Share an account of your first week?

[Scott F 0]

I had surgery one week ago and would like to hear from others about their first week. Would you like to share? From you older banders it would also be nice to get a preview of what the next few weeks will be like.

My First Week__________________

I was pretty tired on surgery day, but able to resume a half day at the office the day after surgery, and to resume a full work day on day 5.

The pain was minimal. Once, I took a dose of the tylenol w/codein, and other times took half doses of children's tylenol.

I had no nausea. That terrible, bloated feeling lasted only 2-3 hours after I woke up from surgery. The only sign of having done something wrong was on day 7 when I ate a scrambled egg.

I have had no hunger this week, probably only eating 200-500 calories a day, and have lost 16 pounds. However, today (day 8) I ate 2X-3X what I've eaten on any other day (1/3 Protein Drink for Breakfast, cup of Soup for lunch, and 2/3 cup of soup for dinner) so maybe hunger is returning.

I was worried that after banding I would forever lose the enjoyment of food. But I'm finding that enjoyment of food is probably a relative thing. Vegetarian broth was delicious, and when I ate that egg (cold, left over by my daughter) it tasted like foi gras (I love foi gras).

I understand that if I am restricted now it is only because of swelling and won't last, but I really like this feeling.

[wallisj 0]

My first week (23rd Jan) was pretty rough in a way...

Had the op, all went well there...but when i woke up in my hostpital room post-op i immediately felt super-hot....i was just sweating like crazy and they ran and got me a fan but the hot feeling made me sick....i dry heaved a couple of times quite hard which scared me so soon after op....

That pulled a muscle in my stomach so for the next 4 day i just couldn't lie flat...but the actual diet/stiches (ok, had glue rather than stiches) were fine. The gas pains lasted about a week - 10 days for me ... but some days i felt pretty ok, some i felt rough...walking helps...even very slowly...just the movement seems to help dissipate the gas around the system.

4 weeks on, i feel perfectly normal...might even go and play badminton this weekend...scars are about 95% healed and i've lost a fair amount (although none this week due to switching to mushies and i think i went a little mad on calories wise)

Looking forward to week 8 first fill

During the 1st 4 weeks the diet has been about 90% ok...i've had a couple of days where i felt really down and just wanted to not eat liquid anymore ... but that passed and my wife forgave my very nasty mood :eek:

[DOC 0]

My First Week__________________

Surgery day was ok. Drugged up and slept and walked a lot. When I got home from hospital I had a lot of port pain. NOt to much gas, but the walking helped with that. I couldn't sleep on a bed.... slept in a recliner.. It was heaven. :notagree My DH set it up in the bedroom with my favorite blankie... AHHHHHHHH

Napped a lot, drank Clear liquids for 4 days and thicker liquids for 3 weeks. No whole food, not even in the Soups... I put them in the blender. AND OF COURSE... MY Water. 64 oz a day!

So... Week one was sleeping, sipping and walking!

Have a great recovery:)

[nanahanna 1]

This is a great thread! Thanks for starting it! As I draw nearer to surgery, I find I am wondering more and more what to expect immediately after and the first few days! I can't take codeine so I hope they have something else to give me for the pain. I take Darvocet for my arthritis pain...and that works well for me and doesn't cause the nausea the codeine causes me.

[LBdancer 0]

My First Week__________________

I was banded high noon on a Wed... all went well. I woke up, walked the hospital corridor, sipped some Water, chewed on some ice and was home before dark. I didn't feel like eating much the next few days but veggie broth was a savior, also sugar free Jello, liquid tylenol and GasX... I slept a lot at first, but felt better than I thought I would. I went back to work on day 6. It will be 2 weeks tomorrow since my surgery and I still have a little gas occasionally and pain at my port incision. All the scars are healing well and I'm getting stronger every day. My hunger has returned so it's a good thing that the mushie phase begins tomorrow (probably today - sush....)

Good luck everyone.

nanahanna - FYI... before they released me from the hospital I was given a RX for Celebrex which is also an arthritis med. It seems Celebrex is their standard pain med for this surgery - I bet your Darvocet will be all you need.

[nanahanna 1]

Hi LBDancer! Thanks for the info. I can't take Celebrex...made my liver enzymes too high...can't take Vioxx for the same reason. I have blood work every 3 months to check those type things and so far I am doing well on the Darvocet and Methotrexate. Where did you find the vegetable broth? Any brand you liked better than others. Oh yeah, does GasX come in liquid?

[RoxanneRoll 0]

My First Week__________________

Well I am on day five post op today.

Day of surgery they had a hard time waking me up. I had to be on oxygen as my saturation would not stay at a normal level. I can't tell you how many times I kept hearing..."Dena, take a deep breath"...I would do as instructed and start to fall asleep and my O2 sats would drop. They gave me sips of Water and the pain from taking even the smallest sip was horrible. When I finally got to the step down recovery unit I felt totally drugged up, and just chewing two tiny pieces of ice was extremely painful once it went down. I had to do a barium swallow test to make sure all was ok after that. My swallow test came back normal, and was told I just was having a lot of gas pain. Ok...so finally I am able to pee, burp, walk a bit in the hallway...and off to home I went.

My pain was really bad, I kept myself doped up on the liquid vicodin for two days straight. The gas pain in my stomach improved....but lucky me...it just moved to my left shoulder where it still resides. It likes me...doesnt want to leave. I have walked, taken extra strenth gas-x, tried heat, massage, excercise, position change, hot tea...you name it. My pain today is still as bad as it was on post op day one....lucky me huh!! My incisional pain is no biggie, I was sleeping back on my tummy on night three. I pretty much feel like I could go back to work, go shopping, etc if it were not for this intense pain in my shoulder. It is hard to describe how horrible it is...it only hurts if I am sitting or standing up. I am still trying to walk and move regardless of the pain, but after awhile....I have to go lie back down for some relief. My doc says this could last 10-12 days, and I am only the second patient in 1600 that has had the gas pain this bad.

Good news is that I do feel restricted, I hope this feeling lasts and does not go away as swelling goes down. My doctors instructions were to do full liquids for 24-48 hours then onto mushies for four weeks. I went to soft food on day three and have not had a probem. I can only eat a small amount at a time, which is good for me.

[PShaw 0]

I had my surgery on Wednesday 3/1, I was in by noon and home by 3pm. It went pretty well, I expected alot worse. When I came out of anesthesia, I was able to drink okay and had virtually no pain at all, just a bit of a sore throat and a red welt on my temple. It felt like an allergic reaction ...maybe to something I came into contact with in the OR?? ( I should have asked them what they were going to put on my face, I have very sensitive skin)

Day two I felt pretty bad. I was really sore at the port site and had some gas pains and a bit of nausea. I had taken off the nausea patch they put on before surgery, because it was making my vision so blurry I couldn't read anything (and I don't wear glasses) They also gave me pills for nausea, so that helped. They made me sleepy, too...which was a welcome side effect. I had a hard time sleeping at first. I have just been taking the liquid vicodin and two advil every 4 hours to keep the pain level tolerable. I'm on day 4 right now and feel a little better each day. I don't think I'm going back to my desk job on Monday, though. I'm going to be out a few more days than expected, I think.

I do feel some restriction and fill up pretty quickly on Soup. I haven't really had much of an appetite. I have alot of gurgling and growling in my belly tho...I hope this goes away, it's pretty loud and it scares my cat!

343/329/175

Banded 3/1/06

Dr. Montgomery

[nanahanna 1]

"I do feel some restriction and fill up pretty quickly on Soup. I haven't really had much of an appetite. I have alot of gurgling and growling in my belly tho...I hope this goes away, it's pretty loud and it scares my cat!"

Oh how funny! Cats are a riot! My daughter has always had cats and they have the cutest personalities! I can just see your cat jumping at the sound of your tummy growling!

[banded_for_life 2]

My First Week__________________

Went great!!! I had surgery on a Friday and was back at work the next Wednesday. I really didn't have any problems with gas or pain for that matter. I took a total of 3 pills and that was it. I did end up sleeping in my recliner for two weeks. I am an extreme stomach sleeper and it just felt better this way. I wasn't hungry that first week.

[sunshinenh 0]

My first week after surgery... Had surgery 12/9/05. Surgery went great, had pain and nausea so ended up staying overnight. Had a bit of pain during the first week (mostly at my port site), Meds the doc gave me helped a lot. I drank Water then on to protien drinks and my favorite at the time (and I will never eat again) sugar free pudding. I did not have any of the gas pains some people get (THANK GOD). I did have to stay out of work for 3 weeks though. I mostly slept, rested, walked and worked on getting in enough fluids. Did have horrible diarrhea though (which resolved after about 1 1/2 weeks) and developed thrush. Overall though it wasn't nearly as bad as I had anticipated. Good support at home was what helped most.

[Wheetsin 714]

I just had my surgery Wednesday, but here's my first week so far:

Wednesday - surgery went fine, I was very quick coming out of the anesthetia and had no significant pain, no nausea, and no gas. I went in for surgery around 10:30 and was headed back home by 2:00. Wasn't hungry, slept off and on most of the day. Highlight of the day - it was Ash wednesday, and I had no idea. When first coming out of anesthesia, I apparently told the recovery nurses that they needed to stay away from me until they washed, because their faces were filthy & I didn't want any infections. SLept in a recliner DH moved into the living room (so I could watch TV without waking him up).

Thursday - still sleepy. No real pain, but a "pulling" feeling when I walk - much better when I hold my stomach. The only incisiont hat hurts is the biggest one, in the middle - I assume the one used to get the band in (I didn't see my surgeon post-op, so I couldnt ask). Slept in the recliner.

Friday - Feel much better. Went to Target at night to walk around for about 45 mins - 1 hour, felt MUCH better afterward. Slept in bed with pillows piled up behind me.

Saturday - Felt pretty good. Incisions still feel tight. Went to visit my parents (about an hour away). Walked around too much and overdid it... took some Lortab elixir. First night I felt hunger, but it went away quickly. First day I was allowed to add foods to my "Jello, broth, water" staples -- cream Soups, Protein supplement, and yogurt. They tasted like heaven!

I have no restriction that I can tell, but I'm following the post-op diet to the letter, even portion size. No pain in any of the incisions that could be my port (again, I'm not sure which it is), just the one in the middle of my chest - and that's more of a pulled feeling, from the weight of my tummy pulling down on the staples. I've still had no gas from the surgery, knock on wood... gas from drinking my Protein drinks, that's another story.

I'm scheduled to return to work tomorrow and I don't think it would be any problems except the dress pants I wear to work hit right on my lower level of staples. Fortunately I'm able to telecommute, so I plan to work from home until after my staples come out (Wed).

[Poodles 0]

Wanted to *bump* this thread up, because I am terribly interested in the information. I could do the surgery at Easter and have 4 days to do the surgery and go back to work Thurs-Sunday, back to work on Monday, or I need to wait until summer. I really don't want to wait, but think I may need to since I drive 45 minutes one way to work. Please keep the info coming and share your opinions on this too please!

[chabutter 0]

celebrex never worked for me, ive been through darvocet celebrex methotrexate plaquenil, gold shots and lastly enbrel :-P

[maryb 1]

Poodles, I am 8 days post op today. This is the first day I really drove myself and felt like I could make it all day if I had to go to work.

I had no problems until day 4. First day without nausea patch. I had pushed liquids too fast and had applesauce. The pain in my stomache was very bad followed by dry heaves. Dr. called in suppositories and told me to go back to Clear Liquids. Followed orders and was better next day. Sip pourable liquids only is the key.