[Some people dream of success...while others wake up and work hard at it.]

Hi Everyone! I got banded on Tuesday, April 3rd. The first 3 days were not too bad, but on day 4 I started having the gas pains in my left shoulder and neck. :thinkI used a heating pad for two days. That helped a lot. If you have any other suggestions....please let me know. Has anyone been told to do a two-week liquid diet for pre-op as well as a 2-3 week clear liquid diet for post-op? Just curious.

Hi - I was banded on the 4th and sounds like our experiences are similar. It's interesting how everyone's diets are so different! Mine was Clear liquids only for 24-48 hrs, then on to full liquids for 4 weeks. After that "mushies" for a couple of weeks, then starting on solids. I had no pre-op diet orders except to eat low-carb.

Come join the April 07 thread -- we're all banded in April!

Good luck to you!!!

Hi Terry, Glad to join. My daughter and son-in-law were banded by Dr. Spiegel on 12/5/06. Your surgeon was theire second choice. I had attended Dr. Spiegel's seminar, got denied insurance, and because we live in our motorhome fulltime, we moved to Tampa to have banding done there. I had to pay for mine. How 'bout you?

Yeah, I paid for mine too. I didn't want to hassle with insurance approval and risk getting denied because of my low BMI. Although it would have been nice to have it paid for I was willing to cough up the cash to get on the fast track. So far I'm really glad I did it this way.

So you live in your motorhome, eh?? My best friend has got her house for sale in Galveston and working toward making that same move. Sometimes I think she's crazy and sometimes I think it's the most wonderful thing in the world!! How long have ya'll been doing it? Is it working out like you thought? Enjoying it?

Are we enjoying? You bet. It's been almost 4 years. We've visited 47 states, 18 National Parks, Canada, and Mexico. We've traveled over 58,000 miles. Can't say enough about how relaxing this lifestyle really is. Hope your friend enjoys her decision too!

Hi there, welcome to band land. I think my doctor had me do 2 weeks of liquids followed by 2 weeks of mushies after surgery. I didn't have a preop diet, lucky me. Julie

Are we enjoying? You bet. It's been almost 4 years. We've visited 47 states, 18 National Parks, Canada, and Mexico. We've traveled over 58,000 miles. Can't say enough about how relaxing this lifestyle really is. Hope your friend enjoys her decision too!

Hey welcome!!! I'm 59, 5'5', 233# and will be banded on Tuesday here in Michigan. And I LOVE Rving.. just don't happen to have a motor home. We have a trailer, but my dream has been to own a motor home and just go!!! I've been dreaming about my band lately and that's coming true so who knows??

Anyway glad to have you aboard and do come to the April 2007, Head Start to Spring thread under the General Discussion forum. Lots of great people there who will be or have been banded in April.

Judy

[Some people dream of success...while others wake up and work hard at it.]

Hi Everyone! I got banded on Tuesday, April 3rd. The first 3 days were not too bad, but on day 4 I started having the gas pains in my left shoulder and neck. :thinkI used a heating pad for two days. That helped a lot. If you have any other suggestions....please let me know. Has anyone been told to do a two-week liquid diet for pre-op as well as a 2-3 week clear liquid diet for post-op? Just curious.

Yes, best suggestion in the world is to walk. Walk walk walk and then walk some more.

When they inflate your belly during surgery with the gas it pushes and stretches everything and that is a great deal of what you are feeling. That an excess gas. GasX is great as well. You'll be burping and tooting like a champ in no time.

I didn't have to do the pre-op diet as my BMI was not high enough but I had to do 2 weeks of clears, 2 weeks of full liquids, then 2 weeks of soft foods then reintroduce solids.

Cut out ALL sugar during this time, it will make you hungry. If you get hungry what will satisfy you? broth or Gatorade? The key is to prevent hunger and you do that by cutting out ALL sugar and keeping your Protein up. It's much easier to battle head hunger on liquids than it is full blown stomach hunger. You will have head hunger regardless of what you do, but you can prevent the stomach hunger.

Wow everyone is so helpful. Thanks a bunch! I did pick up GasX yesterday. They come in strips w/cinnamon flavor. Mmmmn. Two did the trick. I feel like I could power NYC with all my released gas. sorry about that. Anyway, I did 2 weeks of Optifast, Crystal Light, coffee, and Water. Not much Protein. I really thought my doctor would recommend more protein post-opt. Following his diet I only get about 750 cals/6 grams protein/no fat/day. It's been a week since banding and I feel I need more protein. I'll probably call the office today. I do walk two miles with my husband everyday. They even have a treadmill at this resort for rainly days. Yeah!!!

My other question-my bandages are still very tight. Do I just wait until they fall off. I want to start using Vitamin E for the scar? Any help?

I called my dr's office about my bandages today too...'cause they're bothering me!! I have dissolvable stiches, covered by surgical tape with bandaids over that. They said I could discontinue the bandaids but the surg tape should stay on 7-10 days. Grrrrrr. 2 more days.

My postop diet calls for at least 40g of protein/day! I'm drinking full liquids (smoothies, hearty blended Soups, etc.) adding unflavored whey Protein whenever possible and as much as possible and barely getting it in. I def. think you need to call your dr. to make sure you've got the instrux right!

I had to leave my steri strips on for 10 days. However, if they were really peeling, then I was able to take them off sooner. Vit E is the bomb!!! I use it everyday and my incisions look awesome.

I was discharged on full liquids for 2 weeks, mushies for another 2, soft foods for 1, then solids as tolerated. Although the doctor pushed for Protein (58g/day), I couldn't tolerate it at first. The nurses told me to take my time and increase my protein intake as I can. Now, I consume about 40g. The doc is cool with that.

Anyway, good luck to everyone out there!!!

I had the same problem, it was no picnic! Especially on a 4 hour flight home! I used the GasX cinnamon like you did, but if it gets unbearable or returns, which it does sometimes, I found that an Alleve really helped A LOT.

We camp a lot, we have a 5th wheel, but SOMEDAY, SOMEDAY we will be moving on down the road in a motorhome! LOL Can't wait!

Oh, by the way, I was banded April 3rd too!

Good Luck!

Donna

Hi Ya'll,

Well tomorrow I go for my 2 week post-op. Ca't wait to go onto the next stage. (whatever that is?) My doc is conservative. Hopefully it will be lots of protein as yesterday I had an "almost" fainting spell. I guess 300-400 cals,no protein is not enough for me. I am taking in an average of 60-70 oz. water.

Wish me luck.

Also, 4 bandages came off yesterday. (day 14) they look really awesome. My port bandage is still hanging in there.

Hi Ya'll,

Well tomorrow I go for my 2 week post-op. Ca't wait to go onto the next stage. (whatever that is?) My doc is conservative. Hopefully it will be lots of Protein as yesterday I had an "almost" fainting spell. I guess 300-400 cals,no protein is not enough for me. I am taking in an average of 60-70 oz. Water.

Wish me luck.

Also, 4 bandages came off yesterday. (day 14) they look really awesome. My port bandage is still hanging in there.

It usually isn't a matter of calories, for newbies it is a matter of blood sugar. I realize this is late but Gatorade is great for this. juice has a bit too much sugar. Yes, protein too!