POST-Operation Weight Loss Surgery Q&A

Hi, I had 2 friends cancel on going with me due to work. My surgery is August 21 in San Antonio w/Dr. Rincon. I will be returning August 23rd by plane. I think the only nervous part is I hope they don't boot me out of the hospital into a taxi while I'm still in pain or have nausea. I've heard people who have done it alone? I'd like to hear your thoughts if you're out there? Thanks!

I had lapband surgery in June 2008. I had some GERD, acid reflux, and minor stomach ulcer issues before that and was on protonyx. After surgery the surgeon kept me on protonyx, which I still take. 6 months after surgery, I had some stressful things going on and I began to get reflux issues. I went for days not sleeping, because everytime I would drift off to sleep I would get reflux, even if I had eaten hours before. I would get awake choking and sputtering from the reflux. I have tried sitting up in a chair, but it still happens. All day long I am constantly belching and getting reflux, It's tough to get a night's sleep. If I take any tylenol or eat anything toma…

Hi, my name is Teena and I am a newbie to this my weight started at 287 before surgery,then on surgery date was 267 and now at 5 week post-op I am 250. I had my surgery done in Chicago,Il at Mercy When and where is the midwest or Chicago meet and greets? I just got banded on july 10th and can't wait to go to my first one.

I purchased a camelbak steel insulated drinking container. It is the greatest thing. I keep it with me all the time. It has a large mouth top that you can put ice in. I even take it to bed with me. THe ice stays all nite long and keeps the water fresh all the time. It was a bit pricey but with the sip sip sip drink drink thing it has been a life saver to have this ice cold water at all times.

I live in Bowie, Maryland and was wondering if there are others in the DC Metropolitan area that may be interested in meeting once a month or perhaps once every 3 months to offer support share recipes or anything else that you can think of? Just a thought...

Well it is not bad. I came home from the hospital yesterday. I had stayed over night. Highly recommend. Staying in the hospital lets you get the medication and antibotics you need through IV, very convenient. Well since I have been home, I have not needed to take any medication for pain, but everyone is different. My stomach still feels sore, but I get around better. I have too to chase after this 2 1/2 year old. lol So Today I had about a 1/2 a bottle of Isopure. Which is 40 grams of protein if I drink the whole thing (20oz) and I have a 16 oz bottle of water mixed with crystal light. Not hungry. But the doctor told me the first month is not focus on weight loss even…

I was banded at the beginning of May. Things were going great and I was losing well until I had a revision at the end of July. Luckily they didn't take any of my fill out, but I have basically been the same weight since. I go in for a fill next week and I have no idea if I should get one. I still have quite a bit of restriction when I eat. I am still on limited exersise. Anyone been here before?

Hi all, I'd love to hear how the January 2009 Bandsters are doing. How is your progress, any complications, what weight have you lost? Are you ahead of expectations, behind? Have any questions for the rest of us? As for me I'm at about a 45lb weight loss give or take. FANTASTICALLY happy about my loss and ready to take off some more. No complications, and think I've finally figured out how this band will work for me. Check in my January hotties!! And I'm sure many of us are Hotties now :biggrin:

I was banded about 4 1/2 months ago. Since my last fill, I burp constantly while I am eating or drinking anything... even water. It lasts about an hour after I am done. Before that fill I could drink 100 oz of water a day, no problem... now it takes me an hour or more to drink 16 oz and I am exhausted at the end of a meal. At best, I can eat 4 or 5 bites of solid food. Anyone else experiencing that? Is my band too tight?

I've moved to post-op - because I'M BANDED BABY. Surgery day - I didn't sleep 10 minutes the night before my surgery...I highly recommend you bring a few sleeping pills, Tylenol PM, Ambient, something....so I was exhausted when I got downstairs to meet Dr. Zapata's driver at around 6:30. I was joined by another patient and we were driven to CIMA Hospital - about 10 minutes from the hotel. I was taken upstairs to pay for surgery with my credit card....I was really concerned that the transaction would be rejected because it was so large. After that, we sat in the lounge for at least an hour, filled out papers, turned over our valuables to be kept in their security …

Hi, i had my surgery July 31. My doc is going away for 2 weeks and I have to wait till he gets back to get my first fill on Sep. 17! Is this normal? I am so hungry now i am eating like every 2-3 hours i am afraid i am going to gain weight!:biggrin:

I am 3 weeks post op and experiencing pretty severe left side pain. It is intermittent and worse with movement. I am a nurse and I don't think my port is infected. I don't have a fever, no redness at my port site, and no pain with palpation of the port, but the pain starts at my port site and radiates around my left side. Has anyone else experienced this? Thanks

When you got the ok to exercise and what you are doing now and I'm just curious thanks (: anybody do workout DVDs ?

I have an annoyance that has been building which I will voice with my Doctor at my next visit. It seems that much of the information that I was given was specific to the Gastric Bypass patient and I was just given these instructions to follow instead of any consideration being given that the Lapband operation has a different healing schedule and nutritional requirements (since there is no mal-absorption challenges) I was reading my post op information packet that is soo clearly written for the gastric bypass patient...starting with "you will be in the hospital for 2-3 days. Clear liquids for 6 weeks...after six weeks you can add tofu and cottage cheese......expect to…

I am 2 days post-op.. and I am surprised how good I feel..I have some tenderness around incision sites, a little gas and that's it.. I am not hungry at all..I have been doing my sips of tea and water and I am delightfully pleased at how this is going.I took a shower today, that felt sooo good... I am almost waiting for the bad pains to start..I have had 2 c-sections and tubal ligation, so I have had abdominal surgery.. I know that it does hurt at some point.. But when.. haven't stepped on the scale , I am not ready to see that.. Has anyone else experienced such a smooth recovery?? or am I a rare breed, LOL!! ttfn back to sipping tea, yummy...

I see that most everyone knows the size of their band, and the amount the band holds, etc. How do you know this? I was banded on the 12th and I have no idea what size my band is or if any fluid was added or not. I get hungry every 2-3 hours and still on liquids so I assume my band is empty. Is this something I will learn at my 2 week post-op visit? I haven't seen or spoken to my doctor since right the before surgery.

Sometimes, when I bend forward, I can feel a slight pain (more akin to soreness than sharp) in my stomach where the band is. Is this normal? I got my band on August 3rd so I am not far out of surgery. Thanks!

I have a question... how long did everyone wait before they had their first alcoholic drink after the band and what do you ya'll prefer to drink? I think more than food I am missing a nice ice cold beer... ahh I know I won't be having that again, so I am wondering what everyone else now drinks.

finally found wonderful line of CHEWABLE vitamins specially designed for us!!! BariatricAdvantage.com

I am 51, 5ft 6 and weight 330. I am curious what a realistic weight loss goal would be in a year. I want to set my sights on something realistic

I posted this in the 60's thread also, but decided to also post it here, so I could let more people know what happened. Hello all, Sorry that I haven't been back on this forum since I was banded on July 27th, but have had some recovery problems. To bring you up to date, I did the pre-surgery diet precisely as I didn't want my surgeon to see a fatty liver and pull out! Well, it turns out that he was able to see that I had absolutely no fat associated with the liver,but found out that I have a liver that is larger than most people. He briefly thought about pulling out, but he told me later, that no matter how long, or how much more dieting I did, that liver would not…

i was banded on july 30th and have done relatively well with the whole process. i am down 22 pounds which is exciting and i truely do not feel hungry nor do i have any craveings. however, i have been having headaches almost daily post surgery. i advised my surgeon of this and he said it was most likely due to dehydration, however i drink 64 oz.+ of water daily, so it's just so hard for me to wrap my head around this. additionally, i feel so exhausted by about 2-3 PM in the day, but work until 5. when i go home, i eat my dinner and pass out on the couch until it's time to go to bed. i guess my questions really is, when will all of this begin to go by the wayside? i am no…

1. On a daily basis, I can go from having like zero restriction to the next day having too much restriction, is that normal? For instance, I hadn't lost in about three weeks and got to the point where I really could eat anything, and much more than the 4oz so I made a fill appt., but then this week, I have been very tight.... I feel stupid going in tomorrow for a fill, when right now, I have restriction - but for the past three weeks I've had zero. 2. Last fill I had, the doctor had trouble putting Fluid in... anyone else experienced that? 3. I felt lightheaded (don't laugh) last time holding the needle and havin him poke and prod and move it around to find the right …

Ok. I know I should know this- I have studied the books I have but I can't seem to grasp this. I don't have my next appt. until Monday the 10th of August but I am definitely going to ask for further explaination as they will have the little model there of the stomach and band so that will help but in the meantime...........sometimes I get stuck- I am still learning what I can and can not tolerate but when I get stuck exactly where is the food stuck? Is it not able to get through the band part that inflates when I get a fill (is this the stoma) or is it stuck up near the esophogus. When it happens it happens after very little amount of food and if I am getting stuck in…

Well, had an interesting and somewhat scary experience today. :biggrin0: Just thought I would share. I started back to work yesterday, and my back started to ache throughout the day. Today the back pain was much worse and had to keep sitting down without much relief. I called my doctor who asked me a bunch of questions about the pain. In the end, he said to come in and he would order a CT under contrast. He wanted to see what was going on inside. I asked if it could wait until the morning (I had a meeting this afternoon) but he told me no, he would prefer to see me today. So in a panic, I raced to the hospital, drank the nasty contrast stuff (mixed with cranberry …

I had my surgery on July 10th and went back for my first visit on August 10. I wasn't getting hungry and could stay full for around 4 hours without being hungry. Well.....now I'm HUNGRY!!!!! It just hit me yesterday that I was hungry and I shouldn't be cause I'd had lunch about 2 hours before. So I'm only good for about 2 hours now. I don't like being hungry! Not at all! Grrrrr... that's a whole week away!

I had my 2nd fill last Friday. I have 8 cc in a 14cc APL band. During this whole process, I seemed to do quite well. I could eat anything, bread included and nothing bothered me. This morning I woke up and during breakfast I got stuck. (I started feeling fuller and fuller yesterday and remember during my 1st fill, my doc told me that it could take a few days after your fill for you to feel restriction.) I guess I thought I was invincible, that I would never get stuck, never have a PB or slime, etc. Well today was a wake up call for me. Back to the basics now... I finally had a PB and it came up, but boy was I miserable! I think I learned my lesson...

I went in yesterday for my fill. I had orginally thought that when I went in last month for a slight unfill that the doctor had taken out all of my Fluid. I come to find out that he only take out 3cc. He added in 2.5cc yesterday and now after a month of no restriction, I finally have some restriction. I (as of right now) don't think I am too tight. Guess I will find out as the day goes on if I am or not. Also meet with the exercise man. Since I have a lot of problems with my back and my right hip, he helped me decide on some new types of exercises to do that wont effect my back so much. I explained to him that the fear of my back and hip hurting so bad after exer…

Hi everyone! I got banded on August 12th and I have a question. I am feeling great so far, except for night time. I am not even really sore from recovering from surgery anymore but for some reason every night I wake up 2 - 3 times a night with this pain my stomach/back and I wondering if anyone else has had it and knows what it is and what I can do to make it stop? It drives me insane! I just can't get a good night sleep, I though maybe it was just recovering from the surgery but its still happening every night and I have felt great the past 3 days. What hapens is the same each night. I go to bed at around 10pm, I wake somewhere around midnight with this pain so i …

I was banded on 7-7-09 and had my first fill on 8-7-09. At first I felt a little restricted but now I don't.I can eat just about anything and alot of it. Does this mean I need another fill? I have never felt real full to the point of spitting up. Tye:confused:

Well I went for my 3rd fill today and I left feeling totally confused.It wasn't done by my surgeon but someone else on his team . 1st fill . 1.5ml 2nd fill. 1.ml 3rd fill .6ml So the total should be 3.1ml right? She drew what was in there out today before putting it back in and now my total is apparently 2.3ml. I was very confused and concerned that this meant I have a leak but she assured me that I haven't, that this is the adjusted total as they don't pull all the Fluid out. Would anyone like to explain for me in simple terms what an adjusted fill is? I was also surprised she put so little in as I have been struggling since the last fill 4 weeks ago but s…

I got banded on Friday Aug 14th. I feel good except that there is a burning sensation at the port site incision. It is worse when I am up...almost non-existant when I am sitting but even the skin around the incision burns and gets worse with touch. Anyone else experience this? Also, any suggestions for foods to eat on liquids?...I am dying!:biggrin:

Hi, I am an intern Psychologist currently studying the long term effects of Lap Banding surgery. The purpose of the study is to assist is to improve our understanding of the social, physical and psychological outcomes of bariatric surgery. Our aim is to learn from your experience and find out about any issues that need to be addressed in order to improve the quality of life of people who choose to have lap-banding surgery. If you have the time, I would really appreciate you partaking in the survey which takes about 30 minutes. All you need to do is click on the attached link and the survey should open up automatically. http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=8V2cU9T…

Hi, I have a friend who is considering having the VSG with Dr. Aceves. I told her about the wonderful experience I had with my surgery with Dr. Aceves, so I think that is one of the main reasons she is going to him. Well I ask her to do her own research and make sure that the VSG and Dr. Aceves was a good fit for her. The problem she has with that is she has no computer at home, and her work computer is blocked from any Internet Surfing. So she cannot visit Vertical SleeveTalk.com, OH, or Dr. Aceves yahoo group, etc. to do her own research. She is going to her PCP on Friday, to get his thoughts on her going to Mexico for VSG surgery, so she needs all the help and …

I'm off to my first fill today at 4 weeks post op, wish me luck! Any tips about post fill life would be appreciated. Thank you:)

Hey! Im 9 weeks post op. I had bad shoulder pain the 2nd week post op but it went away and I have not had it for awhile now. Im a teacher and we recently went back to work and we have been sitting in meetings. I noticed after an hour or more of sitting, I get BAD shoulder pains!! Anyone get this??

Hey everyone! I just wanted to share my story and say that FINALLY, nine months after surgery...I've gotten to the "sweet" spot. I am about 7cc's in my 10cc band right now, and I can hardly eat a thing! yay! Ha ha. I am 5'2" and at my heaviest I was 243. Thought I hovered around 220 for a long time. Surgery day I was 208lbs. 6 months later, in May, I was STILL 208. Not a single pound lost. My Dr. wasn't very aggressive with fills. Finally, I decided to just kick myself in the butt and do strictly low carb, (induction/atkins style) and workout EVERY single day. I also decided to go BACK on metformin. Well, from May 2009 to August 2009 I lost 20lbs. And o…

my grandma is buying dinner tonight and i feel so sad cause i probably cant have anyof it..she was going to buy pizza, but the dough probably get stuck, then she was going to buy chinese food, but then the rice would get stuck, i only like the chicken anyways =/ i feel stupid. and i dont like wong ton soup, however you say that, its sesame chicken, UGH! i dont know its so effin hard. i dont know what to do and i would seriously hate if they ate infront of me...what could i do?? and i know this is not a good food choice, but my mom doesnt feel like cooking and theres nothing i could really have besides mac and cheese and i dont feel like mac n cheese and i probably cant ev…

mine were glued, i have two incissions and 3 holes, how long did it take for them to fall off? two of my holes are almost all the way off and one of my incissions is starting to fall off, does anybody have pix of what they looked like when they fell off(just curious)?

I was bannded 8-11-09. Every day I get bad gas build up in my chest cavity area. I am a receptionist so I sit most of the day. I do make plenty of excuses to get up and walk around but I still get bad bloating/gas to the point that it gives me dry heaves, something that needs to be avoided. My doc suggested extra strenght Gas-X. I take 4 a day before my day at work is over, it gets rid of about 70%. Is this always going to be like this for ever? Will it ever go away? Any suggestions please!!!!!!!!:biggrin:

I was banded June 10 of this year.I have not loss anything since the first 2 weeks after surgery.I have had 3 fills and I am now at 8cc's.I excercise 5 times a week.I am really beginning to lose faith in this procedure.The Doctor keeps telling me it takes awhile.I don't even notice a difference in my eating it seems like it takes forever to get full.What to do what to do.

I am actually surprised I didn't post my update sooner like I said I would! I have met many great people on here, so I am sure they might be wondering how I am doing...:sad: Well...to all those opposed to going to Mexico.. I had a WONDERFUL experience with Dr. Ortiz, the facility and staff! I couldnt have been more comfortable! The facility was immaculate! I could have eaten of the floor.. Dt. Ortiz met with me and my husband before I went into surgery and went over everything & answered any questions either one of us had. great guy! I was in and out in 30 minutes..that was including prep and closing me up! Had pretty bad nausea and was past out for a couple ho…

Hi all, Well they let me go yesterday instead of waiting until today. That's the good news. I feel "ok" but mostly gassy from moment to moment and a bit of diarrha (green to boot), sorry I know TMI, but had to share. The surgery itself went smooth. I'm sore, I'm bloated, my stomach looks like I'm ready to deliver a bowling ball and someone tried to punch it out of me.:crying: Feel a bit weak from surgery, I'm sure. My tongue is coated with some white yucky stuff (what's that about?) I bought Isopure beforehand so I could start right in with the protein. Tastes like flavored dishwater to me. Hope that gets better cuz I bought like 10 of those stupid things. Mexicali was…

Hello I had a protein shake this morning and my stomach is growling, moving a lot. Is this normal? What is going on I am scared. Thanks

I was feeling very weak the last week or so, I thought this can not happen! I have lost so much weight already. I called my lapband doctor and he said to check in with my Regular doctor to have my blood pressure checked. Guess WHAT :laugh: iT Was LOW! The meds were making it too low now that I have lost weight. Oh what a great feeling to be told that I could stop taking those two meds! I am starting to feel better now that I am off them. I thought well I should have TONS of energy but was feeling very weak. Problem Fixed! I love my LapBand! :thumbup:

Hello, this is my first post, but I have to say, everything I have read has been so helpful through the beginning of my journey. I was banded on July 23rd, 2009. During my two week pre-op I lost 15. Then since then, during my four weeks of post-op liquid I lost another 18. I start four weeks of mushies this week but even with working out, my weight loss has stalled out a bit. I am certainly not losing as quickly as I was. Is this normal? Is it because I have started mushies and my system isn't used to actual food? Any information or experiences would be great. I have stuck to everything perfectly. Even with mushies, I stick to 1-1 1/2 oz of mushed foods. Tha…

The day after my surgery at the hospital i had help getting in and out of bed. Now that im a home every morning i get up i seem to have pain at the left side of my port site, when i get out of bed. It does go away after i get up, but is that normal?

So I've only lost 17 pounds since I started all this. My pre op diet is actually when I lost it. I was banded one week ago today and I havn't lost 1 pound since then! is that normal? Ive been walking and everything..

I was just sleeved this weekend on the 15th in Mexico with Dr Alvarez. Anyhow, i can feel everything from Water to broth and Jello going down with some restrictions. are we supposed to be able to feel each sip go down. its uncomfortable but im hoping its just so new and swollen causing this. I am takind very small sips too. my 4 yr old daughter has even been mocking me chewing up my jello. a funny site in itself! thanks in advance?!!:lol0: krystal in ky

Ok so I have been having constipation. I have tried to let it pass. I took some laxative pills yesterday they didn't do the job. So I bought Phillips liquid it was the most disgusting thing I ever tasted. I am currently waiting for that to work. (I do realize taking one day after the other is probably not smart! Remember I am desperate!) I wanted to know if anyone had other ways to deal with it. Maybe natural ways that we can take with our bands. I have tried to up my Fiber intake but of course don't want to do that too fast or I know that could back me up too. If anyone has ideas please let me know! Thanks!