Froggie D

Sounds like you are doing the right things. Protein and water are the most important. I have not gotten stuck yet, thank God. I have eaten too fast a couple of times and had a lot of pressure in my chest which was uncomfortable. I am having a protein shake each day for breakfast, and meat and low carb veggies most meals. Today I had roasted pork, about 3 oz, about a quarter cup of refried beans, and four slices of cucumber. For dinner I had 6 small shrimp, a half cup of lentil soup, and a half cup of cauliflower. I had a second protein shake this afternoon. I am very full all the time and seem to have a lot of restriction. I do not know if they put fill in my band at surgery, but I seem to have restriction. I go in Tuesday to discuss it. I do not know whether or not I will get a fill. Not sure I need one. I have lost 8.8 pounds in 24 days since surgery.

Just noticed you are in Mission, Kansas. I am in Lenexa. I had my surgery with Dr. Stanley Hoehn on April 7. Who is your doc?

I was not required to do a long preop diet but I knew my own recent eating habits and I had been on a sugar and carb binge while I was waiting for my approval. :sad: I decided to do a modified self imposed preop. I did my Protein Shakes for Breakfast and lunch, and lean meat and raw or steamed low carb veggies for dinner. I was an Atkins dieter in the past and I understood the process of withdrawing from sugar and carbs, so that is what I was aiming for. The first three days are headaches, hunger and grouchiness. Day four you lose your headache and hunger and your energy level goes back up. I lost 23 pounds preop and DID NOT SUFFER. My surgery was only 20 minutes long and the surgeon said it was a text book case. I truly believe if I had not done the preop my liver would have been huge. :eek: My recover was very rapid and relatively painless. Although my surgeon did not require a preop, he did comment on my weight loss as being wonderful before the surgery. :smile2: My srgeon did require two days of clear liquids (protein drink was also allowed) before the surgery, which I did as instructed. If I had had the three days of withdrawing from sugar and carbs at the same time I had the surgery, I would have been so miserable!!!!!!:crying: It helped get my appetite under control so I have not experienced hunger since surgery either. I am not quite 4 weeks out and have lost another 8.8 pounds. I do not think I have a lot of restriction yet, but I am doing fine with the outlined postop diet and amounts and my hunger is not out of control. :laugh: During that preop time, I also stopped drinking carbonated beverages (which I do not miss now after a 43 year addiction to diet pop starting at age 14 with Tab), focused on getting in all my Water, getting 70 grams of Protein, not snacking between meals, etc. That had me ready for the surgery. I suspect that some doctors do not "require" a preop diet just because many people do not follow it and end up with binge eating when they try. Normal eating is preferrable to binge eating before the surgery, I would think. If you are a sugar and carb eater, you will have to go through carb withdrawal at one time or another. I just decided to pick my time and not go through surgery and withdrawal at the same time. Since your doctor has not given you any instructions for the weeks before, the choice is up to you. I know I am glad I did some prep work and I do believe it has made my journey easier. Best of luck on your journey! We are all behind you! :thumbup::welldoneclap::welldoneclap:

Did you do a pre:confused:op diet and get off sugar/carbs before your surgery? If not, you may be experiencing withdrawal from that. You may also be still experiencing the anesthesia. I was dizzy for about a week or so. The first few days I made my husband walk with me, just in case.

WOW. I can't wait to be there!

I got weighed, they did vitals, discussed the meds I am taking and vitamins. Ask about problems with eating. we did not really discuss nutrition. They took out my staples and told me to come back in two weeks for a fill. Pretty short and sweet.

DJBabe Glad to hear you are doing so well. :redface: With each day I am seeing that I will not be so different from everyone else. I have eaten in restaurants, eaten at a luncheon, stayed in a hotel and ate meals at a conference. I have eaten ground beef with no problem, tiny bites of steak, nothing has gotten stuck or threatened to come back up. I did eat too fast once and had a lot of pressure in my chest. It all went down, however. I am eating so much less than I used to and not thinking constantly about food, either. I have stayed away from carbs still because I am diabetic and stopped taking my meds when I had my surgery. My blood sugar is lower than before the surgery when I was still on my meds. That feels really good. I think when I lose some more weight, I will be able to tolerate more carbs. Not eating carbs also helps control my appetite and I am still afraid of it coming back. I go to get a fill on May 4. Since I am not eating a lot, not sure if I will need one. I do not want to overfill, but I would like to lose more weight. I have lost 7.6 pounds since surgery three weeks ago so I guess that is pretty good. How much have you lost since surgery? How many calories do you think you are eating? Since I am staying away from carbs, I am not sure I am getting enough calories. I figured about 650 one day. I am only eating lean meats, steamed low carb veggies and protein drinks. Not sure if I should try to eat more, or not. One more day we will all be banded and April will be over. Best of luck to everyone! We did it! :thumbup::party:

Excellent! You did great! Good luck on your surgery. It is not so bad and well worth it. Had mine April 7, have now lost 30.6 pounds with the preop diet and feeling good! The preop is worth it so your surgery is easier. :scared2:

Just starting my journey. Three weeks post surgery and down 30.6 pounds so far (including preop diet). I was glad to read your post. I was feeling like I was 80 (I'm 57) and I hope to feel good and younger again. So far so good. How much did you lose and how long did it take?

What are you eating? You should be getting lots of Protein through Protein shakes or lean meats if they are allowed on your preop. After day 4 you should have lots of energy. Most people have headaches and fatigue and intense hunger Days 1-3 but these go away. The purpose of the preop diet is to shrink your liver. It stores glycogen and it is replenished by mainly carbs. When you do a low carb diet, the glycogen gets used up and your liver shrinks. You also lose weight, but that is reeally not the goal. So make sure you are getting plenty of lean protein. My preop diet allowed two protein shakes (beadkfast and lunch) with about 30 grams of protein each and lean protein (chicken breast, tuna in Water, shrimp, fish, turkey breast, eggs) and low carb veggies at dinner (broccoli, cauliflower, cucumbers, celery, lettuces. spinach, green Beans, summer squash). I personally ate far more than 4 ounces of protein each evening and lost 23 pounds before my surgery. After day 4 I was not really hungry and my energy level was very good. Hang in there. It will make your surgery much easier if you do shrink your liver. :scared2:

Really great! I has some redness and inflammation in my port incision, but they started me on antibiotics and it is healing now. Took out staples last week. UGH! Have now lost 30.6 pounds since preop, 7.6 of it since surgery!!! Yesterday was my first hungry day. I go in next Tuesday to see about a first fill. Everyday gets better. I love my band so far! :scared2:

64 ounces of fluids is a minimum, not a maximum. You should drink more if you are thirsty. Make sure you are getting your protein and that counts as fluid too. On day 11, you probably just healed enough to reduce the swelling and fluids started going through better. Next you may find yourself getting hungry faster - they call that Bandster Hell - when you no longer have the surgery swelling but do not have restriction from fluid in your band. Then you start thinking about fills. I was banded on April 7 and I just felt hunger for the first time today!

I go in next Tuesday, May 4 to talk about a fill. I hope mine goes as well as yours! I am a little nervous :thumbup:

Hey how are the early April Bandster Bunnies doing? Have not heard from some of you in so long - Mammasugar, Ravyn, Montynic, Waynooo, Melliebelle, Twinslerely, Happytrucker - are you all still out there and doing ok? Would love to hear from you!!!!!!!!!!!

Wow your experience was so much like mine. I did shakes and one meal and had carb withdrawal too. I was so glad I was not doing it at the same time as the surgery. I lost 23 pounds as of my surgery and was banded on 4/7. I have lost another 7 pounds since them. I go in next week to talk about a fill - not sure if I will be ready or not. Everyday is a new adventure with my band!

Hang in there. The two weeks before surgery were a real rollercoaster ride emotionally. After the surgery was an emotional let down - the thrill was over, the adrenaline settling down, and some discomfort. I am almost 3 weeks out now and starting to stablize. I have lost weight and feeling good. It was all a whirlwind! I had doubts one day and was sure the next. I could not concertrate. I think everyone goes through that. I have not had a fill yet, but I can't believe how much less I am eating and how little appetite I have. It is a miracle! I can easily pass up food I never would have before. It was worth all the stress, strain and pain! So far, I love being banded!:thumbup:

Hang in there. It really does get a lot better. Just don't eat any extra carbs or you will undo what you have accomplished and set yourself back. It will be worth it when you get to surgery and your liver is shrunk down and your surgery is easier! You also do not have to go through carb/sugar withdrawal at the same time as surgery discomfort. Keep your eye on the prize!!!!!

I was banded April 7. My doctor said not to drive on pain meds and it was fine as long as I could twist my body to be able to see. I could do that day two.

One of my band buddies was banded by him and swears by his skills. She has lost over 100 pounds now and felling wonderful. I am in the midwest and just got my band three weeks ago. I feel really great. With the preop I have now lost 30 pounds and my appetite is sooooo much less than it was. I have not had a fill yet - that comes in two weeks. It is a great thing to get banded. I am so happy!

I was banded on April 7 and I am having the same gas problem from about 2:30 every day until about 6:00. I don't understand it either. I have lost some weight though, since the surgery - at total of 7 pounds now. I am sorry you have not lost. It is frustrating not to see the pounds go off. I hope your doctor has some solution for you!

Way to go in avoiding fast foods! It is hard, but it will be worth it to go through surgery with a smaller liver! We are with you!:biggrin:

That is great! Congrats to you! Use the next month to really get prepared, stock up, challenge your eating habits. It will fly by and it is so worth it. I am so happy with my experience so far.

So glad to hear that this week's bunnies are doing great. I am 16 days post surgery and doing very well. I am eating whole foods and have lost 7 pounds since surgery - a total of 30 now! If you are just starting out, hang in there - the time flies by. In less than 2 weeks I see the doctor for my first fill. If I still feel the same as today, I won't need it. I am eating small portions, tolerating everythng I have tried and not getting hungry for 5-6 hours. It is amazing. Who is scheduled for next week?

I see my surgeon tomorrow and will discuss it with him. I still feel quite a bit of restriction from the surgery, not a bad thing, I think, so it is hard to eat more. I never in my wildest imagination ever thought someone would suggest I am not getting enough calories. Wow, big eater me! I love feeling restricted. I assume it will wear off, but at least I know what it feels like!

Good for you! You won't be sorry!:confused: