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I have rashes at the steri strip sites in three places. Itches like crazy. Im only 4 days post op. Dr says they have to stay in place until Thursday. Benadryl and Hydrocortizone creme. UGH!!!

I had stomach spasms the first few days when drinking - it hurt like a beast. I'm 2 weeks out and it's pretty much stopped, but when I do feel it, it's nowhere near as bad. Playing around with the temperature of your liquids might help - room temperature was all I could handle the first few days. Someone on here mentioned being put on something for it, but I don't remember who or what. Def. follow up with your surgeon, if that's really all it is they might be able to help! Hope you're feeling better soon!

Jamie, put you feet up, get your ipod, watch TV, read a book, but just give yourself time to heal. You just had major surgery, you're not supposed to lift more than 10 lbs for 6 weeks. OK, so maybe that's not possible, but still, take it easy. Any house cleaning will still be there next week. You can take liquid Tylenol if the hydrocodone doesn't work, drink lots of tea and sip, don't gulp water. It's really important to get as much water down as possible, up to 64 oz and everything counts, even the water in yogurt. Take it easy, don't stress over small stuff, a little depression is normal, and be sure to take a bunch of time for yourself. The pain is normal, most people go through it. Try to keep your attitude positive and I'll guarantee you'll be over this part in just a few weeks.

I saw that clip but they said it was an experimental procedure and it wasn't for lap band. It was a less severe method of doing by-pass surgery. My doctor insists on a two week pre-surgery all liquid diet to help de-fat the liver and make surgery easier -- and with fewer risks. She also has a technique of putting in an extra stitch to secure the band which supposedly cuts down on slipage.

Hello! Welcome to the first step of a big journey. Some insurance companies require a referral so it would be a good idea to get one from your PCP. From there, you usually attend an information session, and if you're still interested, you begin the process with your first visit with the surgeon. Your surgeon will most likely order blood work, an abdominal ultrasound, and an upper G.I study. You will also have somewhere between 3-6 months of medically supervised weight management which is often an insurance requirement. In between this time, you'll meet with a psychologist and get tested for sleep apnea. You may also get a stress test and a lung function test. If you are diabetic, generally-speaking, you must have your A1C below 8% to be considered safe for surgery. Hope this helps you somewhat. The process is long but it is ultimately worth it. I think it taught me a lot of patience. I start my two week pre-op diet on Monday, February 26th and surgery arrives on Monday, March 12.

I am still a few weeks away from even getting a surgery date yet but I want to plan ahead. During the liquid diet phase should we be adding protein powder to all of our liquids? If so which ones have you tried that you like? I have noticed that with the high protein low carb diet I have been getting constipated, would it be a good idea to add fiber to my drinks as well? I watched a YouTube video where the girl suggested baby food because it is pre-measured, puréed and you can take them with you to work/school for lunch. What are your thoughts on this? I thought baby food would be considered a slider type food and we should stay away. 🤷🏻‍♀️

I know exactly where you are coming from. My surgery is for the 13th as well. My husband just had his surgery on the 6th and is complaining like a baby, but he's always like that. But don't be discouraged. :wink_smile: I did the same thing, the day before his surgery on 6/5/08 he had his pre-op appointment with Dr. Felts and wanted me there so I went with him, and since I was there Dr. Felts wanted me to weigh in to see how I was doing on the diet and I had actually agained weight. Went from 245 to 249, I was drinking too much Water and still eating as usual and wasn't taking it seriously. Dr. Felts told me that I needed to lose 8 lbs before my surgery or he wasn't going to do it. I was like "Man, that's foul, and I'm paying for the surgery myself $15k for each of us". Then I realized that it wasn't just to see if I had the will power, but what doctor wants to say that he lost a patient. That's bad for business! :biggrin: Needless to say I starting taking the diet seriously, drinking my shakes 3 times per day and then having small meals and working out. Just walking at first on the treadmill then on the elliptical machine for 30 minutes more. My butt has never been more sore, but I can say that since this past Thursday that I have lost 7lbs. I am down to 242 and happier than I have ever been. Since my husband is on the liquid phase right now, I have been snacking on the Jello chocolate puddings and apple sauce, the three shakes per day, usually at 8am, 12pm and 4pm. and then when I get home after work, I have been eating chicken breasts, salmon (or other fish) grilled pork chop, or a small steak and broccoli, green Beans, cabbage and asparagus :thumbdown:. I've been chewing alot of gum to take the edge off of eating and that is helping as well. I know that it's less than the 1200 calories recommended, but it's helping to speed up my metabolism and I feel alot more energetic. I just work out when I get home from work and it's also helping with the stress. The kids (4 and 6) watch tv and cheer Mommy on and I get my sweat on. Just don't give up, just make a "normal" plate for yourself, then get a saucer and cut that first plate in half and eat off the saucer. The other half will be your lunch for the next day. If you are craving sweets especially ice cream, because it's hott as hell in Texas, (I'm in DFW area) buy the skinny cow popsicles, only 50-80 calories each and call it a day. Just make sure you exercise, just walking at a brisk pace will do it, in this Texas heat! :ohmy:You still have 4 more days to pull this thing off. I know I am working on it. Just be sure to cut out the salt, which will make you retain water and that is the last thing that you want:thumbup: I know you can do it, email me on the 13th or 14th and let me know how your surgery went, so can swap stories. Good luck and I look forward to hearing from you.

I need some tips from you experts! I still am not exactly sure what to expect at this point. I felt fairly well my first week after surgery. I also had a hernia repair which seems to have helped with heartburn. I am doing exactly what I am supposed to from the guidelines, but seem to be increasingly nauseated and not losing weight. Since my initial pre-op doet, I have lost 23 pounds. Does anyone have any tips on helping ealry nausea and stalls on weight loss? THANKS SO MUCH! YOU ALL INSPIRE ME! JULIA SURGERY (02/27/12)

I had my Nut appointment around 3 weeks, and my goal was 800-1000 calories. I couldn't eat much then, but in the last few weeks I am closer to and even exceeding those goals. My weight loss went faster once I was able to get closer to 1000 calories a day. That broke my plateau, and I guess let my body know it wasn't actually starving. Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

Most of us eat three small meals during the day. Two is also ok. Anything less than that and I would be concerned about being too tight. In addition, I try to drink 8 cups of Water each day. Hope this helps you.

I hope so! It is amazing to me how different some of them are. Some have the 6 month supervised diet, 2 week pre-op diet etc. I had no supervised diet ( I did give them all the info of the diets I have tried over the years, I am much older than you) and only had a 2 day clear liquid diet before surgery. I would call the weight loss surgeon office and they can tell you about all the requirements you need before surgery.

I am here often just reading and trying to figure out what to do, but I don't post. I got my band in March of 09, started out just fine; the mental adjustments seemed to be right and I was happy. I had a couple of issues steming from not knowing better, but thought I had overcome them. I have about 5.5cc in my band and hunger is not a problem for me; until I eat. I don't get hungry until then and I become an eating machine. I have gained about 11 lbs in the last 6 weeks or so, some because I hadn't been drinking enough water, some was just about bad choices of food. I don't think I'm eating anything ""new", but eating to much of it. I am concerned that there is something else going on because I am seeing changes. My hair isn't growing (I keep it short) the texture is different even though I still take Biotien daily, EVERYTHING makes me bloted; even water. My BP is up but I take my meds daily. I had a check up with the PC, did a colon screening last week and everything came back good. I will see my surgeron/PA on Mon. and made an appointment for a fill on Fri. I haven't had one since last year and I hope this will get me going again. I love my band and the weight I've lost but still feel like a failure because I never reached goal which wasn't the same as my doctor's and I was happy to be where I was, but now that I'm gaining I am really down.

After two weeks, I would think a five hour car ride would be fine. I would allow time to periodically get out and move a little, but I think you should be fine.

Yes I've heard of people going back to work as soon as week 2. But I feel blessed to be a teacher, with two months off for summer. I had my surgery the first possible day I could, and I'm glad I made that decision. Even now a little over a month out, I could definitely go back to work if I had to, but I'm still figuring out things like diet and energy level. I'm blessed to have another three weeks to get it all down. This is a major surgery no matter what anyone says, and IMO if it's at all possible we should take our time and baby ourselves a little bit.

Maybe it's too early for me to put in my two cents, as I have only been banded for a little over two weeks, but I will say no. In the past, every time I stuffed my face with unhealthy junk I felt this tremendous guilt afterwards. I would feel bad physically and emotionally. Why did I do that to myself? I have been doing a lot of head work and have not obtained an answer, but I do know I don't want to feel like that anymore, it just wasn't pleasant.

I'm just 3 weeks out and not allowed to lift anything over 10 lbs. better to ask your surgeon.

I had lost 11lbs at my 1 week appt. was shocked!

This may not be a complication but, I am curious to see if this has happened to anyone else. I am 7 weeks post-op and yesterday morning I pulled a suture from my port incision. A little history on this incision: I did not have any sutures on the outside of my incision--they are all internal. The incision never healed well. I got a localized infection 3 weeks ago and the incision will close, then crack and drain a little so, this incision has never completely healed. I saw my doctor on Friday and he was not concerned. Last night, I scratched one of my other scars (that has been close for weeks) and, lo and behold, another suture had made it's way to the surface which I removed. So has anyone else had their internal sutures make their way to the surface. I know the body does that with foreign objects so I'm not overly concerned. I am wondering this might by why I am still having problems with my port incision completely healing.

Me too...I had one tiny piece come out from my port incision then a pretty big piece surfaced later from another incision. It looked like a loop of fishing twine sticking out of my skin so I gently tugged on it and it popped right out. That was several weeks ago and my doc says they look fine. I guess as long as it didn't hurt or look "bad" then I would guess that you're fine too! Weird stuff, huh?!

You should be fine. I had to do a 2 week diet of shakes and 2 small meals a day. A week before surgery I ate a half dozen cookies that a student gave me as an end of year gift. Did not cause me any problems at all. I also had Starbucks Frappacino a couple of times the week before surgery and still was good. I'm not saying it is okay to do what I did, but get back on the horse and you will be okay.

V. true. Just vow to stick with it for Wednesday. Call your doc and make sure all is well. My doc did say I could have lean chicken and veg. for dinner but I need to have NOTHING but liquids the day before. I am on the diet too and suffering a bit and have some set backs this weekend (birthday weekend) but am back on track and will be an angel this week. I have lost like 10 pounds though. Good luck!

I had my gallbladder out about 7 weeks ago, and I had a stitch (clear thread) come to the surface about 3 weeks a go. I pulled it out and haven't had any problems.

I had to be on a shake only diet for two weeks before surgery. I was sooo hungry that I felt dizzy and upset stomach all the time. Well 4 days before surgery I was at my mothers house and she made me eat an egg and piece of toast because of how I felt. So it started the joke that they would go in there and find "the egg". Everything went great. Nothing was ever "found" or "said". The whole purpose of the pre diet is to help you lose weight and shrink your liver. So, if you had some food you should be fine. A friend of mine went to another doctor and he didnt even havde a pre op diet. He just couldnt eat anything midnight before the surgery. So every doc is diff. I think mine was extreme. But you should be fine. Good luck!!!!

Way to go JennyBee!! When I cruise I do the buffet most often. I check out the entire thing to make my choices first, then get a small plate and dish up my selections. They always have healthy choices available. Too bad they don't band our brains to enforce the healthy choices. The good news is, at least on Princess, the deserts are just tiny. So one piece is enough to satisfy my incredible sweet tooth without going way high on calories. I HAVE had stuck episodes on cruises. At least even the public toilets have private stalls. Be sure you learn where they all are. Then again, I have stuck episodes just about everywhere.

Thanks Jack. I needed to hear that. I don't have the hunger, but I am bubbly, and it feels just odd. I needed to hear that it is going to feel better at some point. I feel bad for folks who can't be on full liquids to start. I've been lucky in that Doc said anything that'll go through a straw since Day 1. I think I did about 2.5 days clears, and I am on day 3 of full liquids. I think I'll be in this stage for another week or so before I move on to mushies. Thanks for telling us it gets better.