AGNP

I was given advice in my behavioral change support group to check out this site. I must say, I was apprehensive @ first as I have been on other forum/chat sites where there is a lot of cattiness and bad attitudes. This site is awesome and everyone is so supportive. It has really helped me through this first few days post op.

This may be airway irritation from being intubated. Keep drinking fluids and if you were sent home with an incentive spirometer (a plasitc apparatus that you do deep inhalation exercise on) use it every hour to loosen up any other secretions and get junk out of the lungs

I am freaked out half the day that something is wrong. I am on POD #3 and have tons of belching and also this high pressure feeling like a huge baseball is coming up from my stomach and up into my chest and throat area. It is not a belch? I don't make any noise but air is moving? All I know is that there is a lot of pressure and it is pretty painful, kinda like an esophageal spasm. I am having a horrible time getting my liquids in because of this and the fullness I am feeling. I am walking aroung a lot. Sorry to sound whiny; I am just kinda freaked out at this point.

On post-op day #2. Wondering if some of the odd symptoms I was having today are "normal." After reading many posts on LBT and calling my NP, they certainly are. Not hungry whatsoever, just thirsty and wishing I could take a huge drink of water right now. But slow small sipping is the way to go. The journey begins and I cant wait to see results!

Peaceful1, thanks for asking! I had my surgery Monday as well and am experiencing the same thing. It is almost like a tight spasm. Mine comes and goes regardless of liquid consumption. I called my NP today and she said the exact same thing as all of the replies.....it is totally normal. Glue your water bottle to your hand and take frequent SMALL sips, trying not to swallow a lot of air when sipping. She said this should improve in the next couple of days or so. So thanks again! I was wondering if this was normal as well!

Good luck. I agree with the other posts. Read EVERTYTHING you can. That being said, read everything that is valid and reputable. There is a lot of crap out there. When I first started reading and doing research on WLS, I looked at every option and each procedure to see which one was best for how I live. This is a lifestyle change but you still have to account for how you live your day to day life and mesh that with your new habits. This has been a 4 year journey for me and now I will be having surgery next week. 3 and a half of that was me doing some deep thinking, research, and self reflection. The last 6 months has been the required appointments and counseling needed for my insurance and the bariatric center. Think of and ask every question you can, no matter how insignificant or "'dumb" you think they are. I GUARANTEE almost every one in the room has or had the same question at some point. Good luck.

Just had my last appt. with my surgeon and with anesthesia. It hit me when I was signing the consents - this is really going to happen. I don't know why I had that point as a reality check. Probably bacause of the language and rhetoric of the consents. Who knows. Anyhow, good to go for next Monday. Pray to God it doesn't storm so I can make it to the hospital on surgery day!

Doing the surgery during semester break was a MUST for me. I could about imagine what kind of research and writing I would come up with if I had to do this during finals week! It is kind of unfortuante though as my original date was the 10th. I was actually all done with all classes but one on the 10th. Always one that drags out until the very end. Good luck!

Hi, Surgery day is December 17th. I have not been told about a pre-op diet yet but meet with the surgeon tomorrow to review pre-op physical results and the the official "go" I guess. So I asked on a another forum how the December folks feel about getting banded during the holiday season, if you observe a holiday of sorts. I am glad I am doing it over the holidays as this is a lifetime commitment that includes birthdays, holidays, office parties, etc. I need to learn how to cope with large amount of food around and being around people who do not have a probelem with food as I do. I am also trying to find my emotional compass and some internal reasons as to why I have gotten to this point and why food is my coping mechanism of choice.

I am just putting this out there to see how those who observe feel about getting banded during the holiday season. I have had a lot of people say to me "What a horrible time of year to have the surgery." I purposely did the surgery before the first of the year for the simple reason that I need to make a lifestyle change, and that includes holidays. I am actually pretty excited that I will not spend one more holiday season stuffed like a turkey for two months straight. Any thoughts?

I'm going to be a December band as well. December 17th is the big day!

December 17th, one week from tommorrow I go in and I AM READY! I originally was to go in tomorrow but as I am a grad student, I thought that finals week would be stressful enough without surgery and its recovery. My biggest fear? Losing my identity. Not appearance-wise but personality wise. I am wondering who I will be and how I will change psychologically as my physical appearance changes. I have never been at a "normal" weight so I don't know how I will feel about it. Sounds funny and like I am not 100% committed to the process, but I am ready and fully prepared for a lifetime lifestyle change. Just a lot of internal thoughts and questions swirling around.