bambam31

Michee, thanks for the encouragement!. Congrats on your tremendous weight loss! Hope your new surgery and refills go well. Brad

PJ..... I don't know why they use different bands. I had even saw one post on the site somewhere where a bandster mentioned her doc let her choose which band she wanted. I'm certain there's a method to the madness. I'll try and remember to ask my doc why when I see him next. It's strange how some docs do different things. Some fill at time of surgery and others won't fill until 4 - 6 weeks after surgery.... Innotu... Thanks for the compliment. I do have some restriction - just not a lot. What I'm finding is I have to eat small amounts - but very frequently - otherwise the pain from hunger is... well... painfull. My fill was simple... Doc had me lie on my back and crunch my stomach muscles. Then he used a couple of fingers to poke and prod until he found the port. Then he had me do a leg lift and hold it... little poke... all done. It was very simple and the poke was very minor. Now... My sister-in-law on the other hand.... She has a different surgeon from the same office and hers was not so easy. I don't know how much she exagerated, but she said he poked her like 30 times trying to hit the port. They eventually used an ultrasound to find it. She was very sore and bruised from the event. So just like everything else... YMMV... Flem... Congrats on your progress! It's hard to keep those portions small when your still hungry. I hope your fill fills you up! Brad

Hi PJ... My band was put in dry and at my first fill I got 1cc... but there are different sized bands so I guess it all depends on how big your band is to begin with. I will make certain on my next visit, but I think I only have a 4cc band. Brad

Hey everyone! I was banded August 4th and got my first fill last Tuesday (Doc is on vacation this week so I was able to get an early fill.) By then the post surgery restriction was completely gone and the hunger came back with a vengeance. I thought the fill would curb that but it did not. I have hunger PAINS... I mean it hurts. I feel worse right now than the day after surgery. I am still losing weight, although it has slowed. Right now my stomach and I are having a "tug of war" but I refuse to "fall off the wagon" and feed it like I used to. I just wish the hunger would take a vacation. I have to wait until Sept. 23 for my second fill. It is going to be a long three weeks! Brad

Congrats! That's taking the bull by the horns! Keep that kind of determination and nothing will stand between you and your goal! Brad

Congrats! I too was banded on Monday the 4th. I was lucky enough to not have had any upper torso gas pains. Good luck on your journey! Brad

Hey all! I too read the surgery day stories and had sort of developed a sequence of events in my head as to how this was all going to go down. I was just banded two days ago (Monday Aug. 4th) and I must tell you... It was nowhere near as bad as I was prepared for. Everyone's experience is going to be a bit different, but I never experienced any real pain - discomfort yes - but pain no. My doc gave me a prescription for some pain meds and I have not had to fill it. The worst part for me was urinating the first day (they put a catheter in during surgery and removed it before I waking me) and boy did that hurt for the first few trips to the restroom - and also the ever present belching and farting. Doc says I have to make a more conscious effort not to swallow so much air when eating and drinking. You folks are going to do just fine. I was uneasy on the way into the operating room too - we all are - but like one of my nurses said, "You're going to have surgery - you should be nervous - but let me assure you that you have nothing to worry about." Good Luck! Brad

Thanks everyone! Slept well through the night and now I'm awaiting the barium swallow so I can go home. Still no real pain - some gas. I would compare how I feel to having severely over-exercised. Didn't eat a whole lot yesterday. I think I managed to finish one small Jello cup and some broth. Plus some fruit punch and coffee. Brad 266/254/154

Hi folks! I just got banded this morning! I was the first on the schedule and everything went great. Started at 7:30 and by 9:45 I was sipping coffee in the recovery room! I'm a coffee junkie and nurse said I couldn't have any today. My doc walked by and she asked when I could first have coffee and he said, "go ahead and give him some!" Boy did that taste good. Thus far I've been up and roaming the halls, sipping broth and small Jello bites. Have not received ANY pain meds and I feel fine. A bit sore - but nothing bad at all. I told them I was about a 2 or 3 on the 10 scale. That's about it for now, but I wanted to jump on and tell everyone how much I've enjoying reading and learning from all of your experiences and thought I'd share mine. Brad 266/254/154

Greetings! I'm a police officer in a small southern MI town. My LapBand journey began when my sister-in-law started her prequalify evaluations. That's when I thought, "hey.... why don't I do that?" So I started the eval process in April and finished in May. Paperwork was sent to my insurance company on June 2nd and three weeks later I had my approval. My doc says he was very surprised how fast the process progressed for me. This has been a big year. We had a new baby in January, bought a new house in July, and now banded in August. I got banded yesterday (Aug 4th) and it went so much easier than I had ever expected. I do have some discomfort. I would liken it to having severly overexercised though rather than pain. I have not had any strong pain meds. My surgery began at 7:30am and was done in an hour and 15 minutes. I was out walking the halls by 1pm. The anesthesia did not make me nausiated, although I was told they gave me something to prevent that. The recovery nurse asked if I needed anything and I said, "Coffee!" She laughed and said, "you can't have coffee at all today - maybe tomorrow." Then the doc walked by and she asked him when I could first have coffee and he said, "go ahead and give it to him." So I was drinking a cup of coffee in the recovery room - which has had several shifts of nurses saying, "I can't believe you got coffee in the recovery room." So now I'm waiting for the barium swallow so I can get out of here this morning. So I say to all of you yet to be banded: I know the process is unique to every individual and YMMV, but it was nowhere near as painful as I was prepared for. Now, let the rest of the journey begin..... Good luck all! Brad