WEESIE

I think you are doing very well. Just think if you were to lose that much in the next 13 months how much better you will feel. When you started 13 months probably seemed like a long time away and now here you are. Also, remember that this time those pounds are gone for good because you have your tool. You never have to lose those same pounds again like most of us did in the past.

Wow! Your are really working it. You and Bandy are a great pair. Contratulations.

Okay, I had my surgery on Wednesday, May 25, 2011. It was almost uneventful. I checked in at 8:30 for a 9:30 surgery time. I saw that there were patients every hour for my surgeon. Fortunately I was her last patient since my surgery took a little longer than normal. First they had me put on the uniform (gown, cap, footies) and walk into the preop area on my own. Then for vitals. I had this done because of blood pressure problems. I have been taking all three of my meds on time EVERY day for weeks. They wanted a BP of Less than 160/90. OH NO, I checked in at 170/101. I was afraid they would cancel but they chocked it up to nerves. After the IV was started Dr. Holden came in and talked to me. Then came the Anesthesiologist followed by the OR nurse. While they all came by they started my IV and gave me a shot of heparin to prevent blood clots. With all the papers signed and the last visitor I was wheeled to the OR. They were giving me the shot in IV as I was moving over to the table and I asked them to wait so I could see the operating room. Well, I don't remember seeing it. When I woke up in the recovery room the nurse was by my side and trying to control my pain. She never asked the level cause I was moaning. I was finally able to tell her that morphine doesn't work on me. She said okay, but I want to continue with it until we get your BP down. Often Morphine lowers the BP, so when it came down she gave me something better and from there the recovery was pretty quick. I was moved to the stepdown unit and my friend came back. They told us that they found a LARGE hernia and repaired it so I was in surgery about 15 or 20 minutes longer than normal.They also told my friend that I was doing find for someone my age (I'm 61 and don't think that is old) LOL My friend took me to her house and allowed me to sleep and walk there. My husband took me home by 6 p.m. So, yesterday was the first day after surgery. The pain was better and I could walk much better. Today I went several hours past my pain medicine time then realized that what I was interpreting as hunger might be pain so I took it. The hunger did get better. Overall I can say it is amazing how fast the recovery is so far. When you have your surgery and if you have minor or major pain, remember it is for a very short time. The benefits are going to be lifelong and maybe help us have a longer life. It's definitely worth it.

NJGirl, Good to hear from you. I am amazed at how quickly we are healing and the pain is getting better. Enjoy your liquids.

Hi, I am 61 10/12. They never winked at me when I went through all the preparations. I have been on blood pressure meds since about 1986. Now I'm on three different meds and it is getting harder to control. I had surgery Wed. 5/25/2011 so I don't know much about how it will work yet. I am looking forward to being healthier. The only time my age was mentioned is when I had to stay in recovery three hours rather than one hour and they told my friend I was doing fine considering my age.

Welcome and congratulations on your new life. I was banded Wednesday, so we are close to the same age. Looking forward to seeing you around.

Thank you to everyone for sharing your experiences. Today is my second day since surgery and I am already feeling hungry. My liquid diet is for weeks one and two. Yikes! I am older (61) and had a large hernia repaired. I wonder if that's why my liquid phase is longer. Anyway, all of your comments might help me get through it. Thanks for being here.

Amanda, I suggest that you make sure you aren't sick with something else before you just assume it is the band. When you say your urine is dark, there are different degrees of dark. You can try getting more fluids down, especially water and see if the urine looks more normal. If not, you might visit your PCP before jumping into any additional unfill. Good luck.

Mandy, Looking forward to hearing how it went. Take care and welcome to the land of the banded.

No, you are not jinxing yourself. We should always make sure things are not left unsaid. This surgery is very low risk, but so is going to work or taking an airplane flight or any number of things we do everyday! I think it is a good idea (now that you mentioned it) to have a letter for each of our loved ones ALL THE TIME. In addition to trying to make sure we always part on good terms each day or go to bed only after we make sure those in our house know we love them, this letter is a great idea. I had my surgery on Wednesday and never thought of it. I wish I had. I think you should use this as an opportunity to make sure you have it on paper for the future. It probably won't be needed for this surgery, but it is inevitable that we will all come to that point. Your loved ones will appreciate it when that time comes. In the meantime, relax and enjoy the time you have.

Congratulations! The time is going to fly by. They didn't ask me to get off coffee. That would really bother me, but I would have done anything they told me was necessary.

I am still questioning my decision, but I decided not to tell family, friends, or my job. I did tell one friend who picked me up at the surgery center and took me home. I told them I was having surgery because of the gastric reflux (which is true) because this surgery often helps with gastric reflux When they found the large hernia in surgery I was able to tell them that as well. I hope the hernia was a large cause of my reflux and it will truly be gone. My surgery was 5/25/2011. I feared my family would not be supportive and I will tell them after I have lost some weight. I hope they aren't upset that I didn't trust them with it before it was done.

It's good to hear from you today! Glad you're feeling better.

Off to the big event. My sweet husband is driving and eating aromatic breakfast sandwich. His coffee is more tempting. I bet out won't bother me if he eats on the way home.

I had my surgery yesterday. I knew I had a "small" hernia and I asked the doctor to repair it while she was there. She said she would look and repair if she found one. Well,,,she didn't have to look. She told me it was LARGE. I am hoping this helps with the reflux and chest pain that I have often. I can't say if it hurts more or less since this is the only way I have ever had lapband. I thought I was really miserable yesterday and all night, but I seem have turned a corner about 24 hours post op.

I hope you did well yesterday. I had my surgery yesterday also. I am older than most of the people here and it was not a breeze. The good news is that it passes quickly and about 24 hours after I got out of the OR I am able to be on the computer for a bit. Will be watching for your updates.

My SIL just had back surgery and so I took my choice from her pre-op instructions.I had surgery yesterday and I wore a loose fitting dress that we called a moo-moo in the sixties. I didn't think I would feel like bending to put on pants and I was right about that. This worked for me. The nurses were impressed with how easy it was to get me dressed. Good luck with your surgery.

Mandy I was banded yesterday also. I have a lot of gas and I am belching it out. But, if I lay still too long it builds up and won't come out. Driving home from the center yesterday I had to make my husband stop and let me walk around a parking lot because it was so bad. I am getting rid of it by walking which makes me belch. Hope you are feeling better.

Well this is exciting and nerve racking at the same time. I am anxious to have it over with already. I know that my life will change and I have read a lot of people's experiences on here but I can't really get a handle on it. People describe how it feels, what they do, how they and friends and family react to the whole journey. But, I will not understand until I walk through it. I am so ready to have my blood pressure meds reduced or eliminated. I am so ready to be able to bend over without meeting my stomach in the middle. I wonder if I will ever be able to walk 30 minutes all at one time without getting tired and winded. I am afraid of diving into a pool head first from a high board, but I taught swimming and demonstrated it a few times. I feel like I am on the high dive and I know that I will be diving into my new life tomorrow.

Good luck! Look forward to seeing you in the post surgery forums.

Thank you for sharing this with me. I can't wait to get to "mushie". This will be one of the first things I try.

Wow! I didn't know we couldn't chew gum so thanks for telling us that. I guess they would tell me that after surgery., but hearing why really drives it home. Ms. Texas Good Luck with your surgery. I also have surgery in the morning. Mine is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. Hope to see you around on the boards.