March '07 Bandsters Union

[TheCascadian 1]

I didn't see a thread for us out there, so I thought I'd start it up.

I'm getting it done so late this month, I'll ALMOST be an April Bandster.. but not quite.

Who else has had surgery this month??? How's it going? How do you feel?

Anybody waiting in the wings like I am?

[alaverde 0]

Hello! My surgery is 3/20/07. I started my 2 week liquid pre-op diet this morning. I am doing OK so far. Just a little headache. Good luck to everyone getting their band this month! Can't wait to hear all the great reports:)

[kuebel_j 0]

Hello! My surgery is March 20, too. Good Luck to everyone!

[lilnena 0]

hi there! I'm another March Bandster - March 21st!

There is a March thread out here - you can find it here:

http://www.lapbandtalk.com/march-2007-bandsters-t28423.html

[TheCascadian 1]

Dang, and I even looked for a thread for us! LOL.

Anyway, Hi, everybody!

[Exude 0]

Howdy! I saw the 11 page March bandster's one and didn't post there... might as well contribute to the new one and be there from the beginning!

I just got my surgery on Monday, March 5th. I am resting up as much as possible right now. My surgery went well for the most part. I had to get my hiatal hernia fixed so it took about 2.5 hours for my surgeon to finish everything. After, I was very nauseated for a long time. I had to recover with a lot of pain meds and then they took me to radiology to see the band placement. I was feeling nauseated already and then they gave me this disgusting liquid to ingest so they could visualize the placement. I actually threw it up right away... the nurse and doctor looked a little concerned. I then took barium for another x-ray which went down a ton easier.

That night I just rested... in and out of sleep with all the pain meds I was taking. My biggest concern, which I didn't even think would be a problem... was that I could not pee! I stood up for 30 minutes just trying to go and I couldn't. The nurse did a bladderscan and I had 850 mL residual just sitting in my bladder. They ended up having to straight cath me (scary) but I felt so relieved.

The next day I was sent home after I could pee on my own and liquids were going down okay. Now I have just been resting and trying to get by with all this gas built up in my belly. It is realllllly annoying. I am just staying positive and reading these boards constantly for feedback. Hope you guys are still on track with your surgeries! Good luck!

-Jason

[x-ray chic 0]

Hey all, I am due March 14th for my band, getting excited. I'm having a some trouble sticking with the diet right now, I want to eat everything I know I won't be able to after. Well, one week to go, I hope everyone does well, keep posting on your results. May you all have a speedy recovery.

[TheCascadian 1]

Damn Exude, a straight cath would scare the piss outta me! LOL!

X-Ray, I've been having last supper syndrome. I keep snacking on crap and going, WHY???, but I know why. :girl_hug:

[Exude 0]

Damn Exude, a straight cath would scare the piss outta me! LOL!

X-Ray, I've been having last supper syndrome. I keep snacking on crap and going, WHY???, but I know why.

Yeah, the straight cath really upset me. I could NOT piss for the life of me and was getting so mad. The nurse really encouraged that for me to get relief, that is what I had to do.

About your "last supper syndrome," I had that as well. I reallly dedicated the week before to being very good to my liquid diet. TWO weeks is so difficult and I could not sustain a liquid diet for that long. I did have some of my favorite meals... pizza, chicken, chinese food, etc., but I was lucky and lost a ton of weight still. I lost about 23 lbs. from my last Doctor appointment (1.5 months length) until surgery day. So if you can lose weight and stick with at least a one week liquid diet, last supper syndrome is okay in my opinion! :girl_hug:

-Jason

[Exude 0]

Hey Ya'll! I'm getting my band on the 12th. IM SO NERVOUS!!!! i've never had surgery! But my mom will be there, and she is getting hers on the 14th. How is everyone doing on the pre-band diet? im doing pretty good i've lost 8 lbs. in a week and a half. Are ya'll going to tell people you got the band? My mom doesnt really want to tell people but i dont really mind... Well im really excited for all of us who have taken the first step towards build a new you! I'll pray that all of us do amazing, and lose ALL the weight!!! Please ya'll keep in touch and let me know how ya'll are doing!!! Thanks!

I am excited for you Amy! I am curious, how old are you and your mother? That is amazing you guys are both getting the surgery within days of each other!

My motivation was my family hx of diseases and it is why I needed the surgery. Do you have a similar situation?

-Jason

[Exude 0]

Okay, First, Im 18 years old and my mom is 44. Im going to be totally honest, my motivation to get the surgery is really just to help my self esteem. I'm sure in a sense you can relate, your a young guy, you know how difficult it is to grow up in this kind of society where people do nothing but judge you. I mean i want to start college with a new outlook on life and not be so uncomforatble talking to cute guys or meeting new people. However, my mom i THINK has high blood pressure....not totally sure on that though, and her mom has diabetes so i think shes getting it so she can be healthy but also shes getting it so she can feel better about herself as well (even thought my dad thinks shes "sexy" just the way she is). But i do have a ? for you, how do you like nursing school? im considering going into that profession myself. And, how is your band going? And can you like tell where the port thing is in your stomach?

Amy

That's excellent Amy what you're doing! I went/am going through the same thing about self-esteem. I came to college with a weight loss of 20 lbs., then lost 60 lbs. right after that. For the next two years, all I did was gain it ALL back plus some to get to the heaviest weight I've ever been. This is despite doing the same things as I did when I lost all the weight in the first place. It sucked!

I have a strong family history of diseases and heart problems and did not want to subject myself to the same thing. Especially since I was diagnosed with high blood pressure this summer. Again, it sucked!

I can't wait for you to call yourself "sexy" and talk to all the cute guys at parties, haha. Your college experience will be ten-folds better if YOU feel better about yourself... not necessarily with the weight loss, but with how you feel about what you're doing.

I applaud you for even thinking of nursing! It is such an excellent profession! Especially with what you're going through, you'll be a better nurse for having been a patient and knowing how difficult it is. If you love to care for people, want to have a great salary right out of college, have extremely solid job security, and the ability to move up... then nursing is perfect. I would love to talk to you further about this if you ever wanted to contact me on here, or on AIM or something (Obiwarz is im AIM).

As for my band, things are going pretty good. I was banded on Monday (4 days ago) and am recovering. I'm on a liquid diet... but after reading some posts, I feel that I might have had more than I should've. For example, I've had applesauce, pudding, and foods with some substance to it (liquid, but had veryyy small chunks in it). I'm just a worry-wort by nature though anyway. I just don't want to risk slipping my band at all. As for my port site, there are steri-strips over it still and the skin is numb. Since that is where the muscle was really worked on, it is the place of most of my soreness. Each day is getting better though!

Look forward to hearing from you and everyone else again!

[amrdmr 1]

Hello,

I know there is another thread, but just thought I would chime in. Like everyone, it seems, my emotions are all over the place right now, happy, scared, excited, nervous, hopeful, etc.etc. I am on the preop diet and at first it didn't seem too bad, 2 Protein shakes a day plus a low carb meal at night, but today I feel headachey and light-headed. Maybe it's the daylight savings time jet lag effect. I work at home as a medical transcriber, which makes some things easier and some things more difficult. For example, keeping my mind on work these days is about impossible, all I can think about is the upcoming surgery. I feel like a hamster on a wheel. I'm finding it difficult to sleep at night also, rat-wheeling away. Long story short, insurance had the exclusion, so I am flying to San Diego, scheduled for surgery with Dr. Ortiz in Tijuana. That does add to the stress, but the cost of surgery where I live (WA) was $17K, so Mexico seemed the only way. Anyway, also like most posters, I have gotten a great deal of information and support out of this forum. I lurked for a long time, finally started posting today.

Good luck to us all.

AMRDMR

[TheCascadian 1]

Definately, good luck to all of us!

I had my psych eval today, psych doc said something to the effect of, "Well, your scores on this standardized test are better than mine! You seem very well adjusted and I think you'll do fine with the band."

:eek: Hell yeah, I knew I wasn't crazy.

[TaraLindsey 0]

Hi,

I'm having surgery on March 23rd! I started my pre-op diet today, and I'm HUNGRY!

Best wishes to you.

Tara

[amom 0]

AMRDMR, Congrats on your surgery date. Mine is the same day in Tj. with Dr. Huacuz. I also live in Wa, Eastern by Spokane. How about you?