I had my surgery on Nov 2 at TLBC and just flew back to Halifax from Toronto so I thought I'd share my story. My surgery was at 8am. Dr. Yau talked with my mom and I for a good 20-25 minutes before the surgery which surprised me. The surgery started late becasue we were chatting for so long. I thought he was fantastic, personally. He even talked to me about where I would like the port to be and how low my pants normally go. I wasn't nervous going into the surgery. Even when they had the IV hooked up and the oxygen mask on I wasn't nervous. I thought I would be. When I woke up I was shivering like crazy and felt tight in my chest but it wasn't horrible, just a weird sensation. I asked for some pain meds and walked to the recovery room with one of the nurses. She kept telling me to go to sleep but I was wide awake for some reason. I sipped some Water, got myself dressed, and eventually she came back to get me and I walked to see my mom and then went back to my brother's place (he lives in downtown Toronto). I was at his place by 11am (the surgery ended up starting at 8:30am). I had a bit of shoulder pain from gas but a heating pad took it away instantly. I tried to walk for 10 mins every hour and I think that helped me have very little gas pain. I bought gas-x but I never needed them. The Demerol Dr. Yau prescribed really helped with the incision pain. All weekend I felt really good. I walked to the mall and went shopping for a while on Sunday. I have an incision in my belly button which pulls sometimes when I walk so that seems to be the main pain I experience. Plus the port incision (VERY low on my stomach). But I've found the pain completely managable and not nearly as bad as I was expecting. I've found drinking enough fluids and getting enough nutrients in the most challenging part and I have to work on that a lot. Anyways, I feel great, and I'm ready to get this weight OFF! =)

hmm....I wrote a lot... lol

Congrats. Lizzie, glad everything went so well for you,:clap2::clap2: and welcome to the band side of life, a whole new world waits for you now.

Maria:rose:

Congrats Lizzie, sounds like you're doing awesome, and I'm sure you'll continue to! Keep it up!

Liz. A very nice lady is trying to start a support group in Halifax. If you are not aware of her e mail address, post and I will forard it to you. I am in B.C. and we support each other across the country. They will be meeting shortly. Doddie

PS: Hope you came thru the hurricane OK.

Thanks for the best wishes everyone!

doodie - I'm pretty sure I am in contact with that lady already. Or at least one of the ladies in the group. They have invited me to a few meetings but I couldn't go becasue of school. Thank you for the information though!

Congrats and welcome to this new world... Bandland is a good place to be!!

You are welcome Lizzie. Good luck as you start your journey and remember, we are all here to support you every step of the way. By going to a support group if you can, you will find meeting and seeing people in your situation is very gratifying. The board is very good, but can't replace personal contact. Doddie

Hey Lizzi,

I was banded on the same day at the TLBC clinic, along with my sister and daughter. We are all doing fine. We were later in the day though. We found Dr. Yau to be great. He sure does good work.

Looking forward to watching your progress too.

Thanks again everyone!

Lindyloo - My mom said she saw 3 "friends" in the waiting room who were all having the surgery done that day...I'm wondering if that was you guys?? I left around 10:45 so it may have been someone else...would be interesting though.

Yes, that was us. We got there at 10. I did remember that you had earlier posted that you were being banded Nov 2 and I mentioned it to my sister. So, how are you doing? How are you healing? I am feeling very well and the scars are so small I cannot believe it. There is no way they are ever going to be noticable later. I am quite impressed by the whole experience.

I hope you are doing great.

Linda

I still have steri strips on all but 3 of my scars so I'm not sure how big they are. I hope they're small though.... I'm feeling great other than this tight pain when I lie down that makes me feel like I can't breathe. It's so hard to get comfortable at night. Have you been experiencing this? I was also very impressed with Dr. Yau. I feel confident that he knows what he's doing. I wonder if you saw my mom in the waiting room. She has short dark hair, was wearing pink I think, about 5'6. Good luck with your progress! Keep me updated. It's nice to have someone else who had the surgery at TLBC on the same day. Have you joined the November 07 group?

At night I hold a pillow on my stomach when I turn over and also to prop it up when I lay on my side. I tried a hot water bottle and it worked but I didn't like the weight of it.

I don't know about the Nov 07 group. Fill me in please.

let's keep in touch. We have the same goal. 150.

I did see your mom. I also saw another lady a bit later and asked if she was Lizzie but she was there for a consultation. I got to talk to her for a while but with the three of us so excited about getting the band I missed her name. I hope she goes ahead. TTFN, Linda

Nov 07 banster are under monthly support groups.

Here's the link: http://www.lapbandtalk.com/f99/ (hope I did that right)

When did they schedule you for your first fill? When I got out of surgery they had my dates all selected (even though I have to fly to TO for them, but I guess they didn't consider that). Anyway, Dec 17th is my first fill and then I have the nutrition seminar. Did they schedule you for the same day?

You're right! Our starting weight and goals are very similar. Good to know. Everyone loses differently but I'll still watch your progress. You look like you're doing great do far =)

Yep, same day. I'm not sure it that's good for me yet. Probably will be. Hopefully we can meet.

Most of my weight I lost on the pre-op. It's real slow now.

But that is the way it should be. I just have to get past the head hunger. Wow, I never realized how much I ate mindlessly. I work at home with way too much access to food. Yikes, I need a new hobby....

Congrats Lizzie and LindyLoo! I also had my surgery in May with Dr. Yau and adore him. Remember to follow the clinic's instructions and be patient with the process. It takes some time to get it - but it is well worth it!