Cocoabean

I sometimes get pain just above my port, that feels like a "stitch in the side"--it worried me at first, but over time, I realized it wasn't my port at all, but gas pain. I don't know if this is true, but I envision it as some gas caught in a spot that the surgery created. Like a corner that wasn't there before. Denise

Hello TeganRheana, I have a 10cc band with either 4.5cc or 5cc (I can't remember exactly now for some reason). I am now back to the level I was when my band got too tight and I had to have some taken out. I have good restriction. Although I am losing at a snail's pace right now. But I am happy with my health and body at this size and am not highly motivated to work harder at losing. When I had my last fill, the first few days were wonderful. I was not hungry, could make excellent choices, and was full for quite a while on one small meal. Then my appetite seemed to return to the same level as the previous fill. I don't know what happened with that. I know the band can be volatile, but dang! And I have had three stuck episodes over the last week, so I really do not want to go tighter. My doc is very conservative on fills and we speak a lot before deciding on how much to put in. And he listens to what I have to say. He says he'd rather we sneak up on the sweet spot than go over then under then over....chasing it like crazy. I hope your relationship with your doc improves. Denise

Hello Zepol, Yes, I am still very pleased with Dr. Callery. I just saw him for a fill a few weeks ago. Dr. Callery's office has a forum at thinnertimes.com I may have posted there. Most of my posts are here at lapbandtalk. I think there is a way to search my posts. As a note about Dr. Callery, my post-op nurse told me she has worked with him many times and feels he is one of the most caring doctor she has worked with, and also one of her personal favorites. She told me that if I have problems and need to call his office to not hesitate and that I would hear from him personally. Fortunately, I did not have any problems post-op, but I did have a problem with a fill once. I called the office, and Dr. Callery called me back within 15 minutes. They saw me about an hour later to remove some of the fill. I am happy to answer questions about my experience (the good and the bad), and if you decide to go to one of Dr. Callery's seminars let me know if you'd like me to attend. Best of luck in your journey! Denise

Dr. Callery did my surgery 2-15-2008. I think he did a fantastic job and is a very competent, caring, and compassionate physician. I have posted many of my experiences in other forums. Denise

Hello there! Thinner Times offers off-line support, as well as an online forum: Support Groups | Practice Information I am not sure if their off-line support is just for patients of their practice, you might want to call to be sure before venturing to Poway. Best wishes for your surgery!

Thanks for posting this, I was searching for a thread about how often people with good restriction slime/get stuck. For me it is about 3 or 4 times a month to varying degrees. It seems just when I start pondering getting another fill I get stuck! Maybe I start getting too lazy with eating, not chewing or too big of bites. I don't know, but when it happens, I say I won't get another fill, then a week or two goes by and I think maybe.................. Denise

Chicken is a cr*p-shoot for me, especially if it is dry. The moister the better for me and I chew-chew-chew. With something like steak, I get sick of chewing before I get much down, but I do love the taste! With drier meats I try to always cut it into very small pieces. As my surgeon's nurse practitioner advised, cut into pieces the size of a pencil eraser and chew the dickens out of it! Denise

Hi Arran, I had one stuck episode when my band was too tight that lasted over 5 hours, vomitting every 30-45 minutes. I have no idea where all that liquid came from! It was no fun at all. I got stuck on a small peice of loose hamburger. My doc advised that if it happens again and I cannot stand it that he could completely unfill my band to let things recover and then do a re-fill. As it turned out, I had some Fluid taken out of my band about a week later as I kept having problems, but nothing lasting 5 hours. I can't imagine 2 days! But I will say that when I get stuck, nothing feels so good as urping it up! Denise

I had to have a slight unfill two weeks after a fill. About a month later I had half the amount taken out put back in and I was fine. Denise

Just my experience, after a year with the band I averaged 1 lb. per week. Some weeks were 2-3 lbs.--others none, but on average 1 per. I think it depends a lot on starting weight. My doc said at first 5-6 lbs. per month for me then later 3-4 per month as I get closer to goal. Denise

My band seems to change from day to day. One day I cannot eat much, the next I feel like I cannot get full. My attitude is that this is fairly "normal." I watch my hubby who does not have a weight problem, some days he eats more than others. I do tend to have problems when eating out. I think because I am usually more talkative and fail to pay attention like I should. And yes, walking when stuck helps bunches. I do laps up and down our hallway. Hubby says that some day I am going to wear out the carpet. I don't know why moving helps, but it truly does. Also, when I am about to get stuck I apparently get an odd look on my face. Sometimes my hubby spots it before I feel it! Denise

My doc uses a numbing injection first, that kind of stings, after that it is just pressure and I sense a sort of "pop" when the Huber Needle goes into the port. I can always tell he found it! Denise

Hi V-Queen. I have figured out that we don't always have control over sliming or getting stuck. Sometimes all it takes is one bite of something and whammo, pain and AGONY!!! I had issues with foods this weekend that I have eaten successfully in the past. I've learned to say a little prayer before eating that the food will go down well :scared2: If nothing else, it gets me to slow down and think before I put a bite in my mouth. I believe that if you have a band, you will slime at some point. All we can do is hope to lessen the pain by listening to our bodies and catching the problem quickly.

My stomach tends to be tender after a bad stuck episode. It can last a day or two. I try to be very easy on it for a couple of days. Denise

I got a pill stuck today. Shortly before eating lunch I took a pill. Before my first bite I got that feeling. Never had a pill stuck before but have had food stuck. It took a while to figure out why I was hurting before taking a bite of food :/ Could only eat two bites of food. Then it dawned on me what I had done. Worst of all, I am a juror on a court case, there I was sliming in the jury box!!! As a side note, if I let myself get very hungry I have a tendency to take too big a bite and not chew well. That is what cause me to get stuck most often.

Call your doc, ASAP. If you are getting blood in your digestive tract, that is NOT normal. Denise

Hi laplrn, call your surgeon and see if you can get some anti-nausea meds. If you are taking pain meds, that can be causing the nausea. Also, because I was doing very well, my surgeon let me go a bit faster than I expected on the post-op progression to more solid foods. Perhaps your surgeon would give permission to try something a bit more substantial to see if it helps the nausea. Hope you feel better soon! Denise

Hi Bobbi, If you call your doc's office number you should get an answering service who can page the doc if necessary. I was too tight for a couple of weeks, it is very miserable. I got to where eating yogurt hurt and I got stuck on mashed potatoes. When I hit the wall and couldn't stand it, I'd have called the office and asked to speak to my doc if it had been the weekend. For me it happened on Thursday and they got me right in. Don't fool around with it, vomitting can cause band slippage, and it's best to avoid that! Best wishes, Denise

For my psych eval I had to explain what the surgery is, why I want it, and what I expect from it. We talked a bit about my medical history and so on. It was basically a conversation about me and my expectations. Simple really. My consult with the nutritionist was similar, what I was eating at the time, my overall eating and exercise habits and what to work towards. That was it, nothing scary or horrible. Denise

My surgeon does some sort of test pre-op to be certain smokers have quit. I cannot tell you much more than that as I quit several years ago. But in the pre-op seminar and support groups I went to, it came up and he said he would cancel anyone who did not quit. Your surgeon may be different, this is my experience with my surgeon. Denise

Thanks for the info Jaqui. It has been nearly two weeks since the unfill. I feel as though I am eating alot, but other than the pound and a half I put on right after the unfill, that I suspect was Water, I haven't gained. I haven't lost either, but it is nice to be able to eat. If I call this week, it will be three weeks or so before I can get in, if not more with the holidays here now. So it seems that is sufficient time for things to have settled in. BUT, I intend to ask for a very small fill. I just want to sneak up to my sweet spot, not overrun it! :rolleyes2: Denise

If it isn't carbonated it should be fine. I miss beer at social events, but for me, the loss is worth it. Best wishes, Denise

Thanks Miss Meliss and feefee. I'll be calling for an appointment this week. I have been able to down some chow lately. Yummy, but not great on the scale! Denise

Thanks, Carrie_C. I just don't want to appear that I am addicted to filling and unfilling, but I really do need more restriction now that things have calmed down! Denise

Mine is about 3" left (my left) of my belly button. I am about 20 lbs from goal. I am good with this location. Only drawback, high waisted pants that are a little snug sometimes bother it. My fix, buy new pants in my new smaller size that sit a bit below my waist. Denise