Hi Guys,

I got my lap band on Sept 15 - I felt great up to now ... however last night I started feeling muscular type pains in my stomach (at the top center incision area) everytime I move - this may have been caused from me moving too quickly. I am wondering if anyone has felt similar type pains.

First fill this morning. Am showing up 1 1/2 lbs :

And although it should have been easy, my doc's partner did it. He wasn't sure exactly where the "sweet spot" on the port was and after poking around 4 or 5 times and numbing me because he was poking so much, he took an xray. It was very interesting how it looked. Turns out my port is turned around and you have to actually go in underneath to add saline. I have two bandaids, a little blood on my shirt and am a little sore but overall a very interesting morning..... He made a note on my file and took a picture to put in so that next time they will already know how to access the port. He also had me do a barium swallow to show me the difference between the band wide open and after he added saline. Pretty cool........

Wow. Sorry u had that experience. It's kind of scary when you say the doc didn't know where the port entry was. Glad they finally figured it out. You'd think that would be in the chart right away!!!

Good Day All:

Banded 9/2/11. No issues. Add 2 cc's added to band on 10/7/11. Didn't notice any change. Next visit 11/11.

Today makes 3 weeks post op for me. The day of surgery I was 247.7. I weighed in at 230.4 today, down 3.0 lbs from last week. When i first started in July at the consultation I was 264.5. I'm just starting to feel back to normal, pain free. Thank goodess. I'm still on pureed for another week then onto soft for 3 weeks. No fill for me unil the 17th of Nov.

No need to fill down about having more than others to lose. You will lose it. You have started the journey to long lasting health. Be patient with yourself and try not to talk down about the awesome changes you're making. You'll get there'd in time. We all can!

Hey All,

I'm 3 weeks out from surgery, too! This week I've had mushy foods. So good from being on liquids for 4 weeks (2 pre-op and 2 post-op). I've lost a total of 24.5 lbs. so far and am happy with that. I still have some shoulder pain at times which I guess will go away eventually. I'm lucky in that I've never gotten really hungry between meals. I'm just so happy to be on THIS side of the band!!! Thought that day would never come! Take care everyone! I love reading your posts.

Peg

Peg, good to hear from you and glad you are doing well. I too am doing well at 5 weeks postop. We have a great group of Sept 2011 bandsters here!

Well weighed myself this morning. Down 1.4. Total loss 34 including preop. Went shopping yesterday and bought 2 new pants in smaller sizes. My clothes are sloppy baggy. I have been more hungry this morning and im pretty sure that its bc i ran out of milk and i usually use milk in my morning Protein shake. I am surprised at my weight loss this month bc it has been a crazy month. Ds is in baseball this fall and between games, practice and batting lessons its a 4 night a week ordeal. I have been making super good choices which i am proud of. I did have 2 crackers from ds' lunchable. Well 2 crackers with the meat and cheese. I track everything on myfitnesspal. I have been trying to stay under 1200 cal, 50 carbs and at least 60 g Protein. I acheive that nearly everyday. Some days i am a little short on the protein. I am so happy with my decision to do this. I am so glad that i am changing m life. I can actually sit with my legs crossed like a lady! Havent been able to do that in a long while.

J

Banded 9/22

Well weighed myself this morning. Down 1.4. Total loss 34 including preop. Went shopping yesterday and bought 2 new pants in smaller sizes. My clothes are sloppy baggy. I have been more hungry this morning and im pretty sure that its bc i ran out of milk and i usually use milk in my morning Protein shake. I am surprised at my weight loss this month bc it has been a crazy month. Ds is in baseball this fall and between games, practice and batting lessons its a 4 night a week ordeal. I have been making super good choices which i am proud of. I did have 2 crackers from ds' lunchable. Well 2 crackers with the meat and cheese. I track everything on myfitnesspal. I have been trying to stay under 1200 cal, 50 carbs and at least 60 g protein. I acheive that nearly everyday. Some days i am a little short on the protein. I am so happy with my decision to do this. I am so glad that i am changing m life. I can actually sit with my legs crossed like a lady! Havent been able to do that in a long while.

J

Banded 9/22

Congrats on the success! I hear you about the sloppy baggy clothes! Mine are beyond baggy but luckily I have clothes that were too small that now fit and some are a little baggy! So exciting. One of my friends suggested going to Goodwill to get some clothes for the in between stages, I may do that. It is so exciting losing weight! Including the pre-op I have lost 29 lbs as of today.

Hi Everyone! I'm Jason and I'd like to join the group.

Here's the twist. I was banded in December 2009. Issue is that it was completely devoid of any saline and was never filled until 2 days ago. The surgeon believed waiting 6 months before the first fill and in that time I lost my job and also my insurance.

I'm thankful that I found a new job last summer and I love it, but it's a small company and the insurance covers NOTHING regarding the lap bands, not fills, not the doctor's visit, not even the cup of Water they give you when you walk out the door.

So, I'm finally filled. I have the "big" lap band (14cc's I think) and he put 5.5 cc's in there under a fluroscope. He said with that, I should feel very uncomfortable if I continue to eat like I've been.

2 nights before I went to a Sushi buffet and closed the place down. I've had ZERO restriction and could eat unlimited amounts of anything. Right now I'm on yogurt and pudding and tomorrow I can start with blended stuff. (or just scrambled eggs since there's NO WAY I'm blending food)

Sad thing is that the day of surgery I weiged 290. The post op, mostly liquid and no carb diet brought me down to 251 at my lowest in March 2010.

As of 2 days ago I was 319. That's a gain of 68 pounds since surgery. Needless to say, I'm ashamed. I've been able to save up over the last year and have found a new surgon who will take credit cards so I'm paying for follow up myself. This is motivator #2 or 3 for me.

So for all intents and purposes, it's like I was just banded but worse because I don't remember the protocol very well. I found a new surgeon. I finally have Fluid in my band, and I'm scared to death of what lies ahead. The new sugeon's support groups start up again in 3 weeks so this site is all I've got.

Please adopt me.

...and.... if anyone can tell me if oatmeal and or cream of wheat is a "heavy liquid" or a "mushie", that would be awesome.

If anyone has any threads that are favorites, please let me know those too.

I have to succeed. I'm 36 years old, fat, diabetic. have apnea and a 3 year old daughter I want to be around for.

Help....please.

Thanks

Jason

Jason - I just read your post; not sure how long ago you posted it, but the one thing I read that stuck out is that you are asking about oatmeal and/or cream of wheat! The most successful weight loss is going to come with a complete overhaul of what you are eating as well, which should mean very low carbs. Forget oatmeal and cream of wheat - think eggs, Protein, shakes, etc. My Dr. has had a lot of success with the banding because he insists on low carb living along with the band as a tool only! You've got a completely new start so make it count and get rid of the bad foods too - for your daughter's sake!

Stay positive! There's a great book to read - Why We Get Fat by Gary Taubes.....it's my Dr's bible and very interesting, especially if you're a carb addict (like most of us are, just won't admit it). Good Luck on your journey!!!

Thank you. I just didn't know you could get this procedure if you didn't have 100+ lbs to lose.

I definitely have 100+ to lose, so you aren't alone.

I started at 127 pounds to lose, so no, you are not alone. Slowly but surely it is going to happen.

Update - I get out of the shower this morning and I actually have purple black and blue bruises where he tried to find my port! Go Figure! I'm a little sore to but nothing major - and I've started to lose again! down 2 1/2 lbs since Tuesday! hurrah!

First fill this morning. Am showing up 1 1/2 lbs :

And although it should have been easy, my doc's partner did it. He wasn't sure exactly where the "sweet spot" on the port was and after poking around 4 or 5 times and numbing me because he was poking so much, he took an xray. It was very interesting how it looked. Turns out my port is turned around and you have to actually go in underneath to add saline. I have two bandaids, a little blood on my shirt and am a little sore but overall a very interesting morning..... He made a note on my file and took a picture to put in so that next time they will already know how to access the port. He also had me do a barium swallow to show me the difference between the band wide open and after he added saline. Pretty cool........

Update - I get out of the shower this morning and I actually have purple black and blue bruises where he tried to find my port! Go Figure! I'm a little sore to but nothing major - and I've started to lose again! down 2 1/2 lbs since Tuesday! hurrah!

Are they going to leave the port as is? That's just too weird. Congrats on the loss of 2 1/2 more lbs.!!!

Jason - I just read your post; not sure how long ago you posted it, but the one thing I read that stuck out is that you are asking about oatmeal and/or cream of wheat! The most successful weight loss is going to come with a complete overhaul of what you are eating as well, which should mean very low carbs. Forget oatmeal and cream of wheat - think eggs, protein, shakes, etc. My Dr. has had a lot of success with the banding because he insists on low carb living along with the band as a tool only! You've got a completely new start so make it count and get rid of the bad foods too - for your daughter's sake!

Stay positive! There's a great book to read - Why We Get Fat by Gary Taubes.....it's my Dr's bible and very interesting, especially if you're a carb addict (like most of us are, just won't admit it). Good Luck on your journey!!!

It is so fascinating to see how each surgeon has their own take on things. I'm on the week 5 diet stage and the list of foods the nutritionist gave me included cream of wheat, oatmeal, baked potato (without skin), baked sweet potato (without skin), applesauce, pureed vegetables. I considered these healthy foods as long as you weren't loading them up with sugar, butter, sour cream, etc. No wonder I've slowed down losing weight. Why put that on the list if we aren't supposed to be eating them? Sigh.