February/March 08 plastics

[Esmeralda 2]

Okay I have many questions, for those of you who already went thur the plastic surgery what kind of cloths do you wear to leave the hospital?? Does everyone get liquid or pills pain medicine??? For those of you who didn't get an unfill did you have alot of swelling which affected you where you could not eat or drink?? My doctor told me I didn't need an unfill but I am kind of worried of getting to tight and not being able to take my pain medicine.

[losingjusme 12]

Esmeralda,

our first surgery was the 11th and no one has posted ... yet.

you may want to check out www.makemeheal.com LOTS of good PS info there.

[kareyquilts 1]

Neal, hope your alright. We didn't ask you to have anyone post how you were doing. My thoughts are with you!

Kel- I like hearing that the pain is all worth it!

Mary- Glad there is going to be someone after me. We will have to cheer each other on. I don't go for my pre-op visit, until next week.

LJM- How are you sleeping? For some reason, my anxiety has gone down. At least for now!

[losingjusme 12]

karey,

wide awake at 3am today ... :smile:

the funny thing is, i dont really feel anxious ... ??? i dunno.

[marypetunia 0]

Hi Karey, Thanks for the encouragement, yes, it will be nice to have someone to chat with afterwards...or share a little "whine"if necessary! I just can't believe it's going to happen! Yikes! Seemed like I just got banded! Congrats to you too!!:thumbup:

Hi Jusme,

How did your pre-op go? No, I didn't get liquid meds, she is sending me home with a pain pump and gave me a RX for percocet. I took them with no problem after my hernia surgery a year ago.

How are your sleeping arrangements for after surgery? I had such trouble with abdominal pain after the band and hernia surgeries that I slept in my recliner for over a month both times. My insurance co will pay for a hosp bed, so I'm going to ask my pcp to write a prescription for me....I know I'm going to want to be comfortable and I don't think my old recliner is going to cut it this time. :smile: COngrats on your great weight loss, you've worked hard and it's paying off! Are you associated with a weight center? The med staff at mine keep calling me "the exception"... I keep telling them that there are many others out there doing well with the band. It's nice to see so many on this board who are successful, it's been my inspiration. Looking forward to following your surgery as well. Blessings, Mary:biggrin2:

[losingjusme 12]

mary,

preop is tomorrow.. i dont even know what to expect. i know i will have bloodwork, etc done and they will :smile: take pictures and maybe draw, but i dont know what else... i have a list of literally about 15 questions ... im sure they are sick of hearing from me by now so i just stopped asking them ... save them up ... :thumbup:

[kareyquilts 1]

Mary I wish my insurance company would pay for a hospital bed. I'm self-pay all the way. Does your weight loss center say that most lapbander don't loss as much weight as you? I get that from my internist, but not my band doc. People can lose a lot of weight without the band, too, and I think that's the exception. It takes a lot of determination no matter what you do. What makes me happy about the band is that I think I have learned good habits and I have the band to back me up. Soon I'll have a big scar to remind me, also!

[TamifromAL 1]

Glad to hear Nina's surgery went well, and looking forward to hearing from Neal.

Welcome to mommi-hammi, Esmeralda, Kelliebelly, and marypetunia. I'm the non-ps member of the group, since my surgery has been postponed!

Esmeralda, just wear something comfortable to the hospital, that fits loosely around the waist. I had planned to wear a sweat suit, with a draw-string waist that could be adjusted. I requested all my prescriptions in liquid form, and *in advance*. My doc was going to mail them to me. I had to stop to get my prescriptions filled after my lap band surgery, and it was a PITA. As far as your fill level, if you've already discussed it with your bariatric surgeon I'd say don't worry about it. As long as you're not too snug now, you'll probably be all right. Personally, I didn't want to give up my fill because I was afraid of gaining due to over-eating from boredom, and lack of activity.

Karey & LJM, glad to hear the anxiety level is down. I'm a little blue today, thinking about the fact that my surgery would have been in two days. I put away my arnica, bioflavonols, and bromelaid today.

I got a phone call from my original plastic surgeon's office yesterday, telling me that if/when I'm ready to reschedule, that he has made arrangments with another bariatric doc for the two of them to do the surgery in a hospital where they both have privileges so that the bariatric doc can do the port switch. I didn't even ask whether there would be any additional charges, because I'm not sure if I want to involve another bariatric doc. I don't know why that bothers me. I was fine having the plastic surgeon do the switch, but if a bariatric doc is going to be involved, I'd rather it be mine. Plus, when I researched the other bariatric guy, all I kept pulling up was stuff about the gastric bypass, and I wonder how experienced he is with the band.

So, for now I'll just wait at least until after the support group meeting this weekend. Hopefully I'll get a little more info from the plastic surgeon who is speaking this month (who I assume is the one affiliated with my bariatric doc).

All my best to all of you working out your surgery plans, and those of you waiting patiently to just get to it!

Tami

[marypetunia 0]

Hi Karey,

Yes, most of the professionals I had to meet with tried to steer me toward the bypass, insisting that I wouldn't do well with the band. My doc was great, once he knew I wasn't changing my mind, (I was stubborn about my personal choice of a lapband) he gave me the benefit of the doubt and did the band for me. Now he admits the band was a really good choice for me and is very happy with the results. I sent a few friends to the general meetings and they all came out saying that the band was discouraged. They said if they didn't know ME they would have been totally discouraged about getting the band.

That's why this board was so helpful to me, I got to read about real people who started at my weight and higher and were VERY successful!! That gave ME the encouragement I needed to make it work for me. I'm very grateful for that. I'm sorry to hear you've had to self pay along the way...that has to be hard. I've been VERY fortunate to have my insurance cover everything along the way. And YES, you WILL have a wonderful reminder soon! LOL! HOW WONDERFUL! I just can't get over how good it feels to even be talking about this! It just seems like a dream that was too far away to even consider! I'm so happy for you too!!! Counting down!

Hi jusme,

Good luck on your pre op tomorrw, bring your list and don't leave until you've gotten EVERY answer you need! I wa semabarrassed to ask some questions but was glad I did! LOL! You GO GIRL!

Blessings,

mary

[HarleyNana 10]

Neal, good luck and Nina, we're thinking about you.

Kellie bellie, so good to see you post again, I'm sure you remember me from wayyyyy back. Hugs

[losingjusme 12]

Tami,

so sorry to hear that you are bummed...

i know you dont want to hear this, but i think it's true - everything happens for a reason. who knows what that reason is, but there is one.

which would you rather have - a different PS or a different bariatric surgeon for your port?

you'll come to the right decision for you.

hugs,

C

[HarleyNana 10]

I wore a long house robe home, it was soft and warm and zipped all the way down the front. I don't remember getting into it or them putting it on me, LOL, or being wheeled to the car.

[ousooner 1]

Sorry to keep ya'll in suspense. I just got home. I was kept 2 extra days because I got a low grade fever and my blood pressure was low. I also developed a cough and head congestion which really hurts. Coughing is the worst. I won't lie and say it doesn't hurt, but I am very happy with the results Here is a pic from my cell phone 1 day post op. I will get into more detail when I feel up to it. Thanks for the concern and well wishes. Nina hope your getting better all the time

[TracyinKS 7]

eugiena: Pop in and let us know how it went!!!!!!!

[marypetunia 0]

So glad you're home Neal. Thanks for sharing your pic. Every day should get better. May God bless you with quick healing!