Hi All,

Wow what an informative site. I am going to be banded on 3/24. It took me a while to decide. I work in the operating room and in November of 2002 our O.R. decided to start doing WLS. I was involved in getting the program started and have seen first hand the pros and cons for both the Band and the RNY. Quite a few of my friends that work other places in the hospital have had the band done, so for the last year or so I have sat back and watched their progress and wished I had had the guts just to do it back then. My friends are elated and have done very well and I have finally decided to take the leap and get banded myself. :Bunny Now that the date is nearing I find myself getting a little frightened but completely excited. I have a couple of questions I was wondering if someone could answer. How long did it take to feel better/regain energy after surgery? How soon did you go back to work? After the week of fluids, how did you eat? Did you puree the meals that you cook for your family? Any other helpful hints would be wonderful. Thanks for being here, even though we are all over the nation, it's nice to know you are all just an email away.

Hello and welcome, yes, this is a wonerful site for sure. I was banded 1/13/04, I returned to work 2 weeks later. I wish I had stayed out for a few more days. ( I am 48 ) I was on full liquids leaving the hospital. My hubby bought me a hand held blender, so I added a little water and ate what I was in the mood for. I was going to buy some baby food, but, didn't need to. Eat lots of salads and raw veggies before surgery, I so missed them during the full liquid and soft food stage. Good luck and welcome to future bandland................Gabby

Hi there, um, n2b42L! (Do you have another name? That's kinda clunky. )

Welcome and congratulations on your decision! I love to hear about medical people choosing the band because it brings home the point about its relative safety.

Now to your questions: I was banded on Wednesday and home the same day (before 2:00 p.m.!) It took me until Sunday to feel really "over" the surgery--I'm sure that's because of the anaesthesia. Physically I was pretty much totally mobile by Friday, although my head was still very foggy.

I went back to work on Monday and had no problems. Of course, I have a desk job so it was easy. For the first two weeks I was on full liquids and soft foods, and I didn't have trouble with it at all. I used it as an excuse to eat all the exotic things my family doesn't like, such as goat cheese, hummus, and tzatziki. The idea of pureeing regular food made me retch just to think about it, so I didn't do that. I just ate something different from the rest of my family for a while.

Solid foods were just a take-it-slow proposition. It was hard--and still is, after a lifetime of bolting food--to take it bite by bite and really listen to my body, but I'm working on it.

Thanks Gabby and Alexandra, The idea of taking this time to allow yourself the luxury of eating all those things that your family doesn't like is a great way to get through the first couple of months that, from what I have read, seem to be a little tough. I will take your advice and eat as much salad as I can before I get banded - I love salad and I'm sure I will miss it also. Sorry about the name, I couldn't think of one so I had my husband and daughter make one up for me. Should have just used my name like I was going to. Can you change your user name?

Hi Kathy!

No reason to change your "handle," really. Now that we know your name is Kathy that's what we'll use!