kayzoog

I also took a week off. My only kid is 17, so it was a bit easier than with small kids. You will definitely need help with the kids during your recovery. This is a perfect opportunity to rally the grandmas, grandpas, best friends, aunts, uncles, hubby or boyfriend to help. I am very independent, but everyone wanted to help. It was hard for me to let them. (It was weird to ask my boyfriend to do my laundry), but I think our closest people really truly want to feel like they are helping through those first few days. As for starting the discussion, I looked for a Lap-Band surgeon on the lapband.com website. You can call the 800 number and they will find you one near you who is on your network. My surgery center is a Surgical Center of Excellence for Cigna, but my actual Cigna insurance did not cover bariatric surgery, so I ended up cash pay. i was still glad I was at a Center of Excellence. -K

I agree with Leepers. Maybe she thinks you are good enough friends to joke about it, and doesn't understand that it hurts you. Maybe she is just excited in her weightloss. It's a great point though. I can imagine myself being so excited about Lap-Band progress that I overshadow my non-lap-band overweight friends who may still struggle on their diets, while I am losing steadily. It will be important for me not to belittle their efforts. Weight loss is weight loss regardless of the method, and we should all be supportive. - K

Nice job!!!

Hang in there Nat123! Are you drinking shakes that you actually like? There are a lot of different kinds. I prefer Premier Protein. I add coffee to the vanilla, or sugar free Jello powder (like orange) to make a 50/50 bar tasting one. Do you have a blender to add ice and make it like a real shake? MagicBullet works really nice. Soup is good, but make sure you are getting your protein (add unflavored protein powder) and avoid the additional sugar. Also try greek yogurt blended with fruit, ice and Water if you want a change from the protein mixes. I know it is super hard, but you have already made it 4 days! Mental hunger is the worst! Keep your spirits up, and try to find other things to do when that mental hunger creeps into your brain. For me, I end up cleaning. It accomplishes two things - keeps me busy, and cleans the house! I wish you well! - K

Thanks for starting this topic. I am interested in seeing the responses.

My nutritionist actually suggested adding coffee to the Vanilla Premier Protein shake and ice, and blending it up. I use a Magic Bullet. It is very tasty, like a Frappucino! I mix the hot coffee with ice first to get it cold, then add everything else. You actually don't need that much coffee (maybe 1/2 cup max) if you use the Protein Shake and ice. - K

I did not have the gas pain, but the incision pain kept me up the first night, but in general I slept ok even without the pain killers. I did wake up every night a couple of times with a sore throat from the tube during surgery. By night of day 2 I took a unisom because I wasn't in pain enough for the pain killers and didn't want to be constipated. I slept like a baby on that. Last two nights I have been sleeping great, but wide awake at 3am for no known reason. Hang in there. It will get better. - K

Yes! Great solve. In the mornings I blend vanilla premier protein shake with coffee and ice. It makes something very similar to a Frappucino! I put the unflavored protein powder into a low cal soup like Amy's split pea. Blend that up with some water so it's not chunky at all. It tastes a little different, but doable for a change from shakes. For tomato base soup, used Fage greek yogurt blended in for a better taste. Your protein does not HAVE to be from powders, so a non-fat greek yogurt works nicely- as long as it's blended into a liquid and paired with right ingredients. FYI - Greek yogurt and chicken broth DO NOT go together- yuck! Learned that the hard way. I am thinking this will go by really fast, and we will all just look back on our pre and post op diets and wonder how we did it! We were so amazing! - K

Hang in there Valarie kk! I did 2 weeks liquid and now post surgery I have to do another 3. I add protein powder to soup and it's a nice change of pace. I know it's tough but it is temporary! K

I was banded Monday too. I also feel full after only 1/2 a shake . Are we supposed to drink whole thing even if we feel full? I am not sure about that part. Any advice would be great! K

Wow! I can't wait to be 10 days out ! Congrats!

I was extremely sore on day 2 as well. I'm 4 days out now and feeling a lot less sore. I put Fage greek yogurt in a tomato base and heat that up. But, I can really only eat a 1/2 cup or so at a time. I had a strange sensation of being hungry and full at the same time this morning. Must have been mental hunger. Read my blog to see all of the ups and downs of my post-surgery. Congrats on your surgery!!! Yay! - K

Look at MagicBullet or Nutribullet for blender options. I bought two MagicBullets. One for home and one for work. The great thing is that they are small enough to travel with if you have to travel for work. I had to go for two days of client meetings and stayed in a hotel. I used the hotel ice, protein shakes, in-room coffee and my MagicBullet to make my "breakfast" in my hotel room each morning. The blender comes with travel mugs and lids making it super easy and virtually no clean-up. I got my MagicBullets from costco which was cheaper than Amazon. As for fruit, I have made shakes with blueberries, but just don't use too many. You still have to watch the sugar on fruit. - K

I told everyone on my Facebook page. I made that decision because I really don't want it to be a secret . I haven't gotten any negativity. In fact three people private messages me saying they had gotten it too and are happy they did. I had two others message me that they were considering it. Don't get me wrong, I was nervous to say anything, but super happy I did! It's everyone's own choice to tell or not. K

Congrats to you Nancy! I also find this site to be EXTREMELY comforting!

I don't have that pressure feeling, but the body aches got really bad until now 3rd day out, I'm starting to feel better. Whole core area hurts when I cough or laugh, though! Makes it hard to watch my favorite TV shows. K

Hi! I was just banded on 3/3 and posted the experience on my blog: http://banderland.weebly.com. I'm 2 days post op and have muscle pain but nothing horrible like gas pain. I am planning to go back to work Monday (but we will see). K

My surgery went just as easy on the same day but now I feel like my whole body aches. Like all the muscles. Are you experiencing anything like that? /k

Yes I believe it is from the breathing tube. Congrats on your surgery! -k

Thank you for the reminder on fluids. I am making an asserted effort to sip lots of Water. I'm not hungry now, but I know I need to drink lots anyway. -K

Thank you so much! I can't wait to feel "whole". I just feel "poked" right now. K

I did it guys! I was banded yesterday and it all went fabulous! You can read about it here: http://banderland.weebly.com/1/post/2014/03/surgery-day.html I wish all you March bandsters a great surgery and a speedy recovery! - K

Hi everyone! I am officially on the other side! Right now I only have incision pain (like little pinches) and a sore throat. I updated my blog with the surgery day's events if you are interested in reading about it. http://banderland.weebly.com/1/post/2014/03/surgery-day.html I wish the best of luck to all who are getting banded soon! - K

Me too! Heading to hospital now! Good luck to you!

I had the same problem with Bariatric Advantage and switched to Premier Protein as well. I recommend trying out a variety of different options before you truly have to be on them 100%. - K