AudricIan

I did the same. I am 11 days post op and my hubby still doesn't know. The recovery has been so easy he hasn't even a clue what I did. I plan on telling him after the holidays, don't want to ruin Christmas. I think once he can see the results and how easy my recovery was (since he hasn't noticed any difference in my behavior) he will not be as mad. I just told him I am on the newest fad diet, a liquid fast. He is just like...whatever. I was freaking out up until I came home from Mexico, then I had to calm down. After the surgery was done it was a huge weight off my shoulders. I have been sleeping like a baby everynight since. I have never told a lie to my hubby so I know we are going to have to work throught that part together. Good luck with your decision. If you want to read more about my ordeal, check out the lower bmi thread, there were a lot of supportive people who gave a good bit of advice to me.

I am 11 days out too. My port hurts a tiny bit when I bend too. It is not that bad. My 1 year old loves to crawl around on me and I have been guarding that area a lot. I have a hard spot there which I am assuming is scar tissue. It is a lot easier to bend now than it was last week. I figure it can only get better from here...

I have been eating alot of Wolfgang Puck's canned soups, chicken tortilla soup is great, the chicken and dumpling's is yummy too. I just add cheese and tortilla chips and grind it or mash it up and eat it. It is soooo yummy and filling too. I have also been eating mushy foods, I know the nutritionist advised against this but I am so hungry. Today I was really bad and had a few french fries. I just chewed them until they were watery mush and swallowed them. I can't wait until my first fill. I tried some tuna with a lot of mayo to make it really creamy, no problems with that. I made some pasta with vegetable sauce and mashed that up and ate it too. I have no restriction at all, the only reason I know that I have the band is because of the incision where the port is. I am eating much smaller amounts than normal though, I do get full faster. I wish I still had the golf ball feeling, then I would know the band is there.

My recovery is going great. I am not swollen at all anymore, all of the post op restriction is gone (darn it!) The only incision you can see is the one where the port is and it looks so good. My hubby still doesn't know. I will probably tell him after Christmas. He has been supportive of my "new diet"...I was absolutely starving so I had to start grinding up real food and eating it. I have lost 7 lbs though. I will probably get my 1st fill on my 4 week anniversary. I just can't believe how good my incisions look, Dr. Ortiz did a fabulous job! After looking at some of the pics on the "scar stages" thread I was really worried because I do not scar nice at all. I am not sure what Dr. Ortiz did but, the port incision just looks like a scratch and the others are just tiny dots. I am very pleased with the overall experience so far, just wish I still had some post op restriction....can't wait for my first fill, I don't want to gain the 7 lbs back!

This is kind of off the wall....Last year at my work x-mas party, I won small gift card to Victoria Secrets. The only thing I can wear from that store is the perfume. So I splurged and got a bottle of perfume. The other day my hubby and I were sitting at the table and I told him that there is going to be a $300.00 gift card to Nordstroms this year and how it would be great to win that. (I never shop for myself by the way) I was going on about how I would spend every penny of it on me. I must have been feeling skinny that day and dreaming about actually shopping for cute stuff, not just what fits at the time. I got lucky and actually won the gift card! I am so excited it makes me want to lose more weight so I can get something nice from Nordstrom's. I know it didn't have much to do with your dilema, just another story about a gift card. I think maybe your mom thought you could use some new clothes now, even if they will only fit for a few months, maybe she wants you to splurge a little now. (You have been wearing maternity clothes for 2 years...she doesn't want you to wear them for 2 more months, can't say I blame her) Don't get all upset over it, go get something cute, they have some nice jeans at Lane Bryant. Show your outfit off to mom and then in 2 months when they are too big, show her again and make sure she knows that they are too big! Good luck!

I had my surgery on a Thursaday and I was back to work on Monday with no problems (desk job). I had mine done in Mexico so I stayed there Thursday, Friday and came home Saturday morning. I was able to pick up y 1 year old that day ( I don't recommend doing that) I am just stating that I was able to do it. As far as caring for children, I would say at least 2 weeks. I am now 8 days post op and by the end of the day, I am sore from chasing around a 1 and 4 year old, then when it comes to bath time and bed time, I am DONE! My recovery has been a breeze though, no problems at all. Also, no stitches or staples, just glue.

I just had my surgery last Thursday. I had the same problem, not as extreme as you. Your stomach is still very swollen inside. I agree not to drink anything cold, that hurts worse. It has only been 2 days. You need to lay down and relax so your body can heal. Tiny sips is all you need to take throughout the day. It took me about 3 days before I could drink without sharp pains in my stomach and chest. I am day 7 now and I can eat creamy or mashed up stuff with no problems. Just relax and give your body time to adjust. Your stomach has to get used to being squeezed by the band. I think you will be okay. IV fluids will make you bloat also, you may still be bloated from the fluids before and after your surgery. Take is easy and rest, stay off of your feet and don't bend over to pick things up. That seemed to help me the most (not bending over).

I ran out to GNC the day before surgery and got the arnica montana. Let me just say this, it has made my whole body feel better. I suffer from lateral epicondylitis from typing so much at my job and it has totally helped with the forearm pain and soreness along with the elbow pain I usually suffer from. I have had a very easy recovery and have been using the arnica 2-3 times a day since the day before my surgery. For those of you who are curious, they are tiny tabs that disolve under your tongue and they are pretty much tasteless, a little sweet that is all. I also ordered the kelo gel. I did get some gel from Dr. Ortiz called contractubex which I can't start using until the glue comes off. I have been using it on my acne scars and I see a big difference in just a week. The gel was $60 at his office and I found in on ebay fro $10-30 depending onthe size of the tube. It has heparin in it which helps the blood flow to the skin. I don't recommend using it until your incisions are healed, it may make them bleed. Anyway, I pray my incisions look like yours! I usually scar really bad. LOOKIN GREAT!

I am like you. My boys are an absolute blessing, I was not supposed to be able to carry either of them and there were a lot of complications with both of them during and after pregnancy. Now they are perfectly healthy and I am working on that part for myself. No more kids for us, too many scary moments with these two. My Christmas card picture is on my signature, as you can see, I am not in it! That is how all of my Christmas cards have been since I have had my boys. Next year, it is on, my hubby and I will both be in the picture!

I hope I can hit the gym after the 1st of the year. My hubby still does not knowI had the surgery. I am a good "hider". He wants to join the gym together after the 1st of the year. Dr. Ortiz did say no ab exercises for 3 months....anyone start abs before 3 months? I am doing good 7 days post op. My incisions look really good. The port area is starting to bruiseamd is that yellowish/black and blue color. That area is very sore if I put any pressure on it and it is slightly swollen. I hope I haven't been over doing it. SEUDO: I was self pay also (like alot of others on this thread) I guess I never thought of it as an investment for my future. That will be a good one for when I finally tell my hubby! My fat was all centrally located also. I could hide it with big sweaters because my legs and arms are thin, no butt either. I can't wait until my belly matches the rest of my body!

Okay everyone, I am going to set my first goal now while I know exactly how much I weigh. I was 183.4 on the day of my surgery 12/6. I went to the doctor today for an anual physical and their scale said 179.9. My first mini goal is going to be reached in 3 months on March 10th is 166, that is 17 pounds (3 of which I have already lost). I am not sure if I am taking it easy on myself with this goal, any input???? My starting BMI was 30 so I don't think I will lose at a very fast rate. I am going to try and weigh myself only once a week from now until then. Hold me to it everyone! BTW, feeling great today, 4 days post op. Back to work for me.

I was banded on the 6th by Dr. Ortiz in TJ. I am doing great. the morning after the surgery I went shopping for about 2 hours. I am home now and doing fine. I had a low BMI on 30. The nutritionist told me I can start creamy soups as early as tomorrow (4 days) or wait until day 7 if I need to. I don't have real pain, just soreness. The gas is gone and I am well on my way to recovery. I even drove myself home from San Diego, about an hour and a half.

I had mine done the 6th also. Not too sure if I am hungry either. I am not in pain to speak of, my incisions are sore. I had mine done in Mexico and the next morning I went shopping for 2 hours!. I have a hungry feeling in my stomach (the big part of my stomach) but drinking liquids does not satisfy the feeling. Maybe it isn't hunger...not too sure. It feels like I swallowed a piece of hard candy and it is stuck in my chest. It is not too painful, just annoying. Overall I am feeling great, the little bit of gas I had has subsided, I have just been walking around the house and doing light housework. It helps to move around.

I got up at 5:30 this morning to catch the van to the Mexicoach and I was home by 9:00 am. My hubby is still at work, he will be home at 4:30pm. I am feeling pretty good. Still sore. The gas pains seem to be gone. I am absolutely starving. I must not have much stomach swelling as I do not have any restriction at all. At least I am not so swollen that I am sliming. The nutrionist said clear liquids for a minimum of 4 days for me or 7 if I can't handle creamy stuff. I must have lost 6 pounds due to my nerves. I was only 179 when I got there. My BMI was 30. I am day 3 today, I have been drinking broth, gatorade and Special K protein water. I will start with creamy soups tomorrow as tolerated. I feel really good, not tired or lethargic, my pee looks clear so I know I am hydrated. Haven't lost a pound yet but that is okay. When my hubby gets home tonight I am going to play it off like nothing is wrong. If he gets suspicious because I am not carrying my 1 year old around I am just going to tell him I have a stomach ache from some bad mexican food:heh:. The mornig after my surgery I even went to the local "mall" in search of the new series of Cars Movie figures. I got lucky and found 4 of them for my older son. The cab ride was 5 bucks there and 3 bucks back, not sure how the math was done on that one:cry. I felt well enough to walk around for about 2 hours and then I tried to lay down for a while once I got back to the room. I ordered some tortilla soup and sipped the broth and an ice tea, it was sooooo yummy. It ran about $7.50. All of the shops in that area accept american dollars. I probably got ripped off on the exchange but I didn't think I would be in the mood to shop or I would have exchanged for pesos before I left. Here is a bit of advice. The Lucerna is a nice hotel, clean and spacious. However, it right next to a VERY noisey traffic circle. While the traffic circle is quite amusing to watch from you balcony, it is a total free for all, the noises carry on through out the night. I usually bring ear plugs but in the midst of my rushing out of town Thursday morning, I forgot them. If you have a problem sleeping because of traffic noise, ie..sirens, horns, lots of horns, screaching brakes, bring ear plugs! I will have to give the entire experience a 9/10. I would have liked to have a little more time with Dr. Ortiz to discuss my after care and what to expect having such a low BMI. I thought for sure I wouldn't be hungry and I am. AUDREE, I am not sure what exactly the plastic surgeon will be doing but Dr. Ortiz said he will be able to take care of flabby skin and stretch marks. My question is where are they going to put a plastic surgeon? He is going to have to take over another floor or two at the clinic to fit all the patients. I have one technical question for all of you veterans, I have a feeling in my chest like I swallowed a hard piece of candy. I know nothing is stuck because I haven;t eaten anything. This is normal...right? When I sip liquids, I never get a full feeling. I just stop after a cup and wait awhile because I don't want to PB. Is this how others felt too? Did anyone actually feel full from broth? I know that the pain gets sharper the more I drink so I stop drinking at let it go away. Also, the pain is worse when I sit. thanks for the input everyone.:whoo:

Well, here I am. I drove down to TJ yesterday morning and I was banded by 4 pm. No real belly or incision pain at all, just a little soreness and the gas pains. If had the gas pain while I was a sleep, i would just roll over and wiggle my body around for a while. One of the lovely nurses came in and she rubbed my back and patted on it to move the gases around. The pain meds they give do not knock you out or make you feel drunk, they are very mild. I am allergic to several different types of drugs including PCN, morphine and sulfa containing drugs and there was no prblem accomodating me. Overall, it has been an easy process (getting down here and to the clinic) and an easy reovery. Dr. Ortiz is a nice guy, I was able to joke with him. All of the other doc's are great too, the nursing staff is wonderful. When I was talking to Dr. Ortiz, he said that within the next year he is going to bring on a Brazilian plastic surgeon, I can't wait for that! My incisions are what I expected, the port incision is about 1/2 inch and it is really the only one that is sore. the rest look like little poke holes. I have been sipping water and juice, they just gave me some broth. I can't tell any difference at all, I can't "feel" that there is anything in my body. I am not really tight and I don't have any weird pains in my chest. Hopefully this will be an easy recovery for me. However, if you swallow it wrong and have to cough, that hurts mainly at the port incision. I will try no to do that again. I will keep everyone updated.

Sounds like I am reaady to go! I am leaving Orange County tomorrow at 7am to arrive at the border by 10 am. It is only about 100 miles, I just need to make sure I have time to fight the southern california traffic. There are 6 surgeries scheduled for tomorrow, mine being one of them. I am not sure exactly what time I will be in surgery. I will get on if I am feeling up to it. I am still very worried since my hubby doesn't know that I am doing this tomorrow. I told him I was doing it, just not when I would do it! I am sure I will be on here asking a million quetions that you all have already answered a million times before!. Thank you to everyone, you are my support until I can get my hubby to understand. Big hugs to all of you:girl_hug:

Amanda, As far as the pain of this particular sx, I am yet to find out (my surgery is in 2 days). From what I have read on this forum, it is not bad at all. You are up and walking around same day. The worst for most seems to be the gas pains from the laparscopy itself. They do tiny incisions and put instruments in you abdomen, I believe they have to put air (correct me if I am wrong anyone) inside to make more room to move around. I have had a laparscopic surgery and I was fine the same day. I have had a c-section and I was up and walking around the next day, making my bed at the hospital the 3rd day. Everyone has different pain tolerances. I have no support from my hubby either. He is tall and skinny. He doesn't even know I am getting the surgery done on Thursday. I just told him that one day I am going to do it. He thinks we should work out together and eat better together. What he doesn't understand is that this is not his problem, this is my problem. My mom is supportive and she says if it was her in my shoes she would do it too. My close friend is morbidly obese and she supports me but does not agree with me. Of all people I would think she would understand. The best support I have gotten is on this forum. I am not sure what your BMI is, but mine is low, only 30 and there is a low BMI (30-40) thread with a bunch of great supportive people. Check it out, that is where I spend most of my time. Hope this helps, I will be posting after my surgery, you can see how I feel. I don't think it is going to be that bad. Good luck!

Only 2 more days until my surgery. I am starting to freak out! I think I have eaten everything that I crave, I should be good for a while! Here is what I have on hand for the first fews weeks of recovery, please let me know if there is anything else I may need. Gas X Chewable Vitamins Chewable Calcium Instant Breakfast Lots of broth Lots of Water Crystal light mix Protein powder flavored and unflavored (ordered from unjury...is it any good???) liquid tylenol and motrin tums Jello, pudding(sugar free, not sure if that is a good thing for me or not) "Cream of" Soups Heating pad I think that is all I will need as soon as I get home. Feel free to add to my list, I have one day to get it all together!

Thanks everyone for your support. I hope my recovery is uneventful too! He will be mad once he finds out I did it behind his back but, he will get over it. Once he sees that I can lose weight and keep it off he will be happy for me. Once I feel better about my body image, things will be better for him (in bed, where it matters!) LOL!

To everyone keeping up with my drama. I told my hubby today that I wanted to get banded. We were just chatting and I was complaining about all of my failed attempts at weight loss, and I said that I am going to do something about it once and for all. He said are you going to get a tummy tuck, and I said possibly. Then he said are you going to get "that band thing" and I said yes I am. He just rolled his eyes and started going on about how we need to do this together and he will go to the gym with me and I don't need the band. I basically told him that this is about me and how I feel and that I have lost faith in him trying to do this with me. How can he do this with me, he is not overweight, he doesn't feel how I feel. I didn't go into detail, I didn't tell him I was doing it on the 6th, I just told him I was doing it. Later in the day he said, I promise I will go to the gym with you and we will eat better, I stuck to my guns and said that I am going to get banded. Again I told him this was about me and he said (and I knew he would say this) "it won't be about you when you have complications and I have to deal with them". Geeee, I didn't see that one coming. Just wanted to give everyone a quick update. He took it way better than I tought he would, of course he doesn't know I am having it done on Thursday either. At least when he does see the incisions I can say "I told you I was going to have it done". BTW, he just went behind my back and dropped another $2000 on the boat last week. He can't keep secrets either, he told me lastnight. I didn't get mad at all, I have no right too. Surgery is Thursday the 6th! Wish me luck:whoo:

I think you hit the nail on the head. He will be worried about how this is going to affect him. He is going to be worried that I won't feel good and then I won't be able to take care of everything around the house. And when will I feel like having sex again (just being honest). We go out to dinner a lot as a family. He likes sit down type restaurants, no fast food. Usually they aren't kid friendly places. He takes FOREVER to eat and I always scarf my food down so I can entertain the kids. Now he is going to have to eat a little faster as I will need a lot more time to chew, chew, chew. That will affect him. Thanks for sharing you and your hubby's story, I imagine a lot of people can relate. When I do tell him I am going to discuss all of this with him. How it is not about him or his feelings, just like the race boat in my garage is not about me or my feelings. You guys are all great. I feel better today about my decision than I have in a few weeks. That's why we are here, to support eachother. For some of us, this may be our only support group. :think

Just when I thought everyone was thinking I was crazy, you reply with this! I am glad to know that you understand. I give so much to my hubby's boat racing passion. When my oldest son was 10 months old he crashed at 90 mph, I thought I was going to lose him that day. Even after that, I still support him. We go to races and boat shows 10 times a year, I pack up the cooler, the kids and make sure we have everything we need and off we go. I am so scared for him when he is in that boat, it is very dangerous, not too mention expensive! This is the first thing that I have ever done that is just for me, all about how I am going to feel...me, me, me! I also feel that once I am feeling better about myself, he will see that and understand why I did it. I just don't want to tell him and then not lose weight fast enough then he would doubt my decision. Thanks for understanding.

I have not had my band on yet but I too developed acne when i turned 28. I used to have beautiful skin. I use the acnefree. It works great on my sensitive skin. I get mine at Costco, it is only like $23-24 bucks there. I tried other things, I tried the sensitive skin apricot scrub and it made my face worse. If you have sensitive skin then you need a very gentle exfoliant(sp?). Acnefree has gentle exfoliants (again, not sure how to spell that one). Give it a try.

I sure hope not! I will do my best to keep my shirt on and the lights off! LOL. I had a heart to heart with him lastnight. I didn't tell him but it was the first step. I talked to him about how I am feeling lately and how much my weight and appearance is bothering me. I told him that I am going to do something just for me whether it be selfish or not. I was kind of feeling him out. After talking, the last thing he would expect is for me to have this surgery. He was thinking like I may take a mini vacation alone, or start smoking again (haven't smoked in 7 years) He is clueless, the poor guy. I told him I have been talking with other people in my situation (as far as being obese) and I am getting a lot of support from others who understand how I feel about my weight. He just doesn't understand, he thinks I am fine and this is what I look like because i have had 2 kids. My weight just doesn't bother him. To me, this is not about him, it is about me coming our of my shell. I told him how I hate going to the beach or even getting in our pool because as soon as I put on a bathing suit I can't breath, I panic. I can't even enjoy a day at the beach with my family. (We only live 4 miles from the ocean). I am trying. Thanks for all of the support!

I am going alone too. I only live about 2 hours from TJ. The one friend that I have told wants to go but I would rather she doesn't come along. I have 4 days to get my surgery, a little recovery time and then I will come home. I am getting my surgery the day I go down so I have 3 1/2 days to relax. Thanks for being so positive, I am really starting to get worried. I can do this! Once I lose 20-30 lbs, i will tell my hubby. If he see results then it will be easier for him to understand why I did this. If I tell him before I do it and the lbs don't just melt away, he may be negative about the band, I don't think I can handle that right now. THANKS EVERYONE...i just wish one person could say they didn't tell there hubby and it worked out just fine, LOL!