aquagirl

Hi everyone I'm doing well since my banding on Sept 21. I'm on pureed food now - I was bored to tears with liquids only towards the end. I'm never eating Soup again in my life. I've noticed that I'm just not as hungry as I used to be. I used to think about food a lot, but I find that because what I can eat now is limited I think about other things. I have been cooking pureeing and freezing food for myself. I have never cooked ahead/planned ahead for meals in my life. I feel very grown-up and domesticated. :-) To be honest there have been some times when I have eaten food that isn't pureed. I had some sushi the other day and just chewed everything very slowly & well, with no problems. The main thing I am guilty of right now is forgetting to eat. But when I do eat, I find that I'm full/satisfied with a third of what I used to eat. It's just marvellous. I am having my first fill tomorrow. the weight loss seems to have plateaued off this week - I'm still sitting at 12 kgs weight loss. The main victory for me is that I have not had any alcohol since Sept 20. I used to drink excessively, which was the main reason for my obesity. I will never drink again - not having gone through this surgery. It would be insanity. It's so great to have moved forward without alcohol. I don't even miss it. I associate alcohol with bad health now.

I was on liquid only (thin liquid) for nearly 2 weeks before I went onto pureed food. So yes, from what you've said, you'll be ready for pureed/mushy food by the time you see your specialist/surgeon. I had trouble just with liquids at the beginning and I was strogly advised NOT to try mushed food any earlier. However I did start pureed food 2 days before i was supposed to because I was bored to tears with liquid only. Good luck and take care.

I hope all sept bandsters are well. I was banded Sept 21. I feel very much back to normal these days. The first 2 days after the op, when I could barely swallow liquid without reflux/pain or sit/stand without discomfort, I wondered about what I had done. I have lost 10 kgs in total since Sept 7 - 6kgs pre surgery, and 4 kgs since then. I would never have done it if I just hadn't been able to eat. :-) I can see that food and I have a very tenuous relationship - I use it when i am bored, as reward......I'll have to work on that. I'm back at work and feeling great. I am so excited to be moving onto pureed food on Monday - only 4 days to go. I don't think I will ever enjoy soup again in my life as I did before the 2 week liquid phase post surgery. I have tried every kind of soup I can think of to lessen the boredom factor. I am officially sick of soup, probably forever lol. My energy levels are great. In fact it is the best I have felt in years. To anyone reading this recently banded still in discomfort who wonders if they will feel better - I PROMISE you, you will. Walk, get up and move - the more the better. Get plenty of rest. Drink slowly and write down how much fluid you are having. (My doctor told me to aim for 1600mls-2000mls of fluid each day.) And don't forget to have plenty of plain water too. I have not had enough water this week and have a mild UTI as a result.

Hi to everyone who has been or will be banded in September! It's been 4 days since I was banded (Sept 21) and apart from some tightness immediately surrounding my belly button, I feel okay. I can move very easily, I'm easily drinking the Fluid amounts & only occasionally getting any discomfort from drinking too much too fast. I lost 6 kgs pre surgery and I have put 2 of those kgs back on. It must be the sustagen Protein drinks and the orange juice. Weight is a funny thing though espec for females. I could weigh myself in 2 days time to find I've lost a kilo. I'm trying not to worry too much about the weight loss at this stage. The best advice I could give anyone about to be banded is to be very mindful of how much fluid you drink or sip over a 30 min or 1 hour period. There was a lot of confusion at my hospital about how much I could have and how often.....I ended up in a lot of pain the 2nd day simply because I had drunk too much fluid. For those who are interested, I found somewhere on the net that 500mg of Vitamin C helps with wound healing. If I can find that amount in a liquid supplement or dissolve it in Water it might help me I'm thinking. Anyway, again, good luck to you all and I'll look forward to reading about your successes. :mad:

I had my banding surgery on Sept 21 - 3 days ago. I feel pretty good. The pain/discomfort has subsided and I'm following the liquid intake recommendations pretty strictly. I'm hopeful I'll be able to go back to wotk in 4-5 days. My main challenge is going to be smoking. I gave up pre surgery but finally relented and have had 1 today. I have read that it can interfere/slow down healing, which makes sense. I just don't know if I can give up proper food, alcohol AND smoking without going totally insane this week. Anyhow, good luck to all considering it. So far it has been a bit of an emotional rollercoaster for me, but I am very relieved to have done it & now the banding is done the hardest part is over.

I know what you mean....I was very emotional before surgery also. Not because I was scared of the surgery, but because I couldn't believe my bad eating/drinking habits over the last 10 years had led me to need something so drastic.

I agree - the best thing I have done is get up and keep moving when I felt pain or discomfort. I've learned that most of the pain is gas :-) The day after I was banded I thought....wow, will I ever feel better than I do now? I was quite despondent. But I did feel better the next day, and today I went shopping for a little while. Unless I have too much liquid too fast, I'm discomfort free right now.