beergut

28 here, got banded on the 14th.

I just started mushy foods yesterday, and it was amazing ! I started with some pureed black bean Soup and it was heaven ! I have been losing anywhere from 3/4 to 1 lb a day on the all liquid stage, so I'm down about 25 lbs since starting pre-op up until this point. I'm not worried about slowing down my weight loss or even gaining some back at this stage. I know I don't have any restrictions in my band, and this phase is really to just get my body healed up and ready for a fill. I haven't even started exercising again. I'm trying to stick to 1250-1500 calories as anything under 1200 calories and your body goes into starvation mode. Enjoy getting off liquids, it's fantastic...

I've felt something "there" before when lying down on my back. It was sort of uncomfortable as well. I thought it was maybe the port line ? Not sure how that is run from the band to the port site, maybe not. But I have felt something there, I'm two weeks post-op today so. I haven't felt it in about a few days, it's gone away.

Yesterday, I took a 4 lb chuck roast, cubed it, and threw it in my crockpot all day w/ carrots, onions and celery. After about 8 hrs on low, it was very mushy. But just in case, I put about a cups worth into the food processor. It didn't look pretty, but it was damn good, and filling. Very easy and a ton of servings.

I took colace gel tabs fine 2 days after surgery. Go for it, they aren't that big and you shouldn't have any liquid in your band.

Do you feel any restriction ?

I always mix my Protein shakes with skim milk. Makes them much more tolerable. It gets much better. I'm 10 days out from being banded and my only complaints are my port site incision is still a bit sore, and my steri-strips haven't fallen off yet so I can start using my kelo-cote scar treatment. Other than that, I got a little overzealous with some black bean Soup tonight and felt queasy a bit on the car ride home, but I think I ate a bit too fast...

Yeah, I thought mine would fall off soon, but they're still hangin on pretty good. It's been almost 9 days for me.... I mean they look fine and they don't smell ( at least, I think they don't, I can't really bend over that far to sniff, ya kno? ) so I guess they'll be there for a while. My post op isn't until January 6th.

8 full days after being banded, my port site incision is still a bit sore. The rest are okay, a bit itchy though sometimes. However, sometimes I get some pretty serious spasms and twitches in the incisions that kind of hurt a little. anyone experience this kind of behavior ?

For the first few days after surgery, I felt a restriction, but I guess that was just my swollen stomach. Now almost a week out, I'm downing water like nothing, finishing soups fast, and taking horse pills with reckless abandon ! It's normal, you have no liquid in your band. Some folks feel restriction right away, some need fills. That's why they make the bands adjustable.

I couldn't stop going as well, it was just hard for me. My abdominal muscles still haven't recovered I don't think, or they've lost their muscle memory or something. I might talk to my surgeon about it at my follow up in a few weeks. I only gained 5 lbs of weight from the hospital stay, it was gone from peeing the following day...

Lots of Dr's are different. It appears that there are tons of different ways to go about post op diets and whatnot. It looks like your Dr has taken more of an atkins approach to the post op diet. If nothing gets stuck, awesome ! I would probably prefer that kind of post op diet instead of the 2 week liquid, 2 week mushy post op that I'm following. I figure I might as well follow my Dr's orders to the letter, I've gotten this far....

I started peeing a few hours after surgery, probably 3 or 4... but it wasn't like a full stream or anything, it was an embarrassing dribble. I probably made a mess, but I was so doped up I didn't really care... It's kind of annoying since it affects the way I pee, BM, and uhhh, ejaculate

I think I might know what you're going through. When I first got out of surgery and tried to pee, I had a trouble. I also had trouble taking a BM. It seems as those the muscles you use have lost their "muscle memory" or at least that is my theory. I can't really "bear down" to take a BM, I just have to kind of wait it out. I think it has to do with the way they cut into the abdomen. I know it's a real pain...

I'm not sure how carbonation can erode the band, considering the band is OUTSIDE of your stomach. But I understand the theory that carbonation inside can "stretch" the pouch above where your band sits, thus defeating the purpose. I think most Dr's will tell you no, never when they know it probably doesn't have much of an effect, it's just another way of limiting ways of drinking calories. I switched to diet coke years ago, and a regular coke is way too sugary for me now. I doubt I'll drink much diet soda in the future, if I'm going to "cheat" with carbonation, it's going to be with my namesake

I think the real title of your post should be, Dear Reese's Pieces... I love you. I know I do, ha, they're amazing. I guess with everything you gotta moderate. There's no reason why you can't have some pieces every now and again. I wouldn't want to live a life in which I couldn't enjoy foods occasionally. We are all here because we have made a conscious choice to try to get our weight under control. What is the point if you're going to be miserable, though? Use them as rewards. Have a good week at the gym and reward yourself. I don't think there's anything wrong with that.

I was banded on the 14th and my gas pains are intermittent. Though, right now my left shoulder is CRUSHING me. I need to get up and walk around, but I don't have anywhere to go except up and down my hallway. It feels like someone is hammering a chisel between my shoulder blades. At times it can be excruciating. But that is what pain meds are for !

I can tell you that my favorite alcohol beverage is... beer ? Although, I get very mixed responses when asking people, Dr's, etc... about carbonation. My nutritionist said it was okay in moderation, and that the carbonation shouldn't really be a problem after 6 months. Some people say you can never sip a diet coke or beer ever again. If getting healthy means I have to sacrifice beer for the rest of my life, so be it, but I wouldn't mind the occasional microbrew every now and again...

Banded almost 5 days and i'm a bit concerned about my steri=strips. I try not to get them too wet when I shower, but it's kind of inevitable. I don't want them coming off, but I don't see them last but a few more days. My post-op with my surgeon isn't until January 6th. Should I try to an alternative or see what the surgeon thinks?

Everyone is singing the praises of Miralax... So I gave it a whirl. I took 1 dose last evening around 7pm. Nothing. Took another dose this morning around 6 AM... nothing. Took another with my Protein shake at 12 noon... nothing. How long does this stuff take ? It's been almost 4 full days since my last BM and I'm starting to get a bit antsy...

Went out and bought some Mirilax and downed a capful with my soup and.... nothing ! It's just making my stomach rumble all sorts of something serious.. actually a little nauseous. This normal?

Maybe, but that's good right? I don't feel hungry at all, I do get the same grumbling when liquid first hits, but then I have to force myself to finish my shake. I guess it's good that I don't feel hungry. I've already lost about 4lbs since surgery on Tuesday and I'm staying hydrated.

Was banded on Tuesday and I've still got some gas every now and then... I wish the weather wasn't so terrible here or I'd go for a nice long walk...

I had a 2PM banding and it wasn't that bad not to eat anything after midnight. Just had a big Protein shake at 11:30. I was antsy/nervous most of the morning

So it's been about 2.5 days since my last BM. Was banded on Tuesday @ 3PM, last BM was Tuesday morning. I've been drinking nothing but protein shakes, and have started to feel better, but haven't had a BM. I've taken Colace yesterday and this morning. I definitely feel some gurgling, but nothing much else. At what point should I be concerned? I don't think I'm dehydrated at all, either...