msnenequeenie14

Hey, Can I ask what PB means? I wonder if you and I are worried about the same thing, I have not had a fill yet and I have just been eating regular stuff and trying to do my best to eat less of it. I am nervous that I did some damage or the band slipped.

I am intellegent. I obviously attempted to make the appointment when I went for my 1 week post-op and they were unable to make the appointment at that time which is why they advised me to wait and call at the 5 weeks mark, they advised they were swamped. Good for you that the band is working for you, it is obviously being maintained properly by Mercy. I am not having the same shiny happy experience with them. FYI, when I talked to them 09/17/08 they advised that they had gotten all of my repeated messages and just not sure why they did not take time to call back. They also advised me that Dr. Lufti, who was my surgeon, will only see post-op patients on Tuesday mornings, this was not an issue that they made clear prior to my surgery. I work for the Police department, and I cannot always be available on Tuesday mornings and I can't call off or request off every single tuesday until they find one they can squeeze me into. They offered me an appointment for 10/14/08, arrive at 630 am and no guarantee that Lufti will see me. I feel like I should be a priority to them just like any other patient, they were so attentive to me before I had my surgery

Hello everyone!

I was banded at Mercy Hospital in Chicago 6/30/08. I have been walking at least one mile or more per day for exercise and doing my best not to over eat and to eat healthier. I have only lost 25.5 lbs so far and to say the least, I am struggling and disappointed. I am for the most part starving myself trying to lose more weight, nothing is coming off. I have never had a fill so my band has no restriction and I can eat whatever I want. This is not what I want, which is why I got the Lap Band. I went to my first post -op appointment and when it was over they said call us in 5 weeks to get an appointment for my first fill and that was it. I have been calling and calling and they never call back, finally yesterday (09/17/08) someone called me back from Mercy Hospital and said they got my messages but not sure why nobody bothered to call back. I asked them for an appointment for a fill, and they cant even see me until mid October, they want me to come in at 630 am and the doctor still might not be able to get to me. Can anybody tell me, can I just go to another doctor for fills? Can anyone reccomend a better more professional office? How much do fills cost? I want so badly for this Lap Band to work for me but it is like the cards are stacked against me or something. *SIGH*:biggrin:

My Doctor told me that the only real symptom of a Haitial Hernia is that you might have experienced mild to severe heartburn or GERD

Hey! I had a Hiatial Hernia repaired also at the time I was banded. My Doctor told me beforehad that it was determined that I had one when I had that Endoscopy. He said that the hernia was what was causing me to have the heartburn. He said the Hernia is a part of my upper stomach that protrudes into my thorax through a small rip or several small rips in my diaphram. I have noticed a marked improvement in my heartburn!

Jenean

Banded 6/30/08

339/313.5/160

WOW!! Congrats! That is my personal goal as well, I started at 339, and I will really feel like I have actually accomplished something once I can say I am under 300. So what have you been doing? 42 lbs since August is EXCELLENT!!! Please share some tips if you can?!

I totally understand how you feel. I have not had a fill yet and have only lost 25.5 lbs, but I notice I can eat whatever I want just like before the band and it is really frustrating for me. I have been trying to get a fill but am not having any success. I try to eat better than before, but if I could do it on my own I wouldnt have needed the help of the band. Stick with it and try to eat as healthy as you can. I started taking organic appetite suppressants until I can inally get them to return my call about a fill.

That is an excellent question! I was banded 6/30/08 and I have hight blood pressure for which I take three medications per day. I have lost 25.5 lbs so far, but I have not been able to go off of my meds yet. When I had my surgery they advised me to take my meds as regular that day, by the time they wore off 24 hours later my BP was higher than I had ever seen it in my life they were freaking out a little (I felt fine, which was odd, I usually don't when my BP spikes) I didn't bring the meds with me to the hospital and they didn't have exactly what I take available. I am so looking forward to not having high BP...

Hi Amy!

I am Jenean, I am a mother to A 4 year old girl and a 7 year old boy. I was banded 6/30/08 and I am struggling, struggling, struggling! I hope we can be friends and motivate each other!

That is really nice of you to offer to be a buddy and a mentor and to show your hard work and success. I am a nervous wreck right now. I was banded 6/30/08 and have lost 25.5 lbs so far without having any fills yet, but the more I read on this website the more nervous and discouraged I am getting. My original struggle was that after I got the band I began to feel hungry and I realized that I have been obese and over eating for so long that I was unfamilar with hunger and do not know how to cope with it. I seem to be able to eat regular amounts of food but I make myself eat less than I did pre-band. Since I got the band I have not thrown up even once and I have not had the urge or any feelings of nausea, is that normal? I want to get a fill because I want to see some real progress, I exercise 5-6 days a week, walking a mile or more, but now I am really scared, people are talking about things getting stuck and vomiting and having to have corrective surgery or be rebanded. I really am so confused right now. I know that all I want is to be healthy, no more high blood pressure, no more GERD, I don't want to be the biggest thing in the room anymore but I'm so nervous now.

I feel so bad for you! I had the same problem, they explained to me that they pumped my abdomen full of air/gas to inflate it for surgery, after they close you up your body has to absorb that air/gas and then expell it. I have some pics of my abdomen from the week after my banding, it looked like I wa 5 months Preggers...It will go away.

Also, when your having problems with swelling, NO SALT AT ALL. NO SALTY FOODS, NO SALT ON YOUR food. NO SALT. Be honest with yourself about your salt intake and get rid of it to improve your swelling...take it from a person that had swollen everything from head to toe!

Tomina08 if your just starting your seminar, you still have at least a few months to go until getting banded. Have you had your blood pressure checked? That could be causing your swelling. Ask for a diuretic, it will remove the excess Water from your body and give you some releif. I had some problems like that where I was retaining so much water that I was in pain, I asked my doctor for something he gave me Hydrochlorathiazide. I literally peed out pounds of water that I was retaining. Don't Give up!

This is my first band, got it on 6/30/08, and I pretty much did my own thing as far as food is concerned since the day I got home. I tried the liquid thing but I was absolutly starving and I couldnt take it. Being so obese for most of my life I always over ate and I never experienced what hunger truly actually actually felt like and once I got banded and started experiencing my stomach actually growling and feeling uncomfortable from really being hungry, I just couldnt take it. So I looked at what the nutritionist told me I can and cant have and I started doing research on calories and all and I do my own diet. I have not had my band fille dup yet, probably next week they will finally get to me and the experiment will begin again...I don't know if its good or bad what I am doing, and I do walk at least a mile a day or more for exercise. I just know I am desperate to lose weight with out that hungry feeling...

Maybe they did leave yours on. but I had surgical incisions North south east and west and they took off my entire gown, the north, just onder my brest was to get to the hepatic hernia and repair it, east for the camera west for the post and the two small "south incisions" and they strap all your limbs down arms, lower and upper legs. You were probably naked too, you just may not have been naked until you were out, I already had an IV and I was awake and talking to the docs adn nurses until they were ready to start.

It only took about 4 months from start to surgery! I went to the first seminar, I gave them my medicaid card, they scheduled me ot see the surgeon, he examined me and set me up for a long list of tests (I will be happy to look in my file for the names for you, I'm at work right now) it was about 7 different medical tests, got the results and scheduled my surgery date pending Medicaid sending the approval back. Once the last test results came in it took about 14 days and I received an approval letter in the mail from Medicaid, I called the Hospital and advised them I got it, faxed it to them and they set my surgery date solid right then. I got offered an excellent new job which was a career move so I had to push back my surgery from June 3 to June 30. I was a painless and seemless process to get medicaid to pay for the banding. I am 5' 8" and at the time 339 lbs I had some acid reflux problems (which turned out to be a hepatic hernia, which the surgeon repaired while banding me) and I have high blood pressure. Medicaid gave me no problems and no delays! Please let me know if I can tell you anything else!

Eat Pasta with some heavy red sauce and lay down right afterwards. Wake up at about 2 or 3 am and do it again, you will have that 5 lbs. Before you go to the weigh in, drink as much Water as you can stand and DO NOT go to the bathroom before you weigh, a completely full bladder adds almost a whole pound. I hate to tell you how to gain weight, but I totally understand what you are trying to do

FYI, I hate for ANYONE to see me naked except my husband so it was a difficult thing for me too, I just swallowed my pride, got my brazillian wax on, freshly shaved my legs and underarms, got my hands, toes, and hair done and hoped for the best...

Sorry guys, but you will be COMPLETELY naked during the surgery...So make sure you get nice and shaved up..lolol! Its not that bad, they will give you an REALLY LARGE hospital gown before you go into surgery and they tell you that you must take everything off underneath. They will very tactfully uncover you only inside the actual surgical room right as you are about to be strapped down and sedated...Also here is another news flash, the day of the surgery, you have to meet with a whole slew of Doctors that are involved with your surgery and most of them need to see some part of your bare midriff area, also the doctor may even come in and write on your abdomen...its ok, they do this surgery all the time and theyhave see better and worse...

Hello Everyone! I was banded 6/30/08 at Mercy Hospital in Chicago, IL Dr. Rami Lufti. The staff there is very nice.

Hey, I am in IL and Medicaid not Medicare is what paid for my surgery 100%. I went through Mercy Hospital's progran for LapBanding. now that I am post-op I have to pay only $3 per visit. Please let me know if I can help you with any questions, I was just banded 6/30/08 and I saved every scrap of paper that i have thats associated with this surgery!

Frustrated, lets encourage each other because I know exactly how you feel, I was banded 6/30/08 and I still have not had any fills yet and I am at a point where I am totally frustrated and discouraged because its like I can pretty much eat regular meals or whatever, I got the lapband because I need help and right now I feel like its not helping. I started out at 339 and as of yesterday I was down to 313.2 but I have been taking organic appetite supressants and forcing myself to drink insane amounts of Water adn eat only one small all Protein meal a day because I so desperately want to lose this weight and get healthy. I know in my heart that I just need to get this Lapband program on the right track so it can really work for me because I have read some very encouraging stuff on LBT, but yes you are not alone, the path to getting on the right track with the Lapband is frustrating! I'm doing my best to be patient and not lose hope. I would be happy to be a friend anytime you need one!

Ok, here is my fat story/most embarassing moment/last straw: (I feel the tears welling up now)

I LOVE LOVE LOVE roller coasters and I went to Six Flags Great America here in IL where I live, I wanted to ride Batman and the park was PACKED. I waited in line 2 hours, made it to the front of the line, hopped up in my seat, which was a tad bit tight, and then when I tried to close the harness, I WAS TOO FAT, it wouldn't even lock on to the FIRST CLICK, they had FOUR GUYS pushing and pulling this harness just trying to get it to click one time, then they start yelling for some special equipment, I just started begging them to just let me out. I got off the ride and let everyone have their fun. Needless to say I have never cried like that in my life, I left the park and I have not been back since. My secret goal is to lose enough weight to return to Great America and ride EVERY roller coaster in the park.

All I can say is I arrived at the hospital at 9am for an 11am surgery and I didn't get wheeled into surgery until 5:57 pm EVERYONE had packed up and gone home or gone into surgery already except for the one nurse that had to wait with me. They had turned off pretty much everything and locked up for the night, I thought they actually forgot about me. I was so nervous by this time I almost called it off. I came out of surgery after 8pm so I was totally alone with just me and the last two nurses who had to wait for me before they could go home, in the recovery area. I was finally taken to my room around 10:15pm. I was dead tired and SO THIRSTY. It was a little scary becasue everyone that had come to support me in beginning my journey had to leave so they could go home and get ready for work the next day so I was alone. My husband had to be with our children but he kept calling me to make sure I was ok and I couldn't even speak to him due to the thirst. I spent the whole next day in the hospital and went home the following day, by the time I was waiting to go home I lost the ability to speak because my mouth was so dry from being so thirsty. Right before I walked out of the hospital to come home they finally gave me just a few small sips of Water. It was a wierd experience to say the least!

Hello Everyone!

I was banded on 6/30/2008. I really need some support or some help or maybe just some words of wisdom! First I was having some serious second thoughts right after I had my surgery, I was in a lot of pain and discomfort, even just a few sips of Water would have me feeling so full that I thought I was going to explode. I was taking in about 200-300 calories per day and I lost 14 lbs. within the first 7 days after my surgery. I went to my post op appointment and they really only told me to keep up the good work, try to take in more Protein and see you in about 5 weeks. Fast forward to the last 2-3 weeks. I feel like I dont even have the band in. When I get hungry I can pretty much eat a normal amount which is really making me nervous. I do my best to cut out all the bad foods and things that caused me to get obese in the first place. I have gained back about 3 lbs since I started eating food again, this really makes me nervous. I realized that before I had the surgery I was so used to overeating that I never actually felt the feeling of being hungry for years. When it came upon me after the surgery I didnt even really recognize the feeling and it scared me. Did this happen to anyone else? Now that I have the band in, it has not been filled yet, sometimes I wait until I feel hungry and other times I catch myself slipping back into my old ways and eating something just because...I feel really lost and confused right now? I started out at 339 lbs and I am now at 320, I walk at least 1 mile, 5 or more times per week but its like I'm stuck. Did I make the wrong decision to have this lap band or am I just destined to be obese?

So dazed and confused.:thumbup: