Hi everyone! Well, I got banded on May 18th and am officially on post op day 6! Please let me know if you have any questions at all about your upcoming date:) I had a HUGE hiatal hernia to repair at the same time so did unfortunately have to spend the night in the hospital! I was a floor nurse a long time ago and knew I would be up all night lol! I got up the same day and ran laps around the surgical floor even though I DID NOT FEEL LIKE IT! Trust me, it is the best thing you can do.

I have been on a full liquid diet ever since surgery and tomorrow will advance to pureed for two weeks, then soft food. I have trouble getting down enough fluids but have been getting my protein in. I broke down and bought Isopure ($4/bottle) which has low cals and 40 gm protein. I still feel pretty bloated, especially in the morning. I feel completely normal in the evenings.

I have been sleeping pretty good at night! My only problems are my dogs!!

I went back to work today, 6 days after surgery and am doing fine. Was a little tired, but that is to be expected.

I am trying to set some weight loss goals but not really sure how to begin. Anyone with some good suggestions?

Take care everyone!!

:tongue2:

Congratulations! :tongue2:

I was also banded on May 18th and went back to work today. I am on full liquids for a week and then move to mushies for two weeks.

Is anyone else starving at times? I was fine while I was home doing nothing, but today at work I was constantly having to drink milk, juice, tea, eat Soup, thinned out cream of wheat. . whatever I could.

Lisa- I was so proud of myself and was thinking..."wow, I'm not hungry at all." Well, today is a completely different story!! I think the swelling has gone down and I am STARVING!! LOL! Before it would take me several hours to choke down a protein drink (Isopure) but now I got it down in an hour and I am hungry for food:) Today is the day I actually advance to pureed for two weeks and I am nervous! I think I will stick with easy to process foods like mashed potatoes, apple sauce etc...

I was also banded on May 18th and went back to work today. I am on full liquids for a week and then move to mushies for two weeks.

Is anyone else starving at times? I was fine while I was home doing nothing, but today at work I was constantly having to drink milk, juice, tea, eat soup, thinned out cream of wheat. . whatever I could.

Funny you should say this, I was banded 5/19 and have noticed this the past two days. Both times it was because I was busy with work or in a meeting and I left too much time between meals (shakes). I think two things are happening - the swelling is going down and being at work sometimes makes it harder to eat at regular intervals. Timing is everything when you are on a restricted diet, you just can't let yourself get too hungry by delaying a meal.

In any case, I'm with you - the hunger has started to return a bit. But we've all read about "Bandster Hell" and I think that we'll need some of the willpower and strength we showed in the pre-op diet phase to get us through until our first fills.

Congrats everyone on the surgery, it's pretty cool to be on the other side, eh?

I got banded on May 21st. It has been rough. I still feel like I have indigestion all the time. Today was the first day that I could actually go out for more than 20 mins. Just riding in the car makes me hurt. I was hoping I would be better. I am suppose to be going back to work on the 1st and hope that I get better. I am barely able to get the liquids down and getting the full amount of protein, calories, and liquids seems impossible. I can barely get down the clear liquids and I should be starting on full liquids. Even when I do get down my liquids I still feel hungry, but bloated at the same time. I pray that I made the right decision. I can't wait to be skinny(er) but I hope that it hasn't slipped or anything.

I got banded on May 21st. It has been rough. I still feel like I have indigestion all the time. Today was the first day that I could actually go out for more than 20 mins. Just riding in the car makes me hurt. I was hoping I would be better. I am suppose to be going back to work on the 1st and hope that I get better. I am barely able to get the liquids down and getting the full amount of Protein, calories, and liquids seems impossible. I can barely get down the clear liquids and I should be starting on full liquids. Even when I do get down my liquids I still feel hungry, but bloated at the same time. I pray that I made the right decision. I can't wait to be skinny(er) but I hope that it hasn't slipped or anything.

I've read lots of people's stories and everyone reacts differently. It is surgery, so the best thing to do is to let yourself heal on your own time and to call your doc if you think anything doesn't feel right. I've read stories on here where people took weeks to recover, and others where they didn't even have to take pain meds (!?!) and were up and about later the same day. My doctor's office recommended 2-4 weeks off from work, for what that's worth. As for band slippage, that's always a possibility, but they'll do a scan of you at your followup appt and be able to tell if there has been any. My guess is just that you are healing and the swelling is still subsiding, which is making getting your protein and fluids down a bit hard.

I've also read a lot about post-band regret on here, and it always seems that it goes away once you are healed and over the trauma of surgery, and when your life is back to its regular cycle. I bet that going back to work will help, and I bet you'll feel a lot better in 4 days than you do now - you're just 6 days post-op, so be easy on yourself! You can do this.

Hope that helps, and congratulations on getting your surgery and taking care of your health long-term - we should all be proud of ourselves for making this decision and following through.

I'm a couple weeks out now. Trust me - it gets better, every day. Try to take it easy, and get lots of sleep at night. I swear there was a significant difference every time I woke up in the morning. Pain is hard to cope with. I'm still getting some port pain, but it has subsided tremendously. There are lots of ups and downs with ANY surgery. Healing happens in time. And I went from no hunger whatsoever to feeling STARVING - crazy! Everything is a learning curve - just be patient and kind to yourself.

I got banded on May 18th also. Im down 28lbs. The starving is always there. I eat it goes away for an hour then back to starving. I can drink water/chrystal and it does nothing. Im thinking its time for the first fill. I get that on the 30th. Its so hard at times. But I have faith that I will make it thru this.

I got my first fill a week and a half ago - it def. makes a difference!!

Got my first fill today. Down 34 lbs since surgery on the 18th of May =)

you all are doing so great! Can't wait to hear how you are doing now. I'm still not restricted enough to notice, maybe the next fill.