PuraVida37

Making a note to myself to shave over the port area prior to going in for a fill. I swear the NP used a cotton ball and a square of duct tape afterwards. Port being sore was enough, but pulling the bandage off before a shower was the worst.

It took me about a week to feel."normal" but i no everyone is diffrent. I took the pain meds for a entire week and some take them for only 2-3 days.

About 5 days from surgery, and about 20 days to regular food. Which made everything completely normal.

I had surgery 5 days ago and I was hurting pretty good the day afterwards. It mostly felt like I did A LOT of sit-ups! But the biggest pain was where the biggest incision was ( the port cite). But day two and three the "sore ab" feeling began going away. The port cite only hurts now when I move a certain way, try to pickup something or lay down and try to get back up. So because of that I had to sleep in the recliner since I came home, but the soreness is completely gone. Can't wait to move back to my bed! Good luck and God bless! I hope everything goes well for you, keep us posted.

I got banded last Monday on the 19th and after about 5 days I was good. Now I feel pretty normal except the eating part. The port site on the inside is still a little sore at times and I take a half a dose of my pain meds occaisionally but for the most part I feel great

For those of you newly banded, how many days is it taking you to resume normal activities?

If you get to a healthy weight and maintain it for a set amount of time (all insurance companies have different guidelines), then you're no longer a risk due to obesity so you'd be easier to insure with less money.

I have edema(retain water) and since my pre op I lost a lot of bloating as well

im on day 8 of my liquid diet. I'm loving it. I noticed this morning that im not bloated anymore. Im also averaging about 1 pound per day.

I just got home from the wedding. I am so proud of myself!! I had a piece of chicken breast and a bottle of Water. I left before they served cake.

Went great no complications as of yet (knock on wood)... I'm not in a lot of pain I've only take 2 doses of pain meds and I've been walking but the gas is being stubborn. They won't let me take any gas x yet they've only allowed me to have ice Water which quenches all of my needs. I have dry mouth due to the morphine they gave but other than that I'm banded and I'm still alive so life is pretty damn good!

I too am a teacher and went back after 4 days. I felt fine. I followed my doctor's instructions to get up and moving and stay moving from day one. My family wasn't allowed to bring me anything (per my doctor), and that made a huge difference I think. Also, the most painful time for me was actually sitting and getting up or down. So, possibly being a teacher and on my feet all day was the reason it was easier. I know that occasionally I would take a break and sit down on those first days, but getting up and walking around was more comfortable. From my experience, I think not having a desk job is a plus in this situation. Good luck!

Not a problem! I didn't want to scare you, I just wanted you to hear another experience. I read about many people going back to work so soon and even met a couple at a support meeting who were only 4 or 5 days post-op. They looked great and said recovery was a breeze. Had I gone on that advice, I would've been in trouble! I experienced a lot of discomfort and nausea and there's no way I could've driven myself to work and gotten through a full day. Teaching is not a desk job and takes more energy and movement than people think!

Wow. Thanks for the honesty. I have had a c-section, so I know the pain. I believe I have a pretty high pain tolerance, but I'll never know til surgery happens.
If I don't do it at the end of Sept. (I have plenty of sick time accued) then I have to wait until Christmas break or completely miss seeing my family at Thanksgiving time (and my grandmother is in her late 90s, so I really want to go).
You've given me lots to think about, thanks.

Everyone heals differently. I personally have a low pain tolerance, and I had ALOT of swelling which just now started to subside. However, I was banded on July 25th and it took me about three weeks to feel normal. If I had to go back any sooner I probably would have been miserable lol. But, with pre op dieting and post op I've lost 40 pounds and yesterday my co workers were being extremely nosey. They wante to know why I wasn't eating the bagel Breakfast and why I wasn't eating the sub sandwiches that our school provided for us. And I really didn't think people would care, so I was a little irritated lol. Teachers are nosey and like to gossip that's for sure

Hi there, I'm trying to schedule my surgery and would like some input about how long it took you before you went back to work. So, how many days did you need to be out and what kind of job did you have? My surgeon says it's possible to be banded on a Friday and go back to work Mon or Tues if it's a desk job. What do you think? PS I'm a teacher, and no, I'm not waiting til summer again.Thanks for your input!