hi alll! i'm very new the the community and thought id start a new thread...

my name is shalina and im from melbourne australia. i started out on tuesday (28th or november 2006) with removal of the gall bladder and the lap band surgery at the same time. these are my stats so far...

height: 171cm or 5'7"

weight: 158.9kgs or 349 pounds

five days later i am now 151.3kgs or 332 pounds. i cant believe it!! im still really sore from the op and find it hard to cough, sneeze and take deep breaths (is this normal??).

im writing cause im finding it quite hard. a heck of a lot harder than i thought it would be. im in the liquid stage, and i have a small small cup of Soup and then feel satisfied, but 15 mins later im hungry like ive been starving for weeks... the pain is unbelievable! has this happened to anyone else? i feel like im just eating and eating every 15-30 mins... i wish i could just have some toast or something that will last longer in my stomach.

is this all normal? will it pass? or is this my life from now on?

thanks heaps people!

Hi Shalina, first off, welcome to LBT! What kind of soup are you eating? If you are getting hungry only 15 minutes after eating, you may not be getting enough Protein. Have you tried any Protein shakes? When I was in the liquid stage, I found they made a huge difference for me. You also might try going to our food forum;

http://www.lapbandtalk.com/forumdisplay.php?f=9

There are stickies there with food suggestions for every stage of the process. You might find something there that will stick with you better and keep you feeling full and satisifed longer.

In terms of pain, it is different for everyone. I felt awful for about two weeks. And yes, it hurt to take deep breaths, etc. But I promise, it will get better. And, remember, that while you are seeing significant weight loss immediately after your surgery, that may not continue, especially once you are back on regular food. The time immediately following your surgery is for healing, not losing. The real losing will come once you begin getting your fills and start feeling true restriction. You will find the hunger will go away then too.

Good luck to you!

Wow,

I have had my gallbladder removed as well as the band put in, but not at the same time. I guess that is actually pretty cool to get them both over with at the same time. Take care of yourself. You have a wonderful journey ahead of you. You are in pain because of the gallbladder removal. The lapband surgery for me was not near as painful. Keep taking your pain meds. I would also keep drinking your liquids. Try protein drinks.

Also, my doc stressed that the first month or so after surgery was about healing. And to not stress over losing weight. He said if you lose weight during this time that it is a bonus. So try to focus on that and drink plenty of liquids, even if it is juices. I ate a lot of sugar free jello and sugar free popsicles.

Hang in there. It will be over soon and you will have other hurdles to jump over. lol

After you get past the first few weeks, it becomes a wonderful journey.

The hunger bit is completely normal...I was really worried about that too...I was hungry ever 30min or so...

The pain bit is also completely normal I spen hours crying on my couch for two weeks after it because of the pain in the shoulder...fortunately my mom was there to help me with the kids...

My dr also told me the first 4 weeks are about healing not loosing weight so don't fret your time to go down on the scales will come...

keep us posted!