NewStart95987

Good morning friends. I had the lapband done in 2011 and always had issues with my band. Vomiting became a daily part of my life for years. I tried the revision process before but had obstacle after obstacle. I am now ready for revision and will have surgery on Nov 20th. We hope to remove the band and perform bypass all in one shot. I remember band surgery was not fun. What advice do you have for this soon to be bypass newbie? Advice before, day of surgery, days after surgery and etc? I read somewhere even a pillow for the ride home can be extremely helpful (my ride home will be an almost 2 hour drive if there is no traffic). So that is added to the list. Thank you so much for any info. I am very excited and nervous but cannot wait to get started on this new journey. Have a wonderful day!

Just a couple hours old! Katelyn is here and was just days away from her induction date but decided to come on her own. She was 6 lbs and 10 oz born at 5:03 a.m on Wednesday morning. She's 20 inches long and so tiny. She was conceived just after having surgery last year in June. Planning on healing up from labor and getting my first fill sometime in the weeks to come. :-)

Got pregnant just months after getting banded. I thought I had the flu! lol, wrong!

No dangers but a lot of surgeons follow and report results and after that time and weight loss they consider you a success. I got pregnant almost right after surgery and I'm now 35-36 weeks. I do have complications but not anything related to the band. Sad but true. Though I understand going through all the motions and having to wait for continued success. I was a bit frustrated as well BUT they also don't tell you how the band can effect your hormones. It's a catch 22 which is why some surgeons are so strict about not getting pregnant! They want to help make sure you are taking precautions. I went from a period or two a year to fertile mertile after my band. My specialist (I'm high risk due to blood clots) laughed and told me its VERY common to become very fertile after banding. GI figure! Best of luck!

Another vote for Hernia! It's nothing major and if your like me (didn't know until after surgery that I had one) it was the cause of my acid reflux. I was eating tums like candy and I haven't touched a tums since it was fixed. Please take care of yourself and be careful, if you need a little help, ask don't over do it because your hiding it and cause yourself any extra pain. I needed help getting out of bed and off the toilet the first couple of days. As for your friend, you need to heal and don't need to pull stitches by exercising IF you have acid reflux this can be another part of the excuse for you needing the repair, to help prevent a lifetime of taking meds for it. I was given liquid vicodin and a sleep aid. I was not allowed to drive! You better believe I was taking it every 4 hours like I was allowed. I don't think it really helped with the sleep or pain much but I didn't want to find out. I also had liquid Tylenol on hand but didn't take it. Have a heating pad handy as I think it really helped with the gas they fill you with. Taking gas meds don't help since it's not in that track of your body but I walked a lot around the house and when I sat, I had the heating pad handy on my shoulders. You will look SUPER bloated. Best of luck and congrats on taking this step! Welcome to the Band Family :-)

I was using Hydro Whey in chocolate and I got it from GNC. I could always find it for about $70 in a 3.5 lb canister. Seems like a lot but it's yummy and I'll drink it. I can't stomach most of the others. 40 grams of protein, 2 carbs and 0 sugar if I recall. Mix it with a little coffee and it tastes just like a mocha!

I'm 28 weeks along and fairly heavy but no sign of the port. Good luck!

In addition to what everyone has here, get some fiber to put in your water! You will have no problem "going at first" because of all the liquids but things will slowly start to back up.

I wish I would have known I would have regular "girly" cycles. I got pregnant soon after surgery and they didn't seem like it was a common thing. I have to see a parinatologist because I have a history of blood clots so I am a high risk pregnancy. I'm 28 weeks now and the specialist laughed when I told her about the "Lap-Band Baby". She said it is VERY easy to get pregnant after band placement, they see it all the time. Also, I put a binder together with good foods/snacks after surgery as well as good recipes. It was helpful but am no longer dieting or had a chance to use my band due to the pregnancy. Best of luck!

Starbucks is yummy BUT like someone mentioned, carbs are hiding. And if you notice on labels for almost anything low fat, low sugar or no sugar doesn't always mean it's truly low or no and it fact it usually means there is a lot more fat in another category. A little trick I learned from a fellow bandster was playing with my protein. For example, my chocolate protein mix, I would add some instant coffee crystals and let them absorb. When cold (I never did blend but would love to have) it tastes just like a mocha. Not exactly Starbucks but play around with it. You would be amazed at how crafty and creative you can get :-) Don't deprive yourself BUT be careful and don't work hard on a pre-op diet to find out that you have been slowing down your weight loss due to lurking carbs. I found this out the hard way.

I was banded in June of 2011. I am now over 6 months pregnant. I didn't think we would ever get pregnant to be honest. It didn't take long and we were shocked! Things are going well and I never have had a fill because I didn't get a chance to. Right after surgery, I was healing, doing my follow ups and ended up moving away from my surgeon for a new job. While I was looking for a new surgeon (many would not even see me since they will not accept patients they didn't operate on) I developed the "flu". It was morning sickness, not the flu. I had all day sickness for the first 4 months and my specialist was worried about the baby being underweight. My last appointment, she is weighing exactly where she should and is super active in there. Focus on the weight loss and let nature take its course. I didn't even get a chance to officially use my band but the added stress of trying to get pregnant will be bad for your weight loss and isn't good for a future mommy and baby. Best of luck!

I hope you get some good news soon. I called after two weeks and ended up finding out I was approved. I cried. I can't tell you how long it took to get approved and how many hoops I had to jump through. It can be so frustrating. I have a friend who had been trying for almost 10 years to get the surgery so I'm thankful it took about 9 months. Keep at it and don't give up!

I have always been irregular but once my band was in place, I was like clock work. That was until I got pregnant. I had my band placed in June of 2011 and I'm now over 6 months pregnant. Yeah, didn't take long. I call her my Lap-Band baby, lol. After the months of research before speaking to a doctor and months waiting for surgery I did not hear anything about the band affecting hormones. It was my check up appointment when I mentioned it to my surgeon who indeed confirmed that Yes, the band can affect hormones.

I had a really scrambled egg about 6 days after the band was in place. No issues getting it down. My surgeons assistant did yell at me for trying so but I had no issues. I was just tired of having diarrhea for days.

Heartburn and acid reflux instantly gone once repaired. I did feel a pulling from where my hernia was repaired up into the left side of my face as if it was sewn up really tight and I was pulling when I would lay back. Pain lasted about a month but no problems since. I didn't know I had one until they went in.