RestlessMonkey

It depends on WHY you have lower back pain. If the weight is exacerbating it, then losing will help. However I'd think you STILL will have to walk and exercise to strengthen it. If you are having the surgery ONLY for that, then discuss it at some length with your surgeon. No bariatric surgery will "cure" back pain...it treats obesity which can (or may not be) causing your issues. Good luck!

I wish I'd realized how important fills are (I knew, but I didn't KNOW! if that makes sense) and how LONG it would take me to finally get restriction. It wouldn't have changed my mind, but would've saved me a lot of disappointment. After surgery my lip moisturizer, my birkenstock sandals (easy on/off), loose clothes. Tylenol. A pillow to brace my surgical sites when i got up, sat etc. That's it. It was easy!

LOL I like that one even better than my mom's! Thanks for sharing it.

AH. Ok. In a way you're "pouting" because you can't eat. I understand that all too well! What helped me honestly was just not thinking about it but almost like a mantra reminding myself how happy I was to have the band, how great it was going to be to not be hungry all the time and to finally lose weight and keep it off. I just found things to do to distract myself. I didn't even get Protein shakes week one, and would've almost killed for one. So in a way I would've killed to be you! It's hard but worth it. Just keep reminding yourself of that. Or as my mother used to tell ME...Put a smile on your face and get over it. LOL That used to make me mad, but it does help. sometimes.

FINALLY! I came to in recovery hungry and thirsty! I got told "it's head hunger" Uh. NO! I'm HUNGRY! LOL I just gritted my teeth and got through it. I kind of got used to it. Week 2 my surgeon allows protein shakes (week one was just clear liquids. I almost gnawed my own arm off but it was too fatty! LOL) and the protein helped a little. Mushies were like manna from heaven...hang in there.

ok...then what feels "yucky"? Is it because you're nauseated? Do you have diabetes? If not, it could be your body is just rebelling and you just have to tell it to get over itself! LOL You didn't have to do much of a preop diet, did you, because they moved your surgery up? If you think it's hunger (it's possible) it will pass.... otherwise, what do you think it is? We usually "know" more than we realize about why we feel bad.... Since you are "miserable" but aren't in any pain, I'm trying to figure out how to maybe help you a little, so if I'm being too nosey forgive me!

Why aren't you taking your pain meds? Are you walking some?

I have hesitated to post here because I am at a loss as to how to effectively convey how truly marvelous I think Dr. Cavazos and his staff are. I can use hyperbole like "best" "nicest" "most skilled" "caring" but those words are overused. I'll probably have to resort to them because they are all true. I can tell you at age 53, when I had my surgery, I seem to have recovered faster with less issues than many many younger posters I read about. Partly that's me, but largely that's due to the deft skill and compassion of Dr. Cavazos and his able staff, both medical and office. Gas pains post op? Not this chickie; I am sure he removed most of it before he closed me up. Do all surgeons do this? No way. He did. Aftercare? Good lord the patience this man shows...never a frown, never a lecture, but he takes time to explain his rationale behind ever fill, every diet (pre, post op, etc) every procedure. He asks how I am and I think he really wants to know! He is the most "accessible" doctor I've ever encountered. No question is too foolish or frivolous. His NP Claudia is just a wonder. Period. She's always made me feel like she and I are partners in my health care; she chats with me as if she had oodles of time (you know she doesn't) and is also great at explaining any all and everything. Any good sense I show on this board, any solid info, I've gotten from Dr. Cavazos and his staff. His office staff, especially Maria and Ebony, are also great, and I'd NEVER have gotten through all the insurance stuff without Nadia. Everyone there, though, is just top drawer, even those I haven't named. Dr. Cavazos is an educated, practiced, marvelous surgeon. He is patient and kind, he is caring, he is easily approached and understood, but make no mistake he is a deft skilled top surgeon. I can't imagine a better group of people to help a person navigate through weight loss surgery, and find a way to a healthier life.

Although odds are you'll find someone on here who says yes...I think the answer really should be no. You're still healing and alcohol is pretty counter-productive to that. Plus, many of us lose inhibitions as we drink and that can mean eating/overeating. At 9 days post op letting your band seat well, letting your "innards" heal etc are most important right now. Since your doc isn't available to ask (I'm assuming?) I say better safe than sorry. Give him/her a call on Monday though and ask, so you'll know for next time.

You'll need to call them directly to see if lap band surgery is covered; as you may know, many insurance policies are modified by the purchaser (usually an employer) so one person's policy is different from another persons, even if the insurance company is the same. Good luck!

I agree 100%...you need to be checked out. You may have slipped, or something else may be going on. The longer you delay, the more internal damage you MAY be doing to yourself. Call your doc ASAP. Good luck!

It could be, too, that you are a little more tuned in to the urge right now (not working or busy etc...but recovering/recuperating) and so you go more frequently and so have less to go, too. :tongue:

You shouldn't have to use pressure to urinate, actually, although sometimes we do to "hurry" it. You should in fact RELAX...if you relax your muscles it happens. If the "little bit" is abnormal for you and you are well hydrated (getting 64 oz Water daily etc) then mention this to your surgeon at your 1 week check up. Normal urination won't discommode or upset or impact or bother your band at all.

I will say this for the slow fill schedule my doc used...things are exactly as he told me they should be. I can eat literally anything (including untoasted white bread) IF I WANT IT. I am full usually on about 1/2 to 1 cup of food (depends on what I choose) and I stay that way for HOURS. I love it! :tongue: So not everyone has foods they can't eat.

Note the "can" cause hunger...for some, caffeine is actually an appetite suppressant. It's been in many many OTC diet pills/concoctions, etc. So it may or may not make a person hungry. It doesn't impact me that way, but then I've been drinking sugar free iced tea since I was about 6. I can honestly say that caffeine is one thing that does NOT make me hungry LOL Fortunately I don't get w/drawal from it either; I didn't indulge pre band and post band for about 3 months but finally cleared with my doc that it was ok for me to have it. We're all different....amazingly so!

What happened to you isn't necessarily COMMON but it does happen. Odds of it being something permanent are really really really slim...partly because the surgery shouldn't have impacted your bladder at all (you weren't operated on in that area) Some bladders do get "upset" at anesthesia and become a bit shy. I'm sure the cath is not comfy but it will give your bladder a chance to get over the "insult" and move on!

My surgeon presented 5-6 forms of surgery in his seminar. He didn't push me toward any of them. I selected the band and he was 100% on board with it. Although some practices are more busy than others, speed from seminar to surgery usually depends mostly on time for insurance approval. Apparently you are either self-pay or have an insurer who approves quickly (mine did).

It was normal for me. I was filled like this...1.5, 3.0, 4.5, 5.5, 6.25 The 6.25 in March was the 1st one I felt! I PB'd EVERYTHING. I was in my senior semester of nursing school (this was MARCH, 1 month to go!) and I freaked so he unfilled me to 6.0 and I could eat ANYTHING again. I would never have thought just 1/4 of a cc would/could make such a HUGE difference, but it did. Then in May (after finals! YAY!) I went in and was filled to 6.50 and VOILA!!! A miracle occurred! I was restricted, could only eat up to 1 cup of food, lost weight like I was made to lose weight! So yes, hang in there. Slow conservative fills seem to be the best for us (although not all surgeons feel that way, but what I've read indicates aggressive fills can cause physiologic problems like esophageal spasms etc). It will happen. You just have to be patient now.

I don't think it matters, at this point...data so far doesn't lend support to one or the other. I have a lap band because my surgeon said that's the one he trained with and prefers. I defer to his judgment. He did make clear he preferred it just because he was used to it and not because it was inherently "better" than than the realize band. So far I love mine... You might think of it like this...ask your surgeon which one she's most comfortable working with and use that one.

If I understand your post...you aren't worried about recovery so much as living with the band? The others addressed recovery nicely (like any surgery, you need time to heal) but if you are talking about "life" afterward, then YES YES YES you will be able to physically do anything you CAN do. The band won't limit you. Scuba dive, sky dive, and everything on earth in between. If you're going to go up in the shuttle, check with your doc first LOL Otherwise nothing is off limits...you are limited only by your own physical capacity, not the band. :tongue: It's a wonderful thing.

You might try Citracal Petites...(have them at Walgreens, drugstore.com, probably your local grocer) They are small and I think fit your bill.

Yes blood clots are something that are preventable but can kill you ... and they're common post op in anyone, moreso in heavier people. In fact when I went back to class 4 days after surgery the NP made me promise to get up and walk for about 5 minutes every 30...no sitting in class for the 50 minutes per "lecture". :thumbup:

ROFLMAO Walking helps op gas more than gas x...also good for our lungs and helps prevent clots. It's a miracle drug, walking is! :thumbup:

As I said...Gas X helps the gas WE make in our bodies but not the gas pumped in for surgery.

Just saw this and have to chime in and agree...don't take your own drug at the hospital unless your nurse knows and approves! (you were so right about that! ) Gas X can help the gas we generate, but it won't even TOUCH the gas they pump into you to make surgery easier...because that gas is in the cavities etc...not where the gas X can impact it. If it helps anyone...it helps psychologically OR helps to break up our own gas. Not surgical gas. That stuff just has to work itself out and be, eventually, reabsorbed by the body. Sucks, but that's a fact. I agree too w/the chapstick although I prefer "soft lips" LOL Chapstick is way too waxy for me. You are really dry because they give you an anticholinergic to dry you up...something for your lips really helps. Remember a pillow to brace your surgical sites on the ride home will help, and easy on/easy off shoes for the hospital. Oh well you know all that..! Good luck! Bet you're very excited! :thumbup: