LSU Mom

I felt the heavy pressure in my chest too! It lasted about 5 days. Doctor said it was the swelling around the band which is higher up than I thought. Hang in there! It's worth it!

Hey y'all! I was banded on 8/6/09 (I weighed 265 the day of my first appt with the doctor and then more the two weeks before surgery on the liquid only diet - lost about 17 pounds after surgery but gained 4 of those pounds back before my first fill which was this past Monday 9/28/09. Got 5 cc's in an 11 cc band. Since the fill I've lost 7 pounds! I have not felt hungry at all since the fill. I had to be on liquids for 2 days after fill and ate some black eyed peas last night. I wasn't hungry but I ate a small bowl knowing I had to eat and finished it all but did not feel stuffed, just content. I do have a tootheache that is not letting me think of anything but pain right now so I have not even thought about Breakfast and it's noon already. Once I see the dentist at 1:30 today it might be game on with the food, don't know yet. My doctor told me DO NOT weigh yourself between my followup visit and my first fill. He did not want me to get frustrated because I probably would gain a little weight. He said he would be happy if I maintained but if I gained he would not berate me because he said, let's face it, you got the band for a reason - dieting wasn't working for me so he did not expect me to lose during the bandster hell period. I didn't listen and weighed myself every day. Fortunately I did lose so he would not have even known about that 4 pound gain since I had lost 13 according to his scale and the last time I was there! They do have a new rule they explained to me though. My next appointment is October 28th and if I want/need a fill then I have to bring a food journal with me to show them that I am trying but it's not working. I have to show proof that I am actually dieting instead of just getting the fill for the heck of it. Don't beat yourself up over the weight gain. Apparently the doctors are prepared for it! Oh, and GEAUX TIGERS!!!

I am 6 weeks post op yesterday and TODAY is by far, the hardest day of my banded life! I don't know what triggered it but today I am HUNGRY all day!!! I had my shake for Breakfast which I do every morning and today I was digging in my drawers at work looking for something to eat about half an hour later! I have not gained any weight back yet and I don't get my first fill until the 28th of September but now I am scared that - like I've seen on here - the fill won't REALLY be enough restriction! I did just start back to the gym full time since I got the go ahead at 6 weeks - and now that I actually typed this I'm realizing that MAYBE I'm hungry because I did a full workout and had not done that in the past six weeks! Gee, I think a light bulb just went off in my head! Does anyone else see it or is it just me? LOL! Hmmmm, anyway, hang in there buddy! I hope the hunger passes for you AND ME!!! GEAUX TIGERS!!! :biggrin:

Congrats Danyett!!!! It gets REAL exciting from this point on now!!!! Everything you think about - you associate it with your surgery date. When someone said oh I'm doing this or that on such and such date, I found myself thinking hmmmm that's 2 days before my surgery. August 6th, 2009 will be etched in my brain forever, like my children's birthdays or anniversaries, etc. It's YOUR date!!!! The first day of the rest of your life!!! You go girl!!!

Kimo - I am 6 weeks post op tomorrow. 4 days after surgery I was eating chicken salad with the ok from my surgeon. Just put it in a food processor and pulverize the crap out of it. I used the new Kraft Olive Oil light mayo and some relish and pulled a whole rotiserrie chicken apart and made it with that. I was able to eat about 4 heaping tablespoons of the chicken salad and I was stuffed. I ate slowly and let it sink in before I ate more and decided I was full after those 4 tablespoons. The Protein makes you feel full. Stay away from the bread and rice. Boil some eggs and keep those in the fridge for when you feel like you need something. I have not had a fill yet and don't get my first fill for another 12 days so I am anxious to see if that helps me. I'm not hungry but I stopped losing. I've lost 37 pounds from the 2 weeks liquid before the surgery till today and I feel blah because I have had no loss in the past week. Anyway, don't beat yourself up! Just please try to stay away from the bread. Eat chicken, I promise you it will fill you up! AND it helps you meet your protein requirement!! GEAUX TIGERS!:tt1:

Don't worry! I got worse before I got better too! My port area was swollen for about 2 weeks and I questioned my doctor about it. A few things he told me was that the swelling takes about 3 - 4 weeks to go completely down, the port area will have some discomfort as the swelling goes down because your abdominal wall is reacting to a foreign object attached to it and you will feel some "spasms" as it reacts to it. My port area is still protruding somewhat but I have noticed in the past few days that its getting "flatter" and - am almost 6 weeks post op. Hope this helps ease your mind.

I had not heard that if you drink too much it can stretch your pouch!!! I drink like 32 oz at a time and have no problem getting it down. I'm scared!!! I have not had a fill yet, I'm scheduled for the 28th of this month. Should I be concerned? I thought that water would just go straight down to the big stomach. Am I wrong?

I had the same thing about 3 weeks after surgery. I put on a "spanx" and it went away! I was surprised and found it out on accident. Was going to a funeral and had to wear a dress so I put my spanx on and was like WOW!!! This makes everything feel better!! I guess holding it all in and together helped. I don't have that issue anymore (5 weeks post op now) so I don't wear it anymore. Hope this helps.

If I had it to do all over again I would not have told a soul other than my husband. My coworkers have me under a microscope watching everything I eat or drink and offer unwnted comments all the time. I would suggest you tell everyone you are having second thoughts or that you decided to save some more money and just do it and tell no one. As you start to lose you can say you joined a gym or started WW, etc. Believe me, you will be much happier doing it in secret. Good luck and ignore the nay-sayers! Focus on yourself, your son and partner and screw everyone else! Oh, and GEAUX TIGERS!! Mom :tongue2:

Like many posters I have spent a lot of money and time trying to find what works for me. The smell and taste of the Vitamins makes me gag. I have finally found one that I actually feel like i'm drinking a milk shake! I use the EAS powder with Water and 4 cubes of ice. I bought a small blender for $13 at Walmart and this is how I do it. I take 8 ounces of water, add 4 ice cubes and put in one scoop of either the vanilla or chocolate powder THEN I add two teaspoons of the Jello Brand fat free sugar free pudding mix flavor of my choice! It only adds 15 calories and makes it thick and flavorful. My favorite is adding banana pudding mix to chocolate shake! My daughter actually walked into the room just as I sat down to drink my shake and she took it and tasted it and got upset that I went out for a shake and didn't get her one! She did not believe it was a Protein shake! I have come to like them so much that I refuse to eat or drink anything else for Breakfast now. It has 20 grams of protein and only 170 calories. I hope this helps. The cost of the powder at Walmart is only $8 and it lasts me about 2 weeks. I didnt taste a difference between using water versus skim milk so I figured why add the extra calories when it tastes just the same with water! HOpe this helps! GEAUX TIGERS!

Banded on Thursday morning - went home that afternoon/evening and was doing housework the next day (Friday) and back to work on Monday. I do have a desk job and I did have to unzip my jeans and pull my shirt over because the waist band fell right at my port incision but I am a firm believer that me walking the halls less than 2 hours after surgery made all the difference in the world! I cleaned the house and cooked a pulled pork the next day and stayed really busy so I would crash at night and sleep through the night. I refused all pain meds at the hospital and never even filled the script for Lortab. I had some soreness but nothing that the Liquid Extra Strength Tylenol could not wipe out. I went into this whole thing with a "mind over matter" attitude as I am usually a cry baby and don't handle aches or pain well. I TOLD myself I was feeling strong and there was no pain and it worked! I'm actually kind of still playing little mind games with myself 5 weeks post op with the mind over matter stuff. It took me 3 months to build up to 8 minutes on the elyptical before the surgery and now, 5 weeks post op I went back to the gym for the first time this Monday and TOLD myself I COULD DO 10 minutes on that thing and I ended up doing 15! Then yesterday I TOLD myself I could do 25 and DID and this morning I said 30 minutes and did. It's a little strange but it's working for me! I'm getting stern with myself and hey, it's working! Good luck!

BINGO!!! I have been experiencing a burning stabbing pain about an inch or two below my port for the past 24 hours and the thought never crossed my mind if it was because of having sex for the first time since the surgery. That has got to be it! I would be embarassed too to discuss it with my doctor but you need to be straight up with him. I'm only 2 1/2 weeks post op and I think it was too soon. Thanks for making the light go off in my head!! :biggrin:

I am actually on the site right now trying to find out the reason that all of a sudden I am having this burning sensation about an inch or two below my port incision. I'm fine laying down and sitting but when I try to walk LOOK OUT!!!! It just started this weekend and I was banded two weeks ago last Thursday. I too felt it the first time I was turning on my left side in my sleep. You could have pulled me off the ceiling when it happened! I have not had ANY pain and did not even have my pain meds filled. This is new and is scaring me. I am putting in a call to my doctor in just a few minutes. Let's see what he has to say. I could have pulled something this weekend as I was helping move boxes to my daughters apartment at LSU. But I did not feel anything THEN! Just this morning! Aaaarrrggghhhh! Hang in there!

My doctor required 2 weeks liquid protein. I stuck to the EAS Soy Protein powder mixed with water and ice and I added 2 teaspoons of sugar free fat free pudding mix (powder) to each drink. Had 3 a day. Lost 23 pounds in two weeks. First two days were rough!!! Remind me to hide the skeletons of the co-workers that felt it necessary to stand around and talk about what they had for lunch each day! Anyway, after day 2 it actually got easier and I did not cheat once! I knew that if I cheated then this whole surgery was not going to work for me! I am 11 days post op and I'm still swollen but not hungry!! I'm still doing the liquid protein but that's because I have to meet my 60 grams of protein a day and that's the only way I know to do it! I have had a few bites of corn and crab bisque one day (completely full after 4 spoons!) and some chicken and andouille gumbo (no rice) another day and was "stuffed" after a few bites! That made me feel good knowing that A) I kept it down and that I didn't eat a full bowl just as an appetizer as I would have normally done in the past! I go for my follow up this thursday. Not sure what will take place but I will share when I find out!

Good call 123crod!!! KEEP a pillow in the car!! I forgot it two days later and my husband found every pot hole in New Orleans when we were on our way to my nephews wedding! The two weeks leading up to the surgery went by fast on the liquid diet because I kept my "eye on the prize"! Good luck!

Hi! I had my surgery on the 6th of August and I have not had any desire to eat or drink until this past Thursday (the 13th). When the swelling starts to go down it gets easier. Today I had two EAS protein shakes (1 breakfast and 1 lunch) and I had one bottle of water so far. I see the doctor on Thursday for my 2 week followup. I feel the swelling going down so I imagine I will be hungry again in the next day or two. Good luck!