leilaniessence

I woke up sobbing. Part of it was due to feelings of "oh my god, did i actually do this?" and most of it was due to massive pain. I was given medicine right away, but I continued to sob. I think I was just incredibly emotional. Two hours later I was made to get up to walk. I'd say that was about a 5 out of 10 on pain. Varied from 4 to 6 over the next 4 days and then hung out around 3-4 for the next 3 days. After that, it was fine. But that's just me!

Very excited about all the responses!!

I've been adding everyone. Thanks so much!!

I have had what seems to be a gas bubble that comes on and travels to my throat. I have to swallow alot to make it go away. It feels like I need to burp but I can not. It really hurts at the breast bone. Has anyone else had this? This is really concerning me.

I had the same exact sensation. I saw my doctor about it and he said it was fine, that my body was just getting used to the shock of surgery, etc. Just keep walking as much as you can. Also, something that helped me was to softly massage my throat with two fingers (just over the adam's apple, over and over). It helped me burp and feel better. This sensation went away by about day 7 (for me), so just hang in there!!

I made homemade apple sauce. Cut up over ripe apples put in a pan with a little Water cook until they are soft, turn the heat down and cook until they start to caramelize a bit. Throw in a blender. I also added cinnamon to it. Yummy! I did a lot of chicken salad well blended. Canned chicken with light mayo and dill relish in a blender. Go a bit heavy on the mayo at first to help it slide. FYI you can add unflavored Protein powder to both.

lol. I just began drooling reading about that homemade applesauce. CANNOT WAIT TO REACH MUSHY food STAGE!!!!!

Hi everyone,

I just registered for myfitnesspal.com (leilaniessence) and would love to find more bandsters on there! I hear that people keep their food journals "public" and think that would be a great way to start getting ideas. I'm still in the liquid phase for another 1-2 weeks, so I'm afraid I won't be much help (YET), but eventually I'll get there

Let me know if it would be okay to friend you!

I had a completely emotional "moment" today and my "instinct" of reaching for comfort food IMMEDIATELY kicked in.

Here's the thing. Usually I would not have realized what I was doing until it was too late. Since I am (1) only recently banded, (2) still very sore, (3) can't drink more than 3-4oz of any Fluid, I realized RIGHT AWAY that I was in the process of "stuffing" myself. More importantly, I realized that I was doing this BECAUSE I was emotional and was able to quickly pinpoint what had been my "trigger point."

Wow. Never happened before.

I've got a LOT of learning to do. But.... just another reason that this lap-band is so important to me. It's helping me in ways I hadn't expected. (Yes, I stopped stuffing myself and just DEALT with what was going on.)

Hi all,

I'm trying to find the right Vitamin for me and am having trouble. Mainly, Vitamins make me feel sick within minutes of taking them. The only one that doesn't cause that is the Centrum kind. I also can't stand gummy vitamins because they leave my mouth ferociously dry. Oh yeah - I hate chewable vitamins because they are grainy.

I'm a very "texture" sensitive person

Question for you all:

What has worked for you? I prefer taking non-chewable Vitamins. Do you think that'll be an issue with my lap band? Anyone else go through this? If you have, did any chewable Vitamin work???

Finally - anyone try the "Opurity" brand of vitamins from the unjury website?

Thanks!!

*Bump*

I'm in Peoria! Any others around? Let's get this thread started up again!

My day:

I was at the hospital by 8:30am. Blood was drawn, urine collected, and I was taken to a room. The bed was comfy I was given a gown to put on which was HUGE (compared to "normal" hospital gowns). Not gonna lie - I totally loved that. My rear was not left hanging in the wind!

Let's see, what next? Ah yes. The nurse verified information with me, connected me to an IV, and put those air compressor things on my legs (they felt yummy!). I was also given a shot of heparin (it burns!) to prevent blood clots. My anesthesiologist was the first doctor to visit me. Very nice guy! He told me the plan and made sure to answer any questions. Then my doctor dropped by. He also answered my questions and lent a LOT of reassurance. Oh yeah... my dad was with me the entire day. I have a very supportive and loving dad

I was allowed to go to the bathroom (yay). Then, I was given a scrub cap (hope I was rockin' that style) and wheeled out to the OR. Next thing I know, a mask was put on my face and the anesthesiologist told me to take deep breaths. At this point it was just oxygen, he said. Then he connected another tube to it and said, "Okay, just breathe in and goodnight!"

"Goodnight?" I thought to myself. Then I was OUT.

So here's the embarrassing part for me. Next thing I know, I woke up CRYING my eyes/heart out. Did that happen to anyone? I was SOBBING

I'm pretty sure I freaked out the nurses. I heard one say, "Do you think she's in pain? I just gave her a dose of [some powerful pain med]." Then someone else, a guy, said, "No... I think it's just emotional crying. Listen to the intonation of her cries."

Well, he was right anyway. I woke up thinking "ARE YOU SERIOUS? DID I JUST DO THIS?"

Anyway. Fast forward a bit... I'm in the recovery room and sleeping like crazy. Everyone was kind to me. I kept hearing them ask me to open my eyes and say something. That I needed to get up and walk around. In my mind I was like, "Go awayyyyy, I want to sleep!" I never answered them. Apparently the pain meds REALLY knocked me out.

Two hours later, they finally MADE me get up and walk. I'm glad they did because it started to ease the painful gas trapped inside. I did a bit more of that, was given some medicine-cup fulls of liquids and, a few hours later, allowed to be discharged. Slept the whole way home (40 miles) thankfully!

And that was my day.... Any other people wake up crying their hearts out?

Yeah. I NEVER want to have surgery again

Wow, only 3 days of liquids? Lucky! My doc has me on two WEEKS of liquids post-op, two weeks of mushies, THEN onto solids. How does your doctor define "liquids" vs "full liquids" ?

I'm at home for the summer. Mom makes a lot of Soups (sopa de albondigas, chicken Soup, beef Soup, frijoles, and on and on). So long as they are "clear" (not creamy or "smooth"), I'm allowed to have the broth. While I am sick and tired of broths only (yes, with Protein shakes), I'm at least thankful for different tastes. Maybe you could find soups to make also?

By the way.. I got banded the day after you! We are very close in our journeys

hi can you drink sparkling Water?

I asked that question to my nutritionist and patient coordinator. They just about jumped at me (outraged) that I would even consider it.

I'm going to guess "No"

I'm with you all on a lot of your experiences. Right now all I feel like doing is sleeping/crying because of how uncomfortable I feel. I hate to feel not 100% - it drives me bats. I have a lot of things I'm going through right now that sometimes have me thinking, "Why did I do this to myself?" They are:

- Port pain galore! Only my port is on my right side???

- This means I can't fall asleep on my tummy or on my right side, my two preferred ways to sleep. I feel "robbed" of something, if that makes any sense.

- 1/4 cup or a 1/2 cup of any shake/soup takes me FOREVER to sip

- I can no longer take a big gulp of cold Water in these hot days Do you know how crazy that drives me? I just want one freaking gulp of ice cold Water, gosh darn it!!!!!!

- I feel thirsty all the time, even though I'm sipping water like crazy in between "meals" (shakes)

- God forbid I have any kind of liquid, water included, just before bed. I'm a nightime drinker (always have been), but lately, whenever I take a sip of water and lay down right away, my gut starts wreching in pain. Why???

- I always have this feeling of "tightness" or "squeezing" just below my sternum. Sometimes I can manage to forget about it, other times I can't.

- I have a hard time taking a deep breath or yawn right now. I think its my diaphragm that hurts... or maybe my abdominal muscles? It sucks not being able to get in a good yawn, ya know?

- NO ENERGY. Super fatigued. Gah!

Then again... I have to remind myself. I'm BARELY on day 7 post-op. What can I expect? It's the first time I've ever had surgery in my life (I'm 27) and prior to this, I had rarely taken pain meds. Like other experienced bandsters here say (over and over), I NEED TO GIVE THIS SOME TIME. I'm trusting that it WILL get better.

Still... that doesn't stop me from sometimes feeling, "ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh"

Hang in there. I'm trying to too!

(P.S. Weight loss is awesome so far, at least).

Had to chime in on this thread. My surgeon is also Dr. Milton Owens. He is incredibly kind, very caring, and very direct. One thing I especially like is that he gives you his cell phone number so that you can call him ANYTIME you want. (I try to be respectful of hours, but it is still good to know that I can call at 3am if I feel I absolutely have to). He and his staff have been incredible with me. Five out of Five stars for sure!!

Looking for any June 2011 bandits!! My date is June 20th and looking for fellow bandsters to keep me company! I could use support and hopefully I can help support someone else!

kristi in houston, texas

Hi Kittyforet! I was banded June 15th. Going to read through this thread and see who else was banded in June. Can't wait to meet you all! Please feel free to friend me. Let's keep in touch!

- Leilani

I was banded 15 Jun - my tummy is still very swollen and firm - i think i'm over the gas and i'm losing weight - but my tummy looks 6 months pregnant - when will it go down??

Same thing is happening to me. I'd love to read more responses! (Also, NanaCat, I was banded the same day! Hi bandster twin )

Hi all,

I keep searching and searching for active lap-band websites. I'm very pleased with this one so far.

I was banded about one week ago now, on June 15th, by Dr. Milton Owens in Orange, CA. I'm very happy with my experience with the doctor and his office. My insurance refuses to cover anything WLS related, so I'm self-pay.

During my first visit (6/6), I weighed in at 243.5lbs. My highest weight had actually been 247lbs about a month earlier. On surgery day (6/15) after 9 days on liquids, I weighed in at 234lbs on the dot. Tomorrow is my first "official" weigh in, 1 week post-op, so we'll see what happens. I'm very happy with the results so far and sticking to the rules by the letter!

I wish I could say that it has been an easy process so far, but it definitely has not. I rarely take any kind of medicine and I had never had a surgery. The anesthesia and pain meds knocked me out cold. The pain from the gas (OMG, don't want to remember) made me want to shoot myself the first 4 days after surgery. Right now I feel pain in the port incision/location of the port which I keep telling myself is obvious because a lot went on in that tiny area, so tough it out. No, it isn't infected, nothing's wrong. I'm just finding out that I'm extra sensitive to pain. I also have this very "tight" feeling in my chest, just below my sternum. I'm guessing that's the band and that my body just isn't used to that sensation yet. It's also difficult to take a deep breath, or to yawn deeply. There's a lot of change going on in my body due to the surgery itself that I had not anticipated and that sometimes makes me wonder if I did the right thing. I know I did... it's just those moments.

So... I'm hoping I get to meet lots of wonderful, supportive people here. I need a lot of support right now, and hope that someday soon I can begin to offer it to others as well.

Will look forward to catching up on threads/blogs/stories and getting to meet everyone

Leilani