was so loopy at the time is that when I will get filled? When do you usually get your first fill? Oh well I am now thankful and grateful that I had this procedure done and I cannot wait to start exercising a little and toning. I know this was worth every ounce of pain I went thru

[Busy 0]

Evelas, sorry you are having a rough time. But think of it this way, when your stomach fat dissolves, you will already have the restriction we all hope we will have!! :smile: I know, does not help, your in my thoughts!!

[Firework 4]

Thanks for your support. The meds are really helping me through it!

[Fenton 3]

Bratz - that must have been very scary! I'm glad you're OK. I'm sure you're going to keep a really sharp eye on your Fluid and calorie intake from now on...

Penny! When I saw "Rugmanforever", for just one exhilarating second, I thought that another dude had joined the Shamrocks!!! But I bid you welcome, even if we're unlikely to be bonding over power tools and the swimsuit edition of Sports Illustrated any time soon...

Nice to see you here, Elsie. You really can't sweat the randomly malevolent wanderings of the scale needle. If you manage your intake, and exercise, your body will go in the right direction. It's particularly hard in the early days, when we're all switching out our different shakes and broths and Protein beverages and cream of wheat or NEVER cream of wheat...

And Nice to have you back, mrodr! (No chance that's, like, a contraction of "Mr. Odor"? No? I thought not...)

Edited April 1, 2008 by Fenton

[Fenton 3]

Yay, Evelas, glad to hear it!

Maybe slowing down on how quickly you take liquids will help? Or maybe you're already sipping reallllllllllly slowly anyway.

[anniedub 0]

Hi Shamrocks!

Just a quick update -- I was banded on the 6th of March, and had my first fill today (first of April), and feeling great!

2cc's in a 4cc capacity band. Was on fluids for Breakfast and lunch then had baked Beans for dinner, all went well! Excellent satiety after half a cup.

For those in bandster hell, keep going! There is light at the end of the tunnel!

Annie xox

PS. Fenton congratulations on the book!

[Fenton 3]

Good Lord, Annie! After hundreds of posts whining about gas pain, your first meal with your fill is BAKED Beans??? Whadday got, a DEATH WISH???

Congrats on the fill!

I've been wondering whether or not to go forward with the fill right away. I have some restriction, and I don't know if I want to eat even less than I'm eating now. But I have a feeling that I'm slowly starting to slide - not because I feel hungry, but because of bad eating habits. Yesterday I had some Mystery meat from the halal cart in front of my office, but I may have had too much, and I certainly ate too much of the pita that came with it. And then later in the day I had a cookie. And in the evening, because I'm worried about my Protein intake, but don't want to go back to Isopure, I made an omelet with parmesan, spicy (fat free!) black bean dip, salsa, carnitas and a low carb tortilla (est calories about 450 - luckily the cat stole most of the tortilla while I was on the phone). I think I did about 1600 cals for the day, which isn't the end of the world, but I worry that I'll rationalize and continue to slide down that slippery slope.

I guess I'll see how I'm doing for the next couple of weeks before my fill session.

[Fenton 3]

I must say that I'm still astonished by how quickly that cat wolfed down the tortilla - I'm amazed he didn't look as if he'd just swallowed an umbrella. I hope the spicy bean dip smeared on it isn't playing havoc with his guts right now.

Edited April 1, 2008 by Fenton

[HarleyGirl 1]

IT'S MUSHIE DAY FOR ME!!

I'm pretty stoked about it!

[nycm00 0]

Harley: Congrats on your move to mushies!! I worry about mushies, because there are way too many bad choices that are beautifully mushy. I guess I'll deal with it when I get there.

Fenton: I think I would go ahead with the fill, or if you cancel, re-schedule it for 2 wks down the road. It's really hard to get appts with NYU and I'd hate to see you sitting in bandster hell for 3 wks waiting for an appt. I think 1600 calories for a man your size should be OK for weight loss. What I dream the band is supposed to do is make it easy to stay below that and little temptation to go above that.

I have a call in to the donctor's office right now. I caught my DD's virus. Thankfully no puking yet, but running to the bathroom if I drink anything. I also have horrible burning in my belly/chest. Normally I would manage with bland foods, bread, crackers. Now I have no idea what to do. I'm waiting for the MD office to call.

Christine

Edited April 1, 2008 by nycm00

[Fenton 3]

Ack! Christine! How horrible! I hope they call soon and sort you out - you're in a tricky situation, there. Do you have Isopure? I think that that and Water would be the way to go for the time being. Hang in there!

And good luck with the Mushies, Harley. Don't be surprised if you get a little weight bump at first...

As far as to fill or not to fill, I'll see how I feel on the 14th. If I'm losing at least 2 lbs a week without a fill, I think I'll stick to it. That said, I'm still eating soft food; I wonder if a shift to solid food will affect me much.

Of course, I've had a bit of solid food, too already, without incident.