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The kind of intermittent sharp stabbing pains I am having suggest nerves more than a strained back..my doc says she sees this happen a lot after major surgery. One day of meds down and it feels slightly better already. She says she sees it come, stay for a few weeks, then go. She also said it might be part of the nerves waking up on the inside after the surgery.

Hello everyone! thought I would give an update as to how things have gone for me. I had my pre op visit with Dr. Johnell in Greeley Co. I got on the scale and to my suprise I had lost 8 lbs prior to surgery My surgery was on Oct. 5th at about 1:00 p.m. but went very 'routinely' I woke up later in the day and looked at my tummy and thought "well....I can't change my mind now!" lol. I lay in my bed for a bit longer then began walking the halls, I read the sooner your up and moving the better, I believe it is a true statement. After 3 'walks' I was sitting in my room and a lady I didn't recognize came in with a bouquet of flowers, at first I thought she may have the wrong room but soon learned that it was Hopeful1! (denise) what a sweet heart to bring me flowers! so what do two people from lapband.com do when they first meet? well I raised my gown and showed her my incision! lol It was so great meeting her and visiting face to face. The next morning after going in and swallowing the barium solution to make sure that my band was allowing liquid to flow through properly I was able to eat 1oz. portions every 15 min. of Jello, juice, decaf coffee, broth. The ride home (5 hrs) was fine and I only snoozed slightly, I was glad to be going home. The first 2 days were ok, I slowly sipped Water and drank my protien drink mostly for Breakfast and ate about 2 tablespoons of mashed potatos for lunch and a protien drink or Soup for supper. Now the 3rd day through the 7th was very rocky for me and I wondered if I had done the right thing by doing this surgery! I was in pain mostly at night (sore, felt dehydrated, TIRED,) had gas badly! so chomped down a few GasX and that worked very well. When I had gone in for my first week checkup I had lost another 13 lbs! I am now 3 weeks out and can truthfully say I am very happy that I have had the surgery.... Every day seems a little different as I am getting to know my band. After my first visit I was told I couldn't have a fill for 5 weeks due to healing process, I won't lie, I have been one starving women! after your fleet, broth and protien drinks and hardly any restriction....... I feel like the 'old' me is back, then all of a sudden, I get a little restriction and I remember what it feels like and can't wait to get my first fill or two. I will admit I didn't stick to the 'diet' as well as was directed. I eat what taste and feels good, by that I mean chicken fixed in my pressure cooker, fish, a few veggies and very little fruit, yogurt, potatos, Soups. I have to talk to myself to stay with smaller portions but have realized the quanity I am eating is about 1/2 of my 'old' ways with out trying to hard to hold back. I went out for breakfast the other morning and ordered a meal from the senior menu, showed them my lapband card, and the waitress said oh, ok sure. I was happy with myself for not being embarrassed to show my card and explain my situation. She come back out with a full meal instead of half, and said "sorry we didn't have a half meal back there". I looked at her and said please bring me a box....now,and I would love some more decaf coffee. My take home box was back at our table lickety split, I was determined that if she didn't bring it right away I wasn't leaving a tip. I wondered if I could stop at half the meal, I was scared I might be able to eat the whole thing! Nice to report that I ate my protien first, ( 1 egg, maybe half chicken fried steak chewed thoroughly!!!!! with some gravy) and never touched my hash browns, put it all in the box and wasn't hungry all day! didn't even think about the box sitting in the fridge! my son ate it the next morning for breakfast. I know I should be eating pureed foods but I am cutting very, very small bite sized bites, I have found I needed something to 'chew' on I had enough liquids! I seem to be staying fuller longer than pureeing my meat, I do believe the doctors ask you to stay as close to the recomended diet as possible so as not to irritate your band or tummy while it goes through the healing stage and I quite agree as I had an experience I won't soon forget! I popped a normal size bite into my mouth without thinking about it and chewed slightly and swallowed but it was to late! it hit my stomach like a ton of bricks! felt like it was lodged between the band and stomach, also felt like your having a heart attack! wouldn't recomend that experience right off the bat to anyone! So now whenever I chew my meat I CHEW and CHEW my meat!. Not sure if I have lost any weight since my first week post op visit, I was told I was on my own and had to have some will power and not to be upset if I didn't lose any or maybe gained a lb or two, I decided I would try a little test with myself, to not weigh in until my first fill Nov.18th. I wanted to try and 'feel' my weight loss if any, so far I have begun walking and trying a little bit of aerobics, no stomach exercises yet, still abit sore, maybe more afraid lol, and smaller portions of food. What I am finding is some of my more 'fatty' spots are trimming away, under my arms, my hips, legs, could be more toning from the walks than losing but I wanted to learn to not get all hung up on the scale, and realize I will have those times where I am going to be plateauing and my body is catching up. I asked my 15 year old son "Hey, can you tell that I have lost any in my tummy yet?" he looked at me for a second and smiled and said " mom! your face looks alot thinner already!" LOLOL I know I have written a book but wanted to catch you all up on my new life adventure! To all wondering and waiting on surgery, just my opinion, I am so happy I made the decision....... takin' baby steps! Maurine Maurine

Hi y'all! I have my initial surgeon appt next week and I'm about to burst at the seams with excitement! Okay, that's an understatement. I'm obsessed with it now that I've decided this is the best for me. It's what I think about when I go to bed, wake up, and all day in between I'm researching, reading and preparing. My dr's coordinator said after initial appt my surgery will be scheduled and will be about 3-4wks! I'm trying not to get my hopes up and trying to stay "normal", but wow... Reminds me of that line in "When Harry Met Sally" where he says something like the minute you know you've met the person you want to spend the rest of your life with that you want the rest of your life to begin that moment. I'd go tomorrow if I could! Ahhh!!!

Was banded May 9, 2013. Everything went well. Got my first fill at 6 weeks then in August I was having a lot of throwing up and reflux so I had fluid removed. I felt better right away. Then in September I got an awful stomach virus and couldn't keep anything on my stomach for over a week. I went to see my dr and we removed more fluid to allow my stomach to settle down and heal from the virus and the throwing up. That has been five weeks ago. I went for an adjustment today and I had gained 3 lbs which didn't really surprise me since when I had the virus I lost almost 10 lbs in less than a week but I am now worried about this prolapse. I've got to go back in 4 weeks and if it isn't any better or is worse all fluid will be removed, wait 4 - 6 weeks see if that helps if it doesn't then surgery to reposition the band. They also said try not to be stressed! Yeah right! I'm a worry wart anyway, not to mention the past 3 months have probably been the most stressful time of my life as I have been dealing with my 18 & 20 year old kids acting up to the point that we had to make them move out of the house. So how I'm going to avoid stress I don't know. Sorry for rambling on. Has anyone else had a prolapse? Is this a common thing? I am just so upset and disappointed because I've lost 40 lbs and had been doing so good. I don't want to back track and I especially don't want to have to pay for surgery again. Any advise?

Congrats to Nycole and Busy! Good luck on getting our date SueLee and Viana. I got my date last week for a Feb 21 surgery date. I can't wait til we're all on the loser's bench

This all depends on your age, the condition of your skin and genetics. For me, no amount of exercise, creams, etc helped at all. I got my Protein from the beginning. The difference is, I was 51 years old when I had surgery and lost 152lbs. No amount of exercise was going to help. The only thing that will is plastic surgery at this point. I worked my arms the hardest because I carried so much weight in my arms. It made absolutely no difference to the loose skin there. 6 weeks ago I had plastic surgery to remove my bat wings. Low and behold, I have these cute little biceps underneath from trying and my arms look fantastic. My Motto: I will take loose skin over all that fat, I will gladly take the scars over all the loose skin People don't realize it but that loose skin can really pull on your neck and back. It is not only about aesthetics for me. After having my arms done almost immediately I have less neck pain. I did not honestly even consider that when I had the Brachioplasty. For me, I have just been embarrassed about my arms for nearly my whole adult life. Best of luck to you....I swear I would take the loose skin over the fat any day!

I asked my doctor during my one week post op appointment because I was experiencing the same. He suggested I get some imodium if it didn't clear up in a couple days.

I am in my 3rd week of liquids and its been diarrhea allll along! I think its the shakes, the milk, a mix of everything. I do take immodium from time to time because it gets very disrupting. I am really not worried, I have aunts who are nurses and they had told me before the surgery that it would most probably happen:)

I'm a week out from gastric sleeve surgery. Down 10 since last Monday (35 total since September yay!) A few days ago I noticed my hair is already falling out at an alarming rate. I know this is temporary but I'm nervous. Does anyone have any tips to slow this down? Strengthen your hair? Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

Just got back in town again and saw this post. My surgery is also on May 8th. Hope all works out for you and your family to help that day. I started my 2 week liguid diet today in preparation for May 8th.

I've been scheduled for May 9th for weeks. The surgical coordinator called me today and said that my Doctor is receiving some stupid award in California on the 9th and can't do it then. Now, I'll either be the 8th or the 16th. I'll know whenever she calls me back. He doesn't usually do lap bands on Thursdays (the 8th) but she is going to ask him. This all ticks me off because my fiance, mom and dad have all already arranged to have work off on the 9th. So irritating. I'll let the boards know when I find out my new date.

Awesome posts to read y'all!!!!! I am five weeks out and just went to my general doc today. I will do blood work wed or Thursday or maybe next week. My son is having his wisdom teeth out tomorrow and I have to drive 35 miles to get blood work. Wonderful Aetna trs insurance. Only one place I can go. Can't wait to see my results!!

Kool:thumbup1:---Kudos to you. Im taking 2 weeks off as well and Im also a fellow nurse. So im not going to be in any rush to return to floor work.

I'm getting banded on July 26th and my doctor only requires a week of dieting before surgery. It's a clear liquid only diet and was told to get a clear liquid Protein drink. All I can find are colored shakes. Anyone have any idea of what I can get? Thanks Darci Shannon

Good advice..take all the help you can get. My youngest is 14, I can't imagine having a little one..I slept,sipped,walked,and slept. My surgery hit me pretty hard. I usually have a high tolerance of pain and I've had many surgeries. The gas pain was the worst for me. Finally on the other side of that and only a few weeks out. I feel great now, better everyday. I was told No lifting for 4 to 6 weeks. Hope you can find a babysitter as mentioned earlier. Really going to need the rest to recover. Hopefully you will have an easier time than I did. A lot of people Dont even need pain meds. Praying for you. Congratulations on beginning a new and exciting chapter in your life. Focus on all the energy you will have soon to enjoy your family!

You are doing great! My surgery was April 3 and I have only lost 20 pounds (4 weeks). Did your surgery include nutritional counseling? Mine does, and it is great. You should be ready to go on full foods at this point. They say to try one new food at a time. I think this is the beginning of the rest of your life: this is the way you want to eat forever. Healthy, small meals and snacks, and lots of water. I am concentrating on getting in the protein, which is what I was taught. If I do that, I don't have room for a lot of other stuff! I think that helps me to stay away from a lot of "filler" foods that I would have eaten before the surgery. So, I eat greek yorgurt, cottage cheese, meat and fish, some fruit and veggies, and I still drink a protein drink every day, just to get the protein in. Anyway, that is what I am doing and I hope eventually I lose the other 60 pounds!

Hi everyone! I'm Sarah!!!! I too was banded on 9/27/12. My first post-op appointment is tomorrow. Still a little sore but feeling pretty good! My boss has let me work from home which is great. I may go back to the office Monday but I'm thinking I will probably work from home for another week. I am down 23 lbs from beginning of the pre-op diet. (Beginning weight 273.8, surgery weight 261, current 250.) Where is everyone from? Excited to have you guys as support!

So I was having some problems with my lapband. One day I can eat anything and the next day I can?t eat at all. I went yesterday and had an Endoscopy done. Much to my amazement, I have an eroded band and a small pouch dilation. I was already contemplating taking the band out and putting the sleeve in due to decreased weight loss. I got my band in June, 2007 and have lost about 60 pounds with it. My doctor does not want to remove the band and do the gastric sleeve at the same time. He wants to remove the band and wait 6-8 weeks for me to heal. Of course I want to do what is safe, but I worry about weight gain. I have come so far with this and don?t want to be back at square one when the gastric sleeve is done. Can anybody relate to this? Any suggestions?

Hi Everyone! My name is Michele, I am 27 yrs old and I just signed up for LBT yesterday. I was banded on Jan 4th 2010. I was wondering if there are any smokers out there? I know the doctors stress that you need to quit smoking and I was able to quit for 3 weeks prior to my surgery, but then I was still able to eat...since I have been banded I have unfortunately picked up this habit again and I am worried...Can someone explain to me why they dont want you smoking?? I realize in general all doctors will tell you to quit, but is there something specific that can hurt the band or something? Also, it has been almost 2 months and I am still sore near my port...is this normal?? Any feedback would be greatly appreciated! THANKS, Michele

I'm a smoker, I tried to quit and it didn't work well for me. Dr. told me to quit 4 weeks before surgery and I put forth one hell of an effort. But he had no problem with me standing outside the day after surgery smoking other then the normal reasons. Not saying it's right but it's what I do. I keep telling myself I'll quit once I reach goal. Hope so anyway. I have given up so much I just can't seem to add another thing to that list right now.

It's the Canadian thanksgiving weekend and I'm still not sure what we're doing. I quite like the idea of joining friends for dinner, however it's been an insanely busy week and I think, for our sanity, it's likely it will be just the family for dinner. On the whole, it seems like it's a much more casual holiday here than in the US. On the west coast, if the weather is nice, lots of people go camping. To me it seems like it's not a really big deal if the whole family doesn't get together. Now, I get the impression from movies that Thanksgiving in the States is VERY important, that people have to get home for it at all costs. Is this really so, or should I not believe everything that I see in the movies? Also, I'm just catching on that Thanksgiving is the beginning of the "holiday season" that runs into Christmas and New Years. Is this right? I kind of like that idea, having a well defined beginning to it all.

I don't know how you feel about running, but doing the Couch to 5k program has really helped motivate me. It takes you from not being able to run AT ALL to being able to run 30 minutes straight. The program is supposed to be nine weeks long (3 days a week), but you can repeat workouts and entire weeks as necessary. For me I think it's going to take about 15 weeks, because I've repeated some weeks and I will have had two weeks of vacation in there by the time I'm done. Hoping to run a 5k sometime in mid to late May.

I agree, I'm on full liquids this week so it's a teeny bit better than just clear liquids but I'm so hungry. My stomach growls all day long and I catch myself chewing my liquids lol. Tomorrow I'm going to buy some spicy soup from a local Chinese restaurant and strain it, still not actual food but it's going to taste a lot better than the broth I have been eating. I'm actually looking forward to starting mushies on Monday so I can have chicken salad and eggs!

Thanks phatkatblue...my dr requires first five days of clear liquids..no soups or anything..then two weeks of just three protein shakes a day and clear liquids..again no soup broth yogurt...i start mushies for dinner only on may 7th

I too had my band removed after 6 years. I really liked my band but for past 2 years I began vomiting all the time. Food would get stuck for some reason. The sad thing is that I lost 80 pounds and gained about 40 back. I was so disgusted with myself. I am almost three weeks post surgery ( was sleeved 11/7/12) and I am doing great. I've lost 22 pounds and for once in my life I have not been hungry and sometimes forget to eat! I was back to work in 10 days. I am still on liquids and protein powder but I feel great. I'm on liquids for 5 weeks post op and then on to puréed! This was the best til give done for myself. I hope others feel the same as me! Good luck.