Cocoabean

The port is attached to muscle during surgery, that takes time to heal. I am over 4 years out. My port is original parts and hasn't flipped or anything. It is left of my bellybutton just below my waist when standing. Depending on the cut of pants, waistbands still bother me a bit. I do best with pants that have a waistband that falls below my natural waistline and have a wide band. I also don't like pants to be tight around the middle, but I am nearly 49...I don't really care if my pants are tight! If you have the Lap Band, they do have a low profile port that is smaller than the normal port. My surgeon will switch to it once a patient has lost enough weight to allow it to be easily felt. I believe the Realize band only has one port size, but I could be mistaken.

Congratulations and welcome to LapBandTalk! This is an awesome place for support. I only know two people in real life who are banded (I don't go to my surgeon's support groups, too far away for my taste), and this is where I come. Join in the convos, ask questions, answer questions, read, look at profiles, look at before and after pics. There is a wealth of information and experiences here you can't find anywhere else, and it's free!

What I would do is google full liquid diet, bring up the menu of the restaurant and start comparing. You are brave for attempting a restaurant while on pre-op! But our families lives must go on around our dietary needs. I did a friend's 50th birthday party and a superbowl party on mine (I was doing Medifast). Great fun to be slamming down shakes while others were consuming party treats! Best wishes for your upcoming surgery! http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/patientinstructions/000206.htm http://www.upmc.com/Services/bariatricsurgery/approach/post-surgery/diet/Pages/full-liquid-diet.aspx

Thank you! Every day gets a little better. Doctor said it is a long recovery to get full stamina back as the entire body is involved.

When is the last time you saw your surgeon? Have you had any testing to be sure you have good restriction? What others have said is valid, but it is also true that not everyone is successful with a band. Some insurance companies will pay for revision to another procedure if you have been compliant with band rules and failed to lose weight. I'd also like to add, all (I think all) bypass patients lose rapidly in the beginning. After the honeymoon phase of 18-24 months is over, if they have not developed proper eating habits, there is a strong potential for weight regain. My surgeon says that the body develops ways around the malabsorption and learns to absorb more of the calories being consumed. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21885246 This study is true for every procedure.

That is very common for some strange reason. Just know that you are not alone.

Thanks, Ladybug, I had a horrid blood infection called e.coli Sepsis. I was out of it for 2 weeks, missed 3 weeks of work. Very much on the mend now. Doc said two more months until I am 100%, but feeling better each day. Have also put back on 3-4 lbs, expected but not welcome! tee hee!

Walking and a heating pad. If you need pain meds and are out, call your surgeon to let him know.

Surgeons vary as to where they locate the port. It sounds as though they did the incision at your belly button, and some ports are located in that area. If you have a longer incision on one side or the other it is most likely there. Some put it around the arm pit, some under the breast along the rib cage. If it is on your belly and you have significant fat there, it may be hard to feel. Mine is to the left of my belly button just below waist level.

I heard a bandster once say, "if I sit there long enough I can eat the whole steak." Is that REALLY the point? Is our goal to sit there for an hour so that we CAN eat the whole thing? Or is the point to eat slowly enough to not get stuck, feel satisfied, stop eating, and stay satisfied for hours til my next meal? Otherwise, I can graze all day, I can eat sliders, I can drink boodles of calorie laden liquids. That is not following the rules set forth by my surgeon. If you don't have good restriction, then yes, it is easy to overeat...you don't have that satiety going for you. That makes it very difficult to follow band rules.

Today I was talking to a new friend who didn't know I was banded. I was recently very ill, and she knew I'd lost about 10 lbs due to my illness. She says, "you don't have it to lose!!!" Woot! I just had to laugh...then tell her why I was laughing and said, thank you for the compliment!

You should be able to see your policy online. Your ID card should have the web address.

This, exactly. My surgeon even predicted it. Told me I can drink with meals, but at some point it would become uncomfortable for me. I have never seen a reasonable explanation for this. I've never had this rule, nor followed it.

Your surgeon or PCP can do blood work that checks nutrient levels. Low levels of micronutrients can cause problems. My PCP checks me out yearly. I have come up anemic (long time anemic), B12, and D deficient. Some of the minerals can cause troubles if you are deficient as well, like copper and zinc. Maybe you need some tests run. I just had some done, waiting on results.

The green zone is when you get to a fill level where you can eat solids, they keep you satisfied for 4 or so hours, and you aren't constantly thinking about food. http://www.lapbandce...TMENT_guide.pdf

Welcome to LapBandTalk!! Do you have a hernia or did your band slip? What you are describing sounds like a slipped band. Do you have any health insurance at all? If you do, they will sometimes pay for band removal even if you don't have WLS coverage. They will pay if it is a life-threatening complication, but you might have to fight for it. Is your thyroid being treated? If not, you should do so. If you get it treated and stabilized, that should not be a big issue at least! I've had thyroid disease since i wast 24. I finally had it radiated and now have very little function in gland. I take medication daily to stay alive.

That is generally a sign of a too tight band. Are you able to easily eat solids? Touch base with your surgeon about it, for sure. Meanwhile, try to stop eating late afternoon/early evening. Drink Water in the evening. My band got tight about 4 months after my last fill. It lasted about 6 weeks. Surgeon has requested an endoscopy. He does not know it has loosened back up. I got very ill since I asked for a slight unfill. Long story. Anyway, my primary care doc says the endoscope was approved. Going to call my surgeon on Monday to figure out what we are doing. Hope you feel better soon!

Heating pad, lots of pillows, do not lay flat in bed the first night--unless you have someone to help you sit up (I got stuck, if not for DH I'd probably still be laying there!). Fill your prescription pain meds before surgery if your doctor will give them to you in advance. Have a firm pillow to hold against your tummy when you cough, nice to have for ride home as well, between you and seat belt. The usual food list, already mentioned. Thermometer should be handy to watch for fever post-op. I am just getting over an e.coli Sepsis infection after a minor surgical procedure. Odds against it were high, recovery is long. 30 minute procedure led to 3 weeks out of work and 2 ER visits...keep your eye on it. ER total was $18,000 charged to my insurance. Do your laundry and chores before going to the hospital, it will be a week before you feel like doing it (ok, before you feel up to doing it). Have someone available for help with childcare if you have little ones.

And please don't be picking up that beautiful baby in your avatar. That will not help the pain level! Hope you feel better soon!

If you are 9 of 10 on the pain scale, call your surgeon ASAP. You should not be in that much pain. Or got to the ER. Take your pain meds every 4-6 hours. Stay on top of it. Heating pads help, walking helps tons. Although not as invasive as a gastric bypass or sleeve, band surgery IS abdominal surgery. They move your liver around, go behind your stomach, make holes in fat to thread the band through. Sounds pretty invasive to me.

Where is the pain? Do you still have your gallbladder? And is your surgeon aware that you are in so much pain?

I didn't set a goal, crazy as it sounds. I got my band, followed band rules and settled in at a weight at the top end of a healthy BMI. If I wanted to work harder I could lose more, but I am not that motivated. My PCP would be happier if I lost 10 more, but my bloodwork is good now, so he isn't pushing too hard. For me, getting banded was not about dieting, it was about healthy habits that I can live with. I've been maintaining this size/weight now for coming up on 2 1/2 years. I think I've found it!

Most surgeons don't put any fill into bands when they install them, if they do, it is just a small amount. Of course you can eat. Once the swelling went down, it is like you don't have a band. Does that mean that just because you CAN eat that you SHOULD eat? Of course not. Follow your surgeon's rules. Your band is healing into place. Surgeon's anchor it down with just a few stitches. The post-op diet is designed to keep the stomach from grinding. When you put food down, you cause the stomach to grind, risking tearing the stitches. You are in bandster hell now. I woke up from the anesthesia hungry, I feel your pain, but get yourself back on your post-op diet!

I don't do well at all with ground beef. Whether in a patty or cooked loose. My first and worst stuck to date (one and the same) was on home cooked ground beef in tacos. It went on for 5 hours. My surgeon's explanation is that ground beef has bunches of gristle and even if cooked loose, we tend to not chew those parts well. It can cause big troubles with bandsters. I tend to stay away from it now. If I do eat it, the bites are so tiny that I get bored chewing long before I feel satisfied. I generally do fine with ground turkey or turkey burgers...no buns though or I am doomed.

4 years out and I still get pain in that area from time to time. Please call your doctor about it. For me, it is just gas. I also get it if I have over eaten a bit (so that reflux explanation makes some sense to me, also). I told my surgeon about it, he was unconcerned. That was MY case. Yours may be different, so always good to touch base with your own surgeon.