Elisabethsew

Some surgeons require a fast for patients who weigh over 300 pounds and others request it of all patients. The purpose is to shrink the liver and most pre-op fasts range from 1-2 weeks requiring the patient to take in 40-60 grams of protein a day via protein shakes.

Ask your surgeon if he/she uses a bladder catheter. If none is used, you MIGHT be able to wear 100% cotton panties into the OR. If you're "regular" try and schedule the surgery a week or two after your period is due.

You might want to consider waiting until after you graduate. As you have already learned, nursing is a physically demanding profession and even if you get three people to help lift a patient, you're talking an average weight lift of 60+ pounds. Telemetry patients are usually a lot more ambulatory that med-surg or chronic cardiac patients. The problem is, you NEVER know when you'll be lifting or for how long or how often. Complete your education, enjoy the graduation celebrations and then have your surgery. It's not worth it to have the surgery, risk injury by lifting too much too soon, and having to face not graduating and having additional surgery. Congratulations on almost being an RN. We NEED you!!!

You don't hate your mum, you hate the situation your Mum's health status is playing you in. Is she on anti-depressants? If not, that's a good place to begin. As far as you're concerned, it sounds like you're overwhelmed and need to talk to someone. Is there a support group or a church group you could join? Would you consider seeing a therapist? Instead of picking fights with your boss, ask for an appointment to see him/her. Go in and apologize for your unprofessional behavior and explain the home situation you're in. I'm sure your boss will be more understanding and glad that you "came clean" with the cause of your outbursts.

On a supervised diet you follow a diet prescribed by your MD. This might be weight watchers, etc. The insurance company requires you to weigh in weekly or bi-weekly (regardless of the diet or program) with your MD. So, you stay home but visit the MD for a weigh-in and that's defined as "supervised" by insurance companies.

Shelly, it sounds to me like you might be suffering from esophageal spasms. There are anti-spasmotic drugs but they won't be prescribed until you have some testing done. The person to see now is a GI specialist for answers.

I am an RN and the restrictions I had were no heavy lifting for 6 weeks. Heavy lifting was defined as anything over 25 pounds. Although the lap approach to the surgery makes recovery a lot easier than an open approach, the fact remains healing will take 6 weeks. You might want to find out what clinical rotation you're doing in October. Maternity and pediatrics is a lot easier on a nurse's body than med-surg, oncology and critical care.

Welcome and congratulations on deciding to take action for a healthier and longer life. You'll find a lot of helpful information here so ask whatever questions you might have. My male friend was banded July 1 of last year at 385 pounds and weighs 180 pounds (6' 1") today.

I have never heard of a chocolate season. Then again, I never heard of fried ice-cream either. LOL.

To me, it looks like it might be a lawn fungus... crops up when we have very humid and hot summers. It could also be an insect problem. Go to Home Depot and buy a fertilizer with insecticide and also a fungicide application. Some places can diagnosis the problem from a soil sample for free.

Dody, If you read my response carefully, I said MOST not ALL people have the tests that were asked about. I most certainly would never speak for you. Thank you,

All the pre-op tests should be covered by your insurance and yes, most people do have to have all of those tests. I needed an endoscopy, pulmonary consult, pulmonary function tests, chest x-ray, cardiac consult, stress test, echo, thyroid function tests, nutrition consult, psych consult, medical clearance, etc. I don't have sleep apnea but had my surgery the same day as a male patient who had severe sleep apnea. His surgery was right before mine (I was the last case of the day) and we both spent the night in a telemetry unit (all lapband patients do) and we both left the next AM. A two day stay in an ICU seems excessive. Maybe your MD is mixing you up with a gastric bypass (Roux-n-y) procedure? Check out other surgeons in your area.

Keep an eye on your temperature. Do you have a regular MD who is near to your home? If so, it might be a good idea to make an appt. He/she might not know about lapband surgery but can certainly diagnose an infection. A wound culture and blood work to check your WBC would be a good idea. If the antibiotic doesn't lessen the soreness/heat/reddness, etc., get to an MD.

I would drop a nice note in their mailbox (anonymous if you prefer) pointing out the problems and then wait to see if there's an improvement over the nexts few days. If there is no change, my next action would be to call the police.

Stay on liquids but make sure you get in 60 grams of protein a day... protein shakes. After a night like you had, I would do ONLY liquids for at least 2 days before trying soft foods. Lastly, get some over the counter Pepcid for the heartburn and ask your MD for a prescription for an acid blocker. I'm an RN, the dose of Pepcid we use is 20 mg twice a day. I'm not sure if the over the counter stuff is 10 or 20 mg but you need the 20 mg. Try a warm cup of tea before you go to bed.

Mine is about 4" below the bra line on the left side and doesn't give me a problem.

I drink with my meals and the surgeon said that's fine. I don't find not drinking helps to keep me "full" any longer than if I do so what's the point? Different people have different experiences with the band and I think we all find what works "best" for us as we experiment.

I'm sorry you had to have the band removed but it's good to hear you're on the mend and so positive.

I'm glad to hear you're doing well. Make sure you get plenty of rest and stay hydrated.

After the first 2 weeks when the swelling went down I could feel the port and I don't know anyone who can't feel theirs. Because the fat is dependent and the muscle is stable, when you lie down the port is more pronounced.

Obesity is a physical handicap that we carry with us everyday. In public, you never know what kind of nasty comments you'll hear. In fact, I think this is the greatest prejudice of all. If you see a person in a wheelchair, you don't go up to that person and say, "How long have you been cripple?" If we see a blind person with a cane or seeing eye dog would we ever think of screaming out, "Can you see ANYTHING or are you TOTALLY blind?" Sadly, it's not the same with obesity. It's a turn off for many people and they feel obligated to express that. I feel sorry for them but it does nothing to lessen the pain. It's best to educate children, try and ignore insensitive/cruel people, and hold you head high and move forward. We know we're special and have a lot to offer... even if others can't see past the obvious.

You look WONDERFUL! Congratulations on the pregnancy!

Unfortunately, there is not one right answer for your question. I believe I have proper restriction now. I have no problems getting liquids down so no, I don't feel a trickle. You're supposed to be able to get hard protein (beef, chicken, fish, pork, etc) down by cutting it into small pieces and chewing it thoroughly. If you can eat a hamburger, that's fine. But, how long does it take? Do you have to take baby bites? Are you full afterwards? If you can take big bites and not chew much and get it down with no pain, you likely need a little more fill.

I am a critical care RN. Have you determined if the bleeding is rectal or is it a heavy period? If you're bleeding from the rectum, you need to go to the ER ASAP. It's not from an ulcer. You said it's bright red, if it were from an ulcer, it would be like coffee-grounds. So, you either have a bleeding hemmoroid or something more serious. GO TO THE ER NOW! Let us know how you are after the ER visit.

Breakfast - 4 oz lite ricotta cheese and coffee Lunch - salad with tuna or turkey or 1 cup of cereal with 4 oz skim milk Dinner - 5-6 ounces of chicken or fish, 1/2 cup of steamed veggies, 1/2 cup of rice. Snacks - 100 calorie packs of pretzels, chips, etc. or 100 cal or dark choc. or 60 cal pudding or 80 cal fudge bar. Water, water, water throughout the day.