Getting My Band in February 22 2010

Hi There my Name is Marci I am getting my Realize Band Surgery on February 22 2010.  I have some questions though from anyone who has had the procedure.  I am nervoous about the anesthesia part does anyone know how long the whole procedure really is?? My next question is when the band is in and you dont get it filled until 4 weeks after do you feel full when you first are able to drink fluids??? How do you feel?? How soon were you up and around?? I am very excited and feel very blessed about my procedure any information from people who have gone through it will be most helpful!

Hugs!

Marci

I think I was under for about an hour.  I was up and walking about 1 1/2 hrs after I woke up.  I just completed my first week, and had no problems getting liquids in.  I never felt full, but I also never felt hungry.  I am just now on full liquids whi*****ludes oatmeal, mashed potato, sugar free pudding, yogurt and broth based pureed soups.  I am being careful to measure my food so I don't overdo it. 
Good luck with your surgery :)

I had some restriction once the band was placed. I was under about an hour and had a hard time waking up after so I was admitted overnight and went home the following day. I had a pretty hard time with pain. I'm not sure if I'm the only one who did but it took me about 1 1/2 to 2 weeks to feel good.  I was full on the liquid portion of the diet. I started to feel a little hungry before I could transition to mushies and I just added a scoop of peanut butter to my protein shakes to keep me full and it worked. 

 

Good luck on your journey!

 I'm 9 days out from my surgery. I was under about hour and a half, but mine was a little longer because they found a hernia they had to fix. The surgery itself was easiest part of this whole thing. I found the Upper GI before the surgery to be 10x worse than the surgery. That was miserable. I was in 1 night and was up walking around a couple hours after surgery. Some people go home the same day, but I actually wish I had stayed in 2 days as I got two little kids at home so being home was tons tougher than being in the hospital. The hardest part right after surgery is going the bathroom. Its unbelievable how many muscles you use to go the bathroom! I didn't start to get hungry until a couple days ago. I was only on clear liquids the first day so after day 1 I've been able to have popsicles, scrambled eggs, oatmeal, mashed potatoes. Though I didn't eat any of that for days as I just wasn't hungry. It was the first time in my life I ever ate LESS than I was told to!

Try not to worry about anesthesia.  The Dr.'s have that down to a science and all the good drugs they give before during and after are great.  You won't remember anything.  Ask anesthisia for something to relax you before surgery after they get your IV in and it will help with the nerves.  My surgery was also about an hour and I was home about 2-3 hours after that.  I went back to work after about 16 days.  I am almost 4 weeks out now and feel great.  Just a little tender around my port site.  I did not feel hungry or really want to eat much until about 2 weeks out.  Then I wanted to eat everything and had to get a hold of myself.  I get my first fill in two weeks and I am ready!!   Good Luck-- You will do fine!!  Keep us posted.

Marci - here is my quick operation synopsis

From start to finish I was in the hospital about 7 hours. The operation itself was about 45 minutes. I never had anesthesia before, and didn't know what to expect. I was "tired and nausea" when I came out - but the nurses gave me something for that.

Once home, I took a nap and when I got up I felt great. Felt as if I NEVER had an operation - except for a soreness in my throat (which I later realized was from the tube they put down there to help you breathe). I was "back to normal" within a day (ok, not really normal because I no longer had a desire for food)

The band is implanted unfilled. Now when it comes to fills, each Doctor is different. Some do it after X amount of weeks. My Doctor's philosophy is if you're still losing weight, don't feel hungry, and you food sizes are small no need to get a fill. It took 6 months before I got my first one - and it was only because I felt I had too after reading all posts about fills. Knowing now what I know, I would have probably waited another few months.

of course everyone experience is different.

If you want more boring details, send me a personal message and I can send you the entire thing.

I had my realize band procedure yesterday.  Surgery was at 7:30 and I was home by 1PM.  The procedure went quickly even though I had a hiatal hernia that needed to be repaired.  I had a feeling of pressure where the hernia repair was, and some shoulder discomfort.  The pain meds helped a lot, be sure you take them often enough.  The thing that helped me the most with the shoulder pain was walking around and stretching my arms up. 
Good luck!

good luck to you, hope you mend quickly!