imtoxic

My hubs married me at my highest weight, and we've never had issues in that departmento The idea of things getting even better after weightloss.... woohoo!

My surgery date is set for April 28th. Anybody want to race me to the 100 lbs. down mark?

My surgery was yesterday and I honestly had a really good experience the surgeon and staff at the slimband clinic were great. I was done at about 2pm and was back at my hotel room @ 5pm. I have no gas pain at all (touch wood). The pain from the surgery itself is very minimal and I only get them when I try to sit or stand. I slept really well only woke up once to take painkillers. So far so good, I pray that the rest of my journey is as easy as this. I have only had water and a glass of apple juice since the surgery and I am noy hungry. In the airport right now on my way home to start a brand new life.
Wishing all of you yet to be banded all the best.

Definately keep up with your pain meds by taking them a little before the last dose is due to wear off and definately try to sit somewhere where it is less stressful to get up and down. I slept the first week in a recliner because it was much easier to deal with then our platform bed. Remember the longer you sit in one position the harder it is to get up. Try to be as mobile as possible with the pain and if your unsure of your incisions try keeping them clean with some peroxide and if they don't improve do not let them put you off, insist on getting into either your surgeon or your PCP to have them looked at. Welcome to the banded world and take it one day at a time.....you can do this and will feel much differently after about a week.

I know it's hard and the first day after surgery, or really 3 days all I could do is shuffle around the neighborhood but it really heklpsk with the gas. The pain meds I took only took the edge off. The first few days I just slept, drank, and walked all day. It gets better pretty quickly. Take your temp each day to look for fever. Welcome to our band!

This sounds exactly what it was like for me the day after surgery. Painkillers may have been given intravenously with your fluids and after that is stopped basically the pain kicks in. It is because you have had operative work on your body and it is reacting to being cut, I suspect. The pain went in a day or two. The other pain I have found bad is indigestion but that starts going soon as well. If the pain gets worse, make sure you let the medics know. It is to be expected at first but should lessen rather than worsen. Keep smiling, you took the brave step and it is a great new journey of your life and health from here on in

It is very normal to be sore for a while after surgery. You need to call your surgeon and request liquid pain meds. If they won't call in a prescription for you (although I would be shocked if they wont) you can also try OTC liquid pain meds - Liquid Tylenol was recalled but CVS has a store brand that works well. Also, try using a heating pad on your stomach off and on throughout the day. That really helped me with the muscular pain. A little seepage from your incisions is normal...I wouldn't worry about that unless it gets a lot worse.
Rest as much as you can, don't forget to sip on fluids throughout the day and walk around as much as you feel up to (it will help with the post-surgery gas)...I hope you feel better soon!

Normal. Any reason you're crushing your pills? As long as they aren't huge they will go down fine. If worse comes to worse call your doctor and ask for liquid form pain meds. Getting in and out of bed, sitting down, and moving in general will hurt, especially the first day post-op. It gets better about a week out. For now try to take your pain meds BEFORE you're in pain. If you have plans to get up and move around, take your pain meds a little bit before you do. This way you'll have the meds in you and ready to kick in.
Bleeding is normal and as long as it isn't continuous I think you'll be okay. Rest and try to relax as much as possible. If you can have someone help you get in and out of bed and to move around.
Good luck and hope you feel better soon.

Hi there, sorry to hear about all your pain. I have not had my surgery yet, but from reading these posts, I am planing to ask my surgeon to prescribe liquid pain meds (I think they do this anyway). Could you call your doctor and ask for him to phone in liquid pain meds to your local pharmacy? Also, some liiquid tylenol should also be on hand if you need it later. Good luck, hope you feel better soon.

Gax-X helped me by helping dispel gas trapped inside my stomach. But they inflate air into your midsection during surgery, and no telling where it ends up. it seemed after taking it I had less shoulder pain. (May have been all in my head.) The pain in your shoulder, or even your headache, may go away if you move around some, and drink more fluids. If you feel the urge to cough, do it. You may have residual Fluid in your lungs from the anesthetic, and not being able to breathe deeply can cause you additional pain or stress.
Hang tough. You can do this, and it does get better, one day at a time. Good luck!
Dave

wow, lots of surgeries tomorrow! good luck everyone, hope everything goes well and is comfortable for you

Let me wish all of you great success with your surgeries! You're ready, you've worked hard to get to this point, and now it's time!! Good luck!
The best advice I can offer is to remember what you've been told about getting up and moving as much as you can. Walking helps a great deal to reduce or eliminate the gas pain after surgery. Gas-X strips are excellent helpers. Sip liquids till you think your eyeballs will float. If you feel the urge to cough, do it - there may be Fluid buildup in your lungs from the surgery anesthetic. The sooner you get rid of the excess fluid, the better you'll feel. The postop pain goes away fairly quickly, and you'll be moving ahead to the next phases in no time. Remember that the first weeks after surgery are about healing, not weight loss. So don't panic if your scale doesn't move like you want it to. That'll come later.
Everyone on this Forum is here for you, and many of us have been where you are. Don't hesitate to ask for assistance.
See you on the other side of the recovery room, where we'll make room on the Bandster's Bench for you to sit beside us. Good luck!
Dave

My surgery is tomorrow also, at 10am. A few days ago I was having some anxiety issues about it, but as it gets closer I have become more excited about my new life. Now I am just impatient and want to get the show on the road. Good luck to everyone!!

I'm with you all - surgery is tomorrow at 9am. I'm not scared, although I'm not looking forward to the healing aspect. I wish I could just skip right through it all and already be on solid food and losing steadily
Good luck to us all!

Just found out today! Oh my gosh I am on a high! I'm getting banded.....April 29th! So excited I want to just start running around and scream Thank you GOD! One month from today....I will be banded. So I am officially an April Bandster!

Merriemish, I went through that same thing about two weeks ago. I nearly called off my April 5th surgery, I kept thinking all sorts of negative things.
You know what? If you weren't scared and second guessing, then you wouldn't have thought the process through completely. It's natural when you are making a very big decision. But the fact that you have looked at all the angles says that you know what you are getting into, unlike some people who think this may be a miracle fix!
All of us have had these thoughts. At this point, I'm committed to it, and my negative thoughts are gone. It's time to do something, and at least we are doing it! Keep telling yourself that this is something just for you, not anyone else in your life. Imagine how much better you are going to feel afterwards, you can do it!
Carlene

I made the decision early on to share my upcoming lapband surgery with everyone I know, including people at work, employees, bosses, friends and family. I want them to know that I am doing something for ME, not for anyone else, and if they don't like it they can kiss my patootie. A part of me also wants to be held accountable for this. I'm self-pay, spending 10k+ of my own money, and I don't want to throw that away. I want people to notice when I look thinner, and I need to know inside that everyone knows about this, so I better stick to the plan!
Everyone except one of my sisters (I think she's jealous) has been very happy for me, curious about the procedure, and what I will go through. I have lots of support from my co-workers and employees and my husband is being wonderful. I finally told my jealous sister last weekend that if she couldn't support me that she should stop calling me. She was shocked, claiming she was being supportive, but actually she was doing everything she could to scare me into not doing the surgery. I haven't heard from her in a week (shrug).
This is only one of several major life changes for me - I stopped smoking after 35 years in December and haven't touched a cigarette since. In February I gave up all caffeine and soda (I was a 6-pack a day Pepsi drinker). Now it's time to tackle that last addiction, food.
Carlene

Hello there and congrats to all of you future April Bandsters. I had my band placed April 29, 2010. It has been a wonderful, occasionally challenging, frustrating, joyful, self discovering and celebratory year for me. I found that the lapband was the best possible decision I could have made to regain my health and my life. I hope that all of you have as wonderful and successful year as I and others have had.

Your new life is about to begin. Do not be afraid; stay true to yourself; follow your instincts but ask for help when you aren't sure about things; give yourself time to learn how to utilize your new tool; allow yourself the chance to make mistakes without coming down too hard on yourself; don't forget that the band isn't a miracle cure because you are going to have to work at it, but most I think you need to remember to be proud of yourself, proud that this month you are doing something for you and you are going to take your life back.

Welcome, and best of luck to all of you!

I am excited too! I don't even mind the Protein shakes and liquid diet. My surgery is April 5th and I can not wait. My goal is to be fit and healthy by 40! (1 1/2 yrs. to go!) I do not care if I end up a size 8 or 16 as long as I feel good. I think that is what has made this such an easy decision for me (I backed out 2 yrs. ago) this time. I am mentally ready...I can not wait to start my life again. I want to be the strong mom that my girls will admire.

I'm the 5th too!! I'm excited and nervous at the same time!!

We have our own forum, everybody! http://www.lapbandtalk.com/forum/2480-april-2011-bandsters/
I just started my pre-op diet a few days ago. It's not a liquid diet, but rather and Atkins-like diet.

Me too! Countdown started! I start the liquid diet this weekend. I know I'll be sucessful having my surgery to look forward to!

I'm also having my surgery on April 5th - seems like a popular date! I have been on my low-carb diet since last Monday the 21st, and everything is going well. I'm having no cravings, trying out new low-carb recipes to keep my body satisfied and I can't wait for my surgery date in 10 days!
Carlene

I did the in-depth research on the various weight loss surgeries. I asked the questions. Did more research. Asked more questions. I lurked on this forum and other band forums for months. Despite that, I discovered some things post band that I wish I had known before surgery. Would it have made a difference in whether or not I had it...or whether I had chosen another method than band...I don't know.
When I was lurking in the forums, trying to make up my mind, there were very few negative posts about the band. When someone did post that the band wasn't working for them or they were having difficulties, other posters told them 'the band didn't fail you. You failed the band." It left the impression that the band works for everyone who works the band...and that's just not true.
I wish I had known...
That the band would not restrict the quantity of food I can eat. I got the band because I thought it would make me feel full or make me stop eating...which is how it was advertised at the time and what people were saying it did on the forums. Perhaps it works that way for some but it has never worked that way for me. Even at my sweet spot I can eat as much as I could pre-band *if I choose*.
That the band is not consistent, even at the sweet spot, at controlling hunger. Since the band tightens and loosens even a bit on its own, there are days where the hunger is intense and days where it's controlled. On the hungry days, all I can do is white knuckle it. Sometimes I'm successful, but sometimes it goes on for enough days that I lose it.
That the band can cause phrenic nerve pain that may or may not go away and which may be persistent enough and painful enough to affect my sleep, whether I can sit in a car or plane long enough to go anywhere and my range of motion and general health related to trying to prevent that pain.
That eating would become a daily challenge. Foods that were fine one day, would not be fine the next depending on whether my band tightened or loosened a fraction. That, despite taking small bites and chewing well, I might still find myself in a restaurant unable to eat the meal I had just paid for because my band had tightened.
I'm not trying to convince people to not get the band, or to do vertical sleeve or bypass instead. I just think it's important, and wish the surgeons would be more up front about these problems, so we can make more informed decisions about something so important. For many people, these forums are where they get the information they need when trying to make that decision, so it's important that we be just as honest about the difficulties we've faced with the band. Not to scare them off but so they have *all* the information and not just one side of it.
After 16 months I am in the process of getting my band removed due to the pain it is causing me. Bypass is not an option. There are worse things in life than being fat and, in my opinion, bypass is one of them. At this point in time, I can't bring myself to do the vertical sleeve either. It's just far more invasive than I'm prepared to go at this point.
I've kept journals since I was a teenager. My husband suggested I pull the journals from the period when I lost 70 pounds without the band...and kept it off for almost a decade now. When I look back at my journals from that time, some days were good days...some were bad and I had to whiteknuckle it. Much like I do now except I didn't have to deal with the pain in my arm, stuck and sliming episodes or wondering whether I was going to have to excuse myself from the dinner table. So, I've pretty much decided to give it a go on my own.
One thing the band has done for me is make me far more aware of my eating habits and create new ones that make me more successful at putting down that fork and choosing the right foods. As a result, I no longer take insulin and my diabetes is under control with diet alone. So it's not an experience I regret. It's just life. We make the best choices we can with the information available to us and, if it's not successful, we regroup and revise.
Just my .02.
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It's still English !!!! Correct me if I'm wrong... I just typed away, not trying to be offensive, and SYMPATHY FOR MYSELF ! ! THAT WOULD BE THE DAY ! I'm looking for someone to take this out or repair it. Perhaps you should re-read the posts that I have put out, then tell me I'm looking for sympathy.
When I joined this site in 10/06, this site was about trying to help each other, from people who had been there, and done it. In other words people who had experience in what you were inquiring about, and reassurance for the newbie, that was scared.
Now it sounds like cut throats are out there, and critics. Do you have a Diploma in criticism or something.
All I did was ask for a surgeon up north. Post if you know of one.
Then here comes you with the rudeness of posting in CAPS, and telling me I'm looking for sympathy. You may speak phonetically correct, but do you understand ENGLISH ! ! !
If you have no relevance to this POST,, then don't bother to waist my time.
Shirley
10/31/2006
Dr. Jeffrey Genaw "Chief Surgeon"
Henry Ford Hospital "Center of Excellence"