New to lap band surgery

[us_plus3 0]

So I am scheduled for lap band surgery, the first ever in MY LIFE, on Aug 17th....in just 8 days. I'm not too sure what to expect. While my doctor was VERY nice, he wasn't very informative (in my opinion). He asked if I had any questions, and at the time I didn't. But I was so freaked out to even be sitting in his office, that the only thing that came to mind was "can I still nurse my 9 mo old son." I feel like I have gotten more info from researching topics on this website than I did from him. I guess I just want to know how much pain will I be in? How difficult will it be for me to change my eating habits (worried about this PB or vomiting thing, food getting stuck issue). Also, I have to make a short road trip (about 3+ hrs drive) on the 20th, 3 days after surgery. Doc said I should be fine, he wouldn't advise me driving while still taking pain meds, or if I can't make a quick reaction like slamming on the breaks if needed. But will I NEED pain meds after a few days? Ive heard its a fairly quick recovery time, but 3 days?? I also do alot of bending down for my job, its very light work (personal assistant aka "gopher for the lazy"). Anyone able to resume duties that require bending shortly after? Also, because I feel like I have tried everything out there, short of wiring my jaw shut, my fear is, what if it doesn't work? :(Just thinking about it makes me want to cry. Any advice would be so greatly appreciated.

[BaileyRose 13]

I bet the majority of people think "what if this doesn't work?". Because we've all done tons of diets that haven't.... That's why we've come to this, ya know? I'm only a week post op soooo I don't necessarily have all the answers, but I'll share my experience :-)

I did the same exact thing as you at my first appointment haha I couldn't think of ANYTHING to ask him except "will i have saggy skin?" haha but then I went home and wrote a list of questions and if one popped in my head I would just write it down so next time I could ask.

I don't think nursing will be a problem, but lifting your son may. I know I have a 20 lb limit for a month and for the first week he said no cleaning or Laundry even. Hotshot that wasn't too difficult for me because we don't have children yet... So my husband just kept up on the cleaning :-)

3 days post op you will probably need pain meds still... But maybe not. Everyone is different. I needed them for 5 days. Day 6 I woke up still feeling nasty but I was out of meds so I just took ibuprofen and that did just fine... So maybe you won't and could just take ibuprofen. My recovery time was exactly a week. That seems longer than others and honestly I expected i would be fine after a couple days. But today is the first day where I've felt like a human being again! Haha but I've never had surgery before and I had no idea what to expect. The gas pain for me was quite terrible. But some people don't have it as bad.... I honestly think most people's experience isn't/wasn't as bad as mine....

Lucky me! Haha but I got very swollen and was unable to swallow anything and that sucked. But it's gone now and

I can drink like crazy.

I'm on full liquids right now and have about 6 oz of a Protein shake for Breakfast, 6 oz of Soup for lunch and again for dinner. And if I get hungry in between meals I have some yogurt or cottage cheese or some milk. I don't miss food, honestly. I feel satisfied.

I think you'll do great! hope that helped!

[screeden 21]

Everyone is different. For me, i took pain meds for 3 days, and it was over the counter, cause i am allergic to everything else

the recovery was much better than i thought it would be, better than when i had my gallbladder removed which only had 3 incisions. Just watch what you eat, be very diligent in foods you choose as you don't want to PB or vomit, it is not pleasant at all! i just had my first vomiting episode this weekend in public at a restaraunt and very embarressing. LOL! just chew, chew, chew you foods. stay away from white breads and follow your doctors advice and orders.

You will have to adjust your eating habits, but i didin't find this all that hard as i didn't want to do this for nothing. Seen friends who abused their band or gastic bypass and they gained it all back! I for one, will not abuse my band. It is my Tool, not a quick fix. It helps me get to where i need to be. It is one leg of a 3 legged stool, diet and exercise are the other two. It will not work if you don't do the other two.

You will be fine!

[mauraclegg 29]

I was actually banded twice in 36 hours because of a slip immediately. I took the liquid mess they sent home a time or 2, but was mostly pain free with Tylenol, ice packs and a pillow. I also had a 20 lb weight limit for a month. But my husband was there to help with kids- my youngest was 13 months when I was banded

[MissMay 1]

Congratulations on making the decision. I was banded on July 22 and still recovering from surgery. I still have a little pain but not as bad as it was two weeks ago or even a week ago. Your doctor doesn't sound very informative!

I'm happy to share my experiences but remember that everyone recovers differently and every doctor's advice is different.

• My doctor did not allow driving for two weeks because scars are still healing and frankly, after a week, I was still loopy from anesthesia.
• Pain was mostly from the gas build up but walk, walk, walk and use a heating pad - child birth hurts more - the gas hurts just for a bit. Gas-X strips are very helpful as well. I needed all two weeks of pain meds.
• Our family had a big Mammoth trip (we live in San Diego) planned for about a year so a week after surgery we left from San Diego to Mammoth - my doctor had me wear my compression hose (from the hospital) and she made us stop every 50-minutes to an hour to get out to walk and stretch. The ride up was painful
• I had to be away from work for at least 7 days - I'm glad we had the Mammoth vacation planned the second week of my recovery - plus I couldn't drive myself
• I'm still on liquids - I was on liquids 2 weeks pre-op and 4 weeks post-op so I still have about a week and a half to go before mushies
• As for being afraid to cheat or fail, our band is just a tool - YOU are making the decision to have this tool in you (permanently) so don't cheat yourself. Why would you do that? You'll be fine - just stay the course! You can do it!

Best of luck,

May