sassyfrass

Thanks all. I am walking all the time. I take gas x strips also. And use a heating pad. Was just curious how long others had it. I know all of us are different. I sure won't miss it at all once it finally gets gone. :0)

Thank you, Mrs. Curtis. I will be so very thankful when this decides to move on. It is so hard to concentrate on anything else. I don't look forward to returning to work on Thursday with such a bad distraction. Thank you for your reply.

My surgery was Feb 29. I am having the most annoying/ hurting pressure left shoulder gas pains ever. Oh my!!!! :0(

I definitely agree about the fiber to add in. I like Benefiber as there is no taste, mixes in clearly and is not gummy. I really started using it not so long ago, but really got wasn't good about using it 3 times per day like suggested. You can believe I have been adding it in things now since I had such a bad time a couple days ago. !!! Not good to deal with that after being newly banded. I'm sure the 2 wk low carb diet didn't help my matters any. I could tell a difference those two wks. And load up on several boxes of gas x strips ( at least two anyhow) For real. I will be so glad when I am totally rid of it all. ( my surg was 02/29) it stays gurgling in my belly and forever in my left shoulder. Icy hot rub has helped some too.

Sorry. This one was a duplicate.

Corianna, thank you. When ya'll drink your protein shakes do you have the whole shake at a time? My doc / nutrition orders says only have 2 oz. liquid meals 6 times a day. And in between to sip on water, crystal light, etc... I am finding it hard to be sure I get at least 50 g of protein. It has helped to use the protein shots ( from walmart) that have 26 g, however.... to try to stick with my orders...it takes me a few meals to get it in. Oh boy, wont it be easier when mushies can be added.

I have been using s heating pad on my shoulder. Not sure it is really helping but at the time I feel it is anyway. Lol.

Well... I am now banded! I had a bit of a rough past 2 days. I just felt bad. The gas is horrid. I can't get it all out. Especially my left shoulder. Geez! Today is a bit better so I feel good enough right now to finally post. Thanks for all the support here. It sure was nice to know what to expect. This gas pain needs to go!! Ouch! And annoying. My belly is sore at incision site, but feels a little bit better. I don't feel like I want to eat. But oh how horrible these empty stomach pains are!

Thanks for all good wishes and prayers from each of you. Corriana, I have to say YOU truly do have a remarkable amount of loss. AWESOME! Very impressive! I have to be at hospital at 6:00 a.m. so hopefully I will get in and out before I even have time to stress over it. Thank you again. See you all on the other side!

Thanks for all good wishes and prayers from each of you. Corriana, I have to say YOU truly do have a remarkable amount of loss. AWESOME! Very impressive! I have to be at hospital at 6:00 a.m. so hopefully I will get in and out before I even have time to stress over it. Thank you again. See you all on the other side!

Thank you everybody! So glad you all had such great success. You sure make me feel better! :0)

Well I have posted quite a bit the past 6 or 7 months, asking many questions and just getting as much info and feedback as possible by reading many posts. And now the time has come! It is my turn to go to the other side of the band! Wow! I can hardly believe the time had arrived! I am quite nervous! Never had any tyoe of surgery so this is my first! And hopefully my only one. :0) Thank you all for posting on this site. You have been such a huge help to me. I appreciate all of you. Please say a prayer for me when you can. Thank you! :0)

My surgery is also Feb 29 and I only took off until March 6. I sit most of the day too. So it should be ok from what I have read although I know it is different for each person.

I am so NOT looking forward to having one of thes episodes after I am banded next week. I am thankful for these forums, because One post that has stuck with me since I read it (sometime last year) from a guy (can't remember who?) was about this same topic. He said, just as Denise said in this post, that he found that he could eat most anything he wanted but he key is to wait after you swallow a bite. Give it some time to get all the way down. He originally thought he was fine to take another bite after he first swallowed, and thought it was all the way down, but he found out differntly. I am trying to take all of this good advice and remind myself of it each time I take a bite. I know I may not be immune to every having a stuck episode, but I will sure try my best to heed all the warnings I have read about. Thanks, Denise for all of your good advice I read on these forums from time to time. I appreciate all of the tips and advise given by the veterans...and everyone else too. I wish you all much success.

I'm no banded yet (until next week) but thought I read somewhere that if your port starts bothering you after weight loss, it can be changed to a smaller port. ? Not sure how much that actually entails.

I am downloading on my android right now!! Thanks for the tip!

wow, I am feeling blessed with my pre op diet of low carb eating for these 2 weeks, after reading that many of you can only have liquids, preop. I just started my pre op last Wednesday. As of this past Monday, I had already lost 5 lbs. I have to deal with the liquid stages after surgery so I'm very thankful I don't have to do only liquids before. It's hard enough to stay under 40 carbs some days. Breakfasts get really boring with low carb options, but I am determined not to cheat, even a little. Didn't even have a piece of my mom's Birthday cake. It looked sooooooo delicious, but I wanted to be sure my liver shrunk for the surgery. I am nervous enough without adding to it with my careless eating. Having said that, I did add a no carb protein shake after my gym workout today. It was actually quite tasty. I wish you all well with your surgeries and your weight loss efforts.

That is awesome! All the best reasons for this added tool! I wish you even more success as you continue down this healthier path. :0).

Oh how I dream of being in onederland! Haven't been there since 2006, at least! One day it WILL happen. That will be an awesome feeling!

Happy Bandiversary to you!! Hopefully about this time next year, it will be 2 wks away from my first bandiversary!

Wow! Interesting answers. I like the thought of food losing it's hold! That is truly the best!! I get banded in almost 2 weeks so I am totally dreading the liquid stages, but would sure not want to jeopardize my healing, so I shall prevail. I am sure that I will be like some of you in thinking that first bit of food I actually get to eat, after all of that, will taste like heaven. B-52, I am sure I will be a bit fearful to eat much of anything, at first also. As a matter of fact, I actually mentioned that very fear when talking to the surgeon last week. He said that no matter how a person tries, at some point with the band, EVERYONE gets 'stuck' in some form or another. His words. He was trying to ease my mind about it. He says since everyone is so different in what they can or cannot eat, it's a learning experience as we go. He assured me that by 6 months of being banded, eating would come like second nature; versus having to think about it, as when we first get banded. Thanks for all of the responses. I wish you all much success.

No, I don't think that having someone on his show means he endorses it. He is probably just trying to get the info out there for all to hear and form their opinions. He had a guest Dr. on his show not too long ago, regarding weight loss/excercise. I can't remember all the details of the show, but Dr. Oz was astonished at the things that Dr. believed. He even said the purpose of having the Dr. on his show is to ask him questions so that everyone watching could understand what that Dr. was saying. He didn't agree with that Dr. at all. Quite interesting.

I have heard, also, that it's the starting weight and BMI that Insurance goes by. I just got approved for surgery, but my 2 week low carb pre-op diet doesn't start until next Wednesday. I need to lose weight with that before surgery, but my insurance is approved already. The weight loss during the pre-op is to shrink the liver, and really has nothing to do with the insurance approval at that point. That's how it has been explained to me. ( and really it makes sense). I have co-mordities, as well, so it would still have been okay for me even if I do fall below my 40 BMI after the 2 week period before surgery.

I am just curious since there are "last supper" topics for pre banded days, it would be interesting to hear the same for after banding. After your surgery, once you were past the liquid, mushies stages, when you were finally cleared to try a "normal" meal, what did you try first?

It's so crazy how different doctors have you do different things, but I'm so thankful that I do not have to be on liquids only before surgery. I just have to do low carbs for those 2 wks. No more than 40 carbs per day. I can handle that. After is going to be the hardest, with 2 wks of liquids only. I am sure I may have to take them up on one of their suggestions in my materials from the Doc's office. They suggested if you crave something and just really want to taste it, to just take a bite or two and chew it up, but don't swallow it. Hey, I am all for that, if it gets me through the day/week. It's keeping the carbs low. That's the main thing that helps shrink the liver for surgery, so in my opinion, I think you will be just fine to have a small low carb meal. Enjoy every morsel....and I wish you well for your surgery. I look forward to hearing how it goes for you.