bbammom

Are you referring to the your GP on post? Is the surgeon on post? There are quite a few military surgeons who also do bands. I had mine done in a military hospital.

Then I don't understand why your doctor is insisting on a fill. You can tell him "No" and I think you can easily justify that by telling him what you told us! Good luck!!

I'm not sure what "gas x strips" are but I would suggest you start trying different Protein drinks to see what you like before surgery. Keep in mind, your taste might change after surgery so don't buy too much. My favorites are Muscle Milk Light (costco, Wal-Mart, etc.) and

The pain wasn't too bad. Very manageable. Being flat for sleep was uncomfortable so the first night or two after coming home were spent in a recliner. My doctor gave me all liquid meds after surgery so that helped too! (no pills!) I lost the bulk of my weight on the pre-op diet. My program took that part VERY seriously and so did I. I lost about 50 lbs before surgery (15 during the "thinking" part when I tried to do it myself before deciding on surgery); then another 35 during the pre-op program. Since surgery I've lost just under 30 pounds for a total of 80 pounds. I'm about 20-30 pounds from goal. I think I'll see how I feel and decide then. I started at size 22/24 and now I'm a 12/14. Getting to my "sweet spot" has been a big challenge. Moving across the country didn't help!! I've had a few challenges getting to where I wanted to be but it all seems OK now that I'm here!! I would suggest taking a good week off from work. I was teaching elementary school at the time and took off one week. In hindsight, I should have taken off a few more days since I worked with children.

I got banded in August 2010. Feel free to ask any questions you may have. I'm new to the area.

Just a FYI...I have a 14cc band and I'm at 11.4cc. I'm finally at my sweet spot! It took a long time to get here but it's so worth it!

We moved last June from Hawaii to Alabama. We are also a military family using Tricare. I had the hardest time finding a doctor here. After being at Tripler for my pre-op, operation and post-op, I became incredibly spoiled!! I just wrote Tripler today with this suggestion... Make sure you have all of your records with you. Doctors do NOT like to take transfer patients. I had to practically beg my new doctor to take me (tears helped)!! Within those records, ask for the complete surgical report, including the information on what size/type of band you have. This could eliminate a lot of aggravation for you. Trust me!! IF my assumption is correct, you have been using a military doctor/hospital. Remember that it's different outside of that realm. Different paperwork has to be filed for visits and visits with fills/unfills. A lot of doctors' staff don't realize that when they send the paperwork. Mine had to learn too. Good luck with your move. I hope what I learned the hard way from my own experience makes yours less stressful!

I just saw your post. I'm here in Madison.

I've heard that some people have to wait as much as 90 mins after eating. Just be sure to hydrate between meals!!

I ended up having .5 cc taken out of my band after 5 days of pain, throwing up, being uncomfortable, and losing 12.5 pounds!! Don't wait that long if you feel like something isn't right!! It seems that my band has slipped. On the up side, I feel wonderful and the slippage doesn't seem to affect the effectiveness of the band!!

My doctor told me today that my band slipped. I had a fill with a flouro last Thursday and I was overfilled. When I went in today for a unfill, he said that my band slipped. He showed me last the images from last week and today and it does look more horizontal now. He said that some patients are fine with a slip, could go years with no problems, and everything looked good with mine. When I asked him what would happen if it weren't fine, he said he would remove it and that he does not do band replacements because of scare tissue. Anyone ever hear of this? I threw up a few times over the weekend so I'm assuming that caused the slip. What are the symptoms of slippage? Since my .5cc unfill today, I feel wonderful and ate "lap band normal" at dinner (about 1/2 cup). Any advice is appreciated!

I'm going to call the Fill Center on Monday and see what it's all about. They have a flouroscopy in the Center, which I like. Good luck finding a good fill option where you are!

I'm in northern Alabama. I really liked my doctor in Hawaii and LOVED my clinic and the support I had there. I'm super hungry tonight but as soon as I think about food, I feel sick to my stomach. I'm looking forward to Monday and hopefully will be feeling a lot better! Hope you do too!

I'd suggest going with the soups too. We go out all the time with friends and I often order soup. I don't think they'll really notice. Just ask for it to be served with the entrees. Good luck!

Suzie B., Actually you helped a lot!! Even though I have a huge amount of family support, I still feel all alone in this. I finally slept last night and that helped. I hate to say it but I crushed up a Vicadin from my husbands colonoscopy last year and mixed it with a bit of a slushie! I guess it helped with the swelling enough to let me sleep. I was desperate!! I woke up this morning feeling a bit better and over 6 pounds lighter (since Thursday). I slowly sipped on about 1/4 cup of a Protein drink. Not perfect but a lot better than yesterday!! I would go in too but being that it's a Saturday, I'm afraid that the ER doc will just empty the whole band! I'll rock it out until Monday too. My biggest problem in all of this is that I'm a transfer pt and I'm not very fond of my new doc. I just posted a post asking about fill clinics. I see there's one somewhat near me and it's tempting to go there, even if I do have to pay out of pocket! I hope you're at least somewhat comfortable. Take care of yourself and let me know how it goes!! Thanks again for posting!

I keep reading about fill clinics. Can someone give me the scoop about them. I'm new to the northern Alabama area and not happy with the new surgeon that I'm seeing. Thanks in advance!!

Thanks. I know I'm not getting in enough to keep hydrated so now I'm sipping Crystal Light every few minutes. I feel queasy and my body feels achey. Lying down feels worse. Some of the pains are sharper than others, usually around my left middle. I'm coming up on 24 hours since the fill. He put me on liquids for 2 days, then mushies for 2. Right now, I can't imagine ever eating again! lol What do you mean by "super tight?" I've never had swelling like this but I've never been so filled. From what I'm reading, it sounds pretty normal so I hope it goes away in the next day or so.

Feeling lousy and desperate, can anyone tell me what your post fill swelling feels like. I've had quite a few fills but never felt like this! THANKS!!

We both posted this morning and neither of us have gotten responses. I got a fill yesterday and my pain is my stomach area and sometimes my shoulder to my side. I've had lots of fills but never this much. Do you feel queazy too? I feel really sick when trying to sip something. I just had a sugarfree pop and that seems to be doing OK (not great but better than broth).

I was banded just over a year ago. During that time I never felt like I was getting the right fills. Our family moved and I had to find a new doctor. He did a flouro and discovered that I had no restriction. After several agonizing weeks of phone calls and research, I found out that I was banded with a Large band, not the Standard that I had been told and was in my records. (It took me asking for my surgical records to discover this!) Yesterday I had my first fill after receiving this information. I was getting no restriction at 9.7cc in my band so the doctor added 2cc. On the flouro, he could see that it wasn't enough restriction. He added .5cc more and that was too much. He took out 3cc which left me with 11.9cc in my 14cc band. It looked good on the flouro and felt good but within a few hours I felt really tight and haven't been able to drink comfortably since. (The fill was appx 18 hours ago.) Am I experiencing the after-fill swelling that I've been reading about? I made the mistake of having a creamy tomato soup when I got home and then sipped on a milkshake but then read here that I should go with clear liquids so I switched. I just sipped on about a half up of chicken stock and feel a little queasy. I'm going to try making a crystal light slushie and see how that feels. Any advice is appreciated!!

Cindy C, your stats are amazing! I'm not thrilled about the way this is going. I see the doctor today and will decide whether or not I stay with him.

It just seems like a waste of money. Or maybe I don't understand the advantage of using the flouro. Can anyone explain it to me?

A bit of background...My family and I just moved from the state in which I had surgery. I can't believe how hard it was to transfer to a new doctor for fills! While we traveled in the air, my band tightened and I was sick for 3 weeks. I researched new doctors on line and found only three in our new city, two of which are in practice together. The two wanted me to go through nutrition and their new patient person for the total cost of $500 before a doc would see me (even though I needed an emergency unfill). The last doctor saw me after testing through the E.R. and a $200 first visit tab. He made a huge deal about not liking to take transfer pt's but when I started crying, gave me an in-office unfill of 3cc. (I'm a 10 band and was OK, maybe a bit too tight, with 10cc until the flight.) He was also pretty opinionated about my previous medical experience with my last doctor. Anyway, the new doctor only does fills in the hospital x-ray division. It seems like such a waste of time (but big money maker). When he did the unfill, he kept saying how unusual that was for him to do it in his office. My last doctor did it all the time. Does anyone else have a doctor that will not do fills in his office? Just curious! Thanks!!

Caralaisure, I guess we're both in the same boat on restriction. I'm so worried that my new doctor won't give me enough fill this week! Good luck with yours!

I have a 10cc band and I have no restriction with 7cc. I need a lot of restriction to get into my green zone. Once I was overfilled (then emptied) and then I was at 10cc and doing well until we flew from Hawaii to Vegas. They took out 3cc (putting me where I am now) and I can eat anything and everything. (I feel horrible!) I see the doc this week and hope he gives puts me at 9cc. Good luck!!