I wanted to start a thread for those of us who are waiting "with bated breath" for our surgeries in March.

I am supposed to start Optifast on February 26th. I am currently waiting for the shipment, including my surgical package to be delivered. Once I get my package I am supposed to call the clinic.

Ever since committing to this surgery (which I am paying for myself via a personal loan) I have been obsessed with reading everything I can about it and about people who have had it. I am still kind of hoping for some kind of "divine word" about whether or not it is the right thing for me to do.

I am "only" 75 lbs over my ideal weight but am type II diabetic. I am trying to figure out if my reason for doing this is my health or my vanity or a combination of both. The diabetes needs to be gone (when I am 20 lbs lighter it is gone) but I am sure looking forward to losing the weight and actually keeping it off for more than 20 minutes...

geez Lara, i don't know what the heck is the matter with me but you post made my mouth water..............

Hey fellow bansters..

I had my surgery yesterday and was home by 1 the same day. I slept in my recliner to get a little comfort. I am so glad everything is over with. The wait was the hard part!!! I had only clear liquids the day before surgery and clear liquids day of and the same today and I am not hungary!! I have never gone this far without food. Yippy skippy!!

Will check back later to see how the others are doing.

Hi everyone, good luck to the March 15th bandsters! I was banded yesturday at 7:30 a.m., I was released around 1:00 p.m. everything was fine until I got to the hotel, I opened the car door and the heat hit me and made me exstremely nautious. I started vommiting, and the pain was horrible, I only heard of this from a couple of people. Later that afternoon after I took the liquid pain medicine I vommitted again. My husband is sooo worried. He thinks my band will slip, I called the doctor and they told me that it would be o.k. to switch to the chewable tylenol that I had brought with me and that has seem to help, I did have a fever all night too, but did not bring a thermometer, My husband picked one up today. and my temperature is now normal. Hope everyone is doing well Gretchen- p.s. I miss my 3 other boys, we brought our youngest son with us.

Gret1964, did they not give you any anti-nausea medication???? Phenergan. I also wore a patch behind my ear for three days. I usually get sick when I get put to sleep. They did not want me vomiting and gave me meds to prevent it. Thank God. They will probably have to check your band under fluro to make sure it is place. Bless your heart. I hope you are feeling better.

Well I definitely have resistance. I took my pills last night at mostly the same time- just one or two at a time and all of them small or broken up. But I think the problem was I had too much liquid and pills in such a short time. It felt like it did not want to all go down. It took a while after some slime I guess it was came up and then everything seemed to go down with lots of burping and discomfort. But then after everything was down I had a problem. I had skipped one of my pills- a decongestant. So I was having post nasal drip issues that those were causing gagging. Then I would retch sometimes and then I would litterally foam at the mouth. Yes, actual foam. I managed to get the bits of about half of decongestant down and that helped. Then today I called the office and they said stay on clear liquids another day what with the irritation ( it feels like it still might be irritated poor band). Also I had a lot of blood in my urine this morning which I felt must be related but they said not related and was probably an UTI and to call my regular doctor. So I will do that later probably. But now I am going to start taking some of the morning pills but I will spread it out all morning.

Hey guys:

Two things that might help you;

If you are experiencing gas...I am..LOTS!! Try the GasX strips. the cinnamon ones seem almost decadent..and work really well!! I ordered them from the States adn wish I had gotten more of them!!!

Second, I am a licensed acupuncturist, and have found nausea not to be a proble, when utilizing pressure points... here's a help for you guys:

Take your middle three fingers (pointer, middle and ring), Lay the ring finger on the crease of your wrist (palm side up). where the pointer finger ends on the inside of your wrist, note... then feel for the tendon there...you will feel two separate "threads"...place your finger in between the tendon at the level you previously noted and press. Do the same thing on the other wrist. This point is known as P6 or Pericardium 6. It is "magic" for ending that queasy feeling.

Hope this helps....

By the way, I am now a full two days and a few hours past surgery. Mostly I am not hungry, but I am recognizing that pain, boredom and frustration are definitely food triggers for me!!! But, I am holding strong and sticking to the rules.

I hope everyone else that was recently banded is doing ok.

char

Thanks Char,

I wanted to make sure I found the P6 spot so I looked it up on line to get a good idea where it is. I plan on useing it if needed. But how hard do you need to push?

Also, glad to hear that you are doing better. Hope you continue on with a speedy recovery.

char & barb: thanks!!! I'm sitting here at my desk trying to find them... I have deep rolling collapsing viens....... do I really have this point?????

Well I definitely have resistance. I took my pills last night at mostly the same time- just one or two at a time and all of them small or broken up. But I think the problem was I had too much liquid and pills in such a short time. It felt like it did not want to all go down. It took a while after some slime I guess it was came up and then everything seemed to go down with lots of burping and discomfort. But then after everything was down I had a problem. I had skipped one of my pills- a decongestant. So I was having post nasal drip issues that those were causing gagging. Then I would retch sometimes and then I would litterally foam at the mouth. Yes, actual foam. I managed to get the bits of about half of decongestant down and that helped. Then today I called the office and they said stay on clear liquids another day what with the irritation ( it feels like it still might be irritated poor band). Also I had a lot of blood in my urine this morning which I felt must be related but they said not related and was probably an UTI and to call my regular doctor. So I will do that later probably. But now I am going to start taking some of the morning pills but I will spread it out all morning.

I have been chewing all my pills. It tastes NASTY but no sliming or PBing.

I chew up as many as I can that will make a small "bite", then fill my mouth with something that has flavor (I've been using Gatorade). If I have to take more, then repeat. Then I wash the Gatorade around in my mouth to get as much off my teeth as possible, swallow and then grab some gum to chew on to get rid of the taste.

It's a royal PITA and you may have some pills that aren't meant to be chewed, but so far, so good.

(and me say again, they taste NASTY, NASTY, NASTY, lol)

I haven't been on-line since December. Too depressing to see others get banded and I'm still waiting.

I had to wait for my Dr. to be approved with my insurance which didn't happen until Feb 2007 and now I'm waiting for my insurance to approve me. Approval request has been sent in 3 different times and twice they misplaced it. Last week on the 8th it was resubmitted and I now have a ref #. Insurance said that a decision will be made by the 20th of this month. I pray PLEASE let them approve it and PLEASE let me get a band date soon.

Aw Ms Jen,

I really hope you get some good news on the 20th about your banding date.

Sara x

Hi Everyone,

On Wed. the 14th I was in the hosp at 9:30 and left by 2. Everything seemed to have gone well. I must really like being knocked out because I don't remember anything until I woke up in recovery. So I have been sitting around and drinking my liquids. So far i can drink a 4oz protein shake with no problem. Will this change as the swelling goes down? Anything else I should be prepared for?

Thanks and good luck to everyone.

Brandi

I can't wait any longer

Hi Tracy...

You do indeed have this point. You arem't looking for a vein...the tendons are in the midline (center) of the underside of your arm. Bend your palm toward your face and the tenson will slacken so you can feel it better. It feels like two threads or strings running under the skin. You don;t have to push hard...just 10-15 secs on either side a few times...you will feel your nausea go away....promise. :-)

FUR ELLIE: I have ben mixing my Lortab in a litle water adn crystallight then stirring till it dissolves. The Crystal light helps mask the taste if you put enough in!!

MS JEN: DO not get discouraged. Your time will come!!!!!

Hi Brandi!: My banding sister. I also was banded on the 14th. My absomen is so bloated I feel pregnant! I think all the gas stayed here instead of traveling upward. I also remember nothing except some of the recovery room!! Hope you are soon feeling better. I am on a clear liquid diet, but "cheated". I added an egg to my chicken broth and swished around for eggdrop soup. I just HAD to have some protein. My hair is already falling out!!

How is everyone else out there??

Hi Everyone,

On Wed. the 14th I was in the hosp at 9:30 and left by 2. Everything seemed to have gone well. I must really like being knocked out because I don't remember anything until I woke up in recovery. So I have been sitting around and drinking my liquids. So far i can drink a 4oz protein shake with no problem. Will this change as the swelling goes down? Anything else I should be prepared for?

Thanks and good luck to everyone.

Brandi

Congrats, Brandi! I'm crossing my fingers for an experience on Monday similar to yours. Good luck recuperating!

Glad to here you are doing well Brandi.

I just did my pre-registration. Found out that I have to be at the hospital at 8am with surgery at 9:30. I feel like crying and I don't know if it is relief or if I am just scared.