mareinpa

I feel like I did when I was in labor.....what was I thinking?! Getting a bit jittery hoping that this is my answer to my life long obesity struggle. I first joined Weight Watchers in 1971, so you can tell that I have been on this yo-yo ride for a long time. Each time I tell someone that I am having Lap-Band surgery, it seems they have a story to tell me of someone they know who had the surgery and gained all the lost weight back. Alright already! I once lost 80 pounds on the Opti-Fast program and never got over my shame over gaining 100 pounds soon after my initial success. I am having the surgery done in Pittsburgh, PA. at Magee Hospital.

I had my first fill a month ago. I see the surgeon again tomorrow--June 9th. Actually, I barely feel like I had the surgery at all. I can eat anything as long as I chew well. I had hoped that I would feel the need to eat less. But I can eat an entire cheeseburger....bun and all with no trouble. I lost more weight on the pre-op diet. Then again, I am not keeping a food diary and that may be my big problem. I need to eat three meals a day and I am not doing that.

I am feeling so much better. I did not take any pain medication yet today and it is already after noon. The instructions from the hospital said to hold the diuretic I take daily. It did not say how long to hold it though. Last night I noticed that my ankles were swollen, so I took the diuretic. This morning, I see that I got rid of six pounds of fluid from my tissues. That couldn't have been good for me. I see the surgeon on Tuesday and will double check that I should be taking the diuretic although I am positive I should have restarted it.

I was banded on March 27th. The morphine drip was wonderful and I felt great. Then the next morning, the morphine was taken away and I was allowed to have a liquid that has Oxycodone and Tylenol in it. When I needed it four hours later, the nurse discovered she did not have any in stock on that unit and I had to wait until the Pharmacy sent up the medications two hours later. The nurses gave me Reglan IV to counter any nausea and also an IV of some kind of antibiotic. I was told to sit in a chair and that I could go home once I urinated a total of 250 cc. I was instructed to sit in a chair which I did..........for nine hours. I was in pain and so tired of sitting.I walked around the unit five different times but it didn't give me any relief from the gas pain which was high up in the back of my shoulder and into my neck. Finally, at 9 at night, I was discharged. I was shaking from exhaustion by that time. My first night was spend in a recliner. It was ok except for being hard to repositon myself. My surgeon requires full liquids for two days, then full liquids for the rest of the two weeks. What is surrprising me is that I am starving. I assumed that right after surgery, I would not feel hungry. Any smells of food seem greatly exaggerated and I hate seeing food commercials. I went to the dentist yesterday and again today. I feel so much better than I did yesterday. My stomach is still bloated and the gas sounds make me feel like I have aliens fighting in my stomach. I drink and then have the runs. I have no nausea. Like you though........I have a tinge of doubt if I did the right thing. I did not expect to have to work so hard resisting food so soon after surgery. I must not have thought that part out. I think you are tired and just having the let down after surgery.We did a brave thing for ourselves and we have to take credit for choosing to tackle our health issues. Good luck to you.

I am getting banded on March 27th in Pittsburgh, Pa. The Physician Assistant strongly encouraged me to attend Weight Watcher meetings post surgery. I have been a life time member of WW since 1972. Like so many people, I lose and then regain the weight plus extra pounds. In order to make a life style change, I intend to attend a weekly WW meeting. I think I need all the help that I can get and the meeting should help me maintain my focus. A WW meeting receptionist is a family member and she says that many banders are also WW members. The hospital where I am having my surgery has once a month support meetings, but I think I need more help than that. I am 66 yrs old and have been on almost every diet known to man.

Hi...I am having the Lap-Band surgery on March 27th at Magee. Dr. Carol McCloskey is the surgeon. On March 10th., I go to Magee for pre-op tests. I don't know what they will consist of since I had so many tests already. When I questioned the need for more testing, I was told that the tests can be no more than 30 days pre-op. In July of 08, I attended an informational meeting about bariatric surgery at Magee. On Aug. 4th was the Pre-Operative Lifestyle Classes first meeting. The fee was $395.00 which could be paid in three installments of $145.00 each------the last one at the end of the six month life style classes. Also, I was instructed to keep a food/activity log for one week prior to the initial class. A nutritionist ran the class which had about thirty people gathered in the waiting room area of Suite 5600. I noticed that most of the people interested in the surgery were accompanied by another person. I went alone. The Nutritionist passed out several informational booklets which were about nutrition, behavioral basics, lifestyle changes and physical activity. One has the choice of either attending monthly classes at Magee or going to one's Primary Care Physician monthly. I chose to go to my PCP. The monthly PCP visit consisted of me bringing in my food and activity logs for each month. My PCP is closer than Magee and the parking is free, plus there was not the hassle of the drive on the Parkway East. Also, Magee had a list of the dates for the monthly classes. I was unable to attend any of the meetings scheduled in Oct. Thus, I had to schedule with my PCP at my convienience. It is imperative to attend a meeting each and every month. It makes no difference if your PCP meeting is one month and the next time you could meet is the next month only two weeks after the previous meeting. This was important to me and something I did not understand at first. It happened that I did have to schedule an appt. for Jan. 21st and the next one for Feb. 2nd. I had little to add to the activity log due to the pain in my knees but I did attempt to take more steps each day. Of course, there was the dreaded weigh-in. My PCP filled out the required After Visit Summary and faxed it to Magee after each visit. My weight at Magee was 243. My first weigh-in with my PCP on Sept. 3rd was 237. My last weigh in with my PCP on Feb. 2,09 was 217. I had a twenty dollar co-pay at each PCP visit. I am in my 60's so I had a ton of tests.......EGK, stress test, echocardiogram, Chest x-ray, blood work, sleep study(which showed I have sleep apnea so I had to have a second study). I have a minor blood disorder so I was also required to see a hematolgist. He sent me for more tests. It was a lot of testing but I did it all in Feb., and got it done quickly. I see a therapist, so I only had to take in the form for him to fill out and fax to Magee. That was the easy part since he was the one who first suggested that I consider the Lap-Band surgery. Before I scheduled all my tests, I spent hours on the phone with my insurer making sure that all the tests and the doctors were covered by my insurance. At the first meeting with the surgeon, I got all the scripts for each test to be done. After the six month program ended with the appt. with the nutritionist, all my records were sent to the insurance company. About ten days later, I got a call from Magee that my insurer wanted my PCP to send in a two year record of my weights. Only a week later........Feb. 27th., I was called by Magee to tell me that my surgery was approved. I have a confession that after my last PCP visit, I did lose my focus and start to eat badly again. I went on a three week vacation and fell into the same bad habits of overeating. I knew that I was not going to get approved for the surgery if I had any weight gain during the six months. That fear keep my on the straight and narrow.....well, mostly. I also knew that if I really stuck to a 1500 calorie plan that I would lose too much and get denied. There is a fine line to be walked. I attended one Magee Bariatric support group meeting and the person running the meeting said that someone had just gotten rejected because she lost 50 pounds on her own. I gained 7 pounds. I feel badly, but if I did not have a history of losing and gaining, I would not be having the surgery in the first place. I know this is long, but I thought it just may answer some questions for one or two people. I have been in the health field for over 35 years, but I found this process to be a bit confusing and complicated at times. Wish me luck.......this is my last chance.

I have my nutrition consult on Tuesday at Magee. I am worried about the test that the nutritionist gives. She says one has to score at least 80% on it. I have not taken a test in forty years and I am worried. Any suggestions? I am reading the nutrtion info given and trying to retain all of it.