Lap Band Surgery Day Stories

[tmw41 1]

I was banded yesterday, April 4th by Dr. Spivak at Park Plaza Hospital in Houston. All of the staff that I dealt with at Park Plaza over the course of the day was fantastic. They took really good care of me.

This was my first ever surgery so I didn't know what to expect but I was surprisingly not as nervous as I thought I would be. Got there about 5:45am to be admitted. Glad we showed up a little early since by 6:00am the admitting area was getting really busy. After signing the paperwork we were taken up to the 5th floor day surgery area and I was given a room. Once there, the nurse had me change into my gown and gripper socks and give a urine sample for a pregnancy test. The nurse came back in a few minutes later to ask several questions as well as take my blood pressure and temp. She said it would be a few minutes before I was taken down to sugery so me and my husband just hung out in the room and watched a little TV. By 7:15 a wheelchair had arrived to take me down to surgey and my husband was shown to the OR waiting room.

I was moved to a bed in the pre-surgey holding area. There were 5 or 6 other beds in there and we were separated by curtains so there was a lot of activity going on. At this point I was asked more questions by the nurse there. Verfiy your name, what procedure you having done, allergic reactions to meds etc... The anesthesiologist and his assistant came over, started my IV and went over everything that was going to happen to me. Both very freindly and calming. Dr. Spivak stopped by a couple minutes later to say hello and that we would be starting soon. I was given a sedative in my IV after he came by which hit pretty quick. I was still awake when I was rolled into the OR and had to move to the other table. I was strapped in, the mask was placed over my face and next thing I knew I was in recovery. When I woke up it was about 10:30 so I am guessing I had already been in there a while.

I was pretty sore in recovery so they started the pain meds quickly which was nice. My throat was killing me from the tube but unfortunately there isn't anything that can be done about that. After a few minutes I was take back upstairs to my room and moved back into my bed in there. After about an hour or so I had to use the bathroom so I did that without any issues. I was in a good amount of pain but I spent the afternoon fading into and out of sleep. About 2:00 the nurse got me up to do a couple laps around the nurses station. I wasn't moving fast but I did it. I was done with everything I had to do in order to get released but we were waiting for Brenda from Dr. Spivak's office and the doctor to stop by. It was about this time Dr. Oz came on TV with his topic of the day being Lap Band. I thought that was pretty ironic, but good to watch. We finally left and headed home around 5:00. I could have gone home sooner but I asked for more pain meds before the drive home which puts me to sleep for a few minutes, so that kept us there a bit longer.

The drive home wasn't too bad. We stopped by CVS to drop off my Loritab prescription and headed on to the house. I was in quite a bit of pain last night. Standing and walking were ok but sitting down was miserable. I am sure it was a combination of gas and the soreness from the incisions but I was hurting. I took a dose of Loritab before bed and slept pretty good. I was up about every 2 hours or so to use the bathroom so I switched between Tylenol liquid and the Loritab (every 4 hours) to keep my pain at bay. It worked pretty well as I was able to get myself out of and back into bed by myself during the night.

I felt so much better this morning! I am still very sore, but I am able to move around much better and sit without too much pain. Taking a shower also helped big time to feel human again. I am looking forward to feeling a bit better each day.

Anyway that is my surgery day story. Nothing too exciting and probably pretty standard.

[Sistersue 12]

Hey Pandagirl, if you don't mind I will add you to my prayers. I will pray that you are able to get whatever you need to get your surgery. I would have been a mess if I went through all I did and didn't get my surgery. Ialmost didn't because my insurance company messed up but in the I got the surgery.

[Ashton 0]

Okay so here is my surgery story....it's a little different than most because I actually had complications. I was banded on 03/25/2011. I arrived at the hospital at 7:15 for a 9:30 surgery. They prepped me which included me taking a phenergan(spelling), inserting my iv,and giving me versed and more nausea meds in a shot in my rear end. I told my doctor that I had terrible nausea with previous operations so thats why they gave me so much nausea meds before hand. Anyway, around surgery time I was wheeled into the operating room where they put a mask over my face. Then next thing I knew I woke up to my nurse saying my name and asking about my pain level, which was around a 7. I was wheeled to another recovery room where I was helped to walk and put my clothes on. I did get really nauseous when trying to put my clothes on and was given even more nausea medicene. Around 2:00 pm I was allowed to go home.

Once I got home I remember thinking "wow this is a piece of cake." I was walking around talking, laughing, on the computer. After the 3 day mark things took a horrible turn. I was in a ton of pain on my left side. It was like a spasm pain in between my belly button and my rib cage that would move up to my shoulder and cause it to cramp up. From day 3 to day 6 I sat up in a chair with no sleep because the pain was too much. I could not lay down because the pain intensyfied. So, I finally called my mom and had a complete breakdown. I had been out of pain medication for atleast 2 days and could not stand it anymore. My mom(whos a nurse)gave me pain meds and took me to the ER where they discovered i was severly dehydrated and had a collapsed lung and my white blood cell count was way up.

I was admitted over night. The reason for the collapsed lung was my shallow breathing during the 4 days of horrific pain. They pumped fluids through me as fast as they could and loaded me up on pain meds. The surgeon came in and could not really explain why I was in so much pain except for perhaps there was slight trauma to my liver and my body was reacting by spazing out. So, the next day the nurse got me up walked me around, I already felt alot better. I was given different pain medication which worked so much better for me. My original surgeon gave me perqeset and the surgeon on call for my surgeon gave me Loratab, which work wonderfully.

3 weeks after my surgery I am back at work(finally) and feeling much better. I'm starting to see the benefits of the surgery vs. the horrors. So, just remember to breathe.

[fefebutterfly 7]

Hello Everyone,

My name is FeFe and I went in for a Lap band and sleeve plication.

My surgery date was on Monday April 11, 2011 at Rex Healthcare in Raleigh, North Carolina. I arrived at 8:00 am and my surgery was around 10:00am. My Doctor is Dr. P Enochs of Cary, NC and he came with lots of recomendations. I saw the doctor before surgery and after during recovery. I found out that he had to repair a hernia while in surgery. I had to stay overnight and the (Tuesday) next day I had to have an upper GI to see how I swallow. Well that didn't go so well because I couldn't even swallow a sip of Water. I had to do another xray the (wednesday) next day and they found that I had so much inflammation that the band was constricting my stomach opening. At that point I was second guessing what I got myself into because it was so much pain, nausea, vomiting and weakness. Then they want to to walk so much, I understand why but when you feel crappy you are not in the mood for excercise. So after three days of agony and dismay the doctor came in on Thursday morning to take out the saline solution out of my band. Finding the port was extremely hard because I had lots of swelling, and it was painful. The nurses comforted me by asking me to envision a calm place and they held my hand and were so understanding. Thursday they loaded me up on anti nausea meds, and anti inflammatory meds. After about 2 hours my lunch came for the first time that week I was able to take a sip of Water and a taste of broth. I did so well that the doctor released me and I was able to go home on Thursday evening. For the next couple nights after that I had some issues with nausea and vomiting. I would wake out of my sleep coughing, which would turn into vomited. Sunday night I finally had some relief. Today I tried some Tomato Soup and It was so goooood. I am now happy and I am ready to taste my first morsel of pureed food in about a week. Already losing weight. Since the pre op diet I have lost 11 pounds that I know of.

Love FEFEButterfly

[Rachel412 116]

Hiya!

My surgery was on Tuesday afternoon, April 12, 2011. I arrived at Emerson Hospital at 12:15 and was immediately brought back to be prepped. I heard my surgeon, Dr. Jiser, talking to another patient as I changed into my johnny, got my IV placed, and had blood thinners shot into my belly (tiny needle, no pain). He came in to check with me, as well as his surgical P.A. and the anesthesiologist, and chatted with me and my husband to make sure we had no more questions before the surgery began.

Right around 2:45 I was told it was time. They put some medication in my IV so I would relax and I kissed my husband goodbye. I was calm and comfortable as I was rolled back to the OR. I remember watching the surgical team buzzing around me as the anesthesiologist put the mask on me. I didn't even know they were knocking me out yet, so I remember trying to keep my eyes open and failing

Next thing I knew, I heard a nurse saying my name. I woke up in the recovery room and my breathing tube was already out. I was a little groggy but I felt just fine, no nausea. My throat didn't hurt at all from the breathing tube. My pain level was about a 4. There were no other patients in recovery so the nurse went and got my husband and brought him in to be with me (so kind of her!)

Once I got situated in my room with the pain pump (I don't know the name but it's the one where you push a button and you can have another gush of pain meds every 6 minutes) it became apparent that the morphine wasn't helping at all. The incisions didn't hurt too bad, but my back/shoulders hurt a lot. The nurse said I might do better on Dilaudin (sp?). It took 2 hours to get switched over from the morphine pump to the Dilaudin pump, but it was MUCH better, and I was no longer trying to itch my nose off my face!

I settled in for the night after doing a few laps of the hospital wing. I felt bad about asking the nurses to unplug the IV/pump every time I needed to pee, but they were very nice to me No hunger, though I did get the mouth swabs and I did swallow a few sips of the Water that I sucked off of them!

At 7 the next morning I was told I'd be sent for my x-ray and upper GI before they could clear me to drink anything. The x-ray was easy, and the upper GI was just 3 sips of orange-y flavored contrast fluid- NOT the silly putty like liquid I had to drink for my first upper GI. I was relieved that I didn't need to choke that down!

I passed both tests, so my surgeon came in and told me that I was clear to "eat" (ha!). The hospital gave me a small bowl of beef broth, a cup of orange jell-o, and Water. My lovely nutritionist Courtney came in to check on me (which I was SO touched by) and soon after the nurses asked if I felt ready to leave. I sure did, and I was released and home by noon.

Once I got home, things pretty much went as I expected. Sore, sleepy, gassy, etc. My voice was raspy for a few days from the breathing tube, but it didn't hurt. I did develop a rash which was an allergic reaction to the iodine sheeting they stick all over your belly before they do the surgery- it's still broken out a week later, but barely itches. The doctor told me to just take Benadryl to handle it.

I've been taking less of the pain meds each day, and today (day 6) I've only had it once. Hunger only came back today, too, which made it easy to keep to my clear liquid diet.

All in all... a success and because my WLS program prepped me so well for what to expect, it was all just as I thought it'd be!

[bobbyjaguar 0]

Well,I had my surgery on Thursday and its now saturday ,morning. I was disappointed that the hospital staff seemed to want to rush me out but i stood my ground and stayed there aprox. an additional 7 hours until i felt comfortable to leave with my wife. I can say that i slept throught thurday pretty much and friday i got up and was in pain but i went for a walk to reduce gas anyway. I ended up walkig 1/2 a mile and 1/2 a mile that evening. And now its saturday still in pain but just less pain. Still on all liquid diet and very gasy. We shall see what happens tommorow because its Easter Sunday and i have to be in place as a Deacon. Ohh a praise report on my Chike Prep Op Protein shake diet that i cheated on about 6 times i lost 30LBS!!!!

So before pre opt i was 444 and at surgery i was 415!!

[mannapanda 0]

Just had my band placed on April 26th...2nd day after surgery and starting to feel a little better, here's how it went:

Arrived at 8:30 that morning. My husband waited on a different floor while I went up to the presurgery area to get ready. Had me change and then asked the normal questions about history and meds, etc. A young man came in to get some blood work (I'm diabetic, was guessing that was what the blood work was for.) He seemed pretty uncomfortable for some reason, it was kind of odd to me. But, he did his thing with little pain and was on his way. I told him that I had already lost 15 lbs on my pre-op diet. His comment was 'that's a bit much to loose in 14 days, is that healthy?' I told him that is what the doc wanted me to do! Well, after he left I looked down and realized that I had my gown on the wrong way (tie is supposed to be in back...I tied it in front and was going to switch it around, but forgot)...and I ended up giving him a bit of a show of my cleavage...opps! No wonder he seemed uncomfortable, poor kid!

I was nervous about the IV because I don't do IVs well. The nurse got it on the second try, it wasn't in a very good spot, my wrist, but it was in, that's all I cared. PJ (my husband) was able to come in then. The doc came in and was all smiles and was very pleased to hear of my weight loss already and that I was now taking half the insulin I usually do. It made me feel good about it all. I too as some had stated, as I was getting dressed, had the thought of...here we go, can't back down now!

After the doc talked to me I got some relaxing meds, that was good! Then they wheeled me to the OR and they slid me over, strapped me down, put on the mask and I was out! Next thing I remember, I'm waking up and heading to my room. I was in and out a lot because of the drugs, so bits and pieces at this point, but I do remember being put in a wheelchair to go get an xray. I got nauseous and had dry heaved a couple of times on the way down and then on the way back. When I was back at my room they gave me some anti-nausea meds and that was the end of that. It made me really sleepy though. I remember trying to stay awake, I was scared to sleep...I later talked to my husband about it (he's a medical transcriptionist) and he chuckled and said, no...that was the anti-nausea meds, they make you really tired...they want you to sleep. I did sleep pretty well through the night and was relieved to wake the next morning feeling more refreshed.

I was released the next day around noon. Had a morning Breakfast of 1/2 cup beef broth and 1/2 cup juice...then a 1/2 cup Protein shake later as a snack. I went home and I think I over did my intake...had broth, juice and Protein Shake all at once and felt nauseous. Gas has started to come as of yesterday and that is relieving some uncomfortableness. I took a couple doses of vicoden yesterday, but am feeling okay today...trying not to take too much as I havent had a BM since the day before surgery. Sent my dad (who's staying with us to help out) to get milk of magnesia to maybe get things moving in that dept.

Yesterday I had the "oh my gosh, what have I done" feeling, but am doing better today. I know that with each day I will feel better and better! =)

[gMommy 4]

My surgery day was yesterday, April 28th. I had to check into the surgery center at 8am. They called me back at 8:05. The immediately gave me an anti-nausea pill to take. I changed into the gown, hair net and socks with the grippy bottoms. They had me pee. I didn't have to do a pregnancy test since I had my tubes tied last year. Then climbed into the prewarmed bed (ahhhh). Answered all of the basic questions again: name, birthday, type of surgery I was getting. They took my blood pressure, oxygen level and temperature. My IV was started. I had regular fluids and an antibiotic. I'm allergic to Penicillin, so they gave me something from a different class. I closed my eyes and rested for about 15 minutes. My surgeon came into to say good morning. I am so happy with her. I felt complete confidence with her skills. This is what she does 100% of the time. Dr. Laura Machado, Sacramento Bariatric Associates.

Had the hubby come into to give me a kiss and wish me luck. The anastesiolgist (sp.) came in to introduce himself. He told me how things would work. He would give me the 1st drug through my IV, that would knock me out in 30 seconds. They would put the tube down my throat and give me oxygen. Throughout the surgery, which would take one hour, he would give me a couple of more drugs as needed. This would include morphine to help with pain. He said once I was knocked out, the Doctor would give me a little injection in my stomach of Heparin, a blood thinner.

At 9:15 they rolled me into the operating room. I saw two instrument technicians, the anastesiolgist, a nurse and my physician's assistant that works with Dr. Machado. She welcomed me by name. It felt good to see someone I already knew. I scooted onto the operating table. Within 30 seconds I was knocked out.

I woke up in the recovery room at 11:30 where they were trying to get me to drink a cup of Water. I was so thirsty. My hubby was there. They were telling me that it was time for me to get up, go to the bathroom, get dressed and go home. I was so out of it. They helped me to the bathroom. I had to go pee so bad, I dropped on the toilet and started peeing before they had the door closed. Obviously, I was out of it, because the recovery room had about 6 other patients there, right outside the bathroom. The nurse thought it was funny, so did I. I got dressed, she helped me get my shoes on. She asked if I could walk out, but I said no, I would need a wheelchair. I was so out of it. I really felt they were rushing me out before I was ready. I had a pillow between me and the seatbelt on the way home. The gas pain in my shoulders was excruicating! I couldn't get in a deep breath it hurt so bad. i had a cup of ice with me. I was so grateful for those ice chips. I can't remember the last time I chewed ice, but it was perfect in that moment. I moaned all the way home. I raised my arms up and down to try to get the gas out.

We got home at 1:30 (1 hour car ride). I took the liquid Lortab. Ewww...it was so sweet, some kind of tropical flavor. I tried to lay down in bed, but the gas got worse and made breathing even harder. I went back out to the living room and sat in a recliner. Much better! I kept working on the ice chips. I was hurting so bad. I got up and walked (paced) my living room and raised my arms up and down. I would do this for 5 minutes at a time, rest a couple of minutes, and do it again. At 2:30 I settled into the recliner for a nap. I was in and out of sleep until 4pm. By 4pm the gas pain was only in my left shoulder and much better. I could take a regular breath without hurting. The deep breath hurt under my collar bone.

I got to spend some time talking to my best friend on the phone. Another friend brought over dinner for the rest of my family (very nice surprise) and stayed with me for several hours. It was great having some girl time to talk. It helped get my mind off of how I felt. Laughing didn't hurt, luckily.

I thought I was going to have to sleep in the recliner all night. I tried, but decided at 3:30am to go to bed. By then the gas pain was a lot less. I was able to sleep and even roll back and forth. Funny, the gas pain went to my gums. I was able to sleep for 4 hours before I needed to get up to escape the gum/gais pain. 2 minutes after sitting up, the gum pain went away. I'd say the gas pain is 95% gone. My post-op instructions said to weigh myself everyday. They want to make sure I do not gain 2 pounds within 24 hours, or more than 5 pounds in a week. I guess it indicates there is some internal problem. Luckily I lost 2 pounds. My highest weight (non-pregnant) was 228, preop 214, today 212. I am so happy. This turned out better than I expected.

[slauren14 0]

Newest band member!

Just had my band surgery this morning (May 3rd).

I won't lie, it hurts. My stomach is really sore.... BUT they have been really good about giving me pain medicine when I ask and so far it has really been helping!

When I arrived at the hospital (6am), the ladies at the check in were really nice and funny and really worked hard to put my jitters at ease.

I only waited about ten minutes until they took me upstairs to the pre-op room. There my vitals were taken (blood pressure, pulse, blood sugar) and I gave a urine sample. After that, I changed into my WONDERFUL hospital gown (Haha!).Then, I spoke to the nurse that would be with me in the operating room. She also put my IV in. I don't really have many good veins, nurses always complain, so the nurse put the IV in on the underside of my right wrist. Needless to say, this wasn't going to work for me. I couldn't move my wrist at all and it was really sore, so I asked them to move it. After two other tries, they finally got a good IV started on the top of my right hand. I also got a blood thinner shot in my stomach and massaging cuffs on both lower calves (which feels really good, by the way!)

My surgery was originally scheduled for 7:30 that morning, but due to some backup it was pushed back to 8:30. I said my "final goodbyes" to both my parents and my husband and at 8:15 I was set to go!!!

When I got in the operating room, my nerves were definitely getting the better of me... I had about four people around me trying to make me as comfortable as possible. After receiving a tiny bit of anesthesia, the nurses began "tucking me in" by putting warm towels under my legs, arms, neck and back. By this time, I was completely relaxed and ready to go! The rest of the anesthesia was put into my IV and then it was lights out.

My surgery lasted about 45 min. I woke up in the recovery room and to be honest, this was the worse part I hadn't received any pain meds or nausea meds yet and I was definitely hurting. The first thing I said was I was hurting and feeling nauseous. But they gave me plenty of meds right away! It took a few minutes for them to kick in, but when they did I was fairly comfortable. There, a different nurse retook all of my vitals (my blood sugar was 210! I am type II diabetic, but my sugar never gets that high, so this kind of worried me. But the nurse said it was fine and that they would recheck it in a little while). I eventually dozed back off to sleep and eventually was taken up to my room where my family was waiting on me

Since being in my room, I have had nurses in and out about every 15-30 minutes. Everyone so far has been REALLY nice and understanding. They have been checking my blood pressure, heart rate and sugar (which went down to 102) and have been checking my IV fluids. So far I have been brought two meal trays with a cup of broth, a bowl of Jell-O, a bottle of Water with Crystal Light mix and a cup of Water with Proti 15 (Protein powder) mixed in. So far, however, I have only been able to have about 2 oz. of liquid (the Proti 15) every hour. My throat is sore from the tube that was put down my throat, so it is pretty sore and I am THIRSTY! Haha! They told me that I will soon be able to drink a bit more though. Luckily, I am not at all hungry. I was a bit worried about this, but so far it hasn't been a problem. I did eat about 1/3 of a sugar free orange popsicle (which to me was the best thing EVER!!!) and hopefully will be getting another one pretty soon!

Overall, my time as a Lap-Band patient so far has been very positive! I am already glad I went through with this surgery. I feel like I am in really good hands and I know that all the soreness and pain will be worth it very soon! So, my message is good luck to anyone about to embark in this journey! Yes, it will be a bit painful, like any surgery. But it is all worth it! Just stay strong and power through it!!!

[dawn of dibley 6]

My surgery was yesterday morning, 5/4/2011.

We arrived at the hospital at 6:15 am and went into the Same Day Admission unit where i signed more documents a received my medical Bracelet. The receptionist made me

check the bracelet for any mistakes and after that point, every single person i cam in contact with made me read the bracelet to them and tell them what procedure i was having done.

there was no way this hospital was going to do a surgery on me if I got any of this information wrong. It was annoying after the 15th time, but I guess it had to be done.

At around 6:45 I was moved to a room where I was able to change into my gown, my gripper socks and my blue hair net. They allowed my husband to stay with me the whole time i was in there which was a big comfort to me.

My surgery was supposed to happen at around 8:30, but due to the rain storm we had in NYC yesterday, my surgeon was unable to get a taxi. So, while I waited for him to arrive, I met with several nurses who weighed me one more time, and had me give a urine sample. The anesthesiologist arrived shortly after that to answer my questions and tell me what was going to happen. Soon after that, another girl, the one who actually put my IV in, arrived and with her was an intern who was shadowing her. Again, they made me check my bracelet and tell them what procedure i was having done.

Eventually, clothing soaked with rain, my surgeon arrived in his street clothes. He apologized for being late and told me that we would be proceeding shortly. He answered a few final questions, shook my husband's hand and then left to get himself dried and prepared for surgery. Another nurse, the one who would escort me into the operating theatre stopped by, again made me read my bracelet, and brought with her another doctor who would be assisting my surgeon. It was kind of overwhelming, just the amount of people who kept popping in, telling me who they were, making me read my bracelet and asking if I had any questions. i wanted to say "who are all of you people??", but i resisted.

eventually, the girl who placed my IV and her intern shadow came in again and said it was time to place the IV. I warned her that my veins like to hide and told her she would probably have better luck using my hand, so she listened to me and found one in my hand. I love it when they listen to me…..The IV and the initial burn of the Fluid felt like a wasp sting but was gone very quickly. before i knew it, I was up and walking toward the operating theatre. the nurse who was "my nurse" allowed my husband to walk me right up to the main doors to the operating wing. there he kissed me and said he would be waiting to see me when i woke up.

a few more steps past the door and I was looking into the actual operating room. talk about being overwhelmed. there were all of these people dressed in blue with masks on. I didn't recognize half of them. I told my nurse "ok, i am about to freak out". she grabbed my hand and said "i'm not going to let anything happen to you". with that, she whisked me into the room. she was carrying my saline bag and as she handed it over to the anesthesiologist, it popped off of the line and saturated the operating table with saline. i remember thinking "Oh my Lord, what if they kill me" but soon, i was lying on a nice dry pillow. they placed a warm blanket on top of me, it felt like it had just come out of a microwave, and then they placed those anti-clot sleeves on my legs to massage them while i was out. those things were AWESOME, and probably the best part of the whole experience. they felt sooooooo good.

anyway, the anesthesiologist asked me what i wanted to drink when i woke up. I told him that champagne or a margarita would be just fine then I laughed. the next thing i remember is dreaming about cowboys and indians, like in an old western. someone called my name and I woke up in recovery.

Ok, I will say at this point that waking up in recovery was THE WORST EXPERIENCE of the whole day. My chest was hurting so bad and I felt like I couldn't breathe. when i tried to speak, I couldn't speak because nothing would come out of my throat. i was trying to tell the recovery nurse that I couldn't breathe and that I was nauseated, but she couldn't hear me and didn't even realize i was talking to her for a while. i was kind of shaking my head from side to side to get her attention. when she finally saw me she leaned in and said "are you ok?" i said "i can't breathe. i feel like i'm going to throw up" She said, you can't breathe because of one of the incisions. it's just going to hurt for a while, but take shallow breaths and you will be fine. then she JABBED me with a needle to give me meds to keep me from throwing up. I think i even said "just let me die" a couple of times. I felt like i needed to burp, but I couldn't. she asked me what my pain level was. I was so out of it I just said it was a 4. I just picked a random number that didn't mean anything, but she gave me some wonderful, awesome morphine that seemed to do the trick.

again, my mouth was so dry. people on the board kept talking about having a dry mouth, but it was beyond dry, i can't even explain it. it was like someone had stored wadded cotton balls in my mouth for about a week. no moisture whatsoever. i asked for ice and she said i wasn't ready for that yet.

soon after i became stable, they allowed my husband to come back to see me. he said he was there for 30 minutes, but it felt more like 5. i was just in and out. I did tell him that i couldn't breath and that my mouth was dry. he asked the nurse if they had a swab or something that i could run over my lips and she gave me two swabs. when she ran them over my tongue and gums it was like the most refreshingly delicious thing i have ever experienced. it felt sooooo good. my husband kept asking them to give me ice and they said they would. eventually, i heard them tell him that he needed to go back outside and he left. at some point after that, the nurse came with a cup of ice and though it was difficult, i sucked on that cup of ice until it melted.

at this point it was nearing 1:00pm and my nurse in recovery had to take a lunch break, so someone else took over. he brought me a new cup of ice because what was left in my cup had melted. then he said "i need to change your sheet". i kept thinking 'how on earth can you change my sheet, i am not going anywhere. I can't get up, i can barely keep my eyes open. he asked me to roll to my right and he put the new sheet on, then he asked me to roll to my left. i mooned him a bit but he just yanked that sheet right under me and changed it like i wasn't even on the bed. apparently, all of this took place over 3 or 4 hours, but it felt like 1/2 an hour. i was in and out and in and out. the male nurse started calling my name and telling me to take deep breaths…i smelled the funny smell of morphine again and boy did i inhale that stuff.

at around 1:30 or 2:00 they said that my recovery room was ready. they rolled me out of general recovery and up to a hospital room. there was another person already in the room and they wheeled me right by her. my eyes were closed, but i could hear her complaining that they were giving me the window view and she had wanted it. the nurse just told her that she was checking out that day anyway and that i was going to have the window. i couldn't have cared less about a window, i just wanted to sleep. when i finally did fall asleep and woke up again, my husband was sitting in a chair staring at me. i wanted to cry from sheer happiness, but i couldn't. nothing would come out. my back was hurting from just laying on it. i sleep on my side mostly, so not being able to be on my side was very uncomfortable. i tried to just get some sleep and not think about it.

my room nurse showed up right away and said that they would bring me some broth at around 4:00 and then i had until 6:30 to pee on my own, otherwise they would have to figure something else out. The entire time, i had my cup of ice with me, i just kept sucking and chewing on ice and it still did not relieve that dry mouth feeling. my husband probably got me 2 more cups of ice while i was in my room.

they finally brought me broth around 4:30 and i was able to drink a cup of it and 1/2 a cup of tea. some time later i told the room nurse that i would like to try and pee, so she helped me get out of bed. it felt like my insides were going to fall out onto the floor, but they somehow managed to stay put. i walked to the bathroom and urinated, then she said if i would like to, i could go for a walk. I did 4 rounds around the floor and then my surgeon walked in and said that if i felt ready, i could leave the hospital. this was the first time I had seen him since the surgery and he had 2 more surgeries after mine, so he was making his rounds on the floor. He told me that my surgery went well, there were no complications and then he signed the discharge papers.

I went back to my room to wait for a wheelchair and the surgeon that assisted my surgeon came in. i asked him "hey, when they unhook me from this IV (which i thought were drugs) am I going to start to feel the gas pain that everyone talks about in my shoulder?" he said, "that's just saline, you aren't on any pain medication at the moment". i just looked at him. then he said" if you were going to feel the shoulder gas pain, you would probably already be feeling it, but you might feel other gas pains when you start to move around. walking helps" then he shook my hand, said it was nice to meet me, then shook my husband's hand and that was that. At around 7:30pm they showed up at my room with a wheelchair and they allowed me to leave.

we had a very bumpy cab ride home and when i walked in the door, i was beyond exhausted. I took the drugs they gave me and tried to get some sleep.

for pain, they prescribed the liquid Vicoden which I guess is doing a pretty good job as I am not dying.

I have 3 incisions, 1 through my belly button, one just at my breastbone and the other on the left side where the port it. the one in my belly button hurts sooooo bad. when i stand up, it really feels like my insides are going to come crashing to the ground. so far though, my insides are still inside, so that is something.

as of now, it is quite a chore to get all of my liquids down. i am supposed to have 64 oz. of Clear Liquids a day, but i haven' t had nearly that today. i am just trying to sip, sip, sip constantly. when i am awake, i am trying to drink 1 teaspoon of liquid every 10 to 15 minutes. i have had 1 cup of chicken broth today, 1 popsicle, and about 8 oz of other Fluid, plus so far, 1 Protein shake. i guess i'm doing pretty well and i'm glad i haven't had any of those gas pains. i have been burping, but that's about it.

i think that's all…i am on vocoder, so hopefully this was coherent. i hope that tomorrow is a better day, and not quite as painful.

[jennifer1 180]

well dawn i was waiting for your surgery day story! thanks i'm glad everything went welll for you. you sound like me i would be looking for the pain that everyone talks about, but now i think i'm just gonna wait it out and see cuz everyone is different. i wish you much success hun!

[NJGirl32 43]

I was waiting for your story too!! Thank you SO much for the very detailed post-it really gives me a good idea of what to expect!

At least theygave you good meds! I read on this forum plenty of times to not be a hero and take the meds

I can't believe they let you leave the same day. I wish they would let me leave the same day-but I have to stay overnight

What a relief it must be to have the surgery part behind you! Do you work? If so when do you plan on returning?

I think it's greatthat you had your husband there to support you!

Take care and please continue to keep us posted!

[dawn of dibley 6]

Hey NJGirl,

at first, i wanted to stay overnight because i wanted to make sure that if something happened that I was right there in the hospital and they could take care of it right away..but as the day went on and i was feeling better and drinking and peeing on my own,and walking....i knew i would be ok going home.

i do work. i took a week off for what my office thinks is a "staycation". i haven't told anyone about the surgery, so when i go back to work next thursday, i hope that i'm not still in this much pain and i can keep it all under wraps. i am feeling better and better each day. now i just need to get all of my fluids down. that has been a problem for me so far.

[JonathanNY 0]

great read dawn! man your story is a bit overwhelming but good to read nonetheless. do you still have that "insides spilling out" feeling?

[malta760 0]

I was banded today, in and home within 5 hours, completely smooth (just like butter).

at my weigh in after the two week liquid diet i have lost 30 pounds, i have two more weeks of liquids and then i get to start the mushie stage but may "experiment" with gucamole, hummus, ect... we'll see what happens with that . the only issues i am having is the gas everyone talks about... all in all it was a breeze.