February 2007 bandsters!

[oldgiesser 0]

Hi All!!

I am back from surgery nowIhad it on Tuesday but I am very sore and feel

like I been run over. Having a real hard time getting anything down even

Water and pain med. It's been two days post-op and i havent ate anything

such as CIB or cream Soup. I guess the good news is I lost another 6 pounds since surgery. Hopefully tomorrow I will be able to eat something.

Thank you to those of you who have me in your thoughts and prayers

Terry

[synicalchick 0]

Wow.. well, when y'all found out your date and you got about a couple of weeks out... did it effect your sleep? I went to bed around 10 and woke up @ 2. Laid around for an hour.. finally gave up and did laundry and other house stuff.

My pre op testing is Tuesday. They faxed me my info. I was surprised to read that on day four they said I could eat oatmeal and scrambled eggs.< /p>

[louise162 0]

I suffered from insomnia a bit after I'd made the decision about the surgery. My surgeon has said fluids only for 4 weeks post-op and then pureed food after that for another 2 weeks followed by 2 weeks of mushed up food and then a normal diet (within reason obviously). I'm 3 days post op and just starting to pick up a bit. I had an enormous hiatus hernia that had to repaired which is why my recovery is being a bit slow. I think the worst thing at the moment is the nausea; my doctor has precribed an anti emetic which is really helping. I so looking forward to a bit of oatmeal but I'll just have to be patient. Best of luck to you!

[Minnesotalady 1]

Hi all,

Had my surgery Tues. Feb. 13, all went well, lots of gas bubbles and don't even feel hungry, today sipping on Protein Shake, feel alittle better, getting up and getting around helps releive the gas. I pray each day it gets a little better, right now It feels like someone ran me over, and backed up!! I'm not sure what I have lost because I told myself I was not going to be obsessed with weighing myself, I'm going to wait till Tues. when I see my Dr. I will post then. Have a great day

Minnesotalady:tired

[TracyinKS 7]

TGIF! GREAT TO hear from all you newly banded folks! I have a question: when people post from the hospital.... how are you doing that? Did you take a laptop and hooking into a wireless connection or did the hospital have a pc for anyone to use?

Also... did any of you hear about the Peanut Butter contamination? Well... we had 3 jars of the stuff with labels that read 2111xxxxxxx

1 regular peter pan, 1 sugar free(low carb) peter pan, and 1 big ol jar of Great Value, that we just bought last weekend.... FREAKY! specially since we've been sick... (but both my son and I have sinus type sicknessness)

[babygrl1234 6]

Tracy I know when my son was in the hospital they had bedside computers for the kids to use (University of Michigan). At the hospital where my surgery was done they have wireless access but you have to bring your own laptop.

That is really freaky about the Peanut Butter. We are a Jif family so we had no problems with that.

[babygrl1234 6]

So I think my husband is buying me a treadmill tonight. Who would have thought I would be excited about a piece of fitness equipment?

[luv2blab 0]

Had surgery Tuesday morning. Surgery "went very well" per the surgeon. Had a morphine button so I was able to get some rest lying still. Got up at 3 am to sit on potty. Very difficult to get up. Sore sore sore. Had the upper GI...since everything was ok...I was given chicken broth, Jello, and hot tea. Sipped a itsy bit of each...and then was allowed to go home later in the afternoon on Wed. The WORST part was the chest pain...gas bubbles I guess. I walked laps around the house trying to dispell it until I couldn't stay awake any longer. On Thursday, I had only gotten out half of it so far. The left side was still hurting. I started my chewable vitamins and sipping Special K Protein Water. Little sips definately. My chest was very tight. Got up today and felt like I'd gotten the last of the gas bubbles out. Now the worst is just the getting around, headaches, hunger pangs....but, I finally got in the shower and that really made me feel human again! I sipped chicken broth and ate a few spoons of frozen yogurt. I'm feeling much better now. My chest feels very tight and I have 5 incision sites that are quite tender. I have lost about 15lbs so far since the start of my pre-op diet. I look forward to healing and getting back to normal. I go back to work next Friday. I have been reading alot on measuring my fluids. I have sugarfree candy and gum to deal with the dry mouth. I have liquid tylenol with codeine but haven't taken it since Wed. My family laughs and asks if it was worth it? Hmmm...YES...I think in the long run it will be....otherwise....I wouldn't have put myself through all this! Well, again, I'm thankful for this forum....anyone even remotely thinking about surgery should have these personal accounts at their disposal. The surgeons could never provide this. Take care everyone. I'll try to fiqure out how to do one of these ticker things and keep ya posted. Let's get healthy!

[travelgirl 3]

I have a treadmill, and love it! Did 30 minutes on it last night. Not running, but just walking.

[babygrl1234 6]

I want to get out and walk so bad but it is rigid outside right now. I went on one very cold walk and I have walking at the mall but I really want to be able to huff and puff and get sweaty not in public.

[twinskd 0]

I had a treadmill, but I really like my bike. I do about 15 minutes each night. I also am joining curves today. I will be going on my lunch hour.

[travelgirl 3]

I love Curves, also. I have to go after work, I'm far too sweaty and gross to do it and then come to work... ewww!

[lapband4meNOW 0]

Hi Everyone.

I thought I would give you an update since my surgery. I also thought I would describe my surgery experience in case it helps any of you about to go under.

I am 8 days post op today. I have lost 16 lbs since surgery last Thursday as of this morning. I am feeling good. Still a little sore in the tummy area my left side. I had pulled something, but before it was really getting better. The items I will list that I am eating are all lite or low sugar - Jello, popsicles, pudding, fudgsicles, cream of wheat w/little butter, campbells tomatoe Soup at hand, Protein shakes, spaghetti sauce heated with a little ground beef (tiny meat), sucked on couple candy kisses, dannon yogurt smoothies, garlic mashed potatoes - premade country crock whipped with a little milk to make thinner and I added sour cream and melted cheese (it came out to a nice whipped consistency), onion Soup, miso soup (from the powdered packets), rice crispies dry (great to snack on when you want a little crunch, eat like popcorn but make sure you are nibbling on a few at a time..it dissolves pretty much before it goes down). I can have any cream or milk based soup too. I just have only had a few kinds. If it is a little too thick, I use my hand blender to thin it out. These are just some ideas. Oh, I didn't have any clear liquid diet after surgery. So I have been doin this all week. I only had a 2 day clear liquid before surgery which was started with 10 ounces of magnesium citrate to clean out the bowels.

Day of surgery - Check in at 5:30am for surgery at 7:30am. I admit, get called into prep room. Bunch of other beds in there with curtains inbetween. The nurses weigh me and ask me to change into gown, put all my personal stuff in a bad they provided. They gave me footies too. Walk back to bed, they verify who I am several times that morning and what procedure I am having. They first numb the area for IV and then insert IV. (folks, dont let them put IV at wrist area, tell them on top of hand...because I got it in the wrist area and made it difficult when I would push myself out of bed) Then they check blood pressure, and oxygenation (finger). They had blood drawn and sent to lab to make sure what I have in my tummy (so dont cheat and eat before, they can tell with the lab work they do they said). Then after the anethesiologist talks to me, asks me questions, they gave me the FEEL GOOD med to make me relax a little while I wait for surgery. Called Versat (may spell it wrong). You can ask for this if they dont offer..say you are feeling anxious and it really does calm ya down.

Then I got wheeled into surgery. Oh, my husband was there this whole time and gave me a kiss goodbye. THe last thing I remember is being moved to this narrow table that was a little cold. They put both arms out and strapped them (lightly) down. I am also strapped around the hip area. They put the heart thing on me and then start with oxygen around my mouth and that is the last thing I remember.

I woke up hard to breath. It was that damn mask, I dont do good with masks. So if you experience this, tell the nurses and they will put the nasal one on you which is much better. I was short of breath and gasping, moving around a lot because I keep telling them I cant breath, I cant breath. They took that mask off and put the nasal one on and I felt much better. My mouth was so dry. They had to put a air tube down my throat while in surgery. They also put a catheter in while in surgery (when I was out). I knew they were going to do that because they told me. This way after the surgery I dont have to get up right away if I have to go pee. I sit in recovery room for a while and I am not allowed so much as an ice chip on the day of surgery. They allow me to rinse my mouth out later when I got to my room. As I am in recovery they just monitor my blood pressure. The cuff stays on and so does the oxygen reader on my finger. IV is in and I have a button to push for pain if needed. The sucky part was dry mouth. Ask for vaseline, and a wash cloth. Wipe your mouth and put that on, makes it much better.

I could not drink because I had to wait until the next day for them to x-ray and watch stuff go down. The reason I had to wait until the next day is my doctor says sometimes swelling can get worse over night and they need to make sure I am not closed up the next morning.

First night, I get up for the first time about 6 hours after surgery. I take my IV pole and they hook my catheter puch to it and do a little walking. Tender but able to move around fine. I walked around every 4 hours for a little while. Looked like an old granny walking the halls, but it prevents blood clots. Oh, in surgery they put the warming massager on my calves to prevent clots and that stays on the entire time I am in bed until I check out.

I went to x-ray next morning first thing. Oh, they also take your temperature a lot through this whole process too. Went to x-ray and stood in front of x-ray machine. I could see my insides on the screen and see the band. Crazy...and I watched the Fluid go down. They let me see it. I was cleared to start drinking. Got my little ounce of broth, Jello, and juice. (ounce each). YIPPY! LOL

First night home, started having depression. Wanted it out of me. Thinking what did I do. I smelled chicken my husband made for the kids and it was at that moment, even though I wasn't hungry, that I knew that I used food for comfort. It was a slap in the face. I always thought I ate badly or too big of portions. Me, an emotional eater?..NO way I would of said. But yes, it is true, I realized food was there to comfort me. You can read my previous posts if you want to read more, because I was crying. It took a couple days and I started to get out of that emotional funk. I feel good today and very happy.

I hope this will help anyone else ready to go!

[TracyinKS 7]

babygirl: that is nice of him to get you a treadmill!

Lapband4menow: thanks for the detailed account!

[lapband4meNOW 0]

No problem Tracy!