travelgirl

Krysia--Sheesh! I just don't know how you do it!:hail: My hubby has been SO awesome this week, too.:clap2: I'd properly thank him, but I think it may be a couple more weeks before I feel up to that....:heh:

I had anti nausea meds, but it was in suppository form....I used one, and it didn't help that much. Altho, it MAY have had SOMETHING to do with the fact that I didn't ACTUALLY have to go hurl...

Krysia, how in the world are you doing this with a baby to take care of?? I'm having a hard enough keeping track of myself.... You're my HERO!!!

Hey, at least we're laughing. I wasn't sure if I'd ever laugh again after the pain I had on day 3! OH the gas.....Made me so nauseated, I was terrified I'd end up wretching over the throne....never did, though. So NOT funny...

OWWWWWWWW! I'm laughing so hard my incisions hurrrtt!!! OWW OWW OWW! I'd ALMOST trade you.... but not QUITE. LMAO!

Oh, and I'm glad to hear you finally got to poo, Babygrl! I've had the opposite problem, diarrhea with gas.... Horrible combination. Hubby hears me over the fan in the bathroom from clear in the other end of the house! (blushing!)

Normal, but it hurts like hell. I kept waiting to keel over with a heart attack or something, except the pain was right in the center, right under my breastbone. OWWWWWWWWWW! Much better now, though. Still get a twinge several times a day, but it's not constant like it was.

Yep, that's exactly how I felt, too. Someone said it better, though, like they'd "swallowed 20 balloons". That's about right!

The gas bubble that you're feeling is in your abdomen cavity, not in your digestive tract. You won't be able to do anything to get rid of it (burp or otherwise....), so they told me to just walk, walk, walk. It's SO cold here, so I would just pace around my house for a bit, or they said I could rock in a rocking chair. It eventually is absorbed by your body and the pain gets less and less, so in a couple more days you should be feeling better. Hope that helps!

:pound: LOL Krysia!

Silry, you'll do GREAT! Just keep telling yourself WHY you're torturing yourself, and you'll make it through the pre-op diet! Krysia, I'm with you, I'm getting tired VERY early in the evenings. Of course, that may be because we're not really getting GOOD sleep, just ok sleep, and we're not well rested. At least I'm not.

Lizrbit, what exactly is it that you want to know about your pre-op diet? Specifically?

Hi! I was banded on Feb. 5. I needed (still need) my DH to help me out of bed in the morning, I'm just stiff and don't have the strength in my abdomen to get upright first thing... Ummm.... Oh, I can't do laundry, because I can't reach the bottom of the washing machine to get the wet clothes out of there. So I have him get stuff out of the washer, but I do the rest.... What else?....Oh, you're not supposed to lift anything over 10 lbs until you get the all clear from your doc.... One thing that might be helpful, get your DW on here and have her read some of the posts on the pre-op and post-op threads to see what she should expect. It's best to go through it together, so you don't have to try to explain every little detail to the person who's going to see what's happening with you up close and personal. Good luck on Tuesday! See you on the February 2007 Bandster's Thread!!!

Yeah, it's muscle pain as well as incision. They have to cut through the muscle when they make the incisions. Also, your port is actually sutured right to the muscle to keep it in place. That's what hurts the worst. My port is about 4 inches above my waistline.

Sounds like you're doing just fine to me! I was banded on Feb 5, and I'm still having some pain in my abdomen. My port is about in the middle of my belly, off to the left just a bit. Well under my ribs. The pain lessens a bit every day. Hang in there, you'll be fine. As far as mall walking, NO WAY! Not this chick! I went to the doctor yesterday, and then in to Sam's Club to get some necessities yesterday, and was SORE and worn out when I got home. I just pace around my house when I have gas pains, and that helps a lot. Also, rocking in a rocking chair helps, too. Just try to not be sedentary, or you'll get really stiff. Are you on the February 2007 Banster's thread already? I don't remember seeing your name. There's a wealth of timely information on there from other people being banded this month as well. See you there!

Welcome, Martie! There's a thread you should go introduce yourself on, it's the February 2007 Bandster's thread. There's several people on there going through the same thing you are on Monday! There are also several of us who have already been banded this month. Go check it out! Lots of good, timely information over there! Hope to see you there! Kim

My doc's physicians assistant said part of the pre-op liquid diet is also to help them gauge your level of commitment to making this work. I personally was all about doing "whatever it takes to make it happen", and if that meant doing a crappy liquid diet that made me feel like hell, then that's what I did and I just made the best of it. You just have to decide to make it work.

Here's my 2 cents: I bought a huge vat of the Isopure chocolate crap, and think it's quite disgusting. My all time favorite protein drink is the pre-mixed Atkins Chocolate Delight shake. You can get these in a 12-pack at Sam's Club. I've tried many many many others, and this is the only one that I like.

Yeah, here's to Tracy getting a quicker date....Praying for you, Tracy!! Oh, I forgot! Yesterday, I had an appointment with my primary physician.... Get this...I went to see him the day before I started my pre-op liquid diet....and then saw him again yesterday.... elapsed time 15 days...I LOST 18 LBS!!!!!!!!!!!:clap2: Now, I know it's just because of the stupid liquid diet, and my body is starving, but still, it's 18 lbs that I'd never have lost if not for having this surgery! My doc's orders for the liquid diet were: 10 days pre-op liquid diet (too detailed to put here, follow your own doc's advice there), then the day prior to surgery, I was to have only clear liquids, and then nothing after midnight the night before. Then after surgery, I was to be on clear liquids for 3 days, and then on the 4th day, I could start on the full liquids diet for 2 weeks. After that, I can graduate to mushies for 2 or 3 weeks, then on to solid food. Don't forget the protein powder, or protein shakes, the protein is a MUST. Otherwise, I'm free to drink cream soups (the Campbell's Soup At Hand soups are pretty good, make sure you don't get the ones with noodles or any chunks...you're not supposed to be consuming anything at this point that might make your stomach churn...) I feel tons better since I started on the full liquids.

Spldgrl, I don't have any stitches, or staples, only the steri-strips (kinda like the butterfly strips, only wider) and everything is healing VERY nicely, thank God. No redness, or oozing, or anything. I do sit at my job, so I'm glad to have the advice to bring a pillow to lean on in my chair. That's my worst fear, is that my back will start hurting, and that I'll be too tired to work...

Well, let's see.... As far as getting in enough fluids....I was told to try to get 42-64 oz in EVERY day. I think I've had maybe half that every day. I came close yesterday, but today, not even 30... I'm still sipping away, though. And as far as bathroom habits....liquid in=liquid out. Very annoying. They did tell me, however, to try some senecot (?) if I was having trouble going. Call your dr's office and ask them what they recommend to get you "going" again. I'm sure they'll be more than happy to give you some recommendations! Oh, yeah, and the feeling of swallowing 20 balloons, well, let's just say I'm glad to have someone describe it that way, because I feel just like that almost all the time. Hope that doesn't last too much longer!

HI Colleen! I still can't sleep on my side. With pillows, without pillows, it still felt like my incisions were being pulled open, and I could NOT relax. At least, last night I couldn't. I'll try again tonight. sleeping on my back isn't so bad, except that I sleep with my mouth hanging open, and my mouth gets SO dry, and my back gets really stiff from laying in one position all night. I'm usually a toss and turner, so I'm not used to having to just lay there. I have to go back to work on Monday, and I'm scared to death that I won't be able to make it all day. At least the people I work with are supportive of this, and are understanding. I won't be able to drive myself (dr's orders, not sure why), so I'll have to get a ride with someone. I also commute 30 minutes to my job, so if I can't make it all day, I'll end up laying on the couch in the breakroom until my ride gets off....Yuck. How are you doing pain-wise? On the 1-10 scale, mine hovers around a 3 or 4 unless I hiccup. Those are just awful. I'm trying to learn to suppress those, but that hurts almost as bad as the hiccup itself!:faint:

Jack, you gave me chills.

It will get better, I promise. I was banded on Monday, Feb. 5, so this is still pretty fresh for me. By day 3 I was thinking, OK, I'll survive this.... As far as if you absolutely can't get up and walk around, or if you do and it doesn't help, I was told that it often helps to rock in a rocking chair, and it did help me. Whenever I wasn't walking around or on the computer, I was rocking away... I still have to sleep on my back, which is agony, but I just feel like everything is being pulled too much when I try to lay on my side, and I can't relax. I hope this passes quickly, because I'm stiff in the morning, and my DH has to literally pull me up to a sitting position, and then pull me out of bed. I'm getting really tired of that already.:faint: If you haven't found it yet, there's a thread on here called "February 2007 bandsters", and it's been a lifeline for me! There are several people going through what you're going through RIGHT NOW on there. Hope to see you there! And I hope you start feeling better very soon! Kim

:update: Hey, everybody! Just a quick update this morning. I'm feeling better every day, my incisions aren't weeping or getting red at all, the gas pain is subsiding (FINALLY!!:faint: ) and I'm SO glad to be able to eat something with some substance, even if it is just cream soup!! Pure heaven, in my opinion! Tracy, I'm sorry to hear that your surgery date has been moved back so far. I'd be going out of my mind about it, as I'm sure you are! I also wanted to thank you for starting this thread, LBT has been a lifeline for me this week, and this thread has been so reassuring, reading that someone else is going through the exact same thing as I am at the same exact time! I was reading another thread where someone said that they were so jealous of people that had their band surgery one day and then was climbing Kilamanjaro the next day, it made me laugh, which STILL hurts! I don't think I'll be doing any mountain climbing for at least a couple more weeks! :biggrin1: