hi im new to this so bear with me..but would like to others who have had the lap band...i just wonder if it is normal to still be swollen and have a little left sided pain? and please give me some good ideas on what to eat!!

I was banded on Dec 23rd and still have some swelling near my port site. I do have some gas once in a while left in my breast bone and left shoulder too. Not anything bad though. I'm still on protein shakes, broth, jello, vitamin water, water and popsicles. I see my surgeon next Thursday and will be able to start mushie food next Friday. I have a question for you. Have you gone back to work yet? I'm taking next week off just to make sure all my inside trama has some more time to heal. Hope to hear from you soon.

I was banded a year ago. Take it slow your port sight may hurt for a few months due to it being sewed in to the muscle this is normal. Also sometimes if you are having shoulder pain it can be a sign you are eating too much. I would stick to protein shakes, jello, liquids, sugar free popsicles until they up your diet. You will find out there are many pains and sometimes the gas never goes away that is part of the band and the digestive tract. You make gas ex your best friend but pain is part of the surgery and your port sight might hurt for a while.

I was banded on the 21st and the biggest problem I have is coughing. I also feel run down too. I went to work this last Wednesday and Thursday and left because lack of energy. I think a lot of it had to do with dehydration too. I start mushies this Wednesday along with cheese dishes. The liquid diet hasn't been that bad, this week I had opaque liquids and oatmeal. I am concerned about losing weight too fast. At this rate I should be 20 pounds down in a month. Even though that is one quarter of my goal, I don't want too much skin left over. Plus its bad on your liver to lose weight to quickly.

I like butternut squash Soup and red pepper and tomato soup with lowfat sour cream. After a week of apple juice and Jello, these were quite tasty. I found a website with some interesting recipes I will try next Wednesday:

www.lap-band-surgery-site.com/weight-loss-surgery-recipes.html

Good luck with you band.