Kriszilla

1. Buy a really nice suit 2. Enjoy playing with my son without getting winded 3. Start skydiving again and get my Gold Wings (1000 jumps, only 500 to go!)

18 minutes from first incision to band placement & suturing, to port placement. Figure another 2-5 mins for suturing the incisions and it was under 25 mins. She's very fast, but she (a) has a lot of experience, and (:tt1: had another attending surgeon with a lot of laproscopic experience assisting. He was there as he wanted to learn how to do the LapBand procedure. She doesn't let residents or students do first-assist on her LapBand procedures from what I understand. My surgeon rocks!

The fact that you're losing weight is great on its own. Some people actually gain a bit before they get their first fill, according to my surgeon. Just try to keep it healthy and don't get discouraged!

I just have to give another set of Kudo's to Dr. Jessee. She has been absolutely fantastic during this whole process, and her staff has been great as well! The surgery went great and before and after the surgery she has been approachable, a great resource for my questions, and she genuinely cares for all of her patients.:cursing:

RNY has less complications according to that doc?! You may want to research the surgical mortality rates for the RNY and the Lap-Band, along with the multi-year efficacy of the band compared to bypass. Reading those stats made the band an easy choice for me. Seeing two people in the info seminar I went to for the band, who had done RNY and gained it all back a few years later, cemented my choice further.

I had mine put in on 11/5. The surgery was pretty uneventful. A friend of my wife's, who is a surgery resident, was in the OR with me and she was nice enough to send her text messages as to what was going on. It's funny reading them (He looks good! He's out! Trocars in!, Liver great! Band In. Port Done. Incisions closed. Off to recovery!) The whole procedure from when I was asleep to when I went to recovery was 18-20 minutes. Wow. Both surgeons (Dr. Tiffany Jessee and Dr. Lowry) did a fantastic job. The small openings are REALLY small, and they even stitched my port incision internally. Honestly, once it's done healing, I think I'll be hard pressed to find any scars. Didn't even have to use steri-strips. I felt pretty good when I was finally able to stay awake a few hours later, just really sore at the port site. No nausea, and I never got the shoulder pain. Went home that night and only needed to use the liquid Lortab a few times over the next 2-3 days post-op. Since then, I've felt fantastic. with no pain. I lost 14 pounds pre-op and I'm down close to another 10 since the surgery. I have my follow-up today so I'll get a good accurate weight then. I'm getting a bit sick of soup and can't wait to start mushies this week! However, it's really nice to be able to eat just a 1/2 - 3/4 cup of soup and feel pretty full. My wife's egg-drop soup recipe has become my friend!

I was done on 11/5 as well, so we're in the same boat! I dream of the day next week when I can have some tuna salad, soft fish, or some eggs! Heck, anything that requires me to chew would be nice.:Dancing_sorry:

Actually, I thought it was a good thread and I bookmarked it in case of emergency. If I get severely, nauseously sick, can't get to the hospital immediately, etc.. I'd like the info handy so that my wife, who is a physician, could at least un-fill me. However, I'd never try to do my own fill. I'll stick with getting the flouroscopy done so that the Dr. can see exactly what's going on with the restriction when the fill is given.

I was banded at 11 am yesterday and went home at 7:30 pm that same night. I had the option to stay overnight, but decided to go home because I was actually feeling pretty good, and my wife is also a physician, so I knew I'd be in better hands. :rolleyes2: Besides, there's just something about sleeping in your own bed... For me, it's easier to relax and rest.

After submitting to Aetna HMO this past Friday, my approval came in today!!! I'm getting my band on Nov 5th! Wo0t! It's being done by the wonderful Dr. Tiffany Jessee in St. Petersburg, FL. I still can barely believe that it's actually happening!

Upon looking over your x-ray, you'll be happy to know that your necklace and piercings appear to be just fine. :wink_smile:

Welcome to the sky! I used to skydive regularly and had almost 500 jumps before I had to hang it up due to my weight and getting married. Once I get banded and back down to a normal weight, I can't wait to get back into the sky. It's like nothing else and I'm glad that you got to experience it! Kris US Parachute Assn. License D-26033 Former IAD-Instructor