kiz

I hope you're feeling better in the morning, Stacy. Good luck with the doctor tomorrow.

Thanks so much for the update. I'm glad you're feeling better! You never know, you might help the next person resist the urge to branch out, even a little, on their post-op diet. One thing most of us know, that post-op diet can be tough.

If I were you, I would stay on clear liquids tonight, as long as you can tolerate them, and call the doctor in the morning. If you're vomiting tonight, I would call now. If you got a fill during surgery, the doctor might want to remove it to give you some relief. You probably still have swelling from surgery, but to be on the safe side, I'd give the doctor a call to let him know exactly what's going on.

:biggrin: Good for you!! I hope you enjoy a nice de-stressing walk this evening.

My doctor wants us to measure by actual measuring cup (you can also estimate by tablespoon -16 for a cup - or other rules of thumb when you can't measure), because it's volume he's concerned with and the potential for overfilling the pouch.

I'm a firm believer in following the doctor's instructions to the letter, but it doesn't sound like you went wild with your eating. Unfortunately, from everything I've read, you really won't know if you've done damage to your healing until further down the line, if in fact you did any at all. The post-op diet is to allow the stitches around the band to heal so that the band is held in nice and tight. When you eat anything solid, your stomach has to churn to digest the food, so to minimize the churning we're on a post-op diet. Doctor's diets vary though, even post-op. As far as fixing a slip, sometimes it just requires taking all the Fluid out of your band, and the stomach falls back into place. More severe slips require surgery. If you have a band that has a buckle, they might go in and unbuckle it for a period of time, and then go back in and re-buckle it. The newer methods of stitching in the band and the newer wider bands are less susceptible to slips. The only way to know for certain that you have a slip is by an x-ray. The idea of further surgery, in addition to the thousands of dollars needless expense, help keep me on the straight and narrow.

I went to more than one seminar for different offices. It was about two weeks after the seminar before I could see my surgeon. Surgery was scheduled for about two months after that.

Medically speaking, I couldn't tell you if you're a good candidate, but using Humming Bird's calculation, your BMI is high enough that many (maybe most) surgeons would consider you a likely candidate for WLS. If you have health insurance that covers WLS, you may have to show that you have one or two co-morbidities to have your surgery covered since your BMI is below 40. If you're self-pay, as I was, I just had to have a BMI of over 35.

Ziplock also makes really convenient storage containers in 1 cup and 1/2 cup sizes. You can freeze and microwave foods in them.

I had to have several fills to hit my "sweet spot". I felt greater restriction after each fill, but it generally petered out, but as I got closer to my last fill, I felt more and more restriction. I have approx 11 cc int a 9 cc band, so as you can tell, it took awhile for me to get to this point. My last fill was .5 cc over 3 months ago, and I still have as good as restriction as I did right after that fill. It takes time, and I think part of the reason some of us take longer than others is our anatomy, at least that's what a friend of mine's doctor told her. Also, if you have less fat to lose around your stomach, you don't get the early restriction some others have. I eat three 1/2 cup solid meals/day plus a healthy snack. I rarely feel hunger between meals, and often when I do, I'm just thirsty, and a glass of Water cuts the hunger feeling. Just be sure to get your fills as often as your doctor allows. My doctor kept assuring me he would get me to a point that I had great, long-lasting restriction. It took awhile, but I'm there.

You might want to google 5 Day Pouch Test. Also, you can find information about it on LBT. Good luck.

I'm sorry this happened to you, and I hope it doesn't end up costing you too much, especially so soon after the original procedure. Thanks for sharing your x-ray though!

That's fantastic news! Congratulations!!

I hope you you just need a little unfill. That's the problem with some of the surgeons though. Great at the surgery, not so great with the aftercare. Just stay on him, and don't ever feel like you're taking up his time unnecessarily. Don't hesitate to change doctors if it's doable.

Everytime this thread comes up, the song My Way goes through my head. I'll pass along the earworm..lol "Regrets, I have a few, but then again, too few to mention."

I agree with the others, that as long as you can get liquids down, you can wait a little. Personally, I'd wait until Monday if I could drink okay to determine if I needed to see my surgeon. If, however, you can't get liquids down, or if you're in pain, I'd go in for the emergency unfill without a doubt. Hopefully, a couple of days of liquids followed by a couple of days of soft foods will get you back on track. It sometimes takes up to two weeks for residual swelling to go down after a fill. (My doctor's recommendation is that if by the end of two weeks, you're not comfortably back to solid meals, come back in for a slight unfill.)

I went from so-so restriction to perfect restriction with a 0.5 cc fill. Just a very small unfill could very well take you to your sweet spot. Other than eating small healthy meals, I don't have any band issues (pb, reflux, sliming, etc). It's definitely possible to have great restriction without having to think about every bite you take, but I also believe some people are just more sensitive to their band than others. Unless your doctor advises otherwise, if it were me, I'd ask to have the .5 cc removed and then stay on liquids for a few days, then mushies a few days before trying solids, since your stoma is likely irritated a bit from the reflux & pb's. I wouldn't wait to get some saline removed though. Good luck, and I hope you're feeling better soon.

Generally, six weeks after surgery is the protocol for the first fill. I've read on LBT that some doctors put a fill in during surgery with the newer lap bands though. Three months does sound excessive. Did he tell you why he wants to wait longer with you? This is from the Lab Band web site:

Glammaw, have you tried just having the doctor remove a small amount..like .25 cc or .5 cc? In other words, how much lower than 6.5 cc is it when you stop losing weight? You're at the stage now (I am too), that the weight seems, at times, to come off dreadfully slow for many of us.

To be honest, I think it was easier that everyone in my family could basically fend for themselves during my pre-op diet. It seems like it would be harder if you had small children that you had to feed three meals/day over the duration. I was allowed one very small meal per day (besides the two shakes, or I could sub a shake for the small meal..but, no thanks..lol). Hopefully, you're family will be sensitive to your needs, and tone down the eating a bit. I know some people have said that they did not want to cause others to make eating adjustments because they were the ones who had to go on liquids, but just as I would bend over backward to make things easier for my family and have, they do the same for me. It's especially important because this is a health issue. On the other hand, I was on my pre-op diet over a holiday weekend, and we had out of town family visiting. I had such resolve to stick to the mostly liquid diet, that I just ignored the eating and enjoyed the company. I had pre-prepared foods, and my husband was a huge help with meals. I think he was more worried about it bothering me than I was. He grilled, reheated, etc. I was keeping my surgery quiet, so I said I was on a modified Atkins diet.

With those symptoms, I'd be very concerned that the band had slipped. I'm sure there are other issues that could cause those symptoms as well, but you need to be seen by your doctor asap.

I would be conflicted as to what to do as well. I don't know how bad your having trouble with your breathing, and that, of course, has to be your primary concern. However, if it's manageable, how long have your anxiety attacks lasted in the past? Are you able to drink liquids? On the other hand, if you get the unfill tonight, you could probably start back right away with another fill, once you feel better. I hope things work out.

The band might be higher than you think. My doctor leaves a 4 oz pouch (upper stomach), so that small pouch is all that separates the banded area (stoma) from my esophagus. I'm sure the pain can also radiate a bit. When I've eaten something that feels tight in my band, I feel the pressure in the center lower part of my chest. I know this picture isn't to scale, but it sort of gives an indication of just high the band is in our abdominal region. http://www.minnesotasurgery.net/the-lap-band-system/the-lap-band-system

Boy, that stings, big time! Your band is so new, it's not as if you would be getting a new generation band if you had to have the whole thing replaced. You would think that there would be some sort of band warranty by the manufacturer if the leak wasn't due to mechanical error (ex. needle into the tubing during a fill). My surgeon did include a *very* short-term Blis policy that covered band problems such as leaks, slips, etc, but it has long since expired. Good luck in whatever you decide.

I totally agree with what the others have said, especially Elcee, as it seems I have a lot in common with what she posted. I have some regrets: I'd rather have my $13,500 in the bank (self-payer). having surgery (I had no complications, but still, I'd rather not have had it). and most importantly, I regret having gotten obese in the first place. I hazard to guess that almost nobody would be obese if they could keep the weight off on their own. Many of us can lose the excess weight, or at least lose a some portion of it, but keeping it off longterm, while fighting hunger, is a whole other battle. So, while I may wish for a lot of things, I'm grounded in reality. I absolutely LOVE my band, and I am thankful every day that I have this amazing tool (not an exaggeration...thank you band gods..lol). Rather than being 55 lbs lighter after being banded for a year, without my band, and at the alarming rate I was gaining, I would have been five or ten pounds heavier. So, in a nutshell, my regret was being obese. But regret having the band?...heck, no.