Hey all NYU Bandsters!

[kristenmh 68]

see, now i want all of the odd roomie story!!

part of me is tempted to request a private room. they said its $350/night. hmm.

[kristenmh 68]

i have so many questions for those folks who have been though this.

what'sthe PACU like? Are you laying down or siting up in there? Can i have my regular clothes in there? what did it feel like as you werecoming out of anasthesia?

when do you get the heparim shot and IV? Is it before you go into the OR?

how long before you get a room? how long till you can start sipping liquids?

[skinnyoneday 2]

hi everyone! I am also glad to see this forum here. I am also going to be having my surgery at NYU. I have allready went to the seminar,had my psych eval, and blood work. My next appt. is with the nutritionist and nurse. I have one big dilemma. I don't know what surgeon to choose. All 3 of them have a great reputation. I live in South Jersey,and i originally decided to go to NYU because i had chosen Dr.Feilding,then i changed my mind to Dr.Ren. I keep going back and forth. I wish i could meet all 3 of them before making a decision.I only had an opportunity to meet Dr.Feilding and that was at the seminar. I have read that some people choose who ever is first available for surgery. If anyone could please share how they decided,and give info about their experience with the surgeon they chose. Thanks a lot!

Hi Morgan!!!

I am going to be totally biased here and tell you choose Dr. Kurian. To this day I have yet to personally even see Drs. Fielding or Ren. I initially chose Dr. Kurian because I knew my surgery would be scheduled sooner with her than if I chose any of the other two. They all have great reputations for being great surgeons and truly caring for their patients. I can't speak for the surgical styles of the other two but am absolutely in love with the way my incisions are healing. Already my scars are starting to fade and there is no keloid formation (which I tend to get). But of course the choice is yours. If you haven't already you can also check out obesityhelp.com, do a search on each physician's name which will give you some additional info on them as well as testimonies from some of their patients. Good luck!

[LindaGail 0]

Hi All,

I was banded Monday August 4th. All went well, apparently I had a hernia, Dr feilding said about 50% of his patients have hernias and 65% have no signs such as myself.

I was instructed to report to the hospital at 10:00am by mistake, my surgery wasn't scheduled until 2:30pm the staff was so kind, they felt badly that I had to wait so long that they put me in a private waiting room and brought in videos to watch, different people came in to sign things, jjust before my sugery time the anesthesiologist came in to sign more papers and to explain exactly what he will be doing and to anwer any questions, he was very warm and kind, he was there smiling when they walked me into the operating room. There were alot of people scurying around the operating room and as they were opening the back of the hospital gown the anesthesiologist said not to worry we will not have you exposed. The last thing i remember before going out is Dr Feilding smiling at me. I woke up as I was being wheeled into recovery and was very alert. I was wide awake the entire time in recovery. the nurse in recovery was very attentive.

It was 5:30pm by the time I was in a room. Once in the room they put the IV in asked if I needed pain medication, they gave me ice chips, shortly after I arrived the nurse asked if I wanted to walk, I did she walked around once with me. The night nurse gave me a heparin shot shortly after 8pm and another one early Tuesday morning. You can put on your own night cloths on if you want to but they check your wound so they need easy access to your tummy. In the evening i walked around the hall a few times.

Tuesday morning at 8:00am they anounced thru a intercom that anyone who has Drs. Feilding or Ren to go to the solarium, we than had a meeting with the Nutritionist and Nurse to give advise and answer any questions the meeting lasted about an hour. we than waited until the release papers were signed. I left about 9:15am. Even though they say check out time is 10am you should be ready to leave at 9am.

Today is two days after my surgery and feel much better, I feel achy when Iget up from a sitting position or from lying down. I have no probem drinking. I cut up my blood preasure pills and they went down without any problems.

Let me know if I answered your questions.

Take Care,

LindaGail

[skinnyoneday 2]

i have so many questions for those folks who have been though this.

what'sthe PACU like? Are you laying down or siting up in there? Can i have my regular clothes in there? what did it feel like as you werecoming out of anasthesia?

when do you get the heparim shot and IV? Is it before you go into the OR?

how long before you get a room? how long till you can start sipping liquids?

Hi Kristen,

The PACU was relatively full with other patients coming out of surgery. No you don't get your regular clothes until you are in your own room. As far as coming out of anesthesia it was like waking up from a long night of sleep. For me it was hard to see clearly at first as everything seemed blurry. As far as heparin shot i have no idea what that is. I could have gotten it and not even know. The IV was given in hte OR. I couldn't honestly tell you how long it took between the PACU and getting my own room. I was kind of out of it. Initially i was given ice chips and then a couple of hours later Propel and a couple of hours after that chicken broth. Let me tell you chicken broth never tasted so good. If you have any fears going in let me tell you the staff is so wonderful they will put you at ease.

[Eeyore 0]

Hi Kristen,

The PACU was relatively full with other patients coming out of surgery. No you don't get your regular clothes until you are in your own room. As far as coming out of anesthesia it was like waking up from a long night of sleep. For me it was hard to see clearly at first as everything seemed blurry. As far as heparin shot i have no idea what that is. I could have gotten it and not even know. The IV was given in hte OR. I couldn't honestly tell you how long it took between the PACU and getting my own room. I was kind of out of it. Initially i was given ice chips and then a couple of hours later Propel and a couple of hours after that chicken broth. Let me tell you chicken broth never tasted so good. If you have any fears going in let me tell you the staff is so wonderful they will put you at ease.

So true! All of it! You don't get your clothes back for awhile, though if you leave them with family you'll get them sooner than if you leave them with security as I had to do. Waking up was ... different. I remember a feeling of panic at first and then for a few minutes I couldn't keep my eyes open very long and it was all blurry. I also felt like I had an elephant sitting on my chest - this is the gas they pump into you for surgery and the walking definitly helps relieve that. The nurses in the PACU were great. One sat next to me the entire time to watch me, I felt completely safe there - and considering I was scared being all alone it made me feel so much better. They offered me pain meds which I took but those made me really loopy (not to mention mashed up in Water was so very very gross) with ice chips. After not having Water for so long in the summer time those ice chips were soooooo good. I felt semi out of it but was following along with the conversations between the nurses and even joined in a little here and there. Once I went up to my room a food tray came which was chicken broth, a propel water (I'm now addicted to these), and tea. Though probably the saltiest thing I've ever had, that broth was delicious. The heparin shot came shortly after I got there (they jabed me in the lower gut for this). I will say that I was glad I paid attention as about 40 min later after the nurse staff change another nurse came in trying to give me the same thing. I told her I had just had one and she was like really? I'm sure this was just an oversite but glad I was attentive. You'll also have the things on your legs for circulation when you're in the bed. If you walk often enough they'll let you take them off. My room was very warm and I couldn't stand having them on so I just kept walking instead, (walking also got me away from my roomie :wink_smile:)

[Eeyore 0]

see, now i want all of the odd roomie story!!

part of me is tempted to request a private room. they said its $350/night. hmm.

LOL! I've seen and heard worse stories and it wasn't horrible but different to say the least. Lets just say the 4 am wake up I had because she knocked everything off her bedside table trying to get up to get food out of her bag that she brought (YES you read that right) was just the start of it.

Its not that bad really, I don't think I'd go to the extent of the private room - though you may be able to have family stay there with you and that would be nice. I was supposed to go home same day but decided to stay as I felt safer there with such a great staff watching me then home alone. All in all I think I was up there less than 12 hours.

[LindaGail 0]

I guess everyones experience is a little different. When I woke up while being wheeled out of surgery I felt wide awake and stayed that way. I didn't feel pain right away. I first felt the pain when I started to get out of bed to walk with the nurse. Maybe my body was numb and didn't realize it. I needed pain medication twice while in the room. I didn't get a tray with broth and tea until the next morning. they gave me Water and a bottle of propel water. I was also by myself and they brought my bag with my stuff pretty soon. As i said everyones experience is a bit different.

Take care,

LindaGail

[dietpeach 0]

Fielding actually is no longer going to accept my insurance

Ack! Which insurance is he dropping? And when? (I'm pre-op.)

[lapbandbarb 0]

All of the Drs at NYU accept different insurance so make sure that the Dr you choose accepts yours. I was lucky that Dr Fielding accepted Magnacare, which is mine. He is dropping GHI and magnacare now among a few others. I think the other Drs are also dropping some too. Three months of aftercare is included after your surgery so I won't be paying for my fills until Oct and he said he'd work with me on the cost. I would still say Dr Fielding is the BEST. I have seen him everytime I have had an office visit. Best of Luck to you. When is your date?

[dietpeach 0]

Best of Luck to you. When is your date?

I wish I knew! I'm meeting with the nutritionist on 9/4, and I also want Dr. Fielding to do my surgery. How long was it from your nutritionist appointment until your surgery?

[kristenmh 68]

hello from the 13th floor of the NYU Medical Center. Free Wifi rocks.

got banded this moring by dr. kurian. couldn't have gone smoother -- i was in @ 6:30 am, in surgery by 8:30 and awake in recovery by 10:30. only hiccup was the discovery that i had a hiatal hernia -- now fixed.

the staff here has been just incredible. everyone is so sweet and attentive and smart. im really greatful for hte overnight stay -- the pain is not too bad, but its nice to be cared for my pros.

anyway: i'll post more tomorrow!

[Eeyore 0]

hello from the 13th floor of the NYU Medical Center. Free Wifi rocks.

got banded this moring by dr. kurian. couldn't have gone smoother -- i was in @ 6:30 am, in surgery by 8:30 and awake in recovery by 10:30. only hiccup was the discovery that i had a hiatal hernia -- now fixed.

the staff here has been just incredible. everyone is so sweet and attentive and smart. im really greatful for hte overnight stay -- the pain is not too bad, but its nice to be cared for my pros.

anyway: i'll post more tomorrow!

Congrats Kristen!!!! :thumbup:

Hope you are recovering nicely at home now. Went to see Dr. Kurian today for a fill myself - she's so wonderful! Keep us posted on how you are doing.

[wsw27 0]

Congratulations Kristen! Hope you are doing well. I felt a little sore the fist few days, but by day 5 I was doing much better. (Had some shoulder pain for about ten days, but that went away). I hope you have an easy recovery. Let us know how you are doing.

[kristenmh 68]

hey everyone,

today (day 2) was a lil rough -- i slept ALOT and walked alot and finally started feeling human again a few hours ago. i think the feeling better has everything to do with being able to use the bathroom again.

interestingly, my appetite seems to have come back. i'm about to drink my second Protein shake of the day -- thats just huge. (yesterday i could barely get anything down at all.)

i keep thinking the more Protein I can keep down, the better i'll feel.