martom

VERY moist chicken, steak, fish and tuna is what I have been eating to get most of my Protein. I also bought some Isopure clear Liquid Protein drink for days I don't feel I got enough protein down. It has zero carbs and fat and only 130 calories and no sugar. And it does not taste bad either. My one carb a week is usually mashed potatoes or a baked potato. Veggies I have been slowly introducing back but I was drinking V-8 juice to get those in as well. Oh, scrambled eggs in the mornings is what I usually have for Breakfast and I have half a grapefruit three times a week as well. I can eat soft boiled eggs as well and when I make my tuna I use fat free mayo, dill relish, hard boiled eggs and the tuna and I make it moist as well. You just have to get creative. I also eat low fat cheese sticks. I tried some swiss cheese but it was too dry and made me sick because it got stuck. You just have to play with the food and find out what does and does not work for you. Like I said, it's a learning process!!!

Identifying head hunger versus real hunger was a problem for me but I found if I drink some Water and do something else, then it goes away so it was head hunger. If it doesn't go away, then I am really hungry. And yes, your tummy will growl with head hunger!! I also learned that if I limit myself to one carb a week and three fruits it helps with the hunger issue. I am not as hungry when I stick to mostly Protein and veggies!!

I have found I cannot eat break at all, which is not necessarily a bad thing! LOL. It's been a pretty easy transition so far because it's only me and my younger daughter, who is a health nut anyway, at home. My husband got back to the states today from Afghanistan and will be home next week so we will see how things go from there. I have not seen him since January so I am really pumped right now!! :bored:

The pain you are feeling could be from all the gas they put in you during surgery. It ended up in my shoulder and was very painful. You could also be swollen from the surgery. I was so swollen it was hard to even get liquids down. This is all a learning process. I learn new things just about every day now. Like that I can no longer eat breads and that green Beans don't settle well. You will find what works for you and sometimes it takes getting sick to figure it out. Just remember to chew, chew, chew and eat slowly!!!

Hi Flychica!

I am doing great! I went and got another .6cc's put in this past Wednesday and have lost 28 pounds so far!!! This was the best decision I have ever made!!! How are you getting along??

I was banded on 10/7 and went back on 10/18 for a post-op visit and got a fill of 3cc. I found out I was already filled with 1cc at the time of the surgery. The pain you are experiencing is most likely from swelling. It happened to me also. Just sip on your drinks and chew chew chew. I know what you mean about the pain. It is NOT fun when that happens. I am scheduled to go back for another fill on 11/18. I am at a total of 4cc in a 10cc band!! Good luck to you. I have found this site to be very useful when it comes to questions and concerns about the band. Although each doctor does things differently, we are all hoping for the same results!! :thumbup:

I am surprised you guys can actually "over eat". I have been having to watch what I eat and chew, chew, chew or else it gets stuck and that hurts like heck! I am three weeks post op and had my first fill this past Wednesday and now I can eat even less. I wonder why there are so many differences as to what and how much we can all eat. :sad:

Ok, I went in for my fill yesterday and all went well. Had a little trouble finding the right angle of my port but we finally got it. The nurse mentioned something to me about fighting head hunger. How do you tell the head hunger from real hunger? Does your tummy still growl with head hunger? :thumbdown:

Thanks Shmoopy!! I see you are doing well with your weight loss. :thumbup: How much exercising are you doing?

Well, I had my first fill today and it was a lot easier than I was expecting. The nurse told me that they deaden the nerves around the port so you really cannot feel it when they insert the needle. She did have to do it twice since we figured out my port is lopsided. She ended up having to go in at an angle. All in all, it was ok. I found out he filled me to 1cc on the day of my surgery and she added another 3cc's today so that puts me at a total of 4cc's in a 10cc band! She did tell me I would have to drink Protein Shakes for the first 24 hours since I may swell but I haven't noticed the liquid having a hard time getting down. I am so glad I had this done! This was the best decision I ever made!! :thumbup:

Hey everyone,

I am scheduled for my first fill on Wednesday, October 28th and would like to know what to expect. Do they numb the area before they stick the needle in the port? How much do they usually do the first time? I am just really nervous about this first fill. :wink2: I had my banding done on October 7th and things have been going well. Any insight or advice would be helpful. Thanks!!

LOL.....well I wouldn't call what I am eating solid! Creamy mashed potatoes (and not very many either) scrambled eggs, again, very little and of course my Protein Shakes. I also have sugar free/far free popsicles, fat free Jello pudding cups. But I still find if I try to eat any of it very quickly it gets "stuck" and it causes a lot of pain!!!

I was banded on Wednesday, October 7th and would love to have a local support group that is in this area so I don't have to drive to Temple for them. :scared2:

Would love to have someone in the area so we could maybe get together and walk and talk about what's going on.

Good luck to all!!

Hey, Oct 7th was my day as well! I came back to work on Tuesday, the 13th. The thing that I found was hard was my pants hit right on a couple of the incision spots and that made it uncomfortable the first day. Other than that, I have been good. I have learned that if I eat too fast or too large of a bite of something, I will pay for it. It hurts when that happens so I have been consciously eating smaller bites and a lot slower. :scared2:

So how is everyone else hanging in there? Any problems? I have read on here where some people have gotten fills on the day of their surgery. Anyone here have that happen?

Nice to meet you all and good luck in your journey!

Margie

I got my Protein Shakes from bariatricadvantage.com and found I had and still have no problems with hunger. It had 27g of Protein, 7g carbs and less than a 1 fat per serving. I did find the more protein I had, the less likely I was to be hungry. I was allowed 3-4 shakes per day and a salad with no or low cal dressing and I was good to go.:thumbup:

omg I was just logging in to post something very similar. I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO and am almost in tears. I had my surgery exactly a week ago, it was textbook. He said I didn't even bleed inside. I hardly needed any pain meds, I didn't have any of the dreaded shoulder pain from the gas. I'm doing *great* considering I just had surgery. I went from Clear liquids to full on day 2, and to pureed foods on day 5. I went to the movies 3 days out and to a college football game on Saturday. All of this while feeling restriction and not being hungry. People ate popcorn and all kinds of stuff around me and I was fine. But all of a sudden yesterday, day 6, complete STARVATION. It just hit me all of a sudden, any restriction I had (from the swelling) was gone and my stomach wants food. I'm still on pureed foods but was wondering when it would be safe to move to the mushy "real" foods. Like maybe scrambled eggs? All I'm eating is creamed Soups, hummus, yogurt, mashed potatoes and of course Protein drinks, and I'm sure to put on weight with all that starch. The biggest problem is, I don't know what to do after I'm back on real food! I'm scared, I'm terrified, my doc doesn't give the first fill for 6 weeks. Is that normal? I went to the nut. info thing and it all seemed reasonable.... provided I have restriction, which I don't and won't. I used to be on Nutrisystem and have tons of food left, i was thinking maybe I should just do that again till my first fill?? I am literally starting to freak out, helpppppp.

Valgirl, where in Georgetown, Texas are you because I live here as well and had my surgery done on 10/7/09. Would love to chat with someone who is going through the same things!!

Thank you both so much for your responses. I was wondering if that is where it was and it feels a little more firm in that area but I have not wanted to push too hard. I don't go back to the doctor until the 28th of October and I think that is when he is looking at doing the first fill. I just wanted to know for my own curiosity! Thanks again!!!

Ok, since I am still new at this whole banding thing, I have a somewhat stupid question.

I was banded on 10/7 and am doing really well right now but how do I find out where my port is? I've kind of felt around but my tummy is still a little tender.

Hi Diana! Congrats on your banding. Yes, I was/am having the problem with the liquids as well. I find if I take small sips and swallow it helps but I know what you mean about the pain. I feel that way when I get the hiccups also. From what I have read here and the people I have talk to said it's pretty normal I suppose. Walking around has seemed to help me too. I guess we are in what they are calling banded hell. LOL

I had/have more time that I could have taken off but my husband is coming home from Afghanistan sometime next month and I am going to take some time off then since it's been a year since I have seen him. The pants I wore today hit right at the same level as some of the punctures but you can be sure I will not make that mistake tomorrow!!! :thumbup:

It's nice to talk to someone who is going through the same thing. Lets see if we can stay in touch!! Good luck in your journey!

Glad to meet someone who had it done recently. Mine was done on Wednesday, October 7th and I have had some of the same problems you have as well as some gas pain in the shoulder area. I read someone else who replied to your post about that. Have you found it hard to get the liquids moving as well?

I am one week post op and have finally started to feel my tummy growling again. It's been hell up to this point. I am able to get liquids down, go a Protein Shake down last night and two today and managed to get some Jello down as well. I have not dared try anything mushy or solid but I do find myself "hungry" now. Is this how your first week or so post op was?

I am glad to hear someone can actually eat post op. I am six days post op and still have to sip my liquids and haven't dared tried any real food. I tried some chicken noodle Soup the other day and took a COUPLE of noodles with the broth and thought I was going to die when they wouldn't go down and came right back up as a PB, as they seem to call it here. :thumbup:

I have had those issues but everything else seems to be going right. I am scheduled for my first fill on 10/28 and hoping it goes well. You haven't had any problems getting things down and keeping them down?

Hello all. I was banded last Wednesday, October 7, 2009. I just got to where I would drink more than a little sip and not feel like it was stuck. I am here to learn, get motivation and to motivate. I went through two weeks of "all liquid dieting" before the surgery and managed to lose 10 pounds during that time. I have managed to lose another three since the surgery. Today is my first day back to work since the surgery and I wish I would have taken a little bit longer. Not because I don't feel good but because my pants sit right along where a few of the entrances are and it hurts!! I read where someone else has gone through a long process of planning this and not that it is around the corner, they are getting scared. I did the same thing but it has been and will continue to be well worth it. :thumbup:

I am glad my friend let me know about this site. I have found it to be full of information but most importantly, it is full of people just like me, whether they have already begun their journey, are about to begin their journey, just beginning their journey or waiting to begin their journey! We are all here for the same reason!