~amy~

This is absolutely horrifying! Sooo scary!! Prayers for your friend...thank goodness she has a friend like you to offer her support during this time! I agree with the previous poster - post this on EVERY forum you can find!!!

Oh goodness - that poor guy would have gotten an earful for sure if it had been me! I can't imagine being hit like that right now! I can relate to the post-bm weightloss, too!! I actually gained 5lbs over that whole process, but Saturday afternoon after I returned from the ER, I was back down 5 lbs!! Hallelujah!! I was starting to get upset with myself!! :redface:

Thanks - will definitely keep this in mind for future "experiences." :redface: Are gummies okay with the band? I'm only 10 days post op, so I'm still learning. :redface:

Although I'm freshly banded, and have no real advice for you - I can totally relate to the husband issue. My husband actually prefers me fat, I think. I think he has issues with me losing weight, and is afraid that I'll "get skinny and leave him." It started out like your situation, with him offering to get me this or that - but when I started my pre-op liquid diet, he knew that there was no turning back for me. That's when he started purposefully trying to sabotage me. He's on the Atkins diet (for like the 50th time in 10 years) because he likes to be able to eat as much as he wants. So he'll grill steaks and ACTUALLY WAVE THEM IN MY FACE!! His father does the same thing - he actually called me one night to inform me that he'd just eaten chicken and dumplings and "not one, but TWO brownies!" I want to scream! Weight loss is a mental thing for me anyway - and trying to play defense against those who love me makes it that much harder! What about exercise? Do you have an exercise regimen in place? I'm only 10 days post op, so I can't do very much right now, and that's hard for me. I find that when I'm exercising, I don't WANT that ice cream because it will be that much more that I have to work off in the gym. Good luck to you - prayers going up for you! :redface:

I think crzytchr hit the nail on the head. I, too, experienced painful swallowing until about day 2 or 3. I was told it was from the breathing tube. The Water is so important for so many reasons...I didn't drink enough b/c I was afraid of slipping my band. I got dehydrated and severely constipated. If I had to do it all over again - I would definitely drink and walk more! :redface:

I've added myself, too! Of course, I discovered that my home scale was not correct and that my starting weight was actually 240, so I'm trying to lose 25 instead of 20. Fortunately, I knocked out that first 5 lbs this past week! :redface:

My doc told me skim milk was okay to use with my shakes, but not to choose it any other time, which hasn't been difficult, as I HATE skim milk! :redface: As for your previous post about your concern as to whether 5 days would be enough time for you to be off work. For ME, I remember being 5 or 6 days post op, and wondering how on earth some of these folks were going back to work. I was soooo thankful that I stay home. I do homeschool, and I began doing that again on the 5th day, but I don't think I did a great job. I was still kind of woozy from the pain meds (beware of the pain meds - they cause constipation), and still felt like crap. On the other hand....other people seem to feel just fine after 2 or 3 days! Why couldn't I be one of those??!! lol...I think it just depends on how your body reacts to the surgery. For me, this surgery was the harder on me than my tubal or any other surgery I've had. For others, this surgery was easier. Everybody's different. Just listen to your body - and don't be afraid to ask your doc even the silliest of questions. Good luck!! :redface:

Thanks b, and Betsy...I do feel a lot better today, although I had some pretty horrifying nightmares last night! LOL...I hope to never have that experience again! :redface:

Oh - forgot to add - they had this at the 24 hour Walgreens in our town. I'm sure it would have worked if I hadn't been too far gone already. Thanks!

Thanks to everyone for your comments, support, and advice. I tried everything that was suggested here...no relief. Unfortunately, at 3:48 this morning, I made the decision to go to the ER. There was just soooo much pain! They took an x-ray, and said I was impacted; they were all in disbelief that my doc didn't tell me to start stool softeners immediately when I got home from surgery. (My doc just told me that if I 'FELT' constipated, I could start stool softeners/no laxatives - but by the time I actually "FELT" anything, it was too late.) Evidently, abdominal surgeries combined with pain meds and anesthesia cause severe constipation and should have started stool softeners immediately after surgery. Plus I was dehydrated, which didn't help matters. Dehydration - I was also told to only have a few sips of Water or broth for the first 3 days, and then I could start full liquids - only a few sips at a time. But come to find out, I could have been chugging that water after day 3, and it wouldn't have hurt the band (according to my surgeon's nurse). I was so afraid of slipping my band, that I didn't drink enough water in those first three days and I got pretty dehydrated. By the 8th day (I spoke to my nurse on day 7), the dehydration was less of an issue (although I still feel like I could chug a gallon of water 4 - 5 times a day). It was all due to a lack of understanding and communication on my part - I should have read through the post-op diet more carefully and cleared up even the silliest questions that I had - would have probably saved my bottom in the long run. Bowel Extraction - I have to say, the trip to the ER did the trick, but it was the single most painful (not to mention embarrassing, mortifying, and hideously disgusting) thing I have EVER experienced, and that's including 3 surgeries, and natural childbirth to 3 children. PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE, if you're reading this and you're experiencing a similar problem, start stool softeners as early as humanly possible. Constipation IS normal, but you may not know that you have it right away. You can not wait it out - you will get impacted. And the doctor that I spoke with said that it was a myth that a liquid diet will produce no bowel movement...he said that you should still have SOMETHING, although not as often. So I should have started taking something about day 4 or 5. Instead, I didn't start worrying about it until I felt that I needed to go and couldn't (day 10). As for me now....I'm going back to bed b/c the pain from the extraction is so unbearable that I can't sit or stand. Please pray for me (and my bottom)!! :thumbup:

Thank you sooooo much! I'm gonna check that out. I sincerely hope that I will have some relief before it comes in though! With everything I've tried so far, I'm a little afraid of what's going to come AFTER the "experience" - I'm pretty sure that I'll have a major colon cleanse coming without buying the whole kit! Thanks again!

B- does crawling count as moving? j/k...will definitely try it! :sad: Thanks!

I've had 2 bottles of water since 6pm, and am sipping on another one...maybe the third will be the charm? I have not tried oatmeal - will do that now! Thanks!

Congrats! Sounds just like I felt post surgery. I'm 9 days post op today, and still sore around the incisions. The hunger pangs will start up about day 5 or 6 - if you're anything like me - but it's awesome to feel full after just a bite or two!! Make sure to drink your water! :sad:

I'm doing the same as you - only I might not be as swollen as you. My incisions are VERY sore and I still can't bend all the way down. I'm now 9 days post op - I hope this feeling goes away soon! :sad: Take care! :w00t:

I'm only 9 days post-op, so I'm reluctant to dish out advice. BUT, I can tell you that forum is an AWESOME tool for learning about the process start to finish! :sad: Feel free to email me or PM me if you have questions or need a buddy! :w00t:

I love it! A fat attack!! I'll have to remember that one! :confused: Hope everything's still going well...don't let anyone discourage you, even 1 pound lost is a step toward your goal!! But the pre-op diet is important to shrink your liver. Your date could get pushed back if you don't lose enough, or worse, you could wake up in recovery with no band because your surgeon couldn't get around a fatty liver. That's what I was told, and that's what helped me stay motivated to stay true to the pre-op diet. I've heard that if you cheat, you should make it fish. Good luck with your upcoming surgery! Prayers for health, happiness, and success with your band!!!:confused:

Ditto from me - Good luck, best wishes, prayers, and hugs for everyone having surgery today! :confused:

Holy Cow! I can't believe you're up to posting this soon! I didn't get out of bed for 3 days (except to walk around the house for the gas pains, that is)!! And I certainly wasn't coherent enough to form sentences, much less type them! :thumbdown: Good for you!! :thumbdown:

I know this is an old thread, but I was wondering what the outcome was with the thrush. I recognized mine immediately,as I used to work in a daycare where some of the babies would have it. I called my lap-band coordinator, but haven't received a call back. Am thinking of calling my PCP b/c I'm miserable! Enough of this already!

I'm also a freshly post-op'd gal, and would LOVE some motivation right now! My tummy growls constantly now. My mind is made up that I'm definitely losing the weight, but challenges make it even better for me! (I'm a tad bit competitive - even with myself - ha!) I'm a bit reluctant to post a goal weight because I still don't know what's realistic for me to lose by then. I never would have thought I'd lose 30 lbs on the pre/post-op diets, but I did it. The Ticker Facotory folks made me list a goal, so I put in 20 lbs that I want to lose. I don't want to discourage myself by setting a too-high goal for my first couple of months out of surgery. They told me to expect to gain a few, actually. So I'm just going to join by saying I'll challenge myself to see just how much I CAN lose by Easter! And work my butt off to make sure that I defy the odds and NOT gain!!

LOVE this idea! I'm sooo doing this now!