g00dbyefat

I was banded yesterday, stayed overnight in the hospital and got home this morning. I'm doing GREAT! I didn't have any gas pain, or any nausea, it was great.

I was doing good getting the IV in and all, but when they started to roll me to the "surgery suite" they stopped by the waiting room so my mom could see me and I started tearing up. The anesthesiologist was WONDERFUL and told me he'd give me something to make me feel better. That's all I remember, I don't remember being rolled in to the OR or anything. I just remember waking up, and asking if it was done and did everything go ok. haha

I walked the halls about 6 times yesterday, and a few today. I barely have any pain, just the port site (largest cut) aches. I didn't need any pain meds in the day. The nurse did give me 2 little Creamer sized cups of pain med to drink last night, and I was OUT! Woke up this morning at 7:30am, they told me I could take a shower, eat Breakfast and get ready to go! WOOHOO!

It's been great so far, I guess I was one of the lucky ones. I thought it would be MUCH worse! :w00t:

I was banded yesterday, stayed overnight in the hospital and got home this morning. I'm doing GREAT! I didn't have any gas pain, or any nausea, it was great.

I was doing good getting the IV in and all, but when they started to roll me to the "surgery suite" they stopped by the waiting room so my mom could see me and I started tearing up. The anesthesiologist was WONDERFUL and told me he'd give me something to make me feel better. That's all I remember, I don't remember being rolled in to the OR or anything. I just remember waking up, and asking if it was done and did everything go ok. haha

I walked the halls about 6 times yesterday, and a few today. I barely have any pain, just the port site (largest cut) aches. I didn't need any pain meds in the day. The nurse did give me 2 little Creamer sized cups of pain med to drink last night, and I was OUT! Woke up this morning at 7:30am, they told me I could take a shower, eat Breakfast and get ready to go! WOOHOO!

It's been great so far, I guess I was one of the lucky ones. I thought it would be MUCH worse! :w00t:

Yes I have heard of this. I know my surgeon showed me the card that I would get saying I had gastric band placed. But someone showed me one of the cards here online. I'll try to upload it on here.

I have my surgery scheuled for Sept 17th. I am really excited, but recently ran into a person that told me-- I hope they don't postpone your surgery like they did her friends due to a "fatty liver". Does anyone know anything about that.... and if so-- what do I need to do in order to prepare so that I do not face the same obstacle.

Thanks!!!

I had my pre-op apt on Friday and am being banded tomorrow. The surgeon told me that the liver is directly on top of the stomach. He said he lifts it up w/ a curvy device and holds it up while he's placing band. "If the liver is too fatty, I have to guess that the band is in the right place because I don't have a full view" was his explanation to me. He said make sure to follow the pre-op diet closely and that I should drop "about 10% of my excess weight". Since I'm down 15lbs w/ the pre-op diet, he said I'm good to go!

Just make sure you follow your pre-op diet CAREFULLY. I have read several posts on here about postponed surgeries from the liver. I'm still worried about mine being ok, but it should be.

Good luck on surgery next month, keep us posted!

Hi there, I'm being banded tomorrow morning and my surgeon said he puts the port on the right hand side. I have read that some people said they wish they knew the port could be placed in different spots.

Where is your port? .....do you like it there?

What have you heard is the best place for the port to be placed?

Thanks for all the input, it's greatly appreciated!

Wish me luck tomorrow (surgery 7am)

my surgery is at 730 tommorow also im surr all of us will manage well but im still terified lol i keep thinking what if sumthing happens and i dont wake up but im still sure ill be fine to every1 being banded on the 25th wish u all well and lets keep each other posted as to how we are doing best wishes ps restless i hope everything goes well for you the second time around.

Thank goodness someone else feels like me. I'm starting to worry big time. It doesn't help that I have anxiety I suppose. I'm not so much worried about not waking up, I'm just a big baby when it comes to surgery. When I had my cardiac cath procedure in April I was a mental wreck. Of course they were messing my body's main artery and my heart directly so that was freaky! I was tearing up and crying a bit the whole time till they knocked me out. I just don't like the IV and all the "prep" stuff they do. If I could just walk in and get knocked out I'd be much happier. I just felt like a baby for crying, but I hadn't had surgery since I was 7. They kept asking me what was wrong, I just said I was real nervous. This time the nurse told me to tell them how I reacted before, and she'll give me a "cocktail" right after the IV is in. I guess that will help!

I'm down 15lbs in 3 week on Atkins, so assume my liver will be good by the time they to to work on me. I go in 4:45am and surgery at 7am. Wow...just about 12hrs away!! I'm nervous but excited to see the "new me".

Do any of you have to stay overnight? I found out Friday that I do....for some reason that made me worry more. My mom said it was better because I'd be hooked up to a pain pump. Just the thought of spending the night FREAKS ME OUT!

I don't endorse them because I've heard that it's not the 'good protein'.. but I still take them till I find something better.

They're IDS New Whey Protein things.. 3oz has 42g of protein New whey Liquid Protein - Gastric By Pass Diet

I did my pre-op visit today w/ dr and nutritionist. I told her that I read about the New Whey protein tubes on here and she said they were GREAT, and a lot of her patients used them. She did recommend taking 1/2 tube like you have been doing too!!

Thanks for all the posts. My pre-op was crazy as I was scheduled for 3pm then nutritionist at 3:30pm. I got a call in the morning asking me if I could come in early because the dr had a meeting come up he had to attend. So I forgot my lists of questions...darn!!

He basically just explained the procedure. I found out I'm going to stay overnight (wasn't expecting that, and it made me a bit nervous), what prescriptions I needed to pick up and whatnot. I wish I would have asked him more questions, but I have heard rave reviews about him...so not too worried!

I'm scheduled for arrival at 4:45am and surgery at 7am. Guess I'm first out the gate...YIKES!! Hope he's awake enough to do an excellent job! haha

I'm getting banded on the 25th too!!! I have been on Atkins for 3 weeks now, let me tell ya I'm SICK of meat! Hope my liver is smaller, there's no way for them to tell till they get ya open, huh!! I'm NERVOUS about surgery and liver issue. I don't want to wake up w/ no band! EEEEKKKK!!!

I am scheduled for surgery on the 25th in Melbourne, FL with Dr. Fusco. I have my pre-op appointment tomorrow! Hopefully I will be able to get to the doctor's office. Tropical Storm Fay has left a lot of flooding in the area. But nothing will stand in the way of me trying to get to the appointment! :cursing: I have spent the last 8 months doing what insurance wanted and then waiting for their approval. I am not going to get this close and let and T.S. cause chaos!

Hi ya,

My surgery date is on the 25th too! AWSOME!! Hope Fay hasn't done too much damage in your area. How was your pre-op apt? What happened during it? My pre-op is tomorrow...I have NO IDEA what to expect! haha

Good luck w/ surgery on Monday. Keep me posted and we'll exchange notes! :wink2:

My name is Gina, I'm a nurse and a single mom of 3; ages 16, 14, and 7. I live in San Antonio. I am scheduled to be banded by Dr. Carcamo at the Nix on August 19. I first started looking into weight loss surgery in 2001. I first tried to get approved in 2005. I changed jobs in 2007 and restarted the process with a different insurance company. I met all requirements but was denied. The denial was finally over turned and I now have a date. I'm glad to be getting this done before school starts.

Hi ya Gina,

How did your surgery go? I'm scheduled w/ Dr. Carcamo for Monday 8/25. My pre-op apt is tomorrow. Any heads up on what to expect from pre-op and surgery? Hope everything went smoothly!

So I have my pre-op appointment tomorrow. Any suggestions on what I should expect? I'm a little nervous, excited, anxious and everything. I have NO CLUE what will happen tomorrow and would love to hear your past experiences!

Thanks all :cursing:

nooch ,

I sent u a message u will be excited to hear about , humana dell has changed their requirements as of august 1, 2008 u only have to be 100 lbs overweight to have the procedure and u dont have to go through the whole 6 months thing right now. I am on my way to the doc to complete the rest of my things to schedule my surgery contact me if u need more info.

Oh man...that rocks for you! So you'll be able to get surgery pretty quick then huh? Sucks for me as I'm done w/ all my requirements. Too bad they didn't change that rule back in FEB when I started all this. I always miss out on the good changes! haha :wink2:

Congrats thou...maybe you'll have surgery pretty close to mine! YAY

OMG>>>I'm freaked out now! I asked people at my office and they always say the fills don't hurt! I'm thinking they're sticking your stomach w/ a needle, how can it not hurt. Saw some fills on youtube and doesn't look too difficult, but not what I'm hearing here. YIKES!!! :thumbup:

Paula:

I never set a goal with my surgeon. Now I think I want to.

My starting weight was 324 pounds. This morning I weighed 179. I'm thinking that I want to set my goal at 170. I am wearing size 12's and 14's now. I think that if I weigh 170 I'll be very comfortable in all 12's and the 14's will be too big. I'm 48 years old. I hope to be a grandmother in the next ten years. Since I started my weight loss program I've been buying size 12's on sale because I thought I'd be happy with that being my size for the rest of my life.

I'm meeting with my doctor on Monday. I had originally thought that I would shoot for 159 pounds, or healthy bmi range for my height. However, I don't want to be "thin". I think that if I get down to 159 I'll be wearing size 10's. I just want to be "average". The top half of me is thin now, and I don't want to be gaunt looking. I'm waiting to see what the doctor says about my picking a goal that is 11 pounds higher than healthy bmi. If he has a good reason for me to reach healthy bmi, then I might. If being 11 pounds higher than healthy bmi is okay with him I'll use that as my goal.

Good luck with your surgery. I love my band, and you probably will too.

Take care.

Sue

Sue,

So you've lost 110lbs since August 2007??? I'm just wondering cuz I told my nurse my goal was about 100lbs in 1 yr and they said it's "VERY DOABLE". I would LOVE to be a 12/14 in a year (26/28 now). You're post was VERY inspiring! Dr's told me 155-160, but I'd be ECSTATIC at 170 as well!

Thank you! Everyone! I need all the support now. He just did a 360 on me and told me he wasn't attracted to me at all....That hurt...but i am trying to be strong and jst i cannot stop crying....but i am trying my hardest...i was bad and went and had a dunkins Decaf ice coffee with a friend and it was great!

OMG>>> I'm so sorry you're going thru this. I remember when my boyfriend dumped me the weekend before I had my finals, senior year of college. Men have such BAD timing...I swear!

Hang in there. The best thing you can do is get ANGRY at him. Don't sit around thinking how much you love him. You would NEVER love someone who treats you that way. You would never put up w/ that from a friend or family member, so you're better off w/ out him. Use this as fuel to keep you FIRED up about losing weight. The best revenge is loosing the weight, looking freakin awsome and finding someone who TRUELY appreciates you for who you are!!! One day he will see you when you've lost your weight, and WISH he had you back! Trust me on this one!!! Keep your head up!

I'm VERY worried about this. My sister lost 100+ lbs and has sooo much saggy skin. She's trying to get her dr to day it inhibits her movement (which it does) so insurance will pay for the plastic surgery needed to remove it. We talked to her DR and a couple others and they say the large amount was that she lost a LOT of muscle w/ it as well.

I have been told to eat LARGE amounts of Protein and make sure I train with weights to gain muscle while loosing weight at the same time. That will help me have the "least amount" of saggy skin. Dr's tell me it's pretty much a GIVEN that I will need surgery to remove some though. UGH!!!!

My mom had a Tummy Tuck years ago and it was painful. But she said she would do it again in a heart beat. I see a big difference in the way shirts fit her, and agree that I WILL get it done when the time comes!

OK So last night I went for my sleep study. I personally never had any trouble sleeping and I dont show any symptoms of sleep apnea. Well, I was floored today when they called me this afternoon and said that I needed to be on a CPAP machine. I am very concerned. I dont want this to hinder my surgery process in any way. I am scared to death now. I dont want to be on this machine the rest of my life. Any advice?

I was shocked when they told me I needed a CPAP too. I was soooo against it at first, but now am used to it. I notice I sleep MUCH better, more sound and feel rested when I wake. My Dr's and the lady that ran the test told me that most likely (90+%) once I loose my weight, I will be off the machine! Was happy to hear that. I don't mind it much, but it's NOT AT ALL SEXY! haha

Hi there...I'm in Austin and have Humana PPO (thru DELL). I have been going to True Results and just got approved last month. It is covered under PPO but I have to go to SAN ANTONIO (NIX center for the surgery) I will be banded on 8/25 (only 11 days away)....getting nervous. I am scheduled w/ Dr. Carcamo and hear he's a GREAT surgeon. Lots of good things said about him in this and other forums.

I had to do:

• 6 months supervised weight loss program
  
• 2 nutrition consults
  
• psych consult
  
• Ekg (which was abnormal) so I had to do...
  
• Cardiac Clearance (involved nuclear stress test and Cardiac Cath surgery)
  
• sleep Study
  
• 2 sets of bloodwork
  

When I first started it seemed that it was impossible, but w/ 6 months to complete wasn't too bad. I wasn't happy about the cardio DR, but my BMI was 50 so they required it. If you're under that you should get to avoid it. It was a lot of steps, but I got my approval in 3-4 days and had NO HASSLES! For me it was worth it, they're gonna pay for the $15,000+ procedure so I'm happy!

So the Dr's office called me today and said my surgeon had a death in the family. So instead of getting banded Monday 8/18, I'm getting banded on 8/25. I know it was nothing he could control, and feel sorry for his loss, I just wanted to get this show on the road. Not to mention I have been doing Atkins for 2 weeks now, and will have to do for 2 more....ugh!!!

Oh well, at least I'm approved, and getting it done! :wink2:

My endo told me that the main prob of PCOS is the insulin resistance. The side effects were the only thing I was noticing, but didn't realize the greater cause. The more fat you have, the more insulin resistant you are, which creates more fat, which spikes insulin and so on and so on. So when you lose weight, you're LESS insulin resistant. Also the low carb diet allows your body to make less insulin in the first place. My ENDO pretty much TOLD me to get banded, as the best way to STOP PCOS in it's tracks. My sister has it too, and was banded 3yrs ago and no longer has ANY symptoms. I'm hoping that works for me too!

Hi Jazz,

Congrats....when's your surgery date? I'm getting banded on 8/18 and just did my shop. Here's the list of what recommendations I got from Aug bandsters.

Shopping list for post-surgery: · Gas X strips

· Gauze to cover incisions/tape

· Protein in form I can stand

· Full Liquids-On Approved List

· Liquid Tylenol

· Chewable Vitamins

· Wet wipes

· Pill crusher?

· Heating pad/icepack

· CHAPSTICK!!!!!

· Carnation instant Breakfast

· Protein power/liquid

· Broth/soup

· SF popcicles/fudgecicles

· Crystal lite

· Oatmeal

· Applesause

· Yogurt

· Mashed potato

· Pudding

· Jello

· Special K Protein Water pack

· Stuff for chicken salad

Right now all I can think about is how nervous I am about being "put under".

Has anyone ever been given a xanax or some other nerve pill pre op to chill out? I'm all good with surgery and I know life isn't going to be roses and sunshine for the first week (or two... or month..), but I'm just so nervous about that.

Yes I was given Valium in my IV before my cardiac cath procedure. I had to have that done in April for the insurance approval to be banded. I was nervous since my last surgery was when I was 7, and I really don't remember it. I was tearing up, the nurse and dr asked me why. I told them this was my first surgery since I was a kid and I was just real nervous. They asked me if I wanted someting and I was glad to take it.

After that I felt fine, until they asked me to scoot over to the OR table. I got a bit nervous again, they gave me some "sleepy juice" in my IV and that was it. I just remember waking up back in my room and it was over. Was nothing to really get worked up about. I am naturally an anxious person, so will mention it to my surgeon on my pre-op apt. but sure they will do it the same way as before.

I am 8/18 also!!! So glad your approval journey is over and it is nice to see someone else starting their new life the same day as me! We will have to keep in touch! Good luck!

Deanna

Congrats to you too!!! Definitely yes on the keep in touch, we can compare notes on how it's going w/ each other! Good luck to you too!

Christy :tt2:

I come from a family that names absolutely everything. Everyone's cars have names, the houses have names, even certain cups and foods have names. My car is a silver compact that is named 'Bully' after a silver bullet. Our other car is a mid-sized SUV name 'Biggie' because it's bigger than Bully. Men usually name their "man", and women usually name their "girls", so I cannot imagine that this a mystery concept.

My hubby, who I just married a year ago, has adopted this practice quite comfortably. We've been brainstorming for a name for my band. When I tell people that I am getting a band, I always explain it as a tool that "keeps me honest." So far the best name that we've come up with is 'Abe' for "Honest Abe"-President Abraham Lincoln. If we can figure out an acronym for Abe, we'll keep it. Maybe something like Anchors Before Eating but waaaaaayyyyy more clever. Think, think, think....

Are you naming your band?

I like the idea...I'll have to think of some.

here are ideas for ABE:

• After Banded Excitement
  
• i....Am Better Everyday
  
• Always Being Excellent
  

I guess they're dorky, but will help you to start thinking about it! :tt2: