MyDay2Shine

I'm sorry to hear about your wife's band. I was under the impression that if your band eroded, you would NOT be a candidate to be re banded. I would think that whatever caused it to erode in the first place would happen again. CatLady: the band is designed to be permanent, but yes their is a percentage of people that develop complications like erosion or slippage and need a revision or removal. I hope that helps! Good luck.

Good luck to you! :confused:

Hi! I felt really rough the first few days, weeks actually. The good news is I have felt GREAT since then. I hiccup when I'm full, I still do, a year later. The incision over my port was a couple of inches. I almost never burp, preband I burped a lot, now very rarely. Take it really easy, you should feel better soon.

Hi again! I totally understand not wanting to have your baby early, you are a smart woman. I wish all moms cared as much about their babies as you do. I do not see very much high risk stuff at my small country hospital, but I do know that when babies stop growing well inside, sometimes they have to be delivered and actually do much better on the out side. I find myself thinking of you everyday and I wish you and your baby the very best! I can't wait to hear that she has arrived (hopefully in several weeks)!

It sure can. If you put your body into starvation, and 550-600 calories will definitely do that, you will stop losing weight. So increasing calories will help increase your metabolism. I was told that 800-1100 is the amount of calories we need to lose the fastest, I'm sure everyone is a little different.

I personally have not had an amnio, but I do take care of pregnant women before and after they have an amnio. Of course there are risks involved, but if it makes you feel better I've never seen anyone go into labor or have their baby injured from an amnio. They are done during an ultrasound to make sure they can get a good pocket of fluid and that the baby is out of the way. If the doc can't safely get to the pocket, they just don't do the amnio. You once shared your experience with your son's birth with me. The (life threating) DANGER you and your son were in with your last pregnancy is not even comparable to the risks of an amnio. I am so glad to hear that you are so far along in your pregnancy and doing well! I wish you the very best of luck!!!

I know, it seems like it should help... Then, the second you swollow that sip, you KNOW it was a mistake.

I had my period during my surgery. It was no big deal (then again I am an OB nurse). I let the pre-op nurse know and she gave me mesh panties and a pad. I remember my tummy being a little sore that night when I was taking care of "things". This is a popular question around here, seems like more ladies end up having their period than not. (I'm sure it just feels like that). Remember no one will care as much as you do, all will be fine. Good Luck!

1. Would you do it over again? Yes! 2. How long post-op until you feel normal again? Do you ever "forget" you had the surgery done? I felt pretty normal about 2 weeks out physically, I was not quite myself emotionally for about 6 weeks. The first few months I thought about the band constantly. Now I "forget" about my band all the time, I have to remind myself I have it at every meal. 3. Are there any foods you CAN'T eat post-op? )I heard veggie and fruit skins, pastas, popcorn?) I have not found any thing that I absolutely cannot eat, but now that my portions are so small, I find my self not wanting some stuff, like if I eat a hamburger I tear the bun off as I go because I want to fill up on meat, not bread. 4. Do I need to give up coffee and soda? You have to follow your docs rules on this one, I gave up coffee for several months, now I have a few cups a week. I rarely miss soda, I do occasionally let a diet sprite sit open over night and let it go complete flat and then mix it with diet ocean spray cranberry juice (Yummy). 5. Do you deal with heartburn or reflux regularly? I had very bad reflux pre-op, and immediately post-op, now the ONLY time I get heartburn is if I eat too much too fast. And it is no where near as bad as it used to be. 6. Can you have this surgery and NOT tell your whole family, friends, and co-workers? I was selective about who I told. No one reacted the way I thought they would, people I thought would understand didn't, and others I thought would judge me turned out to be some of my greatest supporters! I told all of my coworkers, my husband, daughter, mom and sisters, no one else, none of my in laws . I just now started telling more people. It really is your choice on who you do and don't tell. 7. How is it you DONT lose weight immediately after surgery? I did lose right after surgery. It all depends on how tight your band is. When you have no Fluid in your band you can pretty much eat like you don't have a band at all, you have to keep up with fills to keep losing weight. 8. What type of band do you have and are there any differences in the manufacturers? I have the Lap-band, my doc told me to pick what I wanted, the both had pros and cons. 9. No liquids with meals, whatsoever? Turns out, I really don't miss this either. Pre op I though "oh crap this one will be really hard" but its really not. 10. Post op diet consisted of? Everyone's doc had different rules, but mine was clear liquids, full liquids, mushies, then regular, that time is over really fast. Just stick to the rules for the few days/weeks let your body heal and you will be back to normal foods in no time at all. 11. Anyone have a doctor they can recommend in the LA, Ventura area? No, sorry :rolleyes2:

I'm sorry you have been going through so many difficult things. You are in the right place for support, thats for sure. Anything we can do to help, let us know. Very best of luck to you and may you have a happy New Year. :rolleyes2:

I'm so excited I just had to share, December 30th 2009 was my one year bandiversary and today the scale informed me... daddada...199.2!!!!!!!!!!!!! :blushing:

I had a colposcopy about 12 years ago. I was not a big deal, but I did not have a biopsy. The biopsy would most likely cause cramping. As for the colposcopy it was kind of like a speculm exam with a microscope. I have no idea if that even makes sense... The worst part was the stirrups, nobody likes that. Most of the time things turn out to be nothing and if you do have irregular cell, well, thats exactly why we all have pap smears every year. Good Luck!

All the waiting was the hardest part for me. It felt like forever.

For me what I eat is not nearly as important as how I eat. As long as I take small bites and eat slow I have not had anything that I couldn't eat. That being said some things are just not worth the effort.

I hit a plateau about 4 months post op, then lost and gained the same 8 lbs for a few months. I started to get really down on my self. I would have good days and bad days. I bought like 6 books on emotional eating, and I started seeing a therapist weekly. I also kept going for fills. At a fill appointment I was feeling really embarrassed because I had gained a few pounds. I told my surgeon everything I was doing to work on my bad habits. He must have sensed my distress. He looked at me and smiled, he very calmly told me that I just needed to be properly adjusted and that I would lose again. He reminded me of how great I had done up until my plateau. He made me feel so much better, I totally relaxed. I still see my therapist weekly, and I totally recommend the book Eating in the Light of the Moon. But I think him giving me permission to relax and be human was the most helpful advise of all!

I had stress tighten me up last Sunday. I thought for sure I was going to have to call my Dr. for an unfill, which only stressed me out more. Luckly relaxing and some sleep seemed to fix the problem!

Hehe Andrew your too funny! Its true though, thats exactly what I did with every guy I dated up through the night I met my husband! It can be very awkward to start a romantic relationship, and a few glasses of wine or a coupe beers couldn't hurt.

Wow, reading everyone's NSV really makes me think how many small victories I have taken for granted over the last 10 months! I did have 2 profound NSV experiences last week: I help with Market day at my daughters school, I have every month for two years. This month one of the Moms (who has seen and talked with me every month for two years) introduced her self to me, told me it was nice to meet me and thanked me for helping out. I thought it was a little weird. A few days later I was at work and I recognized a women and her husband from somewhere. I asked them if they took my childbirth class 2 years ago, and they said no, they took the class but their instructor..... (long silence).... had long hair! I laughed and told them yes my hair is much shorter hair now. It was at that point that the light bulb went off and I was like OH MY GOODNESS! I had no idea I look that different!:thumbup:

I'm so glad you and your son made it through that! A perinatalogist is a doctor that specializes in high risk pregnancies. My hospital does not have a perinatalogist, but our doctors refer their high risk patient to a Perinatalogy clinic in Milwaukee.

Oh my gosh I have goosebumps, that is VERY scary! Thank you so much for sharing, you have helped me understand a little better. You seem really well educated in everything that happened, thats good. You definitely are extremely high risk. Do you see a perinatologist rather than (or in addition to) an Ob/Gyn? Obviously I don't know anything about your clotting disorders and high risk is not my forte, but I have heard of moms with certain clotting disorders taking heparin/Lovonox shots during pregnancy (maybe during conception too). Like I said you seem really educated so this may be old news to you. And all the information in the world does not change what your going through right now, and I'm sorry for that. I just wanted to let you know that when your ready, there may be more information out there that can help. I'll be thinking of you and your family.-Kristal

I am so sorry for your loss. This weekend one year ago (does that make sense?) I experienced my second miscarriage. I think of my lost babies, sometimes often, especially around the time they would have been due, and the time they were lost. I think things like "I should have a five year old and a six month old". It was because of losing that second baby I decided to get banded. I believe that my pregnancy losses may be weight/PCOS related. I do have the most amazing 10 year old daughter and she did bring me great comfort during both losses. Holding her close and tight did help me. My husband was also very kind and comforting to me, however he was also hurting, and it hurt me to see him hurting so much. I admit that after both of my losses I turned to food for comfort. I'm sorry you and your family are going through this. I'm also sorry that hospital staff was so misguided in offering you words of comfort. I'm an OB nurse and we all have at least some training on what is and isn't helpful for families experiencing losses at all stages of pregnancy. The problem with OB nurses being the ones that are trained in pregnancy loss, is that OB is the last place to send a grieving mother. Now, if you don't mind sharing, the OB nurse in me really wants to know why your doc feels you are at risk for miscarriages and difficulties getting pregnant after your son?Those are strong words for such a young woman. It makes sense to me that your pregnancies would be high risk because of the previous pre-eclampsia. Did you know that weight loss can help reduce complications like pre-eclampsia? I'm not insinuating your doc is wrong, I'm just trying to understand, I work in a very low risk environment. Anyways I wish I could reach out across my screen and hug you and your family. Best of luck to you and I am so sorry for your loss.

Yes! The band has made a difference in my symptoms! I now have normal/regular periods. I have not had my hormone levels checked or an ovarian ultrasound since before my surgery, but I FEEL so much better. The real test will be in a year or so when my husband and I try to get (and stay) pregnant. Good luck!

Hi! Just a little FYI if you feel like your OB/GYN doesn't have a good grasp on your PCOS, you need to find a Reproductive Endocrinologist. A Reproductive Endo is going to be the type doctor with the most knowledge of PCOS. I'm an OB nurse, and I love and respect the OB/GYNs that I work with, I trust them with my life. That being said, my endocrinologist has a different (most current research based) course of treatment for PCOS. Good luck everyone!

I heard/felt the click at my fill. It is the sound of the needle hitting the back (or bottom) of your port. I didn't know what it was at first, but my Dr has a demo band in the room that I always play with. After my fill I picked up the demo and gave it a "fill" and when I put the needle in it made the same clicking sound. I hope that makes sense!

I checked it, it kind of worked. Try this one it should be more direct. http://www.lapbandtalk.com/faq.php?faq=abbreviations#faq_lapbandabbreviations :smile2: