Scared about surgery and aftermath.

riverrat · June 8, 2005

I'm scheduled for the 20th and nervous as can be. I'm starting to have muscle pains in my lower abdominal from a c-section 3 months ago. Do you think I should mention to Dr. I asked OB , she said it's just from the muscle being cut. I don't understand why it hasn't hurt for about a month and now has started again. It could have something to do with picking up my son, Dylan (50lb) all the time huh. I would hate for my surgery to be put off. How long was your recovery time?? Any regrets?? Fear of regaining?? Slipage? What in the heck is PB?? How often are you vomiting? Any Hair loss? ?

KarenB · June 8, 2005

I had abdominal surgery for reconstruction after mastectomy. My muscles were cut & I still get pain 1.5 yrs. later. I made sure the banding was o.k. w/my plastic surgeon & he said yes, as long as the Dr. stayed above my belly button. So far, so good! And also my pain is very intermittant; I'm fine for a month then one day it hurts just from getting out of bed the wrong way.

Recovery differs for everyone. Within 1 week I was pretty much back to normal & after 2 definately. You can't lift anything heavy for a few weeks.

No regrets. Best thing I ever did. Fear of regaining, no, as long as my band is inside me the most I can gain is a couple of lbs. I could gain more if I lived on ice cream, but when I think about how far I've come it just doesn't seem worth it.

PB stands for productive burp. It happens when you take too big a bite or eat too fast or beyond the point of fullness. It gets stuck, you salivate a lot & finally it comes up. It also hurts . It's not like truly throwing up, just what got stuck & some goo. PB'ing more than once a week is said to make you more succeptable to slippage. It's very important to know that if you do PB, and most of us do at one time or another, you must go on liquids for 24-48 hours to give your stoma & esophagus a rest.

Yes, I had some hair loss after 4 months & it's fine now.

Hope that helped.

dishdiva · June 8, 2005

Hi riverrat -- I would mention it to your surgeon...but tell them what you're OB said. Better to have your surgery put off than to them have a surprise once they go in or for your recovery to be more complicated, especially with a little boy to care for.

Everyone experiences the nervousness you are feeling...it's perfectly normal. to answer your questions: I had my surgery on a Thursday before Labor Day and was back at work Tuesday. No regrets -- except I wish I'd been better about communicating with my surgeon when I was too tight after fills. The end result was that I did have slippage -- from vomiting, which came from being too tight. I had it repositioned in March and had my first fill since then on Monday. All that aside, still no regret. No hair loss. And, a PB is a "productive burp" which may or may not include the food in your pouch. Good luck to you. I hope everything goes well. Keep reminding yourself of how many of us were in the same place you are right now...and we all came out on the other side!

Elizabeth

riverrat · June 9, 2005

Thank you for the replies. I definetly feel better. My c-section pain is not all the time, just every once in a while. My friends aunt had her band done in Mexico 2 days ago. She said she feels good, but her stomach feels like there is a blood pressure cuff on her. Does that feeling go away- the tightness? When you had to have your band repositioned, did they recharge you the full amount of surgery? Thanks for the info on PB. Yesterday my mom said to me, "Don't get too skinny". I thought I would love to be too skinny-lol. Just to have someone say I'm too skinny- that's my goal. Although I think after knowing me overweight my whole life, I'll probally look too skinny at around 150. I hope!!

vinesqueen · June 9, 2005

My recovery was great. I was grocery shopping the next morning on the way home from the hospital. My worst pain was from my period.

I've been banded 12 weeks, no PBs (productive burp), no vomiting but I've woken up nausious a time or two (I sometimes do that even before band.)

Only regret is that I didn't do this sooner.

burnsun · June 9, 2005

Myh recovery was so quick- but I didn't have much of a choice. I went sight seeing at the museum and to the center market the day after surgery in Mexico with dh and the three kids (mom was still in hospital though - she had complications- but she wouldn't listen to doctors and didn't drink or walk enough)