JanetC

I held my stomach up whenever I would go to stand. It seemed to help. My first week was killer, the 2nd week was mildly discomforting, the 3rd week I'm doing great & exercising again. Hang in there, it gets better!

Congrats on all your triumphs! It sounds like things are clicking for you now! And thanks for the hope! It does me good to know that the journey gets happier along the way.

Walk, walk, walk, gas-x, heating pad... the works. I even tried camomille tea, because someone told me it helped. I don't know that it did, lol, but I kept drinking it! It does pass... eventually. I kept taking the pain meds so I could sleep. After about a week, I finally switched to liquid Tylenol -- especially Tylenol Nighttime in vanilla, yum! Two weeks later the pains were MUCH less, and at 3 weeks I hardly notice them. It flares up every now & then, but it's SOOO much better. Congrats on your surgery & good luck with the gas!!

Hiya Heather!! I know it varies by state / doctor. I've heard some charge through the nose to pick up a patient. Others just charge $100 bucks, no matter who it is. I know our doctor will only take someone if they would have qualified for his program to begin with. In other words, you have to go through all the qualification steps, which are expensive (unless insurance covers it)!! After you qualify, though, he treats you just like one of his own.... Hopefully some in the KY/TN area will see this & give you some scoop about that area. Welcome to the journey!

Hi Bill!! Welcome!! And congrats on making one of the toughest & most exciting decision of your life! There's a great group of men here on the board, and always room for more! I think the fact that the surgery exists offers hope... which is dangerous! I had given up hope, and getting it back hurt! I'm 3 weeks out from surgery... I was terrified of dying during the procedure, hehe, though it's very safe. And now that the surgery is over, I have time to worry about failing, etc, lol. I'm a professional worrier! But I really think this is going to work -- with or without my worry. Too cool! I read a post yesterday about someone losing weight without conscious effort -- the band just keeps the food amount down & the weight comes off. How cool is that!!! I'm not there yet (I don't have any fill so far), but I can't wait until I am! If you have specific worries / questions, feel free to ask 'em. We love answering questions! And we have folks that run the full gamut of emotions, so no matter what the question, most likely someone's been there. Welcome to the journey!!

Polycystic ovarian syndrome -- basically your ovaries have a bunch of little cysts in them. When they do a sonogram they look like a string of pearls. Often folks with PCOS don't have regular menses... and rarely ovulate without outside assistance. There's a huge list of symptoms & not everyone has all of them. The definitive diagnosis is the sonogram. It does seem to be tied to insulin resistance... which of course is related to weight. I have PCOS & am hoping losing weight will help... but I'm still at the beginning of my journey, so I don't have results yet.

Everyone's experience has varied... we have some that sailed through surgery, some that took weeks to recover. Some that love their band, some that hate it. Some that have lost their band, some still have it after 5 years. For myself, I'm still new... almost to 1 month banded. My husband sailed through his surgery. I took 2 weeks to recover. **shrug** They tell me not to compare myself to him. I'd do it again... the surgery wasn't that bad. (See! It's already fading!) I already have some restriction (he has zero). Everyone's unique, but for me, when I got scared, I started listing the reasons why I want to do it. I listed the cons to, but that list was MUCH shorter. Good luck!!

Wow, those pictures are something else! Hang in there Vines! Looks like there's hope! :confused:

I cheated too **blush**. Sad, but true. Try to stick to it as much as you can... and keep the cheats as healthy as you can. Per my surgeon, "If you're going to cheat, please keep it Protein & not fatty. Fatty stuff will dump right back into the liver, defeating the entire pre-op diet. So cheat with chicken or fish." LOL, he doesn't know me at all! Fish isn't a cheat!!!! On the happy side, lol, I didn't cheat on the post-op diet... because I was terrified of ripping something or hurting something. :confused: Hang in there, it'll be over soon! (( HUGS!! ))

Hehe, this totally made me giggle! In the past both Mikey & I guarded our food against each other, lol. It's going to be sooo nice to not have to!

Hi Lenay! Welcome to LBT! You posted in the middle of another thread, so if it seems that folks are ignoring you, really they're not, they just didn't see your post in here. To get a better response, click here: http://www.lapbandtalk.com/forumdisplay.php?f=17 and then click on the "New Thread" button. That way you'll get your own thread & all the responses will be just for you! I'm sorry you're scared. I certainly understand your feelings! Surgery is just plain scary!! Hang out on LBT a bit & read the posts... I think you'll find that a lot of other folks are in the same boat. The best advice I can give you is ask questions up the wazoo! Ask 'em until you're blue in the face! Ask them until you feel better!! ((( Hugs!! ))) Hang in there! It's a really exciting journey once it gets started!

Oh my goodness, that's too cool!! Congrats!

I'd start with food journalling, just to get an idea of how many calories you're putting in. Too high is bad, sure... but too LOW can be just as bad. You don't want your body to go into starvation mode. Good job on the exercise! That ups your need for calories, so be sure to take that into account. And count those Protein grams! Taken from: http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/protein.html If you're looking for a fairly easy way to track the food, www.fitday.com has a cool tracking system -- and it's free. Good luck! Let us know how it goes!

Wow, scary start! I'm glad you got the heeves to stop! Congrats on getting it done! Keep us updated! :confused:

Heh. You're right, lol, I am lucky! He keeps me in stitches 99.9% of the time. You've got a point about the laughter & hunger. Hmmm. Gonna have to buy some funny tapes! Wonder if they sell "The Daily Show" by season, lol. :confused:

Heh. At least he didn't blame his wife! :confused:

Hiya Dawn & welcome to LBT!! Sounds like you've done your time & research! :confused: If there's anything you need, just let us know!

Dancer posted this in the Feb thread... I thought I'd throw it over here so everyone can enjoy it. It's a cool story about banding, including a video of the surgery! http://www.ky3.com/news/2390996.html?autovid=Y Thanks Dancer!

Complain away! That's what we're here for! :confused: A lot of folks have complained about the effects of Protein drinks... I saw someone suggest a few drops of "Beano" in the shake. Perhaps you could try that? I know that Vitamins make me sick to my stomach if I don't have enough food with them. Be sure that if you're taking them, it's with some food! (( HUGS!! )) Have you called your doctor about any of this?

It does scare me how many folks are cut on & sent home with little to no information. Thank goodness so many end up here! I know if it was recommended to my mom (or most of my aunts or uncles), they would listen to their doctor and never think to check the web. My mom still reads the instruction sheet I made her on how to send email, hehe. A board would just be beyond her. I'm personally amazed at how many people out there haven't heard of lap-band at all. I know it's a trick of personal interest, but it seems I see billboards & advertisements for it everywhere. How could they have missed them all?! I do personally need to thank LBT... ya'll were a GREAT source of info for me. I walked into first appointment feeling like the most informed patient out there! (Our doctor must dread people like us! LOL)

LOL, I gotta buy a videocamera for Mikey's first PB!! (Because I'm SURE mine will be dignified, lol.) I'm glad you got the chicken unstuck... and that was one of the funniest threads I've read in a long time!

That was awesome!! Thanks for sharing the link!

(( HUGS!!! )) You're post-op, so expect some general swelling (they pump you full of fluids & stuff for surgery). And after a PB, it's common to swell. I'd go to liquids for at least 24 hours, maybe even 48. Then slowly add mushies back in & wait a couple more days for solids. Take it slowly & let the swelling go down & learn any new adjustments you might need to make to your eating habits. If things aren't better in 2-3 days, I'd call your surgeon. Our bodies are constantly changing... and I do hear that the band is tighter / looser at different times of the month. Hang in there & let us know how it goes!

Wow. I'm so glad the habit was gone for 2 1/2 years! Congrats on that NSV! And congrats on putting the chips away, hehe. Having fallen, I wouldn't be so quick to recover... you rock!! I'm excited to think that some of my current habits may soon be a distant memory. Thanks for the hope!

Congrats Rox! Glad to hear you're doing well! Hope the gas pains are improving!! Walk, walk, walk, walk, walk!