RestlessMonkey

You're asking questions to which the answers vary greatly, depending on variables like who your surgeon is, how you handle pain, how physically fit you are, and on and on. No one can answer for you; you have to just live through it. There is a section here called "surgery day stories"...search for that thread. It can give you OODLES of answers. You'll see they are all a little different. For me? I had very little pain each time. I did not stay overnight at the hospital, although I could have, had I or my surgeon seen the need. I slept on my left side (the side where my port is) the first night, and on my stomach the second. I slept in my own bed from the first night. I took exactly two doses of the prescription pain medication my doctor gave me; otherwise I took liquid tylenol a couple of times. I didn't do this to be brave or to tough it out; I did this because I didn't feel bad. I was able to go back to nursing school on the tuesday after my friday surgery. I think they figure you're pretty healed by 6 weeks. I could lift more than 15 pounds by day 3. I could drive by day 2, which is also when I could shower. I ate the post op plan my doctor prescribed which began with only Clear liquids (water and broth) and progressed to all food by week 6. This allowed my band, my stitches, and so on to heal internally. I drank 16 ounces of Water BEFORE I left the hospital. I was never nauseated. I had minor soreness and gas pain which was alleviated when got up and moved (around the house, around the block) and a pillow braced over my surgical sites helped me feel secure when standing up, or when in bed, during the first 2 days post op. For my great experience, you'll find people with the exact opposite...pain, nausea, vomiting, longer hospital stays, gas pain for a week or two, out of work for 2 weeks or more, crying, misery, no hunger, etc. It's really very very individual! AND...I wasn't especially physically fit for my surgery, either. When something hurts, I screech! LOL This just didn't cause me that much pain. I have had gum surgery that was worse. But not everyone is that way. In fact, I had really bad sciatica and since going under for the surgery, it hasn't bothered me since! Must've been some WONDERFUl muscle relaxants! LOL I went under easy, woke up fast and feeling good, and have had a good experience all around.

PB= productive burp...as when food gets stuck above your pouch or above your band...won't go down (for whatever reason....too full? didn't chew well?) so it has to come back up. Usually no stomach bile is associated. It hurts because your esophagus really spasms to eject it. I haven't ever done it and hope I never do. Sliming is concurrent and is LOTS of saliva that the body produces in a desperate attempt to lubricate the offending bolus of food, hoping it will GO somewhere! :wink2: You CAN slime and not PB, but I think if you PB, there's usually some slime involved. Lovely, huh?

I thought the point of the band was that we could eat normal food, but in smaller portions, and be ok...but of course pasta can be problematic because it can swell! Or maybe I'm just lucky that I can still eat small portions of bread and pasta! On the plus side, a very very little of that would've made me full really fast! :wink2: Sorry she changed the menu on you, though. I think that was kind of rude of her, to make a point of asking you and then do something totally different! Do you think she did it to be mean, or just unthinking? Glad you got through it!

I say probably...call your doctor and ask him for guidance!

I know my doctor wouldn't....he refuses to do a fill any less than 4 weeks apart. (I know because I begged/whined/pleaded to get one at 3 weeks!) Of course, many surgeons are more aggressive, but I've never heard of one doing it at less than 2 weeks apart, so I think you'd be smart to call and make sure!

An upper GI is just a test where you swallow barium and they x-ray it as it goes down. I had it because I have a large hernia. Doc wanted to make sure I wasn't aspirating or anything. It's not uncommon for docs to require one preop. I also had an abdominal ultrasound, chest x-ray, blood drawn, and an ecg before the surgery. I got the lap band. My first surgery, when my surgeon tried to place the band (I was out, on the table, in the OR) my liver was too large for him to move it out of the way! (I had a 3 week preop diet to shrink it but, honestly, read on here other people who cheated and got the band so I figured I'd be ok too. I was WRONG! I lost 15 pounds during that 3 week diet but I didn't do it right) SO after 2.5 MORE weeks and doing exactly what my surgeon said, i got the lap band on 8/29. I would honestly NEVER have vertically banded gastroplasty (VBG) Way way way way too many issues with that. I don't want the sleeve, either. I just don't want my insides cut up. To me that seems like I'm willing to punish myself or something. I like my band (which I consider a pacemaker for my appetite) just fine thank you! Oh and my liver wasn't/isn't diseased...no impaired funcion etc. Just was too thick the first time for him to shove it out of the way without either opening me up (thank God he didn't) or risking lacerating it. It's not too common an occurence, but it does happen. Unfortunately!

Poodles you really really need to do what YOUR doc tells you because we are all different. Mine, for example, only wanted us to have Clear Liquids the first week...no Protein shakes at all. So I had Water and broth. Period. We "could" have SF popsicles but I didn't want them. I wanted food, not a sweet treat. (that's just me though) Week 2 he added in Protein Shakes (praise be. that kept me alive! LOL) I had absolutely NO problem drinking liquid although I did burp a good bit. I didn't chug it, but I could get it down fine. So I didn't need to keep it on hand and sip sip sip etc. What did your doctor tell YOU to do?

Always given in to vanity!?!? I almost spit out my water at that one! Did you slap her? Ok just kidding. mostly. I don't blame you for keeping this private. Let her wonder. and stew.

Get a slight unfill. If you can't eat, you'll turn to slider foods and gain..plus it's just plain UNHEALTHY to only be able to keep fluids down. For whatever reason your band tightened (hormones? lost weight and it shifted? who knows!) so get a small unfill and see if that helps!

I'm so sorry for your loss! But to gain only 20 in all that time is not bad at all! Your surgeon has seen worse! Please just go back in and get going again. You'll feel better, and it will keep you from putting on another 20 (or more!) It's like not driving a great car because it ran out of gas and you're too embarassed to go to the station with a can and "admit" you let that happen!

I understand, I think! It's like I COULD have had the shake before I ate my chick fil a. And I COULD have forced myself to eat all the fries and so on. Personally, I'm just trying to keep a middle of the road mentality...not obsessing over each bite, weighing it all, writing about it (LOL) etc, but by the same token not eating if I'm not hungry, stopping when I'm satisfied even if I have food left, etc. When I pay attention to myself, I realize smaller portions are working for me, and if I pay attention to myself, I realize i can go longer without Snacks, between meals, because I don't get hungry again so fast. The band IS a tool and different people use it differently (sounds like a cliche but it's true!) Some people do measure, and use portion control before sitting down to eat it, etc. I just know from past diets that even if I start out, eventually I'll go NUTS counting each cracker and weighing each serving of beef. So what I'm doing is working for me and it's the BAND that is making the difference. An amazing, subtle difference. I love it. I truly do.

Check with your insurance to find out exactly what "they" consider co-morbiditiy. However I don't think I've ever read of any company considering PCOS a co-morbidity. Maybe? but i doubt it.

I think it's amazing. I'll tell you why. I have had NO restriction that I'm aware of. And yet, between Fill #2 on 11/13, and fill #3 on 12/18, I gained.....1/2 of a pound. This while being able to eat anything. No restriction? Ok. I've had pizza and pork chops and chicken and dumplings and you name it. Tacos. Nachos. I felt "slightly guilty" but had determined I would NOT diet. (that doesn't work for me long term) I have tried not to snack, but if I'm hungry, I eat. After my 5 week severe preop diet and 2 weeks of liquids (before mushies) post op I lost a lot. I expected once I could eat that I'd gain it all back in a heartbeat. That's what's happened to me before once I "quit" a severe diet. BUT I've only gained 16 pounds, and only 1/2 of oune pound of that between fill 2 and 3. Now after fill 3 I've lost a couple. I am NOT dieting. I still don't even feel restricted yet. I try to chew well etc but can swallow etc anyway if I forget. I haven't ever PB'd or slimed. And yet I'm losing. Maybe that will answer your question. I thought I'd kept gaining because I haven't felt one moment of "diet"...being deprived, going without. I realized when I got my favorite Chick Fil A, ate 3/4 of one, 3 waffle fries, and tossed the shake out without even tasting it that I really am getting satisfied with less. And no restriction yet. That, to me, makes it an incredibly powerful tool.

Seems really fast to me too. 22 days is just at 3 weeks...I couldn't even have FISH etc until week 4-5. Maybe he miscounted? I don't think I would've even been ready for a fill then...my "innards" were kind of still getting used to the band etc. But hey, he's the pro!

Until your surgeon starts with your 'fills"...tightening your band, you're still pretty "wide open". My doctor (and many like him) consider this a time for healing and adapting to the new rules (like no liquids with meals, chewing excessively, etc) Good to learn the habits NOW. Mine told me many patients don't really start losing well until 4 or more fills. I know I FINALLY, between fill #2 and #3, only gained 1/2 pound (yes, over Thanksgiving). I woke up hungry in recovery and have been, since completing the post op diet, able to eat ANYTHING. My doc is actually pleased. He wants me to NOT SNACK (easier said than done without any restriction!) and just kind of "slide into" more intense restriction. You can diet or not during this time (personal choice. I won't. The diet mentality sets me up for wild pigging out! Been there, done that about 10000000 times) and you may not notice any restriction with your first fill! SO yes, what's happening to you is normal and it's ok. Whether you choose to count calories (or whatever) or just focus on band rules (chewing, Protein first, no liquids with meals, whatever your doc recommends) is up to you. It just gets better from here!

Well, there you go. You don't REALLY want to take with food, though (once you're restricted) because the pill AND the food will just linger in your pouch, and there's no digestive juice up there. Probably safest for you would be to take whatever NSAID with a sip of Water and THEN eat your meal. If your doc told you a different way of course do that. But we have to think differently with the band...once you're restricted, things slow WAY down. You don't want aspirin, ibuprofen, or other nsaid just hanging out for a few hours in your pouch, with or without food there. Good luck and I hope you feel better soon!

I just don't waste my time with women who aren't "sympatico". You know the saying "there are other fish in the sea"? It works for girl friends, too. I have my BFF who's been my buddy/pal/best friend for over 45 years, and I have other really good friends I've made along the way. Otherwise my life is just to busy to waste it on negative jealous people! Why bother? My closest friend weighs what we did in high school and has been there for me when I was HER size, and when I weighed three times as much as she did. That's part of being a friend, I think. If you closest friend isn't supportive, then in my book she isn't a friend. Honest, yes. Straightforward, you bet. But once you commit, as in to the lap band, she ought to be there for you.

I have had 3 fills and nothing like you describe yet! Good for you already doing so well! I will say it is HARD to not drink with meals, partly because it's such a habit! and partly because things seem REALLY salty to me when I can't have liquid. It makes a big difference in how full I feel and how long I feel that way, though, so I tough it out. But it really is odd to me how hard it is!

Could be...or allergies! Since it's just at night made me think not "sick" because then you'd cough all the time ... or rather, at any time. Allergies if you're allergic to your pillow or bedding or new wash soap or whatever... acid reflux (with the band) was "go to"! If you have experience with it, though, you'd know if it was that. Maybe the prilosec isn't working for you? Hopefully it's just something in passing! That's entirely possible too!

I understand! (and you're 7 years younger than ME! I went back to nursing school when I was 50---overweight and out of shape. So yes, I'm insane! LOL) I had "sciatica" right before my surgery and couldn't pull my own pants up. I sat and cried like a moron! It was like a whisper of what was headed my way. But that kind of thinking is nonsense...I don't know what the future will bring. And oddly my surgery (probably the heavy duty meds) "cured" my sciatica and I haven't had it since! I normally say follow your docs advice but if he resists you about the NSAIDS I'd take them anyway. Mine told me I could take them if I needed, just to be careful and not do it on an empty stomach. What I do is take them JUST before I eat with minimal Water... so they don't hang around in the pouch but go on through. Then 15 minutes after I have eaten I make sure I drink at least 8 ounces of water. That will minimize the danger to your band and stomach. Your surgeon will surely have some tips for you. I think you're right, too....once you're rested you'll be better able to cope. On the bright side, unlike osteo arthrities, the RA can go into remission. Hang in there! AND you probably know this but if you've been in pain (and your RA untreated) for more than just a short while, it may take a couple days for the drugs (both analgesic and anti-inflammatory properties) to really kick in. But they will help you!

Actually the "FLU" (achy, fever, etc) doesn't have nausea/vomiting as an effect! If you are getting the FLU, there's drugs they can give you to minimize it. If you have a stomach bug (people call it stomach flu but it isn't...it's just a virus or bacteria...) your surgeon can prescribe an anti-nausea medication for you. At any point, whether you have the flu, or a stomach bug, or BOTH (entirely possible)...one doc or another can help you out. You don't want to vomit if you can help it, and if you do have some sinus thing, that can be causing the nausea (post nasal drip etc without getting toooo gross) So call your surgeon for a prescription to phenergan, then call your pcp if you have a fever! Good luck!

I'd say call your surgeon and ask him for tips about managing the band and NSAIDS. It is important to take them if you have RA...not just for the "pain control" aspect, I believe, but also to help control the inflammation. There are MANY people who need NSAIDS for various conditions so you won't be the first. I am sure he can give you tips (like only taking them after meals, adequate Water to make sure it passes through your pouch, whatever!) to allow you to safely and successfully take whatever drugs you need. As to your depression, does your RA doc have a support group? I can tell you only what you already know; that many people have RA and live full healthy lives. After the first flare, it's possible that it will go into remission and not bother you again for years, if ever. The goal is to get the pain and inflammation under control right now. Just think how much WORSE you'd feel if you had been diagnosed with this and had NOT done the band? Dealing with 40 extra pounds, diabetes and the meds, AND RA? It's a big adjustment but you've already shown, by getting the band etc, that you can take charge of your health. This is just a glitch. Call your surgeon right away and get that NSAID issue resolved; you'll feel better physically AND mentally.

I think you are being VERY impatient! Rapid quick initial weight loss is a hallmark of RNY bypass, not lap band! I think maybe your surgeon needs to update his seminar info! We were told that restriction can take 4 (or more) fills and that until we have good restriction (in the "green zone) weight loss will be slow to non-existent. I lost my weight preop and 2 weeks post...just now with THREE fills (4.5 cc's in a 14 cc band) am I starting to "feel" it. Some people do post big losses at first but they are really just "dieting"...I don't want to do that (been there done that as they say) and am letting this work as my doc has promised it will. You're just putting unfair expectations on yourself and the band. You need to be willing to work and get the fills you need to hit that good spot, and to follow your surgeon's rules. It may NOT be for you, but you should give it (and you!) a chance. I assume you (like many of us) paid a bit and went through some trouble to get the band...don't give up so fast! I'm sorry for your loss of your father, by the way. That's really stressful. Lap band isn't really a diet...it's a new way of eating, a new way of relating to food. It's a tool...you have to exercise and make good choices....but it helps. Give yourself time!

Each surgeon is different. If my doctor had done that I'd be back weighing more than my start weight by now. I woke up hungry in the recovery room! Just having the band "in place" didn't do a thing for me...it does for some lucky people, but most of us need it to be tightened some. Mine does first fill at 6 weeks, and then subsequent fills at 4 weeks (or more) each time. I'm going in for #4 on Feb 5 and think that'll get me pretty close.... but if I had a doctor like yours I'm afraid I'd be one of those "band failure" people.

Seriously, you are very young! No wonder you're in a panic! Take some deep breaths and try to chill out :party: Unless you get super super restricted (and that will be your choice; you WILL be in control) you should be able to eat anything, but you'll just eat way less. You may not be able to drink diet coke any more but in the vast scheme of things you probably won't miss it much. You'll most likely still be able to eat pizza but a piece will fill you up. Now what's wrong with that? I don't know what "Sweedish fish" is (don't know if I WANT to know? LOL) but you'll probably be able to have small portions of it, too! Hang in there!