jaterry

Whatever you do MAKE SURE you keep really well hydrated over the next 2 -3 days. Day 3 and 4 were my worst. :thumbup: I was feeling nauseous and dizzy and stopped drinking water because I was afraid I would throw it up. That almost landed me back in the hospital. So no matter what, make sure you're getting as much liquids as possible.

I gave up Starbucks Grande Mocha on Jan. 1 to get ready for my surgery. The psychologist told me I had to "retrain" my brain, so whenever I craved the Mocha...I substituted Earl Grey Tea (which I liked anyway.) I also gave up "morning coffee" on Jan. 1 - that one was a little harder but again I started substituting a strong morning blend of tea and added creamer so it was almost like coffee. Little by litte, I wanted it less and less until now it's completely gone. Like others have said, it was really hard, lots of headaches. BUT I'm the same amount of alert now in the mornings as I was when I drank 2 - 3 cups of coffee. Also, my Dr. said caffeine is too acidic for the smaller stomach pouch that we have after banding and its a dieuritic, which is not good, because he says that lap-banders need as much Water, water, water as possible. So...Good Luck!! You can do it!

I was banded on 4/2 and I only drank protein drinks and water the day of surgery (after I got home, of course) and the next day. I was tooooo scared to even try anything solid. I didn't eat any jello until day 3 and 4 and even then, I only did tiny bites. I think you need to give everything a chance to heal a little. Be patient, it will get better. For me, now 9 days later, I can tell you each one of my incision sites is still bruised so I know there was a lot of poking and prodding around during the surgery.

I was banded 4/2 and had lots and lots of stomach growling and gas. My doctor told me I was swallowing too much air. He suggested a liquid antacid/anti-gas (anything with Simethicone)...I got liquid Mylanta and it worked pretty good (tasted gross!) I've been concentrating on trying to gulp less air when I drink, because I don't want to have to take the gross Mylanta stuff anymore. It's hard, but it has cut down tremendously on the amount of air in my tummy. :thumbup: