Alisomniac

Welcome to PostOp October '10 Bandsters! I'm hoping how good I feel right NOW (17 hours post op - main issue is incision pain) lasts. I'm personally feeling like I will be satiated on the full liquids (I get liquids 1 week, puree 1 week then softer-normal solids)... I have been OK'd to do SlimFast LowCarb as a liquid and Protein source, and I had at least 1 a day prior to the surgery, plain yogurt, which i used to eat daily, cream of wheat, which I love, and fun stuff like Jello, Yogurt and Popsicles. Let's keep each-other accountable, motivated and feeling hte post-op love! And make sure to update your progress tickers, goals and status! I am currently 5'6 or 5' 6.5 (depending on who measures... i'm taller at the surgeon's office than at my primary dr) My current weight is 266 (started 276) and my long-term goal is 150 lbs (the high end of my "normal range"). I hope to be down at least 15, but hopefully 20 by Halloween.... I'm also planning on spending more time than required on full liquid since there is no way I will puree meat, and only a few veggies are tolerable pureed... fruits i'm ok with... that phase is flipping me out!

I'm almost 5 months post-op and have a few questions/things i've noticed, and just wondering about shared experiences and whatnot... 1) Does anyone still get soreness on their band side? it's higher than where my port pokes are (same level as larges scar). It didn't start right away, I'm thinking it is probably tight scar tissue, feels like a sore muscle after a work out, and I usually only feel it later in the day when i'm tired. 2) My port pokes are lower on my belly, just above and to the side of the belly button, but i can feel something hard much higher (where my soreness is)... again, scar tissue, tubing or what. My regular doctor felt it and says it's probs part of the band system, def not a tumor or anything... anyone else able to feel other parts of their band (or perhaps my port moved?) 3). Rare BMs (sorry, gross) anyone self-dose with stool softeners (not laxitives)? How often do you take? I'm ok with the fewer poos, but depending on if im on a meat-low week (i dont really like the taste of meat and only chicken maybe 1-2x per week) the BMs can be slightly difficult and painful. 4). I have 7cc fill in a 11cc band, don't "have" to eat one bite every 5-10 minutes like i should (i tend to graze naturally, but can eat several bites quickly)... i'm careful not to overeat, but i just think it's odd. I rarely feel that "oops i ate too much" feeling). 5) any other weird things to expect? I'm kinda plateauing, and am looking to jumpstart a new round of weight loss since I'm going on vacay in 3 months, and would like to be down 15 - 20 lbs... which is faster than my doctor would find "ideal" but i'm sure it will slow down or stop entirely on vacation (next appt 3/17 for possible fill).

Yes! And i love it (i bought it for my computer at home - much better version and i pay to sync, so i can enter foods while i'm at work). It really works well, especially if you are a little OCD about dieting like I am... i custom enter every food- even ones that are pre-loaded generics... and i weigh everything... even glasses of milk. the only feature i dont really use is hte 'activity log' and there main reason for this is that it's important to me that i get activity, but not so that i can balance it against calories taken in (i might be tempted to use those extra calories. LOVE the body tracking feature too... if you use a MyoTape. it's super easy to measure and see those changes. Now at almost 5 months in, i'm looking to boost by mini plateau before my vacation in 3 months... hoping to lose more than 1lb a week... but not too much more - maybe 15-20 lbs total before vacation.

For me, all the Protein powder/shakes I tried were way to nasty to consider... Instead (and with the blessing of the nutritionist and my surgeon) I drink Slim Fast Low Carb (Chocolate). It took 2 or 3 to get used to the taste (like Jello pudding made with water), but after drinking it for well over a year now (before surgery), I actually like it and choose to drink it daily. It has more protein than the high-protein slim fast (20 grams per drink), and wiht my normal diet including eggs or cottage cheese for Breakfast, and often (but now always) chicken or fish for dinner, i more than hit my protein goal... i'm supposed to be around 55g protein a day, but I actually hit much closer to 70-75g (unless i'm having a veg day... i am not a huge fan of meat).

Breakfast: 1 hardboiled egg and 30g Farmer John Turkey Sausage Snack (if needed) string cheese or Dannon Light Yogurt Lunch 3 oz cottage cheese and 3 oz canned pears (light) Snack (if needed) Sugar Free Hot Cocoa Dinner 4 oz chicken fajitas (chicken, corn, onions, avocado and peppers only) Dessert (if needed) Sugar Free popsicle or yogurt

For me both, it goes hand-in-hand. I have a computer program I use to calculate exact calories, for me this equals accountability and satisfies my OCD-ish need ot be in complete control and know everything possible about what I'm doing. I use FitDay - it's free on their website or available for purchase (i like this version better- and it's around $20 - so cheap.), i really like it (I swear I'm not affiliated). You can even create "custom" foods from recipes, use the basic pre-loaded foods (good for most foods) or if you have OCD tendencies like I do, I load the nutritional information for everything I eat (except milk and fresh veggies)... which is easy to do- you just copy the nutritional label. If you want to really track what you eat, try this site. Your data will be most accurate if you weigh or measure your food. (Oh and it tracks weight, inches/measurements and you can enter in your exercise for calories burned too). best of luck!

This will me my first official challenge... I started at 276.2 pre op (270 day of) and wanted to be 250 by Halloween - barely missed it at 252. New goal will be 15 pounds by Christmas.... Starting today 11/15 at 249.6. (I weight in every other day for my own personal tracking... so If i miss a monday weigh-in, harass me via e-mail and I'll update!)

I usually go out every Friday with coworkers, but only my closest friends who know about the surgery. I'm currently 6 weeks post-op with no restrictions on diet (of course only healthy items, but i'm well into solid foods). If/When I dont finish my lunch, they understand. If there are others there who dont know I've had surgery and they ask why I didn't finish lunch, I simply say "I am full" or "I had a little snack earlier and am full". It works beautifully - and there really arent any prodding questions that go along... its cut-and-dry reason, and it's true. If I can't choose the place we eat, where I know what is easier for me, I stick to soups. There is virtually no chance at things getting stuck, are easier to eat at a non-glacial pace and are usually pretty filling too.

My post op liquid phase was one week, but after surgery day i could have "full liquids" and had some thin Soup, pudding, jell-o and was just fine... well, actually most days all i could do was slowly drink one Slim Fast, but i knew the other stuff was available. The guideline was liquid, or becomes liquid at body temperature. Now, the night before I was allowed to begin pureed and mushy foods I was craving Hot Dogs (and i HATE hot dogs) so I cooked one, ran it through a rough chop in my food pro (very tiny chopped, like a diced onion) and very very carefully chewed each piece individually... i only had like 1/4 of a hot dog but man was it nice to have something "real". I still don't really like Hot Dogs, and they are on my "naughty list" from the nutritionist... but i figured I was SO LOW on liquids (not hitting 200 cal most days) that I figured it'd be OK.

Sounds like we are in a very similar situation! I was banded last Tuesday and am planning on going back to work tomorrow (which I'm kinda dreading - I work a desk job, but it's fairly stressful and I work 11 hour days, including lunch which I typically do at my desk). I also only told about 3 people at work about my surgery. I figured it's not their business. When I get back, when people ask (and they will) I will simply say I was on sick leave (true) and I'm ok, but not feeling 100% - that should cover any questions about why I'm moody or slow, or exhausted. I'm not sure if I will wear my tummy binder to work, I generally feel better with it on, but it's harder to move in it, not to mention bulky. As for the bra- I had a flash of genius before my surgery and bought two Bali underwire-free bras (at Kohls) which offer support and no wires... my uppermost incision is well below my underwire line, but I want to be as comfortable as possible, and sometimes my bras hurt anyways. I'm also not able to eat/drink much. I can technically move on to mushy foods tomorrow, but seeing as i'm barely at 250 calories per day as it is I think I will take a few extra days of liquid. I'm able to do one SlimFast shake a day (and it takes 2-3 hours to down) and maybe a pudding or something. I just feel full and/or "sluhsy" all the time. I know this will pass, and also know I should eat more, but I don't want to get back in the habit of eating when I'm not hungry. Best of Luck! :laugh:

My highest incision is about 1" lower than the underwire on my bra, but I did buy two BALI wirefree bras for right after surgery...and they have some support so you're not drooping.

I had my surgery 4 days ago (Tuesday 10/5) and I too am finding it way too hard to keep up with the meal plan the nutritionist provided for liquid phase... I think part of it is that I don't have any hunger right now, and part of me is freaked out and doesn't want to stretch the pouch.... even 1 jello, eaten slowly freaks me out.... it's technically 1 cup, and even though I'm taking about 1/2 hour or more to eat (and it's considered a 'full liquid') I don't want to stretch out... I'm not eating anywhere close to the meal plan... I'm scared to say how much I've been eating because it's so little... but I'm not feeling faint from lack of food either... I feel guilty when I log into FitDay ($20 download version is MUCH better than free online) and see how many calories I should be eating... And silly, gross question... when did you have your 1st post-surgery BM? I've been peeing regularly, but with no solids have not yet had a BM. Not feeling constipated at all, and in fact just started farting today (yay! who ever thought that would be exciting - but now relieving gas less through painful burps)...

RUMiller - My surgery was actually pushed to 10/5 at 7 am... I was the 1st surgery of the day, actually. I was in recovery at 9am (though I think I woke up at 10) and was discharged at noon. I'm having incision site pain, but otherwise am feeling really good. I think I actually need the liquid painkiller because the pain is pretty bad for me, but it's not working very well... vicodin has never really worked for me (at best it just makes me muddy-minded, but does not dull the pain) ... Oh well, I'm otherwise feeling well... haven't been hungry at all in the past few days... and have definitely not been able to eat/drink as much as was listed on the sample liquid diet phase the nutritionist gave us... i think the pain is masking hunger, but we will see... hoping that when the pain is gone and when I finally get a "fill" that I'm able to feel the food... otherwise I may develop OCD about my food intake..

I live in Aliso Viejo (South OC) and was wondering if there are any other newly banded, or soon to be banded (I'm 10-8-10) in the area... Would be nice to talk to other locals.

Today I had my surgery with Dr. Kelly Francis of Orange Coast Memorial Medical Center's Center for Obesity (aka Leport's SmartDimensions). Here's the breakdown of my day. 10/4 at noon -attempted to take 2 oz Milik of Magnesia but ended up regurgitating it 10/4 at 1pm - took 5 oz Magnesium Citrate - definitley worked --- 10/5 @ 4am - Wake up and shower with special pre-op soap 430 am - Leave For Hospital 5am - Check in at hospital - in addition to paperwork one of the first things you may be asked to do is pee in a cup - literally only a couple of drops. I had peed right when I woke up, so they had to to an extra blood draw instead. 6:am - Shot of Blood Thinner (in hip - this one burns for about a minute) 6:15 - Shot of Lydocane (I requested to numb had before IV) but I had a bad reaction, regurgitated :thumbdown: Not sure if it is due to my shock reflex* or a reaction to the drug 6:30 - IV (no numbing) not too bad - my nurse was great and dind't feel it at all. Nurse took blood at the same time. 7:00 - Met Anesthesiologist who asked a billion history questions and described procedure 7:15 - Nurse gave drugs for nausea and pain 7:20 - Anestesiologist gave drugs "to relax" 7:30 - Wheeled into Surgery, some time spent putting pressure cuffs on feet, strapping me to table (I think I got another dose of a relaxant). Surgeon said a quick Hello, asked for last minute questions. 7:45 - Procedure Began 9:00 - Surgery over, Surgeon briefs my mom in waiting room. I go to recovery, my mom goes home. 10:00 - I wake up in recovery. I have a sharp pain on my left side (where the majority of the incisions are), I get one dose of pain killer via IV 10:20 - Pain remains sharp, another dose of pain killer in IV 10:45 - Nurse brings liquid pain killer (pain was beginning to numb) and Water, sit up 10:45 - 11:15 ish, slowly sip 8 oz water, asked to sit up more, have to blow in contraption to exercise lings 11:30 - get dressed, fit with binder 12:00 - released with liquid painkiller (doesn't seem to work for me) 12:20 - 4 pm - At home, slept 4:00 pm - Ate 2 oz vanilla yogurt 7-10 pm - SLOOOOOOWLY sipped slim fast ---- Experience: OK, the worst part for me was BEFORE surgery when I threw up because of the shots. Nurses were great and very helpful. I was allowed to sleep after surgery and slowly drift into consciousness so I didn't feel the time-travel feeling. You DO have to really concentrate on breathing deeply after surgery to get enough oxygen... it was harder than it sounded. I didn't feel any pain or discomfort from the intubation in my throat. All I could feel were my incisions... especially my "Big: One. I don't think I'm feeling gas pain, as my pain is localized to my incisions, but you never know. I have gas X strips, and in recovery I burped a lot (I also got mild hiccups after first sips of water, which was NOT fun). Nurse said if you feel the urge to burp or fart, don't fight it... it's how you get rid of the gas. (I have one incision between my boobs, but BELOW the bra bottome line, another one 6-8" below that one, but about 1.5" above the belly button, two to either side of the lower button, about 1" higher, and 4" to either side, and one LONG incision (about 2.5-3" about 1" below the upper incision, and kinda between the lateral incisions... smaller incisions are about 1", maybe slightly off. i didn't measure. (see *marks) (Incision Diagram: [ { } { } ] [ * ] [ *** ] [ * * ] [ * ] [ o ] Advise: Don't pee in the morning before surgery, you'll be asked to once you get in, if you aren't there is plenty of time to do so. Don't hesitate to ASK for numbing creme/shot before IV, etc. Ladies, you will likely be asked to remove panties as well... but you can ask for the hospital mesh panties they are a bit ridiculous, but in there were times where I had to kick off the blankets because I got too hot - you dont want to broadcast yourself. Also, tell them exactly what you are feeling, as soon as you are feeling it ... nausea, dizzy, weak, cold, hot, thirsty, etc... The nurses are there to help you feel better, not just to get you ready to discharge. I was only able to comforably sleep on my right side... for some reason sleeping on my back wasn't as comforable. CRAWL (literally) into bed, it's easier to reposition yourself that way than to drag your legs. To get out, roll onto your side and slide off, one leg at a time. WEAR THE BINDER> I took mine off for 5 minutes and was miserable, could;nt even sit down as easily. *(I have a shock reflex to pain, including, shots, blood draws, sharp injuries where I usually faint or get nautious( Oh, and I asked to keep my gown... halloween is coming up after all. I know I missed a lot, so please let me know if you have any questions about the process. For me, I had no nerves or anxiety going in, and was only wary of the needles... and I think If i had just "grinned and bear it", as I ultimatley had to with the IV, I wouldn;t have had the nausea/vomiting unpleasantness.

Only gatorade? Yikes! I had slim fast and about 2 oz yogurt yesterday, today I had more yogurt (2 oz), 10 oz of milk, and am having tomato Soup now.. have had mabye 1/2 cup over almost an hour... my problem is I can't seem to tell if I'm full yet, but I don't feel hungry at all... even before eating. I think the pain is masking those "sensors"... anyone else experience that?

I was exactly the same way... even being wheeled into the OR the nurses commented on how relaxed I was... now I do have a huge issue with needles an I have a shock reflex to sharp pain, including needles (I'm a fainter), so I requested my hand to be numbed before the IV... which meant another needle -- that one made me sick, the numbing wore off, but I didn't even fell the IV. I can't even accuse my parents of xanexing my gatorade because I live alone. LOL. But I do think my pre-op relaxation is helping how I feel now that I'm post op... just pain at surgery site (and burping pain) but doing otherwise MUCH better than I anticipated.

It couldn't hurt if you did... I was so-so on my preop diet... was pretty good with my partial liquid diet, had a few slip-ups (forced going out to lunch 3 times - but still mostly healthy) and my surgeon said there was no problem, that it was a textbook and easy procedure. Starting early, and sticking to it could only help :thumbup:

I actually went out shopping a little today... I have a lot of pain on my left side, where my biggest incision is, and laying down, sitting down, and getting in and out of cars/up and down sitting or bed is really painful (at times I feel like my insides are tearing!) the rest of the time I'm ok... i know it's only been one day since surgery, bit I'm already dreading returning to work... I'm scheduled to return Tues 10/12 but don't know how that's going to work... If I could stand up and work, or work from a tall stool it would be easier, but I can't... cubicle dweller here... so I don't know If i will go back that soon... that and I dont think I will be cleared to drive by then. 2- week follow up scheduled 10/18!

Personally I'd be uncomfy not meeting the surgeon beforehand. And while the single-incision surgery can be more aesthetically pleasing, is 4 small scars (which may be invisible in the end) really worth the hastle of travelling then having to scrounge around for someone to do your fills, who may not be fully abreast on your case? Especially considering each surgeon's number of procedures performed that way is so low. My surgeon said she sees me every 6 weeks for the first year, and each appointment there will likely be some adjustment.. she said 4-6 fills year one, then depending on progress 2-3 the next year and maybe 1 or 2 the third year -it all depends on your progress and how you tolerate food. best of luck... in your case I'd lean towards the Seattle guy - just because if you need to be seen immediately for any reason, you can be

One thing you'll realize on these boards is there is no such thing as a given time frame. My doctor forgot to fax in the referral. Twice. Once I was out of his control, and only with the surgeon's group it went very fast... they faxed in all req's on 8/17 ish and I was approved by 9/2 (I have BCBS but HMO/Federal Employee/CA).

I just did mine... was supposed to be 2 oz of Milk of Magnesia, but it was thick and I have a sensitive gag reflex ... held it down for about 5 minutes then vomited it up (sorry, TMI I know) so then I had to run to the drugstore and get Magnesium Citrate which was akin to hte nastiest cherry soda I have ever had, but easier to drink, and supposedly stronger that MOM anyway... For me, my diet ALL DAY was "clear liquids" which could also include apple, grape, or cranberry juice and Jello. I have had a LOT of Jello today, LOL but am so far fine... it's almost midnight, so i'm getting in my last few sips of Water... My only problem today was I accidentally took one of my gummy vites at 10 pm and didn't chew very well so I guess I technically ate something, but I don't think it will be a big deal, the Mag-Cit pretty much flushed me out... never quite experienced anything like that. I just hope I'm empty enough... I dont see how anything could be left... Saturday all I had all day was a 2 slim fasts and 1/2 a chicken club sandwich, Sunday all I had was Slim Fast and today nothing but iced tea, juice and jello. Best of luck to all!

Thanks! I thought so, but when reading the bottle... things got all confused :smile2:

My Original surgery date was Fri 10/8, (which was an alternate holiday since I don't work Mondays), and I planned to take the entire next week off... this would have given me 11 straight days off (including surgery day) and I was sure this would be enough time. My surgery was moved to Tuesday 10/5 and am still taking that entire week off, but so far not planning on the next week... this will give me 7 days off (not counting day before surgery, which I don't work anyways), and while logically i think it should be enough time, I'm hesitant... but I can always take an extra day or two on the back end if I need to... My mom's cubicle neighbor at work had Lap Band around 3 years ago and was back at work 4 days later. She said the worst part was the first few days while the gas dissipates, and advised to wear very loosefitting clothing (i.e. dresses) and granny panties afterward... she said waistbands and especially underwear rubbing against the incisions was the absolute worst).... everyone heals differently, and I tend to heal slowly so we'll see.

Stupid Vitamin question -- I can't take my Centrum Women's Multivitamin for a while after the surgery - they are just too huge (as it is they get stuck in my throat occasionally now), even if I break in half, they're still big but doable... but to be on the EXTREME safe side I'm switching to all chewable Vitamins for the first 30 days or so (except Iron, it's tiny - i have gummy Bcomplex, Calcium and got Flinstones Complete) So, here's the question - most people and one page in my Pre-Op info booklet says TWO Flinstones vitamins but the bottle says for adults (and kids over 4) to take one whole vitamin... i know it won't hurt to do 2, but don't want to overdo it if I dont have to... anyone know?????