harliquinn

a good support group is absolutely necessary for something like this. talk to your family, kids, parents, friends whatever and tell them how you honestly feel. if you really feel that you can commit to this and use this tool to your advantage to change (and save) your life, tell them so! be ready and armed with pamphlets and information so that they can be as educated as you are on this. its near impossible to do this alone. arm yourself with allies who can help you succeed! :biggrin:

i went to see my surgeon today for a surprise visit. one of my incisions had a bit of discharge and my post incision is a little red and starting to bruise. my surgeon looked it over, said its all normal, cleaned the weeping incision and put new tape on it. on the ride home, i felt a sneeze coming on so i placed my hands on my belly and braced for it. unfortunately, it wasnt enough. because i felt an incredibly sharp pain followed by an all day long dull ache. i have no idea whats wrong. do i have a hernia now? did i flip my port? was the pain just caused by the port bouncing or something when i sneezed? i have no idea. im worried but i dont want to bug my surgeon a second day in a row without an appointment. i hope the pain will be gone tomorrow. :tt2: liquids are going own easy as anything. some mushies are going down fine as well. some mushies tend to stick a bit but they still go down after a minute or so. im making progress. im just worried about this pain. :smile2: i hope i didnt mess things up somehow! :thumbup:

i went to see my surgeon today for a surprise visit. one of my incisions had a bit of discharge and my post incision is a little red and starting to bruise. my surgeon looked it over, said its all normal, cleaned the weeping incision and put new tape on it. on the ride home, i felt a sneeze coming on so i placed my hands on my belly and braced for it. unfortunately, it wasnt enough. because i felt an incredibly sharp pain followed by an all day long dull ache. i have no idea whats wrong. do i have a hernia now? did i flip my port? was the pain just caused by the port bouncing or something when i sneezed? i have no idea. im worried but i dont want to bug my surgeon a second day in a row without an appointment. i hope the pain will be gone tomorrow. :thumbup: liquids are going own easy as anything. some mushies are going down fine as well. some mushies tend to stick a bit but they still go down after a minute or so. im making progress. im just worried about this pain. i hope i didnt mess things up somehow! :biggrin:

i was riding in the car on my way home from seeing my surgeon (im 6 days post-op and went in to have him check my incisions), when i felt a sneeze coming on. i placed my hands on my belly and applied a little pressure since there was no stopping the oncoming sneeze. and then i sneezed. it was short, quick and sharp and immediately followed by a very sharp pain in my belly which eventually dulled down to a general ache. this pain ended up slowing my walking for a few hours. im trying to figure out what happened. ive felt the area that hurts but i dont know if im feeling my port, or possibly a hernia (can a sneeze cause a hernia soon after surgery?), or maybe im just imagining things? or maybe did my port flip or something? im not sure if i feel a bump or not, as theres a lot of fat and im not 100% sure where my port is located. im still kinda sore in that region, not as bad as earlier today but yes, its still somewhat sore. im scared that i may have really damaged something just by sneezing. has anyone else experienced this? i dont wanna go back to see my surgeon tomorrow as i sorta bothered him today by showing up without an appointment just to have my incisions checked because i was concerned.

thanks for the replies everyone! i ended up meeting with my surgeon today to have him check out my incisions (one was a bit weepy, another was a little red and bruised). turns out my incisions are fine and he said if the strips are still on when i see him on the 12th, he will probably remove them.

my nurse advised me to leave them alone and they would fall off in a few days. its been 6 days and my incisions...or maybe the strips....itch like CRAZY and despite having taken 3 very long, extremely hot showers, these strips are showing NO signs of loosening. what is up with this? i have a meeting with my surgeon on the 12th. will these still be on me by then? the itch is driving me insane. is these anything i can do to help eliminate the itchiness?

i know a girl who has a near impossible time keeping anything down due to esophageal spasms and she takes valium to counter this before she eats. id bring this up to your surgeon and see what he/she says.

the pressure in my chest was very bad the first couple days. just remember to take tiny sips frequently. the pressure should lessen with each day. after 5 days, im feeling very little pressure after swallowing.

is there any actual pain or is it just pressure? i know that when i take a sip, i feel pressure because the water sits above my band for a minute before going down. if youre worried tho, call your surgeon.

every surgeons post-op diet is different. my surgeon wants me back of solids by my third week but i dont think ill be ready by then so im stretching out my liquids for longer. mostly im having water, gatorade, protein shakes, skim milk, watery/pureed baby food (fruits and veggies, not the thick meats), and cream of mushroom soup (watered down and with the mushroom pieces strained out). chicken and beef broth actually make me a bit nauseous so ive had to avoid those. today was the first time ive tried applesauce and i was surprised how well it went down. just gotta do tiny bites and dont rush.

agreed, definitely take it easy. a little too much activity so soon after surgery could cause a hernia. congrats on getting your band tho! :biggrin:

well are you taking a small sip and letting it go down before attempting another small sip or are you taking a normal gulp? do you know if your surgeon had a slight fill in your band?

glad to hear youre feeling better. i felt like hell the first few days after being banded but im 5 days out now and starting to feel better. :biggrin: when you drink are you taking small sips or like a normal gulp?

i think the swelling is starting to go down a bit since i can eat applesauce without a problem. it just feels weird. can the rest of you feel food sitting in your chest/your pouch? im still staying away from jello. my incisions itch like crazy and the steri-strips still havent fallen off. im not allowed to pull them off so i guess i just have to play the waiting game. i meet with my surgeon in 9 days to see how things are going. i was 291 pounds before the 2 week pre-op diet, 275 pounds on surgery day and today im 271 pounds. :rolleyes2: my husband has been the most amazing, supportive and helpful person in the world. im so thankful for him.:thumbup:

i think the swelling is starting to go down a bit since i can eat applesauce without a problem. it just feels weird. can the rest of you feel food sitting in your chest/your pouch? im still staying away from jello. my incisions itch like crazy and the steri-strips still havent fallen off. im not allowed to pull them off so i guess i just have to play the waiting game. i meet with my surgeon in 9 days to see how things are going. i was 291 pounds before the 2 week pre-op diet, 275 pounds on surgery day and today im 271 pounds. :biggrin: my husband has been the most amazing, supportive and helpful person in the world. im so thankful for him.:thumbup:

jello is on my doctors list of suggested foods for this whole post-op liquid stage. and even eating pea sized bites and squishing it around in my mouth until its in several hundred tiny pieces....doesnt cut it. it gets stuck. it hurts. and then after several minutes, it goes down. you know what? JELLO AINT WORTH IT. this is absolutely ridiculous. and painful. im really starting to think that the swelling will never go down. i feel like ill be stuck with a super tight band forever and ill only ever be able to have liquids for the rest of my life. my doctor wants me to start mushies in 4 days. YEAH I DONT THINK THATS GONNA WORK OUT REAL WELL. sorry. i just need to rant. im upset. and right now, i hate my life and especially my surgeon.

jello is on my doctors list of suggested foods for this whole post-op liquid stage. and even eating pea sized bites and squishing it around in my mouth until its in several hundred tiny pieces....doesnt cut it. it gets stuck. it hurts. and then after several minutes, it goes down. you know what? JELLO AINT WORTH IT. this is absolutely ridiculous. and painful. im really starting to think that the swelling will never go down. i feel like ill be stuck with a super tight band forever and ill only ever be able to have liquids for the rest of my life. my doctor wants me to start mushies in 4 days. YEAH I DONT THINK THATS GONNA WORK OUT REAL WELL. sorry. i just need to rant. im upset. and right now, i hate my life and especially my surgeon.

i can tell the swelling has gone down a bit since surgery. i hope the swelling goes down a bit more! i almost couldnt get down my teeny bites of jello last night. and thank you! now that im in less pain, im definitely happy and excited about my band! :biggrin:

i felt a little better after getting a shower today. back, shoulders, neck and upper arms are all sore as hell. i got to take the gauze and plastic stuff off of my incisions. theres just steri-strips holding everything together now. 5 incisions. my port is located just to the left of my belly button. ive discovered that laughing SUCKS. it really hurts to laugh or chuckle at all. hiccups hurt too. besides that, im alright. doing a little walking here and there. last night i slept on the couch...sitting upright because getting into bed was just NOT possible.

i felt a little better after getting a shower today. back, shoulders, neck and upper arms are all sore as hell. i got to take the gauze and plastic stuff off of my incisions. theres just steri-strips holding everything together now. 5 incisions. my port is located just to the left of my belly button. ive discovered that laughing SUCKS. it really hurts to laugh or chuckle at all. hiccups hurt too. besides that, im alright. doing a little walking here and there. last night i slept on the couch...sitting upright because getting into bed was just NOT possible.

i was banded yesterday before noon. they kept me overnight (standard procedure at a military hospital). every staff member was very friendly, and an absolute pleasure. im home today and incredibly sore. its not gas, its my incisions. they hurt so freaking bad. also, for some reason my surgeon told me that my band is very snug. he didnt put a fill in. its just...really tight on my stomach. so i unintentionally have a lot of restriction already. all liquids i swallow sit in my pouch and then trickle thru the stoma. i can feel it. makes me wonder how my transition to mushies will go. anyway, im at the point now where im wondering just what in the heck i did to myself. the pain is really bad.

im so glad to hear that yours went so smoothly!

im a little less nervous now. not sure how well i will sleep tonight. i had a can of beef broth this afternoon (doctor has had me on sugar free, fat free liquids only for the last 2 weeks), but i cant really handle anything tonight. my stomach just isnt up for it. probably all for the best but i know ill be starving tomorrow. for now, im sticking with water. since my doctor is making me stay in the hospital overnight tomorrow, i guess i should go pack my overnight bag. ill see you guys tomorrow when im on the band-wagon!

im a little less nervous now. not sure how well i will sleep tonight. i had a can of beef broth this afternoon (doctor has had me on sugar free, fat free liquids only for the last 2 weeks), but i cant really handle anything tonight. my stomach just isnt up for it. probably all for the best but i know ill be starving tomorrow. for now, im sticking with water. since my doctor is making me stay in the hospital overnight tomorrow, i guess i should go pack my overnight bag. ill see you guys tomorrow when im on the band-wagon!

im so excited for you! :tongue_smilie: at least you got to eat some solids! id kill for a greenbean LOL! youll do great tomorrow. :thumbup: