Just got my approval from aetna today im super excited! May 24th is my surgery date. Any may bandsters

Congrats! Take it slow... new beginning

Congrats! Take it slow... new beginning

Thanks. Doing really well now 5 days post-op. Today was my first day back to work, and aside from my energy level being a bit low, I'd say it was a success. Was off the serious pain meds after about 2 days, and have been taking Tylenol liquid as needed.

Definitely still feel it a bit when I walk, as the belly goes up and down a bit, but other than that I go hours without thinking about the fact that I just had surgery. Which is pretty amazing to me.

Looking forward to fully healing and getting the go-ahead to do more strenuous exercise. Lost about 15-16 lbs during the pre-op diet, probably a few more since the surgery, and am just really excited to be on this path.

Hope all you late May bandsters are hanging in there on your pre-op diets and getting excited about your surgeries. It's such a great feeling to be on the other side, and to be starting this next leg of the journey. Let's keep this thread alive with success stories:thumbup:

Congrat ACP, I am on my last day preop, nothing but grape juice and Jello, Its hard but not as hard as I would have thought. How is your hunger level now? Are you still hungry late in the day? 24 hours, WOOO HOOOO!!!

mtkjim,

I'm 2 days pre-op, scheduled for the 27th. At the last minute had to get new blood work, cardio ecko and stress test, pulmonary, ekg.. arrrgh. That was poor planning because I was approved over 6weeks ago. I had to do all of this since Tueday of last week!

WOW! it took me a month to do all that, And you did it on an empty stomach, I'm impressed.

Congrat ACP, I am on my last day preop, nothing but grape juice and Jello, Its hard but not as hard as I would have thought. How is your hunger level now? Are you still hungry late in the day? 24 hours, WOOO HOOOO!!!

Congrats yourself, I'm excited for you. No, my late day hunger is gone - in fact in general I'm not experiencing "hunger" per se - I just try to drink Water and Protein drinks on a schedule and keep hydrated. As the swelling goes down, I think that's when my hunger may increase. So in other words: talk to me in a few days:-)

Last night I had some broccoli Soup, strained of course, and I tell you it was like a steak to me, just a little cup of it. It was a nice break from Protein shakes, and it did go down fairly easy, and also reminded me how good real food tastes. I think the one great thing is that I didn't feel hungry after it - my mind might have wanted to experience another serving, but I just didn't have that physical hunger.

Again, we'll see how long this lasts. But it's 100% easier than the pre-op diet, in that the physical need is not there to add to the mental need. Once I hit the "bandster hell" as they call it, before getting a fill, I may feel differently. But then hopefully I can draw on the strength I felt of having survived the pre-op diet (which honestly I didn't think I could do).

Best of luck to you mtkjim, and childgod752, best of luck to you too as you near your surgeries. I'm rooting for all of us to be successful at this.

I got banded the 14 of may 2010 the two week liquid diet was tough but it's all mind over matter I think I psyched my self out because I was sop determined to do this I started out weighing 269 now I'm at 245 I get my first adjustment on the 24 of June just hand tough and always remember giving up is not an option you will have to sacrifice but in the end it will be worth it good luck to all of you that's made the decision to do this.

Hey all. I am on the other side, I was the first sugery of six on wednesday, (boy did she make some money that day) Pretty much felt like I had been hit by a truck yesterday but today I seem to be bouncing back. Its kind of weird how liquids go down, feels like a toilet flushing.

Ok, I was supposed to get banded yesterday. They had to call off the surgery. The anesthesiologist tried to force a tube that was too large down my vocal cords to have the machine breathe for me while I was sedated:cursing:. I litterally was not breathing for a little over 2 minutes. They place a mask over my face to take me out of the paralysis stage, but were not sure if the air got into my stomach as well as my lungs, because if so then all of the bile and other acidic juices, and moisture would have dire consequences. My surgeon had to come and rescue her, as well as myself I ended up in their ISCU wich it a more critical part of the regular ICU. I stayed in ISCU for over nine hours while being monitored every 30-60 minutes and taking continual vital sign checks and blood pressure reading. I also had to perform numerous breathing and lung tests. Needles to say I have to be rescheduled within the next 2weeks after the scarring from my throat heals and the blood is totally gone from my stomach from where she tried to force the tube. I have to cough up the blood!!! :ohmy: I'f I'm a general anesthesiologist, and the tube is not going inwithin the first 30 - 45 seconds then I'm getting a scope to go in or am going to get the attention of the surgeon. I'm not going to try to force the tune while leaving the patien without oxygen for over 2 minutes. Needles to say I wont be using her for the upcoming surgery. But GOD was with me and placed other capable people around me. I know she didnt intentionally try to hurt me but she should have let go of her pride and call for help. I could have ended up a vegetable ... or worse!! Praise GOD for his mercies!!

Childgod, that is terrible!I am glad you are ok! good luck with your recovery and upcoming band!

I had my surgery 25th of may and I feel pretty good. Im slightly sore in my abdomin and incisions. Im actually starting to feel hungry already. My biggest worry is that where the "On Q medicine pump" which was giving my incisions some pain meds for 3 days, the insertion point for its catheters is infected. I just started taking Abx. Horse pills that I have to break in half. yuck! other than that life is great. I am down atleast 32lbs since my heaviest and about 15 since the surgery.

joecs1,

Thank's! I'm recovering well. It's terribly hard to get anything down, even liquids. We'll see what happens in the next week or so. I wont allow this woamn to assist if I have any say in the matter.

Hey all, just checking in, I went to the doc last week after a month and have lost 32lbs. More than I dreamed possible. I have my first fill on july 12th but If I'm still dropping the weight I might hold off. I love listening to my stomach growal but not actually feeling hungry. Are you still out there childgod? How are you doing?? Hope you are all enjoying the jurney:thumbup:

Hey, about time we updated this thread! I definitely haven't posted as much after surgery as I did before - with the exception of the first week after surgery. Funny how we just get back to our regular old lives, and things return to normal. I do try to check the forum often though because it reminds me I'm not alone.

Congrats mtkjim on your weight loss! It feels good doesn't it! Frankly it feels good just to not be gaining, and instead to have gained some control over the process that I didn't have before.

I think I've lost a similar amount of weight, which feels good - on one hand, it's come off a bit faster than I thought it would. On the other hand, I have a lot to lose and this was a huge change for me in terms of food intake, so it makes sense. And for me it's not so much the number as the fact that I've lost more than 10% of my total body weight since I began this process. Which is just exciting. I mean, I'm not about to hit the beach or buy a sleeveless t-shirt, but people are starting to notice and most importantly I have more energy. That's the key.

So my experience over the last couple weeks as I've transitioned back to real food is that I do get hungry, especially when I don't eat properly (Proteins first, etc), and when I go too long between meals. That creates an additional "head" hunger feeling, which can lead me to get big eyes and want to overcompensate or eat things that are not nutritious.

And I have: I've had a couple of meals I regret, or at least that were learning experiences. Compared to pre-band, we're talking small potatoes in terms of quantity. But I've been stuck on the road in a situation where fast food was the easiest option, and made a poor decision to eat some. But those instances have been pretty rare, thankfully.

My exercise hasn't been as steady as I'd like - for example it's been about 8 days since I've gone to the gym - but I have had weeks when I went 3-4 times. So far just the elliptical, but it really feels good and I need to make it more of a priority going forward.

Not sure about any of you, but I can actually eat a fair amount, and I have had no band-related issues - I have not felt "stuck" or PB'd, as they call it, or thrown up. But by "fair amount" I mean maybe 2 cups of food in a meal. Which is more than what I'd assumed I could handle. I can, for example, eat 3 scrambled eggs in a sitting without any issues. I try not too, and try to leave food on my plate at each meal, but I have a feeling if I wanted to I could really test the limits of this thing.

The thing that seems to be keeping me from doing that is staying with high Protein and lowish carbs, and trying to stick to complex carbs when I have them. I think that aids in controlling hunger in general, so perhaps that's why I'm not experiencing quite the "bandster hell" that I've heard about. But I'm as susceptible to food as anyone else on here, so I would not be surprised to struggle with that experience, especially in the next few months before I hit the sweet spot in terms of fills.

Ok, sorry for the superlong message - just wanted to update you on my experience. Also want to hear from the rest of you, and to keep this thread alive! I'm sure all of our experiences are different, but it would be great to stick together and offer support as we each move forward on this journey. Hope everyone is doing well:smile2:

Hi, I'm still here!! I got banded on the 18th of June. It went better this time. I'm home now, back to work still feelin' the pain but doing better. Since pre and post-op I've lost 26 lbs. I'm so ready to get back to working out. Keep in touch guy's!!!:bored:

Well said ACP, I too have noticed a great increase in energy. I have vomited a couple times when I try to eat to fast, the doc said its part of the learning proccess. I can eat two egs with goat chease, Probably more calories then three eggs. And yes I am starting to be able to eat more but it is still way less then I used to eat.

Childgod, I am so happy to here you are on the other side, That must have been a long wait from the first attempt. Its great you have lost the weight dispite your set backs. COngrats and remeber it get better every day.