Knaroz

Yeah mine started at 8AM, Dr spoke to my wife at 830 telling her he was done and I was in Recovery at like 9AM, left at like 3PM. Apparently my "bladder" was still asleep. Plus my IV was bent and infiltrated so I wasn't getting the fluids they were pumping into me to make me pee. 10 glasses of water finally fixed that lol.

The one thing I had to relearn, if you are a "belly" sleeper, whereas you like to sleep on your stomach face down in the bed, go ahead and start training yourself to sleep on you back, I wasnt able to sleep on my stomach for nearly 3 weeks post OP, not so much from the SG, but from the stitches holding my port into the muscle, that muscle was SORE lol

Usually the more information you can provider the easier it will go

Hey speaking of that I am working on getting entered in the 2011 Half Marathon in Disney. Sadly it is not the Princess one

Something I did and it helped since I had to do my 2 week Pre-op during 4th of July, was eat a few stalks of celery during the day. Nothing on it but a little salt but the extra fiber helped me keep from having the "surprises."

Yeah it is common in the stomach area, if you ever take insulin or know someone that does their stomach tends to be bruised near where they inject themselves. Its not common but it does happen as you have many tiny blood vessels running under your skin that we cannot see. The first fill or two are usually quite small, they are not meant to be the "one and only" restriction, they want to make sure and do it slowly so that you are still getting liquids and things down so you are not in the ER 24 hours later getting IV fluids because you cannot swallow your own saliva.

Same had my first today no pain, but the Dr also does not disclose how much of a fill it was, was interesting

I am actually talking to a CSR about this so as I hear more I will keep this thread updated. They do have a dining plan Quick Service which is smaller meals and snacks and it is cheaper, but my only issue is that whichever plan you pick is for everyone in the group, so expressing a few ideas and seeing what the CSR says.

Yeah I would call just to be sure, from this web page "The bacterial infection surfacing in schools and other settings around the country is called methicilin-resistant staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA. It is primarily a skin infection, often resembling a pimple, boil or spider bite at its onset" MRSA (staph infections) Warning Signs and Preventive Measures

If they look like pimples or spider bites call your Dr. Not to scare you but that is how Staph tends to present itself, and the sooner they find out the better. Good luck and I hope I am wrong

Since you used the phrase "Center of Excellence" I am guessing you have CIGNA insurance. They will require 6 months of Dr visits (once a month trip to the doc with a form that s/he fills out stating your current attempts etc) After that a Letter of Medical Necessity, a Psych visit, probably a nutrion class visit both of which can be done normally while you are waiting to finish the 6 months of Dr visits. After that you should be set. Now if you have been on weightwatchers or any other properlly monitered program like that for over 6 months you can sometimes submit that info instead of the DR visits and they will review but most times they want that 6 months of visits.

I see this trend a lot. And the main reason it crops up is because there are usually multiple doctors that do the seminars. If Doctor A is a bypass doc, s/he will always push the bypass and really downtalk the band. Vise Versa also applies. I really feel like there should be 2 seminars, one for people interested in bands, one in bypass and let the respective doc represent. There is no sense in confusing people that are wanting help by trying to line their own pockets by swaying their decision.

You have to remember, after having Anes, a lot of your internal organs are very slow to wake up (that is why they make you pee before you can leave lol) About 5 days post op i think my bowels finally "awoke" lol

LOL thanks. We were up at a cabin in the Smokeys and there was a hot tub. Told my wife I was afraid of the water.

Sorry to hear about the pain. As was said above make sure all liquids you drink for the first 5 days are "room temp" or warmer. I found anything from the fridge caused the sharp pains in my breastbone. I also found chamomile tea was AWESOME at making the gas pains less noticable. Also make sure you are taking 2 gas strips every 6 hours, even if you are not feeling gas pain, helps stop it from building. Also if you have someone that doesnt mind sit up in the bed and have them pat you soft but firm on the middle of you back where your shoulderblades meet, just like you would burp a baby, this helped me VERY much.

Lies!! :wub::scared2:

Yeah I have to agree with everyone above. I am sorry but I didnt like the thought of my indoor plumbing being "rerouted" permantely lol. I am liking the big numbers I see in the posts before me, and so far since July 1 I have already lost 30 (probably more go in for a weigh on Tuesday) and the nurse is just flabergasted by the numbers I am throwing up week after week. Wife aint complaining either :wub:

*high five Trose* we got banded on the same day, lol. Yes I was a big soda drinker as well as a tea drinker, could drink a 2 liter and not think anything about it, gallons of teas as well (see avatar for the result lol) But once I decided I was having the band we just stopped buying cokes, and with the tea we started a few months before surgery by starting with 4 caff tea bags, then the next time 3 caff 1 decaff, next time 2/2, then 1/3 and finally 0/4. Found this way you dont get the hardcore caffine withdrawl headaches. Plus since I was on the liquid pain killer after surgery I think that kept me from feeling those withdrawls and so happy to say since July 15 I have been 100% caffine free and loving it lol. As to your original question. Anything thing that gets added to Water (crystal light, hawaiian punch (blue), green tea, etc love those packets). When we go out to a restuarant I find ordering water, extra lemons and 2 packets of Splenda is a great free drink and is satisfing. Also gatorade is a big one

Surprised to see no one mentioned 'Egg Beaters". I find it is almost impossible to scramble them dry, but my wife is really good at cooking and tossing about a 1 teaspoon of skim milk in right at the right time and they come out fluffy and wonderful. Also the new instant mash is wonderful as well

Yeah I have heard a lot of people praise Vit E capsules. The big thing is like was said above wait a minimum of 4 weeks as any "wetness" you apply to the area (IE neosporin, creams, etc) will harbor germs and can make your scars much worse in the long term.

Yeah make sure the DR called in your RX (The liquid Hydrocodone makes the first week very bareable). Make sure you are not picking up your child as that can really hurt you in the first few weeks. Bonk your husband on the head and remind him that he needs to be nicer to you because very shortly he is gonna be in your shoes and revenge is sweet lol

Yeah I am still tissed at my anes. He told me I was gonna get to count backwards from 100 but the last thing I remember is them putting a blood pressure cuff on me lol. Who is your INS carrier? I know most of the major ones (BCBS, CIGNA, etc) have a ARP clause (Anes, Rad, Path. the people that read your xrs and lab work) that even if they are OON, they will be covered INN. Which pretty much means if your INN is 85%, then you will owe 15% of whatever the ANES charges, as there would not be a "contractual discount" since they are just flexxing it in, unlike when you go to a Hosptial and they charge 20,000 but the INS pays them 5000 and you are responsible for the 85% of the 5000.

Yeah you have to remember, until you have your first fill there is no saline in the band so there is no restriction what so ever, just a normal stomach with a "ring" on it. For the first 2-3 weeks you will never really feel hungry because of all the swelling, as that swelling subsides you will get hungry because until your first fill you still have a "normal" stomach, nothing to stop stuff from going down (unless you try to swallow that half a pork chop without chewing lol). I was banded July 15 and not until this week have a even felt really hungry. Last week I had half a sausage patty and felt like I was gonna explode, tonight I had a whole chicken breast and felt "satisfied". First thing I have learned and I try to share, when you feel hungry stop and drink a full glass of Water before you eat, about 75% of the time I am just thirsty but my stomach/brain is interpreting it as hunger. Good luck and dont worry about the slowing of the weight loss right before the first fill, it will disappear very quickly once you get that first fill.

Wow I had heard that about a straw but not about gum, that kinda sucks because I am a hardcore gum chewer Yeah like above if you feel hungry I always drink something, usually a bottle of Water (20 oz) and then reassess. Like was said above most times you are just thirsty, and even if you are not the liquid will create a "fullness" that helps

Well the good news is this is Day 3, usually the worst day for the gas pain but also the top of the mountain. Typically the gas will really disappear over the next 48 hours. I feel your pain I felt like every time I took a sip of Water I had to spend the next 30 minutes trying to burp, I did find having my wife pat me on the back like a baby (stop snickering) really helped when I just could not seem to get it to come up. Also are you drinking warm or cold liquids? I found during the first days if I drank cold stuff I had a LOT of gas/burping issues but if I drank warm things it felt a lot better. Keep your head up, there are greener pastures ahead!!