One Month Post Op - Need a Fill & Port Pain

ErikMesa · April 26, 2008

Well it's been almost a month since I had my band put in. Next week I have my first fill. I've actually gained back about 5 pounds this week because now that the swelling is down I'm eating more. I am making better choices for the most part and eating healthier foods (and smaller portions) but I'm finding it a bit frustrating to gain weight.

I know realistically this is normal and until I have a fill it'll continue. I was so happy being not hungry the first couple of weeks after surgery (due to swelling) so suddenly basically being able to eat like normal isn't fun. The big reason I had the lapband does was so it would act as a "teaching aid" to tell me when I'm full. When I was immediately postop I did a good job of listening to it and not overdoing it (it hurt). Now with no real restriction and all the swelling down it's like a 10 lane freeway saying "hey food - come on down!".

The last 3-4 days I've had some pain to the left and below the big incision I have. I emailed the clinic and they said thats the area the port is in. I remember reading somewhere that the area heals slowly and pain a couple weeks after is normal. It isn't so much pain as soreness like a bruise. It isn't bad maybe a 2 of 10 on the pain scale so I can live with it.

Next Wednesday I have my first fill. I can't wait!!! I don't know what to expect and I'm worried they won't fill it enough. Any comments and tips by anyone would be appreciated. I'm really excited about getting back to that "full" feeling.

ErikMesa

Kat225 · April 26, 2008

This is exactly how i feel too...hunger is back and it's ugly!! I don't go for a fill until the 21st...pray for me

Magikelly · April 26, 2008

Hi Erik, Our situation seems to be almost identical!! I was banded March 28th after months and months of waiting and testing etc. I was stuck in ICU afterwards due to low oxygen levels but was release after 3 days and off pain killers by day 5. At first I followed all the rules very strictly for fear of getting sick or reoperation. But by the time I got to "pureed" foods I realized I was able to eat a bit more than the 1/4 to 1/2 cup they suggested without a problem. I had lost 23 pounds by then so I stuck to the food choices but my portion size was once again an issue. It's now end of week 4 and somehow I've lost 29 pounds despite all of this but I am struggling to not run out an get my much craved Applebees cheesburger. I laughed with tears in my eyes when I read Now with no real restriction and all the swelling down it's like a 10 lane freeway saying "hey food - come on down!". It's EXACTLY how it is!!

I did investigate though and found out that my band is not tight *duh* I should have known but I was never told this upon leaving the hospital. For awhile I thought the band had slipped or failed, I even thought maybe the band was never placed in there (in my more desperate paranoid moments) Like you I cannot wait for my first fill and I pray that the first one will be perfectly tight enough. I hope the same for you. I bet in a month we will laugh about this as we are losing all the weight we are supposed to lose with help from our new friend!! Much luck. Write me anytime.

Denise

marchband · April 26, 2008

I am due for my first fill on the 28 but with this terrible gas and the pain that comes with it i almost feel i want it out. anyone else going through this if so was do you do about the gas tums and gas x are no longer working for me.

ErikMesa · April 27, 2008

I did investigate though and found out that my band is not tight *duh* I should have known but I was never told this upon leaving the hospital. For awhile I thought the band had slipped or failed, I even thought maybe the band was never placed in there (in my more desperate paranoid moments) Like you I cannot wait for my first fill and I pray that the first one will be perfectly tight enough. I hope the same for you. I bet in a month we will laugh about this as we are losing all the weight we are supposed to lose with help from our new friend!! Much luck. Write me anytime.

Yes I agree. If you look at my first few posts on this board you'll see I was under the impression the band was working already. It took me a week to realize it was just swelling and as that went down my hunger increased. I've really bounced around from 352 to 337 to 342 (today). I can't wait for my first fill!!!!!

I also thought I had stretched the pouch or broke something or slipped or something. Why could I eat a regular meal almost with no problems. I have to say this is no explained to anyone well enough imo. If I'd known I'd have "regular hungar" after the surgery before the fill I'd have been more prepared.

As it is at least I'm making good food choices (which is something) even though I'm eating larger portions. After the fill I know it'll be a new life" for me. I'm discovering the surgery wasn't "it" its the fill thats "it".

ErikMesa :huh2:

marchband · April 28, 2008

Thank you for your response. I did not get my fill today but will get it on Thursday. I did see the doc and told him I was alwasy hungry and could eat the same pre op he said that made me a great canidate and the fills will make the difference, i will keep you posted.

wickman2617 · April 29, 2008

I was banded on 4.1.08 and had my first fill yesterday (4.28.08). I don't notice any difference at all and still feel like my stomach is screaming for food.< /p>

walkbyfaith · April 29, 2008

I was banded 04/04 and have only lost about 6 lbs total. Lost more, but gained some back. I progressed through the recovery period quickly... liquids, pureed, soft, etc. I am pretty much back to a normal diet now and 95% of the time feel no restriction. I've also had pain on my left side, but doesn't really seem to be related to the port site. Feels more like a "stitch" in my side like when you exercise too hard, but it won't go away quickly. Sometimes sticks with me for an hour or more, and pretty painful. (about a 7 on the scale) Could this be the gas pains lots of folks are talking about?

Need lots of feedback about first fills. I am not scheduled until May 19.... but I have read others getting it around 4 to 5 weeks post op, so I am thinking of calling to see if he will schedule sooner.

Anyone else out there about a month out and want to share with me?

stl_lulu · April 29, 2008

Its too bad your Dr's didn't tell you more about the first month. My Dr told me that I shouldn't expect to loose much weight at all. I was banded on April 15th, and I am not scheduled for my first fill until the 27th of May. My hunger is coming back but I am just trying really hard to keep the portions small. When did the traffic clear from all ten lanes for yall? Im wishing us all much success!

ErikMesa · April 30, 2008

When I saw my doctor last week he did say "it's normal" when I commented about being hungry again. He said I'd go thru periods where I get hungry and maybe even gain a couple pounds but the overall journey of the lapband would be to weight loss. He said "what you're feeling know is what you'll feel when you need a fill". That simple I guess but I was sure unprepared for post-swelling/pre-fill time.

Tomorrow at 3pm is my fill I CAN NOT WAIT!!! I hope it's successful. I've talked to people he's filled before and he doesn't skimp on the fill. I'm hoping for a decent restriction the first time.

ErikMesa :smile2:

kbinaz · April 30, 2008

I feel your pain! I am six months post op, so reading your post takes me back in time to when I was one month past surgery - it could have been written by me! You are normal! Please don't despair. Until you have at least one fill, and probably 3 or more, and get restriction, you are exactly the same as you were before surgery and are probably going to lose weight at the same rate as you did then. You aren't getting the benefit of the band yet. The key is to not let this get to you too much mentally. I know that's easy to say,and hard to do! I had a really tough time in the two months after surgery. I had no restriction after about the fifth day post surgery. I never felt any restriction until my 4th fill. I didn't lose any weight. I cried a lot! Then all of a sudden I got restriction and everything clicked. I wasn't the failure I had decided I was! The band did work for me! I wasn'g going to be in that small percentage of people who don't lose weight with the band. Hang in there and get your fills as often as your doctor will allow it. Get restriction and you will be able to do this. Try to stay positive because in the end it isn't WHEN you lose the weight, it's how much have you lost after a year or two. You aren't going to remember if you steadily lost 3 pounds a week starting the week of surgery or if you lost ten pounds a month starting with month 3. You can do it! You just need the band to help and right now it isn't!

ErikMesa · May 3, 2008

OK I'm now three days post-first-fill so I'll make a report. The appointment went very well. The PA who did the fill asked if I wanted to "numb it up a bit" and of couse being a wimp I said YES. She gave me some lidocaine at the port site first and then proceeded with the fill.

I had to lay on my back with two small pillows under my lower back to raise my abdomen up enough so she could find it. It took a few tries with the needle but eventually she got it in the port. There really wasn't any pain just occasional discomfort when the needle went a bit deeper then the lidocaine area.

Overall it was very good though. Here is the information she gave me:

AP-XL band with low profile port. Holds 14 cc's of Fluid. The doctor had put in 4 cc's already! I was surprised there was that much.

Anyway she added 1.5 cc's of Fluid for a total of 5.5 cc's and that was it. Stuck a bandaid on it and gave me a liquid diet for two days then mushy foods for two days.

Now it's Saturday and I don't really feel hungry. It's kind of strange because I do feel like I need to eat.... but I'm not hungry. So I won't eat. I guess thats the "old Erik" way of doing things, eating because you're supposed to or it's time not because I'm hungry.

Anyway the day of the fill I had a shake for Breakfast and one for lunch then stopped. I had some Water one hour before fill (I had been drinking alot that day). After the fill I had to sit in the waiting room for 30 minutes and sip Water to make sure everything went down OK. It felt "different" but I was able to drink without any trouble. After that I went straight to starbucks and got a small skinny vanilla latte as a "treat" for myself (70 calories). I couldn't finish it by the time I got home then I had a shake around 8pm and that was it.

The next day at work I had four shakes over the course of the day and some water. Friday I also had a shake for Breakfast but had a "cup of soup" for lunch and another Soup for dinner. Today (Saturday) I'll have a shake for breakfast and see how it goes. I feel a bit hungry but not starved.

As for how this feels I guess I don't know what restriction feels like or is supposed to? I know from my post-op period I was never hungry. I guess that's it then? That's how I feel now. I guess it's working although I notice I'm still able to drink fluids with really no issues and I don't have to sip.

In two weeks I have my next fill appointment. I'm going to take it easy until then and stay on softer foods and shakes. I noticed this morning when I hopped on the scale I was down to 332. Counting the preop period of two weeks drinking shakes (I started at 367) I'm down a total of 35 pounds including the preop. Post-surgery I'm down 20 pounds from my surgery date weight of 352. I feel pretty good.

ErikMesa :frown:

Edited May 3, 2008 by ErikMesa

corry1 · May 3, 2008

I was banded 4-3. My dr is a little more strict on diet- I just started mushy foods on Thursday. I go back on the 12th, but don't know if I will get a fill. I am staying pretty full.

singermama · May 4, 2008

Ok this gives me hope about getting filled- the amount of hunger I am having now is comparable to my 2 week pre-op diet when I sprouted horns and whatnot-

But I still feel a weird sort of abdominal/lower back pain after sitting for a long time- it feels like one of my organs but Im attributing it to my port...it almost feels like a kidney pain but radiates to the port site....weird.

ErikMesa · May 4, 2008

I'm doing well today but I still feel like theres not alot of restriction. I ate about 1/2 a ham and cheese omlet for Breakfast and a piece of bacon. To be honest I could've ate more but didn't feel hungry so stopped (but didn't feel full). It's kind of an odd sensation to not be hungry yet not be full.

On thing I am having a challenge with is not drinking while eating. I have issues with very dry mouth all the time so I'm constantly drinking. It does feel like liquids run right past the band.

I hope the next fill in a couple weeks is the "one" to put me in the good zone. I'm still battling with the feelings of "needing to eat" or "feeling like I'm supposed to eat" when I'm not really hungry. I feel empty yet not hungry and it's strange.

ErikMesa :blush: