jmegirl

A pillow for your tummy, for the ride home from the hospital!!! You may laugh, but trust me, you'll feel every single bump in the road, haha.

Nah Dee, you're not a regular squirrel. You're like the Mama Squirrel, leading all us young squirrels to the light, giving us guidance, helping us have a better BAND life. You're Super Squirrel!!!!

Yay!!! I'm so happy for you!!! They say 3rd time is the charm. That's great and all, but I'm hoping 1st time is the charm. Flying to and from Denver gets rather pricey By the way, I have been reading so much in the November 2008 Bandsters forum, and I think every single person who has had their surgery in November was starving by Day 2-3. Is that usually the case with everyone? Or are they just suffering "head hunger"? I can't say that I've really felt the hunger yet, and I'm 6 days post-op. I feel bad reading all their posts about wanting to chew off their own arms. I just don't get it?! What kind of experience did you guys have with the hunger? Did it really come back that fast? Or are those people just thinking that they're hungry?

Stress can cause a bit of hairloss, but it usually doesn't last that long. Typically band patients don't start to lose hair for a few months, when they've lost some weight and haven't had enough Protein in their diets. But I don't see why you'd be losing a lot of hair right now. Sure, surgery is stress to your body, but you should be over that by now. I mean, as far as your body being in shock from surgery, that should all be gone now. Maybe call your doctor?

I imagine that the pain you all are feeling is near your port, right? I've had pain (though I wouldn't say sharp pain) for the last 2 days with every deep breath I take, including yawns. Mine is in the middle - coincidentally, that's where my port is. I've asked my girls (my support group - we all had the same surgeon) and they all said this is normal and that it will last a week or two, maybe as many as three weeks. But they stressed that it's normal.

RM you took the words right out of my mouth. :laugh: Doctors put you on a liquid diet so your stomach doesn't churn trying to digest anything complex. Like she said, stomach churning can lead to loosened or pulled stitches. Listen to your doctor! Just because it went down fine doesn't mean it's OK to eat. You have no idea what kind of movements your stomach makes when it's trying to digest stuff!

I think nearly everyone in this thread has posted about intense hunger, as early as Day 2 after surgery. I think it's important to share my story. I'm Day 7 and I am still NOT hungry. I might get a small tinge of hunger here or there, but it passes, which tells me it's not really hunger, just head hunger because I'm bored and would normally eat when I'm bored. I don't want everyone coming here and seeing that so many people are starving so soon after surgery and getting scared, because that isn't always the case. While I'm definitely in the minority as far as hunger goes, my situation does happen. So there are chances that you'll go up to a week or two without really feeling hunger. Of course, I'm not feeling hungry because I'm still swollen inside. I can't take all that much thick liquids (like creamy soups) before I get ridiculously full, but I drink crystal light throughout the day with no problem. Anyways, I just wanted everyone out there to know - not everyone is starving two days after surgery. :laugh:

First of all, you shouldn't be drinking anything through a straw. I hope that's a guideline and not an instruction! Straws cause air bubbles, which cause burping, and burping is bad when you're post-op! I'm only Day 7 post-op but I've had both egg drop soup (which is more like a liquid) and cream of broccoli soup (which is thicker). I added a little extra milk to the cream of broccoli and I blended it to break up all the chunks, so it would be thinner. Every doctor is different though, so what my doctor says is good for me might not be good for you, and vice versa. I would say call your doctor and ask, that's what they're there for! :laugh:

Good luck to you! Keep us posted as to how you're doing!

Day 7 post-op, still Full Liquids! Yesterday B- vanilla ice cream Protein shake L- 1pkg cheddar grits D- 2c of egg drop Soup and 1/2c cream of broc/chix soup - how did i eat that much at dinner time? i think i overate :laugh: actually now that i think about it, egg drop soup is just like a liquid, so maybe it just went right through and that's why i didn't feel full?

Congrats!!!! :eek:

It's funny, I was just thinking about this! Egg drop soup is actually really easy to make. It's pretty much just chicken broth, water, and eggs. As for the sodium content, I would suggest making it with Low Sodium chicken broth and you really should be fine. I'm on full liquids right now (6 days post-op) and I'm going to make some! :eek:

Froggi have you disappeared again?? :eek:

By the way Deb (Tally), what day are you returning to CO? I'm going on the 5th for my first fill.

Oh no, never!!! Dr. K is a wonderful surgeon with an excellent success rate. No chance! You're going to be fine! I bet you fly all the way out there in December and it turns out to be nothing. :thumbup:

Thank goodness! I like that answer much better than "Something might be wrong...." :thumbup: :eek:

OK ladies, question. How long after surgery until you could take a deep breath without a pain in the center of your chest? It's not a sharp pain, but it's pain. This happens when I sigh, breathe deeply for a yawn, or when I sniffle (like my nose is running and I quick SNIFF to get it not to...does that make sense?). The pain lasts as long as I'm breathing in, so during a yawn, it lasts a good 3secs. Any ideas? I'm on Day 6.

Those protein bars all taste like cardboard to me. If I had a choice, I'd drink my 20g of protein as opposed to eating it. :thumbup:

Luckily, and I thank the grace of God for this one - I've yet to really feel hungry. I've eaten because it seems like I should be eating, and not because I've actually hungered for it. Hope this keeps up at least another week!! :thumbup:

The first fill is different for everyone. Absolutely everyone. It's strange, haha. Some people feel great restriction for a week, then nothing, back to before. Some people feeling nothing for two weeks, then wake up super tight - like a delayed fill. It's very hokey if you ask me. :thumbup: Let us know how your first fill goes!

OH! I meant to tell everyone. I almost got stuck last night! :thumbup: Applesauce! I tried to have a little snack last night, and Dr. K himself told me I could try applesauce on Day 2 or 3 and it wouldn't hurt. Well, after 3 small bites, I felt sharp pain in my chest, and it just wouldn't go away! I could actually feel the applesauce trying to go through the band. Talk about weird! First time I'd actually felt the band, ya know? Gosh it was so strange. After about 5 minutes it went through, so I guess it wasn't ever going to really get stuck, but it darn sure was too much to be trying to go through at this point post-op. I was so shocked! Who knew the opening would be that small??? Anyways, applesauce is now on my No-No List! At least until I'm completely healed and onto mushies! :eek:

I'm fabulous!!! I feel wonderful!!! My incision sites are sore, but that's to be expected. I was able to sleep on my right side (non port side) on Saturday night, and last night I got onto my left side!!! YAY!!! GI problems went away by Saturday night. Boy, that was a rough couple of days, hahaha. On Saturday, the only real "full" liquid I had was an individual cup of sf vanilla pudding. But Sunday, I had a pudding, a package of cheddar grits that were watered down, and 1cup of cream of chicken and broccoli soup that I super-blended in my Bullet. :eek: I'm really loving this. Really. Today I promised myself two things - I will start getting in my protein, via shakes or protein bullets, and I will start walking. I've been laying around on my arse for a few days. That stops today! I'm working from home beginning today, so I'm tied to the desk a few hours. But once I'm done, I plan to walk at least 15mins every hour on that treadmill....OK, maybe just 10mins an hour to start. :thumbup:

OMG OMG OMG OK so I know it's only because I've been on liquids, but I've lost 8lbs since I got weighed in at Dr. K's office the day before surgery. OMG OMG OMG I hope I don't gain it all back once I get to mushies. I promise to make really good choices and not just eat mashed potatoes for a whole week!!! Please please please PLEASE just let me not gain it all back!!! :thumbup:

Ugh, you poor thing! It really stinks you're dealing with all this, and what makes it worse is that you aren't local!!! I'm keeping you in my thoughts. :thumbup:

As someone who was recently banded, let me tell you how you're going to feel on Day 2. In pain! Bloated! Somewhat nauseous! Tired! Please, do yourself a favor, and tell everyone what you're doing. You will be worn out just walking from the car through the front door. Not to mention trying to socialize for several hours? :thumbup: I worry for you. You really need to tell everyone involved that you'll be having surgery and you'll need to recuperate. Tell them you had a hernia repaired! That's what a lot of people do. That will explain your stomach surgery and why you're tired and sore and why you aren't eating. But in all honesty, you won't feel like going to a Thanksgiving dinner with family on Day 2. You'll feel like laying in bed and sleeping! Please keep us posted what you decide to do! Good luck!