Bebrie

Hi Hawkeye2u - did you ever find someone?

Coming home was okay as my husband drove home and I slept all the way. Yes there is pain but mostly when you are moving and mostly where your port incision is. I really thought I would be feeling better than this as some people say they were feeling better in just a couple of days. I think as a mother and wife I was feeling guilty about sleeping and resting but now know that when I do take advantage of sleeping, which seems to be all the time, that I start to feel better. The gas pains in your shoulders is also sore but I find a heating pad works well and others say that you should walk as much as possible to get rid of the gas pains. Today is only 4 days after surgery and this afternoon I can tell that my body is healing and I am getting stronger. I am still on the liquid diet and am having a hard time getting those down as I am suddenly finding them too sweet. Good luck on the rest of your protein drinks - it does get easier!

HI everyone! Well, I did it! Had my surgery yesterday! I was starting to get really nervous the day before the surgery. I kept asking myself, "is this really what I want to do"? I happened to stumble on some YouTube videos of people who have documented their lap band journey and I became so encouraged and excited! Check out BandedWendy on Youtube - she documented from her pre-op diet to reaching and maintaining her weight. There were lots of others on there who also shared their stories and gave excellent tips and advice. I think I will make this a habit to review these videos throughout my journey. I finally feel like I can do this and finally lose and keep the weight off. So, you probably want to know how the surgery went. I had to go into the centre 1 hour prior to my surgery where they weighed me, took my vitals, had me change into a gown, and started an IV. Everybody was so excellent and everything happened so fast that I didn't have a lot of time to be scared or anxious. They had me walk to the surgery room and as soon as I walked in there I started to panic. They had me lay on the bed and within seconds they told me that they were going to give me some oxygen and I remember trying to stay awake as long as possible so that there was no mistake that I was really out. lol...I remember thinking that I am not going to fall asleep and the next thing I remember I was in the recovery room. The surgery couldn't have went better in my opinion. There was very little time to start talking myself out of it or build up any further fear - it was quick and best of all no pain what so ever. But as eoon as I woke up, I felt burning on my stomach and was in pain. All I can tell you is the the pain was bearable and it got better as time passed and even today I went out shopping a bit. I can't believe how quickly I am healing! I have been through the hardest part and am excited to start working on my health. Something BandedWendy shared on one of her videos was that the band only looks after 40% of the weight loss and you must look after the other 60% through good choices and exercise. I am ready to do this and want to encourage other to continue on their journey - we can do this and finally end our obesity!

Yes, it was so hard to not cheat. But hang in there as it gets easier. Today is my last day of the pre-op diet - getting banded tomorrow (yea!) and even last night I had to finally go to bed because I had so many cravings. Use this time to your advantage. For example, I never thought I was an emotional eater and during my pre-op diet I realized that food provides me comfort. I never really understood this and now I will look for other ways to find comfort. I rarely ever let people comfort me because I am so "strong". Now I know that I either have to find other ways to comfort myself or let my family be the ones to comfort me when I need it. I am so thankful that I now understand this. I have been trying for years to find out why I eat. There were also times where I wanted to give up, especially since my pre-op diet was over Christmas and New Years. I have 3 other friends who went through lapband surgery over 1 year ago and neither of them regret their decision, so this kept my eye on the prize. Good luck on the 13th!

Hello fellow January Banders!! Looks like I might be one of the first ones in this group to become banded as my date of surgery is January 4th!! Yikes!!! I now only have 4 days left of my pre-op diet left and just wanted to tell you guys that it does get easier as time goes by. I am on the 2 week protein shake diet for pre-op and it was very hard over Christmas. It was actually unbearable. What was the hardest for me is knowing that I couldn't eat like I used to over Christmas. Even though I know I can still enjoy alot of the same foods, the thought of losing that control of over how much I could eat really scared me and opened my eyes to maybe why I am overweight. I never thought I was an emotional eater but there must be something there that food does for me - I think it just provides so much comfort. But, as much comfort as it has provided it has provided far more discomfort for me and this is what I need to remember. If you ever feel like cheating while on the pre-op I encourage you to come back to this forum as it really helped me to stay on track. Also, I had several headaches over the first week days and was really tired. There were also lots of days that I just wanted to give up surgery just so i could eat and try to do it on my own. But again, I guess this is why I am here. I always gave up just to give into the temptation. Good luck everyone and if you need any encouragement don't hesitate to contact me!!!

Looks like we have the same surgery date! I'm booked for the 4th also. You're so lucky that you don't have to start your pre-op until after Christmas. I am so stressed on how I'm going to make it through Christmas. It will be nice to have someone to go through this with and hope that we can support each other though this!

Hey everyone! Just went to my consultation with the surgeon today. Was told that I would have surgery on the 14th of December but now they are booked so have to wait until Jan 11. I'm fairly upset as I had already made arrangements at work and now I have to change everything. Just feel like this is going to draw more attention to myself. I don't want anyone at work to know - lots of physically fit people who would definitely stick their nose up at my decision. Ugggh.... I walked away feeling like the centre wasn't very professional and now I'm getting nervous about the surgery, especially listening to the surgeon tell me all the complications that could happen. Still thinking of going through with it though. I keep thinking I should be able to do this on my own - but even if I did there is still the risk of gaining the weight back.

Hi everyone, My consultation is next week and I thought I would ask those who have been through the surgery what questions should I be asking. It seems like there is different kinds of bands, should I be asking what type he will be using? If you had to do it over again, which questions would you have asked?

Thanks everyone for your responses. I am from Saskatchewan and I now know that they only costs I can recoup are from our income tax.

My husband and I both have medical benefits through our jobs. Are there any other Canadians who have had their surgery covered fully or partially through their medical plans? I haven't had surgery yet (Dec 16!!!) and if I can get some of the costs covered that would be an extra bonus!

Hi ladies and congratulations to "Timetobefree" on your weight loss. You have lost a lot of weight in such a short time. I am really worried about the excess skin - what has your experience been like? Having this surgery ( I am scheduled for Dec) is scary enough for me but having to go for other surgeries after this to get rid of the extra skin terrifies me! Did you have lots of problems with keeping food down? Also, what were people's reaction to the amount of weight you lost in such a short time? I don't plan on telling people about my surgery but not sure how I will handle the questions I will get when I start to lose the weight.

Hi everyone, I have a pre-surgical assessment booked for Nov. Is there anyone in these forums who have had the surgery through Omni centre? I am a little nervous as they are have only been open for a year:unsure:.

I'm with you, Newbie! The extra skin really worries me also. Does anyone have any tips on what can be done to help reduce the excess skin.