JUNE 2009 Lap Band Surgery

[spud.mama 7]

Welcome shearu2 and Da Bus Driver!! Congrats and Good Luck!!

Glad you're doing great shear!! And Bus Driver it's a piece of cake!! Gosh I'd really like to have one right now!! lol Which reminds me--my first fill is on July 8 and my sons bday is July 10th, I just maybe watering it down with ice cream and sucking it down with a straw. lol And my second fill is 2 weeks later on the 24th which just happens to be my daughters birthday!! Can I just get a real piece of cake plez???!!! LOL

[paisleypea 1]

Hey all -

I must echo the kudos to those of you "early June banders" and your wonderful words of what to expect. Everything went just as I expected - and even BETTER! I was chattering as I came into the recovery room (go figure!) and was immediately set up on the pain meds. I got to administer it myself with that machine where you hit a button. I was on dilauded, which is 10x more powerful than morphine (they told me that part). no pain. great!

My surgeon came in after all his surgeries of the day (he did 5) and said it all went great. i asked when I could take a shower ---- cuz I'd read it could be a while ---- he said the next morning! wahoo! now THAT was good news for sure!

I stayed overnight becuz I lived an hour away, and am glad I did. I wouldn't want my husband to have to do all that the nurses did for me in the hospital. sometime in the middle of the night I went ahead and switched to liquid Lortab for pain to see if I could manage pain that way. It worked out well, so they unhooked the IVs at 5 AM. I was able to leave the hospital as soon as I wanted, which I did at 9 AM --- wanted the pharmacy open and my prescriptions filled first.

I mostly slept the next 2 days though. I guess the pain meds. I committed to 4 days of pain meds based on things I read on this board and I slept and slept, which I think was crucial for healing.

Today - it is day 5 post-op and I feel pretty good. I thought I felt pretty good yesterday but hit a wall at 1 pm. Taking it really easy, which is nice. I did take some pain meds last night at 6 becuz all of a sudden it HURT. slept well. :-)

I was on liquids for the first 3 days post-op and could go pureed foods yesterday. I haven't really pureed any "real food" cuz it sounds kinda gross. For now, I am HAPPY with my Pacific Soup. They are awesome.

thoughts --- plain ole broth is GROSS! yucko! My husband went to Panera and got containers of French Onion Soup and chicken Noodle Soup and asked for "just the broth" and the gal looked at him funny, said, "no stuff?" There was some in it - of course. But I strained it to eat and YUM! best decision ever for Clear Liquids. Truly, chicken noodle soup has magic healing powers in it. Those felt good when I ate them - in a comforting way. I highly recommend it.

Tomorrow is Father's Day - and I should be hosting a fantastic meal here. BUT - I haven't done much of anything since Monday's surgery. My husband will go to the store and do the grilling. sweet guy! my parents will come over too. I like having it here becuz if I get overspent, I can go to my room and sleep and they'll understand it all.

I do find it amazing how every surgeon is different --- not just in pre-op diets, but in how they do the surgery, the stitches, the post-op diets etc. I didn't have any gauze or anything --- they covered it in the durabond stuff, hence why I could shower. I know I have had it "easier" than most - no pre-op diet and a "fast" progression in the food plan post-op based on what I've read. Clear liquids and then liquids days 1-3, pureed foods days 4-7, at week 1 go to mushies and at 1 month go to normal foods. should be interesting.

My first post-op appointment is July 3rd. I guess if I am healed up nice he will do a fill. I can't wait! Although I am to go to a wedding on July 4th --- hope I'm feeling okay. I guess you just go liquids the next day? but I should feel fine?

thanks for "listening" to my tale here. I couldn't even open the computer to READ the board until day 3 post-op. I did try on Day 2 but too hard to read with the pain meds in my system. LOL. I have been reading faithfully, but just haven't had it in me to type out my story until today. I feel brand new today!

[lindas0809 0]

paisley pea,

I'm to hear everything went well for you. It will only get better the next week or so. I know I didn't really feel myself until maybe 8-9 days post op. I have my two week appointment on Monday - then I have to go back to work. :biggrin:

Good luck!

[butterfly71201 0]

I had surgery June 15th, and let me say.... these message boards have been AMAZING! I woke up in recovery with a smile on my face. 24 hours later... I was in pain med HELL. I don't do well with meds and they gave me darvocet, and I was soooo naucious. I couldn't stop what I call "Herfing". Usually, I would just vomit, get it out of my system, and throw my meds out. BUT... I was so scared to vomit! What if my band slipped? I kept it all down, switched to liquid Tylenol, and cried myself to sleep saying... Why did I do this to myself??? My hubby rubbed my back and told me that I did the right thing. 24 hours after throwing my meds out... OMG! What a difference!!!!! I could do without the gas pains, and the fake burping. Don't you hate it when you think your going to burp and then your chest erupts in pain instead?? Yea... NOT FUN! But, I have been walking a couple times a day and today I even deep cleaned my house and scrubbed out the fridge. I spend most of my down time on here, reading other peoples stories and saying to myself.... THAT'S why I feel that pain in my chest! Thank God, I AM NORMAL! I just wanted to say that I don't talk much, but I'm listening. You beginning Juners are the trailblazers. I love hearing how your doing, how your feeling, and what the road ahead is going to be like. Thanks for all your imput! And to the late Juners who are reading my post... It WILL get better. You might have it easy and I hope you do, BUT if you have it a little rough, just remember that this is temporary pain and discomfort. We are all going to be Smokin' HOT by next June!

Hey there !! I had my surgery on June 16th! I am so sorry you had a rough time with the pain meds!! I know what you mean bu the fake burps!! I have those all day long and they drive me crazy...:biggrin: I just take everything hour by hour and try to think of the light at the end of the tunnel!! Keep in touch!

Cheryl:wub:

[Gemini0123 0]

Congrats to all the recently banded, and good luck to all those with surgeries coming up!

This is a random question, but I can't seem to find a straight answer online, and my surgeon never really went into specifics... I think he thought I probably knew how it worked:

So I was banded on June 8th, and I know I need the fills to get it tighter and to get to the sweet spot and everything. But as of right now, is the band causing any sort of tightness around the stomach? Or is the band just around the stomach, and the stomach is still normal size with a normal opening?

[kpdgal 0]

I asked my Dr. this very question last week, his answer was yes, there is a little pressure on your stomach where the band is, and the food is going in much slower. His question to me was this: are you hungry all the time, or are you still satisfied with 1/2 cup of food at meal time, my answer was No, I am never hungry and 1/2 c food does it for me. He said some people lose all the weight they want without ever getting one fill! I don't have my 1st fill scheduled for another 3 weeks, he said I was doing great on my own so far!

[akfmurphy 0]

Greetings from Alabama! I just found out that I was approved for my surgery and it will be on June 30th, so I am officially able to join the June group! I am a member of the Dr. Miles/Dr. Schmitt discussion group also, but I look forward to sharing my journey with my fellow June banders!

I notice that many of you have lost a good bit of weight already. Is some of that pre-surgery or is it all post-surgery? I am just curious what I should expect.

I am not required to do a pre-surgery liquid diet but I think I am going to do a week of liquids only to prepare myself. Do any of you have any comments about doing it or not doing it?

Any words of wisdom would be greatly appreciated at this point!

Amy

[Gemini0123 0]

Stephy - thanks so much for clarifying that for me!! And that's awesome that you're doing so well--- huge congrats!!!

Amy - good luck on your upcoming surgery!! I was only required to do one day pre-op of Clear Liquids, and then 7 days post-op of clear liquids. I think it's great that you want to prepare yourself...I think it does help to take it easy on the stomach for a few days prior to surgery.

I'm down 22 pounds so far, and I'd say about 20 of them are post-op (7 days of clear liquids will do that to you!).

[Shearu2 0]

I had to do a 2 week liquid diet which was 3 slimfast shakes a day ONLY and SF popsicles, SF Jello, and broth. I was also lucky enough to be allowed to drink allllll the Water I wanted. LOL! Since surgery, I haven't been able to have much more than water and maybe 2 Protein Shakes a day. Not because I'm full, but because I've just not been hungry. So, I have lost 27 lbs in 2 weeks and 6 days. I earned every ounce. The liquid diet before hand was pure HELL. I was ready and committed to this process, and I waited 1 year and 12 days to have surgery. That didn't take away from the fact that I was STARVING through the whole liquid diet! My 130 lb co-workers were like... yea, there is NO WAY I could do that. I just told them... If you just don't order pizza for lunch, I'll let you live.

I also wanted to give you my tip of the day... Everyone is saying gas X strips, and I used those the first few days and really found no relief. I went to the store and bought Mylanta Gas chewable tablets. AMAZING! I IMMEDIATELY felt the difference and the "fake burps" are almost all gone today. Ahhhhhhhh... RELIEF!

[kpdgal 0]

I was also told post-op to take two 10mg pepcid tablets a day, I never had heartburn or the fake burps, maybe thats why they have you take Pepcid... Has anyone else been told to do this?

Also, to the question should you do a liquid diet pre-op. My answer is a total YES. First, its good to clean out your system, Secondly, it gets you into the right frame of mind. I don't think I would have mentally been ok with the fact that you just plain ole don't want to eat so much anymore if you don't have that beforehand. I have to plan to eat, I don't eat on my own hunger signals yet, simply because they are NOT there for me yet. I have to make a huge effort to get my food in daily. I am around 550-600 cals and 65-70 grams of Protein, alot of that is just the Protein bullets and good choices of meals when the time comes.

[paisleypea 1]

great to hear from everyone!

so - I am finding the post-op time to go up and down. I was doing GREAT on post-op day 5 and got over-ambitious. I cleaned our giant bathroom, even the deep soaking tub -- becuz I could not stand it being dirty any longer. Did some laundry. Then the next day I couldn't even do anything! I felt like CR@P yesterday. ugh! we hosted Father's Day here and my folks came and everyone was great. I got the veggies all chopped up and mixed for the grill and the same with the chicken and then I was spent. the whole rest of the day I lounged. thankfully everyone wanted me to rest - saying "it hasn't been a week yet" blah blah blah, but I felt like such a slug

today - much better.

interesting comment on the pepcid ---- they gave that to me while I was in the hospital. and you know - it really DID help.

I tried to acclimate myself with a pre-diet since my surgeon did not require one ---- totally different than doing the liquids after. so not even the same. after surgery I don't even WANT to eat and the liquids are easy to manage on for the few days after.

[jtoler 0]

Congrats to all the recently banded, and good luck to all those with surgeries coming up!

This is a random question, but I can't seem to find a straight answer online, and my surgeon never really went into specifics... I think he thought I probably knew how it worked:

So I was banded on June 8th, and I know I need the fills to get it tighter and to get to the sweet spot and everything. But as of right now, is the band causing any sort of tightness around the stomach? Or is the band just around the stomach, and the stomach is still normal size with a normal opening?

My doctor actually puts 4 cc's into the band during surgery and then I can not start the fill vs. sweet spot trials for 6 weeks...

[jtoler 0]

I am a little disappointed so far, my band starts out at 4 cc's according to the docs office...I was not even hungry until 5 days post op and then I was ravenous...loaded up on sf pops (bad to the tummy btw) and then found out the wonder that is "soup to go"...still have a sour feeling tummy but what I am disappointed about is I HAVE NOT LOST ANY FREAKING WEIGHT post op...I dropped 35 pounds before surgery and am worried that my body is in starvation mode and is holding on to the weight...I was hoping for like 10 more pounds immediately post op to drop off putting me firmly in "onederland" but that is not happening...I get to beging eating mushies on thursday and my husband is making me a mushroom and cheese omelet...but seriously..I have not lost weight like I thought I would and NO i have not been keeping up with my Protein because frankly I am tired of freaking shakes...I started them about 6 weeks pre op then two week pre op of nothing but shakes and seriously i know one more week is not that much to ask..but it is nearly 100 degrees outside and the milk in the shakes is just not agreeing with me...I bought some eas shakes, but they taste so darn sweet to me now...I dunno..I am just disappointed and now you guys get to read all about it...grrrrrr.....

[willowcat 93]

Harvick -

I know EXACTLY what you are talking about. No, I don't know what causes it, but I had severe pain radiating up into my chest making it hurt to breathe. Fortunately for me it happened the morning after surgery, and i was still in the hospital so they were able to increase my pain meds so I could breathe. They even sent me home with some pretty potent drugs. So, I would recommend you call your dr and see what they can do for you. No one should have to deal with that pain for long.

I had my surgery on June 9th, and things seem to be going ok for me. I am having trouble getting all my liquids down.. I have finally graduated from clear liquids to things like Protein drinks, yogurt, sf pudding, sf Jello, etc. I still have a feeling of pressure around my stomach. and I am having a lot of hiccups & gas that are all new for me. I hoped the gas would stop as the nurses in the hosp told me it was from the gas they pump into your abdomen to do the sx laproscopically. But all the gas pain is long gone, and I still have to pass gas.

I am having some trouble with energy. I went to the store today and almost passed out - cold, sweaty etc..and it was a very short list! I am doing ok on the exercise front... acutally walked around 1.5 miles today, just don't feel good while doing it. I had the same cold clammy feeling on the pre-op diet.. and my nutritionist added in 1/3c brown rice per day and it went away. Unfortunately I can't have that now. Just wanted some confirmation that someone else is having these problems.

35yo lab band 6/9/09, wt loss so far (including pre-op diet) 26lbs!!:blushing:

Sounds like you could be having bouts of low blood sugar--that's how I feel when my blood sugar bottoms out: "cold, sweaty, and faint." I'd call my nutritionist if I were you. Good luck.

[willowcat 93]

Im day 10 post-op, feeling great... im on the thick liquids portion of the post-op diet til thur, then I get to start cream of wheat and stuff like that. I can have creamed Soups that have been strained, and have been living off of cream of potato and cream of chick Soup and my Protein Drinks. I did get out with my fiance for a 1.5 mile walk... over did it totally, had to rush home for an emergency bathroom visit! I think this is about the point where the free ride of losing weight without exercise is over for me, gotta get my tail moving. I took 6 weeks off from work, so my only job is to make sure I do the maximum I can to get the best results before going back to work. Everyone knows I have had this procedure, so I am sure they will be evaluating my success (you know how women are!). Have my follow up tomorro afternoon, so looking forward to getting released to get back to my aqua-aerobics classes!!!!

kdpgal, did you get the ok to go back to your Water aerobics class yet? I tried last Tuesday to go back to water aerobics but I didn't feel good (everything was bouncing around inside too much and I could feel my one-piece suit rubbing against my stitches) and I couldn't move fast enough to stay warm. So I left after 1/2 hour. My regular water aerobics class is tomorrow and I'm kind of afraid to try it again. My stitches are almost 100% healed (I was banded on the 4th) so I thought maybe I'd try it again. Just wondered what your experience with water aerobics was like (if you were cleared to return that is)?