thechatrooper

Mandy- I HAD THE SAME ISSUE!!!! I'm constantly asking how much my band is filled to, and they REFUSE to tell me! They say it shouldn't matter to me... it makes me so mad! If I want to know, then the should tell me! I paid $15,000... I have a right to have an answer to every question I have, regardless how "pointless" they think it is! I've also heard that he is "wonderful". Don't get me wrong, at times he's been really nice to me... but I've just not been as happy as I should be. I'm compairing my situation to my best friend who got her surgery done at Loyola... she was about 30 lbs heavier than me pre-surgery, and she lost over 100 lbs in a year... even WHILE SHE WAS PREGNANT! I've told her everything I'm going through, and she's utterly baffled. She said she did NOTHING after her surgery.. she never watched what she ate, drank... never exercised... nothing. It makes me wonder if I'm some kind of freak that will never lose weight, no matter how hard I try!

Yeah, I definately understand that the band doesn't work on it's own... When I was first banded, I was still working out and eating much healthier than I had been.

How long does your Doctor make you fast after each fill? Just curious... Mine makes me go on a liquid diet for 48 hours... a friend of mine only has to wait 1 hour. I'm just wondering what the norm is!! =D

LMAO- It seems as if Santa has a long hair fetish!

Maybe we should email one of the moderators on here? Or maybe there is a place to send suggestion emails? I'm going to look around and mail in the suggestion if there is a place to do so. That would be really good to have... I think we have a lot of different issues that people who are a few decades older might not understand as well. I know pre-surgery I went through a point where I really wish I had someone in their 20s to talk to about the decision I was making!

I have heard some people say that it's bad to take tylenol & asprin after surgery. I get severe migranes and regularly take Hydrocodone 7.5/750...would this be included as a drug to stay away from?? Whenever I take my pills... I usually only take 1/2 at a time and chew them before swollowing them. What complications does taking Hydrocodone (vicodin) after lapband surgery cause ?? Thanks!

I'm 22 and was banded April 27th! I'm glad there are other people our age on here.... we should form a little group b/c there's so many other issues being banded in your 20's that some other people might not understand!

Thank you Stacey!! That was a real help =) I'm glad I'm in the "safe" zone lol! BTW.. It looks like you're doing awesome!! =) congrats!!

I was banded April 25th and have only lost 10lbs. My have the Van Guard band and am filled to a little over 9ccs... (I've had 4 fills already) so after my next fill, I'll be as filled as I can be. This is frustrating =(

I went in for my 3rd fill today. Normally they have one of the doctors in the room assisting while the fills are being done. Today, only I man that I didn't recognize was doing my fill. He didn't bother to spend too much time marking the port area, and quickly began jabbing me with the needle. As soon as he began sticking me, I felt my port being knocked back and forth in my stomach. He sat there for about 10 more minutes, jabbing the huge needle back and forth in my stomach, causing some pain and A LOT of discomfort inside me. Finally he commented that he couldn't find the opening to my port and told me to lay down on a bed while he tried it that way. He spent about another 10 minutes jabbing me with the needle. It began hurting a lot and it felt as if he was knocking the port into something in my stomach... it was NOT a good feeling. I kept on telling him to stop, but he kept jabbing me. Finally I started swearing at him, and he got the point and stopped. He then informed me that my port must have come detached and must have flipped. I was sooooo pissed and frustrated!!! All I could do was cry. Last week I had A LOT of pain around my port... so bad that I could hardly walk. I tried calling the doctor and he just brushed it off, saying it was probably normal. I sat in the waiting area for an hour, waiting for the Doctor to come back. During that time, everyone refused to discuss the situation with my mom. Finally the Dr came, and performed the fill within a few minutes. After he filled me, my mom asked what I was filled to, and he was like "Oh I don't know... I wasn't paying attention, maybe 8, I don't know... don't even worry about that" WTF is that!!??!??!? I'm so confused & pissed... how could the doctor just have done a fill on me without measuring how much he was filling me to??? Aside from that, how do I know that something really ISN'T wrong with my port?? & I'm really scared that the first man may have caused damage to my stomach when he was jabbing the huge needle inside of me all crazy. I'm just really, really, really freaked out right now. =(

I'm a Taurus... a stubborn lil brat! lol... My roommate is an Aquarius... he is impossible to talk to... he never hears a thing I say to him and 99% he forgets what he says as well. I really want to hit him sometimes!! LOL =)

You must live pretty close to me! What neighborhood are you in? I live in Old Town

Hey Zoe! I Mistic Tan @ Xport Fitness & Tan.. it works really good! They have 3 levels you can try.... my room mate works at the Spa desk at the Xport in Arlington Heights and I've seen very pale girls use the spray tan level 1 and they don't look orange. I'm sort of medium-complected and have done levels 2 and 3 and haven't noticed that I turn orange either. You don't need to be a member of that gym to use their tanning services. It's about $15 a session but it works good and lasts pretty long! I've found it to work a lot better than at-home lotions. There are a lot of Xport locations... I go to North & Wells, and there is also Fullerton & Naraganset, 2 in Arlington Heights, and I believe one in Lombard. Another awesome product is Nivea Body Silky Shimmer Lotion. It's not a self-tanner... It leaves a light bronze shimmer on your skin and makes it appear a tiny bit darker and really healthy. My mom hates wearing makeup, but she LOVES this stuff! It's a great lotion for arms, legs, & chest. I always use it when I'm feeling a bit pasty or when I want to make my flabby arms look nicer... lol. BTW... Wasn't the weather in the city insane today? I felt so drained =(

I'm on my 2nd fill and STILL dont have much restriction =(

I'm having the same problem... I was banded 4-27 and am already on my 2nd fill (which was done last Wednesday) and I STILL don't have any restriction. I feel a little relieved to see that others are having the same problem. I was beginning to think that I'm the only freak of nature who the band wont work on .... lol.

Hey everyone! I need some advice on food.... I'm a college student living in downtown Chicago with 2 roommates.... all of us are super busy between working & full time design school and never ever have time to cook. We eat & restaurants and occassionally fast food joints... ... EVERY DAY. This habit is working against my band. Does anyone have advice on good food ideas for people w/lapbands who cant/dont have the time to cook?? Any ideas on quick carryouts that aren't too damaging?

Same here... ALL my life I was NEVER able to burp (when I was younger my dad would try to teach me how lol) and now I burp like CRAZY!! It's quite embarassing... LOL

Hey! I'm kind of feeling the same way. I'm about 5 weeks post op and I'm on my 2ND fill already... and I still dont feel much restriction. I've only lost 10 lbs since my first appt. I suppose I feel "full" a lot quicker, but I still have this urge in me to finish whatever is on my plate. I guess it's one of those horrible habits inbedded into you that you grow up with that's hard to break. I just had my 2nd fill yesterday morning and was supposed to be on a liquid diet for 48 hours. Today I was S T A R V I N G and tonight I gave into temptation and ate a whole fish sandwich. I could have easily stopped at half the sandwich, but I feel really, really strange if I don't finish my food. I suppose its because growing up, my dad would always get really mad at me if I didn't finish all the food I put on my plate at meals. So I ate the whole thing and now I'm too full. Granted, it's much less than I'm used to eating, but I'm still dissapointed. Disappointed that I couldn't have just followed the rules and waited till tomorrow morning to eat, and disappointed that I didn't just stop when I felt full. I'm really, really afraid this band will never work for me =( I have made a lot of changes (such as exercising EVERY day and walking everywhere instead of driving) but I'm still scared.

I went in for my first fill last Wednesday (5-23) and since then I've gradually had more and more pain in the muscles around my port. This morning I woke up in bad pain in this area, and anytime I move, the muscles cramp up horribly and I can't move. Has anyone else experienced this? I'm really worried...

Arrrg... So I just called Dr. Horgans cell and he brushed it off and told me just to come in tomorrow. He seemed sort of irritated that I called his cell...but It really hurts =( I'll let you guys know what happens tomorrow....

I paid $14,800 (the extra $800 was for the low-profile port) through extra money taken out in student loans... I'm going to be in so much debt after I graduate college =(

I asked that Michele Barjon lady about it last week when I was in for my fill, and she completely brushed it off. The pain wasn't as bad then. Today I called MIBC (I also had to make an apt for a new fill since the first didn't do the trick) and the nurse brushed me off as well, saying she really had no clue about the pain. I have an appointment tomorrow so hopefully everything will be okay until then!

P.S. It's even harder because I can't opt for the normal "healthy choice" of a salad.. lettuce really hurts my stomach since I've had the band =(

I got my first fill done on Wednesday. I was on a liquid diet for 48 hours, and was finally able to eat food again today. Has anyone experienced feeling really dizzy and short of breath after eating for the first time after a fill? Tonight I ate and immediately felt like I was going to pass out. Is this common? What could this mean?

What about annoying super-skinny room mates who try and force food on you??? lol....