Cocoabean

It might help. For me, the damage was done, but it hasn't gotten worse.

Others that have been unfilled totally have reported the same experience. Jachut had her fill removed for cancer surgery and hasn't reclaimed the same restriction, same with lellow. I don't think anyone really knows why. Speculation is that ones loosened, the band moves just a bit, or that the fat beneath the band has been "flattened" and once the band is unfilled it is hard to get it back just the same as it was. I hope given time you find the same sensation, even if it is a bit more fill than was there before!

Always call your surgeon for new/severe pain. That said.... I get pain just below my rib cage on my left side. Sometimes it can be pretty stout. My surgeon says for me, it is gas. It is also a signal to me that I have eaten too much. Unfortunately, I don't get the pain until it is too late.

Not to mention the discomfort a seat belt could cause rubbing for hours. A pillow between belly and belt might help. But for me, a passenger seat belt goes right over my port. I could not imagine 1000 miles of that rubbing.

Definitely let your surgeon know. He may be able to prescribe some sort of acid blocker for you.

Oh yeah, soup was the topic, if you are eating it and losing, then it is working. If you stop losing, you might have to reassess. My surgeon hates liquids with calories. I love milk. We agreed to disagree, and I could have it as long as things were going well. Take the calories into account, and all is good....in my opinion.

While it would appear to be a great opportunity to see California, your reason for being here is the surgery. Driving through unknown areas is not stress free. San Francisco traffic is horrid at all hours, and navigating the area is far from easy. If you had a medical problem while enjoying the Redwood Forest north of San Francisco, you are a 10-12 hour drive to Tijuana. Quicker to fly from Chicago, yes? Why not choose a nice hotel in the San Diego area to recuperate? The Hotel del Coronado is beautiful, right on the beach. Check out the Gas Lamp district downtown, lots of shopping and dining--your wife will need to eat, eventhough you won't. La Jolla ia beautiful, but pricey. San Diego has plenty to do for a week. The zoo, the wild animal park, Sea World, the USS Midway, Seaport Village, Coronado, Balboa Park, Cabrillo National Monument. If you are up to a drive, there's a nice little mountain town called Julian, great day trip. On the weekend, there is a swapmeet if you are up for walking around.

Sounds to me like you are getting the hang of it! Always go easy after a fill. As you get more fill in your band, you will actually be able to feel the band getting tighter around the stomach as the saline is added. It is a very odd sensation. If they draw all the Fluid out and put it back in to check the amount, that is quite a bit of trauma. Thinks of havivg a belt around your waist pulled too tight. Thighten it more, it is going to get aggravated. Loosen it all the way and then slam it tight again, and it will be even MORE aggravated. My surgeon says liquids for the remainder of the fill day...I am more conservative in these later fills. I domshakes and mushies for a couple of days until my band and stomach area feel normal.

Hey Dude! upper GI is similar to fluoro. Except it is still pics in the end. Very similar to fluoro, but I believe fluoro doesn't have a recording mechanism, I could be wrong, howerver. Endoscopy is done with a camera on the end of a scope put down your throat to your atomach and, I think, to your jejunum. It is very similar to a colonoscopy, but from the other end. It is pictures and a camera/live view of the inside of your stomach. They can truly see the inside of the pouch and see if the band has eroded into the stomach. All three are very useful, but the surgeon should determine which is needed. If an erosion is suspected, then endoscopy is the proper test, insisting on flouroscopy will not benefit you, other than frustrating your surgeon, because you know more than him. What is needed depends on what information is being sought.

I caught a cold around the time I was in the hospital, not fun. Mu surgeon wanted me walking around every 30 minutes for clots. IF you can stop, and IF you are neve far from emergency care, then maybe. But I'd not do it until at least 3-4 days post-op. did you ask your surgeon? What did Dr. Kuri say? The Cali coast has some areas where you'd be an an hour or so from emergency care, from hi-tech energency care? Different story. Most central coast bandsters go to Los Angeles or San Francisco. A 2-3 hour drive. Personally, i would not have wanted to be that far from my surgeon for at least a coulpe of weeks, but I did not need him. Being forced to be upright in a car and nor have my bed? No way for me. Just not an option in my book, but we are all different.

If you choose to look for the rain cloud in everything, you can find it. I am also one of the people to whom a complication will occur if possible. I went in for a quick procedure on Arpil 6. Doc said if mid -week, I'd be back to work the next day. Procedure on Friday, feeling weird by Sunday, Monday night fevere of 103.8. Tuesday at the ER. Turns out, a simsple catheter went to a bladder infection to a major blood infection (sepsis) that fast. While a UTI is common after a catehter, it is uncommon for it to go into sepsis. No one's fault, listed as a possible complication of the overall procedure I had done. Just had to happen to me. This was NOT band related. Bands are meant to be in place forever, the fact that some are not doesn't really matter at this point. Your GF has a band, she should use it to the best of her ability and deal with complications if they crop up. There is no sense in agonizing over what could happen. Do appropriate aftercare, see her surgeon once a year at the least, and have everything checked. If something doesn't feel right, she should call and be seen. That is what it boils down to. iV Fluid retention wii be gone in a few days. Hope she is feeling better soon!

Nausea after any surgery very common. They kept he overnight..that is good. They are giving her anti nausea meds, good. They might not be giving her total relief, but the hopsital cannot predict how a person will react to anesthesia or medications. The nurse is getting ahold of the doctor, if she cannt reach him, she will getmthe on call doc. What you explain don't sound like complications from banding, just things that can haapen from anesthesia, It is also goof they kept her overnight to keep an eye on her. The fact that there was no room...eh..it happens, but she had btter care in the recovery room...nurses all over the place. Once you are in a room, they come by, but not as often. Plus if she had trouble with nausea or vomittingnin recovery that could explain the delay is getting to a room. I am guessing she might be extra sore after vomitting so soon after band surgery. If they don't give her one, get her a firm pillow to held against her belly when she coughs and for the ride home. You are a good friend. Reassure her it is just temporary and many of us have gone thru it. Be sure they send he home with snti nausea meds!

It sounds as though he fears a slip. And this would/could be a second. I read somewhere that if you've had one slip you are more likely to slip again. If it is a second, that could explain the need to remove the band. The endoscopy will give a good idea of what is going on from inside the stomach, and show possible erosion. I'd want to REALLY talk to my surgeon about why he wants to revise to another procedure, then I'd probsbly do it. But I trust my surgeon, and my primary care doc, they work together as a team. My primary care doc had gastric bypass by my surgeon a year after I got my band. My band really tightened up on me for about 6 weeks four moths after my last fill, so we are going to do an edoscope to be sure all is right. I had an uuper GI in Sept right bedore the fill. Everthing was fine then.

Awesome to both of you!

I know this was directed at Jenny, but if you read Lap Band's website, you will see they say 1-2 lbs per week is average loss for band patinets. Jenny having lost 6 lbs per month on average is right in the middle, spot on. For many, it takes SEVERAL months of adjustments before steady progess is achieved. My surgeon said 6 lbs per month would be good for me once I got to my sweet spot. I hit my sweet spot about 5 months post-op. I never did reach that goal 6 lbs per month goal. It was more like 3-4 lbs per month. He was happy that I kept losing month after month, and now 2 years after I stopped losing, he is very happy that I am easily maintaining that weight. When I was three months post-op, I was down a whopping 5 pounds. Now I am at 75 lbs gone and gone for 2 years. At a normal BMI, normal blood sugar, low-normal blood pressure, normal cholesterol. Being banded is not a quick weight loss plan, if you are looking for that, look at gastic bypass.

I could only read one page...ah well.

It really works for me. Sometimes my answer is, "yes, I would." Slam dunk that I need food. Other times my answer is, "no, I really, really want that bag of Dorritos in the machine in the break room." Well, ok, maybe not true hunger. Maybe I am starting to get hungry, but the junk demons are calling first. So can I stave them off with something else? A glass of Water, might I be thirsty? A cheese stick? They are a bit salty. Maybe a slice of deli meat, or a few crackers. Or can I wait until my meal-time. My surgeon is not against a healthy snack if it is planned or truly needed. Asking the question at least makes me stop and think before grabbing the bag of Dorritos and eating it brainlessly.

Did you purchase this study? $35.00 is pretty steep.

Here is what I use to help me determine if I am really hungry....would I eat a can of green Beans right now? If I would, then I am truly hungry. If not, then perhaps I am just looking to graze, and the desire to eat needs more consideration.

Port pain and swelling are signs of erosion. Hope you get it figured out and feel better soon!

Exactly what Mis said. If the band is working for you, no need for a fill. If it isn't, get one. Simple in the beginning. Talk it over with your surgeon and make a group decision.

Sometimes there is swelling after a fill. Every time there is a learning curve for me after a fill. Smaller bites, chewing more, slowing down. there might be a food I can no longer tolerate. My 4th fill I ended up slightly overfilled. I put up with it for a week. When I got stuck on mashed potatoes and then yogurt, I have up and went in for a slight unfill. I'd had 1cc put in, I had .5cc taken out. It was instant relief! A month later I went back and had 1cc put in and was fine there for a year. So, go figure.

Here is some info about it from back in January: http://www.aboutlawsuits.com/medical-device-hearing-letter-24077/ Link to the letter within the article, you'll see some interesting facts.