Nervous & Not sure what to Expect??

[Starting Over 2010 0]

Hi, everyone! I'm new to this website, but I am SO glad I found it! A lot of my questions have been answered! My surgery date is August 31st, 2010. I have never had surgery before so that is also making me nervous. How do you feel right after surgery? Can you acctually feel the band on your stomach? Can you feel the port? I guess I'm nervous about having a foreign object in my body... and comments or support would be greatly appreciated! I'm kinda freaking, but yet so ready to change my life!

[Astrasmom 1]

Hi, everyone! I'm new to this website, but I am SO glad I found it! A lot of my questions have been answered! My surgery date is August 31st, 2010. I have never had surgery before so that is also making me nervous. How do you feel right after surgery? Can you acctually feel the band on your stomach? Can you feel the port? I guess I'm nervous about having a foreign object in my body... and comments or support would be greatly appreciated! I'm kinda freaking, but yet so ready to change my life!

After surgery you will feel kind of groggy for awhile. You will probably be a little sore once the pain medication wears off. I'm not sure how everyone's hospital work but I had a morphine pump and when I needed pain medication I would just push the button and a small amount of morphine was administered to me. I hardly used it though. For me the pain was about a 3-4 on a scale from 1-10. Your throat may be a little sore from the breathing tube. You also might feel a little gassy, maybe in your shoulder area which is from the air that they pump into you during surgery so the doctor can see inside. I wasn't allowed anything to eat or drink until the following day, after I had the barium swallow and X-ray. Your mouth might be kind of dry so they may or may not give you some swabs so that you can wet your lips with. Take some chapstick with you, it helps. After a few hours you can get up and walk around. It's best that you walk as much as you can because it helps with moving the gas around and also prevents blood clots from forming in your legs.

You can not feel the band on your stomach but you will more then likely be amazed that you aren't hungry considering you haven't eaten in 2 days already. I could feel my port but you really don't want to be pushing on the site because you will be sore. It really doesn't become prominent until you start losing the weight. I can really feel mine now. I'll never wear a bikini so I don't care if it shows or not.

Take a look at my blog. It will give you an idea of what will happen. Look around at the different pages that I have on there.

It's normal to feel nervous. It's major surgery after all. Soon it will be all over with and you will be on your way to your new lifestyle. Having the band was the best thing I have ever done in my life. I have no regrets accept that I didn't get it done sooner. The lapband saved my life.

I was 304lbs when I started, borderline everything with sleep apnea and used a CPAP for 5 years. I also had open heart surgery in 2001 for an Aortic Aneurysm and valve repair. Because I had a pigs valve put in (didn't want to take blood thinner) I will need to have surgery again within the next few years. Pigs valves do not last your lifetime (No bacon jokes please..hehe).

Anyway a little over 9 months from my surgery, I am 106lbs lighter. 13lbs away from goal. I haven't been this weight since 1987. I kind of feel like a teenager at times again. I have my self-esteem back. I feel sexy for the first time in a long time (don't care if anyone else doesn't think I'm sexy). I am no longer borderline anything. My bloodwork is normal. I no longer have sleep Apnea and tossed my machine away. I went from a size 26 to a 14.

So my point is. Every surgery is scary. Every surgery has risks. But if we don't take chances in life, we miss out on alot of good things. And I missed out on this surgery for years because I second guessed myself and listened to what everyone else said. I finally decided that I needed to take care of me and I had to stop listening to everyone else because ultimately this was my decision.

So I wish you luck on your surgery. I do hope that I have helped you a little. Please keep us posted. You can do it. :thumbup:

[zeniada 9]

Astrasmom.... i was trying to view your blog but it keeps booting me off do i need to be a member of blogspot.com or something i really wanted to read how you progressed on your journey

[Astrasmom 1]

Astrasmom.... i was trying to view your blog but it keeps booting me off do i need to be a member of blogspot.com or something i really wanted to read how you progressed on your journey

For some reason it was doing it to my mom also. She said she was using Firefox and switch to Internet Explorer and it worked. What browser are you using? And no you don't need to be a member.

[zeniada 9]

I'm using firefox...i'll try switching to safari and see if it will let me view it...

[Starting Over 2010 0]

After surgery you will feel kind of groggy for awhile. You will probably be a little sore once the pain medication wears off. I'm not sure how everyone's hospital work but I had a morphine pump and when I needed pain medication I would just push the button and a small amount of morphine was administered to me. I hardly used it though. For me the pain was about a 3-4 on a scale from 1-10. Your throat may be a little sore from the breathing tube. You also might feel a little gassy, maybe in your shoulder area which is from the air that they pump into you during surgery so the doctor can see inside. I wasn't allowed anything to eat or drink until the following day, after I had the barium swallow and X-ray. Your mouth might be kind of dry so they may or may not give you some swabs so that you can wet your lips with. Take some chapstick with you, it helps. After a few hours you can get up and walk around. It's best that you walk as much as you can because it helps with moving the gas around and also prevents blood clots from forming in your legs.

You can not feel the band on your stomach but you will more then likely be amazed that you aren't hungry considering you haven't eaten in 2 days already. I could feel my port but you really don't want to be pushing on the site because you will be sore. It really doesn't become prominent until you start losing the weight. I can really feel mine now. I'll never wear a bikini so I don't care if it shows or not.

Take a look at my blog. It will give you an idea of what will happen. Look around at the different pages that I have on there.

It's normal to feel nervous. It's major surgery after all. Soon it will be all over with and you will be on your way to your new lifestyle. Having the band was the best thing I have ever done in my life. I have no regrets accept that I didn't get it done sooner. The LAP-BAND® saved my life.

I was 304lbs when I started, borderline everything with sleep apnea and used a CPAP for 5 years. I also had open heart surgery in 2001 for an Aortic Aneurysm and valve repair. Because I had a pigs valve put in (didn't want to take blood thinner) I will need to have surgery again within the next few years. Pigs valves do not last your lifetime (No bacon jokes please..hehe).

Anyway a little over 9 months from my surgery, I am 106lbs lighter. 13lbs away from goal. I haven't been this weight since 1987. I kind of feel like a teenager at times again. I have my self-esteem back. I feel sexy for the first time in a long time (don't care if anyone else doesn't think I'm sexy). I am no longer borderline anything. My bloodwork is normal. I no longer have sleep Apnea and tossed my machine away. I went from a size 26 to a 14.

So my point is. Every surgery is scary. Every surgery has risks. But if we don't take chances in life, we miss out on alot of good things. And I missed out on this surgery for years because I second guessed myself and listened to what everyone else said. I finally decided that I needed to take care of me and I had to stop listening to everyone else because ultimately this was my decision.

So I wish you luck on your surgery. I do hope that I have helped you a little. Please keep us posted. You can do it. :wub:

Thank you for the answering me. My mind has been more at ease since being on this website! I have sleep apnea also and CANNOT wait to get rid of that machine! You have helped me a lot!!

[Astrasmom 1]

Thank you for the answering me. My mind has been more at ease since being on this website! I have sleep apnea also and CANNOT wait to get rid of that machine! You have helped me a lot!!:blushing:

I used the CPAP machine for 5 years. You have NO idea how good it was for the sleep study doctor to tell me that I no longer needed it. I am glad that I have helped you. I wish you much luck. And by the way my blog SHOULD work with Firefox now. For some reason it didn't like the counter that I had on it. So I removed that.