dazzle1

I was banded July 3rd and am doing very well. Only a little discomfort in the port site. I wish I wasn't hungry!!!! I still want to eat. I''m onto pureed foods and cottage cheese. I enjoyed using the blender tonight for a chicken and baba ganoush mixture. I also had a bowl of soup with five very mushy crackers and some parmesan cheese. I don't feel sick after eating and tolerate a lot of different foods. I've walked everyday since July 3rd for at least 20 minutes. I couldn't walk to the end of my driveway without huffing and puffing. I went back to work (it's a desk job) on the Monday after surgery (which was Thursday) but was quite tired so I only worked 1/2 a day and took Tuesday off but have been back full time the rest of the week. I haven't had any pain meds since Sunday since it made me so groggy. I removed my steri-strips on my three small incisions and they look pretty good. I don't want to uncover the larger one yet.... it seems to be pretty swollen around the area and I'm sure it hasn't healed. I know everyone is different so for those of you who are "hurting" a lot more than me, I wish you well and hope it's all a distant memory soon! Good luck!

I was banded on July 3rd and really am tolerating mushy food. I've eaten "soggy crackers" in my soup and just finished eating a bowl of pureed chicken. I could eat a lot more!!!! i don't think I have any restriction at all. I've been lucky and haven't felt sick to my stomach at all so I have to be cautious NOT to swallow too fast or eat too much. I took off some of my bandages this morning. The tiny cuts look great. The port site still looks "scarey" so I'll leave the steri-strips on until they fall off. I kind of wished I felt some restriction. I haven't lost any weight in the last four days. One week post op and I feel pretty good. For those that are suffering, I'd suggest you get checked out by the doctor. I know we're all different but you just want to be sure you're getting A+ service and support! Keep us posted! d

Hi Ang1982 I too worried about not fitting into airplane seats. The last few times I flew I needed a seat belt extender and was so embarrassed to ask for it that I ended up cancelling a vacation since I had to take an airplane. I've used Airline Seating Charts, Best Airplane Seats - SeatGuru website to check the width of various airplanes seats. They have quite an exhaustive list of airline complanies and categorize the info by type of plane so I always did my homework with the airplane websites to find out what kind of planes they used for that specific flight and then tried to chose a plane with extra wide seats. The last time I flew I would have been in size 28 and weighted over 350 pounds. I paid for an extra seat on Jet Blue but probably could have got the armrest down if I had to and that is sometimes the way I've heard Southwest airlines determines whether you need an extra seat. By the sound of it, you are quite a bit smaller than I was so you'll probably be fine. Part of the reason I chose to get banded was so that I could travel by plane again and not have to worry about fitting in a seat. Hopefully in six months I will be able to make a reservation without going to all the extra "research". good luck d

Low calorie jello is one of my doctor's recommended diet suggestions for the second day of post-op for me. It even came before the full fluids. It was considered a "clear fluid" on my list of acceptable things to drink the day after surgery. Wow.... that's so different from what your doctor said. Maybe it has to do with the type of bands we have. I have an allergen Type AP. Not sure what that means but I know there a variations. Who knows??? d

I had my surgery July 3rd so I'm on my first day of "full liquids" -- according to my dr's diet plan I can drink soups, protein drinks, yogurt drinks and even watered down cream of wheat! Not really hungry today though. Not like day after surgery or even yesterday. I'm down about 21 pounds since I started my pre-op diet. I'm not really in pain just some minor discomforts -- the big incision is "tight" so I can feel it but I wouldn't call it pain. The shoulder comes and goes. I've done some walking -- the last few days have been perfect for walking. I've had a few hic-ups and was able to burp without too much problem. I'm tired but it could be that I took some codeine in the middle of the night to help me sleep better. I think it's making me drowsy today so I'm going to try and stay off it today and tonight. Good luck to those are getting banded this month! d

I had my surgery yesterday and I'm doing pretty good. I took the prescribed pain killers and GasX yesterday but haven't needed it yet today. The doctor's office just called to make sure everything was going fine and I told them I felt pretty good. I little sore in the shoulder and a tiny bit of discomfort (I wouldn't necessarily say it was pain) in the larger incision. Some people on the forum say Day 2 is sometimes more sore than Day 1 so that may occur but it's early Day 2 for me. I'll go for a walk and take my GasX but won't do too much too fast. I'm off work until Monday so I have plenty of time to recuperate. I'm less hungry today compared to yesterday but am looking forward to some broth and protein shake tomorrow! d

Welcome. I had surgery this morning and resting fairly comfortably. I did take the GasX and codeine that the dr. subscribed. Some tender spots where the big incision is and a little sore in the left shoulder. I strongly encourage all newbies to check out this website. There is a wealth of information and true-life bandsters that can talk about their experiences. The support and suggestions from the forums is irreplaceable -- unless they've been through the process themselves. Tons of reading to do on this site... I find myself logging in five, six times a day. Enjoy your discovery journey! d

It's my big day too! I'm just waiting for my ride to the clinic. I'm hoping to check the posts to find out how the July 3rds made out today. Good luck 2GoodDogs, scoutmama and Bigbander! d.

I'm not being banded until tomorrow so I can't talk from experience but I've read a lot that we shouldn't always pay attention to the numbers on the scale to determine success. Wow -- with all that exercise you sound like you're doing great. Don't forget muscle weighs more than "fat". Celebrate your non scale victories (NSV). Good luck!

My surgery is tomorrow - JULY 3rd. I'm worried about the size of my liver and the doctor not being able to do it laproscopically. I asked the clinic yesterday if the doctor will do an "open surgery" if my liver was too big but she said she has never heard that he does an open surgery. Sure hope that my cheating during the three week OPTIFAST stage doesn't prevent me from getting the operation. I have a BMI of 54 so I am pretty obese but I have lost 19 or so pounds so surely some of the fat must have come off the liver. I hope to be posting "on the other side" of bandster land on July 4th and have something else to celebrate! d.

Camjay -- you sound just like me. I'm going for surgery tomorrow and have only told a few people -- not all my sisters even know and they live in the same neighbourhood as me. As for the people at work -- I've only told my boss and my secretary and said I was having some follow-up investigative surgery (I too had a recent D & C and they found a small tumour) so it seems logical. I don't want people watching me to see if I'm eating the way they think I should be. I also don't want to be judged. I just hope I can pull this off. My mom has been asking me for dinner for the past three weeks and I've come up with every excuse in the book. I'm not sure how I will get through the liquid diets and soft diets after the surgery. But I've gotten this far... three more weeks should go by quickly. take care, d

Hi there, I just found this website yesterday and have been finding my way around. I was looking to find out how people made out on their pre-op diets. I've really struggled these past three weeks and worry that I might have messed up my surgery. I was supposed to be on liquid protein diet (Optifast) and steamed vegetable. I have a BMI of 54 so I have a lot to lose. I'm only two days away from surgery but in the past 3 weeks I have cheated on and off. It's nothing like I used to eat but I have snuck in some chicken one day on my salad with real dressing, another day I ate a bag of bagel crisps with hummus and another day I had a slice of roast beef. I bought some ketostix at a local pharmacy to see if I was in ketosis but I must admit that it only shows a "trace" amount. I have lost 20 lbs and notice the difference in my clothes. I've read a lot on this site about the reason for being on a liquid diet is to shrink the liver and that is what my doctor says but I wonder what mine will be like... I started the protein shakes a week earlier just so I would lose some extra weight but I guess I can't be sure that the weight I've lost has come off the liver. I'll keep checking the forums to see if I can learn more. thanks, d

I've only told five people - two sisters, a brother in law and two friends. I don't want to tell anyone else in my family. I'm pretty sure I won't have positive support. I don't like the way one of my friends keeps asking me if I'll be seeing a psychologist too. According to her I should. She also keep telling me I'll have to stop eating certain foods. She's petite and seldom eats -- me on the other hand, eats for any occasion! I'm being very vague at work... although I have said I was having some follow-up surgery to a procedure I had a couple of months ago. I'm not sure how much time I'll be away from work so I figured they needed to know something. Bottom line is that it is up to each individual to decide what works for them and their own timing schedule. whatever you decide is right for you. good luck!

Hi Missrach, I'm two days away from surgery and I'm scared that they will not be able to do my surgery due to my "cheating". I was supposed to be on the Optifast diet plus steamed vegetables for 21 days before surgery but started a few days early because I had so many special functions/dinner parties/celebrations to attend that I thought I needed a buffer. Unfortunately I strayed off the path quite a bit. I've been reading the forums and know in my head that the reason for the optifast (liquid protein diet) is to shrink the liver so that they can do the surgery but it is still so hard to stay on the liquid diet because all I can do is think about food. I wish I had listened to all the other bandsters who tried to keep me movtivated -- I wouldn't be so worried about it today. A few of the ppl on the forum have suggested I stay positive and keep to the diet for the next few days so I'm trying. I know it is hard.... i even tried to get through one hour at a time.. if there is anything you can do to stop you from doing what I did I'd encourage you to do it to avoid cheating. I'll post after my surgery (hopefully the doctor won't refuse to do it because my liver is too fatty) and let you know how I made out. I wouldn't want you to have to feel like I do today. hope you can avoid cheating. They say it gets easier if you let your body go into ketosis after the third of fourth day. Good luck! d

Thanks Nancy and Brown Bear! I'm really hungry and can't stop thinking about eating. I just spoke with the clinic where I'm having my surgery to confirm all the arrangements for Thursday. I asked the patient coordinator if the doctor ever had to do an "open surgery" because the liver was too big but she said she had never heard of that happening with this doctor and he has done close to 500 lap band surgeries. Compared to what I would consume in one day this is a drastic change to my body. I am a fast food junkie and even the cut back in sodiuim I'm sure has contributed to my weight loss. thanks for your encouragement. I'll post after surgery to let you know how I made out. d.