Lap Band Surgery Day Stories

[losing4life 0]

I was at the True Results facility from 10:30am- 4:49 p.m. The scale there said my weight was 292, and the surgeon came in and thanked me for losing a lot of weight for the surgery.

When I woke up I think my body was going into shock, but the nurse there helped me calm down.:tongue2:

I have a bad back and had been lying on it from 12:30-2:30, when I woke in recovery. I couldn't stop moving-trying to be comfortable and my teeth were chattering uncontrollably. The nurse gave me Demerol and my body calmed. I have abdominal soreness, which is better this morning, but I do have a bit of pain in both shoulders from the anesthesia.

The nurses had to stick me three times:eek: looking for an IV vein, nice bruise forming. They also give you a shot of heparin in the side (I didn't really feel it) to prevent blood clotting in your legs and a patch behind the ear to keep nausea at bay I can wear that for about 3 days. I also wore compression stockings.

I have five entry points on my abdomen, all look to be sealed with Dermabond. I am struggling to breathe enough through the Airlife machine. Other than that, I think I'm recovering alright. Now i need to get up and walk around to try and alleviate this shoulder pain.

I don't have any regrets. :biggrin:

[ayyypapi 0]

I just got home from the hospital today around 2:30pm. I just had the surgery yesterday.

Thursday: July 23 2009

I get the call saying to be at the hospital by 8:30am.

Friday morning:

I get up around 6:30am and I take a quick shower and then I pack for the hospital. We leave our house around 7:40am and get to Southern Ocean County Hospital (SOCH) by 8:15.

I check in and am surprised that I do not need an i.d. or anything. We watch the news thats on in the lobby and just wait about 20 minutes and then someone calls out my name.

I go back and get changed into a gown that is seriously way too big. I make sure to tie it around twice so nothing is showing, ha! and then I get the comfy socks to wear.

I first have to do a pregnancy test which was not needed but whatever. I then get into the waiting stretcher and am told to wait but first I need to untie my gown. I wait for a little bit and then I get the I.V. and get asked the many questions, when did I last drink something, what medicines am I on, allergies, etc.

They are always surprised when I tell them I am not on any medicines. I don't know? Just fat and healthy lol. Anyway the anesthesiologist comes in and asks me more questions and explains the process and tells me he will be back.

My surgeon Dr. Reich (awesome surgeon by the way!!) comes in and greets me and my parents and talks to us for a little bit and he tells my parents when to expect me back from surgery.

My parents leave shortly after that to go out to eat lol (lucky them!) and I start feeling nervous. Like super nervous and scared. The nurse comes in and does my blood pressure and notes that I have good blood pressure for a nervous person? I don't know. I remember them giving me something to "calm" me down but I remember thinking it didn't really change anything.

They wheel me to the operating room and have me shimmy on to the table next to me. I really wanted to ask what would be the harm of me getting up and climbing on it myself but I didn't ask and shimmy'd onto it.

I remember a mask being put on me and them telling me to take deep breaths I think and then I was out.

I got woken up all groggy in recovery. They were telling me to wake up but I just wanted to go back to sleep, lol. It took me awhile to keep my eyes opened and when I finally woke up, I found out that I was in PAIN!!! Not just pain pain but really bad pain. It was mostly my port incision, my stomach was sooo sore. It first started out as a 6 and rose to a 9. I was shocked, I didn't think it would hurt that bad!! I couldn't even talk at first because talking would just make it hurt more. The nurse asked the anathesiologist to give me more pain meds and whatever he gave me knocked me out for about an hour.

I woke up more awake and the pain was lessening back to a 6. I was wheeled upstairs to my room and there was a guy and woman wheeling me up who were joking about something I can't remember but he was funny and when I laughed - it hurt! So I stopped laughing, lol.

I got to my room and it was really nice. I got hooked up to the morphine and just relaxed a little bit with a heating pad on my shoulder and an ice pack on my stomach. My parents came in and we talked for a little bit and then they went home and I napped for a little bit.

The nurse came back and asked if I wanted to walk around.. I first asked if I could put clothes on haha. I am not too comfortable in that giant gown!! I had to keep the gown as a top on but was allowed to wear my pajama pants which helped a lot because who cares if someone sees your back as long as you have pants on, haha.

I walked for about two seconds and got hit with waves of nausea. They asked if I needed to urinate and I didn't so I went back into the bed which hurt and just tapped the morphine for a little long while I watched Jon and Kate Plus 8 on t.v.

Meanwhile, I got a roommate and she slept for the most part. She was in a lot more pain than me. My pain was getting considerably better really fast and I was lucky for that. I didn't walk really at all except to use the bathroom because it would just make me too naseaous and my mouth would Water and I was sooo scared of throwing up.

The nurses were great. They all made me feel at home and secure. I never had surgery before so I haven't been in a hospital and was very scared. They all made me feel at home and were way too sweet.

I was a little upset that I couldn't have any liquids at all yesterday. My mouth was unreasonably dry and felt disgusting. A nurse did let me rinse out Water as long as I promised not to swallow. It helped a little but still wasn't the same.

I had trouble staying awake, maybe it was the morphine? I kept falling asleep and waking up, maybe staying awake for 40 minutes at a time.

Nurses began to start the anti-blood clot shots in my stomach a few hours after I got there and I didn't feel a thing, I think it was because of the constant icing of the area, lol.

I was told that I would do the swallow test at 8:am and would be able to have water afterwards on Saturday (today!). That did not happen as planned.

I had to wait until 10 until I went down to do the test which was disgusting but bearable. It happened really fast but then I had to wait for the doctor to come back up and clear me.

I got a chance to talk to my roommate and found out that her son went to my elementary school and she subs at my old high school, small world huh? We were both really thirsty and were justtttttt waiting to get cleared.

Her mom and my parents showed up and we were all talking for a little bit. My mom bought me a smiley face balloon, lol.

Dr. Reich then came in and cleared us both for Clear Liquids (yay!!). He was really nice and explained everything that we wanted to know. He is one of the nicest doctors I have ever met.

Soo right after, I started buzzing the nurse and asked for ice chips asap!! She brought in a lemon italian ice and ice chips and it was like HEAVEN. We had to wait for lunch before we could be discharged and they brought a lot out for lunch, beef broth, sugar free Jello, tea, orange sherbert, and maybe something else?

I just sipped the broth and pawned the rest to my mom, haha. I was full and then finally got to come home!!

My shoulder hurts a little now and I am trying to walk more but my stomach is still a little sore. I got a script for tylenol 3s with codeine in pill form ( I was surprised at that!) All in all, everything is going good and I start my shakes tomorrow for a week and then I see my doctor on Friday and then its the mushy stage!! I can't wait to continue this journey :biggrin:.

Woww sorry it was so long lol but I wanted to write everything down.

[bashful1269 5]

Surgery day... Wednesday... 7/22/09

Got to the hospital at 6:45am checked in they gave me a pager like you see in restaurants and told me when it went off to give it to my friends and come up to the desk by myself. They would page my friends when I was ready. Of course the first stop was at the scale...officially 8 pounds down from the week before.

Then it was time for the ol pregnancy test. Of course I told the nurse if I was pregnant I was going to kick her...YUP she was scared of me for the rest of the day!

They were quick taking care of things such as the shot of lovanox (blood thinner) in the belly and then having me take my contacts out and then the anesthesiologist came in...PS..He was HOT!! :biggrin: We talked a bit and then Dr. Pitt came in and said hi and told my family it would be about 30 minutes and I'd be out. Then the nurses told me to say bye to my family and friends ..of course they were making fun of me because I was "drunk" (oxycotton) taking tons of terrible pictures. So I said goodbye to them and laid back for the ride. I don't even remember going through the doors that were just around the corner.

Next thing I know I wake up in recovery with terrible indigestion pressure and I told them I was going to get sick. They hit me with a med and I laid back and went to sleep. I don't remember much of recovery. They took me back to my room and I woke up feeling on top of the world. I had a terrible dry mouth and the nurse gave me a medicine cup of ice chips. It took an hour to get those down...then another hour to get a medicine cup of Water and then another hour to get two medicine cups down. I had to sip very slowly and of course had to have a nap. I woke up from the nap ready to walk. I walked down the hall and back a total of about six times and felt really good. I even posed for pictures with my nurses so I could have them in my journey scrapbook.

The car ride home was a little tough, I cried when I sat down in the seat because it was pretty low and it hurt. I went to my friends house to recoup and really felt pretty good. I walked a lot that night just to keep the gas pains away since everyone had told me that was the best thing to do.

Over all I would say it wasn't bad at all. Dr. Pitt and his staff were amazing and I plan to write them a note and let them know how much I appreciate them.

Good luck to everyone making this journey...it's a good thing...we can do this! Remember it is a tool and we must put in our work behind that tool to make it work right. Be patient...that's what they keep telling me.

[Petunia825 0]

I was banded yesterday 7/24 and everything went very smooth. I arrived at 10 am for surgery at 12:00. Hospital staff were amazing, dr Bauman came in to greet us and then the anesthealogist (sp)gave me some happy juice in the i.v.and I was so relaxed that I was blowing kisses to all. Dh was told were the waiting room was and off he went. Two hours later I was in the recovery rm for the best nap ever. Came home by 6:30 and slept some more. I'm quite sore and I think I'm hungry. Nah maybe not! Best of luck to everyone who will be joining the bandsters world.

[RaleighLap 0]

Thanks for your post even if it was months and months ago. I am being banded Thursday morning by Dr. Moran. I have to be at the hospital at 6am. I'm nervous and excited. I hope all has gone well for you.

[riley4183 0]

Chad you're going to do great! Walk a lot the day before, and as soon as you can after. All the best!! You can DO THIS!

[Aurielle 0]

I was Banded on 7/23/09. I went to the hospital at 9 am for an 11 am surgery. At 9:30, I was placed into a room with a nurse to do my surgery admission. At 10:30, I was placed into a pre-op room and given an I.V. and fluids. At 10:45, I was given sleepy medicine and woke up 3 hours later. Was pretty sleepy on and off the whole first day. Felt like I had major heartburn. In some pain but not enough to max out my pain meds. Went home the following day. HAve been doing better day by day.:biggrin:

[Zoom-Zoom 2]

:biggrin: Surgery was on 7/24/2009. I went in at 6:30 am and was out by 1:00 pm, would have been sooner if I did not have to wait on :mad::wub:hubby:confused: (we did it together). Everyone who took care of us were great and there was one nurse who had the lap band done and said you will be so happy you have made this life changing decission (loved the encouragement).

:sad: Pain is not fun but it is apart of surgery.

Worst part is seeing others eat yummy food infront of you.

All in all, it is worth it. From pre-op diet to now 7/29/09 I have lost 18 lbs. Can't wait to lose more and start mushies.:sad:

[merpete 0]

I was banded yesterday 7/29/09. I had a very good experience. I am not in pain, just sore. I am so glad that I had this board to warn me about the "gas pains" "burping" "PB" etc..... I went in at 12pm, and was home by 5:30pm. The site where the port is located is the most sore. I slept most of the night. I have 5 inscisons. 4 accross the top of my belly, and 1 right below my breast line. I am walking around and even swept the kitchen floor (lightly). I am so glad I got banded.:thumbup:

[Zoom-Zoom 2]

I was banded on July 24, 2009 and I had a pre-op diet (lost 10lbs) and then after surgery on the Clear Liquids i have been losing 2-3lbs a day (lost 20lbs so far) Is this normal?

[georgegirl 0]

My surgery date is 8/25/09 and I met with the dietitian last night. The post diet makes me a little nervous. Especially the thought of getting something 'stuck'. Especially since I tend to 'scarf' down my food, this is going to be a big change.

[HolliJ 24]

Until today, I haven't really been up to posting about the surgery, which I'm sure is understandable. :crying:

My surgery was scheduled for July 28. On Monday (the 27th), they called and let me know what time to be there. Unfortunately, it was 6:15am (ew). But hey, better to get it over with earlier. So I drove over to Palm Bay Hospital with my mom and we got there ~6am. Sat in the waiting room a couple minutes until the lady called me over to sign the consent forms and get my Bracelet. She then told us to go around the corner to the pre-op room (whatever it's called). I got undressed, put on the gown, and got into the bed. A nurse came over and to give me all my medications. She numbed my hand before she put the IV in. I was given:

Decadron - Anti-inflammatory & anti-emetic (prevent nausea)

Versed - Sedative/relaxation

Zofran - Blocks chemicals that cause nausea/vomiting

Reglan - Increases stomach emptying and decreases nausea/vomiting/heartburn/fullness

Zantac - Decreases gastric acid secretions

Heparin - Anticoagulant

The funny part is that she says, "The good thing is that we're going to be giving you all your medications through your IV'. I say, "What about the Heparin?" She's like, "Oh, yeah...that's true. And I usually pride myself on my honesty". So after a little while she gets the needle ready for the Heparin shot. Another nurse sees it and goes, "Oh, ouch". LOL!! Thanks, lady. So she pinches my stomach and injects it. It burned, but it wasn't horrible. So I was like, "That wasn't so bad". But then the burning gets worse after the needle is taken out! Ok, still wasn't horrible... but it didn't feel good.

The anesthesiologist comes in and talks to me. Then the anesthesiologist assistant comes in. Then a couple nurses (one guy, one girl). Then they wheeled me off to the OR. Once I got into the OR, I slid over onto the operating table. They put an oxygen mask over my face. Next thing you know, I'm waking up in the recovery room. I don't remember falling asleep at all. I don't really remember what happened after I was woken up, either. Everything was really blurry. Luckily (and due to several medications that prevented nausea), I wasn't nauseous after surgery at all. One of the first things I remember saying was asking if I had a hiatal hernia, which they said I did not. Surgeon came by. I was told the surgery went great, no problems whatsoever, blah blah. They gave me a picture of my stomach with the band, but it disappeared and didn't come home with us. And I'm not sure if the nurse in the recovery room knew much about this surgery, lol. First she asked me if I wanted some soda/Ginger ale. I'm like, "Huh?" Later on she asked if I had gotten the band or if I was there for a fill, because she thought I was just there for a fill. Oooook. At one point I got up and went to the bathroom. Ow. Getting up hurt like a bitch. But I could pee, yay! Even if it was like... pee, stop, pee, stop, pee, stop instead of a steady stream.

My mom also came in to see me, which I found out was like 1-1/2 hours after the surgery. She was in the waiting room and was told someone would get her, but they never did. So she went to the desk and asked if she could see me. They said yes, but that she couldn't stay, because it was too crowded in the room. So she came and said hi, then left. I tried to get some sleep, but couldn't... There were men on both sides of me that SNORED and I'm a very light sleeper. Plus, it was just really loud in there. And those compression stockings were annoying. And I had a blood pressure cuff that took my blood pressure every 5 minutes.

So eventually I went home. Someone came in and helped me get dressed. I'm usually very worried about being naked in front of other people, but I just really didn't give a shit. So my mom drove me home. I sat in the recliner most of the day, other than to get up and walk a little bit. Painkillers don't really work very well for me, so I was in a lot of pain.

The surgeon also filled me up about 2cc. I was able to drink just fine. Didn't have to do a barium swallow or get any other shots. They also didn't weigh me, but I know I lost 10lbs on the pre-op diet (which was just 7 days). I lost 5 prior to that and another 5 since the surgery. Surgery lasted 1.5 hours.

Before the surgery, I had acid reflux. Haven't had any. Before the surgery I had this weird single hiccup thing I did like 30 times a day. Haven't done it once.

That's about it...

[HolliJ 24]

Damn, that was long.

[abingdongirl 0]

I was banded August 5th, my original date was August 4th, but there was a problem with the OR after I was all set up to go.

Well now take two, back in the pre-op room, they had me put on my little red bootie, air boots for my calves, and another heprin shot in the arm, because the doctor doesn't like anything around the stomach while he is working, that really stung, my husband and three of my children were present with me, we joked an laughed while the anesthesiologist was in the room explaining that she was giving me "happy juice" then they wheeled me out and the last thing I remember is them blowing up the bed under me and then waking up in recovery, I kept going in and out, but I noticed the time was longer than it was suppose to be, I went in at 10:45 and woke up at 1:45pm in some pain, the nurse joked and said you are a lightweight meaning it doesn't take much pain meds to relieve my discomfort. then they moved me to my room, it was there my husband told me he spoke to Dr. Singh and he did find a hiatal hernia that he had to repair, and there was a lot of adhesions from a hernia mesh repair I had done two years ago. I did the flouroscope it wasn't that bad I didn't drink the thin stuff because of my allergy to iodine, so they gave me a chalky stuff that was a lot thicker instead. but that got me some Water for the rest of the evening. They kept me overnight just to see how the pain is controlled. I was able to walk right away I did 20 laps around the nurses station yesterday and 6 more before I went home today. so now I sit home my hubby's recliner, not hungry really hungry or thirsty right now but I keep drinking water to stay hydrated. All in all a good experience.

[SportBikeGirl 0]

My story is a lot like the rest... I just had my surgery on 08/05/2009, i am still on my clear liquid diet till monday then can move to the "paint consistancy" diet for a week then can move to a lil more solid foods. hell i cant wait for that day lol although i have been craving chinese food! lol

My surgery day went well enough surgery was about 2 1/2 hrs long. I showed up at 6:30am did all the paperwork, got preped for surgery and had some great nurses at St. Thomas More Hospital in Canon City, Colorado (Monica and Terri in same day op). I had surgery from 8am-10:30am. I had some problems with my anesthesia and wasnt released from the hospital until about 5pm i wasnt released until the surgeon ordered me oxygen to go home. My oxygen level dropped after surgery to 70 with oxygen (2ltrs) it bumped back up to 95 (pre-op was 94 without oxygen). So im now stuck with this lovely tube around my face... other then that all has been going well.

2 days post op i went out with my mother to buy some stuff for my clear liquid diet.

today (3 days post op) i went to barns n noble to buy a journal to record my progress.

I am still a lil sore and gassy from surgery but have been taking gas x to help and it has.

Good luck to everyone who is about to get the surgery and congrats to all those who have started their life changing journey!