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Hang in there Dianne....Call Bobbi. I was to be scheduled for a fill 3 weeks ago and just got my call friday. Bobbi and the other nurse have been on vacation and they can't schdule things with out each other being there. So I would say if you haven't anything by this thursday call her directly. You will have to leave her a VM but she always calls you back. To make you feel better...I started my last Nov and just had mine done in June. It wasn't Dr. V's fault...I needed a second opinion from another doctor on something. It can take time.... Keep up the faith and it will come very soon.

Woo hoo, My surgeon's office has submitted everything to BC/BS, and now I have about a week of waiting to find out if I am approved . I know the office does not see me having any problems with approval, but it is still nerve racking.:paranoid On a fun note, I went out this week and got some comfy jammie-type pants and tanks for post-op. My brother works at Old Navy which now carries what I affectionately call "Fat girl sizes" and I got a 25% discount off some stuff. I am so hoping all goes well with insurance and I will have my band by the end of September! I am going to start a partial liquid diet next week to get myself ready for 4 weeks of liquids only. :phanvan

Thanks all, coming here always makes me feel so much better. I have been sleeping so much today. Kare, if I hadn't been taken by such surprise and had been thinking better I would have probably said something to that effect. Vines, I have only been banded 9 days and I have no idea how much weight I have lost. There are two places where is is showing though, first it was in my waist, and then in my face. I think I may be loosing in my bust too, but I haven't measured just basing on my bras fitting differently today. I don't know why I took it badly. I usually just let things go. I don't think I was prepared for anyone to notice anything this quickly. That combined with being very tired Friday afternoon probably has lots to do with it. Monday will be better. I am glad I went back to work mid-week so I didn't have a full week before the weekend. Hope everyone has a good weekend!

I love sugar free Tropicana Orange aid, light minutemaid lemonade and crystal light- but I drink Water the most- and iced tea if I need caffeine- H20, H20, H20, but I still gotta have an iced, Sugar free Hazelnut, skim, latte from Starbucks once/week or so......

AS far as I know you perfectly fine & within a few more weeks you should start to even out. Its normal for your body to go through changes when coming off of certain meds & regiments. The best thing is to talk with your Doc- But I say your just fine:0)

Just wanted to pass something by you when I had my port revised I had local and deep sedation in other words I was semi alert but I heard when my doctor was giving the fill the other doctor who was a resident said # look at that needle it must be three inches long imagine that going into to you# should I say something to my doctor or just let it go I was kind of upset by it. let me know

I do agreee with Alex that 4 weeks of liquids is a long time but I also agree with herfor you to cal lyour Dr. to see if you are able to start mush earlier. Every Dr. has his or her reason for their post op instructions and every Dr. has a different post op diet.

Hang in there, it really does get better. I am 9 weeks post op and I feel great. The weight loss is worth all you are going through. I to had the same "run" problem you are having. It will get better it does just take awhile. Hey that only helps with the weight loss. I second Kathy on the egg drop soup, actually I muffinburdie posted a homemade version of it on here. I printed and plan to make it. Soup is liquid, not sure why you can't have the SF Jello that is clear liquids, I would think. Hang in there...it will all be worth it. I promise!!!

I missed the "action" of eating during the weeks before the mushy stage....I found that if I froze my Protein Drink in a small container.....then I could eat it like a frozen kinda treat...even though it was my meal...but it seemed to satisfy me more by freezing it....at least i could eat it with a spoon instead of drinking it! N*

I also had the runs real real bad and had them for a long time. My dumb doctor tried to tell me it was the whey Protein drinks but many others said it was the liquid diet. It cleared up the day I went on solid foods. Have you tried taking creamy Soups (cream of potato especially), adding extra milk, blending the crap out of it and drinking that? That stuff literally SAVED my life! It is more hearty and made me feel more satisfied. Progresso broccoli, cheese and potato soup is WONDERFUL and was yummy blended. I also had that knocked out feeling and to be honest, I had it up until just last week (that would have been 6 weeks post op). It just took me a while to fully bounce back but as of this week I'm back, I'm at good energy levels. Surgery is tough on a body so give it time to heal. You are doing great, just get creative. Cream soups, hot and sour soup (SAVED MY LIFE!!) from the local Chinese place, and make sure you are eating enough. Keep sipping away, always have another thing ready to drink because if you get too hungry that will make you weak too.

Hi Guys. This is my first post. I am a teacher and I was hoping to get the procedure done prior to the new school year starting. I last met with my doctor 3 weeks ago and the staff at the office has yet to pull everything together and send it off to carefirst for approval. Excuses of everything from the fax machine being down to not having reports from specialist yet. Be gone as far as calling those specialists and offering hand pick up and deliver what3er documents. Heres the question. Once you received approval, how soon were you able to schedule your surgery day for? I have to go back to work right after Labor Day so I know I’m pushing it. Thanks, Kenny.

Thank you so much for posting your blog. I am in the exact same position. I am absolutely terrified of the fact that I can pretty much eat whatever I want and I too know that before my first fill (June 9th) the scale will have gone up a couple pounds. It is such a mental thing with me and why I chose to eat the way I do. That is part of the reason why I wanted to let the whole world know about my surgery and pretty much did. I have told everyone at work, my family, friends, etc. My thinking was that if I told everyone then I would be held accountable for choices and behaviors that I make with food. Also, people who I spend time with will understand and want to help me succeed but motivating me to make good food choices. Now I am not sure that was such a good idea. I am a cash patient. Spending over 10k out of pocket for this surgery so my husband is also looking at where the the money is going (so to speak). Now I am getting asked every other day what the scale says and I am only 4 weeks post-op! I lost 19lbs since the pre-op diet, I fear that I have set a precedence for dramatic results in a short time. Not everyone understands the difference between the types of surgeries available for weight loss so most of my friends and co-workers are looking for me to be skinny by the end of summer! Yeah - right!! I guess my next task is educating everyone on the differences between the lap-band and gastric bypass procedure. It sounds as if we were banded around the same time and i look forward to reading about your progress. Good luck and God bless!! You are in good company!!

I had to do 2 weeks preop diet of liquids only. I felt HORRIBLE for the first 3-4 days, but it got much better by day 5. I was sleeved on July 2nd and have only had 2 headaches since...totally work related, I'm sure. Hang in there, once all of those toxins are out of your body, you should feel much better.

Today is 3/21/06. I am trying to have patience as I go through the process of getting a band. I started this process more than a month ago! I had thought on and off over the past 2 yrs about seriously having WLS, but chickened out because all I had ever heard about was the gastric bypass surgery and I didn't want to go that route unless I had to. Last Nov. 05 I heard about the adjustible lap band procedure and looked online to get more information about it. Then the holiday hit and life got crazy and so my weight got put on the back burner for a bit. The beginning of Feb. I called my Dr. here in Mora and asked her to refer me to a hospital that did the adjustible lap band procedure and she referred me to Abbott. The next day, a nurse from Abbott's bariatric unit called me (Joanie Callahan) and gave me some tips on how I can get the process going along quickly. I needed to visit with a dietician, have an up to date mammogram (done 9/05 ), an up to date pap and exam (needed to do that after 3/7) a visit with a physcologist, and attend a meeting at abbott. The next one was 2/25 so I signed up for that class. I made an appt. with a dietician for 2/13, but he forgot about our appt so I had to go in again on 2/14. He was very nice and apologetic about it. I made an appt to visit with a shrink, but the first available date wasn't until 3/14 so my plans to get this done asap were put on hold a bit longer. Craig and I went to the informational meeting on the 25th and I knew it was defiitely what I wanted to have done. I came home and filled out the paperwork and sent it back the next day. On the same day that my appt was with the shrink (Dr. Caven) I got a call from Abbott saying that my insurance had approved the procedure so they wanted to set up an appt. to meet with the surgeon. Woo Hoo! That date was set for 3/29 with Dr. Schlosser. I'll have to drive myself down there and back but figure I may as well get use to it and just do it! Yesterday, I started a cardiac diet that I had done last summer and had good results with it. My beginning weight is 280 pds. The heaviest I had ever been in my life and never want to go any higher than that. My ideal weight is 157 at the high end and I would be extremely happy if I made it to that goal 120 pds - its doable. Out of curiosity I weighed myself this morning because I could tell that I wasn't as puffy as I was the day before and I was down 4.5 pds. I know that its is mostly water weight - I retain alot of fluids and will be so happy when that isn't an issue anymore. My plan is to do this diet this week and next (its a 3 day diet) and then when I meet with the surgeon hopefully I"ll be able to schedule surgery and start on the liquid protein diet. Thats all for now.....

Today is 3/21/06. I am trying to have patience as I go through the process of getting a band. I started this process more than a month ago! I had thought on and off over the past 2 yrs about seriously having WLS, but chickened out because all I had ever heard about was the gastric bypass surgery and I didn't want to go that route unless I had to. Last Nov. 05 I heard about the adjustible lap band procedure and looked online to get more information about it. Then the holiday hit and life got crazy and so my weight got put on the back burner for a bit. The beginning of Feb. I called my Dr. here in Mora and asked her to refer me to a hospital that did the adjustible lap band procedure and she referred me to Abbott. The next day, a nurse from Abbott's bariatric unit called me (Joanie Callahan) and gave me some tips on how I can get the process going along quickly. I needed to visit with a dietician, have an up to date mammogram (done 9/05 ), an up to date pap and exam (needed to do that after 3/7) a visit with a physcologist, and attend a meeting at abbott. The next one was 2/25 so I signed up for that class. I made an appt. with a dietician for 2/13, but he forgot about our appt so I had to go in again on 2/14. He was very nice and apologetic about it. I made an appt to visit with a shrink, but the first available date wasn't until 3/14 so my plans to get this done asap were put on hold a bit longer. Craig and I went to the informational meeting on the 25th and I knew it was defiitely what I wanted to have done. I came home and filled out the paperwork and sent it back the next day. On the same day that my appt was with the shrink (Dr. Caven) I got a call from Abbott saying that my insurance had approved the procedure so they wanted to set up an appt. to meet with the surgeon. Woo Hoo! That date was set for 3/29 with Dr. Schlosser. I'll have to drive myself down there and back but figure I may as well get use to it and just do it! Yesterday, I started a cardiac diet that I had done last summer and had good results with it. My beginning weight is 280 pds. The heaviest I had ever been in my life and never want to go any higher than that. My ideal weight is 157 at the high end and I would be extremely happy if I made it to that goal 120 pds - its doable. Out of curiosity I weighed myself this morning because I could tell that I wasn't as puffy as I was the day before and I was down 4.5 pds. I know that its is mostly water weight - I retain alot of fluids and will be so happy when that isn't an issue anymore. My plan is to do this diet this week and next (its a 3 day diet) and then when I meet with the surgeon hopefully I"ll be able to schedule surgery and start on the liquid protein diet. Thats all for now.....

I did my lap band surgery Aug of 08. I started of at 298lbs and I am currently at 211. My lowest weight was 201. In the beginning it was great. I was losing weight getting my regular fills and all of a sudden I started having problems. April of 09 I went in for a fill and went on vacation the next day and was severely sick. My band was way too tight and I was unable to eat or drink. I ended up in the ER in which they drained all my fluid. I did a follow up with my Dr. a few weeks later and we started filling the band once again. I did well until my visit in July in which I went in had a fill and the next day left again on vacation this time on the plane. I was very sick the whole trip. I followed all orders about not eating or drinking prior to flying but it didn’t matter. Whatever was still in my stomach still came up. Needless to say the whole trip I barely ate and drank. When I came back two weeks later I had the fluid removed once again. This time we gave me a little break and than started doing fills again very slowly. Well from that time on I have had several Upper GI’s, two endoscopies, nuclear scans, some other test with the tube down my nose, have had my gallbladder removed and been to a specialist. My band is currently empty once again. Every time I seem to hit 3 to 4cc’s I end up getting sick. Not being able to eat or drink most of the time. And this go around with my bad being empty I am still getting sick. Which is weird? At this point I really hate having had this done. And the fact that I am getting no answers is making me more frustrated. I feel like my band has been more empty than full since getting this surgery. Including only being able to eat more soft foods / liquids. I don’t know the last time I had a normal meal. I would not wish this on anyone. All the co-pays, gas, hospital bills, time off of work and time spent going back and forth I ask myself was any of this worth it. Has anyone had similar issues?

I got my third fill on Friday July 1st. I'm up to 3 ccs in a 4 cc band. I've never noticed much of a problem in my prior fills with some issues I'm having now. I'm burping a lot. A LOT. When I'm hungry I feel sick, my stomach hurts. I ate something with some pepper (black pepper) on it (I shook a little on) and I got a burning sensation in my stomach. I pureed some chili....way to spicy. Then yesterday I tried having a little spagetti sauce (out of the jar, not homemade and not spicy) and again, the burning sensation. Also, the heat of food, like Soup, seems irritatig. Cold things feel better. I've had some trouble eating....but I see steady improvement little by little. I can eat a very smooshed up boiled egg with a little mayo and some potted chicken as well as the mushies. I can only eat about a 1/4 cup at a time of anything. My doc is out of town til tomorrow. I've talked to his coordinator at his office last Thursday and she told me to call her this am to let her know how I'm doing and if I want to come in. I'm wondering what erosion feels like. Anyone know? I've lost about 10 lbs in the last week...which feels good, but i'm a little worried about my band.

My port is about three inches directly above my belly button. How long ago was your surgery? I was terrified mine was flipped but I realize I actually have a hard lump over the port and under the incision and that lump felt like maybe the port was twisted, but the lump is decreasing in size so it's not that. If you are sincerely concerned the only way to know for sure is to go see your doctor.

I was terribly swollen the first week or so and was miserable because I could barely get anything down. Yeah, I had the runs VERY bad for almost two weeks. They never really cleared up until I started on mushies. Like My O My said, every day gets a little bit better. Stay strong, it DOES improve. Are you walking at all? I mean even around your living room. For some reason, it seemed to me the more I got up and around the better the swelling felt. I wonder too if they gave you any anti-inflamitory meds. I got two shots while in the hospital for the swelling and I think that made a huge difference too.

Well first if all it is quite strange your Dr. filled during surgery, this is not standard protocal. WHo is your Dr. Almost all Dr.'s wait unti latleast 6 weeks after to fil lthe band, it is vital to heal and let the swelling from surgery go down before you fill the band, I would ask your Dr. why he fills the band at surgery. Inamed does not reccomend this practice I can assure you. You have not done anything, it was your Dr. who did it, In my opinion he was incorrect to fill during surgery. I am sure others here will agree

Hi everyone, I'm looking for a little feedback or simular experience from anyone who wants to share. Here's my story: For about the last 6 weeks I've been having reflux problems at night. I feel acid in my throat and have a sore throat in the morning. I tried taking Zantac 150mg but it didn't help. Then I tried Prilosec which helped a little bit. I also elevated the head of my bed and stopped eating after 6pm. I also cut out acidic foods. Since none of this seemed to get rid of it completely, I called my fill doctors office. He was on vacation so his nurse told me to go to my primary doctor and ask to have an upper gi/barium swallow done. I just got the results of the upper gi and the impression by the radiologist reads: "old duodenal ulcer or duodenal inflammation.". The primary doctor told me to go back to see the fill doctor (his office is closed until monday) because she didn't know what to do from here. In the mean time she gave me Nexium to take and I'm doing MUCH better since taking it. I don't have any acid in my throat and my sore throat has gone away. I didn't have much faith in the radiologist who did the upper gi because he had never seen a lapband before. He asked me lots of questions about it including "when are you going to have it removed". He didn't understand that I couldn't drink the barium really fast because I had to wait a minute in between swallows for it to go down (it was morning and I try to be extra careful in the morning because I'm a little tighter then in the afternoon) It made me nervous! I have to call the fill doctor on Monday to see if he'll see me. I posted a message on Dr. Kuri's website to see what others thought and I got an immediate email from JoAnn (patient facilitator) telling me to call Dr. Kuri right away! And Sandy,RN told me to get an unfill right away to prevent reflux damage of the esophagus. She thinks I've waited too long already but as soon as I realized the reflux wasn't a temporary thing, I made appointments (it just took a long time to get an appointment with the primary doctor and then I had to wait to have the upper gi done and then another week to get the results) Oh, I hope my band has not eroded or something terrible. I'm doing so well with my weight loss (it's been slow but steady). I hate to think of loosing my band and gaining it all back. :-( Anyone else have a simular experience?

Buyer's remorse, EXACTLY! I had it, too. Though not quite as desperately as you seem to have it! I researched and read and was totally NOT surprised by ANYthing that happened to me Post-surgery. However, there's nothing like living through it. Some folks have the smoothest time, feel great, no problems. I wasn't one of them. I had swelling (with NO fill!) and could only take small sips of liquids. Any time I tried to push it, it would get a little worse, then I started to PB...jello, of all things! I was TIGHT! and miserable. Honestly. Once I got to week two post-surgery, I felt like I was finally back to square one. I pretended I had just been banded and started back at the beginning with Clear Liquids. It was hard. And frustrating. But I made it through. Believe me, there were a few good moments where I wondered, "What the Hell have I done!!!" It took me to week 13 or so post-op to get my first fill. Others were begging for fills at 6 weeks. Not me! I took my sweet time. I initially lost and kept off 15 pounds. I never gained it back, even when eating slowly got easier and easier. But I didn't lose again until I was ready to try and ready for my first fill. Now I have lost about 24 pounds. Not too shabby! I am finally below 200 pounds, just barely, but it feels so good to see a "1" instead of a "2". I can do this with the help of my aggravating, fickle little band. It's still a Love/Hate thing sometimes. But it's working, so it's hard not to argue with the little booger. Chin up, it DOES get better! Do lots of reading on here and get some advice about how to handle things both physically with your eating and mentally with dealing with banded life. Folks can probably give better advice if you'll tell us more than that you have been banded 5 days. Who's your doc (they all do a little different, some other patient's of his/hers might could help)? What size is your band? How much weight are you wanting to lose? What's your diet like at day 5 (another big difference between docs is the post-op menu)? I see this is your second post, so I will find you elsewhere...anyhow, welcome to LBT, the BEST support system for Bandsters! You made the right stop. You can do this!!!

Hi there, I just had my port stitched back into place two weeks ago. Origianlly my port had been stitched into place in two places and I guess one of the stitches became undone and it was sitting on its side. With my weight loss, it was really starting to protrude and it was getting sore, I guess from where it was pushing against my skin. Well, when I had my tt, my doctor went ahead and stitched it back in place, he said he stitched it real good and there in no chance of it flipping again. As far as fills are concerned, Dr. Gomez in Miami managed to give me my fills w/ out flouru even though my port was flipped, so it was no big deal as far as that was concerned. The only uncomforable thing was when I layed down it really protruded out. Well that is my story on my flipped port.

This is the first of my blogs, and I hope there are more to come...just for my personal well being. I'm so far, but much closer than I've been in my entire life. Don't know what that means really. Trying to lose 15-20 pounds pre op, I've lost 5 already and thought I was on my way to a good start. I jacked it up yesterday and today...but I know I'll get back in. Of course, thanksgiving is coming up so I hope I don't slide again. Last thing I'll vent about is my home base support just doesn't get it, and that worries me. It's only been two weeks since I've began this journey and maybe they'll get it eventually...but it's hard trying to make them understand. Oh well...so much for all of that.:confused:

As someone who has gotten into more than my share of "debates" on this forum, one thing to keep in mind (and I often forget myself) is that people who are fresh out of surgery can be very emotional because they are going through a tough time. They will rarely admit to that, but it is not a fun time...those first few weeks. My inclination is to always tell someone the cold hard truth. But it's clear that sometimes people don't really want that, what they want is just some support and encouragement...and to know they are not alone. There are plenty of fine people here who will always give that encouragement. The important thing to remember is that you're likely to get both on any given day. You have to be prepared to receive both if you put yourself out there. I also notice that "tone" gets lost or misconstrued so often in these dust ups. It's so hard to accurately translate someone else's tone over the internet. It makes for plenty of misunderstandings. If we were all sitting around the treehouse having these same conversations, I doubt there would be half as many heated conversations.