Den

Hi Guys! I hope that you are all well. And congrats to all my fellow bandits. Well done to us for choosing to sacrifice our love for food for her long term health. My name is Den, and I wanted to share my experience with you all. Well, after months of waiting, I finally had my Lap Band/Plication done at Sydney Adventist in Wahroonga. One minute I am in the theatre breathing into a mask, and the next I am sick as a dog post surgery, thinking "what have I done?" The first couple of days were awful; nausea and vomiting and just feeling icky. I was surprised that I was ravenously hungry by the second evening, so much so that I couldn't sleep at 4am I was so hungry and begged the nurse for something to 'eat/drink.' It's been nearly a week, and I am still always so damn hungry! I thought the hunger pangs would have been eliminated. Last night I was so ravenous that I ate crackers and dip, and boy did I regret that! I was in so much discomfort that all I could think to do was go to bed and hopefully sleep it off. I know that I am not supposed to eat. I am supposed to be on a liquid diet all this week and the next... but it's impossible. How can I be expected to just be on a liquid diet when I feel like I am going to faint with hunger? So, for anybody out there, I am asking.... Is this normal??? I would be grateful for answers. Also, does anybody else have bad gas now? Every time I eat/sip I get bad gas lodged in my chest, which also causes discomfort, I keep tapping away at my chest until the gas comes out, and what a relief that is. Look forward to hearing back from you. Regards Den

Thanks for all the kind words of support and encouragement. It's been 16 days since surgery, and I think I've lost about 2-3kg so far. I am concerned that my stomach is still swollen and very sore. I wrote to the Surgeon's office and told them I was always ravenously hungry and that I needed diet pills to cope with the severe hunger pangs, but unfortunately, they didn't bother to reply. I went ahead and filled the prescription for the diet pills and have been taking them for a week. This has curbed the pangs somewhat & now I don't get as hungry, the downside is that the tablets (Duromine) causes depression, so I've been sad and crying all week! In Australia, there are very strict laws about prescription diet pills and there is only one company who are allowed to sell it. This gives them the monopoly and they can charge what they like, for 30 pills, the price starts at $105 dollars, stronger pills cost more. I think the government have a duty to keep it's citizens healthy, but for some reason, fresh fruit & vegies cost a lot of money and junk food is incredibly cheap and readily available for our convenience whenever our heart desires. I can go to any fast food chain and buy a family meal to feed four people at a cost of $20!! I will never understand why the government is allowing the nation to get extraordinarily overweight and unhealthy when ultimately, it is the government who has to deal with the cost of the growing health problems. Yes, the choice is ours, but it's a hard choice when fast food is so cheap, so convenient and so delicious.... (no shopping, no cooking, no mess... and it costs less than cooking at home anyway).

This hunger is eating me alive, I've never known anything like it. Even after drinking a banana Protein shake I get this voracious, gnawing hunger & grumbling stomach. I've had plication and lapband. The hunger pangs weren't this bad before surgery, especially 1-2 hours after having a Protein Shake. I went to the doctors to get weight loss pills, this is because I can't continue to eat this much so soon after surgery, as I am risking serious damage, but I just cannot help it. I haven't filled the prescription yet, but if the hunger pangs don't ease up, I'm going to have to resort to diet pills, what a shame.

Well done! You are nearly there. We have to sacrifice all the that junk for our better long term health. Good luck with your op!