rairai

My surgeon told me I could shower and stuff the day after surgery, basically no water restrictions, but I cannot work out until 4 weeks post-op I'm counting down the days!

Over the past couple of days I totally noticed my hunger increased quite a bit but my eating habits have not. I feel as if the liquids are not keeping me satisfied any longer and maybe if I have some actually solid food, it would tie me over MUCH better but of course I am going to wait on that until my surgeon gives me the okay. Has anyone else experienced this? Does anyone know what makes this happen? Thanks so much!

Jackie's Girl... There is some fluid in the band after your surgery as per what my surgeon has told me. However there isn't too much so your body can slowly adjust to the band and heal. After approximately 5 weeks, you then get your first band fill. How much it will be filled depends on you, the size of your band, and what your surgeon thinks is appropriate for you. Hope this helps! Good Luck!

I think it might be... I assume your digestive system has to get used to everything all over again and it will take a little while before it doesn't effect you so much.

Congratulations! You're doing fantastic!

I'm so glad to hear from all of you, it's nice to know we are going through it together at least. I went to my doctor's yesterday, I am 11 days post op and I complained of my constant hunger. He suggested I blended some fruit in with my protein shakes (I gave up the traditional protein shakes for ready-made Isopure) and he also said I could have hard boiled eggs which was so exciting to me, I ate one and a half and felt like I just ate a Thanksgiving dinner LOL I also had a little bit of mashed potatoes for the first time in 5 weeks and it was like heaven. I'm looking forward to the 26th, I will be able to eat real food... Granted it will probably only be a few bites, but that is more than enough for me! Plus the 26th is the day after my birthday and I couldn't pick a better present for myself at this point

Cream of Wheat is my best friend right now!!! lol Enjoy it! I am not cleared for a puree diet until the 19th but I guess all surgeons are different. Best of luck to you too!

Thanks everyone for the helpful advice! I never heard of "Bandster Hell" before but the term certainly fits how I feel right now! I'm not scheduled for my first fill for another 4 weeks or so. But now that I know this is normal and everyone goes through this, I can stop worrying and just keep on track with my will power. Besides, watching that scale move in the RIGHT direction each time I step on, is enough for me to be strong!

So today I went to my surgeon for my first follow up and he placed me at Stage 2 which is the full liquid diet. For dinner I opted to have strained cream soup made with skim milk. I ate about a small cereal bowl portion and the next thing I know, I'm coughing some of it up and feel completely, disgustingly stuffed! I really didn't expect for soup to have this effect on me. Has anyone else had that uh-oh moment?? And how do you get it to go down? I sat up perfectly straight, sipped very lightly on water, and walked in hopes of getting it down. I definitely need to be mindful of ALL portions I eat, including liquid. You live and learn!

I am 4 days post-op and I know how you feel... For me I believe it was all the gas on top of the stomach being swelled up from the surgery. Definitely sip on everything and be mindful of your fullness as you go along before you over do it like I did yesterday lol

LOL @ being awful sad for the tiny amount of soup in the big bowl! I know exactly what you mean! I will have to stop at Target today and grab some of those kiddie sized bowls so I don't have this portioning problem again. Thanks so much for the tip!

Thanks Mck, I will definitely be more mindful and pay attention as I go along. I had hardly been getting my fluids in and I think I just forced it down really quick in hopes of getting my ounces in on top of the soup tasting SO good! I have to concentrate on really paying attention to my stomach and pacing myself.

My surgery was this past Monday. Thanks for letting me know about the water! And I will stop and Walmart within the next couple of days.

I have tried to lay on my left side and I find it really hard to do! I will keep trying different ways of doing so... maybe one of those big body pillows will help. Thanks so much for your suggestion!

I am about 48 hours post-op and the gas pain is a bit more than I anticipated. I have been getting up and walking small laps around my house about every 4 hours or so. I've been reading postings on here about some people praising Gas-X and others saying it doesn't do much and walking is the real key to it all. I'm looking forward to being more active but I also fractured my knee right before my surgery. Has anyone else had a similar problem? And if so, what did you do? Also, every once in awhile I feel like I have to burp but its really painful and when I try to push it out, nothing happens. Is this normal? Thanks for your responses!

Hey Becky, best of luck to you! I am super new, just had my band done on 3/5/12... still not over all the uncomfortableness that comes along right after the surgery but everyone here is so nice and give really helpful tips. I wonder if there is an app for this site on Blackberry?? Oh well, either way I hope you do really great on your journey!

I don't think it would hurt at all. My surgeon had me start my pre-op diet 3 weeks ahead of time and a week before that I was already places on a high protein, no carb diet to jump start everything. I say go for it, you should do just fine.

Hey, I had the same fears as you, and I think the way you feel is totally normal! The day before my surgery which was just this past monday, I had a huge craving for carbs like nobody's business! I'm not going to lie, it was hard to walk away but I had to really think about it before I had put it in my mouth. Right now I am 48 hours post op and I can't even think about food! It's super hard for me to just drink the liquids I am suppose to have. For example, I have been sippin on an 8 oz bottle of Isopure for the past 4 hours and I'm just about to finish it now. (I have been sipping water in between as well as taking my pain meds with sugar free apple sauce as my surgeon told me to do). As of right now, I have no cravings for anything and maybe you will feel the same too right after your surgery! Don't give up before you even try!

Thank you Ann Marie, I don't have a heating pad but I will definitely make myself a make-shift hot Water bottle or something. And P.S. No matter how unlady like it is, I'd rather pass gas than be in pain!

IIene, thank you so much for the advice... My mom is patting my back right now lol