tahillia

I had my surgery yesterday, so I am officially banded :clap2:. I've had my fair share of pain, but still left the hospital yesterday afternoon after a few doses of IV pain meds. Today I've been really sore, but of course I expected that. I wanted to make sure that this gurgling/sensation that I need to burp is normal, though. I don't feel like I'm going to throw up and nothing ever comes up but air, but it worries me. I'm just scared there's too much action going on down there and it's going to affect my band. I feel like it's me trying to get out all the laparoscopic gas, but it's such a strange sensation that I figured it warranted asking the pros on here. It's just kind of an uncomfortable burping feeling... and it usually happens when I'm NOT drinking. I think it happens most frequently when I'm lying down and sit up. It's like I feel the gas in my chest shifts and out goes a little burp. Is this normal? It doesn't seem like what people call a productive burp, so should I be concerned? I've been doing everything basically by the book. I was only doing Water and pink lemonade Crystal Light until I ventured to try some sugar free cherry Jello today. So good! I haven't been hungry, of course, so I'm mainly just taking things in to make sure I'm staying hydrated. I've been feeling pretty weak, so I had some Vitamins today per suggestion of my surgeon. He said that should perk me up a little bit. We'll see. I took my pain meds right before typing this and I'm getting a little loopy, so I should probably wrap this up before I make a fool out of myself :heh:. Time for bed anyway. Let me know what you think about the whole "burping" thing. I'm hoping it's nothing, but I had to come check with you all or I'll never stop thinking about it. Thanks in advance for your time and help P.S. If parts of this post make absolutely no sense, blame the meds :eek:

Well, I can't relate to how you feel before surgery because I'm still trying to select a surgeon, but I can certainly relate to people's reactions to your choice. I'm only four years older than you, and it seems to me people have a lot more negative opinion of young people receiving WLS than older people (but we all catch a lot of unnecessary flack). The negative health effects aren't as obvious... yet, so why would we do something so drastic? I, for one, don't want to wait until I'm unhealthy to lose the weight. I already have enough health problems from my weight... I don't need to wait for the rest! I get a lot of, "You're young. You should be able to eat right and exercise and lose the weight on your own." I HAVE tried that. Numerous times. WLS isn't an "easy way out". It's a lot of work! They just don't understand what it's like to be morbidly obese (I hate that term, don't you?). Granted, the only people who know that I am pursuing the surgery are my parents, my roommate, and my boyfriend... for that reason. I just don't want to deal with the backlash from people who have no idea what it's like. I definitely sympathize. Your life is going to change now... for the better. Don't worry about the naysayers. When you've reached your goal, you won't care very much about the crap they've given you . Like I said, I don't have a band... yet... but I've had 14 surgeries under general so I know the whole nerves before surgery thing. Even though I'm a pro, I still get nervous. I promise it's not as scary as it seems. The whole process usually seems pretty surreal. They typically give you some goofy drugs to take the edge off before surgery, so your nerves will disappear then . Until then, just take comfort in knowing that you're going to be thinner, healthier, and happier. Sure, it'll take some work, but it's gonna be so worth it. K, I highly doubt you needed all of that reassurance, but maybe I'm just trying to reassure myself :biggrin1: . I hope all goes well, and please keep us updated on your progress. P.S. My name is Tracie, so I never had any cool name stuff either :rolleyes . My middle name is spelled strange, also. Instead of Allison it's Allyson. What were my parents thinking? My brother and sister both have really basic names, so I had personalized pencil envy . I cherish my strange spellings now, though.

Sometimes when my eczema gets really bad it looks like that, but that's rare. The description you gave sounds A LOT like impetigo, but that's more common in kids so I don't know . I agree with girlinnyc- best to check with your dermatologist.

DrewsLou- I've had three knee surgeries in the past five years, and while they're not fun AT ALL, they're not that bad either. I've had 14 surgeries total under general, so I have a lot to compare it to, lol. Good luck and take care of yourself

Thanks for the warm welcomes! I hope I can start adding my updates to this tread, too :eek: . I have to admit I spend a good bit of time on the forums and do a bunch of research while I'm class. I'm such a slacker :bored hehe.

I just wanted to introduce myself to this thread. I've actually read the WHOLE thing (yes, it took me a few days of bookmarking and whatnot) to get a feel for everyone's experiences with Dr. K and their experiences with the surgery in general. I worked up the courage to add DrewsLou on myspace and have finally worked up the courage to stop lurking and post on here. I feel like I know all of you from reading about your experiences! You're all awesome, too :biggrin1: . I'm considering going to Dr. K for my surgery. I'm a self pay and all of the doctors in my area have pretty outrageous prices. My parents are strongly urging me to get surgery in the area, but I don't think it's affordable. I'm a little worried about finding a fill doctor, though. Another Dr. K bandster is from my area (central NC) and had a bad experience with a fill doctor who may or may not have known what he was doing. I have a lot of important decisions to make, and that's a bit daunting. I'd like to get surgery at the beginning of July so I can be back on track when heading back to school at the end of August. I realize in order to do that I need to contact Dr. K asap, and even then I probably can't get in that soon. I need to get the ball rolling, though! I'm 22 and I just really want to live the life of someone my age. Well, not entirely . I just want to be more active. I've always wanted to go to the Caribbean and do some adventure type vacations. I've always wanted to do an Outward Bound type of thing but have always been held back by my weight. I think I'll treat myself to some backpacking through Europe once I reach my goal weight (wishful thinking ). Or, ya know, just live a normal life of someone who's healthy! Anyway, sorry for being long winded. That's me, in a nutshell. I have a lot to say :eek: . I hope this finds all of you well!

I was just wondering if any of you have any experience with doctors in the NC area? I go to school in Raleigh and live here most of the time, but my parents live in Greensboro and I would be staying with them post-op. I'm not sure which place I'd get the surgery, but I'm basically willing to go to the best doctor in either location (or really anywhere in NC). I have to admit that I haven't spent too much time looking into the doctors and their reputations here; I basically only know their names. I wanted to see if any of you had any input first. Any help would be greatly appreciated! Thanks :biggrin1: