thesuse

Thanks all for the welcomes and reassurance about my "side effects"!

Jann - so glad you liked the pics! We did all have fun together there.

Good luck!

It'll be great.

Thanks ladies!

I'm glad to hear that some of you have experienced the lovely side effects I have.

I did a search on the forum yesterday and saw that it was indeed fairly common. I don't know what I'd do without this forum and all of you!!

Hi all!

I was banded on Tuesday, 6/24. The OCC (like everyone says) is awesome! The docs are all great (and adorable) as are the nurses. Indeed, such an improvement over my previous surgery experiences in the US.

I posted pics in my gallery of my sister and I (got banded together) and our Dad who came for support.

We went to LaPalapa (across the street from the Lucerna) and had a fantastic dinner the night before surgery. I had ceviche for an appetizer and the "fish La Palapa" for my main course which had a cilantro sauce and cheese and bacon - yummmm!! (Can you tell I'm still on a clear liquid diet and thinking a bit much about food?)

I was a little anxious the day of surgery, but the staff really calmed me down - of course they gave us Ativan too, which really helps. Dr. Ortiz came by and chatted with us for a bit - he really put me at ease. He made sure we were clear on what to eat after surgery - and then how to succeed once on solids. And he told us that we'd both be hot mamas soon He's just so relaxed and warm and he made me feel much better.

Shortly after surgery I was chatting on the phone with family and sucking on popsicles. last time I had surgery I felt sick from the anesthesia for days, so it was amazing not to have any of that.

My sister and I both went back to the hotel the same day as surgery, which was great. We had the broth and apple juice at the hotel restaurant that night -- it was a bit too much to drink the broth and a whole big glass of juice at one sitting. We were a bit uncomfortable afterwards but did about 6 laps around the block where the hotel is and that helped with the bloating and gas.

The next day we went to the Arts and Crafts market and Revolucion ave. We bought some beautiful pottery at the market. It was a great place to go. I liked it a lot better than Revolucion Ave. Much less pushy sellers, and more beautiful wares in my opinion.

We flew home early Thursday, which was a long flight for me back to NYC. I slept a lot on the plane and felt great when I arrived home.

My trouble began the next morning when diarrhea set in. :lb1:

I was feeling really sick to my stomach most of Friday and early Saturday. Yesterday I was allowed to add some liquid yogurt, and I wonder if that helped a bit. My tummy started feeling better, but the diarrhea continued. I started taking Imodium yesterday afternoon which slowed it a bit. It's still there this am, but not as bad. I hope to feel ready to go to work tomorrow!!

I started feeling hungry Friday - kinda stinks I have to say. But I keep sipping on something and it helps. I stopped drinking juice when the diarrhea started.

So that's my story so far - hope it helps some future bandster know what to expect. Despite the diarrhea I'm feeling pretty good - and still so happy I did this!! Looking forward to those creamy soups I tell ya!

i just wanted to know where they put the band in your side your stomach where? does it hurt alot afterwards where does it hurt? :lb12: how long will the pain last?

I have 5 incisions in my belly - most are very small, about 1/4" or so and there is one bigger one that's about 1". They are all above my belly button, more on the left side. The big one is about 4" above my belly button and about 3" to the left. The highest one is just under the middle of my bra.

They need to make little holes to put their scope and instruments into - so they can work inside. The big one is where the band and the port go through, and I was told my port is about 1" below that incision.

The pain really isn't too bad. My biggest issue this week has been diarrhea, but the pain from the incisions hardly bothers me at all. I most certainly have no regrets - and I'm sure you won't either.

I just added pics to my gallery - check them out - as you'll see my sister and I were goofing around at the hospital just a couple hours after surgery (we went back to the hotel late afternoon on surgery day) and then went shopping the next day.

Hi - I was banded the day after you and still have some pain at the port site. For me I mostly feel it when I use my stomach muscles though - when sitting or standing up from sitting, or bending over. When I'm walking around or laying down it doesn't bother me.

I've been taking liquid tylenol when it hurts the most.

Hope it gets better soon!!

-Susan

does anyone know dr caruana,s weight limit? he told i was heavy to be banded and i would need a gastric bypass

Don't know that doc - but I'd suggest you contact the folks at the OCC (click the logo on the upper left). Most of us on this forum were banded by Dr. Ortiz at the OCC, who is one of the top lap band surgeons in the world. I'm not sure what their upper weight limit is, but they can tell you. I know it's at least a BMI of 50, possibly up to 60.

Good luck!!

Good luck with everything - I'm sure it'll go great!

You're looking awesome!

Congratulations on your speedy success!!

:lb10:

Congratulations!!

You WILL make it to the 170s - and soon I'm sure.

:lb16:

You look beautiful!

It's just so inspiring seeing how well you're doing - makes me so excited about what's to come for me.

:spruce_up:

Not to burst your bubble but technically speaking (from a nurse who knows) surgery day is day 0 and then the next day is officially post-op day number 1. ( This is how it's counted in the hospitals I've worked at and currently do. You can be exact if you wish and use your actual end time of surgery for the time to change your days. So, if you had surgery at 11:00 then approx. 11:45 (Dr. Hottie O. is so quick) you can have your full liquids. Sorry for the downer (

Oh rats!!

Well I can wait another 1/3 day.

Thanks for keeping me honest!

The enchilada sauce comes in a thinner soup-like can. I think it's near the taco shells. But it is different than salsa... it reminds me of spicy tomato soup.

I counted the day OF surgery as day 1. I only had liquids that day and it's a 21 day liquid diet.

Thanks!! I think I'll try a bigger supermarket - and I'll check by the taco shells - thanks for the description!

And yay - I'm glad to hear you think I can count surgery day as day one - 1 day closer to this soup!!

:lb21:

Congrats Cathy and Julie on your great restriction!

I obviously can't answer your question since I'm newly banded, but I'm happy to see you're doing great - think of the money you'll save with leftovers that provide a bunch of meals!

Hi all - silly question perhaps - is "enchilada sauce" the same as salsa? Or taco sauce? Or picante sauce?

This soup looks so good and I just looked for "enchilada sauce" at the supermarket but didn't find it.

Thanks! Only a few more days till I get creamy liquids - can't wait!!

Oh - one more question. Do you think surgery day counts as day 1 of the liquid diet? My surgery was before noon. Or does it start the next day?

Thanks!!

Hi Lisa,

I just got banded on Tuesday. I was a bit nervous about it all, but it was just fine. They give you an ativan before surgery so that really helps relax you. And Dr. Ortiz came by and chatted a bit and completely put me at ease. (He's even more adorable in person).

Let's see what advice I can come up with...

- Definitely bring some gas-x strips

- Check out the arts and crafts market the day before or after - I thought it was much better than Revolucion ave.

- After surgery don't drink too much too fast - at the restaurant at the Lucerna they'll give you a big bowl of broth and a very large glass of apple juice - but I felt full and really uncomfortable after drinking that much

- I packed some juice boxes in my checked luggage which were nice to have after surgery

- remove any nailpolish from your fingernails before you go - toes are okay to be polished

- walk a lot after surgery to get that gas moving - my sister and I did laps around the block where the hotel is - so we wouldn't have to cross those crazy traffic circle streets!

- about the streets - the cars have to yield to you, so if you just start walking they'll stop and let you go - but it is a little stressful

That's all I can think of. I'm just 3 days out and feeling pretty darn good - just a little sore at the port site (hurts when I bend over and stuff, but not at all when I'm just standing or sitting) and a little uncomfortable inside (belly) but overall pretty good - and getting better each day.

Good luck! You'll do great!

-Susan

So adorable!!

Jim - I am so very sorry for your loss. I send my deepest condolences to you and your family.

I can't even imagine what you're going through... take care of yourself as best you can.

Good Luck, Jules and Thesuse. We will be waiting to hear from both of you. My only advise is to eat light the day and night before your surgery. This is one of the things that I learned reading Dr Ortiz's book and I had little to no gas pains after the surgery.

Thanks Jim for the good wishes and tip!

That's an especially good reason to behave tomorrow.

Thanks for the good wishes jgirl and goofy!!

I'm starting to feel a bit nervous, but hopefully that will pass.

Hope you're feeling better jgirl!!

You shoulda asked for her address & when she asked why.

Tell her you were gonna mail her all of your unneeded fat clothes.

I love it!

I haven't told enough people to hear this kind of thing personally, but I've read some pretty offensive posts online (not this site of course). I'll have to keep this comeback in my back pocket in case I ever need it. :punish:

One more comment on this: I had my teeth cleaned and the Zoom treatment done when my husband went in for a fill. My teeth were pretty badly stained, so she applied the treatment solution four times and it took over 2 hours. I would definitely NOT recommend having this done at the same time of surgery--it is just too much to go through right after surgery. Also, you can't have coffee, tea, red fruit juice, or anything that can restain your teeth for 3 WEEKS after the treatment. The last thing you need right after surgery is further restrictions on what fluids you can drink.

The treatment itself worked well and your teeth continue to whiten for three weeks afterwards. I'm pleased with it, but it really was a bit of an ordeal.

Thanks Snowbird!!

That settles it! Maybe I'll do it at my first fill, but not right after surgery. :negative:

I did have zoom w. done the day after being banded. It was $300 I think. My teeth looked great for a while and then I was not too impressed. Noone at home seemed to notice either. My teeth were sensitive for a few days, but very bearable. I would do it on a fill date so you could be more alert as to what was going on . I really don't regret it, but if you really don't have the extra money, I would wait. It has been almost 3 months now and I can't even tell it was done

renee j

Interesting... thanks for the advice! I'm leaning towards not doing it on this trip now.

Welcome Jeremy!

That's great that you were able to visit before surgery! I'm in NY, so that would be a big trip.

I can imagine that the liquids phase will be especially difficult for you as a chef (I'm assuming)! I guess you'll have to be very careful about tasting things...

Good luck!

-Susan

Welcome!

If you haven't seen it already, check out Dr. Ortiz in this video. I'm inclined to follow his guidance to avoid a slipped band or a stretched out pouch...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CNGmGlancN8

Good luck!

Susan