Sarah.R

I was done on the 12th this month and mine is scheduled for the 17th which is 5 weeks post op I think

For me a doctor actually did recommend it, I hadn't even contemplated weight loss surgery before and then in october 07 my doctor told me that I might be looking at a transplant in 5-10 years and that I should consider the lap band, heard of it before then but never thought I would ever be able to afford it. He then said I should maybe write to my local government and see if they could fund it and tell them, I was 19, severly overweight and had severe co morbidities. Thought about it a little but knew that the government wouldn't do crap, then in january 08 I got an appointment slip for the endocrine part of my hospital and they said that there was a surgeon in the hospital that did it and they would get me an appointment with it. Then I saw the surgeon in June 08 and signed the papers to say I wanted surgery and was screwed around for over a year and then had surgery this month =) If it wasn't for my respiratory doctor I never would have considered having the lap band, I just never thought that I was that big and needed it, but now I'm glad I have it, I don't want to die young and this is going to help me in the long run.

Hey Cyndi, I think we were banded on the same day and honestly for me I couldn't imagine eating food right now. I'm supposed to start mushie/pureed food on wednesday and I'm a bit paranoid about even doing that lol. The thing that sucks is that because we were both just banded, we have no restriction, it totally sucks, and I'm on the free fluids and I'm only supposed to have about 250ml of fluid but I've actually had more and now I'm paranoid I've done something. Maybe just try eating more cottage cheese, eggs etc and when you have to make your family dinner, go for a walk or something? Good luck =)

Wow, I feel so bad for you. The preop diet definitely sucks as I had to mine 3 times and the first time was really bad, no energy what so ever. Instead of the sandwich a day try eating something high in protein like a hard boiled egg - Yes it's not as great as the sandwich but the higher in protein the food the better - Drinking water helps but only so much so try diet cordials. I don't have a weight goal in mind either for me as long as I'm getting smaller and healthier then I'm happy, the inches are more important than the kgs/lbs. If you need anyone to talk to feel free to message me.

Well I was expecting sterri strips but I didn't get them grrrrrr. I got dissolvable stitches which are great but they put tape over the incisions - one of them came off easy but they said to take them off after a week so I did and it was nerve racking, I was working up a sweat because I didn't want to pull any of the scab or anything off, and then when I was taking the one off the port I kinda pushed on the port and it was sore for the rest of the day. Grrrrrrrrrr - But now I'm good lol - 2 weeks postop tomorrow =) Edit* I wasn't told to keep them dry, just make sure I cleaned them with soap and Water. I put the soap on my hands and softly go over the incisions and them wash it off. Then I use bio - oil because I'm a slow healer and they seem to be healing pretty good thankfully

3 Days out I realllllly felt like nachos for some reason lol, now all I actually feel like is a chicken sandwich lol. As for things I'll miss - spaghetti, I'm italian, I love it. Risotto. Fried Rice. As for mcdonalds - it'll always be a fav but my sister works at mcdonalds and told me that if I want a cheese burger just wait til she finishes and she'll make it for me lol - dunno whether I'll be able to eat it but oh well. She said she'll just grill the bun heaps and add heaps of ketchup lol, I love her. But even then I'll probably only be able to manage half of it.

You could always buy a fibre based powder. In aus theres one called benefibre, I have it every day and because I'm only 2 weeks out it's really helped. This is there website but I'm not sure if or where it's available in the states Benefiber

Thankyou all so much, yes I tried to chew up the bacon bits as much as possible, and after I eat I realise sometimes I still eat a little too quickly so I really need to concentrate on that, today I think I'm just going to stick to water, apple juice, tea, custard just to be safe. I'm ringing the dietician tomorrow because I start mushies on wednesday and hopefully it will all go well - Also it's good to know that other people that have the different surgeries go through the same kind of thing.

Don't worry too much and DONT eat watermelon - I had surgery on the 12th, felt pretty good around the 4th day mark but now I feel sore again, mainly because I went shopping 2 days in a row (walked slow) but felt like I overdid it, so now I'm sore again. Try to stick to the liquids, it's to help your stomach recover from the swelling, theres a reason your not supposed to eat for about a month.

So I've read everyone that is on the same day as me or near the things they eat, and my dietician basically just gave me a sheet of what to eat - At the moment I'm on day 12 (banded on the 12th may) and so far I've had Soups (thinned out) but I'm worried because not alot of people seem to be doing that? I know it's totally stupid to think this but oh well, paranoia sucks lol. Last night I had pumpkin Soup that my mum made with some bacon in it, she used a bar mix to blend it up but there were still bits that I could chew, so just worried about that, but the amount worries me more, I had about a cup and a half and then I had pain under my left rib cage. I'm scheduled to call my dietician on tuesday but could I have done any damage because of the swelling and eatings that much? I'm scheduled to go on mushies on wednesday and I'm worried that because it says eat 1/2 cup of mashed/pureed food that I'm going to eat more and damage something. Please help

I was done on the 12th this month so far these are all the things I've had - Water, apple juice, milk, pumpkin soup/tomato soup - thinned out heaps. Popsicles, sustagen and that's really it - I actually don't mind it but others I know have trouble on the post op diet - thankfully I have some variety with the soups. Oh and I had some pouring custard - good stuff

Congrats, this surgery is definitely well worth it, I had mine on the 12th this month and although every now and then I have a nagging feeling in my head that makes me wonder whether this really was the best option for me I know it is. You'll find that people on here are extremely supportive as we all go through the same process at one stage or another. Good luck =)

Hey Lisa, for the day that I woke up after surgery and then the day after I was in some pretty sever pain and I've had 2 lung biopsies before, then the pain eased a bit and my joints where more sore because I was using my arms heaps to help myself up. Try using some hot packs to help elleviate the tension and yes walking definitely does help, but don't over do it too much. Just go at your own pace and if you feel like you over did it then just sit down until you get your energy back. Good luck

Hey, I did that with mine, sometimes I couldn't be bothered making them that day so I made them the night before and just stuck them in a water bottle, then the next day you just have to make sure you shake them again to distribute the contents or whatever. Just keep them in a fridge and they're fine - But be warned the more you use the same water bottles they tend to stink after a while because of the shakes lol.

I agree with monkey, I'm on day 12 and I wouldn't even consider eating a sandwich, the most I've had is a little thickened soup and I was actually worried because I think I ate a little too much and it hurt under my rib cage - As for vomitting, it's always going to happen no matter who you are but the fact that we're both so early on this makes it a little more worrisome (sp?). So definitely call your surgeon/nurse

You're definitely not being irresponsible, honestly if my surgeon did what yours is, then I would eat a small meal as well. I had to do my preop diet 3 times and the first time was the worst, mainly because I had absolutely no energy at all, which totally sucked. If your surgeon says you can't have surgery because you ate one small low carb meal a day then you should tell him it is impossibly for you to function on that small amount that is, no energy, no proper minerals and no proper vitamins when you have to look after 5 kids, a husband, 2 dogs etc.

I agree with ms missippi, I've heard it can take up to 2 weeks to get restriction although hopefully that won't happen with you.

Hey, in the states there are things called gas-x strips that alot of people on here use, maybe you could try them? At day 4 I was still in a little pain but nothing compaired to straight after surgery which was great. Good luck

Everyone has a different opinion, the sleeve in my opinion is just as invasive as the bypass so I personally wouldn't get it. But if you think it's the better option for you then good luck =)

But the best thing to do is to eat until your satisfied not full, otherwise you have the risk of puking anyway.

Lol thanks, a porcupine is basically just mince, egg, capsicum, rice, onion, garlic mixed into a meatball then put into a pot with tomato soup and cooked. My mum and sister had it for dinner last night and technically I'm still on liquids so today I used a blender and blended it to heck and added tomato soup, thinned it out a little with milk and it was soooooo good lol, I was just having plain tomato soup but just the added flavour was great =)

What's farina? I was told that whatever the family eats I can as well as long as it's pureed and a mashed potato/pumpkin consistency, I think with some things I'll do that but not for alot of things my family has lol

Hey Jen, yes it's definitely a different feeling of being full, I was banded on the 12th and it's like the top part of your stomach is full as (which obviously it is) and then within 20 minutes or so it goes away, really weird for me. I just had some tomato soup with blended porcupines and had about a cup full and am full now, but I know within half an hour it's just going to feel like nothing is in there at all.

For me personally my port is located just right of the middle of my stomach, I've got 5 incisions, If you use a cream to help reduce scarring it'll probably help. Good luck =)

I'm pretty sure stuff was given before I came out, and then when I actually did wake up I felt like I was going to puke, they rushed and got the stuff and put it in my i.v but still felt like I was going to puke, gagged a bit and then all I did was burp up the gas thankfully. What gets me though, when I thought I was going to be sick I kept saying "I can't throw up, I can't throw up" lol all the while I was still half drowsy so I probably sounded like a moron lol. But as soon as you say you're going to be sick I'm pretty sure they'd rush and get the proper meds, they know that you can't throw up straight after the band so they would more than likely do anything to prevent that. Thanks for the comment as well and good luck with your surgery, 6 days left, excited/nervous much?