lap band removal - how did you heal?

[loridee24 13]

I am going to have a conversion from lap band to RNY in 2 surgeries. My lap band removal is scheduled for Aug 26th.

For those of you who had the lap band removed in a stand alone surgery, how was the recovery? Trying to decide how much time to be off work and if i need to find someone who can stay with me or if just a ride home is good.

Also - how long after the band removal before you were ready for RNY? My doctor is thinking around 3 months.

Thanks in advance!

~Lori

[S@ssen@ch 745]

The recovery from lap band alone was very easy. Probably one of the easiest surgeries I've had. It's been since 2009, so forgive me if my memory is off, but I think I was told to do liquids for about a day then gradually introduce regular foods only because the tummy was likely a little irritated from the procedure.

I needed no one to stay with me and I think I went back to work after only a couple days (I worked in an office). Really no big deal.

Can't answer you about when you'd be ready for RNY. My surgeon offered to convert me when I had the lap band removed, but I chose not to. 8 years later, I finally decided to get the sleeve. I would think that as soon as you've recovered from the removal recovery as in with any surgery, you'd be ready for the RNY. Talk it over with your doc.

[Deedee12 1,860]

I had my lapband removed May 3rd on a Friday and was back at work on Sunday, I'm a physician, so I went to round on my patients on Sunday. I didn't need any pain meds post discharge same day of surgery.
It was light Breakfast day before surgery and liquids up until 2 hrs before surgery.
Had Soups after I got home, rested Saturday and back to almost normal on Sunday. No issues whatsoever. I was happy to be rid of the band as the last few months were awful and it did not even slip!
Surgeon required 6 weeks of healing before revision. I'm getting sleeved August 16th.

Good luck![emoji169]

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[SlimChickadee 219]

Hello, I had lapband removal July 12, d/t my insurance requirement I had to stay overnight. I was on a liquid diet the day of but my d came doctor/surgeon and said I could have food as tolerated. He told me I had to wait 3 months before I can have the RNY. So, I went home the next morning, no pain meds and was feeling great! I did walk after surgery several times around the unit and I told my doctor I was fine to go home but again my surgery required an overnight stay. My doctor told me he would send me home with something for pain and I told him no, but when I got home I started hurting on a scale of 1-10 around a 2. So, I took a couple of aleve and that did it for me. It was much better than the surgery of putting the lapband in but I had a realize band and my left side were my port was, was a lot more sore. So on my visit a week later, the doctor explained that the realize port was a bit different and he understood why I was a bit sore on the left side. I had 4 insertion sites. One were my port was which was about 2" long, one just above my navel about the same length, very small one on right side of abdomen and very small one just below my breast bone. No stitches just surgical glue. I know probably to much information but I got discouraged when I went for my check-up he said 6mths. I was speechless but know he knows what is best. I have a surgery consult set for the 14th of Aug. and really hoping he change his mind and say I can have it in October or November of this year d/t I paid my full deductible for 2019 prior to my surgery which was not fun at all.

[amyshattuck 5]

Had mine removed on 4/30, I’ll be getting the revision to sleeve on Tuesday. I was out of the hospital same day and back to work a few days later. Four days off total.

[loridee24 13]

On 8/2/2019 at 5:56 PM, Deedee12 said:

I had my lapband removed May 3rd on a Friday and was back at work on Sunday, I'm a physician, so I went to round on my patients on Sunday. I didn't need any pain meds post discharge same day of surgery.
It was light Breakfast day before surgery and liquids up until 2 hrs before surgery.
Had Soups after I got home, rested Saturday and back to almost normal on Sunday. No issues whatsoever. I was happy to be rid of the band as the last few months were awful and it did not even slip!
Surgeon required 6 weeks of healing before revision. I'm getting sleeved August 16th.

Good luck!

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Hope your surgery went well yesterday and you are healing well!

[Deedee12 1,860]

Hope your surgery went well yesterday and you are healing well!

Thanks so much loridee24! Surgery went well yesterday but the gas pain as everyone has mentioned was horrid!!! Doing much better today!! I've been walking and walking around the unit. That definitely helps and my surgeon has been on top of the pain.

That said, it feels surreal that the surgical part is OVER!! I have no desire to eat whatsoever. I've tried to finish my broth this am, Water is not happening and Jello makes my tummy cramp like no man's business. I'm praying they discharge me today though they are insisting I finish 64 oz of water!!![emoji22][emoji22][emoji22]
Told my hubby to bring HINT water for me, maybe that will go down better.

Thanks a million for asking. How are you??

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[loridee24 13]

Thanks for sharing DeeDee and congratulations on a successful surgery. I'm doing good. Getting ready for my surgery on Monday for band removal. I decided to take the week off but let my boss know if I felt up to it I'd log on from home mid-week that way I'm covered. A little nervous (surgery is never fun) but ready to get this stage done.

~Lori

[Deedee12 1,860]

Thanks for sharing DeeDee and congratulations on a successful surgery. I'm doing good. Getting ready for my surgery on Monday for band removal. I decided to take the week off but let my boss know if I felt up to it I'd log on from home mid-week that way I'm covered. A little nervous (surgery is never fun) but ready to get this stage done.
~Lori

Thanks!! Good luck tomorrow and it goes so fast!! The quickest recovery from any surgery I ever had! Wishing you speedy recovery [emoji253][emoji253][emoji253]

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[loridee24 13]

Well, my lap band is out! Overall it was a pretty easy surgery and I was home by around 11:30 AM yesterday. i do have pain where the port was removed and some gas pain but the other incisions are pretty painless and overall it isn't too bad. I have the week off but may go back half day Thursday/Friday just to get caught up.

[SlimChickadee 219]

Had my surgery on a Friday had to stay overnight for observation required by my insurance but other than that I was fine. Like you said, had a little more pain at site were my port was located and I stated prior to this post about 2"incision but when I measured it was actually a great deal smaller not quite 1". LOLOL I did take a couple of Aleve but other than that I was fine. I work from home so I made sure I stood every 2hrs and moved around. Wishing you a speedy recovery/healing.

[loridee24 13]

yesterday was a bit rough for me. I had more pain than I expected just at the port removal site. I had a lot of swelling and bruising that peaked yesterday. In addition, I've had a really hard time sleeping (I'm normally a side sleeper and couldn't get comfortable on either side due to pressure on the port incision). I finally realized I just needed to take some pain meds (OTC Ibprofen) and it helped me to get a good night sleep last night and am so much better today! Pain is also MUCh better now that swelling is down a lot.

[AchieveGoals 46]

On 8/2/2019 at 7:21 PM, S@ssen@ch said:

The recovery from lap band alone was very easy. Probably one of the easiest surgeries I've had. It's been since 2009, so forgive me if my memory is off, but I think I was told to do liquids for about a day then gradually introduce regular foods only because the tummy was likely a little irritated from the procedure.

I needed no one to stay with me and I think I went back to work after only a couple days (I worked in an office). Really no big deal.

Can't answer you about when you'd be ready for RNY. My surgeon offered to convert me when I had the lap band removed, but I chose not to. 8 years later, I finally decided to get the sleeve. I would think that as soon as you've recovered from the removal recovery as in with any surgery, you'd be ready for the RNY. Talk it over with your doc.

How has it been since being sleeved? Any complications?

[S@ssen@ch 745]

8 hours ago, AchieveGoals said:

How has it been since being sleeved? Any complications?

The only complication that I would count is a little bit of nighttime reflux. Comparatively speaking, this reflux is nothing compared with the reflux I experienced with the lap band. It has been easily managed with PPIs and lifestyle changes.

[WOLVESFAN1 17]

I had the surgery on a Friday and went back to my office job the following Monday. No problem, but my weight came back quickly. The same thing with the sleeve. I had it on a Thursday, flew back on Sunday and went to work on Monday. I must admit that was a killer long week. I should have taken more time of for the sleeve. I'm converting from the Sleeve to an RNY in December. When we fly there we're usually 12 hours with flights and layovers coming and going. I'm hoping I will hold up okay with that. I did when I had my hernia repair a few months ago.