Katy517

It sounds like you're doing very well Carol. Congratulations on taking the big leap to good health. To susujohnson - sunnsuds is right, you need to follow your doctor's orders. All are different. Good luck.

Thanks so much for the feedback everybody. It's most reassuring to know that I'm not alone. The pain in the port area is constant at this stage. It's the severe pain when bending over that really scares me. I'll definitely call the doctor tomorrow and post here as to what I find out about it.

Thank you for posting Jessica. I'm really hopeful that this pain is temporary. It is definitely extreme. My band is an Allergan. By the way - I love your Camus quote.

Thanks JoJo. I've been trying to avoid bending over for sure. Sometimes it's just unavoidable. I think a call to my surgeon's office tomorrow is definitely in order. I sure hope this is normal.

Hi Deborah. I'm from just outside Chicago. My primary care doctor actually mentioned lap band to me as an option for weight loss about 3-4 years ago. My first reaction was to be pretty appalled actually, but overtime I thought more and more seriously about it and realized that my dieting attempts were not successful on my own. I finally made the decision to proceed with the approval process in mid-2009 and here I am now.

That's a really beautiful first post Deborah. I'm sure that you speak for many of us with what you wish for. I wish you success too.

Thanks for posting this thread. I've been concerned with this aspect too. I'm five days post-op and have been walking since the day of surgery. I expected a somewhat large weight loss after surgery, but instead gained four pounds from admittance to discharge. It felt kind of like starting all over with the pre-op diet.

I'm five days post-op and am on full liquids. I take in about 500 calories per day on average. This will be my standard for my first six weeks post-op until I go on regular food at week #7.

Why do you regret telling lots of people?

I believe that the pre-op diet serves a dual purpose. It not only cleanses one's system and shrinks the liver, but also gets you ready for what it will be like post-op. A lot of hunger is in the head and the only way to deal with it is staying strong mentally and busy. Feeding the hunger is what we've always done and has gotten us to the point we're at now. Only you know what's best for you, but the pre-op diet is engineered to keep you safe during surgery and I wouldn't mess around with that.

I'm newly banded (4/15/10) and did experience some doubts especially in the week prior to surgery. I think that my biggest fear though was of the lifestyle change, which probably sounds kind of strange since that's the whole point of the process. It was a fear that was worth facing though. I understand your apprehension about having a foreign object inside of you, but would point out that it's not really permanent unless you want it to be and that's one of the advantages of this over other weight loss surgery options. It can be removed if you have complications or just choose to have it done. I'm very happy that I've been banded, even though I'm still in pain and experiencing horrible gas. It was worth it for me to have another chance at a healthy and fulfilling life. I wish you luck with whatever decision you make.

I've told only five people and plan on keeping it very private.

I suggest donating them.

I'm being banded today and feeling kind of strange about it. A bit apprehensive, but anxious and excited at the same time. I wish it were an early appointment, but I'm not even supposed to arrive at the hospital until noon. Wish me luck.

I take two per day of the Wal*Mart equivalent Flintstones children's chewable multi-vitamins plus two extra strength Tums for calcium.

My pre-op diet was clear liquids only for five days.

I've got six weeks of full liquids to look forward to so am pretty familiar with it and will be following this thread for new ideas to avoid it getting too monotonous. My basic full liquid diet prescribed by my surgeon includes: Water, Decaf tea and sugar-free non-carbonated beverages like Crystal Light and Diet Snapple. No sugar added apple, white grape and cranberry juice diluted by 1/2 with water. Sugar-free Jello. Sugar-free popsicles. Sodium-free and fat-free chicken, turkey, beef and vegetable broth. Sodium-free and fat-free cream of tomato and cream of broccoli soups - store bought only. Blended fat-free yogurt. Skim milk. Apple sauce. My nutritionist added: Greek yogurt. Whey Protein powder. Other cream soups including homemade as long as the chunks are either removed or blended completely.

My surgeon recommends six weeks full liquids post-op followed immediately by regular food. No mushy stage at all. Anybody else have a similar diet recommendation?

Wow! I can't even imagine going to regular food yet and I'm three days post-surgery now. That had to be tough.

My doc is all about quickening the weight loss. He also doesn't include Protein in the clear liquid pre-op diet, which I'm told is also an effort to speed weight loss. The six weeks post-op full liquids is purportedly to allow the stomach to heal completely after banding. My guess though is that it's for rapid weight loss.

Thanks everybody. I'm now three days post-op and really happy that I did this. The wait for surgery was just ridiculous. My arrival time was noon and they didn't even take me down for surgical prep until 2:45. I think that I finally went under at about 4:15 and was in recovery by 5:30. It was a heckuva long wait. My biggest complaint was being so dry mouthed. I think that was almost worse than the pain. The dryness was just crazy bad. I convinced the nurse to trust me with Water and those little mouth sponges on a stick so that I could get some moisture in my mouth without swallowing and that made it much better. I was up walking by 8:30 pm that night and am still doing pretty well now. Trying to rest, get plenty of liquids and Protein and of course walk, walk, walk. The gas is still pretty bad and the pain at the port site is bad too.

I'm three days post-op and in the western Chicago suburbs. Am interested in a local support group.

I was told to take the outer bandages off two days post-surgery and then to let the strips come off on their own from the water while showering.