MustangGirlRN

Jenny, That might be where your port is. My biggest incision has my port under it. It was also the most tender.

Good for you! I'm glad everything went well. Get plenty of rest!

It's so hard to believe that in less than 10 hours I will be banded! I was only going to tell a few people, but ended up spilling the beans to a few more than I thought I would. Fortunately everyone has been supportive! I remembered this evening that I forgot to stop to buy my post-op chewable vitamins, but I have enough samples to get me through the weekend so I'll have my husband pick some up Monday.:thumbup:

Hooray for you! I'm glad things went well for you. Get plenty of rest and keep walking!

I had my surgery on November 7th, and I have a swollen ridge along my top four incision lines. It looks really funny, because my lower abdomen isn't swollen. I'm guessing it is only post-op swelling and it will go away soon.

Hi dolphin, I was banded on November 7th. I'm a clinical manager in a pediatric ER that has a level one trauma center, and I'm taking my full three weeks to recover. If I had a desk job and knew for certain that I wouldn't have to quickly lift, wrangle a psychiatric patient, or do CPR, I would go back sooner. I don't want to take the chance of messing up my surgery, and I have the time to take off, so I'm just enjoying recuperating and becoming acquainted with my band. Plus, I won't be drinking only liquids when I return and won't raise any questions at lunchtime eating yogurt or cottage cheese. I didn't tell many people at work I was having this surgery, so being at that stage of foods when I return won't readily give me away. When is your surgery? If you have a date, I'm sure you're excited!

I, like everyone else, cannot wait to be able to wear clothes that don't come from the plus section of a store. I still haven't figured out why everything sized over 16 is huge flowery prints and big bows. I will be so happy to never shop at Lane "Giant" again!

Surgery date: Nov 7th Highest Weight: 280lbs Preop diet starting weight: 280lbs Surgery weight: 269lbs Current weight: 269lbs Goal weight: 160lbs Thanks for posting this!

Now that I've had my surgery and see that many people working post-op in the hospital don't even have any idea about lap banding, I think I am going to get a bracelet so at least it would prompt someone to check should I not be able to speak. I guess I've learned so much I expect everyone else to know as much, and that's just not true. So....a new excuse to buy jewelry! :eek:

My surgery was Friday, and I got to spend the night in the hospital following surgery. I am extremely grateful for that time as I was very nauseous post-op from the anesthesia. The nurse in the PACU was very kind and tried everything she could to relieve the nausea. When she finally did, I got my pain under control and everything was ok. I did stay in PACU from 9am until around 3pm because the hospital didn't have a room available, but they allowed my husband to have short visits with me in the PACU, and when I finally got to my private room it was well worth the wait. My only concern with my hospital stay was the staff's lack of knowledge about the lap band. My first clear liquid tray had a regular tea bag, sugar, and a straw on it. The dietician who came to talk to me before I went home was new and actually knew nothing about the lap band, so could not answer any of my questions. My post-op diet said to be on clear liquids from 3-5 days post-op, and I wanted to find out what determined when I could move on to full liquids....the dietician had no idea. I basically decided to stay on clears until Monday and call the surgeon. Otherwise, everyone was kind and took great care of my medical needs. Now that I'm home, I'm taking it easy and have only had minimal problems with pain and nausea. I have horrible diarrhea though, and found that this is a common problem post-op possibly due to all the IV fluids in the hospital, or consuming only liquids for so long. I'm excited to finally have my band and continue on with this journey!:rolleyes2:

Glad to hear you are doing good! I appreciate hearing your experiences, it helps me know what to expect. Good luck!:thumbup:

I've been on a pre-op diet for the past 11 days. Pre-op was supposed to be for 14 days, but my surgery was moved up. The nurse said it would be fine, and I was glad to go early!

I work in the ER and don't deal with billing and patient stays, but I would guess that from a billing perspective 4 hours would be the same as 23 hours. Of course the extra medications and treatments you would receive during that time would raise the total cost. I also think that any time you don't feel ready to go home it should be discussed with your physician. Things like pain and nausea should be under control before you leave.

Congrats to you! My turn is Friday, Nov 7th, so I'm right behind you. Rest up and stay hydrated!:smile2:

Hey everyone, I got a magic bullet as a wedding present about a year ago, and have only used it once or twice since then. However, I started my pre-op diet five days ago and found it to be the best device in the world for making protein shakes. It all fits nicely into the cup, whirls it up like a shake, and then can be drank right out of the same cup I made it in. I'm hoping to use the other attachments to make my mushies when I get to that point. If you're looking for something easy, with little mess, I would highly recommend it. They were only sold on TV for awhile, but now they're available in stores like Walmart, I think. :cool2:

I'm an ER nurse and I never thought about problems with needing an NG tube, but I think it would be a good idea to have the information to keep from getting an NG that could injure your stomach. Great idea.

I spent my last weekend enjoying things I won't be eating again. My husband and I went to my favorite restaurant and I had a little good bye party for the old me. I needed to do that and was ready on Monday to start my pre-op diet. I even had a mixed drink in a small plastic trash can that I got to keep. I brought the can home, washed it and I think I'm going to put slips of paper in it to represent the pounds I lose as well as negative thoughts. I know it sounds corny, but I think it will help. Every going away party needs a going away present, right?

Your pre-op diet sounds very similar to mine. I am using the Unjury protein and find that it's not that bad. The vanilla flavor is good mixed with crystal lite and some ice in a blender. The chicken flavor tastes like broth and I mix that one with water too. I love the chocolate one with ice and skim milk in the blender. It's like a chocolate shake. Are you allowed to have diet v-8 splash instead of tomato juice or v-8? I am, so it may be worth checking into. I cut up a cucumber last night and mixed it with green onion, vinegar, water, and a touch of pepper and salt. It was yummy and reminiscent of my childhood and fresh veggies from the garden. I had a tough time today though. I had a training session with lunch provided. I ate salad with my own fat free spritzer dressing like I'm allowed, and avoided everyone eating desert, (dutch apple pie or carrot cake). I thought I had survived when the person sitting next to me decided to eat her desert during the meeting. That was really tough, especially knowing that there was plenty more sitting about 10 steps away. I've come to the conclusion that I've had way too many pieces of pie in my past and that's why I can't have any more, but it can be tough! Hang in there and try keeping a journal, that has helped me tremendously.

I have the option of leaving the same day, but since I scheduled my surgery for a Friday, I'm staying overnight just in case I have problems and the office is closed. I have five kids, three of them still home, and the nurse at my Dr's office says I need to stay so I won't try to do too much the first night anyway.

Hi everyone, my name is Lisa and I'm 43 years old. I'm a pediatric ER nurse manager from Cincinnati, Ohio. I have 5 children, (Pamela, 26, Meagan, 19, Chris, 16, Matthew 13, and Joshua 12). I also have a new husband and we will be celebrating our first anniversary in December. They are the reason I'm having the lapband surgery. I want the extra 10-15 years this weight is taking away from me so I can spend the time with them! Some interesting things about me would be my love of Ford Mustangs and drag racing. We have three Mustangs, two of which are drag race cars and one is my 95 Cobra convertible, my daily driver. My husband and I both drag race, and it's a lot of fun. I also like to read and absolutely love animals. I have a black lab named Abby, and 4 cats, one of which had 3 kittens that I'm agonizing over getting rid of because I love them so much. We also have a big aquarium full of fish. My surgery is now November 7th and I'm on my pre-op diet right now. Things started moving fast after I paid my program fee, and I went from paying my fee to surgery in less than 2 months! I'm ecstatic and scared at the same time. It's great to be in this group with others going through the same thing at the same time! :w00t:

My date was moved from November 10th to November 7th! I've been on the pre-op diet since Monday and it's going really well. I'm having trouble eating everything I'm supposed to. I think it's because I'm so excited!

Wow, I'm scheduled to have surgery on November 7th and I had never even thought about monthly bloating and how it will affect my band. I bloat a lot during PMS week, I hope I'm allowed to stay on my maxzide after the surgery to combat this. I'm glad I found this thread so I won't be surprised when this happens.

I'm a nurse too, and part of the reason I want this surgery is so I can practice what I preach. It's difficult to teach someone about about being healthy when you're really not. Some example, huh? I work in a pediatric ER and often have to address parent habits as they are related to their children's health and I'm obviously not a great role model if you look at my weight. I'm so excited about this journey, I know if will help all aspects of my life.

Thanks for easing my brain a bit. I'm sure my kids will help me, but their idea of cooking is spaghettios or hot pockets. I think I'll rely on the crock pot a lot to feed them because I'll want as little contact as possible preparing food in the first days.