perkins1010

I just got banded on the 14th so I am on my third day being banded. My surgeon was Dr Benavides in Richardson, Texas. His office was awesome. I havent lost anything yet :smile: but I am just going to take it easy for my first few weeks and just follow the diet and heal. My first day after banding believe it or not I just felt depressed. It took me 5 years to decide to do this and 7 months of visits per insurance requirements to finally get here. I feel a little like "oh what did I do" and hope I do not fail. I thought I would join this group and see how everyone else was doing! I am really excited to lose the weight! I hope to meet people who are on the same journey I am. Did anyone else have the gas and how long did it last? it is driving me crazy anc causing some pain. I have heard it lasts for a few days to a few weeks so some even have it 18 months after banding! Any feedback would be awesome and its great to be here!:thumbup:

I posted in another forum but didnt get any answers. I am now 5 days out and for the last two days I have had pain when ever I swallow anything. It feels like it hits the band and gets stuck then I can feel it move down. I have problably had a total of two glasses of water, a glass of warm broth, one yogart and 8 oz of shakes in two days. I don't feel hungry but I am hurting everytime I swallow anything. I have also been coughing alot and have sinuses on top of that. I called my doctor and they think that I was overfilled during my surgery and that I may have a mucus plug or blockage in my pouch. I have to go back and have fluid taken out of the band. my incisions are not healed so I was wondering if anyone else has experienced this? I know I am not getting enough fluids but I am trying to get this down. I do not want an unfill if it is my chest congestion that is causing this. Any advice?

never mind thanks

Hi Tess2352 I am feeling the exact same way today! I woke up and feel like im choking on my shake and on anything I swallow. I tried to just drink cold water thinking it will help cause I think that my area is swollen around my band. My chest pains were worse and decided on a heating pad on my back. that helped a bit. I hope you feel better too! hang in there :smile:

What is the esophagus spasms? I think I may be having them. I just got banded 4 days ago and the discomfort from the gas seemed to get better but today I have been trying to get down the protien shakes and water and it feels like there is a pain in my chest. I cant finish eating and it hurts when the food hits the band. Any suggestions? I figured it was just from swelling and I am going to try the heating pad. Has anyone else felt like this?

Im 4 days post op and am happy to answer any questions that you want to know. I have been reading others stories on here and am happy to have some of my questions answered :thumbup: So feel free to ask me anything :smile:

I certainly did! I tried to eat pretty healthy though. i found a low carb burger at a restaurant that was delicious as well as doing my protien shakes. I ate dinner with my friends and family when I could because they knew that there was going to be months before I could go eat dinner with them. When I had to do my diet it wasnt that hard. The last day before my surgery my patient advocate at the drs office said go eat whatever meal you would like to eat and dont worry about the calories or carbs. Of course we couldn't binge but we could have a bowl of pasta or bbq ribs. so we had a last supper before surgery LOL. It is a completely different change in eating habits afterwards as I am aware of my band still. I can feel the heaviness but have not had as bad a hunger pains as I thought. I thought I would be starving but Im not. Im just bombarded by ads on tv and computer about food. I didn't realize how much food is at the forefront until I couldn't have it! Of course I am on day 4 and trucking so its still an adjustment :thumbup: :tongue2:Good luck to you!

I heard the heating pad works. Where do you put it? on your back or front? I am actually hurting more today than I did yesterday from the gas. Course I also slept longer today than I have since Thursday :thumbup:

That first day was a doozy for me! My sister thought I was crazy cause I voiced the doubt cause she was like..um well you cant change it now! LOL But I think some is hormonal and some is that as always with such a dramastic change just adjusting. Hopefully tomorrow will be better :thumbup:

Thank you guys! It is good to meet you :thumbup: Its been interesting so far. I am glad I have some time off so I can adjust to the gas thing. I have never been a big burper or anything and my family has been laughing but they understand its part of the gift of weight loss LOL I just hate it when it seems to come straight from my stomach and it hurts like...well it hurts lol. I will try maalox though cause the gas x doesnt seem to help me. Is there a reason that Pepto bismol isnt allowed? I used to take it preop but since it wasnt on the list I was not going to take it until I talk to my dr. Other than that I love the Protein shakes and have made Jello and eaten baby food (fruit medley is great). I didn't think the vegetable broth or chicken broth would be good but they were. I didn't like the beef broth. Is there anything that is good to eat at this liquid stage that anyone is trying? I have been looking around since I have 2 weeks left of liquids and wanted to see if anyone else has suggestions :smile:

Hello everyone! I am 3 days post op and this is the first day I have felt any semblance of myself :tt2: I went in on 10/14 after 5 years of research and decisions. It took my insurance 7 months of visits to finally approve me. I weighed 275 and am down to 270 in a week. I am not focusing on my weight right now as I am just trying to heal and adjust. I am doing fine with the liquids and baby foods right now. I am amazed at how full I feel after just a little bit. I am having issues with the gas but I expected this. i have a wonderful sister who came down from ohio to texas just to be with me during this time! She was awesome in her care of me but now she left to go back home :smile: Believe it or not I feel a little depressed about this now. I am really excited to start my new life..really I am..its just that I have had moments of "what did I do!" and hoping its just hormonal LOL I have been doing my exercises and am taking a week off work. My work has been unbelievably supportive in my decision. I am so lucky that the road here once I started walking it has been smooth. I just don't do pain meds well and cant wait to move beyond pain in my side. I look forward to seeing everyones experiences and meeting everyone! Good luck on your journey and I hope we will walk together for a little while :thumbup: