SElaine

This is your body, YOUR decision. You have the right to the life you want and deserve. Your son is 29. He should be an adult. You are not living your life for him or for his spouse. You did your job with him and not it's your turn to concentrate on YOU. They are the ones that should feel guilty for not supporting you through such an emotionally and physically demanding time. Are you a part of a local support group? If not, I would check through your surgeon and check the local boards to see if there is one in your area and get involved. Surround yourself with people who care and can be supportive. I am here for you. Good luck. You are in my thoughts and prayers. Shauna

I can't believe how hungry I've been today. I guess it's time to really watch the Protein and get that in. This week since starting mushies I have been fine with some Soup and a baby food. Or a Protein shake (sipped throughout the day) and a SF popsicle. Tonight I went to the store and bought SF ice cream. Oh, I am so bad. I did limit it to 1/2 cup... but, oh..... yummmy.........I feel so naughty right now.

I had my post-op appt. today. Everything was fine. I saw Dr. DeBarros and he was looking good, too! I get to stop heparin injections! Yeah! My fill date is June 28 11:30 am. I am down a total of 23 pounds since starting the pre-op diet 5/9. On an unrelated note, I am hungry! I have not been hungry since the surgery, but today I am so hungry!

Hey Audreyg..... I was banded 5-21-07 and I also have the AP band. From what I understand, a few select surgeons in the U.S. were given the OK to use them for a trial period before they are released in June. Yeah for us!

I was banded 5-21-07 with the small AP band. So far, so good! I'm still in the "mushies" stage. I had my first post-op appt. today. The doctor said that many people with the new AP band don't even need fills as they are having adequate restriction without them. I suppose I'll figure that out as I start eating "normal" food. Good luck to everyone.

Oh, Virginia! (Do you go by Ginger?) That's crazy! I take it they worked you in anyway, even without the appointment. That's good. I'm pretty sure my appt. tomorrow is with Dr. Orris, too. I'm glad you are doing well. You have lost a lot. That's great. I'm down about 18.5 today since my first visit in April. I guess I'll find out on their scale tomorrow. Other than being tired, how are you feeling? I'm tired as well. I've been trying to get the kids down for a nap in the afternoon; that's been a chore. I still have a sore port, but I am also having sharp, shooting pains above another one of my incisions that is not the port. Have you experienced anything like that? It really hurts to sit up straight. I was really hoping to feel better by now. This is a bummer. How have you been eating? I'm doing OK except I know I'm not getting enough protein and I wonder if I'm drinking enough water. I'm still just sipping but I'm also trying to be diligent about not drinking before or after eating. Today I blended up a can of potato ham chowder and strained it. I had some for lunch and some for dinner and about half is still left in the fridge. It was so yummy! Much better than the babyfood or protein drinks. I'm getting tired of everything sweet. I, too, have been wondering where LilMonkey is. She hasn't checked in for a while. I hope everything is OK with her and her hubby. I'll try to get my fill appt. around the same time as yours. I will let you know. Take care, Shauna PS-- How old are your boys?

Nicole, I would check w/ your ins. co. to see what they consider a medically supervised diet. Usually your PCP or bariatric surgeon can put you on the medically supervised diet. Usually you have to meet with them at least once a month and get weighed in. Congratulations on taking the first step and going to the seminar. I have heard good things about Scottsdale Bariatrics. My only suggestion would be to go to at least a couple of seminars w/ different surgeons before making a final decision. You will find that a lot of them are very different. Unlike gastric bypass, with the lapband you can eat just about anything. The band restricts the amount you eat, so you will just be eating less. Most surgeons will suggest you take a multi-Vitamin daily. That's it for supplements. Good luck, and keep in touch! Shauna

Nicole, It's not too many questions. How will you know if you don't ask? I was banded on 5-21-07 (10 days ago)! I went to three different surgeons before deciding on WLIAZ (Weight Loss Institute of Arizona). My surgeon is Dr. DeBarros and he has been wonderful. The experience has been pretty good and has run pretty smoothly. First I went to the introduction seminar. After that, I scheduled my first appointment. At the first appointment I met with the office manager (discuss money), nutritionist, nurse, surgeon. We set up goals I had to follow prior to surgery. (2 week liquid pre-op diet, yearly woman exam, EGD, X-ray). Once everything was completed I scheduled the surgery. Ten days after surgery I am getting around fine and starting to eat again. I still have a little bit of pain on my side where my port is and where one of my incisions is. I'm sure it will go away soon, although not soon enough! I am down 17.5 pounds since starting the pre-op diet on 5-9. Hope this helps! Shauna

Nicole, Welcome! And no, you do not sound crazy at all. It sounds like a lot of what I went through. The cost of the lap band surgery will vary greatly depending on which doctor, your insurance, and if you decide to stay locally or go to Mexico. For me, my insurance didn't pay a single cent, so I had to pay it all myself. The first thing I would do is find out if your insurance covers it and how much they cover. They may also have surgeons they will work with and others they won't. If your insurance does require a supervised diet first (most of them are six months, I believe) get a consult with a surgeon right away. They will usually get you started on the diet while you are going through the rest of the process so at the end of the six months you are ready to go. Another thing I would suggest highly is to do your research on surgeons in the valley. Some of them cost more than others. I would not automatically go the one who does the most advertising and charges the least. It may be worth paying a little more to get the care you deserve and should expect through this process. My PCP didn't have an issue with it. I would sent a PM to WasABubbleButt. She is a registered nurse that lives in N. Phoenix and has had the band done. She has always been willing to help, and being that she's a nurse herself, she may have a good idea about doctors and who can help. I haven't had many people say anything about the band because I haven't told that many people. Mainly just my family. And believe me, regardless of what anybody tells you, this is not the easy way out. The band is a tool; you still have to do the work. Good luck on your decision and please let me know if you have any other questions. We are all here to help and support one another. Good Luck, Shauna

Hey Virginia, I'm doing OK today. You? So, what did it feel like when you ate too much? I didn't know about the support group. Who's it with? I might be interested in going as well. Will you let me know if you find out any details on it? Kaylali-- Hi! I haven't seen you on the AZ forum before. Awesome to know there is another one of us. Where do you live and who did your surgery?

Hey Virginia! Does anyone know what happened to LilMonkey? I hope she's OK. I'm doing OK today. I have stopped taking the pain meds and have a lot more energy, which I've needed being home alone with the kids for the first time. I am having some port pain, especially sitting here at the computer. I don't know how you are doing it. I sit here for more than 30 mintues or so and it stabs and burns until I can't take it anymore. This morning I was down 2 pounds from pre-surgery weight. Yeah, finally broke the barrier. I have eaten more today, but I am having even a harder time with the Protein. Now that there are more options, the Protein shake is the last thing I want to have. Ugh..... Have a good night! Shauna

Yes, Virginia, I have MSN, too. I will add you to mine. Yeah! It works!

Virginia, Hi again. I am having a similar problem with my belly brace. Although I have one, it is too big and doesn't do much good. It fit when I was in the hospital, but I think enough of the swelling has gone down that when I put it on it just hangs there. It's too bad because it really helped when I was able to wear it. It sounds like you have a great job. You are lucky your insurance paid for your band. I had to pay cash for mine; I think LilMonkey and her husband did, too. Are you having any trouble getting the potatoes down? I'm a little worried about the transition but I am so sick and tired of Protein shakes. Did anyone tell you how much protein you should be getting? I am struggling to get in two full shakes a day. When I make them with milk they are 28 g. protein each. Some people on here have said they are required to have 70-90 grams of protein a day! Yikes! If that's the case, I'm no where close. I think it will be a while before I can wear regular clothing as well. My port site is still very sore and it is right across my waist line where my pants sit. During the day I have been wearing elastic wasted work-out shorts and I have to put a bandage over that incision to keep my pants from rubbing on it. Did you decide if you are going to work tomorrow? Is Memorial Day not a holiday for you at the bank? Shauna

Hey annielkd! We are bandmates! I was also banded on 5-21. My doctor says to start introducing mushies after one week. So, I plan to start tomorrow. However, I still haven't had the urge to eat. I can really feel the liquids going down and it makes me nervous to eat real food so soon. I'm going to try but I'm not going to be afraid to go back to liquids for a few days if I need to. I still have pain as well. Especially around the port incision. It is torture to get in and out of bed or even to try and roll over. I'm still doing a lot of my sleeping in the recliner. And more than anything I am just so tired. I'm exhausted all the time and could literally take 2-3 naps a day. I guess we all handle the pain and recovery at our own paces. Welcome to bandland and good luck with your recovery and future successes!

Hi Virginia, Yes, still doing the heprin injections. At least they are no big deal. I was worried about them at first. I was told I would have a LOT of bruising and that the shots would sting. So far, I've had neither. I'm not quite sure if I've been hungry yet or not. I know I want food-- but only because I've been on liquids for three weeks now. The chest pain I had is pretty much gone. It sounds like you have the same thing. It took a day or two, but after getting a couple of good burps out it felt better. Now I have a weird internal feeling when I drink. I think it's the band. It's not painful or even uncomforatable, just different. Have either of you drank too much? For me, I've been good so far. I just try to sip throughout the day. I haven't experienced the "fullness" or the pain some have said they get when getting too much too fast. For that, I'm grateful, but I'm sure my time will come. I'm so excited to start the new portion of our diets tomorrow. Who knew I'd be so excited over SF pudding and blended Soup? Virginia... what type of work do you do? I am a stay-at-home mom. My husband is going out of town on Tuesday, so I will be alone with the kids this week. I'm hoping I can handle it. They can be a handful and I have absolutely no strength to run after them now. That leads me to another question...... are you experiencing the fatigue that I am? Even when I don't take the lortab I am so exhausted and sleepy all the time! I could easily take 2-3 naps a day. I hope it fades soon. Anyway, I think if you need the extra days off of work you should take them. Are you still wearing the belly brace thing they gave us at the hospital? Do you know how long we are supposed to wear it? Let us know what you decide about work and good luck. Shauna

LilMonkey, How did your husbands x-rays turn out?

I felt quite well yesterday and thought I didn't need any more pain meds. By 6 o'clock last night I was really regretting it. So, I have decided to continue taking them for another day or two regardless of how I feel. I learned it's easier to keep the pain away than to try to treat it once you are hurting. Nobody told me anything about the incisions. I specifically asked the nurse at the hospital before we left and she just kept saying "do what's on your paper". Well, the instructions say to remove bandages after three days. It didn't say ANYTHING about living the strips on. The bandages were all stuck to the strips and I figured it was all the same thing. Not until later when I was reading some posts did I realize everybody else was taking the bandages off but leaving the strips on. Oh, well. I'm hoping I didn't cause too much damage. The incisions seem to be healing fine. Did you both receive the big, stretchy abdominal belt to wear? It does feel better to wear it (although hot!) but I was wondering how long we are supposed to keep it on and what it's purpose is. I am glad to hear that I'm not the only one that gained weight. Reading the May posts today it seems like a lot of people lost a lot very quickly. One of the girls who was banded on the 22nd has lost 8 pounds. (I'm still up 2.5.) I am a mom. I have a 5 and 2 year old. Luckily, it's a long weekend and my husband will be home, but come Tuesday I've got to be off the meds and able to run around and chase them for a full day. Good luck to you both going back to work. Virginia.... my post-op is also Friday June 1 at 11am. How weird is that? I guess I'll see you there! I live clear on the other side of town in Gilbert. Once we all have recovered a bit, we should plan a time and place centrally located for us all to get together. I'm moving around much more, but still pain at the port sight, especially when bending. Getting in and out of bed has been torture. I have had a difficult time sleeping because it hurts so much just to turn over. I'm hoping this will get better in a few days. I spent the first night home in the recliner with no attempt to even go up the stairs and try getting in bed. The last few nights I have started out in bed but ended up going back down to the recliner before morning.

Forgot to mention, I am still pretty swollen. I came home 10 pounds heavier than I went it, and today I was still 4 pounds heavier. I know I just need time to heal and loose the extra water weight and gas from surgery. Have either of you weighed in yet?

Hello all! Here I am! I'm sorry it has taken me so long to check in. It's been a crazy week; I'm sure you both know! Virginia- It was great meeting you at the hospital! Your husband seems great, too. LilMonkey- Were you the lady with medium/long brown hair? How is your husband doing now? My surgery went OK. The first thing I remember was being woken up to do the barrium x-ray. It was awful. I just kept thinking to myself, "OMG, I'm not even awake yet. I haven't even stood up yet, much less walked, and here they are trying to put me in all of these herrendous positions". I didn't have any balance and couldn't even keep my eyes open. There was a nurse there standing by me as they moved the table up and down yelling in my ear to wake-up and drink, wake-up and roll-over, etc. They could clearly see I wasn't fully awake yet, so you think they could have waited a few hours; especially since I was spending the night. After that, I was back to my room and things progressed from there. Apparently, my first IV was not inserted correctly and it hurt like hell. Everytime they inserted medicine in it I had an awful burning sensation. I have had Iv's before but they have never hurt like this. Anyway, once back to the room the IV machine kept beeping. Four times the nurse would come in and turn it off and back on again because it wasn't flowing. Finally she called the lab and had someone come and insert a new IV. After that, everything was fine. On the arm where I had my first IV I am still swollen with a bruise on the inside of my arm that goes from the wrist up to the elbow. My port sight still hurts and I have had gas pains. Today I have felt a big lump in my chest and can't figure out if it's gas or the feeling of being full. I think it's gas and hope it goes away soon. So far, so good on the liquid diet, although I don't think I'm getting enough Protein. After two weeks of Protein drinks, I have pretty much had it. What have you all done about your incisions? Did you take your bandages off? And when you did, did you take the tapes off under them, too? I did. I'm hoping I didn't make a mistake. Thanks for the support. I have my post-op appt. on Friday June 1. Virginia-- where do you live?

Ewa, Thank you so much! Yes, if I find any info, I'll post it. LilMonkey, OMG! Only a few hours left! Being that you are going in first thing in the morning, you probably won't read this until after you are in bandland.... but, if you do, good luck! The antibiotics we have had to take today have made me sick. They clearly say on them "take with food" so what do you do when you are on a liquid diet? They were awful, awful, awful.... but the nerves aren't helping, either. I am so freaking out right now. Nobody has called to pre-register me! What's up with that? Now I'm worried something is up. I better not be delayed because of it. When I went in for my EGD they called three times. Yes, three. Maybe we will run into eachother tomorrow roaming the halls! See you on the other side!

Hey LilMonkey, I was starting to wonder what happened to you, too! I haven't been able to find much information about the new band, either. What did Dr. Orris say about it? Yes, I am getting nervous, too. Fear of the unknown and fear of change. Yikes! Since you are first in the morning, are you planning on going home the same day? I was told that since I was the last one scheduled that day, there is a chance I might stay overnight in the hospital. Especially if the surgery gets pushed back any. They said I would have to stay there a minimum of four hours but I had the option to stay up to 24 hours. Did they tell you the same thing? Also, did they give you a prescription for heparin injections? How's the pre-op diet coming? I'm doing pretty good other than a tiny little slip up yesterday where I ate a handful of popcorn. Bad, I know, but I am back on the bandwagon. Only Protein drinks and liquid today. It's good to hear from you. Only a few days left!

I haven't had my surgery yet. I am scheduled for this Monday. My doctor gave me a prescription for the heparin shots to be taken for two weeks. I do not have a history of blod clots and there is no family history, either. I believe the doctor routinely prescribes this for every surgical patient. Man, it sounds awful. Where are you all injected at?

Hey LilMonkey, You should e-mail him; I'm sure it would be OK. I think he just hasn't gotten around to getting it on the list yet. Although, I'm finding it easier to not eat the chicken and egg whites; when I do, I want to eat more. Does that make sense? Overall, I'm doing OK. It's a struggle but I've yet to cheat. (Unless you count the one mini-marshmallow I swiped while getting my son a bowl of Lucky Charms before I even realized what I was doing!) I ended up self-pay. Well, really I paid for part of it and financed the rest. This better work because I am going into debt for it. Who is your doctor? I was told I would be getting the new AP band. Did they tell you the same thing? Hang in there! We can do this!

OK. Thanks for the info. They did tell me not to touch the site afterwards.

I don't think so... What's the little bitty air bubble technique?