POST-Operation Weight Loss Surgery Q&A

Had surgery 3 wks ago can I take stool softners or maybe I should check with clinic right?

I've had my first fill this week and I don't know really what I should be feeling as far as tightness. I feel the tightness even when I drink Water. I can get it down but that feeling is there and eating has not been that easy. I can get the food down, but usually it get stuck and it takes me a few minutes for it to pass. It's not at the point of it coming up, but it hurts till it does down. Is this the way it's suppose to be for the restriction? I don't know what to expect. I don't want to call if this is normal. Any suggestions on eating. I'm trying not to take big bites and chew but maybe I'm eating too fast. I just don't know what I'm doing to not have this…

I believe I have had an AH Ha moment. Much of my over eating occurred out of boredom. I quit smoking in July and was banded in OCT. I ate and smoked about 1/2 the time from boredom. I need positive things to occupy my time now. reading? check! computer?check! I know, I know, I need exercise now ! Any other suggestions?

Hi everyone, I am about 10 mo. out, and wanted to chew gum to take some of the obsession away when I want a snack... I know early on post-op gum is not good but what about now?

Dear all, I got finally sleeved on 29/10/2009. everything went fine so far and as expected. the worest part of it was in the recovery room and as soon as I get to my room, they got me under control with medication. I am very thankful to my dr. so far. I am trying to get in my fluids. I don't want to get dehydrated for sure. it is ok. I have headache every now and then but again controlled by medication. watery diarrhea which was expected from what I read from your valuable informative posts. I did gastrographin meal and they said it is fine and no leak could be detected thank god which is our major concern. my laparoscopy ports are fine except for some soreness felt ove…

I am wondering if there are other people like me who after many years have realised that the weight they were once aiming for was totally ridiculous and are sad about all the years wasted trying to get to some unachievable figure? I am 153cm tall( approx 5'). I currently weigh 55.5kg(122lb).My final goal is about 52kg(115lb). My body is not perfect - I have small hips, adequate bust and a bit of a stomach. But I feel fantastic. Yet I spent most of my teens,twenties and thirties at a lower weight than this and was permanently on a diet.I would go to programs such as Weight Watchers, Weigh less, Sure Slim and the goal I was given was normally around 45 - 48kg. I always …

Hi Everyone, I am hoping for some tips on what I can eat at the Disneyworld parks over the thanksgiving week. I will be 5+ weeks post op at that time, so according to my docs eating requirements, I will be on "soft foods". I am on mushies now and doing great! Thanks for your help.

This may sound odd, but I'm wondering how to slow the weight loss down. I had surgery on July 27th 2009> My weight was 241. My dr said he would like to see me down to a goal weight in about a year. Well here it is only Nov. 8th and my weight is 174. Isnt this to much, to fast and how can I keep from losing and continuing to drop. I have no appetite.:crying:

I WAS BANDED ON THE 24TH OF SEPTEMBER 2009 - so I am relatively new at this. But I HAVE HAD my first fill... and i am not dealing with this very welll... food getting stuck... no weight loss cause i am just soooo hungry! bllaaa how to get out of this slump i am in a bad mind frame... regretting this band.. it just doesn't seem like it is worth it... whatsssss the point how can i get control back :-( i am eating chocolate bread, fries, meet everything baddd and i just can't help it :-( Was this really worth it?

I am so surprised by the differences in the way surgeons fill bands. I started with 2.5 cc and had just 1 cc added this week. I see here that some people get 5 or 6 ccs in the first fill. I realizes every doc and patient is different, but that is a BIG difference. I feel very little restriction and I have NO will power. (Wouldn't have been 289 if I did.) I hope my second fill puts the restriction and loss into gear. I am down almost 25 in a month though. My band is 12ccs. The PA said i will never be that full, that they only fill patients who are banded over bypass, b/c they need the extra reminder. UGH!

I'm confused. :confused1: ( I always am!) I'm on day 3 post op, and I can't tell what's hunger?? Is that normal?? My tummy grumbles and just feels really swollen. Will the signals become more clear? I figure I must be hungry. I haven't eaten since Sunday night, and all i've eaten was 156 cals yesterday. Is this common? I get a burning sensation in my stomach sometimes (like the way it felt when I was hungry) except I have no mental desire to eat. Bah.

I was banded on Oct 19th and I'm on Phase III- my Dr said I could try egg salad. I'm currently in what could only be described as Bandster Hell (hungry yet no restriction and nothing gets stuck) but I'm dealing with it pretty well. I tried the egg salad 4 days ago. I used to love egg salad pre-band. It made me fairly nauseous the other day. I thought it might be because I hadn't had any fats in so long. (I made it with low fat mayo- I hate the fat free kind). I tried it again today and same thing. I had about 2 Tablespoons and became nauseous. Now common sense says to just not have it anymore and I probably won't for a long time. But I find it odd that I would have that r…

I had my 4th fill earlier this afternoon (11/6). Today's fill brought me to a grand total of 4 cc's in a 10 cc band. I have lost a total of 58lbs since my surgery on 6/8/09. My 5 month bandiversary is this Sunday. I can't believe how quickly the time has gone! While waiting for my fill today, I realized that I am now wearing a size smaller than my wedding dress was 13 years ago.

I am addicted to Hormel Fat Free Turkey Chili. i throw a little FF cheddar on and I am hooked. Of course I could eat the whoe can...LOL

Don't heat your whey-based protein powder! I got the idea this afternoon to make a protein-based hot chocolate of sorts. Big mistake! The protein turned into an extremely unappetizing rubber mass floating on top of the water. Yuck!!! Won't be doing that again...

I actually think I could eat it now, I need to get a fill. I found a recipe for spicy chicken and rice soup that looked good, but am a little scared to eat the rice. I am wondering if it is loose in a soup instead of clumped together if it is easier to get down?

BITE!!!!!!!!!! u know when ur enjoying...ur tasty meal...and ur not finished...but u know what ur fate will be if u take that 1 more bite....lol...sometimes i try to talk my stomach in2 it...i try to reason with my band...like come on 1 more bite....i never win this agruement...i always have to give in2 the BEAUTY of my tool...when it says "ur meal has come to a complete end"....i listen!!!!!!!!!!! lol...i hope u all have an AWESOME weekend!!!!!!!!!!

Ok I have posted before that I am struggling. I am 8 days post op and I ate some beans & fried potatoes today!! I am so scared I messed something up!! I am not in pain & didn't feel uncomfortable at all. I am ready to stick with full liquids till next friday I just hope I didn't mess anything up!

The oddest thing happend. I have been quite ill with a cold. about 3 days ago my right side below my ribcage started hurting and continued to hurt pretty bad for about 3 days. This morning I woke up and the pain had almost gone away. I have been quite bloated/gassy sorry about the tmi but can't figure out the pain. My first though is gall blader. pain radiated to my back. a heating pad helped. Felt like bad gas pains but in a odd place. I thought gall bladder because of the system but most of my reading said it comes and goes and this was consistent for 3 days. I had a fill on the 28th. I just don't see how it could be band related but you never know. Greg

4 months out, i've lost about 38 pounds (SINCE surgery, 44 total), almost as many/if not more inches, have really great restriction....:thumbup::redface: I'm so happy! Oh...and i'm losing really well right now :cursing:

So everything with the band was kind of fine until my last fill, the doc put in .5cc and I've just had issue after issue since I had it done, the day after when I was allowed to eat after having liquids I got stuck. Then about a week later I got stuck again and then the next day I also got stuck, then yesterday I got stuck on one bite of a rissole (fair enough it may have been a bit too dry) so I took it easy the rest of the afternoon, then we had fish and chips for dinner tonight, I put my fish on my plate (by the way it was grilled so it was healthy) and a couple of chips, I took one bite of a chip and thought great. So I've just recovered from bringing it up because I …

:sad0: OMG the depression is there and I am trying to ignore it I am 4 weeks out and feel very frustrated :cursing: I hate it when I see people just eat normally.....taking regular bites....gulping down drinks.....ugh and to top it all off I got on the scale and I am still at a stall....it's so frustrating.....I told my cousin geezzz I don't know what is worse being frustrated FAT or being frustrated because I can't eat normally!!! Plus I am having such a hard time sleeping lately???? UGH I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO??? I know I should be going to my support group but my support group is at Night and my Husband works at Night and we only have 1 car so that is out of the ques…

I was banded on 10/29/09 and I've been very good with the liquid diet. I am having trouble getting my water in and I am working on that. However I tried mashed potatoes tonight and I had no problems. My doctor says I should do two weeks of liquids but I wonder if that's normal? I've heard it's different for everyone.

Lately I've been feeling like a bottomless pit. I blogged about it here: Following my Dreams, One by One: Bottomless Pit I'm wondering if you guys are having the same issues post-surgery (about a month)? Can you please visit my blog, read, and let me know if I'm normal and sane?! lol I basically feel like I haven't even been banded. It's crazy! Hope to hear from you soon, thanks. :thumbup:

I was banded 2 days ago and I feel I am doing great. I have a new pain today in my arms....is this normal? It hurts aroung my bicepts and wrists the most. I feel like I was beat up.

Hi there, I am 3 days in to my pre op diet, op is on Nov 19th. I am soooo hungry and every thought of food, sight of food, smell of food.. EVERYTHING is difficult to deal with. Its making me wonder if, after the band is fitted, i will be missing food and longing for food or feeling sad about the food i can no longer eat? I will not change my mind, i just want to be prepared.

I had my surgery on 10/15/09 and I am three weeks out of surgery. So far so good. I went to the Dr yesterday for my first post-op appointment and he told me to come back in two months. I told him what about a fill? ( I just have the band on, no fill at all. He said 25% of patients never need a fill and just to come back in two months for a check up. Has anyone heard of this? By the way. I have lost 24 lbs in 3 weeks! Im so happy and can feel it.:thumbup:

I had my surgery in July and I had my second fill yesterday and its nothing like my first one. My first fill was 2 months ago and it was 3 CC's which is the max supposedly and things were fine However yesterday when I went in I told him I was still hungry sometimes so he put in 1 CC more and today im feeling so weird. All I had this morning was gerber and the Naked protein juice and the sugar in it made me crash. Earlier I had a cup of chicken broth with very small pieces of avocado and I am super bloated now. I cant burp and I have horrible gas. im wondering if I maybe I am too tight cuz although everything is going down its a series of burping in about 24 hours I can st…

Ok so I had my second fill last wednesday (10/28) and what a difference! In two ways....1. this one hurt WAAAAAAY less...not at all actually. So i'm no longer nervous about getting a fill (i'm terrified of needles)...and 2. I can totally feel good restriction. Can't do bread, anything really dry, or steak anymore and that's FINE by me! :redface: I'm just so happy to FEEL differently. Now just to work on my workouts...:cursing: They've definately not been what they should be....but that changed as of today! What fill did you all feel a real difference?

Hi all, I have been doing really well since my surgery two months ago. I have lost about 46 pounds, and I feel good about that. I went for my first fill last Thursday (10-29) and the surgeon asked me if I got hungry. I told him yes, and he decided to do a fill. I know nothing about fills, because I have never had one before. He put in 3 cc's, and told me to stay away from carbs and eat lots of Protein. I left that afternoon and wound up posting on here because I got so sick. I could not eat at all. I guess I should have known not to eat solids for a few days, but I didn't. Anyway, since then, I have had at least one or two bouts of PBing every day. I can't eat…

Oh I have been waiting so long to be able to post that! I took a picture of my scale this morning! SO happy right now!

I just had to share w/everyone what amazing, supportive co-workers I have. My birthday is tomorrow and in a group of us, we usually get a cake and card for the birthday person...well, all of my co-workers know about my LB surgery.. one.. because I have a big mouth and two... because I was so excited to have my surgery that I had to share... LOL anyway... they took the time to cut up fruit in fancy shapes and make a beautiful fruit bouquet that rivaled anything I have ever seen from Edible Arrangements. They did that instead of the cake because of my surgery. One of the girls who made it was up until about 2am cutting up all the fruit in to the great shapes.... and then…

I have been banded for almost a year and I have not gotten to the weight that I want to be. I have had a unfill because the last fill I had was too much, couldn't tolerate liquids. I was brought down from 8.5 to 6.25cc's. I am still in bandster hell and I am getting discouraged. I know that I should at least have some resriction but I don't. I know that I shoud excercise, but I don't have the time for me to do that. I am going to start taking time for myself starting tomorrow and walking like I was doing. I just don't understand why I am not feeling restriction. I am getting discouraged about not feeling restriction. I am not eating anything unhealthy but I am ea…

Have a great weekend everyone... :thumbup:

Had my surgery Wed and it went off with out a hitch!!!! I did good not too much pain at all and none of that horrid gas pain in the shoulder!!! I feel truely blessed! I took the meds that night and at 9 am yesterday and 9 pm last night, not for pain but to sleep my day away. The bottle says take 15-30 ml every 4 hours ... ha ha ha NO WAY I would be dead! I took 15 ml every 12 hours and it knocked me on my A$$. YAY I am so happy about that.... I didn't have any repairs to do so that helped. Today, I am not taking pain meds other than childrens liqiud tylenol. I am just a little slooooowww moving. A little intestional gas, the gas x chewables do the trick …

Yeah i was just wondering like i went to my doc.(surgeon doc) appointment yesterday... and funny thing is i had surgery on 10/08/2009 and had a docs appointment on 10/13/2009<for a checkup.. and i weighed the same amount as i did yesterday.. i was highly confused!!! but yeah so how much did you guys loose your first 2 weeks... either way im happy... i just gonna start excerising more and now im able to go to the gym since everything is closed!...

to never get "stuck". Nope - I got beef from a healthy choice dinner stuck. Oh, the pain of it all. I finally found my papaya extract in the bottom of my purse, then had to struggle opening the new bottle, and finally chewed up two. Don't know if that did it or the struggling to get to it, but it worked. I did have a small BP and the dreaded slime I have heard about. Hope this never happens in public! Anyone with any fun stories to tell (sarcasm)? :thumbup:

Soooo, Tuesday evening , The depression fairy found me .. Dh comes home from work, I am sitting in recliner, wrapped in a blanket with tears running down my face.. I have had enough of the liquids , mushies, and the whole thing... HE tells me get dressed we are going out .. Oh great, just what I want -- NOT !!! We pull into red Lobster ( I know cheap so so sea food), but I was excited ... The waiter came and I talked to him and showed him my card and he said he had no problem leting DH and me share a dinner. So we ordered a platter , that had lobster on it .. Husband got everything but the lobster. I shredded that tail and smothered it with lemon juice. This was the …

I'm almost 7 weeks out. Today is the second day in a row that I am not wanting to eat! I am repulsed by the thought of food, any food. Last week I was at least enjoying some different foods in very small amounts, and even if I had trouble eating at least I had desire for certain food. Yesterday I could not eat the strawberry greek yogurt I took out for breakfast, after one lick from a teaspoon I nearly gagged. I then managed to force down a small peach autivia yogurt but it was not with ease. Even the smell of most of the things I had found appealing are repulsive. I am only able to sip on one flavor vitamin water and one brand of protein drink which is a fruit juic…

I was fortunate enough to be able to take a month off from work due to my surgery (they didnt just put in a lap band I had other things done too). It was great to be home while getting use to the food restrictions. Now its back to work and I am scared. My job is stressful, there are three places I work out of and I had food habits at each of them that must be broken. I am worried that I wont make the right food choices. I am worried that I people I work with will want to go out to eat. I am worried that I will get bored with my food selection. I am worried that I will slime (which hasnt happened yet and sounds gross) in front of a 20 people during important co…

Had surgery Wednesday the 4th of Novemeber. I got released today and it's still hard to take a deep breath kuz I get that gassy shoulder pain and it hurts my tummy. OUCH! I also denied those Lovenox shots that I'm supposed to give myself in the belly. (anybody know what I'm talking about?) So instead I vowed to walk more and keep moving to keep my blood from pooling. How long does this pain last? And how soon were you able to have a protien shake after surgery?

i see members on here that post threads/pictures that say 92 pounds gone FOREVER...50 pounds gone FOREVER and so on and so 4th...i can't seem to grasp the FOREVER part...i'm the 1st person on here to tell people that ask me questions to "just relax and take it day by day"....i can't seem to follow my own advice when it comes to maintaining my loss...i CAN'T relax....i'm scared to death to relax...i don't think any loss from any type of weight loss surgery is FOREVER...i've seen people on here and in my own personal life put their weight back on...(mostly bypass patients)...i'm not doing anything different then i did to lose the weight...but i can't get over this fear of i…

It's a raw, rainy day and I so wish I could take a hot bath. I can't so I started a fire in the fireplace instead. I do miss my baths though... Does anyone remember when they were cleared for baths?

Ok I'm sure you have been asked this question many of times. Please explain to me what exactly "Bandster Hell" is. Does everyone go through it? What happens? I am following the strict diet of mushies that my nutritionist put me on. I am weighing all of my food and taking my protein shakes. I'm not eating anything inbetween. I'm really not that hungry....of course I haven't lost anything this week and go back to the doctors on 11/16. I don't have my first fill for another 4 weeks... so is that "Bandster Hell"? And while I'm here..off to another topic...can you feel if your band has slipped? How do you know if it has slipped?? Sorry 2 questions for the price of one..…

I know that many bypass and lapband patients wear medical ID bracelets. Is there any need for a VSG patient to wear one?

Okay, I went to see my Dr today - second office visit since surgery. My weight was checked, I'm now at 198 (yippe!) and vitals were done - can't believe my pressure is so low 100/60. Anyway, I received my first B12 shot today and scheduled my second fill for Tuesday 11/10. The injection was given at 1:30 today and I'm not sure if it's all in my mind but I can't seem to sit still. I went grocery shopping, cooked dinner and now I'm baking blueberry muffins (splenda recipe) and still feel like I could actually run a marathon - weird... By the way, I've been up since 6:00am and worked a half day. Okay, is this normal? Should I expect to crash soon?

Does your husband or wife ever read your blog? If so, does that prevent you from really letting loose and let those really feelings out? I love reading everyone's blog and find it serves as a great point to let the emotions flow (and you actually burn calories as you type):thumbup: Be well

There, I saiid it. I regaind 12 of the 21 lbs I had lost. I thought for sure that this first fill would help, the doc said it would. While I'm not starving, I'm not full either. I know it takes a few fills to hit my "sweet spot" and I cannot wait for that. My doc said he put in 4cc ina 14 cc band - a little much for the first time, but I begged to him to give me as much as he could. Tomorrow I'm starting fresh, anew. I thought I'd be working on the 226 lbs I weighed, but now it's as if I'm starting from scratch.And to be quitw honest, I haven't exercised but twice since getting my band on Oct 1. So go ahead and let me have it!!

This is probably going to sound crazy but..... Since I was banded I've had stupid, vivid dreams every night. I wake up exhausted every morning. Is this something anyone else has experienced or am I just a nut case? : ) Thanks!:thumbup:

At church tonight, I had just the meat from a grilled hamburger that had Dale's seasonings on it. Now I have gas so bad I can't move it. Can I take a rolaids or pepto bismol??????:cursing: Someone please hurry with an answer. It late and I need to go to bed. I can't walk all night.:thumbup: