I have been reading other peoples messages on this website and decided to join today. I was banded on 9-9-08 in Des Moines by Dr. Cahalon. I was really surprised how much pain I was in after surgery. It took me a week and five days to actually feel better and I was able to take a walk. I had my first fill on Monday October 20th and my doctor put in 3ccs. We had to go down to x-ray b/c he wanted to be sure he was hitting the port(this was after sticking me with the needle two times). I still feel no restriction and am HUNGRY!!!!! I am working out 40 minutes a day and following the four goldren rules but feel that I am at a plateau as far as my weight loss goes. Any suggestions would be wonderful:redface:

Hi Lovebugs,

I was banded 10-21-08 in NY and i can not describe the amount of pain i am still in. I have read so many posts about people having the surgery on Friday and going back to work Monday. I assumed, that it is really not a big deal. And here I am 2 days after the surgery going crazy. I go out and walk twice a day, it is a struggle. I just can not wait when the pain is gone.

Good luck to you! You are not alone:)

Hey guy's but you have to remember everyone is different - I was banded on 9/24/08 and I did not have any pain. Remember you have had major surgery and you body does have to heal. Lovebug are you keeping a food journal? If so call your dietician and review everything with him/her. It could be you are not taking in enough calories/protein - but they would be able to show you the way if it is that. I have not had a fill yet - but I can barely take in 850 calories a day and that bothers me - but then I have to remember I'm only 30 days post-op and that will change.

I use www.myfitnesspal.com to journal all my intake and excerise - and then print it out daily to review - that has really helped me out alot.

One thing I have done is added a snack in the afternoon -- I'll eat a rice cake low fat with 1 or 2 TBS of PB Natural Skippy and that has really helped me out too with the feeling of hunger in the afternoons.

Just keep up the good work!

I was banded 10-13-08, and am just now able to sleep on my side. I find that the heating pad helps A LOT. I also have a elastic back splint that I used to use when lifting heavy things. I find that wearing that helps a lot too when I cinch it up fairly tight.

I am going back to work next week, and am worried about the pain. good luck!

I was banded on 3rd Sept 08. I had, stitch/cramp in the left side when I walked which was really bad for the first week impossible and then it hung around for another 3 weeks after that. It was only uncomfortable when walking, couldn't walk for more than 15 mins. BUT apart from that I felt great. I saw a lot of movies in the first 3 weeks.

I have been keeping a food journal since I got out of the hospital. You may be right I might not be getting in enough calories and my body is in starvation mode. I think it is a mental thing that if I get too many calories I will gain weight and not lose. What did you nutritionist think of you adding a snack. My nutritionist thinks that snacks are forbidden...don't know what to think yet!

Trust me the pain will get better. I was getting a low grade fever one week out of surgery and thought there was something wrong but the doc. said that was normal b/c my body was healing. Try putting a heating pad on your stomach, it really helped me a lot. I remember the first time I was able to sleep on my side, I was so happy.

I remember the pain! It was bad for about two weeks after the operation, then went quite quickly.

You don't have to put up with pain. See your doctor for pain relief, especially if it affects your sleep, which of course is vital for your body to repair.