lynnvs

Hi! I was banded on June 23rd. 2 hours after surgery, I was brought my lunch tray. Included on the tray was Sanka! My doc said that I could have Decaf coffee (with skim milk and splenda).

Sorry to horn in on this, but since you're horse-people, perhaps you can give me some advice: one of the reasons that I decided to go with the lap-band (in addition to wanting to be healthy) was to ride. My daughter has been riding for years, but now that she'll be going away to college in a year, she won't have as much time for her pony. She won't let me ride him (he's a show pony), but her barn has other ponies/horses that I could ride if we let the owner ride my daughters pony.

I'd prefer to ride a shorter pony/horse. I'm 5'1", but more relevantly, I'm 51 and if I'm going to fall, would rather fall from a shorter distance

Anyway, my question is: I weight 280 now and know that I won't be riding for at least a year - but what goal weight should I have before even getting on a pony/horse? I don't want to hurt the poor thing!

Telecia, I had to laugh about your son and the garlic. I LOVE garlic and find that there's a thin line between enough garlic to enjoy the taste - and so much that I stink of it I miss the line sometimes and my husband is quick to let me know...

Thanks everyone! This makes me feel better. I'm not having other symptoms that might make me think that this is a UTI (I've had them before), so unless I develop any of those symptoms, I think that I'll relax and be happy BTW, I see my doc in 7 days, so I can make sure of things then. Thanks again!

I'm at 6 days post-surgery, following the liquid diet (mostly Water, Protein drinks and the occasional popsicle). I've noticed that my urine has a strong, unpleasant smell (not sweet).

I assume that it's some form of ketosis that's making my breath smell bad (and mouth taste funny) - but could this also explain the strong smell in my urine?

Thanks for any suggestions!

Ha! We could be twins! I'm 51, too, and was banded on 6/23. I've had exactly the same symptoms... yesterday I just wanted to poke a pin in my tummy to get that gas out! I'm trying to make myself walk, but it's already 90 degrees outside; so I'm doing laps around the house :tt2:

We'll get through this...

My husband, Graham, and I arrived at the hospital (Martha Jefferson Hospital, in Charlottesville, VA) at 6am, spent a few minutes signing consent forms and updating my living will (scary time to do it!), then took the elevator to the 4th floor day surgery unit. A wonderful nurse arrived to check my vital signs, inject heparin into my belly (painless, although there was a little stinging sensation for a few minutes) and start an IV. Both the anesthesiologist and my surgeon arrived to say hello and go over the plans for the surgery. Just seeing them calmed me tremendously; both are clearly competent and confident that all will go well.

By about 7:30, I was wheeled into a surgical room where a nurse greeted me and introduced herself and the other members of the operating team (nice touch!). I climbed onto the table and tried to relax as the team rapidly started to prep me: I don't recall any specific; just a flurry of activity, lots of reassuring statements, then the mask coming down over my face.

I woke up in a fog to someone asking me how I felt. I managed to whisper 'sick...'. A few minutes (?) later - by 11:00am - I was in my bed in my room. When a nurse was asking me how I felt, I could still manage only a very weak 'sick...' A very understated word for the nausea that overwhelmed me. I wanted desperately to not move in the slightest, not even to answer simple questions. Poor Graham was being very solicitous, hovering anxiously, but all I wanted to do was stay very, very still and hope that the nausea went away quickly. I do very clearly remember thinking that I never, ever want to undergo surgery again.

I was allowed Water immediately (just small sips) and soon ice chips. At noon, a food tray was brought in – broth, sanka, and Jello. I couldn’t stand to even look at it!

By 1pm, I was getting out of bed (with great difficulty) and walking down the hall with the nurse and my 'IV tree'. Strangely, it felt good to be walking around even though it was also painful and tiring. I began to look forward to the walks every 2 hours; they helped with the headache and gas pains that were causing me the most discomfort. There was no pain at the incision sites, just tremendous pain in my shoulders and abdomen from the gas.

I was given alternating doses of liquid Lortab and IV morphine. The lortab didn't seem to help with the gas pain at all; the morphine did - or at least it allowed me to doze off and ignore the pain. The afternoon and evening passed in a more-or-less uncomfortable haze. The pain ranged from 2 (a brief period following the morphine kicking in) to 8, mostly hovering about 4-5.

The nurses were all absolutely fabulous. They were caring, supportive, informative and well-versed in post-bariatric surgery care. They kept telling me that the pain would get better, and gave me stories about previous clients who were now doing "wonderfully" with the lap-band. They really made all the difference in my recovery by keeping my spirits up and responding quickly to my pain. They also kept me in popsicles; the only thing that seemed to make me feel better ☺

Unfortunately, by about 1am, June 24th, I was in excruciating pain - 9+ by my scale, and feeling flushed and nauseous. The nurse on duty called my surgeon; he authorized morphine and anti-nausea medication hourly. I will be forever grateful to two of them for keeping the pain and nausea at bay and allowing me 4 precious hours of sleep. I never found out what caused the sudden pain – probably gas.

I woke up at 6am and immediately wanted to go to the bathroom. Getting out of bed was touch, but once up I felt like walking so did a few “lap-band laps” around the hallways. Walking really does help.

By 7:30, I was being wheeled to have my barium-swallow (to make sure that liquids flowed through the port and stomach). Everything was ok, and I was back in my room by 8:00am.

I did some more “laps”, tried to read but finally gave up; I couldn’t seem to concentrate on anything. By this point, I just wanted to get home to my own bed – even though the nursing staff, my surgeon & anesthesiologist were all extremely caring and supportive. I really can’t say enough about the quality of care at MJH – absolutely top-notch!

By 11:00am, I was in the car (pillow tucked between my tummy and the seat belt); by 11:10 I was home!

Now, 5 days later, I’m feeling much, much better. I came home with lortab, but ended up not taking it – I just don’t like the loopy feeling, and liquid Tylenol worked well for me.