Hey guys!
I came home from the hospital yesterday (was banded on 3/16). My surgery wound up being 2 hours because they found I had a hernia and repaired it (2 surgeries for the price of one, lol). I did not have a Foley Catheter, because the surgery is so short they do not usually want to risk infection. If you do need one, no worries, they cath you once you are asleep, so you do not feel a thing. When the nurse removes it later, it does not hurt at all.
I am happy to say that I am not in any pain.... some discomfort (mostly b/c of gas and the port site) but NO PAIN. One thing I will stress- walk, walk, walk, walk, walk as soon as you can get up in the hospital. It's the LAST thing you will WANT to do, but OMG, the gas is released this way and the pain goes away so much faster!!!!! It made all the difference, in my opinion.
The worst part was the ride home- do not take the bumpy route, lol! Keep 2 pillows in the car... 1 to sit on and the other to put some pressure on your stomach when you hit bumps. Worked like a charm : ) Wish I thought to do that the first half hour of my ride, duh!!!
Good luck to you guys.... I will try to post as often as I can. I have been blogging my entire journey on my website http://bandoverbypass.webs.com