DaisyMay

Hi all. I was banded a week ago today. I know everyone is different but I hope I can provide a positive story and alleviate some fears for those who are still waiting for their band. I lost 22 lbs on a mostly liquid diet for six weeks pre-surgery and I've lost 6 lbs in the week since my surgery for a total of 28 lbs lost since March 18.
I went in at 7 am last Tuesday and my surgery was scheduled for 9:15. I was taken to a pre-surgery prep room to get into a gown and get my vitals, take a pregnancy test (required for all pre-menopausal women), etc. My husband was allowed to be with me during this part and my daughter (age 20) was able to come back after the first 20 minutes or so. They put compression garments on my legs to reduce the risk of blood clots. They started my IV and gave me relaxation medication which I was told would feel like drinking two glasses of wine really fast on an empty stomach - and it pretty much did! About 9 am I said goodbye to my husband and daughter and was taken into the OR. I got onto the operating table and the nurses and techs talked to me a bit as they got things organized and then a mask was put over my mouth and that's the last I remember of surgery.
I was awakened in the recovery area where I dozed a little and talked a little here and there to nurses. I had a few ice chips. I don't know how long I was there. Seemed like a few minutes but was probably an hour or more.
Then I was taken to a day surgery recovery room - just like a standard hospital bed - where my husband and daughter joined me. The nurses got me comfortable and had me drink sips of Water. I was talking and I remember talking and drinking water (my throat was sore and I was SO thirsty) but I don't really remember any specifics about conversation or anything like that.
After about 30 minutes in bed I asked if I could go to the bathroom so the nurse took off my compression garments and unhooked my IV and helped me to the bathroom. You have to pass urine in order to leave the hospital and that went fine.
I took a little walk around the nursing station and around the ward. Felt okay. No pain. A little unsteady and a little nauseous but overall pretty good.
The weight loss surgery coordinator came in and talked to us for a little while. She's really nice and is inspirational. She has lost 130 lbs with her band and looks beautiful. Says it's absolutely the best decision she's ever made (other than the husband and kids of course!).
I was definitely wanting to get into my own clothes and get home so I asked if I could leave around 1 pm or so. They had wanted me to stay until at least 4 pm. The nurse evaluated me a little more - had to walk more, etc. and then released me at around 2:30. The ride home was kind of rough - I was nauseous and kind of disoriented.
When I got home, things were tougher still. The nausea from the anesthetic set in and I had trouble with my pain meds because of the nausea. I was pretty miserable the first day. I know I cried a couple of times. It was hard to get out of bed and hard to walk around much. Mostly I was just very very nauseous rather than in a lot of pain. My doctor says women usually have a tougher time with nausea from surgery than men. Because of all the anti-nausea medications they had given me I managed to get it through it without vomiting so that was a relief.
Each day since the first has been better. I had pain in the left shoulder - pretty severe the first 4 or 5 days. That has now disappeared. I am now able to sleep on both sides - as well as my tummy - with no problems (the first night I was flat on my back and the second night I was able to sleep on the non-port side for a few hours at a time). I still have some discomfort just under the sternum and a little near the port area. Definitely manageable. I don't notice it too much unless I sit up in a chair for long periods of time or bend over to tie my shoes or something similar.
I am walking a fair amount. Did about 2.5 miles yesterday and will probably do about the same today. Am only at half-speed or so from my pre-surgery speed but it's getting better.
I would definitely recommend being careful about rushing the full liquids or even mushy foods (which I can't have for another two weeks). Sipping slowly is really important. Even on full liquids I find that if I drink too much of something too quickly I get pain in the shoulder and the sternum. I don't feel like I'm ready for anything more than liquids right now (it sounds good in my head but I can tell my stomach isn't there yet). I try to alternate Clear Liquids with thicker liquids. The clear liquids definitely feel better - although the thicker ones are better for hunger obviously.
Yesterday was the first day since the surgery that I felt any hunger. Because I still have some discomfort/pain I wasn't tempted to try anything more than Soup or a Protein Shake. I get pretty full after about a half cup of soup or shake. I know that there's still swelling and that the fullness will go away soon and I'll be hungrier.
Today is my first day back at work. I worked in my office for about 4 hours this morning. I had to get up and walk around several times because of discomfort from sitting upright for too long. I know I'll be tired when I get home this evening. I may leave a little early depending on work flow. I know some people on this board said they went to work a day or two after surgery and I think that's really impressive. I definitely needed the whole week off to recuperate.
This weekend my husband and I went and ran some errands and I was okay for a couple of hours and then I had to go home and lie in bed and rest for a while. I am almost completely off my pain meds. I started to reduce them on my third day and yesterday I took two separate half-doses. Today I have taken one-half of a dose. I may need another one later this afternoon. We'll see. My doctor told me to use them if I need them and not to try to get off of them too soon. He gave me two weeks worth of pain meds and said I'd probably be able to be off of them around the one week mark and that's been about right. My husband is much tougher than I am and I know he probably would have taken one dose and then just toughed it out but I'm kind of a baby about pain so I take them when I feel like I need them to be comfortable.
So, that's my story. I've been on mostly liquids for 7 weeks and have lost 28 pounds. I'm already off of my high blood pressure medication and my diabetes medication and my acid reflux medication due to the weight I've lost. (My reflux completely disappeared the day of the surgery.) I feel really good. My energy is coming back and all of the headaches and other problems I had when I first went to liquids have disappeared.
Another two weeks of liquids and then I can have pureed/mushy foods for three weeks and then I start solid foods. I'm excited to get back to a wider variety of foods but I also think this detox period has been good for me emotionally as well as physically. I still go out to lunch with my girlfriends just to socialize (I either bring Protein powder and order a glass of milk to mix it in or have soup depending on what kind they have). It hasn't been too hard. Whenever I have cravings I try really hard to focus on the long-term benefit to all of this and not the short-term temptations. That's definitely not to say I've been a saint because I haven't. I cheated on my pre-surgery diet here and there. There were definitely times I just couldn't stand another sweet shake. I ate a few bites of my husband's food from time and time and even had whole meals at other times. I was always careful to get back on the liquids for several days after a cheat but I had trouble going more than about 3 days without solid food.< /p>
I'm going to try really hard not to cheat on my post-surgery diet because I want to give my insides a good chance to heal properly. My surgeon said it takes six weeks for the scar tissue to form properly and that it's important not to do anything that might cause slippage or other problems. Right now I know the pain and nausea I'd feel from eating real food would not be worth it. Plus, I paid a lot of money for this band and I'm just plain tired of being unhealthy and overweight and I don't want to jeopardize anything. Right now, my motivation is really high and my attitude is great. That doesn't mean that tomorrow I won't be fighting off ordering a pizza!
Anyway, I just wanted to share my experience. I have great confidence in my surgeon and his team and I feel like I have a lot of support (I've had to do a little education of some friends and family members to get them there but overall they have all been wonderful). My husband and kids have been fabulous! I also appreciate the answers and support I have gotten on this website. I am feeling really hopeful about my future for the first time in a long time.
Best of luck to each and every one of us in this challenging journey!!