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Hi....congrats on your banding...I too was banded yesterday, 2/21/12. I'm in the same boat with you....the pain is pretty difficult. I thought I would be really tough and not take the pain medication every 4 hours, but now I've decided that was not a good idea. And you are right....IT IS SO WORTH IT!!!! Dee

My surgery day story......It is 7:45 in the evening on Tuesday, 2/21/12, and I had my surgery today!!!!!!! I wanted to blog about my experience while it is still fresh in my mind. First....I feel great, definitely sore, but nothing unbearable; my incisions look great, and I am so happy that I did this. I arrived at the surgery center at 9:45 and did all the registration stuff...actually just signed a couple of papers, put on a bracelet and waited to be called. I was called very quickly (at 10:05) and put in a pre-op holding area where I: 1. gave a urine sample for a pregnancy test 2. changed into a lovely gown that tied in the back (nothing left underneath) 3. put on orange socks with grippies on the bottom and compression things for my legs 4. was given my party hat (lovely blue lunchroom lady style) 5. was weighed along with all other vitals 6. answered lots of basic questions...(allergies, meds, when ate last, who was with me, med history 7. given the opportunity to ask questions of my own 8. an IV was started with saline (and even a little lidocaine at the site to ease the stick) 9. at this point, my husband was allowed to come back and sit with me until I went to the OR 10. I was given several meds.....heparin shot in right arm, pepcid in IV, zofran for nausea in the IV, a steroid in the IV (can't remember the name, but that one had to go in really slowly and was given to held with inflammation) and Versed in the IV to help relax me 11. the waiting game then began...waiting for an OR to open up....this took a while and at this point, I kind of started losing track of time. 12. When we were almost ready to go back, my doctor, Dr. Gorjala, came in and met my husband and answered any questions that we might have had. 13. The Nurse Anesthetist came in along with the surgical nurse and wheeled me away to surgery. In surgery: 1. I moved to the OR table (around 1:00) 2. Untied my gown 3. Covered with a nice warm blanket and had my compression thingies on my legs hooked up. 4. put on a pulse oximeter and three leads on my chest to monitor my heart rate during surgery 5. put on an oxygen mask and was given some oxygen to breathe while we waited to get started 6. Ready to start surgery, I was given the anesthetic agent. It felt warm going into my body and took seconds to kick in. 7. Next think I knew, I was in the Recovery Room In Recovery: (around 2:15ish) 1. My vitals were monitored very closely and I was encouraged to take nice deep breaths of Oxygen. 2. It seemed to me as if I woke pretty quickly with everything and everyone coming into focus (NO NAUSEA) 3. Finally able to talk and keep my eyes open, my nurse moved my bed into a more upright position and gave me some Water with a pain pill (omg...that was the best water!) 4. It did not take long at all, and I was out of recovery and moved back into another area of the surgery center In my final location of the surgery center: 1. My IV was removed and my surgical scars checked (I have 2 and they look great) 2. I was given a cup of juice (yummy) 3. My husband got to come back (My Dr. had already spoken to him about the surgery results) 4. I got up and got dressed, got my discharge papers and was wheeled out to the car; I still felt very groggy but was able to dress myself with my husband helping me not to lose my balance... 5. I left the surgery center at 4:00, so in total, I was in their care for 6 hours and a good chunk of that time was spent waiting on an OR to open up. I came home and went straight to bed. My pain is not at all what I expected; it is much better and the gas has actually been less that I expected also. I've also had no nausea at all. I got up at 7:00 pm and walked around for a bit and feel really good. Overall, my experience was fabulous....everyone I encountered was so great, helpful and informative I was treated fabulously and just couldn't be more pleased with my day....the first day of my journey to a new me.....