POST-Operation Weight Loss Surgery Q&A

Hey all, I have my 1st fill 2morrow afternoon!:smile: I am really excited about it to. I just have a few questions I am hoping will be answered before I have to leave. Question # 1. How much restriction (if any) should I be able to feel after having it done? Question # 2. Will the phone finally stay in my pouch longer than what it does now and make me feel fuller longer than I feel fuller now? Question # 3. Should I expect to lose more weight with my first fill? I have already lost 15 pounds without the restriction and am really hoping to lose more with my first fill.

I was banded June of '07 and have lost 60 lbs. I still have 60 to go but am getting discouraged. Up until a few months ago I was getting excellent restriction. The restriciton started to "wear off" so I went in for a fill. :sad_smile:The last two fills I had haven't made much of a difference in my eating. I go again next week for a fill but I am already worried it will not work. Has anyone else had this problem and if so what did you do to get out of this rut?

OK so I am almost 2 months post op I have only had one fill of 1cc it did nothing!!!! I am getting frustrated and feeling like I wasted my time. I have only lost 10 lbs since surgery.. and no I am not going out and eating tons of crap. I am starving though... and I think its so stupid that I have only had one fill of 1cc. So what about you??? what did you have? Should I call around to other doctors to see if they will let me have a fill or what? Because if I have to wait 1 month for each fill of 1cc this will take forever!!!

I've noticed that quite a few of you are already in the soft food stage. What kinds of things are you eating?

Question for everyone, and before you say it, I know i should consult my Dr. and I will, but i wanted to find out everyone elses opinion. Ok, so next weekend i will be 3 1/2 weeks post op, do you think it's ok to go to six flags and enjoy some roller coasters? Also has anyone gone and been or or had any problems? Let me know... Thanks!

I'm 33 and 5'4 and my BMI is 36.8 I have Gerd and high Triglycerides about 600. I have Cigna OAP.I have done almost all my test and my doc with be sending in the info to my ins soon.I am so hoping they will approve it.So my question is is there anyone out there in the same boat as me have a low bmi and Cinga approved it?

I'm almost 3 months post op and have only lost 9lbs since surgery. I've had 2 fills and am scheduled to get my 3rd tomorrow. Even without proper restriction I am still counting calories and working out at least 5 times a week. What is wrong with me? Why can I not lose anything? The longer time passes the harder it's been to maintain eating right, especially when I'm seeing zero payoff. :smile:

I'm really disgusted with myself. I was doing great and then I got my first fill (only .5 ccs because I was doing so well). And at the same time he told me I didn't need to come back for 12 weeks instead of the usual 6. Since I got the fill, it was almost like it had the opposite effect for me. I've been eating more than I should, and not always the right choices. I keep telling myself that I have to stop. I have been craving chocolate like crazy. I've been eating nuts like they are going out of style. At the same time I got the fill, I was on vacation from work, so I didn't really have a routine going on. I have put on a few pounds, nothing too bad, but I'm ju…

Hey all, I am newly banded. I need support to stay on my post surgery diet. I am finding it a little difficult. Any advice is greatly apprechiated. I did fall off the wagon but I am planning to get back on and start over! xoxo, Collegegirl22

Banded Wednesday, healing fine (I think). The 4oz suggesting serving size for full liquids hasn't been filling me up. I've bumped up most servings to 5-6 oz, with no problems. So..... I'm super hungry tonight - went to the grocery store today - figured out that Cream of Wheat is farina. Thinned farina is on my liquid diet list. So I made one package of the instant kind - used 1/2 cup (4oz) of milk to cook, then a little more milk to thin it out after cooking. It was SO good. I ate it all. Now I don't feel good - I think I ate too much. I didn't throw up, didn't PB (still don't know what that stands for, but I think I know what it is). I burped quite a bit t…

I was banded 6/30/08 and now I'm getting a sinus infection..sneezing, coughing, drainage. I'm told we are limited to certain meds. Does anyone know what I can take (over the counter) to get some relief?

hello every body.i am new in this site?can u tell me plz how much weight lost in first 2 weeks?i banded 3rd sept i am on liquid diet. my hight is 5.6 and i was 97 kg. doctor did,nt give me pre diet.so to day i weighing my selef i lost 4 kg in 10 days.is it good r not?

Had my surgery on 9-4-08. Am still on a clear liquid diet and have a constant bad taste in my mouth. I am frequently brushing my teeth for fear of having bad breath due to this problem. Does anyone else have this problem and is it realated to the banding? Does it go away and if so how long before it does? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. :smile:

Does anyone have pain-not cramping or abdominal pain but pain and tenderness when I move or bend over a certain way. Called the doc and the nurse said it wasn't a stretched pouch - no other stomach-typeproblems such as reflux. Pain started right be fore my first fill and then got worse - around the largest scar - is that the port?? Feels like a pulling, stabbing pain when I move wrong. Anyone else have anything similar????

Hi, I fairly new to this and have been reading many of the threads. Just curious what PB and DH stand for. I see it quite abit and wasnt sure..Thanks

anybody have a problem with water weight everytime i lose i go 2 or 3 weeks where im going up and down with the same 2 pounds

I had surgery a couple of days ago and still no bowel movement. The dr said it can take 2-4 weeks. I cant bear it. I take vitamins but nothing is helping. What helped for you?

So i had surgery on 9/8 and im doin ok..i stayed in the hospital one night and came home tuesday morning im doin great with my walking im up to 30 min on the treadmill and also walk outside its great..im ok sleepin my only problem is it is bothersome to bend over i feel like something is on my right side which im assuming is the port..are u supposed to feel it? does that feeling ever go away god i hope so..my right side bothers me the most its kinda annoying..well besides that issue im ok i have to do full liquids for 3 weeks mushies for 2 weeks and 1 week of soft foods and then by oct 20th i can eat regular foods..hopefully someone can tell me its just swelling bother me…

Do you ever get to the point where your stomach feels normal. Inside my stomach doesn't hurt it just feels weird. My incisions are not bothering me. I just wish I couldn't feel my stomach.. like before the surgery.

Okay. Have a few questions... I had my surgery on the 3rd of this month so I'm almost 2 weeks out, how long did it take the tape to come off and if it still wasn't off how long did you wait until you took it off? Any sugestions on what to use to get that sticky tape goo off? I still don't have an appetite...is that normal? I hope everyone is doing well where ever you are in your journey to get that weight off!!! We are on our ways!!! lol.

Well, yesterday was the big day. I arrived at the hospital about 7Am and at 745 was called back to the preop area where I was prepared for surgery. I guess I stayed in there about 45 mins and was then taken to the anesthesia waiting area. I spoke with several nurses and anesthisiologists. About 30 mins. later I was in the operating room. The next thing I knew, I was in recovery. I have always had a nausea problem after surgery, even though the doctors give me anti-nausea meds in the iv line during surgery. In fact, the doctor told me before surgery, that she planned to give me three doses during the surgery, one at the beginning, one midway, and one at the end. She though…

Hi Everyone, I just want to tell everyone THANK YOU for sharing your information, I love this place. As you see by my title I am set for surgery 9/26/08, my doctor has his pt. do the two week liquid thing (Optifast) and I started today. It was not that bad, the hardest part is that it feels like I should be eating, not because I am hungry because i'm not, it's like a habbit and I almost find myself bored..... I am very excited about my surgery but the closer it gets the more nervous I am filling. I know I will be fine but this is going to be a entire different life and reading you guys experience makes me know I want this for myself and my health. Loretta:ton…

Okay since my surgery on the 3rd I have seemed very angry. I snap at everyone who talks to me. I cry ALL the time and I yell a lot. Has anyone else had this problem? I just don't know why I am so mad at everyone.

I just had lap band put in 2 days ago and still in hospital since they started me off with ice cubes and couldnt keep down the liquid, not even my own spit would go down; so after 3 endoscopies they put a tube down to my stomach so it would give in more space and give more time for swelling to go down, have you heard of this before, and will it help ?

Does anyone who has been banded for a few months have pain in their abdomine? I think it mostly occures when my stomach is empty. It is more of a soreness than a pain. I am concerned, I have only had 1 fill and I refuse to entertain the idea of erosion.

I have developed a BAD habit of forcing my self to pb by making myself throw up:redface: I know its horrible. But i dont do it often and i only do it when i know i am about to throw up (at least t hats what it feels like) i dont get stuck often but ive been reading on the boards how some people try walking around, tea, etc and i just force myself to throw up. Could I be damaging my band or is it better to wait it out and give food a chance to pass through ??? Justice

I had it confirmed yesterday that I will have to have a second surgery to unkink/untwist my tubing. The surgeon wanted to see the twist himself and he said out of the over 2,000 patients he has had, he has only had 2 cases of this happening before mine. So I am waiting on his staff to get the surgery approved via insurance before we procede. He is just going to cut out a length of tubing and then re-attach it back together. I guess my torso was too short for the amount of tubing that was put in. Fun Times! :smile2: Good note is I have hit the 50 lbs lost point. I am counting the 10 I lost before the pre-op diet and everything after that! I am still losing even tho…

I was banded Wednesday afternoon, and I'm working my way through the week one full liquid diet. I am a little concerned about calorie count though. I haven't seen much about calories in the info packet i received from the doctor, so I'm not sure how much difference it really makes. I stayed overnight in the hospital, and was on Clear liquids all yesterday. Today, I've had: 4x4oz servings of Ensure 1x4oz serving of strained Cream of Mushroom Soup 1x2oz serving of apple juice (to mix in crushed meds) By my count, this is about 557 calories. In a previous failed dieting attempt, I suffered through the Optifast program - which I believe provided about 1000 calor…

I just had my band today. I have 5 incisions! I know at some point they mentioned this, but I can't remember it. Is this typical?

Hey everyone! First, let me start out by saying I hope that you are all doing well with your post-surgical lives, I myself am having surgery in a little over three weeks! So excited! But having a few issues wrapping my brains around this one... Have any of you found it hard to live with roommates after the surgery? I have read about three books thus far, and have really overwhelmed myself with information, and within this information I am finding that many people suggest taking all the junk food out of the house. Even though we really won't be able to heff it down like we used to - the temptation for a bit is still there. I know with families it maybe a little easier…

hey guys, i was banded almost 5 months ago, and i have had three fills. The last one was about 2 or 3 weeks ago. Although i am happy with the portion sizes i now eat, and do not feel i am missing out (dont have much of an appetite anyway) i do find it extremely hard to drink 2 litres a of fluid a day. In the mornings i am simply too tight to drink more than a few small sips. Some days are better than others, and i hate to admit it, but there have been a few days where i probably drank no more than 400 ml of fluid. I know this is not good at all and im feeling it. i am so thirsty and tired even though ive had adequate sleep. I just cannot get fluid down me. Please help. …

Hi everyone! I know it's time for me to get a fill. I've been waiting over a month for my appointment on Sept 11th and I just can't deal with this anymore! Every meal I have I get hungry about 1.5 hours later. It's really annoying and I am so sick of food (I never thought I'd say that! Haha.) I just don't know what to do. I've tried eating all Protein to stay full, tried eating more carbs, tried drinking a lot. The feeling of being hungry so much stresses me out. I usually eat 400-600 calories a day and I'm seriously up around 1000 a day. I've reduced my exercise to 2-3 times a week so I don't eat as much, but either way I lose. I've already gained 4 lbs in 3 weeks. Anywa…

I am doing everything I am supposed to do but sometimes I have restriction and can't eat and sometimes I don't so I may eat a little too much but overall not eating near what I was and I am not losing - it is weird to say but I feel like if I had eaten as few calories as I am now without the band I would have lost at least as much or maybe more - I was banded on June 27 and I think I am down about 10 lbs. I went in for one fill but had a sinus infection so I only got 1 cc and should have gotten another .5 so I am getting it next Monday maybe that will help. I get depressed about how slow it is coming off and I feel guilty if I eat because I want to lose weight so badly…

Hi I was just banded on Sept 9. My stiches are ok but my shoulders have been killing me! I have been using hot pads and cold presses. Anyone have any other ideas? How long does this last? Susan

My surgery was 4 days ago and I feel ok except for bloating and pain in my diaphragm when I take in a deep breath. Is that unusual or just a normal thing? I did not have the shoulder pain that I was almost expecting.

Yeah... so I had the band may21st 2008 and have lost 80lbs if you add in the 23lbs before surgery. But ever since I have had the band I burp all the time . And... the more fills i get... the louder they get lol! Anyone have the same issue? Any clue as to why it is happing? I guess I could live with the burping as long as the weight keeps pealing off. As long as this is not a sign that something is wrong its not a big deal for me. Just looking for a few answers. Thanks ahead!! ~~jessica

I had the surgery over a month ago. Unfortunately, there's no fill in the band with no appointment until Sept. 25 (their office is busy). I have absolutely no restriction at this point. I can't tell that I've had surgery and find myself forgetting all the time. I have just the scars on my belly to remind me, because I'm now at the point where I can eat the same amounts of food I did before. My food choices are beginning to get worse and I feel out of control. Can anyone offer me any advice? Please tell me this is normal.

Today I hit the 30 pound mark in my weight loss journey. It has almost been 6 months since my surgery in March. For some reason I feel like I should have lost more by now as compared to others in my same weight range here on the forum. I have to admit that I have not followed all of the band rules and if I would have I probably would have been down more by now. I seem to loose a pound every couple of weeks and the weight loss has slowed down a lot. I am 1/3 of the way to my goal, and I am wondering if I will keep loosing or level off at some point?? I certainly couldn't have come this far without the band, but right now I am not thrilled about the rate of the weight loss …

Hey, Has anyone had funny feelings of pressure when lying down. I just figure this is normal way of getting use to the band. I am tryiny to be very careful and follow all the rules for banding. What do you all think?

Hello All! I was banded on 8/20 and can definitely relate to the pre-surgery hunger...with one exception. I can still very much feel that I have surgery because I am very sore where my port is placed. Does anyone else have this??:sad: I too get the "stuck" feeling when I eat too fast or do not chew my food to baby food or puree texture. I have actually thrown up a few times because of this because my last few bites won't go down. That's just a queue for me to SLOWWWWW DoWWWWWWN, if that's any help!

I came down with a chest cold 4 days ago and I was banded 3 weeks ago. I am scarred to death of my band slipping. I try not to cough but had to give into the cold and have been coughing tons. Today I started having what I thing is reflux. I have a nasty unpleasant taste at the back of my throat. Is this reflux? Is it normal to get reflux after surgery? Will it hurt my band from coughing? My chest also got the tightness back like the first week after surgery. I called my Dr's office but they didn't seem concerned about me having a cold. Please help me like I said I am scarred my band slipped and thats why I got the reflux.

Just curious if any of you have lost your craving for cargs after getting banded, I used to live off carbs BREAD was the first real love of my life. I was banded a month ago today and have not touched bread or rice and have not even thought of them, I will say I crave protien.

Hi, I was wondering if anyone has had trouble taking medications in the pill form? I am getting banded on 10/7/08, should I buy liquid pain relievers for after surgery??

Was just banded on 9/8 and was wondering why I am mostly only feeling pain when I lay down. Also, will I ever be able to sleep on my side or stomach again? Since the operation, I ahve only been able to sleep on my back, not my favorite position.

Hey everyone I was recently banded August 21st of 2008 and I am experiencing a little problem. I was on liquids for 3 weeks and everything was fine with the exception of 1 slip up that happened at a wedding where I had a glass of wine a lemon drop and some chicken tenders. I know stupid but that was only once,and after reading a little more I realized why and felt really bad and had a slight freak out because I thought my band had slipped and I busted my stiches. Thankfully it did'nt but now I am aloud to go to purees or food that doesnt need to be chewed. What in the world can I eat?? what have other people eatten? I hate mashed potatoes so I dont want to eat that and i …

Hello all, I had my surgery last Friday. My stomach is very swollen and hard- feeling like I am pregnant. Has anyone experienced this after surgery? If so, how long did it last? I am very miserable!!:omg_smile:

I am four weeks out from lap band and I am on regular foods now. I , of course, dont eat as much and I take little bites but I am eating. I have noticed that frequently after I eat I have really bad right shoulder pain and upper right chest pain. Its always right after I eat and last between 15 min. to an hour. It hurts sooooo bad. Am i eating too much? My tummy doesnt feel like I am, but this pain is horrible. Please help!!

OK, so today is the first day I have weighed since last week. I stepped on the scales after everyone was gone this morning. I was really scared that I had gained weight (I have cheated a few times with this mushie stage). I have no restriction at all yet and i get hungry and end up with hungar headaches so i take a few bites of chicken salad or something. Anyways, the scales have finally moved again.:sad: I have now lost 14 pounds which brings me to 250lbs even. I am really excited today about this. I started the night before last with my walking. I took it to the extreme and walked 2 miles. I ended up with inflamation in my right heal and wasn't able to walk wi…

I just got banded 4 days ago and have nonstop diarreha...sorry my spelling sucks. I had mine done in a hospital and was not allowed liquids until more than 24 hours after my surgery. This is when the diarreha began. Now just about every two hours I get it. Is this normal? I dont see much about it in other posts. Also, I have HORRIBLE pains in the right side of my abdomen. As far as I know, there was nothing done to this side of me. Has anyone else experienced this? Thanks for any advice!!!

Ok... I have been banded for 4.5 months, and shedding like a DOG! I take in approx 75-80 grams of Protein A day, I also take Biotin. Thank god I have a lot of hair to begin with, but that will not last much longer at this rate. Anyone Experience this??? How long does it last??? Anyone have any suggestions???I do eat well... HELP!!!:w00t: