cat lady

I am one month out and was just put on blood thinner (levonox shots - 2 a day). I had a pain on my left side and some palpatations at the same time. They were afraid it was a blood clot. One of my blood tests also came up high for clots. So now I am on 2 shots a day. Not happy with this but have to do it as a precaution against clots which can be serious. Seeing a Pulm. specialist next week. Hope to get off them soon. CAT

Hi All: I'm one month out and experienced pain on my left side on Wed. Called Dr. on Thurs and he said to go to ER to get an X-Ray. They believe it is a blood clot since one of my blood tests came up high. They said everyone's test comes up high after surgery but should have dropped after 1 month. To me it feels more like muscle pain on my side. Hurts when I get up and down from a lying position. Hurts when I sneeze or cough. All scans were inconclusive. Now they put me on levonox (2 shots a day) just to make sure. They saIid the only test that would show for sure is a CAT scan with contrast which I am allergic to. I can take it if pre medicated with predisone & benadryl to prevent allergic sysmtoms from the dye. The DRs were opposed to this with the band. Did anyone else have a similar situation with blood clots after 1 month out. I was doing and feeling fine? A little depressed right now. Seeing a Lung specialist next week. CAT

I was banded on 7/25 and dr. told me no heavy exercise not even zumba.....until 6 weeks out. Only walking at this stage until you are fully healed. My weight loss is slow also. Lost about 16 lbs total. But I must say it is going down a little every few days and that is okay with me. They say 2 lbs a week average is what to expect. Dont get discouraged it will come in time. Especially after a fill.

Same here Johnathan......the meetings really seem to help especially when you hear everyones concerns about the band. Gives me confidence in what I am doing.

Sorry you wont be there.....will fill you in on everything. Chris

Hi May: I was put on mushies after 2 weeks post op, which was this past Monday. I'm enjoying the change from liquids but the weight loss does slow up a bit. They told me not to exercise yet....wait for my next appt in 1 month. Walking is okay to do now. Not as fast losing the weight as I would like but starting to feel like a normal person eating somewhat again. I also am frightened to think about what will happen when I get to the next stage after mushies. Hope the losing continues. Good Luck CAT

I only told my husband and married children before the surgery. I could not deal with opinions from everyone bcause I was struggling with my decision to do this. So glad I did it. Now after the surgery told a few close friends. Some seemed put off by the fact that I kept it to myself. But, I did this for ME and I had to do what was comfortable for ME. Now they seem to understand my feelings about this. Is not something I wanted to announce to the world especially bfore it happened. CAT

Very inspiring all of you. I am only 2 weeks post op and If I had my choice I would not rush to get a fill. If I am losing even slowly I would rather continue until I really need one. I think most of the problems occur when people get filled too tight. Am I being foolish thinking I can do this without any fill? The dr. said he put some in at time of surgery but did not say how much. Said he did not know? I am not starving and looking for food the way I did bfore banding. CAT

Thanks for the advice on salads......I will definately wait! CAT

Wonderful surgeon. Had mine done on 7/25 and very happy with him. He is very experienced and did a great job with mine. Two weeks out and incisions almost totally healed. No real bad pain from this at all. I would highly recommend him and Syosset Hospital. CAT

Same here.....best decision I've made for myself. Only 2 weeks post op....lost 14 lbs and feel teriffic. Surgery not bad at all....I was expecting much worse. Little pain but very tolerable. Hope things continue to go smoothly. CAT

Hi: Banded two weeks ago and want to know when I can have salad. No problem eating mushies so far. Don't know if salad is considered mushie???

I had the surgery on 7/25. I had some shoulder and neck pain and the heating pad releaved it alot. Also used Gas X but I don't think that helped as much as the heating pad. Try it. CAT

Thanks for all the helpful advice on eating out at mushie stage. Turned down an invite to go out to eat last weekend. Was still on liquids and could not imagine what I would get. Now on mushies it seems doable. You are right we need to feel like we can socialize like a real person. It makes you feel alot better. CAT

Will try to be there on the 16th. Are you planning on going Mary? CAT

Sharing a NSV: I have worked for the same man for 22 years. He is a 82 year old fittness buff who is in great shape .....but doesn't eat real food at all. Always tells me I have to lose weight and go on a diet. He is very wealthy & crude but not a happy person at all. I did not and would never tell him about the lapband. So Friday he says to me "have you lost some weight....your face looks prettier". When I told him I did he said "if you lose 30 lbs I'll give you a bonus". I just grinned and bit my tongue. Hope I can do this.....CAT

73 lb loss is a great success no matter how you achieved it. Having this surgery is not an easy thing to do. It is a difficult decision to make. You did the right thing for you and don't ever let anyone second guess your choice. It was the right thing for you and you don't need to explain why you chose this for yourself. You have accomplished what you set out to do and had a terrific result. I say keep them guessing and don't put any more on FB. CAT

Great job and good luck with your first fill. I am two weeks out and starting to feel deprived from only eating liquids. Can't wait for mushies. Friends were all going out to dinner tonight and I declined. Just figured it would be too hard to just have soup if they were all eating. My hunger has totally come back now so I really think I need a change to mushies at this point. Did you find it hard to lose when you started eating solid foods again? How many calories are you supposed to have at that point in the diet? Just thinking ahead. CAT

I havn't heard that your weight drops after a fill right away. Take all the credit for the loss.....you are doing really well. I'm losing slow but its been steady.....thats okay with me. Hope it continues. Starving now since I'm still doing liquids. Seeing Dr. G Monday bfore going to mushies. CAT

Take a deep breath and relax.....we all had the same feelings right before surgery. I can tell you that the surgery was very easy for me and I am 63 yrs old. I was afraid of complications but so far.....none. Being selfish to better your health is a good thing and we all finally got to the point where we needed to get selfish and think of ourselves! Good Luck & God Bless.......CAT

Amazing weight loss Cindy.......No wonder you can feel your port you dropped so much weight.....very inspirational ! CAT

Congratulations on your approval!!! I was also thrilled to be approved after being denied by my ins. Was banded 7/25 and very happy I did this. Good Luck on your journey......CAT

Don't beat yourself up like that. Life has its ups and downs. We all go thru periods of stress where we just eat whateve is in front of us. You know what you did wrong. You still had a great weight loss and even with the gain you are still down by about 50 lbs. That is amazing. Just get back on track and focus on yourself........you will drop the extra 20 lbs in no time. Good Luck CAT

Nine days out banded 7/25 lost 13 lbs to date.......Going to mushies next week.....cant wait! CAT