Graceful One

I had my revision on 8/29/13 and so far I'm allowed pureed but have been mainly drinking my Protein Drinks, Water, milk, and coffee. I've had grits twice as well as a bit of thinned Noosa Yoghurt which is divine. I'm getting very sick of the sweet so I've also had some Spicy V8. I'm not really all that hungry yet which is a good thing and I've been sticking to my 2-3 oz limits on non liquids. I think by the end of puree which for me is 2 weeks we can then go up to 3-4 oz on mechanical soft. I have always found it funny how much each surgeon and program differ in their pre-op requirements and post-op plans and it always drives me batty because I don't want to be the one doing too much or too little. I'm basically letting my body give me cues and trying to push the head hunger from boredom and smelling what my family is eating to the back of my mind...although some scrambled eggs smelled so good yesterday I just about cried.

Yes that is most likely your port which can remain tender for some time. Make sure if you need to cough to hold a pillow to your tummy tight as it will help with pain. Also, using some ice across your tummy for 20 minutes on/20 minutes off can really help with that port pain. I'm pretty sure I overdid it yesterday and icing felt so good. Now to get rid of this horrible bloat and the feel of my entire abdomen being swollen.

Hope your doing well!

How are you feeling today? Holding up and enjoying your Protein shakes? What are your diet restrictions and plan?

I'm sick of 'sweet' already so we went grocery shipping last night and picked up some Tomato juice, chicken broth, sweet potato puree, pudding, ricotta cheese, grits, Noosa Yoghurt, and a few other things for the future as my diet progresses.

Even after having had a band for 10 years especially with not having any great restriction in the past three years up until now just looking at the size of my Noosa Yoghurt has me overwhelmed as it looks like way too much food! Hope my head and my stomach stay in sync and I can continue to be in that same state of mind for a long while to come!

Hoping your doing well!

Yes...make sure to hold your stomach - placing a pillow over it and holding tightly will help you be able to deeply cough with less pain...I'm in the same boat!

Great job and glad to hear your feeling well. Welcome to the Lap Band club!

I had my revision & plication yesterday also and so far I am doing well...just feel like I've done a ton of sit ups and am pretty tender. Unfortunately, my surgery had some complications and my surgeon had to remove a ton of scar tissue/adhesions from previous abdominal surgeries. So excited to have a working band again and get full on a few sips of liquids!

Just had my revision yesterday and got the same vibe and comments from my sister..."hope this one works for you - gosh you've had a lot of problems with your band...this is my diet (shows me smoothie)". To that I had to say...gosh I take a sip or two of coffee or my Water and I am so full...sure hope this lasts. Needless to say she has a significant weight problem as well but has never been supportive of my struggles or successes with the band over the years. What it comes down to is some people are not empathetic...and most people, especially those with weight issues are probably jealous that you have a tool to help you. Glad to hear your doing great!

I was originally banded in 2003 and had a revision with plication yesterday and so far so good! My procedure was to last approximately 60-90 minutes and took over 4 hours as I apparently had a great deal of scar tissue and adhesions on my liver from a previous gallbladder removal as well as other abdominal surgery. My surgeon said that I would be extremely sore with the amount of work that he had to do inside however, I'm feeling pretty good...just like I had a really hard ab workout. Luckily no gas and/or shoulder pains as I had with my original surgery. My biggest problem is nursing my daughter as she just turned one and is now a wiggle worm and likes to contort herself in to many different positions which involve wriggling on my tummy.

Unfortunately I strayed from my original surgeon due to an emergency situation to a surgeon that practices in my area and for the past 3 years have struggled as he felt that 2cc's in a 10 cc band was adequate and that once I had a 'good' fill that I would never need another adjustment. Unfortunately I wasn't even able to maintain a fill as he poked a bunch of holes in my tubing and that wasn't found until I returned to my original surgeon who did the revision yesterday.

I'm elated at this point that I am able to take a few sips and be full.....heck last week I was able to eat a hamburger off the grill with the bun, baked Beans, and a cucumber salad! My surgeon did ask me what my current fill level was so that he could make sure to place an adequate fill in surgery minus a little to compensate for swelling. I'm finally feeling positive being back on the 'band' wagon and know that my new journey is a fresh start and sooner or later I will get back to goal and the point I was prior to my setbacks.

I'd love to join you newly banded ladies... I actually have a band and have had one since 2003 but have had some ups and downs along the way. I recently found out that I have a slip and am having my revision to correct the slip and plication on Thursday the 29th! The past two years have come and gone with a very horrible surgeon I switched my care to and now that I'm back in my original surgeons hands I'm confident I will be able to start over and continue on my journey the way I had in the distant past! I'd love to keep in touch with you all so you can remind me and teach me what I have not learned or forgotten!

I've had two pregnancies being banded and have not had any problems. During my son's pregnancy 4 1/2 years ago I kept a small fill with my OB's blessing and didn't notice any difference in how my band worked or operated. I gained the appropriate amount of weight and he was born full term and healthy. During my daughter's pregnancy who just turned one year, I had a few weeks of feeling very tight mid pregnancy and again I maintained a small fill with my OB's blessing but that I believe was because she was Frank Breech and I had a really big head pushing on my tummy.

My biggest recommendation is to make sure that your OB and Surgeon know that you are pregnant and are willing to keep in close contact during your pregnancy should you have any problems.

I am currently banded but undergoing a revision & plication this Thursday August 29th! I'm so excited as I've been having problems for such a very long time and I'm ready to get back on the bandwagon!

Did your surgeon also do plication during your revision?

Just found out yesterday after an UGI last Friday that I have a slip.

After talking with my surgeon he will be doing a revision as well as adding plication and I'm wondering for those that have had the band without plication and then later had a revision adding plication what their experience was. Did you notice a difference in how your band functioned? Did you tend to lose faster with the plication? Any and all experiences are appreciated.

My band was never in the correct place after having a revision by another surgeon two years ago. I've been back to my original surgeon who discovered a leak and now the slippage.

Just found out today after an UGI last Friday that I have a slip. After talking with my surgeon he will be adding plication to my revision and I'm wondering for those that have had the band without plication and then had a revision adding plication what their experience was. Did you notice a difference in how your band functioned? Did you tend to lose faster with the plication? Any and all experiences are appreciated.

Speaking from experience, I have had a fill and months later had to have some taking out...sometimes I just think our fill level and how we react to it varies with the barometric pressure! It could definately be your just too tight and then not being able to get down enough fluids leads to being more tight...uugh!

I too wonder if an extreme amount of acid has anything to do with the milk situation as well...I seem to notice it more when I'm drinking alot of OJ or Lemonade or anything acidic. I'd be interested to hear your doctors opinion on that.

Did you happen to take antibiotics for your UTI. Many antibiotics are very hard on the tummy and can cause a severe bought of gastritis which would lead to being very tight as well.

Glad to hear your on the Prilosec and feeling a little bit better and going to your doctor on Thursday. Sounds like we will both have a great Thursday planned - you with your Barium Swallow and me with my EGD...fun times!

I'm too am praying that either my situation is a bought of serious gastritis or an obstruction...Not exactly ready for another surgery if it would be a slip, yet, you do what you have to do I guess. I just pray my insurance would cover it and am praying you need a slight unfill and you'll be back to being a happy bandster.

Please let me know how it goes!

Paula,

I went to my band doc on Monday and he completely took my fill out upon my request and now I'm not having one bit of a problem with milk, or much less for that matter, however, I'm pretty sure that I have an obstruction due to some medications I'm on from 4 back surgeries that cause a slowing of digestion - basically, the milk just sits in the upper pouch and then becomes curdled as it is only partially digested.

I am going for an Upper GI Endoscope on Thursday to see if I have an obstruction (which would be my 2nd - prior one was last March) or a possible slippage.

Now don't get freaked out because I said the "S" word...I'm sure your just too tight - have you had a fill recently? If not, have you been keeping up on your fluids because I know that when I get low on fluids my stoma swells up and then it's really hard to get anything down.

In addition, are you drinking skim milk? I've noticed that when I've been tight in the past it's more apt to happen if it wasn't skim milk - not sure if a higher fat percentage is more apt to curdle.

Lastly, I did pick up a little 'trial size' bottle of Silk Soy Milk Not Flavored on Saturday and it was actually pretty darn good!

Let me know your thoughts!

OK...I haven't been here in a very long time...wow have things changed!

Just a question if anyone has had problems with drinking milk and having it come back up curdled? I've done some research and it happens no matter what type of milk I drink (skim, 1%, 2%) although I most often drink skim. I can only relate what comes up in consistency to that of cottage cheese or a cheese curd.

From web research I've done, apparently this means it is partially digested, however, I'm wondering why it continues to occur as I'm so missing my milk.

I am on Nexium for acid reflux and wondering if this may in any way relate to my problem either that my stomach is still too acidic (which I don't think the case is) or possibly too basic.

Any thoughts on the matter are greatly appreciated!

OK...I haven't been here in a very long time...wow have things changed!

Just a question if anyone has had problems with drinking milk and having it come back up curdled? I've done some research and it happens no matter what type of milk I drink (skim, 1%, 2%) although I most often drink skim. I can only relate what comes up in consistency to that of cottage cheese or a cheese curd.

From web research I've done, apparently this means it is partially digested, however, I'm wondering why it continues to occur as I'm so missing my milk.

I am on Nexium for acid reflux and wondering if this may in any way relate to my problem either that my stomach is still too acidic (which I don't think the case is) or possibly too basic.

Any thoughts on the matter are greatly appreciated!

My little flip flop queen...you look AWESOME! I'm following your posting style...I need to get back here more often!

Wow Alexandra...awesome idea to take it in the same place too! You look great!

Chantal,

So glad to hear things are going better...I too have been there and it is amazing what a little serotonin can do when it sticks...I haven't tried Effexor but am on Lexapro and it is way better than anything I've ever taken!

Here's to feeling better!

Audrey,

You look awesome! Isn't it exciting to see the transformation!

OK so I finally got to your pics...OH MY GOODNESS...you look so hot! Congratulations...and I love the outfit!

I couldn't see the pics but I know you look fabulous!

Congratulations...I know you struggled for the first 7 months but look how much YOU accomplished even without the bands help at first!

Best of luck as well...even though it's all over...I've been MIA!