Howdy all...my name is Carla and im a newbie here..im getting banded by Dr.Richard Carter on September 20, 2004..and i cant wait..im so excited..any advice, tips or suggestions r welcome...i just had a quick ?/ for ya'll...what did u do for the whole 23 hrs u r in the hospital??/ i was just wondering...its great to finally meet ppl that have been banded...i live in the Arlington Texas area...can't wait to meet any/or all of u guys and gals...thanks...Carla

You'll be resting and learning to get out of a bed with fresh incisions. They'll have you on an IV and you'll have self administered pain medication which you can inject every 10 minutes or so. They'll have you walk. Hopefully, you can sleep.

Oh wonderful sounds so fun..my mother is coming to town to take care of my baby for a few days and hubbys working..so will be lonely..,.ogh well.thanks for replying.

You DO have someone who'll take you there and drive you home, right? ??

Oh yes hubby is off for the day and will be with me...but i have to stay 23 hrs for observation...which i didn;t want to do but oh well..but thanks!...btw have u heard of a group called Dfw Bandsters..??? just was wondering

Yes. I am very familiar with DFW Bandsters. Great source of information.

Where about in Arlington are you? I am from Grand Prairie and not far from Arlington.

Betty

Actually your getting off easy with 23 hours. I got stuck in one for 2 nights! I hate hospitals and being a patient so needless to say I wasn't real happy about it. My coordinator was supposed to make it real clear I was only going to stay one night in the hospital but evidently she overlooked that task and didn't mention it to the surgeon. Needless to say, stuck I was. I watched a lot of cable, wandered the halls looking for other banded patients and generally drove the spanish speaking nurses crazy. I think I also brought a book, slip on sandels, a hand held game, etc. Oh and Snacks for my non-banded brother. Best of luck and can't wait to hear how it goes, Teresa

Dr. Lopez

5/8/04

362/304/???

No fills

Oh great btw..im off matlock and 20...raight near sublett ..i think we r pretty close..i sure hope time goes fast till the 20 does the bandsters have a website..i was just gonna check them out..hopefully i will not be in for 2 days..i don't want to be there for 2 days..23 hours is bad enough!..thanks for all the great info..CAN

T WAIT TILL THE 20 OF SEPTEMBER!!!!!!!!!!!

Dear All

Hi I am from Australia, I haven't been able to find a forum like this in Australia but I have already had a good read through many of the postings on here. I will be banded on 8 Sept - really looking forward to it now but having some problems with the pre-op diet - my dietician has been a little vague about some things regarding what I should eat so I am sticking to high Protein - fish, chicken or beef everyday, all the rabbit food I can eat (except corn, potato, sweet potato, beans) and diary (low-fat cheese, milk). no carbs, sugar, juice, soft drinks. Plus I am doing the slow chewing and not drinkig with meals to prepare! Is this OK?

I am about 113 kg (sorry not sure what this is in pounds) and am 5'2". Have been big all my life, ironically now I am losing some weight but I have ever been able to sustain for long periods. So now I about to join your club! I also need a little more about the gory details of before the surgery and after - no one has been to forthcoming with this info. Any advice appreciated.

cheers from Oz

Congratulations to both of you!! Preop- all drs. are different. Aussiegal, you're dong great! I wouldn't worry too much about the rabbit food. It's good for you, but it doesn't fill you up. Because it's mostly water, you'll be hungry a lot sooner. But proteins (lean, moist meats) and vegetables (not starches - like potatoes, rice, pasta) will stick with you longer, give you more energy, and make you feel full longer. Wonderful idea to get used to drinking lots of water now, but not w/ or an hour after meals. Pre-op preparation, you may want to stock up on things you'll need following surgery. You'll be able to drive almost immediately. But you'll probably be a little sore and shouldn't lift anything heavy for a few days. An i.v. will be started before surgery. This is used for fluids, pain meds.) The surgery itself is done laproscopically. (They always reserve the right to convert to open method if complications occur.) You'll have 4 tiny holes. 3 are about 1/4 ", 4th one 1" (where port is). Mine had dissolvable stitches. Others have been surgically glued. A sleeve (like a drinking straw is inserted in each hole. Through these sleeves, various instruments are inserted and used. These include, the laproscopic camera (shows surgeon what's going on inside), various instruments to insert band and fasten it. (Not always, but in my case, my gallbladder was also removed. A bag was inserted through a sleeve to "catch" the gallbladder and ease the removal of the g.b. ) You'll be brought back to your room. Depending on your Dr., you may or may not spend the night. You'll be given pain meds. as needed. The sooner you can start moving and walking around, the better. This lessens the chance of leg blood clots (very dangerous), eases gas pains and soreness, helps eliminate anethesia. Each day will get better. You'll notice different, weird, little aches and pains for a few days. You'll be on a liquid diet (according to your dr. rules), progress to mushy foods, then solids. Be sure and obey your dr. It's important to let your band heal and anchor itself after the initial surgery. Eating foods too soon can disrupt that healing process and cause band slippage. You'll probably "grieve" a little when you're first banded and think I'm going to fail. You'll have to come face to face w/your eating habits (grazing, etc.) Then find something healthy that you can do with that time. Ex. go for a walk, take a long bath or shower, read a good book, nap, ride bike, etc. If you're taking medicines, they will probably be decreased drastically as your health improves. Your clothes will start getting too baggy. Your energy will increase. You'll start thinking I can do this and I feel so much better!

Hey I had a real problem with being in a vehicle the first couple days. Made me sick. The gas was rough in the shoulder area and I was out in a day. Felt like 1000 sit ups day before...Rocky? I would do it again as it is a major tool..... in the fight.