luvmy4jz

I was banded on June 4th, 2014. I started at 265, dropped weight before the surgery, and dropped over ten pounds the two weeks post op. I was so happy, so excited to see such a change so immediately. No one, not even my doctor, warned me about the months that follow surgery. I went in to the surgery with the idea that it would work from the get-go, and that my restriction combined with the will from pre-surgery would create an unstoppable momentum.
I was grossly misinformed.
I was allowed to eat more than creams and liquids around the end of June/beginning of July. With the lack of a fill, I was able to eat and drink any and everything. It was disheartening. I thought over and over again that I was one of the % of people who wouldn't see success with the LB. The emotional toll that it took was the hardest.
I had fill in June, July, and August. I was at 7 cc's and wasn't seeing any difference at all. My lifestyle, while I had been hopeful, had become even more sedentary and unhealthy the longer I went without seeing any change. I felt that the surgery was for naught. The TR ladies were helpful, but with gaining one to two pounds with every check-in, I went from 265, to 247, to 253 by September 26th.
I had my last fill the 26th, up to 7.5 cc's. I had liquids the first 24 hours, then went to regular foods. Immediately I felt a difference.I had gotten too used to eating too fast, too much, too quickly. Within minutes I was full--and could see that 7.5 cc's was the absolute perfect setting for me at the moment.
I'm down to 244 and at my lowest weight in two years. Bandster hell is real. It's hard. It's depressing. It's also something I wish friends and doctors would have told me about to prepare for. Here's to making it through the toughest 4 months, and being confident that things are going to work out
J

Had pizza last night. 1 small piece with spinach, white sauce , mozzarella etc, and 2 chicken wings. Thats all I can eat at one sitting anymore. Occasionally Ill have a piece of pepperoni with cheese, but I limit pizza to once a month , if that. Im not a big pizza fan, sweets are my downfall.

Hi Cherie, I think it's common to mourn certain foods but it's amazing as you go through all the stages of recovering from surgery then finding the green zone how we don't necessarily want what we craved before. Or we are ambivalent about things we once obsessed over. Having the appetite properly dimmed means it's possible to make different choices or to have very small portions. The idea is you're in the driver's seat versus feeling like your appetite is in charge.

I agree with all the posters above, but give your doctors office a call and be sure that you have the directions for your diet correct. See if they have a hand out that gives you some ideas of what you should be eating in those 5 weeks or check with the nutritionist. You need a bit more direction then just stay on liquids for 5 weeks.

Here's why your doctor wants you on a 4 week liquid diet. He's seen your guts. He's the guy who placed the band and knows your complete medical history. The band was placed around your stomach. Then a portion of your lower stomach was pulled up and over your band, sutured into place with 6 sutures so that the band won't migrate up or down.
These sutures can take 2-4 weeks to heal. Eating solid food causes your stomach to go into peristalsis to move the food around and through your stomach into your small intestines. Your doctor doesn't want your stomach to be moving at all during the healing phase.
There can still be a lot of swelling around your stoma/band area. You haven't mastered the band eating rules yet. It takes months to learn how to eat with the band. If you eat solid food and swallow a chunk of chicken and it gets stuck in your stoma, you might have a violent barfing session which could tear the sutures away causing the band to slip.
It's just not worth it to disobey the rules. Going back into surgery for a slipped band this early could result in no band and then maybe a revision to sleeve or RNY. Keep following the rules and this episode of your life will be like child birth. I don't remember mine I know

Any questions or concerns you really should ask your doctor ,because we all have different issues & bodies , so what may be right for me may not be right for you ,so please ask your doctor .

Hi
I have been having left sided pain for about a week. Had my 4 weeks appt today. It is believed to be, well...from not being regular post op.
Yes. I'm apparently full of it I'm told if I'm not going enough, and fully, that residual backs up in the intestine that travels across and down the left side. You also trap gas there. So I've been told to take MOM more frequently (I had taken it a couple of times). Get things moving well. Also don't wait more than 3 or 4 days to take more if needed.
I wanted to share this in case you could be in the same situation.
Hope you feel better soon.