michiganer

I was banded on 12/04 and I have a lot of pain kind of in the middle of my chest (where the band is). I seem to feel like I have to burp a lot but mostly its like silent ones. Not those good belching burps. Did anyone else feel this way after banded? I am assuming the pain is coming from the band stitches. I am hoping the pain will go away as I heal. Any suggestions on how I can burp more comfortably?

Missy-You are an awesome inspiration! I am about 2 weeks out and I love to hear from people like you! I can't wait for my 6-month bandiversary! Keep it up!! Trisha

I was just banded on Tuesday and have been having kind of a rough time. The surgery went well and I was home the same day. I slept good that night but on Wednesday night, I woke up in terrible pain. Spent that night and until 3pm the next day in the emergency room. They did a cat scan and bloodwork. Turns out, it was terrible gas pains and constipation brought on by the pain meds. My Dr. forgot to mention that this would happen. I was finally able to get things moving yesterday afternoon. I have stopped taking pain meds except for Tylenol. I feel somewhat better but I have no appetite at all. I am supposed to drink 4 Protein shakes and a lot of Water. Yesterday, it was all I could do to drink one Protein shake and maybe a small bottle of water. Today I got through one and a half Protein Shakes and about 20oz of water. Anyone else have this problem? It is painful for me to drink anymore. My stomach doesn't feel good and it has been contantly cramping and gurgling since the surgery. Like it is preparing to eat but I am not hungry. Please, what can I do about the protein shake thing? I feel weak and sometimes a little dizzy and I think it is because I am not getting enough nutrition. Help!!:help:

Thank you so much for posting this thread! I am in week 2 of my post-op liquid diet and it seems like there is no light at the end of the tunnel. After surgery, when I was in a lot of pain, I regretted my decision many times and mourned that I would never be able to eat regular food again. I am so happy to hear that you are still able to go to the cafeteria and choose what you want. I am also glad that you are full so quickly so you can't get into much trouble. It definitely makes me feel a major sense of relief. Now that I am feeling better, I am happy with my decision and I don't want to change it. Thanks for the inspiration!

I like the Unjury chocolate and unflavored the best. I have had so much of the chocolate on this liquid diet that I am getting tired of it but it is the best tasting protein shake I have found. The unflavored is awesome because you can't taste it at all. If you don't stir enough or put it in something too hot, it will form little chunks. I tried a samle of the chiken flavor and it was pretty good too. Very salty and a lot of garlic flavor. I think the best is unflavored though because you can put it in anything. Today, we had a Christmas dinner at Olive Garden at work. I took some unflavored powder in a ziploc and asked for strained soup. I poured it in, mixed it up and BAM! 20 grams of protein.

I don't follow college sports so I don't know too much about the Bucks. I am a HUGE fan of the Orlando Magic though! I am from Michigan originally but have been in FL for about 14 years. I hope to move to Chicago in the next 2 years or so. I started at 331 a little before November and now am at about 290. I could barely drink anything after surgery which is why my weight came off so quickly. I feel better now and I think I have evened out...

I'm a little confused by some of the recipies that people have posted in the mushies thread...My doc said absolutely no starches (like potatoes) but most recipies have things like beans or rice. Is my doc the only one that said no starches? I'm bummed if he did. What can you have or what could you have in the mushies stage and beyond?

Hey all! My name is Trisha. I am single with no kids and I am 26 years old. I was banded on 12/04. I live near Orlando, FL and work at a major newspaper as a sales lead. I recently got my BS degree in Criminal Justice Administration. I hate my job and am looking forward to new opportunities once and a chance to get paid for my degree once I lose some weight. I have been overweight pretty much my whole life. I have PCOS, insulin resistance and hypothyroidism. I was already able to get off one of my meds! Good luck to all of you Merry Losers that have upcoming surgeries!

I had my pre-op right before Thanksgiving-Banded 12/04. Down 21lbs! Down about 42lbs from original starting weight at the beginning of Nov.

I can't believe all of these recipies with potatoes! My Dr. says NO starches. Potatoes would fall into that category. To all of the people that have recipies on here with potates and beans, did your doctor ok starches? I wish mine did...

Beautiful-I work downtown and have a seasonal job at the Altamonte mall. I just got banded on the 4th. It has been a struggle. I would meet with you or anyone else in the Central FL area. I would love to talk to people face to face.

Jes-I'm feelin ya on the Whopper thing. I was banded 12/04 and have been craving a cheesburger like no one's business! I don't know why but I really want a cheesburger. I'm glad we are talking about the blues. I have been really up and down since my surgery. Mostly down. I have this thought like "You will never be able to eat socially again" and "Forget about holidays, they will never be as much fun". I know these thoughts are irrational but that is what i have been feeling. I also fought with my insurance and I prayed to god for this surgery. It took me a year to get here and now I am just down in the dumps. I get to go to muchies on Tuesday so I am thinking that will help my mood. Right now, it just seems like there is no light at the end of my tunnel

Thanks Mary. Odd, my mom and my best friend are both named Mary. I seem to run into a lot of you in my life I am feeling much better now. It truly was the worst thing I have ever been through in my life. But I am only 26 so I'm sure there are more to come through life. I ended up back in the ER 2 days after surgery with terrible lower stomach pain. They thought it was my appendix and did a cat scan etc. Turns out, I was constipated and had the worst gas build up. I couldn't even move without excruciating pain! I got through it though and I am still living! Everything is doing ok now. The only problems are my emotions are all over the place and my energy level is still low. I am back at work today and I feel like I need a nap right now. My best friend and roommate came down with the worst cold and I am trying to avoid her like the plauge. The last thing I need now is to get sick when I'm not 100% as it is. My mom is leaving today which has also thrown me into a funk. For some reason, I turn into a kid again when I am sick and she takes care of me. I cried when I had to leave for work and I feel like a baby. I hate to see her go but I have to be an adult and suck it up. It has been quite the rollercoaster and I want to get off. I am looking forward to Tuesday when I am allowed to eat mushies. I think that will help a lot with my energy and I think I will feel more normal. Right now, the liquid stage feels like forever. I am worried that I will never feel normal again and that I will have to think about food the rest of my life. All of this measuring and vitamins and drink this, drink that, make sure I drink enough of this. Its drving me crazy and stressing me out! At lease I can read the success stories here and see that this is the hardest time I will go through and there is light at the end of the tunnel.

No, I live in FL now. I was banded in Celebration, FL. My mom is here with me from MI. She is actually leaving today :phanvan. She graduated from Davison HS and she grew up there. I have some family in Mt. Morris, Clio, Flint, Traverse City and Otisville. I go there every summer to visit my grandmother on her farm in Mt. Morris. Small world eh? Eventually I want to move north again but I am stuck in FL for now. I want to lose a lot of weight and then maybe trek to Chicago. Are you in Mich?

Thanks again for all of the responses. I did tons of research so I knew that gas pains could be a problem. I just didn't realize the huge amount of pain it would cause me. Because I was ok the first night, but had major pain in my lower abdomen the second night, i thought something else was wrong. Obviously the ER did too because they did bloodwork and a cat scan. I have never felt pain like that before. The next couple of days, I definitely felt the radiating shoulder pains etc that I expected. I mean, I could barely move I was in so much pain. It was the worst, I wanted to die. I am feeling much much better now. I slept really good last night, I was able to roll around and sleep on my sides almost as usual. I have been sleeping a good 11 hours at a time. I have struggled with energy level. I think because I couldn't get the Protein shakes down, I was really hurting for nutrition. Yesterday I felt so lethargic, like I just woke up only I felt that way all day. Today as soon as I got up, I drank a bottle of Water, crushed a Vitamin and drank it with some milk and had three Protein Shakes by 1:30. I just had my last one a little while ago. I feel much better. I can tell it is going to be a struggle for me to get all of it down, especially once I go back to work on Thursday. I have pain when burping but I assume that is normal. My Dr. won't let people go to the mushies stage until 3 weeks after surgery, is that normal? I just wonder what others do. BTW, I used to live in Michigan near Flint. Its called Mt. Morris. Thanks again for all of the answers!

Ok, so I'm starting to sweat this surgery a little bit. I have done really good not thinking about it but it is now less than 12 hours away! I am feeling excited, distressed, scared and happy all at the same time. I am most nervous about nausea because I know you can't throw up. I also have this little voice in the back of my head telling me that I could try Atkins again. I am like an addict about to go to rehab and my brain is going nuts! I just want to get it over with at this point so I can start my new life. I am also really looking forward to eating again. Right now I am starving (can't drink my protein after 4pm) and I have to drink a ton of water. I am looking forward to mushies but can't even have them until at least 22 days after surgery. At least I will lose a lot more weight! *sigh* Well, I have to get in the shower now so I can wash with my Dial antibacterial soap and I can put a patch behind my ear (for nausea). I will write as soon as I feel up to it. All I can say is "here goes"!

So I think today is the best I have felt. I am still surprised that it took me so long to feel better. I have been dealing with painful stomach cramps and a little nausea. I had to go to the ER two nights after my surgery with severe stomach pains. It was terrible. Apparently, it was constipation and gas buildup from the pain meds. It has been a pretty rough road for me. Yesterday and today I feel much better. I was having a hard time getting all of the liquids down. I am able to get 3 Protein shakes and one bottle of Water down. It is all I can do to get that much in. It has been quite a struggle. I keep thinking to myself about how hard this is and how it is worth it. I will admit there were a couple of times when I thought "What have I done"? During those most painful times, I would have done anything to reverse it. Of course I was half out of it on pain meds so my thoughts weren't entirely straight anyway. I guess I am the only one that has had problems with stomach cramps. I hear of people having cramps which lead to diarreah but not upper stomach cramps. I can feel my stomach clenching and unclenching and making a lot of noise. I found an ok solution which is to drink some Protein shake and it seems to calm down. I am not hungry really at all but I guess my stomach is trying to tell me something. I was able to sleep on my sides last night which was great! I do have some pain burping or feeling like I have to burp. I think it is probably the band site stitches that are hurting with the pressure of the burp. Well, I am finally seeing improvement so I am hoping it will continue. Its back to work Thursday so lets hope I feel normal!

Thanks to all for the answers. I knew there would be some gas pain because if what I read on the boards, I just didn't realize it would affect me so much. Plus, I never read of anyone else having stomach cramps. My stomach clenches and then releases and make gurgling noises. They really hurt actually. I have been trying to sleep tonight but my stomach won't let me. Sometimes it feels like there is no end to this. I really hope the cramps end soon! I took a gas-x pill and am hoping that will relieve some of the cramping. I just want to sleep!

The constant stomach cramps are normal? I feel like me stomach is always clenching and making noise. It is really uncomfortable. I thought they would stop after a few days but they still hurt. Today I got a little more in to drink but it is really a struggle. I just want to feel normal again!

I made it through surgery. My Mom and best friend were both there for me. Honestly, it was somewhat worse than I thought it would be. My stomach hurt really bad yesterday after the surgery and I still have some significant pain today. Thank God, I have not been nauseous at all! They did give me one of those patches to put behind my ear so I think that saved me. I have been sleeping a lot and I slept pretty good last night considering what I went through. I am actually off to bed for another nap. I feel much better today than I did yesterday so I am hoping I will continue to feel better as the days go by. Now it is mostly when I stand up and my stomach hangs, it kind of pulls on everything. Also, when I try to take deep breaths, I feel pain. Anyway, just wanted everyone to know I did ok. I will write more when I am up to it. Trisha

I made it through surgery. My Mom and best friend were both there for me. Honestly, it was somewhat worse than I thought it would be. My stomach hurt really bad yesterday after the surgery and I still have some significant pain today. Thank God, I have not been nauseous at all! They did give me one of those patches to put behind my ear so I think that saved me. I have been sleeping a lot and I slept pretty good last night considering what I went through. I am actually off to bed for another nap. I feel much better today than I did yesterday so I am hoping I will continue to feel better as the days go by. Now it is mostly when I stand up and my stomach hangs, it kind of pulls on everything. Also, when I try to take deep breaths, I feel pain. Anyway, just wanted everyone to know I did ok. I will write more when I am up to it. Trisha

I made it through surgery. My Mom and best friend were both there for me. Honestly, it was somewhat worse than I thought it would be. My stomach hurt really bad yesterday after the surgery and I still have some significant pain today. Thank God, I have not been nauseous at all! They did give me one of those patches to put behind my ear so I think that saved me. I have been sleeping a lot and I slept pretty good last night considering what I went through. I am actually off to bed for another nap. I feel much better today than I did yesterday so I am hoping I will continue to feel better as the days go by. Now it is mostly when I stand up and my stomach hangs, it kind of pulls on everything. Also, when I try to take deep breaths, I feel pain. Anyway, just wanted everyone to know I did ok. I will write more when I am up to it. Trisha

Awesome Sweethinkr! Congrats!

Ok, so my band date is less than a week away and I am getting a little nervous. I guess I need some encouragement. I have been doing this liquid diet for over a week and I think it has me a little down. I am not nervous about the surgery but more about the changes I am going through. I guess I am a little scared about never being able to eat Thanksgiving meals and other meals like I used to. I feel like I have been a food addict and now I am going to rehab. Do I sound silly? Maybe I am the only one that has felt this way. I think it is a little silly to be less scared about surgery and more scared about eating differently. I have really committed to the liquid diet and I am committed to have the surgery. I know I can do it. I guess I just need from someone who relates to my feelings. I don't want someone to say "Well, obviously you are nervous so you shouldn't do it until you are 100% about it". I have been working towards this goal for over a year now and am not about to quit. I just need a little encouragement from some people that felt this way too and now feel like it is the best decision they have ever made...

Yeah, Cigna is very strict about the 6-month diet. It must be no less than 6 months and it has to be consecutive. It actually goes by quite fast.