mtnman428

Thanks for the thorough response Snowbird. That is what I will probably end up doing; 1st fill there, then the rest here.

Thanks Lisa! Would taking an aspirin a day help (as a blood thinner)?? If so does aspirin hurt the band or stomach pouch (because I was told liquid Tylenol-if pain)? I haven't had anymore swelling, but that could be because I have done the treadmill for 30 minutes yesterday and today.

Hey Snowbird! I was just banded by Dr. Ortiz on 7/24. Did you go back to him for your 2 fills? He told me that if I went back to him for my fills than I would need fewer fills then if I got them here in the US. Do you agree? Does he make you so tight that you can't really eat much (is that why)? Do you have the 4cc band as well? I just wanted to know because I want to see if it is worth going all the way back to MX (6 hour flight +$$) instead of a local fill Dr. Thanks.

I'll be just ahead of you. I have Dr Ortiz on the 15th. Good luck

Hi all; its been pretty quiet here in Canada Lap-band land. Did everyone head to the lakes early for the August long weekend? I'm 2 weeks from my procedure and have lost 10 pounds on the pre-op diet. I am afraid a weekend of beer and BBQ is going to be too tempting to resist. I suppose a little binge shouldn't hurt.:biggrin: What do you think?

Oh, I hope that I don't have to go in every 2 months! That will get very expensive for me. I'm self-pay. Are your check-up-adjustments free? My first fill is in September.

Thanks for all of the help, it means a lot!

OK great thanks! I can't afford too many trips back to MX anyway, so that will be great if it gets accomplished with less.

Thanks for the speedy reply Julie! I've not had shortness of breath, so I guess that's good. I did the treadmill today for a half hour only at 2.7mph, and I'll keep doing it. I don't want to chance anything, after coming this far! Do you know when the chance for a clot goes away/is reduced??

Hello everybody! I have a crazy question. Are blood clots common/probable after this surgery? I was just banded on 7/24/08, and was feeling fine for the most part. Then last night I had a short, slight cramping in my left calf, that went away after a few seconds. My legs and feet have also been swollen off and on (but not really today), which I was attributing to the high sodium in the chicken broth. But lying in bed last night it was scaring me to think about a clot going to my heart! I had the surgery in Mexico (self-pay) and do not have health coverage here right now. I didn't want to just go to a Dr. for 1 cramp, then have to pay a big bill for nothing, but I also don't want anything bad to happen either. I'm also feeling the gas pains in my shoulder now and hadn't really before. Am I just being paranoid?? Thanks. PS) I also hadn't gone for a walk the last 2 days, but did the first 4 and today too.

Hi all, I was just banded on 7/24/08. My Dr. used the regular 4cc Lap Band. Is this going to be enough (VS 10cc) room for restriction?? Can anyone that has that size tell me please? Thanks

Nessa38, I was trying to figure that out myself before. Go to the main page, and to the left where all of the topics are (like, "general Lap-Band discussion"), click on one of those topics, then near the top of the page in blue it will say "new thread", click on that and write away!

Thanks for the encouraging insight PamTexas! I hope that happens to me too.

Hahaha, Diva you made me laugh-that's not good!:crying: I said the same thing to my sister, that she had better stop making me laugh...it is not always the best medicine! I too had my surgery on 7/24. I'm not having too much pain and I can kinda sleep on my side now. But yesterday and today I actually had a bit more shoulder and port soreness than the first few days post-op. I think that is due to my lack of walking the last 2 days for sure because the 1st few days I slowly walked quite a bit (site seeing in Mexico-no car), but since being home I took it easy and stayed in. Tomorrow I will be out for a walk. Have you lost any weight since the surgery?? I've only lost 1LB, and it is very frustrating!!! I've only been on clear liquids. I thought that would be the silver lining in the clear liquid phase, but no! I'm hoping that it is just bloating and water retention from surgery. Speedy recovery and weight loss!

Hey, I just got my band 5 days ago too!! I spoke too soon and was thinking that I didn't have any/much shoulder pain yet, but yesterday and today I have had a slight mild soreness in my shoulder area. The common thing with yesterday and today for me was that I didn't walk much. So tomorrow I shall go for a slow and steady walk. The first few days following surgery I was walking quite a bit (due to sight seeing in Mexico-no car) and I felt better. Question: Have you lost any weight since surgery?? I have only lost 1LB so far, which, I suppose I can attribute to bloating and Water retention, but it is still SO frustrating. I have been on only Clear liquids for 5 days now, and haven't been consuming very many calories! Are these pounds all just going to drop off at once, I wonder??:confused2:

Hi, I was just banded on 7/24/08. Coffee and tea is on my clear liquid phase list. I just can't have cream or milk in it, but the nutritionist said that non-dairy creamer is fine. So I went out and bought some Coffeemate pronto!

Hi NanaB, I just had surgery on 7/24/08. So far (knock on wood!) I have not had too much shoulder pain. Just some mild discomfort at times. I think that the whole walking suggestion really is the key, and I also took 2 gas-x strips every 4 hours or so (just in-case). I just walked slowly-no marathon needed. Hope this helps.

Mackie, my prayers are with you and your husband.

Quote: Originally Posted by vegasgirl44 Ok, if you get offended by that time of the month talk, I apologize, and please read no further. HOWEVER, if you are intrigued, please continue. I am on day 9 of my preop diet of Protein shakes. I am supposed to stay under 1200 calories per day and have actually been hovering around 600-700 per day. Saturday night I ate a package of turkey bacon. Sunday morning, I gained 1 lb and today, I woke up and gained another half lb. I simply cannot tell you how discouraging this is. I'm supposed to get my period next Monday (I think this diet has thrown me off schedule) but I'm already bloated and cramping. Maybe I'm starting sooner, but I'm still pissed off that my scale is not going in the right direction. I have not had anything except that damn bacon, and I still came in under 1200 calories that day. I think I just need encouragement and a similar story...yeah, that would help. My scale is going to go down a lot after my period comes, right? I'm 47 years old. I should know this by now, but I need a hug. :thumbdown: Or just some cheese with the wine. :cursing: Hey Vegas...I'm probably a bit late on my reply, but I just read your post and wanted to offer my opinion, and past experience on this. I do think that your period will affect your weight loss, and once it is over you should notice a drop (as long as you haven't cheated). However, I also think that the Turkey Bacon may be the culprit to your bloated weight gain. Even if that package of turkey bacon was in your calorie allowance, it still mostlikely had way over the recommended sodium intake for the day; which, probably retained Fluid in your body, making you bloated and more weight. I say this only from personal (bloaty) experience. Cutting some of the sodium should help with the bloating, as well as adding lots of Water to flush out the sodium. Although, my Dr. told me NOT to take any diuretics to take away the water. So just do it the natural way, and celery and cucumbers help too! I hope this helps somewhat. Good luck!:thumbup:

I just had to get online again (I'm addicted). Thanks Orea, and you have a safe surgery too in a few days!

OK, I'm really doing this!!!! I leave at 7:30AM for my surgery in Mexico; which, is scheduled for Thursday the 24th. I probably won't have computer access, but I'll get back onto Lapbandtalk when I get back after the 27th. Wish me luck please And Good Luck to all of the upcoming Lap Banders! :ihih::seeya:

Hi Steve, I just wanted to also reach out to you and say good luck with your issues. I'm also being banded in Mexico on July 24th. I leave on the 23rd-so soon! My story is much like yours. I lost 75LBs as a teenager, kept it off thru high school, then gained it back plus some. In 2002 I lost 87 more pounds, and swore that I would not let myself gain it back again! After a break-up I used food to comfort me, and just didn't care. That spiraled out of control, then it was harder to manage and/or lose the weight. Now I realize that I need more help other than calorie counting and exercise and I pray that the band will be the answer. I SO know what you mean by tasting the good life. I was so much happier with myself (and the attention) that I got as a thinner person. Now I won't even date (on the off-chance that I could) because of my own discomfort with my body. Whoo, seems like I had to vent too. Good Luck and safe trip to you!

Whoa, :ohmy: yeah find a new fill Dr.!!! $400 just for the visit is outrageous! What does he fill the band with-gold???

Yikes! Let's look on the bright side, and hope that we all get to our desired weight, health and happiness from our investments in ourselves! :ohmy:

Thanks Dr.C and SpecialK (and others before that)! Although now I guess it is too late for me to change anything anyways. My surgery is in less than 4 days!!! I had originally thought that I'd just be able to ask my Dr. for it, but I guess that the AP is not available in Mexico; which, I find so odd since Lap Band was available there before it was available in the US. I emailed Dr. Ortiz and he said that he will be placing the Lap Band, and that the AP is not really more advanced (and that it just has a mechanism that allows a Dr. to open it if he does not have the ability to open the buckle) He said that we could discuss it more when I get there Wednesday. I'm still not completely sure that the AP wouldn't be better for me, but I hope that the original one will be fine as well, since that's what it looks like I'm getting. :biggrin::blushing::ohmy::sneaky: