Finding the old me!

As a new bandster, I am extremely thankful for the wonderful group of people on this forum. The support and knowledge shared by all is such an inspiration from the smallest baby steps to the moments goals are reached and all the positive and not so positive steps in the middle. We learn from every one of them. Thank you all! :blushing:

I would say walk as much as you can without pain, other than the gas pain. The heating pad helped move the gas around when i was just sitting or sleeping. As for the discomfort when you take a deep breath, the nurse gave me a contraption (forget the name of it), anyways, you take a deep breath & then breathe out pushing the bubble up to a certain point, increasing as you get better for a few days. This is because of the anesthesia and to keep from getting pneumonia. I had it with all of my c-sections & the LAP-BAND®. You don't need the contraption, just take deep breaths & breathe out slowly and longer each time. Do it a few times every couple hours. Yes it's uncomfortable when you add it with the gas pains, but it gets much better. As for the meds, i was given liquid vicodin, but the pharmacist told me it's still in the codeine family so there could be a cross over since i'm allergic to codeine. After 3 doses, i was in itchy hell! Switched over to liquid tylenol immediately & took one dose of the other just before bed to help sleep for a few nights. Good luck, hang in there, it will get better.

It was a few days before i attempted sleeping flat on my back, then i slowly tried the sides. My left side was easier. What really helped my back while sleeping was the heating pad. It worked great on those muscles plus it helps move the gas around.

At 10 days out i still had a lot of gas inside and wasn't passing much either. Walking helps a great deal though & kept it from being unbearable. Try to walk as much as you can to keep things moving. Good luck and hope you are feeling better soon.

I have two things i want to be able to do. My own selfish goal & reward is that we have a planned vacation to travel across the country next summer by RV. I want to enjoy that being thinner because those pictures are going to be around forever! The second one is, and I know this one is going to sound a bit odd considering we've all had weight loss surgery, but i can not wait to be able to make chocolate candy again! It's not so much the eating them because i worked at a farmers market candy stand for years and it's one of those things where you see it so often that the thought of putting in your mouth just turns your stomach. I literally make between 50 & 100 lbs between Easter & Christmas. The reason i can't do it now is be my back hurts if i stand too long at the counter; so much it is downright impossible to get it all done. I've always made our Easter chocolates for the boys' baskets & they've helped painting the molds & such. And on top of it, i make the best nut rolls & butter-creams, along with other items, at Christmas. Usually i give them as gifts or if we are going visiting i take a plate mixture for the goodie table. The last 2 years i've put it off. Each year, friends & family are looking for those plates....i want to do that again for them. Other than that, i'm a bargain clothes shopper so the Goodwill & Salvation Army stores will be tired of looking at me! LOL Where else can you by $50 jeans for $3 bucks and $300 jackets for $20? Some with price tags still on!!! SIGN ME UP!

I must be in the minority here....i'm almost 4 weeks out & my largest incision, which i believe is where my port is, still bothers me. Don't get me wrong, it's a little better every day, but a lot depends on what i wear too. I have some pants/jeans i can wear no problem but others not so much depending where they sit on my body.

That sounds like my diet. I start soft foods today as i'm almost 4 weeks post-op. (salmon & steamed broccoli never seeped into my mind so much. Hope they agree! LOL) The only things i didn't have were the 100% juice and the baby food. I had a hard time getting the Protein in at first, but when i switched over to the mushie stage, i added in canned tuna & chicken & blended it with light mayo to mush. SOOO much better than baby meat! LOL I also made roast for the family the other night & blended that to mush with the gravy. Saved some to put on my mashed potatoes...YUM! I did not care for the Injury at all & returned it for a refund. The Carnation Breakfast, sugar free were a life saver to get protein in at first. Remember to count your calories & protein! I love the food journal & i even downloaded a widget for my phone so i can keep track during the day without dragging my journal around. I just transfer over in the evening at supper time. Best of luck!

For my first post operation appointment I thought it was just a check-up from the surgery but they called today because my doctor will not be in the office & they wanted to reschedule with the other doctor for the same day. When i asked about getting my first fill, she said that's the day. :rolleyes2: Wasn't quite prepared for that because it's two days before Thanksgiving and I'm just advancing to the soft foods this Friday. Since i've lost 25 pounds in the last 3 weeks and doing just fine with my portion sizes right now, i asked her to bump it back a week if possible and if not, she'd see me on the 23rd. She was able to get me in the following week. So, so far so good. I'm measuring portions, counting calories & Proteins and exercising and still not hungry between my meals. I'm hoping i'll do just fine until the rescheduled appt time.

I had bought an unflavored can & a sample packet with the strawberry, vanilla, chocolate & chicken soup online. I called & they said i could return it all for a refund even though it was opened. They even made suggestions to try it with, but i just couldn't get it down at all.

That's fantastic!!!! Congratulations! That's the inspiration we all need to keep hearing.

Hi Christina! 19 lbs is great! I'm 3 weeks post op and have to say that i was very similar last week losing 20 lbs and then nothing. Of course we eat almost nothing for those 2 weeks after surgery so weight is bound to come off. After a lot of reading here, i'm probably not getting enough calories in during the course of the day. I know i wasn't getting enough Protein, but the calories were 700 - 750 or day and that maybe my body was going into store mode instead of shed mode. OOPS. So i kicked up some calories 2 days ago to about 900-1000 (Still on mushies so i'm experimenting with meals to increase a bit yet til i'm on soft food by end of the week) and i've noticed a difference just in my energy level right there. The biggest change to my diet was adding in canned chicken & tuna, BLENDED to mush with light mayo. Gives me about 140 calories plus 15 grams of protein in 2 ozs or so. I also found that after adding some food the BM's improved greatly between these two weeks & the gas is all gone now. Hang in there, you'll be moving on to the next food group soon! It did get better for me & i'm only a week ahead!!!

Just wanted to introduce myself. My name is Tami, I am a mother to 2 beautiful boys & married to my hubby for 20 years next April! My first journey was being a Gestational Surrogate for friends. I gained most of my weight over the last 6 years after my 3rd pregnancy and with every new IFV attempt for a sibling was 15 more pounds with hormones. Now my new journey....I was banded on 10/25/10. My starting weight was 260lbs at my pre-admission testing. I had a 4 day liquid diet prior to surgery & i am down almost 20lbs since last Monday! :wub: Things seem to be progressing as expected. I was pretty uncomfortable the first couple days from the gas & not sleeping the best, both of which have improved greatly. I have to say that i'm not starving at all at this point. I do find that i "want" to eat at the normal meal times, it's not i "must" eat. Learning that about myself is a huge step forward! So with not much of an appetite, i'm trying to get in all the requirements of the diet & liquid but Struggling a bit with the Protein. I have been able to get in the Carnation Breakfast shakes & i have one protein mix that if i mix with Choc milk, it goes down, but it's a force!!!! I move to the mushie stage tomorrow according to the doc's plan that was provided. I really think if i had to do a few more days of Soups & yogart, i'd be good with that. My poor hubby though, every time he sits down to eat, he says "I'm sorry" & feels bad. I've told him over & over, it's no problem, it's my change & i'm good with it. Sure they'll be hard days & then i'll need his strength so he should save it for those when they come. God, I love that man! ok, guess that's enough rambling for now! Thank you all for the wealth of knowledge and support on the forum. I'm glad to be starting this journey knowing that I will not be alone.