Topdownbug

I took Prevacid for a couple years before my Band and it took care of my problems (they were rather mild). After my surgery, for the first 5-6 months, I had no problems, but for the past couple of months I'm taking Prevacid and Pepcid and still being kept awake at night. Will talk to the Dr at the end of June. I hate this!!

Suzanne - same thing happened to me. Dr said there is still a lot of swelling and Fluid from the surgery for several weeks. I was also thinking I should be losing 5 pounds a week (at least) with no more food than I was eating, but it took a while. My surgery was 3 months ago now and I have lost a little over 30 pounds total. The holidays were rough and my band had loosened up too much so I could eat more than I should. I had my second fill two weeks ago and I'm back on track. My scales show about 8 pounds lost since Jan 4th. My weight loss really comes in spurts and I can actually 'feel' it. Its like one morning, every 6 weeks I wake up and feel smaller. Sure enough the scales verify that feeling. Its hard to be patient and some people who know I've had the surgery think my weight loss should be similar to gastric bypass. I have to keep telling them 1-2 pounds per week.. so they don't ask me every other day 'so how much have you lost now??' Hang in there.. you'll be fine! Judy

They told me ahead of time they'd be putting a catheter in while I was asleep. It wasn't there when I woke up so they must have just left it in until I was in recovery. No big deal at all.

HeatherA - HEY! How are you? I was starting to get worried about you since I didn't hear anything from you since your surgery. It sounds like everything went well. Would love to hear more if you want to send me a private message. Congrats and hang in there. Keep in touch Judy

Heather - I sent you a private message. Let me know if you got it ok. Judy

Hunter - Dr Myers is doing your surgery? Really the pre-op and 2 weeks of liquids are just a distant memory now. Looking back, it wasn't that bad.. especially after the surgery. The pre-op was tough, but the weight melted away a couple pounds a day because of the low carb part so that sort of made it worthwhile! You'll be fine.. good luck to you! Judy

Hunter - yes there is more restriction but I'm not really uncomfortable. My appetite is very easy to control. I get full easily and stay full for several hours. I actually am most surprised that I don't have any cravings anymore. Donuts, Potato chips... things like that which I used to crave all the time .. are just so-so now. I've had some of them but there's not that big satisfying feeling that there used to be. I'm quite happy with how things are going. I'm not setting any records with my weight loss, but since my pre-op appointment I've lost almost 20 pounds. The best part is how much better I look, feel and its nice to have my clothes be really baggy now. How are things going for you Hunter?

Heather - I would absolutely love to answer any questions you might have. I sure appreciated the information and support I got from other bandsters online before my surgery (still do need the support). Please feel free to send me an instant message any time. Let me know when you might be online so we can arrange to chat. Big snow here in Mansfield today .. it finally stopped and the roads are fine now :-)

No problem Heather. My surgery wasn't until 10:30, but I had to come from Mansfield so we left plenty early. I had lost about 12 pounds before the surgery so I just wore some slacks that had already gotten too big and a loose blouse. My brother and sister in law took me there. Since we were early, there was sort of a long wait before they called me, but no big deal. They took me to a big long room where all the patients were waiting for surgery (different kinds)... they started the IV and of course put me in the lovely hospital gown. I put my clothes and insurance card/in a plastic bag and my sister in law held on to them for me during surgery. Dr Myers and Mike came to see me before they took me to the operating room just to see if I had any questions. I teased them that I was going to have the best (flattest) liver they'd ever seen. :-) Then the gorgeous anesthesiologist introduced himself and told me what he was going to be doing. Shortly after that they wheeled me into the room. I remember about 2 minutes in there because Mr Gorgeous knocked me out right away. I woke up ... whenever .. and felt fine. Very thirsty and dry mouth. They give you ice chips and they are wonderful. I had to spend the night because I lived out of town (and alone). I was worried more about nausea than anything and they made sure I had medicine to keep me from getting sick. I only took one pain pill .. about 3 a.m. when I was up walking the halls with the nurse. Next morning Dr Myers and Mike came in .. checked me out .. and signed the release papers. Heather - this is my third surgery (gall bladder and hernia). I've never had a big problem with surgeries or pain afterwards, so I might not be typical. But the surgery wasn't painful at all to me. I felt fine afterwards. Of course the incisions are ouchy for a few days.. but otherwise... piece of cake. You'll be fine ... I'm sure of it ! By Christmas morning you'll be feeling good and even though you won't be eating.. the ProtiDiet, etc isn't bad at all. If you have an aol address you and I could chat and email at topdownbug1@aol.com. Good luck kiddo! You're on your way !!:clap2:

Hi Heather - I'm so sorry I didn't read your posting until just now. I'm glad all went well on your pre-op visit. Sorry about the headache though :eek: So..when is your surgery ? I want to keep you in my thoughts. I'll tell you, right now I'm so glad I did this.. but the first couple weeks I thought I had made a terrible mistake. I'm not even 2 months out yet from surgery but there are some days I almost completely forget that I even have this band. I get full quickly and don't want to eat again for hours. I'm sure yours will go just fine too! Keep in touch!

Manatee - you look like a very colorful bird to me. Do you have other photos? By the way ... nice tail!! :confused:

Hi Heather! Actually Dr. Myers gave me 1 cc for now and after this he said he'll do them in increments of .5 cc each time, if needed. The procedure was painless and I'm happy with the amount of restriction I have now. It's sort of like 2 weeks after surgery was for me. I forgot to ask about charges though.. sorry ... :phanvan When is your fill? Judy

Hi ! Had my first fill yesterday and it was absolutely no big deal. In the waiting area, there were a few of us waiting to see the Dr and one of the three of us had already had one fill. The other lady asked her if it hurt and she said 'oh yes!'. Then she went on to say, "you have to hold your legs up and then the needle is really painful...." Of course I was about 5 minutes away from my first fill so it was sort of unnerving. Of course, everyone is different, but there was no pain at all and Dr Myers had me drink about a half bottle of bottled Water right away and it went down fine. I do have more restriction - but not nearly as bad as right after the surgery. He gave me 1 cc and said my whole band is only 4cc's. When I said I had been reading about people getting 6+ cc's he explained that was a different size/kind of band. He went on to say that they use the bigger bands on bigger people (taller, bigger frame). That all made sense to me. Anyway - I am here to report - that my first fill went fine. I lost 6 pounds and 10.5 inches (fitness center appointments included) in the first month since my initial visit with the Dr - post surgery. He's expecting me to lose about 2 pounds a week and that seems like a good pace to me. Ten pounds a month would be great! I'm feeling quite happy about the whole thing! :clap2:

Hi guys! I'm going for my first fill this morning, so I'll find out the cost. Even if there is a cost, I'm sure it will be turned in to insurance. I am very lucky though - I have great insurance. So far all I have had to pay is the $2000 - and they even approved me for the Care Card program - which was a loan to pay for the rest of the costs - no interest for 18 months. Can't beat that ! Good luck to you other Dr. Myers patients. I scheduled my fitness appointment this morning before my fill, so I'll kill two birds with one stone. I was wondering too how aggressive he'll be with the fills. I'd prefer to have more fills and not be so tight that I have that post surgery discomfort again. I guess I'll find out soon! I'll post when I get home and let you know how it goes. Let's keep in touch! Maybe we Riverside-ers can meet sometime! Judy

Good timing on this topic. I get my first fill tomorrow morning. I really have no idea what to expect, except that it'll be harder for me to eat and drink now. I don't think my Dr uses any kind of flouroscope since he's seeing his patients in a fitness center. After reading a couple of the posts, I'm a little worried about kinks in the tubing and getting too much saline, but so far I haven't had any of the other unfortunate events that I've read about, so I'm optimistic it will all go fine. I did plan to take the rest of the day off work, just in case I don't feel well. Did the rest of you go to work the same day as your fill? I just don't want to have any incidents at work. Did all of you have to go back on liquids too? Just curious Judy