matilda85

Hey all, So it's been 2 weeks since I got banded. barely any pain and overall I'm feeling ok. I had a chat with my surgeon yesterday and he said some stuff that I can't believe is true? he told me to start getting off liquid/purreed only and move to solids coz eating too much pureed food etc is cheating too, which is fair enough. I said, yes I actually do started eating cooked vegetabled like cauliflower and brocolli, and trying to move to some more solid stuff but so,etimes when I swallow cetain stuff it HURTS like HELL. Just the swallowing bit. Once it goes past the band level (or at least I think it's the band level, chest area basically) and once it's settled its ok. But for example eating lettuce doesnt hurt. But eating scrambled egg does! Now my surgeon said " yes thats how the band works, once it stops hurting then you know it failed coz the pouched got streched. That is literally what he said. I am like..what? Seriously? To which he said that this is how the band works... and here I was it was supposed to create restriction as in, eating less makes me feel full faster etc? Not HURT as I swallow? ... What the hell is my surgeon talking about? If it's supposed to hurt when I eat, i don't think I want it in me :S

Sadly there was no misunderstanding my surgeon , since I have these words in writing (he texted me saying this) :/ @Veronica - I couldnt eat soft and really overcooked tiny piece of chicken. Tiny bit of Beef Jerky went down without any problems.... no logic at all I really do OVERCOOK every single thing i eat - just to make sure it is as soft as possible . My doc doesnt have a band himself but says he has a close friend (also a doc) who had one for 16 years. Hence I'm shocked he would say that lack of pain when eating would mean band failed or stomach poach streched...

Heya, thanks for the reply. well my band is empty as far as I know, I get first filling in 4 week apparently. And of course I chew everything properly - thing is I can eat unchewed lettuce and swallow it no problem, but pureed cauliflower? Prepare for da pain! That's why its weird. But of course I chew everything properly into a paste before swallowing so don't understand why it hurts. And why would my doc say its OK and that it's supposed to hurt.... Yes I start the day with 2 cups of hot coffee always - wouldnt be able to function without it hehe.

I think I can feel my lap band through my abdoment ... It is NOT the port I am feeling. It's something hard under the fat tissue right under the top incision after the op. I matches the position of the stomach ... is this normal? It doesnt hurt or anything. My doctor is out of the country for few days so I can't really ask him.

I'm 7 days post op and i'm uncomparably better than i was 1 day post op. Stopped taking pain meds 2nd day post op, and atm i can even sleep on my port side! It gets better quickly

Yeah I guess it must be scar tissue. Top incision is about 8 cm on top of the navel and the the bump inside feels pretty hard and big. I just had a look at http://www.riversideonline.com/source/images/image_popup/r7_rupturedspleen.jpg , and the bump is below the stomach it seems so probably scar tissue.. I guess I just like to panic

Hey everyone. few days following my panic thread and I feel so much better. Everything seems to be healing nicely. It's been a week since I was banded and I have been following instructions I received no problem. Got 1 question to you though - did any of you were so OMG sooo terribly bloated? I feel like all the gas since the surgery is still in my stomach and it goes not want to go out, neither of ways lol I have been walking around alot, I have taken some over the counter stuff for bloaty feeling/trapped gas etc but it doesnt seem to help much. It feels like it's sometimes coming up towards my throat but gets stuck at the band level and goes like 'NOPE, better get back into the stomach and get comfy'. Annoying D:

You look absolutely fantastic Huge inspiration, thank you for posting!

Hello all! I am new to these forums. I have just found it and I can tell I should be visiting quite often. However I am panicing at the moment. I got banded yesterday morning. I'm now back home, in pain and experiencing a feeling that is freaking me out - basically every time i try to take a deeper breath I get the sensation of something squeezing inside my chest /below sternum. I figured it is probably the band but why would it give me such unpleasant feelings when it's not filled yet? I havn't eaten anything but tiny pot of natural yoghurt and drinking tea and Water. The feeling just comes suddently, 'suffocates' me for about 15 seconds and goes away. Really feeling alot of discomfort at the moment. I am also second guessing myself - should i have done it? I was milion per cent sure about it before, but now i suppose all the pain is messing with my mind - normally id just hit the fridge heh... I would be very grateful for any information regarding the band senastions similar to mine and what can I do to ease them out? All the best, Matilda

Just an update: all the discomfort, while still there is much less intense. Still sore on the port incision though, can't lay on that side at all. overall I can tell I am recovering steadily. I am actually feeling really ok. I for once still feel hunger though. It's different than before, way more controlled. I blame my surgeon for doing such a good job I seem to have little swelling/scarring that would kill the hunger completely . I get full instantly after eating a tiny pot of yoghurt/soup/protein shake.. I am drinking about 3 litres of water/tea a day, actually starting to wonder if I'm not pushing it, but I got told to drink alot so I don't mind that. onwards to sorting head-hunger o/

Yeah feeling tiny bit better today, the 'strangling' feeling is still there but its not as intense as yesterday. I can't stand laying in bed anymore so i do move about quite a bit (around the house for now). It must be air and irritation like you say , burping helps ugh (although it doesnt happen too often yet). gas refuses to leave with any other body part like in some cases. Slowly but surely getting better. For the first time in my life i can differentiate between physical hunger and 'head' hunger. though it is alot lower that before the bad, i can clearly see now its been my head playing tricks on me all that time. If it's possible to be angry with your own bran - i'm there!

As far as my attitude towards food,- before it was 'OH LETS EAT IT ALL' now it's more like 'meh, whatever'. Clearly will need to revise dieting options with someone more competent than my nurse. I gotta say they didn't exactly put alot of information on me, had to pretty much ask about everything :/

it's not that I can't go without it, I was told to eat it by the nurse ..

Will do! and thank you for all the support guys <3

yea I will probably call them up tomorrow, just wondered if it's common occurance for lap banders or is it just me And nope, they didn't give me anything to breath into.

Heya, and thank you very much for the reply. I didn't think of that. I had gastroscopy done 1 week before surgery and it didnt give me any side effects like this. Then again it was done by a different doctor so god knows. I will probably give it few days before jumping at my doc with all the questions. Ugh! Thank you again for the reply :-)