lovecats85

Ok, so doc says it's Ok that there is a hard area of swelling with a diameter of 6 friggin inches around my port. He said it was ok and it was normal and it would just be that way for a few weeks. But I have to complain b/c this didn't start until one week out and it's growing and growing and getting super hard and it hurts SO BAD. Did this happen to anyone else? I guess it's ok if my doc says it's ok - it's not red or infected looking - just painful and hard! I am 2 weeks out - when will this go away? Is this really normal b/c I'm having a hard time believing my doctor since I've never heard anyone else complain of this on LBT and I really beileve if you guys had felt the way I do and had a big hard pancake around your port, you would have posted on LBT.

I think you should contact your doc - I was SO dehydrated the 1st few days and I COULD get water down fine - you need fluids!!! Call your doc NOW. Good luck and hugs!

Ok, I saw the doc and he said he had to poke a hole w/ his finger to get the port in place and the hole is now filling up with fluid and it will just be swollen and sore for a few weeks but not to worry. It sucks though b/c it hurts like a B*TCH!!!!!!!!!!!!

OK, now the hardnesss around my port is the size of a friggin' golf ball! It's like a huge hard mass in my belly and it hurts!!! I am going to the doc at 1 pm so I will update when I get back!

I love my band thanks to the weight loss but I can tell already I am forming bad mental habits that apper to be replacing my bad eating habits. Why can't I just be bad-habit free? I am obessing about my band - is it infected, is it slipping, etc. -- and worse, I am obessing about weight and food. I weigh myself at least 2 times a day even though I repeat my mantra of "this is time to heal not to lose". I get depressed that I haven't lost in 4 days even though logically I know it's only been 4 days and I did switch to mush so no loss is expected, but yet I still feel sad. It's so dumb b/c i never felt this sad when I would diet for a month and only lose one little pound! Also, I feel like a PIG since I went on mushies when in reality I normally eat like I did yesterday - 1 protein shake, 2 cans soup, 4 crackers, and 3 bites of ice cream - that's what I would have for a snack pre-band and now I feel like a total pig b/c I ate "all" that. My brain is so having a devil/angel argument with itself!!!! Sorry for the rant! If I didn't have you guys to vent to I could never have done this!

Hey Poodles - I'm sorry your consult was upsetting but I hope it went well otherwise and if you get a band you'll get your BMI down to 20! I was upset my 1st meeting too b/c they said I should weigh like 125 based on the "charts" and It made me feel so much fatter than I am,,, but then I realized the "charts" are just standardized but really I do have a big frame and I could pick my own goal of 150! Anyways, that was kindof rambling there - I'm tired! Good luck!

Hey Jini! Welcome to LBT! I've only had my band 9 days but I'm loving it so far and I'll try to put my 2 cents in: 1. Does the lapband slow down your metabolism. I've read that it holds food for longer... I read that if you eat over 1k calories per day it won't slow your metablolism down (and while this is hard the 1st few week when you are healing) most bandsters seems to eat 1k-1.5k per day 2. What can I expect to be able to eat after the surgery? Will I forever be eating Soup and what not or will I be able to eat normally again? I was on one week of iquid, now I'm on 2 weeks of mush, but after that my doc says eat normally! 3. What is the best thing about the Lap Band? I've lost 15 pounds in 9 days - that has never happened before. And the non-scale victories are great oo - for example - I realized tonight when counting my calorie intake that it's so much easier to keep track of because now I eat a "serving size" - like tonight I had 2 tbsp of crap dip and low and behold that was a serving - pre-band I don't think there's anything I could have only eaten 2 tbsp's of!!! That is a mental non-scale victory! 4. What is the worst? so far just the initial pain of recovery but it was just a few days and now I'm pretty much back to normal 5. What do you wish you would have known before getting into this? I've been on here and researching everywhere for over a year so I felt like I knew most everything - do your research b/c this IS a lifestyle change - not a diet you can go on and off of - your band is for life! Good luck! We'll always be here for you at LBT!

canned peaches and some pineapple juice ought to cure my cravings for now!

Any fruit I can eat besides bananas? Can I just mush up any fruit? I'm craving some canned pineapple - can I mush that up? Will pineapple get stuck? What fruit goes down easiest (besides bananas)?

What did I miss - who is this Jaxson guy and what's the story?

The bloating will get better daily! As for the BM - that was AWFUL for me - I had to give myself an enema 3 days out of surgery!

Ok, Mine feels like a hard nickel.... should I just let it be? Should I go see the doc tomorrow?

My freind's mom had bypass and she said in her support group this was the most common issue. You will find other things to "drown" in when you are frustrated - like you really could take a Calgon bath! Or you will go shopping or something! You made it thru the moment of weakness and it will get better everytime!

Ok, so I am going to see my doc tomorrow but until then I will count on you all! On Thursday doc removed my staples and everything was ine except my 2 larger incisions hurt a little. The bigger one has started to hurt more and now it's pretty sore and I noticed it getting hard this weekend but I thought the hard spot was the actual port but now it seems a little bigger. It feels like a hard lump about the size of a nickel and it's growing and it's sore, especially when I', sitting. I do not see any puss or redness and there is no phyiscal heat, nor do I have a high temperature. It's just sore and uncomfortable and when I had a belly button ring when I was 16 my body rejected it and tried to push it out so I am so scared something is going to happen to my port. Is it normal to have scar tissue buildup or something that would make the port sore and hard. It's only been 9 days since surgery - does anyone have ideas/ suggestions/ anything? I'm scared!

I am not a lawyer, I am a law student but I cannot give legal advice. This is not legal advice. Just some info for you - You would have to prove that doctor was negligent in leaving the stiches in and that his behavior was below the proper duty of care a prudent doctor would have exersized. I don't know if leaving the stitches in is negligent. Attorney's that handle this sort of thing usually offer free consultations so if you have ?'s you should just consult with an attorney. On another note, my cat had 2 surgeries for "suspicious lumps" which turned out to be scar tissue reaction to the 1st stitches from the 1st real lump/tumor - and I had a phengran shot once and had a lump/bubble for months from a reaction. I'm not sure if your body having a reaction to a stitch is sue-able.

I don't know but is there any chance you are pregnant???

I'm sorry I missed it but what happened to your port that made it come out? How did you know it needed to come out?

Also, try the campbells soup at hands if your craving food - they are technically liquid but they taste like food and fill you up like food!

I feel differently than some about the potato salad b/c on Thursday I saw my doc (this was 6 days out) and he told me to go ahead and eat mushies - I eat potato salad alot now b/c it's so easy to mush up. I would stear clear of the pasta salad though b/c it could expand in your tummy. Anyways, If I were you I would do what your doc says but every doc is different and I think a spoonful of potato salad is nothing to worry about but you should stick with your doc's regimen from now on! Congrats on the weight loss!

You get to eat real food after only 2 weeks! I'm stuck with 2 weeks more of baby food!

I had surgery 9 days ago and i'm all normal again! For 3 days post-surgery I was crampy and sore but I could walk around the house - I slept alot though the 1st 24 hours after surgery. I had surgery on Friday and went back to work for 1/2 day on Tues. By Thursday I was ok to work all day. I had no serious co-morbities, just reflux and knee pain - no refulx since surgery. All in all I felt like crap for a few days, then so-so for a few days and now I'm all back to normal except my incisions are a bit sore still. Good luck and welcome to bandland! PS. I was scared sh**less of the anesthesia,,,, but now I see it was no big deal and I won't be scared when I get a tummy tuck someday!

I wore a tank top, underwear, and loose jogging suit thingee. I had to get nekkid except for the robe for surgery and then I finally got dressed before I went home. I got there at 7 am, had surgery at 8:30 and was leaving around 2. The only thing I can think of to do before today is make sure you go grocery shopping and get all the liquids you want!

I like Lane Bryant for the most part but I could SCREAM about thier jeans and pants!!!! Why can't anywhere offer jeans and pants with a bigger waist or elestic waist. ALL my fat is on my middle - I actually have a pretty small butt and hips - and at Lane Bryant the clothes pants/jeans are all for people with the "pear shape"! By the time I get up to a size that fits my waist it is literally hanging off my hips and butt. So, I buy tops at LB (usually on clearance b/c thier stuff moves to clearance SO fast and drops over 1/2 price) but for pants I go to Target, Cato, Aveneue, etc where they have the common freaking sense to carry ELASTIC waist stuff!

I don't know - I can't even figure out how much mush I'm supposed to eat!!! But it sounds like 1/2 of what I would have eaten pre-band. I think the ?'s to ask yourself are do you feel satisfied - do you feel full? I'm trying to get in touch with my brain (of course, this hasn't ever happened in 26 years!!!)

I am planning on having 2 or 3 kids in a few more years. Everyone says the band and pregnancy is just fine - you just get unfilled and have the lil tyke! There are people on here that have had band babies - do a search!