RestlessMonkey

NNNNOOOOOOOOO!!! if you in a post op all liquid phase, DO NOT please DO NOT put pills in bread or cheese. Seriously! ALL LIQUID means just that...ALL LIQUID. Not all liquid except for a little cheese. It is really really important. The advice is fine other times but not post op lap band, ok? If you can't get it down as it is, don't take it.

As I said, it's a process. Depending on your band size and the aggressiveness (or lack!) in your doc, it may be a while. It will happen. My doc is a conservative one (and the literature I read backs up that approach but not all agree) so it took a LONG time in my 14cc band to hit the "green zone" or sweet spot as they call it here. But it was worth it. I rarely PB, I can eat anything, I'm losing. It will happen, just let it!

:frown: Some docs don't do much education, so you never know! LOL

Here's a ticker tutor I think helps...I don't remember how I did it but found this one later http://www.lapbandtalk.com/f5/ticker-tutorial-pictures-41782/

Welcome and congrats! Just make sure you follow his post op diet...don't advance foods too fast, and you'll do great. And no, you won't get restriction until the band is tightened. For many of us that takes a while.

Your doc is apparently conservative, as is mine. You are on liquids for the very reasons I wrote to Commish....your band needs to heal. Some surgeons are less conservative and feel less time without that digestive action is ok; I've read of some docs who have people on clear liquids for 4 weeks. Seriously. No, they don't want you to starve. It isn't punitive. It's to let you heal properly. I had clear liquids for a week and didn't even get Protein drinks and lived through it, without doing murder or some other mayhem. I'm sure you'll make it too! :frown: I will say at almost 1 year out I have pretty much (knock on wood) no issues. I can eat any food (even white bread), no GERD, no Vitamin deficiencies, am well restricted and stay full 6 hours on my cup to 1 1/2 cups of food I eat...so I'm VERY glad I did what my doc said. You'll be glad too if you hang in there! And I have tried to educate myself on this process...that's my nature. But my advice, here or anywhere, should NEVER countermand your own good sense, or what your surgeon has told you to do. They are they pro's, you paid for that expertise! With that caveat, I'm always glad to help if I can!

If you're dizzy, just be careful standing etc..but hang in there! :frown: Very important to stick to your post op diet, let your band heal into place well, and set you up for a great experience!

Neek Neek...your band won't fill with phlegm. It is a closed system; the only thing in it is/should be sterile saline. :frown: But yes if you have allergies and have an allergy med you prefer, take it!

If you are working out too much you may need to eat a little more. Why not bump up your cals 100-200 a day for a week and see? AND I'm sure you know...change what you eat. Our bodies get into a rut. Mix up the menu, up the cals, see is you can shake it.

One caveat: Don't just take something like immodium without your doc's approval. Usually we have diarrhea FOR A REASON...our body is trying to expel something. It's the digestive system's way of getting rid of bad stuff and if we STOP that, well, the bad stuff is happy and really gets to thrive. So sometimes diarrhea is a good thing, sometimes not. Let your doc make that call.

I agree, call your doc Monday if you aren't feeling better, earlier if you have a fever over 100 or so. But I had loose bowels for about a week; it can partly be anesthesia (believe it or not) and of course, liquid in = liquid out. People who take an opioid pain med (like Lortab or Vicodin or Hydrocodone or Darvocet) may not have the issue, because opioids are constipating! They have a whole different problem! Just hang in there. It will improve. Walking and time will take care of the gas. Gas X will help if your body is making gas, too. (won't help with the post op gas but that should be gone soon)

If you're close and you just send her a note that may be very hurtful to her. If not, who cares? LOL

Yes, I agree...everyone is different. I was not given a morphine drip (not all are!) and in fact didn't even need the drip my doc put in to bathe my surgical sites with a numbing agent (we removed that sucker ASAP! LOL) Morphine, and drugs like Lortab, are also VERY constipating. I wasn't ever even a little nauseated, although I did have 2mg of morphine post op before I could stop them. We are all unique; docs all prefer different meds, etc. If you want to know what your recovery will most likely be like, ask your doc. :frown: There are also pages of "surgery day stories" you can read through and you'll see they are all different.

Ok. Here you go. You have a band placed around the top of your stomach, kind of like it would be if you took a belt, looped it through your pants loops, but did not buckle it. It's there, but it is not doing much but looking pretty. WHEN you tighten and buckle that belt, THEN it works. Same with your band. Fills=tighten and buckle. UNTIL you get fills, for most of us that band is just sitting there, a pretty pricey piece of plastic (forgive me I was an English major LOL) SO that is why you feel like you could eat anything. You probably can. HOWEVER! before you dash for food...your band is likely lightly sutured into place (actually part of your stomach is pulled around your band and it's sewn in. Ouch.) Groovy...but when you eat foods that must be digested, your stomach CHURNS and agitates to help break up what is called chyme. You don't feel it (we're almost miraculous, aren't we?) but your tummy does its part, along with digestive enzymes etc, to process that bolus of food, aka CHYME, into things your body can use. So I think you can see the problem. You don't have restriction yet so can overeat. BUT you aren't healed yet. IT's just been 10 days. Those stitches could either pop loose altogether (a trip to the emergency room would then follow) OR ... you could loosen things up and have a slip or erosion down the road (be back here in a year going "WHY ME?" well...) Docs don't take the time to lay this out, usually, they just expect us to be compliant with their good advice. Ha. You think they'd know better! Yes, you'll get hungry. Yes you feel like you can eat. It's your choice. ER now, ER later, or hang in there and let your band heal. They call this period "Bandster Hell" for a reason... SOME people feel restriction early on. Why? Swelling post op (and you can see why things would swell, they are traumatized!) AND some docs put fills in during surgery. Many don't. Your's probably didn't, or if s/he did, it wasn't much more than primer.

jujuvee you are too funny! I agree...if the doc's not paying, who CARES! :confused: Schel, you have a great plan. That's the thing about the band...it's there if we falter. Like a car in the garage. Eventually if you want to get in and go for a spin, it's there. You can start to use your band any time. Good for you deciding to pick that tool back up and use it to get healthy! :ohmy:

I love my band. AND...you don't really VOMIT. I am another with a one-way GI Tract. Things do down, they do NOT come back up! At 53 I had vomited about 4 times in my life and could remember each time with horrid clarity. I have PB'd a few times and it is NOT the same. No stomach bile, no vile aftertaste, and it isn't as physically draining. It isn't FUN but I prefer it to vomiting, and I really prefer doing neither. If that's your only fear, trust me, it's controllable. Chew well and do small bites and you MAY avoid it altogether. If not, once and you'll learn. PBing does not have to be a way of life and shouldn't be. If you PB all the time you're too tight, or you are eating too fast and not chewing well. And yes the band isn't for everyone. However statistically it beats "diet and exercise" hands down for weight loss. You DO Have to watch what you eat with it. You can't just go frisking along and lose. BUT the portion control it offers makes a huge difference both in sticking to a diet, and in keeping pounds off. You can eat around it but you have to work at it. Remember too that many people will come to a board like this WITH problems. Many happy bandsters are out leading their happy lives. They don't come on to post: "Day 483 and I'm still feeling great" for example LOL WASa is right; do your research, think it through, put it in perspective. At almost 1 year I LOVE my band and am so far issue free. A good doc with a conservative fill approach and a committment to his patients and their health is a big part of it, my determination and joy at the band is part of it, but things can go wrong. Things do. No regrets on my part. If something like GERD happens down the road, I'll deal. But it's been worth it, to me.

You may need some taken out. Honestly; you MUST be able to drink fluids or you will get dehydrated and end up in the ER with an IV to rehydrate you. You need 64 ounces of fluid a day, at least. Doesn't sound like you're getting anywhere near that. Can you drink room temp water now?

call your doc and tell him this. Do it today. You may have an infection; they'll probably need to see you.

Why do you have phlegm? Are you using your incentive spirometer and keeping your lungs clear? Do you have a cold or allergy? Is it FROM your lungs? Or do you mean mucous from your stomach? I need a little more info to help you, please!

We're all different but...my post op pain med was Darvocet tabs! LOL (lortab makes me vomit) I didn't even THINK about "can I swallow this" and the 2 doses I took went down fine. And that is WAY bigger than tylenol...2-3 times the size? A math-ish person would know. Anyway if you can get Water down fine your BP med should go down fine too. AND worst WORST case, it will dissolve and then go on down. You'll NEVER know. And you need your BP meds! Try it. You'll be fine.

Thank you very much, Jodi! :confused: I never thought I'd LOVE the word "restriction" so much LOL makes a big difference though! I seem to lose in chunks...10-15 pounds over a couple weeks, then I HOLD for a couple, then drop. Whatever! Hold and drop is WAY WAY better than a steady rise! :ohmy:

YES! YES! YES! AMEN To that. Bottom line...do what works for you, after you've healed.

Just remember 1. do what your doc tells you FIRST; especially in the first few months when you are healing and learning your new band and digestive system and 2. if you're going to eat pasta and/or rice, COOK IT WELL FIRST! NO al dente!

Refried beans! Couldn't have done it without them! Plus I think you can blend (I bought a little mini food processor, rather than a thing like a magic bullet, and I LOVE that little thing) lots of different foods to mushie consistency. They look funny but taste good! (check w/your doc first if you're in doubt)

Just make sure you tell your surgeon your concerns...he can either get you started right then, or allay your fears. Good luck! :confused: