chic28

I agree...it's only been 3 days and you did just have surgery so you should expect to have some pain. I had my surgery on July 31st and I still have some very mild pain some days. My doctor told me that was perfectly normal. After all it is just under your skin and it had to pass through a major muscle. That should be the least of your concerns and definetly nothing to be depressed about.

Hello All, I was banded on July 30th and now that I'm all healed I'm starting to feel like I can eat normally again. I have still been eating less than 1000 calories a day (sometimes about 800) but it still feels like I'm eating too much. The first week I visibly lost weight and I'm terrified that because I'm eating a little more normally now that I will gain it back plus some before I get a chance to get my first fill. I basically have no restriction at this point and I feel like I could eat anything if I wanted to. I've been to afraid to weigh myself up to this point but I go for my first post op appointment tommorow. Hopefully I can get some encouragement if I have lost weight. But if I haven't and I can't get a fill yet I'm really afraid that it will disappoint me so much that I may turn to food again to help. If anyone has any advise please share.

I want to thank everyone for sharing their experiences. On the plus side I finally had my first post op yesterday and I'm down 15 lbs so far! He also told me what I was feeling was normal. They also progressed me to phase 3...regular foods. He said this should help. Also, my doc told me that he may do my first fill as early as 2 weeks and that after that he will adjust it as often as I want. He actually said that he would adjust it every week if I wanted to!

Well I finally made it. I was banded on July 31st and I'm just starting to get back to "normal". I think my biggest mistake was underestimating the amount of pain that is caused by the gas used during surgery. Luckily it was almost completely gone by the next day. For a few days I was in quite a bit of pain (at least more than I expected) but now it's mostly just a sort of muscle ache. So far I'm not really hungry but I am finding myself getting a little depressed at times when I see others eating. It's not so much missing food as it is missing that since or normancy. Hopefully I will be able to continue to find good advice through this forum.

I was also banded on 7/31 and the gas x strips do help.

I would think it was the IV fluid. I was banded on July 31st and the first few days after I passed a lot of that fluid. You can increase your water intake and that will actually help flush the excess out. It could also be the gas.

I was also recently banded last Thursday July 31st. I just returned to work yesterday and I'm still a little sore even though it is much better. I wouldn't try to rush back to work. I have a desk job and I was still completely wiped out yesterday. It's funny that you mentioned being full and hungry at the same time. Some of it is "head hunger" but I have had times where I can feel my stomach growling but at the same time I don't want anything else to eat because I already feel full. Guess that'll be one of the things to get used to.

I'm about a week post op and I feel the same thing. I think it happens when I take in too much.

Good luck to you. I'll be banded on the July 31st also...at 6:30 am. Starting to freak out a little!

My big day is tomorrow. I go in at 5 am and surgery at 6:30. I have gotten some encouragement from reading that everyone else is nervous too. I wish all of you luck in your recovery and on your new journey.

My question is if it's the same as any other program why should you do it? I am scheduled to have my band this Thurday July 31st and I was all ready to go until I started reading some of the post. Now I have an overwhelming concern that I'm going to fail at this. If the past I have been successful at weight loss programs but only for limited periods of time. From what I'm reading on here a lot of people feel little to no restriction at all. How will improve your chances if it doesn't? It now seems to be a dramatic and expensive procedure that may not have as much of a benefit as I thought. It's not that I'm not committed to changing my lifestyle...I have already lost weight just from the pre op diet. But now there's a fear that if I fail I will be looked at with even more scrutiny. Sorry to be so negative.

This is by far the best thread I've seen so far on this site. I won't miss: Being out of breath and sweating just trying to get dressed in the morning. Thighs rubbing together...rubbing holes in pants. Wearing the same 2 pair of pants to work every week because they're the only ones that still fit. Having food on my chest all the time (they do catch everything) My back hurting so bad I can't walk to the other end of the building at work. Avoiding friends and family that I haven't seen in a while so that I don't get that look of shock. Shopping in plus size stores and still not finding anything that looks good! Being out of breath and sweating just from walking from the car. I could go on and on with this!!

My insurance company also required 6 consecutive months of supervised weight loss visits. In addition to that they required weight history for at least the past 3 years. This was regardless of what comorbid conditions or BMI.

I had the nuclear stress test also. The machine they put you in is kind of like a chair so it doesn't feel so restrictive. Nothing like an MRI. You just have to be still for a few minutes.

I'm scheduled for my band this Thursday July 31st and the liver shrinking is one of my biggest concerns. I haven't done very well on the pre op diet at all. I did pretty good at eliminating sugar and carbs in food but I still drink red wine almost daily. (nerves have been bad this past week) Cutting out the bad food was almost no problem at all. I'm not terrified that they will have to convert to an open surgery or not be able to do it all because of my liver size.

I will having my surgery this Thursday and after reading some of the post I'm a little afraid. It seems that a lot of you are still having problems losing weight. I do understand that this is a tool but if I could lose by simply watching portion sizes and choosing the right foods I wouldn't have considered this in the first place. Now I'm afraid that I'm taking this BIG step and it may not help at all.