I have started a group for us at:

http://www.lapbandtalk.com/groups/april-2010-bandster-bunnies.html

I think it is important that we get together and share our experiences. My date is April 2nd so I wld like to let e'one know how the process went for me. Please spread the word. Wld like to get u all so we begin our journey together.

Hi again to all - I was banded one week and 2 days ago. I am feeling amazingly well, still on full liquids. I have lost the 8 pounds that I gained from water weight and 8 more (real) pounds which is really great for me. Good luck to all.

I vote for the move, too! This group has become my cheer team, my shrink and I love the support we all give and get! I love our shared experiences, answers to questions we're pondering before we even ask...I couldn't imagine this journey without this gang!

Good Morning Bunnies ~

I had my first fill yesterday....and was expecting the worse from reading too many posts and hyping myself up. After having 4 kids, fills are NO BIG DEAL!! For real, the steroid shot in the elbow last year was worse than this. Took all of 5 minutes, a little prick (the shot not the dr!) and I could feel a cold sensation circling my upper stomach and the feeling of fullness at that time. Was given a small bottle of water to sip and told to come back in 6 weeks. Simple, virtually painless without any type of topical anesthesia. My Dr is a pro....pressed around and hit me the first stick. Dr. says NOW we will see some results! Was encouraged to stay liquid yesterday and this morning so I had my boost shake and some water and feel FULL. I had lost 3lbs from my post op visit on 4/16 and I was a little bummed about that....the Dr was thrilled! Said most of his patients GAIN a few lbs. So all in all, a very pleasant experience and nothing I had psyched myself up to expect. Now I plan to go back to all the things I have previously eaten well and "test" them again to ensure I can eat them without issue. I still have yet to try bread/sandwiches and pizza. I do miss a good subway club sandwich.

So if you haven't had your first fill yet, don't stress it. I know we all have different Dr's and issues but I had allowed my "research" on this board to wind me up....be open minded and know my experience was a great one!

Have a fabulous day bunnies and thanks for letting me share!

Kim

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

Went to my pos-op yesterday....everything looking great. I get my first fill on May 20th!!!

Go Bunnies:thumbup:

djbabe- way to go on your fill. I can't wait for mine in two weeks. It will be amazing.

Can't wait to see everyone on the post side.

djbabe,

I am so glad to hear you had a good experience with your fill. I have been dreading mine. :thumbup:

I was supposed to go this week, but I went to the doc and was put on antibiotics and steroids for and ear infection so I postponed. I have not really been hungry and am losing.

I hope your fill works well for you.

I guess we always expect the worst.:thumbup:

djbabe,

I am so glad to hear you had a good experience with your fill. I have been dreading mine. :thumbup:

I was supposed to go this week, but I went to the doc and was put on antibiotics and steroids for and ear infection so I postponed. I have not really been hungry and am losing.

I hope your fill works well for you.

I guess we always expect the worst.:thumbup:

D, I hope you are feeling better soon!! I am anxious to hear how your fill goes.

Glad you are not too hungry and losing weight though stinks to be sick to do it. Take Care hon!!

Kim

I was banded on April 23rd and it is great to read how well everyone is doing. I am not so lucky. I have had problems after about 1 week post op. I started feeling bad pain in my left shoulder which is the referred pain. I went to the Dr and apparently they left about 4 cc of fluid in my band after the surgery. It is common to do this but I asked if they were going to leave fluid in the band and they said no. Well I guess not because it was in there! So everything was very tight. They took out 2 cc and I felt instant relief. However, a day later I was having pain no matter what I ate or if I ate. I handled that for another week trying to figure out what to eat to make the pain go away. I also started getting the reflux stuff and the first nausea I had experienced since the surgery. Plus, I now couldn't sleep on my side which I found interesting since so many posts talked about this being an issue after the surgery. It was like after they took the 2 cc's out I was in post-op week one all over again. Now I am post op 2 weeks and 3 days and I went back to the Dr today and they took out the other 2 cc's. I hope it helps. I am now taking 2 weeks off from work and hoping that will help me get onto the next phase of real food.. or mushies at least. So here's to hopin I get to the next phase.. I know it will happen it just takes time.

Good luck to everyone!

hpygirl- sorry to hear about your trouble. Keep up the good spirits. This will pass and all will be well.

I was banded on April 23rd and it is great to read how well everyone is doing. I am not so lucky. I have had problems after about 1 week post op. I started feeling bad pain in my left shoulder which is the referred pain. I went to the Dr and apparently they left about 4 cc of fluid in my band after the surgery. It is common to do this but I asked if they were going to leave fluid in the band and they said no. Well I guess not because it was in there! So everything was very tight. They took out 2 cc and I felt instant relief. However, a day later I was having pain no matter what I ate or if I ate. I handled that for another week trying to figure out what to eat to make the pain go away. I also started getting the reflux stuff and the first nausea I had experienced since the surgery. Plus, I now couldn't sleep on my side which I found interesting since so many posts talked about this being an issue after the surgery. It was like after they took the 2 cc's out I was in post-op week one all over again. Now I am post op 2 weeks and 3 days and I went back to the Dr today and they took out the other 2 cc's. I hope it helps. I am now taking 2 weeks off from work and hoping that will help me get onto the next phase of real food.. or mushies at least. So here's to hopin I get to the next phase.. I know it will happen it just takes time.

Good luck to everyone!

I am so sorry this has happened to you. I hope they get you straightened out really quickly. Thinking about you and sending good vibs your way!

Thank you all for the good thoughts. Today was better and knock on wood it will continue to do so. Probably because I finally decided to take off from work. Oh well what can you do. I don't care as long as I continue to get better. This is a process and it is harder then anyone can explain. Thank god for this forum as only those going through it can really understand. Funny thing my significant other has lost 8lbs since my surgery.. he says it is simpathy weight loss.

D, I hope you are feeling better soon!! I am anxious to hear how your fill goes.

Glad you are not too hungry and losing weight though stinks to be sick to do it. Take Care hon!!

Kim

Had my first fill today. It was a breeze. It hurt less than a blood draw. He just used iodine. It took about 3 seconds as you can feel my port under the skin easily. I have a drop of blood on the bandaide, but no noticible bruising, yet anyway. Did you bruise?

I expressed my concerns about being too restricted like I keep reading about so he did 1.5 cc instead of the 2cc they usually do. I scheduled to go back in 4 weeks. He said I should feel restriction for 2-3 weeks and start feeling hungry again about week four.

So how have you done with your fill? Are you feeling restriction? Are you hungry? Are you losing weight?

Hope you are doing great and seeing the pounds drop off.:smile2:

I was banded on 4/1 and don't get my first fill until 5/27. I can hardly wait! I am so hungry!

Hello everyone!

I just found this thread tonight so I am jumping in a little behind. I was banded in Cancun on 4/23/10. Everything went great and it was a great experience - not to mention the awesome vacation I had for several days beforehand.

I am all healed and getting very hungry. My band is empty but I am looking forward to my first fill which is one week from Friday. Hoping it will cut out this gnawing hunger that I keep experiencing. I can see that even without it my portions are smaller and I did have one nasty stuck episode with a vicious bite of chicken that left me sore for the whole next day but live and learn I guess. Have lost about 22 lbs all in all so I guess I can live with that for now.

Anywho just wanted to jump in and say hello.