BearSpiritGuide

The 8th is correct for me. Thanks, -BSG

Hello everyone... This is my first night home since I had the lap band surgery. The surgery went fine - no complications, but my blood sugars spiked high and I had a lot of swelling so they kept me in the hospital for two nights. I am the first patient to not go home on the day of surgery from my Dr.s office and he has been doing this for years. I did this surgery for my family: 17 yo daughter starting college in Aug.; 15 1/2 yo daughter starting to learn how to drive; 11 yo son - I missed his birthday for the surgery; 4 yo son who is very concerned about the owies on daddy's tummy; a 4 yo daughter who is still in China waiting for my wife and I to come adopt her this summer; and - of course - my sturdy rock, my best friend, the woman of my dreams, my wife. This whole process is more about getting rid of the diabetes than it is about the weight, but fortunately both will be addressed. I am looking forward to the new me. -BSG Day one weight: 320 Day 3 weight: 310

I am 6'3" tall and very wide in the chest and shoulders - well, and middle too, but not for long. Currently 308 lbs. If I stuck to the standard BMI chart then I would need to weigh under 200 pounds to break the magic 25 barrier. The best shape of my life I was 19 and 235 lbs and that was when I was in the Army - I was very lean and fairly ripped. When my doctor spoke to me about the BMI chart he immediately told me to not pay attention to them based upon my physical make up. He also told me that when Arnold Schwarzenegger won Mr. Universe his BMI was like 60. Even though he was in the best shape of his life - I know, extrememe example. Anyway, I wanted to know what your doctors said about the charts, since I know some stick to them religiously. -BSG

I dropped 10 pounds from surgery day to now 5 days later. But I am expecting to put all of that back on since it was most likely due to dehydration. I would expect this to go on for a week or two until I get the routine down for drinking my meals even though I am not feeling too hungry. I don't mean overeating, I just mean that my stomach is in such a delicate balance right now that when it feels good I don't want to add anything to change that feeling so I don't eat when I need to. So I agree, do not be discouraged. -BSG

Ok this is just annoying. What do I need to do to make this stop. I have had my band for 4 days and I cannot get any sleep because I drool constantly. I have taken to keeping a towel on my pillow and letting my mouth be open and let it soak into the towel. Gross! Is this just something that will go away, or is there a better way to deal with this issue? -BSG

Well, I figured out part of the issue (ha - no pun in intended, but I'll take it anyway). Some of the Fluid was bile, so I thought maybe I needed to take some of the gas meds they gave me. Took that and it calmed down quite a bit, but there is still the saliva. Still hard to sleep when I am only able to get about 10 minutes snatches here and there. -BSG

I had my surgery on Wednesday, April 8th at noon. The actual surgery was perfect, according to my doctor - Steven Patching in Sacramento, CA. They expected me to be home that evening, but I had some issues. My blood sugars rose sharply and I could not swallow anything without sharp pains, not even a tiny sip. They had to put me on an IV with glucose to get some nourishment into me. By 7pm I was admitted to the hospital and they started giving me Insulin to control my blood sugars - I had never taken Insulin before. The gas pains were horrible and I could still not take anything in. Because they wanted me on my back they had to bring in a CPAP machine to help me with my breathing/apnea - I do not use one at home since I sleep on my side. But the CPAP had me swallowing more air into my stomach and I was in even more pain. My poor wife was trying to sleep in the chair in the room or on the floor or along side me on my bed - housekeeping could not find her a cot. The next morning - Thursday (my sons 11th birthday) - I was still having sever pain when my Dr. came to see me at 7:30 am, but I was able to take a few sips, but not enough to survive on, so they kept me on the IV. My Dr also told me I was the first of his Lap Band patients to ever spend the night. Spent the whole day doing the "take the tiniest sip, rock back and forth holding my stomach, stand up, sit down, stand up and walk a bit" dance. The hole process was a 25 minute production for one tiny sip. NOT GOOD. I was beginning to really regret my decision to have the surgery. Then came the morphine. It knocked me out for an hour or so at a time and I was starting to be able to sleep on my side, so no CPAP. They wanted me to take the Loratab Elixir (it will do the trick, sir) but that required swallowing so that was out. With the help of the Morphine I was able to sleep off and on for about 7 hours which helped quite a bit. On Friday I was feeling a bit better the walking was helping to get some of the gas out but it was still an ordeal. My Dr order an Upper GI with 100ml of the clear contrast stuff. Oddly enough, after the Upper GI, I started to feel a lot better. I started to be able to drink more than a sip or two at a time and by noon I was able to swallow about 4oz of chicken broth in about 30 min. I asked the nurse to contact my doctor and get me out of there. And now I am home, unable to sleep because the gas is still hanging in there though I feel it moving all around. This too shall pass. I am not longer regretting the surgery and I am looking forward to the new me. -BSG

I had my surgery on the 8th as well!!! I am still having gas pains, that do not seem to want to go away. If I lay down the gas starts up, if I sit up the gas stops. I have not been able to get a good nights sleep since before the surgery. :drool: Fortunately I work from home, so I can try and take cat naps all day long.