I just got home today. I had surgery on Wed. (Aug. 12, 09). For me it was a breeze. I did have a little pain in my chest that moved to my shoulder. I got out of bed last night and walked the hallways at the hospital and it helped a lot. I am glad that part is over. Im looking forward to my success. To think, I was about to cancel because I was so scared and unsur of myself:thumbup:.

I'm not Kiaa but maybe I can give you a helpful tip.

IF you lie flat from the first night, it's going to be easier.

This is because 1. you'll still have good drugs on board and it won't hurt and 2. stretching out early on will keep things from getting stiff, used to being compressed, etc.

I think probably most people are "afraid it WILL hurt" and don't just go for it, then by day 2 or 3 when they try to stretch out it DOES hurt, like a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Night 1 (I was at home but you can do this in the hospital too) I slept on my side (the port side actually) with a pillow to kind of help brace me. Actually the pressure is GOOD for you; it can help slow and stop any bleeding etc (like you hold pressure over a cut on your arm, say, to stop the blood flow) I was a LITTLE stiff getting up but used my 4-poster bed to help me pull up (in the hospital you'll have side rails etc). Night 2 I slept on my stomach (which is my norm)

I was fine the next morning. I was a LITTLE sore but it was like too many sit ups sore, not like major surgery sore.

Use a pillow to help brace your abdomen when you sleep, when you sit up, etc. The counter pressure is VERY helpful and keeps the muscles from hurting too much. If given a choice between a pillow and prescription paid meds, I'd say the pillow helped me WAY more.

I did take tylenol every 6 hours when awake. I didn't take the prescription med because I didn't want or need it, but by all means take it if you need it; and timing it to have a dose about 30-45 minutes before bed time will help.

So yes you can sleep in a recliner if you have one and want to. But I didn't WANT to sleep in the recliner; I wanted to rest well and don't do that in a chair. I can't help but think that getting "good" sleep early on helped me recover more quickly too.

Recliner? not a must have unless you just want it.

Thank you....I will do that we just got these new zero gravity recliners that have massage and heat and I was gonna use those, but your idea of the stretch sounds like a good one, any other help you could provide would be appreciated. Thanks so much!!

The recliner sounds wonderful, no wonder you were asking! But you can bask there during the day (remember to walk some each hour...prevent those clots and move the gas!)

I am sure there's a percentage of post op patients who really can't stretch out but I think more would feel "normal" if they just got over the fear and went to "bed" the first night or so. The pillow to brace is key. And knowing you will have help to get up if you need it is also important. Since we are banded laparoscopically, our muscles aren't cut and while our innards (medical term, that) may be upset with us, they all still function just fine.

So it's kind of like how you're sore after exercise (of course I have to remember FAR back for that) It hurts, but using the muscles some to warm them up feels better? This is not the same, but similar. The more you move, the more normally you act, the better you are going to feel. By all means, pamper yourself in that fine recliner. Take it easy. Dont' decide day 3 is the day to clean out that closet that's been bugging you LOL but

do "putter" around.

And as has been posted, take your pain meds IF you need them. I did feel some pain. My goal wasn't total eradication of pain. For some, that's the aim. But I wanted to balance the pain with being alert and aware. I HATE feeling groggy and "out of it". For me, distraction and tylenol worked just fine. I had some movies I wanted to watch, a couple good books, some magazines, and even a couple crossword puzzle books. That type of thing worked for me but won't for everyone, so do what you need to, so that you will feel good.

AND one more thing I just thought of.

While our bodies will produce a good deal of gas, and it can be painful, GAS X or something like it (clear it with your surgeon first) will work wonders.

HOWEVER the surgeon pumps gas into your abdominal cavity and that stuff isn't even touched by gas x.

ASK your surgeon if he will remove as much as he can before he closes you up. They CAN remove it. But some don't, or don't think to. Your body will eventually absorb it and dump it but in the interim it can be MISERABLE.

So ask your surgeon to remove it and you'll already be ahead of the game! :thumbup:

Congratulations!!! I had my surgery the day before so I know what you were going through!

Restless Monkey is right. I slept flat on my back last night with no problems. Support pillows are the key to sitting comfortably in chairs and the bed. For me it has been best to get up every hour and move, move, move. Good Luck with your surgery.

It's great you are doing so well! :thumbup:

Hi! I was banded on Thursday 8/13. I am doing fine now. Day 1 was painful, but not too bad. Yesterday morning I was miserable, but I took a nice, long nap lying absolutely flat on the my back. It made me feel SO MUCH BETTER. It was amazing. I went from feeling like I had made a huge mistake because I felt so bad in the AM to getting up after my nap and going to Target, to the hospital to visit my father, and out to get something to eat for the husband. It was amazing how much just laying flat relieved my upper-middle back pain. If you want to read more about my experience, feel free to check out my blog. I have not posted since Thursday night, but plan to update it this afternoon. Good luck and happy weight loss to everyone.

Oh, BTW, I lost 10 lbs on my pre-op diet and 1 lb since surgery.

Isn't it funny how much it can help if we just re-establish our routines? I am sure it won't work for everyone, but for a bunch of us, if we act normally we feel normal much more quickly! I'm glad you felt better so quickly!

I was banded this past Tuesday 8/11 and found the first 2 nights sleeping easier with my head and back propped up. The gas they use in lap moves up into the shoulders and back of the neck making for a bit of discomfort. Now 4 days later I can sleep flat or on my side and get a great nights sleep.

Ron