Finally, I'm a Bandster! WOOT!

(This is long, sorry all!)

My surgery story, 2-21-2008. First, I have to say, from the moment of my admission, to when I was discharged, Beaumont Hospital treated me like a V.I.P! They are getting a letter from me very soon, thanking them for their kindness. I was very nervous already, and people who are nasty (or intolerant of nervous people) make me even more nervous & upset. But everyone was super, very gentle and gave excellent care.

I was admitted at 6am. Went to a pre-op room (can't think of another name for it!) and had all the usual questions, they started an IV, drew blood, etc. I made sure to tell the anesthesiologist I get nauseated with anesthesia (in fact I told a lot of people I get nauseated easily, lol) :tongue: and since they don't want you throwing up, they gave me lots of drugs to prevent it. So far, I've experienced NO nausea at all, which is a blessing! The nurse anesthetist came in, and she was awesome - told me she was going to take good care of me, and she's been doing this for 35 years (another nurse made me laugh by saying she started at age 2, lol). The Nurse anesthetist gave me some "I'm happy to be here juice" (as they called it) before they took me into the operating room. Yep, that worked, LOL . . . I got "loopy", and had no anxiety being in the OR at all! Bring on the surgery! :tt1: ROFL! I don't remember much from there . . . they started hooking me up, and the next thing I knew I waking up. Anesthesia is a wonderful thing! OK . . . my waking up experience wasn't the best, probably the only real difficult part of my journey. I still intubated when I woke up (had the breathing tube in) and that was really making me feel gaggy. I was awake but couldn't move. There was a guy who had some kind of "stimulating" device (I don't know the word for this) who was "shocking" my fingertips - it felt like electric zaps in my fingers, kinda like when you get shocks from static electricity. It hurt! I wanted him to quit it, but I heard him say "not yet, she's not even twitching". (I think they were trying to determine when to pull out the breathing tube.) BAH! I tried to twitch my fingers but I couldn't. I struggled to open my eyes and let them know I was there, but my eyelids felt like lead. Finally I was able to open my eyes, and the guy stopped with the shock stuff immediately and the nurse anesthetist took my tube out. Relief! This "bad part" really only lasted 30 seconds or so, but it was enough, LOL. I woke up feeling very sleepy, had a headache, my throat was sore from the tube (plus a VERY dry cotton mouth) but no other pain.

I was moved into the recovery room, where every passing minute (or so) I felt better and better. Since I'm an "overnight" patient, I had to wait for a hospital bed. The hospital was full to capacity - so I had a looooong wait, waiting for someone else to be discharged. I believe they would have tried to move me out of recovery after a half hour, but they had no place to move me. :huh2: I waited in recovery for 5 hours until I finally got a hospital bed. (My surgery was at 8am, over about 9:10am.) It really wasn't bad waiting, they treated me so nicely, the nurse anesthetist came in and checked on me, my surgeon came in and said I did REALLY well! No complications at all. Best of all - he said my liver was nicely shrunk, and it didn't get in his way at all! :tongue: He said I must have done a really grand job on my pre-op diet. I was all kinds of proud then, LOL. I didn't get any pictures, but it was nice to hear that I have a very trim liver. So for those still on your pre-op diets - please stick with it!!! :w00t: It really helps! And if anyone is in the south-eastern (Oakland county) part of Michigan, I'd highly recommend Dr. Kevin Krause as a surgeon. :thumbup: He is so nice, easy to ask questions of, and a gentle guy with tons of experience.

While still in the recovery room - I was able to get up and walk to the bathroom. The nurses kept telling me how wonderful I was doing (I don't think recovery nurses are used to seeing their patients walk, lol). But then I was there for so long. They said my "color" was really good, and I looked like I should be reading a book, lol. They did give me pain medication once or twice, mostly for a terrible headache, that they said was from the anesthesia. No nausea, no pain in my stomach. I wondered if I had a band there at all, lol. :tongue:

OK . . . finally moved to my room - Beaumont has a floor dedicated to Bariatric excellence. And they were. I was treated so well. I was up and walking around, still only some dull discomfort in my abdomen, but no real pain, nothing like my gall bladder operation (thank-you to the wonderful ladies here in this forum who mentioned this!). Hardest part was getting in and out of bed, but I went slow, and even then it was still only soreness. There was some dull "achy-ness" in my shoulders (from the gas in surgery) and I just tried to walk it off.

Friday morning 2/22 - I had my "upper GI" . . . I drank some clear liquid contrast (small amount) while they got pictures. Easy easy. Stuff tasted icky, but no where near as bad as the chalky stuff they give up with a regular upper GI. Test was no more than 15 minutes, if that. My band was fine! Then I was able to eat my first meal - clear chicken broth and a popsicle for lunch. I managed half of both, then I was full. No nausea. Since I tolerated that, they said I could now go home, and slowly progress to a full liquid diet. I went home about 2pm on Friday. So my hospital stay was about 32 hours, almost a day and a half. I came home, showered, got into some comfy pj's, and SLEPT! lol. I'm still feeling pretty good today, everything just went beautiful, much better than I expected.

All in all, a very good lap-band surgery experience! :smile:

Hi Rhapsody

Just to say congratulations on getting banded!

And also a massive thankyou for your 'in detail' hospital stay &

operation account, as I am due to have my op at end of april & am really

nervous & by no means brave about it!

Your thread really helped.

Hope you continue to heal quickly & thanks again

Ginger Cat

Congrats to you! I grew up in Oakland County

that was awesome, thank you for sharing. i am scheduled for 3/5/08 and i am very excited but have some nervousness. i have had surgery with anesthesia 2x in my life and the "happy juice" was great for the apprehension. I felt after surgery that I missed out on a part of my life for having no memory, but other than that they went well. it is very nice to hear you did so well and don't have complications. to what do you attribute your success for feeling so good after surgery? physical exercise prior, amount of excess body weight, etc? thanks for sharing, g2s

Rhapsody..my girl!!! I'm so happy to hear from you. WOW....you did awesome!! Congratulations on being a bandster!! It sounds like you had excellent care and that makes all the difference in the world.

Be gentle on yourself. Just keep sipping......lol! And walk as much as you can without overdoing it. You have started on a wonderful journey, my friend. I'm almost 3 weeks post-op and have never felt better. The scale has slowed down a bit, but I can't expect to keep losing a pound a day like I was the first week!! :w00t:

Thank you so much for sharing your story. I can't wait to exchange more with each other as we continue this process. One thing is for sure....Life is Better with the Band!!

Take care and JUST KEEP SWIMMING....

Amy

Lori, I'm so glad you did well. Your detail was great, as I am pretty nervous. But I get to do the gall bladder at the sametime, so I have nothing to compare. Best of luck for the rest of your recovery!

that was awesome, thank you for sharing. i am scheduled for 3/5/08 and i am very excited but have some nervousness. i have had surgery with anesthesia 2x in my life and the "happy juice" was great for the apprehension. I felt after surgery that I missed out on a part of my life for having no memory, but other than that they went well. it is very nice to hear you did so well and don't have complications. to what do you attribute your success for feeling so good after surgery? physical exercise prior, amount of excess body weight, etc? thanks for sharing, g2s

I'm happy my very long post was helpful! Honestly, the best thing (that really helped me!) for success after surgery (other than listening to your doctor and dietitian of course!) is the wonderful advice people give you in these forums. I was prepared for a lot of things, like the gas pains in my shoulders (and to walk and relieve them) by reading the wonderful advice here. I think doing your research and knowing what to expect beforehand really helps, then when things happen, you are more at ease. Stick to your pre-op diet! I found this to be *really* important . . . not only for shrinking your liver and making the surgery easier, it's also a great segue into changing your eating habits after you are banded. I was not the best exerciser, but I did try and walk everyday - the exercise will help you get fit for your surgery. So stay on your diet, exercise, learn as much as you can, and stay positive! Good luck to you, let us know how you do! :thumbdown:

Many thanks Gingercat, Angie, girlie2shooz, Amy, and Valvinnek for all your kind words! I'm glad my post was helpful to some, I'd be happy to answer any other questions about my surgery! :smile:

Amy, my girlfriend! You're so sweet, and continue to be my inspiration! I'm so glad to hear things are well 3 weeks out. I do need to keep reminding myself to be gentle right now . . . I think maybe I'm expecting too much too soon! I did great with my surgery, came home feeling well, but 3 days post-op finds me with a lot of lower intestinal problems . . . mostly gas and diarrhea. Did you (or anyone else reading!) experience this? I've been taking small sips of my liquid diet, walking and actually feeling pretty good . . . but the discomfort from the gas and diarrhea have me feeling weak. I put in a call to my doctor because it got so bad . . . he said that it was probably the antibiotics I received during my hospital stay (the antibiotics knocked out the "good" bacteria in my intestines). He recommended staying off the Protein shakes for awhile, (harder to digest) and take some pepto-bismol (bleh). I'm also taking gas-x. My doctor will check on me again on Monday . . . I'm hoping this gets better! I apologize if this all sounds so icky . . . getting a lap-band, I guess one has to not mind discussing the digestive tract! :thumbdown: I'm also thinning some yogurt (actually "soy-yogurt", blending it with soymilk, as I'm lactose intolerant) to get some lactobacillus acidophilus . . . it was one of the recipes my dietitian gave me for the full liquid stage, so I thought I'd try it. Hoping something helps, and this gas doesn't last long! :frown:

Amy, I also love your saying: Life is Better with the Band!! We can "just keep swimming" towards our goals, but it's great to keep remembering: Life is Better with the Band! Good stuff! :eek:

Lori...oh yes, I had the "runs" something fierce. It was pretty bad. The gas was also my main culprit. I just couldn't get rid of that "tight" feeling. The runs lasted thru the first week but the gas got A LOT better after day 4. I too was feeling weak but as I was able to get more Protein down the better I felt. You sound perfectly on track with all your sypmtoms and are rounding the corner to feeling SIGNIFICANTLY better. It's hard to have so much time on your hands. That's what drove me crazy. I was so damn bored!! Then I would try and go out and do something but it would be cut short because I got tired. Are you sleeping ok? That's one thing I was/am grateful is getting lots of sleep. It certainly helps with healing and makes for a quicker recovery (IMHO).

I'm slowly transitioning into soft solids. I was scared at first, but now I can get most things down. And I definitely notice that I can take in more volume. I think I'm entering that forsaken place of "Bandster Hell"!! I don't get my first fill until March 13th, so I will have to exercise some willpower at this point. Don't want to jeapordize anything I've done thus far. Oh....I did have a DELIGHTFUL glass of wine this weekend!! My doc said it was ok. I could have definitely gone for another but I nursed my one glass and it was so nice!! Anyway, sorry I got off on a tangent. Just keep doing what you're doing Rhaps...you are kicking ass!!

Talk to ya this week..

xo

Glad to hear that it went well. I've been away for the weekend and didn't get to check your post. Keep resting. You may not really be as good as you feel.

Have a great day!

Welcome to Bandland!

Welcome Rhapsody!!!!!!!

I am so happy you had a good experience. I wish i knew how to write like you. I dont think i wrote it as clearly as you. I can tell you about it better if I talked to everyone on the phone but thats not gonna happen, lol.

Oh well, see I started with a congratulations then took a turn down another street, SMH.

good luck with the rest of your recovery

Lori...oh yes, I had the "runs" something fierce. It was pretty bad. The gas was also my main culprit. I just couldn't get rid of that "tight" feeling. The runs lasted thru the first week but the gas got A LOT better after day 4. I too was feeling weak but as I was able to get more Protein down the better I felt. You sound perfectly on track with all your sypmtoms and are rounding the corner to feeling SIGNIFICANTLY better. It's hard to have so much time on your hands. That's what drove me crazy. I was so damn bored!! Then I would try and go out and do something but it would be cut short because I got tired. Are you sleeping ok? That's one thing I was/am grateful is getting lots of sleep. It certainly helps with healing and makes for a quicker recovery (IMHO).

I'm slowly transitioning into soft solids. I was scared at first, but now I can get most things down. And I definitely notice that I can take in more volume. I think I'm entering that forsaken place of "Bandster Hell"!! I don't get my first fill until March 13th, so I will have to exercise some willpower at this point. Don't want to jeapordize anything I've done thus far. Oh....I did have a DELIGHTFUL glass of wine this weekend!! My doc said it was ok. I could have definitely gone for another but I nursed my one glass and it was so nice!! Anyway, sorry I got off on a tangent. Just keep doing what you're doing Rhaps...you are kicking ass!!

Talk to ya this week..

xo

Hi Amy!

Sorry I've been slow to respond, I've been sleeping a lot this past few days, and I've had some nausea, so I've been just taking it easy. The good news is, my gas and diarrhea are MUCH better . . . and I'm doing great, without any pain. I've been trying to get as much protein as I can, I have a Protein powder I can add to my liquids. Thanks so much for your response! It's always so good to hear when others have similar symptoms. My surgeon has also told me that what I'm feeling in pretty normal. Still, I could do without the nausea, lol. :tt1:

This is day 6 for me, one more day and I can try the "mushy" foods. I never thought baby food sounded so good! I can't wait to eat something other than liquids. Sorry to hear you're entering that awful place of "Bandster hell". I'm trying not to concentrate on my weight loss until I heal and get my first fill, but it is hard to not look at those scales, isn't it? It's what we started all this for! :smile2: I'm sure you will continue to do great! I'm following right behind you, so please continue to let me know how you are doing! Your glass of wine sounds SO yummy! :eek: What a treat! I love wine, and I hope to have some (at least a sip) in the future . . . just want things to heal right now!

Hang in there girlfriend, we can do this! :biggrin:

talk to you soon,

Lori

Glad to hear that it went well. I've been away for the weekend and didn't get to check your post. Keep resting. You may not really be as good as you feel.

Have a great day!

Hey St. Louis Gal! How have you been doing? I miss a lot posts myself, lol . . . I've been resting and taking it easy, as you mentioned. Let me know how your surgery went when you get a chance!

Hugs, and take good care! :biggrin:

Hey Rhapsody, I'm so glad that you are doing so well. I'm very excited about all of the success we are experiencing! =)

HI Rap!

We haven't had an update in awhile! how are you doing? how is the hunger? I need your inspiration to keep me on the straight and narrow. I am going to a seminar this month. I think the scariest part of me is giving of my friend, food. It's going to be hard to let go, but I know getting thinner is much better and healthier.

hope to hear from you soon!