My surgery is scheduled for August 15th and I would love to talk with others who have been through the process. Bottom line, I am wanting to know what to expect a couple of days after the procedures, a week, 2 weeks, etc. Will I be hunger? In pain?

The surgery is on Friday and my doctor told me if I felt like it I could return to work (desk job) on Tuesday. Is that realistic?:biggrin:

Hi Patrick

I was banded on August 15, 2007.

I felt rough for the firsgot 36 hours after surgery. I had gas pains for almost a week, they got a lot milder each day.

I hate being in pain, so I took my pain meds on schedule for the first 48 hours.

Honestly, I have felt a lot worse with the flu.

Apparently the recovery from a Tummy Tuck (mine is next week) is a lot worse...........

You will do fantastic, congratulations on your decision to get banded

So, do you think I could go back to work on Tuesday or should I plan to be out longer?

Were you hungry those first two weeks after begin banded? I have been told I would be on a liquid diet for the first week and mushy liquids (soft scrambled eggs, watery oatmeal) the second week. I am just wondering how I will do mentally if I am starving.

I had vacation time that had 2 be used, so I was off for 2 weeks. I think it may have been better to go back to work sooner, because it would have helped with the head hunger. During the first few days I found I had to sip really slowly (swelling I guess), basically I would be tired of sipping the broth before I was done.

I was so excited to be on the mushy foods. It was like a whole new world !!

It is a learning curve for sure, mostly I had to learn about patience. I wanted the weight to be gone in the first week LOL. In the beginning the hardest part for me was seeing others on this board that were losing a lot faster than me.

Some people have diarrhea while on the liquids.......liquids in, liquids out. You may want to assess that situation before committing to returning to work on Tues.

I had the surgery on a Wednesday, 6/25 and returned to work Monday, July 7th. I wanted to be at the mushy stage before returning to work.

My experience was that I was that my port incision was very sore for about a week and I was pretty tired because I didn't get "normal" sleep. Hunger wasn't an issue.

Everyone is different - I could have gone back to work after 7 days and if a friend asked me my opinion on how long they should be off, even if it's a desk job, I would say 7 days so that the pain is minimal and you're rested. If you can afford to take the time - take it!

Thank you for your honesty. This forum is a great resource!

Could I ask you where you got the tracker of your weight loss that is at the bottom of most everyone's posts? I can't seem to find it.

I had surgery on Tuesday and went back to work (desk job) on Friday. On Saturday I was tired, but felt ok. On my 3rd day post-op (Friday) I started pureed protein. I was not hungry the first week, but by the 2nd week I was getting there. I did not have alot of pain. My gas pains were an aching across my back. I took the Vicadin for just a couple days. Good luck!

I think everybody is different with their pain tolerance. I felt pretty good and think I could have gone back to work 4-5 days post-op, especially if it was a desk job.

Across the board everybody seems to have the pain at their port site a bit longer, but it is tolerable. I was off pain meds by the end of the third day. The thing to watch for is the gas pains and gas that you will have. Some people struggle more with it than others. I have always had shoulder (gas pain) after surgery and this time I did not.

As far as hunger, about day 5 I actually felt hungry, but I was able to keep it down by keeping up on my Protein and sipping my Water. I am on a liquid diet for three weeks post-op, so I can't comment on the fullness you would feel with mushies.

Hope this helps!