bchambers

I was glad to read all of your posts. I was banded 7/1/09 and am down a total of 18 pounds (with 16 being on the pre-op diet). I read all about bandster hell and how this period is about getting used to things and not all about weight los, but wow...I've made so many changes that I'm just surprised I'm not further down the road. So bring on the mushies and I'll keep on keeping on till the first fill!

Hi! I was banded 7/1/09 so I'm a day behind you all (in Lubbock, TX). I've just moved to mushies. Had a hard time with chicken salad for some reason yesterday (even with Miracle Whip) so today I went back to some liquidy foods (cream of rice and soup) since I had a lot of pain this morning. Tonight I tried some refried beans and sour cream. I've lost 18 pounds, but 16 of that came off on the pre-op diet. It is amazing to me that with as little as I'm eating I haven't lost more. Of course eating too little might be part of the problem. I think I might see how many calories I'm consuming. I'm still doing protein drinks. I like Unjury (Strawberry Sorbet) and Nectar (Roadside Lemonade) but am not a fan of the Isopure strawberries and cream (I'll have to use that on in smoothies since it was pretty pricey). I'll have my first fill on August 14 and am scared and excited about that. I haven't really chewed in over a month so I hope I can get used to small bites and lots of chewing!

I asked my doctor about the pain today when I had my staples removed. I told him it felt like he had attached my port to either my rib or my lung! He said he did attach it to the muscle on the rib (?) or by it so he really thinks that it is the muscle healing. He also said the throat tickle/cough I had was probably because I had two tubes in that area. One in my esophagus and one in my windpipe (can't imagine what I looked like!). They checked for a hernia during surgery and I didn't have one. I'm wondering if it hurts because I was carrying a messenger bag with a couple of books in it. It feels a little better today. But wow...it was pretty painful. Let me know what your doctor says!

I have a very similar issue. It feels like my ribs on my left side are out of place and I can't take a deep breath without a pretty significant pain. Of course it has only been a week since I was banded so I thought maybe it had something to do with my port and the muscle it is connected to. I don't have a gallbladder either, but the pain is pretty intense. I see my doctor tomorrow so this is the first thing I'm going to ask about.

I had surgery yesterday, July 1, 2009. The night before I had to have a Lovenox injection in my stomach. Even though I had done that to myself before with fertility drugs, I couldn't do it this time. Then my husband was going to (since he had done 11 weeks of progesterone shots in my backside when I was pregnant with both my children) but when I saw him coming at me with that tiny needle I decided to get my nurse friend to do it! I had a little bit of trouble sleeping. I had been excited and scared (and pretty emotional) most of the day. But the night was a short one since we had to wake up early for surgery. I got to the surgery center at 6:30 am and after the prep work (IV, sign consent forms) I waited for about 30 minutes. One of my nurses was a band patient and the first thing she said was "you are going to love it!" So that set a pretty nice tone for the day. The anesthesia doctor stopped by and asked me about my previous surgeries. I told him I had problems with vomiting after anesthesia. He said he had 3 drugs to help me with that. Then I met with my doctor who asked if I had any questions. They took me back to the surgery room and they had the radio playing. They got me situated and then the anesthesiologist gave me some medication and put a mask on my face and told me to take deep breaths. I don't even remember going to sleep! When I woke up in the recovery room I could tell I had surgery but other than being groggy I felt ok. They called my husband back and he said Dr. Buschman said it went great. They had also done an EGB to see if I had any hernia issues and that was fine too. I heard a nurse say the surgery was textbook. As time went on I slept off and on. My left shoulder hurt a little right after surgery, but it wasn't too bad. The nurse asked if I was ready to get up but I felt a little nauseous so they gave me Zofran and some morphine for pain. She came back a bit later and said "I hate to be Nurse Hatchett but we need to get you up" I was a little shaky but ok. I tried to go to the restroom but found even after 3 bags of IV fluids my bladder was still asleep! So I went back. They did an X-ray so the doctor could watch me swallow this really NASTY tasting lemon liquid. He found everything to go through very well. I had to eat ice chips to try to get that taste out. I had a friend that worked at the surgery center and she stopped by and was concerned I looked pale. So she got me a wet washrag (to me that is the ultimate cure-all). It was interesting that I did feel nauseous again but when I leaned back it got better. I rested for a bit then tried to go to the restroom again. This time my bladder sort of cooperated. So they got me ready to go home. Of course I still felt nauseous so I leaned back again. I was dreading the 10 minute drive home. We leaned the seat back and as soon as I got home I went straight to bed. It was about 2:00. My kids (ages 9 and 6) came to check on me occasionally. I would get up to go to the restroom, but my head was hurting so I would lay back down. To get out of bed it really helped me to be on my side and prop myself up on my elbow then get up. I finally decided I had to get up and try to get out of my room. I made it to the door and a serious wave of nausea came over me (you know the kind that means throwing-up is pending. I went and laid down and just tried to think of anything else since I knew I couldn't throw up. I just kept praying. The feeling did eventually go away. My husband called the on-call doctor and they prescribed some phenergan suppositories (that was an experience). But it made me feel a lot better. I was able to sit in a recliner and eat some broth. Then I went in the other room finally (about 9 pm). I tried to drink some Gatorade and Water too. I took another pain pill (Narco...or hydrocodone) and decided it was bed time even though I had been in bed all day. I slept great last night even though I had to get up 3 times to go to the restroom. This morning I was really sore. Like I had done about 5,000 crunches. But the nausea was gone and I was able to drink a Protein drink. I had some water and a little tea to help with caffeine headache (my version of coffee was always Diet Dr. Pepper). I was concerned about blood clots so I went and walked around my back yard a couple of times. So far so good today. Now I'm tired and think I'll take a little nap then walk around some more. I'm not the type of person to lay around but my goal is to not be Super Woman....I plan on taking it easy for a couple of days. I see the doctor next week to have some staples removed. So till then I'll just concentrate on healing!