JustWatchMe

I will say I was warned that this is the hardest time. On liquids, no fill, six weeks. After this food will seem like a gift.

My NUT called today to see how I'm doing. I asked for more liquid ideas. Basically anything sugar free, low fat, high Protein. I asked about keeping it interesting these next six weeks. She said the doctor's protocol goal is for me to achieve a big weight loss during this time to get a good start and good discipline. So, boring and hungry it is.

Lapper, doc decided not to repair my tiny hernia, but I was told to get on the treadmill post-op day one , 15 minutes at 3mph no incline, and add a minute every day. Gah! Today I'll walk 19 minutes. I am NOT an exerciser so this is huge for me. I think it helps a little with the collarbone pain that I still have a little of. I have to walk after work because it just doesn't fit my morning at all.

My WLS support group yesterday had a plastic surgeon as the guest speaker. Although skin removal and other procedures may be a distant goal for me, if ever, I went to listen. I'm so glad I did. Occasionally, insurance may pay for a panniculectomy (removal of the stomach excess skin), but only if the excess skin is causing medical problems that have been documented and treated, unsuccessfully, by your primary care physician over a period of months. Translation... Don't attempt to treat rashes or sores or moisture issues from excess skin without your PCP's help, prescriptions, and documentation. Make a paper trail, and if the skin continues to cause problems, you will have a starting point to be able to request insurance to pay for that kind of procedure in the future. Many of us just deal with it on our own from embarrassment. Think proactively!

Gowalking, hold the praise for a few weeks. I'm on day five. LOL.

Nat, congratulations on the fifteen. Isn't that a great head start?! I had some discomfort but very litle true pain after I got home. Ask for pain meds, speak up if you are nauseaus, and good luck. Soon you will be feeling great!

Today was fine. Lots of concerned "are you feeling better" type questions, since they probably assumed it was some kind of illness. I'm no longer worried. Thanks for all the tips. I also told nobody at work, and not even two of my very closest friends, mostly because of one's husband and the other's connection to everyone on Facebook. LOL. I like the eating less, walking more, answer, which is all true. Assume away.

Amazing! So happy for you!

Yay!

Lapper, I'm back too and was also banded four days ago. Feeling a little "odd" but no pain. Sipping water a lot. Got lots of questions about my two sick days but deflected them successfully. People just concerned, not nosy. I joked about hydration and getting healthy, and that kind of thing. I definitely think I was a lucky bander, since my pain is nearly gone and I slept pretty well all weekend. Stomach is grumbling and when I feel I need nutrition it hits fast. Glad I brought Atkins shakes and jello to work. Lapper, hang in there, get up and walk a lot and hide out in the bathroom if you have to. That's where I am now. LOL.

Good luck!

Only one or two will mention it. I took a sick day the week before as well for the final doctor and surgeon appointments. I actually work with mostly men, but one guy, who knows all the scuttlebutt, has not taken a sick day in 20 years. He's a good guy. Maybe I can imply it's "lady issues" and scare him off. LOL

Thanks to bluegudren's reply to another post, I just tried having my daughter do short, fast, hard karate chops on my collarbones and shoulder blades for trapped gas post-surgery. What relief! Wish I knew this yesterday! I felt like a baby being burped, but so what? LOL. Anything that helps!

Karate chops! Thank you! I just had my daughter do this for me and wow, what relief. I don't even care if it's temporary. This is getting its own thread.

Lapper, I'm banded 3/13 as well. Still have collarbone pain around the left side. I use the body pillow that was always just for decoration on the bed before to hold against me when I get in and out of bed. I've been eating lots of Greek yogurt and shakes along with cream soup, so probably getting more dairy than I'm used to. However, that gas that is passing is not what's hurting me. The trapped cavity gas around my collarbone is. I'm going to work Monday so I really hope it's much better by then. Every day is easier. I took a narcotic painkiller yesterday but won't do that today. Just liquid Tylenol. My pharmacist had to order it because I didn't want to pay big bucks for children's Tylenol. So I have five jugs of this liquid acetaminophen for arthritis pain that look hysterical sitting here. I drink 40ml at a time, every eight hours. Interestingly, my arthritis pain in my knees has been better this week, probably due to the weight I lost pre-op. Glad to have the Tylenol for the collarbone pain though, as well as a weird headache that comes and goes. My WLS coordinator nurse has me on the treadmill already, starting one day post-op. Fifteen minutes at 3mph no incline, adding one minute per day, building up to two miles after two months. I can't believe I did it yesterday but it actually felt kind of good. My daughter read aloud to me while I walked. LOL. Lapper, hang in there. We're going to soon be reaping the benefits of this just as soon as we finish healing.

A few more things. Bring that pillow for the car. I was fine until we hit a lovely Chicago pothole on a turn and OUCH it jostled my port so bad. Of course, that was the one minute I was not holding my pillow. Also, they will make sure you tinkle before you can go home. And I also got a kind of "wrap" thing around my middle which seemed to help with stability when moving around. Maybe I'll wear it to bed next nap and see if I'm more comfortable. I'm not allowed to lift 25 pounds for at least three weeks, I can shower (but no tub or pool) on Saturday (two days post-op), no vacuuming or lifting laundry baskets until my surgeon says so (I see him on the 24th). They will also do a pregnancy test (urine) unless you're menopausal or post-menopausal. My surgeon saw my husband and daughter after surgery, but not me. I wanted to ask him how great my liver looked!

I was banded today at 6am. I arrived at the hospital at 4:30am. I spent 55 minutes in the O.R. The surgeon did not repair the hiatal hernia due to its tiny size. I was discharged by 1pm, walking in the pharmacy by 1:30 and home by 2pm. The bad (worst) pain I had was upon waking up from surgery and felt like my abdomen was super-packed and super-tight and made me scared to breathe deeply. However, they gave me magical post-op pain meds in my IV every few minutes and anti-nausea meds, as well as a patch behind my ear. I had mentioned to my surgeon that my only experience with anesthesia was at age 6 and violent nausea upon waking, and it was my biggest fear. After I fully awakened, in my recovery area, my nurse was an angel (all the staff were), and everything I said or asked was addressed and I was made as comfortable as possible. When I thought I needed a little more time before doing the upper GI (dizzy because of motion sickness), they let me wait it out for an extra fifteen-twenty minutes, and then it was fine. I have always had nausea issues my whole life (still get car/motion/air sick as an adult) so this may not happen to others. But head it off if you can like I did with meds you ask for, and it will help. I told it to my doc and my anesthesiologist ahead of time. In post-op I rocked back and forth and that helped the trapped gas. People here have talked about Gas-X and such. But I wonder if it really helps (I took the strips once today) because that gas is not in your intestinal tract at all -- how can you burp it or toot it when it’s not in the big tunnel from your mouth to your *ahem*? It's in the abdominal cavity and has to break itself up and dissipate over time. My gas pain was in my abdomen and in my collarbone area (still is). So walk, walk, walk. I walked in the hospital a little, I walked in the pharmacy until I had to stand and wait at the counter (then got a wave of "oh, get me out of here, I suddenly feel like I need to lie down") but just walked it off and it was okay. My daughter carried the bags into the house, and then I ATE GREEK YOGURT and it was the BEST food OF MY LIFE! LOL I sipped Water and took a nap. Then an hour later I got up and had pudding and THAT was the best food of my life. It feels so good to "eat" even if it's full liquids. I've been looking forward to a cream Soup I bought the other day and that's next tonight. Sipping water all day. Oh, yes, you do need Chap Stick at the hospital even if out-patient, so bring one. Your mouth will be so dry. I got no liquids until right before I was discharged, and the first one of those was the GI test stuff. That was followed by my choice of Crystal Light in water or just water. I chose the Crystal Light Lemonade. Bad decision. It was tart (of course) and my throat was scratchy from the breathing tube – ouch! So choose water for the drinking test. That test was to make sure I could sip 8oz of water successfully within an hour. I didn't rush it but it was gone in 20 minutes tops. That test followed the GI test which is a tiny cup of nasty chemical (not barium). Then after the nap I just took now at home (a little discomfort at the port site because I sleep on that side, and it was also hard to get up out of bed a little, but not too bad), I came on here to update my weight (I lost 13 pounds in my 5-day clear pre-op diet) and then made the mistake of clicking on "Recent Topics" over on the right. Aaagh! LapBand horror stories. I can’t read those today. Maybe eventually, but today is healing day. My plan is to rest tomorrow but get on the treadmill (yes, my coordinator wants me on the treadmill tomorrow, which makes my daughter who is home from college this week so happy) for fifteen minutes, adding a minute per day every day at 3 MPH no-incline. Saturday, rest and walk. Then Sunday take my daughter to the airport, rest a little more, and go to work on Monday. I was worried about gas at work, but guess what, folks, it's not coming out either end, so my bigger worry will be to walk around a lot and dodge questions from the guys as to why I was sick. Anyway, sorry to be so rambling with all of my never-ending sentences, but I wanted to post my experience while it was fresh in my mind, because those who did that before me helped me so much to be prepared and ask the right questions. You guys rock. And it begins!

My surgery arrival time got moved from 6am to 4:30am tomorrow morning. Less time to worry! I'm SO ready. The five day clear liquids really did get easier after the third day. I'll be glad to drink something different soon. I took all the tips here and next I will write down my three questions for my doctor so I don't forget to ask them. You all are the best. I'm on my way.

I wish you the best. My pre-op was months of habit changing (no specific weight loss required although I did lose 12 pounds), then five days pre-op Clear liquids only. Clear is hard, but I was secretly glad it was that restrictive because I was afraid of having to eat one tiny meal and then shakes while being hungry with no band yet. I am on day 4 and tired and draggy, but the hunger is getting easier. My personal goal is to have the smallest liver my surgeon has ever seen on a person my size! I remember when the interviewing psychologist told me on a followup last year that I might not be ready for WLS because I told him I was still eating in front of the TV. The thought of not being cleared by him infuriated me. But then I decided to follow the rules and change that habit. I had to go back to him in another month and by then I had stopped TV eating, lost a couple of pounds, and joined an Aqua Zumba class. I hated his guts for delaying my process by a month, but his words made me commit to this. The pre-op diet is for your safety. Ask your doc about it. Good luck!

Good luck. I'm on day three of liquids and tired but holding on. Thursday is my day. Clear broth never tasted so good. **stomach grumbling** My goal is to have à skinny liver. LOL

Tips for Surgery Day? I'm being banded in four days. I'm reading all I can here, which helps a lot. Please post what you wish you had known/done/asked for/etc. in and out of the hospital before and after your surgery. For example, my nurse practitioner gave me an Rx for a liquid painkiller to take at home after being discharged. I told her I probably wouldn't fill it because I had a painkiller Rx at home if needed, that I take occasionally for severe arthritis pain. But then I remembered yesterday that my own Rx gives me nausea on an empty stomach. And I'll have an empty stomach for weeks! So I definitely will fill the one she's given me to be prepared. Also, I saw a post about walking a LOT to prevent clots. So I know to do that even after returning to work. I'm on day two of Clear liquids. I'm having surgery on Thursday and returning to my desk job on the Monday after. Those of you post-op, what other tips, big or small, for this week going into surgery? Thanks so much!

This is great. Thank you all so much. Day two of clear liquids was hard, I'm tired and draggy, but probably didn't get enough calories. Just two big Isopure bottles, two big mugs of broth, and a Jello cup.Went to see Frozen with my daughter. Food? "Let it go!" Lapper, good luck!

I went off my NSAID in September. Tylenol sux. LOL.

Oh, and Miralax to relieve gas afterwards.

Hi, Banders! I'm being banded March 13. I was wondering if any of you have found any type of support group meetings in your area that you go to. My surgical center has one but it's only one day a month. I've driven to two other groups from other hospitals within an hour from my home, but those also are only monthly, and one of them was very discouraging (two married people who talked the whole time about how they learned to cheat their band -- I went twice to that one and it was the same pair both times). In a former life, I lost 140 pounds in OA, only to gain it back after getting married. While in OA, the meetings were a lifesaver and I could go to one any day of the week within an hour of my home. But my head is really not in the 12-step realm right now. I've thought of re-joining WW just for the meeting capability, but the ongoing cost could be an issue. It doesn't even have to be a WLS support group, just weight loss, and hopefully, free or cheap. Thoughts? (BTW, this online forum is wonderful, but getting out of the house to a group does help me.) Worst case scenario, I'll probably go back to WW. Thanks for the feedback!