MacDaddy

Wow- this is a great thread. I live in New Orleans and banded 2/18. Oysters are a religious experience- both raw and grilled and fried. Totally scared to try anything- so worried about getting stuck. Only in the past 3 days moved to egg whites, chili with Beans and saltines. Don't know what to try next but sure would like to do some oysters! I think if you had them on a cracker with the sauce it would be a combination that would roll through like the tuna on cracker I had the other day. There are very few calories in raw oysters- I know a lot of people that diet on them- cray but true. I just wonder if I could try some Protein at this point like chicken or steak if cut into small pieces. I just have no clue what I can eat- distracting yet fun!

Hi. Just checking in. Banded 2/18 and have the following to report: -feel normal again, no pain. worst I went through was day 3/4 when I had upper intestinal cramping - something I will never forget! -have lost 26 pounds, was NOT on any pre-surgical diet -Wednesday was able to eat tuna fish lunch packet with crackers, yesterday moved on to a small wendys chili with saltines. Had been surviving previous week on egg whites and applesauce, Soups -very scared of getting stuck and probably not getting enough Protein -have been drinking glass of wine at night every other night no issues -port incision still healing - covering with neosporin and gauze pads -energy level good, still have no feeling of hunger but I think my stomach physically gets hungry because I can hear it growling -wondering what food should I try next. Soft fish like grouper or redfish? Potatoes cut-up with skin or no skin (red potatoes), mashed potatoes? raw oysters or grilled oysters with saltines chewed well? Chicken, steak or shrimp cut into pieces smaller than a dime? raw tuna in seaweed paper (sushi roll with no rice?) especially have questions about asian food, as my wife is asian and my kids are used to eating a lot of it. what it be possible to eat dumplings in a Soup - like pf changs won ton soup? -happy to stay in this mode of chili, egg whites and tuna fish but just have no idea where my food limits are. First fill scheduled for 3/18 but will skip if not having hunger pains based on what I have read on this forum. wouldn't even be seeing my doc - just a nurse PA, so I might as well make the decision myself. Thanks.

Hi again- thanks for all the advice! I am just so surprised. I can't believe my blessings. I went in for banding today- by myself because my wife had to work. I was so nervous- even updated my will last night. Can't believe how smooth everything went. My main concern was that this particular surgeon and practice is strong arming everyone to get the sleeve, which I believe is so that there is no long term patient follow-up like the band requires, and so they don't have to deal with your band idiosyncrasies. (Just my humble opinion, not trying to flame anyone but I guess I just did.) In fact, I kept getting "haven't seen a band in a long time- wow" from nurses and staff as they came in to make the pre-op rounds. In any event, everyone was wonderful. Surgery was 1:15- turns out had a large hiatal hernia- no wonder I had been coughing every night for 3 years. Thus got 2 for 1 Tuesday special bates of Tuesday Tacos 2 for 1! Woke up in recovery, sat in bed for 10 minutes, felt zero pain, got up went to the bathroom, felt zero pain. Got dressed and went home 20 minutes later. Have not slept, no pain meds, drinking fluids and doing the gas strips. Feel no gas pains. Feel no pain at all- keep waiting for the other shoe to drop. Walked around the grocery store for an hour, did some shopping for the family, now just sitting up watching tv- no pain at all. In this was a blind study, I would totally think I was the placebo patient! Thanks again for all the advice- looking forward to talking with you all more as I journey down this new path. If the pain comes, I'm ready and waiting- bring it on. Nothing good in life is ever easy- accept all the excess food I thoughtlessly ate over the past decades!

Can't believe it is day 3. Still on clear liquid diet until tmrw, then goes to full liquids. Have absolutely NO hunger pains whatsoever. My total intake last two days is two bottles of gatorade, small black coffee and a bowl of Vietnamese pho broth. This just seems crazy to me, but I am along for the ride at this point. Started feeling some tight pain in stomach area last night and took a pain pill. Slept fine no problems. Went to work this morning for 4 hours, now back home trying to take it easy. Kinda hard to put on my socks and/or bend down this morning when putting on my suit. Every time I tried a diet in the past it was always the hunger pains that got me miserable and put me in a really bad mood. So weird not to have them. I basically have not had much to eat or drink since monday morning, and have dropped 13 pounds since then. It almost seems too good to be true, but then again I have read on this site that almost no one feels hungry after banding surgery for a while.

I made the band decision for a couple of reasons, all personal: 1. When jets head coach rex Ryan got the band and Chris Christie followed (let's leave politics out of this please) it made me wonder why recreate the wheel- these two individuals have access to the best and the brightest and ultimately chose the band so to me that said something; 2. I am only looking to loose 100 pounds. I have noticed that some sleevers look too thin- almost sickly. It was also a concern of my wife in not looking too thin. 3. Worried about the higher incidences of serious complications immediately following gastric sleeve survey versus what I perceive to be minor annoyances of band life in general; 4. Easier to eat 3 meals a day than 4 with the sleeve. Also worried about if I was sleeved and started exercising heavily with weight loss, would I be more prone to dehydration problems (I live in the Deep South- high heat and humidity); 5. Alzheimer's runs in my family and if I get it down the line, it could be dangerous for myself and caregivers in taking care of me- where with the band I could just have it removed at that point. 6. If the band doesn't work by the end of year 2 I will just suck it up and go with a revision to a sleeve. What amazes me the most is no matter how many years of research I did concerning both surgeries, I never could get enough info about which one was better. Thus, I had to make my final decision on the criteria above and choose the procedure that best matched those self-imposed criteria.

Ok- there is a little bit of generalized pain today. Probably my fault- I didn't even try to rest yesterday and stayed up to 11 pm, along with taking my kids to piano practice and once a week church classes (with someone else driving) I think I am going to try and rest today for several hours. Have absolutely no hunger pain whatsoever- it is the weirdest feeling- one I have never had!

Congrats to you. To answer your question, I honestly have no idea where my port is. Tries poking around and don't feel anything. Also have about 5 bandages over sterri strips. Guess I should know but never asked.

Thanks- I will hope for the best and plan for the worst as they say, and thus will be pleasantly surprised at either outcome.

Uh-oh....now you got me worried. Figures as much. I will of course be honest and keep you posted when I hit the pain - thanks for the info.

This board has been great to read and help me make my decision of banding over sleeve. Getting banded tmrw. Remember seeing some comments about heating pads and sleeping in a chair. Definitely have the gas x strips and ice chips down, but just want to make sure I don't forget anything that veterans like yourselves can pass on knowledge about. Thanks again to everyone who works so hard to make this board helpful!

Hi again- thanks for all the advice!