amylynns

14 months after surgery......I am down 105 pounds. Below my goal of 160 by 15 pounds! So amazingly happy with my results!! The first 6 months were total hell, but I made it!

7 months out, and I'm 1 pound from my main goal of 160!

Cannot believe that 6 months out, I am 11 pounds from my goal! 78 pounds gone!

I can do sit ups--it doesn't bother the port. My surgeon just told me last week that the more that muscle heals up in there-and the stronger I get, the less I'll feel the port. My surgeon doesn't do the fills right in the office like the videos on youtube. ( I watched those too!) Mine does them in the radiology dept with a live x-ray machine so he watches on the screen as he fills it. He gives me about 3 little numbing shots (that's the worst part) and then a "BIG" needle goes in for the actual fill, but you don't feel that at all. I always get a nasty bruise after my fill and the site is sore for a few days, but nothing that's not worth having the band! :-)

I've had 3 fills now....I asked him why they "wear off." He laughed and said they don't wear off...as you lose weight, you lose weight on the inside too...which makes the band loosen up. I'm down 46 pouns right now...feeling great!

Hi--I haven't been on here for a while--wondered if you've made a decision about the surgery yet?

I did end up in a really bad RA flare that started Valentines day weekend and went for about 2 wks. I ended up having to take Mobic to get the inflammation under control. My rhumy had me check with my band surgeon first--and he ok'd it, I just had to take some Prilosec along with the Mobic. I still ended up with some reflux, but no other bad effects from it as far as my band.

(my message was too long, gotta break it up into 2)

When I first came home from the hospital I could really feel the port for the band when I'd bend over. But now I don't. It's still kinda tender if I push on it, and you can feel it by touching it. But it's not bad at all. As far as the actual band, no- i don't feel it at all. I feel the restriction from it though. It's like if you eat too much of something too fast and it gets "stuck" right between your boobs.....that's what the restriction feels like. But I've learned to like that feeling-because then it's easy to quit eating! (because it hurts if you keep eating!)

You can ask me anything by the way---I don't mind at all! :-)

Hi! Sorry it took me so long to get back to you---Nope, no NSAIDS. But (crossing my fingers) so far, it's been fine. If I'm hurting much, I've taken Tylenol and that's worked well. The methotrexate has really seemed to make a difference, especially compared to the Plaquenil I was on. That's good your meds are working "ok" though. I don't blame you for not wanting to be on the "meth" though since you want more kids. I have 4, and we're done. :-)

Hi! What meds do you take? I take a liquid form of Methotrexate. You just drink it (mix it with about 4oz water) or it can be injected. It comes in a little bottle like insulin. It doesn't taste at all when it's mixed with water. I was taking pill form of Methotrexate and crushing it, but that tasted HORRIBLE!! My rheumatologist had no problem switching me to the liquid form. I get pretty nauseated from it, so he said we could try drinking it and if I was still sick from it, we could switch to injecting it. It's not "too bad" right now as long as I take it right before I go to bed.

For pain meds, I was wrongly told at my consultatation visit that if you get the band vs. the gastric, you can still take pain meds. That was wrong though--nothing like motrin, mobic, aleeve.... Only tylenol type meds. So far, that's working. My surgeon told me he could prescribe something if it got real bad. But since I've started the methotrexate and lost 35 pounds, I'm doing pretty good!

Hope that helps!