mellygirl

I had my 3 month post op appointment yesterday and have lost 16 lbs in the past month since I reached restriction. I am just over the 30 pound total loss mark. I took a vacation and ended up losing about 4 lbs in 5 days on it. That's something I would never have expected to do, ever in my life. This band is wonderful! My doctor asked me if I wanted a fill, but I declined. He said that as I lose a little more weight, the band will get a little loose, so he expects to have to give me a small fill in about 3 weeks. I hope you are all doing well! Best wishes to everyone!

Hi everyone. Sorry I haven't posted in a while, but I had my second fill on the 17th. My first fill was not enough, so I only lost about 5 lbs in the last month. At LEAST I did lose and not gain, but seriously how frustrating!?! I asked my doc last time how much he would add each additional fill and he said we would increase by 1cc at a time up til 7, then 1/2cc at a time so I went in prepared to beg for 2ccs. He actually suggested that we go ahead with 2, and let me tell you I was too tight! I drank my little dixie cup full of water and felt like I had to burp and up some of it came back up. He took out 1/2cc and the pressure was instantly relieved. It has felt quite a bit different than before and I have had a few sliming episodes getting used to the change. I know it's working though, because I already lost 5 lbs this week!! :tt1: How are the rest of you faring?

From what I have gathered, the process is different for everyone depending on your particular program. I went from my PCM to the Psych/Nutrition Evals, then to the Surgeon, next to my PCM for clearances, then to the Cardiac clearance, then pre-surgical testing (labs, x-ray, EKG) and finally to surgery. There were of course the main seminar, an orientation, and a pre-surgical group consult that I attended as well. I never had to deal with the GI though. My total time from first seminar to surgery day was 5 months. My insurance did not require a 6 month supervised diet. Good luck - it's a long process, but very worth it!

Welcome April! I don't feel like I have a band most of the time either, but it's still early. There are some occasions, if I accidentally take a huge bite or if I get too full that I definitely can tell it is there. I know I am nowhere near where I need to be in terms of restriction, but my appetite seems to be a lot less than it used to be. What has your experience been like so far? Have you had a fill yet?

Glad to hear your fill went great! I think I psyched myself out for every step of this process. This whole experience has not been all that difficult. I thought surgery would be way more difficult than it was, and the same for the fill. So far I feel like I have definitely made the right choice for me! Hope you are all doing as great.

1. Re-take my wedding photos. 2. Finally try to have a baby! 3. Take a trip to a tropical island where you lounge around in swimwear and sarongs all day.

Wow, your fill sounds a lot different from mine. Do you have any idea how big your band is? I got 4cc on my first fill and I can notice a difference, but I also know that it will need to be filled more. I don't think I have truly experienced the wonder that is "restriction", but instead I just feel full on smaller amounts of food than I used to eat. Anyone else fill up quickly at mealtime and then feel hungry a few hours later?

I haven't gotten to do this yet, but I was banded in January and hope to start trying at the end of the year, so fingers crossed! However, my friend just found out she was preggers and asked me how to tell her parents. I suggested she take them out to eat and pre-arrange her dessert order with the waitress. When dessert time rolled around the waitress brought her out a dish of ice cream and another of pickles. Her mom started screaming and jumping up and down once she "got" it, then they all celebrated.

My doc and I actually discussed this at my appointment 3 days ago and he said it's due to the hormonal change. The loss of estrogen can result in hair loss. Once the hormones get balanced out, the hair loss should go away. This came up because he told me to stop my protein supplements and I asked if it would result in the hair loss. He explained the loss of hair is not related to the protein. He wants me to stop the protein because the benefits of the protein are not worth the extra calories consumed to get it in. HTH!

I am Tricare Prime also and checked the website 4 days after it was submitted and the approval was ready and waiting. I had more trouble getting my medical records from my PCM than actually getting approved. Total out of pocket for Tricare Prime is $49 and you just can't beat that!

Hi! Congrats on starting your journey. Here are my answers to the above questions: 1. Caffeine - Caffeine can cause a loss in Fluid and can lead to dehydration. This is why I was told to avoid it initially. If you are getting proper hydration, the caffeine is not a big deal. It can also cause spikes in blood sugar and cause cravings, but my doc said the biggest issue is the dehydration. 2. Barium - I have heard that barium is chalky, but for me it was like drinking pancake syrup that was sweeter and left an awful taste in my mouth for a while. I was expecting to be gagging from the taste, but I think it's talked up a lot more than it really should be. It's gross, and I wouldn't want to drink it willingly ever again, but it's not quite what some make it out to be. It's tolerable, but look out...45 minutes later and that stuff went straight through me and it was almost a photo finish trying to get to the bathroom. 3. C-section - I don't have any children, but I'm going to have to say it's not as painful. I think it's probably closer to a gallbladder removal since a C-section is way more involved. 4. 84 Minutes - I am truly hoping this is operating room to recovery time. Otherwise, yikes! I know it took about 15 minutes before any cutting was done, then about 40 minutes later I was being bandaged...so 84 minutes would be good for an O.R. estimate. 5. Time Off - It was suggested that office workers take a week off. I would think 4 days would be a bare minimum. Hope this helps, and very best wishes on your journey!

I had my first fill this week and it was 4cc in a 14cc band. I will definitely need a larger fill because I can only tell there is slight restriction. Hope that helps!

I had my first fill today and it went great! The doc had me lay back and push my stomach out as far as I could while he pressed down on my port site. He stuck me twice and couldn't find my port, so he used a machine (I called it the stud finder) to locate the port and then 2 more sticks later he was in and added 4cc into my 14cc band. The sticks were barely noticeable, and almost felt like an allergy shot. It was no where near as bad as I thought it would be. I was expecting something comparable to an IV, but it was not nearly that caliber. I've had flu shots that hurt worse. :thumbup:) After he added the saline, he had me drink a Dixie cup full of water and I didn't have any problems so he sent me on my way. I'm due back on the 17th of March. I had lost another 3 lbs. which was suprising because I have been able to eat pretty normally. I was scared I gained, but the doctor was very happy. Since surgery day I have lost 11 lbs. without even technically "trying". I have also been cleared to go to the gym, so I am excited to see what this band will do with extra effort on my part. I hope you are all recovering well!

Happy one month Bandiversary everyone! I go tomorrow for my first fill and I am a little bit scared! I will be sure to pop on and give everyone a play by play tomorrow. Think pain-free thoughts for me!

Congrats on advancing your diet! I am allowed to eat anything I want now too, even thick meats and veggies. My doc wanted me to have a full week of regular diet before my first fill on the 17th! As far as planning meals go, I can't offer any help in that area. I am finding that I am eating less than I used to. I don't know if it's a mental thing, or if my stomach is physically making me feel fuller faster, even though my band is empty. Once I have my fill, I'm going to make sure I have 3 high protein meals a day along with my protein suplements (if needed). When are you supposed to get your first fill? I still can't go to the gym for 2 more weeks, due to my lifting requirements. I'm ready to get this weight moving.

Hey Lilli, you may want to try Fill Centers USA, here's a link and you can look it up by your zip code. www.fillcentersusa.com

I had 11 steri strips total. On day 2, I lost one and then day 5 lost all but 4 of them on my port incision. By day 7 they had all fallen off. Then day nine I had the allergic reaction. Your incisions should be healed by now, but you may want to call the doc's office and see if you can remove them. I would think they should have fallen off on their own by now.

Teresa - I've been to Murray, it's not too far from us. Nancy - Welcome, and I'm glad you are taking it easy. I had a 5 lb. lifting restriction for two weeks, and now I have a 40 lb. restriction for another 5 weeks. I overdid it one day and I could really tell. That day I crashed and had to go to bed at 7:00 pm.

Teresa, which town are you in? I am right between Ft. Knox and E'town. My surgery was done in Louisville at Norton Hospital and my surgeon is up there too. My follow-up appointment with Dr. Kehdy ended up being on the first day of the ice storm and the normal 40 minute drive to Louisville took 2 hours! There's nothing like driving 35 MPH on I-65.

Hey everyone, I've been a little absent due to a huge ice storm here in Kentucky. Luckily we were only out of power for 2 days, unlike most people who are still out going on day 6. Just an update, on day 9 post-op I developed a severe reaction to the skin prep that goes on underneath the steri strips. I have NEVER itched that badly in my life. I wanted to scratch until I was bleeding. Literally my incisions looked perfect on Saturday and then had 2 inches of redness all the way around (all 5) them on Sunday. I had my follow-up appointment on Tuesday and my doctor said it was a delayed allergic reaction, but gave me a prescription for an antibiotic just in case. So far they are only mildly itchy on occasion, and much less red. At my appointment I had lost 8 lbs in 12 days, but my doctor joked that I couldn't "count" it as weight loss from the band, but due to my restricted diet. I go back on the 17th for my first fill. He gave me permission to go ahead and progress my diet off of liquids. I can pretty much eat anything I want that's chewed well or soft to begin with, but he wants me to go to hard things one week before my fill. I have noticed a little discomfort if I swallow a large bite or eat a little too much, but overall I feel satisfied with way less food than I used eat. I have only minor pain if I over-do it on the lifting or just try to take on too much in one day, but for the most part I'm not bothered by it at all. To be perfectly honest, I've actually been eating pretty much anything I want, only the portions are a lot smaller. My doctor told me that that the reason we stay on soft food for a while is because of the fear of throwing up. I thought it had something to do with the actual band, but he said it is so the sutures don't come loose due to vomiting. Apparently there's a lot smaller chance of getting sick on the mushy food. I thought that was interesting information to know. I hope the rest of you are doing as well as I am, minus the allergic reaction. I wouldn't wish that on anyone!!

Lili, I was wondering about you! So glad you're doing great! I go back to the Dr. on Tuesday for my follow-up, and hopefully he'll give me permission to have some semi-real food! lol

I was scared to sleep on my sides at first, because my band is on one side and my port is on the other, so really the back was the way to go. I just could not sleep on my back for more than about 5 hours at a time because I would wake up stiff and sore too. Finally I just had to bite the bullet and do it. It hurt for a minute or two, but then I relaxed and got comfortable and I sleep SO much better now. I still have some tenderness and itching around my steri strips, which look like they should fall off any time. Do any of you feel like you are constantly trying to fight an air bubble? I get these spells where I am semi hiccuping/burping, but I never release the air. This happens on an empty belly and after I eat, it's just random and not all the time. I'm sure it's nothing big, but it really is an obnoxious feeling. It sounds like everyone is doing pretty well. Hope you're all taking it easy!