avanderhoof

We have a place called Tropical Smoothie Cafe here, and you can ask for slenda instead of turbinado (the sugar they use). You can also get soy or whey Protein. I get a 24oz orange passion with splenda and whey protein. It has calories and 27 grams of protein. They work out well on the liquids stage and if you are out and need something, but would rather not venture into a drive thru.

I am not much further along than you are in this journey. I can tell you though that, for me, I was only like that for the first 3-4 days. I can now drink normal drinks without problem. I think this is due to the swelling around the pouch right after surgery. Kind of like mock band restriction. Not the real deal, just a short term deal. I was wondering though when you have good restriction are you back to sipping?

I could have written that post. I was down 15 pounds on my pre-ops. I am 8 days post-op now and I haven't lost anything. According my crappy $20 drugstore scale I have actually "gained" 1.5 pounds. I'm not sure how much faith in that number, but geez it feels crappy. Especially when I am still on post-op full liquids and not taking in more than 800ish calories a day. :tt2:

I haven't had a fill yet, as I am newly banded, but you don't get get put under for fills do you? I thought there may or may not be a number and then the fill was done in the office. That freaks me out, someone please calm my fear here.

I have 3 kiddos myself. Ages 6, 2, and 1. I know the feeling of wondering who is going to do the highchair lifts, bathing, bedtime, boo-boos, ect. My DH works from home, so it has been great to have him here. With that being said, my doctor, and it does change with your surgeon, said 2 weeks no lifting over 10 pounds. Period. No grocery bags, weights, laundry hampers, anything. I would check with your doctor and ask what the minimum time is, and if you feel ok at that time then go for it. If he says 2 weeks and at that time it hurts to do any lifting I would still hold off. As for pain meds. I was off mine all together by day 5. I think that day 4 and 5 I just took them at bedtime to help with port pain while I was getting settled.

:mad2: CONGRATS!

I feel for you, I didn't have terrible gas pain. (Port pain is another story :mad2:) I have heard that gasX works well for this, but it is very normal.

Not all doctors have the same post op diet. I was only ony clear liquids the day of surgery and then moved to full liquids the next day. I was allowed low fat yogurt on day 2. I didn't have any of those problems though. My advice would be make sure you get some protien in somehow and call the doctor as soon as you can to make sure everything is ok. I am newly banded, 1 week today, and I would call the doctor for any question that serious. Not being able to swallow is a big deal. I wouldn't leave the answer to that up to an online forum. Sorry, that's just my opinion.

:mad2: I will be watching for this answer!

Not that I an alcoholic or anything but this is nice to know. As a 25 year old woman it is nice to know that when I go to a bar with friends and everyone is singing kareoke (sp?) and puonding down drinks I know that I don't have to make 1 drink last 4 hours.

Thanks for your answers. And I thought of one more question....Do most people lose weight at this stage or does that not really kick in until after the first fill? I weight today, granted on a $20 home scale, and I haven't lost a single pound. I have maybe had 8000 calories in the last 7 days and the scale hasn't moved a bit!

I had surgery on Wed and was back to work on Saturday. I work a desk job as well.

I am 1 week post op today, and I have some questions. At first I was amazingly restricted and it took quite some time to get anything. I'm not so lucky now. As I have posted in another thread I think that I am losing some of that swelling around my stomach, and therefore not feeling as tight. My question is how much should I be consuming at one setting? I am on full liquids which include cream Soups, skim milk, SF FF pudding, and anything that was on my clear liquid list. Should I be limiting myself to 1/2 c at a time? Honestly I could likely eat a lot more, but haven't ever pushed myself to do so. Also, how many times a day should I be eating? I am only having something 3 times per day right now just because I thought that is what I should be doing. I am making sure to get my protien in by using beneprotien powder. I feel hungry in between times to "eat", but have just been shoving in the Water. Which leads me to my next question. Is it okay that I can drink a 20 oz water in 30 minutes or less? I'm certainly not chugging it, but I don't feel bad or anything if I'm not sipping it. Lastly, if I don't fell pain when eating or drinking does that mean that the bite size/drink size is acceptable and won't do damage to my band? I thought I asked all my questions before surgery, but obviously not. :blushing: Thanks so much for everyone's supprt and answers.

I had the same problem. I take Loratab on a regualr basis for chronic knee pain, so I told the doctor that my tolernace for that is more than he wanted to give me. The doctor gave me percocet, but since it only comes in pill form I have to crush them up or cut it in 6ths.