Jenfs5

Well I just had to have a cat scan the other day. Let me explain.

I have had this pretty large feeling lump in my upper abdomen. I notice it because if I put my hand on it when I walk I can feel it moving. I have had it for a while and I keep forgetting to ask my dr what it is. I was thinking maybe it was the tubing going down to the port. So I saw my surgeon at work (I work at the hospital) the other day and it was on my mind and I had him feel it. Well at first he thought it was my rib...LOL But we were just standing in the hall in the hospital so he told me to come in to the office so he could examine it better. So I went in and while I was laying down he said he thought it was just my port, but when I stand up it seems to move way up my abdomen. But he wanted a cat scan to confirm that nothing was wrong. Well everything is fine but I guess my muscles either move or contract or relax or something so that my port seems to be about 6 inches higher when I am standing than when I am laying down. So to make a long story short everything is fine even though it feels HUGE when I am standing up but not so big when I lay down.

But you should still check with you Doc to make sure yours is ok too if it feels strange to you.

LOL, I am sure that you will be fine starting the full Liquid Protein a few hours early. I started a few days early and then started eating scrambled eggs early too. I am not promoting it though. IF you can stick to the liquid as long as possible it will really jump start your weight loss.

Hey it is no problem with the questions. I am glad I can help. I know before I made my decision to go thru with this it helped me to talk to a couple of people that had already done it. I have been very open with people about my having surgery and if by doing that I can help someone else then I am very glad to do it.

Maybe what he meant by making your band real tight meant that he put some saline in when he put the band in. IF you read on here there are some people that have it in from the beginning. I know that with my band he did not put anything in when he did the surgery. But who knows you will get the correct answer if you ask him at your appointment I guess.

Yeah I tried that fuzzy navel stuff...YUCK...LOL Good luck with finding a shake you like though, but you will probably be off them soon anyway.

Ha Ha I am far from a pro...LOL. But sure you can ask me questions. I will say up fron that I have not been a model patient though.

As for the beach this weekend. I know that we are not supposed to go swimming until he clears you after your first follow up. Now me on the other hand, did I listen to that...NO. I went to an indoor Water part 8 days after surgery. I climbed all the stairs and rode all the waterslides. I did not get in a pool of water though because I did not want to push my luck too far. I also covered all my incision sites with waterproof bandaides. Well lo and behold I had a really bad reaction to the adhesives and had these HUGE red itchy welts on my stomach for about 2-3 weeks after that. I guess I got what I deserved for not following orders.

I was also not very good at making my Protein Shakes with water. I did a lot of Soup broths and then just said the heck with it and made my shakes with lactaid milk. I guess that is why I did not see a huge drop while on the liquid phase.

I think all the stitches we had are internal and they should dissolve on their own. I say this because I had 2 incision sites that had stitches poking out of them. Dr Zarif said my body was rejecting them, but they just fell off with the scabs eventually.

As far as fills, I have only had 2. Firts of all I have a huge needle phobia. And yes for me the first one hurt like hell and I did not get numbed first. I think it hurt because of going thru scar tissue. The second fill was much better than the first, it did not hurt much at all. I asked to be numbed before the 2nd time but he said the lidocaine hurts more than the fill and did it without it.

Now for what I usually eat in a day...hmm. Since I have only had 2 fills I do not have much restriction yet. I have not come across anything that I cant eat yet. I try to eat Protein the most but it does not always happen that way. Breakfast for me depends on if I am going to the gym in the morning or not. If I do go to the gym I try to eat something small before I go like turkey sausage or sometimes a little bit of Cereal. Then after the gym and while I drive to work I usually eat a fruit, yogurt and granola mixed up. But if I dont go to the gym I uaually eat a bigger breakfast like scrambled eggs with turkey sausage and toast or sometimes a bowl of cereal and turkey sausage. For lunch I have been eating a turkey and mozzarella cheese sandwitch on arnold thin rounds I think the bread is called. It is a little denser and not quite as soft as regular bread. And I usually have some fruit and a yogurt with it. sometimes I have a salad or some chicken instead of the sandwitch . For dinner I usually eat chicken or some other type of meat if I have it and a veggie, usually green Beans with almonds and sometimes a yogurt or some almonds. I tend to eat the same things a lot so I have been trying to find different things to eat so I dont get tired of the same old stuff.

I hope this helps...I feel like I have typed a book...LOL.

Have you gotten a post card yet for this months support group meeting? Oh and what type of Protein Shake are you using? I used to drink nectar brand chocolate truffle and mix it with lactaid milk and a half a bannana. I absolutely loved it when I was pre and post op. but not after getting my fills I cant stand it...LOL. So for after my fills I have just been using a pre-packaged shake. I think it is adkins chocolate shake and it is not too bad.

I was at last months meeting too...LOL. See we have already met and did not know it. I work at AGH and there are a couple of us that have already had the surgery and still more that are planning to get it. If you just keep working at it the weight will keep coming off. Sometimes it can be frustrating because it is not always as fast as we want it to be, but it does happen. I too am pretty young (33) with multiple health problems. That is one of the major reasons I decided to have the surgery. I was on the low end of the BMI scale to get it and I kept getting soooo tired of everyone saying either "you are not fat" or "you are not big enough to get surgery". Well obviously I was or I would not have qualified for it to begin with. I felt this was the only way I was going to be able to get it off and KEEP it off. And I wanted to conquer this while I am still young and before it got even further out of hand and I just got bigger and bigger... Know what I mean?

Has anyone ran across this tips from a slow loser .....intresting.

Thanks for posting this, it seems to have given me a jump start again.

Welcome KC and Jay. It is good to meet some new people on here.

I just want to say

GREAT JOB JASON

You have been doing a fabulous job so far. Just think of the success you will have with both the band and your determination. Keep up the positive attitude and the hard work and you will succeed.

Wow glad someone else finally posted here...LOL

Congratulations on being banded. I know it is a big step and I absolutely do not regret it and still think it is the best thing I could have done for myself.

Dont worry it will get better. I think it took me 4 days to finally really start feeling better. I had the horrible gas pressure and i was very sleepy yet it was hard to go to sleep because of the gas.

Have you been to any of the support group meetings? I try very hard to go every month. I think it is great to just talk to other people and to have a forum for open discussion for just about anything whether it is band related or not. The next meeting is July 14th I think (usually the 2nd tuesday of every month) but I have not gotten my mutiple reminder postcards yet. And it is usually from 6-8 PM in conference room 2 at AGH.

Keep in touch.

I just found a small Vitamin to take. IT is called one a day essentials. IT is no bigger than an aspirin. They just arrived in the mail today (had to order them from Amazon.com since no stores seem to carry them). I plan to show them to my nut and doc to see what they say. IF they like them maybe they will either stock them or get a local pharmacy to stock them.

Wow, I thnk it is kind of neat to see the different time limits the docs put on this. My doc says nothing to drink 30 min prior and 30 min after eating. I have seen others post that say they have to wait an hour after eating. I like the short times I have seen posted on here so far...LOL.

But in all honesty I think I used to do what everyone on here calls PBing before I got banded. If I went out to a restaurant and ate I would drink some while I ate but would drink the most after I had eaten. Well usually on my way out the door to the car up would come my food. I think the drink just overfilled my stomach and it had no where else to go but up and out. I have never done this since being banded. Granted I have only been banded for 2.5 months and I dont think I have much restriction yet, but the no drinking clause I think is what is helping with that.

Hello everyone. Another Jen here. I live near Salisbury Maryland. I am 33 years old and never married. I have no pics on here yet, but I am somewhere around 5'8 with blonde hair and green eyes. I too think it would be neat to meet other people that are banded. And yes that means guys or girls (girls only as friends I am not Bi...LOL). I have no idea how to send someone a private message but if someone wants to send me one maybe I can figure out how to reply... :thumbdown:

Oh and by the way I am a crusing addict so if anyone ever wants to go on a cruise look me up...LOL

what does NSV stand for????

It means non scale victory

LOL Jachut. I actually think the "shrinkage" may have helped me too BMI wise. If I was 5'9 my BMI would have only been 34.8 and I dont know if my insurance would have covered the surgery. But I do hope I get my height back. Maybe next time I go in for a fill I will have them measure me again.

Well I see lots of people are reading the board, but no one is posting. If anyone out there had been banded by Dr Zarif please give a shout out. Or if you are thinking of being banded by Dr Zarif and have any questions feel free to ask.

As I said in my previous post I think he is a great surgeon. He is always great with answering any questions you may have.

I used to be 5'6" but after I gained weight I was 5'5.5" due to the fact that the padding on my backside made me lean back a bit, thus appearing shorter. I am back at 5'6" when I got measured today! Woohoo! :confused:

Hey, maybe that is why I have shrunk too...LOL. I always used to be 5'9" but now they are telling me I am 5' 7.5". I did not believe them and had a different doctors office measure me and they said the same thing. And I am only 33 that is too young to be shrinking like that. I wonder if I will get mine back??? :thumbup:

OK I have been reading this post so I guess I will go ahead and post too.

Weight: It is slowly coming off. I am losing only about a pound a week. But it does fluctuate quite a bit and yes I know that because I weigh myself everyday...LOL. But from the start of this including pre-op diet until today I am down 29 pounds. Now if I could just lose 8 more I would be in ONEDERLAND..:bored:

Fills and restriction: I have had 2 fills, the first was 2cc and the second was 1.5 ccs. After the first fill I was hungrier than I was before the fill so I went back 3 weeks later for the second. That second fill was one week ago today and I still do not feel like I have any restriction. I can eat more than I should be able to eat. I have been trying very hard to eat better things, but I am only human and sometime I slip. But then I just get right back on the bandwagon and keep going. My next fill is scheduled for July 22nd (4 weeks away) so I may try to move it up if I start getting really hungry again.

Rules: I have done pretty good with the rules. I always eat my Protein first and try very hard to make sure I dont drink anything 30 min before or after I eat. The one rule that I am failing at is getting enough Water. I usually am lucky if I get over 50 ounces of water/crystal light a day. Now this is not unusual for me though. Even before surgery I never drank much either and with not being able to drink when I eat it is even harder now to find a time to drink anything. Of course my job makes it very difficult. To get a drink I have to stop working, take off the lab coat, wash hands and then go to the breakroom to get something to drink. So as you can see that alone makes it difficult to get liquids in.

Anything Else: Well even with my weight loss being slow I still think I made the right decision to do this and do not regret it one bit. Well maybe at that first fill when it hurt like hell...LOL. Luckily the 2nd one was not nearly as bad. I always did lose weight slowly on other diets and weight watchers too so I guess I am just destined to be a slow loser. I have been trying very hard to get to the gym at least 3 time a week. But I work a lot and am always grabbing overtime when it is available so sometimes my work schedule does not allow me to get there. My normal hours at my full time job are 1230pm to 9pm and sometimes I work from 9A to 9P or 7A to 9P and my gym closes at 930P so no opportunity to go after work. And I work weekends (not every weekend thank god) at my part-time job so I have given up going on the weekends. But I do try to do situps and squats and some wall pushups at home every night though.

Well I guess I have rambled on long enough for now. Good Luck to everyone out there :thumbup:

Hello, everyone! I too am still waiting for my 2nd fill and not having much restriction but the good news is that the fellowship doc's program is over so I will have to see my actual surgeon next time. Thanks for all your fill stories...I'm sure my next time will be less traumatic....

Fox--I get frustrated with the lack of decrease in the waist area too. My DH said the other day that my wrists were getting smaller. Oh yeah, that's what I was hoping would shrink!! LOL The weight always seems to go in other areas and our waist/hips go last! Hopefully we will both be seeing that happen soon!

Jen-very interesting about your job, I knew you needed degree to work in the lab but I know what you mean about underappreciated...I'm an RN but not at the bedside. I'm a case manager and nobody really knows what we do either...but it is one of the most challenging things I have ever done.

Kath, Yeah I think those that are not visible in healthcare (unlike doctors and nurses on the floor) that we tend to be underappreciated because people dont realize what we do and how important it is. But such is life we still love what we do or we would not be doing it...LOL.

I hope things go well for you when you get to see your normal surgeon instead of the fellowship doc. And if your wrists are shrinking well then that will give you an excuse to buy either a new watch or a pretty new bracelet..LOL

I guess I have been lucky since my waist is the first place I usually lose my weight. But I think that is because it is the last place I tend to gain. I am much heavier on my lower half than my stomach and I have lost about 3.5 inches from my waist in 2 months. Now if I could just lose that much from my hips and thighs I would be happy.

Kath,

Well depending on when it suits the hospital I can be classified either clinical or non-clinical. I am a Medical Technologist. Since most people, yes even many RN's in our hospital, have no clue what that is I will enlighten you. This means that I (and my coworkers of course) run all the tests in the lab. I work in Chemistry, Hematology, Urinalysis, Serology and Blood Bank. Pretty much everything but Microbiology. And no this is not something that you can do with on the job training, it requires a BS in Clinical Laboratory Science (or to be a medical Lab technician you can get an associate degree). But it is actually kinda funny that I dont work in Microbiology since my first BS was in Biology with a Micro speciality...LOL. But general Biology/Microbiology is completely different than the Microbiology you do in a hospital lab. Anyway sorry to ramble about my job. I do love it though, it is just a vastly underappreciated job, and not many people have any idea what it entails.

I am quite familiar with Sinai hospital. My mother was in and out of that hospital all the time. She was actually in a coma there for a little over a month. But I am not at all familiar with Caroll Hospital Center. Is it a small or large hospital? Where I work, we are very small. I think we only have 65 beds and all rooms are private rooms.

Oh by the way, I had my 2nd fill yesterday. This time it hurt much less than the first one and I did not have any lidocaine. They talked me out of the lidocaine because they said that it would sting so much more than the actual needle. He tried his trick again about using a smaller needle this time. My reply again was "there is nothing small about a huber needle..LOL" But I think it hurt so much more last time because of going thru so much scar tissue to get to it.

If you ever get over to the "eastern shore" let me know, maybe we can hook up for lunch or something.

Wow, I somehow totally missed the two month anniversary. Thanks for reminding me. I too think this is the best thing I ever did. I actually just went for my 2nd fill today. My first fill was 2cc and this one was 1.5 for a grand total of 3.5cc in a 10cc band. At least this time it did not hurt as bad as last time. I guess it is because of going thru the scar tissue...anyway I am rambling. Good luck everyone.

I had them and when all the scabs finally fell off (it took about 6 weeks) the stitches were attached to the scab so they fell off by themselves.

hey Jen--I'm in Maryland too! Where'd you have your surgery? And yes, I am going to ask about lidocaine. But the good news is, the assistant said it gets easier to access the port as you lose weight. Man, I hope so....

Hey Kath. I had my surgery at Atlantic General Hospital in Berlin Md (which is also where I work). I absolutely love my surgeon. It is kind of funny because even though I have worked at that hospital for almost 2 years now, I never knew who my surgeon was until I started this process. I knew him by name of course, but would not have known who he was if I sat right next to him...LOL. I am going tomorrow for my second fill (YUCK OUCH :wink2:) but I am sure I will make it thru. Where did you have your surgery?

When I had my first fill it hurt quite a bit. After it was over the nurse held onto me after they sat me up because I was white as a sheet...LOL. I got 2 cc's and I felt that I got hungrier after the fill than before the fill. So now I go back this Wed 6-17 for my second fill and I am going to tell him I want lidocaine.

I believe it was more common with the gastric bypass surgery because it was much more invasive and a some people died from throwing a clot. So maybe some surgeons are being ultra cautious and having lap band patients do it to? Just a guess, but as long as you are taking a low dose of it and are not needle phobic (like me) then there is no harm.

Most people dont have to have them after surgery. I am not sure why the original poster did. I happen to have an autoimmune disorder that makes me prone to clotting, so my rheumatologist wanted me to take them for a whole week post op. Luckily my surgeon talked her out of it (explaining how we are made to get up and walk right away) and I only had to do get the one before surgery and I had 2 more during my hospital stay.