nursesandy

I knew I was probably going to have loose skin because my skin isn't very elastic. I've had 5 kids and have so many stretch marks it is unreal so that was my first clue. I didn't give up hope that I would be one of those people who could lose weight and look great, but now I'm down 65 pounds and have lots of loose skin. I had never really thought about plastic surgery, but the looser it gets the more I am contemplating it. Hopefully you won't have it either, but you just never know.

Hi everyone! It's nice to find some of you guys again. I couldn't even get on this site for awhile and then when I finally could, I didn't recognize anything. I am doing okay. I've lost 64 total (50.4 since surgery). I just had a hysterectomy 10 days ago and vomited yesterday after taking a pain pill. So now I've had heartburn/reflux the past couple of days and that has me nervous. I go to the doctor on the 18th so hopefully all is well. I have 7.5 in a 10cc band and feel like I'm right where I need to be. I only get stuck if I eat too fast or don't chew well enough, but do pretty well for the most part. I've only vomited 2-3 times since surgery and it's usually due to a virus or some other reason. I hope everyone is doing well. Sandy

I had a laproscopic hysterectomy 10 days ago. I have done remarkably well with that surgery. I overdid it a few days ago and started cramping so I took one of my pain pills (Lortab 7.5 mg). Well, it made me nauseous and I vomited yesterday morning. Felt bad the whole rest of the day and then after dinner last night, I noticed that I had heartburn and reflux. Took a Pepcid with no relief and took some Tums which helped a small amount. Was fine all day today and then got heartburn and reflux after dinner again tonight. I have an appointment with my band doctor on the 18th of this month. I have 7.5 cc in a 10 cc band and think I'm right where I need to be. I've lost 64 pounds since surgery on June 4, 2010. I have only vomited 2-3 times since being banded so of course I am worried about my band. Just need to get some reassurance from you fine folks. Any advise is greatly appreciated. Sandy

I was pretty certain that I was told at the beginning of this process that you will know you are at your sweet spot when you can eat 1/2 cup to 1 cup of food at a time and not feel hungry for 4 hours. Today the PA at Dr. Keith's office (Winters) told me that it was perfectly normal to be hungry every 2 hours and refused to give me my second fill. So am I at my sweet spot already? I am eating about 3/4 cup to 1 cup of food at a time. I do get full on this amount, but get hungry soon afterwards and could easily eat a cup of food every 2 hours if I let myself, but I usually tough it out until closer to the 4 hour mark, like I thought I was supposed to. I have never had any problems with getting stuck/vomiting/etc. I can eat all foods including most breads and pasta's, but try to avoid them because I know I am not supposed to have them. I am getting about 80 grams of Protein a day. The hunger is a nawing (stomach going to eat itself) kinda feeling. I was very upset about not getting a fill (only have 3 cc) and have to drive 3 hours for my appointments. I made the comment that I drove all this way for nothing and she got hateful. I tried to explain to her about being hungry after 2 hours and that is when she told me that was normal and that it didn't matter what I said, that she wasn't changing her mind. Her main concern was that I am losing 2 pounds per week, but I am working hard to lose that 2 pounds. I feel like I am being punished for working hard and following the rules. If I did eat every 2 hours like I want to, I bet I wouldn't be losing those 2 pounds a week. So what do I do? My other question is for those of you that are familiar with Dr. Keith's practice. Do you know if I can schedule my next appointment (in 6 weeks) with Dr. Keith or do I have to see her? I will change doctors before I see her again. I've only seen her twice and both times I didn't like her, but I did decide to give her another chance after the first time just in case she was having a bad day. I told them I wouldn't be back, but my husband really thinks I should at least see if I can be seen by Dr. Keith since my problem is not with him (I think he is great).

Today was my first day back at work after being banded on June 4th (had a lot of sick leave accumulated). I went in to do my morning assessment on one of our frequent flyer patients and she said, "My Lord honey you sure have lost weight." All of my co-workers had already told me how great I looked, but it was nice to hear it from someone who had no idea that I had this surgery done. Made my day and made me feel so confident the rest of the day. Sandy

Today is my one month bandiversary. What better time to join my first challenge. I guess I will try for 20 pounds. Sandy

You are not alone. My first one after being banded on June 4th was the most painful I've ever had. The next one should be coming soon and honestly I am a little nervous about it.

Thanks everyone for your replies. I have not vomited since yesterday, but I am still extremely dizzy. Even with the dizziness, I feel tons better than yesterday. Other than a minor set-back with heartburn and gastric acid reflux, I have done pretty well with this band so I don't want to screw it up by vomiting and possibly being dehydrated. I am also scheduled to get my first fill this week and didn't want to mess that up. I appreciate all of your replies. It helps to know that there are others out there to share this experience with. Sandy

Okay, so I woke up this morning very nauseated and very dizzy. Was also in a cold sweat and very shaky. Thought my blood sugar may have been low so I made it to the kitchen and managed to get my Breakfast down. (I am NOT a diabetic). Went back to the bedroom and sat in front of the fan. About 30 minutes later I vomited for the first time since having my band placed on June 4th. Ouch!!! The vomiting was quite forceful, but I didn't get anything up even after about 8 retching episodes. I haven't vomited anymore, but have been nauseated and dizzy all day. PCP is not open today and my surgeon is over 3 hours away. I have been getting 1000 - 1200 calories a day with carbs included. I have only been getting 6 glasses of Water a day, but that is a lot more than pre-band. Has anyone ever had this happen? Being a nurse, I am trying to take care of myself instead of going to my local ER where I know they know nothing about bands (I work there). Any advise is appreciated.

I too feel your pain. I was banded June 4th. I felt a lot of restriction for the first week. Second week a little less and now in the 3rd week a little less. I get my first fill on July 7th. I am so nervous about stretching my pouch out that I think I am carrying it to extreme. I had 300 calories the other day and knew I had to have more so I made my Protein shake with ice cream. Not that I am recommending that, but I had to do something to get some more calories. I did Weight Watchers in the past and did really well with that as long as I ate all my points even if that meant eating some milk and Cookies at the end of the day. If I didn't eat all my points, I would quit losing. I haven't lost anything in the past week. It is frustrating, but I keep telling myself that the first month is for healing, not for losing. This is a learning process. I joined the dailyplate today and saw that I am getting no where close to the calories I am supposed to be getting. I am a work in progress, both physically and mentally. I agree, maybe you should add some Protein shakes. I was allowed to have anything you could drink on the full liquid stage. This included sugar-free Jello, sugar-free popcicles, cream Soups without chunks of meat, mushrooms, etc.

Those are stitches. They should dissolve on their own. I don't know if I had them with this surgery, but I did have them with my laproscopic cholecystectomy (gallbladder) and my tubal. I know they can be a little pokey, but they should be about ready to come out. As they dissolve, you will notice that they will become a little looser and eventually the part that is hanging out will break free. Mine broke free and then pulled the partially dissolved stitch out of my incision. Not trying to sound gross, but it looked kinda like a worm. So if you notice this you won't freak out. lol. As long as you don't notice any symptoms of infection (redness, warmth, drainage), I think it will be fine. Sandy

I want to renew my wedding vows in an actual wedding dress. I know I could do that as a bigger gal, but I would love to have that knock out figure coming down the aisle.

Thanks guys for the support. I've lost 9.4 pounds since surgery. So I'm not doing bad, I just don't want to feel bad like this having to do it.

UHHHH!!! I am so aggravated today. I wish I had never had this surgery. Or at least that is how I am feeling today. I have had heartburn for the past 4-5 days with a small amount of gastric acid reflux. Today my throat feels like it has a cotton ball stuck in it and it feels extremely dry. No matter how much water I drink, it still feels dry. Went to the doctor for my 2 week check up. I let her know about my symptoms and she told me to start all over on my diet. Yes, I'm back on liquids. I was on liquids the first week, pureed the second week, and was supposed to start soft foods tomorrow, and now I'm back on crappy old liquids. I understand why, but that doesn't help matters any. She said my stomach must still be swollen and I'm not tolerating my diet being advanced yet. I am officially in Banster Hell!!!!! I have been starving to death. The restriction that I felt is gone and I find myself wanting to eat every couple of hours. I'm still only eating 1/2 of a cup of pureed food because I am scared of doing anything to harm my pouch. I started on Pepcid so we will see. I'm just very discouraged tonight. I researched this alot and knew the problems that could arise, but I thought it wouldn't happen to me. That is what I get for thinking.

Goodness, some of the posters on here are certainly touchy. It is amazing how some people can get so wired up over certain things. I am fairly new here and just got banded a couple of weeks ago, but have already seen that some of the posters on this board have a bad attitude. It makes me very nervous to share any of my problems here. I thought this was supposed to be a SUPPORT group, but maybe I was wrong. To the OP, I did not take offense to anything you said. Written statements can be taken out of context sometimes and I believe that some of yours did by some of the other posters. I did not feel as if you were calling anyone a sheep or anything like that. Maybe some people have some issues that they need to deal with if they feel like stones were being tossed at them. I agree it can be confusing to come on here and see so many different ways of doing things. I am trying to follow the rules, but being an RN myself, with many years of experience, I know that doctors do not know everything. If my doctor ask me to do something that I don't think will benefit me then I will have a conversation with him about that. This has not happened yet, but I am fully aware that I have a long way to go and it may happen eventually. I know it must be discouraging to be totally bashed by so many, but I hope you realize that this is not a reflection on some of the others on this board. As for those of you that say you didn't like her tone, I believe that a tone is something you hear, not something you read.

Well, I'm just over a week out and feel pretty good. My monthly friend showed her ugly little head a couple of days ago so I am all bloated and cramping, but other than that I am good. I am still cranky as all get out. I'm not sure what that is about, but I way more irritable than I usually am and believe me that is not good. Doing pretty good diet wise. I got to advance yesterday and the change in texture was so welcome. I'm still not getting all my protein in. I've tried adding unflavored protein powder to my soup, but I am only able to get 4 ounces of my protein shakes down at a time instead of the 8 ounces I am suppose to be getting. It is very frustrating. Before surgery I thought, "There is no way someone can not get all their protein in with these shakes." Boy, was I wrong. I guess I didn't anticipate that I would feel full even with liquids. I'm sure that is probably about to change since the swelling is going down. I like this feeling of getting full off of so little, but I do get depressed feeling occasionally thinking "What did I do?" I am missing planning the big meals and going out to eat with my family. I never realized how much my life revolved around food until now. Last night was very difficult for me. We took the kids to the movies and of course they had popcorn and sodas. That popcorn smelled so inviting. I was a good girl though and didn't eat any of it. I just sat there and sipped on my water. I'm just taking this one day at a time and trying to keep the bigger picture in my mind. I have no doubt that I will get there, it just seems like the bigger picture is so far away right now. UHHHH!!!!

Wow, it is amazing how much difference a couple of days makes. I feel great today. No pain today at all. Port site is just a little uncomfortable, but only notice it occasionally. I felt so good that I even mowed the lawn today. My husband was supposed to be running the weed-eater, but he just can't do it like I want him to. He pays no attention to detail and just does a half butt job. Ughh. Guess I will have to hire someone to do that part since I can't do it myself. I haven't been a very good girl today. I'm supposed to be on full liquids still, but today I broke down and made me some egg whites. OMG I have never loved chewing something so much in my life. And believe me I chewed those egg whites up like a human food processor. lol. I was scared to get something stuck and then I would have to explain that to my doctor. But, I did not get stuck. Actually did really well. I am getting my fluid in really well today. It is much easier to swallow today so my swelling must be a lot less. Darn scale is broke. It is only 2 months old. Must be God's way of keeping me off the thing. Guess I am going to have to buy a new one. Because God only knows that I can't go very much longer without knowing. As far as my mood. Oh goodness, I am irritable. No one can do anything to suit me. The smallest thing is setting me off. My poor family. I of course think it is just the fact that I am not used to being around all the kids for this long of a period and they are driving me nuts. Who knows, it may be a combination of the two. Lord help us. I'll never make it another 4 weeks if they keep acting like this. lol.

I agree with SandraDee. Our energy has to be in comparison to how bad we have felt over the past few days. lol I'm feeling pretty good today too.

I am 4 days out and I had to stay in the hospital overnight due to how far I lived from the hospital. They made me take in fluids at a rate of 30 ml every 15 minutes. I felt very restricted up until today and it has been quite a bit better. Maybe you could try that. If you still aren't keeping even Water down then you might want to call your doctor. They have suppositories, gel that you can put on your wrist, and even tablets that you can let dissolve under your tongue to help with the nausea and vomiting. He could maybe call in one of those medicines for you. Try to eat crushed ice. It will help with the swelling. The popcicles may just be too sweet if you are already nauseated. Sorry you are feeling so bad. I felt bad too, but just know that it will slowly get better each day. Sandy

Oh i know what you are saying. I'm 4 days out and today I am finally able to get Water down at a quicker rate. Yesterday it took me 8 hours to get a bottle of water down. Just remember small sips. If I took drinks that were too big, I would have this gurgle sensation in my throat and sometimes it would hurt. Really odd feeling. I can tell I'm less swollen today. Much less uncomfortable and I'm actually starting to feel a little back to normal. I hope you feel better soon. Sandy

Just think that is 20 pounds that won't ever come back. Each pound I lose I think that too and I get so excited that I will never see that number on the scale again. Slow and steady is definately the way. I agree the fast track is what got me here too and maybe this is God's way of making me slow down.

I agree it is difficult to make a small batch of soup, but my oh my doesn't it make your house smell wonderful when it is cooking.

Well, my brain thought I was super-woman yesterday and since my body didn't put up an arguement at first, I went with it. We drove to the closest mall, which is like a hour away, so I could get some samples of protein powders and such at GNC. It didn't take long for my body to catch up with what was going on and retaliate. I think my body won that fight, because we came straight home and I had to go to bed. Fast forward to today. Not feeling so well today. I have woken up every morning at 4 in pain and extrememly nauseated (I'm sure because my stomach has not been this empty in well FOREVER). Drink a protein shake, take pain meds, sit up for about 30 minutes to an hour and then off to bed again. That reminds me, I am going to have to find me a new place to sleep. It seems that my children have all conspired against me to make my bed the community bed and right now I just can't handle all those people in my bed. Woke up this morning lying sideways with my feet hanging off the side. Did I mention I have 4 kids living at home. 5 if you want to include DH. The shoulder pain is still there and I'm still passing gas like never before. Makes me wonder, exactly how much gas did they have to pump me up with. I know I'm a big girl, but really I feel like I could have fueled the space shuttle by now :thumbup: Diarrhea kicked in this morning. In a way I am very thankful, because I was contemplating taking a laxative, because things just weren't happening like they were supposed to. Who knows, I may have taken a laxative in my narcotic induced state and just don't remember it. lol. I was supposed to go back to work this weekend, but I'm so glad I chose not to. I had enough sick leave to take 5 weeks off from work and right now I can't tell you how excited I am that I don't have to worry about that for awhile. I am a RN charge nurse on the Medical/Surgical floor in the small town that I live. Although I do get to sit down a lot more than some of the other nurses, I can't imagine having to go through the different phases of the diet while having to be at work. This way, by the time I go back to work, I will be on regular solid food and should have already had my first fill (supposed to have it a 4 weeks post-op). Well, I could type all day long like this, but I guess I might want to do something productive. I wish I felt well enough to clean house, because it is a pig stye right now. Wish I had a maid. Oh wait, I do have a maid, but she is off on medical leave due to just having the lap-band put in place. lol.

My port is on my right side, but I think that different doctors put them in different places. Your largest incision is where your port is. My pain has gotten a little better. Was feeling great this morning, but I think I over did it and now I am not feeling so hot. My port site is very tender and it is still difficult for me to go from a sitting/lying postion to standing up. I am feeling the bubble thing too, from my chest to my throat, but I have noticed it happens when I take to big of a drink. I am still very bloated and can tell I still have a lot of gas. I've been taking Gas-X and have been walking. In the next few days we will all feel like new people. Sandy

04/20/10 - Seminar (Weight 269 pounds) 04/29/10 - PCM appointment for referral 05/03/10 - Insurance submitted after I had to call the my PCM's office again to make sure that they did it. 05/05/10 - Insurance approved (Tri-Care) 05/13/10 - First consultation with Dr. Keith and surgery date scheduled 05/17/10 - PT, Psych, and Dietary consults 05/20/10 - 10 day diet class and first support group meeting 05/24/10 - Pre-op diet started (266.8) 05/27/10 - Final pre-op appointment 06/04/10 - Surgery (255.4) Well, today is my first blog ever. I got home from the hospital about 6 hours ago. The ride from OKC was pretty rough. Longest 3 hours that I've had in awhile. Surgery was yesterday. Weighed in on their scales at 255.4. Got there around 6:45 yesterday morning. Lab drawn, physical assessment done, IV started with a 20 gauge to my left hand x 1 stick. (She was good. Didn't feel a thing). Didn't get wheeled back to surgery until 10:30 and got out of recovery at about 12:30. Was VERY, VERY nauseated in recovery. (I always am and that was with a Scoplamine patch on). Pain meds given and then I was taken to the floor. Had very nice, attentive nurses. Could not have asked for a better bunch to take care of me. Hubby stayed by my side the whole time and even slept in one of those horrible geri-chairs. Was very groggy for the first several hours. Around 4 pm, I finally decided it was now or never if I was ever going to wake up an walk. I walked the length of the hallway a couple of times and sat up for about 30 minutes, then back to bed I went. They were giving me 30 cc of ice chips every 30 minutes for an hour then 30 cc of ice chips every 15 minutes for an hour. After I tolerated that, they brought me some Jello, crystal light with a bottle of water, and some de-caf tea and was told to drink/eat 30 cc every 15 minutes of that. (Took me forever to get it all down). Took my sleeping medicine and some more pain-medicine and off to LaLa land I went. Was awoken several times through the night for different things. Woke up at 4 am to urinate and was in a lot of pain. So I took more pain meds. Doctor came in and discharged me around 8 am. We stopped in Shawnee to get my prescriptions filled and so that my hubby could get him something to eat while I sat in the truck (he didn't want to eat in front of me and I didn't want him too either). I took some more pain meds when I got home and off to bed I went for a little while. As long as I take the Gas-X and Lortab I am doing okay. Hurts like hell to lay on my right side (where the port is). Shoulder pains from the gas. Keep telling myself, you just have to walk. I'm not really hungry. I ate a 1/2 cup of low-fat cream of chicken soup when i got home and that filled me up. I drank 1 can of Vanilla Slim-Fast carb control. It was okay, but took me like an hour to get it drank. I waited the 30 minutes then got me a bottled water and had my first experience with something not wanting to go down. It was like the water was stuck in my throat. Not like choking, but like it was stuck. Any how, I cleared my throat and down it went. Got on the scales and found that I had gained 10 pounds from those darn IV fluids and all the swelling. Overall, it has not been a bad experience. I could have done without the pain, but it is surgery afterall.