January 26th

[downsdc 0]

Hi trock97,

I have never had any incision pain at all. Pretty weird. What kind of band did you get? I had the Realize Band-C, which uses some type special stapling tool to attach the port. With the Lap-Band, they suture the port.

My gas pains are gone (I hope).

[christymarie 0]

Thanks Down. I'll give that a try. They sent me home with some liquid tylenol 3 but I hate taking codine. It's really just the gas pain that is bothering me all the time the incision pain is minimal, LOL, until I try to sit or stand up. OUCH!

I was down 5 lbs this morning and 7lbs down this afternoon. I know this is all Water weight but it feels good to be losing.

Hang in there guys.

Christy

[Hope09 0]

Hi everyone and welcome home Christymarie!

So glad that everyone is doing well and the pounds are starting to drop off! I am still having some pain issues slightly above and to the left of my naval. It is like a stabbing pain and I get it when I move! It's tempting to stay in bed all the time to avoid it but I know I have to get up and move round. It's 7am in the UAE now and I got up to go to the toilet. The pain was terrible so I had to come downstairs and take my meds. The doctor prescribed children's Tylenol but it is not strong enough so now I am crushing Panadol which is 1000mg of paracetamol and pouring a little warm Water over it it get it down. I can't get any other liquid Tylenol here. Does anyone take brufen or ibuprofen? I know it's safe to take paracetamol and ibuprofen together but I am not sure if its OK to take ibuprofen with the band, not sure if it will damage it or not!!?:bored:

Christymarie, I am glad I am not the only one carrying my stomach around with me! I will think of you on the other side of the world as I hobble around holding it and know that I am not alone!:w00t:

I was prescribed Maalox Plus for the gas and it has worked quite well, at least it's coming out! I can't believe how much was in there, I even asked the surgeon to get as much out as possible and he said he would. Goodness knows how much I would have had in if he hadn't tried to get any out!:wink:

Hang on in there everyone, this is the start of our new lives and we can do it!:eek:

[christymarie 0]

Hey Hope, I'm glad you're doing well. I'm so sorry about the pain by your navel. OUCH! That's right about where my port is but other than tenderness to the touch it doesn't hurt like that. I hope you feel better soon.

I'm up at an ungodly hour because my mouth has the most horrific taste to it. Blech! It's like something died in my mouth. Is anyone else experiencing this? I'm finding myself brushing my teeth several times a day. Great for my teeth but I feel sorry for anyone I talk to.

Ok, off to search LBT for bad breath posts. Then some medicine and off to bed, again.

Hugs

Christy

[downsdc 0]

Hi Hope,

My doctor said to NEVER take anything except tylenol, because aspirin, ibuprofin, etc can cause damage to your stomach lining. If enough damage occurs, they would have to remove your band and you could never have another one.

I'm feeling almost normal today, looking forward to my followup appt Monday and being able to start eating cream Soups and pudding. I had lost 12 pounds pre-surgery but after I got back home after surgery I had gained four pounds (from the fluids). Back down to my 12 pound loss now and maintaining about 1000 calories, so I hope to start dropping the weight soon. Someone told me in another thread that it would probably take about a week.

[yellowtopaz 0]

Walking and a heating pad helped me with the gas. Also, for some reason taking liquid tylenol helped also.

Morning Down,

Thanks for the tip about walking and the heating pad. Today I feel much better. Whew! The gas is definitely subsiding.

How are you today>

[yellowtopaz 0]

Morning ChristiMarie,

How's it going this morning? Hope you're feeling better.

[christymarie 0]

Morning Yellow, morning guys. I slept in today. I needed it definitely!

I'm doing ok, not eating enough I'm realizing. When you guys talk about getting in 1000 calories a day I'm barely making it to 100 a day. I'm wondering if I should start pushing my intake a bit. I'm drinking the Protein drinks but it only has 150 calories per serving and I have yet to finish a whole bottle. I also had two s/f fudgesicles but they only have 30 calories each. Not sure what else to do. Maybe I'll call the dietition today and see what she says.

Hope you guys keep feeling better!!

Hugs

Christy

[downsdc 0]

Hi everybody,

I feel pretty much normal today. I've really been having to push to get to 1000 calories, but it is possible. I sneezed this morning and it hurt at my port incision, so I'm going to have to remember to be careful about that. No hunger to speak of. Living off Jello, Italian Ice, grape juice and chicken/beef broth. Keeping my Protein up by adding a New-Whey 42g Protein shot (fruit punch flavored) to 20 ounces of Water w/Crystal Lite. I heard that if you don't keep your protein levels up you hair will start to fall out. So far, so good.

[christymarie 0]

Hi guys. How are ya all doing?

I'm doing well. I'm down 12lbs now and feeling ok. I'm beginning to think that I may be a bit more lactose intolerant now. I tended to be a bit before surgery but I think it has intensified. I'm going to try to mix my carnation instant Breakfast with lactaid now instead of using the ready made bottles that have regular skim milk. I also have a rash on my tummy from the solution they put on it when you have surgery so I think I'm going to get some benadryl cream and see if that helps.

Hope everyone is doing well!!

Christy

[Hope09 0]

Hi everyone,

Glad you are all doing well, hope you manage to sort that rash out Christy.

I ended up back at the hospital yesterday as the pain next to my naval was so bad. They gave me some stronger painkillers but since then it's not been too bad so the crushed paracetamol is doing the job fine. How do you feel Christy, still holding your tummy? I am, but not as much as before. Did you find anything on bad breath? My kids keep telling me to clean my teeth LOL! My teeth are clean but my breath still smells!

I'm feeling a bit hungry today which I suppose is a good thing that my appetite is coming back although I still feel bloated and my stomach is still hard to the touch. Does anyone else feel like this? I'm having my 3 cartons of milkshake each day which I think are around 250 cals each and some SF Jello. I also had an Actimel drinking yogurt today as I thought the good bacteria in there might help my stomach get back to normal. I am supposed to be on these liquids for another week yet before going on to mushies but I think I will need something else to eat before then! Craig, do you make your own broth or are you buying it? Do you think we could strain some canned Soup like minestrone and drink the liquid from that?

Not got weighed yet as I feel really fat and bloated so I don't want to be disappointed! I'll wait until all this gas has gone!

[christymarie 0]

Hey Hope, you poor baby, I'm so sorry you ended up in the ER. Bless your heart. I admire you ability to take crushed pain meds. They gave me some before I left the hospital and I gagged so badly I figured I'd just stick with the liquid stuff.

Bad breath is possibly caused by two things. One is Ketosis where your body starts burning fat and you get ketones dumped into your urine. This can give you bad breath but once you start eating more carbs it tends to diminish. The other possibility is that bad breath is a side effect of pain medications. So it may be here to stay for a while. I highly recommend mouthwash, I think it does better than brushing my teeth for as often as I need to do it.

If you are on a full liquid diet as opposed to a clear liquid diet you can strain Soups, even cream soups and have them. I think I am going to do that with clam chowder for lunch. You can't have any of the chunks, of course, so make sure you have a good strainer (they're cheap at Walmart) and make sure you get a brand of Soup that is low in sodium since we are already having a hard time keeping hydrated. I have found that the low sodium brands are a bit bland but then I can add my own seasoning and just a touch of salt, much less then the full blown sodium soups.

It sounds like you are doing much better, hang in there. I'm glad you posted.

Christy

[Hope09 0]

Hey Christie, you are a real encouragement to all of us, thanks for being there!

I remember the bad breath from ketosis bit from a previous diet I did called Lighterlife which was just Soup and shake Meal Replacements. I think I still have some urine strips that test if you are in ketosis so I will dig them out and see what they say! I guess we can also use breath freshner spray which is easy to carry around in a bag or purse.

I am on full liquids so I think I will try some cream soup with no bits in tomorrow. At almost 7pm here now and I still have a shake to have yet. It's a good point you made about the sodium content, I will watch out for that as I am not getting enough Water down.

You sound like you are doing well too, well done and keep it up. And once again, thanks for being there!:eek:

[pjconaway 0]

Downsdc,

Thank you for reminding me about the Protein intake... I need to get some more today. I have the Lap-band which is sewn into the stomach. I am not really feeling the pain any more from the incisions, which is nice. I am taking Tylenol rapid release gelcaps during the day and it is allright as long as I swallow them one at a time. I am saving the liquid Vicodin for bedtime every night! I am still taking in around 500 calories per day, but I am going to increase that today. So far, I am not showing any signs of weakness though, which is nice.

[downsdc 0]

Hi Hope,

I just buying Progressio chicken and Beef broth.< /p>