wicked

I had my revision (band to GB) on May 13th, stayed in the hospital until May 15th and have been recuperating at home since. The pain was awful immediately after the surgery, pretty bad the day after, bad the following days and it has been manageable today. I used the liquid hydrocone until yesterday but decided no more because... (TMI coming), I had no BM since the surgery and I was starting to get worried. Today I had my first BM and it felt like such a relief. I had to use Milk of Magnesia and Benefiber, but it was worth it (even just for the peace of mind). I'm constantly sipping in my 2 TBS cup so I hope I'm meeting my liquid requirements (I'm not tracking but sipping constantly). I'm having a hard time with drinking 2 Protein shakes each day. Yesterday, I managed 1 and a bit of another one. Today I'm still sipping through one. I'm not taking my Vitamins as of yet as my surgeon told me to wait for a few days until the stomach can tolerate it better; she did tell me not to miss my Omeprazole dose once daily for a month so I'm careful about that. I'm trying to walk around; though I live in a studio apartment so there's only so much space to walk around, but I have even dared to dance a little bit and it was okay. I have weighted myself a couple of times and I was a bit surprised to see that the scale went up since surgery. I have read a few posts of people freaking out about gaining a few pounds in the days after surgery and I can't seem to relate. I honestly do not care right now. This is surprising because my number one reason for having the GB was to look better (there, I said it). Yet, the scale not moving (or moving in the wrong direction) does not bother me at all now. I can only focus on making it through the recovery stage in one piece and as healthy as possible. I ventured over the "complications" forum and decided that it is not a healthy place for me right now. I'm glad people with complications have a place to post and get support and help but after reading a few posts, I got so paranoid and worried. I had to stop. I have had moments of regretting the surgery, especially when the pain was very pronounced. I still have these moments when I think that I could be full of energy right now and go to work and hang out with friends... but they pass quickly. So I hope I'm doing okay after all.

I'm SO sorry to hear about what happened to you. Please please tell me that you are raising hell about what they did/suing the hospital/making sure that he never gets to operate on another person ever again. They cannot get away with such criminal incompetence. Wishing you a speedy and SAFE recovery.

Congratulations! I had my revision this past Wednesday and left the hospital today. The pain has been pretty bad for me but I keep positive and remind myself that it is all going to be worth it in a few days when the pain (hopefully) subsides and I can return to a more normal routine.

Hello everyone. I had my revision (lap band to GB) this past Wednesday, May 13th and just left the hospital today, Friday, May 15. The hours after surgery and first hours on Thursday were pretty bad; lots and lots of pain. I was lucky to have a wonderful team of people taking care of me and my nurse in the immediate acute recovery unit who was truly amazing and really started me off on a good path towards recovery. Now that I'm home, I'm trying to manage the pain with the liquid Hydrocodone... but I don't wan to take it around the clock as it makes me tired and energy-less. I have a bunch of Unjury protein powders to try and my good old GNC protein shakes. For now, it' s hard to believe that I would be able to keep a whole shake down (even if drinking at the 20 minutes interval) but I hope it will change as I want my energy back! It's too soon for me to be in the "happy" phase of recovery but I'm definitely in the hopeful phase. Congratulations to all the other May GB people for your successes and perseverance; reading your testimonies has been inspiring.

***I posted this in the revision forum but I think it's more appropriate here because the issue is more about society and weight than choice of surgery.*** Hey everyone, I'm close to my revision date (May 13, lapband to gastric bypass), and I'm going through a difficult time. I'm at a point in my life in which people using my weight against me in cruel ways has started to really get to me (or maybe it always did but I pushed it away). I realized this morning that the only thing that keeps me going is the hope for a better future after my revision from lap-band to bypass. While I recognize that the bypass won't be a magical cure (I already failed the lap-band so that naivete is gone), I must hold on to the belief that this time around the journey will be different, maybe not less challenging, but much more rewarding. I know I have to do the work, but hopefully it will be better without something inside me working against me. I'm tired of my weight being used against me. I'm a social worker and just yesterday a displeased client came to my workplace and made a scene in the reception center, screaming, "F*ck that fat bi*ch" over and over again. I can't begin to describe how embarrassed I felt. My weight has nothing to do with the reason why she is displeased, but it is always so easy for people to go there because it's the cheapest way to hurt. Not long ago, I was walking down the street and someone trying to sell comedy tickets was getting frustrated because no one was stopping. When I didn't stop either, he yelled at me something along the lines of, "That's why you are fat." As always, I just kept walking. What else can you do? I know that people who lower themselves to those level should not be able to hurt my feelings; intellectually I know it very well. I know that they are cruel and unhappy... but intellect and emotions are different, and just because I know something intellectually, it doesn't mean that I know it emotionally. Yes, I want to be healthy and live a long life, but the truth is that I want to lose weight first and foremost because I'm tired of the discrimination and the cruelty. I'm holding on to May 13 as the beginning of a new life. I'm reading the success stories on this forum and I try to imagine myself there too. I don't know how I would be able to function right now without this hope. Thank you for listening.

Hey everyone, I'm close to my revision date (May 13), and I'm going through a difficult time. I'm at a point in my life in which people using my weight against me in cruel ways has started to really get to me (or maybe it always did but I pushed it away). I realized this morning that the only thing that keeps me going is the hope for a better future after my revision from lap-band to bypass. While I recognize that the bypass won't be a magical cure (I already failed the lap-band so that naivete is gone), I must hold on to the belief that this time around the journey will be different, maybe not less challenging, but much more rewarding. I know I have to do the work, but hopefully it will be better without something inside me working against me. I'm tired of my weight being used against me. I'm a social worker and just yesterday a displeased client came to my workplace and made a scene in the reception center, screaming, "F*ck that fat bi*ch" over and over again. I can't begin to describe how embarrassed I felt. My weight has nothing to do with the reason why she is displeased, but it is always so easy for people to go there because it's the cheapest way to hurt. Not long ago, I was walking down the street and someone trying to sell comedy tickets was getting frustrated because no one was stopping. When I didn't stop either, he yelled at me something along the lines of, "That's why you are fat." As always, I just kept walking. What else can you do? I know that people who lower themselves to those level should not be able to hurt my feelings; intellectually I know it very well. I know that they are cruel and unhappy... but intellect and emotions are different, and just because I know something intellectually, it doesn't mean that I know it emotionally. Yes, I want to be healthy and live a long life, but the truth is that I want to lose weight first and foremost because I'm tired of the discrimination and the cruelty. I'm holding on to May 13 as the beginning of a new life. I'm reading the success stories on this forum and I try to imagine myself there too. I don't know how I would be able to function right now without this hope.

Thank you all for your replies! I did meet with my surgen again and asked her to remove the band, which she has agreed to do (all in one stage if I don't have too much damage). The insurance approved the band removal and bypass revision just today (yay!). My surgery should be in about 4 weeks; I will know for sure after meeting with the surgeon one more time.

Hello, I was banded in 2010 and only lost about 50 lbs. I began my journey 200 lbs overweight, which means that I still have over 100 lbs to lose. I wish my surgeon back then had told me that the band was not the right type of WLS for me, but I had my operation at NYU and the lapband is their gold cow (they make lots and lots of money just on band operations). I'm now looking to have a revision at Columbia University Medical Center (where I work) and I initially asked for a sleeve revision. MY surgeon told me that she would not recommend the sleeve for me and explained that although my band is still positioned correctly, my esophagus is enlarged (or en-longed?) and there is likely scar tissue; she mentioned that my risks of leaking are about 20% with the sleeve, as opposed to 2% to 5% for people who go for the sleeve without revision. She then explained to me that the gastric bypass is the best option and that she can leave the band in and work around it. She says that they will take all the liquids out and it will be like I don't have a band, but I won't suffer the consequences and potential risks that people who remove the band and do revisions suffer. She also mentioned that if in a few years my pouch becomes enlarged and I'm gaining weight, I can start using my band again. I'm really conflicted because I do want this damn (excuse my language) thing out!!! It has morphed the shape of my esophagus and the longer I keep it, the more scar tissues I'm creating (I'm assuming). Before coming to this forum, and based on my conversation with my surgeon, I figured it was the safest option, and standard practice, to have revision and leave the band in place. But now that I'm reading the topics here and can't find a single person here who had a revision without removing the band, I'm questioning what's going. I know my surgeon is one of the best in the city... so she knows what she is talking about, but I'm scared that at some point this lap band will have to come out of my body and I'm losing my chance to get it out with the revision. Anyone out here who kept the band and proceeded to do a revision to gastric bypass? Thank you.

Hello everyone, I haven't been around for a long while, being a slow loser I began to feel guilty reading the stories of some many people who dropped their weight much faster than me. And now, here I am, 10 months post-op, only 50 lbs lost and wondering to myself, can/should I Celebrate the fact that I'm finally not in the 300s anymore? I started this journey at 345 and this morning I'm 295. The people in my life have barely noticed my 50 lbs weight loss, which is understandable because at this weight you really don't look that different if you lose 50 lbs. I, on the other hand, have noticed because I went down a size and gone from 26 to 24. I guess what I'm struggling with the most is acknowledging and respecting small achievements. Yes, 24 is still a huge size to wear, but it is smaller than 26. 295 lbs is a huge amount of weight, but less than 345. Is this small achievement worth celebrating? I know I can't go to people and share this because to them I'm failing the band. But I'm starting to wonder if "failing the band" is really what I'm doing? I'm torn and there is a little happy child in me that just wants to come out and play because I'm below 300, and a rational self-loathing adult who feels like a failure. Even if just for today, I really do want to see the child in me win.

Hello all, I went for my second fill this past Friday and I'm experiencing a curious (and unwelcome) phenomenon. I have less restriction after the fill. Has this ever happened to anyone? After my very first fill I didn't have a lot of restriction but I had some. When I went on Friday, my doctor complimented me for losing 4lbs in 4 weeks. I told her I was disappointed but she told that that was the right amount and that I was doing good. She asked me if I still wanted a fill and I said yes (though I really wanted to say, "hell yes!" ). I went home, stayed on liquids for one day and mushy the next. But now that I can eat regular food I find that I have less restriction that I had before the fill. The doctor told me that I went from a 4.5 fill (I think) to a 7.5. But I'm starting to wonder if she didn't take something out instead of putting it in by mistake. Any chance?

I was banded less than a month ago, August 3, 2010. I was so happy and hopeful for a better future. Everything went well at first. I lost 18 lbs during my pre-op liquid diet and stuck to the post-op diet for the first 10 days... and then, I lost it. I started eating solid food like pizza and fried chicken, drinking with meals... and basically breaking all the rules. I do understand that I don't have restriction at this point because I haven't had my first fill yet, but if I continue like this I'm afraid I won't even make it to the first fill. I'm terrified my band will slip because I'm eating so much solid food, and eating it so fast that I need big gulps of diet snapple to make the food go down and it still hurts for that moment. But a moment later I'm eating again. I'm so disappointed and so angry with myself. Getting the lap-band® is the best thing that could ever happen to me and I'm jeopardizing it because I can't stay away from food. And I know it's not "normal hunger," I know it's my emotional need to eat so that I won't feel or think about anything and just self-medicate. But at what price? I'm scheduled to leave my job at the end of the month and I won't have health insurance for at least 1 year (I'm going back to school). So if anything happens to my band, I can't even get it fixed unless I pay for it (and I don't have that kind of money). I don't even know what I'm really asking here, because I know the only person who can stop me is me. I know you can't do it for me but I feel so alone with this. I just finished eating a chicken salad club sandwich and I all I want to do is cry and possibly punch myself for being so stupid. I can't tell anyone what I'm doing because I fear they would judge me (and maybe rightly so) and call me irresponsible. My first fill will be September 7. I had a follow up on August 16 and the band was in place, no problems. I want to stop but most of all I want to know that not all is lost. I want to know that there is a chance my band is just fine and that if I start making healthy choices from this moment on, I still have a chance. I might not deserve one because of my actions, but I need to know that I still have a chance.

I was banded August 3 and I'm mostly recovered now (4 days later). The first 20 minutes after surgery were painful, I won't lie. Everyone reacts differently, when I woke up I was in intense pain for about 10 minutes. As the morphine kicked in, I started feeling better. I first rated my pain an 8, then a 6. I stayed overnight and had mild pain in my shoulder. I walked around in the hospital and slowly felt better. My incisions still hurt a little but much much less than the first days. My biggest problem now is that I'm really sick of sleeping on my back. Yesterday I attempted to sleep on my side a little and it is still painful but not too much. I can't wait to be able to sleep on my stomach again. I have no regrets and I'm looking forward to recovering completely and start losing weight! Good luck, everything will be okay. :party:

Hi Molly, I was also banded at NYU. I'm 3 days post-op following a liquid diet but no one has told me to follow a THIN liquid diet. What is the difference? I think I can have anything that can go through a straw. Is this THIN liquid? I was banded by Dr. Kurian and I think she was great, but like you I also figured that her job was to place the band and that the follow ups will be with her team mostly.

I'm August 3 too! Good luck everyone! :wub:

Hello everyone! This is my first post (though I have been reading for quite a while). My surgery date is August 3... just one more day. I'm feeling all kind of emotions, happy, anxious, scared, and happy again. :wub: I have cheated a little on my pre-op diet so I really hope everything goes well with my liver. I fasted today (only Water and tea) and I will do only clear liquid tomorrow. I can't begin to tell you how much this forum has helped me. I can't stop reading even though I should go to sleep now... but I want to keep learning and reading about everyone's experience and success. Like I said, just one more day to go!