Ariane

Hi all, Well, 5 more days until I'm officially banded. I have so many emotions I'm feeling every day. Happy, excited, scared and a little angry. Anger is not an emotion I expected. It probably comes from the "beast" within. I'm sure all of you can relate. It's the beast (food addiction) that has been a part of me for so long. I think the proverbial beast isn't happy that I'm taking steps to conquer it. Is it just me, or is the Lap Band totally flooding the market of TV land. Or maybe I'm just in tune now that I'm soon to be banded. The below ticker is not correct. I'm down 5 lbs. thanks to 1000 calories a day pre-op diet.

Here goes... It took an 1.5 hours to get to the Surgery Center in Ft. Lauderdale, FL. They called me back at 9am to get me ready for my 10am surgery. My surgery lasted an hour. Arrived in Recovery room around 11am in a ton of pain. Stomach and left shoulder gas pain. The nurse loaded me up on Dilaudid and Morphine which helped in the end after they maxed out. I was so out of it that I could barely open my eyes after being in Recovery for over 5 hours. My throat felt like they scraped it all the way down with the tube. I could barely speak. Not a good experience. Anyway they needed me to drink some water and pee before they would let me go. I had such a hard time peeing but finally did it. The Anesthesiologist came up to me and told me that if I didn't wake up more than he was going to admit me to the hospital for the night. Well, I knew that couldn't happen because I was a self pay and insurance would not pay for me to stay a night in the hospital. I slapped my face a few times and even took a small walk in order wake up enough to go home. Well, finally at 4:30pm they let me go. I nodded in and out of consciousness in the car on the way home. Had sips of water, broth and tea before heading to bed. I was only a tiny bit nauseous but never got sick. The port site hurts the worst. Mine is on the right side. Fast forward to the next day. Still in pain, throat a little better, gas pain still pretty bad at times. I was told walking helped but I also used a heating pad on the shoulder which helped a little. My Dr. gave me Lortabs 5/500mg for the pain which helps a little. I feel bloated and have been using Gas X strips to help which I guess helps. I was hoping to have a better story to tell...sorry. My port site is swollen like an egg is under my skin. I have 4 inch slits across my belly and 1 smaller one above to my left where my stomach is. I have had 2 muscle milks and about 1/2 cup of Lipton Noodle broth. I also had a few sips of apple juice. I feel weak and my stomach hurts. However I think I'm a wimp when it comes to pain so don't go by my experience alone. It's the same pain as when my gallbladder was removed 11 years ago. I'm looking forward to feeling better each day. I'll keep everyone posted. __________________

Here goes... It took an 1.5 hours to get to the Surgery Center in Ft. Lauderdale, FL. They called me back at 9am to get me ready for my 10am surgery. My surgery lasted an hour. Arrived in Recovery room around 11am in a ton of pain. Stomach and left shoulder gas pain. The nurse loaded me up on Dilaudid and Morphine which helped in the end after they maxed out. I was so out of it that I could barely open my eyes after being in Recovery for over 5 hours. My throat felt like they scraped it all the way down with the tube. I could barely speak. Not a good experience. Anyway they needed me to drink some water and pee before they would let me go. I had such a hard time peeing but finally did it. The Anesthesiologist came up to me and told me that if I didn't wake up more than he was going to admit me to the hospital for the night. Well, I knew that couldn't happen because I was a self pay and insurance would not pay for me to stay a night in the hospital. I slapped my face a few times and even took a small walk in order wake up enough to go home. Well, finally at 4:30pm they let me go. I nodded in and out of consciousness in the car on the way home. Had sips of water, broth and tea before heading to bed. I was only a tiny bit nauseous but never got sick. The port site hurts the worst. Mine is on the right side. Fast forward to the next day. Still in pain, throat a little better, gas pain still pretty bad at times. I was told walking helped but I also used a heating pad on the shoulder which helped a little. My Dr. gave me Lortabs 5/500mg for the pain which helps a little. I feel bloated and have been using Gas X strips to help which I guess helps. I was hoping to have a better story to tell...sorry. My port site is swollen like an egg is under my skin. I have 4 inch slits across my belly and 1 smaller one above to my left where my stomach is. I have had 2 muscle milks and about 1/2 cup of Lipton Noodle broth. I also had a few sips of apple juice. I feel weak and my stomach hurts. However I think I'm a wimp when it comes to pain so don't go by my experience alone. It's the same pain as when my gallbladder was removed 11 years ago. I'm looking forward to feeling better each day. I'll keep everyone posted. __________________

Hi, Try eating some greek yogurt with a little honey. I have some of the 2% but I'm still on liquids. I'm not a yogurt fan but this one is good and seems to help the hunger. My problem is the bloating and gas!! So bad!!!!! Hope you feel better soon... :seeya:

Here goes... It took hours to get there yesterday morning. They called me back at 9am to get me ready for my 10am surgery. My surgery lasted an hour. Arrived in Recovery room around 11am in a ton of pain. Stomach and left shoulder gas pain. The nurse loaded me up on Dilaudid and Morphine which helped in the end after they maxed out. I was so out of it that I could barely open my eyes after being in Recovery for over 5 hours. My throat felt like they scraped it all the way down with the tube. I could barely speak. Not a good experience. Anyway they needed me to drink some Water and pee before they would let me go. I had such a hard time peeing but finally did it. The Anesthesiologist came up to me and told me that if I didn't wake up more than he was going to admit me to the hospital for the night. Well, I knew that couldn't happen because I was a self pay and insurance would not pay for me to stay a night in the hospital. I slapped my face a few times and even took a small walk in order wake up enough to go home. Well, finally at 4:30pm they let me go. I nodded in and out of consciousness in the car on the way home. Had sips of water, broth and tea before heading to bed. I was only a tiny bit nauseous but never got sick. The port site hurts the worst. Mine is on the right side. Fast forward to today. Still in pain, throat a little better, gas pain still pretty bad at times. I was told walking helped but I also used a heating pad on the shoulder which helped a little. My Dr. gave me Lortabs 5/500mg for the pain which helps a little. I feel bloated and have been using Gas X strips to help which I guess helps. I was hoping to have a better story to tell...sorry. My port site is swollen like an egg is under my skin. I have 4 inch slits across my belly and 1 smaller one above to my left where my stomach is. I have had 2 muscle milks and about 1/2 cup of Lipton Noodle broth. I also had a few sips of apple juice. I feel weak and my stomach hurts. However I think I'm a wimp when it comes to pain so don't go by my experience alone. It's the same pain as when my gallbladder was removed 11 years ago. I'm looking forward to feeling better each day. I'll keep everyone posted. Ariane

Hi All, Well, it's finally here! I'm getting banded tomorrow morning. I've lost 9.5 lbs in 10 days thanks to the pre-op liquid diet. I've been riding my bike and working the program so to speak. I'm strangely calm tonight and tired. I'm sure the nerves will kick in as I'm riding over 1.5 hours to get to the Surgery Center. This will be my new beginning. I'm excited to finally get this weight off for good! Wish me luck...and I'll post just as soon as I can.

I added my name to the bottom of the list. I'm just a little nervous. My surgery was actually scheduled before I met with the surgeon. My pre-op is all done but my upper GI series and meeting with Surgeon on Mon. I hope and pray my hiatal hernia is still small and that he won't cancel my surgery. I'm sooooo ready!

Hi, My initial consult was yesterday, today I began the pre-op liquid diet and my surgery is scheduled for Sept. 21, 2009. Everything is moving soooo fast, but that's ok because I have wanted this for years! I'm nervous and hungry! I look forward to all the support and supporting others as well. Let the countdown begin...:thumbup:

Thanks! I know...I'm excited and nervous. You only have 3 more days! OMG! I think I joined a Sept group, not sure. I'm still getting the hang of things on this site.

Hi Sharie3, Thanks for responding. That's really great that we are being banded the same day. We are very similar in age and weight. It will be so awesome to someone else who is in the exact same boat. I'm on day 3 of my pre-op diet and it's a little easier. Don't get me wrong...it does suck, but I'm looking forward to the surgery and my new life. I bought and rode a bike today for the first time in 20 years! I loved it and can't wait to weigh less so I can enjoy riding with my kids.

My insurance said they will not pay for any bariatric procedures, so my out of pocket will be $9,999. The office told me the usual price is $10,000-$12,000 but I got the professional discount due to the fact I'm a Nurse who works in surgery.

I hope I'm on the right sept group. I'm now on day 3 of liquid pre-op diet. I hope today is easier. I'm tired of being hungry and cranky. I do like drinking "muscle milk" because it tastes least like a Protein drink.

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I'm on day 2 of the pre-op diet...I'm not feeling great and in the bathroom more than I would like. My banding will be on Sept 21st. You only have 4 days to go! Hang in there!!!