musicgirl713

One thing I like to eat is the individual cups of ice cream... Comes in a bag of chocolate and vanilla cups from Walmart and are 3oz per cup and 100 calories and 13 carbs. I don't like the taste of sugar free or no sugar added ice cream and have found these individual cups to be so helpful at limiting my serving.

I'm having some discomfort/pain in my abdomen area... It started Friday night and I first thought that I had overeaten and was now paying the price... So I ate light yesterday and I still had some discomfort today so I decided to go back to liquids today and I'm still really uncomfortable. What could have happened? Do I need to go to my Lapband doc and get checked out?

I've had a head cold/flu for a couple of weeks now and it's not getting better even though I'm on antibiotics and a bunch of other over the counter meds.... What concerns me though is that I've been coughing a LOT and trying to cough up stuff, I've gagged a lot... Is this going to hurt my band? I was banded in July of this year and haven't thrown up, had a stuck episode of PB'ed at all... I'm just so worried that the constant hard coughing and some gagging is going to cause my band to slip... Any insight would be most appreciated....thanks! L

I've been taking mucinex since it started.... And I have seen my general doc...she gave me the antibiotic. I have one day of it left but I think I will go see her again to see if something else is going on. I'm just so scared that the violent coughing is going to cause my band to slip. I'm finally losing at a steady pace and I don't want to mess anything up.

How bad is it to not get the recommended amount of Water daily? I was never a big drinker pre-band and that remains now. I am supposed to drink 64 ounces of liquid (of which 8oz can be fruit juice and up to 16 can be milk) but I'm getting no where near that. Pre-band it would take me all day at work to drink a can of coke and then I would have a glass of milk or water with dinner and that was all I drank for the day. Now I am drinking half a bottle of water, about 6-8 ounces of a homemade Protein shake, a glass of milk and maybe about 6 ounces of unsweet caffeine free tea and I feel like I'm drinking all day. Pre-band, I knew I was always a little on the dehydrated side - it was mainly only noticable if I had to have bloodwork done or something - they would have a hard time sticking me because my veins were so small because I was dehydrated. I feel the exact same way I did pre-band, so I don't feel like I'm extra dehydrated or anything right now. I just don't know if I'm doing damage to my band by not drinking what I should. I also find it very difficult to drink much more than I am right now. My throat closes up and I choke on whatever I'm drinking if I try to force it down. I don't know what to do and wanted to get some opinions/advice. Thanks y'all!

I am a hugely picky eater and have been having a really hard time with the ready to drink Protein shakes. I am in my full liquids stage and I am also having problems drinking as much as I should. My mom was experimenting with some fresh strawberries (I love fresh fruit!) and came up with this protein rich shake: 1/2 container strawberry yogurt (3g protein) 1 container strawberry Greek yogurt (12-15g protein depending on brand) 1/2 cup of milk (2-3g protein) 10 strawberries 1/2 bottle of vanilla Pure Protein shake (10g protien) 3-4 tablespoons of fresh squeezed orange juice Blend together. Add more milk or orange juice to make it thinner. Mine is pretty thick but as I'm on liquids only right now, it's also pretty filling. But finally something with a good amount of protein that doesn't make me gag! The Pure Protein Drink gives it the slightest hint of vanilla and I don't have the nasty protein taste! Hope y'all enjoy it as much as I am!

See if your doctor can give you something else for the nausea... My surgeon gave me a patch, pills, and a bracelet thing that I wore for the first 4 days. I only got nauseated a couple of times due to all the stuff they gave me. Make sure you are drinking. Also, drink sloooowly. My doctor said that stuck burp feeling was because I was taking too big of a sip and then drinking again too soon after the last sip. Once I adjusted my drinking, I don't get the stuck burp feeling anymore.

I wasn't given a list of food I can't eat... Just things that I should eat I moderation... High fat foods, high carb foods, etc. I think you could try your favorite foods and see if you can tolerate them. If so, just make sure you eat them in moderation. Also, know that since you are still newly banded, your body is stil going through food withdrawals and that is probably part of the reasons you are feeling so much regret about the band. It's like any addiction, your body will help you make excuses and justifications to get what it wants... In this case, the foods and quantities you used to eat. You will find that the longer you go without certain foods, your body will stop craving it. I was/am a huuuuuge lover of potatoes and I had a 3 week preop diet where I couldn't have any potatoes and the first week was pure hell...but after that, it became so much easier. Now I'm on mushy food and on my list of approved foods, is mashed potatoes. Presurgery, I was looking forward to this phase... I've not had mashed potatoes yet. I'm not craving them at all. Just know that it will get easier! You jut gotta hang in there. Also, tell yourself that you have the band now and you just gotta deal with what comes with that. For me, as a self pay, it is NOT an option to go in and take e band out. I have it now, I'm stuck with it and I might as well get used to it.

Mine is on my chest, like under my collarbone, right above my left breast... So thankfully I don't have that problem! Mine only bothers me when I sleep on that side in a certain position.

Where is your port? Mine is on my chest - between my collarbone and shoulder, kinda. My incision for my port is right under my arm, and to be honest, it's the one that has given me the most trouble. It's the biggest scar (although I have another one that's almost as big) and in a weird location, I think. Is everyone's port in a different place or is there a standard port placement? I can barely feel mine when I press around in the area and that makes me wonder how painful it's going to be when I get a fill...

Good to know! Thanks

Oh wow... That sounds uncomfortable! And I'm so jealous of your 2 scars! I look like I lost a knife fight I have 7 incisions! I also had a hiatal hernia repair and my gallbladder out, so that could be part of the reason.

I had the same feeling and was told by my doctor that I was either drinking too fast or taking too big of a sip. Once I changed that, I didn't get that feeling anymore. Be careful with eating solid food too early... Your stomach is still healing and the band needs time to settle before it starts dealing with real food.

My favorite thing on the clear liquid part was the soup they serve at Japanese habachi restaurants.. It was tastier than plain broth and pretty cheap... I got 5 styrophome cups of it for $10. I also had jello. I was told to drink G2 Gatorade, the sugar free Gatorade and when I got tired of sipping, I froze some Gatorade and that was really good. I also really liked apple juice.

Three days post op is the worst for some reason... A lot of medical personnel will vouch for that too. That was by far my worst day. That was th day I was asking myself what the hell I had done. But you will get better, I promise! Just think of the future and how much better you at going to feel about yourself in a few months. It WILL get better, I promise!

Okay I am sure y'all get this all the time, but I'm gonna be starting my mushy diet in Thursday and I need some recipes. Also have a question: if I were to purée meat, do you have to have a liquid? If so, what kind of liquid? Was meat good puréed? I'm craving meat like nothing else and I don't know if I can wait like 4-5 more weeks without the taste of meat. chicken and beef broth just ain't cutting it for me, lol. Thanks everyone!

Hmmm, that's about what I kinda figured.... Interesting. Thanks y'all!

I am a hugely picky eater and have been having a really hard time with the ready to drink Protein shakes. I am in my full liquids stage and I am also having problems drinking as much as I should. My mom was experimenting with some fresh strawberries (I love fresh fruit!) and came up with this protein rich shake: 1/2 container strawberry yogurt (3g protein) 1 container strawberry Greek yogurt (12-15g protein depending on brand) 1/2 cup of milk (2-3g protein) 10 strawberries 1/2 bottle of vanilla Pure Protein shake (10g protien) 3-4 tablespoons of fresh squeezed orange juice Blend together. Add more milk or orange juice to make it thinner. Mine is pretty thick but as I'm on liquids only right now, it's also pretty filling. But finally something with a good amount of protein that doesn't make me gag! The Pure Protein Drink gives it the slightest hint of vanilla and I don't have the nasty protein taste!

I think it is pretty normal... I was that way too. I think part of it may be dehydration...our bodies go through a lot with surgery and all we are giving it back is liquid. I know that the first week I was only permitted to have Clear liquids so I couldn't get in any Protein and I actually had a really hard time drinking, so I know a big part of my problem was dehydration. Just keep drinking as much as you can. I hope you feel better!

My dad makes a milk base Soup that has seafood seasonings and it's so good. We made it the other night with some grilled catfish. He made the soup and then took out the catfish for my part... It still had the flavor and it was sooo good. I lived off of the broth soup they serve at Japanese habachi restaurants. I also love potato soup. I haven't found that any of it is too rich for me... You might want to try thinning it with some chicken broth or something.

I am a 19th banded too and I'm doing pretty well. I'm still on my full liquids stage too and am drinking a lot of smoothies. I'm enjoying trying different soups too though. My biggest complaint is that I have thrush and it makes some things taste awful, like water. It doesn't matter what I mix with it, it's still awful! Apple juice tastes wonderful for some reason so I'm drinking a lot of that. I'm definitely not getting the 64 ounces of fluid my doctor recommends.

I had frequent upset stomachs and diarrhea and I was concerned that that might cause problems for the band. So he sent me for a gallbladder ultrasound and an endoscopy. I had gallstones and a hiatal hernia, which he repaired at the same time too.

I had my gallbladder out when I was banded a week ago and it took a couple of days but the diarrhea finally kicked in. I asked at my post op appointment and my doc said to expect it for 2-3 months. Oddly though, since I talked to him on Tues I haven't had any. At that appt I was graduated to full liquids so I thought with drinking milk and creamed based soups that my diarrhea would be out of control but it seems to be okay. My doc recommended taking Immodium, but I lived on that before my surgery so I was used to taking it. Take one before you eat and then another if you have the upset stomach. I hope it gets better for you!

You really want to drink as much as possible... I learned the hard way. I was banded a week ago and because of some complications during my surgery my throat was swollen and it was impossible to drink anything. So I didn't. And now I have thrush and I don't WANT to drink anything. Your body depends on food/drink to help maintain its ph and yeast levels so by not drinking, it caused the yeast to grow wild in my mouth. Trust me, you do NOT want this to happen to you! It's quite nasty and makes everything else taste nasty too.