Brigham and Women/Faulker Hospital

[nomadem 1]

Hi Megan if I wouldnt worry about your liver if you've stuck to the diet and lose at least some weight you will do fine. You are going thru the normal pre-op freak out.

Its part of the program that you will stay overnight and most likely be released the next afternoon after you have an upper GI (fyi be prepared that the barium you drink is different and the nastiest thing ever!). You will be on clears in the hospital and will then progress to milk based liquids (refer to the guidlines you were given by the dietitians) while there. You wont be released if you are having problems with the diet progression. When you are discharged they will give you prescriptions with instructions/phone numbers.

I cant think of anything that you will HAVE to have in the hospital. Dont bring too much or anything valuable. They will take your bag when you check in and then bring it to your room later (for me it was late late). You will have a small bag for just the clothes you are wearing.

hope that helps

[K8_MA 0]

megan -

I barely lost anything on my pre-op and he did surgery. He said surgery went really well. You will most def have to stay if you have dr. R for a surgeon. I called wednesday to see when I had to come in. I came in to faulkner at 600 am and was in surgery at about 8. My mom and dad came with me. right before surgery they ask you questions [nothing you havent heard yet or answered yet] they give you and IV and you meet with the anesthesiologist and dr. r and his team. Then they roll you into the surgery room and i was knocked right out. After surgery you are taken to a post-op area where I had some amazing nurses. I was under alot of drugs but still in pain. [my port is the most painful] after waking up i was brought to my room. I was given a morphine button so i could click it whenever i needed it. The only thing is i do not do well with narcotics and am allergic to percocet so whenever i clicked it for pain i got an instant headache. so needless to say my first day and a half was not comfortable. They come in every like 6 hrs to give you heperin shot. i had some acid reflux problems which caused nausea which was also not comfortable. I left friday from the hospital - the smell of the hospital was not helping me in my recovery. I've been drinking alot of crystal light to stay hydrated and my mom made some homemade chicken broth. Im trying to keep down the Protein Shakes but for some reason ive lost taste for them. I would recommend buying one of those homedics massagers. It helps with the gas. My port area is still uncomfortable but feel alot better than i did yesterday. I hope this helps.

I have no idea how some people went back to work after 2 days. there is no way i will be doing that!

[heidib 15]

Hey all -

So I had surgery thursday am and stayed in the hospital until friday night. Im not going to lie i was alot more uncomfortable than I thought it/I would be. My port area/the biggest incision is really painful. The gas pains are not fun at all and I can't walk around normally yet. I am not hungry one bit which is getting me nervous because I need to somehow not get dehydrated. I really hope that the pains go away soon because I want to start being normal again. How did you all recover? when did you all start to walk around normal again etc. Im kinda feeling sad because Im not feeling good and wish I was feeling normal again.

Hey K8!!

Glad your ok. My port area was the most painful too. I found the port area hurt more after a few days. Be careful bending down ! Mine felt like it would rip open. I was feeling REALLY good after 5 days. Don't worry about not being hungry because it WILL come :sad:. I was up & walking around within a few hours. Just take it slow. Everyone heals differently. Keep in touch!! YAAAAAAAAY!!!!! YOUR BANDED!!!!!!!! :mad::thumbup::thumbup::wub::biggrin::tt1::tt1::thumbup::thumbup:

[notateechanow 7]

K8,

I went back to work after 2 days because I had to. I didn't tell anyone I was having surgery and couldn't play it off any other way. I didn't even tell my family.....so you do what you have to do. Hope your pain improves. It does get easier to sleep. Just be sure not to pull on any of the steri strips or anything hanging off the incision.....If the steri strips starts to lift up, trim the edge with scissors. Don't pull!

Megan,

I tried the stupid liquid diet for like 8 weeks pre-op so I'd have the greatest liver Dr. R had ever seen. He didn't care. It made no difference. No worries, You'll be fine.

[Megan9463 0]

LOL....the best liver ever comment cracks me up!! I'm not sure why I'm so nervous about shrinking my liver. It's probably because I worked my ass off (no pun intended) to lose weight for my last weight check. The problem was I had sushi the night before and I was holding a lot of salt weight from the soy sauce. The nurse that checked me the day before I started my pre-op diet was a little gruff and she said that I really have to work to get down more pounds and that he wouldn't be happy. At that point, naked weight at home showed I was down about 20 pounds. Their scale showed me down 16 pounds. I felt really bad about myself when I left there. :wub:

Since then I'm down another 9 pounds, so I hope I'm OK. They said I wouldn't need another weight check but I'm doing everything I can to get down.

How is your post op diet doing? Any suggestions? Anything you wish you had with you days after surgery?

[heidib 15]

Well, I went to a party today & was a good girl. I brought my own salad w/ me. They had pizza. I also got a 2 ml. walk in this morning. Still going back & forth between the same

2 lbs . Gotta stick it out so I can get past this weight. TTYL,

[notateechanow 7]

Well, I went to a party today & was a good girl. I brought my own salad w/ me. They had pizza. I also got a 2 ml. walk in this morning. Still going back & forth between the same

2 lbs . Gotta stick it out so I can get past this weight. TTYL,

Keep up the great work, Heidi! That's not easy to do. Hope the week ahead is a good one. The scale will eventually give in! :wink2::thumbup::ohmy::thumbup::thumbup::wink2:

[Megan9463 0]

Well, I went to a party today & was a good girl. I brought my own salad w/ me. They had pizza. I also got a 2 ml. walk in this morning. Still going back & forth between the same

2 lbs . Gotta stick it out so I can get past this weight. TTYL,

That's AWESOME!!

[thinkingaboutit77 1]

Well, I'm off to boston today at 2:30 for my 4:00 app. I have to bring my youngest w/ me...... OH JOY!

She's 2 1/2 yrs old so it should be interesting. Wish me luck!

Ha ha I feel your pain. I've done 3 appt. with both kiddos in tow, ages 4 and 2.. fun times and bribery really doesn't work Good luck! )

[thinkingaboutit77 1]

Congrats K8, your journey has begun. Hope you are feeling better.

Megan good luck with your surgery. Please post after to share your story.

I have 25 days to go till mine. Doesn't feel real as it's been a journey. Every time I eat though, I'm like, won't be eating this after LB, making me realize the changes I have to get ready for.

I wanted to ask. How long after you have been banded did you go out on your first social outing. I have friends already making plans for Oct. Friends I haven't seen in yrs. I'm already panicking. Scared I won't be able to eat anything.. and fear of PB in public. I'm only telling 2 people about my surgery so this should be interesting.

Not sure what to tell work too. Since I just got my date, don't know if I should say I'm having surgery or just try to request a vacation and pray I don't get denied, since I had a week in July. Hmm. Thoughts anyone?

[K8_MA 0]

Thinking -

Well I was banded august 27 and am going out with some friends for trivia night on this wednesday - sept. 2. I have been to this place before and looked at the menu and they have broth Soups. My friends never ask, "Why aren't you eating?" if I say im not hungry. My bf is going and he knows I got this done so I will feel better. Im pretty excited to go out though. I feel alot better than the first day but def not yet to go "normal" BUT everyday when I wake up I feel 100% better than the day before. Ill let you know after [if plans dont fizzle out, which they sometimes do] how I feel and what not. Good luck with your journey. :biggrin:

k8 :blushing:

[Bostonlady 0]

Thinking -

Well I was banded august 27 and am going out with some friends for trivia night on this wednesday - sept. 2. I have been to this place before and looked at the menu and they have broth Soups. My friends never ask, "Why aren't you eating?" if I say im not hungry. My bf is going and he knows I got this done so I will feel better. Im pretty excited to go out though. I feel alot better than the first day but def not yet to go "normal" BUT everyday when I wake up I feel 100% better than the day before. Ill let you know after [if plans dont fizzle out, which they sometimes do] how I feel and what not. Good luck with your journey. :biggrin:

k8 :blushing:

Hi K8,

Glad to hear your feeling better, your giving me hope,3 weeks from tomorrow is my band date. Do you mind if I ask which band? I'm having the realize they say the port if flatter and less painful, I guess I'll then. Is there anything you wish you had waiting for you at home that you didn't get? Again, CONGRATS

[notateechanow 7]

Hi K8,

Glad to hear your feeling better, your giving me hope,3 weeks from tomorrow is my band date. Do you mind if I ask which band? I'm having the realize they say the port if flatter and less painful, I guess I'll then. Is there anything you wish you had waiting for you at home that you didn't get? Again, CONGRATS

According to the surgeons and Phyllis, you won't notice a difference in bands---it's just a different manufacturer, like taking generic medicine.

As far as going out after being banded, once you're back on solids, you won't even notice that you're banded for the first few months! No worries. Really, the first 10-12 weeks are frustrating because you don't even feel any different. Many of us wondered if they forgot to put the band in.....

[Megan9463 0]

I'll keep you all in the loop!! I have my pre-op appt tomorrow...will it really take 3 hours? What do they do?

I still haven't 100% decided I'm going to tell people at work. They just think I have in-laws coming into town! I suppose once the weight starts coming off, I'll come clean! Everyone I have told has been really supportive so far!

[notateechanow 7]

I'll keep you all in the loop!! I have my pre-op appt tomorrow...will it really take 3 hours? What do they do?

I still haven't 100% decided I'm going to tell people at work. They just think I have in-laws coming into town! I suppose once the weight starts coming off, I'll come clean! Everyone I have told has been really supportive so far!

I chose not to tell anyone for personal reasons, but rarely regretted keeping it to myself. This isn't GB and it may be a few months before you lose more than 10 pounds. I'd suggest holding off on telling people until you've had 3-4 fills---otherwise you may be frustrated by people watching to see the weight fall off and watching every thing you put in your mouth. Read up on this thread. You'll see that many people have felt frustrated for the first 2-3 months by slow to no weight loss.

Chime in, guys----what you do think about telling people?