meggs353

I wanted food badly too, couldn't wait to get to the soft stage. I had a lot of savory foods (puréed black bean soup, veggies soups with cheese like parmesan or cheddar melted in), plus I put protein powder in veggie/fruit juices to get me through the first 10 days (I could not stomach the protein shakes post-surgery, although I had liked them just fine pre-op). If you eat something solid it could get stuck or cause pain since your insides are inflamed and still healing.

I agree! All my cravings, desires and taste buds are still intact. Hoping it dampens as I get my fills.

I was self pay so 1 year of f/u was included in my surgery price. Not sure how insurance does it tho (prob a little different for each plan).

I didn't know where my port was until my 1st follow-up appt. I have 2 incisions: 1 at my sternum (this didn't hurt at all) and 1 in my belly button (this hurt during recovery - felt like pinching just to the right of my belly button). I thought my port was in my chest and was amazed it didn't hurt. But the dr at follow-up told me my band was under my first incision (I was surprised, it's so high up!) and my port was next to my belly button, exactly where I had felt the mysterious pinching! I believe most people with 5 incisions have their port midway between their belly button and ribs on either the left or right side. If you feel pinching at any one of the sites, that's probably it!

I'd like to be able to access people's profiles from the mobile app. When I click on someone's name, I can't see any of their stats, their dr, etc. You also can't see anyone's profile pic. I'm only on this app on my phone, so would love to be able to know more about who I'm talking to!

Since you can't eat or drink after midnight the day before your surgery I had a LOT of Water before I went to bed. As much as I could stand. This saved me from being dehydrated and super parched in the morning. I was thirsty, but not as bad as I would have been. I also brought cough drops to the hospital, they help get the saliva going when you can only take little sips after surgery. At home I had a heating pad on deck, and liquid Tylenol. Good luck!

Hi there. You're taking an important step by investigating a procedure that could improve your health. All weight loss surgeries have risks (during and after surgery), and none have 100% success rates. Any surgery available today could fail. Something important I learned is that all hospitals have their own record of complications. At my hospital there is a 1-3% chance of having a serious complication with the lap band. This may be lower than the national average (different studies report different outcomes), but I feel really confident that 97% of patients at the clinic I go to are fine. So asking around is important. I'm newly banded and something to keep in mind is that the band doesn't start working immediately after surgery. It take months of fine tuning to adjust the band just-right. It's frustrating, but a part of the process. But many banders like the fact that it's adjustable, there's no one size fits all, you find the adjustment that's right for you. Good luck with your search!

Congratulations on the surgery, Matt, and good luck on your recovery! The first week is all about recovering. Take it easy (no heavy lifting, bending, stretching), but do walk as much as you can each day!

Good luck on Wed! I'm scheduled for Dec 12. So far I lost 9lbs pre-op, 3 lbs in my first week post-op, 2 lbs in the second week post-op, and no weight last week (my 3rd week post-op). Hoping to at least maintain, and not gain, until my first fill! A loss would be nice too of course, but I don't have much restriction.

Some people gain weight in the first month or months after surgery until their band is properly adjusted, so the fact that you're losing is good news. I echo all the other posters' sentiments: great job and make sure you're in communication with your doc to get filled as you need it!

I would search online for budget friendly recipes. Things like chicken thighs, or tougher cuts of meat that benefit from low and slow cooking will give you protein and lots of bang for your buck. Also dried beans are really cheap and another source of protein. I think us banders should try to eat real food instead of soup since from what I understand the chewing helps with feelings of fullness. But stick to really budget friendly items and check other places in your life that you can cut down on expenses to make sure you can spend the money on foods you need. Good luck!

Congrats on your success - both the weight lost and getting through the year's biggest eating holiday by sticking to your recovery plan! Sounds like you're on the right the road.

I understand that you are at a greater risk for erosion and slippage if you throw up frequently so it should be avoided as much as possible.

Hi Mary, I definitely had a swollen belly after surgery. I had lost weight but it didn't feel that way in my clothes. Every day for me was better than the day before. I took dulcolax to help move things a long (if you are on prescription pain killers that can really bind things up too). It took a full week for me to really start feeling good, then another week feel pretty much normal. I tried to walk as much as possible as well to alleviate gas pains from the surgery and promote healing. If you feel very uncomfortable, swollen, etc for longer without improvement give the doc a call to check in. Good luck!

I'm the same as Briefs but we had surgery at the same practice. My port is just to the right of my belly button, and the incision there is inside my belly button so not very visible. The other is at my bra line, and is in line with where the band is on my stomach (so much higher that I thought!) Is everyone else's port by their belly button?

Good luck guys - I haven't experienced numbness so far (2 weeks out) but I did get haunted by serious shoulder pain last night!

Ldimples - hang in there. After 5 days post op I did not feel like myself either. I still had some pain, was hardly eating (I was only on liquids) and I wondered when I would feel better. But for me, at least, each day felt better than the one before to now 2-weeks post op I feel really good with almost no pain. I did have a bout of intense shoulder pain this evening that came out of no where and it wasn't fun. But, I remind myself that I just had a significant, life-changing surgery and this is part of recovery (and some Tylenol, Gas-x and a heating pad did helped immensely!). I hope you start to feel better and find peace with your decision! Keeper, so happy for you that you had a big loss! If only we lost 9lbs every week, lol! Good luck with your first fill, mine is on Dec 12.

Congrats! Walk as much as you can to alleviate the shoulder pain.

Hi Sophie, glad to hear you're doing well! I was banded 11/11 and went back to work last week. I found it was helpful keeping my mind busy. I just made sure I brought a lunch bag with the foods I needed for each day, brought Tylenol with me if I got sore, and took mini breaks to walk around the office. Good luck with your first day back!

I don't think lap band is being phased out. It may have a smaller share of voice, but I think many prestigious institutions and surgeons still band. The long-term results with sleeve for large patient samples are still to be determined. The risks quoted to me before surgery were that 1-3% of patients have serious complications with the band such as slippage or erosion. A 97% success rate is good with me.

It helped me to stay busy - with work, volunteering, seeing friends and family. The days when I had down time were the worst. Try to make extra plans (that don't involve eating!) Meeting friends at cafés for tea and coffee was a nice social diversion. Plus, like everything in life, it'll be over before you know it and you'll be wondering where all the time went! Good luck!

Good luck! And good for you taking control of your health.

I felt much more reassured with the surgical resident explained to me that serious complications like band slippage and erosion happen in 1-3% of patients. Reading these boards it can feel more like 30-50% of people have this. So I feel good that 97% of people find long term success with the band AND I have some control of the outcome by: eating slowing, chewing thouroughly, following up with my dr once each month for the first year and then 1-2 times per year after that (forever), and making sure I'm not too tight for any length of time, and seeing a dr right away if I've been vomiting. I commit to do those things and I bet that puts me closer to 99% chance of success.

Nice work! Do you feel restriction enough that the small amount filled you up? I remember you saying your first fill was in early Dec.

Great job! I'm 6 days post-op and having the same challenges. I bought a bunch of pureed Soups from trader joes, plus some vegetable and a few fruit juices. I bought a non-flavored Protein Powder (gene pro) to add to the soups and juices for Protein, or I season some Greek yogurt with salt, pepper and olive oil to go with the soups. I also bought some cheddar, ricotta and feta cheese to blend/melt into the soups. I was so sick of my Protein Shakes post-op that the thought of drinking them made me sick, so I've been trying to up my protein in other ways. I also bought frozen fruit, skim milk, and silken tofu for smoothies (tasty with a splash of apple cider for sweetness). I made a tasty black bean Soup the other day: puree 1 can drained black Beans with chicken stock, some Greek yogurt, a bit of olive oil and cumin. It's very tasty and satisfying. A lot of these foods will transition with me into the soft food stage (I won't have to thin everything out so much). The biggest thing for me now is judging my hunger signals during this recovery process while I still have some pain and inflammation - trying to eat enough but not too much. I'm down 12 lbs, 9 pre, 3 post. So far so good Good luck!