mommykristie

I have had 3 c-sections, my gallbladder removed and the lapband. To me the worst gas pain was after the gallbladder. My lapband surgery pain was very minimal. I was up walking very soon after surgery. I walked throughout the night in the hospital corridors. The gas is very different than the intestinal gas. It builds up in the muscles and the only way to alleviate it is to WALK,WALK ,WALK. You will have no problem as long as you are moving Good luck!!

Today I met my latest goal! Woohoo! Just 40 more lbs to go to be at goal weight! Even though my loss has slowed down the past few months, I have been continuing to drop steadily each month. Feel better than ever!! On to the next goal mark.....

Dr. Britt is in Guntersville. He even did the surgery on his partner Dr. Groves. The staff is wonderful! In addition, since there are so many surgeries of this type in the Arab hospital, they are very well equipped to handle lapband patients. Everything from the size of wheelchairs to the correct food for post op, is specifically for the comfort of LB patients.

In regards to starting the 5k, I used the an app on my ipod similar to couch to 5k. Very easy to follow and it starts a little slower than the couch to 5k. It is called ease into 5k.

Good luck to all!

I'm from Alabama. Dr. Britt did my surgery back in March along with my gallbladder surgery in August. He is fabulous!! My husband had his surgery a little over a year ago and has lost close to 100 lbs. I am seven months out and have lost close to 60lbs and many clothing sizes. I wouldn't hesitate to do it all over. We ran our first 5k this past weekend, which is something that I never would have contemplated doing before!

The past few weeks, I have my Protein shake for Breakfast and then start my day. The only problem is I have been so busy that I am forgetting to eat! So it is dinner time and I realize..oops missed lunch. First of all, I am not hungry at all ,but this is a terrible habit to get into. Any suggestions on how you "remind" yourself to eat when the stomach no longer gives the clues.

I never thought I would have the problem of not eating!

Most definitely!

I have officially hit the 50% to goal weight mark on my journey! Although my weight loss has slowed down , the weight is still coming off. A little over 50 lbs in 6 months is an amazing feeling!! :D

Congrats! I chose to stay overnight and for me it was a great decision. The nursing staff were able to manage my pain and nausea much better than I would have at home ( yea for IV meds!). I felt much more comfortable and less worried. If I had a question, I knew I would get the answer right then.

As far as the stomach growling, remember that is partly due to digestion rather than hunger. Now that you are banded, you will start to be able hear lots of 'noises'. Head hunger mostly. When you hear the growling, take a few sips of Water, etc. It helps it to quieten down

Look under the success stories tab You will find pages and pages of pics there

Glad to know I am not the only one! Sometimes I am gurgling like a tea pot waiting for the steam. Unfortunately, I belch and burp like crazy since being banded. At the most inappropriate times! My sons think it is hilarious since I have corrected them for years about their teenage noises :wub:

Hang in there! It gets easier and easier!! Then once you get your full energy back , you will be unstoppable!!

I am able to:

- actually jog and exercise

- go to a fitness class and not feel awkward

-wear regular size cute clothes!

- wear my high heels again without worrying about my feet swelling

-cross my legs comfortably

- to be in the front of a picture instead of hiding behind others

-to not have to take any medications!!

Love my band!!

Best of luck to you! Remember to walk, walk, walk! It makes recover and gas go by much quicker!

Never heard of anything like that. My husband and I run without any problems. I also have two good friends that have been banded for awhile and they have never had any issue with their band and exercise.

I did have small ulcers and was treated for the h pylori bacteria. It was over a year before my surgery. Even after the treatment, my ulcers were healed, etc.; however, I still had terrible reflux and was medicated for it. Since LB, I haven't had any of these issues anymore. No medication since the day after surgery!! Another positive from having LB.

I slept on my side and stomach after surgery. I just propped up pillows No problems!

I take a children's Gummy Vitamin. As far as the Protein Shakes, everyone has to find one that they enjoy. I tried the Protein powders and several different kinds of premade. I like the Boost rich chocolate myself. I would suggest trying different ones before stocking up because you need to find one that you really like. Not just for the pre/post op but you will have to drink these after each fill so it has to be a taste that you find yummy.

This is a great topic! I remember they kept telling me that I was going to have to wake up and then kept piling warm blankets on because I guess I was shivering. I remember not wanting to wake up because I felt nauseated. So my first words were " I'm going to be sick". If they had just let me sleep...LOL!!

Everything has been moving right along since my LB surgery...until now. I started having a irritating pain a couple of weeks ago in my right side. When I went for my monthly LB checkup, I mentioned it to my doctor. After asking some questions, I was scheduled for an ultrasound for my gallbladder. Tuesday morning I had my ultrasound that was clear and showed no stones. My dr had went ahead and ordered a HIDA scan if the ultrasound turned out negative. Long story short, during the HIDA scan, the was no visibility of function. Basically, my gallbladder has quit working. I knew that this was common for gastric and also occurred in some LB patients; however, I never expected to be one of the statistics! So it looks like surgery will be soon. I am just thankful that my LB surgeon is so great about listening to what is going on with his patients.

Has anyone else had their GB removed since being banded? Any issues or concerns that I need to be aware of?

I think we all go through periods of feeling like it is not coming off as quickly as we would like. However, the important thing is that the weight is coming off. I was banded on 3/15/2012 and have lost 47, but that is 47 that I would not have lost without the help of my band. I have had tons of NSVs to make up for the scale not moving as quickly as I would like. More importantly, I am exercising and eating better, which is something I wasn't doing before. The clothing sizes dropping are the biggest thrill! When I first met with my wls doctor, I told him it wasn't about how many pounds that I wanted to lose, but I wanted to be healthier and be in "normal" clothing sizes. I have made both of those goals, so although I may have a lot of pounds to go, I know that I have been successful at my own pace.

Try not to compare yourself to other's weight loss. It is an individual journey, we all have different lifestyles, body frames, stress levels, and hereditary factors that will affect how quickly we lose. In addition, depending on how much you have to lose also makes an impact on the speed of loss.

Any weight loss is better than none! Go see if you can pick up 3 ten pound bags of dog food or 33 bags of sugar. It gives you a different perspective

I was denied from bcbs of AL and even denied all of my appeals. I did not have any of the comorbidities that they accept ( medicated hypertension, medicated diabetes or treated sleep apnea) and during the three years of weight documentation, the first year I was slightly below the morbidly obese range. In order for the surgery, the ins will only pay for morbidly obese unless you have one of the three medical conditions. So, I had to wait and complete another 6 months of supervised diet, etc and wait until January of 2012 so that it would be a new year on record which dropped off my first year's records. During that time, I had to maintain withing a very narrow range to keep from being denied. Luckily, my primary dr was great about working with me on making sure I stayed within the range. For example, I had gotten a terrible virus and lost weight which put me below the morbid range by two pounds. So, we waited a week, let me recover and of course those two pounds came back on, which was the weight recorded on my WLS form. After all of those hoops, it took just a couple of days to get approved. Good luck to you and don't give up!!

I have had 3 c-sections and the band was MUCH easier recovery. I am also an elementary teacher. I had surgery on a Thursday and went back to school on Monday without any problems. I even took a field trip that week with a 2 hour bus ride ( one way) on the school bus without any issues. In fact, I think it helped with my recovery to be up and about.

I can only speak for my self and my spouse, but I was banded in March and have only had two small fills. Luckily so far, I have not had a stuck episode. My husband has been banded for one year and has never had a stuck episode either. Both of us had a vomiting episode after surgery from the anesthesia. It was so painful, that I am terrified of vomiting again, so I am trying to avoid it at all costs!!

Wonderful video! Congrats on your success!