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It's almost been two months now since I was banded. Although I have hit a plateau, I am pleased to report that my wife thinks my plonker feels larger. Longer to be precise. I'm not really a tape measure kind of a guy so I can't validate this. However, the sex is much better and I am able to perform longer. I can tell that my wife definitely feels more satisfied too. This side effect of the operation is well worth the $15K out of pocket expense and two weeks eating broth by itself! One could say that the forty something pounds I have lost has now taken on peripheral importance as I am so focussed on sex again.

I was banded 12/20 by Dr. B too! I also had the same sharp pain you are experiencing for the first two or three weeks then it went away. It's worrying I know, especially since the locus of the pain is nowhere near any of the incisions or the port!

I was going to use "Knob", but that's an even less well known term for it in the U.S. than "plonker". Anyway, Knob, Plonker, John Thomas or what have you, the point is that losing weight definitely improves one's sex life and helps your partner have the kind of sex she/he deserves.

I just got banded on 12/20. Post-op pain and sensation of fulness has been more intense than I thought it would be but so far things are manageable. I travel for work almost every week and my schedule for January already has be out of town (actually out of the country) every week starting 1/9. I will still be in the mushy diet stage until 1/20. I would like to know how others who have been banded stay on schedule with shakes, drinks, broths, etc. Relevant details: I am lucky in that I get to fly in First Class and stay in top tier hotels where it is easy to get staff to mix my shakes for me and to prepare special lunches for me to take to the office in the morning. I can also have a refrigerator/microwave brought to my room. Also, I am not embarassed about having a Protein shake in front of business associates/clients during dinners, so there is no problem there. It's just the time differerences I have to deal with that may get me off-track with my meals and having unexpected travel delays without the appropriate type of food being available that I am worried about.

My first fill experience was bad. I won't name the place but my experience should give those who have not had a fill yet the opportunity to ask some questions up front so that they can avoid what I went through. I go for my first fill. I am weighed (20 lbs down from surgery date) and we discussed what I am eating. The nurse seems happy. When she asked me to lay down with my belly up in the air, I asked her where the Fluoroscope was. She told me they didnt have one and proceeded to assure me that she has never missed a port before. Ten minutes and two sticks later, after the needle had pulled, poked and sheared through my skin, she called another nurse to try. The new nurse assured me that she would be able to hit the port first time and that she had never missed either. She hit it alright, but but all we could hear was the needle hitting metal. (Not good; she thought the port had flipped). She was concerned and took me downstairs to the fill center, where they had a fluoroscope. If I had known about one side of the office being without fluoro and the other side have fluoro, I would have gone straight for the fluoro in the first place. Under fluoro, I hardly felt the topical anesthetic jab and when it was time to do the fill, the nurse hit the port the first time without any problems. So please, make sure that at least your first fill is done under fluoro. The port was not flipped over, so I am mystified about the sound of the needle hitting metal.

I was told my port was turned around when nurses attempted to do my first fill two weeks ago. A clanging of metal (needle) against metal (back side of port) is what alerted them to this. However, a few minutes later when they tried under Fluoro, they were able to go straight in without any problems. It's the most preposterous thing I've ever experienced - I mean one minute the port's upside down, the next it's back in place.

Dr. Benavides is an excellent surgeon. However, his office staff are o.k., (None are Nurses).

Poodles, Would you mind sharing what specifically caused your pouch to stretch? When was it in relation to your banding that this happened? Can the pouch be "right-sized" by unfilling and refilling the band? I would like to know because I just started eating mushy foods this week and I too feel like I could eat much more than I do. I am afraid I might stretch my pouch too. My first check-up/fill isnt scheduled till late January. I do begin to "feel" full after a small piece of fish (the size of two fingers) mashed to a pasty consistency or after a very small bowl of runny oatmeal but could eat more if I wanted to. Somehow I am able to control myself (If I could do that before banding, I would be $15,000 richer!) Thanks.

Dr. Benavides is an excellent surgeon (even though his staff are a bit trying to deal with at times). I am sure I have heard him answer in the affirmative when someone asked if he would band someone with a BMI under 40.

I am at day 13 but decided to graduate from liquids to mushies a day ahead of schedule. I started the morning with half a soft boiled egg, mushed with a fork. By noon, my constipation problem was resolved. In the afternoon I still had 3 oz of myocel Protein shake. At tea time I had 4 oz of tea (with milk) and a small piece of Rusk, which I dipped in the tea before taking small bites. This evening I had a small piece of salmon (less than palm sized) mixed with a tablespoon of home made oil-free curry sauce and about a tablespoon of rice. Mushed it thoroughly with a fork before chewing really well. I ate about 2/3 of the meal (about 14 small fork fulls) before I felt full. Based on what I was able to eat before feeling full, it feels like the band is loosening up a bit. However, I was not hungry at any time today and felt satiated the whole day. Any comments on my food quantities/choices from the more experienced?

I am now eight days post-op. I just wanted to know what others are consuming one week out... I generally start the morning off with 2-3 oz. of tea (with skim milk), have 2-3 oz. of Protein shake w/ berries mixed in at lunch time. For dinner I either have 3-4oz. of freshly made chicken broth and that's it for the day. Only on a couple of occasions have I been able to drink a bit more Protein Shake in the evening (1 or 2 oz). I drink about 16 oz. a day of plain or flavored still Water. I still have quite a lot of pain at my incision points. It is about a 5 on a scale of 1-10. I cannot bend over to pick anything up and getting up off a chair results in what the surgeon thinks is a muscle spasm in my abdomen a few inches below the portacath site. I'd like to know how everyone else is doing.

It's not great but if one is in the first post-op month and has terrible cravings, I think it's better to do this than actually bite into it.

They are all nasty. There is no getting around it. I am at post-op day 13 so I have been drinking them for almost a month now. My wife has tried making them interesting by adding various berries and mango but ultimately its still nasty and one has to just grin and bear it.

You are in good company... I went twice on day 5 and havent been since! (I am now on day 10 and planning on going tommorrow).

I have always been attracted to larger women, always!. However, larger women have never seemed to notice me. LOL.

Kay, I have the same pain and have had it since day 1. (I am now at day 8). It is a sharp tugging pain that makes itself apparent whenever I begin to bend over or rise from a supine position or even a chair. I was worried because it is centered far from any incision and below the portacath site. I went to see my surgeon on day 6 and he says it is likely a muscle spasm. It sounds plausible but I am still a bit worried about it. Good luck.

Does Richardson Surgery Ctr use Fluoro and Huber needles?

Excellent idea!

It's difficult to say. People go through different stages in their lives where they do things they never thought they would. Five years ago, how many of us would have said we would be willing to be cut open and have a noose tied around our stomachs? So, while I don't believe I would ever cheat on a woman I cared deeply about, I can't say for sure. Is that a good, on the fence, non-commital male answer?

Hello, I was banded by Dr. Benavides on Wednesday (12/20). I did a lot of research into who would be the best doctor to perform my procedure. I am a healthcare professional and have access to certain industry/regulatory quality databases that allowed me to compare complication rates (in a rudimentary, rule of thumb type fashion) for various surgeons, anesthesia groups and facilities. I chose Dr. Benavides because I believe he is very competent and knowledgable. In the event my surgery was uneventful and I was d/c'd home after three hours. My experience tells me that he is indeed an excellent surgeon. Many Surgeons are not as knowledgable about medications as Pharmacists or their Internal Medicine and Family Practice colleagues (in the same manner that these specialists are not as knowledgable about Surgery). If you are on any medications, I would visit your pharmacist asap and ask him/her if there are any liquid alternatives for any of them that you could use after lap-band surgery. Next, get the necessary prescriptions from your doctor. When you see Dr. Benavides the day before surgery ask him which meds he wants you to discontinue that day and when he wants you to continue them post-surgery. Hope this helps. Good luck.

After a year of considering surgery (and adding another 15 lbs), I finally went for it, paying cash. Surgery was painless (being aneshetized) and I spent 1 1/2 hours in the Recovery Room were I experienced a great deal of drowsiness and a little nausea. Walking slowly seemed to relieve these for me. At home last night, I was very sore and since I don't like the drowsiness and drunken feeling caused by narcotic pain killers decided to half my dose of Lortab elixir (same as Vicodin). Today, it is difficult to get up but I am doing incentive spirometry every 15 minutes and taking a walk around the house every 30 minutes. So far so good. I'm looking forward to a slimmer life. Banded: 12/20/06 / Richardson Surgery Center / Dr. Benavides Current Wt.: 276 lbs Goal Wt: 176 lbs Reversing ten years of 10 lbs/year weight increases!

Thanks for the warm welcome everybody.

Please be careful with cutting/crushing pills. Many of the once a day tablets are sustained release in nature and cutting/crushing them will negate many 24 hour release mechanisms, dumping a day's worth of the medication into your body at once. You might want to look up a community/independent pharmacy (unlike a Wlgreens or CVS) and see if they do any liquid compounding. They will know which meds can be compounded into a liquid and which one's should not be.