Pammy S Lewis
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Everything posted by Pammy S Lewis
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when does band/chest pain go away?
Pammy S Lewis replied to Pammy S Lewis's topic in POST-Operation Weight Loss Surgery Q&A
update about my nightmare. i woke up yesterday after having some excess air taken out of my band to loosen it (there is no Fluid in it) the day before and finally felt normal for the first time in 2.5 weeks since the surgery. was so happy and thought everything was going to be fine and the chest pain was gone. i stayed on liquids yesterday and then mid day the chest pain started again and lasted the rest of the day and thru the night. so painful. had to take the codeine and tylenol that was given post op. my dr gets back tomorrow after being out of town for a week and i will see him tomorrow or tuesday. i just really, really hope he has a solution but i'm not feeling very hopeful. there is nothing in my band yet it's causing extreme pain (ER dr said it's not slipped, based on the cat scan). i'm just really afraid i'm going to have to get it removed. i'm self pay so i will have to go through surgery again and pay another $16k. $32k down the drain for weeks of pain. i feel like i made the worst decision of my life by doing this. i knew going in that some people do great and have no problems and that others experiences issues, so i felt like it was kind of a crapshoot and i just had to roll the dice. losing weight was worth the risk to me, but now i really wish i wouldn't have done it. very sad. -
whew, 4 hours in the ER. band was too tight and that's why it was causing chest pain. they extracted a bunch of air from it and am feeling better. still feeling like i'm regretting getting surgery. it's been really rough. hoping it's like having a baby and you forget all the pain :-)
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when does band/chest pain go away?
Pammy S Lewis replied to Pammy S Lewis's topic in POST-Operation Weight Loss Surgery Q&A
ugh, 4 hours in the ER. had a cat scan and band is in right place. my dr is out of town and the dr on call for him was in surgery all day so my dr's nurse came over. she said that even if the band is empty when put in they test it some air may have been left in it. so she stuck a huge needle in me (not a good time! not looking forward to fills!) and extracted a lot of air that was in the band and i immediately felt a ton better. i had chest pain like 80% of the time and felt like i had made a huge mistake by getting this surgery. feeling a lot better and back home :-) -
when does band/chest pain go away?
Pammy S Lewis replied to Pammy S Lewis's topic in POST-Operation Weight Loss Surgery Q&A
no, no fill in band yet. still trying to get in to see one of the doctors who is filling in for mine while he's out of town. i'm just worried because i have intermittent pain in the middle of my chest about 80% of the time. and even when i don't have pain, i feel like i can feel something in side of me. that was one of my questions i asked because i didn't want to have the sensation of being able to feel that there was something inside of me. apparently no one else does, except me. and everyone else was feeling pretty good after about a week. but here i am 2 and a half weeks later and having pain and fatigue. -
can't wait until i feel normal. i am beginning to wonder if that's going to happen! slept 12 hours last night and the night before. still super slow and lethargic. dr's office trying to find me another dr to see about the chest pains since mine is out of town. ugh. 2.5 weeks in and wondering if i made a huge mistake by doing this.
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over 2 weeks since surgery and i still don't feel too great. have to take a nap every day, having chest pains after eating sometimes and my upper back hurts. no clue what that is. i didn't have gas problems early on so it can't be that this late? dr is out of town until april 11th :-(
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How much time should I plan to take off?
Pammy S Lewis replied to MonikaHF's topic in POST-Operation Weight Loss Surgery Q&A
for me, it's been a little over 2 weeks and i would not be ready to return to work if i had a very physical job. can you tell them 2 weeks and to play it safe and then go back after 1 if you're feeling great? it's such an individual thing. but given that your job is physically tiring, i would say to take on the longer end than for someone who has a desk job. -
Musy Food Menu
Pammy S Lewis replied to ElizabethNYC's topic in POST-Operation Weight Loss Surgery Q&A
i bought a pack of single serving containers of mott's blueberry applesauce (no sugar added) and pour it over cottage cheese and it's like dessert, except with protein! so yummy!! http://www.meijer.co...10927_A_400.jpg -
Should I be concerned?
Pammy S Lewis replied to erink58's topic in PRE-Operation Weight Loss Surgery Q&A
do you have a point person at your dr's office you could talk to about your concerns? i only saw my surgeon once at my initial eval. had pre-surgery tests for heart, lungs, upper GI (i'm self pay so these were surgeon requirements not by an insurance co). did not have a post surgery barium test nor any support group info. so, besides the pre surgery tests, my experience has been similar. but if it makes you uncomfortable, definitely listen to your intuition and talk to someone at the office. or see if there's another good surgeon in your city that might have different procedures. -
Surgery Date: Friday the 13th of May!
Pammy S Lewis replied to Gggls83's topic in Tell Your Weight Loss Surgery Story
i feel the same way! and i'm self pay too. my friend keeps trying to get me to go to yoga and i'm scared to! i asked my dr and he said that once you are fully healed that most activites are totally fine to do. he said the only ones that should be avoided are ones with blunt force, like kickboxing or car accidents (ha! yeah, i'd like to avoid those anyway). -
when does band/chest pain go away?
Pammy S Lewis replied to Pammy S Lewis's topic in POST-Operation Weight Loss Surgery Q&A
bumping because i'm in pain!! ahhhhh!!! i'm going to call my dr tomorrow. would appreciate comments from anyone if they had chest pain as long as 2 weeks after surgery though so i can sleep better tonight and not worry so much. thanks! -
i can't feel mine at all. but i can feel the band itself. i have a sensation of pain and feeling something in my chest. drives me crazy. hope it goes away.
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decided to do the Atkins diet
Pammy S Lewis replied to Awkward customer's topic in POST-Operation Weight Loss Surgery Q&A
i've read it and did it for several years. i know it well. on their diet is deep fried pork rinds and bacon. on schwarzbein and south beach are lean Proteins like skinless chicken breast. all i'm saying is to check out those books/diets. i've been on all of them and read all the books and those 2 stress healthy fats (avocados) and lean proteins (chicken, fish). -
decided to do the Atkins diet
Pammy S Lewis replied to Awkward customer's topic in POST-Operation Weight Loss Surgery Q&A
if you're going to do low carb, please read schwarzbein principle or do south beach. atkins is super high in fat and kind of extreme IMHO. schwarzbein and south beach are low carb but stress health and balance (i.e. lean Proteins, not a pound of bacon a week). http://www.amazon.com/Schwarzbein-Principle-Healthy-Feeling-Younger/dp/1558746803/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1301496353&sr=1-1 http://www.amazon.com/South-Beach-Diet-Delicious-Doctor-Designed/dp/031231521X/ref=sr_1_4?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1301496375&sr=1-4 -
surprised by how long the healing process is taking. thought i would totally normal by 2 weeks. good to see the scale slowly moving though. am off work until june unless another short term job comes up. but i'm going to enjoy this time off. after working 80 hour weeks for the past 6 mos, i don't know what to do with myself with free time!
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Day 3 and feeling horrible
Pammy S Lewis replied to jbaker5d's topic in POST-Operation Weight Loss Surgery Q&A
for some reason, day 3 was my worst day. i kept wondering if i had made a huge mistake (totally normal and common, apparently) and i was just shocked by how difficult the surgery was. i did it as outpatient surgery and didn't think it would be a huge deal. but by day 4 and 5 i felt dramatically better. it's hard to sit around and do nothing. i couldn't even concentrate enough to read. couple of good movies and some magazines helped. you'll feel better soon! -
i think my point of view on protein bars is that eating fake, manufactured, quick and easy food is what got me into this mess to begin with. so i decided that protein bars would only be an emergency food if i really needed it. but i'm trying to focus on eating real foods that are healthy. my mantra is: if it grows, ok to eat it (funyuns and taco bell and balance bars don't grow...) :-) that's just my take. i figure if i'm really going to change, i really need to do it.
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What did you eat today?
Pammy S Lewis replied to mountaingirlCO's topic in POST-Operation Weight Loss Surgery Q&A
breakfast: carbmaster yogurt snack: cottage cheese with blueberry applesauce (yum!) lunch: 1 small can of chicken over 2 oz of black Beans snack: 2 pieces of turkey lunch meat with a baby bel light cheese dinner: crock pot salsa chicken with 2 oz black beans: http://recipes.sparkpeople.com/recipe-detail.asp?recipe=243136 -
post surgery energy levels
Pammy S Lewis replied to Pammy S Lewis's topic in POST-Operation Weight Loss Surgery Q&A
good idea to check. i'm going in early next week for follow up blood tests so i'll make sure they test for anything that could be related to fatigue. thanks -
hi all i'm 2 weeks post op and started on soft mushy foods middle of last week. i am really sleepy all day and lacking energy. i'm not a hugely energetic person normally but i feel like all i can do is lay on the couch. i'm only up to about 650-700 cal a day so maybe it's just that. am getting 60 protein and around 40-60 carbs per day and am drinking enough water and taking proper vitamins. only thing i can think of is that i'm without my coffee and that the calories are still low?? is this common?
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hi all i'm 2 weeks post op and am still really fatigued and slow. i had to go to target and the grocery store today and also took a walk with my dog and it totally wiped me out! i guess i'm just surprised because i expected to be pretty close to 100% by now. i'd say i'm at 70%. does anyone remember how long it took to feel completely healed and normal?
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upped calories from 700 to 1000 and started losing again, yay! hope it keeps going and doesn't stall again.
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One week post op>>>>Could this be real?
Pammy S Lewis replied to Sammi77's topic in POST-Operation Weight Loss Surgery Q&A
i'm 2 weeks post op and have great restriction still. hope it lasts. would rather forgo a fill if i can. -
My doctor says only 1 week of protein shakes after...
Pammy S Lewis replied to hopetolose's topic in LAP-BAND Surgery Forums
my dr's plan is exactly like yours. i thought about staying on the liquid diet for another week so i could lose more but by the end of that week, i was dying to start on food. if after a week you think you could do liquids longer, ask your dr. i kind of wish i could have done it longer.