April 2011 Bandits

[GlitterG 1]

Hi everyone!

My name is Grace and I was banded on the 18th of April. This was my second round of surgery - first attempt was cancelled when I coded on the table a couple times. Everything turned out fine - just needed extra precautions.

Because of the first round disappointment I came out of the recovery room hugging everyone!

My incisions healed well. I had some red swelling but used some antibiotic cream and bandages at bed time and the redness went away.

Days 1-2 I was on Clear Liquids then full liquids until week two. Now on mushies until week 5. I am having a hard time getting my Protein and liquids in but I am trying hard. I have picked up the strawberry Protein Powder and mix that with twice as much milk ( 1 1/2 scoops to 25ozs of milk ) and do this twice a day now to get the protein and fluids. My daughter had picked me up these party shot glasses that makes drinking sips so much easier. I just pour from my shake mixer into the little cup. Somehow the shakes dont taste so bad this way (and the strawberry is new).

Had my post op last week and Dr told me I can start exercising - nothing too crazy - just to make sure I sweat!

AND EWWWW taco bell??? really??? I stopped eating those when I found out the meat they use is grade D - dog food is made from grade B ..... sooo you would be better off eating dog food!

But the steak ... or a big fat juicy burger ...

Actually - anytime I feel a hunger growing I take a sip of the shake.... I throw back a shot.

I am not really paying attention to the scales (though I do weigh myself daily) just because I know it will not be an accurate guide with still healing from surgery.

[Megajoy25 0]

Hi all,

i am Cindy and was banded on April 29th. Feeling ok, haven't been on pain meds since the day after surgery but i am bruising now and taking deep breaths is killer. I have pain in my left shoulder and would really like to go for a walk but by the time i get dressed, i am exhausted. I am not hungry at all and the only thing i have enjoyed eating is cream of chicken Soup. Not sure how I am gonna survive 4 weeks of a full liquid diet. It's already pretty monotonous. I am off work for the next 6 weeks so hoping i can concentrate on eating. Nervous about the post op visit in 2 weeks. If i haven't lost weight by then i will be very upset. How long til this dermabond glue comes off? Glad to see I am not alone in this journey

Hi Cindy

Don't get discouraged if you don't lose any weight by the time you go for your post-op visit. Right now concentrate on healing and feeling better. The weight will come off with time. My niece had her lapband last year and though she is losing slowly, you cannot believe how beautiful she looks. She lost over 50 pounds and has another 20-30 to go. I love how she looked so much so that I decided to have the surgery myself. I am 62 years old and weigh over 300 lbs and I am confident that this time next year I will be at least 75 pounds lighter. You have a wonderful tool with your new lapband and now you just have to learn how to use it (so do I). My doctor assures me that if I do everything correctly, I WILL lose the weight. It took me a long time to put all this weight on, I am grateful that I now have this wonderful lapband that will help me realise my dream of being thinner.

You will do just fine, be patient with yourself and allow yourself the time to get used to your new lifestyle.

[Asherscrashers 43]

hey all i'm Ashley and i was banded 4/22 I was soo scared! but when it was over was much better. Had a lot of pain still have it from time to time... but anyway went to my post op today and in a week i lost 30 lbs.... 42 all together since i started this process 2 months ago. I am now on the mushies and glad to have real food in my belly! lol wish you all luck! can't wait till we are all skinnier ! lol

[TuxMama 0]

Hi folks.

I was banded on the 18th...two weeks ago today. Surgery went well, I too had to have a hiatal hernia repair during the procedure. So along with having 5 incisions I also had chest pain. The first few days was rough..alot of gas and bloating...so uncomfortable. I didn't really mind the liquid diet...I wasn't even hungry. Did the usual...broth, SF Jello and popcicles, then worked into runny mashed potatoes and oatmeal and such. So glad I'm on soft foods now and have better food choices. Get my first adjustment in two weeks and I'm happy about that as I'm not feeling as restricted as I should. Oh, I got on the scale the day after surgery and I had gained 5 pounds! I had no idea that was normal....it took about 5 days before I finally hit my surgery morning weight. Talk about frustrating. I'm down 19 lbs. thus far. I have one incision near my belly button that I think is infected so yuck.

I'm very anxious to get my fills figured out and get recovery over with so I can just get on with losing weight! I'm constantly scouring the web for healthy recipes to try. This will be good for my entire family!

Cheers!

[dlucia 2]

Hi everyone,

I need to know if this has happend to anyone else. I was banded on the 28th. I only had to be on clear liquids for 24 hours. Per my doctor from day 2 through day 21, I am on the creamy liquid diet and then gradually move into mushie foods and then on day 22 solid foods. So here is the problem. I am not sure if I created it myself or what. Last night for dinner I had about a tablespoon of mashed potates that were whipped really fine, put enough gravey on them to make them more liquidy. I also at about a lima bean size piece of a biscuit. That little bit of biscuit I broke it down into 3 tiny bites and did not swallow till it was like disolved throughly. (just wanted to taste something normal). Well that was about 6:30 - 7:00 pm. Never had any pain or felt any discomfort between the potatoes and the biscuit peice. I did not eath anything else after that the rest of the night. But now this morning, I woke up at 4:30 am coughing. I couphed so hard that it made me do that frothing thing and it would not stop till I threw up the bile stuff. Does anyone think this happend because of what I are several hours ago? I would have thought after 9 plus hours all that would have passed through already. So just wondering if anyone else has expierienced this or what your thoughts are?

[hopefully soon 13]

Well I did not have this happen dlucia, but suspect that the biscuit got stuck and you just got lucky and didnt have the pain that usually goes with that.....it finally made you slime and puke after it loosened some while you slept. There is a reason why we are given stages to advance our diet. Your tummy is definately still in the healing stages and is very likely still quite swollen since it has only been a few days since surgery. Anything other than liquids and very mushie things are likely to get stuck due to the swelling (not due to the band yet). Please stick to the stuff on your list!!! I hate seeing anyone suffer from PB episodes! I am 4 weeks out and just beginning to try a few things that are on phase 3 (after mushies stage) like tuna and berries but am still mostly on mushies and I have not had any stuck episodes or PB's. Think healing and be creative with your liquids and mushies so you are not so tempted by those no no's like biscuits!! Though I sure would love to have one!! Best of Luck.

[britgirl 0]

I was banded on April 21st. So glad to "meet" all of you fellow April bandsters. You all sound like you are doing great. I have a feeling I am going to be a slowwwww loser. Wow Ashers....great weight loss...just ...WOW..way to go!!

[dlucia 2]

Well May is coming to a close here pretty quickly.

Just checking in to see how all the April bandsters are doing?

Going okay here. I know I did not put this weight on over night but with the limited amount of what I have been eating I thought I would have lost more weight then I have. Oh well the journey continues.

I do have a question for all of you though.... I was banded 3 weeks ago today. Is anyone else have soreness where your port is? When I bend or cough or twist the wrong way it sure lets me know it is there. It is not real bad just I definately know it is there and I worry sometimes if I have torn the stitches or something.

Hope to hear how other people are doing.

[hopefully soon 13]

I think port pain is pretty normal from what I have read....I am 6 weeks out and still get that from time to time (but less so than a few weeks ago)! Good job on losing 23 lbs so far

[dlucia 2]

I think port pain is pretty normal from what I have read....I am 6 weeks out and still get that from time to time (but less so than a few weeks ago)! Good job on losing 23 lbs so far

Thanks for the information. I know I need to start excersing especially stomach crunches or something but the port area just hurts to do them. Well that is my excuse right now for not doing them. (lol). I will just wait and as time goes by I am sure it will be like you and it will eventually get better and better.

Thanks again.

[dewron 0]

Hi everyone! I thought it might be nice to have an ongoing chat with others who are going through what you are RIGHT NOW.

If you were banded in April 2011, share what's going on. How do you feel? What are you eating? First doctor's appointment stuff...

I'm Robin. I had surgery April 20th.

I felt HORRIBLE for the first 5-6 days. I took my vicadin every 4-6 hours, but I still was in pain. Something happened between day 6 and 7 though. I feel SO much better! I am still sore, and god help me if I sneeze, but it's getting easier every day.

My stomach is healing well. My bandages are off and I'm just being careful to wear soft clothing. I am ITCHY! That's getting better though too.

The hardest part for me right now is not being able to monkey around with my kids. My three-year-old daughter is being so careful not to hurt me, but one little elbow to the side during snuggle time ruins that pretty quickly!

The first 5-6 days I ate malt-o-meal, applesauce, and Protein shakes. I'm on my 8th day and just had a cup of beef ravioli for lunch. I actually had a soft taco from Taco Bell last night. It didn't really taste as good as I remember.... hmmmm.... guess that's a good thing!

I have my first pre-op appointment tomorrow, so I have no idea if I've lost so far. I know this- I haven't gained!

Hopefully we can keep this thread going with our little April group. I'd like to get to know a few names and stories. Look forward to hearing from you!

-Robin

[Robin3 0]

Day 34.... I did think I would be further along, but I am feeling good anyway.

I lost 10 lbs the first week. Since then, only an additional 3lbs.

Today my pants felt a little looser. Others say I look great, but I can't imagine that I look much different...

I am walking every day. Monday- Thursday I have a walking buddy at work. We walk pretty quickly for about 20 minutes. Plus I get short walks in throughout the day.

I feel like I am eating SO much less than before surgery. I still need to work on better choices.

I woke up this morning with a sharp pain on my RIGHT side- a couple inches right of my midline. The pain has been pretty constant all day. Any thoughts? Could be totally unrelated to surgery I suppose!

-Robin

[dewron 0]

sounds like pain from ur port, due to where it is stiched at .

quote name='Robin3' timestamp='1306287552' post='1617805']

Day 34.... I did think I would be further along, but I am feeling good anyway.

I lost 10 lbs the first week. Since then, only an additional 3lbs.

Today my pants felt a little looser. Others say I look great, but I can't imagine that I look much different...

I am walking every day. Monday- Thursday I have a walking buddy at work. We walk pretty quickly for about 20 minutes. Plus I get short walks in throughout the day.

I feel like I am eating SO much less than before surgery. I still need to work on better choices.

I woke up this morning with a sharp pain on my RIGHT side- a couple inches right of my midline. The pain has been pretty constant all day. Any thoughts? Could be totally unrelated to surgery I suppose!

-Robin

[screeden 21]

Hello,

I am an April bander. i just found this page tonight, been on here for awhile now. I had mine done April 21st and so far have done well with it. i have vomited one time, and i will not do that again, making sure of that. learned my lesson. LOL

i am down 33 lbs now and love it. i am also down 3 dress sizes. my pants pretty much fall off now and i love that.

i started working out again after lagging for too long, i do Gilad 5 days a week for 45 minutes, plus lots of walking. i am doing yoga now too and i feel great. i am still amazed at how little i eat now, mentally i want to eat more, but know that i should not.

[Lollicatt 36]

What does PB mean?