Carletta B.

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So I had surgery on Monday, May 9th to remove the lap band and to revise to a RNY gastric bypass. When I woke up, I was in very litte pain and almost could not believe that I'd had anything done.  My surgeon, Dr. Kevin McGill, was great! 

Everything is going well except for a really bad pain on my right side.  It feels like something is pulling and it seems to be getting tighter.  When I told the surgeon's office about it (a few days after surgery) they said it was to be expected as it's the area where the heavy work was done and where the deepest incision was made.  I thought by now it would be almost gone but it's not.  I requested an appointment for Thursday, May 26th as I am worried.

Aside from that, things are so much better than I expected them to be.  I have no problem meeting my protein or fluid goals and I have no pain, reflux, or vomiting. I was at 286 and I'm now at 261. I do get tired a bit faster than before but I'm trying to stay active during my recovery, so I guess that's to be expected.  I really do with I had done this procedure in 2002 instead of the lap band.  I am grateful for the time I had between procedures to establish a healthier relationship with food.

Today I started my pre-surgical diet of 1 protein shake for breakfast, 1 protein shake for lunch, and a "sensible" dinner.

I am not sure what a sensible dinner is as it was not clearly defined by my surgeon's office. I've decide I'll have 3.5 ounces of boneless baked chicken or turkey and kale salad or brocolli slaw every evening for the next two weeks. One think I can say is this whole diet is much easier this time around, I don't have issues with cravings too much anymore. I am grateful to be going into this with my eyes wide open this time and taking with me the lessons learned from the band.

I am a bit nervous about scar tissue and pain after the procedure. Get my head right about that is the greatest challenge so far.

Wow, it has been almost 20 years since getting the adjustable gastric lap band.  It was a good run up until about 2016 and then I could not keep anything down, not even water.  All restriction was removed in July of 2016 and I wanted it removed.  Unfortunately since there was evidince of band erosion on the upper GIs (I had 5 between 2016 and 2019), the insurance would not pay. I decided to look into having another weight loss surgery as a means of having the band removed (and covered by insurance). I started the process in 2021 hoping that I'd have the band removed in one procedure and then a revised weight loss surgery a few months later.  When I went for the endoscopy in Jan of 2022, horrific erosion was found. I had to be on 3 antibiotics for close to 3 months and my surgury date is now set for 05/09/2022.  The band removal and a RNY will be done at the same time.

I am nervous and ready for the band to be removed. My surgeon's name is Kevin McGill and he's covered by my insurance.  The good news is that his wife is partners with my first surgeon, Scott Steinberg, so I feel like I'm in good hands.

More to follow...