mindyemt08

Spoke to my Dr and he wants me to drink hot water for a few hours. I have had a band for 3 years, and I dont think that even if swelling lessens, that I will be able to eat the minimum amount of food.

I am kind of feeling the same. I just got a fill for the first time in over a year. I literally just got it about 2 hours ago. But Water isn't going down well and I almost feel like I have heartburn. I know it is really soon after my fill, but it is a really uncomfortable feeling for drinking just a little bit of liquid. And I NEVER get heartburn. I also keep burping a little and the water comes like halfway up but goes back down. HELP!

I take 2 flinstone gummies at my dr.'s recommendation. They taste great and go down easy.

It would help if you could clarify your previous complications. Were they life-threatening or likely to occur again? If so, then he has legitimate concerns. Has he been to the doctor with you and discussed it with him? Im assuming your doc thinks the benefits outweigh the risks or he would have denied you as a patient. I do think it is important to establish wether or not your husband's concerns are reasonable or not. And why he would wait until 2 weeks before surgery to ask you to cancel has got to be just heartbreaking for you to hear. In my humble opinion, it sounds to me like he has researched all of the negative things about the band. If you want to convince him you will "most likely" be just fine, I would just research the opposing argument. For instance, I believe the hair loss side-effect occurs mostly with bypass patients. You absorb all of your caloric intake as a bandster, you just eat less. Most of us take a multi-vitamin to supplement as well. PB'ing is something that most bandsters master with experience. It can be painful but usually resolves pretty quickly and is usually is our own fault such as drinking with meals, big bites or not chewing well. Of course if you are too tight it can happen more often but you will usually know within a few days and get a little fluid taken out. And so on, and so on. As for the "wait three months" request. Not any of those 3 things are likely to change. Your complication percentage will neither go up nor down. You will most likely not be successful in losing and keeping off weight, AND all of the side effects of being a bandster will still be there. I think the conversation you should have is wether or not you should have the surgery at all. Not wether you should have it 2/3/09 or 5/3/09. I truly hope this helps you in some way. I wouldn't give mine back even if I was offered a 200% refund. And please don't leave me hanging. Let me know how it goes. GOOD LUCK!

Well I guess my question is what exactly is the $500 for? I could see if there was a whole bunch of initial start-up evaluations that needed to be done that is time consuming, but a new band patient is pretty cut and dry unless you have band complications or lengthy medical problems. It seems to me like you would be paying $500 just for the priveledge of being one of his patients. I would think a good doc would waive that fee just for the addition of a new patient that brings him income. Have you ever paid that kind of $$ when searching for a new PCP? But I guess the convenience of his location would be very important to me as well. And you seem impressed with your dealings with him so far which says alot. I was just playing devil's advocate for argument's sake. Best of luck to ya.

I am 1 year post-op and a new problem I have been experiencing is pain (more like soreness) at my port site. Most noticably after eating for maybe an hour or two. It's nothing excruciating or anything, but I have never had it before. Just curious wether anyone ese had the same problem. The only thing I could think it would be is the heaviness of my food sitting in the pouch tugging on it, making it sore but I don't even know if that is something that even happens or something I just made up in my head. I can tell you that everything has checked out fine when they have looked inside when they use flouroscopy and there is no twisting or bending or anything. Had a slight unfil about 2 weeks ago and there is no redness, irritation or swelling where they injected me to take out the fluid so I am pretty sure it's not infection. It feels more like the muscle is sore. And it does go away an hour or two after eating. If anyone else has felt this or knows what it is, I would greatly appreciate your input. Thanks so much.

I am about 1 year post-op. I had a fill about 6 weeks ago and was too tight, so I had .3 cc's taken out 1 week ago and food is going down just fine. But a new problem I have been experiencing is pain (more like soreness) at my port site. Most noticably after eating for maybe an hour or two. It's nothing excruciating or anything, but I have never had it before. Just curious wether anyone ese had the same problem. The only thing I could think it would be is the heaviness of my food sitting in the pouch tugging on it, making it sore but I don't even know if that is something that even happens or something I just made up in my head. I can tell you that everything has checked out when they have looked inside me when they use flouroscopy and there is no twisting or bending or anything. Also, there is no redness, irritation or swelling where they injected me to take out the fluid so I am pretty sure it's not infection. It feels more like the muscle is sore. If anyone else has felt this and knows what it is, I would greatly appreciate your input. Thanks so much.

It's funny to me how everyone is so different in where their ports are placed. Mine is about an inch below my left rib. I have heard they used to put them right in the middle of the breast but down several inches, but after people lost alot of weight, it began to show. Hope this helps!

I am about 1 year post-op. I had a fill about 6 weeks ago and was too tight, so I had .3 cc's taken out 1 week ago and food is going down just fine. But a new problem I have been experiencing is pain (more like soreness) at my port site. Most noticably after eating for maybe an hour or two. It's nothing excruciating or anything, but I have never had it before. Just curious wether anyone ese had the same problem. The only thing I could think it would be is the heaviness of my food sitting in the pouch tugging on it, making it sore but I don't even know if that is something that even happens or something I just made up in my head. I can tell you that everything has checked out when they have looked inside me when they use flouroscopy and there is no twisting or bending or anything. Also, there is no redness, irritation or swelling where they injected me to take out the fluid so I am pretty sure it's not infection. It feels more like the muscle is sore. If anyone else has felt this and knows what it is, I would greatly appreciate your input. Thanks so much.

Well, I didn't feel the lump until 15-20 minutes after I left the doc's office. I thought maybe it would go away. Since I felt it all day today, I decided to call her. She said it was where fluid/food was sitting in the band. I told her that it was quite a bit higher than that and I have never felt it before. So she said if everything is going down fine, then it is something non-band related and I need to see my PCP. But I am sure this is related to it. I mean, what else could it be immediately after seeing her?

I got a slight unfill yesterday because I was having problems eating where "everything" got stuck so I thought maybe I was too tight. The doctor agreed so he took .3 cc's out. Everything has been going down perfectly since then, but almost immediately after my unfill, I had a lump feeling in my chest. It kind of feels like a pill or bubblegum is stuck but I hadn't eaten anything. This feeling has been there non-stop for about 24 hours. I am positive there is nothing stuck. It's not really painful but it is uncomfortable. I don't know what it is. It is right between the middle of my breasts and my throat. Has anyone else felt this or does anyone know why it is there? Thanks so much.

I just purchased a "Complete Body Cleansing Program" from GNC. I guess it is supposed to completely cleanse your body. I have heard that people feel great afterwards. My problem is that I didn't realize that there is also a 7 day diet that you are supposed to follow with it and it is horrible. I don't think many people at all could do it. It consists of things like rice milk. Has anyone done it, ate normally and felt a difference? Is it a total waste of money if you don't follow the diet? Thanks

I am 2 months post op and have no problems with crushing my pills and drinking them with coffee. However, I purchased a "Complete Body Cleansing Program" and the pill taste is HORRIBLE. You have no idea. They are also of course big horse pills. Would these be safe to swallow whole? Thanks a bunch!