sally123

I have had the lap band for five years. Does anyone have trouble with melon and/or salad greens? I throw them up almost immediately. I miss cantaloupe and watermelon. Salad would be nice. I eat slowly and chew it thoroughly but I can' keep it down. I can eat everything else. Any ideas? Thanks.

Yes it is hard! I am 5 tears after lap band. I have cravings everyday of my life. I still can't figure out what will go down and what won't. The same foods cause different reactions...no consistency. I also had one emergency surgery and had a replacement lap band. With all that, I can say that the lap band is a gift. I no longer hate myself every day. I have clothes I love and feel good in. I would do it again in a flash and have NO regrets. Best of luck to you. I wish you much happiness in your life.

Does anyone have problems eating watermelon or honeydew ? Most of the time that I eat it, I throw it right back up. More so in the evening. Sometimes in midday it is ok. Thanks for your comments.

I have been banded about 31/2 years. my weight has slowly gone up. I gained about 35 pounds. it has taken me a year to start dieting again. in the last two weeks, I get up every morning and don't hate myself. hopefully that will be enough to keep me going. I do not fit into my new clothes...a bummer but I will again. good luck! you can do this.

Hi. I was not feeling well and could not eat nor drink. I knew I was getting dehydrated so I I tried everything, sipping every 5 minutes, gulping water, etc. I am not exagerating when I say I probably threw up 50 times. My stomach pushed up threw my band . I was not in excrutiating pain. I just knew something was terrably wrong if I could not keep liquids down. Sometimes your stomach can self corret if you stay on liquids for 2 weeks. However, you really need to have it checked out. I lost about 17 pounds in 4 days which I have gained back but I was so sick. My port was replaced but not my lap band. The doctor readjusted my stomach and built up a wall where my hernia was weak. The surgery was difficult, and the recovery worse than the first time, but I am so glad I have the lap band and that there are ways of taking care of problems. In any case, Go see a doctor. The slim fast might be the answer but it is not worth taking chances. Best of luck to you.

Hi. Thanks for answering. I am now 4 weeks post op. The swelling is mostly gone. It did look weird and scary but I am ok now. I appreciate your comment. Your friends stomach will go back to normal. It just takes time. My best.

Hi. I had my port replaced and other stuff on May 26th and I still hurt. This is 5 times worse than the initial banding a Year and half ago. I think that the pain is normal, at least my doctor told me that yesterday. I had other stuff done too....a hernia fix-up, my stomach shifted back through the lap band, so I know the doctor did a lot of internal stuff which accounts for the pain. I wish she could have done a tummy tuck while she was in there. Hope you and I feel better soon. Good luck!

Hi. I had my band replaced about 2 weeks ago so I do not know if the same advice applies. I was told not to lift anything over 10 pounds for a month. I am sure I should not be doing ab exercises either. My stomach needs time to heal. Since your surgery was less extensive, maybe what you did was fine. However, if you are feeling pain, you might want to take it easy for awhile. Good luck.

I was rebanded due to slippage on May 26. My first surgery was in December 07. I am in considerably more pain then the first round. There is no sign of infection, however, I have these large protrusions coming out of my stomach at 2 of the incision sites. My stomach looks like I have hills and valleys. Does anyone know if this is normal. I see the doctor on Monday. I am worried she is going to look at my stomach and say uh oh...that is not supposed to be that way. I am quite worried. Anyone know of what a rebanded stomach looks like? I am at my goal weight so there is no place for the swelling to hide. At least that is what I hope is the case. I am still taking morphine, not a lot but it is the only thing that completely takes away the pain. If you have any info, please write as I am getting more and more anxious and the stress does not help. Thankyou.

Banding is a slow process. We all want overnight successes. We all want that miracle. Banding is slow. I was banded December "07, just had complications and was rebanded May 26th. I am in the liquid phase of my diet (again). One thing I learned for me, is that you never get that feeling of fullness that you have experienced pre-band. You have to listen really carefully to your body and you will get different kind of cues that tell you to stop eating. And you need to listen, even if mid-bite. Even if you left the food you love best for the end of the meal. I also have been filled and unfilled a zillion amount of times. My band responds to stress. A nightmare? Can't eat for 3 days. For some people, the sweet spot changes. Life before the band was hard. This, with all its difficulties and I am sitting here with fresh incisions, is worth it. Take your time, you will get there. Believe in the process and root for yourself!

Hi. I am glad your surgery went well. Mine was also on the 26th. I do not think it hurt so much the first time. I suspect that there were more adhesions to deal with, at least for me and more cutting. I also had a port replacement. The swelling is going down although my stomach still looks like i swallowed rocks. I too am back on liquids then mush for a month. The big psychic difference is that I am only thinking of maintenence, I am not trying to loose more weight. That is a gift. So, good luck to us both!

Hi. I just had an emergency lap-band and port replacement, the whole thing!. I had a terrible slippage 17 months after my initial banding. My stomach looks like the surface of the moon. I am going to a fancy dinner, the first since I was a teenager that I could wear something really nice, and I am so swollen there is a 6 inch gap between the side of the zipper. Elastic waist for me. In any case, my stomach has hills and crags and looks very strange. I do not think I have an infection, no reddening at site, normal temp. I am thin now. Is this what it looks like when you are not overweight? The first time, I was just round and swollen.

On Monday I must have thrown up 50 times, totally exhausted and dehydrated and in pain. In the past few months, I had three "attacks" where I felt extreme, sharp pain above my rib cage. I think this was the beginning of a slip. I went to get it checked out and each time had an unfill. On Tuesday, I went to see my doctor and my lap band had slipped. I also had a small hernia. That afternoon I had surgery. Wow, the second time around hurts a lot more because all the adhesions had to be opened and I think there is just a lot more probing around. My port was also changed since I had a high profile port and it looked like i had a tumer on my body. I should mention that I was banded December 07 and lost 120 pounds, 10 pounds in the last week from being so sick. So here I sit at 3:30 in the morning, ditsy from morphine an thinking about that beautiful new black dress upstairs which I did not try on yet because it arrived while I was in the hospital the last three days. And I can say that even with the complications, and numerous trips for fills and unfills (I am hard to regulate) and knowing that this has been an intense journey, I am thankful every day that I had this done. I am happy that every morning I do not start a diet again, and every night hate myself because I failed once again. With all its problems for me, the lap band saved my emotional and physical life.