Longhorn

Hi, Stevie: Yesterday was much better! There were a couple of times I felt a tad weak or the pain in my shoulder was bothersome but most of the time I felt normal and almost forgot I had had the surgery! I actually felt better as the day went on. Thanks for asking! Kendra

I'm self-pay. I consulted on October 19 and was banded on November 1 -- that's 13 days!

lindsayann: I know what you mean about everything tasting too sweet. I usually love Propel but the taste has been bothering me the last few days. I'm drinking Water from my Pur filter that has just a bit of raspberry flavoring added but no sweetness. It tastes similar to when you squeeze a wedge of lemon into water, only raspberry. You'll be fine tomorrow. Just take it easy and let yourself get used to being up and around again. Good luck!

Welcome and good luck! I'm sure you're finding all kinds of information and sharing on this board. It's the place to be for lap-banders!

Well, I had it last Thursday morning. When I woke up, I was sore but not too bad. I took the prescription pain medication regularly. I slept in my bed that night with a pillow to support my belly. The next day, I was a little more sore and started to get bloated. My belly was very tight. As the day went on, the bloating started to go away. I slept better the second night. The third day, I woke up the most sore and started feeling a little down that I seemed to be getting worse instead of better. However, as the day went on, I improved immensely, so that day was the turning point for me. The fourth day, I was hardly sore at all but still felt a little tired. The fifth day, I went back to work and had moments of feeling flushed and sweaty and a little dizzy, but just took it easy. Today was the sixth day. I started out feeling a little weak but actually got stronger as the day went on and now I feel almost normal!

My husband picked mine up for me at H.E.B. -- a grocery chain in Texas.

The only things I took to the hospital with me were the clothes I wore (a loose dress, a leisure bra, panties and slip-on shoes) and a pillow to cushion my belly on the ride home. I came home the same day.

Well, I haven't done it yet -- just the first week -- but my doctor's schedule is: 2 weeks -- clear liquids 4 weeks -- full/blended liquids 3-1/2 months -- soft foods After 5 months, THEN I can have solid foods!

My surgery was on Thursday and I went back on Tuesday. It was a little tough but doable. It would have been easier if I could sit at a desk and take a break now and then but I was tutoring for five hours, then scheduled to teach a class. However, I locked my keys in my car and had to cancel the class. Today I have taught two classes but mostly remained seated and used a remote for the presentation of my lecture on PowerPoint. I think that helped, as well as the long breaks between classes. I have one more class to teach and then I can go home and rest until I am due to tutor again at 11:30 tomorrow. Then I have Friday and the weekend off! Yesterday, the pain didn't bother me but I felt weak and tired. Today I have more strength but the pain in my shoulder is more intense. It's always sumpin'! :confused:

Look in the Doctors and Hospitals forum on this board. There's a long thread about Dr. Kirshenbaum in there.

Interesting that your surgeon should say that because it seems like I've read several times that more and more practices are switching to the bands and they expect it to be the leading bariatric surgery in just a few years! You might want to consider getting a second opinion. Will your surgeon still be there to give you fills if she's moving away from banding? If you go to the fills forum on this board, you can read about the experience of others. I've rarely heard of a painful fill. Good luck!

I tutor math at the same community college where I teach math. I worked five hours with no break and there's a lot of moving from student to student. I tried to stay in the rolling chair but that's not always possible. The class I teach on T-TH is in a town about 45 minutes away. The reason I stopped at Circuit City was to pick up a presenter remote control so that I can advance the slides of my PowerPoint lecture without having to walk back and forth between the front of the classroom and the back, the only place I can plug my laptop into the monitor cable that goes to the presenter. On our regular campuses, all of this stuff is built in and I just pop my flashdrive into the classroom computer but we hold classes at the high school in this town and don't have access to the teacher's computer. Anyway, I thought I was doing a good thing for myself but it didn't turn out to be the case! I feel much better now and I think I'll be okay tomorrow when I just teach with the breaks in between. My day is from 9:10 to 6:55 so it's a long one but should be doable. Thanks again! :hug:

I think a lot will depend on what you do. I teach at community college and I went back today, five days after surgery. I tutor for five hours straight and that was doable but hard. Had I been working at a desk, I would have been fine. Tomorrow I teach three classes but I have a few hours in between each class that I can rest. And I'll sit down while I teach, if I have to. I can't imagine returning this quickly to a job that requires standing all day or having to get up and down a lot, though there are some who have done it and said they were fine. For me, it wasn't the soreness but just feeling weak and a little dizzy.

It was a little tough going back to work today. I wish I had cancelled tutoring and just taught my one class. If you have a job where you mostly sit at a desk, especially with a little privacy in case you need to put your head down, you'll be fine five days after surgery. But I had to go from table to table, tutoring students in math and it wore me out more than I expected. Then I locked my keys in the car at a stop on the way to my class and by the time I got that taken care of, it was too late to get to class so I had to cancel. I teach three classes tomorrow but I have about 2.5 hours between classes when I can rest so I think I'll be okay. I'm probably going to cancel tutoring on Thursday to give myself one more day and then I'll have Friday, Saturday and Sunday to rest up some more. I hope all are doing okay!

Thanks for thinking of me! It wasn't a great day! I was pretty tired and felt a little dizzy and queasy a couple of times. Then I stopped at Circuit City on the way to teach a class and locked my keys in my car! By the time my daughter was able to go to my house and pick up my spare key and bring it to me, traffic was a mess and I realized I could not get to my class, which is 45 minutes away, in time so I had to call and cancel. I'm now relaxing and going to bed early, hoping tomorrow will be better! :confused:

I think you copied and pasted a very old list. We have many more names than that in November.

Congratulations! That sounds like a tough couple of days but I'm glad you're home where you can get some rest. I've been home since the day of my surgery but go back to work in a couple of hours. I hope I'm up to it! I'm a little sore but I'm more worried about being tired. Take care!

I think we've all felt everything you've felt at some time or another. I really recommend Khaliah Ali's book, Fighting Weight. I read it in two days -- could have finished it in one if that's all I did. It's very uplifting and she addresses many of your concerns. It would be great if you can read it beforehand but if not, it's still good to read afterwards while you're recuperating and maybe second-guessing yourself. Good luck and take care of yourself!

I'm so glad it's back! This is my last day before returning to work and I'm going stir-crazy!

Congratulations! I hope it all works out for you! I have to believe that every appeal that is won will slowly chip away at the powers that be and make them realize that this surgery is valid and essential to many people! Thanks for doing your part!

I've been through this before just four years ago when I lost 70 pounds. I gave my fat clothes to my sister who was also losing weight but was a few sizes above me. When I gained the weight back, I had to ask for my clothes back (she had gained her weight back, too! ) I don't think it's wrong to give them away but I don't believe that the act of giving them away in any way prevents one from regaining the weight, as Dr. Phil preaches. I fought every pound of that regain by continuing to diet and exercise but it didn't work. It was quite painful to have to buy clothes in larger sizes again. Anyway, I really believe that I won't regain the weight this time but I don't know if I'll give them away just yet. First, it's kind of fun to actually try them on and see how they don't fit! Also, there are some things that I really like and might still be able to wear or alter to fit. And finally, I will probably be a slow loser and some of those things might just fit in the spring. I'm not in any hurry -- time will tell.

I just started reading that thread and realized I couldn't stand some of those comments! I don't see how it's anyone's business what goal another chooses and why he or she chooses it, and that goes for "high" goals as well as "low" goals. This is supposed to be a SUPPORT board, not a board where we judge one another for the decisions we make. Haven't we been judged enough? Anyway, I'd love to look as good as you do in that pic! Congratulations!

I'm not hungry either but whatever my husband heated up for dinner last night sure smelled good! But that's the only temptation I've experienced so far. I have to stay on clear liquids for the first two weeks so I don't have quite as much variety as you do but I'm doing fine. Still sipping all the time. Sorry about the chest pain! I just get a twinge of pain in my shoulder occasionally and I'm sore around my port but I don't really feel it unless I bend over or use my abdominal muscles, which I try to avoid. I just walked down to the mailbox and felt a little flushed and dizzy when I got back so I'm glad I'm not at work today. I think tomorrow will be a little tough but I'm going to try to take it as easy as I can.

My doctor said that we are more dehydrated in the morning and that is why we feel more restricted then but as we hydrate as the day goes on, the tissues around the band relax a little. I'm still in the "no appetite" mode after surgery so I can't speak from experience yet.

Are you allowed to have sugar-free popcycles? They melt in your mouth but still seem more substantial than liquid.