GreenChrysalis

quote name='jonjon1981' timestamp='1302284290' post='1597966'] Hi. I'm considering Dr. Kirshenbaum for my lap band surgery and was wondering if anyone on here had gone to him and lived in Atlanta. I'd love to know how your experience was both with having the Surgery done and with finding a local doctor when you came back for fills and follow-ups. Any advice or comments would be greatly appreciated. Hi there! I was banded by Dr. K on 2-14-08 and live in metro Atlanta. I had a good surgery experience, stayed in Parker at the Holiday Inn right across the street from the hospital for two days. I flew back for my first fill with Dr. K and then I found a local doctor for fills and follow-ups; it's Dr. Johnson at Atlanta Bariatrics. All I had to do was fax a copy of my surgery report to his office to find out if he would accept me as a patient. I would suggest going on the official Lap-Band website by Allergan and looking up doctors in your area, then start calling/emailing to find out if they will take on your aftercare. Some of them refuse to treat other surgeons' patients, some charge an outrageous amount of money for fills, so you'll have to just do your research. I haven't needed a fill in over a year but Dr. Johnson was very reasonable, and he was also very kind and easy to work with. Let me know if I can answer any more of your questions, feel free to message me as well if you like.

Not crazy at all. I have heard of people who need a little unfill or even everything taken out. I have also heard of people who suddenly feel looser and can eat more. Apparently our hormones affect our stomach in all different ways, so whatever works for you -- and has you able to taken in enough healthy foods -- is "normal." Congrats to you too! I'm at 10 weeks -- come on, second trimester -- so I'm hoping I'll just keep my current fill (4.5cc in a 10 cc band) throughout the pregnancy. We'll see. :thumbup: Hope all are well! I'm ready to stop being tired even sleeping 9-11 hours a night...

As long as you are eating healthy food, getting in some exercise, feeling good and the baby is growing well...try not to think so much about weight gain. I know it is hard, but that's how we have to think. Yes, some people do lose weight in the first trimester if they have a lot of nausea and/or morning sickness. But others gain weight. It's different for everybody. You are growing a new life right now. After you have the baby (or after you finish breastfeeding depending on what you choose to do and what your doctors say), you can get a fill & lose whatever weight you gain. You will still have that tool. So hang in there!

Lucky, Ejmdiva! Just nowhere for me to nap here. If it weren't summer I'd consider napping in my car! I nap or sleep late every weekend now. I am sure the last phase is difficult. I have already been thinking about some choices and things that I know will be met with resistance by some of my family. But you just have to remember that it's YOUR body, YOUR baby and nobody can really make decisions that work for you but YOU. I hope your baby comes sooner than later!:biggrin:

Thanks! I'm actually not a Colorado girl (although I've been there several times and love it), I just got my band there. :thumbup: You sound like every other 40-weeker I have heard of...time get out, baby! I hope my fatigue doesn't last past 16 weeks. I have stuff to do. I can't really nap during the day since I work full-time but I'm trying to get as much sleep as I can. Obviously sleep will become a precious commodity soon. :crying:

Yes, definitely exciting/scary/overwhelming/OMG can I do this. :skep: I'm having a hard time exercising regularly too. I was doing 5 days a week but now I am lucky to get in 3. And when I do, 30 minutes is the absolute maximum. I'm just too tired. I do manage to cook dinner most days of the week, but that's just about all I do in the evenings other than fall asleep on the couch while my husband watches baseball. I have a desk job and I find myself really wanting a nap around 2 pm. I have cravings for carbs but I don't think I'm eating greater quantities than I was before. I'm trying to stay healthy, but when you're tired and cranky, you just want what you want. I'm told that this gets better after the first trimester. I sure hope so because I don't see how I'm going to last if it doesn't. :thumbup:

...because I'm seven weeks pregnant. As you can see from my ticker I didn't have too much left to go to goal. We started TTC in March. This is our first child and it was our first time TTC. I still didn't expect it to happen so soon! I saw my OB/GYN for the first time yesterday & she said to aim for no more than a 20 pound weight gain. As for fills, my fill doc has said that unless I have a lot of vomiting or am not eating enough for the baby's growth, I should be able to keep my fill. So far I've gained maybe a pound. I'm eating normally (although carb cravings are pretty bad) and exercising as much as possible -- low-impact. Some nausea here and there but no vomiting. Let's hope that lasts! Hope all are well!

GoyaChula, we all understand. I just keep telling my husband, "Everybody is pregnant except for me. Everybody!" Of course that's not true, and I know in my head that it will happen when it's supposed to, but emotions are emotions. Your time will come, and I can bet that you'll be glad you waited. :wub:

Since I just replied...just wanted to chime in and say congrats to everyone who just found out they were pregnant. My period was due on Sunday. I took a hpt this morning but it's negative. I feel strange but not like I'm about to start my period. Hard to describe. Guess I'll be testing again in a week if Aunt Flow doesn't show up. I really don't have high hopes because this is the first cycle of trying; on the other hand, my GYN said that I would have a good chance this cycle because it should be my first time ovulating in ages. We shall see...I hope that I'm joining your merry little group soon...

GoyaChula, first of all you need to discuss this with your band surgeon, but the standard is that you need to wait 12-18 months after being banded before you try to get pregnant. You need to let your body heal and get used to your new lifestyle, and that will give you time to lose the majority, if not all, of your excess weight. I am almost positive that your surgeon will tell you that you need to be on hormonal birth control right now. If you have had fertility issues due to weight gain, you will probably become more fertile as you lose weight. Many bandsters have become pregnant without trying, after years of infertility, because they have lost weight. I got married very young (age 18) and have been married for almost 14 years. I have had bouts over the years of really wanting to get pregnant, but we chose to wait, mostly for financial reasons but also to grow together more as a couple. I understand how it feels when it seems like everybody around you is pregnant or has children. Most of my friends have children, including those several years younger than me. I have always been big but also gained weight during the marriage and hit 302 pounds at my highest point. When I turned 30, I felt ready to get pregnant in every way but physically. I knew I wanted to be at a healthier weight when I got pregnant and that is part of why I got banded. A little over a year later I am 14 pounds from my goal weight, feel great and am trying to conceive with the support of my band doc and my OB/GYN. I would suggest that you and your husband focus on getting healthy now and think again about getting pregnant a year from now (or however long your doctor advises to wait). You have plenty of time. That's my opinion.

Reading all of these happy posts has me jealous...I saw my gynecologist yesterday and she saw no reason for me not to start TTC...so I'm officially in babymaking mode. Can't wait!

Sorry to hear that, wantitbad. Being on liquids is awful, no two ways about it. But look at it this way....at least you didn't cause permanent damage. This is a chance for you to get back on track, follow the rules and succeed. You can do this.

Hi armywife4life. I didn't experience any nausea. Just reflux and pain. I hope that the unfill resolves things for you!

Well, I continue to feel just fine since Tuesday. :tongue_smilie: Taking my Prilosec every day, eating with no problems. I'm trying to really watch my portion sizes because I'm worried that the unfill will slow down my weight loss. But I'm still exercising and things are going OK. Wantitbad, I hope that you get relief soon & keep me posted about what happens.

Wantitbad -- almost banded on the same day. Looks like you were a day earlier. :sneaky: Here's my UPDATE after my doctor's office visit yesterday. He thinks I was too tight. I was confused at first as to how this could be. My last fill was in mid-November. I've had great restriction since then. In addition, I've had no problems keeping food down. I haven't been vomiting. I've read/heard that people who are too tight sometimes can't even keep down saliva. I haven't had much of an appetite, but I attributed that to the reflux and pain. Anyway, he felt that somehow my stoma got irritated enough to cause tightness and reflux. So he suggested we take out a little saline (about 0.5 cc, so he basically took out my last fill) and see if that helps. He also switched me to Prilosec since it is a PPI (proton pump inhibitor). I thought he might prescribe Nexium or one of those, but he said that Prilosec is just as good as the prescription ones. It's just OTC because the patent expired. The Prilosec is a two-week course. If I don't get relief from that, then he'll order an upper GI to look at my band. He said that I would need a total unfill if the band looks fine, otherwise we'd cross that bridge when we came to it. He was very reassuring and really did not think I'd had a slip, but he did stress not to hesitate to call him if I wasn't getting relief. If everything clears up, I could come back and we could try a small fill if I'm not losing weight. I am so close to goal weight, he thinks that we might have to play around with it more to keep me losing without being too tight. I took my first Prilosec last night before dinner and I slept through the night for the first time in almost a week. I haven't had any reflux or pain since, so I'm really hoping the combination of that and the slight unfil does the trick!