soriminah

This is something I'm working on. I think about what a 'normal' person would eat and try and make my portions that size. At the moment I've only had one fill so I'm really conscious of not eating too much because I don't want any problems. I'm only eating 3x a day and doing ok but my portions are probably a bit bigger at the moment because of only 1 fill but I'm not eating anywhere near what I used to. I figure I can't change 30 years to eating habits in 4 weeks so I'm taking it one day at a time. One thing I need to start working on though is the whole no drinking while eating thing.

I've got 5 scars. I started using bio-oil as soon as I could. My scars are still pink and the port scar is about 4cm long. My sisters scars are just faint silvery lines that you really can't see. She had her op 4 years ago. Provided you don't keloid scar than after a while they'll just be really faint silvery lines. No worse than the stretch marks I have

My Dr is Blair Bowden at the Wesley. He is lovely and I would recommend him to anyone.

For those who don't know it's a sports drink - think gatorade type drink. So mostly geared towards athletes. Sometimes on a really hot day when I feel dehydrated or if I've been mowing the lawn or something fairly physical I might have a sports drink but they can be quite high in carbs and sugars and salt as well.

There's stuff I read that suggests that asprin can erode the band. But ibuprofen shouldn't be a problem because it should just go through into your big stomach. That's from the information that I've come across while doing research.

The area that I hurt most after surgery - my throat. I had a killer sore throat for 2 weeks and could barely talk. Maybe that's why my belly didn't really hurt - the pain of my throat overtook it.

I pulled the steri-strips off after 4 days because the itch was driving me insane. With the big port incision, I put on a patch for 2 days after that but the little incisions as pretty much healed so I didn't bother.

I didn't have any gas problems but I had a killer sore throat for 2 weeks. Did they give you exercises to do on your legs post op to prevent circulation problems and clotting problems? Did they put on stockings for your op or give you blood thinning injections or anything else to prevent DVT? Just keep an eye on the calves and if the discomfort continues go to the Dr. A feeling of cramping can be the beginning stage of DVT. The pain will eventually get to the stage where your calf is that tight it feels like your calf is going to explode and compression on it eases the pain. I went through all this last November (not from surgery though) so I know the symptoms well.

Op Tuesday night, left hospital Wednesday morning, drove to work Thursday morning. It's usual medical advice not to drive for 24 hours after anaesthetic. If you can drive after that it's up to you. Most Drs are concerned that if you have an accident, you'll hurt your belly and might need more surgery or might tear open your wounds.

Get yourself to a Dr ASAP - either the one you're looking for or another lap band Dr. They can be the symptoms of band slip. My sister went through this 3 weeks ago and just got worse with the feelings of heartburn and got to the stage she couldn't even drink Water. Had no appetite for weeks before hand. Best to get it checked ASAP just in case.

I didn't take any time off work. My usual working week includes me having 2 days off in the middle of the week and working weekends. Anywho, I had the op Tuesday night, out of hospital Wednesday morning and back to work Thursday morning. That was 3 weeks ago and I just had my first fill tonight with my post-op exam. The Dr asked how I went and I told him I was back to work the next day - he said 'I knew you would.'

It all depends on your pain threshold. My sister had her op and was off work for 3 weeks - had to sleep in a recliner because she couldn't lay down or get comfortable. When I had my op, I was back at work the next day and after 3 days had stopped taking panadol.

Most Drs don't want you to be able to eat more than 1/2 to 3/4 cup of food in one sitting. Even all the books, literature etc that I have read all say the same thing about volume of food consumed in a meal.

It can also come down to your health status - not just your weight. Every operation has risks anaesthetic wise and if they think your body will not be able to handle the anaesthetic then they won't do it.

The other thing I heard on A Current Affair or similar program a couple of years ago is if it is for mental distress. If you can prove that the excess skin is not only medically needed because of rashes etc, but causing you mental distress as well. Not sure if that is still the case though - maybe they might have changed the rules and every state is different. On the program they had a woman on who wanted a tummy tuck after losing a lot of weight and she had to go on the waiting list which was about 2 years at that stage - I think she lived on the Gold Coast.

My sister did. She had the band 4 years ago and started at size 20 and is currently a 8-10 (depending on the clothes). Mind you, she is tiny (5ft 5ish)- she has a very small frame so it suits her well. I on the other hand would be happy to get to a size 14 - anything smaller and I wouldn't be able to stand upright (I'm 5 ft 11 with a larger frame).

I'm also a qualified massage therapist and I wouldn't have touched you either. I won't massage someone until 6 months post op. Bear in mind, it's mostly not got to do with your surgery - a lot of the time it is an insurance requirement. It can void your insurance so if something happens and someone tries to sue you, your insurance will not cover. All therapists will have their own requirements based on their insurance and governing bodies requirements.

Usually your Dr will keep you on all medication that you have to be on - or substitute it if need be. I have medication I have to take everyday and the week before surgery they changed it and then I went back to my usual medication the day after surgery.

If men stopped saying stupid things they'd probably say all of about 10 words a day - I work with a football team and some of the crap that comes out of their mouths just amazes me - you just have to laugh and give it back to them - mostly their comments are harmless fun and they don't mean anything by it.

What did they do to check the band is still in place? Or have you been checked for gastritis or similar which can cause similar symptoms as well. Also, when you say getting sick do you mean you actually vomit or do you just feel nauseous or other symptoms?

My post op diet info is: stage 1 liquid (anything you can suck through a straw) stage 2 mushy food (if you chew well enough it turns into mush) stage 3 a normal healthy diet dependant on what you can get down. Everyone tolerates food differently. My sister who had the op 4 years ago is amazed at what I can eat 2 weeks post op. I had sushi on Tuesday. She said she couldn't eat rice for the first 3 years. It'll be interesting to see how my eating changes as I start to get fills though. I could drive to Maccas and get a big mac meal and get it down without a problem - the thing that stops me is the fact that I paid for my operation and Healthwise, I need this to work for me. Theres enough people out there who are willing to sabotage your efforts without self sabotage. I'll be asking for my first fill next week - I'm ready to get the ball rolling - I'm so excited.

I only have good things to say about Blair - I love him :tongue: - hehe. He's very thorough in his consultation - I had 2 consultations with him after the nurse appointment and he put in my cannula before surgery while having a chat to make sure I was ok.

I've had a few instances now where it rumbles up - sounds like it coming from my toes. Sometimes I don't feel the need to burp but all of a sudden it's out. I have no control over it. It happened today in a training course. All of a sudden this rumbly burp flew out and I don't even have time to try and cover my mouth or anything. How emberassing. :huh2: haha

There shouldn't have been any reason to stop in the first place. There are risks of clotting after surgery regardless of the pill or not. That's why they use stockings, injections, massage and other means to reduce the risk of clots.

Not sure what you mean by PCP but when I went to my GP to get a letter stating I needed the op, he did it but said that if insurance companies etc decide later on that you didn't need the op they can sue the Dr to get their money back because the Dr said you need it. This is in Australia though but it'd be interesting to see if anyone else was told this.