Froggie D

My question is how long does it really take to heal up inside - swelling, stiches where band is attached to the stomach, etc.? I was banded on April 7 and am seeing my doctor for postop and to get my staples out tomorrow. My incisions feel well healed. I must have had some swelling in my stomach following the surgery because it was slow to get Water and Protein powder down. I am now eating soft foods and they fill my pouch and do not casue pain, but I get the referred pain in my shoulder still when the pouch is full. When is total healing?

I have a desk job. I was banded on Wednesday and went back to work on Monday with no real problem - just a bit fatigued. I has some gas in my stomach and took Gas-X stips to keep that down. I had limited referred pain in my shoulder. I only used pain med the first day and a half. They made me fuzzy headed so I switched to Tylenol. I had no nausea or vomiting. I focused on my Water and Protein drinks and sipped, sipped, sipped. Everyone is different but I am 57 years old and not especially healthy and I did fine. Good luck!

The hunger does get better by day 4 or 5 and you will be amazed at the energy and clear headedness you will feel. It shrinks your liver so you are ready for the surgery. My was very easy because I did a month of preop dieting and lost 23 pounds. It is not easy, but you will be glad you did it. You do not want to have withdrawal from carbonation, caffeine, sugar and carbs all at the same time as your surgery!

I am eating a can of chicken for lunch - 3oz - 5 oz depending on how much I can eat. Do you think I should have a Protein Drink too around 1:30? I calculated my food yesterday and I had 650 calories and 91 grams of protein. I am slowly losing weight and walking. I will try that!

Have you tried Beano? It works great with beans and veggies that give you gas. It comes in chewables and dissolvable strips. You eat it with your first bite of foodl It is all natural vegetable enzymes. Try it. You might like it.

Excellent ideas! I think it really helps to be ready for surgery. I stopped the caffeine first, then the pop, then the sugar so I would be through all of that before my surgery. I am so glad. I had cravings and headaches and fatigue going off all that. By the time I had my surgery, I was used to having none of that and surgery went very smoothly. I am 11 days out for surgery now and starting to eat solid food with a big emphasis on my Protein. I am not hungry and do not crave anything at this point. I get full eally fast. I was not required to do a preop diet, but I followed what many here were talking about - a Protein Drink for Breakfast and lunch and a protein and veggies dinner. I have now lost 28.6 pounds and feeling good. I do not think I would feel nearly as good if I had tried to get off pop, caffeine, and sugar at the same time as surgery. Stick with this philosophy and I think you will be glad you did. Good luck on your surgery! PS. I found Flav*or*ice Lite pops that come in "pop" flavors - root beer, 7 upDr. Pepper, orange crush

I was on the preop diet and felt really great. I had surgery last Wednesday and have been feeling really good, except I have been running out of energy about 2:00 or 3:00 every day, too. I am eating what they recommended and getting all my water in. Any idea why this would be?

I was a Diet Coke addict. I drank 6-8 per day. I stopped the caffeine six months ago and was not sure I would be able to give up the carbonated drinks as I love the bubbles. I stopped a month before my surgery. I found that practicing getting in 64 oz of Water did not leave much room for pop. I was banded last week and I can honestly say I do not miss the pop. At present I cannot even imagine putting something with bubbles in my pouch. And I feel much better with my water than my pop. My skin is not so dry and I feel well hydrated. You will get used to it faster than you think.

My thoughts are with you. Get well quick!

No, you are not alone. My surgery was 4/7/10 and I can finally turn over and lay on my side with minimal pain. It was pretty painful at first. Now I am having more itching than pain.:crying:

I had surgery on April 7. I did my own preop of two shakes and one meal of lean meat and steamed veggies. I lost 23 pounds before the surgery and it went very well. Minimal pain and discomfort. I continued liquids for 7 days and had my first egg today! I have lost another 4.5 pounds since surgery. It feels really great. On the preop, just remember that day 1 thru 3 will be rough but hang in there. On day 4 you will begin to lose yor appetite and feel better. After that it is not too hard, just boring. If you cheat and add a lot of carbs in, you will take a step back and have a harder time again. It feels so good to be losing and not hungry! Hang in there, you can do it.

Good luck to everyone getting banded this week. It is not as bad as I thought it would be. I am one week out now and doing great. I do have restriction, from swelling I suppose, but it feels great. My fluids are going down ok but no hunger. I got to start soft foods today and had a scrambled egg. I was terrified I would eat too much or too fast or something, but it all went down and I feel my pouch full, but not overstuffed. Not sure how long it will take to go through, but it has been several hours and I am still full. Never thought an egg would be so exciting!

Terrific story!

I put on my underwire and it was just too tight and stiff, even though I lost 23 pounds before surgery. I went out on day 4 and bought a soft, stretchy front closure and that is what I wore to go back to work today. It will just have to do because I refused to be squeezed when I am sore. It feels pretty good. I am wearing lose clothing and I don't care who thinks what. I figure I never looked that good in my clothes at 120 pounds overweight anyway, so who is going to pay attention now? Wear what feels good! You deserve it!

Sunday Night and I am starting to feel pretty good. My stitches are losing their soreness. My stomach is not aching like it was. I did not have shoulder pain until yesterday (banded on Wednesday) and it was because of having allergy symptoms on Friday night and coughing a lot. Still having some shoulder pain, but not bad with Tylenol. I go back to work tomorrow. Hopefully I will feel pretty good. I am not hungry at all, but I am trying to get in more protein powder drinks to get all my protein. I can only take one drink at a time and my stomach feels sooo full. I am not bringing it back up, but it goes down really slowly. Behind my breast bone is really achy. When my breast bone area aches, my shoulder aches too. I have had three diluted protein drinks, 24 ounces each, one can of broth, 14 ounces, and one bottle of water, 24 ounces. Seems like that should be able to run through pretty easily, but it doesn't. I am still using Gas-X as that seems to help it a bit. Hope everyone else is doing well. It does get better each day.

Stress makes you retain Water and not lose. If you did not gain and lived to talk about, you are a Hell of a Woman in my book! Glad you are home and safe!

I just read Fighting Weight by Khaliah Ali. She is Muhammad Ali's daughter. She had the band done and this is her history from childhood to band to normal weight. It is really good and very supportive. I would strongly recommend it for clear data, great support and making you feel like you are not alone.

The wait is a killer, believe me I know! I had to change surgeons midstream and it was devastating. I decided that I would keep trying, no matter what, and it finally happened. Even at the last visit with my surgeon, when I had done my cardiology consult, pulmonary consult, psychological consult, dietary consult, 8 week dietician program by phone, pre op, preop class, and had the insurance pre-approval in hand, I was fully expecting the surgeon to tell me why we could not do it. Instead he looked at my chart and said, "OK." I looked at him and said, "Is that it?" He laughed and said, "Yep, see you Wednesday." During the waiting time I tried to convince myself I did not really want to do it. I tried to find reasons it would be ok if they decided I could not have the surgery. I started protecting myself from the hurt if they rejected me again. I had a myriad of emotions and it was a roller coaster. I had them all, good, bad and ugly. But it happened!!!!!! I am Day Four past surgery and doing fine. Once your approval is in place and you are all set up, take some time to look at all your feelings again. If you are still unsure, talk to others, talk to your surgeon. Make an informed decision about what you really want and are able to truly commit to. If you decide not to do it, make that decision with confidence. If you go ahead, go ahead with conviction. It is your life. Don't feel bad either way. I decided to go ahead with banding and I am looking forward to the best days of my life with the band and a new thin, acitve body! We are with you!

Hey Kim, hang in there! We are with you! :thumbup: I was banded on April 7 also and I did not have a real preop but after reading on here about others, I put myself on one. The first 3 days are the hardest. :cursing: On day four if you are getting in Protein your appetite will start to diminish. You did not mention protein on your orginal post. Are you doing a Protein shake or Protein powder? I am having two per day (I really have to push to get them down as I can only do a sip at a time now). My surgeon insists on getting enough good protein to help with healing. Feel free to post frequently and people will respond and the support is terrific. :tongue: It has been a Godsend to me. I understand about feeling left out of the family. I feel that a bit too, but have decided I am going this for me and no temptation when watching family eat is going to get in my way. This is my last-ditch effort to change my life and I am going to succeed. There will be time with family after the habits are more ingrained. My family is very supportive, but certainly have not stopped eating. LOL :sad: Glad you are one of us now!!!!!!!!! :confused::Dancing_biggrin:

Wow, you have been through it! Good luck to you in May. It will be great!:confused:

I was on Metformin extended release too. Before my preop and some weight loss, I was running 150-160 fasting ON the Meds. After the surgery (three days out) and down 23 pounds, I am running 115-130 fasting NOT on the meds. My other readings are all under 115. I am hoping to not have to take any more meds for diabetes. There is a liquid Metformin called Riomet, but it is not extended release so you have to take it across the day. When I thought I was going to get my band last August (long story) I tried it. It did not work quite as well, but not too bad. Taste was ok, for me anyway. Hope you can go off the meds and not need them. The preop diet was really important for me. My surgeon did not require anything except two days of liquids so I did my own version. I had protein shakes (very low carb) at breakfast and lunch and lean meat (chicken breast, pork tenderloin, shrimp) and steamed broccoli or cauliflower with fresh celery, peppers, cucumbers, etc for dinner. I lost 23 pounds in 4 weeks. It was hard, but worth it. The first 3 days are really hard but day 4 you lose your appetite and it gets a lot easier. It was worth it to me to know I had a good start and my liver was shrunk down. I think it made my surgery go a lot better. Good luck, it is just around the corner!

It is Friday and I got my band on Wednesday. I am doing really well. I have had my protein today (protein powder in soy milk and in chicken broth) and working on the rest of my water. I am sooooooo full. I guess from swelling. I am not having any real pain, just soreness from the incisions. All my systems are finally working and today I walked 1.2 miles. Yesterday I walked a half mile. It was a beautiful day. Since I feel so full in my sternum area, I am guessing from swelling, it is a bit hard to take full breathes so I was a bit short of breath walking. I think that is probably normal. It just feels really weird not eating. Food smells good, but I know I could not eat. Already missing the taste, however. Wow - it is done and it went by so fast. Anyone else have a feeling of slight let down after the high adrenalin rush of getting banded is over?:biggrin:

I LOVE THAT!:biggrin:

I had difficulty finding the right surgeon that my insurance approved and it took me 18 months to get banded. It was a long wait, but here I am today, 2 days out form surgery, 23 pounds lighter and hopeful for the future. I was really angry, bumbed, frustrated, you name it, but it all finally happened. Just use your time to pan, learn, read and be ready. It is a BIG undertaking and the more prepared you are, the better you will do. Thinking about you!!:smile2:

Ravyn, I had mine on Wednesday and it is behind me. I am feeling good and learning to drink without gulping and taking in air. My incisions are sore but overall it was easy. Best of luck to you!!!!!!!!! :smile2: