Ruthie1974

I so totally agree. I am a newby as I was banded on 3/24. I found prior to my surgery I was lamenting "all the food" that I would not be able to have. It is way to early in the game to see if those foods even interest me, because right after surgery I have not really been hungry or even wanted to eat. (I know wierd huh) I found that I was using food as a crutch to not feel, to stuff myself with something other than what I was really needing. Therefore committing slow suicide, just like an alcoholic I could not say no to just one. I would eat till sick-stuffed and then 15 minutes later look for more food. I guess we all have to just let ourselves "be" in the moment and experience those feelings that scare us. I have found in the last 4 weeks with the preop diet and now post op that just being able to feel without pushing down food to block it out has been liberating. You can and will do this, and we are all right here beside you. Ruthie

Welcome! I am newly banded (3/24) and am here to help if I can. Good luck to all of you... Ruthie

Okay guys, give it to me straight! When is this god awful feeling like I need to burp or I will explode feeling go away???? I am told that this is temporary but I feel frustrated and VERY unladylike (if you get my drift, and I most certainly hope that you are not down wind no pun intended). Does this feeling ease up? Please let me know. (I am 5 days PO) Ruthie:cursing:

LOL, well at least I will look great when I am being anything other than ladylike. This feeling like I have to burp is driving me nuts. Anti gas medicine dosen't really help much. I will try the downward dog, just not pointed in anyone's direction. :thumbup:

Okay guys, give it to me straight! When is this god awful feeling like I need to burp or I will explode feeling go away???? I am told that this is temporary but I feel frustrated and VERY unladylike (if you get my drift, and I most certainly hope that you are not down wind no pun intended). Does this feeling ease up? Please let me know. Ruthie:cursing:

Thanks for your thoughts. I am doing fine, it is my kids and husband who are taking this really hard. And thinking about having to travel as far as we are really sucks. I just need to pack things I can eat. I really don't want to make a big deal of my dietary needs in front of everyone. For all they know I had a hernia repair and for now that is all they need to know. I am really tired right now and I think I am gonna try to nap. Hope this finds you well. BTW, I talked to my nutritionist and she said that the 'I think I am going to explode if I don't burp this instant' feeling goes away after the first two weeks. FYI, it gets better. Ruthie:thumbup:

So yesterday was a full day. Started off finding out that my brother in law had a massive heart attact and passed away on palm sunday. So, we are on a trip to visit his family (1500 miles) for a funeral. Yesterday the family and I decided to get out of the house for a while after finding out the news. We took the kids to a movie (How to train your dragon, very good btw) then to Walmart to pick up a few things. We had a bite to eat prior, but after the movie the first hunger pains since surgery hit, and hit *HARD*. I found several good full liquid options, and one was the SF carnation instant breakfast essentials. 14gms of protein and yummy as well. It helped the scary hunger pains. Lost another 3 lbs by this morning, and I am wondering when this is going to level off. I am trying to get all the nutrients in that I am supposed to, just hard right after surgery when you don't even want to think about eating. I hope you are all doing well. I have been thinking about all of you. ps. Port site looks much better, the sites just itch like crazy.

Oh goodness honey, what you are feeling is perfectly normal and I have been feeling slight band remorse too. Not like you would think, but more like: "What have I gotten myself into?" I am glad I have been banded but the stuff we have to go through just plain sucks. I hear from other bandito's that this feeling is temporary and it gets better. We have just made a huge change in our lives for the better, it is just stressful. And as if surgery was not stressful enough we have all the emotions that follow a life changing event going through us as well. Did I mention the post op pain/gas??? You will be fine, and you will get through this. Every day gets better. We are all here for you and if you have to go see someone to talk to, or if you are feeling clinically depressed by all means go! Take care of you, no one else will. Sending you (((((hugs))))) God bless Ruthie.:smilielol5:

I had my surgery yesterday, and am home today. Feeling a bit sore and incredibly full. I have to sip, sip, sip to make sure I get all the nutrients and H2O I need. Really tired this morning but glad to be home and have the procedure overwith. I just hope and pray I made the right decision. My liver apparently was quite pretty. Doc was proud of my efforts, and said he could tell I did not cheat at all. He said it made the surgery much safer and easier on me. Thanks to all of you for your support and prayers. Ruthie:lol:

OK, so I am 4 days out from surgery and I have no, NO interest in food. I have to sit down and try to eat something. Yesterday it took me all day to eat one SF/FF yougurt and 1/4 cup purreed chx noodle Soup and 1/4 cup purreed lentil soup. I have been sipping on high Protein drinks and sipping as well. So my question is, is this because of the swelling post op? When does this go away? Obviously I know I should eat at some point. I am also having a sense of pressure in my upper stomach/esophagus which is not really pain but at times climbs to a intense pressure sensation. I am thinking it is because of needing to burp and can't. I am taking the anti-gas medicine like a trooper. Any help is appreciated.

Sounds to me like your principal is breaking federal labor laws by not letting you have an uninterrupted lunch break. You have the right to take a lunch break without having to work through it. Talk to your labor union see if they can help. Good luck and God Bless.

Yeah, I called his office and they said that the pressure that I was feeling would go away once the swelling went down. The port site looks much better this morning. I took my antibiotics and a couple of benedryl last night thinking if this is a tape/suture reaction perhaps I could stop the inflammation. We will see. I am down in weight again this am. Yesterday it took me all day to eat one SF/LF yougart and 1/4 cup chx noodle soup. I also had about 1/4 cup of lentil soup and sipped on a high protien drink and clear liquids to stay hydrated. Other than tired I really don't feel bad. I have been taking liquid ibuprofen and it seems to help. Thanks for everyone's thoughts and prayers. Ruthie:wink2:

I am having a tough time right now. I am worried about the port site, and am praying that it isn't infected. I know it is way too early in the game to be worried about everything but it is what it is. I have had what I think are esopheageal spasms, in that I feel alot of pressure like I need to burp, then the pressure rises up my esophagus. Any one else get this or is this just gas pain. I am going to go take some happy med and go to bed. :tt1:

No hunger pains thank god, but that wierd sensation that you have a really, really, *really*, big burp that you can't bring up is frequent. I noticed that I have some redness around my port site. Called the surgeon and he is ordering me antibiotics. Just to be on the safe side. Pray all goes well and the redness is just a reaction to tape. Being the princess that I am, I have sensitive skin. All I have been able to eat is 1/4 cup of purreed soup or protien drink. I am drinking G2 or pedialyte for the hydration for now. Lost another pound. Hope you are all doing well. Ruthie.:tt1:

Here is my take on the preop diet, as I went through 14 days of the Optifast program it included 2 shakes, 2 high protien bars and one powdered Soup that needed to be reconstituted. In total 800 cals per day. All of the food replacement products had 12-15 gms of protien in them and as long as I took my time eating them (think 20-30 min good practice for after the band) I was not physically hungry. That is not to say I didn't have mental hunger. You know when you are sitting on the couch and a Burger King commercial goes on and you start thinking about how good that would taste ect. But I had to ask myself after every craving, how will I feel 10 minutes after I eat this, one hour ect. I decided early on it would not be worth it. I did not cheat on the preop, not even once and I lost 16 lbs in 14 days. The reason the Doc's put you on this diet is to empty the fat stores in your liver. If you are obese, and all of us on here have been at one point or another, you have a fatty liver. This during surgery is very hard to manipulate and the liver could be damaged and you could hemmorage very quickly. Besides he has to lift up the left lobe of the liver to get to the stomach and makes his/her job much harder, and harder on you. I also stopped drinking pop all together during the preop phase cuz I wouldn't be able to drink it after and instead would drink Water ect. Now I don't even like the taste of Diet Coke, which was my staple before. As for the nutrition content of the optifast each "replacement" meal was about 150-170 calories, low in fat, salt and had Vitamins and minerals in it. At first yucky but get your head in the game and you can do it. Good luck and God bless. PS. If there are typo's in here I am sorry. A little druged here.:Banane20:

Allie I was banded yesterday. And except for a little soreness at the port site and a feeling of needing to burp all the time, and being really tired I am okay. I was amazed that 4 bites of Jello and 1/2 c of chicken broth filled me up. Remember to sip from the "shot" glass that you get. Really the only thing that bugs me right now is my sore throat from the breathing tube they put in. I sound like a frog croaking. I am on full liquids for the next 14 days. Then mushies for 3-4 weeks. My Doc and Nutritionist are pretty strict about following those rules because your stomach has to heal and settle. I am sooooo not hungry right now so I am trying to sip on my high protien yougart smoothie for Breakfast. Nausea was okay, and overall the op was a piece of cake (well a really big cake). If you have never had laproscopic surgery you may want to know that when they fill up your abdominal cavity with gas so that they can move their instruments some of that gas gets trapped and takes a couple of days to get rid of. That can cause pain under your rib cage or into your shoulders and can be intense. Just need to get up and walk around as much as possible so that the air gets absorbed quicker. And don't hesitate to take the pain med you get at the hospital if you are uncomfortable. No need to be a martyr about it. Good luck and God bless.:Banane20:

Yeah, I have full liquids for two weeks then mushies. Anyone have any links for good mushie recipies? I never thought I would look forward to baby food consistancy but I am really getting excited to be in the recovery phase. I am glad you did well.:Banane20: We can all get through this together. Ruthie

Me too, just feels like I need to burp more than anything. Amazing that I am not hungry at all. Taking little sips all day. Darkangel, how did it go for you?

Sitting here in preop, saying a prayer for all of you! Good luck and God bless.

HOLY COW!! Our surgery time is the same. I have to be there at 0630 as well, except I have a two hour commute and have to be up at 0300 hrs. Yuck. I will say a prayer for all of you tomorrow am. Good luck to you as well Darkangel, I will be thinkin about you.:thumbup:

Okay, so you cheated. Now what? Well, you get up, get off your duff and start moving. Go for a good walk to help negate the "damage" done, and to clear your mind and think of why you really want to do this and how you are doing it for you. I am on day 13 of an 800 cal optifast pre-surgery diet. Although I have not cheated, I understand wholeheartedly why one would and could. If this were easy everyone would be skinny and this site would not exist. What has helped me through is the thought, "how will I feel 10 minutes after I eat this, and is this really tummy hunger or head hunger?" Hope it helps. I agree, dust off the pastry crumbs and leave them behind you. Can't change it now, but you can change how you eat in the future. Good luck and God Bless.

I am pretty proud of the fact that I survived working the weekend. I was pulling the night shift and working 12hrs at that, and entering into it with very little sleep due to family commitments. BUT, I made it without cheating. I was really tired but used my "lunch break" to sleep instead of grazing. I can't believe that in only two days we will be on our way to our new healthier lives. How totally exciting. I am hoping you are all doing well as well. BTW, sorry my last post had a typo. Trying to type on the blackberry, not really fun. Take care, and good night!

Yep, very nervous. I was less nervous when I had back surgery which could have paralized me. I think most of my nerves comes from the realization that this is it, no excuses I will loose weight for good and a part of me feels vunerable. I am greiving so to speak about having to redefine myself. But I know this is better than all the health risks I am carring now. As for the # change it happened to me as well, Water flux I suppose, don't worry about it. It probabely will be gone tomorrow.

Down 16lbs and only 4 MORE DAYS TO GO! WHOOOHOOO!! Anyone other than me really pumped about this?

I have been reading on this site about 'life after the band' regarding complications of persons who have done poorly and have had complications with the banding. My surgery is scheduled in 5 days and after reading their posts am getting very aprehensive about having the surgery done. One person who has been suspended from the site said these complications happen frequently. Most of the persons I have talked to who have it are happy. Thoughts?