HeavyHeartland

If you're still hungry, don't forget about Jell-O and sugar-free popcicles. Those are fair game during the liquid portion and can really help you feel full in between meals.

I'm on the road this week for work. I'm also on Week 3 of my post-op diet. Weeks 1 and 2 were liquids only -- Week 3 was supposed to be "pureed foods." After two weeks of protein drinks, Jell-O and pudding I was really looking forward to pureed foods, but it turns out, it's pretty hard to eat pureed foods while you're on the road. Have you ever tried ordering baby food or mashed bananas from a drive-thru? Not simple. I stopped in a convenient store during my road trip in search of something to eat. Nothing. I couldn't even find skim or low fat milk there. Oh well. I've got plenty of powdered goods to last me throughout the week, so I guess I'll just keep on doing that for the time being. Boy, I sure was looking forward to those pureed foods.

I'm on the road this week for work. I'm also on Week 3 of my post-op diet. Weeks 1 and 2 were liquids only -- Week 3 was supposed to be "pureed foods." After two weeks of protein drinks, Jell-O and pudding I was really looking forward to pureed foods, but it turns out, it's pretty hard to eat pureed foods while you're on the road. Have you ever tried ordering baby food or mashed bananas from a drive-thru? Not simple. I stopped in a convenient store during my road trip in search of something to eat. Nothing. I couldn't even find skim or low fat milk there. Oh well. I've got plenty of powdered goods to last me throughout the week, so I guess I'll just keep on doing that for the time being. Boy, I sure was looking forward to those pureed foods.

Better. Wednesday night while sitting in my recliner right before bed, my arm was okay. When I went to bed and laid down it instantly started hurting really bad. I went back and slept in the recliner and it felt better all night. I slept in the recliner Thursday night as well and it really seemed to help. Today, the pain is essentially gone. I can feel where it "was", but it doesn't really hurt today. I tried every remedy and I'm not sure if any of them worked or if the pain/gas just worked itself out. Either way, I seem to be over it!

Wow, I don't have my post-op meeting until 12/28 (I was banded on 12/3), and I'm not sure how long after that I'll get a fill. My wife got free fills for a year but I only get them for 90 days, so I hope my Dr. is a bit more aggressive on finding that sweet spot.

I went twice my first week out, both were Milk of Magnesia induced. Try some of that ... you'll spend all the time on the toilet you could ever want. Not to be gross, but it'll be a "loose stool", which means no pushing.

My doctor put me on a four-week post-op diet. Weeks 1 and 2 are a liquid only diet. Week 3 consists of pureed foods, and Week 4 consists of soft foods. Although technically the end of my second week isn't until next Tuesday, I'm shaving a couple of days off the two week period and calling Sunday the last day of Week 2. I'll be starting Week 3 on Monday. The New Dimensions protein variety packs contain seven packs. Six of them are what I'd call desserts: vanilla, strawberry, chocolate, hot chocolate, chocolate pudding, etc. Only one of them, Cream of Chicken, isn't. My mid-day snacks are Cookies and Cream protein mixes. All of this sounded great pre-surgery, but let me tell you, eating four or five desserts a day for two weeks gets old. Fast. I've bought some of that flavorless protein power and have been dumping it into cans of Cream of (Whatever) soup -- Cream of Chicken, Cream of Mushroom, Cream of Celery, etc. I never thought something like Cream of Celery soup would taste so good to me, but it sure is a nice break from all the sweet drinks. Next time around, I'll be buying some non-sweet drinks and mixes. I can't remember if I mentioned it here in the blog or not, but my daily protein goal is 115g, which basically means eating five times a day. By late in the evening I'm not even hungry and I'm having to force down these shakes, but I'm trying to adhere to doctor's orders. In other news, my shoulder pain is almost gone completely now. Occasionally it'll still flare up, but over the past 3 days the worst it's got is maybe a 2 out of 10. Sure beats the 10 out of 10s I was having just a few days ago.

I'm on day six of recovery. I have almost no stomach pain at all. My stiches and incisions don't bother me in the least. What I AM experiencing, however, is extremely painful shoulder pain. According to Google and the myriad of websites I've read over the past few days, shoulder pain is a very common side effect of any type of laproscopic surgery. Apparently during laproscopic surgery, doctors "balloon" their patients full of carbon dioxide gas in order to give themselves more working room. One theory states that the gas rises up to the shoulder area, causing the pain. Another theory states that the nerves that run to the shoulder are located near where the incisions are made, and the gas in that area is pressing on the nerves, which causes the pain in your shoulder. I don't know which is true, but I can tell you it freakin' hurts. My shoulder has hurt 10x more than any other part of my surgical experience. Both through Google and this website, several people have offered various cures. I will pass them along to you. Gas-X - the most common theory is that this pain is caused by excess gas remaining in your system. By taking some chewable Gas-X pills, you can get the gas out. Plus, it gives you something to blame your loud farts on. The Gas-X did seem to relieve some of my stomach pressure, but didn't help the shoulder situation. Peppermint Tea - Another common remedy is drinking peppermint tea. I tried it. Didn't do anything for me, but it tastes good so nothing really loss in trying it. Heating Pad/Icy Hot - I don't know if a heating pad is supposed to rid you of shoulder pain, but it sure felt good to sleep on one the past couple of nights. Didn't cure the problem, but did seem to alleviate the pain temporarily. Pooping - After giving up hope, I called my doctor. His first question was, "when was your last bowel movement?" I've only had one in the past six days. Thinking he might have been on to something, I drank some Milk of Magnesia. Without getting graphic, let's just say that stuff does what it advertises it does. The theory here is that the colon is pressing on those same swolen nerves, which the brain registers as shoulder pain. This did seem to help, and I haven't had much pain today. If you have any other wisdom to add to the list, please do.

Congratulations on your decision, and welcome the club!

I haven't read anything abnormal in this thread yet. Before I left for the hospital I explained to everyone including my family that this was a minor surgery and no big deal. Then I made out my will and hid it so that it could be found when my wife got home, in case I didn't make it. I don't think any of us would be here if we weren't at the end of our ropes. We've all tried dieting. We've all tried a million things. Choosing surgery is not an easy decision. I've only been banded a week and I find myself thinking, "gosh, did I try everything possible?" It doesn't matter now. I have chosen banding, and I am embracing it as the starting point to my new health, my new lifestyle, and my new life. You are not going to die from lapband surgery -- in fact, you're going to live. When you get scared, think about how great it's going to feel next summer when you are chasing those five kids around the park instead of sitting on the park bench, watching them play. You are not only giving yourself a gift but you are giving the gift of having a parent for many more years to those kids. You are doing the right thing.

I cannot give you medical advise because I do not work in the medical profession -- however, I can pass along what my doctor told me. #1, if your doctor opens you up on surgery day and finds food in your stomach, he will not do the surgery. #2, one of the main purposes of the pre-op diet is to shrink your liver. The smaller your liver is, the easier the surgery is to perform. If your liver does not shrink then they cannot do the surgery laproscopically. Instead, you will awaken with a "full open" cut -- that is, if the doctor does it at all. #3, another main purpose of the pre-op diet is to prove that you can in fact do this diet. If you start eating and can't stop after the surgery, you will at least find yourself in considerable pain, and may possibly hurt yourself in the process. Remember, you don't go back to eating steak the day after surgery. Depending on your personal plan, chances are you'll be on a combination of liquids and soft foods for 4-6 weeks. If I were in your shoes, I would contact my doctor's office and tell them the truth. You don't want to get split open only to find out they won't/can't do the surgery. Chances are your doctor will be able to work with you. Maybe it's no big deal, maybe they move you back a week, whatever. But now is the time to grow up and take charge of yourself. This is just the beginning.

I know this will make some of the women mad but since my first weigh in (middle of October) I am down 30 pounds. None of that is exercise; it's just from switching to this diet we're all on. I plan on starting walking again next week when I go back to work (we have a gym there).

My shoulder hurt so bad last night that we ended up calling the doctor. His first question was "when was your last bowel movement?" I've only had one since the surgery on Monday, and that was Milk of Magnesia induced. I took some more MOM last night and after a few toilet trips, my shoulder is feeling better. I have been doing a lot of reading about this and I guess the nerves that go to the shoulder run near where the laproscopic surgery takes place. If gas gets in there, it can cause the shoulder pain we are all experiencing. Of course that is just one theory, this is the Internet after all and there are as many opinions as there are people out there, haha. So far I have tried: Gas-X, Peppermint Tea, heating pad, shoulder rubs, Icy Hot, and pooping. If I had a chainsaw and thought I could get to the problem, I probably would have tried that last night as well.

Each doctor is different so don't follow anything I say over something your doctor has said, but my doctor only had me on Clear liquids while I was in the hospital. Once I was home I was able to restart the pre-op protein diet, including the shakes. I've had no problem drinking them or keeping them down.

Yesterday I started phase two of the pre-op diet -- liquids. I am currently having six shakes a day. I'm having meal replacements for breakfast, lunch and dinner, and meal suppliments around 10am, 3pm, and 9pm. The meal replacements have 27g of protein, and the meal suppliments have 23g. That puts me well over my daily goal of 115g of protein. It also puts me at just under 1,000 calories a day. How do I feel? To be honest -- bored. To me, meals were such an integral part of the day. For example, my wife and I work for the same company and generally have lunch together. Busy with kids before and after work, sometimes lunchtime is the only hour of the day we get together without being surrounded by general chaos. In the past we'd go somewhere, have lunch together for an hour, and talk like adults. This past week, lunch has gone like this. GULP. Ok, shake's gone, see ya. Everytime I walk by the kitchen or smell food I instinctly start looking around. I'm like a big fat rat, searching for a morsel of food to nibble on. I have to remind myself of the prize at the end of the mouse maze ... er, tunnel. Just as I feared, my friends and co-workers that I normally saw during mealtimes have been scarce since I started the pre-op diet. Who wants to sit around and watch a fat ass drink a small shake and then stare at someone else's plate of food, drooling? I'm sure I wouldn't. Hopefully a few weeks after surgery I'll be able to start tagging along during mealtime, even if I only have a smidgen of what they're eating. I only want to lose weight, not my friends.

Twilight, that's awful. It's true what they say, the ones closest to us are the ones that can hurt us the most. "To heck with them" is milder language than I would have used, I assure you. Keep your chin up and know that for every person that decides for some crazy reason not to be your friend for this reason, you have found a place where people WANT to be your friend!

I had lapband surgery on Monday. Today's Thursday, so I thought I would type up a few notes about how I've been feeling and how recovery has gone so far. The reason for these entries are two-fold; one, in a year from now I'm looking forward to going back and reading some of these older entries, and two, for anyone considering the surgery or about to have it, I thought I would share what I've gone through you you'll know what to expect. Day 1, Post-Op (Tuesday) It's been 25 years since I've had surgery (and I'm only 34) so I really don't remember what the last one was like. Right now, my torso is sore. I'm sore on the inside and the outside. I can feel that my stomach inside is sore, but I can also feel all my stitches. They don't hurt that much, but they feel tight. When I move around, I'm aware of them. I ended up taking a couple of naps throughout the day simply to rest. I've taken two doses of Loritab to get me through the day. On a scale of 1 to 10 I would say the most I've felt is a 5 or 6. After the Loritab, things go down to a 1 or maybe even a 0. Today I wore a t-shirt, pajama bottoms, and slip on shoes. I didn't wear socks because I couldn't put them on (too sore to bend over). Most of the day was spent hanging around the house, either sitting in my rocker, sitting at the computer, or lying in bed. The stitches "pull" every time I stand up and I'm afraid to do too much. They also felt tight during the ride home from the hospital; a coat held over my tummy helped the bouncing feel better. Day 2, Post-Op (Wednesday) Feeling much better. In fact, went shopping with my dad after taking a dose of Loritab. Walked around Toys R Us for 20-30 minutes, doing some Christmas shopping. Was able to get in to and out of his truck easily. Came home, rested a bit on the computer. Later, went for a ride with the wife to pick up the son at school, followed by a quick trip by work to say "hi" to everyone. After that tour, I felt like I had overdone it. I was tired and my shoulder was really aching. I've heard various stories about shoulder pain related to this surgery (everything from nerves to anesthesia), but hopefully that will get better soon. To be honest, my shoulder is the only thing that really hurts constantly at this point. I can feel my stitches if I twist, turn or bend the wrong way, but I'm already starting to forget about them. Day 3, Post-Op (Thursday) The wife went back to work today, so it's just been me around the house. Watched a couple of movies, made myself some soup, and just having a good time in general. I'm going back to picking up the boy from school today and I don't see any problems with driving. I took my first full shower since coming home from the hospital and it felt great. I could have taken one earlier but I didn't feel comfortable touching the stitches -- not pain, just worry. Everything went fine and I scrubbed from head to toe. I was even able to bend over and get the shampoo from the floor. After the shower, I was even able to put socks on, so there! I wouldn't want to run a marathon at this point, but if I had to return to my desk job tomorrow I'd be okay. I'm still a little sore around the edges and my shoulder still hurts, but for the most part I'd say I'm ... oh, 75% back to normal. Maybe 80%. I feel pretty good.

I had lapband surgery on Monday. Today's Thursday, so I thought I would type up a few notes about how I've been feeling and how recovery has gone so far. The reason for these entries are two-fold; one, in a year from now I'm looking forward to going back and reading some of these older entries, and two, for anyone considering the surgery or about to have it, I thought I would share what I've gone through you you'll know what to expect. Day 1, Post-Op (Tuesday) It's been 25 years since I've had surgery (and I'm only 34) so I really don't remember what the last one was like. Right now, my torso is sore. I'm sore on the inside and the outside. I can feel that my stomach inside is sore, but I can also feel all my stitches. They don't hurt that much, but they feel tight. When I move around, I'm aware of them. I ended up taking a couple of naps throughout the day simply to rest. I've taken two doses of Loritab to get me through the day. On a scale of 1 to 10 I would say the most I've felt is a 5 or 6. After the Loritab, things go down to a 1 or maybe even a 0. Today I wore a t-shirt, pajama bottoms, and slip on shoes. I didn't wear socks because I couldn't put them on (too sore to bend over). Most of the day was spent hanging around the house, either sitting in my rocker, sitting at the computer, or lying in bed. The stitches "pull" every time I stand up and I'm afraid to do too much. They also felt tight during the ride home from the hospital; a coat held over my tummy helped the bouncing feel better. Day 2, Post-Op (Wednesday) Feeling much better. In fact, went shopping with my dad after taking a dose of Loritab. Walked around Toys R Us for 20-30 minutes, doing some Christmas shopping. Was able to get in to and out of his truck easily. Came home, rested a bit on the computer. Later, went for a ride with the wife to pick up the son at school, followed by a quick trip by work to say "hi" to everyone. After that tour, I felt like I had overdone it. I was tired and my shoulder was really aching. I've heard various stories about shoulder pain related to this surgery (everything from nerves to anesthesia), but hopefully that will get better soon. To be honest, my shoulder is the only thing that really hurts constantly at this point. I can feel my stitches if I twist, turn or bend the wrong way, but I'm already starting to forget about them. Day 3, Post-Op (Thursday) The wife went back to work today, so it's just been me around the house. Watched a couple of movies, made myself some soup, and just having a good time in general. I'm going back to picking up the boy from school today and I don't see any problems with driving. I took my first full shower since coming home from the hospital and it felt great. I could have taken one earlier but I didn't feel comfortable touching the stitches -- not pain, just worry. Everything went fine and I scrubbed from head to toe. I was even able to bend over and get the shampoo from the floor. After the shower, I was even able to put socks on, so there! I wouldn't want to run a marathon at this point, but if I had to return to my desk job tomorrow I'd be okay. I'm still a little sore around the edges and my shoulder still hurts, but for the most part I'd say I'm ... oh, 75% back to normal. Maybe 80%. I feel pretty good.

Along with the broth I really found the "cream of whatever" soups really tasty as well. So far since banding earlier this week I've had cream of celery and cream of mushroom. Both were delicious. I think it has something to do with the spices or something. I'm craving FLAVOR.

I made it! My lapband surgery was a success, and I'm alive and doing well. Thanks to everyone who offered me even the slightest amount of support during this time. The phone calls, e-mails and blog comments were all very kind. Thank you all very much. My adventure began Monday morning with a 7:15am check-in at the hospital. I had blood work (poorly) drawn by a girl barely old enough to drive. From there it was off to the surgery check-in room, where I was soon met by my wife, and shortly after, my mother. After changing out of my street clothes and into my hospital gown, I was told my surgery would take place at 8:45am. I had an IV hooked up. Somewhere around this time my dad showed up as well. My parents and wife chatted about different topics while I generally stared off into space. It was hard to think about anything specific, but I was sure glad to be surrounded by familiar faces and voices. Some of the others waiting in the surgery area were alone, which seemed really sad to me. As 8:45am rolled around, a nurse walked by to inform us that the doctor was running at least 90 minutes behind, which eventually turned into 120 minutes. The hospital bed I was lying on was not met for long-term occupancy, and before long my tailbone was aching something fierce. Upon entering the hospital I was given a wrist tag with my name, surgery information and a bar code printed on it. When they finally came to get me for surgery, they checked the tag and found it was wrong. Boy did that cause me to momentarily panic. The last thing I wanted to do was wake up missing a leg – or, worse yet, a woman! The tag confusion was quickly rectified, and shortly thereafter I was en route to the pre-op waiting room. There, I met the anesthesiologist. We went over what I would see and feel and experience. The nurse was also nice. From there, I parted ways with the family and began the ride back to the operating room. Once there, I slid from the bed I'd been riding on to the operating table. As the anesthesiologist approached I asked him how long it took for the anesthesia to kick in. He said, “Watch this.” When I cracked open my eye a split second later I was in the recovery room with a nurse sitting next to me. “You're surgery's over, everything went fine,” she said. “Jesus, is that you?” I asked. “No, I'm a nurse,” she replied. “Well, that's good news,” I said, and closed my eyes again. The entire procedure took around 30 minutes, with another 30 or so in recovery. From there I was whisked into one of the hospital's private rooms. It wasn't as nice as my wife's room was when she had her surgery, but it was adequate. They must've really pumped me full of anesthesia, as I nodded off and on between noon and 4pm or so. During a lot of that time I was awake but with my eyes closed. I could hear the conversations around me but it took too much effort to respond to them. Instead I listened, and rested. Around 4:30 or so one of the nurses came around and said that the more I moved around the better off I would be, so I made my way out of the hospital bed and into one of the chairs within the room. From there I made a few phone calls, watched America's Funniest Home Videos on the television, and just rested in general. My mom stuck around for a bit while my wife went to go pick up the kids from school. Nothing too exciting there. My wife did bring the kids by to see me for a few minutes. I was a bit nervous about them bumping into my stitches or something but they were extremely calm the entire visit. Around the time they arrived my mom went home. The wife and the kids only stayed for about ten minutes and then they too left. About an hour later, dinner was served, consisting of chicken broth, diluted apple juice, decaf tea, decaf coffee, and diet Jell-O; 30 milliliters every 30 minutes. I couldn't come close to finishing it. One of the male nurses came by and mentioned the Monday Night Football game. I flipped the game on and ended up watching the first half while sitting in the chair and the second half while lying in bed. I think the game ended shortly before ten o'clock, which seemed like a good time for bed. My wife came back up to the hospital around 10pm to stay the night. It was really comforting to have her there. She helped with lots of little things like IV tubes getting tangled and helping me get water. It is nice to have someone by your side during times like that. Tuesday morning went just as quickly. Shortly after the new day's nurses came by to introduce themselves, my surgeon's assistant came by to release me around 8:30am. Breakfast was served – another tray just like the first, with yellow Jell-O taking the place of red. I ate what I could. Through the magic of Loritab, I was feeling well enough this morning to take a shower on my own. There is very little pain, per se; a bit of an upset and bruised stomach, and six tiny incisions, all with two or three staples each (they're all covered in tape still, so I don't know exact sizes yet). By 10am my wife and my dad had arrived. I made the honorary ride outside in a sleek wheelchair. Dad drove my truck home and I rode in the wife's van. For the next two weeks I'm on a liquids-only diet. That's followed by two weeks of soft foods, before returning to normal grub (smaller portions, of course). I took the entire week off so I'll be relaxing around the house, most likely with either a joystick or a keyboard in my hand. I'm looking forward to a new tomorrow.

I too am amazed at the different information provided from different doctors and hospitals. My wife was banded earlier this year at a different place than I was and just the different information between these two places alone is astounding. For example, her place said a little caffiene is okay, while mine says no way. I have seen some that say a little carbonation is okay, while mine says no to that too.

I made it! My lapband surgery was a success, and I'm alive and doing well. Thanks to everyone who offered me even the slightest amount of support during this time. The phone calls, e-mails and blog comments were all very kind. Thank you all very much. My adventure began Monday morning with a 7:15am check-in at the hospital. I had blood work (poorly) drawn by a girl barely old enough to drive. From there it was off to the surgery check-in room, where I was soon met by my wife, and shortly after, my mother. After changing out of my street clothes and into my hospital gown, I was told my surgery would take place at 8:45am. I had an IV hooked up. Somewhere around this time my dad showed up as well. My parents and wife chatted about different topics while I generally stared off into space. It was hard to think about anything specific, but I was sure glad to be surrounded by familiar faces and voices. Some of the others waiting in the surgery area were alone, which seemed really sad to me. As 8:45am rolled around, a nurse walked by to inform us that the doctor was running at least 90 minutes behind, which eventually turned into 120 minutes. The hospital bed I was lying on was not met for long-term occupancy, and before long my tailbone was aching something fierce. Upon entering the hospital I was given a wrist tag with my name, surgery information and a bar code printed on it. When they finally came to get me for surgery, they checked the tag and found it was wrong. Boy did that cause me to momentarily panic. The last thing I wanted to do was wake up missing a leg – or, worse yet, a woman! The tag confusion was quickly rectified, and shortly thereafter I was en route to the pre-op waiting room. There, I met the anesthesiologist. We went over what I would see and feel and experience. The nurse was also nice. From there, I parted ways with the family and began the ride back to the operating room. Once there, I slid from the bed I'd been riding on to the operating table. As the anesthesiologist approached I asked him how long it took for the anesthesia to kick in. He said, “Watch this.” When I cracked open my eye a split second later I was in the recovery room with a nurse sitting next to me. “You're surgery's over, everything went fine,” she said. “Jesus, is that you?” I asked. “No, I'm a nurse,” she replied. “Well, that's good news,” I said, and closed my eyes again. The entire procedure took around 30 minutes, with another 30 or so in recovery. From there I was whisked into one of the hospital's private rooms. It wasn't as nice as my wife's room was when she had her surgery, but it was adequate. They must've really pumped me full of anesthesia, as I nodded off and on between noon and 4pm or so. During a lot of that time I was awake but with my eyes closed. I could hear the conversations around me but it took too much effort to respond to them. Instead I listened, and rested. Around 4:30 or so one of the nurses came around and said that the more I moved around the better off I would be, so I made my way out of the hospital bed and into one of the chairs within the room. From there I made a few phone calls, watched America's Funniest Home Videos on the television, and just rested in general. My mom stuck around for a bit while my wife went to go pick up the kids from school. Nothing too exciting there. My wife did bring the kids by to see me for a few minutes. I was a bit nervous about them bumping into my stitches or something but they were extremely calm the entire visit. Around the time they arrived my mom went home. The wife and the kids only stayed for about ten minutes and then they too left. About an hour later, dinner was served, consisting of chicken broth, diluted apple juice, decaf tea, decaf coffee, and diet Jell-O; 30 milliliters every 30 minutes. I couldn't come close to finishing it. One of the male nurses came by and mentioned the Monday Night Football game. I flipped the game on and ended up watching the first half while sitting in the chair and the second half while lying in bed. I think the game ended shortly before ten o'clock, which seemed like a good time for bed. My wife came back up to the hospital around 10pm to stay the night. It was really comforting to have her there. She helped with lots of little things like IV tubes getting tangled and helping me get water. It is nice to have someone by your side during times like that. Tuesday morning went just as quickly. Shortly after the new day's nurses came by to introduce themselves, my surgeon's assistant came by to release me around 8:30am. Breakfast was served – another tray just like the first, with yellow Jell-O taking the place of red. I ate what I could. Through the magic of Loritab, I was feeling well enough this morning to take a shower on my own. There is very little pain, per se; a bit of an upset and bruised stomach, and six tiny incisions, all with two or three staples each (they're all covered in tape still, so I don't know exact sizes yet). By 10am my wife and my dad had arrived. I made the honorary ride outside in a sleek wheelchair. Dad drove my truck home and I rode in the wife's van. For the next two weeks I'm on a liquids-only diet. That's followed by two weeks of soft foods, before returning to normal grub (smaller portions, of course). I took the entire week off so I'll be relaxing around the house, most likely with either a joystick or a keyboard in my hand. I'm looking forward to a new tomorrow.

Don't feel like a wimp, Danna. Surgery affects everyone differently. My sleep cycle is all messed up (which explains why I'm responding to this at 2:55am).

Hey Chris, sounds like we had similar experiences. Glad everything went well for you too. Here's to hoping everyone else having smooth and comfortable experiences as well!

Wow Carol, that is awful. Just know that you cannot quit the Merry Bandsters, you are a member for life! I just got home about an hour ago and here is how my adventure went. I was supposed to check in at the hospital at 7:15am for 8:45 surgery. I checked in on time, had bloodwork done by a trainee who took two attempts at drawing blood. I was going to keep track of all the shots and needles but I lost track at some point. After going back and putting on the gown and getting in the bed and waiting to go back I discovered that the doctor was running "90 minutes late." My parents and my wife were all able to join me so that made the time go by. 8:45 went by, then 9:45, then 10:45 ... fortunately I was too nervous to be mad. Around 11am a nurse came back to get me and checked my name tag on my wrist and it didn't match her clipboard, which led to a a lot of nerves. I didn't want to get back there and wake up missing a leg or something! After that was all straightened out they took me back. The nurse asked me what operation I was there for and I told her, "YOU tell ME!" She said lapband and I said, whew! A few minutes later they wheeled me back to surgery. The anesthesiologist answered all my questions. I asked how long it took to kick in and he said, "watch this." The next thing I remember is waking up in recovery. I woke up to a voice saying, "you're in recovery, the surgery is over and everything went well." Then I said, "Jesus? Is that you?" And the nurse said, "no, I'm a nurse." So then I said, "well, that's good." I spent about 30 mins there before moving back to a room. They must've really filled me up with anesthesia because I spent the next 3-4 hours sleeping off and on. Most of the time I could hear my wife and mom talking but I was too tired to respond. I spent from 5pm-9pm sitting in a chair in my recovery room. I watched all of the Patriots/Ravens football game that I could keep my eyes open for and then got in bed and went to sleep. I think people's complaints about those leg massagers are overrated, I quite enjoyed them. Of course I slept like crap throughout the night, lots of vitals checking and stuff like that. My doctor's assistant came by this morning and officially dismissed me around 8am. I had a shower and got dressed (couldn't put my socks on but did everything else). My wife and dad showed up around 10am to drive my car home. Apologies for any holes or typos, I just had some Loritab about an hour ago. I will write more later. But I'm home and well and made it! Good luck to everyone else!