Alexandra

Finding the port and giving fills appears to be an acquired skill that definitely improves over time. I've had several fills and the surgeon who does them the most has NO trouble at all, never has. He locates the port with his fingers and gives me a numbing shot, and then in goes the fill needle on the first poke. One time a different doctor did it, and she had a lot of trouble. Lots of poking and prodding, and a couple of attempts with the fill needle. I was pretty bruised up after that.

So sorry to hear of your friend's grief, Penni. Peace to you and the whole family.

I have NO desire to be "skinny" -- not that THAT could ever happen! But I was actually just thinking about this as I got dressed this morning. I've always been fairly well-proportioned and as long as I stay that way I'm happy to lose as much weight as I will. But lately I've noticed a little changing of my proportions--as my hips get smaller my stomach has slowed down in shrinking (two kids, doncha know) and I'm starting to see the future: slender legs and a rotund tummy. Hmmm. Not so sure I like those proportions! I know this is normal for women and comes with life experience and aging, but if keeping some extra weight on my hips and chest area will make my waist look smaller by comparison, I'm happy to do it.

Wow, what do you mean he couldn't find the band? Was he trying to say that your port is difficult to locate? Please let us know how things go today, good luck!!

Hi Manny, Any unusual pain should be checked out, of course, but I've never heard of that sort of symptom being related to slippage. Slips seem to create problems with eating, drinking, reflux and so on rather than any sort of real pain. Hope you feel better!

Tricia's right, Nykee. Just about all docs I've ever heard of recommend AT LEAST 24 hours of liquids after a fill, waiting until the next day for solid food. Please take it SLOWLY today and stick with soft stuff. And while it's very true that you might not feel restriction with your first fill, especially if the doctor is being cautious, you may also experience that common phenomenon of having a fill "kick in" after a week or so. So it's always a good idea to be cautious and give it a month or so before running to get more fill.

I did the same thing with my PCP, and while she wasn't as effusive in her thanks I do know that she's shared the info with at least a couple of other patients. I really think word-of-mouth is going to be the best advertising for banding, since the docs don't seem to want to "sell" it.

I have never, ever been thin and have never thought of myself as normal. The upside of that, if there is one, is that being fat was so much a part of my life that I stopped thinking about it years ago. So as you might imagine I'm having a little trouble recognizing myself now. When I walk past plate-glass windows I'm always astonished at how quickly I pass by! One thing I find instructive now is looking at reflections of myself next to other people in the glass, or in group pictures. Comparing myself objectively like that really helps me comprehend that I'm no longer ALWAYS the biggest person in the picture. It's got to be a reflection or photo though; I'm not quite to a place where I can do it without the outside view. Yet last night, sitting on my daughters' bedroom floor with my legs stretched out in front of me, I was looking at my legs and thinking they look exactly like they always have to me. Huge. My feet are now clearly larger than they were in relation to my calves, and I actually have visible anklebones. but even those facts don't change my perception of my legs as being grotesquely oversized. So I just try not to contemplate my legs too much.

Being naturally modest, nothing like this has ever happened to me. (Or maybe it's just because I've always been so uncomfortable in my body. I'm almost never naked outside of the shower.) I've been surprised on two occasions in flagrante delicto, though. Once by my now-DH's roommate coming home early and almost catching us on the floor in front of the fireplace, and once in college when a roommate stuck his head through my boyfriend's first-floor window (which we thought had been locked). The window was RIGHT over the bed. OOPS!!!

I 100% agree with DeLarla. This is the kind of fight my ex-husband and I should have had but didn't. I say should have, because if I'd stuck to my guns and stayed away from his friends I hated, our relationship would have been over before we got married (which would have been a good thing). As it was, I just figured it was a compromise that partners make for one another--of course, it wasn't one he was willing to make for my friends he didn't like, except very infrequently. If we'd fought about it rather than my just being the one to always bend, I'd have recognized our true incompatibility earlier on. That said, it IS a compromise partners should make for one another, ON OCCASION. My DH's oldest friend is a know-it-all type I'm not very fond of, but their relationship goes so far back they're more like brothers than anything else. What can I say? I have friends like that too. But if the associate who bothers you is really a poison pill, it shouldn't be a problem for your SO to accept that too. It should never be a one-way street. Is this a one-shot thing? Or are you talking about hanging out with this person you don't like? I might be willing, were I in your shoes, to do something as a favor if it was quick and wouldn't be repeated. It might be easy enough to take the high road once. But if doing this favor means repeated or long-term involvement with the negative person, I'd say no and expect my partner to accept that.

The nausea is most likely a reaction to anaesthesia; not everyone experiences that. Good luck and I hope the Phenergan helps!!

Hi Christina, welcome!! You can find out a lot about members' experiences by looking through old posts, and whenever you have a question feel free to start a new thread and ask away! There are people here at all stages of the process, so you'll get lots of answers to whatever question occurs to you. Nice to meet you!

Zoe, I've discovered that Eddie Bauer, Lands End, and Walmart are good sources for tall pants. LE and EB have their house brands, both of which I really like and which they'll hem for free to your specifications. Walmart carries Lee Riders jeans, which I've been happiest with of all the various jeans I've tried. For a while there I thought that I might not need a tall size since they are longer now that I'm less wide, but nope--anything labeled "average" or "medium" ends somewhere way above my ankles.

SO TRUE!! My sensibilities run to classics, more because I can't abide the thought of having clothes I can't wear because they're out of date than any particular modesty. My mother had a closet full of things that were totally rad in the 60s but laughable in the 70s and 80s though they still fit her. I want to have a great wardrobe of classic stuff, which is just not as easy to find in regular sizes. All I can say is thank goodness for Lands End!

I have another theory (though I like yours too, Penni). I think it's more related to the passage of time and the relaxation of the bottom of the esophagus--is it a valve? Whatever it is, the presence of the band means that the top of the stomach has food pressing up on it when we eat even a little bit too much in a way that is not, well, natural. Over time, I think the nerves that tell us this is happening may just get less sensitive, so we may tend to do it more often. And the opening relaxes as well, letting undigested material reflux back up. That may be why people banded for a long time experience increasing incidence of reflux even with the same level of fill. I know I'm still fighting with my tendency to eat too fast. It's soooo easy to take three or four bites of something and then two more before those have really settled, and realize I've overdone it. Now the signals aren't as clear as they used to be, so I really have to be alert to being full. I mean, there's much less chance that I will PB or feel any pain, so if I don't stop when I've had enough (which is STILL less than my eyes tell me) I'm probably going to overdo it and possibly desensitize my esophagus even more. So I'm working on eating even more slowly and trying to let my head catch up with my stomach. I'm so sorry you got pneumonia, Kelly! I hope it clears up really quickly. When I was having reflux in January that was my biggest fear. Feel better soon!!

Hi Sue, I think I just answered you on Gradbandsters! I can totally relate to your predicament; as we head into bathing-suit season I'm unhappy about my arms in a way I've never been before. My summer blouses are all going to be 3/4 sleeves, I'm afraid. Toning exercises won't get rid of your excess skin, but they can help you look firmer. Resistance bands and free weights are great tools and you can use them for all sorts of different exercises. There are lots of books on the subject--a good one is Strong Women Stay Young--because resistance training also helps with metabolism. (That's my main motivation, the muscles are just a bonus!) The resistance band, a free weight or two, and maybe an exercise ball are all you need to develop a whole routine you can do at home. BTW, I thought I'd maybe read your date wrong on the yahoo list, but here it is again. You've lost 111 pounds in 9 months? Some of your excess skin may still resolve on its own; that is a very fast weight loss and your body has a lot of adjusting to do. I've lost about that much but have taken a year longer than you to do it. And except for my upper arms I don't really have much loose skin to speak of. Maybe by next summer it will be less of a problem for you as well.

Denise, I think I know what you mean. Buying in plus sizes was nothing if not easy! In the last 10 years or so the selection has just exploded for large sizes, and I really enjoyed seeing all the new catalogs every year. My choices weren't hard to make, considering the size I needed, but even at 3X there were plenty of options and everything fit reliably. NOW, I'm a perfect size 17. Great, except there is no such thing! As cool as it is to wear regular ladies' sizes, it's a pain to have to try every single thing on because the fit is so unpredictable. Shopping is more of a chore now, and I am inexplicably disappointed when an 18 doesn't fit even though the 16 right next to it fits perfectly. I KNOW these numbers are meaningless and the wild variations in cut are to blame, but I can't help that pang. I too know exactly that sense of people looking and possibly thinking I'm in the wrong department. I myself think I'm in the wrong department--I've shopped in the multiple-X sizes since they were invented, and before that I shopped in menswear! But then I try to remember where I was and why I'm here now. And when that 18 is too tight I try to take comfort in its size 16 neighbor that is loose. But shopping is fraught with emotional peril in whole new ways now that I'm out of plus sizes. You're not alone.

Ann, yep, lots of people feel discomfort in the banded regions for days after surgery. How are you doing with drinking? You're probably still on liquids now, I'd imagine, so is it the liquids that are giving you trouble? It's hard to say with any certainty. It might be heartburn but it might also just be the sensation of restriction that you're not familiar with. As time passes it will either fade as your swelling goes down, or you'll become used to it and won't notice it anymore (depending on what is causing it).

Jenna, don't be hard on yourself!! For cripes sake, girl, you're only starting this mission. You haven't even gotten out of the gate and you're thinking you're a failure?!? No way, no how. If you want to do anything now, try just concentrating on eating the Protein first, and having it at every meal. That one little change will help you feel full longer for way fewer calories than Pasta and bread. You'll be amazed, it really does work. And once you have some restriction you'll have the help you need with portion control. Patience is called for here, not self-recrimination!

Trish, there are lots of leg exercises you can do that will help. The best one that works all your muscles are squats. But start slow! The first time I did them I swear, the next day it felt like I'd gone skiing. If you've ever gone skiing you'll know what I mean--every single muscle in your legs and butt hurts! Start with your legs spread apart, a little wider than your hips. Looking straight ahead, bend your knees until your legs are bent at 90 degrees. Try not to lean forward or look down; you want to keep your back as straight as possible. Then stand up. Do this as many times as you can, but slowly. Even if you can only do it 4 or 5 times you'll probably feel it in the morning. To occupy your hands you might want to hold something in both hands in front of you. Eventually you'll want to get up to 15 repetitions, two or three times in a row. with a 2-minute or so rest between sets. As you progress you can hold a weight between your hands to add to the difficulty. It's a phenomenal exercise that really works every muscle in your lower body. Good luck!!

Kendra, as DeLarla said it is absolutely normal to rebound a little when you go off the liquid diet and add more calories and bulk to your menu. Not to worry. And if it disturbs you then yes, you might want to steer clear of the scale for a little while. I'm one who weighs every day and find the results instructive rather than depressing. If I limited my weighing to only once a week or so I'd obsess about it much more, and be sad if the scale didn't move at least the 1-2 lbs everyone says is "average." Weighing daily I've become familiar with my body's patterns and the way I react to various changes in behavior. And over time my loss has indeed been at the average pace, with periods of faster and many periods of slower loss during the trip.

Congratulations, KH, and welcome to LBT!! Take care of yourself and heal well.

Besides all the other great points made here, who would really want to eat liquified hamburger or whatever? Blech. Reminds me of those orange juice commercials with the guy putting fish in the blender. Horrifying. Katerzz, this will be over soon and you WILL appreciate the good you have done for yourself. Believe it.

Tracie, just click on "New Thread" on the main page of the section where you want to start the thread. If it's on general banding issues, for example, it would be in General Lap-Band Discussion. Robin, I agree that contacting the manufacturer of your band is the first thing you should do. Who if anyone bears responsibility for that hole is a matter to be determined: was the band defective from the start? Or did the surgeon do something to damage it during surgery? Good luck and please let us know how events unfold. I hope everything turns out well!!

An extra artery! Wow, Katie, that's a doozy of a complication. So glad to hear your surgeries are over and you're on the road to recovery. You'll be back in fighting form before you know it. Be good to yourself and rest!!