Gordon C

Hi folks Two weeks to go before banding ! I'm from near Edinburgh in Scotland and have finally decided to take the plunge and go for banding. Op being done two weeks today and I'm feeling a mixture of excitement, dread and fear of the unknown. Wish me luck ...... Gordon

I found that for the first week (I guess when there was a lot of stomach swelling in the band area) that it took me about an hour to drink a protein shake. Now I can manage about 400ml in half an hour. It all really depends on how tight or how swollen the area of your band is.

Yup Cold all the time too since surgery. I suspect it is due to a big switch over in my metabolism. The post op liquid diet makes it very hard to get more than about 1000 cals per day and I think this is enough to make me run with a very low sugar / low body glycogen level all the time. I dont know when or if it will get better but I'm sure its nothing to worry about and its a small price to pay in the long run Gordon

Hi Bimby Like you I was worried about how I would deal with life without being able to turn to food. I decided to go for a few sessions with a counsellor prior to my op and it was one of the best things I've ever done. It gave me a whole new insight into what makes me tick as a person and let me see some of the reasons I'd come to rely on food as a crutch in my life. I know that approach might not be right for everyone but it certainly helped me a lot. I'm sure you can get through banding and succeed anyway but do give it some thought - it allowed me to relax prior to the op and also allowed me to focus on some other areas of my life that needed real attention too. Good luck. Gordon PS - Gill - my four counselling sessions did take me back to my childhood and I discovered a whole lot of stuff that made sense in terms of how I dealt with food as an adult (and more particularly what food was a substitute for ... ). Nothing scary and nothing distressing but certainly well worth doing.

Stick with it - Angie is right, it does get much easier as you go on. Promise !!

I think its all a bit individual but I'm typing this from my desk at work on day 6. I'm a family doctor and have managed to sit through a three hour session dealing with about twenty patients without any major problems. (phew !! .... touching wood as he types !!) I think you should be fine to return to studies by day 10. If watery stools are a problem then taking some medicine that you can buy over the counter in a pharmacy should resolve things. Good luck Gordon

If if works for you - and your band tolerates it - and you're losing weight - and you enjoy what you eat, then ............... why not?

Yup I get the same thing. I was banded on 19th March. It seems to get better after some tomato Soup or smooth yogurt. I've kinda worked out that it might be my "new" hunger signal. Try forcing yourself to take a little soup or similar (maybe some soft custard) and see if it helps Gordon

Almost certainly just a reaction to all you've been through - particularly if you've had pain. It should improve over the next week.

Hi Marissa Trying to deal with my own shoulder pain at the moment - shoulder tip pain post op seems to be a very common problem - much better today - day 6 Gordon

I'm six days out from banding and crush all my meds at present. I find that taking the powder with a spoon of yogurt helps. I'm sure some people do manage to swallow the tablets at an early stage but I'm too afraid of triggering a blockage and then problems.

Hi Kelda It sounds like you need to get a bit of nourishment into your system now. I think some tomato soup would help - I had pretty similar symptoms and they all eased after some soup. I figure that this might be my bodies new way of saying it's hungry. I think that my hunger signals might have changed after the banding. Try to push yourself to take some nutrition on board - its a hard enough time to get through without starving yourself too. Gordon

Hi Rowshan I guess it's a bit variable between all of us as individuals but I was banded five days ago and have no problems with lifting. The wounds are small and are not really causing any major problems. I'm not sure my abs would be up to a sit up or two but simple lifting should not be a problem Hope that helps Gordon

Hi I'm back to work tomorrow - day 6 after banding - and I'm sure I'll manage it without too much problem. You should be OK by day 9 but I guess we are all different so its hard to be certain. Take care with ibuprofen though - my surgeon has barred all anti-inflammatory medication because it can upset the stomach lining

No catheter for me - I guess it depends on your surgeons preferences

Chin up x-ray - it WILL get better. The night is always darkest just before the dawn - and relax, cos the dawn will surely come ! Gordon

I'm very much a newbie guys but milk seems an easy and obvious way of getting in some Protein. It goes down for me as easy as clear fluids and one litre of milk has at least 30g protein. The protein count is the same in whole milk, semi-skimmed or skimmed since the skimming removes fat and not protein. I've tried Protein shakes but they sometimes lie heavy on my stomach and I find it harder to get them in Gordon

Hi Greg - Hi Jack I was banded on Wed 19th March and am just getting used to it. Starting to settle down now. My doc told me that my band was a "very snug fit" simply because of the size and anatomy of my stomach and the size and style of the band. I'm coping with clear fluids and some yogurt mixed with orange juice (no bits variety) and milk seems to help ease my ongoing wind. I guess we are all different and that no two bandsters will have exactly the same experience. That's certainly a statement I heard countless times pre op from the support team. All the best guys Gordon

Hi Rugman I'm another 19th March bander and it's all a bit new and wierd isnt it. I found that I couldn't manage 1.5 litres of Fluid a day until yesterday when it suddenly became a bit easier. Still very windy and bloated but this too is beginning to settle. Yesterday I simply carried a bottle of Water around with me everywhere (one of those with a sports cap you can sip on) and kept refilling it when I had to. I found that a 500ml bottle lasted about four hours so I got nearly two litres by the end of the day - sip sip sip sip sip seems to be the key at the moment. Stick at it. We're all in this together and from reading the experiences of others, you and I are simply "earning our stripes" at the moment. Best of luck Gordon

I'm being banded on 19th March I work as a family doctor so mostly sitting all day and at the moment I plan to return to work on day 6 post op. Is this sensible? How long did you take off work? How was it when you returned?

Thanks to all for the great replies Very helpful Gordon

Hi folks It's strange how all the surgeons are a little different in what they want you to do pre-op. I'm due for banding on 19th March and have to go ten days on a diet of only yogurt and my normal fluids. Protein drinks for a bit of variety sounds quite good to me. I guess it's the monotony rather than the content of the pre op diet thats difficult.

Hi Well done to both of you - it really does feel like "spring time" doesn't it

Hi I'm interested in all your experiences of the pre-op diet. I'm due for banding on 19th March and have been told to have yoghurt only (along with normal fluids) for ten days before. I see there are a number of other recommended pre op patterns. My surgeon says that the yoghurt diet makes the liver smaller and so makes the surgery easier from a technical perspective. Has anyone else heard this? The cynic in me suspects that the pre-op diet is designed to get me mentally prepared for the first few weeks post op. What have others done in the week or two pre-op? Gordon

I told my older kids and they have all been supportive in the kind of "not really interested way" that only teenagers can accomplish. My six year old knows that I'm going off on a course for a few days to help me lose weight and that I'm going to eat differently when I come back. She says she'll help me because she knows all about only eating small amounts very slowly !!