singermama

Like most, the few days to a week after my surgery on 4/9/08 I could only drink half of a slim fast shake, now my stomach limit feels limitless- Im still drinking slim fasts and imprivising and mixing yogurt in, and eating some mashed potatoes every once in a while but still hungry- my fill isnt until May 20th and Im not sure what to do- and the thought of mushy overcooked vegetables and blended meats gives me dry heaves. Ugh. I have lost 26 pounds and am continuing to lose and REALLY do ont want to gain yet still have almost 4 weeks until my fist fill and freaking. Any tips?? T:eek:hx!

Ok the past couple of days Im having REALLY sharp port pain right on that area when I move certain ways/twist or bend. It almost takes the wind out of me- anyone else having this?

When were you banded? I had that pain like 1-2 days post op and for about a week after- it was gas from having parts of my abdominal cavity messed around with. It was SO sharp and uncomfortable...You go through phases of different pains in different spots for a while Im finding

Old habits die hard, dont they? Before I had the surgery I was, and I kid you not, up to a half gallon of ice cream a night. It was my thing at night. why? I think becuase it was the only way I could treat myself after busting my ass all day working, taking care of three kids under the age of 5 and husband and a house, so after everyone went to bed it was my way of unwinding. Instant gratification. And I havent ALWAYS done that ritual- just when surgery was getting closer. And I think it was because I knew I wasnt going to be able to to do that after, so it was feast or famine. My social worker at my Dr. told me to come up with three 'coping skills' to replace the ice cream, such as 'kitting', and I nearly fell out of my char becuase I would rather poke myself in the eye with the knitting needle than actually knit. EASIER SAID THAN DONE. However I did find some things - first I picked up sketching and atwork- again. I went to a prestigous art college right out of high school, but never finished because I though I wasnt good enough to keep up with all these other students- and for the first time I was PROUD of my work. I figured - hy Im 30 years old, no one is here to scrutinize or judge my work, and if I mess up SO WHAT? Ill start over! Then I started writing. Letters to each of my parents and stepmother about how unfair it was of them to never let me have a childhood because of their immaturity and selfishness ect. Way too much to get into on here, however letters that I dont send, just write it down and DEAL with the anger. And finally I took up amateur photography which takes up the most of my time. Easier said than done, beleive me I know. Give yourelf some time to find YOUR thing. Try to figure out why the ice cream makes you feel so good. I still would down a half gallon of it was put on front of me too, and dont think for a min that I havent thought about stopping and buying some. Something stops me, and I know someday maybe Ill give in and buy it. But its OK. We are human beings and we all 'screw up ' sometimes. Its OK- I think not beating yourself up and feeling guilty is a good first step in stopping the process...50 pounds is a small child so make sure you are giving yourself the kudos for that. I beleive you can do this and I think you do too... Hang in there!

Im starting to ear 'regular' foods now, but am weary of roughage- like salads and fruit...Am I gonna be in a lot of pain if I attemot this? Im 4 weeks post op and have not been filled yet- Thx!

Thanks all for the advice- 'food for thought' no pun intended...hehe...well maybe there was...

Yeah I was banded 4/9 and still have weird pain radiating from the port site to even my mid back- it almost feels like kidney /organ pain- especially when sitting for long perids of time so I think it takes a few months...there is a foreign object in your body so its probably a little pissy about it still...if bodies can get pissy...haha

Ok this gives me hope about getting filled- the amount of hunger I am having now is comparable to my 2 week pre-op diet when I sprouted horns and whatnot- But I still feel a weird sort of abdominal/lower back pain after sitting for a long time- it feels like one of my organs but Im attributing it to my port...it almost feels like a kidney pain but radiates to the port site....weird.

We'd prob wind up eating each other, Hippiemama! LOL:drool:

What a coincedence, I was just going to post a thread that was going to be titled ' Old Habits Die Hard'... I'm about 3 weeks post op and have not been filled at all yet and wont be until the 20th- so my appetite is back and I emailed my nurse and she told me to eat a lowfat diet until fill time such as Weight Watchers...hehe...After failing at 'Weight Watchers' 9 times in a 3 month perion my family Doc referred me for Lap-Band so I'm a little 'burnt-out' if you will, from WW. I had an ice cream sand. of my husbands last night because I had a 'bad day' .I REALLY wanted to work out but for some reason my pain level was horrible yesterday. ( I, too found that jumping right back into excersise helped speed my healing immensly- I think those muscles NEED that activity to heal) so I at the bad food- granted it was 160 calories and 5 g of fat it was still high in carbs and sugars and a 'no-no' and Ice cream is a 'trigger food' for me. I think the main reason we slip back into bad habits is becasue it is the instant gratification that takes care of why we want to eat the shit to begin with. But what's MORE important is I really didnt feel terrible guilt for eating it- and I think thats a huge step in the right direction, as in the past the guilt would haunt me and make me feel worse. Pick up, move on, and we are all here because we were strong enough to change!!! and no one is perfect and we all mess up!!! But we are all strong enough to persevere!!!!!:thumbup:

Well I suppose what dosent kill us will make us stronger and we will be wearing bikinis next year...that is, if I can get rid of my zebra-like stretch marks from 3 pregnancies.... I did however email the nurse at my docs office for some tips on keeping satisfied, ect. Until that fill date, so as soon as she gets back to me Ill let you know ... At least Im not alone...I was thinking..." Oh great, of course I'm the only person ever who the band didnt work on!!" haha... Na-Night!:biggrin:

Were you starving before got your first fill? ?? I was banded 3 weeks ago and wont have my first fill for three more and I feel like I never had anything done!!!! Ive lost 26 so far and REALLY dont want to gain. It is true hunger too becuase it makes me ravenous, weak and MEAN...

You should be able to eat that soon- as long as the refried beans are fat free...give it a few days and try a bit and if its not comfortable- try again in a few days. Those were two mushy foods my doc told me I could have as long as prepared low or no fat

I am feeling the same way- I was banded on 4/9 and now that all of the swelling and pain are diminishing my appetite is back- and even though Im still on liquids and soft things Im worried that Im going to feel so hungry that Im going to do something bad until my fill which isnt until 5/20!!! Thats almost a whole month away!! Im nervous because I have already lost 26 pounds and desperately do not want to gain. Ugh. I completely understand where you are coming from....:huh2:

I dont feel the 'head hunger' but my stomach is gurgling and growling and that turns me into a demon!! My husband is about as helpful as your boyfriend...ugh.

And dont you guys feel like the hungrier you get the worse you want to eat? Its like the same concept as ' Dont go to the grocery store hungry'....grrr....haha...I feel like Im on the pre-op diet. Or that episode of seinfeld when Elaine had to fast for 3 days and started to hallucinate...hee...Oh my....

Ok Im glad Im not the only one- I honestly feel like I had nothing done- yet at the same time would feel sick if I ate something 'bad'...I thought the docs office was just being CRUEL by waiting six weeks for my first fill...its making me irritable...