bumble-bee

Thanks for sharing your experience with us! My first fill will be on 2/23, and I'm ready to feel full again too!

I can relate. "Hungry" and "Full" both feel differently to me now than they did before surgery. I'm learning a lot as I go, that's for sure. I feel it's important to get enough calories though. I do not want my body to think it's starving and hold on to the weight or develop nutritional deficiencies. So I eat two meals (small!) and a snack every day.

Every surgeon is different so he/she will tell you what is required of you. My doctor's pre-op diet is two protein shakes (breakfast and lunch) plus one frozen "diet" dinner like Weight Watchers or Lean Cuisine. That's 13 days and then the 14th day is clear liquids. I lost 9 lbs.

I'm not following any diet plan - and hopefully won't ever again. I'm eating 2 or 3 very small meals (compared to before pre-op diet) and not snacking. I stay full between meals so it is easy to avoid Snacks. I make sure to follow the rules about not drinking before or after meals. And I walk 45 minutes on the treadmill every day. I've done low carb many years so I know the ins and outs of that... hollyberry8 - you can buy sugar free Metamucil. That's what I use. And remember to subtract the fiber count from the carb count to get the carb count that you use to add to your daily totals. As for losing weight slowly at this stage, that's me too. I only lost 3 lbs from surgery day to post-op appt day (10 days). That was disheartening since I was barely eating anything at all. So I started tracking my calories to make sure I was getting at least 1,000-1,200 per day. Once I moved back to regular foods, I stopped counting calories (or anything, for that matter) and have been losing 1-2 lbs per week. My first fill appointment will be 2/23 so we'll see what the doctor says then.

I did 5 days of liquids then 14 days of mushy/soft then back to regular foods. I'm not "dieting" - just eating 2 or 3 very small meals (compared to before) and NO snacks.

Not yet. I'm scheduled for 2/23.

I totally know what you're going through! I spent the first 10 days post op in such agony that I thought I'd made a huge mistake having this surgery. The gas pains in my shoulder and chest were utterly unbearable. On day 10, I heard about simethicone. It's found in some anti-gas products (like Mylanta and Maalox but check the label). Wikipedia says: "Simethicone is an anti-foaming agent that decreases the surface tension of gas bubbles, causing them to combine into larger bubbles in the stomach that can be passed more easily by burping. Simethicone does not reduce the quantity of gas in the digestive tract, it only increases the rate at which it exits the body, and is ineffective in the intestine." It can't hurt to try, right? It worked wonders for me!

Hang in there. I was banded a week before you, and I'm doing great now. Try something with simethicone (Maalox or Mylanta, check the label) for your chest pain (which is from gas). The first few days, I was just about dying to have something to chew but I got through it. Now that I'm on mushies, I chew everything that I put in to my mouth - even if it doesn't really require chewing! It makes me feel better in my mind and I don't feel like I'm going crazy anymore.

As sick as I am of mushy foods, I'm almost afraid to start eating regular food in a few more days. I'm afraid it will send me on an eating spree. I'm currently feeling no restriction, but not much hunger either. I'm afraid that eating real food will send me in to that bandster hell I've heard about - where I'm battling hunger and willpower while possibly/probably gaining weight. Has anyone from January yet started on solid/regular food? If so, how are you doing??

My situation is similar. The evening after surgery, I felt ravenous but I think it was really because I was so thirsty. That slowly dissipated and I had trouble getting enough fluids in. I just didn't feel like even drinking. Now that I'm on mushies and not very hungry, my worry is about not getting in enough calories. When I go in to "starvation mode" (which I've inflicted on myself many times before), my body holds on to weight like there's no tomorrow. So I'm staying off the scales (except at the doctor's office). I think it would be too discouraging to weigh myself every day right now. I'm also struggling with constipation and not finding relief from my usual methods. Anyone find something that works for them?

My only problem was the gas pain. It was so intense that I didn't believe it was gas. I went to the chiropractor, got a massage, used Bio Freeze, took Advil, went to my PCP who prescribed muscle relaxants, tried Gas X (just in case), the works. I spent hundreds of dollars in my first ten days after surgery. When I went to my post op (on day 10), I told them that everything was great from surgery but I had this pinched nerve feeling that I couldn't get rid of (sincerely thought it was unrelated to surgery). The surgeon told me to get some Mylanta or Maalox with simethicone in it (you have to check the label). So I bought a bottle and drank some in the car. By the time I got back to my office, my shoulder pain was completely gone and stayed gone for more than 48 hours. Today I had the beginnings of the shoulder pain again so took one dose and it disappeared. If Gas X doesn't help you, please try something with simethicone in it. I am amazed and sure wish I would have known about it sooner. As for your other pains, hang in there. It gets better faster than you can imagine. :w00t:

My surgeon says that the percentage of band slips is 2%.

Like the others, my surgeon said it's completely fine for me to take ibuprofen. That is what helps me the most with my back pain.

I'm on Day 10 and have not had any problems.

I'm hanging in there, but I'm hungry! I'm not really nervous about Tuesday - mostly excited. But I am nervous about the post-op diet and anxious to see how I'll react to surgery since everyone is different. I'm going to the monthly support group this Saturday so that's good timing. It's all I can think about. I can't concentrate on anything!!

I know everyone's surgeon is different, and everyone's tolerance will be different, but surgeon said I can swallow anything smaller than an M&M.

I'm planning to recover at home alone (with several people willing to help at a moment's notice) but my surgeon will not allow me to drive myself home, so I had to ask someone to do that part. I hate asking for help!

For Cher, you just get the pre-op diet one day at a time. You're lucky to have 7 days. Mine is 14 days and some have 21. You can do it!

My pre-op appointment was today too. Nothing too serious - blood drawn, urine test, blood pressure, listening to lungs and heart - then reviewed again the pre-op and post-op instructions. I just finished reading all of the paperwork they sent home with me - it was kind of scary and/or discouraging but I still feel this is the right thing for me. "The pros outweigh the cons" so to speak.

I'm scared too - but in a rational way, I think, I hope. :tt2: Thinking about the "what ifs" is deadly. The pre-op diet is torture. On the flipside, like AdamsMom, I've been shopping for the foods and supplies I will need. I'm sure that I am over-preparing myself, but that's ok. I live alone and hate asking for help, so I'd rather be home with too many supplies than be missing something that I wish I had. :mad: With surgery on the 13th, I'm taking four vacation days then Monday is a holiday for my job, so I have to be back at work on the 20th.

Thank you for bringing this question to the forum. This has been a great discussion to follow. And it confirmed for me that I've made the right choice. I particularly connected with "OH Juli" who said that she was a volume eater and that's one reason the band is a strong tool for her. I'm so excited and can't wait to have my new tool in place!

To "perfectforme": From everything I've read on these boards, it's all about what your surgeon's instructions are. I'm choosing to follow mine. I can't imagine going in for surgery and being told that they couldn't do it because my liver was too big. (Do a search for RestlessMonkey to see that can really happen.) If your surgeon didn't give you a pre-op diet, then you're good to go. But if he did, I'd try my best to follow it. To "adamsmom": I love your stories and ideas. They make me smile! I can relate to so many of them and am looking forward to those days too!

Today is day 3 for me. I get 2 shakes per day and 1 frozen meal (Weight Watchers or Lean Cuisine). I am sticking to it exactly and have the goal in mind. I am starving so trying to keep myself really busy and distracted. I've done a ton of projects already this week and making a list of more. :Yawn: bee

I'm not telling very many people. To get around it at work, I'm using vacation days instead of sick days. And I'll happily lie about what I'm planning to do on those vacation days, if anyone asks. Only a very few important people know now (it's really impossible to tell no one since I need someone to drive me home after surgery), and I will tell a few more important people after it's done. The only people I will tell will be the people who would be hurt to find out about it later from someone else and wish they had heard it from me directly. And part of me feels like I will be lying to them if I don't tell them about the surgery. I don't want the whole world to know what I'm planning to do and then have something go wrong with the testing or something else founds that will exclude me from surgery. I'd rather not face everyone all knowing that I wanted to do this and it didn't work out. I'm confident that all will go well but there's that tiny shred of doubt or fear holding me back... bee

Count me in! January 13 in Kansas City. My pre-op testing is on January 7. bee