dontgoggilme

hey ya'll. i got my band yesterday. today was my first day post op. they kept me in the hospital overnight givng me round the clock pain meds, digestion meds, nausea meds, and etc. now i'm home and am taking liquid lortab for, reglan for digestion, and zyrtec for mucous drainage in my throat. i've noticed that of my five incisions, only two hurt real bad. one is the port so i know that's expected, but the other is a small one with hard dark stiches that is right under the middle of my breasts. i've also got red bloody fluid that is pooled in the plastic covering of one of the other incisions. the nurse said that was fine and that incision doesnt' hurt at all. i've noticed i get chest pains when i drink my proten shakes and water and it really hurts. is any of this normal? when will it go away. should i be worried that those two incisions hurt so much worse than the others and that there's fluid under the bandage? should i be worried that my chest hurts so bad when i drink?

my port is about an inch above my belly button and about a half inch to the left (my left).

i'm not sure when the time of being free and clear of risk for clots is. i had to stay in the hospital overnight and they had this massaging air things hooked up around my calves to minimize clotting risks. they also gave me a shot in my stomach of a blood thinner. they said the shot was standard. but i was told that blood clots usually don't happen and that as long as i'm moving around and walking i should be fine. they even told me i didn't have to wear the massasger things if i was walking. so just keep walking. =)

i had my surgery yesterday and i, too, am having the pains that pmommy complained of. i'm glad to hear that it will hopefully go away. my doc did instruct me to be drinking 2oz of shake or water every 15 minutes. i don't know howi i'll ever get four eight ounce shakes and 64 oz of water down in a day. it took me three hours to do one shake.i just kept feeling soooo full.

so i have tricare prime and when i went for my pre op testing on monday, the day surgery nurse said that tricare requires me to stay overnight even though usually this is just a day surgery. i asked her if she was sure and she said her notes indicated that yes, tricare required an overnight stay. a friend of mine (also tricare prime) was banded with the same doc over a year ago and she did not have to stay overnight. i wonder if it could be something new tricare has started. does anyone know? also, if i stay overnight, how will i drink my protein shakes that night and til i go home the next day? the doc wants me drinking 2 oz every 15 minutes to equal 8 oz per hour of alternating water and shakes. should i bring my shakes with me? will i be mixing them alone? or will the nurses just give me water and iv fluids til i go home, then i start the shakes? any prevoius overnight stay experiences would be appreciated. thanks!

hey ya'll. i'm semi new here. about to be banded day after tomorrow and i wanna start getting my plan together on exercise for after my band. what do ya'll feel is the best post banding exercise that gives you a good workout but doesn't totally leave you dying and unable to move? lol

omg! this is horrible but i'm so glad i read about it. i'm getting banded on friday and am trying to get an idea of do's and don'ts. i already realized trying to talk while munching (i was chewing a vitamin and trying to talk and a huge chunk went down... were i already banded this would be an issue!) is a big no no. now no eating while driving. will make a BIG mental note!!!! thanks!!!

glad to hear i'm not the only one!!!!

i had this issue, too. i had numerous "last meals". a friend of mine had this as well. only... she got her band over a year ago and at that time the surgeon (we have the same surgeon) wasn't making people do a pre op diet. well, i found out at my nutrition class yesterday that the reason our surgeon started making people do a two week pre op diet is because too many people were having huge "last meals" up to the minute of minute the day before surgery. they wanted to get it all in before they couldn't have it anymore. and they were eating so much they were enlarging their lives and that was making surgery more difficult for both the surgeon and the patient. much more risky. so now i've had to do the pre op diet. it's been super hard but i understand the need for this after the explanation i got yesterday. don't feel bad. you are not alone.

my consult was on january 25. i had a band date on like february 22 and that date is march 12 - this friday! so for me it was like almost 7 weeks from consult to banding date. and i thought it was taking too long! what was i thinking? time flew by!!!

wow! those both sound like awesome tools! i'm going to look into getting one - or both - of them! thanks!!!!

wow! now this is scaring me! i was always a little worried about this anyway but dang!!!! my date is friday (pending i get over my respiratory infection by then). i don't wanna die!!!!

so yesterday i went for all my pre op stuff. everything was fine. had to see the gi doctor again to completely clear me for surgery on friday. he said all is well... except sunday i started exhibiting signs of an upper respiratory infection and it has been steadily getting worse. he put me on a z pack and said that it should be clear by thursday and if not, then they will have to postpone my surgery date for another day. so if i don't hurry and get better i won't be getting banned friday as planned!!! this is very upsetting. now i think i might be getting conjunctivitis in my left eye as well and i'm just like "why me???". lol has anyone else had their surgery postponed due to being sick or other health issues?

my clear liquid day is thursday. day after tomorrow. they told me basically the same thing said here... anything as long as it's clear. and i can't have anything that's orange or red that could be mistaken for blood.

i do not think your expectations are unrealistic. as we all know, the band IS a tool. you have to use it like you're supposed to. you have to follow the plan. my doctor says compliance is number 1 to getting where you want to be and losing what you want to lose. it doesn't sound like your friend was very compliant if she was having her fluid let out so she could pig out for a birthday party. my doctor is really picky about letting people's fluid out. he said that if you have something lodged in there, he'd rather have them in go in and extract out the object that release the fluid from the band because it's like starting over from day one. and i can't imagine anyone wanting to do that just so they could eat and be non compliant. i think you can get anywhere you want to if you use your band/your tool the way you should. good luck! =)

my band date is march 12. just a mere 9 days away (not counting today or the actual day of surgery). i'm really starting to get nervous. i think my biggest worries are that i won't wake up, something will go terribly wrong, or my liver will not have shrunk enough and they won't band me. i'm also nervous about the pain and gas issues afterwards. can ya'll share some positive surgery stories? thanks.

ok... so i started my liquid diet yesterday. the shakes i ordered from bariatric advantage (linked through my doc's office) have never come in and i'm working on trying to find out where they are. so i've been using some shakes i bought at the grocery store. but anyway... i'm supposed to have three to four shakes a day, two protein bars, and other liquids and that's it. well, it's been really hard. yesterday i had some canned chicken and a few pieces of cheese in addition to my shakes and other liquids. today i had some tuna and cheese. not a whole lot. yesterday was like one little can of chicken and three small pieces of cheese. today has been the one tuna patty thingy and two small pieces of cheese. is this ok? it's all mainly protein and not a lot of carbs or anything. what do ya'll think? i'm having such a hard time with this. i feel like crap. my husband is doing it with me to be supportive he says but i think the fact that he's handling it so well while i'm not is really just making me feel worse.

i absolutely love all the replies this thread has been getting. the good stories, the sad. the way everyone is so encouraging to one another! this site really is something special. succeed, i'm so sorry to hear about the bad news at your doctor's visit. and yes, i do know exactly how hard it is to drive with tears in your eyes. nearly impossible and i feel for you. i really do. you are so lucky to have such a little supporter with you though; your daughter who thinks you are perfect just how you are. always our kids that can warm our hearts through tears, isn't it? i would definitely follow btrieger's advice and consult with another surgeon. i've heard they aren't all "created equal". chunkster, your "wall of words" was great and i appreciate you taking the time to type it all out for us. maddy, i totally feel ya on the c-section thing. i've had a c-section myself (it was horrible!!!! and they ended up having to put me under general anethesia halfway through because I was feeling things I shouldn't have and moving around so much they couldn't do what they needed to do! sigh!) and then i had a VBAC three years later with my daughter. which was also horrible, btw. so i tell myself if i can handle two horrible births and not being able to use my stomach muscles for a while after all that then surely i can deal with five small incisions, right? i sure hope so!!! i've had numerous surgeries before but i'm still nervous nonetheless. at the same time though, i'm sooo ready and excited about getting my band. i wish i had it already!!!! p.s. thanks to those who confessed to not being so great on the liquid diet. i've had a hard time with mine here and there and it seems to be a going good, then going not so good kinda thing. makes me feel better to know i'm not alone! but hey... my husband has been doing the liquid diet with me and he's having a hard time of it,too. and wouldn't you know he's a tough military man, too? LOL

i agree that it sounds more like a program fee that they are having you pay. my doc has one, too. it's $200 (not covered by insurance of course) and has to be paid on the day you do your pre op testing (that's monday for me). i don't quite get the whole program fee thing because couldn't they just include that in as part of the surgery price and then insurance would pay? that way they would get their money and the patient wouldn't be out the $200. but at the same time, i am not going to complain about it really because my procedure is covered 100% other than that program fee so i don't really mind paying it as to compared to what i would be paying if insurance didn't cover everything like it does. i could see someone being upset about it especially if they are self pay.

it's going ok. just had my morning protein shake about an hour ago and so far so good. yesterday i slipped up one time. the soup recipes were helpful and my sister (awesome cook that she is) is making me something special today, too. some kind of soup i'm sure. but as long as things taste decent i have no complaints. it's a lot easier to stay on the liquid diet when there are a variety of options. different soups, broths, etc. getting really nervous about banding as the date is getting closer and closer. i go for all my pre ops on monday.

wow. two of us getting done on march 12! good luck to the one getting it done in Mexico.i hope all goes well. =) and well, i'm glad to hear one very positive story even if it was a bit uneventful. better uneventful then something bad happeneing! i would love it if mine were that uneventful. hopefully it will be! =)

thank ya'll so much! and yes, i'm a march bandster, too. march 12. sooo close!!!! i am feeling better about things. tonight i went online and found some good soup recipes and my husband is going to cook them for me (i'm a bad cook lol). like i said before, he is doing the liquid diet with me so i'm not alone. lol i really appreciate all of your encouragement and support. ya'll are great!

thank you all for your responses. i'm really glad that some of ya'll were totally bluntly honest. i need that!!! i haven't had anything else solid since this morning and i'm going to make sure i stick to this better. it's just sooo hard!!! it frustrates me to know that a friend of mine had the same lapband surgery with the same doctor a year ago and she didn't have to do a liquid diet. they didn't make any of their patients do it back then but now they have started making their patients do it and i'm one of them. sigh! i will get through this. thank you all for your help. ya'll are wonderful!!!!

i have a banding date of march 12. i start my pre op diet this friday. i'm so excited,nervous, and etc.!!!

ok... so i had my consultation on jan. 25 and the doc said my surgery would probably be scheduled for the last week in feb. i was like "yay! great!". when i spoke with the insurance lady at my doc's office she said it might take a week for her to submit the paperwork to get the referral for the procedure (i'm tricare prime) but that after it was submitted tricare gives an answer (approved or denied) in three days or less and went on about how it's a pretty quick thing with tricare when someone meets all the criteria like i do. so i was sooo excited. well, i been checking my tricare referral status everday since that appt on jan. 25 and the doc's office still has not even submitted the referral for review. i'm like wtf? it's been 9 days!!! she said a week at most. 7 days! the longer it takes to get the ball rolling the further out the surgery date will have to be as i have to have the pre ops done and do a two week liquid diet. a friend of mine who was banded a year ago by the same doc (she is also tricare prime) says to be patient and that they are busier now than when she got hers which is why it's taking longer for me than it did for her, but i'm sooo ready to get banded and get the ball rolling on the before surgery stuff. i find myself getting angry with the doc's office for not turning the stuff in fast enough. has anyone else had this problem? i was thinking of waiting til friday to see if they have done it by then and if not then i'll prolly be fuming by then and wanna call and gripe them out. but i know i can't do the latter but still. has anyone else had similar issues or similar frustrations?