lizzie_07

Hey Edeva3, I had my surgery done in Toronto. I'm from Halifax, Nova Scotia. I agree it would be great to keep in touch with someone at the same stage as me. Question for anyone: Do you guys find you get this weird tight feeling and it's hard to breathe when you aren't at a 90 degree angle? If I'm even slightly at an angle I get this pain in my chest and I can't breathe properly. It's been a pain in the butt to sleep at night.

I just has my surgery Friday and infamy is correct. The pre-op diet has changed. And they do not require you to lose a certain amount before the surgery. Apparently, the low fat high calcium diet is the key part to shrinking your liver before the surgery (according to the head nurse at TLBC).

My recovery has been pretty much the same since the first day. I don't know if I'm a quick healer or what. I wanted to go shopping the day of surgery lol but I waited until Sunday. I've had no nausea and the only gas pain was in my shoulders on occasion which has completely disappeared at this point. My incisions were the main pain I experienced but the pain meds kept it under control. I have an incision basically in my belly button so that tugs a little when I'm walking and can get a little irriated (I didn't even notice this incision until the 2nd day). I tried sleeping in a bed last night instead of sleeping sitting up and in the morning I felt really tight in my chest and it was hard to breathe. Right now I'm on a clear fluid diet and I know I'm not getting anywhere near enough liquids in. It's so time consuming and I never have a great urge to drink although I'm trying to be better about it becasue I know fluids are important. I just flew home today and the flight wasn't bad. I just couldn't carry any heavy luggage. Anyways I'm craving fast food right now so I guess that means I'm hungry =) Protein drink here I come.......

You just had surgery, you're allowed to baby youself =) I flew to Toronto from Nova Scotia so I want to enjoy myself a little while I'm here visiting my brother. It's only been a day but I'm tired of being couped up and I want to shop!! lol

Thanks nessa! Good luck to you too =)

Longhorn, I've been trying to prepare myself for the fact that my incisions may get a little more sore. The one where the port is was bleeding a little last night probably becasue of the location (it's on my lower stomach, RIGHT above my umm pubic area? lol for a lack of a better way to put it) and that made it sting for a little but it went away quickly. I tried sleeping in a bed last night but my incisions became really painful and I felt like a couldn't breathe for some reason. So I'll be sticking to the couch for the next few days. I'm actually going to take the subway to the mall and go shopping tomorrow with my mom and brother, that's how great I feel. I know I have to try not to over do it though. Do you find that food still appeals to you? I'm not overly hungry, but if you put something yummy in front of me I'd definitely want to eat it.

Hey again! I had my surgery yesterday and I'm feeling way better than I expected. The surgery lasted 30 minutes and when I woke up I felt a little tightness in my chest but nothing horrible. I asked for some pain meds and she gave me some Demerol right away. I was wide awake immediately after the surgery, got myself dressed, had some Water, and went back to my Brother's place. I've been trying to walk for 10mins every hour and have had very little shoulder pain from gas. When I do feel shoulder pain a heating pad takes it away immediately. I've found that I am most comfortable sitting up so I've been sleeping on the couch sideways in a sitting position and that has felt great. Overall, I feel very little pain except when I get up and move around a lot the port incision hurts a little, but it's managable pain. I'd say the fear of the unknown of how I was going to feel after the surgery was worse than the surgery itself. I know that everyone's experience is a little different, but for me personally, this isn't bad at all. Congrats to those of you who had the surgery already and good luck to those of you whose surgery is coming soon =)

I sent my cheque for the remainder of my surgery payment last Monday and just noticed today that it had bounced. I miscalculated and paid off too much money on my Visa and didn't leave enough money in my account (off by $300). The clinic (TLBC) said they needed my money by last Thursday at the latest and now I'm so worried that my surgery won't happen (scheduled for this Friday). I am going to send a certified cheque in the mail tomorrow which should get to the clinic by wednesday. Does anyone know if they would cancel my surgery because they didn't get my money earlier? As long as they get the money before the surgery will that be ok? The clinic is closed and I am so stressed out right now.

Even though I was only off by $300 in my savings account, the entire cheque didn't go through because I guess it only can if the entire amount is in your account? But it all worked out in the end. I'm bringing my new cheque with me the day of surgery. Thanks for your concern. =)

I'm flying to Toronto tomorrow. Surgery Friday! I'm excited and not nervous in the least lol weird. I'll try to post my experience while I'm up there.

Thanks Ginger! I'm dreading the phase you're in where you have no restriction and can eat normally. It seems like most people need 3 or more fills before they reach restriction. Anyways take care and keep in touch!

Just a quick update. They didn't seem to mind at all. The accounting people I had talked to earlier told me they needed the money by last Thursday at the latest. But when I called on Monday she said I could just bring a certified cheque in the day on my surgery. Thank god lol.

I'd say just be honest. She'll appreciate that and it would be more hurtful if you didn't reply or didn't tell her upfront that you're not interested. She'll wink at other people and move on. I wouldn't worry about it too much.

Thanks Chrispygal. I find that I meet the best men when I'm not looking anyway. Most people seem to feel that way. Good luck on your next date =)

I'm new to this thread but here goes... I'll be banded on Nov 2, getting really excited =) I'm 21, highest weight ever was when i was 18 and 272lbs. I lost 80lbs and during that time met someone and got engaged a year later. Anyways, I broke that off about a year ago and managed to gain back almost all of the weight I lost while I was living with him. Go me! I notice a huge difference in how much I get hit on now as opposed to when I had lost that weight. I was still heavy, but I carried my weight well. It gives me motivation but is also quite sad when I think back to 2 years ago and how amazing I felt and how much attention I recieved from men. It's strange, but it seems now men only want me for sex? lol Makes no sense. Whereas when I had lost the weight I met better quality guys (the sleezy kind mixed in of course). Anyways, as of right now I have given up on men and am concentrating on loving myself and making myself happy. If Mr. Right comes along, great, but Im not worrying about that right now.

Oooops.........stopping now. Thanks for the advice. I have 5 days until my surgery so hopefully that is enough time to get them out of my system.

I am having my surgery on Nov. 2 as well and I completely understand the conflicting feelings. While I'm not nervous about the surgery at all for some reason, I am more worried about the band not working for me. Logic tells me that the band WILL work as long as I use it properly and work hard. I set high standards for myself when I lose weight, so if I don't lose weight or even GAIN weight during the "bandster hell" phase, I don't know how that will affect my motivation. Also, as was mentioned above, I am worried that it will take a huge number of fills before I reach restriction, which again will affect my motivation. Basically my biggest obstacle is this is going to be me being hard on myself for not losing fast enough, etc. I have only told my close family and 3 friends but down the road when I've lost a fair amount of weight, if someone asks I most likely will tell them. I think it's harder to tell people before you've recovered from the surgery and are proving that it works by losing weight. My parents are quite unsure about the whole thing but they are starting to come around, slowly but surely. Anyways good luck to you all. I'm sure we will all be fine as long as we follow the rules and stay positive.

Hello Nurses! =) I'm a 3rd year nursing student and I also noticed a common theme of nurses on this forum who have or are getting the band. I'll be getting banded on Nov. 2nd and I'm so excited. Nursing is actually part of my motivation to get this surgery. When I graduate I want to be a healthy nurse and a good example to my patients. I'm 21 and have no health problems right now but I know if I don't make a big change now I probably never will and I willl have major health problems down the road as a result. I guess seeing the outcome in the hospital when someone doesn't take care of themselves helps encourage me as well. Good luck on your journy everyone!

I'm getting banded Nov. 2 by Dr. Yau in Toronto. I'm not nervous at all for some reason. I'm sure it'll hit me when I'm about to go under. I'm so excited! =) Good luck everyone!

Lianna he is too friggin cute!!! I wanna take him home with me (and every other dog on here)

These are my boys, Parker the pug & Snoopie the beagle. I love them to bits =)

I was looking for people my age! yey lol. I'm 21 and am getting banded on Nov. 2nd in Toronto, Canada. Can't wait! =)

I've decided to start my pre-op diet tomorrow (monday) instead of friday. I'm ready to get this weight loss started. My surgeon has a strict pre-op diet where I essentially have an option of fat free yogurt, cottage cheese, or fish/chicken with particular veggies for each meal. I practiced yesterday to see if I could handle it, and it wasn't too bad as long as I kept myself busy. I know one day is nothing compared to doing it for weeks, so we'll see how it goes. I'm curious to know what everyone else's pre-op diet is, if they have one. I know they vary a lot from surgeon to surgeon. Elizabeth

I just got back from my doctor's appointment and am a little annoyed and need to vent. I'm getting my surgery done in Toronto, but I live in Halifax. I was told that most people have no problem getting their family doctor to do their fills. Well I guess I lucked out because mine said I was "putting him on the spot", he didn't want to get into legal difficulty, and the clinic was just "passing it off to someone else like they always do." In short, he said no. When I told him I was getting the surgery done he literally had nothing to say. No questions, no positive or negative feedback, nothing. Now I don't know where to go to get my fills done and I'm frustrated. It's looking like I'm going to have to fly to Toronto every time whichis going to be so expensive. Any suggestions? Anyone live in the area that knows someone I can go to? I don't feel like making appointments with a dozen random doctors hoping one will say yes. Elizabeth

In case anyone cares lol, I found a fill doctor! Another bandster in Halifax told me about her doctor who does her fills and she is willing to do mine. YEY!! :whoo: