Alexandra

Post-op swelling can be bad sometimes, I have heard stories like this that resolve ultimately. As you have rightly determined that the most important thing is to keep well-hydrated, and are keeping in close touch with your doctor, you're taking the right steps so far. If it were me I'd give it another day or so, but then have to take the bull by the horns and get some medication. It may just be swelling or it may be that something else is going on, and after a week I'd think your doctor would be worried, too. Here's hoping it's just swelling and that you feel better VERY SOON!!

Mary, am I reading correctly that you've never had a fill? So your band is simply empty? When did you start experiencing reflux? In most cases an unfill is the recommended treatment for that, but if you've never had a fill at all obviously that's not possible. Weird! Have you ever tried any OTC products for it?

Yahoooo, Bright!! Isn't it the coolest to connect with other bandsters while waiting for a fill? I never mind going for fills because that's where I get the best info. It's like a mini-support group meeting right there. Congratulations on gurgling!! That's totally a clue that you have restriction. Take it easy, girlie, you don't want to hurt yourself. :clap: :clap: GOOOOO BRIGHT!!! :banana :banana :banana :banana :banana :banana

Congratulations, Babs!! You have a LOT to be proud of! :clap: :clap:

Holy cow, budha, that's scary!! I'm shocked a doctor in NJ would make that sort of mistake. Any chance you want to share the name?

Donali, this is profound and so very much appreciated. I <3 you, as always. I'm so glad my doctors don't take the approach that we have to lose weight to "prove" we're worthy of bariatric surgery. It's indefensible, and I agree with everything you've said.

Congratulations!! I love a bandster preggo success story. Welcome back, Mom!! :clap: :clap: :Bunny

Being banded has given me a new understanding of fullness. The hunger you hear people complaining about only occurs during the early phases when you really can't eat solid food to satisfy them. Later on, we get hungry because we're human and that's the way our bodies work, but it's easy to eat enough to be satisfied. And "enough" is a whole new can of worms. A very small can.

Hey Sally, Isn't it cool when you get communication from your insurance carrier and it's NOT just a flat no? Or written in such gobbledygook that you can't possibly hope to understand it? Sounds like you're in great shape with Horizon and your surgeon. Continued good luck to you! :clap: :clap:

This is what Fitday does for me. Penni, I trust their calculations, as long as I'm honest about entering the actual amounts and ingredients of whatever I've eaten. I mean, why would its calorie counts be any less accurate than what is available in a book? Remember, I'm talking about the home version of Fitday, not the online one. What I have lets us customize each food to the nth degree. For example, I wouldn't enter "a tuna sandwich" without breaking it down to the ingredients that *I* personally use. Lisa, is tuna considered one food and mayonnaise another (for the purposes of counting to 50)? Or is tuna, in general, one food and all its various incarnations just offshoots of that? Not that it matters, I was just curious how Billy was getting to "50."

Wow, so THAT'S Dr. Billy? Now I see what all the ruckus is about. My my... (walking off, fanning myself...)

Brilliant post. All around.

Ladyg, I think your sister's in need of MAJOR band attention. She needs to pay more attention to the other aspects of her health than whether she can lose weight. I know people say they'll hang on to their bands until the doctors pry it from their cold, dead bodies, but that's supposed to be a metaphor. SOME things are more important than weight loss.

This is really interesting, Lisa, thanks for posting it! I like his approach--knowledge is indeed power. I think that's sort of what I've been doing without knowing it by using Fitday. It instantly breaks down the foods you enter into their constituent nutritional parts, which can be very eye-opening. Of course, I haven't been acting on the information, but that's the next step. So that list of 50 foods is supposed to reflect what we eat on a regular basis? Unless I can include things that are ingredients in other foods I sure as heck won't get to 50. My routine probably includes no more than 10 or 12 on a rotating basis.

I had surgical staples too. Some doctors use them instead of stitches to close the incisions. Mine came out about a week after surgery. Bigmom, what you're experiencing is totally normal. It can take several weeks for some people to feel totally normal in the abdominal area after surgery. Just take it easy and you WILL feel better soon.

Lisa, did Dr. Billy tell you to avoid eating or drinking for several hours before bed? I've had some of the same symptoms--not really burning or irritated throat in the morning, but a sensation of Fluid there that makes me cough, which I'm told is also reflux. But I find that if I don't eat *or drink* anything for like three or four hours before lying down, it really doesn't happen at all. I know nighttime nibbling is a bear for you, but maybe this is an extra kick to help you over that habit. Consider it a message from the bandster god. (So why don't I listen?!? I just finished a bowl of ice cream, less than two hours before bed. ERGH!) Do you think your difficulty in swallowing has something to do with acid reflux, also? is the Pepcid supposed to have an effect on that? (And is it OTC Pepcid, or a prescription?)

Oh my lord. I shouldn't have looked. Penni, you are an ANGEL!!! Darcy, nice to see you licking your lips at the sight. Gag. Lisa, honey, once again I'm sending all kinds of CLEAN, HEALING, NEVER-AGAIN-INFECTED vibes to you and your gaping belly-hole. Erk. Now I have to go make dinner. Joy.

I just saw Penni's comment about the "sweet spot" and wanted to add my 2 cents to clarify. The "sweet spot" is not a specific number, and of course will vary from person to person. The "sweet spot" is a state in which our bands are working as best they can for us, like saying I've reached bandster nirvana. No one would ask "how much fill should I get for bandster nirvana?" But it's a fair question to ask other people to describe it, in hopes we'll all know it when we find it. Bright, MY sweet spot is probably a little less restricted than I am right now. (Shhhh, don't tell my doctor I said that!) I love not being hungry and needing only a little food at meals. I'm not PBing because by now I know how to chew well enough to avoid that. However, I still have that one-bite-too-many syndrome from time to time, and sometimes that comes on bite #5 of a meal. I'd like to be able to eat a little more than that. And recently I've had to religiously avoid eating or drinking several hours before bedtime so I don't have nighttime reflux, and I'm not crazy about that. But if past experience is any guide, as I lose more weight my restriction will lessen. I hope my sweet spot is waiting for me 10 or so pounds from now.

Donali has a great idea. Applesauce will be a better test than barium, which is what my doctor uses. Bright, I've sort of been going through this myself, and want to caution you about something. If you've been used to your level of restriction for a long time, any increased restriction is going to feel like a lot. I was slightly un-filled last November, rested for a little over a month, and now I have a fill that is only .1 MORE than I had before the un-fill. But it feels like WAY more. I'm restricted in a way that I haven't felt since early last summer, and it's taking some serious getting used to. The upside is that all that getting-used-to it has resulted in a loss of about 15 lbs in the last six weeks! I guess what I'm saying is not to be TOO aggressive. A lot of the results lie in your behavior, which of course you know, and too much restriction is really worse than just enough. And all it takes is just enough to make your willpower rev up to where you need it to be. This isn't the last fill you can ever have, just one more on your road. So get one, but don't go overboard! Good luck, bandsister!

Hi Krissie, Obviously you need to get the specific details from your surgeon, but generally people are out of the hospital no later than the next day. Some practices--like the one I used, for instance--do the surgety as outpatient. I was home by 2:00 in the afternoon the same day, Wednesday, and was back at work on Monday. It's really no big deal; if you've ever had surgery before this will feel like a piece of cake. General anaesthesia is the hardest part (IMO). Good luck with your consult!

Hi Lauren, This is your time to go wild with soup! If you're a Dr. Bertha patient you've probably driven by the Trader Joe's in Florham Park. That's a GREAT place to find new and interesting soups, spreads, dips, pates and other soft foods. This is a short period and NOT a time to be worrying about calories. Take care of yourself and try not to get too hungry, because that definitely makes the craving for solid food worse. This is the worst part...don't make it harder on yourself than it already is. Enjoy! Egg drop Soup, oyster chowder, salmon bisque, tzatziki, hummus, yummmmmmmmm... Hmmm. Think I'll go to trader Joe's this afternoon...

Hi Bandit, What everyone says is right on. People who lose their ports are the exception: the band and port are both part of a system designed to stay in place permanently. Infections and other complications can happen but they are rare. The vast majority of bandsters keep their ports and bands in place long-term. Regarding alcohol: You say it would be a shame if you couldn't drink anymore. Well, that's your decision. If you're in a place where you are seriously considering weight-loss surgery, then you must be coming to terms that MANY behaviors you now have are not working for you. Alcohol may be one of them. There are lots of reasons not to drink, banded or not, if you're trying to lose weight. But no, banding will not change your basic anatomy, and you will still be able to metabolize alcohol after banding the same way you do now.

Uh oh, sounds like you got a little virus. Do you have anything that can rout them out for you? It's not related to this website, I'm positive of that.

I started the same way you did, and eliminated names based on various practical concerns (such as distance). Then I called the doctors and made appointments, or found out what their first step was. In many cases the doctors will require you to attend a seminar or introductory meeting, and you can learn A LOT by going to them. There's typically no charge and it can help you discover more about the practice, the procedure, and what's important to you. I attended two of them before picking my doctor. Then once you make the first appointment, remember that you're not committed to anything. Personally, I wanted to meet any surgeon who was going to operate on me BEFORE deciding whether I was going through this with him and his practice. It's not like you have to pick a name out of a hat and you're stuck with the choice you made.

Have a great trip to Bandland! We've left a light on for ya!! :D