Katy517

I'll be following this thread closely. I have a new 14 cc band and will be getting my first fill on 5/26. I was surprised to find out that it will be done at the hospital and not by my surgeon or his staff at their office.

I was told no lifting over 10 pounds for six weeks. Didn't ask specifically about working out, but assume it's the same timeframe.

Ditto this - walk, walk, walk. I was up and walking in the hospital within a few hours of recovery and the Bariatric Coordinator at my hospital told me to walk regularly at home too. She advised a block to start with for the first two days after surgery and then adding a a block on day three and continuing that objective of adding a block every two days. I'm up to 11 blocks now and can vouch for this really addressing gas pains in a significant way. Good luck.

I was always thin/normal sized growing up. I then went away to college at 18 and promptly gained about 40 pounds the first year. I've always had a big appetite and growing up very active, working on a farm and all, that worked out ok for me. Once my days became pretty much sedentary in school that all changed. I took that weight off, started smoking and breezed through my 20s between 125-130 pounds for the most part. I was active and if I gained I could get it off pretty easily. I quit smoking at 31 and within 4 years put on 50 pounds shooting up to 180 without me really noticing. I finally noticed it on a vacation and resolved to get it off. The Jenny Craig program helped me considerably with that and within about 9 months I was back to normal. I only kept at that weight for about a year though as I returned to normal eating/drinking habits and put the weight back on - all of it and more within about 2 1/2 years time shooting upward of 200 pounds for the first time in my life. I returned to Jenny Craig with no luck this time around. I then learned that I had to have a hysterectomy in order to address some scary cervical cancer symptoms and the result within one year of that surgery was an additional 50 pounds. My behaviors hadn't changed, my body had. I was mortified. I tried a diet pill doctor to no avail. I had four different stints on Weight Watchers also to no avail. Did the Carbohydrate Addict diet and several others along the way. No luck keeping any weight lost off for long. My PCP recommended that I consider lap band a few years ago and I blew it off thinking that was just a cop-out and I could do it on my own. I could not and last summer began to seriously work toward getting approved and hope to finally get back to normal, whatever that might be at this point. I'm not a binge eater, junk food eater or sweets lover. I like big portions and starches and fatty cheeses and meats like steaks and sausages, etc. (think pizza or spaghetti and meatballs with garlic bread) are some of my favorites things. They say that I'm a good candidate for the surgery and should have good results. I sure hope so.

LOL Stacie, I hope it wasn't the kitten in your avatar! Do you recall how long your port stuck out? Thanks for lightening my mood. I have been very worried.

That's what I read so much of here is in regard to difficult to locate ports. I could inject my own saline at this point as mine sticks out a good 1/2". My surgeon said yesterday that it "is pressing against something" and that "something" feels like my rib cage. I can't imagine that this is going to resolve itself, but I'm trying to stay positive.

Thanks for the info Mimilou. My surgeon just tells me that he's not worried about it. Almost like he doesn't want to address that we have a problem. I'm in a constant state of pain in that area and it throbs frequently. I can't even imagine how exercise would be with it. It's really very troubling.

Mine does too, but I'm only three weeks post-op. Looks like you're pretty far progressed. Has yours always bothered you? Did you complain about it to your surgeon? I'm just really uncomfortable all the time and can't imagine living with this object sticking out like it does under my skin.

Hi all you April 2010 bandsters. I've had mixed results, but am feeling positive. Still a lot of pain in the port site and even though the swelling from surgery has gone down my port is still significantly extended. Still hurts a great deal to bend over or sit in one position too long. My surgeon isn't worried. I am. I don't have an appetite yet, but do realize when I need nourishment and have no trouble drinking liquids. I guess that's good since I still have three weeks to go on full liquids. Not sure at all why my doctor has the unusual practice of requiring six weeks full liquid post-op with no clear liquid or mushy phase, but that's what I have to deal with. I made my first fill appointment today for the afternoon of May 26th and am looking forward to it. Nothing to eat or drink (not even water) after midnight the night before and clear liquids for 48 hours afterward. So, my first solid food will be hitting my mouth the evening of May 28th after not having consumed any solids since April 9th. Yikes. I would not have thought this was really possible without my jaws wired shut, but so far so good on the diet stuff. I hope you all are doing well in BandLand. Katy

Thank you for the reply Tish. Did yours hurt a lot too? Mine throbs almost all the time and even wakes me up at night. All my surgeon recommended was to continue using ice packs and liquid Motrin. Logic tells me that if it sticks out now it is going to be even worse when I lose weight as it almost feels like it's attached to the outside of my ribcage.

I'm three weeks post-op and my port is still protruding a lot. I had some significant bruising from internal bleeding initially that's for the most part gone now. The port still sticks out though and feels like a large hard lump just under the skin. It's still really uncomfortable too. I can't bend over without significant discomfort and sitting in one position for too long is also really uncomfortable in the port area. I saw my surgeon today and he says that it should alleviate. He actually said that he wasn't worried about it. I've not seen anything here or elsewhere to suggest that this is normal. Is it? Thank you.

Six weeks post-op.

I couldn't connect yesterday morning for several hours and then the same thing happened last night too.

It doesn't sound selfish to me, it just sounds impatient. Hang in there. This isn't something that does or even should happen overnight. The pre-surgery time can be put to really advantageous use by getting you used to what you'll face post-op and also additional time for education and getting your head in the right place. In any event, you might be worried for nothing, it could be that you'll only have a single visit with the nutritionist and be on your way to getting banded. Good luck and please keep us posted.

I had to see my nutritionist six times over a six month period. This was an insurance requirement though and not that of my surgeon. The nutritionist counselled me a great deal as to what to expect from the surgery and the various diet stages. It was a series of invaluable experiences. Good luck.

That amount doesn't even include the surgeon's fees. That said, I'm glad that I have insurance and will find it very interesting to see how much the billed amounts will be adjusted once submitted to my insurer. I have a feeling that those of us who use insurance are billed higher just for such padding.

I'm fairly sure the reason we're not supposed to use straws after surgery is because doing so can create too much air in the stomach.

I didn't consider Mexico for my surgery so can't speak to surgeons there. There is a wealth of information on this site about surgeons in Mexico though that you should be able to find pretty readily. My own experience was that my primary care physician actually recommended lap band to me and also recommended my surgeon who he had many referrals to in the past so is very familar with. There was definitely a comfort level in going with somebody that my long-term PCP was familar and comfortable with.

I shudder to think what my total will be. My hospital bill came in yesterday for $21,000 including the overnight stay. I haven't yet seen the surgeon and anaesthesiology bills. My surgery was at Westlake Hospital in ChicagoLand.

Those items along with applesauce, diluted no sugar added clear juices, skim milk and yogurt are allowed during my post-op full liquid phase.

I drank Crystal Light during my clear liquid phase.

Hang in there Sue, I know what you're going through and empathize. I was banded 4/15 and am not quite three weeks into my six week full liquid diet phase. I'm also bored with the nutrition choices and just keep reminding myself that this is good training for learning to eat to live rather than the other way around. It's a constant reminder to me of just how much a part of my life food has been for a very long time.

Strike that, just realized it's only 15 grams per serving.

1. Surf to Graphical Tickers and Trackers: Weight Loss, Trying To Conceive, Pregnancy.... 2. Click on Weightloss. 3. Choose a ruler. You can view available rulers by clicking through the page numbers. Once you have selected a ruler, click Next. 4. Choose a slider. You can view available sliders by clicking through the page numbers. Once you have selected a slider, click Next. 5. Enter a password/pin combination and select either public or private data. 6. If you want the ticker to display your current weight and count down to your goal weight, select Weight. 7. If you want the ticker to show only the amount of weight you want to lose and how much you've lost so far, select Weight Change. 8. Choose the unit of measure. 9. Enter your starting, current, and goal weights. 10. Enter your measurements if you want to track them. 11. Enter your height in the BMI section, and then click Next. 12. You are now at the final page. Select the size and background you want the ticker to be. 13. Scroll down on that page, click on the text that is inside the bbCode box and copy it all. 14. Surf back here to lapbandtalk.com. 15. Open your user control panel (User CP). 16. Click 'Edit Signature'. 17. Paste the code from the bbCode box that you copied in step 13 into the signature box.

PB stands for productive burping where undigested food comes back up.