PRE-Operation Weight Loss Surgery Q&A

I have read numerous times that once we are banded we should not drink anything with our meals (and for a couple of hours after eating). However, I have yet to read why this is the case. I am curious and wondering if someone can fill me in on the answer. Thanks! Sheila

Can anyone feel their port? I wasn't anticipating this. I was banded on 8/8 - the port is on my ribs, the one place where I don't have very much fat. I can tell it is not swelling because it feels flat and very specifically port-like. Does anyone have this issue?

I have read several times that people lost a lot mostly a month after surgery and than I am reading being in bandster hell until your first fill and not able to lose. Do they mean the first month after the first fill? Anyway I have a VG band and in my 4th week, so I am still on mushy food, but I can eat a whole Pizza Hut chain in a 100 mile radius. Sofar I have been good and look the other way when nearing a Pizza Hut place. Have people lost a lot right after surgery? I have lost about 9 lbs sofar, but now I am feeling hungry all the time. I have my first fill Sep 6th, so I have a loooong way to go. My doctor promised me an agressive fill. Are there more people in bandste…

I am in the pre -banded limbo stage waiting for doc appts etc. and thinking way too much lately. Wondering if anyone feels incredibly frustrated during the adjustment stage?? Do you miss not eating like you used to? Do you ever feel deprived? the more I think of it the more I fear I would go nuts without my food rewards:cry With the focus off food now tho, do you have more time and energy? Too much energy. I just don't know where all that energy would go. I put alot of energy into eating and always have. any comments would greatly be appreciated. thank you at any time during the

HAHA!! I DID IT!!! I DID IT!! I DID IT!!! I GOT BANDED TODAY!!! I was so nervous!! AND FOR NOTHING!! Ortiz's staff was completely professional and efficient and so very kind!! We've had quite a few laughs here too!! LOL I'm currently writing you from my hospital bed. They have wifi and a flatscreen TV with sattellite in each of its private room!! The only discomfort is UPPER ABS (LIKE AFTER A GOOD WORKOUT or AFTER YOU'VE BEEN SICK WITH A COUGH FOR A WHILE AND THOSE MUSCLES ARE SORE) and where my port was placed. It's still swollen there, but I've been assured it will go down soon. I can feel the outline of the port.. Docs told me that since my BMI was on the low si…

I had my surgery on the 7th. When I woke up I was feeling very bloated in my lower belly. By the next day I was ready to explode! I ended up with an Nasal Gasto tube for two days. I pretty good now, but I'm taking in very little liquid, even Water is giving me gas that doesn't want to leave me. I feel great in the morning and drink a liquid Protein drink and by 4PM I'm bloated and almost ready to explode. Is this normal? I know I should be walking and I do in the AM but later in the day I feel too ill to walk. Not to be gross but anisthetics have hampered my digestion before and it feels that way now and not much is coming out but then there isn't much to come out…

Okay so I'm told not to drink anything "fast" ie gulps. What do I do when I'm thirsty? Its so hard to sip. Any ideas? Banded 7-30-07 Pre op weight- 200.5 Post op weight- 190

I was surprised to learn from the OR nurse today that my doctor doesn't give a 'script for liquid pain killers. I'm a little nervous about being able to swallow pills in the days following surgery.

I was banded on August 8th and the past couple of days my stomach is always complaining. Either its full or its empty. There is never a time when I dont notice it. I am on mushies right now and the food never seems to last long in my stomach so most the time I am feeling hungry even when I am drinking water. Is this normal? Will it go away?

Hi There, I went to the info seminar today and I have a few questions about the Lap Band. For those of you who have had it done, can you feel the actual lap band in your stomach??? i have heard it feels tight at sometimes, is this true??? does the port bother you? can you feel it??? also, have you had trouble with any specific foods post op?? i have so many questions before i make my decision. waiting to call my ins co tomrrow to see if they cover. any input would really help me. thanks so much !!!!!:help:

Hi, I am about 18 mths post op now and I have lost a fair bit of weight but I often worry about my stomach stretching. I sometimes don't notice I'm full until I stand up and then I feel slight discomfort.. Since my last fill I feel like I can eat a lot more than maybe I should and I worry that it might be a result of stretching from regular slight overeating. Does anyone know anything about this? From what I'm reading on here a lot of people seem to not be able to eat much at all. I can say.. a whole 200gram steak and a handful of chips in a sitting... Is this a lot? I have slowed down in my weight loss and think I need to change something to improve it unless my sto…

Well....I called the clinic today as it is one week since surgery and still cannot burp. I also get a lot of pain in my chest. It is also hard to get down liquid everything is sipping even water. I talked to the nurse who advised me that I had about 2 cc's in my band from the surgery and we can take out the liquid. It is very painful for me as I also had a hernia repair...inside is still quite swollen I guess. Hopefully this will cause some releif. I will let you all know how that goes. __________________

Hi all- well I am now 5 days post op and getting a little nervous. It has been very difficult getting the fluids in and I average about 40oz a day. One thing I have noticed, my hair is getting thinner. Anyone else expereince this? Please let me know.:help:

i was wonding if anybody that has had the lapband done has lupus or if anybody has lupus .:help: :help: judyann4 thank you

What was the "final straw" --- the thing that made you come to your decision that LB was for you???

It is 99.9% sure that I will be denied having my insurance cover the surgery. I spoke with two people in our Health Plans office and two reviewers from my insurance company and it does not look good at all. I have 3 dietician appointments yet and unless the surgeon becomes a pulitzer prize winning dx writer, I am sunk. I always knew there was a possibility that this would happen. I have a BMI of 37 and my co-morbidities are "soft". I didn't expect to be this let down. I have been dreaming of buying things off sale racks and having more energy and being skinnier and healthier. I still want to get there, but GOD THIS SUCKS! Escpically after the RN was telling m…

I have been researching the lapband for a while now and signed up online for a seminar that is this Wednesday. The doctor's site had an online application too so I filled that out. I gave them my insurance info, told them about all of my prior attempts at loss and about my current health issues. I did this about 2 weeks ago. This past Friday I got a call from the office telling me I had been approved and they could schedule my pre-op visit. I freaked out! I mean, I haven't even been to the seminar yet. I am really still in a information gathering stage! It was weird to me that they would already have an approval before I ever even saw the doctor! I fully expected …

I have heard you can eat just about anything with the band. I noticed a lot of different problems with food in the food section but didnt see any one mention pizza. I know I wont be able to eat as much or as often, but i need to know of both success and disaster with pizza.

So I took the gauze off from my surgery yesterday and there is an obvious bump from where the port is.... I was thinking it was because althought i am very overweight i dont have that much fat around my ribs and thats where the doctor placed it ... also I know the doctor told me he had to place it higher because I was younger and haven't had kids or something like that... but I was wondering if anyone else has had this problem and if it goes down some or anything?

I am so excited about getting the band tomorrow. However, I totally messed up. I did not realize I was suppose to be on liquids yesterday. I ate some okra and drank protein drinks. Is this going to really mess me up? Today I am all about the liquids. :help:

I'm about 7 weeks out. I can't believe how much my stomach growls. Anyone else with this problem?

So, I got banded on 8/6. I'm down about 12 pounds already. The thing is, I can't seem to generate that excited "Yay! I'm losing!" feeling. I've had it about a million times before - every other time I tried to lose weight - but then the weight always came back. Sometimes with astonishing speed. I regained 45 pounds in 6 weeks after my shake diet last year. :phanvan So what's the deal? How come THIS time - the time that is most likely to be permanent - I feel so blah? What about that "Today is the first day of the rest of my life!" feeling I was looking forward too?

Hi, I'm one week a way from getting banded and i have several questions in my head and your help is greatly appreciate it. 1- For how long do i need to stay on the liquid diet? 2- When can start eating pureed food? 3- What are some of the things that some of you drank during the liquid stage? 4- What kind of Protein shakes do your recommend (Slim-Fast, etc)? 5- While on the liquid stage, how often do you have to drink something so that you dont feel hungry? My surgery date is on 8/20 at Valley Hospital in Ridgewood, NJ.

The larger of the 2 incisions on the left side of my belly has opened back up. Well, really only half of it. Tomorrow I will be 2 weeks post op. My Dr. uses Dermabond to close the incisions and all the Dermabond was gone. Everything's been fine and they looked great. Well, today I went swimming (well, more like floating) in our community pool and when I got home and took my swimsuit off I noticed the opening in the incision. It's really weird and actually kind-of gross. If I weren't in the medical field, I would probably freak out. You can see a little pocket in there, but it doesn't look infected. I put Neosporin on it and tried to hold it together and wh…

Did any of you get an incision in your belly button? Wondering why my doctor chose do do that.

I have my day of consults and evaluations coming up in a week. From there, the surgery will be scheduled. My question. Since I've made the solid decision to do this surgery, I'm noticing that where I used to want to start a diet, and restricting portions, I'm actually doing the opposite. I'm telling myself that I'll soon be banded, so I can "wait" until then to start "paying attention." I'm not making a big deal to go work out, and haven't for a month. ( I finally went back yesterday, I think I've gained 10lbs!! I'm not checking. ) I'm usually good with a diet for a couple or three months, then fall off the wagon after a splurge and 10-15 lbs gone. I fall off …

Had my survey in april went well, Once in a while my back hurts after eating, Really realy hurts what does that mean?:help:

duplicate sorry

I keep hearing about the gas pains afterward. I tho't they were something particular to Lap-Banding, but the pre-op nurse told me that it's just from the laparscopic surgery. This will be my FOURTH laprascopic procedure (hysterectomy in 1990, gall bladder in 1992 and hernia repair 2006) and I've never experienced any sort of gas pains that I'm aware of or remember. Do ya think I'll escape it this time, too??

Brag- I'm four days into my 2 week pre-op Medifast diet and I haven't cheated. It's been even harder than I thought it would be-- mostly head games and hungry tongue. Gripe- The Medifast is so unbearable that it actually makes me sick to my stomach. I am so sick of sweets, sweets, sweets-- shakes, pudding, oatmeal, bars-- YUCK! Questions- What did you do for your pre-op diet? How much did you lose? Any suggestions of other low cal diet things I could eat? Thank you for your support and help!

:hungry:My lap band surgery is August 13. I was suppose to start my pre-op diet Monday and I was traveling back from Fla. I ate lunch and nothing else. Tuesday I did my admitting (upper Gi, EKG etc). When I left at 2:00 I was so hungry I stopped and got a huge salad. Today I drank my protein drink and I want SOMETHING to eat. I am suppose to have 2 protein drinks and 1 Healthy Choice. Can I eat celery, carrrots, tuna to get me through? Please help me.:help:

Please, teach me how to SIP. LOL I spent the last 4 years training myself to drink 60-100 oz of Water a day. Most of it I chug at 32 oz in an hour intervals. Now, I am trying to learn to SIP my water and not drink with meals. Boy, that's not easy! So I find my self going "sip, sip, sip, sip, set down cup". So, how big is a sip? How many sips should I take in one lift of the cup? How many oz in an hour is too much or not enough? I never thought I'd have to ask someone to teach me how to sip at my age. LOL Thanks for your help.

Hello All, I am new to this site and was hoping based on the great information and experience on this site I might be able to get some feedback. I am scheduled for surgery next week and I am wondering if I am realistic in my thought process. I have surgery next Thursday morning and based on my research I was thinking I would be feeling fine by the afternoon. I was thinking I would be able to walk to my son's school and pick him up by 3:45 pm no problem (it is right around the block). I thought for sure I would be able to walk him to school on Friday and pick him up, thought I would be able to drive on Friday if needed to take the oldest to work. I really thought I wouldn'…

Help. :mad: I was banded on Thursday evening 6/21. The next day I had a swallow test/xray and it showed everything in place fine. The next day I had an endoscopy, showed everything okay. But I have to sleep sitting straight up, because otherwise (and even then) I have a tickle, that causes me to cough, that hurts, and then I eventually spit up flem. I lay at night gurgling in my throat. I'm exhausted. It hurts to drink anything besides water. Chicken broth tasted great last night, but it all came back up. Had my first blended shake with protein powder, water and yogurt.

I've been banded now for 3 weeks, and I think that I can feel the band. It's not painful or uncomfortable, its just like I can tell something is there. Does anyone else have this feeling? Thanks!

I am 7 days out now from my op and I am still in pain. It feels like a big knot which starts at the middle of my back and is connected to the port in my chest area. I well like I have been rugby tackled. It is very uncomfortable and I have it 80%of the time. Is this normal? I seem to get it more at night as well.

Hi there - I was banded 7/31, and have bruises all over my arms from the Heperin shots in the hospital, and every time I knock into anything I develop a huge bruise. Has anyone else experienced this? I know Heperin is a blood thinner, but I can't wear short sleeves without looking like an abuse victim, and it's August :cry Anyone else have this problem? If so, when do they ever go away? Thx,

Well six months ago I went to St. Luke Hospital here in Northern Kentucky, to have my lap band installed by Dr. Dwaine Smith. My band was installed on one day and removed the next. It was removed because I had developed a fever during the night after my surgery. The next morning, tests revealed a potential hole in my stomach where the band had been placed. Later that afternoon I was taken back to surgery and the band was removed. Cultures were taken and I spent the next seven days on IV antibiotics in the hospital. Before I could go home a PIC line was inserted into my arm and I had to continue giving myself IV antibiotics for another seven days at home. As a res…

Hi all..... A few questions..... 1. During the pre-op and initial post-op phrase....do you think Rita's SF Italian Ice would be considered a "clear liquid"? If so....what do you think about mixing in some of the flavorless (if I can find it!) whey Protein into it? 2. Has anyone had a glass of wine while banded? My husband and I belong to a wine club that meets monthly. And, honestly, it's really been a wonderful experience for us to do this together. We will be missing the one on August 10 because I am being banded. But, we don't want to miss any more than that! We do plan to go on the wine tasting tour (2 days) over Labor Day weekend---which is only 3 weeks a…

I am curious about something. I was just banded 2 weeks ago and don't get my first fill until September 10, but I want to prepare myself for what is to come. I realize everyone is different, but generally, are the side effects I am reading about typical (in some or all variations) to most, or is this something that there is a good chance won't happen. I understand I need to chew, chew, chew, and eat small portions but if I do that, is it still a foregone conlusion that bread is no longer an option in my life, I will get the PB, hearburn, throwing up and other side effects? I'm not looking for a guarntee but do these things happen to 99% of people, 50%, 20% of people?…

HI I know this is new and I have heard that depression ect is common after surgery but what about anxiety? I am feeling so afraid that something is going to go wrong even though I have thankfully had an uncomplicated recovery, just some nausea and weakness. I keep obsessing about a problem arising and having to have surgery again....... Mostly because of the sleep apnea machine i had/have to use I was never given the machine untill a couple of days before surgery and I was so anxious about surgery that everytime I tried to use it I felt clostophobia (sp) then after sugery when they gave me my pain shot and I laid down with the machine it didnot stop me from not breath…

I have twin 9 month old babies and a 5 year old. getting banded end of sept. how long will it be before I should (can) lift the kids?

I am currently waiting for Insurance approval for the lap-band. When my Doc and dietitian told me that after the lap-band I need to eat sugar free, I just accepted it as fact. No more than 5 grms of sugar per serving. But my mom asked me if there was a medical reason for this. I have just been going on "because they said so". Is there a particular medical reason behinds this other than to get you on a healthier diet? Thanks!!

Can anyone tell me what the difference is with a liquid diet vs a diet. If you loose, how will they know which method you used? My doctor said they like you to loose about 10lbs before the surgery.

I have talked to people who have had the lap band and told me that the first time that eat something that won't go down and gets stuck, that it is the most painful experience ever! I am 8 days post-op and I haven't had any problems yet, but over the next couple weeks I was be incorportating new foods in my diet. Now I am really to scared to but I need to eat. Can anyone who has gotten food stuck what it honestly feels like? Thanks!

I know soda is out of the question because of the carbonation but what about frozen cokes. There is no carbonation left. I know three is sugar but I was thinking maybe as a special treat.

Hi-- I am pre-op and researching so sorry for the newbie questions. I'm wondering about the medicines I take. Some are pretty good size pills (e.g. 800 mg ibuprofen). Once I'm banded, will the pills still go down OK? Do you have to break them up? What about capsule type pills? Do meds take longer to "work" (or shorter)? Thanks so much for your advice/help. Jim

Probably a silly question - but I just got banded Monday. I'm still sore and feeling a little weird, but I can't tell if you know something isn't going down. Is it pressure - I'm having a lot of that?

My doctor said that I should be taking a multi-vitamin and a mineral supplement. I currently take the chewable centrum that they suggested, but what do they mean by a mineral supplement. I am reading the info and getting confused. If I take one Centrum per day, am I good to go or should I be taking something else?

Anyone else gain weight for the first 2-3 days postop? I am thinking it is water retention. Is this common? Was 282 day of surgery Tues today Thurs I am 286. I know i shouldn't be stepping on the scale, but it is impossible not to be curioous.