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I'm having the exact same procedure on 8/8. I'm nervous and excited. We should keep in touch I can let you know how it goes for me if you'd like sent from Louisville, KY

Hello ladies! I'd love surgery buddies! The big day is 8/8! My pre-op labs are 7/28. I started my Protein diet yesterday. It's not a liquid diet so I'm a little worried. Anyway, I'm excited! sent from Louisville, KY

Hello everyone! My surgery is also 8/8! I am having a lap-band conversion to GB. When I did this diet for my lap-band I also peed A LOT but it ended up being because of all the "sugar-free" stuff I was eating/drinking. It apparently irritated my bladder so that was bad news. Try to drink more Water (sounds counter intuitive but) it will help your bladder not be overwhelmed by the sugery free stuff. Excited to start my journey for good this time! Good luck! sent from Louisville, KY

I'm doing ok. Still stuck at 12 lbs that I've lost...it seems I keep gaining and re-losing the same 3lbs that's getting pretty old pretty fast! I'm trying to make walking a part of my daily routine and have joined a gym. I'm on soft foods now and have been hungrier with every passing day which is also starting to get old. My doc refuses to give me a fill because I'm "still losing" but I keep telling him it's because I want to be successful with the band so I'm eating healthier than ever and exercising...I see him again in 2 weeks...how about the two of you? How are you doing?

You're so welcome PoohBear22 I was banded on 8/7 and had lost 6lbs with the pre-op diet and then 6 pounds since then to date. I am eating blenderized food and trying to "eat clean" (organic chicken broth, steamed broccoli, baked chicken breast, shrimp, sea week salad) all blenderized to baby mash lol. It's delicious food but I can honestly say I HATE the texture! I like food and I like to eat and that's one of the reasons I'm overweight but I've decided I can still eat lots of foods I just can't eat the unhealthy stuff any more (French fries, burgers, cheesy lasagna and other pastas). I've also had LOTS of blended watermelon which is basically like watermelon Water it's sweet and delicious! I've also discovered feta cheese and eat that bc it's lower in fat/calories and stronger in taste to it helps me get my "salt fix". I didn't tell not a single person I has this surgery because, sadly, I don't have people in my life that wouldn't pass negative judgement on my decision to get banded and I think that's been the roughest part. I don't have support from family or friends and that's hard. I'm so happy I have all of you here! You've been so wonderfully kind and supportive! Thanks for your encouragement

Missmonaaz, thank you for sharing your story! It took extremes courage for you to be able to disclose so many personal details about your weight loss journey thus far! I think, in my humble opinion, that we have to be ready to commit to making HUGE lifestyle/dietary changes after being banded or else we are only hurting ourselves. I was just banded earlier this month and was determined to adhere to all the diet guidelines/restrictions and what not. It was SO hard!!! I kept telling myself it would be ok to eat blenderized food before it was time to so so because I felt SO darn hungry at day 3 post op. Then I have in to temptation and ate blenderized chicken in 1/2 cup of broth. I regretted it almost immediately then panicked! I googled what could happen if you eat food too soon after band surgery and the articles and posts I read scared me straight lol. Now I'm back to eating blenderized foods (as directed) and sticking to it. The ladies I got banded with and I have been in touch with me and they have not adhered to the diet but say they "feel fine". We all have to admit to ourselves that we have had MAJOR surgery that has changed our innards because we needed help in the fight of our lives. We had this surgery to get a tool to succeed in the weight loss battle most of us have faced the entirety of our lives. At the end of the day we only fool ourselves into thinking we know better than our doctors or even what our band tells us. Thank you for reminding us to respect our bands and I'm so happy you healed both times and now get this 3rd chance to save your own life. You can do this but you have to give it everything you've got!! It's SO hard but I believe you can do anything you set your mind to!! I'm here to help/support in any way I can. Slow and steady wins the race Sam

I had the same exact issue! It felt like it was a combination of extreme hunger pain/stomach grumbling and heartburn! It was awful!!! I started taking 2 antacids first thing in the morning before eating anything and that has made a HUGE difference! I am also eating very small portions and trying to drink more Water throughout the day. It will get better! Every day is slightly better than the day before, don't worry the pain and discomfort will ease up soon!!

PoohBear22 I totally felt that way you do 5 days post op!!! Everything was MISERABLE all the time!! I had heartburn, I was STARVING, I was sooo tired from not eating and then I would drink my broth and feel awful afterwards! It was like I was never comfortable or pain free so I started questioning the entire procedure but I promise you every single morning you wake up you'll feel a little better than the day before. Every day you'll feel a little less yucky after each time you eat. Each day is a little better than the day before I promise you it does. For now know you are supposed to feel like crap because let's face it, we have done some traumatic things to our poor innards lol! I think I wasn't prepare for how much pain and discomfort would be involved immediately post-op. trust me, it's all a part of the journey...just take it easy and be kind to yourself. Have faith that you made the right decision for yourself

Angemc and PoohBear22 thank you for sharing how you've been feeling! What a relief to know I'm not alone in this! I was totally miserable post-op for 6 days. Our "pain meds" my doc suggested was Tylenol! I was in excruciating pain those first few days...I was miserable and grumpy from being hungry but feeling like garbage I also had massive heartburn pain that woke me up at night every night post-op til just yesterday. I now take 2 antacid pills first thing in the morning and that has made a huge difference. Now, I'm hungry and my stomach growls and rumbles and burns and then when I eat (about a cup of mashies) I don't ever feel "full" I just feel pressure and tightness in the center of my chest. It's been a rough adjustment to this. I guess I always thought I'd feel "full" and then stop eating and not get hungry for several hours. That has not been the case for me. I'm hoping this changes once I start getting fills...glad we're in this group together! I'm down 12lbs total (pre and post op). Good luck to each of you!!!

I was not hungry at all those first few days. I just drank a lot of liquids so the Tylenol wouldn't be so hard on me. Today I feel 100% fine, virtually no pain at all unless I move to quickly or bend/turn a certain way. I felt hungry yesterday and today. I don't feel "full" once I'm done eating. I just feel a tightness in my chest that is very uncomfortable. I only serve myself about a cup's worth of food per meal because I don't want to feel sick from eating too much but I don't ever feel satiated, I just feel uncomfortable. It's a mind-trip now...I have to stop looking for that "I'm really full now" feeling and have to just stop once I know I should. It's a learning period for me still but I'm so happy I'm not in any pain any more!! thanks for your kind words! How are you doing?

I bought a Bodymedia Fit Link armband that I wear 23 hrs a day on my left upper arm and it tracks (remarkably accurately) my caloric intake and expenditure every day. I have an app on my iPhone that I enter all my calories eaten into and the app calculates the amt of calories I am allowed to eat per day in order to create a "calorie deficit" of 700 calories or more per week. That's what I need to burn an excess of per week to lose 1-2 lbs per week. I LOVE it! It keeps me accountable and motivated! They're kind of pricey but look on ebay instead of buying one new. Good luck and I'm sure you'll be back on track in no time! The first step is reaching out for help and not waiting too long to ask for it. 10lbs will be easy to recover from! Be proud of yourself for knowing when to ask for help/support!!

Hi all! I got banded on 8/7 and did great post-op. my surgery was at 8am and I was on my way home by noon that day. Things didn't get rough until my narcotics wore off at about 5pm that evening. My surgeon Rx'd Celebrex (a heavy-duty NSAID/anti-inflammatory) but advised that we probably wouldn't need that bc most of his patients do fine with just Tylenol. I took the Celebrex and got the WORST heartburn/acid reflux EVER (similar to the pain I felt when I had gallbladder attacks). I think it's because at that point I had been on a liquid diet for a week and really didn't eat anything on surgery day so I think I just didn't do well with an NSAID on an empty stomach. Anyway, I couldn't take any more of that Celebrex after that so I stuck to Tylenol PM and liquid gels during the day. I was absolutely MISERABLE!!! It was the worst recovery/most pain post-op I've ever dealt with from a surgery (and I've had 7 abdominal surgeries and a baby sans drugs)! I blame it on the surgeon not prescribing narcotics. I'm happy to report that today is the first day I have virtually no pain whatsoever. I didn't take the Tylenol for very long so I just dealt with the pain by being laid up in bed for he first few days. I did make myself get up and walk around a lot for fear of blood clots and/or pneumonia. 4 days after my surgery I walked one (very slow) mile at a local park. Every day since I've been increasing my distance and improving my time. That first walk was 28 minutes because I was in so much pain! I'm up to 3.5 miles daily and averaging 16-18 minute miles I've lost 12lbs in the past three weeks which includes my one week pre-op diet. I am still having issues with heartburn but overall feel FANTASTIC! I'm ready to graduate from my "baby food" diet and am looking forward to eating "real food" again in the next 2 weeks. Reading thru all of your stories and encouraging words helped me get thru the worst post-op recovery of my life!! Thank you all can't wait to see how we all do over the next days/weeks/months/years! Good luck and Godspeed!!! Sam