mrspopeye

I was banded yesterday, May 14th and everything went very smoothly. I have 5 incisions, all with steri strips covered by a non stick gauze and clear dressings. I was suprised when I looked at them the first time, that whomever dressed them cut the gauze in heart shapes. Made me smile! That was somehow so comforting that someone took the time to do that. I have no clue who it was. So I have 5 hearts on my belly! Did not feel like eating much yesterday- only had water, 1/2 of a protein shake and a few bites of pureed vegetable soup. I can only have liquids for the first 2 days. Today, I have had just water and some tomato soup and it tasted heavenly after that 2 wk pre-op diet. I was happy to learn that I lost 14 lbs on the pre-op diet too! I don't think the pain has been bad at all. Just soreness and everyone who has described it as doing too many sit ups is right on target. Could not sleep on my left side last night because of the location of the incisions.I took pain meds yesterday and last night, but only Tylenol today. I have had other surgeries much worse than this. Heating pad and walking has kept the gas pains to a minimum. The most discomfort is right at the site of the band and my port is also in this area. I could not have asked for a better experience so far! I hope my fellow May 14th bandees are doing well also. I was thinking of all of you yesterday when I was there.

Get on Lap Band Talk! Good luck to you today and my other fellow May 14th bandmates! On the way to the hospital now!

OMG ! So sorry! What a predicament. I hope everything turms out ok for her.

Thanks tamg! How are you feeling today? Have you started mushies yet?

That's insane. If I were your friend then I would raise a big fuss. Why wouldn't the surgeon's fee be included in the do-over just like the hospital fee, anesthesia fee or any othe fee associated with it? You would think that the Lap band company would not want to make a surgeon mad who they have specially trained to implant their product. I hope her surgeon goes to bat for her and the original poster.

Tomorrow is the big day! Slightly nervous but more excited than anything. I have such a peace inside that this is absolutely the right thing to do. Seeing and hearing all the success stories on here really keeps me focused and motivated. Clear liquids only today- I'm certainly not missing the various flavors of canned chalk I've been drinking for the last two weeks,although I have been liking the scale lately. To the May 14th bandmates: @Jackie's girl, @Devans, @Caramel*99, @Candtwalker Are you ready????

Way to go! I haven't seen onederland since last century.

OMG! You've lost 90 pounds that quickly. You go girl. You are my new hero.

I think you will find a lot of support here to ease your concerns. What in particular are you worried about? I think nervous is the new normal around here.

Wow, that's awesome! You are very inspiring.

Can the doc prescribe you some medicine for nausea?

Glad to hear you are doing well! I have one of those great husbands too. He will be so glad when I'm off the preop diet and he can eat in front of me again.

Thanks for posting. I can so relate to your story. I will be banded next week and have a peace inside that this is definitely the right thing to do.

I'm May 14th- there a huge thread with over 500 replies called May Bandsters if you havent found it yet.

There is another layer of this problem that I can attest to and that is the bias among medical professionals and their obese colleagues. I am a morbidly obese nurse practitioner. People make appointments with me and I am paid a nice salary to help others lose weight, control diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and sleep apnea, yet I have all of the above problems. I cannot imagine what people think when I open the exam room door. Sometimes I think I try to compensate by being the best provider I can be and "force" people to see me for my education and experience, not for who they see on the outside. What keeps me going is the countless less-than-perfect-bodied people who come to me because the skinny doctor just doesn't understand. Obese patients need an extra level of compassion, especially when it comes to women' s health. I'm not sure a skinny doctor with all the degress in the world could truly grasp this. You would be surprised how many women forgo pap testing because of the thought of getting in those stirrups at 300 pounds. I make a point to convince these women to give me chance to make it a positive and easy experience for them-- cause I know just how you feel.

I think I will be nervous too! Best wishes to you and I hope you have a speedy recovery.

Good luck to you! Please post all about your experience. I was sitting here today at lunch and it dawned on me that 1 week from now they should be through with my surgery and I will be in recovery.

Congratulations! Glad to hear that you are doing well!

They have me doing 2 Protein shakes a day that are under 200 cal and have at least 15gm of protein and 1 meal under 300 cal, under 15 carbs and over 15gm of protein for days 1-7 of the pre-op diet. Then on days 8-13, I will do 4 of those shakes a day, no solid food, then Clear liquids only in Day 14- the day before surgery. I'm on Day 6. I 'm glad its getting a little better. Days 3 and 4 were the worst,

Good luck to you! I'm sure you will do great!

That's so exciting! What kind of pre-op diet are your doing? I am on Day 6 and I'm happy to say it is getting better. Day 3 and 4 were the worse.

Congratulations on being banded! Hope you are doing well. I do hear some people have trouble with that due ot the anesthesia. Hopefully that will work out for you. Wish you a speedy recovery.

Sorry, but this is bad advice. I am a licensed nurse practitioner who is experienced at accessing chemotherapeutic ports (called port-a-cath), which is not like accessing a PICC or IV line at all. They do not use a curvy needle (called a Huber needle) to access lap band ports- they use a straight needle with a stopcock on it to control the amount of Fluid. I would never access a lap band port for anyone, although I have been asked to, because I have not been formally trained to do so. You will not find any prudent medical professional who will do that for someone, much less write a rx for you to do it yourself, no matter how much you beg. Congratulations on becoming more independent and self-sufficient at home by managing your own Foley catheter, PICC/IV meds and tubing. I have spent the last 20 years of my nursing career in home health teaching people to do just that and it is truly a wonderful accomplishment that you should be proud of. I certainly mean no offense, but I had to speak up regarding the danger in what you are suggesting- a misplaced needle could puncture the tubing or worse by hitting nerves, blood vessels or organs.

That is great! So inspirational to hear while suffering thru this pre-op diet.

I will be 38 when I get banded on 5-14-12.