secretstolen

Hi everyone! I'm SecretStolen. I had the lap band surgery in 12/07 and I used to participate around here all the time. Over the years, my weight loss plateaued and I've been stagnant since. I'm basically back on board with my Protein shakes, Vitamins, and I'm getting back to measuring out small portions and making healthier choices. Plus, this place is an awesome resource and I missed it. So, just a quick intro to me, and good luck old and new bandsters alike!

I would love to come to this! I'm in Northern Virginia, but I will have to wait and see closer to the date. I'm going back to school full-time in January, so it depends on what my semester schedule looks like.

Hey everyone.. I'm having that left sided pain, too. It's also a little tender where my port is on my right side. It's not a horrible pain and it doesn't radiate to my back or anything, but I have an appointment with my surgeon this afternoon to have it checked out. I've had the pain off an on for the last couple of days and it's mostly just annoying, like a side pain you get from running. It doesn't intensify with deep breaths or stretching, either. I'm hoping it's nothing major and it's as simple as an OTC solution, but we'll see.

I have 3 tattoos - one on the small of my back (technically 2, but since it's all in one area, we'll classify it as just 1), one at the top of my back, and another on my left clavicle. None of mine have been affected by my weight loss. I figured those were areas where I would be safe if I ever did lose all my weight. As much as I really wanted to put something on my hip, I knew it would be a disaster later on in life.. :/ I will say, the more weight I lose, the more prominent my collarbones become, and the sexier my clavicle tattoo looks. Makes me giddy. :thumbup:

Hey there! Welcome to the board. :eek: I was in the same situation you're in. I would diet and lose (at the most) 50 pounds over the course of a year, but as soon as I stopped being 100% strict on myself and counting every calorie or obsessing over working out for 2 hours a day, I would begin to gain again. I could never keep it off. I finally had enough of it and decided while I was still young enough with no high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and no real health problems aside from joint pain from the weight, I would fix it. I had my surgery on 12/13/07. It's only been 7 months for me, but I'm still very happy I had the surgery. I've only lost a little over 50 pounds since then, but I'm excited because I haven't gained any of my weight back at all. I've never had that happen before. Honestly, there's nothing that's really all that hard for me. There are days when I don't feel very restricted and I want to have something I shouldn't, and those are the times when you have to use willpower. Even then it's not so bad. I don't buy foods I know I shouldn't eat, and when I'm at work, I don't keep cash or change around to hit the vending machine, and my closest friends at work know about my band, so when there's cake and take-out, I don't partake and they don't push the issue of joining in. I can only speak for myself, but it's not so bad. I will say that if you're really considering the band, do as much research on here as possible. I found this board right around the time I attended the initial conference to hear my surgeon speak to an audience. By the time I went for my first face-to-face consultation, I already knew what to expect to some degree. It also gave me the opportunity to really weigh the pros and cons of the surgery and make sure that it was something I was willing to go through. I hope you stick around! Good luck!

After my surgery, I couldn't sleep lying down either. The gas they use during surgery that gets trapped inside your body had traveled up through my back and shoulders, so it was this excruciating pain that never seemed to ease up when I was lying down. The first night after leaving the hospital, the night after the surgery, I tried to sleep lying down and I woke up every 10-15 minutes in pain. I took my pain medicine as the surgeon said, and to avoid lying down to sleep, I slept in a big comfy chair in my mom's living room. Using their ottoman for my lower half, I positioned myself to where I was still sitting up, but at an angle that was somewhat comfortable enough to sleep. I made sure to have a big thick quilt and a couple of pillows to surround myself with. I spent the next 3 nights sleeping that way. During the day, I made sure to walk as much as possible and stay hydrated and within a couple days, that pain started to go away. :thumbup: Hope yours does, too. Do you have a comfy chair you could improvise with until you're feeling a little better?

You guys with the liquid stuff are lucky! (Then again, considering how some of that stuff tastes, maybe not! Heehee!) :thumbup: After my surgery, the surgeon saw me for the second time that evening before going home and he told me that the nurses had been ordered to give me pain medication in pill form, not liquid, because he wanted me to begin attempting to swallow to make sure I could do so efficiently before being discharged the next day. That night, the nurses cut the small pain pill into fourths and when I tried the first fourth, it got stuck and I felt like I was choking. They gave me a suppository for the pain and then, after hours of sipping on Water, it was much easier in the morning when I had to try swallowing again. The surgeon saw me the next morning and said, "See. I'd rather have you do that here and have difficulty trying to swallow something the first time after surgery with nurses and medical staff around you than to do that at home and panic." Good point, Doc. Good point. For the first 2 weeks after surgery, I still used a pill cutter to break them into fourths. (I was given Percocet and because of the way it made me feel dazed and kind of out of it, once the pain started to become more manageable, I started only taking half of one pill in the morning and the other half in the evenings before going to bed at night so I could sleep.)

I had my surgery on a Thursday and it wasn't until the following Wednesday that I was really feeling back to good. The first couple of days were the worst. I was discharged from the hospital on Friday afternoon and I spent the weekend at my mom's because she didn't want me by myself at my apartment. I took my pain meds every 4 hours like the doctor instructed and slept for what felt like forever, and by the time the following week came around, I was down to taking it twice a day - upon waking up and once in the evening before bed. Don't beat yourself up, doll! You are doing fine. You just had abdominal surgery on Friday - 2 days ago. Right now you're going to be in pain and you're going to need your meds. Just make sure you get up and walk periodically throughout the day and that you stay hydrated with fluids. You'll bounce back soon. :thumbup: Congrats on your banding! :teeth_smile:

I can eat pizza with no problem. I don't make it a regular habit, and I stay away from typical delivery places, but I really love the Kashi frozen pizzas. Because it's just me eating most nights (unless I go out with friends or something), if I fix one of the Kashi pizzas, I let it thaw until it's soft enough to slice into quarters. I put a fourth of the pizza in the oven and fix that for dinner and it is more than enough. (Plus, only having a small portion readily prepared keeps me from being tempted to eat more.) The other parts get wrapped up individually and stored in my freezer for the next time I have another craving for my favorite food.

Isn't that the best feeling ever?! I went into a Macy's just recently with a friend and we went by the dresses and just picked up some and went to try them on - just for fun. Before the band, I never would have done this, much less walked out and let my friend see how the dress looked on me. This time, though, I did - and I looked awesome! :thumbdown: I'm so happy for all of us! Yaaaaay!

Hey darlin'! Just hang in there! After my surgery, I was still in some pain up until 2 weeks after. Remember to take it easy and don't do too much bending or lifting. I promise, if you're careful, it gets better! (BTW - We are sooooooo getting together when you're on mushies and gabbing. I can't wait to see you and hear all about your surgery! I'm so proud of my J! )

Hi, everyone! I'm in Fredericksburg.

I'm reiterating what has been said by others: APPEAL. Exhaust every option to appeal their denial. I'll keep my fingers crossed for you! Good luck!

Just wondering - do any other doctors make you do anything funny to find your port? Mine always has me lie flat on the table in the room, then lift my legs a couple inches in the air which I guess contracts the muscles around the port. He says it's much easier to locate it and get the needle in on the first try. Fills are usually pretty painless, but he always numbs the area before hand, too. The only part that sucks is having to lift my legs and keep them up for a little bit, but I'd rather have 2 minutes of that than 10 minutes of pokin' around with a needle. :Banane03: gigem: I'm sorry your fill was such a bad experience. Hopefully in the future, it'll go much smoother.

Hey girlie! I'm so glad your surgery went well! LYLAS! :cool2: