KayleighsMommy

Love, You were smart to be banded at 50lbs instead of waiting until 50 increased to 70 then 90 then 100lbs. I wish I had known about the lapband when I hit 50lbs of excess Me too. Hmmmmm...but then I would have been 10

I had a hernia repair at the same time, so I had 9 incisions!!! I also had and allergic reaction to each piece of tape... so.... 9 incredibly itchy spots. But...it does get better. At 17 days post op I am starting to feel quite a bit less itchy. Hoping you feel better soon. julie

Hello and welcome :party:)) julie

I am finally starting to feel better, lapband wise. I had 9 incisions, and each one of them got terribly inflamed. The intense itching is not quite as bad. I am still having quite a lot of port pain (which I understand is normal) I am still having the gas (or, according to my doctor, not gas) pain...though nowhere nearly as bad. I also had an extensive hernia repair at the same time as my band. My newest thing, though, is I have something called a seroma. It is down right above my belly button (the only place on my entire abdomen that does not have an incision) A seroma is a pocket of Fluid under the skin. It is quite swollen and painful. This was from the hernia repair done the same time as my band. My doctor does not believe in draining these. The previous hernia repair I had done I developed one of these, and my surgeon at the time had a drain put in. I am just hoping this does not last too long...I just want to be better.

I am finally starting to feel better, lapband wise. The intense itching is not quite as bad. I am till having quite a lot of port pain (which I understand is normal) I am still having the gas (or, according to my doctor, not gas) pain...though nowhere nearly as bad. :thumbup: My newest thing, though, is I have something called a seroma. It is down right above my belly button (the only place on my entire abdomen that does not have an incision) A seroma is a pocket of Fluid under the skin. It is quite swollen and painful. :redface: This was from the hernia repair done the same time as my band. My doctor does not believe in draining these. The previous repair I had done I developed one of these, and my surgeon at the time had a drain put in. I am just hoping this does not last too long...I just want to be better.

I have been thinking of you and your beloved Pedro, I am hoping you and your wife are starting to heal a bit. Give Miss Lucy a hug from me tonight.

I am so sorry for the loss of your friend. julie

Welcome to my world. I know just how you feel because I am in the same misery!!! The genral concensus is to use Benadryl cream. I did not have any, so I have been using Hydrocortisone cream. I have also been using an after sun/aloe vera type gel with lidocaine in it. It gives me a couple of minutes of relief before it starts up again. Just hoping yours doesn't spread like mine has.

Skinnie... Ouch. I am hoping you are feeling better now. My biggest fear is that the surgeon insists this is NOT gas pain, that it is the band causing the pain. I am concerned if that is the case it will not go away. julie

Heather, Thanks, I am hoping it will not last much longer. My biggest problem (rash-wise, at least) is that it is spreading!!! Every one of these 9 (I had a hernia repair, after a couple of previous repairs...they had to do more incisions to try not to hit mesh ) incisions has a rash around it...also my right boob developed a rash from even touching the top of the tape. Now my left one is getting a rash too. Every once in a while, I can lay flat on my back so nothing is touching anything, and feel fairly itch-less.....but then this terrible gas (or not) pain starts all over again. I guess the surgeon told me the truth when he told me I was going to have a harder go of this because of the hernia repair :thumbup:

Thanks for the kind words. I guess the eating thing is just that I don't feel there are enough hours in the day to get all my food/protein/liquids down. I guess I just have to start getting up earlier :thumbup:

First off... I want to apologize.....I don't want to be one of those doom and gloom nothing good to ever say kind of people (and normally, I'm not) But I have to say this surgery has not been too kind to me yet (though I know I am a bit different case than most) I am now 8 days post op and still in a LOT of pain. I am still having gas pain (though my surgeon insists it is not gas.. that it is the band I feel) Many people have told me they have the exact type of pain (mid breastbone, spreading up and out) and my surgeon told me that is NOT gas...though people think it is. I am sucking down GasX like crazy anyway, it is helping marginally. My other major issue is itching....I had 9 incisions, and each one of them has a nasty dark red rash around it from the tape. The tape did not start bugging me until 6 days postop, and the doctor took it off the next day (yesterday) The itching is so intense it is actually painful....I am doing all I can NOT to itch...as well as using different topical agents on it (hydrocortizone cream as well as aloe vera w/lidocaine) I just have to be careful not to open up an incision. I started mushies yesterday too....I was happy about that, since I was Hungry but of course, now I am having trouble getting in my 3 meals, 3 Protein drinks and 64 oz of Water <sigh> I just can't win. This difficulty is not because of restriction (I don't feel any) It's more a time issue...just not enough hours in the day. I can say I am not unhappy I did the surgery....I am trying to look at all these things as just what I need to go through on the way to a better, heathier me.

Lundy, I am sorry for the loss of your beloved dog, also. Thank you for the poem...it always makes me cry. And just to let you know....sobbing 6 days post op is quite painful.

MusicMan, I am so sorry for your loss. It is hard when you lose your best friend. My thoughts and prayers go out to you. julie

I went with Dr Melniczek. His office is in Denver, right by the aquarium. I did a self pay, due to insurance issues (and the need for additional hernia surgery) I liked Dr Mel, but he is moving out of state soon. My surgery was particularly rough due to the hernia repair, I am starting to feel quite a bit better 6 days post op. The gas is still killing me, though. The surgeons are pretty good at giving you pain meds. (liquid Vicodin) Most people seem to only use it for a day or two. I am a wimp, and still using it ocassionally. Congrats on starting your journey.

Yep, I keep looking at my manual. I am soooo afraid of eating the wrong thing. My doctor had 3 day clear liquid preop, first week Clear liquids (with Protein drinks) and week 2-4 mushies. I have a postop appt tomorrow at 9AM. I will verify this with the surgeon before I go shopping.

A few months ago I went to preop classes w my friend who is having bypass next week. They said one of the good things durng mushies is well blended Wendys chili. Has anyone heard/tried this??? I am sooo excited about going to mushies tomorrow..I can barely stand myself

Welcome. I am also in CO. I am in Aurora, and was banded 6 dyas ago. julie

Wow....not sure I could do that. I am Starving. I can start mushies tomorrow, and I can't wait. I actually started with sugar/fat free pudding last night. It did not fill me up...but it was wonderful. I'm thinking of some cream of chicken soup tomorrow (as if the only thing I ate for 3 days preop was not chicken bouillon) Before my surgery I went to a preop class with my friend (who is having bypass) and they recommended pureed Wendys chili. I am just wondering if that would be too heavy for me??

THREE weeks?!?!?! Yikes.

Hi all, I got banded on the 26th. I also had a lengthy hernia repair done at the same time (I was in surgery over 4 hours) Right now I am having "waves" of pain. They seem to start right under my breasts, and move upwards and outwards. I can't even breathe during these pains. They only last about 15-20 seconds at a time (though it seems like forever ) I called my surgeon yesterday and told him I had so much gas that I couldn't get rid of. He told me this pain I am feeling is NOT gas, and that it is the band settling down. I am so concerned there is something wrong. Has anyone else had this problem???

Well, this is one of the first times I have felt like writing. Seems like everyone is doing quite well I had my surgery on the 26th. I had a lot more done than "just" a lapband. I also had a ventral hernia repaired...I gather this is fairly common..if your surgeon notices a hernia while in there he will repair it, normally. I actually went in to have the procedure (hernia repair) done at the same time as the band. My surgeon waned me the hernia repair was going to be a LOT harder on me than the band..and he was right :smile2: I was in surgery for over 4 hours. Evidently, what he thought was an incarcerated hernia was actually a hernia I had repaired 4 years ago (pretty much to the day) the mesh they had used in the repair got all balled up and formed a lump. It took him hours to get all the mesh out and redo the repair. He told me he did not do a really proffesional job on the repair, as he expects it will need to be redone in a year or so after I lose all my weight (I have a large pannus, and will definetly need a TT) He also used a biologcal mesh...I guess this is made out of human tissue, and will incorporate itself into your insides. I am feeling NO restriction as of yet...all I am feeling is pain. The incision pain is about what I expected (not all that bad). My biggest problem is I keep having "waves" of pain that kind of go from a central point under my breasts, spreads out and gets worse (sometiimes it goes all the way around to my back) It only lasts 15-20 seconds at a time, but I can't even breathe while it is happenng. It is really agonizing. I called my surgeon to tell him I still had a lot of gas pain, he told me what I am feeling is not gas...that if I have been taking GasX all this time and still feeling this way, it's not gas. He told me it is my band causing the pain...he said it is just trying to seat itself. I can't beleive this pain is normal. I am concerned I am rejecting the band or something. I just don't know what to do.

I am hoping you get better for your surgery. When I went to my preop last week I asked the doctor for something for a yeast infection (I have a large pannus, so I tend to get yeast infections right under t on my left side) I also asked for something for a cold sore (not that I had one at the time) I was just so concerned I would develop one from stress. So.... I understand your fears. It is terrible to think that an infection of some sort could keep you from having something you have looked so forward to. You said you are eating yogurt..I assume it is a probiotic yogurt?? Best of luck on getting better. I'm heading to the hospital now :Angel_anim:))

I can't beleive it is here. I am geting ready to take a shower, get my stuff together and take off :embaressed_smile: Since I am having a hernia repair done (and the surgeon has told me repeatedly, I will be in significantly more pain then a normal lap band surgery ) I will most likely be spending the night. I'll update when I get home.

My surgeon called me tonight, I was afraid my surgery tomorrow was being cancelled. He just wanted to tell me an out of state hospital offered him a job he just couldn't refuse. He told me he had someone to take over his patients. He just wanted me to know in case I wanted to cancel tomorrows surgery. I was like..."No frickin way...all I've had for 3 days is sugar free popsicles and Jello." He does tend to do a lot of follow up on his patients, so when he leaves in mid August, I will not have that (the phone calls checking on you, and just generally keeping you in line) At least he didn't call to cancel the surgery :embaressed_smile: