Surgery Date before appointment. New with Lots of questions

Hi Everyone, I have kind of a strange situation. I have decided to have the VBG because of the great success I saw in an old classmate of mine that I stumbled upon on this website. Called several weeks ago and the soonest I could get an appointment was late July. I called last week to feel them out on how it all works after you see the doctor and they told me I could go ahead and choose a surgery date if I wanted as I'm trying to avoid being gone from work at certain times. Anyhow, I have great insurance that is easy to work with so unless there are unforeseen problems I am scheduled for August 9th. I have NEVER had major surgery and have never stayed overnight in a hospital. Believe it or not I am most apprehensive about what that will be like. I don't want too many people fussing over me and I'm afraid they will. Also, I'm curious...do you have to have tubes in your nose, throat, etc...? I would like to psyche myself up mentally if that is the case. How long do you usually stay in the hospital and how do you feel? My doctor only does Open VBG (apparently) and I'm wondering why. It seems like LAP would be so much better, but I'm wondering if they can do as good a job. And finally in my long list of questions I am really currious how much you eat or don't eat after the surgery. I have yet to hear what a meal usually consists of and imagine eating 2 grean beans a bite of chicken and a piece of lettuce. Am I exagerating? I have no clue what a healthy meal post-op is. If anyone can feel me in who has done this recently I'd really appreciate it. Oh, and one last thing, how long does it take for the incision to heal? Is my summer over after the surgery or do I have a chance of resuming lake fun, etc..., this year. Thanks in advance to all *****ply.

Hi Natalie! I am three weeks post-op from an open VBG. My surgery was at 3 pm on a Tuesday and I went home Saturday at lunchtime. I did not have a naso-gstric tube. I did have a catheter (which I was grateful for so I didn't have to get up to pee all the time.) I was up and walking the same night as my surgery -- not far, though, just enough to keep blood circulating and avoid blood clots. I had a BURKE bed, which is the greatest thing ever! It actually puts you sitting at the edge of the bed and makes it much easier to get out of bed. My hospital stay was not bad at all. The staff was there when I needed them and the rest of the time they left me alone to sleep which I did a lot of. I had a morphine pump so I could give myself a pump of medicine when I needed it. The first night I was pretty out of it. The pain was very manageable. I had only ice chips the first day. Only water the second day. I was also not hungry at all! On the third day I did clear liquids and by the fourth day I was on full liquids (whi*****luded yogurt.) I am now eating normal foods in small portions. For example, yesterday I had slices of banana with peanut butter on them for breakfast, salmon and spinach salad for lunch, and pork chop (2 oz.), mashed potatoes (1 oz.) and watermelon (1 oz.) for supper. I've been instructed to eat 3 4oz. meals a day and an evening snack. I am down 19 lbs. and feel pretty good. My staples came out after two weeks and my incision is pretty healed. I still get sore if I overdo it. I wouldn't say I'm 100% yet, but my days are fairly normal. Everyone is different, but I'd say you're more likely to be an observer of the lake fun, rather that a participant. I hope this helps. I know the unknown is difficult. Good luck! Every surgeon has a different way they do things, this is just my experience. Kris

Thanks Kris! I'm a good patient but I've never had anything major done so I don't know what to expect. I know my mom got so sick after her hysterectomy and threw up constantly one night. It was horrible. I really don't want that to happen to me, but I guess you never know how your body is going to react. I am always active and on the go so it will be a hard pill for me to swallow to have to rest. Do you know why they don't seem to do this laproscopically much? At least I haven't heard anyone talk about a VBG lap procedure. I know my surgeon comes highly recommended, but since I haven't seen him yet I don't know all the specifics. They are doing me a favor letting me schedule ahead of time but that also means my surgery will come up very quick after I see the doctor. I am excited, and every once and a while wonder if I am going to be one of the ones this doesn't work for, but overall I know I have to try. Congratulations on your loss so far!

Just know that everyone is different and every surgeon is too. I had the tube and my nose is deformed now because of it. I see it but others say they dont notice unless I point it out to them. I had mine on Tuesday morning at 7am and was home Friday afternoon. I did not have a lot of pain but mostly just a lot of discomfort. I didnt even use the pain medication in the hospital. I had a problem too that every time I got in an upright position I would throw up, not fun just after this surgery either! They started me on medication to stop that but it only helped marginally. I was able to be up longer periods and get out to walk up and down the hall way. The nurses at my hospital were great and my mom came and was there from 8am till like 8pm every day to help me. It really is not that bad and Im glad I did it. Just make sure you read everything you can and be prepared for all the stuff after. Dumping is not an issue but I really dont want sweets anymore. I dont want breads, pastas etc either which is good cause they make me throw up now. That is one thing you have to be prepared for, if you eat too fast, dont chew well enough, eat something your body is not happy with, are too stressed when you eat etc, then odds are good you will throw it up, at least I do, yet Im sure someone else can tell you they never had this problem. Go in with open eyes and be well researched and ready for the journey ahead and you will be fine. Your life is about to have a big change.