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Greetings everyone, Thank you for taking a moment to read about my issue and helping. Tomorrow will be 3 weeks since I've been banded. For the first two weeks after surgery I stayed home to heal. Last week I went back to work and this weekend I went on a little get-away with my friend. I have terrible parking where I work and have to walk about 6 blocks to and from each day. Last week I got a little tired walking back and forth. I do carry a backpack with my lunch and work files. Perhaps 10 or 15 pounds. I thought I did ok - just a little tiring, not painful. This weekend we went to Grouse Mountain in Vancouver. On the drive there from Seattle I started to get pain at my port site. (I have a two inch incision on my right side under my rib cage). The pain is at the left end of the incision and I'm starting to feel a bump or protrusion there. I did pick up my suitcase and put it in the trunk of her car which probably weighed 30 pounds or so and also pulled it out that night once we got to the hotel and as I rested that night the pain went away although I could still feel the bump. I also had jeans on and the band of the pants were against the incision while we were driving, but it didn't feel tight or painful. So then the next day at the resort we walked around, I walked up and down stairs, walked up and down inclines, etc. It kept getting painful at the port site and my friend and I would have to stop for me to rest. We left after a short time because I couldn't easily walk. It doesn't hurt as much when I'm sitting down, but I can definitely feel the bump. When I'm standing it is more painful and protrudes more. It seems to hurt the most when standing still, but the pain is also pretty significant when walking. Please help... I gave all the details above to explain exactly what I've done. Could it be the port sticking out? Do I need surgery to have it pushed in further? Could it be a hernia? I just don't understand what it could be because I don't feel I've done anything crazy or out of the ordinary. Thanks to all for your support and advice.

I went thru the same exact thing! I did ok for the first few days, but by day 3 I thought I was going to die. I did a few things that really helped. I went for a few short walks a day. Just about 10 minutes, I'd walk 5 minutes down the road and 5 back. It seemed to help loosen things up and get rid of some pain. I also did arm and leg stretches and stretched my back. Also, I used a massager and held it to my stomach, that by far helped the most. I would just lay down and take a nap with it pressed against my tummy. I'm just over 2 weeks post op now and am doing much better. Good luck!

Hang in there HungryBetty! I can understand your concerns and why you are doing what you are doing. This is a huge psychological change for anyone who does this. For people who are used to eating whatever they want (like I used to), liquids seem crazy to live on for a week. But isn't it great how the Band works? You don't have to feel hungry while doing it! (at least not much) I got my Band 2 weeks ago, so I know where you are at, but keep fighting and keep trying to do what your Dr says. There are good reasons why he told you what he did, and it wasn't because he wanted you to starve, it really is for the best. Keep positive and even if you do make mistakes, just learn from them and keep going. That is why we are all on this site, to learn and flourish in our newly Banded lives! I know some people may have seemed a little harsh above, but take the information they provided and use what you can to get thru these first weeks! Best of luck to you!!! My thoughts and prayers are with you during this time. Just remember, you took the hardest step by making the choice to get the Band, changing your entire life. Now are the follow up steps to make it work. You can do it!!

I was banded on the 16th. For the first few days I felt fine (probably because I slept most the day). Now it has been a week and I'm still struggling to drink more than a few sips before I have terrible pressure in my chest, right at my breastbone. I have had some bad gas pain and I'm not sure why, I've done what my Dr told me to do. I have been walking at least 3 times a day for 10 minutes to help the gas from the surgery dissapate, For the first few days I was sipping Clear liquids, mostly decaf tea and chicken bullion mixed with warm Water, I was also able to have sugarfree popcicles. I had surgery on Monday and by Thursday it seemed as if I was gasping for breath after a few sips of any liquid. I called and spoke with my Dr on Fri, he told me I had probably irritated my esophagus and that I needed to stay away from popcicles and other cold things. It has now been 4 days since then and I am still struggling to get more than a few sips down. I've stayed away from anything cold. At one point I threw up a bit of some watered down tomato Soup I had eaten. It was as I've read about 'slimed'. It was all covered in slime and was horrible. In any case, one week after surgery I am STILL struggling to get a few sips down without starting to gag. I feel like there is a balloon right at my breastplate and after a few sips of ANYTHING I tend to have a hard time breathing. At this point in my Dr's post-op instructions I'm supposed to be able to reintroduce things like scrambed eggs and runny oatmeal. I'm so confused and really looking forward to healing and being able to at least eat small things here and there. Thank you so much for any advice you can provide.

Gosh, I'm so sorry for all that you are going thru! I just had my surgery 9 days ago so don't have any advice to give, however I wanted to respond to you. I hope you get answers you need here. What does your Dr. say about how this isn't working for you?? Best of luck to you and take care!

I'm so happy you are feeling better! I know exactly what you mean about being terrified to give up soda. I didn't know how I'd live without my daily Coke Zeros (at least 2 20 oz bottles). I am 9 days post-op now and since surgery I have not had one craving for Coke. I can tell you I struggled with being scared of surgery and all the changes it requires - and then when I actually had surgery it was as if it was all falling together. I don't know if it was just a psychological change where I knew I couldn't have any after surgery so I don't crave it or what... But let me tell you what worked for me before surgery. Crystal Lite. I bought those little packs you just dump in a cup of cold Water and used half a pack per cup. I fell in love with the lemonade, it hit the sweet spot and helped me stay away from Coke. Good luck to you! You can do it!

Thank you all for your support! This has been a difficult transition for me. With the pain and choking and no one else in my life that has gone thru this, I have felt pretty alone, so I appreciate all of your support. I just got back from the Dr. I did have hiatal hernia repair when they banded me. That has been part of the problem because it has been irritating and swelling my esophogus. The Dr. had also put in what he thought was 3 cc's into the band. He said with the band being tight around an area swelling along with the swelling from the hernia was causing the choking and throwing up. He removed everything which ended up being 3.8 cc's. I don't know how they almost got an extra cc in there... but he gave me a small bottle of Water to test things after and I was able to sip it without gagging or choking! I am so excited to be able to get at least fluids! And he said I should be able to transition to soft foods now. I feel so much relief in my stomach, chest and heart! I'm now feeling like this was worth it again. As I said, thank you to everyone for your support!

I totally know what you are talking about. I had my surgery on the 16th. Part of my issue (I think) is that while I was walking after surgery, I wasn't walking as much as my Dr told me I should. Now I am making sure I'm walking a lot more and gas release is better. Also, when I'm just sitting on the couch I sometimes stretch out my legs or arms a few times, or try to stretch my back, anything to just get things flowing. It was really hard at first because my back hurt, but now it is getting better. Also, my mom has a round little vibrating pillow she uses (she broke her tailbone as a child). She uses it on her back to relieve pain. I've borrowed it and it is working wonders. I hold it to my stomach or put it behind my lower back when sitting down. The vibrations really help. If you have anything like that you can use, I'd recommend trying it! Good luch

Thank you all. I see the Dr tomorrow at 9:45 am. Will provide an update tomorrow, thank you for all your support.

Hi there bluereef, I see we don't live too far from each other I also wondered why you'd need a mental test, but I had the surgery one week ago and I can tell you that it has such a profound affect on you, even after you wake up from sugery. If you are like me, you've spent a long time eating unhealthy, and if you are serious about this surgery, you have to realize that you are not going ever be able to eat the same way again. There are no tricks, there is no cheating - you have to make the choice that you are ok with never eating that big juicy cheeseburger again, that you don't care about pizza and cheesy breadsticks, that you are ok with never having soda again (even diet), or fries or enchiladas or any of those unhealthy but oh so tasty foods you eat right now. You have to tell yourself that you are worth more than what you eat and that you are ok sticking to just the healthy foods (which unfortunately cuts out a lot in our day and age). That is what the mental test is looking for? It is basically asking - do you have what it takes? Specifically, I remember the dr that tested me asked questions such as: Have you ever hurt yourself?, Would you ever hurt yourself? Do you have a group of people that care about you and support you? And he also asked questions about me and my life such as: What do you do for a living? Do you enjoy your job? etc. I also had to sit down and do one of those bubble fill-in tests. That asked me questions that were sometimes weird such as: Are you happy being female? Do you feel you are being honest on this test? etc. Ultimately, like I said above, the whole purpose is to see if you are serious enough and can handle all the changes you will have to make in your life because they sure aren't easy. For me, the week before surgery they wanted me to lose 10 lbs. The reason for this is to shrink your liver. Your liver is this huge organ that lays up near where the surgery needs to take place. If you lose weight, the liver shrinks, the surgery is easier to perform, and you will most likely recover faster. I wasn't restricted to liquids. I was able to have 3 Protein shakes during the day and eat a frozen dinner such as a Healthy Choice if it was around 270 calories or less, for dinner. I can tell you that week before surgery was hard and I messed up a few times. I'd eat a 2nd Healthy Choice after the first one or other mistakes like that. I was close to losing the 10 lbs and was still able to go through with my surgery, thank God, but they do have you stick to that strict diet for a reason! For this past week I again haven't been stuck to just liquids. Mostly, but I've also had Jello, yogurt, popcicles, fudgecicles, etc (all sugarfree and low cal). This is because they've put the band around your stomach and basically it is saying WTF!?!? You can't get too much down. BUT - I can tell you the lucky thing for me is that I wasn't very hungry during the first week. I'd have a popcicle and feel fine (it actually felt sort of crazy that I didn't want more). Now I'm in my second week and I get to add things like fluffy scrambed eggs, runny oatmeal, etc. It doesn't sound like much, but for the most part I'm doing pretty good. For example I can tell you a few days ago I cried and cried because my younger sister has been coming over to visit me to see how I've been doing and for some reason each time she comes over she brings a bag of food from Wendy's or McDonalds or wherever. When she came on this specific day I was feeling hungry and having a hard time. I broke down a little. The main focus is to keep at it, to deal with the liquids, to eat the runny food, because it is just for a short time. Soon you will be able to get back to the real stuff, even if it is more healthy and in smaller portions than you are used to. Lastly, for other tests, my insurance required that I go to 3 months of appointments with a nutritionist. I was not fond of mine, however I'm sure if you find a good one you can really start to learn things from them. I hope this has been helpful to you, and let me tell you this, hopefully for incentive. I have struggled over the past week, but I have also lost 11 lbs! When I get sad or upset I just have to remind myself of the good. 11 lbs in a week?? I've never done that in my life and don't know who has! That makes me feel amazing!! Good luck to you