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I had a massage 2 weeks post-op, but I had a remarkably easy, trouble-free, nearly pain-free recovery after the first 3 or 4 days.

I had thoughts just like you. I could give myself a million reasons not to finally go through with WLS. Not sure if I could handle it. Not sure if it could handle me... But it wasn't until I started having physical limitations that kept me from walking in a grocery store without crying from horrific back pain after only a 5 minute walk from the parking lot into the store. I got to the point where I was using a handi-capped plaquard in order to get close to the front door of the store, so I could ride around in one of those stupid go-cart to go grocery shopping. On top of all of that, I had an extreme thyroid condition, hypertension and pre-diabetes, (none of which was getting any better either). I had lots of swelling in my legs daily that created permanent red marks circling my shins. I think it was either the beginnings of lymphedema or some kind of ulceration that was happening. I went to a Chiropractor, an Orthopedic specialist and a Pain Management specialist with 3 years of medical care. The chronic pain I was experiencing was getting worse, not better. I finally had to do something. I knew in my heart that if I lost weight, some of these issues would get better. So I finally made the commitment and I'm very happy to say that after all the hard work I went through these last three years, it pales in comparison of what has happened in only the last month since my post-op. It took several months of planning, and along the way, I slowed down my eating habits before my pre-op and managed to lose 18 lbs before my pre-op. I lost 5 lbs during pre-op and an additional 20 lbs. post-op. What more important is that some of the horrific and painful physical issues have gotten better. My diabetes issue is gone, my hypertension is just about gone and will be med free soon. My thyroid, well, that will always be an issue, but it is better under control and less dosage on the meds. My back pain? WOW!... I haven't had to take a muscle relaxer or pain meds since the surgery. The swelling in my legs is gone. It's much easier to walk around. And even though I still park close to the store, I can now walk through the store with no problem. I still feel the stress, but it's not enough to stop me from walking. If I had any doubts before the surgery, I must have been out of my mind, because the results have been more successful than 3 years of physical therapy without the surgery. So... for me? This was a no brainer. Wheelchair bound, or freedom of walking. WLS was the best thing I could have ever done for myself and for my health. Hope this is a help to you.

Well my surgery is coming up May 1st to be exact and im starting to have mixed felling and cold feet. Im on the liquid portion of the pre op diet now and im having a bit of a strug;e but m sticking with it. But the factor of being on liquids for 5 weeks (2 wks before 3wks after) is getting to me. Thier is only so many ways that you can mix a protien shake. Not only that I am reading allot of stories on this sight from people that thier band is not working. This one girl has had it for 2 1/2 years and have only lost 50 pounds...I scared that im risking my life and it's a possiability that it's not worth it... I say risking my life because ANY surgery for me can be my last. I have been through allot over the last past 5 yrs and i just want something to come out right. Honestly im not that girl that want to loose a ton of weight, but i need it due to my health condition.. Maybe im just having cold feet.....

Hello and welcome. I am currently on my 2 week pre-op diet. my surgery is on week from today...aug 16th. I work in the same field as you (i'm a psych tech) and i have suffered with hypoglycemia as well. i havent had any problems so far with this on the diet. I did get some sugar free popsicles and fudge pops as well as sugar free Jello to help me through the cravings. I'm sure the hard candy..as long as its sugar free wont be bad, but i would ask your surgeon about the juice. it might spike that blood sugar a little to much, as well as take you out of ketosis. i have been cranky on this diet, but it usually is around the times that i have to prepair food for my family to eat, and relize that i wont be able to eat anything for weeks. lol ....good luck to you, welcome again, and im sure you will do great!

Hi all! I'm new to this forum. I have some concerns about the pre-op diet. I have to be on a strict liquid diet of protein shakes for two weeks, and it's limited to 800 calories. I tend to get symptoms of what may be hypoglycemia when I get hungry, so I worry about this. The symptom I worry about most is the really irritable mood and fogginess. I work in the mental health field, which means a very high stress job. I don't want to snap at people! Will the doctor know I've cheated if I drink a little juice or have a hard candy or something to bring my blood sugar back up??

The last time I needed a fill, I was eating about 1 and 1/4 cup food, and getting hungry between meals and snacking. Right now, I'm only eating 3/4 cup food, but I lways get hungry between meals now and am snacking between meals as a result, to hold me over (trying to stick to healthy snacking, but its still adding too many calories). I was just wondering if others get hungry between meals when they need a fill, even if they aren't eating a whole lot more than half a cup. My doctor seems a bit strict on giving fills if you are eating less than a cup, but I'm hungry often. I swear it's generally not head hunger, though I have experienced that (head hunger to me feels more like a craving, actual hunger more in my stomach). The lack of hunger just doesn't seem to last long lately... perhaps a couple of hours. Also, I'm NEVER getting any kind of stuck feeling or caught in the stomach feeling. I used to get it occassionally for a second or two if I rushed things or carelessly swallowed a large chunk. I THINK I'm just stopping too early or something at the hint of satisfaction and it's the food moves through too fast. So in short, do you ever need a fill due to getting hungry too soon rather than just eating too large amounts? Is the band tricking me into stopping eating before I get enough of the 'full' sensation to keep me satisfied long enough? I'm not losing very much weight anymore either. I do need to exercise more, but at the same time, I'm still doing some and making healthy food choices... but I'm eating pretty often the past couple of weeks. It's solid foods (mostly chicken and various veggies and such) and I'm not drinking for a little bit before and for at least 30 mins after and I try to stretch that to an hour if im not too thirsty. Thanks for your advice. I just dont want to go into my doctor and be denied a fill or anything. It just seems like I should be eating larger quanties if I needed a fill. I've only had two fills that gave actual restriction, with the last one giving me the most. I'm still kind of getting used to this fill stuff. Oh, and I've lost about 22 pounds since my last fill about 9 weeks ago. More than the 2lb/wk. Most of my weight loss was in the beginning though.

Same here.... I called to schedule a fill and they cant get me in until the 15th... Always before they got me in the next day! Aahhhh two weeks! I am going to have to take up mountain climbing or something to combat all the food I'm eating! Okay, it's a ton less food than pre-banding, but it's still no fun to slow down on the loss journey.. plus I dont like getting hungry so often. It was so nice to be happy with a few meals and a Protein drink. :crying: They said to try calling back to check for cancellations so I might do that... Woot! A cancellation! I'm getting on the 8th. Thanks goodness.

Now that I'm finished grieving for the time being, I thought it may be a good time to post. About a week post-op, I went through a serious mourning period, with all the doubts and questions. I finally realized that pre-band, food was my best friend. With the band, I just can't have that relationship anymore (which, after all, is the whole point of the band). For some reason, I didn't realize how much it was going to impact me post op. What did I do? Why did I make it so that I can't enjoy my main source of pleasure anymore? About 24 hours later, I had to lay it all out for myself again. I did it because food was destroying me. My weight made my injured knee useless. I could barely walk. I hated the way I look, so I was always depressed. I did this so that I can feel good again, so that I can take long walks again.. so that I can be HAPPY again. It will be worth it, I just have to tell my old friend goodbye, especially since it was destroying me one mouthful at a time.:wink:

As much as I couldn't wait for real food, I was also scared about having an episode; like the ones we read about. Because of that, I ate SO slow, and my bites were extra tiny. I paid close attention to how each bite felt, and little by little, I found my comfort zone. Certain things didn't feel good. They didn't make me sick, but I just didn't like the way they felt; made me a bit nauseous. So I excluded those things, and stuck to what felt comfortable. All the ground meats worked very well. Eggs, sort of hit & miss. Sometimes (even three months out), if I eat them in the morning, I'll taste them for hours. Not sick, just grossed out. Just a suggestion..... On the fruits & veggies, make sure the veggies are cooked until they're very soft. Fruit and vegetables have been tricky for me. Some cause immediate discomfort as soon as they hit my stomach. You'll be fine! It's okay to be a little scared, because that will help keep you focused on what you need to do. In the beginning, all of the teeny tiny slow eating helped me to retrain myself. If I'm preoccupied while eating, I may forget, but only momentarily. Good luck!

For those that did the 1 week liquid diet prior to surgery, how much weight did you loose during that week? I'm concerned about my BMI getting too low, so I'm curious! ????. Thanks!

Welcome! Go through my profile and read my blogs as I tried to post things as they happened. Basically I was self pay, but in Tijuana and did great. Pain for me was a lot of gassy pains, left shoulder, etc. Not everyone has pain! My Dad breezed through his as did my sis-n-law. Recovery, again some people 1 - 3 days, me a little longer, more like 2 weeks. It is a wonderful surgery, I would do it again today if I had too. Stay on this site and get support! Good luck!!

Hi ArizonaGirl, Being a self-pay, you may be a bandster by the end of next week. A relative of mine went that fast, but she had a gastric bypass. Anyway, I'll bet there are as many different stories about how people fared as there are people who have had the band put on. It seems to be so individual, as you will read on this site. Personally, I have been very fortunate. I was banded July 3. I took pain medication for about 2 days, mostly because they stressed at the hospital to take it when the pain was mild so that it wouldn't get out of control. Most of the pain came from the gas going to my shoulders and back, but walking helped, along with the medication. After a couple of days, I was pretty comfortable, if a little less than energetic. It's not nice to sneeze or cough, but it won't kill you. I went through the two-week liquid only diet and was really bored with it by the time I "graduated" but again, it wasn't that bad. I'm on soft foods now, and that really is easy. I'm beginning to get at least half of my Protein (70 grams required) from food like baked salmon and cottage cheese, and the rest I still get from a shake made with powdered protein. I got my protein in a 6-lb bag at costco. ($39.95 for the bag of 72 servings = $.55 per serving, which is a lot cheaper than most protein drinks) Mixed in a blender with some Splenda and ice cubes, it's not bad. I'm not feeling any restriction when I eat, so I probably eat larger bites that I should; and probably eat faster. I will regret it after my first fill and I get some restriction. I'm trying to change my eating habits, but it takes Concentration! Even though I don't seem to have any restriction, I am not terribly hungry. Head hunger gets to me sometimes, but I try to ignore it. It was three weeks Thursday since I got the band and I felt ready to go back to exercising (aqua exercises) last Monday. The doctor had said o.k. at my 2 week check, so that's my exercise. Hope this gives you an idea of what to expect, but remember, everyone is different. I wish you the luck that I've had.

i have never had a fill. i was banded in 2008 at 206lbs. my low weight was 185lbs. when i started to gain the doctor keep telling me i was fine that im building muscle. now i dont have insurance and im upto 212lbs; more than the day i was banded. this is depressing. i workout 3-4x a week (cycling, zumba, aqua fitness, etc.), eat a sensible diet and drink plenty of water. not sure what to think or what to do. i dont want to gain anymore!

I really only felt conspicuous the first three months or so (and you're in luck - we're in a pandemic, so not many people are meeting up for meals ANYWAY -- so it's likely to be just your family). After that, I could usually find something on any given menu that I could eat, and I'd usually order something like soup, chili, or an appetizer. If anyone said anything, I'd just say I wasn't that hungry. Although I have skinny friends who usually eat like that, so I rarely was asked. at this point, and really for the last three years, I eat pretty much like my never-been-obese women friends who are watching their calories. Sometimes if I'm not particularly hungry I'll still order something like soup or an appetizer - otherwise I'll order a "safe" entree and eat half of it. I'll take the other half to go and eat it the next day. if you're talking about meals with your family, that never bothered me. It's just me and my husband at my house. He ate his thing and I ate mine. After the first few weeks or so, we'd eat the same thing - but he'd eat more of it, of course - and I'd also give him something like a potato or rice with his.

Thanks guys and nice to meet you. I know there are a good number of women on thsi site so it is good to conenct with some guys since sometimes the weight loss can be a little different. Im excited about how its going and need to exert some will power for the next few weeks as I had not had a fill yet and am not getting as full. Done well the first two weeks, down 18.6 and now am exercising much more which helps. Thanks again. tom

I have been in the hospital for the past week with an abscess inside my incision but they didn't want to drain it because its smaller... now after the daily antibiotics it shrunk. They said it could have came from a micro leak because there is no sight of a leak right now. And it closed itself or contained itself. So who had an abscess without a leak and did it leave without drainage? ?? Thank you

hey guys, my dm was doing well post op (when my intake was zilch)...but i've been having fasting levels around 140...and my weight loss has stalled...i'm calling my endocrinologist and bariatric dietician.... but wondering if anyone has experience with this phenomenon/// also i've got to ditch my glucophage...even cracked in to 4 pieces and with little restriction it gets painfully stuck....i'm gonna try januvia + glimiperide 2.0mg did today and felt a little shaky hypoglycemic at lunch....will keep you posted amanda

You can always drink plain Water. You don't have to use sweetener. As far as the Protein shakes, there are a lot of variety out there. Try different things. There are some unflavored ones that you can add to broth. I used Protein Shakes after surgery briefly. I had severe diarrhea from them them and had to stop them. I am able to get my protein goals daily without them. I am 3 weeks post op.

You're not alone. I didn't stay sick but since having the surgery 6 months ago I've had days where no matter what I did or ate I was just sick. It happens far less now though but I still have the occasional day. I did tell my doctor and you should as well but everyone is different. For me it was my new norm for a little while. Now it's been about two weeks since I've felt that way.

Okay so my surgery is June 3rd and i am freaking out !! I am so beyond excited but also very nervous!! Is there any tips on what liquids to drink the week before and after surgery?

I have the same thing. It has been about a week now. I called the doctor and he did not seem concerned asked me if I wanted to wait a couple days then come see him. I made an appointment but cancled it today as I decided maybe I was over reacting. I see him on the 23rd so will bring it up then just hoping it will go away.

CONGRATS LABS! Your doc will probably put you on a pre-op diet ... to drop some extra pounds to shrink you liver. You will probably be on the diet for about 2 weeks. But congrats girl and I am soooo happy for you. You will be on the banded side soon LOL. GOOD LUCK AND BLESSINGS 2 U!

So I Got my date today...February 28th!! it could have been the 21st but that's a little short notice for work!! 2 weeks, 2 days!! yay!!

One week post op and doing really well. I think I would be almost 100% but gas struck on Tuesday . I think I could walk to the moon and it woudn't help. Gas-x I'm not so sure about. But it will pass. I get to start soft foods tomorrow and regular food on 8/4/12. Had my first post op appointment yesterday and I am 7 lbs down. Lost 18 lbs pre op. Let me know how you are doing!! Have a fantastic weekend!! Stephanie

Today is a great day! Today I hit the 100lbs mark. I had my RNY on May 12th and as of my weight in today I've lost 100LBS. That is just over 3 months time. I'm doing great and eating healthy every day. I'm at around 700 calories per day and walk 2 miles every morning 5 days a week. I've just started to tone and lift light weights at the gym. I feel great and can't believe that i fit into an x-large shirt now..I was 3/4XL before. THis is the best decision I've made and have 0 regrets. I feel great and have so much more energy.