lellow

In fact I'm pretty much feeling 100% now. My port incision still hurts a little but that's the extent of my discomfort of late. I'm even back to wearing the jeans that I couldn't quite get into earlier this year. This pic is of me in those very jeans TODAY. I did my post op appt early too, by one week, because I can't make it next week. So I saw my surgeon yesterday, two weeks post band replacement. He was SO pleased with how I was healing, weighed me (I've officially lost 4kgs since he last saw me) and he put 4cc into my 10cc band to 'start me off'. I'm nowhere near my green zone but I'm feeling a tiny bit of restriction and you know what feels amazing? It's NOT disappearing, like it always did with my leak. I'm so hopeful for the future now. I'm not even stressing about getting back to the green zone. I didn't have much to lose to get back to my stable weight of 60kgs but I'm already at 65kgs 2 weeks out of surgery so if I don't lose anymore now, I'd be perfectly happy. As long as I don't have to struggle not to gain, I'd be happy! So regrets? No, not anymore.

I have to admit I read these threads and I get confused, because the band absolutely helps me with portion control. In that I feel it 'kick back' when I have had enough and if I don't stop, it will hurt, I might throw up and that's not a good thing. So I think it's a miscommunication of terms here. The band is supposed to help you feel satisfied faster, and keep you satisfied for longer, but you CAN ignore that and keep eating, and if you're restricted, it MAY hurt you if you try to keep going. You really don't want it to hurt you though, because at that point you're risking damaging the band. But I'm a slow learner. I hit that point a few times. And what great aversion therapy that was! Even now, eating my mushy scrambled eggs, I've stopped as soon as I got that first sign of the 'soft stop'. So if it works like it's supposed to, your band will eventually get to the point where you'll feel that 'soft stop' after not much food at all, and it will keep your mind off food for hours after. That's how it worked for me. But I really did have to have those 'YOU'VE EATEN TOO MUCH' kick in the guts episodes too to understand what my band was saying. BTW I think you need another fill.

I drink. Sometimes a lot if I'm out. I did have a time early on when I drank WAY too much and trying to vomit aggravated my band so now I'm very very careful not to get to that point again. But I have and do drink. Enough to dance in tables but not enough to need to be carried out of the building, if you know what I mean. And hangovers with the band are like hangovers without - they all suck. The difference is you probably won't be able to just eat greasy food because dehydration will make your band tight for a few days.

chicken mince I use in mushy food, but chicken isn't really mushy. And I'm 2 weeks out from band replacement. Right now the main thing you have to keep in mind is not to put pressure on your band while it's healing. You can have mushies but even though you CAN eat more, don't eat until you feel it 'kicking back'. Have half a cup, stop, and if you're still hungry in 30 mins then have another 1/2 cup. You're not trying to lose right now, you're healing. There's a fair amount of swelling around your port which is why they don't usually fill you quite so soon after your surgery. Having said that my surgeon checked the Fluid in my band when I went to see him for something unrelated just a week after surgery and he put another 0.5cc in. But that means I'm at 2cc in a 10cc band so honestly it's not even touching the sides. My next fill is in a week. THAT was supposed to be my first post-op appt and first fill date. 3 weeks post surgery.

When in the green zone, I could eat chicken thighs but not chicken breast, and I could not eat beef unless it was very tender. I was not too tight. I couldn't tolerate rice long before I got to the green zone. Some people can eat anything while they have the band, for some of us the band doesn't tolerate some things. You said you can't eat anything. It sounds like you can eat most things but not some things. So eat the some things you can eat. Or maybe prepare the things you can't eat a little differently. Maybe it's me and I see things differently from most people. I expected the band to change the way I ate, so I wasn't shocked when there were things I couldn't eat anymore. I didn't expect to have this surgery and then go about my merry way eating exactly the same way I always have. I got to the point of eating just a few mouthfuls and being full for hours, and the weight dropped off. So I couldn't eat steak and I couldn't eat prawns or any real 'hard' Protein but I still ate well and lost the weight to boot. You don't have to take my advice (of course) but if I were you, I'd wait and try to adjust to the new restriction and see how you feel in a month. It sounds like you're able to eat, just not everything, so this may be what will start the weight loss going again.

Pfft I have a 7yo. Easter meant chocolate eggs. EVERYWHERE! But no we don't usually have it in the house. My partner says I get 'cat's bum face' when he tries to sneak it into our shopping trolley. Chocolate is a 'once in a while' food, not just for lapbanders, but everyone, and let's face it, it's addictive as crack!

Oh yes I had second thoughts. My BMI was 37, EVERYONE told me I wasn't heavy enough. I didn't really even dislike my heavy self- I dressed well and was generally happy. Why do something so drastic? I had been heavy all my life, surely I was MEANT to be big? Yeah all that was wrong. I was wrong. Losing weight wasn't about vanity, it was about giving me a quality of life I didn't even know I was missing. I now regret the years I sat on the sidelines where I could have been out there in the mix. I regret not taking care of my health as carefully and as preciously as I would have for one of my kids. I regret not accepting that sometimes, people need help to get where they should go. My doubts meant I waited 18 months to have the surgery. Now, knowing what I know, I feel a little silly for having waited at all.

You say that like it's so EASY.

I am a huge chocolate fan but I notice that if I eat some then I crave more. So if I REALLY can't take the cravings anymore I have a little but I KNOW I'm going to have to wean myself off that stuff like the addict I am in the weeks to come!

I had band replacement surgery 11 days ago and had the same issue for ages. And I don't remember feeling so awful the first time I had my lapband placed so I went to see my dr and it turns out I was having an adverse reaction to my painkillers. I've stopped them now and the nausea has just about disappeared. Just something to think about.

I know where you're coming from. As a big girl, I was the extrovert, the one with the big heart, the one who always gave of myself, but since losing weight I find myself far more cynical and have put up walls to protect myself as well. I don't think I'm any less of the person I once was, I am just more careful about who I'm like that with. You will change as society changes the way it views you, and you will find a new normal, I'm sure of it.

Don't get a tattoo anywhere near your port, that's my only advice. I got a phoenix on my back when I lost all the weight. In fact, I've had a LOT of tatts since I've lost weight.

The funny thing is it never even connected in my mind that it might be the Tramadol. But having said that I've been in a fuzzy-brained haze of nausea, so maybe that's why! Today is the first time I actually feel clear headed since my op.

So it turns out I might have been having a reaction to my painkillers this entire time, and that's what was causing the overwhelming nausea. Tramadol. Not quite an opiate which is why it was prescribed to me, because this little duck is allergic to opiates. Except it made me nauseous because the number one adverse effect of Tramadol is, low and behold, nausea. I took that little pill every freaking night. And woke up the next day feeling like death. Not last night though, and today I feel SO SO SO much better! So I'm praying that that was it, and I can go back to being human now. Maybe I might even be able to go back to work tomorrow! *happy dance* And can I say, in the absence of nausea, that I'm feeling otherwise pretty damned fine.

I'm 10 days post band replacement and today I returned to work, to start with a new client for my company. Maybe it was because it was a new client and I'm very much in the 'must impress' mode that I ignored the lingering nausea and pain and took myself off there this morning. I brought my hot water bottle with me as a concession though and it provided me with a good segway to explain to my client that I had recently had abdominal surgery. He was lovely and said he wasn't in a rush to start, would I prefer a few more days at home. No, silly me, I said I was fine and was fully intending to soldier on. Well within an hour it wasn't looking so rosy. My port incision was throbbing from sitting upright and the nausea came back hard and fast. The client took one look at me and decided I was going home. Except by this time I was unsteady on my feet (and trying hard not to dry retch) so it ended up that someone had to drive me and my car home with the client following behind in his car. I'm in bed now but to be honest I'm not sure that I'm not feeling terrible just from the embarrassment. They've pushed back my start date to Wed but depending on how I feel it may be even later than that. I feel AWFUL! For me and the client. Oh well at least it means I have been able to make an appt to see my surgeon this afternoon about my symptoms....

When my band was leaking I gained 39lbs. And pretty fast too. But it was coz I was always hungry. So I ate. And not well either. I don't blame the weight gain on the band but I do admit that without the help of the band NOT gaining weight was tough. If it was easy to not gain, why would I have needed the Lapband in the first place, right? But the gain wasn't the band's fault. It was mine. Also in the note of being unfilled, I have been completely unfilled before and managed to get back to the green zone after. So I'm hopeful I will this time after band replacement as well. Though I know of many bandsters who struggle to find the green zone again after a complete unfill.

I'm confused. Your dr doesn't want to fill you anymore, but why? Are you in the green zone already? Because everyone's different. If you're not in the green zone refusing to fill you makes no sense.

If B-52 is an anomaly then so am I. When in the green zone I'm seldom hungry and if I try to eat too much of anything (even slider food) my band will rebel. I think that that's what B-52 means when he says it's all about restriction. Because for him (and me) being properly filled and in the green zone eliminates hunger. I accept that it doesn't happen to everyone though.

I got a band replacement a week ago and I'm having exactly the same issue. It's awful. I just started on anti nausea meds but am truly feeling wretched.

I have spoken to the nurse on the number the hospital gave me and she said to get some over the counter meds and take those. And as per her suggestion I'll call my dr on Monday and explain about the dry retching so he can decide what to do next. I've had a sleep and have woken up feeling a little better. I think it was a bit of a vicious cycle in that I was feeling nauseous so didn't feel like eating, so my empty stomach would then have acid build-up, which made me feel very bloated and made me retch. My partner has since forced me to have two cups of tea and a Protein Shake and it has actually helped with the nausea. I am holding down everything so I'm not worried about getting dehydrated. When I retch nothing but burps come out. Am feeling decent enough to go get those meds now so hopefully it will be a turning point for me. Fingers crossed.

I've had a lot of surgeries. Initial lapband surgery, a torsoplasty, breast augmentation, 2 port revisions and now, finally, a band replacement. So pain and feeling horrible is something I can put up with, because I know it's for a greater good. But this nausea might have me beat. It's day 3 of it with last night being the worst. I spent a lot of the night dry retching and feeling like absolute crud. I alternated between goosebumps and convulsing and then shivering and burping then dry retching all over again. When I did sleep I had nightmares. I've lost 7lbs in the last week but I feel so awful that for the first time, I am regretting what I've given up for the weight loss. My 7yo son is visiting and is going home back to his dad tonight and all I can think of is how all he saw this week is his mum in pain or so sick she can't spend any time with him. My partner is being awesome. He keeps reminding me that this is not just for today but what I needed to do for my quality of life in the future, but I guess right now, I can't see it. I can't see past how horrible I feel. I've spoken to hospital and they've suggested medication to ease the nausea so I'm going to try that and hope I can salvage the rest of the day with my boy. I'm hoping that at least that regret, I will be able to work on.

I had band replacement surgery 8 days ago and about 3 days ago I started experiencing nausea. This isn't something I got when I had my initial lapband surgery so it's completely new to me. It started just as general nausea and feeling pretty cruddy, but yesterday it got so bad that I started dry retching (very painful with new incisions, might I add) The retching didn't result in vomiting but I would then burp uncontrollably for a few minutes, feel better, then about 5 mins later, the nausea would return and the whole cycle would start again. It's the weekend here so I'm not going to be able to call my dr, but after a REALLY rough night of feeling like absolute crap last night and doing the whole dry retching/burping cycle I feel like I need to break this somehow. I am sipping hot sweet tea today and it seems to be helping a little, but not quite enough, so if anyone else has experienced nausea after surgery and found ways to combat it, I would LOVE to hear it.

I have had a leak for 15 months. I had two port replacements surgeries - one where they found the leak and replaced the tubing and port and the second where the couldn't find the leak so didn't replace anything. After both surgeries I was found to still be leaking so a week ago I had full band replacement surgery. Leaks aren't caused by the patient. It is usually band failure. I also gained weight after the leak happened - 35lbs too but I lost 15 of that on my own before my replacement surgery by counting cals and exercising. But it was hard, I won't lie. Since getting my band replaced I'm already down nearly 7lbs in a week.

No I had a leak in the original band. Not sure how big this band is but I am positive the port is a lower profile one than I had previously plus they moved the port from my right side to my left side. I see my dr in a few weeks and will ask some questions then. But I'm 7 days post op and still not really experiencing any hunger to speak off.

Are you not even holding down fluids?? If you aren't holding down your own saliva call you dr NOW and ask which emergency dept you can go to. Dehydration happens VERY quickly and waiting a week is not an option. If you can hold down your saliva but not fluids, get yourself some pineapple juice and sip sip sip. It helps with the inflammation around the stoma. Avoid anything more substantial than liquids for 24 hours AT LEAST then move to mushies if you can. Avoid solids for at least 3 days.