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This is a great question - and something that many of us have to deal with. I have a very long, like 8 inch, gall bladder scar. My band doc said that I had some scar tissue. Yes, I was sore after banding, but how do I know what to compare it to? I think a lot of it depends on how much you do post op - while you are healing (in the first week or so). If you are able to rest and not do any real physical stuff, then you shouldnt have an abundance of pain. I took tylenol regularly for 2 days then prn after that. Im still here and would do it again in a heartbeat! Definately tolarable.

I was banded on 2/10/09 with the reaize C band. I have to wait 3 months before I can get a fill and boy do I need one. I have no restriction and can eat anything. I have maintained my weight loss but have not lost anything in the past 4 weeks. It is very hard. According to my surgeon the band that I have does not have as much restriction unfilled as other bands. It also depends on the thickness of the stomach walls.

This is my first post on this site. I've mostly been just reading what everyone else has to say for the last couple of months. I guess I thought maybe I better get some support going since my surgery is just 2 weeks away now. I can't believe it's finally here!

After the first 3 or 4 days it became a lot easier for me. I increased water and that helped a lot.

I start Week 2 on Wednesday, so I'm right behind you. I was revised from lap band surgery to the sleeve last Thursday so this is a little more extreme than I am accustomed to. But, I do hear that the starving mode does subside. The trigger that tells us we're starving was removed during the gastric sleeve. Starts with the letter G & I can't think of it. I believe any "cravings" we might have is more psychological more than anything. Make sure you're drinking plenty of fluids (that should help), and be careful when you start week 2. Our stomach's are still healing & we have to introduce foods back in slowly, and as they tell us. Hang in there!

Day 3 for me and I am feeling good. I actually didn't really want my broth tonight but I knew I needed it. It will pass. I am thankful though that I only have to do 4 days. My surgery is on Wednesday. Good luck!

thanks for all the great and informative answers to my post. I started a new medication to add to my blood pressure meds and found out that side effects for that med is headaches....had one day without a headache yesterday. I also added another Claritin and that also helped. The headache is barely there this morning so when I talk to my primary care this week I will find out if the addition is helping my blood pressure or if we'll have to add something else. I thought it was kind of weird that my blood pressure went way down the day after the surgery. Gotta watch it now since my BP machine says it is close to normal. I'm so glad to have people responding to this website who have been through the same things I have. Thank you all! Sandy

OMG! I am the best person you could have asked for to stumble across this! I should be the poster child for this surgery because I have had a DREAM recovery. I mean... freakishly good. So, therefore, take this all with a grain of salt because it's not really the norm. I had my surgery Jan. 31, 2012. I was supposed to be first of the day, but ended up getting bumped and didn't go to the OR until 2:30pm-ish. I woke up in recovery close to 5pm-ish and was totally lucid... to the point that I explained cell surface receptors to the nurse when I told her that she couldn't give me a morphine drip because it wouldn't work (I got hydromorphone instead). They wheeled me to my room where I said good night to my husband because he was leaving (end of visitor's hours) and promptly hit the button on my drip and had another four hours of blissful sleep. I'm usually an insomniac so I was making the most of that drowsiness! I woke up around 10pm with some pain my chest/abdomen. The nurse told me that walking would help. So I got up and walked maybe a total of 15ft down the hallway before I started to feel neauseated, but by the time I laid back down I guess the gas had shifted and I was back to being relatively comfortable. I consider myself lucky that I did have a catheter, so I didn't even have to get up to pee! I slept the rest of the night away and only pushed that "pain button" once or twice. The next day was the leak test... WORST part of the whole thing. That stuff is NASTY and made me feel kinda sick, but I got through it. chicken broth is ridiculously delicious after that! So, day one: spent either sipping, walking, or sleeping. I think I walked half a mile that day all total. Day two was more of the same and I finally made it up to the volume they wanted me to get. I also walked a mile on day two. They discharged me on day 3. The rest of it is history. My pain was seriously minimal. I've had achilles tendonitis that hurt much worse. My first few days I had to force myself to drink small sips every five minutes to get my fluids in. But other than that, I was back to good in two weeks. I added foods back slowly like you're supposed to, but I've never found one I couldn't tolerate. My energy level was fine and I went back to work full time at two-weeks post-op. I lost about 25lbs the first month. Started exercising at two months. And haven't looked back. I love this life and I'm so glad I made the decision to go for it. Again, my recovery was freakishly good and most people have at least one thing that bugs them. But, you wanted a positive story and that's what I've got!

Hi all, I'm new this to this board and I'm excited about my possible journey. Right now I'm in the gathering stages of my journey. I found my surgeon through a co worker, but she went through her husbands insurance. I'm 26, 4'11 and have a BMI of 52.1. I went to the info session 6/26, had my consult with the surgeon 6/6, nutrition consult 6/7, psych eval 6/17. I turned in a letter of referral from my PCP, weight history from PCP for the past 3 years, a copy of my weight history from nurses who visit my job once a week, and now I'm waiting to receive a copy of my membership and weekly weigh-ins from Weight Watchers. As far as I can tell my insurance company, Empire BCBS does not require a 3 or 6 month supervised diet prior to approval, however I'm still nervous about being approved. Anyone have any experience with Empire BCBS? How long did it take for you to be approved? thanks!

At Disney on a trip with my job, and I've been able I find things to eat and I've been coming in on the high end of my daily caloric intake (which is ok because my pedometer has been logging between 15,000-20,000 steps). What's frustrating me is I have no way to measure my food and no way to weight it. I've found that I'm eating until I am satiated but have definitely gotten to full a few times, but never uncomfortable or pain like the ONLY time I overate. I generally get the feeling that I'm eating more than I should (full) but I am (AGAIN!) worries that I'm stretching my pouch. Are three full meals for a week going to irreversibly stretch my pouch. A stretched pouch is a big fear of mine. Advice?

hi i am going on soilds on monday from being on all liquid diet for three weeks scared to dearh on eating again what should i start with first i know the moister the better i also start work on sunday night 11-7a i was thinking of bringing a lean cusine meal is that ok i just don,t know what to expect when i start eating i don,t want to vomit or have pain some of these stories i read are really eye opeaners for me like erosions and slipping etc i am tolrating liquids very well do you think i will tolrate solids just as well also today when i was getting clered at work to come back to work the hosp dr told me he read that were they are findind the banded pt are having low calicium levels any one heard that thaks julie

I'm supposed to be on clear liquids 3 days prior to surgery, which means I will be flying during that time. How am I supposed to take broth and jello on the plane? What have you done?

Take chewable bariatric. Vitamins, 3 a day and calcium citrate, 1 a day.

My first stall was in the 3rd week after surgery. It lasted about 7 days. It was hard not to be frustrated but as others said stay on the program. One morning I got on the scale and there was a two pound weight loss. You're only 5 weeks out so your body is still adjusting to surgery. Try to find other ways to measure your progress besides the scale. Take pictures, measure yourself, try on old clothes. It's reassuring to realize that even when the numbers aren't budging, your body is losing inches. Be sure to get your Protein First , in daily calories.

Virtually everyone goes through a significant stall starting somewhere around week 3. You aren't doing anything wrong, and neither was everyone else who stalled at week 3 before you. Use the search function here and look for "3 week stall" or something similar and you will see what I mean. Stop stressing and put the scale away for a while. Just focus on following your plan to the best of your ability. The weight loss will start up again, probably pretty soon.

Hi bookleen, I'm a few months shy of being a year out - and by now you know I'm close to goal but not quite there yet. I was never really given a set goal by my PCP nor my surgeon so I've just been "winging it". I originally chose the higher scale from the BMI charts which was 154 Lbs. However the closer I got I realized that would be too light for me and my frame so I bumped it up to 165 Lbs. Anyway I'm very sure that once I have all this skin removed it will be around 10ish pounds! Anyway, here is what a typical day for me would look like: Early morning snack: Protein shake Breakfast: Hi Fiber oatmeal packet -OR- 2 eggs (equiv Egg Beaters) and 2 slices of turkey bacon Mid morning snack: Something around 100 calories - usually a string cheese... Lunch: 2 oz of meat, and good carbs -OR- Protein Shake -OR- Some kind of salad Dinner: 2-3 oz of lean meat (I only eat poultry or seafood/fish) Small serving of green veggie and a couple bites of good carbs Snack: Serving of almonds -OR- 1TBSP of chunky Peanut Butter (yummy!!) -OR- Whole Grain Saltines This is my most common foods. I try to mix it up sometimes to bump around my calories to keep my body guessing. I will also tack on extra Protein shakes from time to time if I burn lots of calories. Typical workouts (spread out): An hour on the treadmill walking/jogging/running 30 Minutes on my Spinner/Stationary Bike 30 Minutes on my Elliptical 30 Minutes of Calisthenics 45 Minutes Brisk Walk at Work I want to incorporate more DVD style workouts and some yoga!!

Well, I've read articles debunking the myth that humans need loads of water to drink every day, that people get enough through the course of having bevvies here and there (including tea and coffee) AND through the food they eat. Seriously, the human body does extract enough moisture from all foods, not just obvious ones like lettuce and watermelon, to get the liquid it needs, GENERALLY SPEAKING. My Nut said that the primary reason WLS patients need more water than normal-stomached people is because they are not getting enough liquids via their food. That said, it takes drinking much less than the magical 64 oz a day for most people to become actually dehydrated and it's easier to get dehydrated quickly just after surgery. After you're into normal foods and are drinking bevvies here and there, you're probably getting enough liquids to be fine. If you are not dehydrated and don't feel you need more water, then don't fuss with it. I drink way more at work (insert vodka joke here) than I do at the weekends, so I am making up a deficit during the week. And I do try for 1.5-2 liters per day, but I'm not too fussed. LOL. Some people will make claims about how it flushes toxins out of your system, etc. But I don't buy that one too much -- the thing that flushes toxins out of your body is your lymphatic system. It obviously needs fluids to do so. But no matter how much you drink, it will only use what it needs...which it's getting as long as you're drinking enough to not be dehydrated. Hmm, not sure I'm making any sense at this point...

I was told 2 weeks. Vitamins are very important though. I can always tell if I slack off for a few days.

Wow 60 lbs in a little over 3 months is great, hope I do as well. Keep up the good work!!!:purplebananna:

:confused: I had my band done on May 9th of 05. I've had 4 fills and I'm just now getting restriction. Up till now I've basically been eating bread and other carbs. Which is not good. I've got a large band so I guess it takes longer to fill to the right spot. I've got 2 to 3 more fills to do. Before surgery I was 340 and I'm down to 285. I was also thinking I was supposed to be at my normal weight by now and my doc said no I'm only supposed to lose 2 pounds a week. Thal made me feel better. I just found out about this site and I think it's GREAT! HAVE A WONDERFUL DAY, INA

LOL, I am only 3 days post-op and I just had several sips of chicken broth and WOW it was SOOO good! Now I am really looking forward to the eggs and cheese! :devil_smile:

I too experienced what you have. Although I have noticed that I would gain a pound or two and then lose a pound or two. It's very frustrating. I had my surgery March 21st. I am on phase 3, pureed food. I lost roughly about 40 pounds. I have started walking do I'm hoping that will help me shed some pounds. Sent from my SM-G935V using the BariatricPal App

I'm 4 months out and only down 30 lbs. No weight loss in last three weeks please help.

Doll Baby...you probably are having Trapped Gass Pain from the surgery...its normal..I had it for a couple weeks......walk....walk.....walk... and take the Gas EX Strips!!!! thy work wonders!! Connie