a newbie in need of some support.....

[shalina 0]

hi alll! i'm very new the the community and thought id start a new thread...

i started out on tuesday with the surgery and these were my stats...

height: 171cm or 5'7"

weight: 158.9kgs or 349 pounds

five days later i am now 151.3kgs or 332 pounds. i cant believe it!! im still really sore from the op and find it hard to cough, sneeze and take deep breaths (is this normal??).

im writing cause im finding it quite hard. a heck of a lot harder than i thought it would be. im in the liquid stage, and i have a small small cup of Soup and then feel satisfied, but 15 mins later im hungry like ive been starving for weeks... the pain is unbelievable! has this happened to anyone else? i feel like im just eating and eating every 15-30 mins... i wish i could just have some toast or something that will last longer in my stomach.

is this all normal? will it pass? or is this my life from now on?

thanks heaps people!

[La_madam 20]

Hi Welcome, do not worry, you are normal. Try having some Protein Shakes , the Protein will help curb the hunger and keep you satisfied longer. One thing that worked well for me was blending my Protein Drinks with lots of ice, they werethickerand kept me full longer. Hang in there this is not how your life will be, it iwll amaze you once you start gettingyour fills how littleyou think about food. There is light at the end of the tunnel. We all were once at where you are now.

[shalina 0]

thank you! and what a fantastic tip! its hot at the moment so a i think blending with ice is a fantastic idea!

God bless!!

[MELANIE 0]

hey girl i was banded on monday the 27th and asfor as the pain i feel you it alsohurts me when i cough, laugh,ect. yeah when i take deep breaths its also hard for me not so much my lungs but undermy rib cage. but ive been in extrem pain that even the meds dont work. well feel better soon.

[sissybubbie 0]

thanks for the protien idea. i'm a new bandster (11/30) - 4 days.. and am healing quickly and am trying to find alternatives to curbing my returning hunger and appetite.

[shalina 0]

thanks for the protien idea. i'm a new bandster (11/30) - 4 days.. and am healing quickly and am trying to find alternatives to curbing my returning hunger and appetite.

i know exactly how you feel. it's been one week exactly since i was banded and i am just finding it so hard not to have solids! i crave a nice salad sandwich with turkey or ham.... nothing unhealthy! i just want solids!! does anyone know the exact reason for the liquid stage? cause i've had things like chicken and corn Soup where there are little chunks, and as long as i chew them properly i have no problems at all.... is that going to affect the band? or if it passes it's ok?

[54Shirley 105]

Shalina: It all rings a bell to me! Banded 10/31/06. La madam is totally

wright! You need protien shakes!! It curbs your appetite, and it helps you

heal. I still am doing the shakes for those reasons, not to mention your protien is a life long thing... Try "Muscle Milk Light" Go on ebay and enter it in. You can pick up some great stuff, sometimes cheap. Read the food gide, and look at your calories, and protien. This stuff really works; I no I use it. My Dietician recomended it, and it tastes great. So take a look at it, get back if you want, but do get on the protien shakes. Shirley..

Also, I went to cream Soups, and a chunkier Soup within a cople of days.

Make sure you chew, chew, chew. and get those shakes in, it will help.

Most important!!! Ask your Dr.....

[shalina 0]

thanks so much for the advice! i've had a look on ebay (god bless ebay) and unfortunately i can't get it here in australia, and it's going to cost me an arm and a leg to order it and have it shipped from the us ebay... i'll try the health stores here tomorrow and see how goes. as for protien sakes in general, i've been trying a few tha i've come across. my surgeon had me on one called Optifast for two weeks before the surgery and that was fine as long as i gulped it down (something i can't do now), and cause i'm cursed with a sensitive gag reflex i cant bear to sip it! haha... winge winge. but im creative, and i'll find ways to work it. i guess i could always blend it in with some fruit!

i tell you what, this site has been sooo helpful!! thanks to everyone tht has taken the time to help me out!! i'd love to hear more personal accounts of others going through the same things

[54Shirley 105]

Shalina: Shirley here again. Just enter it in your computer, and see what comes up? can't hurt!! Also do yo have Carnation Instant Breakfast

over there CIB? If you do pick some up,add it to low fat milk, or soy milk;

add up the protien, and calories. Good Luck! Shirley..

[makemelean 0]

i know exactly how you feel. it's been one week exactly since i was banded and i am just finding it so hard not to have solids! i crave a nice salad sandwich with turkey or ham.... nothing unhealthy! i just want solids!! does anyone know the exact reason for the liquid stage? cause i've had things like chicken and corn Soup where there are little chunks, and as long as i chew them properly i have no problems at all.... is that going to affect the band? or if it passes it's ok?

Dear Shalina I had my surgery on Nov 21 06 and I was never told that my band has not been filled yet, this is why you feel hunger and why yourrestriction is not felt, and your chicken and corn soup passed thru without pain. I also have had some solids like vegetable soup and and an egg omelet, tuna salad and have had no pain and have regular bms now I am scared to death that I have ruined my surgery. I see the Dr. tomorrow for my post op check up and I am scared of what he will tell me. Please stay away from solids. I feel so bad that the hunger for solids led me to cave in, if I find out I didnt screw this up I will be the best lapband patient ever,and follow all the rules precisely. I am 61 and weigh 260 at the start I will see tomorrow if I lost anything. I wish someone out there could relate to my story and let me know if I ruined this for myself. Please Shalina stay away from solids,do your best and and let us both win this battle of the bulge and learn t5o overcome our food cravings. Good luck to you sincerely , makemelean otherwise known as Patty

[54Shirley 105]

Makemelean: I don't think you are really doing anything that bad. It sounds like it's time for a fill, if it is? Then that just might be your only problem.. Protien helps kill hunger, so keep that in mind. Does your Dr.

have you on so many calories a day? Like 700-900. Keep track! It's

important when it comes down to weight loss. Good Luck. Shirley

[flabuless 18]

This is soooo normal I had exactly the same thing...I had to keep on 'drinking' high caloric sustances every 30min or so...it was awful...needless to say I didn't stay on the clear liquid stage for long...I was naughty and moved up to the thick pumpkin Soup stage!!! hehehe Finally some substance!

I hope it all goes well for you.

[shalina 0]

makemelean, thanks so much for your advice. im sorry for the anxiety youre felling, and i truely hope and believe you will be fine. please let me know what your doctor says.

all the best, shalina

[shalina 0]

This is soooo normal I had exactly the same thing...I had to keep on 'drinking' high caloric sustances every 30min or so...it was awful...needless to say I didn't stay on the clear liquid stage for long...I was naughty and moved up to the thick pumpkin Soup stage!!! hehehe Finally some substance!

I hope it all goes well for you.

i was never on the clear liquid stage.... i wasn't told anything about it! hahaha all my surgeon said was if i can suck it through a straw then i can have it. so i've been thinking.... hmmm, if i chewed this bit of chicken up really well i could suck it through a straw.... :nervous

[matt in tassie 0]

g'day dont worry it all gets better ive been banded for nearly 11 months now and the first 1-2 were the worst. Now i wouldnt look back, as far as the breathing goes I had a hard slog of it for a few days after surgery. But just before I went under the knife, a phisio visited me with some breathing excersies to do post surgery and explained that sometimes while fitting the band they have to partially collapse one of your lungs. wasnt I stoked with that idea:eek: . But I can assure you the breathing pain will pass really quickly, and before you know you will forget it ever happened. Best of luck.

Matt.