After not eating anything the night before, I arrived at the hospital around 9:30 on 15 April 2008. Due to a scheduling problem, my surgery was pushed up in the day. Originally, I was scheduled for around 1:30 pm. Instead, I was prepped and IN surgery at 10:45.
Everything went great with the laparoscopic procedure, and I was taken to recovery less than an hour after things got underway. I awoke in recovery mildly disoriented and in a moderate level of pain. At this point, the most agonizing thing was my exceptional sore throat. (This naturally arises from the tube they place in your throat during surgery to help you breathe.) I also felt quite a bit of pain in my abdomen near the incisions, but doses of morphine every 15 minutes handled the worst of it.
After a couple hours in recovery, I was taken to a hospital room. I was encouraged to practice using my inspirometer (a breathing "toy" that forces you to take deep breaths) and to eat ice chips. A little while after arriving at the room, I was taken to X-RAY for a chest film. (The X-RAY is to verify that that lap band port has been correctly positioned.)
The rest of the night wasn't too bad, and I took several short walks throughout the evening and early hours of the morning. The following day I was allowed to eat broth and Jello. After showering with the assistance of a nurse, I was allowed to depart for home around 5:30 pm.
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