What items are essential in the first few weeks to have on hand?

Gas Strips

sugar free Jello

beef/chicken broths

protien shakes

etc?

Thanks I'm going shopping today and could really use the advice

I dont think you are suppose to have protein shakes until like day 5, ck with your doctor. But I found that hot apple cider help me tremendously. you can find it next to the hot cocoa mixes. I used both the regular and the sugar free. Lots of gasx chewables also or mylanta gas. I ate that like m&ms, but it helped with the pain. Good Luck and welcome to the other side! :-)

Fruit juice will help keep you hydrated. I was allowed full liquids after day 2. Cup of soup makes a cream of chicken that is pretty good. Also Tomato soup tastes pretty good. My Dr. told me gas X or Malox wouldnt help much because the gas wasnt in my stomach, it was in my abdomen, but I did take the strips and they did help some. Walking and time seem to work best. I am at post op day 9 and still have some gas, but not much. Good Luck !!

I stocked up on Gatorade and Vitamin Water in addition to some of the already mentioned items. For a little more substance, I drank the V-8 fusion juice.

Good luck and welcome to banderland!

I was just banded a week ago, so this is still very fresh in my mind lol.

Clear juices, like apple and white grape. Make sure they're "no sugar added" so there's less a risk of upsetting your tummy.

broth, low sodium is best so you don't retain fluids making the bloat feel even worse.

Skim Milk

sugar free Popsicles (they gave me these in the hospital)

Sugar free Jello

I'm sitting here drinking a Diet Snapple Rasberry tea right now, and it's delicious! The Diet Peach is really good, too.

Danon also makes these little 8oz bottles of Water. I absolutely love them, because it makes it very easy to grab one and keep track of my Fluid intake.

Oh don't forget a Multivitamin, too. I'd suggest chewable or liquid.

I did buy low salt broth and it was horrible. You will feel yucky enough without having your main source of sustanance taste disgusting. Buy the regular stuff trust me. Also buy stock instead of broth it tastes so much better. Did you get a diet plan from your doctor? Mine was Clear Liquids AND thin Protein sakes (just fat free milk and Protein powder, and sugar free pudding powder NO fruit) for the first week. Towards the end of the week I strained chicken noodle soup and drank the liquid tasted like heaven! Second week I could have full liquids: Soups like tomato and sweet red pepper (Pacific Brand is excellent often kept in the organic section. I found it in larger containers at costco which made it cheaper.) and thin Protein shakes. Buy the name brand Jello and fat free sugar free pudding cups they just taste better (and (I am a super cheapskate. My mother was mortified that after my first package ran out I did'nt buy the store brand.

If you have access to a Costco Premier ready to drink protein shakes are excellent (if you run a search you will see many people agree. I know I sound like a Costco commercial.

When you move to mushies. For protein I used a stick blender to mix up fruited low fat chobani greek yoghurt (higher in protein than regular yoghurt); add fat free milk if you think it is too thick. Fat free can be sour even with fruit so I added splendra.

First week of mushie I could have yoghurt and fat free cottage (with herbs is great) or ricotta cheese. I made a Italian bake cottage cheese and ricotta with smooth spagetti sauce. Tasted soooo good. Second week of mushies I could have egg whites. I measured a total of 3 oz egg whites and cottage cheese (cooked egg white and added cottage cheese at the end. I know it sounds crazy but by this point this stuff will taste like the best thing you have ever eaten.

I really suggest ThermaCare back/shoulder heat pads. You may get left shoulder pain from the laprascopic surgery. It's actually pain from your phrenic nerve along your diaphragm that resolves as left shoulder pain.

I second the gatorade.. get the G2 version, which is lower in calories. Post-op is not about dieting or really watching calories; it's about healing, However, there is a lot of sugar in regular Gatorade. Crystal Light is also a good option. Pacific Organic makes a French Onion broth that I really like. It tastes like french onion soup if you get sick of chicken or beef broth.

My advice is not to overbuy-- I went a little crazy with the broth and ended up not being hungry/not being able to eat much during my liquid stage so a lot of it expired before I could use it. This stage is so individual-- a lot of people seem to be very hungry but I was not at all so I really didn't need to buy as much as I did.