cattoy71

Hi there, My surgery was scheduled for 1 hour 45 minutes and I'm pretty sure that it can normally can take anywhere to 45 minutes to 2 hours. I got to the hospital around 5:30am, was scheduled for 7:15am, and was in recovery around 9am. I then spent a few hours in recovery and then was discharged around 1pm. I'd recommend that whoever brings you brings a book or a electronic gadget to keep them company :thumbup: Here's info on my surgeon whom I loooove...try checking out the same info on your doctor. http://www.obesityhelp.com/morbidobesity/bariatric+surgeon+profile+John+Feng+jjm.html

Wow, I love this place! It's so great and insipiring to read people's posts and to get so much support I'm really proud of everyone who has struggled but has soldiered on with their weight loss battles. Keep up the great work, and isn't it fun being a loser :thumbup:

Hi there, I have my first post op surgery appointment on Monday, and I'm just wondering what to expect.

Hi Jorja, I totally understand what you mean about being a hermit after gaining weight:sad: I feel almost completely recovered from surgery and have my first post-op sugery appointment on Monday morning. Personally, I am finding the band really easy to live with so far (I'm sure that can all change with fills), and I'm doing well with the limited diet. For me, a few sugar free necessities have made a huge difference: (sugar free) frozen popsicle skinny cow frozen fudge pops individual yogurts and Jello instant grits / instant polenta chrystal light green tea and raspberry Water mixes I've had a few meals out, and everything has gone really well :thumbup:

Congrats on the operation! I was really restlessness and uncomfortable for a good week, but then that all changed on the 7th day. My port pain incision finally stopped itching and I'm back to feeling the way I did before the operation (only better, because I don't have that pre-op liquid diet hunger!) Vitamins I would recommend are the slice of life Vitamin line including the multi vitamin and the b12 vitamin. They are really good, but just be sure to chew them well....it's really easy because they are soft and taste great! I also picked up the Calcium citrate/vitamin d vitamin from Trader Joe's. You take 3 of the pills through out the day. The pills are large, but are totally easily swallowed. Good luck with your recovery.

Welcome to the forum Debbie! I'm just outside San Francisco and the cost is very similiar (17k) and I also paid out of pocket. I was banded on the 13th and had about 1 week of total restlessness just after the operation. I was gassy and uncomfortable and was tired, but had a hard time sleeping for more then a few hours at a time. Then the most amazing thing happened.....one week after the surgery, the pain and uncomfortable feeling subsided and now there are times I even forget I have had the procedure done! I think that it's great that you are here already and getting familiar with the different support services :wink_smile:. Let me know if you ever want to chat. And I'm happy to report that, for the first time in years, I weigh under 200. The scale said 199.8 but still, I'm excited.

Holy Crap that's amazing!! Thank you so much for posting and giving this newbie real motivation....you rock :sad_smile:

Regular foods is kinda a misnomer I guess. I've been on straight liquids for several days and only deviated from that for some grits/polenta. Other then that its been pudding, yogurt, frozen popsicles (yummy!!), jello, and protein drinks. You sound like you have about the same driving restriction as me. I have a lot of books, but I'm still feeling very restless.

Hey everyone, I tried searching for a thread on post surgery driving restriction but didn't find one that looked appropriate :tongue2: My doctor has me on 14 day driving restriction and hanging out has home is making me craaaazy. I get the healing process, but 2 weeks is loooong. Anyway, if anyone wants a texting buddy, let me know!

I think it was restless monkey who commented on the variability of each surgeon! Each one seems to have their own style and directions when it comes to just about everything (water/food procession/excercise/driving/etc.) and it can be enough to make my head spin :tongue2: ~~ For people who have questions about medications life effexor and wellbutrin, I am on both and have been takiing them fine with no complications. I thought I might have a hard time with my 200mg wellbutrin tablets because they are kinda large. ~~ For people who had questions about SPANX Welcome to Spanx by Sara Blakely: Official Site products. I have a lot of unopened size C power panties. If you are on the fence and want to try them out free of charge (I have no idea how much shipping is but I'm sure it's cheap), hit me up and I can send them on to you. I think I have both black and nude colors and again they are unopened power panties. I actually may have some other unopened things but I'd have to taker looksee....just send me a private message or respond to this thread. ~~ For anyone worried about their first meal out of the home....I went to a vietnamese restaurant with my hubby yesterday and was able to enjoy about a 1/4 of a big bowl of chicken pho noodle soup with absolutely no problems....I felt so good after we walked and I had a taste-try of capucinno chip gelato and it was the perfect amount!

Thanks for the responses :tongue2: Aww suemagoo, thanks for the props on the picture....it totally summed up the way I felt when I reached over 200 pounds, hah..

Renita, omg lmao!!!!! I know you meant to write turn red instead of turd red, but that seriously made me laugh out loud:biggrin: My incesisions are pretty red and raw too....I actually found that sleeping on my belly and putting some pressure on them can temporarily relieve the itching feeling. Let me know how it goes on Monday.

Anne, Best of luck to you! I'm wishing you the best and you totally will become best friends with your blender:eek:

Omg I love this thread:thumbup: I will not miss always running hot and excessive sweating for no apparent reason. I simply can not wait until my internal thermometer is on par with everyone else. Oh no I was no ordinary sweater....My scalp would sweat anytime the temp got above like 70, and the flop-sweat......oooh my it's just soooo disgusting. That will be my "i got it" moment when I can function during the day without being so uncomfortable.

Wecome to the forums Pam! This place is a great resource and I'm grateful I found it when trying to make up my mnd about the surgery.

Hi everyone, I was banded monday and I have mostly had an uneventful recovery. My time right after surgery was awful and i was completely nauseous:confused_smile: and wondering if I had made some horrible mistake. I was up pretty much every hour that night and sucking down that vicodin like it was going out of style. Now that a few days have past I'm feeling so much better and have been in contact with the doctor's office everyday....I like how they keep calling until they got a hold of me. Here's to a speedy recovery for all:thumbup:

Howdy peeps! Yup I had surgery on Monday and my doctor gave me interior dissolvable stiches and then glued my incisions shut. I waited a day and a half before my first shower, but I could tell the incisions were just kinda crusty and was a little aftaid they would pop open. I've covered them all loosely with band aids and somehow that makes me feel better

Hi Sue and JerseyShore! I'm a Monday bandster too. The pre-op diet is a biaaatch :thumbup:(I know it's worth it, but I can't believe how many people do this surgery and are able to function before the procedure!). Best of luck to you and I'll look for you post-band :smile2:

Holy cow there are a lot of October bandsters! I'm glad to know that I am in great company :tt1: I'm here for any last minute support anyone needs.....my operation is Monday, 10/13/08 at 7:15am. Good luck to everyone.

I can totally relate...my consult with the bariatric doctor was on 9/16 and my surgery is already scheduled for this monday, 10/13. My insurance doesn't cover any of the surgery so I think that may have expedited the surgery date. The first thing I did was purchase the pre and post op bariatric advantage lapband protein and vitamin supplements as well as some of the profect protein "shots". They are really weird looking and the fruit punch one I have tried tastes like really bad cough medicine :tt1:. If you feel that it's too rushed, then talk to the surgery team about pushing it back a few weeks if you have to....remember that this is YOUR journey and don't feel forced into a date just because they can schedule you. There's a lot to do before the surgery (getting clearance from your primary care doctor, lots of blood work, your psych clearance, ekg, etc.) and it can be really hard to manage it all if you are working. I don't know about others, but you may want to consider taking a few 1/2 days off of work before the surgery to get it all done. Hang in there and I wish you the best:thumbup:

Hi there! I had the same thing...my vitamin d is low at 9.9 (normal is between 32 - 100). My bariatric surgeon called in all my medications since my surgery date is 10/13/08 and he added a vitamin d supplement.

Hi everyone, I'm a newbie to the community. I am scheduled for the lapband on 10/13/2008. I'd love to find someone else to chat with who may be in a similar situation. My BMI is around 36 and my weight is around 207. Up until I was 25 (I'm 37 now) my weight was around 125 and I'm 5'4. I'm not looking for sympathy here, I'm just trying to find someone else who might have lived at a normal weight then found themselves unable to loose after weight gain. I wish I could say my weight was due to childbirth, but my hubby and I are non-breeders :tongue: Please say hello and thank you for welcoming me to the community! Cat

Greetings LilBit and Anne! Isn't it soooo weird gaining so much weight in a short time. Anne, I think you are a candidate for surgery. Depending on what type of insurance you have (if applicable) your BMI would need to be a minimum of 40 for it to be covered. If you have a BMI of 35 and have one or more co-morbidity factors like sleep apnea/diabetes/high blood pressure or cholesterol, you will most likely have to pay out of pocket. My insurance didn't have obesity coverage so I am paying out of pocket, but I figure it is worth not having to hassle with insurance and doctors and it would probably end up taking many many months. I've thought about the lapband for several months.... I had my first consult on 9/16/08 and am set for surgery on 10/13/08...my pre-op is 10/6/08. I do feel a little silly spending so much money during the current economic situation, but I figure I'm investing in my future and people who don't like it can suck it SanDiego....I think your pre-fast has a lot to do with how much you currently weigh as well as the doctor performing the surgery. 33 is a pretty low BMI and my guess is that you would have to do about a 7 day fast. The main reason they have you lose weight prior to surgery is so it decreases the size of your liver....they need to lift and move around it to place the band on your stomach. Personally, I'm doing a 7 day fast. Let me know if I can provide any support.

Wooowzers thanks for the greetings all I'm thankful to everyone who responded and shared their stories. I actually remember a time when I was around 24 when I totally believed that I would stay at 125. After all, I had been through a ton of stess with personal issues and thought if I was going to gain weight, it would have been during those times.....holy crap, how wrong I was. Back story...I'm one of 3 daughters and I am the youngest but have always been the tallest and biggest. My middle sister has had 3 kids and she weighs under 90 pounds.....that means I'm over 2x her size..gaaaah. My other sister is around 120, but I'm also half Japanese so she definately has a more petitie asian type of body. And here I am looking huge next to them. I always have anxiety when I know family visits are nearing. One thing I'm kinda worried about is my boob shrinkage. I'm seriously a 38dddd (g) and and scared my boobs are going to end up looking like hanging udders, lol.....sorry for the graphic. Anyone have any non-plastic surgery tips for this one? Thanks again for saying hi and I look forward to shrinking with you guys.