krtork

Surgery was pretty easy for me. Not a problem. Up and walking right away, I was on the pain meds for about 3 days, but slowly weaning off. On the last day, it was just to get some sleep. I have been walking, doing chores, errands, etc. since the third day. Good Luck!

Dr. Archer did my banding on Aug 5 at SCMC in Bend, OR. I feel lucky that I live in Bend, so I was able to sleep in my own bed the night before. I had to be at the hospital by 6:00 a.m. with surgery scheduled at 7:30. I was surprised at how many people were waiting for surgeries so early in the morning. After checking in to admitting my husband and I went back to visit with a pre-op nurse. She did the usual; bp, temp, weight, etc. I was excited to be weighed (never thought I would say that) but I wanted to officially see that number for the last time! We then went to a waiting room and were escorted to the pre-op room. Note - I took the bowel prep when indicated the evening before and it waited until 5:15 a.m. to kick in - :thumbup:. So as I was waiting in the pre-op room, I had to keep running to the bathroom. They gave me a huge oversized gown, that had a nice little heat pump on it, so I could stay nice and cozy. It was kind of cool. The anasthesiologist came in and introduced himself, very nice. We chatted about what was going to happen and then he came back and hooked up my IV. Two tries and he got it. Glad that I don't mind needles. The OR nurse came in and introduced herself, I can't remember her name, but she had a great sense of humor. I liked her. I asked about the bowel prep - she laughed and said I was not the first and surely would not be the last! After that Dr Archer and Stephanie (PA) came in to see if I had any questions and assured me we would start on time! He told me to relax - lip chewing makes the nerves obvious. A little happy juice and I was rollin' to the OR, right on time. I remember going into the room and that is about it. I don't even remember the mask going on! The next thing I knew, I was waking up in recovery. :thumbup: The recovery nurse was asking me some questions, but I could not answer, I had my CPAP on and it is very annoying when you have to talk - I felt like a spaz! The let me take some time waking up, checking vitals, and making sure I was comfortable. I can't remember the nurses name, but she was very nice and comforting. Once I was a bit more awake, the rolled me down to extended recovery. They did this because of the sleep apnea. The nurse in Extended, Kathie, was super nice and helpful! She got me all set up and they let my husband come down to see me and wait in the room until I was ready to go home. I slept off and on for a little bit and then I wanted some water, man was I dry! I was able to start sipping small 1 oz cups of water every 15 minutes. Kathie went through the list of things that had to happen so I could leave; drinking, walking, drinking, peeing, drinking. . . I was ready to get up and move pretty quickly. It felt good to sit and stand (note to self; hospital beds, not comfortable). I took a walk down to the bathroom and was able to peeps. Then I took a short walk and back to the room. I had to wait a couple more hours before they would let me go. But that was okay. I was able to take my first oral pain meds - taste is yucky, but they went down just fine. Shortly after I was ready to go home. Short 10 min drive and I was home! My two kids were surprised at how awake and active I was. I felt pretty good and wanted to walk. I did get set up in my room with my water. My daughter had set up 6-1 oz cups on a plate so I could keep track of my water - what a good kid!:wub: That evening I went for a short walk up the street and out to the barn. It really did feel good to move, and I was even surprised at how good I felt. All in all, I thought the surgery went really well. I am so glad to be past that phase and on to the rest of my new banded life!

I am so glad that you were able to change your plans! You will be glad. Good Luck tomorrow!

Good Luck to everyone! See you on the other side!

Gina~ Wow, you are very determined, I admire that! I am excited for you - hope all goes well and you get to keep your surgery date.

Lellow ~ you are lucky to be on mushies! I have two more weeks of liquid before I get there. I hope I can hang tough and get through it. So far I have not been hungry, but I did notice that food was looking good today! Head hunger is going to be the toughest to beat! Great to hear you are still losing even with adding 'food' back into your diet. I am a bit concerned about that phase too. I have been dropping pretty steadily and worry when I add food, the needle will start climbing. I know, it is just another phase to work through!

Never ever compare your weight loss to a man's! For whatever reason they seem to drop more quickly then women. I remember going on diets with my dad - he would lose 10 lbs by sleeping and it would take me weeks! Just keep it up! I know it is tough, but you will get through it! My scale wouldn't budge and then it would start to drop when I had given up all hope.

Momx5~ I love your response to the girl in your office, that should put her in her place! I have not told many people for the same reason. There are those that will support you and those that will judge you. It's your journey, don't let the nay sayers get you down! Thin is your revenge! Make sure you are taking small sips. I found I pushed too much liquid this morning and I felt the same way. Over the top and a big lump in my chest. I had to slow down and start over a bit later. I felt like I needed to stretch out to make the Protein shake go down. I am always reading posts and trying to learn as I go, but I think we will each have to experience our band and figure out what works and doesn't. At least we are at baby steps with liquids!

I have felt great post-op, I feel lucky, however, I don't think I could do Universal:ohmy: You would be pushing it. I have been up and moving, doing chores, feeding animals, walking, etc. But I think it would be pushing it to be on my feet all day. After grocery shopping and running errands, I was pretty tired on Friday (3 days out). You will still have some stomach pain, I would imagine. If I turn quickly or bump my port incision, it does hurt. Hope this helps, let us know what you do - good luck with surgery!

Cutie~ Happy Birthday! How fun to share the day with your son!

I have noticed some of the swelling going down, I was banded on Tuesday. I really haven't used the Gas-X strips, I did buy them. My gas hasn't been bad. But I have been up and moving, I think that has helped a lot. This is the first time with surgery I have not had the typical shoulder pain from gas and this is the first time I have been so active right after the surgery. Good Luck!

Congrats on being Banded! The shoulder pain is common after surgery, it is the gas from the surgery. Make sure you are up and moving as much as you can. Take your pain meds as needed and stay in front of the pain, don't wait until you are over the top to take it. Your body needs to heal! They had me do deep breathing and and inhaling as much air as possible to help clear the lungs, with the little sucking machine. They also had me cough, a deep cough, to help clear the lungs too. Do what is comfortable for you, keep moving and keep sipping. You will feel better each day!

I had to take a test before surgery that asked all kinds of questions about bariatric surgery and the band. The clinic wants to make sure that you know what you are getting into! That is a little scary that the clinic wouldn't want their clients to know what they are getting into - especially with a major life change! The revenge will be yours - you will be successful and she will struggle all the way through!

Here is the list my nutritionist gave me. I know that it does seem to vary between clinic to clinic, but it should get you started! yogurt cream Soups soups, blenderized tuna salad, blenderized soft eggs egg salad cottage cheese chicken with gravy, blenderized soft fruits, blenderized - not berries w/seeds soft veggies, blenderized refried Beans, blenderized ricotta cheese Everything should be smooth, no lumps. Hope this helps!

PJ~ So sorry to hear! That must have been horrible. I hope you are feeling better. I started to get dehydrated and really kicked up the sipping. When they tell you to be sipping liquids all the time they really mean it! That is scary! I am glad you are back home and doing better!

Tonni~ Great to hear everything went well! I had a pretty easy time. I have been up and about since the surgery and talking regular walks each day. I was a bit dehydrated day after surgery and had a hard time catching up, but I did. Yesterday was my first somewhat normal day, where I was able to drive, run errands, etc. Of course, just to let you know, I get panicky when I am sitting still. So I have been probably doing more than I should. I am so excited for all of us and can't wait to see the weight start coming off and how much healthier we are feeling!

You will be just fine. I was banded this past Tuesday and remember how nervous I was before surgery. Everybody has had only good reports so far! I had the anti-nausea patch the night before and left that on for 2 more days. I think it did help, as I only had to take the meds for it once. Make sure you get your medications filled ahead of time, so they are ready when you get home. When you are done with the surgery they will have you stay awhile just to make sure everything is working well. I had chapstick with me and that helped, you will definitely feel dryed out and you can't drink liquids immediately when you wake up, you have to start slowly. When you get home make sure you get up and move, that really seems to help with the post-surgery gas. Make sure you are sipping liquids constantly as you don't want to get dehydrated. I had diluted apple juice and cranberry juice, as well as Water. The SF Popsicles were a life saver! When my mouth started to feel dry, I could have a popsicle and not feel so dry. Make sure you stay up with the pain meds. Don't fall behind, you don't have to be a hero! I was pretty much off the meds by the end of day 2, it wasn't too bad. Mostly you need to move and sip! Good luck with your surgery!

Hang in there you will start to feel better! I had surgery on the 5th and I am feeling a lot better each and every day. Make sure you get up and move. Do what is most comfortable for you, that will get the gas moving and out of your system. Make sure you take your pain meds so you stay in front of the pain. Don't wait until it really hurts to take the meds - that is too late! Sip, sip, sip, keep fluids in your system so you don't dehydrate, that will make you feel miserable and make the pain worse. Nothing creamy until you can move to full liquids (if your doc allows), I can't do creamy until mushies! Like April PA said - popsicles. They are a life saver when trying to stay hydrated. Make sure they are SF! You will be feeling better in no time! The pain from surgery is something you just have to work through. I would go for a walk while your mom is cooking so you don't have to smell the food. Tell her to buy take out this week, until you think you are ready to smell food and not eat! Don't know if this helps - but lots of us have just been there, and it does get better!

I agree with Claudine, make an appt. Make sure you voice your concerns and go over your exercise and food. Make sure you are tracking what you eat and your exercise. I also agree with the Protein issue. Make sure you are getting enough protein for your body to burn the fat! If you don't get enough protein the scale will not move down. Stick with it! The scale will start moving down again! Don't give up! This is a bump in the road and you will be on your way again!

Well, it has been three days since surgery and I have been feeling great!:frown: Today I got up early, fed the animals, did some house cleaning, went into town and ran some errands (nice to be able to drive again), I even went grocery shopping. I took my son to the grocery store to buy some food, what a weird experience! I was not hungry at all, I saw lots of yummy food, but I was able to pass and it did not even bother me. It was a very strange trip. I bought food for everyone in the house but me! Kind of cool. I was approved to start full liquids and that seems to be going very well. The protein is really very filling and I don't have very much before I am full. This is such a new experience for me. I am off of the pain meds as of today and hoping I don't have to go back. I am on an antibiotic just to make sure I don't get an infection.

Well, it has been three days since surgery and I have been feeling great!:thumbup: Today I got up early, fed the animals, did some house cleaning, went into town and ran some errands (nice to be able to drive again), I even went grocery shopping. I took my son to the grocery store to buy some food, what a weird experience! I was not hungry at all, I saw lots of yummy food, but I was able to pass and it did not even bother me. It was a very strange trip. I bought food for everyone in the house but me! Kind of cool. I was approved to start full liquids and that seems to be going very well. The protein is really very filling and I don't have very much before I am full. This is such a new experience for me. I am off of the pain meds as of today and hoping I don't have to go back. I am on an antibiotic just to make sure I don't get an infection.

The unjury Proteins are really good. I like the chicken broth, the unflavored, chocolate and vanilla. I have been using the Bariatric Essentials - the vanilla is pretty good. I also like the Wonder Slim Mint Chocolate. I have also tried the New Whey Protein Bullets. Add them to crystal light or some jell-o and you get mega protein! Bariatriceating.com Dietdirect.com Unjury.com Are some of the sites I have been too. I am able to buy most of my products from the clinics office, nice and easy since I live in the same town.

OMG! That is great! How fun, I had to start chuckling to myself as I was reading. Okay, I will get on the 'band' wagon:lol: and come up with a name!

I had to hike three flights of stairs today, 3 days out from surgery. I could feel it, but I just took it slowly. It wasn't that bad.

Congrats on the band! I hope you feel better. 88Keyz is correct - don't compare yourself to others. Do what you need to make sure you are feeling okay. Surgery effects everybody differently. I know that taking a shower sure felt great! Make sure you are sipping your Water and getting up and moving as much as you can. Take your pain meds - did they give you a some anti-naseau (sp) meds - take those too! I had to have some on day 2, it really did help!