Questions...

Okay.... Here are some of my questions... 1) I've heard some people mention "binders" ... I'm probably having lap-rny, and would like to know if I'm going to have to wear one... 2) What did you take to the hospital to make for a better stay 3) I've seen people mention sleepin in a recliner for awhile after surgery... Why? Is it necessary? 4) With lap-rny what's the general pain and post-op feeling like? (Just want a kind of heads up with what I will/won't be able to do after surgery) 5) I've seen chewable vitamins mentioned.... Does anybody here use them? What kind? Etc. I guess that's all for now... LOL... G.

I've found alot of info in Sharon Neva's profile, check it out here... http://www.obesityhelp.com/morbidobesity/profile.phtml?N=N1017180811 As far as sleeping in a recliner , I know that I did that after my hip replacement surgery because it was just easier than trying to get in and out of bed. After a couple of weeks, the tenderness from the surgery wore off and I was back in bed. Chewable vitamins, I prefer Flintstones.

I used to live right by you in Helena. The recliner is if you have a hard time getting up out of bed. I never did. I was uncomfotable but not hurting to much. The vitamins my Doctor said are flinstone. Ok but you could do better. I have done more research and now l know how important they are. One thing that I went through is hair lose. Two that I looked into are Vista Vitamines (go to Bariatric Eating .com). My Dr. gave me one called Bariatric Advantage (go to bariatricadvantage.com). I don't need to take chewables any more. Email me if you have any more questions. I don't know alot but I love to chat. God Bless Kristi

I hope I can offer some type of help since you're having the lap surgery and I had open, so here goes: (LOL) I had open RNY and didn't have to wear a binder. My incision healed just fine, but if your surgeon recommends it, you might want to. I took my bathrobe and pillow to the hospital with me although Mercy had really good pillows. LOL. It hurts when you come home to lie on your side or back so the recliner helps with that. I only did it for a few days after I came home. When I started sleeping in my bed, I kept a really small feather pillow on my suture line and when I turned over, I just held it tight against me to help keep everything feeling normally. You'll know what I mean when you come home. It just feels funny at first when you roll over. Since I had open, I don't know about the pain level with the lap. I will tell you that I left the hospital with about a level 1 on a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being the worst. I only had to take children's Tylenol once or twice for pain after I came home. Never had the pain pills filled that my surgeon prescribed. Centrum chewables are pretty good - they taste better than the children's chewables and you can buy them at Wal-Mart. They're orange flavored too. Hope this helps you. Best wishes too!! Dorita

Hi Gina, First of all, Dr. Walton was my surgeon also. I had lap-rny and I did not have to wear a binder. I only took the bare necessities with me to the hospital: a robe and house slippers (for walking the halls), my chap stick and lotion and lots of reading material and puzzle books. I never did sleep in the recliner when I came home. I have had an open hysterectomy and the lap-rny. The pain level for the lap is so minimal. Don't get me wrong, there is still pain but nothing like being opened up. I did not have to use any pain meds when I got home. Just like with any surgery, you will be limited to what you can and cannot do. I was back to work (half days) after two weeks. Then after a month I was back to full time. This will also depend on what type of work you do. The pain was so minimal for me that I could hardly tell I had the surgery until I would over-do-it. As for the vitamins, I use the One Source Childrens Chewables. If you check the label on back, they have high dose of the vitamins than Flintstones and the others. I haven't checked them against adult chewables though, but my guess is that One Source is still higher because children do require more. You have chosen a great Dr. to do your surgery. He has an awesome staff and Robyn is so very helpful. You can count on them anytime.