Chunkster

I was banded in October in Belgium. Procedures may be different in the US, but this is what I experienced if it helps... I'll skip all the booking in and waiting ... First of all, when I was being wheeled to theatre on my trolley the thing that kept going through my head was 'Am I really doing the right thing here?' and 'Has my liver shrunk enough?' I'll be honest, I really wanted to jump off the trolley and run away and forget the whole thing, but now looking back, I'm so glad I went through with it. Just remind yourself why you are going through with the whole thing. Second ... If you have never had an operation the main thing to rember is not to panic. Just before I went under I remember feeling drunk as hell and my skin started prickling. I got half way through asking what the hell was going on and the next thing I remember was waking up post op and feeling freezing cold although they soon warmed me up. When I came round there was mild pain, but I won't lie to you here ... it got worse ... although never unbearable, but as the drugs wore off the pain definately increased. The main pain was at the port site. I spent one night in hospital under observation, then one night in a hotel. The most painfull part was again the port site. Sitting up off my bed was hard work. To stand up I had to sort of slide myself off the side off the side of the bed and ease myself up. The next day I traveled 100 miles home by train and this wasn't too bad. However, if you are thinking of driving after your op forget it. It is not safe. I have a physical job and I took about 10 days off work. By the time I went back I was fairly comfortable as long as I didn't lift heavy weights. From what I remember, I couldn't lie on my side for the first week, but that gradualy got better and looking back on it, it was only a short time of inconvieniece. The main thing is to take it easy. I did have gas pain in my shoulder for quite a long time (3 weeks or so), but this was not really pain, just a pain in the butt when it came to sleeping on my side As to worrying if your liver has shrunk enough ... I was told to do a 7 day low carb/low fat diet before the op. I'll be honest here, I only stuck to it for 3 days and worried about it more than anything else. My doctor told me AFTER the op that an enlarged liver is extreemly rare, but the diet is worth doing just incase. After all, you don't want to be that extreemly rare case do you? Sorry for the wall of text. Hope some of what I have typed helps. It's natural to be worried before an operation, but in a month you will look back on it and think it was no big deal and be happy you went through with it. Good luck!

Hi I first came to the forums shortly after my first fill yabbering on about how it worked. 3 months later I realise how wrong I was and it was all down to the fluids only regime after a fill. My question is ..... what is the difference in feeling between 'getting stuck' and proper restriction? I have 6.5 in a 10 band. If I eat too fast or don't chew enough I often get a stuck episode. However, I have rarely feel that full feeling. The stuck feeling for me is a pain in the chest and feeling like something is stuck in the eosophagus along with sliming (too much info i know) On the few occasions I have felt 'restricted' it was as if I had eaten WAY WAY too much and then drank a bottle of fizzy coke on top of it. Very uncomfortable, but VERY full. I would love to hear what 'restriction' is for you. Is it the stuck feeling or the 'if I eat one more bite I will pop' feeling? Getting worried that I only have 3.5 space left in my band and that it wont be enough.

Only had two fills so far (still in bandster hell), but both times I was lying down. First the doctor located the port, then jabbed the needle in. Then he drew out all the liquid in a calibrated syringe to check that the correct ammount was in there. After that he squeezed the blue Fluid back in and added some more. Whole process was painless on both occasions and cost me £80 each time.

Hi Spence I thought the same thing, but after my surgery I had the usual swelling restriction where I would feel full after half a Protein shake. It didn't take long after healing to enter bandster hell though. There were a few weeks when I could (and did) eat anything. Today I have had my first fill and since getting home I have had a tiny yoghurt and a can of Soup. This was several hours ago and I still feel full. I wouldn't have believed it either. I know this might be short lived until I hit my sweet spot, but my point is that although I love bad food ... pizza, fries, bacon sandwiches .... right now, after just a yoghurt and a can of soup, the thought of ANY food just doesn't appeal whereas before I would be struggling not to grill some bacon. Good luck!

Hi there. I'm a low BMI (34) self payed bandster from the UK. I started reading these forums about a week before I went for surgery, and I wish I had joined up back then. I saw a lot of what I was worried about in the pre op threads which helped and then after my op I have been hooked in to the post op thread thinking 'yup, thats me' :thumbup: The reason I have only just joined? Well, for some strange reason I was sure that lap band surgery wouldn't work. That somehow something would go wrong ... enlarged liver, band slippage, you name it. Sad I know, but that's the truth. It is only after I have had my first fill today that I realise it has worked and that all that worrying was for nothing. OK so it is still early days yet. I have only just started my journey out of bandster hell and I'm sure I will need more fills and encounter problems along the way, but I'm feeling positive now! I've joined up to share my experiences so far and to offer advice to anyone who has had the same concerns as me if I see them on the forums. Good luck everyone and see you around in the forums :mad2:

I'm not sure what smokeless tobacco is .... is it a substitute like nicotine Patches? If so then you get the benefits of not damaging your lungs, but if it is like nicotine patches or gum, you are still letting nicotine in to your body. Nicotine will increase blood pressure and heart rate ... Don't take my word for it though. I'm not a doctor I'm just going by the info I've read when I have tried quitting before. I feel a bit bad about saying I smoked just hours before my surgery. Obviously this is a BAD thing to do, but I was lucky it didn't affect my op. My advice would be to quit as early as possible and to go cold turkey (hard I know) so there is none of that evil nicotine we all love and hate in your body.

I meant to give up smoking a month before my surgery, but just couldn't do it. In fact I had a smoke on my way to the hospital a few hours before the actual operation to 'calm my nerves'. This did not cause any problems for me personally, but the longer you can give up the better. Whilst smoking is undoubtedly bad, I would not worry too much especially if you have stopped for 2 weeks. Your blood pressure will be lower after just one day of quitting, and after a few weeks your lungs will be more efficient and will have started cleaning themselves. Quitting even a week before surgery has got to be better than not at all so don't beat yourself up over it. Just try to make sure you stay quit AFTER the operation too as smoking slows the healing process. Once you are banded you won't have to worry so much about weight gain after quitting either :thumbup: Good luck with your band!