AmyR

March 24 will be 3 weeks post-op and I am ready for a fill. Not scheduled until April 14. Once the swelling goes down and everything heals up from the surgery, the appetite comes back and maintaining portion sizes is a lot harder. Plus I am tempted again by non-healthy choices. I was scheduled to start solid food tomorrow, but mush wasn't cutting it, so I started a little solid food over the weekend. So far everything is going down just fine. How is everyone else doing?

I know we are told to avoid "doughy" bread. I'm just wondering what types of "bread" are less apt to cause problems. Can most of you eat crackers, tortilla shells/wraps, flatbread,etc? What causes you problems and what seems to work okay in small amounts?

I do have PCOS and a lot of chin hair. I shave once a day. It is the easiest and cheapest removal. I know to others it's a joke, but I do worry about just how much it would grow, if I weren't able to shave for say a week or more. YIKES!!! I would be the bearded lady. I too am hoping this weight loss will help diminish the hair growth. At least that's what my doctor has always told me. I guess it's time to test that advice. Judging by these responses, I don't have much hope. Maybe my body will be so smoking hot that no one will notice my chin and lip hair.

Good to hear from you Traci! Hope you keep feeling better and better every day. Welcome to the banded life! I will tell you that this weekend as a big turning point for me. Starting to feel much better. Hang in there!

I started my pre-op diet today and surgery is scheduled for March 3rd. This is getting real! A lot of mixed emotions, so I'm coming here to share concerns and support with others. Start of a new life at 50!

Had my one week check-up yesterday. Everyone assured me I was doing great. The nutritionist said what I am feeling now is just a phase. I am still healing from the surgery. Still some inflamation and other stuff going on inside. She said eventually the discomfort will go away and I will be able to eat more and feel hungry again. After I've been at that point for a while it will be time for a fill and the process sort of starts over again. My first fill is scheduled in 5 weeks.

One week down and I've been doing pretty well. I was kind of in a funk yesterday afternoon. I wasn't hungry but I was craving food just for the taste and texture. I also was feeling very uncomfortable. A lot of pressure, heartburn type pain, just kind of an upset tummy, but not in a nauseous way. I started feeling like "This is not what I signed up for" I don't want to lose weight because I feel like crap all the time and don't want to eat because of it". I had that same feeling with some appetite supressents and it sucked. I didn't feel this way at first, so I thought it was moving to full liquids. I also tried to think of what might be causing more air/gas to build up. I tried two things differently today. I didn't have my homemade Protein shake made with powder this morning. I used an Atkins premade shake instead which is a little thinner. It also dawned on me that I had started drinking out of a straw when I went back to work. So, I changed my drinking glass at work. I feel much better today!!! I don't know if it was the straw or the thicker shake, but my stomach has been a lot more comfortable today.

I sleep on the opposite side from where my port is. This is the opposite side from what I am used to, but that is what is comfortable for now while I heal.

Thanks for the tips Lisa!

Good luck to you too dbender603. Glad your nausea is settled down. I'm feeling the pressure/heartburn from eating just the full liquids. How about you? I hope it's just a phase. It doesn't hurt, it's just uncomfortable.

Hi Traci! I am doing pretty well actually. Still a little tender around the incision area, but totally off pain medication. I didn't have any nausea afterwards. I had a little bit of shoulder pain from the gas. I walked around, stretched and used heating pad. That helped. I started full liquids on Saturday. Really starting to feel the difference in my body and eating habits just with that small change. I am hoping it's just my body getting used to this new stomach size and healing from the surgery. Being your Newbie buddy would be great! Good Luck on Friday!

My surgery was 5 days ago. I had uncomfortable shoulder pain the first couple of days. I used a heating pad and that helped. Nothing I couldn't handle. Still flairs up a little bit, but not too bad. My middle is still tender. Hurts when I cough or burp. I am hoping all of this is temporary.

My symptoms are irregular/light periods, infertility, facial hair, weight gain/slow at losing, especially belly fat. As someone said it is caused by hormonal imbalance, insulin resistance, high testosterone levels. Mine was diagnosed with a blood test after fertility issues and several other misdiagnosis. I just got banded last week, but I am hoping this will help with my weight as well as some of the other PCOS issues. I advise you to get tested.

Yes, 2muchfun losing the way I am use to eating is one concern. Am I going to be able to do that? The family and social interactions that revolve around food, how do I handle those in the future? Family meals are an important part of our family culture. More importantly, just the fear of failing again. I have put in a lot of money and sacrifice to make this work. I hope I am successful long term. I am hopeful that this is the piece that will make the difference for me, but not totally convinced yet.

I have my surgery tomorrow. I bought the protein powder from my doctor's office. It's pretty good. I also got the Adkins pre-made drinks, milk chocolate flavor. Those are pretty good too. I am also looking for suggestions of non-flavored varieties. I have seen that people add the non-flavored powder to soups and sauces to up the protein power.

I am having surgery in 5 days! I am so tired of this pre-op diet. Good reminder of why I need the surgery I guess. I am told that the post-surgery diet is easier, because you don't really feel like eating. I could use a Fricking Cheeseburger!! and a drink!