August Band Crew!!!!!

[pebulz 135]

Well i'm 10 days post op and having Water ,protein shakes and a little broth my dr didnt even want me to have any broth but said i can once in awhile. I have all of a sudden the past 5 days been having alot of pain in my port area not sure why now i didnt have it at first . is their anything to relieve it or is this normal

[Diva Girl 3]

Hi Everyone...

Was it just me or was the site down for a day? I felt so lost without you! No one to commiserate.

I had kind of a bad day yesterday. (banded 8/16). A little gas and NO energy. I think that's just a reaction to the anaesthesia (sp?) I was the queen of blobs....couldn't get energized, couldn't get comfortable. Blech.

JGordo....I too had a hard time taking deep breaths for the first couple of days...infact, I'm still having a slight stitch in my shoulder from it. Someone told me that a great way to get rid of gas (get this) is to get on all fours and see if it pushes out. I've been over at the waist and that seems to work a little.

MsTrish....no wine with pain meds. My nutritionist told me that once the band was in place, settled and working well, a small (4oz) glass of wine a day would not do harm. It does slow weight loss, tho.

Sweet Caroline...I think that when they put the band in at first, it is without restriction. There's natural swelling at first, which makes it work as a fill...but my doc doesn't do a fill for six weeks, so I think that's the reasoning behind 4 weeks of liquids. Anyway....if it were me....I wouldn't be eating any burger. I mean, you spent all this time etc getting the thing done...why put it at risk? There's a thread on the site right now.."I'm stuck right now" (or something like that). Go take a read and see what kind of discomfort she's in and that was just from a tortilla shell. Anyway, that's just my opinion...I'd be interested in what others here think.

Jamie...Isopure really worked at staving off hunger during that clear liquid phase of this thing for me. It's a "clear" drink you can get at GNC. It comes in lurid colors and flavors in 24 oz $3.75 bottles. Right now they're having a sale, though. The good news?....One bottle a day will give you 40 grams of protein! It's saved me pre and post-band.

Speaking of which, I'm getting only about 500 cals a day, post-band. I am getting in my Protein thanks to Isopure. But I don't really like the stuff and I'm hoping that soon I'll be able to actually get my cals and protein from "real" food (as real as liquids can be). What is everyone else getting in Calorise-wise?

[WhimsicalClay 0]

Hi everybody,

I'm 8 days pre-op and 7 days into my 14 day liquid diet. So far it's going well, though I wanted to eat something so badly yesterday. I did not cave and am following doctors orders.

Last weekend I went out of town to visit friends. Since I knew it was my last weekend before I had to start my liquid diet, I went ahead and had a great time. As usual for me, I didn't feel like I ate alot but came home and got on the scale (sunday night) and was about 4 lbs heavier than when I left on Thursday morning. Does anybody else gain weight like this? I can gain 12 lbs in a week...unreal!

Anyway, since Monday, 8/14 I've been on total liquids and for the most have not cheated...I did have 2 itialian ice cups, which technically are liquid but are not on my program because of the amount of carbs and sugar in them. From weighing in Sunday night to this morning (Sunday) I am down 11 lbs pre-op.

I am getting excited and nervous as my surgery is scheduled for 8/28! My doc wants me at 237 by surgery, I'm at 238 this morning with 7 more days of liquids to go...

I'm going to a surgery center in Gaithersburg, MD because I'm self-pay. Does anybody have any idea what I should take with me to the center vs to a hospital? According to the staff there, I should be on my way home by 12 noon. Surgery is at 7:30.

Thanks and keep up the great work. I love reading these post, they definitely are helping me get through the days, one at a time.

[Sweet Caroline 0]

Could someone please enlighten me...what is the controversy about eating salad? I'm two weeks into this. Is there advice against eating lettuce -y salad? If so, what is the reason.

THANKS !!!

[badmadmama 0]

Full liquids were okay for me, but I hated clears - it's so hard to go from full to clears! I basically ate nothing but sugar-free popsicles, with broth at mealtimes. At least I felt like I got to chew!!!

Congratulations to everyone on your upcoming surgeries. Just think of the food deprivation as temporary - you can do ANYTHING for a few days.

My daughter had a party yesterday, with THE WORLD'S MOST DELICIOUS CUPCAKES. I was okay with it, until I went to clean up, and three of the girls had left half of their cupcakes on the table, the good part with the frosting! I finally decided that I was eating those leftover cupcakes for lunch, and boy were they good. And then I had a couple of cheese puffs. But today, I am over it! I am having some veggie Soup for Breakfast. So anyway, once you have the band, you can have some regular food. The starvation is temporary, and this time, the weight will stay off!

[badmadmama 0]

My surgery was a week ago Thursday, and my port area still hurts. Actually, it's right below my port area, so sitting up and lying down hurt - feels like I did a kazillion sit-ups.

I froze on the liquid diet, and I am still cold all the time. It's so weird, because I am so used to being fat and sweaty.

I had outpatient surgery - just bring a pillow, so you can recline in the car on the way home.

I went through withdrawal yesterday - kept trying to log on the site, and couldn't get there!!!

[badmadmama 0]

I'd like to know about the salad, too. I've had salmon and baked potato and rice and Beans (with a little ground turkey) in it so far. Baker's Square has the best cobb salad that you have ever had in your life, and I eat in a LOT of restaurants. I also like the chopped salad at Corner Bakery. I have been eating a Soup made from pureed zuchinni, a little milk and a little dijon honey mustard, and I would love to try some grilled zuchinni......

[Serendipity4124 1]

Diva Girl,

I tried the Isopure ones and I gaged on them...the after taste was unbearable! I do have 2 bottles incase I get desprate but I'm going to stick to the Stacker 2 ones if I can, I got them at a local area grocery called Meijer and they taste much better and they are only $1.49 per bottle. The only bad thing about them is they only come in sour flavors which I'm not that excited about but thats okay... I'm allowed diluted fruit juice too so I'll be getting some energy from that. But thanks for the advice and if anyone has brand or flavor suggestions for broths that'd be great, I had campbell's chicken broth in the can and I hated it.... I'm a picky eater lol I know right now I cant be choosey, just eat what I can and get through it but it's 10 times easier when I find something I like.

[Boo Boo Kitty 3]

I went through withdrawal yesterday - kept trying to log on the site, and couldn't get there!!!

LOL, glad I wasn't the only one freaking out then!

[badmadmama 0]

The veggie broths taste so much better than chicken broth - they aren't so greasy-tasting. I like Swansons.

When you get past clears, I put a can of potato Soup and a can of cheese soup in the blender with milk. It was pretty good!

[diana2798 0]

I woke up this morning feeling the best I have since surgery. I could have died last night though. DH made me laugh .... OH the pain!! I was crying it hurt so bad. Anyway, The port area is still a little uncomfortable and it's still sore below the port so I agree about laying down and getting up badmadmama, but everything else is feeling fine. I can finally walk and stand straight up versus hunched over because the port was pulling and hurting my tummy muscles. It's been almost a week since my surgery and I've already lost 12.6 lbs, I'm SO excited!!

I ate some applesauce last night and it hurt everytime it hit the band. It was one of those little cups and I could only eat about 1/2 of it. Maybe because it was cold? The malt-o-meal I ate yesterday was yummy though and went down fine so did the blended soup! I only eat 1/2 cup of something at a time but the feeling of "full" is so different. It's more like pressure and I'm like, I think I might be full but I'm not sure?!?!? LOL

I was previously going to have my surgery at the WISH center in San Antonio but I switched to Dr. Carter up here in Arlington. Anyway, Dr. Carter has a Protein shake and I bought it but I had also bought the Protein Shake from the WISH center. Dr. Carter's shake has your Protein and Vitamin C I think and that's it. I was really surprised and disappointed, haven't even opened it. The WISH center shake has all the Vitamins, minerals, and protein that a gastric bypass patient would need if they couldn't eat anything. Our needs as lapband patients are less on some of the Vitamins because we don't have the malabsorption aspect of it to deal with. Anyway, it has lots of B vitamins to hopefully prevent hair loss and you don't have to take any other vitamins or protein. The chocolate tastes great and you can buy it online so I thought I would recommend it - http://www.wishcenter.org/storefront/detail.aspx?id=16

It was $10 cheaper than my Dr.'s protein too. Plus you can get it in a big tub or in individual packs to keep in your purse if you're going somewhere.

I do have a question though. I know that we're only supposed to take in about 4 oz. at once so I have been splitting the 8 oz. shake and doing it 4 times a day with only 4 oz. each time. This keeps me nice and full but I'm supposed to start adding liquidy mushies now and I don't know when to fit those in with the alotted time of no drinking before and after eating. Can we actually drink 8oz. or does the 4oz. apply to liquids too? I haven't tried it because I don't want to hurt myself.

Lyn - I think the shake is 105 calories with 4 oz. of organic skim milk so up until yesterday I was getting about 420 calories a day. Now I'm adding in 1/2 of malt-o-meal or cream of wheat, yogurt, applesauce, and blended Soups so the calorie intake has increased to about 650.

Lett - make sure to take socks with you, those places are freezing!

Caroline - My doc told me that eating salad was really a waste of time because lettuce has no nutritional value, it's more of a filler. Great when you don't have the band but when you have the band you want to eat the most nutritionally dense foods you can since you can't eat that much. Plus I heard it's hard to get down sometimes.

Anyway, sorry for such a long post, hope you all have a great day!

[msbug 0]

I am 5 days post-op and feeling pretty good today. Yesterday was miserable though. I woke up feeling nauseous and had to get some meds from the doc to stop it. Then I was stupid and went to my gram's for dinner. Ther 70-minute car ride about killed me. By the time I got home I was hurting pretty bad. Took 2 pain pills and slept in my bed for the first time since surgery and it was heavenly! I woke up feeling better than any other day. My stomach has finally stopped gurgling and rolling. Hopefully the worst is past! This bloating is driving me nuts though! I came home 9lbs heavier than I was the morning of surgery and am only just down to that weight but my stomach is still pretty bloated. I look pregnant. Anyone else have a bloaty tummy? How long can I expect this to last? I can't even button my shorts. I've been living in pj pants and elastic waist shorts.

I'm only allowed full liquids for the next 3 weeks (my doc is very strict) and am living on runny oatmeal, Soup, yogurt smoothies, and pudding. I had some soft-serve ice cream the other night and it was divine! Not sure how many calories I'm getting but need to start tracking. I'm not hungry at all.

[MicmaddLapBand 0]

Hi everyone - This is my second post, but no one replied - so I am trying again - LOL. I am 6 days out now. My surgery was Monday and went fine. I was up and about in no time with minimal pain. I have been so excited to have this surgery and for whats to come after getting out of this full liquid/pureed stage. I have been reading some of your post and this is a super site - I just found it yesterday.

I do have a question - I have been feeling episodes of cold sweats, hot flashes and bits of nausea. Did anyone else feel this after surgery? At first I thought it might be my pain medicine - but I discontinued that Thursday and that is about when these episodes started. I haven't thrown up or anything - thankfully. And I am following my diet just as I should - lots of Carnation instant Breakfast and cream of chicken Soup, etc... with dry milk powder or unjury added in.

The Unjury is a great source of Protein. It's a powder and each scoop is 20 g of Protein. It comes in unflavored, vanilla, chocolate and strawberry. The unflavored is great to add into Soups, oatmeal, cream of wheat or anything really - you can barely taste it. I even added in to a Crystal Light and got 20 g of protein from drinking a Crystal Light. That was great. My DR and Dietician recommended it. I haven't tried all the flavors yet - but I did order them. You can only get it online and the website is www.unjury.com for anyone who is interested - it really is saving me on protein.

I do feel hungry a lot - and didn't know if maybe the hunger is what is causing those episodes - but just don't know if this is normal.

On the positive note - I have lost 10 lbs since my surgery on Monday. So I am really excited about that.

Thanks so much for listening...and replying....

YEAH - August Banders!!!

[msbug 0]

Michele, yep, I've got the cold sweats, nausea, and light headedness too. I'm pretty sure it's the anesthesia working its way out of your system. I had it after my last 2 surgeries (gallbladder and appendix) too. Not fun and it can take a couple weeks to go away.

HTH!

[diana2798 0]

Hi Michele, we were banded on the same day! Anyway, I have those cold/hot flashes too. I don't have the nausea though, thank goodness. It's weird. Nothing changes but one minute I'm freezing and the next I'm dripping sweat and SO hot! I guess the anesthesia makes sense since I don't have nausea or light headedness.

Does anyone know about the question in my previous post about drinking my 8oz shake instead of splitting into two 4 oz shakes?