March 2014 Bandsters - Let's Do This!

[kuti 5]

Hi everyone... I just emailed my doc about a preop diet since I haven't heard anything about it from him (surgery is on March 20 or 21). He then asked me to lose 5-6 kg (11-13 lbs) before surgery but my own way, whatever that may be.

Now I'm freaking a bit out, been living a new healthy lifestyle for almost a year (22 march 2013) and so far lost 30 kg (66 lbs). I have no idea how I´m supposed to do this.... And also, I thought the liver would shrink with the first pounds you lose(?) and therefore mine might be fine for surgery...?

Anyways... It has been really helpful to read recent posts about your preop diets on here to kind of create a game-plan for the next 2 weeks.

Love seeing the posts from everyone!

Regarding negative posts online about the lapband, I see them as those who could not follow the rules and expected easy results. The lapband is not easy and we have to make good choices and stay on track for it to work

anyways -my two cents on the matter after research

-kuti

[Wm Breedlove 13]

Well everybody. I'M BANDED !

Had my surgery Wednesday. Was suppose to go home Thursday, but wasn't released until Saturday. My surgery was longer than expected and my vital signs took awhile longer to get stabilized but other than that it wasn't that bad. I have not taken one pain pill and the only discomfort has been the gas and that's improving by the day. I have to stay on stage 2 diet for a couple weeks.

Was so glad to get in my own bed. Slept 12 hours last night and just took a nap this afternoon for 1 hr. Feel great. Have been walking a lot and no problems there. I think part of the problem was my age. I will be 69 in July and the body just took a little longer to bounce back.

I wish everyone success with your surgeries and maintaining your diet. So far I have had no hunger or urges to eat. Am enjoying my Protein Shake.< /p>

GOOD LUCK EVERYONE WE CAN DO THIS!

A new journey has begun.

Bill

[delove32 91]

Well everybody. I'M BANDED !

Had my surgery Wednesday. Was suppose to go home Thursday, but wasn't released until Saturday. My surgery was longer than expected and my vital signs took awhile longer to get stabilized but other than that it wasn't that bad. I have not taken one pain pill and the only discomfort has been the gas and that's improving by the day. I have to stay on stage 2 diet for a couple weeks.

Was so glad to get in my own bed. Slept 12 hours last night and just took a nap this afternoon for 1 hr. Feel great. Have been walking a lot and no problems there. I think part of the problem was my age. I will be 69 in July and the body just took a little longer to bounce back.

I wish everyone success with your surgeries and maintaining your diet. So far I have had no hunger or urges to eat. Am enjoying my Protein Shake.< /p>

GOOD LUCK EVERYONE WE CAN DO THIS!

A new journey has begun.

Bill

[delove32 91]

Well everybody. I'M BANDED !

Had my surgery Wednesday. Was suppose to go home Thursday, but wasn't released until Saturday. My surgery was longer than expected and my vital signs took awhile longer to get stabilized but other than that it wasn't that bad. I have not taken one pain pill and the only discomfort has been the gas and that's improving by the day. I have to stay on stage 2 diet for a couple weeks.

Was so glad to get in my own bed. Slept 12 hours last night and just took a nap this afternoon for 1 hr. Feel great. Have been walking a lot and no problems there. I think part of the problem was my age. I will be 69 in July and the body just took a little longer to bounce back.

I wish everyone success with your surgeries and maintaining your diet. So far I have had no hunger or urges to eat. Am enjoying my Protein Shake.< /p>

GOOD LUCK EVERYONE WE CAN DO THIS!

A new journey has begun.

Bill

Congrats on your journey! I know you will do great!

[new me1475 33]

Well everybody. I'M BANDED !

Had my surgery Wednesday. Was suppose to go home Thursday, but wasn't released until Saturday. My surgery was longer than expected and my vital signs took awhile longer to get stabilized but other than that it wasn't that bad. I have not taken one pain pill and the only discomfort has been the gas and that's improving by the day. I have to stay on stage 2 diet for a couple weeks.

Was so glad to get in my own bed. Slept 12 hours last night and just took a nap this afternoon for 1 hr. Feel great. Have been walking a lot and no problems there. I think part of the problem was my age. I will be 69 in July and the body just took a little longer to bounce back.

I wish everyone success with your surgeries and maintaining your diet. So far I have had no hunger or urges to eat. Am enjoying my Protein Shake.< /p>

GOOD LUCK EVERYONE WE CAN DO THIS!

A new journey has begun.

Bill

Have great recovery and enjoy the new you.

[ClbsMm2000 95]

Hi everyone... I just emailed my doc about a preop diet since I haven't heard anything about it from him (surgery is on March 20 or 21). He then asked me to lose 5-6 kg (11-13 lbs) before surgery but my own way, whatever that may be.

Now I'm freaking a bit out, been living a new healthy lifestyle for almost a year (22 march 2013) and so far lost 30 kg (66 lbs). I have no idea how I´m supposed to do this.... And also, I thought the liver would shrink with the first pounds you lose(?) and therefore mine might be fine for surgery...?

Anyways... It has been really helpful to read recent posts about your preop diets on here to kind of create a game-plan for the next 2 weeks.

Love seeing the posts from everyone!

Regarding negative posts online about the lapband, I see them as those who could not follow the rules and expected easy results. The lapband is not easy and we have to make good choices and stay on track for it to work

anyways -my two cents on the matter after research

-kuti

I think I would freak if my doc told me that too. But you will do great.

[ClbsMm2000 95]

Congrats Bill!

[Ready2fly 2]

I have my pre-op tomorrow. Decided to do a 9 day cleanse before my pre-op diet--6 # in 5 days! Then on to pre-op diet. Surgery set for March 27...getting nervous, but excited nonetheless. Reading about others length of stays at hospital. Should I be worried that my procedure is at a surgicenter? I will be going home same day.

[kimmykimIN66 14]

Hello

My surgery was at a surgery center...went smooth..and even went home that evening. I was to stay the nite but was doing so well. .they let me go home

Everyone was extremely nice and took good care of me

Good luck

Kim

[JustWatchMe 7,117]

My surgery arrival time got moved from 6am to 4:30am tomorrow morning. Less time to worry! I'm SO ready. The five day Clear Liquids really did get easier after the third day. I'll be glad to drink something different soon. I took all the tips here and next I will write down my three questions for my doctor so I don't forget to ask them. You all are the best. I'm on my way.

[adavenpo 2]

I was banded yesterday morning and was home by 2 pm the same day. I'm sore today but haven't taken any pain medication since last night. I've only had a Jello cup and 2 pudding cups to eat.. Not hungry at all!!

[JustWatchMe 7,117]

I was banded today at 6am. I arrived at the hospital at 4:30am. I spent 55 minutes in the O.R. The surgeon did not repair the hiatal hernia due to its tiny size. I was discharged by 1pm, walking in the pharmacy by 1:30 and home by 2pm. The bad (worst) pain I had was upon waking up from surgery and felt like my abdomen was super-packed and super-tight and made me scared to breathe deeply. However, they gave me magical post-op pain meds in my IV every few minutes and anti-nausea meds, as well as a patch behind my ear. I had mentioned to my surgeon that my only experience with anesthesia was at age 6 and violent nausea upon waking, and it was my biggest fear. After I fully awakened, in my recovery area, my nurse was an angel (all the staff were), and everything I said or asked was addressed and I was made as comfortable as possible. When I thought I needed a little more time before doing the upper GI (dizzy because of motion sickness), they let me wait it out for an extra fifteen-twenty minutes, and then it was fine. I have always had nausea issues my whole life (still get car/motion/air sick as an adult) so this may not happen to others. But head it off if you can like I did with meds you ask for, and it will help. I told it to my doc and my anesthesiologist ahead of time. In post-op I rocked back and forth and that helped the trapped gas. People here have talked about Gas-X and such. But I wonder if it really helps (I took the strips once today) because that gas is not in your intestinal tract at all -- how can you burp it or toot it when it’s not in the big tunnel from your mouth to your *ahem*? It's in the abdominal cavity and has to break itself up and dissipate over time. My gas pain was in my abdomen and in my collarbone area (still is). So walk, walk, walk. I walked in the hospital a little, I walked in the pharmacy until I had to stand and wait at the counter (then got a wave of "oh, get me out of here, I suddenly feel like I need to lie down") but just walked it off and it was okay. My daughter carried the bags into the house, and then I ATE GREEK YOGURT and it was the BEST food OF MY LIFE! LOL I sipped Water and took a nap. Then an hour later I got up and had pudding and THAT was the best food of my life. It feels so good to "eat" even if it's full liquids. I've been looking forward to a cream Soup I bought the other day and that's next tonight. Sipping Water all day. Oh, yes, you do need Chap Stick at the hospital even if out-patient, so bring one. Your mouth will be so dry. I got no liquids until right before I was discharged, and the first one of those was the GI test stuff. That was followed by my choice of Crystal Light in water or just water. I chose the Crystal Light Lemonade. Bad decision. It was tart (of course) and my throat was scratchy from the breathing tube – ouch! So choose water for the drinking test. That test was to make sure I could sip 8oz of water successfully within an hour. I didn't rush it but it was gone in 20 minutes tops. That test followed the GI test which is a tiny cup of nasty chemical (not barium). Then after the nap I just took now at home (a little discomfort at the port site because I sleep on that side, and it was also hard to get up out of bed a little, but not too bad), I came on here to update my weight (I lost 13 pounds in my 5-day clear pre-op diet) and then made the mistake of clicking on "Recent Topics" over on the right. Aaagh! LapBand horror stories. I can’t read those today. Maybe eventually, but today is healing day. My plan is to rest tomorrow but get on the treadmill (yes, my coordinator wants me on the treadmill tomorrow, which makes my daughter who is home from college this week so happy) for fifteen minutes, adding a minute per day every day at 3 MPH no-incline. Saturday, rest and walk. Then Sunday take my daughter to the airport, rest a little more, and go to work on Monday. I was worried about gas at work, but guess what, folks, it's not coming out either end, so my bigger worry will be to walk around a lot and dodge questions from the guys as to why I was sick. Anyway, sorry to be so rambling with all of my never-ending sentences, but I wanted to post my experience while it was fresh in my mind, because those who did that before me helped me so much to be prepared and ask the right questions. You guys rock. And it begins!

[JustWatchMe 7,117]

A few more things. Bring that pillow for the car. I was fine until we hit a lovely Chicago pothole on a turn and OUCH it jostled my port so bad. Of course, that was the one minute I was not holding my pillow. Also, they will make sure you tinkle before you can go home. And I also got a kind of "wrap" thing around my middle which seemed to help with stability when moving around. Maybe I'll wear it to bed next nap and see if I'm more comfortable. I'm not allowed to lift 25 pounds for at least three weeks, I can shower (but no tub or pool) on Saturday (two days post-op), no vacuuming or lifting laundry baskets until my surgeon says so (I see him on the 24th). They will also do a pregnancy test (urine) unless you're menopausal or post-menopausal. My surgeon saw my husband and daughter after surgery, but not me. I wanted to ask him how great my liver looked!

[valarie kk 103]

Hope you guys are doing ok. I'm 4 days out and other then some slight soreness at the port site I feel fantastic. I haven't had any pain at all and I've been walking walking walking. Finding it hard to get all of my Protein in because I'm not hungry at all, but I'm prepared for that to change in the next week or so. I have no problem with Water or juice but anything more substantial even a Protein Shake and I'm full after a small amount. I won't complain I'm sure I'll be hungry soon enough. Good luck and keep us updated.

[lapper32014 42]

Congrats