Corrigan

My port is usually flush with the surface of my stomach, but once in a while it looks like I'm smuggling golf balls. No idea why, but I'll find out Tuesday.

I guess burping is caused by swallowing air, don't do that.

Hi Emily, You're losing about 2 lbs a week. That's about what the surgeons recommend. Some people loose more , but that's not always good for your health. Keep on doing what you're doing and in a year,you'll have lost 100 lbs. That doesn't sound too bad.

You'll just need a couple more fills. The surgeons can't go too fast or you wouldn't be able to eat for a few days. Part of the responsibility for your weight loss depends on you. You can't eat the way you did before surgery even when you have all the fills you need. Your eating habits have to change or there's not much point in WLS of any type. I'm sure you were given guidelines for your diet after surgery. You have to follow them. You'll have periods of hunger and you'll just have to work through them. The band helps, but in the long run it's up to you. I wish you all the best.

The make is Braun, and of course it came from costco. And while you're there, their Protein powder is great (Vanilla), it goes with anything. Thanks for the kudos.

Your band doesn't have any restriction yet, so you can eat almost anything you ate before. There's no problem with your band, it just hasn't had a fill yet. As you go for fills the opening in the bottom of your band will get smaller and smaller until it's just right to allow you to eat, but not overeat. You will have to be strong until you get your fills so you don't overeat, It's going to be hard, but just do the best you can and try to follow your doctor/nutritionist's instructions.

The handiest thing we have is an immersion blender. Prefect for smoothies, mushies (who made up those words?), and super easy to clean.

You might try going back to liquids for a day or two. Maybe you've irritated your stoma, and need to let it heal for a bit.

I really think you should follow your doctor/nutritionist's instructions. My surgeon was an instructor for WLS and he really impressed on me, the importance of allowing your stomach to heal. He said going too fast was the single, most likely factor for WLS failure. Everyone undergoing this surgery, has gone through what you're going through. Hang in there and this too shall pass.

I guess you're doing great! You're going to have to carry bricks in your pocket to keep from being blown away.

You've had two fills. Some people need three or four or more to reach their ideal "sweet spot". And the there are those who don't have much hunger with none (I'm one). I'm scheduled for a fill Tuesday, but I'll probably pass. I don't think you'll ever be able to eat whatever you want and maintain the weight loss you want. It's always going to take some restraint, but the fills should make it much easier. I hope you get to the point where you can lose and then maintain.

I was diabetic with sleep apnea and overloaded knees that were going to need replacement if I didn't take some weight off them. My doctor finally put it in words I could understand. He said "You're going to die if you don't do something soon." I wasn't suicidal so I decided to lose some weight. I'd lost up to 80 lbs a number of times, but seemed to put it right back on. WLS didn't seem very manly, but then neither did dying, so here I am 50 lbs lighter and wishing I'd done it many years ago. Everyone needs to make their own decision about this in light of their own situation, in mine, I really wanted to see my grandchildren grow up, they're just too much fun for me not to be here for them. I went to the hospital my PCP recommended, which was a Center of Excellence in Beverly Hills, a horrible drive, but worth every shattered nerve. My surgeon and the hospital were so good I never the least pain except for my incisions. To this day, as I sit here with the shirt that didn't fit two months ago,I haven't had the slightest reason to regret it. When guys ask "Why in the world did you do that?" I say "Pick up a hundred pound sack and carry it around all day and You'll see".

Kate, I'm coming into this a little late. You have an excellent surgeon, with a good reputation. Something I'd like you to talk over with him, is the band WITH plication. This is a rather new procedure, but it works like the sleeve with none of it's disadvantages. It should be good for rapid weight loss and is reversible, should that become necessary. I've had it and haven't seen a downside yet. The beauty of this procedure is that if your weight loss ever slacks off, the band can be filled for extra restriction. I'm not selling anything, just enthusiastic about it. If you're interested and I can be of further help, please PM me. PS: I didn't read all the preceding posts and just saw this has been mentioned several times before. Add my comments to the rest.

Most surgeons won't operate if you've been taking any type of blood thinner before surgery. About the only thing they allow is Tylenol. I think they'd rather you took a narcotic than a blood thinner (I'm not suggesting anything), blood thinners can cause bleeding.

If you're being treated for hypothyroidism, you're good, some surgeons have a problem with untreated thyroid disease. Low iron isn't usually a problem. You should have a blood test before surgery and they'll correct anything then.

You just gave him thirty thousand dollars, You have every right to disturb him if you think you need to. I'd go back to liquids for a day or so, until you can get in touch with some one. If it goes away in a day of so, you're probably OK, but don't let it go. The pain in your back is probably referred pain from somewhere else. Hopefully your doctor can tell you where.

You gals both have surgeons with excellent reputations. That's most of it. You don't have to do anything, just show up. Recovery is easy, you'll probably have a little sore throat from the intubation device, but that goes away soon. Don't forget to take your slippers and PJs, those hospital gowns are pretty revealing. Good luck, in a year you'll just be a shadow of your former self.

There are people on here that have had the band for at least six years, and many improvements have been made since then. I don't think you have much to worry about just yet. Any problems seem to be corrected easily. If I have any problems with mine ( unlikely) I'll deal with it then. Now is the time to be losing weight, not freaking about what ifs.

Your new picture looks great.

I know that's a thrill, we lugged all this fat around for so long, I'm sitting here, watching a football game, in a shirt I couldn't button last year, now it's a bit large on me. Things are definately looking up. Next year I'll use it for a blanket.

It really depends on the type of band used. I'm no expert, but from what i've read, the realize only needs one size for both it's bands, LapBand has 5 sizes, but most surgeons only use two, AP-l is 14ml and AP-s is 10ml. All this information is on the net, in one place or another. As to what size is used, apparently the initial size of the stomach was used to determine the band size, now it's thought to not be as important.

You need to give it about six weeks before you lift much over ten pounds. I fixed all our bikes, did all our light yard work and just about went crazy, but my surgeon talked me into taking it easy. Now that it's over, I'm glad I did, everything is where it belongs, no pain and I'm ready to go. Give it a little more time.

I f you mix and blend your mushies well enough to go through a straw and still have problems, if you've had a fill, maybe you need a little taken out. You really haven't given enough information about your problem for anyone to give you any meaningful advice. I hope you can get help for this.

Hi Christina, congratulations on your decision, I got into this also on my PCPs recommendation. I had diabetes etc. and weight loss was about the only solution. This surgery requires lot of education to be really successful, and as far as I know, your weight at your initial seminar is what they base your BMI on. Maybe someone with more experience with Kaiser will chime in. My kids are grown, but I've got a slew of grandchildren I'd like to watch grow up. I hope everything goes well for you. Best of luck.

Kelly, Why not just call her back and say everything is fine now, maybe just a case of nerves. It sounds like you're doing fine, just relax and try not to freak out, there's enough money in this that they won't cancel unless there's really something wrong. One thing to remember, on a carbohydrate restricted diet, your blood sugar can get low and cause shakiness, sweating and overall nervousness. A piece of bread or a glass of juice should take care of that. Whatever you do, don't call your nutritionist when you're in that state. She sounds like a bit of a bully, and you need to talk to her in a calm, collected manner. Good luck and I hope it all goes well.