I was just banded in Las Vegas last Thursday, July 13th by Dr. Francis Teng. I was so excited about this and couldn't get it to happen fast enough, but now I am going crazy! I have read this site from time to time over the last few months while in the process and it has been a huge help to me, so I thought I'd turn to you guys for help now. I am SO HUNGRY and miserable right now that yesterday I was so wishing I could just undo this band I fought so hard to get. I am on clear liquids still - 3 x a day I am having 2 oz of broth & 2 oz. of sugar free jello, liquid vitamins and calcium, and sipping water, crystal lite, etc. I guess I wasn't prepared to be starving like this - I mean literally, my stomach growls so much it hurts. I also have unbelievable amounts of gas that don't seem to want to come out even with mylanta - and the bubbles seem to love to be in my shoulder and behind my port. I am so drained and just feel like a limp rag. I just didn't expect to be like this still. I thought I'd hang out with my kids (4 & 7 years old) and relax a bit, and it would be a mini-vacation for me. I am so tired of laying around and I have no energy to do anything. I also feel terrible for feeling this way after I wanted so much to have this surgery. I know it will be worth it later, but I am really struggling right now. I am usually so "tough" and able to deal with things so well, but I am a mess! What can I do to make the hunger, gas, uncomfortableness, lethargy, etc. go away or at least be more bearable? Does it get better when I switch to the thicker liquids? Is there anything else that I'm not prepared for to come? Please help this wimp out!!! Thanks!:help:

Hi, I was just banded on 7/17 (this Monday) and the gas pain is killing me as well. I am not hungry, but it may be to soon to tell... The gas moves all over my belly and I can not get it out. I just called my surgeon and he recommended Mylicon drops and/or Glycerin suppositories. I hope it works.!!!!! Let me know how you do, I hope you get better as well.:faint:

Sounds to me like you need some serious protein. It will help with the hunger and also the lethargy, feeling crummy kind of thing. Since you are still on clear liquid, I will just recommend to you, what I used myself. I bought it at GNC..I imagine most stores of that type have it. It is Zero Carb Isopure, it has 40g. of protein in one bottle. It is in a bottle like the Sobe drinks, and sells for around $3.00 a bottle. Don't buy tons, soon you will be able to drink shakes etc. I also ordered unflavored unjury powder, I get it at www.unjury.com . It comes very quickly once ordered. It has 20g. of protein per scoop, and can be added to brothes, jello, anything! The more protein you get at this point the better you will feel.

Try this and see if it doesn't get better! As for the gas, walking helps more than anything I hear. I sure do hope it gets better for you very quickly, I am sorry you feel so rough at this point, it WILL get better!! Hang in there!!!

Kat

I agree that you need some major protein added to your liquid diet.

Also get up and move around as much as possible.

Liquid protein and sugar free jello. You don't have restriction until your fills so if you are hungry eat. The protein shakes are the best resolution. Good luck.

Did your doctor restrict you to only 4 oz of liquids 3 times a day? If so that seems a little extreme. this si a time for healing, and your body needs as much Protein as it can take in. if you are hungry, drink some Protein Drink like Isopure, or some broth. there is no reason for you to sit around hungry. the lethargy is from not getting enough to survive on. you need that protein, esp while your body is healing. moving around will get that gas out. try some gas-x strips for the gas, and see if that helps.

Good luck!!!

:eek: You are tired because of the protein. The unflavored you can put in anything. When you go onfull liquids carnation instant breakfast sugar free is really good and you can do so much with it.Try some protein in broth,or jell-o.As for the gas lay on your left side and let it roll, ha ha. If you can walk do so even if it is inside your home.It does get better.

Look at the Before and After Picture thread for inspiration.

Thank you all for the advice. I went to see my Doctor today to find out if I could move on to the thicker liquids and add protein. I totally agree that having the protein makes more sense. It was my first venture out alone. I started off the morning so tired and not feeling very well. I barely made it there and then found out my surgeon got called out to help another surgeon try to save someone, so he wouldn't be back until later this afternoon. I was devastated. I rested in the waiting room and drank some cold water there before making the journey back home. It's like 112 here today and really humid (which is not normal in Vegas), so that didn't help anything. Anyway, I'll be going back this afternoon now. The nurses in the office think he will okay me to move onto to the next phase so I won't be so hungry and so I can get some protein - oh God, I hope so! The pain has finally gotten better, other than the occasional hurting. I didn't need any pain medicine yesterday or today at all. The gas seems a bit better also. Believe me, any time I think there's a chance of letting it out, I am not holding back - how gross! I so don't care right now and I've told everyone around me so there won't be any surprises when I let out a belch in front of everyone. My kids now just reply, "Nice one, Mom." Anyway, thanks again for the support and hopefully, I'll have better news this afternoon.

jdjjwoo Protein is extremely important but you also need some calories. The body does need some sugar for energy. Now don't get out the sugar bowl and start eating it. But try some skim milk with carnation instant breakfast. If you use one packet per cup of skim milk it will give you 220 calories and 14 Gms protein per 8 ounces.

Myra

I think Myra has a good point. I am diabetic and your symptoms remind me of my low blood sugar episodes.

Hope you are feeling better soon. Be careful not to dehydrate in the heat!

i also was out of control on the hunger issue. it would kill me to just smell the food my dh was fixing for the kids, i stood there and cried like a baby. hang in there it will get better, although i started on soft food before it was time, that seemed to be the only way to keep sane!!! the gas for me was horrible. i chewed on gas-x tablets and sat with a heating pad that seemed to help a little. i felt the same way about wishing it could be taken out!! but i have struggled with this and now finally can eat better, and have lost a total of 41lbs since my surgery on 4/19. when you start seeing some results you will feel much better about it. HANG IN THERE, it will get easier as time passes. its really hard to believe just how much food controls our lives until your starving to death( at least it feels that way!!) good luck on your journey.

Here are my suggestions. Since I just got banded on May 31st the initial phase is fresh on my mind. Add more food, specifically Protein. I didn't limit myself to any portion size or # of meals a day. I figured I need all the food I could get to recover from surgery. Losing weight will come later. I also found when I got to feeling hungry the gas pains would start. I used Gas-x in the strips. The gas still returns today if I get to feeling very hungry.

Move as much as possible. Each day will get better

I got to have Protein!!! I feel like a new woman tonight! I have no idea why the first week of my diet was set up like this - it makes absolutely no sense to me to so limit my intake and especially not to have any protein the first week I am healing from surgery. I saw my doctor this afternoon and told him I felt that I had to have some protein or I wasn't going to make it. He went ahead and okayed me to move on to phase 2 - full liquids. I stopped at GNC for the Isopure drink and have been sipping on it ever since. I also had a little bit of tomato soup for dinner and I seriously feel like a new person tonight! I can't believe what a difference it has made already. Even if I don't wake up tomorrow feeling as good as I do right now, I am so thankful for this moment of feeling like myself again. Thank you all for your encouragement and for pushing the protein on me! By the way, my doctor was excited that I lost 10 lbs. I told him that's what happens when you don't eat for a week. I'll be more excited about it later I'm sure and I know it's just the beginning of much more to come!!!

It does get better when you move onto thicker liquids and anything you can blend is fair game. I even blended things like spaghetti bolognaise with a can of tomatoes to make a soupy consistency, anything with a bit of real meat and some carbs in it will stop the hunger.

And there's really not need to even worry about calories or eating only x times per day or any of that. Just do what you can to get through this stage.