Hi spclk60,

The fill was fine. The Dr. gave me a local anesthetic to numb the area and then inserted a small needle into the area were my port is. It took him a while to find the exact right spot (apparently, I have some scar tissue around the port), but he found it and put in 1-cc of saline. It didn't hurt at all. Had to stay on clear-liquids for 24 hours, then semi-liquids for 2 days, then gradually back onto the regular food.

So far so good!

Hi all,
I'm in Sunnyvale. I'll be banded on March 5 at El Camino Hospital, by Dr. Pamela Foster of the Burlingame Surgical group. She operates at Mills-Penn as well as ECR Hospital.

It's great to hear stories from the locals, so keep them coming! It seems the post-op can be pretty easy or somewhat tough depending on the person. I hope I'm a lucky one. :)
Michelle

Dr.Foster is great!! I just saw her on Tuesday for my 2nd fill!!! My 1st fill I had to see Dr.Vetter(sp?)..and the fill was painfull...hers was not at all!!! Good luck with your surgery! The staff @ El Camino is great!!! My DH got to stay in the room with me as well!! Have a great surgery and speedy recovery!

Oh, thanks so much for replying -- I'll be sure to request Dr. Foster for my fills if that's the case!

My mom will be visiting for the surgery and after. I'll let her know she can stay with me. I might need my mommy all night, even though I'll be 48 by March 5. :) I haven't been in the hospital since I got my nose broken in high school...

When you left the hospital did you feel you had all the instructions you needed? It seems rather complicated all in all. How soon were you able to drive, and return to work? I'm hoping not to miss more than a week. :)

Hello
I think the fill hurt because he did not insert the port..Dr.Foster knew exactly were it was!! I felt I had more than enough information, have you gone to the hospital meeting yet? I really liked having a private room, and it was nice have my DH there..just as an extra hand if needed. I was not allowed to drive until I was done with pain meds, maybe a week or so.. I was very sore but also had scar tissue removed from my c-section area from my baby last year.. they give you a great book of info at the hospital, before surgery.. I am now really feeling restriction..it's great!!!! I have lost 35lbs since surgery..11 after my first fill in mid December.. Dr.Foster said that is good weight loss..I have not exercised really yet.. You will do great!

Hello All,
I live in Pleasanton in the east bay. I have a low BMI so the local doctors were not interested in giving me my gastric band. I researched Lap Band doctors and came up with Dr. Lopez-Corvala in Mexico. It was a great experience. I am 5'6" a hit the scale at 200# I still fall in the obese catagory. I am 66 yo and suffer all the problems of the obese back and hip pain, super headaches, high cholestrol, and high bp. I have great support from dh at home but would love to meet up with a Lap Band buddy. I have not told any of my family members as they would not unterstand. All my sibblings, cousins, aunts and uncles are tall and thin.

Hey Sandy! Sounds like you had a lot of good reasons for surgery. I have told my close friends and family what I'm going to do, and so far 90% have been very supportive, the other 10% sort of worried. :) But I felt good telling them; I'll need their support once it's done. And most people need to watch their weight even if they're pretty thin, I find.

Once I have the surgery I'll check in here with you. At that point I'll be a fellow bandster. :)

My pre-op appt is tomorrow. I hope I've lost the rest of the weight I needed to!

Hi. I'm new to this forum and am somewhat confused as to how to use it, but here goes. I'm in Castro Valley and am going to go to my first appointment on March 6 at Kaiser-Richmond, where they do the surgery, to see if it's right for me. My cousin, who looks almost like my identical twin and lives in Ohio, had it done about 6 weeks ago and is doing very well. I'm excited but nervous. I have IBS and GERD, and am wondering how Lap Band procedure works w/those conditions. I hope to get to know some of you as I go through my research and, perhaps, eventual procedure. Best of luck to all of you!

Hi All,

I am also on the Peninsula (in Daly City) and I am being banded on March 3rd in Burlingame at Mills Peninsula Hospital. It's really great to see the photos of you who have recently had the surgery. I am still trying to mentally prep myself for all of the changes to come...any advice from those of you who have already had it? Any problems so far?

Thanks,
Rukshanna

I have GERD and Crohn's disease. The latter means I'm not a candidate for bypass, which is fine with me because I wanted something less severe. My surgeon said the Crohn's should not be disturbed by the band -- it should be the same. The issue is getting the pills down every day since they can't be crushed! As for the reflux, I'm hoping it will get better as I lose weight but I suppose reflux is a pretty common occurrence with a band. I plan to continue my Prilosec for that...

I'm in the East Bay, having my surgery done at Kaiser Richmond. No date as of yet.

Hi! I don't live in the Bay but I'll be having surgery, if approved, in Richmond at Kaiser. I live in the mountains near Yosemite. Anyone who has had surgery at the Richmond facility - was everybody there pretty good? I've heard that they're so busy they just kind of herd you through. I don't need them to hold my hand but I also would like to think they give a darn even though they are seeing so many people. I suppose I'm just nervous. I've been researching and know some about the band and it's function but know so little about the pre-op process that I kind of feel out of balance. I'm one of those people that likes to have a good idea of what's going on at all times. Yes, I have control issues!

Anyway, any info about Richmond would be great. Thanks!

Hey!! I'm form the Bay.. San Jose.. but now living in Ceres.. Had my surgery at Memorial Dr. C. I am 3 weeks post op down 15lbs. !!! Nice to know there are so many BAYers here!!

anyone from the 831 area....im in salinas....my doctor is dr. mark vierra....i know a few people that have had the by-pass from him but i went for the Lap Band....which i am getting on the 1st of april im so excited can you tell....im so glad i found this local forum....so expect a few more post from me in the future....

ahhhh the bay is in the area yadadamean