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Major Restriction: A blessing or curse?



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Did anyone else experience feeling majorly restricted in the very beginning? I'm 5 days out and still sipping away on the Clear liquids. Tomorrow I'm supposed to go to full liquids but honestly I'm not sure how I'm going to get anything worthwhile down. My surgeon did not put any fill in on surgery day, so maybe I am just really swollen? Warm liquids go down slightly better than cool, and I'm losing weight, but I'm pretty sure its Water weight since I'm having such a hard time with the liquids. Each sip just feels like it takes 10 minutes to go through and I feel lots of pressure in my chest if I take too big of a sip.

Any thoughts??

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i totally feel you. we are banded the same day. I am having similiar problems, but not quite as bad. keep me posted on what helps for you. i can use whatever advice i can get

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I was really restricted for about a week and a half. It is because your stomach is swollen from the trauma of surgery. As time progresses, the swelling will go down.

My problem was that I quit trying to get anything down. That was really bad for me because I ended up dehydrated which led to kidney stones a month later. So keep sipping what you can even though it takes a bit to go down. It gets better. Good luck and I look forward to seeing your progress.

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I wasnt as restricted as you sound, which hopefully will ease off for you, but I had major restriction for about 9 weeks after my surgery, past my first fill. It was a blessing, I went with it with everything I had, I lost 15kg in that time and it was my most steady, fastest weight loss. I couldnt imagine how anyone could NOT lose in the after surgery period but I know that not everybody has the same experience. I experienced NO hunger and major satisfaction for hours from a cup of thick Soup.

Its ironic because I have never had "good" restriction since but I've had enough to work with. I've never PB'd and I can eat anything, which is pretty unusual for having 3 ml in a 4ml band. Its there, so I know I'm not slipped but I "should" have more restriction than I do, I just seem to be particularly resistant to fills, lol.

Its easy early on if you have that good restriction because you have the huge motivation and excitement for your new journey that does wane over time, so you can stick with your program and you also have the fear of trying to push things too far as you havent gotten comfortable with your band yet.

Use it while you can, unfortunately for most people it doesnt last, but you do settle into a slower pattern which over time is just as effective.

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hi,

i was quite restricted like you in the beginning.

remember to SIP SIP SIP your Water. dont take big gulps. you should take about 1/2 hour for about 4 ounces.

warm liquids are easier than cold. cold still makes me tighter.

your stomach is healing and still quite swollen now. take it easy, baby your tummy. :)

congrats on being banded.

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You might find that the swelling starts going down at about Day 9 post-op or so, which by my calculations means TODAY for you!

Hope you start feeling better!

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Just sip things slowly and you will be fine. It takes a while to get back to normal. Warm things usually went down better for me, a cup of hot tea is good.

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If you are not on pain meds, try a little liquid tylenol. That helped me. I loved the feeling right after surgery. I was not hungry, and 1/2 ounce would fill me up. Wish I still felt that way!!

Good luck!

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      On day 4 of the 2 week liquid pre-op diet. Surgery scheduled for June 11th.
      Soooo I am coming to a realization
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      On day 4 of the 2 week liquid pre-op diet. Surgery scheduled for June 11th.
      Soooo I am coming to a realization
      of something and I'm not sure what to do about it. For years the only thing I've enjoyed is eating. We rarely do anything or go anywhere and if we do it always includes food. Family comes over? Big family dinner! Go camping? Food! Take a short ride or trip? Food! Holiday? Food! Go out of town for a Dr appointment? Food! When we go to a new town we don't look for any attractions, we look for restaurants we haven't been to. Heck, I look forward to getting off work because that means it's almost supper time. Now that I'm drinking these pre-op shakes for breakfast, lunch, and supper I have nothing to look forward to.  And once I have surgery on June 11th it'll be more of the same shakes. Even after pureed stage, soft food stage, and finally regular food stage, it's going to be a drastic change for the rest of my life. I'm giving up the one thing that really brings me joy. Eating. How do you cope with that? What do you do to fill that void? Wow. Now I'm sad.
      · 1 reply
      1. summerseeker

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        BTW, the liquid diet sucks, one more day and you are over the worst. You can do it.

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