I am only one week out of surgery and am still having quite some difficulty. I am quite discouraged as I thought I would be as good as new by now. But I am having some weird pain in my left side (doc says its becaue thats where e used thecamera and moved it around alot) and still have such discomfort around the port!!! I also have difficulty getting the shakes down, have frequent stomach aches, feel week, and frustrated that Im only on liquids. just dont feel like me anymore. I know I should be thrilled at this new life I am going to have - but cant seem to shake this feeling. Onemore week of liquids seems like an awful long time. The upside is the thirteen ounds lost so far - will I gain them back??? This is so not like me to b negative!!!! The one good thing is that I found this website!! thanks for listening

I think it's perfectly normal to feel like that! My energy level didn't return to normal until about a month after surgery. I had pain around my port area for about a month too. The liquid phase is the worst! I was so happy to start eating mushies. I "ate" a lot of creamy soups and blended up chili (add a little tomato juice or V8) while I was on the liquid phase to get some new tastes in. Unfortunately you are in bandster hell for a while longer until you start to eat regular food and get a fill. But we're here to help you through it!! Keep your chin up!

JDRU - you are so encouraging - thanks!!!!! How long ago were you banded. I didint know I could have creamy stuff yet - i thought it wa only thin liquids in the liquid stage. do you think I can have creamy soups?

Hey skinnymom! I was banded on Oct 26. My post-op diet wasn't quite as restrictive as yours...I was starting mushies about a week after surgery. I would definitely follow your doctor's post-op diet...but creamy soups were on my liquid diet as long as I thinned them down with milk or water. I had cream of chicken (blended up or strained) and cream of celery (also blended or strained). I also like to make tomato soup with milk instead of water so you can get extra protein and it's pretty thin. Hope this helps!

Hey I'm on liquids right now and I feel your pain. I have been doing creamy soups and they have been a life saver. They were not on my list so i asked the nut. if it was ok and she said go ahead with it. I would advise you to call or email your nut. or pa. or doc and ask if you can have creamy soups. I too am worried if i will gain all this water weight back once i move onto mushies. Congrats on your weightloss so far!

thanks ariel, when were you banded and by whom? Where do you live? Also did you have alot of discomfort? I dont know why I have such a weird craving but I cant wait to be able to eat chicken salad - weird huh? not cookies or cake or bread, stupid chicken salad. can you believe that ? do you think that blended chicken salad is soft solid or mushies?

Chicken salad was a mushie on my post-op diet. I am almost 18 months out and I still crave chicken salad. I had it today for lunch I was also allowed to have pureed chili, very watery mashed potatos, thinned yogurt, and thin pudding. Hope things improve quickly for you. The pre-op and post-op diet are hard. But the band is worth it. ~Mandy

Absolutely. The first two weeks were awful for me. If I could have undone it without having surgery I would have. I had major problems with my BP dropping and I do mean dropping 60/40 (probably related to anesthesia meds) and I normally have high BP. I had massive bruising on my entire huge abdomen. My doctor said he hadn't ever seen anything like it. I was so depressed and so weak. All I did was cry. Could not stand Protein drinks. I did move on to small amounts of other things. It has been 7 months now and I have felt much better after the first two weeks. Have lost 75 pounds and exercise an hour a day 6 days a week. Strange thing though, my BP has never gone back to what it was. Have decreased my BP meds by half and am staying in the 120/70 range. I would say it's due to weight loss, but not totally because it was this way after surgery before I even lost. Hang in there. Things do get much better. Sorry to ramble on.

Linda

Surgery 6/5/06 294

Now 219

Skinnymom, you couldn't be more normal! I remember a few people talking about how wonderful they felt 3 days after surgery, but I still wanted to curl up into a ball and nap every day when I was two weeks out. You'll feel a little better every day (and a LOT better when you can eat some mushies). Remember, you're going through major physical and emotional changes right now and it's going to take a while to adjust.

Incidentally, I did gain about 5 lbs of my Water weight back as soon as I started eating solid foods. It came back off very quickly, so don't let it get you down if it happens to you. Try to focus on where you'll be in six months - that helped me get through. (((hugs)))

anne and linda - thank you so much for telling me about yourselves. I have felt so abnormal. I too have freinds who did so much better - had no pain, could eat and drink anything etc. It really feels good to know that not everyone has an easy time and that there is a light at the end of the tunnel. thanks for all your support

mandy - think of me when your eating the chicken salad and savor the flavor for me LOL.

skinnymom - I had problems too. I was banded on 12/14 and was on a 3 week liquid diet. I could only eat pre-packaged, surgeon approved food. 4 pkgs per day. I couldn't get it down, and was eating about 200 calories per day. I was weak, sick, pained, tired, confused, fatigued. I ended up passing out, and was in the hospital overnight on an IV because I was dehydrated. My port incision got infected along with 2 other smaller incisions and I was on anti-biotics, which made my nausea even worse. I kept getting light headed. I kept getting hot flashes. It was insanity - and this was just last week!

As of Tuesday I'm on mushies, and it's a whole new world!

Keep your focus, think positive and believe in yourself. You'll get through it. Get your rest, do your best, and look forward to when you're healed and can eat a bit more.

Good Luck!

Nathalie

thanks for the support guys - doing alot better because I cheated on some mushy food today - kept it down and felt god - do you think what I am doing is terrible - or do you think its okay???