appleashley1211

Ok, so I talked to a nurse at the clinic I get my fills done and they said it sounds like some serious heartburn and acid reflux and suggested that I take prilosec over the counter. The doctor also wants to see me Monday to check out my band especially considering that I have been throwing up alot more in the past month or so. I am hoping maybe the reflux has something to do with it and taking a little of my fill out will remedy the problem. I would much rather have to really control my eating habits than throwup everything I eat and feel horrible afterwards. Plus, I always like to be prepared for the future, so that if (heaven forbid) my band and I are seperated, I know I can control my eating enough to stay on track and NEVER lose the weight again! anyway, Ill let the thread know what happens! Thanks for your input!

Ok, I don't understand what the problem is.. but all day today(and it has happened before) I feel like my stomach is burning! I can't keep anything down, not even Soup and the burning just won't go away. I tried to calm it down with tums.. didn't work, with milk.. didn't work! I'm hungry and frustrated, has anyone gone through this before?! I have also had serious acid reflux for the past couple of months, ever since I hit the 100lb mark. I'm confused, I have great days and total crap days (such as this one)!!

Hey everyone,

So I have been banded since Jan. 12, 2009 and have lost a total so far of 91lbs (from 275 lbs.) I was a size 26 and am now somewhere between a 12 and 14. I hadn't really considered PS before, but my stomach is well... disgusting! I can still not see my belly button because the skin did not return to normal and still hangs over, and below that I have an "overhang" as I refer to it. I can see the skin folding and when I take a close look, I just know it is not going to go back to normal. Now, because of this skin issue, I am afraid to lose more weight and make it look worse, if that is possible so now I am considering PS. I need advice though. I have ready a few posts that say don't do it until you have had all the children you want, but honestly... am I really supposed to live the next ten years ashamed of this body I have worked so hard for? So, with all this said, I need to know if anyone knows a surgeon in the San Antonio, TX area that I can go to for consultation.

I thought about having insurance take a part since I do frequently get a rash around my belly button that itches, but it doesn't stay for a long time once I start paying attention to it.. is that enough to see someone for it to claim it for insurance?

I am really distraught about this issue, looking at myself in the mirror naked still grosses me out because of how undefined my stomach looks. If i lean over at a 45 degree angle, I can see all the skin flop forward and behind it is the body I SHOULD have, right there waiting to be revealed. I need advice and some resources to go to. Searching for them on this site would take hours... so anyone that can help me find a surgeon that does this kind of thing would be helpful. And, andyone who has had an extensive tummy tuck.. please feel free to give me advice or share with me your story. Thanks everyone!!!

I'm here! So... the last post I made on our other thread about me being hungry was really upsetting to me but I kind of have a new outlook. I was reading through other threads like ours for different dates and noticed that the ladies that posted saying they wre hungry were in their 20s and those that reported no appetite were in their late thirties and older. I'm wondering if age has something to do with it... maybe the drive of our metabolism? Its a thought.

Anyway.... to update everyone on the situation, I was having terrible hunger pains earlier! I'm talking pains like I haven't eaten in days-and i haven't!-to the point that I was in tears. My Dr.'s instructions were to eat broth like Soups, and sugar free flavored water until week 3 and I havent even cleared week 1 quite yet. Instead of trying to eat something, I decided to go to a local nutrition store and bought a Protein Shake mix that is great on sodium, sugar, and carbs. The helpul lady at the store told me that there are alot of people with lapbands that come in to buy the same shake and she suggested that ground flax seed is a great supplement for women and when added to the Protein shake aids to fill you up. She said not to mess with benefiber or those other commercial Fiber supplements because they expand in your stomach and can cause blockage to lapband patients so I bought some ground flax seed to add to the shake. It definately helped! I HAD to get rid of my unhappy stomach because I was miserable. I am going to keep those on hand when my stomach gets like that again which I think is probably the better option than trying to eat. I am going to call Monday and make my 2week appointment so I don't have to wait too long. I am getting a fill that day too, which I hope will take this hunger away!

Alright girls... as much as it sucks to admit this, it seems as if I am the only one with an appetite and I'm really having a hard time with it. I wish I had no appetite, and it was a struggle for me just to drink my liquids like alot of you have written but I guess I'm not that lucky. I have been starving since yesterday. My stomach growls and hurts really bad like it did before my band when I didn't eat and nothing seems to help. I'm not supposed to add any of the creamier Soups or Protein Shakes for another full week according to my instructions. Im only on crystal light, propel, and chicken broth.... nothing thick or of any real consistency. My stomach hurts so bad that I want to cry because I know I can't eat and I WON'T eat at any cost. I'm really upset that this is happening to me... I feel like my body and band are sabotaging me!! I feel no restriction at all, and I don't understand... what are everyone else's diet instructions? Which band did you get? maybe that makes a difference on how restrictive it is if its a different brand. Mine is the Realize band. How are you getting Protein?

Hello everyone.

I was just banded on Monday Jan 12th and I have been following the diet and drinking only sugar free liquids (crystal light, propel, and Protein water) and broth but I don't know if I am identifying when I get full. It seems like I haven't gotten full but maybe once since the surgery. It's like I don't have a band sometimes, in my opinion, but I know its there. Still, I'm not sure what to think, I can drink and drink and I don't feel very different. Has anyone experienced this? Is it normal? I also haven't felt the least bit nauseous since the surgery and I was under the impression that I would barely be able to ingest a few ounces of liquid at a time or I would feel like I was going to be sick?! I also have been kinda hungry for food... whats going on?

By the way, some of us have been blogging at bandedtogether09.blogspot.com. If you would like to join us, just leave your email addrss and I will send you an invite.

Thanks friends for being here and knowing what I am going through!

I'd like to be invited to the blog. My email address is appleashley1211@yahoo.com. Thanks!!

So, how old is everyone and where are we all from here? It makes it easier to identify people if I know a little about them, how about ya'll?

My name is Ashley, I'm 23 years old from San Antonio,Texas.

I'm very glad to have this thread to come and check in on... it is comforting to know I am not going through this alone! So far I have lost 4 lbs since monday when I got the band. I wieghed 274lbs upon being admitted to the hospital and I weighed myself just now and am at a solid 270. I feel I should be more excited... it just seems like it has taken me so long to actually see results that it is almost unbelievable if that makes any sense?!

I agree with all you girls that the gas pain is very bothersome. I listen to my stomach rumble and turn with gas all day. At times I get a very stiff feeling behind my breast bone. My doctor inserted a tube that runs from the band site out of one of the incisions and to a ball or medication that is released every hour directly to the band on my stomach... i don't know how much it helped, but it became empty today and my mom had to pull the tubing out of my incision which was horrid. I could feel the tubing winding its way around my organs... gross! I'm glad its out. Now I just have to deal with the gas pain and some of my hunger. I had to sit in my college classes today and watch my friends eat up a storm while i sipped on my crystal light.... fun!:sneaky:

How is everyone else doing with wanting to eat things? How long are your liquid diets? Mine is supposed to be 6 weeks!

Ashley

Hello everyone. I wish i had found this thread soon so I could introduce myself before the surgery but I just had my lap band surgery the 12th of January also. I am really sore on the side where my port is and i have a "pain ball" coming out of one of my incisions that releases pain medication every hour for a couple of days. The dr instructed my fiance to take the tubing out of me when it shrivels up... not looking forward to that. Anyone else having an indegestion feeling or gas pain?

Hello fellow SAtowners! I have been looking for a local thread and finally found one. I got my band Monday Jan. 12th with Dr. Stegemann. I feel ok... how was everyone's recovery process?

So I'm joining the band wagon and posting an introduction of myself... I am a 23 year old born and raised in San Antonio, Texas and currenly weight 270 lbs... the most I have weighed all my life! I have always been heavier than others, and no one else in my family has a wieght problem but me:thumbdown:. In fact, my mother was a size 1 when she graduated from highschool... I was a 20! I am the mother of a two year old daughter that is a firecracker like her mommy was at that age and actually wieghed 20lbs less the day I went in to the hospital to give birth to her. I am a full time college student at Incarnate Word and am graduating in December! I just recently got engaged to the greatest guy alive, Matt, and we have set the date for November 6, 2010. :confused:

My lapband surgery is scheduled for Monday January 12, 2009. It feels like just the journey to get me to the point of surgery has been long and hard (and not to mention, expensive). While working at a private preschool, I met a great young lady, Carrie, the mother of one of my students who encouraged me to look into weightloss surgery after she had experienced success with gastric bypass. I went to a great and well known doctor and he agreed I was a great candidate for either surgery. They submitted to my insurance and I was denied because I wasn't 23 yet... conveniently for the insurance company, when that 23rd birthday arrived, I was dropped from my parents insurance. Soo, we had extend the contract through a third party called Cobra.... which we are now paying over $400 a month to keep all my same benefits. Once that was done, we submitted to the insurance again, this time they denied me because Cobra has a clause that indicates the surgery may only be performed by an in-network surgeon... so I switched doctors. Dr. Stegemann submitted to the insurance and after two long weeks of expecting yet another snag in the deal, they approved me! That was three days ago, and my surgery was scheduled for the following monday. Believe it or not, I left alot of details out for the sake of being too lengthy but that really didn't work out huh?!

I can't say I'm scared... and I'm not even that disappointed by my six week liquid diet or the fact that I may never eat a steak or bread again. I think I am just done with this body, and firmly believe that I hold alot of pain in this extra fat... and will be GLAD to be rid of it. Finally. I'm excited to be the bride that I always envisioned I would be.. and walking down that isle in a size 12 or even smaller will bring tears to my eyes just as much as the new life I will be walking to with Matt and our little girl. Sounds completely mushy, but thats ok... its better to say it than keep it all in. I think thats enough for now.. thanks for reading!

Apple Ashley