Second day of being banded!

Well, I did it!! The surgery was much less painful than I thought it would be. Actually, the incisions don't hurt at all -- the only thing causing me any pain is the gas that they used to fill out my abdomen for the laproscopic surgery.

My doctor actually did a relatively new technique for my surgery, using new tools. Because of that, I only have two incisions, instead of the usual 5. Here is a photo of my scars (pardon my soon-to-be-smaller tummy . . You can see that I'm still swollen by the bottom incision, which is where my port is). This should let me heal faster and, obviously, cuts down on the number of scars. Also, because of the placement of the incisions, I was able to wear a normal bra and can wear jeans. Go Dr. Rumbaut!

In any event, I was able to drink some tea and broth after I got out of the recovery room, and I slept fairly decently last night at the hospital, thanks to the sleeping pill they gave me, though I did wake up a few times because of pain from the gas they used for surgery. This morning, they woke us (my mother stayed in the room with me) at 7 a.m. and had me shower before the doctor got there. That was no problem (though I was a little squeamish about seeing the incisions), and I even spruced up and put on some makeup (I am totaly broken out from the pre-surgery stress!).


Good thing I did. . . my doctor sent his colleague. . Dr. Guzman, who is ridiculously good looking to check on me -- since I don't have a photo (mea culpa!) you'll have to imagine a guy who is tall, with dark hair, a great face, a nice build and what seems to be a really nice personality (I'm willing to bet he's married to someone who looks like Selma Hayak's more attractive younger sister). :) Unfortunately. . . about 3 minutes after we met, he was looking at my cut-up, gas-distended stomach, which is all yellow from the antibacterial solution they used during surgery (didn't come off in the shower). Nice! It's safe to say that wasn't the best I've ever looked!! :)

Oh well. . at least I did get to enjoy my first post-band meal. From the left, that's a yogurt drink, then pureed (and diluted) cantelope, and chamomile tea. I only had a bit of everything, but the yogurt was paradise after 3 days on clear liquids!Anyway, aside from the gas pain (in my shoulders and abdomen), I'm fine. I walked around a bit yesterday after surgery and walked some more today as well. I'd only had surgery once before -- when I was 4 years old (tonsils) - and this was a total breeze compared to what I had expected.