Jeni in PA home from lapband

[Jeni 0]

Hi to all lapband newbies and my lap band buddies. I just had surgery on Thursday January 18th. I went to the Barix Clinic in Langhorne, PA. My surgeon was Dr. Brian Boe and he did a great job. My first night was a little tough as I am not good with painkillers like vicodin or morphine and the nausea I got from them was almost worse than the surgery. I spent most of the first day fighting off the nausea and trying not to get sick but after the medication wore off, it was more bearable. I have to be honest. I guess everyone has their pain thresh holds but this is more uncomfortable than I thought. I am used to pain and have a high pain tolerance (i.e. has 10 lb 7 oz baby all natural) but this I'm not used to. I guess I wasn't thinking that even though it's laproscopic surgery, they do cut through the muscle which in inself will make you feel uncomfortable. As for my port that too is painful but remember, I am not taking any meds they gave me for pain because I am afraid of getting nauseas again. Anyway, on my preop diet I lost 9 lbs which I was happy about and the surgeons said my liver looked nice and lean which is the objective.

I have to admit that on the first day after surgery I was thinking to myself that I must have been crazy and why did I do this but after my nausea wore off and I was feeling a little better I am feeling very optimistic about it all and am really looking forward to changing my eating habits and getting healthier.

This is day number 3 and I am still tired and quite sore but I guess that is to be expected. The one thing I am not having any luck at is getting rid of any of the gas they pump into you from surgery. My 3 year old asked me if I had a baby in there. Unfortunately no. I am using the gas-x which doesn't seem to help this type of bloated feeling and I am drinking peppermint tea. I just think I would feel more comfortable if I could get rid of this bloated gas filled belly. If anyone has any tips, I'd love your advice.

No matter what, even though I am going to have to tough it out for a little while I feel in the long run it will be worth every little ache and pain if this is going to help me get healthier and lose weight. I will keep posting about my journey and things can only get better from here!!!!

Jeni in PA:redface:

[reif78 0]

congrats on your band hope things go well for you!

[greeneyez 3]

Hey Jeni,

You are going through exactly the same as me. I also went through the "why did I do it" stage but once the pain, nausea and bloatiness subsided, I was so excited.

Walking, walking and walking will help get the gas going. Not too far, I just walked around the house. I used de-gas (it's an aussie product) but it really didn't seem to work that much. I also massaged my lower abdo a little bit as it didn't hurt and seemed to help. Some others here used heat pads. I woke up on the 3rd day and it was just gone. I could see my feet again! Hope yours moves soon,

Jen

[mrodr41 0]

congratulations on your surgery do you have any suggestions on what to bring with you to the hospital? I wish I had a remedy for your bloating I hope you start feeling better and now I know I need to look forward to nausea. (I hate that feeling but it will go away)

[greeneyez 3]

Hi mrodr41,

There are heaps of suggestions in the pre-op/post-op thread about what to take.

They will give you nausea meds as they don't want you to vomit with a new band - it can cause movement and slippage and is certainly not something we need to go through.

The two things I really used in hospital were my lip balm and my little pillow.

Cheers,

[Big As Life 0]

Jeni...

Congrats To You...you Will Be Feeling So Much Better In A Few Days...once The Sorness Kinda Works It Way Out, You Will Be Just Fine....welcome To Bandland....