My Gastric Band Diary

[Defren]

Thanks for the e-mail, I am going to read that this afternoon.

I'm pleased things are moving along at a steady pace. You don't ever want to rush these things, and by the sounds of things, you're doing brilliantly. Your weight loss is great, I lost very, very quickly initially as I had problems with Metformin, now it's a nice steady 1-2lbs a week. That said I have hit a bit of a plateau, but I am normal BMI now, so the extra I want to lose is not vital, just my own personal goal. Brilliant work, keep it up and be good to your self.

Jo.

[helen louise]

Wound check yesterday revealed that the largest wound is slightly infected, if it had been the smaller wounds they probably would have left it but as this is the port site they have to be very careful so I have been given a 5 day course of anti b's, blood sugar is a bit haywire but thats down to what I am eating at the moment, fruit purees, mashed pot etc so my low carb eating it well out of the window, its only for a short time as I need to be eating normally by the time of my first band fill on 19th Nov so I am not overly worried, the long term benefits far outway the short term issues at present

[helen louise]

Anti b's having no effect as yet even though we are on day 5,
spoken to nurse this morning to find out if I can apply manuka honey & she said to try it, they don't use it in the hospital but there is plenty of research to say it can work very well,

The reason why I suggested the manuka honey to help wound healing is that one of my dogs was diagnosed with cancer in the summer & once the lump was removed her wound which was quite large (4/5inches long) failed to heal which sadly is the result of the type of cancer she has (mast cell) after being refered to a vet oncologist he suggested using the MH to help as the quicker the wound healed the quicker we could start the radiotherapy & chemo, within 2 days of applying the MH the wound had healed more than in the previous 10 days! a week later the oncologist gave the go ahead for radiotherapy

[helen louise]

Just 3 applications & 30 hours later the soreness has gone, the red inflammed area around the wound has decreased by 2/3

I will continue to apply the Manuka honey for at least another couple of days

[Momblegoose]

Glad you're seeing some improvement Helen. Just goes to show .. sometimes natural is best!

[helen louise]

It was going so very well until for some unknown reason my skin took a distinct dislike to the expensive dressings I bought in boots!

I had been buying them from savers but as I was in boots on sunday I picked a packet up there at 4 times the price! put one on with the manuka honey just before going to bed on sunday night & woke up monday morning in agony, I had to peel the dressing off of blisterd skin

You could tell it was the sticky part of the dressing that caused it as the square in the middle that holds the pad was fine!

So I now have a very nicely healed wound surrounded by a rather nasty looking square frame which means I can't apply anymore MH

[Defren]

It was going so very well until for some unknown reason my skin took a distinct dislike to the expensive dressings I bought in boots!

I had been buying them from savers but as I was in boots on sunday I picked a packet up there at 4 times the price! put one on with the manuka honey just before going to bed on sunday night & woke up monday morning in agony, I had to peel the dressing off of blisterd skin

You could tell it was the sticky part of the dressing that caused it as the square in the middle that holds the pad was fine!

So I now have a very nicely healed wound surrounded by a rather nasty looking square frame which means I can't apply anymore MH

Oh bu**er! It's just a small blip Helen, don't be disheartened, it will heal.

Take care - Jo.

[helen louise]

Well today I move onto the next phase

I move from blended foods to foods that I can mash with a fork!

You would never believe how much blending a food can alter its taste, the chilli con carne was revolting

Wound is looking good but with my BS levels so high its going to take time, another couple of weeks & I will be back onto more normal foods which will help, living on readybrek/mash/low fat custard for a couple of weeks really isn't doing my levels any favours but at least I know its only short term!

[helen louise]

Weightloss has completely stalled which isn't a surprise as I am eating pretty much the same volume as before the op as I don't have any restriction yet, today I move on to normal foods

I am now 4 weeks post op & my first band fill is on the 19th!

[helen louise]

Latest A1C confirmed as 7.8, thats up from 6.8 in June, hardly surprising really with what I have been eating recently!

[helen louise]

Had my diabetes review yesterday, no real news, if I hadn't had the op the nurse would have increased my meds but we both agreed that wouldn't be such a good idea as we wouldn't know what was responsible when/if my bs levels started dropping, we decided to leave it until my next review mid feb, by then I would have had enough time for at least a couple of band fills,

First band fill is monday!

[helen louise]

1st band fill this morning

I had a chat with my consultant first who preformed the surgery & he confirmed my liver was very floppy during sugery which indeed meant the the liver defatting diet had done its job well, he also told me the reason I had a small band (10ml) fitted was that I had very little internal fat around my stomach which is good news! others with more fat would have a 14ml fitted,

Went very well, had an xray to check the port was in the right place, the port is where they inject the fluid into the band, it is located on my breastbone,
The dr 1st injected 4ml & got me to swallow a mouth full of barium & check how well it trickled down, but it didn't, sort of felt like it was sat in the throat! he then removed 1ml which helped but still felt uncomfortable so he took it down to 2.75ml, it trickled down slowly but steadily so it was left at that amount,

I must admit is someone told me I would be stood up on a machine with a needle & tubing stuck out of my chest whilst having numorous xrays I think I would have been a little more woried than I was! but thankfully it all went much better than I expected,

I now just wait & see what kind of restriction this gets, it varies how many fills you need, anything from 1 to 7/8!

any further fills will just be with the consultant & no xrays needed

[Jude]

Hi Helen

Just wondering how you are getting on as you havent posted since you had the first band fill. Are you ok?

Judith

[helen louise]

Hi

Had a bit of restriction for a couple of days but that has worn off! its quite common & most people require 3 or 4 fills before restriction happens,

The only way I can describe how the effects wear off it if you put a ring on your finger for the first time it will feel a bit tight, but give it a couple of days & it starts to bed into the finger & it no longer feels tight, same thing with the band, it has bedded into the stomach surface which will most probably have a layer of fat to sit in anyway gradually after each band fill the effects will wear off until the weightloss has reduced the outer stomach fat layer & can no longer bed in anymore, thats what they call the sweet spot & usually the band will no longer need to be filled, my package incs unlimited fills for the first 2yrs, by then I shouldn't need anymore but if I do the hospital charge around £40,

I am booked in for my 2nd fill this coming monday evening, will let you know how I go

[helen louise]

Had my 2nd band fill on monday eve, consultant put in another 2ml so now have 4.75ml (10ml band)

Quite a bit of restriction in the morning to the point that I don't eat breakfast first thing now, i just have a tea/coffee then eat something an hour or so later, by then I have loosened up a bit!

Lunch yesterday was a small jacket spud as I need to have soft food for a couple of days, that filled me up, lunch today was 1/2 a sandwich again that has filled me up, hubby fancied a chinese last night so I ate a small amount of rice & noodles,

Tonights dinner will be pot roast beef made in the slow cooker with cheese dumplings!

I do now feel like I am heading in the right direction, I won't now have anymore band fills until after christmas & its time now to start cutting down a bit on the carbs, it is advised when eating that you start with your proteins as they are very important for body repair etc then you eat your veg & finally if not full you eat your carbs

will keep you updated