PRE-Operation Weight Loss Surgery Q&A

I got banded on 3/9 and I'm concerned about my weight loss. Here are the details. 10 day Full liquid Diet prior 7 days of Clear liquids after (1 more day!!!) 7 days of Full Liquid in week 2 (can't friggen wait!) So I'm 16 days into this modified diet and 6 days banded. I've lost 32lbs. I started at 328lbs and now weigh 296lbs. I'm losing weight at a rate of 2lbs a day. I am following the diet exactly. On day 5 my nutritionist allowed me to go up to 1/2 cup of Breakfast shake once a day. Should I be worried? Thanks!

Hi All, just wanted to let everyone know I got home last night around midnight. Was banded @ Albany Medical Center by Dr.Singh on 3/14. I was his first patient to be done with a robot. Everything went well, I am quiet sore and the gas is awful but I expected it to be like this. So I'm now an official bandster :biggrin1:

My lapband surgery was on Monday, March 12, by Dr. Bertha in NJ. I had a bit of shoulder discomfort, nothing unbearable. What really hurts is the port. I feel like I have a cat claw stuck to my diaphram muscle, and it's continuously pulling on it. The ice pack realllllllyyyyyyy helps! I think the worst is now gone and the port will get better and better as days go by...I can't wait to fully start my new journey. This is going to be such a wonderful adventure!!! :clap2:

My mother has systemic lupus erythematosus. I read on a dr. website that I may not be able to have the lap-Band surgery because a family member has this. Does anyone have or have a family member with lupus and has had the surgery? Do you have any information about this?? I'm worried I won't be able to have surgery and this is the first day I actually called and scheduled my seminar. I was so excited, now I'm worried.:straight

Yep, I have my date for banding and it is April 9th. I am so excited I can't stand it!:clap2: I have to be on Medfast for two weeks prior per my surgeon's instructions. I cannot wait to be a resident of Bandland!

I have lurked around this forum for quite some time, but as I get closer to my meeting with my surgeon, I have finally drummed up enough nerve to ask some questions. I am sure most people feel a bit hesitant about life after surgery but my biggest concerns stem around being satisfied by what I get to eat. Admitedly, I wouldn't be in need of surgery if I didn't eat anything and everything but there are some foods at this point I think I will have a hard time giving up. They include steak or any summer time grill meat, pizza, and above all beer. I don't drink alot of beer - equivelant to 1 a day. I work in a brewery so part of my job is to drink beer and that I cann…

HI, I'm in the process of disiding between bypass and Lap-band I understand the advantages of lap-band over the bypass, but can't find any information of the advantages that bypass has over lap-band. But most people that I know did bypass. Please help.

sorry for the dramatics BUT... My surgery is in like 16 days. I am sooooo bored. They are showing all repeats on TV. I had my pre-op testing today and just have to have my x-ray tomorrow. At least I got through a whole day of work fasting. But still I am going crazy. I think I will take one of my anxiety pills now. OH and did i mention my husband is working 8pm - 8am untill the end of the month. shall I say AHHHH again? :faint:

I have not been banded yet, but I was wondering can you still drink alcohol occasionally? Or is that not really allowed, I'm not saying like all the time, but at a party is it ok to have one drink?

When you get home after surgery, what do you do? Do you try to sleep, or would it be painful to sleep?

I know that most people can't tolerate breads after being banded. What about pita bread or the flat breads? Can stomachs handle that? You guys are freaking me out about all these PB stories!!! I'm so afraid after I'm banded on Monday that I'm going to experience this! Is a PB an all out puke fest or is it more just spitting up???????? Sherri

Hi. help please.....:help: I was banded in London UK on the 25 Feb. The swelling has mainly gone except where the largest scar is. Port site?... The pain had gone, but... now its back with a vengeance! The whole area is swollen and really tender and the pain is waking me at night, it also feels like the port is sticking out. I'm assuming that this is the port site. Has anyone else had the same problem? Is this normal and just part of the recovery process? Thank you. Helen x

I am still very early in this whole process but I was reading on the website of the hospital that I will eventually have my surgery at, that I would be on a "full liquid diet" for two weeks prior to the surgery. Now what I understand to be a full liquid diet from my experience working at a nursing home is that you can have Clear liquids but also creamy Soups, ice cream, etc. A "full liquid diet" isn't the same as a "clear liquid diet" I don't believe? What have been your experiences and what were you able to drink? Robin

Hi All, Im 5 days out from surgery and although my port pains seems to be getting better by the day, I still almost feel like i can feel the band around my stomach. Its like a feeling right under my sternam(spelling),like a pulling. I also think i still have some gas left because it feels like i need to burp but cant , and it kind of hurt.When i lay on my sides i feel it pulling as well? Just wanted to know if this is normal and how long should it last. Thanks for all the great info Guys!:girl_hug: Stacy 272/272/175 Dr. Robert Marvin Houston Tx Banded on 03/06/07

The time has come! Monday is the day my life will change forever. I am 23 and weigh 309 lbs. (after dropping 19 lbs. in the last 1.5 months from doing whatever I could to do so). I am hoping to get down to 225 or so since my ideal weight is 170 for my 6'2" height. I have done "pretty good" when it comes to my two week liquid diet. There were bouts at times where I did have to have solid food, which made me feel completely guilty. I hope that this doesn't change my outcome as I hear many people on here don't even have the liquid diet requirement. Any thoughts on that? Any last minute advice for me? I especially want to know how I should treat my last day before …

I have been a bit worried about this, but in a Before & After picture I saw someone with a cigarette so I know at least one person out there smokes and would have information! I am a smoker, and though I plan to quit one day, I don't want to yet. I haven't been able to find any information on smoking with lap banding. I read in gastric bypass you have to quit before having it for healing I guess.. Anyone who is a smoker that had lap banding, what did your doctor tell you about it, did it bother you to smoke having it in (I don't know how involved your stomach is when smoking?) and all that. Any info please, thanks!

I get my band on March 20th and was wondering what kind of restrictions you were given and for how long. As in lifting, house cleaning, driving, Etc. I need to be prepared and may need to arrange for some help with my granddaughter, I have three older kids 21,19,17 plus 3 younger foster children 14,13,6 at home to help, but what about when they are at school. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Is the port directly under the incision ? I can feel a lump under it but I also eel one about an inch to the left. I had surgery on 2/27. Thanks, Nancy

My doctor requires me to have a upper GI. What are they looking for? It worries me because in the last couple of months I have started getting heart burn. Will this keep me from getting the band? SueB

I'm on my 10th day of my 2 wk pre-op diet. I find it strange that since I have hardly had anything to eat that I'm still getting heartburn & indigestion at night. I went to bed last night and I didn't take my usual one zantac and I woke up in the middle of the night with heartburn. How can this be when I'm barely eating anything??? Once I'm banded can I still take a zantac before bed?? Sherri

I was banded 3/8 and am on a liquid diet - mostly slim fast shakes and SF Jello. How much weight do most people lose in the 6 weeks prior to 1st fill? I've only had about 600 calories a day since the day after surgery but I assume I will start to eat a little more as time goes by. Can anyone help me with an idea of what it was like for them, eating and losing, in the first weeks after surgery?

~Hello All~ I am scheduled for surgery on April 2, 07. I am very excited but I do have a few concerns and questions. I am sure a lot of you have been dealing with weight related issues such as blood pressure and diabetes. I would like to know how these things have changed and how you have felt since your surgeries with regards to the weight related illnesses. I have rhumetoid arthritis, daily chronic pain, high blood pressure, fibromialgia, borderline diabetes, and migraines. I also have a genetic back problem, where a lower disk did not fuse, it slips, and gets inflamed. I am in constant pain of some kind. My back cannot be operated on, I have trouble sleeping and wa…

Hey! I went to my post op appointment last week and i asked the nutritionist what kind of pain meds i can take when i need them and she said TYLENOL - because advil can create a hole in the pouch. So, I went to the store and bought tylenol - it says "contains: Acetaminophen" right on the front of the bottle. Is that okay to use?

Hi Everyone, I've absolutely fallen in love with a lot of you and have kept you in my prayers as you go along your journies. My surgery is March 12th and I've never been in the hospital for anything since the day I was born and that was 36 years ago :myscared: Please say a special prayer for my safety and recovery. The Word of God says when two or more agree as touching anything, He is in our midst. I truly need and ask for your prayers. Love You all to pieces!!!!! Desi :amen:

Hello All. I need help. :help: I was banded on Feb 5th by Dr. Spivak. I think like most of you, I have five incision sites. Two have healed beautifully. The other three have healed for the most part, but each have a small dot where they have not. It feels as though it is a stitch poking through. I realize this sounds gross. It is not painful or unsightly. Just odd. I see Dr. Spivak later this week, but I was curious if anyone else has experienced this. I am assuming the darn stitch will eventually dissolve or something. I just want these very small areas to close all the way. Your thoughts and experiences are welcome (unless you are going to right me to …

Hi.. I wondered if anyone else experienced this... 1 week after banding, lost 8lb 2 weeks after, lost another 5lb 3rd week lost 1 lb This week...(4th week) lost nothing. I am eating no more than 800 cals every day (Gods honest truth!), so just a simple equation tells me that I should have lost weight because I am expending more energy than I am consuming. Is the body in shock... like "woah there... we are starving on a desert island" or something? Self preservation mode? I am having a fill on thursday, but I am a little disheartened. Actually I am really upset. :cry I know that most weight will come off after the fill, but I just dont understand why I have…

I have had my first fill today , i have a 9cc band and i have had it filled today with 7.4cc seems alot for first fill ? on puree for two days then introduce soft then normal gradually hope i will be ok really nervous about pbing. Did any one else have a large first fill?

This is my first time on here :-) I had my band put in December 8, 2006. I have my band filled with 1.5mL and my tubing filled. For some reason when I eat--doesn't usually matter what it is, it feels like it gets stuck really close to my lungs and I cannot breathe. i try to walk around, but it doesn't help. I don't know what makes it better really, it just kind of goes away. When it does this my body freaks out and i get a lot of mucous in my mouth. I didn't know if anyone else had this kind of issues and how i can try to solve that. And the kicker of it all--I have lost 10lbs since surgery. I know it's a slow process, but c'mon now! I'm afraid to get my band re…

Well I started my preop liquids today. My surgery is March 20. Finally:clap2:. I was just wondering if someone could answer hopefully a simple question. Protein shakes are one the liquids that are allowed but I always add frozen fruit to it. when I blend it together. Is this a no no? Its liquid. Are three protein shakes enough for one day (8-10 oz)? Hopefully I can make through this stage of it. Thanks BT (Big Trouble) :flame:

What happened was I was driving on the highway, in a trance with my music, and I swallowed my gum. I FREAKED out because I've been cutting pills in half to take them (only solids I have had), and the stick of gum was lots bigger than anything I've had since surgery 6 days ago (monday). I pulled over and tried inducing myself to vomit a couple times incase it didn't go down all the way yet. It was unsuccessful. I actually called the Doctor on call and he said there is a 90% chance that nothing will come out of this (mostly because the band isn't filled yet). He just said to act normally and pretend it didn't even happen. I just worry (worry wort by nature) that…

I have read in other threads that some people do enemas the night before surgery and this is suppose to relieve gas after the surgery. Is this in fact true??

I was banded on Thursday 3/8. I am only able to drink 2 oz of liquid and it takes me about 45 minutes to do it. Should I be concerned? I am drinking broth and my protein shakes. I am also having a lot of gas. :help:

I was banded on 1/19/07 after thinking about weight loss surgery for quite some time. So far I have lost almost 25 pounds and have not had a fill yet. I went yesterday for my yearly ob/gyn appt. I have always dreaded these appointments. At last year's appointment, the nurse had my weight at 311. I had mentioned to my doc then that I was definitely considering getting the lap band within the year. She had also been encouraging me for several years to consider weight loss surgery. At any rate to make a long story short, I have been 300 plus pounds for like 20 years. Ten of which she has been my ob/gyn. I am 38 years old now. The biggest I have ever been is 368 but lost some…

I wanted to know if anyone here has Asthma. I was banded on Thursday and I feel my lungs are not cooperating. Wanted to know if this is normal. Denise

how long does it take for you to no longer feel uncomfortable after surgery? When do you totally not even think of this foreign object that was placed in your body? My stomach is still so tender after 11 days. Thanks, Nicole

I know that is has been probably asked before---but I have to go on a pure liquid diet for two weeks after surgery. Can I have cream based Soups? :hungry:

Has anyone ever heard of this? I am scheduled for surgery on feb 24th -during my consult I brought up the pre-op diet..... the surgeons said it wasn't necessary(BMI 45!) but everything I read on this site is that I should be doing it. I understand the physiology of it re reducing the weight of the liver for easier manipulation during surgery and also to introduce the transition into the post op diet as well....... Any thoughts?? Has anyone else not really have to do it??

I have been overweight since the birth of my son 22 years ago and am at an all time high of 292. I am insulin-dependent diabetic and also take several meds for diabetes. I'm also on an antidepressant and high blood pressure med. I have several friends who've had gastric bypass but do not know anyone who's had the banding done. One of my bypass friends invited me to her WLS support group because there are people there who've had the banding done. The next meeting is on Monday, March 12, and I'm planning to go. If I decide to have the banding done (which I'm 95% sure I will), her doctors would be the ones I'd choose to do the procedure. I have seen too many negat…

Heya guys, fist poster here, so I hope I'm posting to the right place... Got a quick question for ya all... I was banded Feb 27 of this year and have had no major issues whatsoever... A little pain around the port if you press around it, nothing worth commenting about, really... My question is, although my implant has not been filled, shouldn't I feel something.. I mean, anything? I can drink fluids normally, and don't seem to feel like there's a 'filling' anywhere.. Might have felt something when eating yogurt, but maybe not... My guess is I could take a pretty big gulp if I wanted to... Haven't tried to 'slam' a drink down to test it, I'd never do something that reckl…

I had surgery 3/1/07 and I know I'm still swollen, but I cannot burp. They say to get up and walk around to pass excess gas, but when I feel like I have to burp - it is actually like a hiccup and hurts. Nothing comes out and it's painful. Any suggestions?

I'm wondering how much you self-payers have had to pay in addition to the initial surgery because of complications and possible additional surgery? I'm scheduled for surgery on March 19 but DH is getting really worried about paying for complications during or after surgery or in the future (he's okay paying for the original surgery). SO I told him I would ask my friends on LBT in order to get an idea of future costs. My initial payment covers a year of fills and the surgeon's fee for additional surgery (we would have to pay for the facility and the anethesiologist if I needed surgery for slippage, erosion, etc.). Help, please!:help:

One of my insurance's requirements is to see a nutritionist. I was wondering if some of you out there could give me the details of your nutritionist's appointment so that I could compare notes. I really would appreciate any information about what exactly happened at your appointment. Thanks so much, T~

Finally banded, and let me say that after reading these forums I thought I knew what to expect. I have had lots of surgery before, but this one hurt me more than any of them. I did not expect that kind of pain, and it still hurts badly today. Other than that the surgery went well, I have a VG band. Loving the broth and jello. Also, glad that I spent the night at the hospital, I don't know how anyone goes home the same day.

I'm on my second day of my 2 week pre-op diet. I've been drinking my Protein drinks and trying to stick to the 1000 calorie diet. I'm suppose to have 3 shakes per day plus one low fat/carb "real meal". I had my 4 oz. of pork roast, 1 tbsp of fat free gravy and one cup of green Beans. Right after I ate, my stomach was making all sorts of sounds and a feeling of gas popping. A few hours after I ate I flew to the bathroom and had a major diarrhea explosian!! What's up with that?????? Sherri

Hi there. So I am 9 weeks post op and I am having some serious digestive issues. After every meal, and it doesnt matter what I eat, I throw up. I chew my food really well and I wait between bites which means it takes about an hour to eat one chicken breast. Even after strawberries, a bite of noodles, grapefruit, anything, I find myself running to the bathroom. I had my fill two weeks ago, but this was happening even before that. Now it is just more often. What do I do? Am I doing something wrong? PLEASE HELP!!!! :cry

Hi, I had my lapband on March 5th. How much is to much liquid to take in at one time?? i can drink a cup of tomato soup at one time. I drink i slow but is that to much?? thanks for your help.

Hi, I am just beggining to look into the lapband surgery. Im 18 and have a BMI of 36, Im 5'10 and weigh 251. My mom got the gastric bypass surgery and she is doing great. I have a few questions.. What is the BMI requirement to have the lapband surgery? I read that it can be between 35-40 if you have health problems relating to your obesity, I have had terrible knee problems and am wondering if that will even be considered? Will my families history affect whether or not I can get the surgery? Also, do having the fills hurt at all? And the scar that is the port, does it take longer to heal than the other scars? And can you feel the port under your skin? Any info helps! Tha…

How long did some of you (already banded), spend at the hospital? in surgery? in recovery? did you have a bladder tube? nose tube? what else? I've learned alot about the before and after hospital....but, not much during the hospital. Just want to know what to expect. Any info. will be helpfull!!!!!

Well wish me luck everyone. Today is the day I get banded. I must say that I thought I would be more nervous, but so far I am maintaining. I have a feeling that will change when I get to the hospital. I will follow up afterward to let everyone know how things went. Either way, I want to thank all of you for the wonderful information you have provided me over the last few months of waiting. They say knowledge is power, and that may be why I am so calm right now. Regards, Keith

hey all! this is another question i should have asked while i was there, but of course i didnt. When can we take a shower??? Do we change bandages or just leave the ones the dr put on..on? can anyone advise?