The Icy One

Hey, FruitLoop, how'd it go? I hope all went well and you are recovering well and feeling okay. Welcome to the banded life.

Congratulations!!! 21 pounds in less then a month, that's awesome! Thank you. <3 I'm feeling pretty okay about it. And pretty excited for some "real food" for dinner, tonight. Oooh, yeah!

Just had my first aftercare appointment and didn't need an adjustment, yet. She said that is normal with people who had a hiatal hernia repair. I'll probably need one by next month. Otherwise, I am down 21 pounds and doing well and can now transition to solid foods. Yay!

Thanks! You, too.

Hey, Lulu, glad everything went well and you are home and recovering. Welcome to Band land.

Just saw this... You are on the other side and hopefully home and recovering, now. I hope that everything went well and you are doing well. Don't forget to walk and to hydrate. Sip, sip, sip. Congrats on your new life!

Good luck! Cheers to a successful op and a smooth, uneventful recovery! I have my first aftercare appointment on the nineteenth. May or may not get my first adjustment...

When you get to one more sleep it gets super real! Honestly, the pain isn't that bad. It's more like a moderate discomfort than real pain. It's kind of hard to explain. It's uncomfortable, with moments of pain, if you move wrong but there is not a steady, constant, terrible pain. When I came out of my surgery, I never once used my prescription pain killer. I filled the liquid Lortab my surgeon prescribed but I never opened it. I simply didn't need it. I used a little liquid Motrin (childrens, just double the dose for an adult) for shoulder pain, thanks to a hiatal hernia repair. The discomfort from the gas varies from person to person... My surgeon did a good job of pushing mine out, I had very little if any gas pains. Mr. Porty was a bit ouchy, I learned how to support my tummy when bending and straightening and twisting in the early days until it settled in. Prescription pain killers won't be very helpful for those minor things, IMO, but that's just me. Really, don't fear it. I think that you'll be surprised. The first three days or so are the roughest, expect to feel tired, dragged out, wanting to sleep a lot. Just listen to your bod, give it the rest it demands. Get up, do your walking, then rest. Try to hydrate and nourish with your liquids the best you can, that is crucial. By day four, I was beginning to feel pretty human, again. Just play it by ear, be nice to yourself and you'll be fine. Good luck with your surgery, I hope that you have a smooth and easy recovery. Check back in and let us know how it's going.

Cheryl, I just need to send you a big, warm hug. Methinks you need one.

My sense of taste and what I find yummy has changed a bit since my surgery. Things I used to adore, not so much, now. So weird.

Didn't your surgeon give you a script for anti nausea med? If you are still feeling sick, perhaps he can prescribe one? I have a melt on your tongue one that works a treat. I didn't need it for post op... I didn't get sick during my recovery but when my gallbladder acts up and I feel sick, this med knocks it right out. Good stuff. You shouldn't have to be struggling with nausea during your recovery, give your doc a call and see what he can do for you.

Rest, push fluids, hot Soup, good movies while you wallow on the sofa. Oh! And don't forget to hunt down and kill the germ bag who gave it to you. Survival tip: For the chafed nose and the skin between your nose and upper lip from blowing and blowing and blowing. Carmex. Apply a little after you blow, each time. It will protect and prevent that awful red chafing and pain. I have done this for years after accidentally discovering it, during a particularly nasty cold. I had the horrid chafe. Was desperate, thought, what the heck, Carmex works on chapped lips, why not that skin? Slathered it on and by the next morning, it felt so much better. No more redness and pain when I blew my nose.

Congratulations on your fantastic progress, so far. Onderland! So close you can practically taste it. Yay! You!

I have my first aftercare appointment on the 19th and am questioning whether I will even ask for an adjustment, yet. I am quite content on a bandster portion of a cup or far less, stop when I feel satiety, not full and go hours between needing to eat. I get rumbly, my stomach growls but the sensation passes and I forget about it. I am beginning to feel a bit of head hunger encroaching, wanting to snack on junk for no good reasons. Totally in my head and so far, thanks to my healing, I have held it off. My band isn't head control... I still have to rock that sh*t on my own. Being aware of my band certainly helps and I am going to allow it to. Veteran bandsters, I am wondering if I even need an adjustment at this time? Should I try a tiny one to just shave the edge off? Any words of wisdom are welcome and of course I will also listen carefully to the input from the pros at TR, as well. I don't want to pass on an adjustment then find myself casting around, starving hungry with no help at all. On the other hand, the way I am feeling now, how I am doing, now I don't want to rush, risk over filling too soon and too fast.

Congrats! It's coming up fast.

Wow! Congratulations!

Congrats on getting banded and welcome to your new life! Don't worry about comparing yourself to anyone else at this or any other phase going forward. This is about YOU! This is about your life, your health, your personal journey. No one else's numbers matter. Wow! You are progressing in your diet quickly. No judgments... We all have to follow the advice given by our medical team. I am just a little envious. I am nearly a month out and still on the mushy soft stuff and longing for real, solid food. LOL I can't wait until my first aftercare appointment on the 19th. I should get my okay to progress, then. *fingers crossed*

Don't forget your lip balm. Slather it on right up until they take you into the OR. Trust me... Your lips will thank you. Easy to put on clothes to wear home. Getting dressed after surgery isn't the easiest thing. A dress or soft, super stretchy, low waistbands on pants and big, soft, tops. If you have a rack like I have a rack forget about your bra, after. Trust me, you probably won't want to do battle with it or chance it hitting your incisions. I didn't. I just free boobed it home. And I didn't care. Have a bottle of fancy schmancy Water waiting in the car for after. On our way to the surgery center, we stopped and I bought a bottle of overpriced fancy water and left it to warm in the car. It was my post surgery "champagne" to sip and Celebrate (and re hydrate) on the drive home.

Good luck! I hope that you have an easy surgery and a smooth recovery. I would run New Year's wine past my surgeon, if I were you, since you will be so newly banded and still healing and on whatever post op diet he/she has their patients follow.

Agreed. If you are struggling with nausea, call your surgeon's office. You shouldn't be feeling sick all of the time. I had little interest in food until this last week. All of a sudden, I am a little hungrier... but even when I wasn't interested, I tried to at least get some nutrition into my bod. As fun as it is to see the weight melt off and to not be worried about wanting to eat all of the time, we need to remember to fuel ourselves, from time to time. I don't force it but I make sure to eat something at least twice a day.

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Congratulations on all of your success, so far and for sharing your story. Cheers to reaching your ultimate goal, soon.

I agree with Mis. I know, with the amount of weight I have to lose that loose skin is inevitable. I figure that Spanx and flattering clothes will help a lot and in the end, I would sure as h*ll rather deal with some excess skin than the excess fat and the health problems that comes with it.

Hope everything went well, Flojones and you are having a smooth recovery. Welcome to Band Land.

Fingers crossed for you.