CassCass

You'll get there, trust me!! I was banded early August and have had 4 fills. Up until this last one, I was so, so discouraged because I could eat and eat and never seem to be full. The 1cc they put in me last week though made all the difference! I FINALLY understand what they mean by 4oz of food. I think I have 10cc's in a 14cc band. I think I'm either at, or almost at, the perfect spot for me. My fiance who got his band on the same day has had 5 fills and he's still not at the perfect spot yet. So don't give up hope! It will happen!

I haven't experienced this yet, but my friend who has been banded for over a year got terrible food poisoning not too long ago. All they did was remove Fluid from her band until she felt better and then she got filled again.

Hey all. I was banded August 7th, and have been off to a really great start thus far. About 4 weeks ago, one of my incisions (the far one on the left, not the port one) that had seemed to heal up great, developed a "bubble" that finally popped and drained for days. And it HURT! I know I should have gone to the doctor then, but I kept slathering Neosporin on it, hoping it would go away. It had definitely gotten better, but was still a bit puss-y up until this past Friday, when I went to my regular doctor for a sinus infection. I was explaining to her some other things that were going on - I had started discovering little pus-filled blisters on my arms and breast - and she immediately got concerned and checked my incisions and took a culture of the one that had been bothering me. I got the call from her yesterday saying it came back positive for MRSA. I went to my surgeon yesterday for my second fill and they refused to do it, explaining that if they did, it risked spreading the infection to the port and band and that it could very well kill me if that happened. So I'm frustrated on that point. I was desperately looking forward to the fill!! I'm on sulfur antibiotics for the next 3 weeks, at least to see if it clears this up. If not, who knows after that? My main fear now is that the twinges of pain I'm having in my belly is the infection taking over my band. I keep imagining the worst, for sure. There are two points to this! First, don't be stubborn like I was! If one of your incisions even appears to be slightly infected, don't wait to get it checked out!! (Hopefully I'm in the minority of people who do this!) Also, has anyone else had this happen? If so, what was your outcome? I'm so afraid of it spreading and them having to take the band out, or worse! :bolt:

I'm not a few months out yet, but it's just been over a month for me and I've been eating solids for about 3 weeks now. I've yet to find anything I can't eat. Last weekend I had a burger one day and pizza the next. The only difference is now I eat half a burger instead of a whole one and 1 or 2 small slices of pizza instead of 4-6 big ones! I've had everything else on your list too. I'm not at a real tight restriction yet (I've had one fill and am at 6.5cc in a 14cc band), so that may be why I'm able to eat everything, but as long as I chew like crazy, everything has been a breeze going down. A co-worker and good friend is a year out and there is nothing she can't eat. She's lost over 100lbs eating all her favorites in moderation and is still losing. We've been to Mexican restaurants together and ate normally...even the chips and hot sauce!...Olive Garden, where we had salad, breadsticks, and split an entree. For her, and me so far, life and eating has carried on like normal, just in smaller portions. Some places will let you order off the kid's menu and others will let you share a plate. If you can't do either of those, a good tip is to ask for a to-go container when they bring your meal, pack half up right then, and eat whats left. I think my biggest fear going into this was that I would never get to have my favorite foods again. I've been pleasantly surprised to learn otherwise. I've lost 31lbs in a little over a month even though I eat carbs and sugars and other things people cut out. I just eat small amounts now. It does vary from person to person though, so my word certainly isn't gospel. Best of luck!

I received my first fill 3 weeks after surgery. It's been a full week and some days since that, and I still don't have much restriction. I have gotten food stuck, but on most things I can eat and eat and not get full. My nurse told me to expect this though and to not get discouraged yet. She said I may not feel any difference at all yet and that it could take 2-3 more fills to get to the perfect spot. Currently I'm at 6.5cc's in a 14cc band. Just hang in there!

Hello all! I was banded August 7th and have been very happy thus far. My question is this. I've been on the Depo shot for almost 4 years now. And I have rarely had spotting or any problems. ( I know there are tons of negative stories about Depo, but so far, it's been the only thing that my OB/GYN has prescribed that controls my bleeding.) Three days after surgery, I started bleeding...not just spotting, almost like a light period. I haven't stopped and it's been almost a month. I haven't really worried because I keep thinking it will stop and it might just be a side effect from the surgery or something, but now that it hasn't stopped, I'm starting to get curious. Has anyone else experienced this or heard of this? Thank you!! :tt2:

I have NEVER heard that. I work evening shift (3-11) and my fiance works midnights (9p-6a). We were both banded on August 7th. Our surgeon knew this and never said a word. And we've both had success thus far. I'm really don't understand why he would say such a thing. As long as you plan your meals and focus on eating the right things and the right amounts, it shouldn't matter when you eat them or what shift you work. Best of luck.

I have a 14cc band too. And like you, I was able to eat anything and everything! There was absolutely no difference between what and how much I could eat before and right after surgery. I was sure something was wrong with me and my band. I was so hungry all the time!! But I got filled last Thursday. I'm up to 6.5cc's in the band now. And even though I haven't had that "full" feeling I'm supposed to have, I've gotten stuck 4 times. I just took too big bites and didn't chew enough. Now I believe I have the band and that it's working like it should. Just hang in there! I'm sort of scared to eat now, so even though I do get hungry, I talk myself out of eating until meal time.

I was banded August 7th and given the go-ahead to have a glass of wine on the 14th.

I don't think that will make your band slip. I was concerned because after my surgery I dry heaved violently several times and I asked my nurse if that could cause a slippage. She assured me that it wouldn't, that most slippages are caused by people vomiting day after day, many times. She also said slipping is unlikely to occur this soon after surgery, as we haven't gotten any real restriction yet. So try not to worry!

Thank you!! I feel much better knowing all these things are normal.

Hi all. I had my band put in on Thursday and all things considered, I'm doing pretty well. I just had a couple of questions I thought someone may be able to answer or at least relate to. I have horrible diarrhea but I've read that that is normal so I'm hoping it will pass soon. The day of surgery I dry heaved pretty violently 4 times before I could get my anti-nausea meds. After surgery, when they did my barium swallow and x-ray, they showed me a huge gas bubble that was under my band. After the last dry heave, I burped a huge, long burp and up with it came the tiniest bit of bile. I'm thinking it may have been that gas bubble coming up. Could that dry heave have caused a slip this early on? I'm not having any unusual pain or anything and am not having any problem keeping liquids or creamy soups down. Is there another way I could tell if it slipped? Also, I'm ravenously hungry most of the time now! I guess I expected fullness right away, but I'm having to make myself stop eating after a cup of soup. Is that normal? And finally, my stomach...the upper part...is making a weird gurgling noise. Almost like hunger noise/rumblings, but not quite. Has anyone else had that? I'm sure some of these have been answered before. I'm just so paranoid that I've done something wrong though I've followed orders to the T!! Thank you!!

I'm so, so glad to have found this. I had surgery on Thursday. I'd been putting up with my diarrhea up until about an hour ago when I had an accident in bed. To put it as some one else did on here, I trusted a fart that I shouldn't have. I was half asleep and well...didn't make it to the bathroom in time. Talk about humiliating... I've gone probably 2-3 times an hour for the past two days. I've just taken some Pepto per my surgeon's instructions. Let's hope it works!

So I was banded yesterday!! I feel like such a wimp compaired to others here who were just banded and feel great and are able to walk long distances already!! Truthfully, I hurt! Surgery went very well and everyone was wonderful. I was in by noon and home by 3pm! I think I was very sensitive to the morphine they gave me before I left though, because I got violently sick on the way home (just dry heaves) and then as soon as I walked in the door. I never threw up, but I leaned over the sink in the kitchen and dry heaved and then let out this huge, long, burp along with a bit of bile that my parents looked horrified at. They said I sounded like a demon!! Heehee! I felt a lot better after that, though. The pain is slowly getting better, but it still hurts pretty bad. Most of my gas pains seem to be in my chest, but it's bareable. The incisions are what seem to hurt worse. But I have hope they'll get better soon!! My fiance seems to be doing better than I am. We're at our respective parents' houses and we'll go back to our apartment tomorrow. I can't wait to see him and our cats! AND take a shower!! :tt2: Oh, and I lost 12lbs on my pre-op diet!! The surgeon said my liver looked wonderful. So I guess the low-carb business was worth it.:biggrin2:

Hey all. I got banded yesterday. This is the first time I've been able to stay up for more than a few minutes at a time, so I thought I'd check in. We got there at 10am and I was back in pre-op at 10:45. Changed my clothes, got weighed, had my IV put in, and got the painful Herapin shot in my stomach, and they put my compression boots on. My fiance went in at 10:45 and I remember them telling me he did very well and then the anesthesiologist came to talk to me. He asked a bunch of questions and said he'd be right back. He came back with some Versed (sp?) that he put in my IV to relax me and I was really loopy as they wheeled me into the OR. I remember putting myself on the table and that was it. I don't even remember them putting the mask on. I woke up in a lot of pain so they gave me morphine and something to help the nausea. I kept feeling like I was going to throw up so they gave me some more. I was able to get up about 20 minutes later and go sit in the chair they had in post-op, and a little while later, someone came and got me to take me to do my barium swallow and x-ray. And after that I got my first ounce of water, was able to get dressed, and go home. I was home by 3pm! I got SO carsick on the way home though and dry heaved a bit then and right when we walked in the door. I'm hoping I didn't cause my band to slip. It was pretty violent. The last time though I leaned over the sink and let out this horrible, long, demonic burp and felt so much better. I won't lie, the pain has been awful for me. Any movement causes bad pain. More so yesterday than today, though. It does seem to be getting better. I've been keeping up with my Lortab doses and sleeping a whole lot so I'm doing alright. I've been able to eat a few bites of broth, 2 popsicles, and a little bit of jello since I've been home. I'm staying with my parents one extra night and tomorrow we'll be meeting up back at our apartment. And that's that. More pain than I expected, but I'm holding out for the hope that it's really worth it.