JustWatchMe

Hi Kelly! Don't worry, you'll have lots of support here. I was banded two weeks ago today and feel great. It's hard work, but so worth it. It always makes me so mad that in our country, our health care decisions are always based on money. I hope you get your surgery with insurance. Take care and keep us posted!

Good information. Congrats!

Since the NP is the one doing it, I'm sure she would accommodate my request of the lesser 4cc fill in the 4-7cc range. Thanks for the help. I know it's a month away but I'm always calmer when I have a plan!

I did exactly that last week with a whole banana and one teaspoon of peanut butter. It was a nice change of pace!

The NP actually does the fills in the surgeon's office. She mentioned x-ray I think, back when I had my first pre-op appointment months ago. I don't remember hearing the term fluoroscopy. Is that the same thing? The conflict is that at first I was sure I just wanted no fill until after the trip. But then I found out this week that his protocol is to do a fill the first day of solid food. I didn't realize that before, as I thought it would follow eating by a few weeks. So that date is two weeks before I fly. The nurse practitioner said it's fine to wait even if the doctor was pushing for a fill. My worry is getting sick abroad. But he made it sound unlikely, and now I don't know which way to go. Is getting your first fill the day you start solids pretty standard? Do you think two weeks of band plus solids is enough to know if I'm okay before I leave? The idea of just liquids during the flight and maybe that day is appealing.

I was banded March 13. I'm on full liquids now, 800 calories a day, and doing fine. Exercising faithfully and starting to lose. No fill yet at all in my 14cc band. My doc wants to do the first fill April 28, which is also the day I begin solid food. He typically fills 4-7 ccs the first time. My NP says it's okay to wait until I come back from Europe at the end of May to do a first fill. She says the stomach swells when you fly which can add to the tightness. I personally would like to start feeling some restriction as soon as I begin solids, but worried about dealing with a new fill and swelled stomach when I'm not close to my doctor. I fly out May 15. My question is to those who fly, do you notice your band is tighter? Can you describe it? Does anybody have an opinion they would like to share? I'm sensing that my doc is pretty aggressive with weight loss. The nurse also said he wouldn't want me overeating on the trip. When I told him proudly that I was staying under 1000 calories on Soup and Protein shakes, he said, go down to 800 and ditch the shakes. I'm complying, but getting more hungry. Four more weeks before the big day. Thoughts?

Good for you, Karina!

Maybe from the breathing tube? My throat was slightly sore the first day from that. I quickly learned plain water was easier than Crystal Light Lemon. Ouch!

Nat, I'm so happy you're finally feeling better! And congrats on that big loss! You're on your way now!

Delove, great news!

Parisshel, I have lived the last decade-plus on daily NSAIDs for arthritis. I went off them in October preparing for this surgery. Thank you so much for all of this valuable information. I've been managing with liquid acetaminophen and daily exercise. I also use a small water bottle at work now which causes me to get up from my desk often for refills, keeping me from getting stiff and sore. I won't tempt fate with even a single dose of ibuprofen or NSAIDs. Glad to know the reasons behind it. Thank you so much and good luck!

Christy, When it gets into your shoulder and collarbone area, ask a pal to lightly karate-chop rapidly on your shoulder and shoulder blades. This helps temporarily (several hours). It was about 9-10 days before my shoulder pain totally went away. Walk, walk, walk. My nurse had me on the treadmill fifteen minutes 3mph the day after surgery, adding a minute a day up to my goal of two miles. I'm up to 25 minutes already! It really helps that early gas pain. After that, it helps weight loss. Good luck!

This is concerning to me, as I haven't had my first fill yet. How does it move? I thought it was stitched to the muscles during surgery. Is that not permanent? Sorry if that sounds dumb, but I actually had my surgeon place my finger on my port the other day at my first post-op because I couldn't tell the lumps and bumps apart. Also, the NP does fills at my surgical center, not the surgeon.

Hurray!

Good luck! I'm 12 days post-op and feel great! It gets better each day.

Well, another thought is that bad or good, tracking helps you face reality. I'm sure they see how the numbers are broken down, and maybe that "bad" choice was balanced out over the week or was a treat or something and they exercised more so they could have it. I didn't know that the food logs were visible. LOL. Sometimes just logging the food is a big reality check. It always was for me in WW. I never wanted to log off-program choices. Then I eventually stopped tracking altogether...

Those videos were very informative. Saving those for reference!

Amen! Imagine, for a minute, how many of us came here while still debating ANY surgery. Then again, how many of us told almost NOBODY that we were having this surgery. This forum is invaluable to me. I am learning every day and getting a better understanding of my body and its new "partner", my LapBand, because of this site. Alex, I read your "The BIG Book on the Lap-Band" (available at Barnes and Noble or on Amazon folks) over the last several months, which mentioned LapBandTalk.com, which by the time I found it, was this combined site. I knew from these resources what to ask my surgeon before, during and after surgery, and what to expect every step of the way. I do like to read some posts from the other forums (Sleeve, Bypass) because as you said, so much of what we face is a shared experience. I also casually know a person with gastric bypass and another with the sleeve. It helps me understand what they face. One last thought. I've been on Weight Watchers literally dozens of times. Some members of their online community can get pretty in-your-face mean if you admit a slip or ask how many points some "bad" food is. I've been shredded there in the past, which caused me to no longer post those types of questions. One of the first things I noticed here is how kind most posters are. Thank you for this wonderful haven of knowledge and support. I check it throughout the day and it gives me such hope for my future!

4ccs? Oh my gosh. I just found out my band placed 12 days ago is 14cc. No fill yet, but my surgeon typically starts with a 4-7 cc fill the first try. Is this unusual or are bands getting bigger? They told me mine was Large. (All my life, large.....)

Congrats!

It made me sad too. This is certainly no cakewalk for any of us.

These were so helpful to read. I really wasn't comparing to others, at least I didn't think so. I was comparing to how I've felt in the past (hungry) and what that resulted in (weight loss). You're all right. The surgery's effect on my body really is a bigger deal than I anticipated. Thanks for the reality check!

These were so helpful to read. I really wasn't comparing to others, at least I didn't think so. I was comparing to how I've felt in the past (hungry) and what that resulted in (weight loss). You're all right. The surgery's effect on my body really is a bigger deal than I anticipated. Thanks for the reality check!

I had the same fear and my daughters are in college. Pray and know this is a lifesaving choice. You'll be happy you did it. I am.

Gowalking, I did see that here, actually, but I didn't realize it was weeks. Thanks, I feel better about it now.