I just a month out from my surgery! Excited, nervous,excited, nervous. How did you feel when you first woke up. I have heard very thirsty. What happens when you get the first ice chips and get to swallow? Also, occiasionally I see a reference to PB'ing..what is PBing? Thanks for your help!!!!:help:

Okay, if I thought the catheter thing scared me...the coma thing has me really freaked!!!!!!

(is the catheter gone by the time you come around out of the anesth?)

I think the coma statement was a joke to say it knocked her out/very sleepy.

This is probably the most comfortable way to recover...unconsciously.

If you get a catheter, it stays for awhile after you are awake. It is not fun to remove, but doesn't hurt either. The nice thing about it is if you are uncomfortable, there are no painful trips to the restroom. Sitting down and standing up were the worst for me. Walking was the easiest position.

My first memory after surgery was in the recovery room. There was a man in there who had just come out of back surgery and he was yelling and complaining about pain. There was noone around me and I was trying to lift my hand to signal for someone. A nurse appeared over me and I asked her if I got the band, (I was so worried my liver was going to be too fatty!) and she said yes, everything had gone just fine. I fell asleep again, but was awoken by that poor man who was screaming now. I could hear the nurses telling him to calm down. I was getting more and more upset by for the poor guy so I started talking outloud saying I wanted out of there, I was upset. Next thing I knew I could hear my daughter saying "There she is" and they wheeled me into my room. The had me on some sort of hover thing that made it easier to move me from the gurney to the bed. I knew then just how sore I was going to be! OUCH! Getting up and walking was misery. I didnt have a catheter, but they threatened to put one in if I didn't pee enough - trust me, I wrung out my kindeys! No catheter for this girl.. No Sir!!

Thirst was the second biggest issue for me, after pain. I've never been so thirsty in my life! My mouth's watering right now from the memory! *laughs* I was given a sponge on a stick that my husband dipped in Water for me and I ran it over my lips and gums. Nothing was to go down my throat until the barium swallow the next morning. Dying of thirst would be a horrible way to go!

I remember the nurse trying to wake me up ... and I just wanted to stay asleep... Then I felt like I was going to puke... and like I was really drunk...

Then they started to try and get me up and I realized then that I had peed on myself... (I just knew that was going to happen) and boy was my bladder full!!!!

I had HORRIBLE gas pain, and there was a lady who had surgery right before me whining and crying about the pain... and when I am hurting, I need SILENCE.

I wanted to leave so bad that I sucked my Water down quick! That LADY drove me ABSOLUTELY NUTS!!!! You would have thought someone cut her foot off!

Really, really thirsty and really, really tired. I was falling asleep in the wheelchair as they wheeled me to get my barium swallow. Very little pain, some discomfort, but mostly just THIRST!

I had a great experience. No catheter, no bowel prep, very little flesh or gas pain, no nausea, no dizziness, no blurry vision, no (scary) annoying post op patients around me. I woke up in my private room with my husband at my side and a comfy couch for him to sleep on in my room with me that night, 2 nurses for the day, 2 nurses for the night, and a private bathroom with a marble shower. It was great. I stayed over one night, walked the halls because I knew I'd recover faster if I walked around, took a shower the next morning, got dressed and took a cab back to my hotel. Did I mention I had surgery in Mexico? LOL And I was ssssooooo scared for that reason! As it turned out, it was the nicest hospital I've ever been in in my life.

My surgery was on a Thursday evening. The first time I woke up, I thought oh boy, cause it felt just like an anvil was sitting on my chest, and I remember thinking, if it is gonna feel like this all the time, they can take it back out right now. The second time I woke up, I was still in recovery, and the anvil was gone. I remember thinking, ok, this is doable. The 3rd time I woke up, they took me back to my room, and about 4 hours later, I got out of bed and walked a little bit. Then 3 hours after that, I got up and walked a lot. Was not thirsty, never had nausea, did not have a catheter, never did an x-ray or a barium swallow, I got ice chips for breakfast on Friday, a shower, then apple juice for lunch, they removed my IV before lunch time, and I left for the hotel at 1:30 that afternoon. Stayed close to hotel rest of that day, then shopping and sightseeing next day. Flew home the next. The more you walk, the better off you are. Biggest problem is gas, but that was gone by day 4. The nurses injected pain Rx into my IV every 4 hours, and I left the hospital with pain pills and antibiotics. Tomorrow is week 3 for me, and I am doing great. No pain, incisions healed, no soreness, no nausea, no problems.

I felt like I had an elephant sitting on me. That was the first thought. Holy cats, an elephant is sitting on me! That feeling stayed with me all that day (my surgery was in the a.m.), it was a bit better by the next day. Other than that I was fine, thirsty but no pain at all.

I remember waking somewhat in the recovery. I was very nauseated. But when I woke in my room, I was fine. I had some very rare complications and was hospitalized longer than normal, but I had absolutely no pain from the surgery every. I wasn't allowed any ice chips or water until the second day. They did a swallow test and xrays on me before I was allowed to drink.

What is that???? and what determines whether you have to do it or not??

I woke up with them making me move around for some reason. I had a lot of gas pain but only soreness from the incisions. I had to pee right away. I had no catheter and had to use a bed pan 4 times before I got to my room, and when I was trying to go it took forever for it to come out, LOL. I was in recovery for 5 1/2 hours waiting for my room to be ready. It was a room where radiation therapy was being done so they had to clean it per protocal and I think that it takes 3 hours or something like that to clean. My doc told the nurse that I was on clear liquids but she wouldn't give my anything excepr an ice chip here and there. The hospital was not familliar with my surgery, I was the first one to have it done here. I had some IV meds for pain, then she gave me morphine and I immediately got nausious and she was ready with meds and it went away. Finaly I got to my room and they let me get out of bed to use an actual toilet, I was so glad. Once out of bed I didn't get back in. I slet in a recliener that night and was discharged by 12:30, 3 hours after my barium swallow. My pain wasn't too bad, except the gas. I took my pain meds every 4 hours for about 4 days then took it as needed. By just over a week I wasn't taking it any more. I still have tenderness in my port area and I will be 1 month post op tomorrow, but it feels more like a bruise than anything. This was my first surgery and I thought it was a piece of cake. They couldn't believe how much I was up and walking around. I am down 8 lbs in a month. I'm happy and I hope it continues.

Good luck to you.

Yowza! I wanna surgery just like DonnaB's!!!!

They were trying to wake me up, but I wanted to sleep. When they finally got me to open my eyes. My throat was dry and sore. They gave me ice chips that felt very good on my sore throat. I was then asked if I felt like I could go pee. I said no, I want to sleep. The nurse said if you don't go pee pee we will have to cathter you. So, I said I will try to go pee. Sore from port area walking down to the potty. Only peed a very small amount. She said that is enough, you go home. Before I got half way home I had to pee worse than I ever remember in my life (3 bags of IV fluids). Of course we were on the interstate and my husband didn't want to pull off to look for a restroom. Finally I said if you don't want me to pee on your leather seats with the buildt in seat warmer....find me a bathroom now!!!!! He found me a bathroom. Jack in the Box never looks so good to me. Just as soon as I got home, I went straight to bed. I woke up every 15 minutes to go pee again... but went right back to bed... I was sleepy!

Yoda,

The barium swallow shows the band placement. It is the best way to make sure stuff is going through your brand new band stoma. It is painless, just chalky. You drink and they take pictures, I even got a souvenir photo...