I had lapband surgery on Monday. Today's Thursday, so I thought I would type up a few notes about how I've been feeling and how recovery has gone so far. The reason for these entries are two-fold; one, in a year from now I'm looking forward to going back and reading some of these older entries, and two, for anyone considering the surgery or about to have it, I thought I would share what I've gone through you you'll know what to expect.

Day 1, Post-Op (Tuesday)

It's been 25 years since I've had surgery (and I'm only 34) so I really don't remember what the last one was like. Right now, my torso is sore. I'm sore on the inside and the outside. I can feel that my stomach inside is sore, but I can also feel all my stitches. They don't hurt that much, but they feel tight. When I move around, I'm aware of them. I ended up taking a couple of naps throughout the day simply to rest. I've taken two doses of Loritab to get me through the day. On a scale of 1 to 10 I would say the most I've felt is a 5 or 6. After the Loritab, things go down to a 1 or maybe even a 0. Today I wore a t-shirt, pajama bottoms, and slip on shoes. I didn't wear socks because I couldn't put them on (too sore to bend over). Most of the day was spent hanging around the house, either sitting in my rocker, sitting at the computer, or lying in bed. The stitches "pull" every time I stand up and I'm afraid to do too much. They also felt tight during the ride home from the hospital; a coat held over my tummy helped the bouncing feel better.

Day 2, Post-Op (Wednesday)

Feeling much better. In fact, went shopping with my dad after taking a dose of Loritab. Walked around Toys R Us for 20-30 minutes, doing some Christmas shopping. Was able to get in to and out of his truck easily. Came home, rested a bit on the computer. Later, went for a ride with the wife to pick up the son at school, followed by a quick trip by work to say "hi" to everyone. After that tour, I felt like I had overdone it. I was tired and my shoulder was really aching. I've heard various stories about shoulder pain related to this surgery (everything from nerves to anesthesia), but hopefully that will get better soon. To be honest, my shoulder is the only thing that really hurts constantly at this point. I can feel my stitches if I twist, turn or bend the wrong way, but I'm already starting to forget about them.

Day 3, Post-Op (Thursday)

The wife went back to work today, so it's just been me around the house. Watched a couple of movies, made myself some soup, and just having a good time in general. I'm going back to picking up the boy from school today and I don't see any problems with driving. I took my first full shower since coming home from the hospital and it felt great. I could have taken one earlier but I didn't feel comfortable touching the stitches -- not pain, just worry. Everything went fine and I scrubbed from head to toe. I was even able to bend over and get the shampoo from the floor. After the shower, I was even able to put socks on, so there! I wouldn't want to run a marathon at this point, but if I had to return to my desk job tomorrow I'd be okay. I'm still a little sore around the edges and my shoulder still hurts, but for the most part I'd say I'm ... oh, 75% back to normal. Maybe 80%. I feel pretty good.